gdb/
[deliverable/binutils-gdb.git] / gdb / doc / gdb.texinfo
1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
2 @c Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998,
3 @c 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
4 @c Free Software Foundation, Inc.
5 @c
6 @c %**start of header
7 @c makeinfo ignores cmds prev to setfilename, so its arg cannot make use
8 @c of @set vars. However, you can override filename with makeinfo -o.
9 @setfilename gdb.info
10 @c
11 @include gdb-cfg.texi
12 @c
13 @settitle Debugging with @value{GDBN}
14 @setchapternewpage odd
15 @c %**end of header
16
17 @iftex
18 @c @smallbook
19 @c @cropmarks
20 @end iftex
21
22 @finalout
23 @syncodeindex ky cp
24 @syncodeindex tp cp
25
26 @c readline appendices use @vindex, @findex and @ftable,
27 @c annotate.texi and gdbmi use @findex.
28 @syncodeindex vr cp
29 @syncodeindex fn cp
30
31 @c !!set GDB manual's edition---not the same as GDB version!
32 @c This is updated by GNU Press.
33 @set EDITION Ninth
34
35 @c !!set GDB edit command default editor
36 @set EDITOR /bin/ex
37
38 @c THIS MANUAL REQUIRES TEXINFO 4.0 OR LATER.
39
40 @c This is a dir.info fragment to support semi-automated addition of
41 @c manuals to an info tree.
42 @dircategory Software development
43 @direntry
44 * Gdb: (gdb). The GNU debugger.
45 @end direntry
46
47 @copying
48 Copyright @copyright{} 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996,
49 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
50 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
51
52 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
53 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
54 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
55 Invariant Sections being ``Free Software'' and ``Free Software Needs
56 Free Documentation'', with the Front-Cover Texts being ``A GNU Manual,''
57 and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below.
58
59 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You are free to copy and modify
60 this GNU Manual. Buying copies from GNU Press supports the FSF in
61 developing GNU and promoting software freedom.''
62 @end copying
63
64 @ifnottex
65 This file documents the @sc{gnu} debugger @value{GDBN}.
66
67 This is the @value{EDITION} Edition, of @cite{Debugging with
68 @value{GDBN}: the @sc{gnu} Source-Level Debugger} for @value{GDBN}
69 @ifset VERSION_PACKAGE
70 @value{VERSION_PACKAGE}
71 @end ifset
72 Version @value{GDBVN}.
73
74 @insertcopying
75 @end ifnottex
76
77 @titlepage
78 @title Debugging with @value{GDBN}
79 @subtitle The @sc{gnu} Source-Level Debugger
80 @sp 1
81 @subtitle @value{EDITION} Edition, for @value{GDBN} version @value{GDBVN}
82 @ifset VERSION_PACKAGE
83 @sp 1
84 @subtitle @value{VERSION_PACKAGE}
85 @end ifset
86 @author Richard Stallman, Roland Pesch, Stan Shebs, et al.
87 @page
88 @tex
89 {\parskip=0pt
90 \hfill (Send bugs and comments on @value{GDBN} to @value{BUGURL}.)\par
91 \hfill {\it Debugging with @value{GDBN}}\par
92 \hfill \TeX{}info \texinfoversion\par
93 }
94 @end tex
95
96 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
97 Published by the Free Software Foundation @*
98 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
99 Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA@*
100 ISBN 1-882114-77-9 @*
101
102 @insertcopying
103 @page
104 This edition of the GDB manual is dedicated to the memory of Fred
105 Fish. Fred was a long-standing contributor to GDB and to Free
106 software in general. We will miss him.
107 @end titlepage
108 @page
109
110 @ifnottex
111 @node Top, Summary, (dir), (dir)
112
113 @top Debugging with @value{GDBN}
114
115 This file describes @value{GDBN}, the @sc{gnu} symbolic debugger.
116
117 This is the @value{EDITION} Edition, for @value{GDBN}
118 @ifset VERSION_PACKAGE
119 @value{VERSION_PACKAGE}
120 @end ifset
121 Version @value{GDBVN}.
122
123 Copyright (C) 1988-2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
124
125 This edition of the GDB manual is dedicated to the memory of Fred
126 Fish. Fred was a long-standing contributor to GDB and to Free
127 software in general. We will miss him.
128
129 @menu
130 * Summary:: Summary of @value{GDBN}
131 * Sample Session:: A sample @value{GDBN} session
132
133 * Invocation:: Getting in and out of @value{GDBN}
134 * Commands:: @value{GDBN} commands
135 * Running:: Running programs under @value{GDBN}
136 * Stopping:: Stopping and continuing
137 * Reverse Execution:: Running programs backward
138 * Process Record and Replay:: Recording inferior's execution and replaying it
139 * Stack:: Examining the stack
140 * Source:: Examining source files
141 * Data:: Examining data
142 * Optimized Code:: Debugging optimized code
143 * Macros:: Preprocessor Macros
144 * Tracepoints:: Debugging remote targets non-intrusively
145 * Overlays:: Debugging programs that use overlays
146
147 * Languages:: Using @value{GDBN} with different languages
148
149 * Symbols:: Examining the symbol table
150 * Altering:: Altering execution
151 * GDB Files:: @value{GDBN} files
152 * Targets:: Specifying a debugging target
153 * Remote Debugging:: Debugging remote programs
154 * Configurations:: Configuration-specific information
155 * Controlling GDB:: Controlling @value{GDBN}
156 * Extending GDB:: Extending @value{GDBN}
157 * Interpreters:: Command Interpreters
158 * TUI:: @value{GDBN} Text User Interface
159 * Emacs:: Using @value{GDBN} under @sc{gnu} Emacs
160 * GDB/MI:: @value{GDBN}'s Machine Interface.
161 * Annotations:: @value{GDBN}'s annotation interface.
162 * JIT Interface:: Using the JIT debugging interface.
163
164 * GDB Bugs:: Reporting bugs in @value{GDBN}
165
166 * Command Line Editing:: Command Line Editing
167 * Using History Interactively:: Using History Interactively
168 * Formatting Documentation:: How to format and print @value{GDBN} documentation
169 * Installing GDB:: Installing GDB
170 * Maintenance Commands:: Maintenance Commands
171 * Remote Protocol:: GDB Remote Serial Protocol
172 * Agent Expressions:: The GDB Agent Expression Mechanism
173 * Target Descriptions:: How targets can describe themselves to
174 @value{GDBN}
175 * Operating System Information:: Getting additional information from
176 the operating system
177 * Trace File Format:: GDB trace file format
178 * Copying:: GNU General Public License says
179 how you can copy and share GDB
180 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation
181 * Index:: Index
182 @end menu
183
184 @end ifnottex
185
186 @contents
187
188 @node Summary
189 @unnumbered Summary of @value{GDBN}
190
191 The purpose of a debugger such as @value{GDBN} is to allow you to see what is
192 going on ``inside'' another program while it executes---or what another
193 program was doing at the moment it crashed.
194
195 @value{GDBN} can do four main kinds of things (plus other things in support of
196 these) to help you catch bugs in the act:
197
198 @itemize @bullet
199 @item
200 Start your program, specifying anything that might affect its behavior.
201
202 @item
203 Make your program stop on specified conditions.
204
205 @item
206 Examine what has happened, when your program has stopped.
207
208 @item
209 Change things in your program, so you can experiment with correcting the
210 effects of one bug and go on to learn about another.
211 @end itemize
212
213 You can use @value{GDBN} to debug programs written in C and C@t{++}.
214 For more information, see @ref{Supported Languages,,Supported Languages}.
215 For more information, see @ref{C,,C and C++}.
216
217 @cindex Modula-2
218 Support for Modula-2 is partial. For information on Modula-2, see
219 @ref{Modula-2,,Modula-2}.
220
221 @cindex Pascal
222 Debugging Pascal programs which use sets, subranges, file variables, or
223 nested functions does not currently work. @value{GDBN} does not support
224 entering expressions, printing values, or similar features using Pascal
225 syntax.
226
227 @cindex Fortran
228 @value{GDBN} can be used to debug programs written in Fortran, although
229 it may be necessary to refer to some variables with a trailing
230 underscore.
231
232 @value{GDBN} can be used to debug programs written in Objective-C,
233 using either the Apple/NeXT or the GNU Objective-C runtime.
234
235 @menu
236 * Free Software:: Freely redistributable software
237 * Contributors:: Contributors to GDB
238 @end menu
239
240 @node Free Software
241 @unnumberedsec Free Software
242
243 @value{GDBN} is @dfn{free software}, protected by the @sc{gnu}
244 General Public License
245 (GPL). The GPL gives you the freedom to copy or adapt a licensed
246 program---but every person getting a copy also gets with it the
247 freedom to modify that copy (which means that they must get access to
248 the source code), and the freedom to distribute further copies.
249 Typical software companies use copyrights to limit your freedoms; the
250 Free Software Foundation uses the GPL to preserve these freedoms.
251
252 Fundamentally, the General Public License is a license which says that
253 you have these freedoms and that you cannot take these freedoms away
254 from anyone else.
255
256 @unnumberedsec Free Software Needs Free Documentation
257
258 The biggest deficiency in the free software community today is not in
259 the software---it is the lack of good free documentation that we can
260 include with the free software. Many of our most important
261 programs do not come with free reference manuals and free introductory
262 texts. Documentation is an essential part of any software package;
263 when an important free software package does not come with a free
264 manual and a free tutorial, that is a major gap. We have many such
265 gaps today.
266
267 Consider Perl, for instance. The tutorial manuals that people
268 normally use are non-free. How did this come about? Because the
269 authors of those manuals published them with restrictive terms---no
270 copying, no modification, source files not available---which exclude
271 them from the free software world.
272
273 That wasn't the first time this sort of thing happened, and it was far
274 from the last. Many times we have heard a GNU user eagerly describe a
275 manual that he is writing, his intended contribution to the community,
276 only to learn that he had ruined everything by signing a publication
277 contract to make it non-free.
278
279 Free documentation, like free software, is a matter of freedom, not
280 price. The problem with the non-free manual is not that publishers
281 charge a price for printed copies---that in itself is fine. (The Free
282 Software Foundation sells printed copies of manuals, too.) The
283 problem is the restrictions on the use of the manual. Free manuals
284 are available in source code form, and give you permission to copy and
285 modify. Non-free manuals do not allow this.
286
287 The criteria of freedom for a free manual are roughly the same as for
288 free software. Redistribution (including the normal kinds of
289 commercial redistribution) must be permitted, so that the manual can
290 accompany every copy of the program, both on-line and on paper.
291
292 Permission for modification of the technical content is crucial too.
293 When people modify the software, adding or changing features, if they
294 are conscientious they will change the manual too---so they can
295 provide accurate and clear documentation for the modified program. A
296 manual that leaves you no choice but to write a new manual to document
297 a changed version of the program is not really available to our
298 community.
299
300 Some kinds of limits on the way modification is handled are
301 acceptable. For example, requirements to preserve the original
302 author's copyright notice, the distribution terms, or the list of
303 authors, are ok. It is also no problem to require modified versions
304 to include notice that they were modified. Even entire sections that
305 may not be deleted or changed are acceptable, as long as they deal
306 with nontechnical topics (like this one). These kinds of restrictions
307 are acceptable because they don't obstruct the community's normal use
308 of the manual.
309
310 However, it must be possible to modify all the @emph{technical}
311 content of the manual, and then distribute the result in all the usual
312 media, through all the usual channels. Otherwise, the restrictions
313 obstruct the use of the manual, it is not free, and we need another
314 manual to replace it.
315
316 Please spread the word about this issue. Our community continues to
317 lose manuals to proprietary publishing. If we spread the word that
318 free software needs free reference manuals and free tutorials, perhaps
319 the next person who wants to contribute by writing documentation will
320 realize, before it is too late, that only free manuals contribute to
321 the free software community.
322
323 If you are writing documentation, please insist on publishing it under
324 the GNU Free Documentation License or another free documentation
325 license. Remember that this decision requires your approval---you
326 don't have to let the publisher decide. Some commercial publishers
327 will use a free license if you insist, but they will not propose the
328 option; it is up to you to raise the issue and say firmly that this is
329 what you want. If the publisher you are dealing with refuses, please
330 try other publishers. If you're not sure whether a proposed license
331 is free, write to @email{licensing@@gnu.org}.
332
333 You can encourage commercial publishers to sell more free, copylefted
334 manuals and tutorials by buying them, and particularly by buying
335 copies from the publishers that paid for their writing or for major
336 improvements. Meanwhile, try to avoid buying non-free documentation
337 at all. Check the distribution terms of a manual before you buy it,
338 and insist that whoever seeks your business must respect your freedom.
339 Check the history of the book, and try to reward the publishers that
340 have paid or pay the authors to work on it.
341
342 The Free Software Foundation maintains a list of free documentation
343 published by other publishers, at
344 @url{http://www.fsf.org/doc/other-free-books.html}.
345
346 @node Contributors
347 @unnumberedsec Contributors to @value{GDBN}
348
349 Richard Stallman was the original author of @value{GDBN}, and of many
350 other @sc{gnu} programs. Many others have contributed to its
351 development. This section attempts to credit major contributors. One
352 of the virtues of free software is that everyone is free to contribute
353 to it; with regret, we cannot actually acknowledge everyone here. The
354 file @file{ChangeLog} in the @value{GDBN} distribution approximates a
355 blow-by-blow account.
356
357 Changes much prior to version 2.0 are lost in the mists of time.
358
359 @quotation
360 @emph{Plea:} Additions to this section are particularly welcome. If you
361 or your friends (or enemies, to be evenhanded) have been unfairly
362 omitted from this list, we would like to add your names!
363 @end quotation
364
365 So that they may not regard their many labors as thankless, we
366 particularly thank those who shepherded @value{GDBN} through major
367 releases:
368 Andrew Cagney (releases 6.3, 6.2, 6.1, 6.0, 5.3, 5.2, 5.1 and 5.0);
369 Jim Blandy (release 4.18);
370 Jason Molenda (release 4.17);
371 Stan Shebs (release 4.14);
372 Fred Fish (releases 4.16, 4.15, 4.13, 4.12, 4.11, 4.10, and 4.9);
373 Stu Grossman and John Gilmore (releases 4.8, 4.7, 4.6, 4.5, and 4.4);
374 John Gilmore (releases 4.3, 4.2, 4.1, 4.0, and 3.9);
375 Jim Kingdon (releases 3.5, 3.4, and 3.3);
376 and Randy Smith (releases 3.2, 3.1, and 3.0).
377
378 Richard Stallman, assisted at various times by Peter TerMaat, Chris
379 Hanson, and Richard Mlynarik, handled releases through 2.8.
380
381 Michael Tiemann is the author of most of the @sc{gnu} C@t{++} support
382 in @value{GDBN}, with significant additional contributions from Per
383 Bothner and Daniel Berlin. James Clark wrote the @sc{gnu} C@t{++}
384 demangler. Early work on C@t{++} was by Peter TerMaat (who also did
385 much general update work leading to release 3.0).
386
387 @value{GDBN} uses the BFD subroutine library to examine multiple
388 object-file formats; BFD was a joint project of David V.
389 Henkel-Wallace, Rich Pixley, Steve Chamberlain, and John Gilmore.
390
391 David Johnson wrote the original COFF support; Pace Willison did
392 the original support for encapsulated COFF.
393
394 Brent Benson of Harris Computer Systems contributed DWARF 2 support.
395
396 Adam de Boor and Bradley Davis contributed the ISI Optimum V support.
397 Per Bothner, Noboyuki Hikichi, and Alessandro Forin contributed MIPS
398 support.
399 Jean-Daniel Fekete contributed Sun 386i support.
400 Chris Hanson improved the HP9000 support.
401 Noboyuki Hikichi and Tomoyuki Hasei contributed Sony/News OS 3 support.
402 David Johnson contributed Encore Umax support.
403 Jyrki Kuoppala contributed Altos 3068 support.
404 Jeff Law contributed HP PA and SOM support.
405 Keith Packard contributed NS32K support.
406 Doug Rabson contributed Acorn Risc Machine support.
407 Bob Rusk contributed Harris Nighthawk CX-UX support.
408 Chris Smith contributed Convex support (and Fortran debugging).
409 Jonathan Stone contributed Pyramid support.
410 Michael Tiemann contributed SPARC support.
411 Tim Tucker contributed support for the Gould NP1 and Gould Powernode.
412 Pace Willison contributed Intel 386 support.
413 Jay Vosburgh contributed Symmetry support.
414 Marko Mlinar contributed OpenRISC 1000 support.
415
416 Andreas Schwab contributed M68K @sc{gnu}/Linux support.
417
418 Rich Schaefer and Peter Schauer helped with support of SunOS shared
419 libraries.
420
421 Jay Fenlason and Roland McGrath ensured that @value{GDBN} and GAS agree
422 about several machine instruction sets.
423
424 Patrick Duval, Ted Goldstein, Vikram Koka and Glenn Engel helped develop
425 remote debugging. Intel Corporation, Wind River Systems, AMD, and ARM
426 contributed remote debugging modules for the i960, VxWorks, A29K UDI,
427 and RDI targets, respectively.
428
429 Brian Fox is the author of the readline libraries providing
430 command-line editing and command history.
431
432 Andrew Beers of SUNY Buffalo wrote the language-switching code, the
433 Modula-2 support, and contributed the Languages chapter of this manual.
434
435 Fred Fish wrote most of the support for Unix System Vr4.
436 He also enhanced the command-completion support to cover C@t{++} overloaded
437 symbols.
438
439 Hitachi America (now Renesas America), Ltd. sponsored the support for
440 H8/300, H8/500, and Super-H processors.
441
442 NEC sponsored the support for the v850, Vr4xxx, and Vr5xxx processors.
443
444 Mitsubishi (now Renesas) sponsored the support for D10V, D30V, and M32R/D
445 processors.
446
447 Toshiba sponsored the support for the TX39 Mips processor.
448
449 Matsushita sponsored the support for the MN10200 and MN10300 processors.
450
451 Fujitsu sponsored the support for SPARClite and FR30 processors.
452
453 Kung Hsu, Jeff Law, and Rick Sladkey added support for hardware
454 watchpoints.
455
456 Michael Snyder added support for tracepoints.
457
458 Stu Grossman wrote gdbserver.
459
460 Jim Kingdon, Peter Schauer, Ian Taylor, and Stu Grossman made
461 nearly innumerable bug fixes and cleanups throughout @value{GDBN}.
462
463 The following people at the Hewlett-Packard Company contributed
464 support for the PA-RISC 2.0 architecture, HP-UX 10.20, 10.30, and 11.0
465 (narrow mode), HP's implementation of kernel threads, HP's aC@t{++}
466 compiler, and the Text User Interface (nee Terminal User Interface):
467 Ben Krepp, Richard Title, John Bishop, Susan Macchia, Kathy Mann,
468 Satish Pai, India Paul, Steve Rehrauer, and Elena Zannoni. Kim Haase
469 provided HP-specific information in this manual.
470
471 DJ Delorie ported @value{GDBN} to MS-DOS, for the DJGPP project.
472 Robert Hoehne made significant contributions to the DJGPP port.
473
474 Cygnus Solutions has sponsored @value{GDBN} maintenance and much of its
475 development since 1991. Cygnus engineers who have worked on @value{GDBN}
476 fulltime include Mark Alexander, Jim Blandy, Per Bothner, Kevin
477 Buettner, Edith Epstein, Chris Faylor, Fred Fish, Martin Hunt, Jim
478 Ingham, John Gilmore, Stu Grossman, Kung Hsu, Jim Kingdon, John Metzler,
479 Fernando Nasser, Geoffrey Noer, Dawn Perchik, Rich Pixley, Zdenek
480 Radouch, Keith Seitz, Stan Shebs, David Taylor, and Elena Zannoni. In
481 addition, Dave Brolley, Ian Carmichael, Steve Chamberlain, Nick Clifton,
482 JT Conklin, Stan Cox, DJ Delorie, Ulrich Drepper, Frank Eigler, Doug
483 Evans, Sean Fagan, David Henkel-Wallace, Richard Henderson, Jeff
484 Holcomb, Jeff Law, Jim Lemke, Tom Lord, Bob Manson, Michael Meissner,
485 Jason Merrill, Catherine Moore, Drew Moseley, Ken Raeburn, Gavin
486 Romig-Koch, Rob Savoye, Jamie Smith, Mike Stump, Ian Taylor, Angela
487 Thomas, Michael Tiemann, Tom Tromey, Ron Unrau, Jim Wilson, and David
488 Zuhn have made contributions both large and small.
489
490 Andrew Cagney, Fernando Nasser, and Elena Zannoni, while working for
491 Cygnus Solutions, implemented the original @sc{gdb/mi} interface.
492
493 Jim Blandy added support for preprocessor macros, while working for Red
494 Hat.
495
496 Andrew Cagney designed @value{GDBN}'s architecture vector. Many
497 people including Andrew Cagney, Stephane Carrez, Randolph Chung, Nick
498 Duffek, Richard Henderson, Mark Kettenis, Grace Sainsbury, Kei
499 Sakamoto, Yoshinori Sato, Michael Snyder, Andreas Schwab, Jason
500 Thorpe, Corinna Vinschen, Ulrich Weigand, and Elena Zannoni, helped
501 with the migration of old architectures to this new framework.
502
503 Andrew Cagney completely re-designed and re-implemented @value{GDBN}'s
504 unwinder framework, this consisting of a fresh new design featuring
505 frame IDs, independent frame sniffers, and the sentinel frame. Mark
506 Kettenis implemented the @sc{dwarf 2} unwinder, Jeff Johnston the
507 libunwind unwinder, and Andrew Cagney the dummy, sentinel, tramp, and
508 trad unwinders. The architecture-specific changes, each involving a
509 complete rewrite of the architecture's frame code, were carried out by
510 Jim Blandy, Joel Brobecker, Kevin Buettner, Andrew Cagney, Stephane
511 Carrez, Randolph Chung, Orjan Friberg, Richard Henderson, Daniel
512 Jacobowitz, Jeff Johnston, Mark Kettenis, Theodore A. Roth, Kei
513 Sakamoto, Yoshinori Sato, Michael Snyder, Corinna Vinschen, and Ulrich
514 Weigand.
515
516 Christian Zankel, Ross Morley, Bob Wilson, and Maxim Grigoriev from
517 Tensilica, Inc.@: contributed support for Xtensa processors. Others
518 who have worked on the Xtensa port of @value{GDBN} in the past include
519 Steve Tjiang, John Newlin, and Scott Foehner.
520
521 Michael Eager and staff of Xilinx, Inc., contributed support for the
522 Xilinx MicroBlaze architecture.
523
524 @node Sample Session
525 @chapter A Sample @value{GDBN} Session
526
527 You can use this manual at your leisure to read all about @value{GDBN}.
528 However, a handful of commands are enough to get started using the
529 debugger. This chapter illustrates those commands.
530
531 @iftex
532 In this sample session, we emphasize user input like this: @b{input},
533 to make it easier to pick out from the surrounding output.
534 @end iftex
535
536 @c FIXME: this example may not be appropriate for some configs, where
537 @c FIXME...primary interest is in remote use.
538
539 One of the preliminary versions of @sc{gnu} @code{m4} (a generic macro
540 processor) exhibits the following bug: sometimes, when we change its
541 quote strings from the default, the commands used to capture one macro
542 definition within another stop working. In the following short @code{m4}
543 session, we define a macro @code{foo} which expands to @code{0000}; we
544 then use the @code{m4} built-in @code{defn} to define @code{bar} as the
545 same thing. However, when we change the open quote string to
546 @code{<QUOTE>} and the close quote string to @code{<UNQUOTE>}, the same
547 procedure fails to define a new synonym @code{baz}:
548
549 @smallexample
550 $ @b{cd gnu/m4}
551 $ @b{./m4}
552 @b{define(foo,0000)}
553
554 @b{foo}
555 0000
556 @b{define(bar,defn(`foo'))}
557
558 @b{bar}
559 0000
560 @b{changequote(<QUOTE>,<UNQUOTE>)}
561
562 @b{define(baz,defn(<QUOTE>foo<UNQUOTE>))}
563 @b{baz}
564 @b{Ctrl-d}
565 m4: End of input: 0: fatal error: EOF in string
566 @end smallexample
567
568 @noindent
569 Let us use @value{GDBN} to try to see what is going on.
570
571 @smallexample
572 $ @b{@value{GDBP} m4}
573 @c FIXME: this falsifies the exact text played out, to permit smallbook
574 @c FIXME... format to come out better.
575 @value{GDBN} is free software and you are welcome to distribute copies
576 of it under certain conditions; type "show copying" to see
577 the conditions.
578 There is absolutely no warranty for @value{GDBN}; type "show warranty"
579 for details.
580
581 @value{GDBN} @value{GDBVN}, Copyright 1999 Free Software Foundation, Inc...
582 (@value{GDBP})
583 @end smallexample
584
585 @noindent
586 @value{GDBN} reads only enough symbol data to know where to find the
587 rest when needed; as a result, the first prompt comes up very quickly.
588 We now tell @value{GDBN} to use a narrower display width than usual, so
589 that examples fit in this manual.
590
591 @smallexample
592 (@value{GDBP}) @b{set width 70}
593 @end smallexample
594
595 @noindent
596 We need to see how the @code{m4} built-in @code{changequote} works.
597 Having looked at the source, we know the relevant subroutine is
598 @code{m4_changequote}, so we set a breakpoint there with the @value{GDBN}
599 @code{break} command.
600
601 @smallexample
602 (@value{GDBP}) @b{break m4_changequote}
603 Breakpoint 1 at 0x62f4: file builtin.c, line 879.
604 @end smallexample
605
606 @noindent
607 Using the @code{run} command, we start @code{m4} running under @value{GDBN}
608 control; as long as control does not reach the @code{m4_changequote}
609 subroutine, the program runs as usual:
610
611 @smallexample
612 (@value{GDBP}) @b{run}
613 Starting program: /work/Editorial/gdb/gnu/m4/m4
614 @b{define(foo,0000)}
615
616 @b{foo}
617 0000
618 @end smallexample
619
620 @noindent
621 To trigger the breakpoint, we call @code{changequote}. @value{GDBN}
622 suspends execution of @code{m4}, displaying information about the
623 context where it stops.
624
625 @smallexample
626 @b{changequote(<QUOTE>,<UNQUOTE>)}
627
628 Breakpoint 1, m4_changequote (argc=3, argv=0x33c70)
629 at builtin.c:879
630 879 if (bad_argc(TOKEN_DATA_TEXT(argv[0]),argc,1,3))
631 @end smallexample
632
633 @noindent
634 Now we use the command @code{n} (@code{next}) to advance execution to
635 the next line of the current function.
636
637 @smallexample
638 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
639 882 set_quotes((argc >= 2) ? TOKEN_DATA_TEXT(argv[1])\
640 : nil,
641 @end smallexample
642
643 @noindent
644 @code{set_quotes} looks like a promising subroutine. We can go into it
645 by using the command @code{s} (@code{step}) instead of @code{next}.
646 @code{step} goes to the next line to be executed in @emph{any}
647 subroutine, so it steps into @code{set_quotes}.
648
649 @smallexample
650 (@value{GDBP}) @b{s}
651 set_quotes (lq=0x34c78 "<QUOTE>", rq=0x34c88 "<UNQUOTE>")
652 at input.c:530
653 530 if (lquote != def_lquote)
654 @end smallexample
655
656 @noindent
657 The display that shows the subroutine where @code{m4} is now
658 suspended (and its arguments) is called a stack frame display. It
659 shows a summary of the stack. We can use the @code{backtrace}
660 command (which can also be spelled @code{bt}), to see where we are
661 in the stack as a whole: the @code{backtrace} command displays a
662 stack frame for each active subroutine.
663
664 @smallexample
665 (@value{GDBP}) @b{bt}
666 #0 set_quotes (lq=0x34c78 "<QUOTE>", rq=0x34c88 "<UNQUOTE>")
667 at input.c:530
668 #1 0x6344 in m4_changequote (argc=3, argv=0x33c70)
669 at builtin.c:882
670 #2 0x8174 in expand_macro (sym=0x33320) at macro.c:242
671 #3 0x7a88 in expand_token (obs=0x0, t=209696, td=0xf7fffa30)
672 at macro.c:71
673 #4 0x79dc in expand_input () at macro.c:40
674 #5 0x2930 in main (argc=0, argv=0xf7fffb20) at m4.c:195
675 @end smallexample
676
677 @noindent
678 We step through a few more lines to see what happens. The first two
679 times, we can use @samp{s}; the next two times we use @code{n} to avoid
680 falling into the @code{xstrdup} subroutine.
681
682 @smallexample
683 (@value{GDBP}) @b{s}
684 0x3b5c 532 if (rquote != def_rquote)
685 (@value{GDBP}) @b{s}
686 0x3b80 535 lquote = (lq == nil || *lq == '\0') ? \
687 def_lquote : xstrdup(lq);
688 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
689 536 rquote = (rq == nil || *rq == '\0') ? def_rquote\
690 : xstrdup(rq);
691 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
692 538 len_lquote = strlen(rquote);
693 @end smallexample
694
695 @noindent
696 The last line displayed looks a little odd; we can examine the variables
697 @code{lquote} and @code{rquote} to see if they are in fact the new left
698 and right quotes we specified. We use the command @code{p}
699 (@code{print}) to see their values.
700
701 @smallexample
702 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p lquote}
703 $1 = 0x35d40 "<QUOTE>"
704 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p rquote}
705 $2 = 0x35d50 "<UNQUOTE>"
706 @end smallexample
707
708 @noindent
709 @code{lquote} and @code{rquote} are indeed the new left and right quotes.
710 To look at some context, we can display ten lines of source
711 surrounding the current line with the @code{l} (@code{list}) command.
712
713 @smallexample
714 (@value{GDBP}) @b{l}
715 533 xfree(rquote);
716 534
717 535 lquote = (lq == nil || *lq == '\0') ? def_lquote\
718 : xstrdup (lq);
719 536 rquote = (rq == nil || *rq == '\0') ? def_rquote\
720 : xstrdup (rq);
721 537
722 538 len_lquote = strlen(rquote);
723 539 len_rquote = strlen(lquote);
724 540 @}
725 541
726 542 void
727 @end smallexample
728
729 @noindent
730 Let us step past the two lines that set @code{len_lquote} and
731 @code{len_rquote}, and then examine the values of those variables.
732
733 @smallexample
734 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
735 539 len_rquote = strlen(lquote);
736 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
737 540 @}
738 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p len_lquote}
739 $3 = 9
740 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p len_rquote}
741 $4 = 7
742 @end smallexample
743
744 @noindent
745 That certainly looks wrong, assuming @code{len_lquote} and
746 @code{len_rquote} are meant to be the lengths of @code{lquote} and
747 @code{rquote} respectively. We can set them to better values using
748 the @code{p} command, since it can print the value of
749 any expression---and that expression can include subroutine calls and
750 assignments.
751
752 @smallexample
753 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p len_lquote=strlen(lquote)}
754 $5 = 7
755 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p len_rquote=strlen(rquote)}
756 $6 = 9
757 @end smallexample
758
759 @noindent
760 Is that enough to fix the problem of using the new quotes with the
761 @code{m4} built-in @code{defn}? We can allow @code{m4} to continue
762 executing with the @code{c} (@code{continue}) command, and then try the
763 example that caused trouble initially:
764
765 @smallexample
766 (@value{GDBP}) @b{c}
767 Continuing.
768
769 @b{define(baz,defn(<QUOTE>foo<UNQUOTE>))}
770
771 baz
772 0000
773 @end smallexample
774
775 @noindent
776 Success! The new quotes now work just as well as the default ones. The
777 problem seems to have been just the two typos defining the wrong
778 lengths. We allow @code{m4} exit by giving it an EOF as input:
779
780 @smallexample
781 @b{Ctrl-d}
782 Program exited normally.
783 @end smallexample
784
785 @noindent
786 The message @samp{Program exited normally.} is from @value{GDBN}; it
787 indicates @code{m4} has finished executing. We can end our @value{GDBN}
788 session with the @value{GDBN} @code{quit} command.
789
790 @smallexample
791 (@value{GDBP}) @b{quit}
792 @end smallexample
793
794 @node Invocation
795 @chapter Getting In and Out of @value{GDBN}
796
797 This chapter discusses how to start @value{GDBN}, and how to get out of it.
798 The essentials are:
799 @itemize @bullet
800 @item
801 type @samp{@value{GDBP}} to start @value{GDBN}.
802 @item
803 type @kbd{quit} or @kbd{Ctrl-d} to exit.
804 @end itemize
805
806 @menu
807 * Invoking GDB:: How to start @value{GDBN}
808 * Quitting GDB:: How to quit @value{GDBN}
809 * Shell Commands:: How to use shell commands inside @value{GDBN}
810 * Logging Output:: How to log @value{GDBN}'s output to a file
811 @end menu
812
813 @node Invoking GDB
814 @section Invoking @value{GDBN}
815
816 Invoke @value{GDBN} by running the program @code{@value{GDBP}}. Once started,
817 @value{GDBN} reads commands from the terminal until you tell it to exit.
818
819 You can also run @code{@value{GDBP}} with a variety of arguments and options,
820 to specify more of your debugging environment at the outset.
821
822 The command-line options described here are designed
823 to cover a variety of situations; in some environments, some of these
824 options may effectively be unavailable.
825
826 The most usual way to start @value{GDBN} is with one argument,
827 specifying an executable program:
828
829 @smallexample
830 @value{GDBP} @var{program}
831 @end smallexample
832
833 @noindent
834 You can also start with both an executable program and a core file
835 specified:
836
837 @smallexample
838 @value{GDBP} @var{program} @var{core}
839 @end smallexample
840
841 You can, instead, specify a process ID as a second argument, if you want
842 to debug a running process:
843
844 @smallexample
845 @value{GDBP} @var{program} 1234
846 @end smallexample
847
848 @noindent
849 would attach @value{GDBN} to process @code{1234} (unless you also have a file
850 named @file{1234}; @value{GDBN} does check for a core file first).
851
852 Taking advantage of the second command-line argument requires a fairly
853 complete operating system; when you use @value{GDBN} as a remote
854 debugger attached to a bare board, there may not be any notion of
855 ``process'', and there is often no way to get a core dump. @value{GDBN}
856 will warn you if it is unable to attach or to read core dumps.
857
858 You can optionally have @code{@value{GDBP}} pass any arguments after the
859 executable file to the inferior using @code{--args}. This option stops
860 option processing.
861 @smallexample
862 @value{GDBP} --args gcc -O2 -c foo.c
863 @end smallexample
864 This will cause @code{@value{GDBP}} to debug @code{gcc}, and to set
865 @code{gcc}'s command-line arguments (@pxref{Arguments}) to @samp{-O2 -c foo.c}.
866
867 You can run @code{@value{GDBP}} without printing the front material, which describes
868 @value{GDBN}'s non-warranty, by specifying @code{-silent}:
869
870 @smallexample
871 @value{GDBP} -silent
872 @end smallexample
873
874 @noindent
875 You can further control how @value{GDBN} starts up by using command-line
876 options. @value{GDBN} itself can remind you of the options available.
877
878 @noindent
879 Type
880
881 @smallexample
882 @value{GDBP} -help
883 @end smallexample
884
885 @noindent
886 to display all available options and briefly describe their use
887 (@samp{@value{GDBP} -h} is a shorter equivalent).
888
889 All options and command line arguments you give are processed
890 in sequential order. The order makes a difference when the
891 @samp{-x} option is used.
892
893
894 @menu
895 * File Options:: Choosing files
896 * Mode Options:: Choosing modes
897 * Startup:: What @value{GDBN} does during startup
898 @end menu
899
900 @node File Options
901 @subsection Choosing Files
902
903 When @value{GDBN} starts, it reads any arguments other than options as
904 specifying an executable file and core file (or process ID). This is
905 the same as if the arguments were specified by the @samp{-se} and
906 @samp{-c} (or @samp{-p}) options respectively. (@value{GDBN} reads the
907 first argument that does not have an associated option flag as
908 equivalent to the @samp{-se} option followed by that argument; and the
909 second argument that does not have an associated option flag, if any, as
910 equivalent to the @samp{-c}/@samp{-p} option followed by that argument.)
911 If the second argument begins with a decimal digit, @value{GDBN} will
912 first attempt to attach to it as a process, and if that fails, attempt
913 to open it as a corefile. If you have a corefile whose name begins with
914 a digit, you can prevent @value{GDBN} from treating it as a pid by
915 prefixing it with @file{./}, e.g.@: @file{./12345}.
916
917 If @value{GDBN} has not been configured to included core file support,
918 such as for most embedded targets, then it will complain about a second
919 argument and ignore it.
920
921 Many options have both long and short forms; both are shown in the
922 following list. @value{GDBN} also recognizes the long forms if you truncate
923 them, so long as enough of the option is present to be unambiguous.
924 (If you prefer, you can flag option arguments with @samp{--} rather
925 than @samp{-}, though we illustrate the more usual convention.)
926
927 @c NOTE: the @cindex entries here use double dashes ON PURPOSE. This
928 @c way, both those who look for -foo and --foo in the index, will find
929 @c it.
930
931 @table @code
932 @item -symbols @var{file}
933 @itemx -s @var{file}
934 @cindex @code{--symbols}
935 @cindex @code{-s}
936 Read symbol table from file @var{file}.
937
938 @item -exec @var{file}
939 @itemx -e @var{file}
940 @cindex @code{--exec}
941 @cindex @code{-e}
942 Use file @var{file} as the executable file to execute when appropriate,
943 and for examining pure data in conjunction with a core dump.
944
945 @item -se @var{file}
946 @cindex @code{--se}
947 Read symbol table from file @var{file} and use it as the executable
948 file.
949
950 @item -core @var{file}
951 @itemx -c @var{file}
952 @cindex @code{--core}
953 @cindex @code{-c}
954 Use file @var{file} as a core dump to examine.
955
956 @item -pid @var{number}
957 @itemx -p @var{number}
958 @cindex @code{--pid}
959 @cindex @code{-p}
960 Connect to process ID @var{number}, as with the @code{attach} command.
961
962 @item -command @var{file}
963 @itemx -x @var{file}
964 @cindex @code{--command}
965 @cindex @code{-x}
966 Execute commands from file @var{file}. The contents of this file is
967 evaluated exactly as the @code{source} command would.
968 @xref{Command Files,, Command files}.
969
970 @item -eval-command @var{command}
971 @itemx -ex @var{command}
972 @cindex @code{--eval-command}
973 @cindex @code{-ex}
974 Execute a single @value{GDBN} command.
975
976 This option may be used multiple times to call multiple commands. It may
977 also be interleaved with @samp{-command} as required.
978
979 @smallexample
980 @value{GDBP} -ex 'target sim' -ex 'load' \
981 -x setbreakpoints -ex 'run' a.out
982 @end smallexample
983
984 @item -directory @var{directory}
985 @itemx -d @var{directory}
986 @cindex @code{--directory}
987 @cindex @code{-d}
988 Add @var{directory} to the path to search for source and script files.
989
990 @item -r
991 @itemx -readnow
992 @cindex @code{--readnow}
993 @cindex @code{-r}
994 Read each symbol file's entire symbol table immediately, rather than
995 the default, which is to read it incrementally as it is needed.
996 This makes startup slower, but makes future operations faster.
997
998 @end table
999
1000 @node Mode Options
1001 @subsection Choosing Modes
1002
1003 You can run @value{GDBN} in various alternative modes---for example, in
1004 batch mode or quiet mode.
1005
1006 @table @code
1007 @item -nx
1008 @itemx -n
1009 @cindex @code{--nx}
1010 @cindex @code{-n}
1011 Do not execute commands found in any initialization files. Normally,
1012 @value{GDBN} executes the commands in these files after all the command
1013 options and arguments have been processed. @xref{Command Files,,Command
1014 Files}.
1015
1016 @item -quiet
1017 @itemx -silent
1018 @itemx -q
1019 @cindex @code{--quiet}
1020 @cindex @code{--silent}
1021 @cindex @code{-q}
1022 ``Quiet''. Do not print the introductory and copyright messages. These
1023 messages are also suppressed in batch mode.
1024
1025 @item -batch
1026 @cindex @code{--batch}
1027 Run in batch mode. Exit with status @code{0} after processing all the
1028 command files specified with @samp{-x} (and all commands from
1029 initialization files, if not inhibited with @samp{-n}). Exit with
1030 nonzero status if an error occurs in executing the @value{GDBN} commands
1031 in the command files. Batch mode also disables pagination;
1032 @pxref{Screen Size} and acts as if @kbd{set confirm off} were in
1033 effect (@pxref{Messages/Warnings}).
1034
1035 Batch mode may be useful for running @value{GDBN} as a filter, for
1036 example to download and run a program on another computer; in order to
1037 make this more useful, the message
1038
1039 @smallexample
1040 Program exited normally.
1041 @end smallexample
1042
1043 @noindent
1044 (which is ordinarily issued whenever a program running under
1045 @value{GDBN} control terminates) is not issued when running in batch
1046 mode.
1047
1048 @item -batch-silent
1049 @cindex @code{--batch-silent}
1050 Run in batch mode exactly like @samp{-batch}, but totally silently. All
1051 @value{GDBN} output to @code{stdout} is prevented (@code{stderr} is
1052 unaffected). This is much quieter than @samp{-silent} and would be useless
1053 for an interactive session.
1054
1055 This is particularly useful when using targets that give @samp{Loading section}
1056 messages, for example.
1057
1058 Note that targets that give their output via @value{GDBN}, as opposed to
1059 writing directly to @code{stdout}, will also be made silent.
1060
1061 @item -return-child-result
1062 @cindex @code{--return-child-result}
1063 The return code from @value{GDBN} will be the return code from the child
1064 process (the process being debugged), with the following exceptions:
1065
1066 @itemize @bullet
1067 @item
1068 @value{GDBN} exits abnormally. E.g., due to an incorrect argument or an
1069 internal error. In this case the exit code is the same as it would have been
1070 without @samp{-return-child-result}.
1071 @item
1072 The user quits with an explicit value. E.g., @samp{quit 1}.
1073 @item
1074 The child process never runs, or is not allowed to terminate, in which case
1075 the exit code will be -1.
1076 @end itemize
1077
1078 This option is useful in conjunction with @samp{-batch} or @samp{-batch-silent},
1079 when @value{GDBN} is being used as a remote program loader or simulator
1080 interface.
1081
1082 @item -nowindows
1083 @itemx -nw
1084 @cindex @code{--nowindows}
1085 @cindex @code{-nw}
1086 ``No windows''. If @value{GDBN} comes with a graphical user interface
1087 (GUI) built in, then this option tells @value{GDBN} to only use the command-line
1088 interface. If no GUI is available, this option has no effect.
1089
1090 @item -windows
1091 @itemx -w
1092 @cindex @code{--windows}
1093 @cindex @code{-w}
1094 If @value{GDBN} includes a GUI, then this option requires it to be
1095 used if possible.
1096
1097 @item -cd @var{directory}
1098 @cindex @code{--cd}
1099 Run @value{GDBN} using @var{directory} as its working directory,
1100 instead of the current directory.
1101
1102 @item -fullname
1103 @itemx -f
1104 @cindex @code{--fullname}
1105 @cindex @code{-f}
1106 @sc{gnu} Emacs sets this option when it runs @value{GDBN} as a
1107 subprocess. It tells @value{GDBN} to output the full file name and line
1108 number in a standard, recognizable fashion each time a stack frame is
1109 displayed (which includes each time your program stops). This
1110 recognizable format looks like two @samp{\032} characters, followed by
1111 the file name, line number and character position separated by colons,
1112 and a newline. The Emacs-to-@value{GDBN} interface program uses the two
1113 @samp{\032} characters as a signal to display the source code for the
1114 frame.
1115
1116 @item -epoch
1117 @cindex @code{--epoch}
1118 The Epoch Emacs-@value{GDBN} interface sets this option when it runs
1119 @value{GDBN} as a subprocess. It tells @value{GDBN} to modify its print
1120 routines so as to allow Epoch to display values of expressions in a
1121 separate window.
1122
1123 @item -annotate @var{level}
1124 @cindex @code{--annotate}
1125 This option sets the @dfn{annotation level} inside @value{GDBN}. Its
1126 effect is identical to using @samp{set annotate @var{level}}
1127 (@pxref{Annotations}). The annotation @var{level} controls how much
1128 information @value{GDBN} prints together with its prompt, values of
1129 expressions, source lines, and other types of output. Level 0 is the
1130 normal, level 1 is for use when @value{GDBN} is run as a subprocess of
1131 @sc{gnu} Emacs, level 3 is the maximum annotation suitable for programs
1132 that control @value{GDBN}, and level 2 has been deprecated.
1133
1134 The annotation mechanism has largely been superseded by @sc{gdb/mi}
1135 (@pxref{GDB/MI}).
1136
1137 @item --args
1138 @cindex @code{--args}
1139 Change interpretation of command line so that arguments following the
1140 executable file are passed as command line arguments to the inferior.
1141 This option stops option processing.
1142
1143 @item -baud @var{bps}
1144 @itemx -b @var{bps}
1145 @cindex @code{--baud}
1146 @cindex @code{-b}
1147 Set the line speed (baud rate or bits per second) of any serial
1148 interface used by @value{GDBN} for remote debugging.
1149
1150 @item -l @var{timeout}
1151 @cindex @code{-l}
1152 Set the timeout (in seconds) of any communication used by @value{GDBN}
1153 for remote debugging.
1154
1155 @item -tty @var{device}
1156 @itemx -t @var{device}
1157 @cindex @code{--tty}
1158 @cindex @code{-t}
1159 Run using @var{device} for your program's standard input and output.
1160 @c FIXME: kingdon thinks there is more to -tty. Investigate.
1161
1162 @c resolve the situation of these eventually
1163 @item -tui
1164 @cindex @code{--tui}
1165 Activate the @dfn{Text User Interface} when starting. The Text User
1166 Interface manages several text windows on the terminal, showing
1167 source, assembly, registers and @value{GDBN} command outputs
1168 (@pxref{TUI, ,@value{GDBN} Text User Interface}). Alternatively, the
1169 Text User Interface can be enabled by invoking the program
1170 @samp{@value{GDBTUI}}. Do not use this option if you run @value{GDBN} from
1171 Emacs (@pxref{Emacs, ,Using @value{GDBN} under @sc{gnu} Emacs}).
1172
1173 @c @item -xdb
1174 @c @cindex @code{--xdb}
1175 @c Run in XDB compatibility mode, allowing the use of certain XDB commands.
1176 @c For information, see the file @file{xdb_trans.html}, which is usually
1177 @c installed in the directory @code{/opt/langtools/wdb/doc} on HP-UX
1178 @c systems.
1179
1180 @item -interpreter @var{interp}
1181 @cindex @code{--interpreter}
1182 Use the interpreter @var{interp} for interface with the controlling
1183 program or device. This option is meant to be set by programs which
1184 communicate with @value{GDBN} using it as a back end.
1185 @xref{Interpreters, , Command Interpreters}.
1186
1187 @samp{--interpreter=mi} (or @samp{--interpreter=mi2}) causes
1188 @value{GDBN} to use the @dfn{@sc{gdb/mi} interface} (@pxref{GDB/MI, ,
1189 The @sc{gdb/mi} Interface}) included since @value{GDBN} version 6.0. The
1190 previous @sc{gdb/mi} interface, included in @value{GDBN} version 5.3 and
1191 selected with @samp{--interpreter=mi1}, is deprecated. Earlier
1192 @sc{gdb/mi} interfaces are no longer supported.
1193
1194 @item -write
1195 @cindex @code{--write}
1196 Open the executable and core files for both reading and writing. This
1197 is equivalent to the @samp{set write on} command inside @value{GDBN}
1198 (@pxref{Patching}).
1199
1200 @item -statistics
1201 @cindex @code{--statistics}
1202 This option causes @value{GDBN} to print statistics about time and
1203 memory usage after it completes each command and returns to the prompt.
1204
1205 @item -version
1206 @cindex @code{--version}
1207 This option causes @value{GDBN} to print its version number and
1208 no-warranty blurb, and exit.
1209
1210 @end table
1211
1212 @node Startup
1213 @subsection What @value{GDBN} Does During Startup
1214 @cindex @value{GDBN} startup
1215
1216 Here's the description of what @value{GDBN} does during session startup:
1217
1218 @enumerate
1219 @item
1220 Sets up the command interpreter as specified by the command line
1221 (@pxref{Mode Options, interpreter}).
1222
1223 @item
1224 @cindex init file
1225 Reads the system-wide @dfn{init file} (if @option{--with-system-gdbinit} was
1226 used when building @value{GDBN}; @pxref{System-wide configuration,
1227 ,System-wide configuration and settings}) and executes all the commands in
1228 that file.
1229
1230 @item
1231 Reads the init file (if any) in your home directory@footnote{On
1232 DOS/Windows systems, the home directory is the one pointed to by the
1233 @code{HOME} environment variable.} and executes all the commands in
1234 that file.
1235
1236 @item
1237 Processes command line options and operands.
1238
1239 @item
1240 Reads and executes the commands from init file (if any) in the current
1241 working directory. This is only done if the current directory is
1242 different from your home directory. Thus, you can have more than one
1243 init file, one generic in your home directory, and another, specific
1244 to the program you are debugging, in the directory where you invoke
1245 @value{GDBN}.
1246
1247 @item
1248 Reads command files specified by the @samp{-x} option. @xref{Command
1249 Files}, for more details about @value{GDBN} command files.
1250
1251 @item
1252 Reads the command history recorded in the @dfn{history file}.
1253 @xref{Command History}, for more details about the command history and the
1254 files where @value{GDBN} records it.
1255 @end enumerate
1256
1257 Init files use the same syntax as @dfn{command files} (@pxref{Command
1258 Files}) and are processed by @value{GDBN} in the same way. The init
1259 file in your home directory can set options (such as @samp{set
1260 complaints}) that affect subsequent processing of command line options
1261 and operands. Init files are not executed if you use the @samp{-nx}
1262 option (@pxref{Mode Options, ,Choosing Modes}).
1263
1264 To display the list of init files loaded by gdb at startup, you
1265 can use @kbd{gdb --help}.
1266
1267 @cindex init file name
1268 @cindex @file{.gdbinit}
1269 @cindex @file{gdb.ini}
1270 The @value{GDBN} init files are normally called @file{.gdbinit}.
1271 The DJGPP port of @value{GDBN} uses the name @file{gdb.ini}, due to
1272 the limitations of file names imposed by DOS filesystems. The Windows
1273 ports of @value{GDBN} use the standard name, but if they find a
1274 @file{gdb.ini} file, they warn you about that and suggest to rename
1275 the file to the standard name.
1276
1277
1278 @node Quitting GDB
1279 @section Quitting @value{GDBN}
1280 @cindex exiting @value{GDBN}
1281 @cindex leaving @value{GDBN}
1282
1283 @table @code
1284 @kindex quit @r{[}@var{expression}@r{]}
1285 @kindex q @r{(@code{quit})}
1286 @item quit @r{[}@var{expression}@r{]}
1287 @itemx q
1288 To exit @value{GDBN}, use the @code{quit} command (abbreviated
1289 @code{q}), or type an end-of-file character (usually @kbd{Ctrl-d}). If you
1290 do not supply @var{expression}, @value{GDBN} will terminate normally;
1291 otherwise it will terminate using the result of @var{expression} as the
1292 error code.
1293 @end table
1294
1295 @cindex interrupt
1296 An interrupt (often @kbd{Ctrl-c}) does not exit from @value{GDBN}, but rather
1297 terminates the action of any @value{GDBN} command that is in progress and
1298 returns to @value{GDBN} command level. It is safe to type the interrupt
1299 character at any time because @value{GDBN} does not allow it to take effect
1300 until a time when it is safe.
1301
1302 If you have been using @value{GDBN} to control an attached process or
1303 device, you can release it with the @code{detach} command
1304 (@pxref{Attach, ,Debugging an Already-running Process}).
1305
1306 @node Shell Commands
1307 @section Shell Commands
1308
1309 If you need to execute occasional shell commands during your
1310 debugging session, there is no need to leave or suspend @value{GDBN}; you can
1311 just use the @code{shell} command.
1312
1313 @table @code
1314 @kindex shell
1315 @cindex shell escape
1316 @item shell @var{command string}
1317 Invoke a standard shell to execute @var{command string}.
1318 If it exists, the environment variable @code{SHELL} determines which
1319 shell to run. Otherwise @value{GDBN} uses the default shell
1320 (@file{/bin/sh} on Unix systems, @file{COMMAND.COM} on MS-DOS, etc.).
1321 @end table
1322
1323 The utility @code{make} is often needed in development environments.
1324 You do not have to use the @code{shell} command for this purpose in
1325 @value{GDBN}:
1326
1327 @table @code
1328 @kindex make
1329 @cindex calling make
1330 @item make @var{make-args}
1331 Execute the @code{make} program with the specified
1332 arguments. This is equivalent to @samp{shell make @var{make-args}}.
1333 @end table
1334
1335 @node Logging Output
1336 @section Logging Output
1337 @cindex logging @value{GDBN} output
1338 @cindex save @value{GDBN} output to a file
1339
1340 You may want to save the output of @value{GDBN} commands to a file.
1341 There are several commands to control @value{GDBN}'s logging.
1342
1343 @table @code
1344 @kindex set logging
1345 @item set logging on
1346 Enable logging.
1347 @item set logging off
1348 Disable logging.
1349 @cindex logging file name
1350 @item set logging file @var{file}
1351 Change the name of the current logfile. The default logfile is @file{gdb.txt}.
1352 @item set logging overwrite [on|off]
1353 By default, @value{GDBN} will append to the logfile. Set @code{overwrite} if
1354 you want @code{set logging on} to overwrite the logfile instead.
1355 @item set logging redirect [on|off]
1356 By default, @value{GDBN} output will go to both the terminal and the logfile.
1357 Set @code{redirect} if you want output to go only to the log file.
1358 @kindex show logging
1359 @item show logging
1360 Show the current values of the logging settings.
1361 @end table
1362
1363 @node Commands
1364 @chapter @value{GDBN} Commands
1365
1366 You can abbreviate a @value{GDBN} command to the first few letters of the command
1367 name, if that abbreviation is unambiguous; and you can repeat certain
1368 @value{GDBN} commands by typing just @key{RET}. You can also use the @key{TAB}
1369 key to get @value{GDBN} to fill out the rest of a word in a command (or to
1370 show you the alternatives available, if there is more than one possibility).
1371
1372 @menu
1373 * Command Syntax:: How to give commands to @value{GDBN}
1374 * Completion:: Command completion
1375 * Help:: How to ask @value{GDBN} for help
1376 @end menu
1377
1378 @node Command Syntax
1379 @section Command Syntax
1380
1381 A @value{GDBN} command is a single line of input. There is no limit on
1382 how long it can be. It starts with a command name, which is followed by
1383 arguments whose meaning depends on the command name. For example, the
1384 command @code{step} accepts an argument which is the number of times to
1385 step, as in @samp{step 5}. You can also use the @code{step} command
1386 with no arguments. Some commands do not allow any arguments.
1387
1388 @cindex abbreviation
1389 @value{GDBN} command names may always be truncated if that abbreviation is
1390 unambiguous. Other possible command abbreviations are listed in the
1391 documentation for individual commands. In some cases, even ambiguous
1392 abbreviations are allowed; for example, @code{s} is specially defined as
1393 equivalent to @code{step} even though there are other commands whose
1394 names start with @code{s}. You can test abbreviations by using them as
1395 arguments to the @code{help} command.
1396
1397 @cindex repeating commands
1398 @kindex RET @r{(repeat last command)}
1399 A blank line as input to @value{GDBN} (typing just @key{RET}) means to
1400 repeat the previous command. Certain commands (for example, @code{run})
1401 will not repeat this way; these are commands whose unintentional
1402 repetition might cause trouble and which you are unlikely to want to
1403 repeat. User-defined commands can disable this feature; see
1404 @ref{Define, dont-repeat}.
1405
1406 The @code{list} and @code{x} commands, when you repeat them with
1407 @key{RET}, construct new arguments rather than repeating
1408 exactly as typed. This permits easy scanning of source or memory.
1409
1410 @value{GDBN} can also use @key{RET} in another way: to partition lengthy
1411 output, in a way similar to the common utility @code{more}
1412 (@pxref{Screen Size,,Screen Size}). Since it is easy to press one
1413 @key{RET} too many in this situation, @value{GDBN} disables command
1414 repetition after any command that generates this sort of display.
1415
1416 @kindex # @r{(a comment)}
1417 @cindex comment
1418 Any text from a @kbd{#} to the end of the line is a comment; it does
1419 nothing. This is useful mainly in command files (@pxref{Command
1420 Files,,Command Files}).
1421
1422 @cindex repeating command sequences
1423 @kindex Ctrl-o @r{(operate-and-get-next)}
1424 The @kbd{Ctrl-o} binding is useful for repeating a complex sequence of
1425 commands. This command accepts the current line, like @key{RET}, and
1426 then fetches the next line relative to the current line from the history
1427 for editing.
1428
1429 @node Completion
1430 @section Command Completion
1431
1432 @cindex completion
1433 @cindex word completion
1434 @value{GDBN} can fill in the rest of a word in a command for you, if there is
1435 only one possibility; it can also show you what the valid possibilities
1436 are for the next word in a command, at any time. This works for @value{GDBN}
1437 commands, @value{GDBN} subcommands, and the names of symbols in your program.
1438
1439 Press the @key{TAB} key whenever you want @value{GDBN} to fill out the rest
1440 of a word. If there is only one possibility, @value{GDBN} fills in the
1441 word, and waits for you to finish the command (or press @key{RET} to
1442 enter it). For example, if you type
1443
1444 @c FIXME "@key" does not distinguish its argument sufficiently to permit
1445 @c complete accuracy in these examples; space introduced for clarity.
1446 @c If texinfo enhancements make it unnecessary, it would be nice to
1447 @c replace " @key" by "@key" in the following...
1448 @smallexample
1449 (@value{GDBP}) info bre @key{TAB}
1450 @end smallexample
1451
1452 @noindent
1453 @value{GDBN} fills in the rest of the word @samp{breakpoints}, since that is
1454 the only @code{info} subcommand beginning with @samp{bre}:
1455
1456 @smallexample
1457 (@value{GDBP}) info breakpoints
1458 @end smallexample
1459
1460 @noindent
1461 You can either press @key{RET} at this point, to run the @code{info
1462 breakpoints} command, or backspace and enter something else, if
1463 @samp{breakpoints} does not look like the command you expected. (If you
1464 were sure you wanted @code{info breakpoints} in the first place, you
1465 might as well just type @key{RET} immediately after @samp{info bre},
1466 to exploit command abbreviations rather than command completion).
1467
1468 If there is more than one possibility for the next word when you press
1469 @key{TAB}, @value{GDBN} sounds a bell. You can either supply more
1470 characters and try again, or just press @key{TAB} a second time;
1471 @value{GDBN} displays all the possible completions for that word. For
1472 example, you might want to set a breakpoint on a subroutine whose name
1473 begins with @samp{make_}, but when you type @kbd{b make_@key{TAB}} @value{GDBN}
1474 just sounds the bell. Typing @key{TAB} again displays all the
1475 function names in your program that begin with those characters, for
1476 example:
1477
1478 @smallexample
1479 (@value{GDBP}) b make_ @key{TAB}
1480 @exdent @value{GDBN} sounds bell; press @key{TAB} again, to see:
1481 make_a_section_from_file make_environ
1482 make_abs_section make_function_type
1483 make_blockvector make_pointer_type
1484 make_cleanup make_reference_type
1485 make_command make_symbol_completion_list
1486 (@value{GDBP}) b make_
1487 @end smallexample
1488
1489 @noindent
1490 After displaying the available possibilities, @value{GDBN} copies your
1491 partial input (@samp{b make_} in the example) so you can finish the
1492 command.
1493
1494 If you just want to see the list of alternatives in the first place, you
1495 can press @kbd{M-?} rather than pressing @key{TAB} twice. @kbd{M-?}
1496 means @kbd{@key{META} ?}. You can type this either by holding down a
1497 key designated as the @key{META} shift on your keyboard (if there is
1498 one) while typing @kbd{?}, or as @key{ESC} followed by @kbd{?}.
1499
1500 @cindex quotes in commands
1501 @cindex completion of quoted strings
1502 Sometimes the string you need, while logically a ``word'', may contain
1503 parentheses or other characters that @value{GDBN} normally excludes from
1504 its notion of a word. To permit word completion to work in this
1505 situation, you may enclose words in @code{'} (single quote marks) in
1506 @value{GDBN} commands.
1507
1508 The most likely situation where you might need this is in typing the
1509 name of a C@t{++} function. This is because C@t{++} allows function
1510 overloading (multiple definitions of the same function, distinguished
1511 by argument type). For example, when you want to set a breakpoint you
1512 may need to distinguish whether you mean the version of @code{name}
1513 that takes an @code{int} parameter, @code{name(int)}, or the version
1514 that takes a @code{float} parameter, @code{name(float)}. To use the
1515 word-completion facilities in this situation, type a single quote
1516 @code{'} at the beginning of the function name. This alerts
1517 @value{GDBN} that it may need to consider more information than usual
1518 when you press @key{TAB} or @kbd{M-?} to request word completion:
1519
1520 @smallexample
1521 (@value{GDBP}) b 'bubble( @kbd{M-?}
1522 bubble(double,double) bubble(int,int)
1523 (@value{GDBP}) b 'bubble(
1524 @end smallexample
1525
1526 In some cases, @value{GDBN} can tell that completing a name requires using
1527 quotes. When this happens, @value{GDBN} inserts the quote for you (while
1528 completing as much as it can) if you do not type the quote in the first
1529 place:
1530
1531 @smallexample
1532 (@value{GDBP}) b bub @key{TAB}
1533 @exdent @value{GDBN} alters your input line to the following, and rings a bell:
1534 (@value{GDBP}) b 'bubble(
1535 @end smallexample
1536
1537 @noindent
1538 In general, @value{GDBN} can tell that a quote is needed (and inserts it) if
1539 you have not yet started typing the argument list when you ask for
1540 completion on an overloaded symbol.
1541
1542 For more information about overloaded functions, see @ref{C Plus Plus
1543 Expressions, ,C@t{++} Expressions}. You can use the command @code{set
1544 overload-resolution off} to disable overload resolution;
1545 see @ref{Debugging C Plus Plus, ,@value{GDBN} Features for C@t{++}}.
1546
1547 @cindex completion of structure field names
1548 @cindex structure field name completion
1549 @cindex completion of union field names
1550 @cindex union field name completion
1551 When completing in an expression which looks up a field in a
1552 structure, @value{GDBN} also tries@footnote{The completer can be
1553 confused by certain kinds of invalid expressions. Also, it only
1554 examines the static type of the expression, not the dynamic type.} to
1555 limit completions to the field names available in the type of the
1556 left-hand-side:
1557
1558 @smallexample
1559 (@value{GDBP}) p gdb_stdout.@kbd{M-?}
1560 magic to_delete to_fputs to_put to_rewind
1561 to_data to_flush to_isatty to_read to_write
1562 @end smallexample
1563
1564 @noindent
1565 This is because the @code{gdb_stdout} is a variable of the type
1566 @code{struct ui_file} that is defined in @value{GDBN} sources as
1567 follows:
1568
1569 @smallexample
1570 struct ui_file
1571 @{
1572 int *magic;
1573 ui_file_flush_ftype *to_flush;
1574 ui_file_write_ftype *to_write;
1575 ui_file_fputs_ftype *to_fputs;
1576 ui_file_read_ftype *to_read;
1577 ui_file_delete_ftype *to_delete;
1578 ui_file_isatty_ftype *to_isatty;
1579 ui_file_rewind_ftype *to_rewind;
1580 ui_file_put_ftype *to_put;
1581 void *to_data;
1582 @}
1583 @end smallexample
1584
1585
1586 @node Help
1587 @section Getting Help
1588 @cindex online documentation
1589 @kindex help
1590
1591 You can always ask @value{GDBN} itself for information on its commands,
1592 using the command @code{help}.
1593
1594 @table @code
1595 @kindex h @r{(@code{help})}
1596 @item help
1597 @itemx h
1598 You can use @code{help} (abbreviated @code{h}) with no arguments to
1599 display a short list of named classes of commands:
1600
1601 @smallexample
1602 (@value{GDBP}) help
1603 List of classes of commands:
1604
1605 aliases -- Aliases of other commands
1606 breakpoints -- Making program stop at certain points
1607 data -- Examining data
1608 files -- Specifying and examining files
1609 internals -- Maintenance commands
1610 obscure -- Obscure features
1611 running -- Running the program
1612 stack -- Examining the stack
1613 status -- Status inquiries
1614 support -- Support facilities
1615 tracepoints -- Tracing of program execution without
1616 stopping the program
1617 user-defined -- User-defined commands
1618
1619 Type "help" followed by a class name for a list of
1620 commands in that class.
1621 Type "help" followed by command name for full
1622 documentation.
1623 Command name abbreviations are allowed if unambiguous.
1624 (@value{GDBP})
1625 @end smallexample
1626 @c the above line break eliminates huge line overfull...
1627
1628 @item help @var{class}
1629 Using one of the general help classes as an argument, you can get a
1630 list of the individual commands in that class. For example, here is the
1631 help display for the class @code{status}:
1632
1633 @smallexample
1634 (@value{GDBP}) help status
1635 Status inquiries.
1636
1637 List of commands:
1638
1639 @c Line break in "show" line falsifies real output, but needed
1640 @c to fit in smallbook page size.
1641 info -- Generic command for showing things
1642 about the program being debugged
1643 show -- Generic command for showing things
1644 about the debugger
1645
1646 Type "help" followed by command name for full
1647 documentation.
1648 Command name abbreviations are allowed if unambiguous.
1649 (@value{GDBP})
1650 @end smallexample
1651
1652 @item help @var{command}
1653 With a command name as @code{help} argument, @value{GDBN} displays a
1654 short paragraph on how to use that command.
1655
1656 @kindex apropos
1657 @item apropos @var{args}
1658 The @code{apropos} command searches through all of the @value{GDBN}
1659 commands, and their documentation, for the regular expression specified in
1660 @var{args}. It prints out all matches found. For example:
1661
1662 @smallexample
1663 apropos reload
1664 @end smallexample
1665
1666 @noindent
1667 results in:
1668
1669 @smallexample
1670 @c @group
1671 set symbol-reloading -- Set dynamic symbol table reloading
1672 multiple times in one run
1673 show symbol-reloading -- Show dynamic symbol table reloading
1674 multiple times in one run
1675 @c @end group
1676 @end smallexample
1677
1678 @kindex complete
1679 @item complete @var{args}
1680 The @code{complete @var{args}} command lists all the possible completions
1681 for the beginning of a command. Use @var{args} to specify the beginning of the
1682 command you want completed. For example:
1683
1684 @smallexample
1685 complete i
1686 @end smallexample
1687
1688 @noindent results in:
1689
1690 @smallexample
1691 @group
1692 if
1693 ignore
1694 info
1695 inspect
1696 @end group
1697 @end smallexample
1698
1699 @noindent This is intended for use by @sc{gnu} Emacs.
1700 @end table
1701
1702 In addition to @code{help}, you can use the @value{GDBN} commands @code{info}
1703 and @code{show} to inquire about the state of your program, or the state
1704 of @value{GDBN} itself. Each command supports many topics of inquiry; this
1705 manual introduces each of them in the appropriate context. The listings
1706 under @code{info} and under @code{show} in the Index point to
1707 all the sub-commands. @xref{Index}.
1708
1709 @c @group
1710 @table @code
1711 @kindex info
1712 @kindex i @r{(@code{info})}
1713 @item info
1714 This command (abbreviated @code{i}) is for describing the state of your
1715 program. For example, you can show the arguments passed to a function
1716 with @code{info args}, list the registers currently in use with @code{info
1717 registers}, or list the breakpoints you have set with @code{info breakpoints}.
1718 You can get a complete list of the @code{info} sub-commands with
1719 @w{@code{help info}}.
1720
1721 @kindex set
1722 @item set
1723 You can assign the result of an expression to an environment variable with
1724 @code{set}. For example, you can set the @value{GDBN} prompt to a $-sign with
1725 @code{set prompt $}.
1726
1727 @kindex show
1728 @item show
1729 In contrast to @code{info}, @code{show} is for describing the state of
1730 @value{GDBN} itself.
1731 You can change most of the things you can @code{show}, by using the
1732 related command @code{set}; for example, you can control what number
1733 system is used for displays with @code{set radix}, or simply inquire
1734 which is currently in use with @code{show radix}.
1735
1736 @kindex info set
1737 To display all the settable parameters and their current
1738 values, you can use @code{show} with no arguments; you may also use
1739 @code{info set}. Both commands produce the same display.
1740 @c FIXME: "info set" violates the rule that "info" is for state of
1741 @c FIXME...program. Ck w/ GNU: "info set" to be called something else,
1742 @c FIXME...or change desc of rule---eg "state of prog and debugging session"?
1743 @end table
1744 @c @end group
1745
1746 Here are three miscellaneous @code{show} subcommands, all of which are
1747 exceptional in lacking corresponding @code{set} commands:
1748
1749 @table @code
1750 @kindex show version
1751 @cindex @value{GDBN} version number
1752 @item show version
1753 Show what version of @value{GDBN} is running. You should include this
1754 information in @value{GDBN} bug-reports. If multiple versions of
1755 @value{GDBN} are in use at your site, you may need to determine which
1756 version of @value{GDBN} you are running; as @value{GDBN} evolves, new
1757 commands are introduced, and old ones may wither away. Also, many
1758 system vendors ship variant versions of @value{GDBN}, and there are
1759 variant versions of @value{GDBN} in @sc{gnu}/Linux distributions as well.
1760 The version number is the same as the one announced when you start
1761 @value{GDBN}.
1762
1763 @kindex show copying
1764 @kindex info copying
1765 @cindex display @value{GDBN} copyright
1766 @item show copying
1767 @itemx info copying
1768 Display information about permission for copying @value{GDBN}.
1769
1770 @kindex show warranty
1771 @kindex info warranty
1772 @item show warranty
1773 @itemx info warranty
1774 Display the @sc{gnu} ``NO WARRANTY'' statement, or a warranty,
1775 if your version of @value{GDBN} comes with one.
1776
1777 @end table
1778
1779 @node Running
1780 @chapter Running Programs Under @value{GDBN}
1781
1782 When you run a program under @value{GDBN}, you must first generate
1783 debugging information when you compile it.
1784
1785 You may start @value{GDBN} with its arguments, if any, in an environment
1786 of your choice. If you are doing native debugging, you may redirect
1787 your program's input and output, debug an already running process, or
1788 kill a child process.
1789
1790 @menu
1791 * Compilation:: Compiling for debugging
1792 * Starting:: Starting your program
1793 * Arguments:: Your program's arguments
1794 * Environment:: Your program's environment
1795
1796 * Working Directory:: Your program's working directory
1797 * Input/Output:: Your program's input and output
1798 * Attach:: Debugging an already-running process
1799 * Kill Process:: Killing the child process
1800
1801 * Inferiors and Programs:: Debugging multiple inferiors and programs
1802 * Threads:: Debugging programs with multiple threads
1803 * Forks:: Debugging forks
1804 * Checkpoint/Restart:: Setting a @emph{bookmark} to return to later
1805 @end menu
1806
1807 @node Compilation
1808 @section Compiling for Debugging
1809
1810 In order to debug a program effectively, you need to generate
1811 debugging information when you compile it. This debugging information
1812 is stored in the object file; it describes the data type of each
1813 variable or function and the correspondence between source line numbers
1814 and addresses in the executable code.
1815
1816 To request debugging information, specify the @samp{-g} option when you run
1817 the compiler.
1818
1819 Programs that are to be shipped to your customers are compiled with
1820 optimizations, using the @samp{-O} compiler option. However, some
1821 compilers are unable to handle the @samp{-g} and @samp{-O} options
1822 together. Using those compilers, you cannot generate optimized
1823 executables containing debugging information.
1824
1825 @value{NGCC}, the @sc{gnu} C/C@t{++} compiler, supports @samp{-g} with or
1826 without @samp{-O}, making it possible to debug optimized code. We
1827 recommend that you @emph{always} use @samp{-g} whenever you compile a
1828 program. You may think your program is correct, but there is no sense
1829 in pushing your luck. For more information, see @ref{Optimized Code}.
1830
1831 Older versions of the @sc{gnu} C compiler permitted a variant option
1832 @w{@samp{-gg}} for debugging information. @value{GDBN} no longer supports this
1833 format; if your @sc{gnu} C compiler has this option, do not use it.
1834
1835 @value{GDBN} knows about preprocessor macros and can show you their
1836 expansion (@pxref{Macros}). Most compilers do not include information
1837 about preprocessor macros in the debugging information if you specify
1838 the @option{-g} flag alone, because this information is rather large.
1839 Version 3.1 and later of @value{NGCC}, the @sc{gnu} C compiler,
1840 provides macro information if you specify the options
1841 @option{-gdwarf-2} and @option{-g3}; the former option requests
1842 debugging information in the Dwarf 2 format, and the latter requests
1843 ``extra information''. In the future, we hope to find more compact
1844 ways to represent macro information, so that it can be included with
1845 @option{-g} alone.
1846
1847 @need 2000
1848 @node Starting
1849 @section Starting your Program
1850 @cindex starting
1851 @cindex running
1852
1853 @table @code
1854 @kindex run
1855 @kindex r @r{(@code{run})}
1856 @item run
1857 @itemx r
1858 Use the @code{run} command to start your program under @value{GDBN}.
1859 You must first specify the program name (except on VxWorks) with an
1860 argument to @value{GDBN} (@pxref{Invocation, ,Getting In and Out of
1861 @value{GDBN}}), or by using the @code{file} or @code{exec-file} command
1862 (@pxref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}).
1863
1864 @end table
1865
1866 If you are running your program in an execution environment that
1867 supports processes, @code{run} creates an inferior process and makes
1868 that process run your program. In some environments without processes,
1869 @code{run} jumps to the start of your program. Other targets,
1870 like @samp{remote}, are always running. If you get an error
1871 message like this one:
1872
1873 @smallexample
1874 The "remote" target does not support "run".
1875 Try "help target" or "continue".
1876 @end smallexample
1877
1878 @noindent
1879 then use @code{continue} to run your program. You may need @code{load}
1880 first (@pxref{load}).
1881
1882 The execution of a program is affected by certain information it
1883 receives from its superior. @value{GDBN} provides ways to specify this
1884 information, which you must do @emph{before} starting your program. (You
1885 can change it after starting your program, but such changes only affect
1886 your program the next time you start it.) This information may be
1887 divided into four categories:
1888
1889 @table @asis
1890 @item The @emph{arguments.}
1891 Specify the arguments to give your program as the arguments of the
1892 @code{run} command. If a shell is available on your target, the shell
1893 is used to pass the arguments, so that you may use normal conventions
1894 (such as wildcard expansion or variable substitution) in describing
1895 the arguments.
1896 In Unix systems, you can control which shell is used with the
1897 @code{SHELL} environment variable.
1898 @xref{Arguments, ,Your Program's Arguments}.
1899
1900 @item The @emph{environment.}
1901 Your program normally inherits its environment from @value{GDBN}, but you can
1902 use the @value{GDBN} commands @code{set environment} and @code{unset
1903 environment} to change parts of the environment that affect
1904 your program. @xref{Environment, ,Your Program's Environment}.
1905
1906 @item The @emph{working directory.}
1907 Your program inherits its working directory from @value{GDBN}. You can set
1908 the @value{GDBN} working directory with the @code{cd} command in @value{GDBN}.
1909 @xref{Working Directory, ,Your Program's Working Directory}.
1910
1911 @item The @emph{standard input and output.}
1912 Your program normally uses the same device for standard input and
1913 standard output as @value{GDBN} is using. You can redirect input and output
1914 in the @code{run} command line, or you can use the @code{tty} command to
1915 set a different device for your program.
1916 @xref{Input/Output, ,Your Program's Input and Output}.
1917
1918 @cindex pipes
1919 @emph{Warning:} While input and output redirection work, you cannot use
1920 pipes to pass the output of the program you are debugging to another
1921 program; if you attempt this, @value{GDBN} is likely to wind up debugging the
1922 wrong program.
1923 @end table
1924
1925 When you issue the @code{run} command, your program begins to execute
1926 immediately. @xref{Stopping, ,Stopping and Continuing}, for discussion
1927 of how to arrange for your program to stop. Once your program has
1928 stopped, you may call functions in your program, using the @code{print}
1929 or @code{call} commands. @xref{Data, ,Examining Data}.
1930
1931 If the modification time of your symbol file has changed since the last
1932 time @value{GDBN} read its symbols, @value{GDBN} discards its symbol
1933 table, and reads it again. When it does this, @value{GDBN} tries to retain
1934 your current breakpoints.
1935
1936 @table @code
1937 @kindex start
1938 @item start
1939 @cindex run to main procedure
1940 The name of the main procedure can vary from language to language.
1941 With C or C@t{++}, the main procedure name is always @code{main}, but
1942 other languages such as Ada do not require a specific name for their
1943 main procedure. The debugger provides a convenient way to start the
1944 execution of the program and to stop at the beginning of the main
1945 procedure, depending on the language used.
1946
1947 The @samp{start} command does the equivalent of setting a temporary
1948 breakpoint at the beginning of the main procedure and then invoking
1949 the @samp{run} command.
1950
1951 @cindex elaboration phase
1952 Some programs contain an @dfn{elaboration} phase where some startup code is
1953 executed before the main procedure is called. This depends on the
1954 languages used to write your program. In C@t{++}, for instance,
1955 constructors for static and global objects are executed before
1956 @code{main} is called. It is therefore possible that the debugger stops
1957 before reaching the main procedure. However, the temporary breakpoint
1958 will remain to halt execution.
1959
1960 Specify the arguments to give to your program as arguments to the
1961 @samp{start} command. These arguments will be given verbatim to the
1962 underlying @samp{run} command. Note that the same arguments will be
1963 reused if no argument is provided during subsequent calls to
1964 @samp{start} or @samp{run}.
1965
1966 It is sometimes necessary to debug the program during elaboration. In
1967 these cases, using the @code{start} command would stop the execution of
1968 your program too late, as the program would have already completed the
1969 elaboration phase. Under these circumstances, insert breakpoints in your
1970 elaboration code before running your program.
1971
1972 @kindex set exec-wrapper
1973 @item set exec-wrapper @var{wrapper}
1974 @itemx show exec-wrapper
1975 @itemx unset exec-wrapper
1976 When @samp{exec-wrapper} is set, the specified wrapper is used to
1977 launch programs for debugging. @value{GDBN} starts your program
1978 with a shell command of the form @kbd{exec @var{wrapper}
1979 @var{program}}. Quoting is added to @var{program} and its
1980 arguments, but not to @var{wrapper}, so you should add quotes if
1981 appropriate for your shell. The wrapper runs until it executes
1982 your program, and then @value{GDBN} takes control.
1983
1984 You can use any program that eventually calls @code{execve} with
1985 its arguments as a wrapper. Several standard Unix utilities do
1986 this, e.g.@: @code{env} and @code{nohup}. Any Unix shell script ending
1987 with @code{exec "$@@"} will also work.
1988
1989 For example, you can use @code{env} to pass an environment variable to
1990 the debugged program, without setting the variable in your shell's
1991 environment:
1992
1993 @smallexample
1994 (@value{GDBP}) set exec-wrapper env 'LD_PRELOAD=libtest.so'
1995 (@value{GDBP}) run
1996 @end smallexample
1997
1998 This command is available when debugging locally on most targets, excluding
1999 @sc{djgpp}, Cygwin, MS Windows, and QNX Neutrino.
2000
2001 @kindex set disable-randomization
2002 @item set disable-randomization
2003 @itemx set disable-randomization on
2004 This option (enabled by default in @value{GDBN}) will turn off the native
2005 randomization of the virtual address space of the started program. This option
2006 is useful for multiple debugging sessions to make the execution better
2007 reproducible and memory addresses reusable across debugging sessions.
2008
2009 This feature is implemented only on @sc{gnu}/Linux. You can get the same
2010 behavior using
2011
2012 @smallexample
2013 (@value{GDBP}) set exec-wrapper setarch `uname -m` -R
2014 @end smallexample
2015
2016 @item set disable-randomization off
2017 Leave the behavior of the started executable unchanged. Some bugs rear their
2018 ugly heads only when the program is loaded at certain addresses. If your bug
2019 disappears when you run the program under @value{GDBN}, that might be because
2020 @value{GDBN} by default disables the address randomization on platforms, such
2021 as @sc{gnu}/Linux, which do that for stand-alone programs. Use @kbd{set
2022 disable-randomization off} to try to reproduce such elusive bugs.
2023
2024 The virtual address space randomization is implemented only on @sc{gnu}/Linux.
2025 It protects the programs against some kinds of security attacks. In these
2026 cases the attacker needs to know the exact location of a concrete executable
2027 code. Randomizing its location makes it impossible to inject jumps misusing
2028 a code at its expected addresses.
2029
2030 Prelinking shared libraries provides a startup performance advantage but it
2031 makes addresses in these libraries predictable for privileged processes by
2032 having just unprivileged access at the target system. Reading the shared
2033 library binary gives enough information for assembling the malicious code
2034 misusing it. Still even a prelinked shared library can get loaded at a new
2035 random address just requiring the regular relocation process during the
2036 startup. Shared libraries not already prelinked are always loaded at
2037 a randomly chosen address.
2038
2039 Position independent executables (PIE) contain position independent code
2040 similar to the shared libraries and therefore such executables get loaded at
2041 a randomly chosen address upon startup. PIE executables always load even
2042 already prelinked shared libraries at a random address. You can build such
2043 executable using @command{gcc -fPIE -pie}.
2044
2045 Heap (malloc storage), stack and custom mmap areas are always placed randomly
2046 (as long as the randomization is enabled).
2047
2048 @item show disable-randomization
2049 Show the current setting of the explicit disable of the native randomization of
2050 the virtual address space of the started program.
2051
2052 @end table
2053
2054 @node Arguments
2055 @section Your Program's Arguments
2056
2057 @cindex arguments (to your program)
2058 The arguments to your program can be specified by the arguments of the
2059 @code{run} command.
2060 They are passed to a shell, which expands wildcard characters and
2061 performs redirection of I/O, and thence to your program. Your
2062 @code{SHELL} environment variable (if it exists) specifies what shell
2063 @value{GDBN} uses. If you do not define @code{SHELL}, @value{GDBN} uses
2064 the default shell (@file{/bin/sh} on Unix).
2065
2066 On non-Unix systems, the program is usually invoked directly by
2067 @value{GDBN}, which emulates I/O redirection via the appropriate system
2068 calls, and the wildcard characters are expanded by the startup code of
2069 the program, not by the shell.
2070
2071 @code{run} with no arguments uses the same arguments used by the previous
2072 @code{run}, or those set by the @code{set args} command.
2073
2074 @table @code
2075 @kindex set args
2076 @item set args
2077 Specify the arguments to be used the next time your program is run. If
2078 @code{set args} has no arguments, @code{run} executes your program
2079 with no arguments. Once you have run your program with arguments,
2080 using @code{set args} before the next @code{run} is the only way to run
2081 it again without arguments.
2082
2083 @kindex show args
2084 @item show args
2085 Show the arguments to give your program when it is started.
2086 @end table
2087
2088 @node Environment
2089 @section Your Program's Environment
2090
2091 @cindex environment (of your program)
2092 The @dfn{environment} consists of a set of environment variables and
2093 their values. Environment variables conventionally record such things as
2094 your user name, your home directory, your terminal type, and your search
2095 path for programs to run. Usually you set up environment variables with
2096 the shell and they are inherited by all the other programs you run. When
2097 debugging, it can be useful to try running your program with a modified
2098 environment without having to start @value{GDBN} over again.
2099
2100 @table @code
2101 @kindex path
2102 @item path @var{directory}
2103 Add @var{directory} to the front of the @code{PATH} environment variable
2104 (the search path for executables) that will be passed to your program.
2105 The value of @code{PATH} used by @value{GDBN} does not change.
2106 You may specify several directory names, separated by whitespace or by a
2107 system-dependent separator character (@samp{:} on Unix, @samp{;} on
2108 MS-DOS and MS-Windows). If @var{directory} is already in the path, it
2109 is moved to the front, so it is searched sooner.
2110
2111 You can use the string @samp{$cwd} to refer to whatever is the current
2112 working directory at the time @value{GDBN} searches the path. If you
2113 use @samp{.} instead, it refers to the directory where you executed the
2114 @code{path} command. @value{GDBN} replaces @samp{.} in the
2115 @var{directory} argument (with the current path) before adding
2116 @var{directory} to the search path.
2117 @c 'path' is explicitly nonrepeatable, but RMS points out it is silly to
2118 @c document that, since repeating it would be a no-op.
2119
2120 @kindex show paths
2121 @item show paths
2122 Display the list of search paths for executables (the @code{PATH}
2123 environment variable).
2124
2125 @kindex show environment
2126 @item show environment @r{[}@var{varname}@r{]}
2127 Print the value of environment variable @var{varname} to be given to
2128 your program when it starts. If you do not supply @var{varname},
2129 print the names and values of all environment variables to be given to
2130 your program. You can abbreviate @code{environment} as @code{env}.
2131
2132 @kindex set environment
2133 @item set environment @var{varname} @r{[}=@var{value}@r{]}
2134 Set environment variable @var{varname} to @var{value}. The value
2135 changes for your program only, not for @value{GDBN} itself. @var{value} may
2136 be any string; the values of environment variables are just strings, and
2137 any interpretation is supplied by your program itself. The @var{value}
2138 parameter is optional; if it is eliminated, the variable is set to a
2139 null value.
2140 @c "any string" here does not include leading, trailing
2141 @c blanks. Gnu asks: does anyone care?
2142
2143 For example, this command:
2144
2145 @smallexample
2146 set env USER = foo
2147 @end smallexample
2148
2149 @noindent
2150 tells the debugged program, when subsequently run, that its user is named
2151 @samp{foo}. (The spaces around @samp{=} are used for clarity here; they
2152 are not actually required.)
2153
2154 @kindex unset environment
2155 @item unset environment @var{varname}
2156 Remove variable @var{varname} from the environment to be passed to your
2157 program. This is different from @samp{set env @var{varname} =};
2158 @code{unset environment} removes the variable from the environment,
2159 rather than assigning it an empty value.
2160 @end table
2161
2162 @emph{Warning:} On Unix systems, @value{GDBN} runs your program using
2163 the shell indicated
2164 by your @code{SHELL} environment variable if it exists (or
2165 @code{/bin/sh} if not). If your @code{SHELL} variable names a shell
2166 that runs an initialization file---such as @file{.cshrc} for C-shell, or
2167 @file{.bashrc} for BASH---any variables you set in that file affect
2168 your program. You may wish to move setting of environment variables to
2169 files that are only run when you sign on, such as @file{.login} or
2170 @file{.profile}.
2171
2172 @node Working Directory
2173 @section Your Program's Working Directory
2174
2175 @cindex working directory (of your program)
2176 Each time you start your program with @code{run}, it inherits its
2177 working directory from the current working directory of @value{GDBN}.
2178 The @value{GDBN} working directory is initially whatever it inherited
2179 from its parent process (typically the shell), but you can specify a new
2180 working directory in @value{GDBN} with the @code{cd} command.
2181
2182 The @value{GDBN} working directory also serves as a default for the commands
2183 that specify files for @value{GDBN} to operate on. @xref{Files, ,Commands to
2184 Specify Files}.
2185
2186 @table @code
2187 @kindex cd
2188 @cindex change working directory
2189 @item cd @var{directory}
2190 Set the @value{GDBN} working directory to @var{directory}.
2191
2192 @kindex pwd
2193 @item pwd
2194 Print the @value{GDBN} working directory.
2195 @end table
2196
2197 It is generally impossible to find the current working directory of
2198 the process being debugged (since a program can change its directory
2199 during its run). If you work on a system where @value{GDBN} is
2200 configured with the @file{/proc} support, you can use the @code{info
2201 proc} command (@pxref{SVR4 Process Information}) to find out the
2202 current working directory of the debuggee.
2203
2204 @node Input/Output
2205 @section Your Program's Input and Output
2206
2207 @cindex redirection
2208 @cindex i/o
2209 @cindex terminal
2210 By default, the program you run under @value{GDBN} does input and output to
2211 the same terminal that @value{GDBN} uses. @value{GDBN} switches the terminal
2212 to its own terminal modes to interact with you, but it records the terminal
2213 modes your program was using and switches back to them when you continue
2214 running your program.
2215
2216 @table @code
2217 @kindex info terminal
2218 @item info terminal
2219 Displays information recorded by @value{GDBN} about the terminal modes your
2220 program is using.
2221 @end table
2222
2223 You can redirect your program's input and/or output using shell
2224 redirection with the @code{run} command. For example,
2225
2226 @smallexample
2227 run > outfile
2228 @end smallexample
2229
2230 @noindent
2231 starts your program, diverting its output to the file @file{outfile}.
2232
2233 @kindex tty
2234 @cindex controlling terminal
2235 Another way to specify where your program should do input and output is
2236 with the @code{tty} command. This command accepts a file name as
2237 argument, and causes this file to be the default for future @code{run}
2238 commands. It also resets the controlling terminal for the child
2239 process, for future @code{run} commands. For example,
2240
2241 @smallexample
2242 tty /dev/ttyb
2243 @end smallexample
2244
2245 @noindent
2246 directs that processes started with subsequent @code{run} commands
2247 default to do input and output on the terminal @file{/dev/ttyb} and have
2248 that as their controlling terminal.
2249
2250 An explicit redirection in @code{run} overrides the @code{tty} command's
2251 effect on the input/output device, but not its effect on the controlling
2252 terminal.
2253
2254 When you use the @code{tty} command or redirect input in the @code{run}
2255 command, only the input @emph{for your program} is affected. The input
2256 for @value{GDBN} still comes from your terminal. @code{tty} is an alias
2257 for @code{set inferior-tty}.
2258
2259 @cindex inferior tty
2260 @cindex set inferior controlling terminal
2261 You can use the @code{show inferior-tty} command to tell @value{GDBN} to
2262 display the name of the terminal that will be used for future runs of your
2263 program.
2264
2265 @table @code
2266 @item set inferior-tty /dev/ttyb
2267 @kindex set inferior-tty
2268 Set the tty for the program being debugged to /dev/ttyb.
2269
2270 @item show inferior-tty
2271 @kindex show inferior-tty
2272 Show the current tty for the program being debugged.
2273 @end table
2274
2275 @node Attach
2276 @section Debugging an Already-running Process
2277 @kindex attach
2278 @cindex attach
2279
2280 @table @code
2281 @item attach @var{process-id}
2282 This command attaches to a running process---one that was started
2283 outside @value{GDBN}. (@code{info files} shows your active
2284 targets.) The command takes as argument a process ID. The usual way to
2285 find out the @var{process-id} of a Unix process is with the @code{ps} utility,
2286 or with the @samp{jobs -l} shell command.
2287
2288 @code{attach} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} a second time after
2289 executing the command.
2290 @end table
2291
2292 To use @code{attach}, your program must be running in an environment
2293 which supports processes; for example, @code{attach} does not work for
2294 programs on bare-board targets that lack an operating system. You must
2295 also have permission to send the process a signal.
2296
2297 When you use @code{attach}, the debugger finds the program running in
2298 the process first by looking in the current working directory, then (if
2299 the program is not found) by using the source file search path
2300 (@pxref{Source Path, ,Specifying Source Directories}). You can also use
2301 the @code{file} command to load the program. @xref{Files, ,Commands to
2302 Specify Files}.
2303
2304 The first thing @value{GDBN} does after arranging to debug the specified
2305 process is to stop it. You can examine and modify an attached process
2306 with all the @value{GDBN} commands that are ordinarily available when
2307 you start processes with @code{run}. You can insert breakpoints; you
2308 can step and continue; you can modify storage. If you would rather the
2309 process continue running, you may use the @code{continue} command after
2310 attaching @value{GDBN} to the process.
2311
2312 @table @code
2313 @kindex detach
2314 @item detach
2315 When you have finished debugging the attached process, you can use the
2316 @code{detach} command to release it from @value{GDBN} control. Detaching
2317 the process continues its execution. After the @code{detach} command,
2318 that process and @value{GDBN} become completely independent once more, and you
2319 are ready to @code{attach} another process or start one with @code{run}.
2320 @code{detach} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again after
2321 executing the command.
2322 @end table
2323
2324 If you exit @value{GDBN} while you have an attached process, you detach
2325 that process. If you use the @code{run} command, you kill that process.
2326 By default, @value{GDBN} asks for confirmation if you try to do either of these
2327 things; you can control whether or not you need to confirm by using the
2328 @code{set confirm} command (@pxref{Messages/Warnings, ,Optional Warnings and
2329 Messages}).
2330
2331 @node Kill Process
2332 @section Killing the Child Process
2333
2334 @table @code
2335 @kindex kill
2336 @item kill
2337 Kill the child process in which your program is running under @value{GDBN}.
2338 @end table
2339
2340 This command is useful if you wish to debug a core dump instead of a
2341 running process. @value{GDBN} ignores any core dump file while your program
2342 is running.
2343
2344 On some operating systems, a program cannot be executed outside @value{GDBN}
2345 while you have breakpoints set on it inside @value{GDBN}. You can use the
2346 @code{kill} command in this situation to permit running your program
2347 outside the debugger.
2348
2349 The @code{kill} command is also useful if you wish to recompile and
2350 relink your program, since on many systems it is impossible to modify an
2351 executable file while it is running in a process. In this case, when you
2352 next type @code{run}, @value{GDBN} notices that the file has changed, and
2353 reads the symbol table again (while trying to preserve your current
2354 breakpoint settings).
2355
2356 @node Inferiors and Programs
2357 @section Debugging Multiple Inferiors and Programs
2358
2359 @value{GDBN} lets you run and debug multiple programs in a single
2360 session. In addition, @value{GDBN} on some systems may let you run
2361 several programs simultaneously (otherwise you have to exit from one
2362 before starting another). In the most general case, you can have
2363 multiple threads of execution in each of multiple processes, launched
2364 from multiple executables.
2365
2366 @cindex inferior
2367 @value{GDBN} represents the state of each program execution with an
2368 object called an @dfn{inferior}. An inferior typically corresponds to
2369 a process, but is more general and applies also to targets that do not
2370 have processes. Inferiors may be created before a process runs, and
2371 may be retained after a process exits. Inferiors have unique
2372 identifiers that are different from process ids. Usually each
2373 inferior will also have its own distinct address space, although some
2374 embedded targets may have several inferiors running in different parts
2375 of a single address space. Each inferior may in turn have multiple
2376 threads running in it.
2377
2378 To find out what inferiors exist at any moment, use @w{@code{info
2379 inferiors}}:
2380
2381 @table @code
2382 @kindex info inferiors
2383 @item info inferiors
2384 Print a list of all inferiors currently being managed by @value{GDBN}.
2385
2386 @value{GDBN} displays for each inferior (in this order):
2387
2388 @enumerate
2389 @item
2390 the inferior number assigned by @value{GDBN}
2391
2392 @item
2393 the target system's inferior identifier
2394
2395 @item
2396 the name of the executable the inferior is running.
2397
2398 @end enumerate
2399
2400 @noindent
2401 An asterisk @samp{*} preceding the @value{GDBN} inferior number
2402 indicates the current inferior.
2403
2404 For example,
2405 @end table
2406 @c end table here to get a little more width for example
2407
2408 @smallexample
2409 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
2410 Num Description Executable
2411 2 process 2307 hello
2412 * 1 process 3401 goodbye
2413 @end smallexample
2414
2415 To switch focus between inferiors, use the @code{inferior} command:
2416
2417 @table @code
2418 @kindex inferior @var{infno}
2419 @item inferior @var{infno}
2420 Make inferior number @var{infno} the current inferior. The argument
2421 @var{infno} is the inferior number assigned by @value{GDBN}, as shown
2422 in the first field of the @samp{info inferiors} display.
2423 @end table
2424
2425
2426 You can get multiple executables into a debugging session via the
2427 @code{add-inferior} and @w{@code{clone-inferior}} commands. On some
2428 systems @value{GDBN} can add inferiors to the debug session
2429 automatically by following calls to @code{fork} and @code{exec}. To
2430 remove inferiors from the debugging session use the
2431 @w{@code{remove-inferior}} command.
2432
2433 @table @code
2434 @kindex add-inferior
2435 @item add-inferior [ -copies @var{n} ] [ -exec @var{executable} ]
2436 Adds @var{n} inferiors to be run using @var{executable} as the
2437 executable. @var{n} defaults to 1. If no executable is specified,
2438 the inferiors begins empty, with no program. You can still assign or
2439 change the program assigned to the inferior at any time by using the
2440 @code{file} command with the executable name as its argument.
2441
2442 @kindex clone-inferior
2443 @item clone-inferior [ -copies @var{n} ] [ @var{infno} ]
2444 Adds @var{n} inferiors ready to execute the same program as inferior
2445 @var{infno}. @var{n} defaults to 1. @var{infno} defaults to the
2446 number of the current inferior. This is a convenient command when you
2447 want to run another instance of the inferior you are debugging.
2448
2449 @smallexample
2450 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
2451 Num Description Executable
2452 * 1 process 29964 helloworld
2453 (@value{GDBP}) clone-inferior
2454 Added inferior 2.
2455 1 inferiors added.
2456 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
2457 Num Description Executable
2458 2 <null> helloworld
2459 * 1 process 29964 helloworld
2460 @end smallexample
2461
2462 You can now simply switch focus to inferior 2 and run it.
2463
2464 @kindex remove-inferior
2465 @item remove-inferior @var{infno}
2466 Removes the inferior @var{infno}. It is not possible to remove an
2467 inferior that is running with this command. For those, use the
2468 @code{kill} or @code{detach} command first.
2469
2470 @end table
2471
2472 To quit debugging one of the running inferiors that is not the current
2473 inferior, you can either detach from it by using the @w{@code{detach
2474 inferior}} command (allowing it to run independently), or kill it
2475 using the @w{@code{kill inferior}} command:
2476
2477 @table @code
2478 @kindex detach inferior @var{infno}
2479 @item detach inferior @var{infno}
2480 Detach from the inferior identified by @value{GDBN} inferior number
2481 @var{infno}, and remove it from the inferior list.
2482
2483 @kindex kill inferior @var{infno}
2484 @item kill inferior @var{infno}
2485 Kill the inferior identified by @value{GDBN} inferior number
2486 @var{infno}, and remove it from the inferior list.
2487 @end table
2488
2489 After the successful completion of a command such as @code{detach},
2490 @code{detach inferior}, @code{kill} or @code{kill inferior}, or after
2491 a normal process exit, the inferior is still valid and listed with
2492 @code{info inferiors}, ready to be restarted.
2493
2494
2495 To be notified when inferiors are started or exit under @value{GDBN}'s
2496 control use @w{@code{set print inferior-events}}:
2497
2498 @table @code
2499 @kindex set print inferior-events
2500 @cindex print messages on inferior start and exit
2501 @item set print inferior-events
2502 @itemx set print inferior-events on
2503 @itemx set print inferior-events off
2504 The @code{set print inferior-events} command allows you to enable or
2505 disable printing of messages when @value{GDBN} notices that new
2506 inferiors have started or that inferiors have exited or have been
2507 detached. By default, these messages will not be printed.
2508
2509 @kindex show print inferior-events
2510 @item show print inferior-events
2511 Show whether messages will be printed when @value{GDBN} detects that
2512 inferiors have started, exited or have been detached.
2513 @end table
2514
2515 Many commands will work the same with multiple programs as with a
2516 single program: e.g., @code{print myglobal} will simply display the
2517 value of @code{myglobal} in the current inferior.
2518
2519
2520 Occasionaly, when debugging @value{GDBN} itself, it may be useful to
2521 get more info about the relationship of inferiors, programs, address
2522 spaces in a debug session. You can do that with the @w{@code{maint
2523 info program-spaces}} command.
2524
2525 @table @code
2526 @kindex maint info program-spaces
2527 @item maint info program-spaces
2528 Print a list of all program spaces currently being managed by
2529 @value{GDBN}.
2530
2531 @value{GDBN} displays for each program space (in this order):
2532
2533 @enumerate
2534 @item
2535 the program space number assigned by @value{GDBN}
2536
2537 @item
2538 the name of the executable loaded into the program space, with e.g.,
2539 the @code{file} command.
2540
2541 @end enumerate
2542
2543 @noindent
2544 An asterisk @samp{*} preceding the @value{GDBN} program space number
2545 indicates the current program space.
2546
2547 In addition, below each program space line, @value{GDBN} prints extra
2548 information that isn't suitable to display in tabular form. For
2549 example, the list of inferiors bound to the program space.
2550
2551 @smallexample
2552 (@value{GDBP}) maint info program-spaces
2553 Id Executable
2554 2 goodbye
2555 Bound inferiors: ID 1 (process 21561)
2556 * 1 hello
2557 @end smallexample
2558
2559 Here we can see that no inferior is running the program @code{hello},
2560 while @code{process 21561} is running the program @code{goodbye}. On
2561 some targets, it is possible that multiple inferiors are bound to the
2562 same program space. The most common example is that of debugging both
2563 the parent and child processes of a @code{vfork} call. For example,
2564
2565 @smallexample
2566 (@value{GDBP}) maint info program-spaces
2567 Id Executable
2568 * 1 vfork-test
2569 Bound inferiors: ID 2 (process 18050), ID 1 (process 18045)
2570 @end smallexample
2571
2572 Here, both inferior 2 and inferior 1 are running in the same program
2573 space as a result of inferior 1 having executed a @code{vfork} call.
2574 @end table
2575
2576 @node Threads
2577 @section Debugging Programs with Multiple Threads
2578
2579 @cindex threads of execution
2580 @cindex multiple threads
2581 @cindex switching threads
2582 In some operating systems, such as HP-UX and Solaris, a single program
2583 may have more than one @dfn{thread} of execution. The precise semantics
2584 of threads differ from one operating system to another, but in general
2585 the threads of a single program are akin to multiple processes---except
2586 that they share one address space (that is, they can all examine and
2587 modify the same variables). On the other hand, each thread has its own
2588 registers and execution stack, and perhaps private memory.
2589
2590 @value{GDBN} provides these facilities for debugging multi-thread
2591 programs:
2592
2593 @itemize @bullet
2594 @item automatic notification of new threads
2595 @item @samp{thread @var{threadno}}, a command to switch among threads
2596 @item @samp{info threads}, a command to inquire about existing threads
2597 @item @samp{thread apply [@var{threadno}] [@var{all}] @var{args}},
2598 a command to apply a command to a list of threads
2599 @item thread-specific breakpoints
2600 @item @samp{set print thread-events}, which controls printing of
2601 messages on thread start and exit.
2602 @item @samp{set libthread-db-search-path @var{path}}, which lets
2603 the user specify which @code{libthread_db} to use if the default choice
2604 isn't compatible with the program.
2605 @end itemize
2606
2607 @quotation
2608 @emph{Warning:} These facilities are not yet available on every
2609 @value{GDBN} configuration where the operating system supports threads.
2610 If your @value{GDBN} does not support threads, these commands have no
2611 effect. For example, a system without thread support shows no output
2612 from @samp{info threads}, and always rejects the @code{thread} command,
2613 like this:
2614
2615 @smallexample
2616 (@value{GDBP}) info threads
2617 (@value{GDBP}) thread 1
2618 Thread ID 1 not known. Use the "info threads" command to
2619 see the IDs of currently known threads.
2620 @end smallexample
2621 @c FIXME to implementors: how hard would it be to say "sorry, this GDB
2622 @c doesn't support threads"?
2623 @end quotation
2624
2625 @cindex focus of debugging
2626 @cindex current thread
2627 The @value{GDBN} thread debugging facility allows you to observe all
2628 threads while your program runs---but whenever @value{GDBN} takes
2629 control, one thread in particular is always the focus of debugging.
2630 This thread is called the @dfn{current thread}. Debugging commands show
2631 program information from the perspective of the current thread.
2632
2633 @cindex @code{New} @var{systag} message
2634 @cindex thread identifier (system)
2635 @c FIXME-implementors!! It would be more helpful if the [New...] message
2636 @c included GDB's numeric thread handle, so you could just go to that
2637 @c thread without first checking `info threads'.
2638 Whenever @value{GDBN} detects a new thread in your program, it displays
2639 the target system's identification for the thread with a message in the
2640 form @samp{[New @var{systag}]}. @var{systag} is a thread identifier
2641 whose form varies depending on the particular system. For example, on
2642 @sc{gnu}/Linux, you might see
2643
2644 @smallexample
2645 [New Thread 46912507313328 (LWP 25582)]
2646 @end smallexample
2647
2648 @noindent
2649 when @value{GDBN} notices a new thread. In contrast, on an SGI system,
2650 the @var{systag} is simply something like @samp{process 368}, with no
2651 further qualifier.
2652
2653 @c FIXME!! (1) Does the [New...] message appear even for the very first
2654 @c thread of a program, or does it only appear for the
2655 @c second---i.e.@: when it becomes obvious we have a multithread
2656 @c program?
2657 @c (2) *Is* there necessarily a first thread always? Or do some
2658 @c multithread systems permit starting a program with multiple
2659 @c threads ab initio?
2660
2661 @cindex thread number
2662 @cindex thread identifier (GDB)
2663 For debugging purposes, @value{GDBN} associates its own thread
2664 number---always a single integer---with each thread in your program.
2665
2666 @table @code
2667 @kindex info threads
2668 @item info threads
2669 Display a summary of all threads currently in your
2670 program. @value{GDBN} displays for each thread (in this order):
2671
2672 @enumerate
2673 @item
2674 the thread number assigned by @value{GDBN}
2675
2676 @item
2677 the target system's thread identifier (@var{systag})
2678
2679 @item
2680 the current stack frame summary for that thread
2681 @end enumerate
2682
2683 @noindent
2684 An asterisk @samp{*} to the left of the @value{GDBN} thread number
2685 indicates the current thread.
2686
2687 For example,
2688 @end table
2689 @c end table here to get a little more width for example
2690
2691 @smallexample
2692 (@value{GDBP}) info threads
2693 3 process 35 thread 27 0x34e5 in sigpause ()
2694 2 process 35 thread 23 0x34e5 in sigpause ()
2695 * 1 process 35 thread 13 main (argc=1, argv=0x7ffffff8)
2696 at threadtest.c:68
2697 @end smallexample
2698
2699 On HP-UX systems:
2700
2701 @cindex debugging multithreaded programs (on HP-UX)
2702 @cindex thread identifier (GDB), on HP-UX
2703 For debugging purposes, @value{GDBN} associates its own thread
2704 number---a small integer assigned in thread-creation order---with each
2705 thread in your program.
2706
2707 @cindex @code{New} @var{systag} message, on HP-UX
2708 @cindex thread identifier (system), on HP-UX
2709 @c FIXME-implementors!! It would be more helpful if the [New...] message
2710 @c included GDB's numeric thread handle, so you could just go to that
2711 @c thread without first checking `info threads'.
2712 Whenever @value{GDBN} detects a new thread in your program, it displays
2713 both @value{GDBN}'s thread number and the target system's identification for the thread with a message in the
2714 form @samp{[New @var{systag}]}. @var{systag} is a thread identifier
2715 whose form varies depending on the particular system. For example, on
2716 HP-UX, you see
2717
2718 @smallexample
2719 [New thread 2 (system thread 26594)]
2720 @end smallexample
2721
2722 @noindent
2723 when @value{GDBN} notices a new thread.
2724
2725 @table @code
2726 @kindex info threads (HP-UX)
2727 @item info threads
2728 Display a summary of all threads currently in your
2729 program. @value{GDBN} displays for each thread (in this order):
2730
2731 @enumerate
2732 @item the thread number assigned by @value{GDBN}
2733
2734 @item the target system's thread identifier (@var{systag})
2735
2736 @item the current stack frame summary for that thread
2737 @end enumerate
2738
2739 @noindent
2740 An asterisk @samp{*} to the left of the @value{GDBN} thread number
2741 indicates the current thread.
2742
2743 For example,
2744 @end table
2745 @c end table here to get a little more width for example
2746
2747 @smallexample
2748 (@value{GDBP}) info threads
2749 * 3 system thread 26607 worker (wptr=0x7b09c318 "@@") \@*
2750 at quicksort.c:137
2751 2 system thread 26606 0x7b0030d8 in __ksleep () \@*
2752 from /usr/lib/libc.2
2753 1 system thread 27905 0x7b003498 in _brk () \@*
2754 from /usr/lib/libc.2
2755 @end smallexample
2756
2757 On Solaris, you can display more information about user threads with a
2758 Solaris-specific command:
2759
2760 @table @code
2761 @item maint info sol-threads
2762 @kindex maint info sol-threads
2763 @cindex thread info (Solaris)
2764 Display info on Solaris user threads.
2765 @end table
2766
2767 @table @code
2768 @kindex thread @var{threadno}
2769 @item thread @var{threadno}
2770 Make thread number @var{threadno} the current thread. The command
2771 argument @var{threadno} is the internal @value{GDBN} thread number, as
2772 shown in the first field of the @samp{info threads} display.
2773 @value{GDBN} responds by displaying the system identifier of the thread
2774 you selected, and its current stack frame summary:
2775
2776 @smallexample
2777 @c FIXME!! This example made up; find a @value{GDBN} w/threads and get real one
2778 (@value{GDBP}) thread 2
2779 [Switching to process 35 thread 23]
2780 0x34e5 in sigpause ()
2781 @end smallexample
2782
2783 @noindent
2784 As with the @samp{[New @dots{}]} message, the form of the text after
2785 @samp{Switching to} depends on your system's conventions for identifying
2786 threads.
2787
2788 @kindex thread apply
2789 @cindex apply command to several threads
2790 @item thread apply [@var{threadno}] [@var{all}] @var{command}
2791 The @code{thread apply} command allows you to apply the named
2792 @var{command} to one or more threads. Specify the numbers of the
2793 threads that you want affected with the command argument
2794 @var{threadno}. It can be a single thread number, one of the numbers
2795 shown in the first field of the @samp{info threads} display; or it
2796 could be a range of thread numbers, as in @code{2-4}. To apply a
2797 command to all threads, type @kbd{thread apply all @var{command}}.
2798
2799 @kindex set print thread-events
2800 @cindex print messages on thread start and exit
2801 @item set print thread-events
2802 @itemx set print thread-events on
2803 @itemx set print thread-events off
2804 The @code{set print thread-events} command allows you to enable or
2805 disable printing of messages when @value{GDBN} notices that new threads have
2806 started or that threads have exited. By default, these messages will
2807 be printed if detection of these events is supported by the target.
2808 Note that these messages cannot be disabled on all targets.
2809
2810 @kindex show print thread-events
2811 @item show print thread-events
2812 Show whether messages will be printed when @value{GDBN} detects that threads
2813 have started and exited.
2814 @end table
2815
2816 @xref{Thread Stops,,Stopping and Starting Multi-thread Programs}, for
2817 more information about how @value{GDBN} behaves when you stop and start
2818 programs with multiple threads.
2819
2820 @xref{Set Watchpoints,,Setting Watchpoints}, for information about
2821 watchpoints in programs with multiple threads.
2822
2823 @table @code
2824 @kindex set libthread-db-search-path
2825 @cindex search path for @code{libthread_db}
2826 @item set libthread-db-search-path @r{[}@var{path}@r{]}
2827 If this variable is set, @var{path} is a colon-separated list of
2828 directories @value{GDBN} will use to search for @code{libthread_db}.
2829 If you omit @var{path}, @samp{libthread-db-search-path} will be reset to
2830 an empty list.
2831
2832 On @sc{gnu}/Linux and Solaris systems, @value{GDBN} uses a ``helper''
2833 @code{libthread_db} library to obtain information about threads in the
2834 inferior process. @value{GDBN} will use @samp{libthread-db-search-path}
2835 to find @code{libthread_db}. If that fails, @value{GDBN} will continue
2836 with default system shared library directories, and finally the directory
2837 from which @code{libpthread} was loaded in the inferior process.
2838
2839 For any @code{libthread_db} library @value{GDBN} finds in above directories,
2840 @value{GDBN} attempts to initialize it with the current inferior process.
2841 If this initialization fails (which could happen because of a version
2842 mismatch between @code{libthread_db} and @code{libpthread}), @value{GDBN}
2843 will unload @code{libthread_db}, and continue with the next directory.
2844 If none of @code{libthread_db} libraries initialize successfully,
2845 @value{GDBN} will issue a warning and thread debugging will be disabled.
2846
2847 Setting @code{libthread-db-search-path} is currently implemented
2848 only on some platforms.
2849
2850 @kindex show libthread-db-search-path
2851 @item show libthread-db-search-path
2852 Display current libthread_db search path.
2853 @end table
2854
2855 @node Forks
2856 @section Debugging Forks
2857
2858 @cindex fork, debugging programs which call
2859 @cindex multiple processes
2860 @cindex processes, multiple
2861 On most systems, @value{GDBN} has no special support for debugging
2862 programs which create additional processes using the @code{fork}
2863 function. When a program forks, @value{GDBN} will continue to debug the
2864 parent process and the child process will run unimpeded. If you have
2865 set a breakpoint in any code which the child then executes, the child
2866 will get a @code{SIGTRAP} signal which (unless it catches the signal)
2867 will cause it to terminate.
2868
2869 However, if you want to debug the child process there is a workaround
2870 which isn't too painful. Put a call to @code{sleep} in the code which
2871 the child process executes after the fork. It may be useful to sleep
2872 only if a certain environment variable is set, or a certain file exists,
2873 so that the delay need not occur when you don't want to run @value{GDBN}
2874 on the child. While the child is sleeping, use the @code{ps} program to
2875 get its process ID. Then tell @value{GDBN} (a new invocation of
2876 @value{GDBN} if you are also debugging the parent process) to attach to
2877 the child process (@pxref{Attach}). From that point on you can debug
2878 the child process just like any other process which you attached to.
2879
2880 On some systems, @value{GDBN} provides support for debugging programs that
2881 create additional processes using the @code{fork} or @code{vfork} functions.
2882 Currently, the only platforms with this feature are HP-UX (11.x and later
2883 only?) and @sc{gnu}/Linux (kernel version 2.5.60 and later).
2884
2885 By default, when a program forks, @value{GDBN} will continue to debug
2886 the parent process and the child process will run unimpeded.
2887
2888 If you want to follow the child process instead of the parent process,
2889 use the command @w{@code{set follow-fork-mode}}.
2890
2891 @table @code
2892 @kindex set follow-fork-mode
2893 @item set follow-fork-mode @var{mode}
2894 Set the debugger response to a program call of @code{fork} or
2895 @code{vfork}. A call to @code{fork} or @code{vfork} creates a new
2896 process. The @var{mode} argument can be:
2897
2898 @table @code
2899 @item parent
2900 The original process is debugged after a fork. The child process runs
2901 unimpeded. This is the default.
2902
2903 @item child
2904 The new process is debugged after a fork. The parent process runs
2905 unimpeded.
2906
2907 @end table
2908
2909 @kindex show follow-fork-mode
2910 @item show follow-fork-mode
2911 Display the current debugger response to a @code{fork} or @code{vfork} call.
2912 @end table
2913
2914 @cindex debugging multiple processes
2915 On Linux, if you want to debug both the parent and child processes, use the
2916 command @w{@code{set detach-on-fork}}.
2917
2918 @table @code
2919 @kindex set detach-on-fork
2920 @item set detach-on-fork @var{mode}
2921 Tells gdb whether to detach one of the processes after a fork, or
2922 retain debugger control over them both.
2923
2924 @table @code
2925 @item on
2926 The child process (or parent process, depending on the value of
2927 @code{follow-fork-mode}) will be detached and allowed to run
2928 independently. This is the default.
2929
2930 @item off
2931 Both processes will be held under the control of @value{GDBN}.
2932 One process (child or parent, depending on the value of
2933 @code{follow-fork-mode}) is debugged as usual, while the other
2934 is held suspended.
2935
2936 @end table
2937
2938 @kindex show detach-on-fork
2939 @item show detach-on-fork
2940 Show whether detach-on-fork mode is on/off.
2941 @end table
2942
2943 If you choose to set @samp{detach-on-fork} mode off, then @value{GDBN}
2944 will retain control of all forked processes (including nested forks).
2945 You can list the forked processes under the control of @value{GDBN} by
2946 using the @w{@code{info inferiors}} command, and switch from one fork
2947 to another by using the @code{inferior} command (@pxref{Inferiors and
2948 Programs, ,Debugging Multiple Inferiors and Programs}).
2949
2950 To quit debugging one of the forked processes, you can either detach
2951 from it by using the @w{@code{detach inferior}} command (allowing it
2952 to run independently), or kill it using the @w{@code{kill inferior}}
2953 command. @xref{Inferiors and Programs, ,Debugging Multiple Inferiors
2954 and Programs}.
2955
2956 If you ask to debug a child process and a @code{vfork} is followed by an
2957 @code{exec}, @value{GDBN} executes the new target up to the first
2958 breakpoint in the new target. If you have a breakpoint set on
2959 @code{main} in your original program, the breakpoint will also be set on
2960 the child process's @code{main}.
2961
2962 On some systems, when a child process is spawned by @code{vfork}, you
2963 cannot debug the child or parent until an @code{exec} call completes.
2964
2965 If you issue a @code{run} command to @value{GDBN} after an @code{exec}
2966 call executes, the new target restarts. To restart the parent
2967 process, use the @code{file} command with the parent executable name
2968 as its argument. By default, after an @code{exec} call executes,
2969 @value{GDBN} discards the symbols of the previous executable image.
2970 You can change this behaviour with the @w{@code{set follow-exec-mode}}
2971 command.
2972
2973 @table @code
2974 @kindex set follow-exec-mode
2975 @item set follow-exec-mode @var{mode}
2976
2977 Set debugger response to a program call of @code{exec}. An
2978 @code{exec} call replaces the program image of a process.
2979
2980 @code{follow-exec-mode} can be:
2981
2982 @table @code
2983 @item new
2984 @value{GDBN} creates a new inferior and rebinds the process to this
2985 new inferior. The program the process was running before the
2986 @code{exec} call can be restarted afterwards by restarting the
2987 original inferior.
2988
2989 For example:
2990
2991 @smallexample
2992 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
2993 (gdb) info inferior
2994 Id Description Executable
2995 * 1 <null> prog1
2996 (@value{GDBP}) run
2997 process 12020 is executing new program: prog2
2998 Program exited normally.
2999 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
3000 Id Description Executable
3001 * 2 <null> prog2
3002 1 <null> prog1
3003 @end smallexample
3004
3005 @item same
3006 @value{GDBN} keeps the process bound to the same inferior. The new
3007 executable image replaces the previous executable loaded in the
3008 inferior. Restarting the inferior after the @code{exec} call, with
3009 e.g., the @code{run} command, restarts the executable the process was
3010 running after the @code{exec} call. This is the default mode.
3011
3012 For example:
3013
3014 @smallexample
3015 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
3016 Id Description Executable
3017 * 1 <null> prog1
3018 (@value{GDBP}) run
3019 process 12020 is executing new program: prog2
3020 Program exited normally.
3021 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
3022 Id Description Executable
3023 * 1 <null> prog2
3024 @end smallexample
3025
3026 @end table
3027 @end table
3028
3029 You can use the @code{catch} command to make @value{GDBN} stop whenever
3030 a @code{fork}, @code{vfork}, or @code{exec} call is made. @xref{Set
3031 Catchpoints, ,Setting Catchpoints}.
3032
3033 @node Checkpoint/Restart
3034 @section Setting a @emph{Bookmark} to Return to Later
3035
3036 @cindex checkpoint
3037 @cindex restart
3038 @cindex bookmark
3039 @cindex snapshot of a process
3040 @cindex rewind program state
3041
3042 On certain operating systems@footnote{Currently, only
3043 @sc{gnu}/Linux.}, @value{GDBN} is able to save a @dfn{snapshot} of a
3044 program's state, called a @dfn{checkpoint}, and come back to it
3045 later.
3046
3047 Returning to a checkpoint effectively undoes everything that has
3048 happened in the program since the @code{checkpoint} was saved. This
3049 includes changes in memory, registers, and even (within some limits)
3050 system state. Effectively, it is like going back in time to the
3051 moment when the checkpoint was saved.
3052
3053 Thus, if you're stepping thru a program and you think you're
3054 getting close to the point where things go wrong, you can save
3055 a checkpoint. Then, if you accidentally go too far and miss
3056 the critical statement, instead of having to restart your program
3057 from the beginning, you can just go back to the checkpoint and
3058 start again from there.
3059
3060 This can be especially useful if it takes a lot of time or
3061 steps to reach the point where you think the bug occurs.
3062
3063 To use the @code{checkpoint}/@code{restart} method of debugging:
3064
3065 @table @code
3066 @kindex checkpoint
3067 @item checkpoint
3068 Save a snapshot of the debugged program's current execution state.
3069 The @code{checkpoint} command takes no arguments, but each checkpoint
3070 is assigned a small integer id, similar to a breakpoint id.
3071
3072 @kindex info checkpoints
3073 @item info checkpoints
3074 List the checkpoints that have been saved in the current debugging
3075 session. For each checkpoint, the following information will be
3076 listed:
3077
3078 @table @code
3079 @item Checkpoint ID
3080 @item Process ID
3081 @item Code Address
3082 @item Source line, or label
3083 @end table
3084
3085 @kindex restart @var{checkpoint-id}
3086 @item restart @var{checkpoint-id}
3087 Restore the program state that was saved as checkpoint number
3088 @var{checkpoint-id}. All program variables, registers, stack frames
3089 etc.@: will be returned to the values that they had when the checkpoint
3090 was saved. In essence, gdb will ``wind back the clock'' to the point
3091 in time when the checkpoint was saved.
3092
3093 Note that breakpoints, @value{GDBN} variables, command history etc.
3094 are not affected by restoring a checkpoint. In general, a checkpoint
3095 only restores things that reside in the program being debugged, not in
3096 the debugger.
3097
3098 @kindex delete checkpoint @var{checkpoint-id}
3099 @item delete checkpoint @var{checkpoint-id}
3100 Delete the previously-saved checkpoint identified by @var{checkpoint-id}.
3101
3102 @end table
3103
3104 Returning to a previously saved checkpoint will restore the user state
3105 of the program being debugged, plus a significant subset of the system
3106 (OS) state, including file pointers. It won't ``un-write'' data from
3107 a file, but it will rewind the file pointer to the previous location,
3108 so that the previously written data can be overwritten. For files
3109 opened in read mode, the pointer will also be restored so that the
3110 previously read data can be read again.
3111
3112 Of course, characters that have been sent to a printer (or other
3113 external device) cannot be ``snatched back'', and characters received
3114 from eg.@: a serial device can be removed from internal program buffers,
3115 but they cannot be ``pushed back'' into the serial pipeline, ready to
3116 be received again. Similarly, the actual contents of files that have
3117 been changed cannot be restored (at this time).
3118
3119 However, within those constraints, you actually can ``rewind'' your
3120 program to a previously saved point in time, and begin debugging it
3121 again --- and you can change the course of events so as to debug a
3122 different execution path this time.
3123
3124 @cindex checkpoints and process id
3125 Finally, there is one bit of internal program state that will be
3126 different when you return to a checkpoint --- the program's process
3127 id. Each checkpoint will have a unique process id (or @var{pid}),
3128 and each will be different from the program's original @var{pid}.
3129 If your program has saved a local copy of its process id, this could
3130 potentially pose a problem.
3131
3132 @subsection A Non-obvious Benefit of Using Checkpoints
3133
3134 On some systems such as @sc{gnu}/Linux, address space randomization
3135 is performed on new processes for security reasons. This makes it
3136 difficult or impossible to set a breakpoint, or watchpoint, on an
3137 absolute address if you have to restart the program, since the
3138 absolute location of a symbol will change from one execution to the
3139 next.
3140
3141 A checkpoint, however, is an @emph{identical} copy of a process.
3142 Therefore if you create a checkpoint at (eg.@:) the start of main,
3143 and simply return to that checkpoint instead of restarting the
3144 process, you can avoid the effects of address randomization and
3145 your symbols will all stay in the same place.
3146
3147 @node Stopping
3148 @chapter Stopping and Continuing
3149
3150 The principal purposes of using a debugger are so that you can stop your
3151 program before it terminates; or so that, if your program runs into
3152 trouble, you can investigate and find out why.
3153
3154 Inside @value{GDBN}, your program may stop for any of several reasons,
3155 such as a signal, a breakpoint, or reaching a new line after a
3156 @value{GDBN} command such as @code{step}. You may then examine and
3157 change variables, set new breakpoints or remove old ones, and then
3158 continue execution. Usually, the messages shown by @value{GDBN} provide
3159 ample explanation of the status of your program---but you can also
3160 explicitly request this information at any time.
3161
3162 @table @code
3163 @kindex info program
3164 @item info program
3165 Display information about the status of your program: whether it is
3166 running or not, what process it is, and why it stopped.
3167 @end table
3168
3169 @menu
3170 * Breakpoints:: Breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints
3171 * Continuing and Stepping:: Resuming execution
3172 * Signals:: Signals
3173 * Thread Stops:: Stopping and starting multi-thread programs
3174 @end menu
3175
3176 @node Breakpoints
3177 @section Breakpoints, Watchpoints, and Catchpoints
3178
3179 @cindex breakpoints
3180 A @dfn{breakpoint} makes your program stop whenever a certain point in
3181 the program is reached. For each breakpoint, you can add conditions to
3182 control in finer detail whether your program stops. You can set
3183 breakpoints with the @code{break} command and its variants (@pxref{Set
3184 Breaks, ,Setting Breakpoints}), to specify the place where your program
3185 should stop by line number, function name or exact address in the
3186 program.
3187
3188 On some systems, you can set breakpoints in shared libraries before
3189 the executable is run. There is a minor limitation on HP-UX systems:
3190 you must wait until the executable is run in order to set breakpoints
3191 in shared library routines that are not called directly by the program
3192 (for example, routines that are arguments in a @code{pthread_create}
3193 call).
3194
3195 @cindex watchpoints
3196 @cindex data breakpoints
3197 @cindex memory tracing
3198 @cindex breakpoint on memory address
3199 @cindex breakpoint on variable modification
3200 A @dfn{watchpoint} is a special breakpoint that stops your program
3201 when the value of an expression changes. The expression may be a value
3202 of a variable, or it could involve values of one or more variables
3203 combined by operators, such as @samp{a + b}. This is sometimes called
3204 @dfn{data breakpoints}. You must use a different command to set
3205 watchpoints (@pxref{Set Watchpoints, ,Setting Watchpoints}), but aside
3206 from that, you can manage a watchpoint like any other breakpoint: you
3207 enable, disable, and delete both breakpoints and watchpoints using the
3208 same commands.
3209
3210 You can arrange to have values from your program displayed automatically
3211 whenever @value{GDBN} stops at a breakpoint. @xref{Auto Display,,
3212 Automatic Display}.
3213
3214 @cindex catchpoints
3215 @cindex breakpoint on events
3216 A @dfn{catchpoint} is another special breakpoint that stops your program
3217 when a certain kind of event occurs, such as the throwing of a C@t{++}
3218 exception or the loading of a library. As with watchpoints, you use a
3219 different command to set a catchpoint (@pxref{Set Catchpoints, ,Setting
3220 Catchpoints}), but aside from that, you can manage a catchpoint like any
3221 other breakpoint. (To stop when your program receives a signal, use the
3222 @code{handle} command; see @ref{Signals, ,Signals}.)
3223
3224 @cindex breakpoint numbers
3225 @cindex numbers for breakpoints
3226 @value{GDBN} assigns a number to each breakpoint, watchpoint, or
3227 catchpoint when you create it; these numbers are successive integers
3228 starting with one. In many of the commands for controlling various
3229 features of breakpoints you use the breakpoint number to say which
3230 breakpoint you want to change. Each breakpoint may be @dfn{enabled} or
3231 @dfn{disabled}; if disabled, it has no effect on your program until you
3232 enable it again.
3233
3234 @cindex breakpoint ranges
3235 @cindex ranges of breakpoints
3236 Some @value{GDBN} commands accept a range of breakpoints on which to
3237 operate. A breakpoint range is either a single breakpoint number, like
3238 @samp{5}, or two such numbers, in increasing order, separated by a
3239 hyphen, like @samp{5-7}. When a breakpoint range is given to a command,
3240 all breakpoints in that range are operated on.
3241
3242 @menu
3243 * Set Breaks:: Setting breakpoints
3244 * Set Watchpoints:: Setting watchpoints
3245 * Set Catchpoints:: Setting catchpoints
3246 * Delete Breaks:: Deleting breakpoints
3247 * Disabling:: Disabling breakpoints
3248 * Conditions:: Break conditions
3249 * Break Commands:: Breakpoint command lists
3250 * Error in Breakpoints:: ``Cannot insert breakpoints''
3251 * Breakpoint-related Warnings:: ``Breakpoint address adjusted...''
3252 @end menu
3253
3254 @node Set Breaks
3255 @subsection Setting Breakpoints
3256
3257 @c FIXME LMB what does GDB do if no code on line of breakpt?
3258 @c consider in particular declaration with/without initialization.
3259 @c
3260 @c FIXME 2 is there stuff on this already? break at fun start, already init?
3261
3262 @kindex break
3263 @kindex b @r{(@code{break})}
3264 @vindex $bpnum@r{, convenience variable}
3265 @cindex latest breakpoint
3266 Breakpoints are set with the @code{break} command (abbreviated
3267 @code{b}). The debugger convenience variable @samp{$bpnum} records the
3268 number of the breakpoint you've set most recently; see @ref{Convenience
3269 Vars,, Convenience Variables}, for a discussion of what you can do with
3270 convenience variables.
3271
3272 @table @code
3273 @item break @var{location}
3274 Set a breakpoint at the given @var{location}, which can specify a
3275 function name, a line number, or an address of an instruction.
3276 (@xref{Specify Location}, for a list of all the possible ways to
3277 specify a @var{location}.) The breakpoint will stop your program just
3278 before it executes any of the code in the specified @var{location}.
3279
3280 When using source languages that permit overloading of symbols, such as
3281 C@t{++}, a function name may refer to more than one possible place to break.
3282 @xref{Ambiguous Expressions,,Ambiguous Expressions}, for a discussion of
3283 that situation.
3284
3285 It is also possible to insert a breakpoint that will stop the program
3286 only if a specific thread (@pxref{Thread-Specific Breakpoints})
3287 or a specific task (@pxref{Ada Tasks}) hits that breakpoint.
3288
3289 @item break
3290 When called without any arguments, @code{break} sets a breakpoint at
3291 the next instruction to be executed in the selected stack frame
3292 (@pxref{Stack, ,Examining the Stack}). In any selected frame but the
3293 innermost, this makes your program stop as soon as control
3294 returns to that frame. This is similar to the effect of a
3295 @code{finish} command in the frame inside the selected frame---except
3296 that @code{finish} does not leave an active breakpoint. If you use
3297 @code{break} without an argument in the innermost frame, @value{GDBN} stops
3298 the next time it reaches the current location; this may be useful
3299 inside loops.
3300
3301 @value{GDBN} normally ignores breakpoints when it resumes execution, until at
3302 least one instruction has been executed. If it did not do this, you
3303 would be unable to proceed past a breakpoint without first disabling the
3304 breakpoint. This rule applies whether or not the breakpoint already
3305 existed when your program stopped.
3306
3307 @item break @dots{} if @var{cond}
3308 Set a breakpoint with condition @var{cond}; evaluate the expression
3309 @var{cond} each time the breakpoint is reached, and stop only if the
3310 value is nonzero---that is, if @var{cond} evaluates as true.
3311 @samp{@dots{}} stands for one of the possible arguments described
3312 above (or no argument) specifying where to break. @xref{Conditions,
3313 ,Break Conditions}, for more information on breakpoint conditions.
3314
3315 @kindex tbreak
3316 @item tbreak @var{args}
3317 Set a breakpoint enabled only for one stop. @var{args} are the
3318 same as for the @code{break} command, and the breakpoint is set in the same
3319 way, but the breakpoint is automatically deleted after the first time your
3320 program stops there. @xref{Disabling, ,Disabling Breakpoints}.
3321
3322 @kindex hbreak
3323 @cindex hardware breakpoints
3324 @item hbreak @var{args}
3325 Set a hardware-assisted breakpoint. @var{args} are the same as for the
3326 @code{break} command and the breakpoint is set in the same way, but the
3327 breakpoint requires hardware support and some target hardware may not
3328 have this support. The main purpose of this is EPROM/ROM code
3329 debugging, so you can set a breakpoint at an instruction without
3330 changing the instruction. This can be used with the new trap-generation
3331 provided by SPARClite DSU and most x86-based targets. These targets
3332 will generate traps when a program accesses some data or instruction
3333 address that is assigned to the debug registers. However the hardware
3334 breakpoint registers can take a limited number of breakpoints. For
3335 example, on the DSU, only two data breakpoints can be set at a time, and
3336 @value{GDBN} will reject this command if more than two are used. Delete
3337 or disable unused hardware breakpoints before setting new ones
3338 (@pxref{Disabling, ,Disabling Breakpoints}).
3339 @xref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}.
3340 For remote targets, you can restrict the number of hardware
3341 breakpoints @value{GDBN} will use, see @ref{set remote
3342 hardware-breakpoint-limit}.
3343
3344 @kindex thbreak
3345 @item thbreak @var{args}
3346 Set a hardware-assisted breakpoint enabled only for one stop. @var{args}
3347 are the same as for the @code{hbreak} command and the breakpoint is set in
3348 the same way. However, like the @code{tbreak} command,
3349 the breakpoint is automatically deleted after the
3350 first time your program stops there. Also, like the @code{hbreak}
3351 command, the breakpoint requires hardware support and some target hardware
3352 may not have this support. @xref{Disabling, ,Disabling Breakpoints}.
3353 See also @ref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}.
3354
3355 @kindex rbreak
3356 @cindex regular expression
3357 @cindex breakpoints in functions matching a regexp
3358 @cindex set breakpoints in many functions
3359 @item rbreak @var{regex}
3360 Set breakpoints on all functions matching the regular expression
3361 @var{regex}. This command sets an unconditional breakpoint on all
3362 matches, printing a list of all breakpoints it set. Once these
3363 breakpoints are set, they are treated just like the breakpoints set with
3364 the @code{break} command. You can delete them, disable them, or make
3365 them conditional the same way as any other breakpoint.
3366
3367 The syntax of the regular expression is the standard one used with tools
3368 like @file{grep}. Note that this is different from the syntax used by
3369 shells, so for instance @code{foo*} matches all functions that include
3370 an @code{fo} followed by zero or more @code{o}s. There is an implicit
3371 @code{.*} leading and trailing the regular expression you supply, so to
3372 match only functions that begin with @code{foo}, use @code{^foo}.
3373
3374 @cindex non-member C@t{++} functions, set breakpoint in
3375 When debugging C@t{++} programs, @code{rbreak} is useful for setting
3376 breakpoints on overloaded functions that are not members of any special
3377 classes.
3378
3379 @cindex set breakpoints on all functions
3380 The @code{rbreak} command can be used to set breakpoints in
3381 @strong{all} the functions in a program, like this:
3382
3383 @smallexample
3384 (@value{GDBP}) rbreak .
3385 @end smallexample
3386
3387 @kindex info breakpoints
3388 @cindex @code{$_} and @code{info breakpoints}
3389 @item info breakpoints @r{[}@var{n}@r{]}
3390 @itemx info break @r{[}@var{n}@r{]}
3391 Print a table of all breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints set and
3392 not deleted. Optional argument @var{n} means print information only
3393 about the specified breakpoint (or watchpoint or catchpoint). For
3394 each breakpoint, following columns are printed:
3395
3396 @table @emph
3397 @item Breakpoint Numbers
3398 @item Type
3399 Breakpoint, watchpoint, or catchpoint.
3400 @item Disposition
3401 Whether the breakpoint is marked to be disabled or deleted when hit.
3402 @item Enabled or Disabled
3403 Enabled breakpoints are marked with @samp{y}. @samp{n} marks breakpoints
3404 that are not enabled.
3405 @item Address
3406 Where the breakpoint is in your program, as a memory address. For a
3407 pending breakpoint whose address is not yet known, this field will
3408 contain @samp{<PENDING>}. Such breakpoint won't fire until a shared
3409 library that has the symbol or line referred by breakpoint is loaded.
3410 See below for details. A breakpoint with several locations will
3411 have @samp{<MULTIPLE>} in this field---see below for details.
3412 @item What
3413 Where the breakpoint is in the source for your program, as a file and
3414 line number. For a pending breakpoint, the original string passed to
3415 the breakpoint command will be listed as it cannot be resolved until
3416 the appropriate shared library is loaded in the future.
3417 @end table
3418
3419 @noindent
3420 If a breakpoint is conditional, @code{info break} shows the condition on
3421 the line following the affected breakpoint; breakpoint commands, if any,
3422 are listed after that. A pending breakpoint is allowed to have a condition
3423 specified for it. The condition is not parsed for validity until a shared
3424 library is loaded that allows the pending breakpoint to resolve to a
3425 valid location.
3426
3427 @noindent
3428 @code{info break} with a breakpoint
3429 number @var{n} as argument lists only that breakpoint. The
3430 convenience variable @code{$_} and the default examining-address for
3431 the @code{x} command are set to the address of the last breakpoint
3432 listed (@pxref{Memory, ,Examining Memory}).
3433
3434 @noindent
3435 @code{info break} displays a count of the number of times the breakpoint
3436 has been hit. This is especially useful in conjunction with the
3437 @code{ignore} command. You can ignore a large number of breakpoint
3438 hits, look at the breakpoint info to see how many times the breakpoint
3439 was hit, and then run again, ignoring one less than that number. This
3440 will get you quickly to the last hit of that breakpoint.
3441 @end table
3442
3443 @value{GDBN} allows you to set any number of breakpoints at the same place in
3444 your program. There is nothing silly or meaningless about this. When
3445 the breakpoints are conditional, this is even useful
3446 (@pxref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}).
3447
3448 @cindex multiple locations, breakpoints
3449 @cindex breakpoints, multiple locations
3450 It is possible that a breakpoint corresponds to several locations
3451 in your program. Examples of this situation are:
3452
3453 @itemize @bullet
3454 @item
3455 For a C@t{++} constructor, the @value{NGCC} compiler generates several
3456 instances of the function body, used in different cases.
3457
3458 @item
3459 For a C@t{++} template function, a given line in the function can
3460 correspond to any number of instantiations.
3461
3462 @item
3463 For an inlined function, a given source line can correspond to
3464 several places where that function is inlined.
3465 @end itemize
3466
3467 In all those cases, @value{GDBN} will insert a breakpoint at all
3468 the relevant locations@footnote{
3469 As of this writing, multiple-location breakpoints work only if there's
3470 line number information for all the locations. This means that they
3471 will generally not work in system libraries, unless you have debug
3472 info with line numbers for them.}.
3473
3474 A breakpoint with multiple locations is displayed in the breakpoint
3475 table using several rows---one header row, followed by one row for
3476 each breakpoint location. The header row has @samp{<MULTIPLE>} in the
3477 address column. The rows for individual locations contain the actual
3478 addresses for locations, and show the functions to which those
3479 locations belong. The number column for a location is of the form
3480 @var{breakpoint-number}.@var{location-number}.
3481
3482 For example:
3483
3484 @smallexample
3485 Num Type Disp Enb Address What
3486 1 breakpoint keep y <MULTIPLE>
3487 stop only if i==1
3488 breakpoint already hit 1 time
3489 1.1 y 0x080486a2 in void foo<int>() at t.cc:8
3490 1.2 y 0x080486ca in void foo<double>() at t.cc:8
3491 @end smallexample
3492
3493 Each location can be individually enabled or disabled by passing
3494 @var{breakpoint-number}.@var{location-number} as argument to the
3495 @code{enable} and @code{disable} commands. Note that you cannot
3496 delete the individual locations from the list, you can only delete the
3497 entire list of locations that belong to their parent breakpoint (with
3498 the @kbd{delete @var{num}} command, where @var{num} is the number of
3499 the parent breakpoint, 1 in the above example). Disabling or enabling
3500 the parent breakpoint (@pxref{Disabling}) affects all of the locations
3501 that belong to that breakpoint.
3502
3503 @cindex pending breakpoints
3504 It's quite common to have a breakpoint inside a shared library.
3505 Shared libraries can be loaded and unloaded explicitly,
3506 and possibly repeatedly, as the program is executed. To support
3507 this use case, @value{GDBN} updates breakpoint locations whenever
3508 any shared library is loaded or unloaded. Typically, you would
3509 set a breakpoint in a shared library at the beginning of your
3510 debugging session, when the library is not loaded, and when the
3511 symbols from the library are not available. When you try to set
3512 breakpoint, @value{GDBN} will ask you if you want to set
3513 a so called @dfn{pending breakpoint}---breakpoint whose address
3514 is not yet resolved.
3515
3516 After the program is run, whenever a new shared library is loaded,
3517 @value{GDBN} reevaluates all the breakpoints. When a newly loaded
3518 shared library contains the symbol or line referred to by some
3519 pending breakpoint, that breakpoint is resolved and becomes an
3520 ordinary breakpoint. When a library is unloaded, all breakpoints
3521 that refer to its symbols or source lines become pending again.
3522
3523 This logic works for breakpoints with multiple locations, too. For
3524 example, if you have a breakpoint in a C@t{++} template function, and
3525 a newly loaded shared library has an instantiation of that template,
3526 a new location is added to the list of locations for the breakpoint.
3527
3528 Except for having unresolved address, pending breakpoints do not
3529 differ from regular breakpoints. You can set conditions or commands,
3530 enable and disable them and perform other breakpoint operations.
3531
3532 @value{GDBN} provides some additional commands for controlling what
3533 happens when the @samp{break} command cannot resolve breakpoint
3534 address specification to an address:
3535
3536 @kindex set breakpoint pending
3537 @kindex show breakpoint pending
3538 @table @code
3539 @item set breakpoint pending auto
3540 This is the default behavior. When @value{GDBN} cannot find the breakpoint
3541 location, it queries you whether a pending breakpoint should be created.
3542
3543 @item set breakpoint pending on
3544 This indicates that an unrecognized breakpoint location should automatically
3545 result in a pending breakpoint being created.
3546
3547 @item set breakpoint pending off
3548 This indicates that pending breakpoints are not to be created. Any
3549 unrecognized breakpoint location results in an error. This setting does
3550 not affect any pending breakpoints previously created.
3551
3552 @item show breakpoint pending
3553 Show the current behavior setting for creating pending breakpoints.
3554 @end table
3555
3556 The settings above only affect the @code{break} command and its
3557 variants. Once breakpoint is set, it will be automatically updated
3558 as shared libraries are loaded and unloaded.
3559
3560 @cindex automatic hardware breakpoints
3561 For some targets, @value{GDBN} can automatically decide if hardware or
3562 software breakpoints should be used, depending on whether the
3563 breakpoint address is read-only or read-write. This applies to
3564 breakpoints set with the @code{break} command as well as to internal
3565 breakpoints set by commands like @code{next} and @code{finish}. For
3566 breakpoints set with @code{hbreak}, @value{GDBN} will always use hardware
3567 breakpoints.
3568
3569 You can control this automatic behaviour with the following commands::
3570
3571 @kindex set breakpoint auto-hw
3572 @kindex show breakpoint auto-hw
3573 @table @code
3574 @item set breakpoint auto-hw on
3575 This is the default behavior. When @value{GDBN} sets a breakpoint, it
3576 will try to use the target memory map to decide if software or hardware
3577 breakpoint must be used.
3578
3579 @item set breakpoint auto-hw off
3580 This indicates @value{GDBN} should not automatically select breakpoint
3581 type. If the target provides a memory map, @value{GDBN} will warn when
3582 trying to set software breakpoint at a read-only address.
3583 @end table
3584
3585 @value{GDBN} normally implements breakpoints by replacing the program code
3586 at the breakpoint address with a special instruction, which, when
3587 executed, given control to the debugger. By default, the program
3588 code is so modified only when the program is resumed. As soon as
3589 the program stops, @value{GDBN} restores the original instructions. This
3590 behaviour guards against leaving breakpoints inserted in the
3591 target should gdb abrubptly disconnect. However, with slow remote
3592 targets, inserting and removing breakpoint can reduce the performance.
3593 This behavior can be controlled with the following commands::
3594
3595 @kindex set breakpoint always-inserted
3596 @kindex show breakpoint always-inserted
3597 @table @code
3598 @item set breakpoint always-inserted off
3599 All breakpoints, including newly added by the user, are inserted in
3600 the target only when the target is resumed. All breakpoints are
3601 removed from the target when it stops.
3602
3603 @item set breakpoint always-inserted on
3604 Causes all breakpoints to be inserted in the target at all times. If
3605 the user adds a new breakpoint, or changes an existing breakpoint, the
3606 breakpoints in the target are updated immediately. A breakpoint is
3607 removed from the target only when breakpoint itself is removed.
3608
3609 @cindex non-stop mode, and @code{breakpoint always-inserted}
3610 @item set breakpoint always-inserted auto
3611 This is the default mode. If @value{GDBN} is controlling the inferior
3612 in non-stop mode (@pxref{Non-Stop Mode}), gdb behaves as if
3613 @code{breakpoint always-inserted} mode is on. If @value{GDBN} is
3614 controlling the inferior in all-stop mode, @value{GDBN} behaves as if
3615 @code{breakpoint always-inserted} mode is off.
3616 @end table
3617
3618 @cindex negative breakpoint numbers
3619 @cindex internal @value{GDBN} breakpoints
3620 @value{GDBN} itself sometimes sets breakpoints in your program for
3621 special purposes, such as proper handling of @code{longjmp} (in C
3622 programs). These internal breakpoints are assigned negative numbers,
3623 starting with @code{-1}; @samp{info breakpoints} does not display them.
3624 You can see these breakpoints with the @value{GDBN} maintenance command
3625 @samp{maint info breakpoints} (@pxref{maint info breakpoints}).
3626
3627
3628 @node Set Watchpoints
3629 @subsection Setting Watchpoints
3630
3631 @cindex setting watchpoints
3632 You can use a watchpoint to stop execution whenever the value of an
3633 expression changes, without having to predict a particular place where
3634 this may happen. (This is sometimes called a @dfn{data breakpoint}.)
3635 The expression may be as simple as the value of a single variable, or
3636 as complex as many variables combined by operators. Examples include:
3637
3638 @itemize @bullet
3639 @item
3640 A reference to the value of a single variable.
3641
3642 @item
3643 An address cast to an appropriate data type. For example,
3644 @samp{*(int *)0x12345678} will watch a 4-byte region at the specified
3645 address (assuming an @code{int} occupies 4 bytes).
3646
3647 @item
3648 An arbitrarily complex expression, such as @samp{a*b + c/d}. The
3649 expression can use any operators valid in the program's native
3650 language (@pxref{Languages}).
3651 @end itemize
3652
3653 You can set a watchpoint on an expression even if the expression can
3654 not be evaluated yet. For instance, you can set a watchpoint on
3655 @samp{*global_ptr} before @samp{global_ptr} is initialized.
3656 @value{GDBN} will stop when your program sets @samp{global_ptr} and
3657 the expression produces a valid value. If the expression becomes
3658 valid in some other way than changing a variable (e.g.@: if the memory
3659 pointed to by @samp{*global_ptr} becomes readable as the result of a
3660 @code{malloc} call), @value{GDBN} may not stop until the next time
3661 the expression changes.
3662
3663 @cindex software watchpoints
3664 @cindex hardware watchpoints
3665 Depending on your system, watchpoints may be implemented in software or
3666 hardware. @value{GDBN} does software watchpointing by single-stepping your
3667 program and testing the variable's value each time, which is hundreds of
3668 times slower than normal execution. (But this may still be worth it, to
3669 catch errors where you have no clue what part of your program is the
3670 culprit.)
3671
3672 On some systems, such as HP-UX, PowerPC, @sc{gnu}/Linux and most other
3673 x86-based targets, @value{GDBN} includes support for hardware
3674 watchpoints, which do not slow down the running of your program.
3675
3676 @table @code
3677 @kindex watch
3678 @item watch @var{expr} @r{[}thread @var{threadnum}@r{]}
3679 Set a watchpoint for an expression. @value{GDBN} will break when the
3680 expression @var{expr} is written into by the program and its value
3681 changes. The simplest (and the most popular) use of this command is
3682 to watch the value of a single variable:
3683
3684 @smallexample
3685 (@value{GDBP}) watch foo
3686 @end smallexample
3687
3688 If the command includes a @code{@r{[}thread @var{threadnum}@r{]}}
3689 clause, @value{GDBN} breaks only when the thread identified by
3690 @var{threadnum} changes the value of @var{expr}. If any other threads
3691 change the value of @var{expr}, @value{GDBN} will not break. Note
3692 that watchpoints restricted to a single thread in this way only work
3693 with Hardware Watchpoints.
3694
3695 @kindex rwatch
3696 @item rwatch @var{expr} @r{[}thread @var{threadnum}@r{]}
3697 Set a watchpoint that will break when the value of @var{expr} is read
3698 by the program.
3699
3700 @kindex awatch
3701 @item awatch @var{expr} @r{[}thread @var{threadnum}@r{]}
3702 Set a watchpoint that will break when @var{expr} is either read from
3703 or written into by the program.
3704
3705 @kindex info watchpoints @r{[}@var{n}@r{]}
3706 @item info watchpoints
3707 This command prints a list of watchpoints, using the same format as
3708 @code{info break} (@pxref{Set Breaks}).
3709 @end table
3710
3711 @value{GDBN} sets a @dfn{hardware watchpoint} if possible. Hardware
3712 watchpoints execute very quickly, and the debugger reports a change in
3713 value at the exact instruction where the change occurs. If @value{GDBN}
3714 cannot set a hardware watchpoint, it sets a software watchpoint, which
3715 executes more slowly and reports the change in value at the next
3716 @emph{statement}, not the instruction, after the change occurs.
3717
3718 @cindex use only software watchpoints
3719 You can force @value{GDBN} to use only software watchpoints with the
3720 @kbd{set can-use-hw-watchpoints 0} command. With this variable set to
3721 zero, @value{GDBN} will never try to use hardware watchpoints, even if
3722 the underlying system supports them. (Note that hardware-assisted
3723 watchpoints that were set @emph{before} setting
3724 @code{can-use-hw-watchpoints} to zero will still use the hardware
3725 mechanism of watching expression values.)
3726
3727 @table @code
3728 @item set can-use-hw-watchpoints
3729 @kindex set can-use-hw-watchpoints
3730 Set whether or not to use hardware watchpoints.
3731
3732 @item show can-use-hw-watchpoints
3733 @kindex show can-use-hw-watchpoints
3734 Show the current mode of using hardware watchpoints.
3735 @end table
3736
3737 For remote targets, you can restrict the number of hardware
3738 watchpoints @value{GDBN} will use, see @ref{set remote
3739 hardware-breakpoint-limit}.
3740
3741 When you issue the @code{watch} command, @value{GDBN} reports
3742
3743 @smallexample
3744 Hardware watchpoint @var{num}: @var{expr}
3745 @end smallexample
3746
3747 @noindent
3748 if it was able to set a hardware watchpoint.
3749
3750 Currently, the @code{awatch} and @code{rwatch} commands can only set
3751 hardware watchpoints, because accesses to data that don't change the
3752 value of the watched expression cannot be detected without examining
3753 every instruction as it is being executed, and @value{GDBN} does not do
3754 that currently. If @value{GDBN} finds that it is unable to set a
3755 hardware breakpoint with the @code{awatch} or @code{rwatch} command, it
3756 will print a message like this:
3757
3758 @smallexample
3759 Expression cannot be implemented with read/access watchpoint.
3760 @end smallexample
3761
3762 Sometimes, @value{GDBN} cannot set a hardware watchpoint because the
3763 data type of the watched expression is wider than what a hardware
3764 watchpoint on the target machine can handle. For example, some systems
3765 can only watch regions that are up to 4 bytes wide; on such systems you
3766 cannot set hardware watchpoints for an expression that yields a
3767 double-precision floating-point number (which is typically 8 bytes
3768 wide). As a work-around, it might be possible to break the large region
3769 into a series of smaller ones and watch them with separate watchpoints.
3770
3771 If you set too many hardware watchpoints, @value{GDBN} might be unable
3772 to insert all of them when you resume the execution of your program.
3773 Since the precise number of active watchpoints is unknown until such
3774 time as the program is about to be resumed, @value{GDBN} might not be
3775 able to warn you about this when you set the watchpoints, and the
3776 warning will be printed only when the program is resumed:
3777
3778 @smallexample
3779 Hardware watchpoint @var{num}: Could not insert watchpoint
3780 @end smallexample
3781
3782 @noindent
3783 If this happens, delete or disable some of the watchpoints.
3784
3785 Watching complex expressions that reference many variables can also
3786 exhaust the resources available for hardware-assisted watchpoints.
3787 That's because @value{GDBN} needs to watch every variable in the
3788 expression with separately allocated resources.
3789
3790 If you call a function interactively using @code{print} or @code{call},
3791 any watchpoints you have set will be inactive until @value{GDBN} reaches another
3792 kind of breakpoint or the call completes.
3793
3794 @value{GDBN} automatically deletes watchpoints that watch local
3795 (automatic) variables, or expressions that involve such variables, when
3796 they go out of scope, that is, when the execution leaves the block in
3797 which these variables were defined. In particular, when the program
3798 being debugged terminates, @emph{all} local variables go out of scope,
3799 and so only watchpoints that watch global variables remain set. If you
3800 rerun the program, you will need to set all such watchpoints again. One
3801 way of doing that would be to set a code breakpoint at the entry to the
3802 @code{main} function and when it breaks, set all the watchpoints.
3803
3804 @cindex watchpoints and threads
3805 @cindex threads and watchpoints
3806 In multi-threaded programs, watchpoints will detect changes to the
3807 watched expression from every thread.
3808
3809 @quotation
3810 @emph{Warning:} In multi-threaded programs, software watchpoints
3811 have only limited usefulness. If @value{GDBN} creates a software
3812 watchpoint, it can only watch the value of an expression @emph{in a
3813 single thread}. If you are confident that the expression can only
3814 change due to the current thread's activity (and if you are also
3815 confident that no other thread can become current), then you can use
3816 software watchpoints as usual. However, @value{GDBN} may not notice
3817 when a non-current thread's activity changes the expression. (Hardware
3818 watchpoints, in contrast, watch an expression in all threads.)
3819 @end quotation
3820
3821 @xref{set remote hardware-watchpoint-limit}.
3822
3823 @node Set Catchpoints
3824 @subsection Setting Catchpoints
3825 @cindex catchpoints, setting
3826 @cindex exception handlers
3827 @cindex event handling
3828
3829 You can use @dfn{catchpoints} to cause the debugger to stop for certain
3830 kinds of program events, such as C@t{++} exceptions or the loading of a
3831 shared library. Use the @code{catch} command to set a catchpoint.
3832
3833 @table @code
3834 @kindex catch
3835 @item catch @var{event}
3836 Stop when @var{event} occurs. @var{event} can be any of the following:
3837 @table @code
3838 @item throw
3839 @cindex stop on C@t{++} exceptions
3840 The throwing of a C@t{++} exception.
3841
3842 @item catch
3843 The catching of a C@t{++} exception.
3844
3845 @item exception
3846 @cindex Ada exception catching
3847 @cindex catch Ada exceptions
3848 An Ada exception being raised. If an exception name is specified
3849 at the end of the command (eg @code{catch exception Program_Error}),
3850 the debugger will stop only when this specific exception is raised.
3851 Otherwise, the debugger stops execution when any Ada exception is raised.
3852
3853 When inserting an exception catchpoint on a user-defined exception whose
3854 name is identical to one of the exceptions defined by the language, the
3855 fully qualified name must be used as the exception name. Otherwise,
3856 @value{GDBN} will assume that it should stop on the pre-defined exception
3857 rather than the user-defined one. For instance, assuming an exception
3858 called @code{Constraint_Error} is defined in package @code{Pck}, then
3859 the command to use to catch such exceptions is @kbd{catch exception
3860 Pck.Constraint_Error}.
3861
3862 @item exception unhandled
3863 An exception that was raised but is not handled by the program.
3864
3865 @item assert
3866 A failed Ada assertion.
3867
3868 @item exec
3869 @cindex break on fork/exec
3870 A call to @code{exec}. This is currently only available for HP-UX
3871 and @sc{gnu}/Linux.
3872
3873 @item syscall
3874 @itemx syscall @r{[}@var{name} @r{|} @var{number}@r{]} @dots{}
3875 @cindex break on a system call.
3876 A call to or return from a system call, a.k.a.@: @dfn{syscall}. A
3877 syscall is a mechanism for application programs to request a service
3878 from the operating system (OS) or one of the OS system services.
3879 @value{GDBN} can catch some or all of the syscalls issued by the
3880 debuggee, and show the related information for each syscall. If no
3881 argument is specified, calls to and returns from all system calls
3882 will be caught.
3883
3884 @var{name} can be any system call name that is valid for the
3885 underlying OS. Just what syscalls are valid depends on the OS. On
3886 GNU and Unix systems, you can find the full list of valid syscall
3887 names on @file{/usr/include/asm/unistd.h}.
3888
3889 @c For MS-Windows, the syscall names and the corresponding numbers
3890 @c can be found, e.g., on this URL:
3891 @c http://www.metasploit.com/users/opcode/syscalls.html
3892 @c but we don't support Windows syscalls yet.
3893
3894 Normally, @value{GDBN} knows in advance which syscalls are valid for
3895 each OS, so you can use the @value{GDBN} command-line completion
3896 facilities (@pxref{Completion,, command completion}) to list the
3897 available choices.
3898
3899 You may also specify the system call numerically. A syscall's
3900 number is the value passed to the OS's syscall dispatcher to
3901 identify the requested service. When you specify the syscall by its
3902 name, @value{GDBN} uses its database of syscalls to convert the name
3903 into the corresponding numeric code, but using the number directly
3904 may be useful if @value{GDBN}'s database does not have the complete
3905 list of syscalls on your system (e.g., because @value{GDBN} lags
3906 behind the OS upgrades).
3907
3908 The example below illustrates how this command works if you don't provide
3909 arguments to it:
3910
3911 @smallexample
3912 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall
3913 Catchpoint 1 (syscall)
3914 (@value{GDBP}) r
3915 Starting program: /tmp/catch-syscall
3916
3917 Catchpoint 1 (call to syscall 'close'), \
3918 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
3919 (@value{GDBP}) c
3920 Continuing.
3921
3922 Catchpoint 1 (returned from syscall 'close'), \
3923 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
3924 (@value{GDBP})
3925 @end smallexample
3926
3927 Here is an example of catching a system call by name:
3928
3929 @smallexample
3930 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall chroot
3931 Catchpoint 1 (syscall 'chroot' [61])
3932 (@value{GDBP}) r
3933 Starting program: /tmp/catch-syscall
3934
3935 Catchpoint 1 (call to syscall 'chroot'), \
3936 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
3937 (@value{GDBP}) c
3938 Continuing.
3939
3940 Catchpoint 1 (returned from syscall 'chroot'), \
3941 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
3942 (@value{GDBP})
3943 @end smallexample
3944
3945 An example of specifying a system call numerically. In the case
3946 below, the syscall number has a corresponding entry in the XML
3947 file, so @value{GDBN} finds its name and prints it:
3948
3949 @smallexample
3950 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall 252
3951 Catchpoint 1 (syscall(s) 'exit_group')
3952 (@value{GDBP}) r
3953 Starting program: /tmp/catch-syscall
3954
3955 Catchpoint 1 (call to syscall 'exit_group'), \
3956 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
3957 (@value{GDBP}) c
3958 Continuing.
3959
3960 Program exited normally.
3961 (@value{GDBP})
3962 @end smallexample
3963
3964 However, there can be situations when there is no corresponding name
3965 in XML file for that syscall number. In this case, @value{GDBN} prints
3966 a warning message saying that it was not able to find the syscall name,
3967 but the catchpoint will be set anyway. See the example below:
3968
3969 @smallexample
3970 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall 764
3971 warning: The number '764' does not represent a known syscall.
3972 Catchpoint 2 (syscall 764)
3973 (@value{GDBP})
3974 @end smallexample
3975
3976 If you configure @value{GDBN} using the @samp{--without-expat} option,
3977 it will not be able to display syscall names. Also, if your
3978 architecture does not have an XML file describing its system calls,
3979 you will not be able to see the syscall names. It is important to
3980 notice that these two features are used for accessing the syscall
3981 name database. In either case, you will see a warning like this:
3982
3983 @smallexample
3984 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall
3985 warning: Could not open "syscalls/i386-linux.xml"
3986 warning: Could not load the syscall XML file 'syscalls/i386-linux.xml'.
3987 GDB will not be able to display syscall names.
3988 Catchpoint 1 (syscall)
3989 (@value{GDBP})
3990 @end smallexample
3991
3992 Of course, the file name will change depending on your architecture and system.
3993
3994 Still using the example above, you can also try to catch a syscall by its
3995 number. In this case, you would see something like:
3996
3997 @smallexample
3998 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall 252
3999 Catchpoint 1 (syscall(s) 252)
4000 @end smallexample
4001
4002 Again, in this case @value{GDBN} would not be able to display syscall's names.
4003
4004 @item fork
4005 A call to @code{fork}. This is currently only available for HP-UX
4006 and @sc{gnu}/Linux.
4007
4008 @item vfork
4009 A call to @code{vfork}. This is currently only available for HP-UX
4010 and @sc{gnu}/Linux.
4011
4012 @end table
4013
4014 @item tcatch @var{event}
4015 Set a catchpoint that is enabled only for one stop. The catchpoint is
4016 automatically deleted after the first time the event is caught.
4017
4018 @end table
4019
4020 Use the @code{info break} command to list the current catchpoints.
4021
4022 There are currently some limitations to C@t{++} exception handling
4023 (@code{catch throw} and @code{catch catch}) in @value{GDBN}:
4024
4025 @itemize @bullet
4026 @item
4027 If you call a function interactively, @value{GDBN} normally returns
4028 control to you when the function has finished executing. If the call
4029 raises an exception, however, the call may bypass the mechanism that
4030 returns control to you and cause your program either to abort or to
4031 simply continue running until it hits a breakpoint, catches a signal
4032 that @value{GDBN} is listening for, or exits. This is the case even if
4033 you set a catchpoint for the exception; catchpoints on exceptions are
4034 disabled within interactive calls.
4035
4036 @item
4037 You cannot raise an exception interactively.
4038
4039 @item
4040 You cannot install an exception handler interactively.
4041 @end itemize
4042
4043 @cindex raise exceptions
4044 Sometimes @code{catch} is not the best way to debug exception handling:
4045 if you need to know exactly where an exception is raised, it is better to
4046 stop @emph{before} the exception handler is called, since that way you
4047 can see the stack before any unwinding takes place. If you set a
4048 breakpoint in an exception handler instead, it may not be easy to find
4049 out where the exception was raised.
4050
4051 To stop just before an exception handler is called, you need some
4052 knowledge of the implementation. In the case of @sc{gnu} C@t{++}, exceptions are
4053 raised by calling a library function named @code{__raise_exception}
4054 which has the following ANSI C interface:
4055
4056 @smallexample
4057 /* @var{addr} is where the exception identifier is stored.
4058 @var{id} is the exception identifier. */
4059 void __raise_exception (void **addr, void *id);
4060 @end smallexample
4061
4062 @noindent
4063 To make the debugger catch all exceptions before any stack
4064 unwinding takes place, set a breakpoint on @code{__raise_exception}
4065 (@pxref{Breakpoints, ,Breakpoints; Watchpoints; and Exceptions}).
4066
4067 With a conditional breakpoint (@pxref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions})
4068 that depends on the value of @var{id}, you can stop your program when
4069 a specific exception is raised. You can use multiple conditional
4070 breakpoints to stop your program when any of a number of exceptions are
4071 raised.
4072
4073
4074 @node Delete Breaks
4075 @subsection Deleting Breakpoints
4076
4077 @cindex clearing breakpoints, watchpoints, catchpoints
4078 @cindex deleting breakpoints, watchpoints, catchpoints
4079 It is often necessary to eliminate a breakpoint, watchpoint, or
4080 catchpoint once it has done its job and you no longer want your program
4081 to stop there. This is called @dfn{deleting} the breakpoint. A
4082 breakpoint that has been deleted no longer exists; it is forgotten.
4083
4084 With the @code{clear} command you can delete breakpoints according to
4085 where they are in your program. With the @code{delete} command you can
4086 delete individual breakpoints, watchpoints, or catchpoints by specifying
4087 their breakpoint numbers.
4088
4089 It is not necessary to delete a breakpoint to proceed past it. @value{GDBN}
4090 automatically ignores breakpoints on the first instruction to be executed
4091 when you continue execution without changing the execution address.
4092
4093 @table @code
4094 @kindex clear
4095 @item clear
4096 Delete any breakpoints at the next instruction to be executed in the
4097 selected stack frame (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}). When
4098 the innermost frame is selected, this is a good way to delete a
4099 breakpoint where your program just stopped.
4100
4101 @item clear @var{location}
4102 Delete any breakpoints set at the specified @var{location}.
4103 @xref{Specify Location}, for the various forms of @var{location}; the
4104 most useful ones are listed below:
4105
4106 @table @code
4107 @item clear @var{function}
4108 @itemx clear @var{filename}:@var{function}
4109 Delete any breakpoints set at entry to the named @var{function}.
4110
4111 @item clear @var{linenum}
4112 @itemx clear @var{filename}:@var{linenum}
4113 Delete any breakpoints set at or within the code of the specified
4114 @var{linenum} of the specified @var{filename}.
4115 @end table
4116
4117 @cindex delete breakpoints
4118 @kindex delete
4119 @kindex d @r{(@code{delete})}
4120 @item delete @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} @r{[}@var{range}@dots{}@r{]}
4121 Delete the breakpoints, watchpoints, or catchpoints of the breakpoint
4122 ranges specified as arguments. If no argument is specified, delete all
4123 breakpoints (@value{GDBN} asks confirmation, unless you have @code{set
4124 confirm off}). You can abbreviate this command as @code{d}.
4125 @end table
4126
4127 @node Disabling
4128 @subsection Disabling Breakpoints
4129
4130 @cindex enable/disable a breakpoint
4131 Rather than deleting a breakpoint, watchpoint, or catchpoint, you might
4132 prefer to @dfn{disable} it. This makes the breakpoint inoperative as if
4133 it had been deleted, but remembers the information on the breakpoint so
4134 that you can @dfn{enable} it again later.
4135
4136 You disable and enable breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints with
4137 the @code{enable} and @code{disable} commands, optionally specifying
4138 one or more breakpoint numbers as arguments. Use @code{info break} to
4139 print a list of all breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints if you
4140 do not know which numbers to use.
4141
4142 Disabling and enabling a breakpoint that has multiple locations
4143 affects all of its locations.
4144
4145 A breakpoint, watchpoint, or catchpoint can have any of four different
4146 states of enablement:
4147
4148 @itemize @bullet
4149 @item
4150 Enabled. The breakpoint stops your program. A breakpoint set
4151 with the @code{break} command starts out in this state.
4152 @item
4153 Disabled. The breakpoint has no effect on your program.
4154 @item
4155 Enabled once. The breakpoint stops your program, but then becomes
4156 disabled.
4157 @item
4158 Enabled for deletion. The breakpoint stops your program, but
4159 immediately after it does so it is deleted permanently. A breakpoint
4160 set with the @code{tbreak} command starts out in this state.
4161 @end itemize
4162
4163 You can use the following commands to enable or disable breakpoints,
4164 watchpoints, and catchpoints:
4165
4166 @table @code
4167 @kindex disable
4168 @kindex dis @r{(@code{disable})}
4169 @item disable @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} @r{[}@var{range}@dots{}@r{]}
4170 Disable the specified breakpoints---or all breakpoints, if none are
4171 listed. A disabled breakpoint has no effect but is not forgotten. All
4172 options such as ignore-counts, conditions and commands are remembered in
4173 case the breakpoint is enabled again later. You may abbreviate
4174 @code{disable} as @code{dis}.
4175
4176 @kindex enable
4177 @item enable @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} @r{[}@var{range}@dots{}@r{]}
4178 Enable the specified breakpoints (or all defined breakpoints). They
4179 become effective once again in stopping your program.
4180
4181 @item enable @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} once @var{range}@dots{}
4182 Enable the specified breakpoints temporarily. @value{GDBN} disables any
4183 of these breakpoints immediately after stopping your program.
4184
4185 @item enable @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} delete @var{range}@dots{}
4186 Enable the specified breakpoints to work once, then die. @value{GDBN}
4187 deletes any of these breakpoints as soon as your program stops there.
4188 Breakpoints set by the @code{tbreak} command start out in this state.
4189 @end table
4190
4191 @c FIXME: I think the following ``Except for [...] @code{tbreak}'' is
4192 @c confusing: tbreak is also initially enabled.
4193 Except for a breakpoint set with @code{tbreak} (@pxref{Set Breaks,
4194 ,Setting Breakpoints}), breakpoints that you set are initially enabled;
4195 subsequently, they become disabled or enabled only when you use one of
4196 the commands above. (The command @code{until} can set and delete a
4197 breakpoint of its own, but it does not change the state of your other
4198 breakpoints; see @ref{Continuing and Stepping, ,Continuing and
4199 Stepping}.)
4200
4201 @node Conditions
4202 @subsection Break Conditions
4203 @cindex conditional breakpoints
4204 @cindex breakpoint conditions
4205
4206 @c FIXME what is scope of break condition expr? Context where wanted?
4207 @c in particular for a watchpoint?
4208 The simplest sort of breakpoint breaks every time your program reaches a
4209 specified place. You can also specify a @dfn{condition} for a
4210 breakpoint. A condition is just a Boolean expression in your
4211 programming language (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}). A breakpoint with
4212 a condition evaluates the expression each time your program reaches it,
4213 and your program stops only if the condition is @emph{true}.
4214
4215 This is the converse of using assertions for program validation; in that
4216 situation, you want to stop when the assertion is violated---that is,
4217 when the condition is false. In C, if you want to test an assertion expressed
4218 by the condition @var{assert}, you should set the condition
4219 @samp{! @var{assert}} on the appropriate breakpoint.
4220
4221 Conditions are also accepted for watchpoints; you may not need them,
4222 since a watchpoint is inspecting the value of an expression anyhow---but
4223 it might be simpler, say, to just set a watchpoint on a variable name,
4224 and specify a condition that tests whether the new value is an interesting
4225 one.
4226
4227 Break conditions can have side effects, and may even call functions in
4228 your program. This can be useful, for example, to activate functions
4229 that log program progress, or to use your own print functions to
4230 format special data structures. The effects are completely predictable
4231 unless there is another enabled breakpoint at the same address. (In
4232 that case, @value{GDBN} might see the other breakpoint first and stop your
4233 program without checking the condition of this one.) Note that
4234 breakpoint commands are usually more convenient and flexible than break
4235 conditions for the
4236 purpose of performing side effects when a breakpoint is reached
4237 (@pxref{Break Commands, ,Breakpoint Command Lists}).
4238
4239 Break conditions can be specified when a breakpoint is set, by using
4240 @samp{if} in the arguments to the @code{break} command. @xref{Set
4241 Breaks, ,Setting Breakpoints}. They can also be changed at any time
4242 with the @code{condition} command.
4243
4244 You can also use the @code{if} keyword with the @code{watch} command.
4245 The @code{catch} command does not recognize the @code{if} keyword;
4246 @code{condition} is the only way to impose a further condition on a
4247 catchpoint.
4248
4249 @table @code
4250 @kindex condition
4251 @item condition @var{bnum} @var{expression}
4252 Specify @var{expression} as the break condition for breakpoint,
4253 watchpoint, or catchpoint number @var{bnum}. After you set a condition,
4254 breakpoint @var{bnum} stops your program only if the value of
4255 @var{expression} is true (nonzero, in C). When you use
4256 @code{condition}, @value{GDBN} checks @var{expression} immediately for
4257 syntactic correctness, and to determine whether symbols in it have
4258 referents in the context of your breakpoint. If @var{expression} uses
4259 symbols not referenced in the context of the breakpoint, @value{GDBN}
4260 prints an error message:
4261
4262 @smallexample
4263 No symbol "foo" in current context.
4264 @end smallexample
4265
4266 @noindent
4267 @value{GDBN} does
4268 not actually evaluate @var{expression} at the time the @code{condition}
4269 command (or a command that sets a breakpoint with a condition, like
4270 @code{break if @dots{}}) is given, however. @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}.
4271
4272 @item condition @var{bnum}
4273 Remove the condition from breakpoint number @var{bnum}. It becomes
4274 an ordinary unconditional breakpoint.
4275 @end table
4276
4277 @cindex ignore count (of breakpoint)
4278 A special case of a breakpoint condition is to stop only when the
4279 breakpoint has been reached a certain number of times. This is so
4280 useful that there is a special way to do it, using the @dfn{ignore
4281 count} of the breakpoint. Every breakpoint has an ignore count, which
4282 is an integer. Most of the time, the ignore count is zero, and
4283 therefore has no effect. But if your program reaches a breakpoint whose
4284 ignore count is positive, then instead of stopping, it just decrements
4285 the ignore count by one and continues. As a result, if the ignore count
4286 value is @var{n}, the breakpoint does not stop the next @var{n} times
4287 your program reaches it.
4288
4289 @table @code
4290 @kindex ignore
4291 @item ignore @var{bnum} @var{count}
4292 Set the ignore count of breakpoint number @var{bnum} to @var{count}.
4293 The next @var{count} times the breakpoint is reached, your program's
4294 execution does not stop; other than to decrement the ignore count, @value{GDBN}
4295 takes no action.
4296
4297 To make the breakpoint stop the next time it is reached, specify
4298 a count of zero.
4299
4300 When you use @code{continue} to resume execution of your program from a
4301 breakpoint, you can specify an ignore count directly as an argument to
4302 @code{continue}, rather than using @code{ignore}. @xref{Continuing and
4303 Stepping,,Continuing and Stepping}.
4304
4305 If a breakpoint has a positive ignore count and a condition, the
4306 condition is not checked. Once the ignore count reaches zero,
4307 @value{GDBN} resumes checking the condition.
4308
4309 You could achieve the effect of the ignore count with a condition such
4310 as @w{@samp{$foo-- <= 0}} using a debugger convenience variable that
4311 is decremented each time. @xref{Convenience Vars, ,Convenience
4312 Variables}.
4313 @end table
4314
4315 Ignore counts apply to breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints.
4316
4317
4318 @node Break Commands
4319 @subsection Breakpoint Command Lists
4320
4321 @cindex breakpoint commands
4322 You can give any breakpoint (or watchpoint or catchpoint) a series of
4323 commands to execute when your program stops due to that breakpoint. For
4324 example, you might want to print the values of certain expressions, or
4325 enable other breakpoints.
4326
4327 @table @code
4328 @kindex commands
4329 @kindex end@r{ (breakpoint commands)}
4330 @item commands @r{[}@var{range}@dots{}@r{]}
4331 @itemx @dots{} @var{command-list} @dots{}
4332 @itemx end
4333 Specify a list of commands for the given breakpoints. The commands
4334 themselves appear on the following lines. Type a line containing just
4335 @code{end} to terminate the commands.
4336
4337 To remove all commands from a breakpoint, type @code{commands} and
4338 follow it immediately with @code{end}; that is, give no commands.
4339
4340 With no argument, @code{commands} refers to the last breakpoint,
4341 watchpoint, or catchpoint set (not to the breakpoint most recently
4342 encountered). If the most recent breakpoints were set with a single
4343 command, then the @code{commands} will apply to all the breakpoints
4344 set by that command. This applies to breakpoints set by
4345 @code{rbreak}, and also applies when a single @code{break} command
4346 creates multiple breakpoints (@pxref{Ambiguous Expressions,,Ambiguous
4347 Expressions}).
4348 @end table
4349
4350 Pressing @key{RET} as a means of repeating the last @value{GDBN} command is
4351 disabled within a @var{command-list}.
4352
4353 You can use breakpoint commands to start your program up again. Simply
4354 use the @code{continue} command, or @code{step}, or any other command
4355 that resumes execution.
4356
4357 Any other commands in the command list, after a command that resumes
4358 execution, are ignored. This is because any time you resume execution
4359 (even with a simple @code{next} or @code{step}), you may encounter
4360 another breakpoint---which could have its own command list, leading to
4361 ambiguities about which list to execute.
4362
4363 @kindex silent
4364 If the first command you specify in a command list is @code{silent}, the
4365 usual message about stopping at a breakpoint is not printed. This may
4366 be desirable for breakpoints that are to print a specific message and
4367 then continue. If none of the remaining commands print anything, you
4368 see no sign that the breakpoint was reached. @code{silent} is
4369 meaningful only at the beginning of a breakpoint command list.
4370
4371 The commands @code{echo}, @code{output}, and @code{printf} allow you to
4372 print precisely controlled output, and are often useful in silent
4373 breakpoints. @xref{Output, ,Commands for Controlled Output}.
4374
4375 For example, here is how you could use breakpoint commands to print the
4376 value of @code{x} at entry to @code{foo} whenever @code{x} is positive.
4377
4378 @smallexample
4379 break foo if x>0
4380 commands
4381 silent
4382 printf "x is %d\n",x
4383 cont
4384 end
4385 @end smallexample
4386
4387 One application for breakpoint commands is to compensate for one bug so
4388 you can test for another. Put a breakpoint just after the erroneous line
4389 of code, give it a condition to detect the case in which something
4390 erroneous has been done, and give it commands to assign correct values
4391 to any variables that need them. End with the @code{continue} command
4392 so that your program does not stop, and start with the @code{silent}
4393 command so that no output is produced. Here is an example:
4394
4395 @smallexample
4396 break 403
4397 commands
4398 silent
4399 set x = y + 4
4400 cont
4401 end
4402 @end smallexample
4403
4404 @c @ifclear BARETARGET
4405 @node Error in Breakpoints
4406 @subsection ``Cannot insert breakpoints''
4407
4408 If you request too many active hardware-assisted breakpoints and
4409 watchpoints, you will see this error message:
4410
4411 @c FIXME: the precise wording of this message may change; the relevant
4412 @c source change is not committed yet (Sep 3, 1999).
4413 @smallexample
4414 Stopped; cannot insert breakpoints.
4415 You may have requested too many hardware breakpoints and watchpoints.
4416 @end smallexample
4417
4418 @noindent
4419 This message is printed when you attempt to resume the program, since
4420 only then @value{GDBN} knows exactly how many hardware breakpoints and
4421 watchpoints it needs to insert.
4422
4423 When this message is printed, you need to disable or remove some of the
4424 hardware-assisted breakpoints and watchpoints, and then continue.
4425
4426 @node Breakpoint-related Warnings
4427 @subsection ``Breakpoint address adjusted...''
4428 @cindex breakpoint address adjusted
4429
4430 Some processor architectures place constraints on the addresses at
4431 which breakpoints may be placed. For architectures thus constrained,
4432 @value{GDBN} will attempt to adjust the breakpoint's address to comply
4433 with the constraints dictated by the architecture.
4434
4435 One example of such an architecture is the Fujitsu FR-V. The FR-V is
4436 a VLIW architecture in which a number of RISC-like instructions may be
4437 bundled together for parallel execution. The FR-V architecture
4438 constrains the location of a breakpoint instruction within such a
4439 bundle to the instruction with the lowest address. @value{GDBN}
4440 honors this constraint by adjusting a breakpoint's address to the
4441 first in the bundle.
4442
4443 It is not uncommon for optimized code to have bundles which contain
4444 instructions from different source statements, thus it may happen that
4445 a breakpoint's address will be adjusted from one source statement to
4446 another. Since this adjustment may significantly alter @value{GDBN}'s
4447 breakpoint related behavior from what the user expects, a warning is
4448 printed when the breakpoint is first set and also when the breakpoint
4449 is hit.
4450
4451 A warning like the one below is printed when setting a breakpoint
4452 that's been subject to address adjustment:
4453
4454 @smallexample
4455 warning: Breakpoint address adjusted from 0x00010414 to 0x00010410.
4456 @end smallexample
4457
4458 Such warnings are printed both for user settable and @value{GDBN}'s
4459 internal breakpoints. If you see one of these warnings, you should
4460 verify that a breakpoint set at the adjusted address will have the
4461 desired affect. If not, the breakpoint in question may be removed and
4462 other breakpoints may be set which will have the desired behavior.
4463 E.g., it may be sufficient to place the breakpoint at a later
4464 instruction. A conditional breakpoint may also be useful in some
4465 cases to prevent the breakpoint from triggering too often.
4466
4467 @value{GDBN} will also issue a warning when stopping at one of these
4468 adjusted breakpoints:
4469
4470 @smallexample
4471 warning: Breakpoint 1 address previously adjusted from 0x00010414
4472 to 0x00010410.
4473 @end smallexample
4474
4475 When this warning is encountered, it may be too late to take remedial
4476 action except in cases where the breakpoint is hit earlier or more
4477 frequently than expected.
4478
4479 @node Continuing and Stepping
4480 @section Continuing and Stepping
4481
4482 @cindex stepping
4483 @cindex continuing
4484 @cindex resuming execution
4485 @dfn{Continuing} means resuming program execution until your program
4486 completes normally. In contrast, @dfn{stepping} means executing just
4487 one more ``step'' of your program, where ``step'' may mean either one
4488 line of source code, or one machine instruction (depending on what
4489 particular command you use). Either when continuing or when stepping,
4490 your program may stop even sooner, due to a breakpoint or a signal. (If
4491 it stops due to a signal, you may want to use @code{handle}, or use
4492 @samp{signal 0} to resume execution. @xref{Signals, ,Signals}.)
4493
4494 @table @code
4495 @kindex continue
4496 @kindex c @r{(@code{continue})}
4497 @kindex fg @r{(resume foreground execution)}
4498 @item continue @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
4499 @itemx c @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
4500 @itemx fg @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
4501 Resume program execution, at the address where your program last stopped;
4502 any breakpoints set at that address are bypassed. The optional argument
4503 @var{ignore-count} allows you to specify a further number of times to
4504 ignore a breakpoint at this location; its effect is like that of
4505 @code{ignore} (@pxref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}).
4506
4507 The argument @var{ignore-count} is meaningful only when your program
4508 stopped due to a breakpoint. At other times, the argument to
4509 @code{continue} is ignored.
4510
4511 The synonyms @code{c} and @code{fg} (for @dfn{foreground}, as the
4512 debugged program is deemed to be the foreground program) are provided
4513 purely for convenience, and have exactly the same behavior as
4514 @code{continue}.
4515 @end table
4516
4517 To resume execution at a different place, you can use @code{return}
4518 (@pxref{Returning, ,Returning from a Function}) to go back to the
4519 calling function; or @code{jump} (@pxref{Jumping, ,Continuing at a
4520 Different Address}) to go to an arbitrary location in your program.
4521
4522 A typical technique for using stepping is to set a breakpoint
4523 (@pxref{Breakpoints, ,Breakpoints; Watchpoints; and Catchpoints}) at the
4524 beginning of the function or the section of your program where a problem
4525 is believed to lie, run your program until it stops at that breakpoint,
4526 and then step through the suspect area, examining the variables that are
4527 interesting, until you see the problem happen.
4528
4529 @table @code
4530 @kindex step
4531 @kindex s @r{(@code{step})}
4532 @item step
4533 Continue running your program until control reaches a different source
4534 line, then stop it and return control to @value{GDBN}. This command is
4535 abbreviated @code{s}.
4536
4537 @quotation
4538 @c "without debugging information" is imprecise; actually "without line
4539 @c numbers in the debugging information". (gcc -g1 has debugging info but
4540 @c not line numbers). But it seems complex to try to make that
4541 @c distinction here.
4542 @emph{Warning:} If you use the @code{step} command while control is
4543 within a function that was compiled without debugging information,
4544 execution proceeds until control reaches a function that does have
4545 debugging information. Likewise, it will not step into a function which
4546 is compiled without debugging information. To step through functions
4547 without debugging information, use the @code{stepi} command, described
4548 below.
4549 @end quotation
4550
4551 The @code{step} command only stops at the first instruction of a source
4552 line. This prevents the multiple stops that could otherwise occur in
4553 @code{switch} statements, @code{for} loops, etc. @code{step} continues
4554 to stop if a function that has debugging information is called within
4555 the line. In other words, @code{step} @emph{steps inside} any functions
4556 called within the line.
4557
4558 Also, the @code{step} command only enters a function if there is line
4559 number information for the function. Otherwise it acts like the
4560 @code{next} command. This avoids problems when using @code{cc -gl}
4561 on MIPS machines. Previously, @code{step} entered subroutines if there
4562 was any debugging information about the routine.
4563
4564 @item step @var{count}
4565 Continue running as in @code{step}, but do so @var{count} times. If a
4566 breakpoint is reached, or a signal not related to stepping occurs before
4567 @var{count} steps, stepping stops right away.
4568
4569 @kindex next
4570 @kindex n @r{(@code{next})}
4571 @item next @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
4572 Continue to the next source line in the current (innermost) stack frame.
4573 This is similar to @code{step}, but function calls that appear within
4574 the line of code are executed without stopping. Execution stops when
4575 control reaches a different line of code at the original stack level
4576 that was executing when you gave the @code{next} command. This command
4577 is abbreviated @code{n}.
4578
4579 An argument @var{count} is a repeat count, as for @code{step}.
4580
4581
4582 @c FIX ME!! Do we delete this, or is there a way it fits in with
4583 @c the following paragraph? --- Vctoria
4584 @c
4585 @c @code{next} within a function that lacks debugging information acts like
4586 @c @code{step}, but any function calls appearing within the code of the
4587 @c function are executed without stopping.
4588
4589 The @code{next} command only stops at the first instruction of a
4590 source line. This prevents multiple stops that could otherwise occur in
4591 @code{switch} statements, @code{for} loops, etc.
4592
4593 @kindex set step-mode
4594 @item set step-mode
4595 @cindex functions without line info, and stepping
4596 @cindex stepping into functions with no line info
4597 @itemx set step-mode on
4598 The @code{set step-mode on} command causes the @code{step} command to
4599 stop at the first instruction of a function which contains no debug line
4600 information rather than stepping over it.
4601
4602 This is useful in cases where you may be interested in inspecting the
4603 machine instructions of a function which has no symbolic info and do not
4604 want @value{GDBN} to automatically skip over this function.
4605
4606 @item set step-mode off
4607 Causes the @code{step} command to step over any functions which contains no
4608 debug information. This is the default.
4609
4610 @item show step-mode
4611 Show whether @value{GDBN} will stop in or step over functions without
4612 source line debug information.
4613
4614 @kindex finish
4615 @kindex fin @r{(@code{finish})}
4616 @item finish
4617 Continue running until just after function in the selected stack frame
4618 returns. Print the returned value (if any). This command can be
4619 abbreviated as @code{fin}.
4620
4621 Contrast this with the @code{return} command (@pxref{Returning,
4622 ,Returning from a Function}).
4623
4624 @kindex until
4625 @kindex u @r{(@code{until})}
4626 @cindex run until specified location
4627 @item until
4628 @itemx u
4629 Continue running until a source line past the current line, in the
4630 current stack frame, is reached. This command is used to avoid single
4631 stepping through a loop more than once. It is like the @code{next}
4632 command, except that when @code{until} encounters a jump, it
4633 automatically continues execution until the program counter is greater
4634 than the address of the jump.
4635
4636 This means that when you reach the end of a loop after single stepping
4637 though it, @code{until} makes your program continue execution until it
4638 exits the loop. In contrast, a @code{next} command at the end of a loop
4639 simply steps back to the beginning of the loop, which forces you to step
4640 through the next iteration.
4641
4642 @code{until} always stops your program if it attempts to exit the current
4643 stack frame.
4644
4645 @code{until} may produce somewhat counterintuitive results if the order
4646 of machine code does not match the order of the source lines. For
4647 example, in the following excerpt from a debugging session, the @code{f}
4648 (@code{frame}) command shows that execution is stopped at line
4649 @code{206}; yet when we use @code{until}, we get to line @code{195}:
4650
4651 @smallexample
4652 (@value{GDBP}) f
4653 #0 main (argc=4, argv=0xf7fffae8) at m4.c:206
4654 206 expand_input();
4655 (@value{GDBP}) until
4656 195 for ( ; argc > 0; NEXTARG) @{
4657 @end smallexample
4658
4659 This happened because, for execution efficiency, the compiler had
4660 generated code for the loop closure test at the end, rather than the
4661 start, of the loop---even though the test in a C @code{for}-loop is
4662 written before the body of the loop. The @code{until} command appeared
4663 to step back to the beginning of the loop when it advanced to this
4664 expression; however, it has not really gone to an earlier
4665 statement---not in terms of the actual machine code.
4666
4667 @code{until} with no argument works by means of single
4668 instruction stepping, and hence is slower than @code{until} with an
4669 argument.
4670
4671 @item until @var{location}
4672 @itemx u @var{location}
4673 Continue running your program until either the specified location is
4674 reached, or the current stack frame returns. @var{location} is any of
4675 the forms described in @ref{Specify Location}.
4676 This form of the command uses temporary breakpoints, and
4677 hence is quicker than @code{until} without an argument. The specified
4678 location is actually reached only if it is in the current frame. This
4679 implies that @code{until} can be used to skip over recursive function
4680 invocations. For instance in the code below, if the current location is
4681 line @code{96}, issuing @code{until 99} will execute the program up to
4682 line @code{99} in the same invocation of factorial, i.e., after the inner
4683 invocations have returned.
4684
4685 @smallexample
4686 94 int factorial (int value)
4687 95 @{
4688 96 if (value > 1) @{
4689 97 value *= factorial (value - 1);
4690 98 @}
4691 99 return (value);
4692 100 @}
4693 @end smallexample
4694
4695
4696 @kindex advance @var{location}
4697 @itemx advance @var{location}
4698 Continue running the program up to the given @var{location}. An argument is
4699 required, which should be of one of the forms described in
4700 @ref{Specify Location}.
4701 Execution will also stop upon exit from the current stack
4702 frame. This command is similar to @code{until}, but @code{advance} will
4703 not skip over recursive function calls, and the target location doesn't
4704 have to be in the same frame as the current one.
4705
4706
4707 @kindex stepi
4708 @kindex si @r{(@code{stepi})}
4709 @item stepi
4710 @itemx stepi @var{arg}
4711 @itemx si
4712 Execute one machine instruction, then stop and return to the debugger.
4713
4714 It is often useful to do @samp{display/i $pc} when stepping by machine
4715 instructions. This makes @value{GDBN} automatically display the next
4716 instruction to be executed, each time your program stops. @xref{Auto
4717 Display,, Automatic Display}.
4718
4719 An argument is a repeat count, as in @code{step}.
4720
4721 @need 750
4722 @kindex nexti
4723 @kindex ni @r{(@code{nexti})}
4724 @item nexti
4725 @itemx nexti @var{arg}
4726 @itemx ni
4727 Execute one machine instruction, but if it is a function call,
4728 proceed until the function returns.
4729
4730 An argument is a repeat count, as in @code{next}.
4731 @end table
4732
4733 @node Signals
4734 @section Signals
4735 @cindex signals
4736
4737 A signal is an asynchronous event that can happen in a program. The
4738 operating system defines the possible kinds of signals, and gives each
4739 kind a name and a number. For example, in Unix @code{SIGINT} is the
4740 signal a program gets when you type an interrupt character (often @kbd{Ctrl-c});
4741 @code{SIGSEGV} is the signal a program gets from referencing a place in
4742 memory far away from all the areas in use; @code{SIGALRM} occurs when
4743 the alarm clock timer goes off (which happens only if your program has
4744 requested an alarm).
4745
4746 @cindex fatal signals
4747 Some signals, including @code{SIGALRM}, are a normal part of the
4748 functioning of your program. Others, such as @code{SIGSEGV}, indicate
4749 errors; these signals are @dfn{fatal} (they kill your program immediately) if the
4750 program has not specified in advance some other way to handle the signal.
4751 @code{SIGINT} does not indicate an error in your program, but it is normally
4752 fatal so it can carry out the purpose of the interrupt: to kill the program.
4753
4754 @value{GDBN} has the ability to detect any occurrence of a signal in your
4755 program. You can tell @value{GDBN} in advance what to do for each kind of
4756 signal.
4757
4758 @cindex handling signals
4759 Normally, @value{GDBN} is set up to let the non-erroneous signals like
4760 @code{SIGALRM} be silently passed to your program
4761 (so as not to interfere with their role in the program's functioning)
4762 but to stop your program immediately whenever an error signal happens.
4763 You can change these settings with the @code{handle} command.
4764
4765 @table @code
4766 @kindex info signals
4767 @kindex info handle
4768 @item info signals
4769 @itemx info handle
4770 Print a table of all the kinds of signals and how @value{GDBN} has been told to
4771 handle each one. You can use this to see the signal numbers of all
4772 the defined types of signals.
4773
4774 @item info signals @var{sig}
4775 Similar, but print information only about the specified signal number.
4776
4777 @code{info handle} is an alias for @code{info signals}.
4778
4779 @kindex handle
4780 @item handle @var{signal} @r{[}@var{keywords}@dots{}@r{]}
4781 Change the way @value{GDBN} handles signal @var{signal}. @var{signal}
4782 can be the number of a signal or its name (with or without the
4783 @samp{SIG} at the beginning); a list of signal numbers of the form
4784 @samp{@var{low}-@var{high}}; or the word @samp{all}, meaning all the
4785 known signals. Optional arguments @var{keywords}, described below,
4786 say what change to make.
4787 @end table
4788
4789 @c @group
4790 The keywords allowed by the @code{handle} command can be abbreviated.
4791 Their full names are:
4792
4793 @table @code
4794 @item nostop
4795 @value{GDBN} should not stop your program when this signal happens. It may
4796 still print a message telling you that the signal has come in.
4797
4798 @item stop
4799 @value{GDBN} should stop your program when this signal happens. This implies
4800 the @code{print} keyword as well.
4801
4802 @item print
4803 @value{GDBN} should print a message when this signal happens.
4804
4805 @item noprint
4806 @value{GDBN} should not mention the occurrence of the signal at all. This
4807 implies the @code{nostop} keyword as well.
4808
4809 @item pass
4810 @itemx noignore
4811 @value{GDBN} should allow your program to see this signal; your program
4812 can handle the signal, or else it may terminate if the signal is fatal
4813 and not handled. @code{pass} and @code{noignore} are synonyms.
4814
4815 @item nopass
4816 @itemx ignore
4817 @value{GDBN} should not allow your program to see this signal.
4818 @code{nopass} and @code{ignore} are synonyms.
4819 @end table
4820 @c @end group
4821
4822 When a signal stops your program, the signal is not visible to the
4823 program until you
4824 continue. Your program sees the signal then, if @code{pass} is in
4825 effect for the signal in question @emph{at that time}. In other words,
4826 after @value{GDBN} reports a signal, you can use the @code{handle}
4827 command with @code{pass} or @code{nopass} to control whether your
4828 program sees that signal when you continue.
4829
4830 The default is set to @code{nostop}, @code{noprint}, @code{pass} for
4831 non-erroneous signals such as @code{SIGALRM}, @code{SIGWINCH} and
4832 @code{SIGCHLD}, and to @code{stop}, @code{print}, @code{pass} for the
4833 erroneous signals.
4834
4835 You can also use the @code{signal} command to prevent your program from
4836 seeing a signal, or cause it to see a signal it normally would not see,
4837 or to give it any signal at any time. For example, if your program stopped
4838 due to some sort of memory reference error, you might store correct
4839 values into the erroneous variables and continue, hoping to see more
4840 execution; but your program would probably terminate immediately as
4841 a result of the fatal signal once it saw the signal. To prevent this,
4842 you can continue with @samp{signal 0}. @xref{Signaling, ,Giving your
4843 Program a Signal}.
4844
4845 @cindex extra signal information
4846 @anchor{extra signal information}
4847
4848 On some targets, @value{GDBN} can inspect extra signal information
4849 associated with the intercepted signal, before it is actually
4850 delivered to the program being debugged. This information is exported
4851 by the convenience variable @code{$_siginfo}, and consists of data
4852 that is passed by the kernel to the signal handler at the time of the
4853 receipt of a signal. The data type of the information itself is
4854 target dependent. You can see the data type using the @code{ptype
4855 $_siginfo} command. On Unix systems, it typically corresponds to the
4856 standard @code{siginfo_t} type, as defined in the @file{signal.h}
4857 system header.
4858
4859 Here's an example, on a @sc{gnu}/Linux system, printing the stray
4860 referenced address that raised a segmentation fault.
4861
4862 @smallexample
4863 @group
4864 (@value{GDBP}) continue
4865 Program received signal SIGSEGV, Segmentation fault.
4866 0x0000000000400766 in main ()
4867 69 *(int *)p = 0;
4868 (@value{GDBP}) ptype $_siginfo
4869 type = struct @{
4870 int si_signo;
4871 int si_errno;
4872 int si_code;
4873 union @{
4874 int _pad[28];
4875 struct @{...@} _kill;
4876 struct @{...@} _timer;
4877 struct @{...@} _rt;
4878 struct @{...@} _sigchld;
4879 struct @{...@} _sigfault;
4880 struct @{...@} _sigpoll;
4881 @} _sifields;
4882 @}
4883 (@value{GDBP}) ptype $_siginfo._sifields._sigfault
4884 type = struct @{
4885 void *si_addr;
4886 @}
4887 (@value{GDBP}) p $_siginfo._sifields._sigfault.si_addr
4888 $1 = (void *) 0x7ffff7ff7000
4889 @end group
4890 @end smallexample
4891
4892 Depending on target support, @code{$_siginfo} may also be writable.
4893
4894 @node Thread Stops
4895 @section Stopping and Starting Multi-thread Programs
4896
4897 @cindex stopped threads
4898 @cindex threads, stopped
4899
4900 @cindex continuing threads
4901 @cindex threads, continuing
4902
4903 @value{GDBN} supports debugging programs with multiple threads
4904 (@pxref{Threads,, Debugging Programs with Multiple Threads}). There
4905 are two modes of controlling execution of your program within the
4906 debugger. In the default mode, referred to as @dfn{all-stop mode},
4907 when any thread in your program stops (for example, at a breakpoint
4908 or while being stepped), all other threads in the program are also stopped by
4909 @value{GDBN}. On some targets, @value{GDBN} also supports
4910 @dfn{non-stop mode}, in which other threads can continue to run freely while
4911 you examine the stopped thread in the debugger.
4912
4913 @menu
4914 * All-Stop Mode:: All threads stop when GDB takes control
4915 * Non-Stop Mode:: Other threads continue to execute
4916 * Background Execution:: Running your program asynchronously
4917 * Thread-Specific Breakpoints:: Controlling breakpoints
4918 * Interrupted System Calls:: GDB may interfere with system calls
4919 @end menu
4920
4921 @node All-Stop Mode
4922 @subsection All-Stop Mode
4923
4924 @cindex all-stop mode
4925
4926 In all-stop mode, whenever your program stops under @value{GDBN} for any reason,
4927 @emph{all} threads of execution stop, not just the current thread. This
4928 allows you to examine the overall state of the program, including
4929 switching between threads, without worrying that things may change
4930 underfoot.
4931
4932 Conversely, whenever you restart the program, @emph{all} threads start
4933 executing. @emph{This is true even when single-stepping} with commands
4934 like @code{step} or @code{next}.
4935
4936 In particular, @value{GDBN} cannot single-step all threads in lockstep.
4937 Since thread scheduling is up to your debugging target's operating
4938 system (not controlled by @value{GDBN}), other threads may
4939 execute more than one statement while the current thread completes a
4940 single step. Moreover, in general other threads stop in the middle of a
4941 statement, rather than at a clean statement boundary, when the program
4942 stops.
4943
4944 You might even find your program stopped in another thread after
4945 continuing or even single-stepping. This happens whenever some other
4946 thread runs into a breakpoint, a signal, or an exception before the
4947 first thread completes whatever you requested.
4948
4949 @cindex automatic thread selection
4950 @cindex switching threads automatically
4951 @cindex threads, automatic switching
4952 Whenever @value{GDBN} stops your program, due to a breakpoint or a
4953 signal, it automatically selects the thread where that breakpoint or
4954 signal happened. @value{GDBN} alerts you to the context switch with a
4955 message such as @samp{[Switching to Thread @var{n}]} to identify the
4956 thread.
4957
4958 On some OSes, you can modify @value{GDBN}'s default behavior by
4959 locking the OS scheduler to allow only a single thread to run.
4960
4961 @table @code
4962 @item set scheduler-locking @var{mode}
4963 @cindex scheduler locking mode
4964 @cindex lock scheduler
4965 Set the scheduler locking mode. If it is @code{off}, then there is no
4966 locking and any thread may run at any time. If @code{on}, then only the
4967 current thread may run when the inferior is resumed. The @code{step}
4968 mode optimizes for single-stepping; it prevents other threads
4969 from preempting the current thread while you are stepping, so that
4970 the focus of debugging does not change unexpectedly.
4971 Other threads only rarely (or never) get a chance to run
4972 when you step. They are more likely to run when you @samp{next} over a
4973 function call, and they are completely free to run when you use commands
4974 like @samp{continue}, @samp{until}, or @samp{finish}. However, unless another
4975 thread hits a breakpoint during its timeslice, @value{GDBN} does not change
4976 the current thread away from the thread that you are debugging.
4977
4978 @item show scheduler-locking
4979 Display the current scheduler locking mode.
4980 @end table
4981
4982 @cindex resume threads of multiple processes simultaneously
4983 By default, when you issue one of the execution commands such as
4984 @code{continue}, @code{next} or @code{step}, @value{GDBN} allows only
4985 threads of the current inferior to run. For example, if @value{GDBN}
4986 is attached to two inferiors, each with two threads, the
4987 @code{continue} command resumes only the two threads of the current
4988 inferior. This is useful, for example, when you debug a program that
4989 forks and you want to hold the parent stopped (so that, for instance,
4990 it doesn't run to exit), while you debug the child. In other
4991 situations, you may not be interested in inspecting the current state
4992 of any of the processes @value{GDBN} is attached to, and you may want
4993 to resume them all until some breakpoint is hit. In the latter case,
4994 you can instruct @value{GDBN} to allow all threads of all the
4995 inferiors to run with the @w{@code{set schedule-multiple}} command.
4996
4997 @table @code
4998 @kindex set schedule-multiple
4999 @item set schedule-multiple
5000 Set the mode for allowing threads of multiple processes to be resumed
5001 when an execution command is issued. When @code{on}, all threads of
5002 all processes are allowed to run. When @code{off}, only the threads
5003 of the current process are resumed. The default is @code{off}. The
5004 @code{scheduler-locking} mode takes precedence when set to @code{on},
5005 or while you are stepping and set to @code{step}.
5006
5007 @item show schedule-multiple
5008 Display the current mode for resuming the execution of threads of
5009 multiple processes.
5010 @end table
5011
5012 @node Non-Stop Mode
5013 @subsection Non-Stop Mode
5014
5015 @cindex non-stop mode
5016
5017 @c This section is really only a place-holder, and needs to be expanded
5018 @c with more details.
5019
5020 For some multi-threaded targets, @value{GDBN} supports an optional
5021 mode of operation in which you can examine stopped program threads in
5022 the debugger while other threads continue to execute freely. This
5023 minimizes intrusion when debugging live systems, such as programs
5024 where some threads have real-time constraints or must continue to
5025 respond to external events. This is referred to as @dfn{non-stop} mode.
5026
5027 In non-stop mode, when a thread stops to report a debugging event,
5028 @emph{only} that thread is stopped; @value{GDBN} does not stop other
5029 threads as well, in contrast to the all-stop mode behavior. Additionally,
5030 execution commands such as @code{continue} and @code{step} apply by default
5031 only to the current thread in non-stop mode, rather than all threads as
5032 in all-stop mode. This allows you to control threads explicitly in
5033 ways that are not possible in all-stop mode --- for example, stepping
5034 one thread while allowing others to run freely, stepping
5035 one thread while holding all others stopped, or stepping several threads
5036 independently and simultaneously.
5037
5038 To enter non-stop mode, use this sequence of commands before you run
5039 or attach to your program:
5040
5041 @smallexample
5042 # Enable the async interface.
5043 set target-async 1
5044
5045 # If using the CLI, pagination breaks non-stop.
5046 set pagination off
5047
5048 # Finally, turn it on!
5049 set non-stop on
5050 @end smallexample
5051
5052 You can use these commands to manipulate the non-stop mode setting:
5053
5054 @table @code
5055 @kindex set non-stop
5056 @item set non-stop on
5057 Enable selection of non-stop mode.
5058 @item set non-stop off
5059 Disable selection of non-stop mode.
5060 @kindex show non-stop
5061 @item show non-stop
5062 Show the current non-stop enablement setting.
5063 @end table
5064
5065 Note these commands only reflect whether non-stop mode is enabled,
5066 not whether the currently-executing program is being run in non-stop mode.
5067 In particular, the @code{set non-stop} preference is only consulted when
5068 @value{GDBN} starts or connects to the target program, and it is generally
5069 not possible to switch modes once debugging has started. Furthermore,
5070 since not all targets support non-stop mode, even when you have enabled
5071 non-stop mode, @value{GDBN} may still fall back to all-stop operation by
5072 default.
5073
5074 In non-stop mode, all execution commands apply only to the current thread
5075 by default. That is, @code{continue} only continues one thread.
5076 To continue all threads, issue @code{continue -a} or @code{c -a}.
5077
5078 You can use @value{GDBN}'s background execution commands
5079 (@pxref{Background Execution}) to run some threads in the background
5080 while you continue to examine or step others from @value{GDBN}.
5081 The MI execution commands (@pxref{GDB/MI Program Execution}) are
5082 always executed asynchronously in non-stop mode.
5083
5084 Suspending execution is done with the @code{interrupt} command when
5085 running in the background, or @kbd{Ctrl-c} during foreground execution.
5086 In all-stop mode, this stops the whole process;
5087 but in non-stop mode the interrupt applies only to the current thread.
5088 To stop the whole program, use @code{interrupt -a}.
5089
5090 Other execution commands do not currently support the @code{-a} option.
5091
5092 In non-stop mode, when a thread stops, @value{GDBN} doesn't automatically make
5093 that thread current, as it does in all-stop mode. This is because the
5094 thread stop notifications are asynchronous with respect to @value{GDBN}'s
5095 command interpreter, and it would be confusing if @value{GDBN} unexpectedly
5096 changed to a different thread just as you entered a command to operate on the
5097 previously current thread.
5098
5099 @node Background Execution
5100 @subsection Background Execution
5101
5102 @cindex foreground execution
5103 @cindex background execution
5104 @cindex asynchronous execution
5105 @cindex execution, foreground, background and asynchronous
5106
5107 @value{GDBN}'s execution commands have two variants: the normal
5108 foreground (synchronous) behavior, and a background
5109 (asynchronous) behavior. In foreground execution, @value{GDBN} waits for
5110 the program to report that some thread has stopped before prompting for
5111 another command. In background execution, @value{GDBN} immediately gives
5112 a command prompt so that you can issue other commands while your program runs.
5113
5114 You need to explicitly enable asynchronous mode before you can use
5115 background execution commands. You can use these commands to
5116 manipulate the asynchronous mode setting:
5117
5118 @table @code
5119 @kindex set target-async
5120 @item set target-async on
5121 Enable asynchronous mode.
5122 @item set target-async off
5123 Disable asynchronous mode.
5124 @kindex show target-async
5125 @item show target-async
5126 Show the current target-async setting.
5127 @end table
5128
5129 If the target doesn't support async mode, @value{GDBN} issues an error
5130 message if you attempt to use the background execution commands.
5131
5132 To specify background execution, add a @code{&} to the command. For example,
5133 the background form of the @code{continue} command is @code{continue&}, or
5134 just @code{c&}. The execution commands that accept background execution
5135 are:
5136
5137 @table @code
5138 @kindex run&
5139 @item run
5140 @xref{Starting, , Starting your Program}.
5141
5142 @item attach
5143 @kindex attach&
5144 @xref{Attach, , Debugging an Already-running Process}.
5145
5146 @item step
5147 @kindex step&
5148 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, step}.
5149
5150 @item stepi
5151 @kindex stepi&
5152 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, stepi}.
5153
5154 @item next
5155 @kindex next&
5156 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, next}.
5157
5158 @item nexti
5159 @kindex nexti&
5160 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, nexti}.
5161
5162 @item continue
5163 @kindex continue&
5164 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, continue}.
5165
5166 @item finish
5167 @kindex finish&
5168 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, finish}.
5169
5170 @item until
5171 @kindex until&
5172 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, until}.
5173
5174 @end table
5175
5176 Background execution is especially useful in conjunction with non-stop
5177 mode for debugging programs with multiple threads; see @ref{Non-Stop Mode}.
5178 However, you can also use these commands in the normal all-stop mode with
5179 the restriction that you cannot issue another execution command until the
5180 previous one finishes. Examples of commands that are valid in all-stop
5181 mode while the program is running include @code{help} and @code{info break}.
5182
5183 You can interrupt your program while it is running in the background by
5184 using the @code{interrupt} command.
5185
5186 @table @code
5187 @kindex interrupt
5188 @item interrupt
5189 @itemx interrupt -a
5190
5191 Suspend execution of the running program. In all-stop mode,
5192 @code{interrupt} stops the whole process, but in non-stop mode, it stops
5193 only the current thread. To stop the whole program in non-stop mode,
5194 use @code{interrupt -a}.
5195 @end table
5196
5197 @node Thread-Specific Breakpoints
5198 @subsection Thread-Specific Breakpoints
5199
5200 When your program has multiple threads (@pxref{Threads,, Debugging
5201 Programs with Multiple Threads}), you can choose whether to set
5202 breakpoints on all threads, or on a particular thread.
5203
5204 @table @code
5205 @cindex breakpoints and threads
5206 @cindex thread breakpoints
5207 @kindex break @dots{} thread @var{threadno}
5208 @item break @var{linespec} thread @var{threadno}
5209 @itemx break @var{linespec} thread @var{threadno} if @dots{}
5210 @var{linespec} specifies source lines; there are several ways of
5211 writing them (@pxref{Specify Location}), but the effect is always to
5212 specify some source line.
5213
5214 Use the qualifier @samp{thread @var{threadno}} with a breakpoint command
5215 to specify that you only want @value{GDBN} to stop the program when a
5216 particular thread reaches this breakpoint. @var{threadno} is one of the
5217 numeric thread identifiers assigned by @value{GDBN}, shown in the first
5218 column of the @samp{info threads} display.
5219
5220 If you do not specify @samp{thread @var{threadno}} when you set a
5221 breakpoint, the breakpoint applies to @emph{all} threads of your
5222 program.
5223
5224 You can use the @code{thread} qualifier on conditional breakpoints as
5225 well; in this case, place @samp{thread @var{threadno}} before or
5226 after the breakpoint condition, like this:
5227
5228 @smallexample
5229 (@value{GDBP}) break frik.c:13 thread 28 if bartab > lim
5230 @end smallexample
5231
5232 @end table
5233
5234 @node Interrupted System Calls
5235 @subsection Interrupted System Calls
5236
5237 @cindex thread breakpoints and system calls
5238 @cindex system calls and thread breakpoints
5239 @cindex premature return from system calls
5240 There is an unfortunate side effect when using @value{GDBN} to debug
5241 multi-threaded programs. If one thread stops for a
5242 breakpoint, or for some other reason, and another thread is blocked in a
5243 system call, then the system call may return prematurely. This is a
5244 consequence of the interaction between multiple threads and the signals
5245 that @value{GDBN} uses to implement breakpoints and other events that
5246 stop execution.
5247
5248 To handle this problem, your program should check the return value of
5249 each system call and react appropriately. This is good programming
5250 style anyways.
5251
5252 For example, do not write code like this:
5253
5254 @smallexample
5255 sleep (10);
5256 @end smallexample
5257
5258 The call to @code{sleep} will return early if a different thread stops
5259 at a breakpoint or for some other reason.
5260
5261 Instead, write this:
5262
5263 @smallexample
5264 int unslept = 10;
5265 while (unslept > 0)
5266 unslept = sleep (unslept);
5267 @end smallexample
5268
5269 A system call is allowed to return early, so the system is still
5270 conforming to its specification. But @value{GDBN} does cause your
5271 multi-threaded program to behave differently than it would without
5272 @value{GDBN}.
5273
5274 Also, @value{GDBN} uses internal breakpoints in the thread library to
5275 monitor certain events such as thread creation and thread destruction.
5276 When such an event happens, a system call in another thread may return
5277 prematurely, even though your program does not appear to stop.
5278
5279
5280 @node Reverse Execution
5281 @chapter Running programs backward
5282 @cindex reverse execution
5283 @cindex running programs backward
5284
5285 When you are debugging a program, it is not unusual to realize that
5286 you have gone too far, and some event of interest has already happened.
5287 If the target environment supports it, @value{GDBN} can allow you to
5288 ``rewind'' the program by running it backward.
5289
5290 A target environment that supports reverse execution should be able
5291 to ``undo'' the changes in machine state that have taken place as the
5292 program was executing normally. Variables, registers etc.@: should
5293 revert to their previous values. Obviously this requires a great
5294 deal of sophistication on the part of the target environment; not
5295 all target environments can support reverse execution.
5296
5297 When a program is executed in reverse, the instructions that
5298 have most recently been executed are ``un-executed'', in reverse
5299 order. The program counter runs backward, following the previous
5300 thread of execution in reverse. As each instruction is ``un-executed'',
5301 the values of memory and/or registers that were changed by that
5302 instruction are reverted to their previous states. After executing
5303 a piece of source code in reverse, all side effects of that code
5304 should be ``undone'', and all variables should be returned to their
5305 prior values@footnote{
5306 Note that some side effects are easier to undo than others. For instance,
5307 memory and registers are relatively easy, but device I/O is hard. Some
5308 targets may be able undo things like device I/O, and some may not.
5309
5310 The contract between @value{GDBN} and the reverse executing target
5311 requires only that the target do something reasonable when
5312 @value{GDBN} tells it to execute backwards, and then report the
5313 results back to @value{GDBN}. Whatever the target reports back to
5314 @value{GDBN}, @value{GDBN} will report back to the user. @value{GDBN}
5315 assumes that the memory and registers that the target reports are in a
5316 consistant state, but @value{GDBN} accepts whatever it is given.
5317 }.
5318
5319 If you are debugging in a target environment that supports
5320 reverse execution, @value{GDBN} provides the following commands.
5321
5322 @table @code
5323 @kindex reverse-continue
5324 @kindex rc @r{(@code{reverse-continue})}
5325 @item reverse-continue @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
5326 @itemx rc @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
5327 Beginning at the point where your program last stopped, start executing
5328 in reverse. Reverse execution will stop for breakpoints and synchronous
5329 exceptions (signals), just like normal execution. Behavior of
5330 asynchronous signals depends on the target environment.
5331
5332 @kindex reverse-step
5333 @kindex rs @r{(@code{step})}
5334 @item reverse-step @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
5335 Run the program backward until control reaches the start of a
5336 different source line; then stop it, and return control to @value{GDBN}.
5337
5338 Like the @code{step} command, @code{reverse-step} will only stop
5339 at the beginning of a source line. It ``un-executes'' the previously
5340 executed source line. If the previous source line included calls to
5341 debuggable functions, @code{reverse-step} will step (backward) into
5342 the called function, stopping at the beginning of the @emph{last}
5343 statement in the called function (typically a return statement).
5344
5345 Also, as with the @code{step} command, if non-debuggable functions are
5346 called, @code{reverse-step} will run thru them backward without stopping.
5347
5348 @kindex reverse-stepi
5349 @kindex rsi @r{(@code{reverse-stepi})}
5350 @item reverse-stepi @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
5351 Reverse-execute one machine instruction. Note that the instruction
5352 to be reverse-executed is @emph{not} the one pointed to by the program
5353 counter, but the instruction executed prior to that one. For instance,
5354 if the last instruction was a jump, @code{reverse-stepi} will take you
5355 back from the destination of the jump to the jump instruction itself.
5356
5357 @kindex reverse-next
5358 @kindex rn @r{(@code{reverse-next})}
5359 @item reverse-next @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
5360 Run backward to the beginning of the previous line executed in
5361 the current (innermost) stack frame. If the line contains function
5362 calls, they will be ``un-executed'' without stopping. Starting from
5363 the first line of a function, @code{reverse-next} will take you back
5364 to the caller of that function, @emph{before} the function was called,
5365 just as the normal @code{next} command would take you from the last
5366 line of a function back to its return to its caller
5367 @footnote{Unless the code is too heavily optimized.}.
5368
5369 @kindex reverse-nexti
5370 @kindex rni @r{(@code{reverse-nexti})}
5371 @item reverse-nexti @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
5372 Like @code{nexti}, @code{reverse-nexti} executes a single instruction
5373 in reverse, except that called functions are ``un-executed'' atomically.
5374 That is, if the previously executed instruction was a return from
5375 another function, @code{reverse-nexti} will continue to execute
5376 in reverse until the call to that function (from the current stack
5377 frame) is reached.
5378
5379 @kindex reverse-finish
5380 @item reverse-finish
5381 Just as the @code{finish} command takes you to the point where the
5382 current function returns, @code{reverse-finish} takes you to the point
5383 where it was called. Instead of ending up at the end of the current
5384 function invocation, you end up at the beginning.
5385
5386 @kindex set exec-direction
5387 @item set exec-direction
5388 Set the direction of target execution.
5389 @itemx set exec-direction reverse
5390 @cindex execute forward or backward in time
5391 @value{GDBN} will perform all execution commands in reverse, until the
5392 exec-direction mode is changed to ``forward''. Affected commands include
5393 @code{step, stepi, next, nexti, continue, and finish}. The @code{return}
5394 command cannot be used in reverse mode.
5395 @item set exec-direction forward
5396 @value{GDBN} will perform all execution commands in the normal fashion.
5397 This is the default.
5398 @end table
5399
5400
5401 @node Process Record and Replay
5402 @chapter Recording Inferior's Execution and Replaying It
5403 @cindex process record and replay
5404 @cindex recording inferior's execution and replaying it
5405
5406 On some platforms, @value{GDBN} provides a special @dfn{process record
5407 and replay} target that can record a log of the process execution, and
5408 replay it later with both forward and reverse execution commands.
5409
5410 @cindex replay mode
5411 When this target is in use, if the execution log includes the record
5412 for the next instruction, @value{GDBN} will debug in @dfn{replay
5413 mode}. In the replay mode, the inferior does not really execute code
5414 instructions. Instead, all the events that normally happen during
5415 code execution are taken from the execution log. While code is not
5416 really executed in replay mode, the values of registers (including the
5417 program counter register) and the memory of the inferior are still
5418 changed as they normally would. Their contents are taken from the
5419 execution log.
5420
5421 @cindex record mode
5422 If the record for the next instruction is not in the execution log,
5423 @value{GDBN} will debug in @dfn{record mode}. In this mode, the
5424 inferior executes normally, and @value{GDBN} records the execution log
5425 for future replay.
5426
5427 The process record and replay target supports reverse execution
5428 (@pxref{Reverse Execution}), even if the platform on which the
5429 inferior runs does not. However, the reverse execution is limited in
5430 this case by the range of the instructions recorded in the execution
5431 log. In other words, reverse execution on platforms that don't
5432 support it directly can only be done in the replay mode.
5433
5434 When debugging in the reverse direction, @value{GDBN} will work in
5435 replay mode as long as the execution log includes the record for the
5436 previous instruction; otherwise, it will work in record mode, if the
5437 platform supports reverse execution, or stop if not.
5438
5439 For architecture environments that support process record and replay,
5440 @value{GDBN} provides the following commands:
5441
5442 @table @code
5443 @kindex target record
5444 @kindex record
5445 @kindex rec
5446 @item target record
5447 This command starts the process record and replay target. The process
5448 record and replay target can only debug a process that is already
5449 running. Therefore, you need first to start the process with the
5450 @kbd{run} or @kbd{start} commands, and then start the recording with
5451 the @kbd{target record} command.
5452
5453 Both @code{record} and @code{rec} are aliases of @code{target record}.
5454
5455 @cindex displaced stepping, and process record and replay
5456 Displaced stepping (@pxref{Maintenance Commands,, displaced stepping})
5457 will be automatically disabled when process record and replay target
5458 is started. That's because the process record and replay target
5459 doesn't support displaced stepping.
5460
5461 @cindex non-stop mode, and process record and replay
5462 @cindex asynchronous execution, and process record and replay
5463 If the inferior is in the non-stop mode (@pxref{Non-Stop Mode}) or in
5464 the asynchronous execution mode (@pxref{Background Execution}), the
5465 process record and replay target cannot be started because it doesn't
5466 support these two modes.
5467
5468 @kindex record stop
5469 @kindex rec s
5470 @item record stop
5471 Stop the process record and replay target. When process record and
5472 replay target stops, the entire execution log will be deleted and the
5473 inferior will either be terminated, or will remain in its final state.
5474
5475 When you stop the process record and replay target in record mode (at
5476 the end of the execution log), the inferior will be stopped at the
5477 next instruction that would have been recorded. In other words, if
5478 you record for a while and then stop recording, the inferior process
5479 will be left in the same state as if the recording never happened.
5480
5481 On the other hand, if the process record and replay target is stopped
5482 while in replay mode (that is, not at the end of the execution log,
5483 but at some earlier point), the inferior process will become ``live''
5484 at that earlier state, and it will then be possible to continue the
5485 usual ``live'' debugging of the process from that state.
5486
5487 When the inferior process exits, or @value{GDBN} detaches from it,
5488 process record and replay target will automatically stop itself.
5489
5490 @kindex set record insn-number-max
5491 @item set record insn-number-max @var{limit}
5492 Set the limit of instructions to be recorded. Default value is 200000.
5493
5494 If @var{limit} is a positive number, then @value{GDBN} will start
5495 deleting instructions from the log once the number of the record
5496 instructions becomes greater than @var{limit}. For every new recorded
5497 instruction, @value{GDBN} will delete the earliest recorded
5498 instruction to keep the number of recorded instructions at the limit.
5499 (Since deleting recorded instructions loses information, @value{GDBN}
5500 lets you control what happens when the limit is reached, by means of
5501 the @code{stop-at-limit} option, described below.)
5502
5503 If @var{limit} is zero, @value{GDBN} will never delete recorded
5504 instructions from the execution log. The number of recorded
5505 instructions is unlimited in this case.
5506
5507 @kindex show record insn-number-max
5508 @item show record insn-number-max
5509 Show the limit of instructions to be recorded.
5510
5511 @kindex set record stop-at-limit
5512 @item set record stop-at-limit
5513 Control the behavior when the number of recorded instructions reaches
5514 the limit. If ON (the default), @value{GDBN} will stop when the limit
5515 is reached for the first time and ask you whether you want to stop the
5516 inferior or continue running it and recording the execution log. If
5517 you decide to continue recording, each new recorded instruction will
5518 cause the oldest one to be deleted.
5519
5520 If this option is OFF, @value{GDBN} will automatically delete the
5521 oldest record to make room for each new one, without asking.
5522
5523 @kindex show record stop-at-limit
5524 @item show record stop-at-limit
5525 Show the current setting of @code{stop-at-limit}.
5526
5527 @kindex info record
5528 @item info record
5529 Show various statistics about the state of process record and its
5530 in-memory execution log buffer, including:
5531
5532 @itemize @bullet
5533 @item
5534 Whether in record mode or replay mode.
5535 @item
5536 Lowest recorded instruction number (counting from when the current execution log started recording instructions).
5537 @item
5538 Highest recorded instruction number.
5539 @item
5540 Current instruction about to be replayed (if in replay mode).
5541 @item
5542 Number of instructions contained in the execution log.
5543 @item
5544 Maximum number of instructions that may be contained in the execution log.
5545 @end itemize
5546
5547 @kindex record delete
5548 @kindex rec del
5549 @item record delete
5550 When record target runs in replay mode (``in the past''), delete the
5551 subsequent execution log and begin to record a new execution log starting
5552 from the current address. This means you will abandon the previously
5553 recorded ``future'' and begin recording a new ``future''.
5554 @end table
5555
5556
5557 @node Stack
5558 @chapter Examining the Stack
5559
5560 When your program has stopped, the first thing you need to know is where it
5561 stopped and how it got there.
5562
5563 @cindex call stack
5564 Each time your program performs a function call, information about the call
5565 is generated.
5566 That information includes the location of the call in your program,
5567 the arguments of the call,
5568 and the local variables of the function being called.
5569 The information is saved in a block of data called a @dfn{stack frame}.
5570 The stack frames are allocated in a region of memory called the @dfn{call
5571 stack}.
5572
5573 When your program stops, the @value{GDBN} commands for examining the
5574 stack allow you to see all of this information.
5575
5576 @cindex selected frame
5577 One of the stack frames is @dfn{selected} by @value{GDBN} and many
5578 @value{GDBN} commands refer implicitly to the selected frame. In
5579 particular, whenever you ask @value{GDBN} for the value of a variable in
5580 your program, the value is found in the selected frame. There are
5581 special @value{GDBN} commands to select whichever frame you are
5582 interested in. @xref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}.
5583
5584 When your program stops, @value{GDBN} automatically selects the
5585 currently executing frame and describes it briefly, similar to the
5586 @code{frame} command (@pxref{Frame Info, ,Information about a Frame}).
5587
5588 @menu
5589 * Frames:: Stack frames
5590 * Backtrace:: Backtraces
5591 * Selection:: Selecting a frame
5592 * Frame Info:: Information on a frame
5593
5594 @end menu
5595
5596 @node Frames
5597 @section Stack Frames
5598
5599 @cindex frame, definition
5600 @cindex stack frame
5601 The call stack is divided up into contiguous pieces called @dfn{stack
5602 frames}, or @dfn{frames} for short; each frame is the data associated
5603 with one call to one function. The frame contains the arguments given
5604 to the function, the function's local variables, and the address at
5605 which the function is executing.
5606
5607 @cindex initial frame
5608 @cindex outermost frame
5609 @cindex innermost frame
5610 When your program is started, the stack has only one frame, that of the
5611 function @code{main}. This is called the @dfn{initial} frame or the
5612 @dfn{outermost} frame. Each time a function is called, a new frame is
5613 made. Each time a function returns, the frame for that function invocation
5614 is eliminated. If a function is recursive, there can be many frames for
5615 the same function. The frame for the function in which execution is
5616 actually occurring is called the @dfn{innermost} frame. This is the most
5617 recently created of all the stack frames that still exist.
5618
5619 @cindex frame pointer
5620 Inside your program, stack frames are identified by their addresses. A
5621 stack frame consists of many bytes, each of which has its own address; each
5622 kind of computer has a convention for choosing one byte whose
5623 address serves as the address of the frame. Usually this address is kept
5624 in a register called the @dfn{frame pointer register}
5625 (@pxref{Registers, $fp}) while execution is going on in that frame.
5626
5627 @cindex frame number
5628 @value{GDBN} assigns numbers to all existing stack frames, starting with
5629 zero for the innermost frame, one for the frame that called it,
5630 and so on upward. These numbers do not really exist in your program;
5631 they are assigned by @value{GDBN} to give you a way of designating stack
5632 frames in @value{GDBN} commands.
5633
5634 @c The -fomit-frame-pointer below perennially causes hbox overflow
5635 @c underflow problems.
5636 @cindex frameless execution
5637 Some compilers provide a way to compile functions so that they operate
5638 without stack frames. (For example, the @value{NGCC} option
5639 @smallexample
5640 @samp{-fomit-frame-pointer}
5641 @end smallexample
5642 generates functions without a frame.)
5643 This is occasionally done with heavily used library functions to save
5644 the frame setup time. @value{GDBN} has limited facilities for dealing
5645 with these function invocations. If the innermost function invocation
5646 has no stack frame, @value{GDBN} nevertheless regards it as though
5647 it had a separate frame, which is numbered zero as usual, allowing
5648 correct tracing of the function call chain. However, @value{GDBN} has
5649 no provision for frameless functions elsewhere in the stack.
5650
5651 @table @code
5652 @kindex frame@r{, command}
5653 @cindex current stack frame
5654 @item frame @var{args}
5655 The @code{frame} command allows you to move from one stack frame to another,
5656 and to print the stack frame you select. @var{args} may be either the
5657 address of the frame or the stack frame number. Without an argument,
5658 @code{frame} prints the current stack frame.
5659
5660 @kindex select-frame
5661 @cindex selecting frame silently
5662 @item select-frame
5663 The @code{select-frame} command allows you to move from one stack frame
5664 to another without printing the frame. This is the silent version of
5665 @code{frame}.
5666 @end table
5667
5668 @node Backtrace
5669 @section Backtraces
5670
5671 @cindex traceback
5672 @cindex call stack traces
5673 A backtrace is a summary of how your program got where it is. It shows one
5674 line per frame, for many frames, starting with the currently executing
5675 frame (frame zero), followed by its caller (frame one), and on up the
5676 stack.
5677
5678 @table @code
5679 @kindex backtrace
5680 @kindex bt @r{(@code{backtrace})}
5681 @item backtrace
5682 @itemx bt
5683 Print a backtrace of the entire stack: one line per frame for all
5684 frames in the stack.
5685
5686 You can stop the backtrace at any time by typing the system interrupt
5687 character, normally @kbd{Ctrl-c}.
5688
5689 @item backtrace @var{n}
5690 @itemx bt @var{n}
5691 Similar, but print only the innermost @var{n} frames.
5692
5693 @item backtrace -@var{n}
5694 @itemx bt -@var{n}
5695 Similar, but print only the outermost @var{n} frames.
5696
5697 @item backtrace full
5698 @itemx bt full
5699 @itemx bt full @var{n}
5700 @itemx bt full -@var{n}
5701 Print the values of the local variables also. @var{n} specifies the
5702 number of frames to print, as described above.
5703 @end table
5704
5705 @kindex where
5706 @kindex info stack
5707 The names @code{where} and @code{info stack} (abbreviated @code{info s})
5708 are additional aliases for @code{backtrace}.
5709
5710 @cindex multiple threads, backtrace
5711 In a multi-threaded program, @value{GDBN} by default shows the
5712 backtrace only for the current thread. To display the backtrace for
5713 several or all of the threads, use the command @code{thread apply}
5714 (@pxref{Threads, thread apply}). For example, if you type @kbd{thread
5715 apply all backtrace}, @value{GDBN} will display the backtrace for all
5716 the threads; this is handy when you debug a core dump of a
5717 multi-threaded program.
5718
5719 Each line in the backtrace shows the frame number and the function name.
5720 The program counter value is also shown---unless you use @code{set
5721 print address off}. The backtrace also shows the source file name and
5722 line number, as well as the arguments to the function. The program
5723 counter value is omitted if it is at the beginning of the code for that
5724 line number.
5725
5726 Here is an example of a backtrace. It was made with the command
5727 @samp{bt 3}, so it shows the innermost three frames.
5728
5729 @smallexample
5730 @group
5731 #0 m4_traceon (obs=0x24eb0, argc=1, argv=0x2b8c8)
5732 at builtin.c:993
5733 #1 0x6e38 in expand_macro (sym=0x2b600, data=...) at macro.c:242
5734 #2 0x6840 in expand_token (obs=0x0, t=177664, td=0xf7fffb08)
5735 at macro.c:71
5736 (More stack frames follow...)
5737 @end group
5738 @end smallexample
5739
5740 @noindent
5741 The display for frame zero does not begin with a program counter
5742 value, indicating that your program has stopped at the beginning of the
5743 code for line @code{993} of @code{builtin.c}.
5744
5745 @noindent
5746 The value of parameter @code{data} in frame 1 has been replaced by
5747 @code{@dots{}}. By default, @value{GDBN} prints the value of a parameter
5748 only if it is a scalar (integer, pointer, enumeration, etc). See command
5749 @kbd{set print frame-arguments} in @ref{Print Settings} for more details
5750 on how to configure the way function parameter values are printed.
5751
5752 @cindex value optimized out, in backtrace
5753 @cindex function call arguments, optimized out
5754 If your program was compiled with optimizations, some compilers will
5755 optimize away arguments passed to functions if those arguments are
5756 never used after the call. Such optimizations generate code that
5757 passes arguments through registers, but doesn't store those arguments
5758 in the stack frame. @value{GDBN} has no way of displaying such
5759 arguments in stack frames other than the innermost one. Here's what
5760 such a backtrace might look like:
5761
5762 @smallexample
5763 @group
5764 #0 m4_traceon (obs=0x24eb0, argc=1, argv=0x2b8c8)
5765 at builtin.c:993
5766 #1 0x6e38 in expand_macro (sym=<value optimized out>) at macro.c:242
5767 #2 0x6840 in expand_token (obs=0x0, t=<value optimized out>, td=0xf7fffb08)
5768 at macro.c:71
5769 (More stack frames follow...)
5770 @end group
5771 @end smallexample
5772
5773 @noindent
5774 The values of arguments that were not saved in their stack frames are
5775 shown as @samp{<value optimized out>}.
5776
5777 If you need to display the values of such optimized-out arguments,
5778 either deduce that from other variables whose values depend on the one
5779 you are interested in, or recompile without optimizations.
5780
5781 @cindex backtrace beyond @code{main} function
5782 @cindex program entry point
5783 @cindex startup code, and backtrace
5784 Most programs have a standard user entry point---a place where system
5785 libraries and startup code transition into user code. For C this is
5786 @code{main}@footnote{
5787 Note that embedded programs (the so-called ``free-standing''
5788 environment) are not required to have a @code{main} function as the
5789 entry point. They could even have multiple entry points.}.
5790 When @value{GDBN} finds the entry function in a backtrace
5791 it will terminate the backtrace, to avoid tracing into highly
5792 system-specific (and generally uninteresting) code.
5793
5794 If you need to examine the startup code, or limit the number of levels
5795 in a backtrace, you can change this behavior:
5796
5797 @table @code
5798 @item set backtrace past-main
5799 @itemx set backtrace past-main on
5800 @kindex set backtrace
5801 Backtraces will continue past the user entry point.
5802
5803 @item set backtrace past-main off
5804 Backtraces will stop when they encounter the user entry point. This is the
5805 default.
5806
5807 @item show backtrace past-main
5808 @kindex show backtrace
5809 Display the current user entry point backtrace policy.
5810
5811 @item set backtrace past-entry
5812 @itemx set backtrace past-entry on
5813 Backtraces will continue past the internal entry point of an application.
5814 This entry point is encoded by the linker when the application is built,
5815 and is likely before the user entry point @code{main} (or equivalent) is called.
5816
5817 @item set backtrace past-entry off
5818 Backtraces will stop when they encounter the internal entry point of an
5819 application. This is the default.
5820
5821 @item show backtrace past-entry
5822 Display the current internal entry point backtrace policy.
5823
5824 @item set backtrace limit @var{n}
5825 @itemx set backtrace limit 0
5826 @cindex backtrace limit
5827 Limit the backtrace to @var{n} levels. A value of zero means
5828 unlimited.
5829
5830 @item show backtrace limit
5831 Display the current limit on backtrace levels.
5832 @end table
5833
5834 @node Selection
5835 @section Selecting a Frame
5836
5837 Most commands for examining the stack and other data in your program work on
5838 whichever stack frame is selected at the moment. Here are the commands for
5839 selecting a stack frame; all of them finish by printing a brief description
5840 of the stack frame just selected.
5841
5842 @table @code
5843 @kindex frame@r{, selecting}
5844 @kindex f @r{(@code{frame})}
5845 @item frame @var{n}
5846 @itemx f @var{n}
5847 Select frame number @var{n}. Recall that frame zero is the innermost
5848 (currently executing) frame, frame one is the frame that called the
5849 innermost one, and so on. The highest-numbered frame is the one for
5850 @code{main}.
5851
5852 @item frame @var{addr}
5853 @itemx f @var{addr}
5854 Select the frame at address @var{addr}. This is useful mainly if the
5855 chaining of stack frames has been damaged by a bug, making it
5856 impossible for @value{GDBN} to assign numbers properly to all frames. In
5857 addition, this can be useful when your program has multiple stacks and
5858 switches between them.
5859
5860 On the SPARC architecture, @code{frame} needs two addresses to
5861 select an arbitrary frame: a frame pointer and a stack pointer.
5862
5863 On the MIPS and Alpha architecture, it needs two addresses: a stack
5864 pointer and a program counter.
5865
5866 On the 29k architecture, it needs three addresses: a register stack
5867 pointer, a program counter, and a memory stack pointer.
5868
5869 @kindex up
5870 @item up @var{n}
5871 Move @var{n} frames up the stack. For positive numbers @var{n}, this
5872 advances toward the outermost frame, to higher frame numbers, to frames
5873 that have existed longer. @var{n} defaults to one.
5874
5875 @kindex down
5876 @kindex do @r{(@code{down})}
5877 @item down @var{n}
5878 Move @var{n} frames down the stack. For positive numbers @var{n}, this
5879 advances toward the innermost frame, to lower frame numbers, to frames
5880 that were created more recently. @var{n} defaults to one. You may
5881 abbreviate @code{down} as @code{do}.
5882 @end table
5883
5884 All of these commands end by printing two lines of output describing the
5885 frame. The first line shows the frame number, the function name, the
5886 arguments, and the source file and line number of execution in that
5887 frame. The second line shows the text of that source line.
5888
5889 @need 1000
5890 For example:
5891
5892 @smallexample
5893 @group
5894 (@value{GDBP}) up
5895 #1 0x22f0 in main (argc=1, argv=0xf7fffbf4, env=0xf7fffbfc)
5896 at env.c:10
5897 10 read_input_file (argv[i]);
5898 @end group
5899 @end smallexample
5900
5901 After such a printout, the @code{list} command with no arguments
5902 prints ten lines centered on the point of execution in the frame.
5903 You can also edit the program at the point of execution with your favorite
5904 editing program by typing @code{edit}.
5905 @xref{List, ,Printing Source Lines},
5906 for details.
5907
5908 @table @code
5909 @kindex down-silently
5910 @kindex up-silently
5911 @item up-silently @var{n}
5912 @itemx down-silently @var{n}
5913 These two commands are variants of @code{up} and @code{down},
5914 respectively; they differ in that they do their work silently, without
5915 causing display of the new frame. They are intended primarily for use
5916 in @value{GDBN} command scripts, where the output might be unnecessary and
5917 distracting.
5918 @end table
5919
5920 @node Frame Info
5921 @section Information About a Frame
5922
5923 There are several other commands to print information about the selected
5924 stack frame.
5925
5926 @table @code
5927 @item frame
5928 @itemx f
5929 When used without any argument, this command does not change which
5930 frame is selected, but prints a brief description of the currently
5931 selected stack frame. It can be abbreviated @code{f}. With an
5932 argument, this command is used to select a stack frame.
5933 @xref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}.
5934
5935 @kindex info frame
5936 @kindex info f @r{(@code{info frame})}
5937 @item info frame
5938 @itemx info f
5939 This command prints a verbose description of the selected stack frame,
5940 including:
5941
5942 @itemize @bullet
5943 @item
5944 the address of the frame
5945 @item
5946 the address of the next frame down (called by this frame)
5947 @item
5948 the address of the next frame up (caller of this frame)
5949 @item
5950 the language in which the source code corresponding to this frame is written
5951 @item
5952 the address of the frame's arguments
5953 @item
5954 the address of the frame's local variables
5955 @item
5956 the program counter saved in it (the address of execution in the caller frame)
5957 @item
5958 which registers were saved in the frame
5959 @end itemize
5960
5961 @noindent The verbose description is useful when
5962 something has gone wrong that has made the stack format fail to fit
5963 the usual conventions.
5964
5965 @item info frame @var{addr}
5966 @itemx info f @var{addr}
5967 Print a verbose description of the frame at address @var{addr}, without
5968 selecting that frame. The selected frame remains unchanged by this
5969 command. This requires the same kind of address (more than one for some
5970 architectures) that you specify in the @code{frame} command.
5971 @xref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}.
5972
5973 @kindex info args
5974 @item info args
5975 Print the arguments of the selected frame, each on a separate line.
5976
5977 @item info locals
5978 @kindex info locals
5979 Print the local variables of the selected frame, each on a separate
5980 line. These are all variables (declared either static or automatic)
5981 accessible at the point of execution of the selected frame.
5982
5983 @kindex info catch
5984 @cindex catch exceptions, list active handlers
5985 @cindex exception handlers, how to list
5986 @item info catch
5987 Print a list of all the exception handlers that are active in the
5988 current stack frame at the current point of execution. To see other
5989 exception handlers, visit the associated frame (using the @code{up},
5990 @code{down}, or @code{frame} commands); then type @code{info catch}.
5991 @xref{Set Catchpoints, , Setting Catchpoints}.
5992
5993 @end table
5994
5995
5996 @node Source
5997 @chapter Examining Source Files
5998
5999 @value{GDBN} can print parts of your program's source, since the debugging
6000 information recorded in the program tells @value{GDBN} what source files were
6001 used to build it. When your program stops, @value{GDBN} spontaneously prints
6002 the line where it stopped. Likewise, when you select a stack frame
6003 (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}), @value{GDBN} prints the line where
6004 execution in that frame has stopped. You can print other portions of
6005 source files by explicit command.
6006
6007 If you use @value{GDBN} through its @sc{gnu} Emacs interface, you may
6008 prefer to use Emacs facilities to view source; see @ref{Emacs, ,Using
6009 @value{GDBN} under @sc{gnu} Emacs}.
6010
6011 @menu
6012 * List:: Printing source lines
6013 * Specify Location:: How to specify code locations
6014 * Edit:: Editing source files
6015 * Search:: Searching source files
6016 * Source Path:: Specifying source directories
6017 * Machine Code:: Source and machine code
6018 @end menu
6019
6020 @node List
6021 @section Printing Source Lines
6022
6023 @kindex list
6024 @kindex l @r{(@code{list})}
6025 To print lines from a source file, use the @code{list} command
6026 (abbreviated @code{l}). By default, ten lines are printed.
6027 There are several ways to specify what part of the file you want to
6028 print; see @ref{Specify Location}, for the full list.
6029
6030 Here are the forms of the @code{list} command most commonly used:
6031
6032 @table @code
6033 @item list @var{linenum}
6034 Print lines centered around line number @var{linenum} in the
6035 current source file.
6036
6037 @item list @var{function}
6038 Print lines centered around the beginning of function
6039 @var{function}.
6040
6041 @item list
6042 Print more lines. If the last lines printed were printed with a
6043 @code{list} command, this prints lines following the last lines
6044 printed; however, if the last line printed was a solitary line printed
6045 as part of displaying a stack frame (@pxref{Stack, ,Examining the
6046 Stack}), this prints lines centered around that line.
6047
6048 @item list -
6049 Print lines just before the lines last printed.
6050 @end table
6051
6052 @cindex @code{list}, how many lines to display
6053 By default, @value{GDBN} prints ten source lines with any of these forms of
6054 the @code{list} command. You can change this using @code{set listsize}:
6055
6056 @table @code
6057 @kindex set listsize
6058 @item set listsize @var{count}
6059 Make the @code{list} command display @var{count} source lines (unless
6060 the @code{list} argument explicitly specifies some other number).
6061
6062 @kindex show listsize
6063 @item show listsize
6064 Display the number of lines that @code{list} prints.
6065 @end table
6066
6067 Repeating a @code{list} command with @key{RET} discards the argument,
6068 so it is equivalent to typing just @code{list}. This is more useful
6069 than listing the same lines again. An exception is made for an
6070 argument of @samp{-}; that argument is preserved in repetition so that
6071 each repetition moves up in the source file.
6072
6073 In general, the @code{list} command expects you to supply zero, one or two
6074 @dfn{linespecs}. Linespecs specify source lines; there are several ways
6075 of writing them (@pxref{Specify Location}), but the effect is always
6076 to specify some source line.
6077
6078 Here is a complete description of the possible arguments for @code{list}:
6079
6080 @table @code
6081 @item list @var{linespec}
6082 Print lines centered around the line specified by @var{linespec}.
6083
6084 @item list @var{first},@var{last}
6085 Print lines from @var{first} to @var{last}. Both arguments are
6086 linespecs. When a @code{list} command has two linespecs, and the
6087 source file of the second linespec is omitted, this refers to
6088 the same source file as the first linespec.
6089
6090 @item list ,@var{last}
6091 Print lines ending with @var{last}.
6092
6093 @item list @var{first},
6094 Print lines starting with @var{first}.
6095
6096 @item list +
6097 Print lines just after the lines last printed.
6098
6099 @item list -
6100 Print lines just before the lines last printed.
6101
6102 @item list
6103 As described in the preceding table.
6104 @end table
6105
6106 @node Specify Location
6107 @section Specifying a Location
6108 @cindex specifying location
6109 @cindex linespec
6110
6111 Several @value{GDBN} commands accept arguments that specify a location
6112 of your program's code. Since @value{GDBN} is a source-level
6113 debugger, a location usually specifies some line in the source code;
6114 for that reason, locations are also known as @dfn{linespecs}.
6115
6116 Here are all the different ways of specifying a code location that
6117 @value{GDBN} understands:
6118
6119 @table @code
6120 @item @var{linenum}
6121 Specifies the line number @var{linenum} of the current source file.
6122
6123 @item -@var{offset}
6124 @itemx +@var{offset}
6125 Specifies the line @var{offset} lines before or after the @dfn{current
6126 line}. For the @code{list} command, the current line is the last one
6127 printed; for the breakpoint commands, this is the line at which
6128 execution stopped in the currently selected @dfn{stack frame}
6129 (@pxref{Frames, ,Frames}, for a description of stack frames.) When
6130 used as the second of the two linespecs in a @code{list} command,
6131 this specifies the line @var{offset} lines up or down from the first
6132 linespec.
6133
6134 @item @var{filename}:@var{linenum}
6135 Specifies the line @var{linenum} in the source file @var{filename}.
6136
6137 @item @var{function}
6138 Specifies the line that begins the body of the function @var{function}.
6139 For example, in C, this is the line with the open brace.
6140
6141 @item @var{filename}:@var{function}
6142 Specifies the line that begins the body of the function @var{function}
6143 in the file @var{filename}. You only need the file name with a
6144 function name to avoid ambiguity when there are identically named
6145 functions in different source files.
6146
6147 @item *@var{address}
6148 Specifies the program address @var{address}. For line-oriented
6149 commands, such as @code{list} and @code{edit}, this specifies a source
6150 line that contains @var{address}. For @code{break} and other
6151 breakpoint oriented commands, this can be used to set breakpoints in
6152 parts of your program which do not have debugging information or
6153 source files.
6154
6155 Here @var{address} may be any expression valid in the current working
6156 language (@pxref{Languages, working language}) that specifies a code
6157 address. In addition, as a convenience, @value{GDBN} extends the
6158 semantics of expressions used in locations to cover the situations
6159 that frequently happen during debugging. Here are the various forms
6160 of @var{address}:
6161
6162 @table @code
6163 @item @var{expression}
6164 Any expression valid in the current working language.
6165
6166 @item @var{funcaddr}
6167 An address of a function or procedure derived from its name. In C,
6168 C@t{++}, Java, Objective-C, Fortran, minimal, and assembly, this is
6169 simply the function's name @var{function} (and actually a special case
6170 of a valid expression). In Pascal and Modula-2, this is
6171 @code{&@var{function}}. In Ada, this is @code{@var{function}'Address}
6172 (although the Pascal form also works).
6173
6174 This form specifies the address of the function's first instruction,
6175 before the stack frame and arguments have been set up.
6176
6177 @item '@var{filename}'::@var{funcaddr}
6178 Like @var{funcaddr} above, but also specifies the name of the source
6179 file explicitly. This is useful if the name of the function does not
6180 specify the function unambiguously, e.g., if there are several
6181 functions with identical names in different source files.
6182 @end table
6183
6184 @end table
6185
6186
6187 @node Edit
6188 @section Editing Source Files
6189 @cindex editing source files
6190
6191 @kindex edit
6192 @kindex e @r{(@code{edit})}
6193 To edit the lines in a source file, use the @code{edit} command.
6194 The editing program of your choice
6195 is invoked with the current line set to
6196 the active line in the program.
6197 Alternatively, there are several ways to specify what part of the file you
6198 want to print if you want to see other parts of the program:
6199
6200 @table @code
6201 @item edit @var{location}
6202 Edit the source file specified by @code{location}. Editing starts at
6203 that @var{location}, e.g., at the specified source line of the
6204 specified file. @xref{Specify Location}, for all the possible forms
6205 of the @var{location} argument; here are the forms of the @code{edit}
6206 command most commonly used:
6207
6208 @table @code
6209 @item edit @var{number}
6210 Edit the current source file with @var{number} as the active line number.
6211
6212 @item edit @var{function}
6213 Edit the file containing @var{function} at the beginning of its definition.
6214 @end table
6215
6216 @end table
6217
6218 @subsection Choosing your Editor
6219 You can customize @value{GDBN} to use any editor you want
6220 @footnote{
6221 The only restriction is that your editor (say @code{ex}), recognizes the
6222 following command-line syntax:
6223 @smallexample
6224 ex +@var{number} file
6225 @end smallexample
6226 The optional numeric value +@var{number} specifies the number of the line in
6227 the file where to start editing.}.
6228 By default, it is @file{@value{EDITOR}}, but you can change this
6229 by setting the environment variable @code{EDITOR} before using
6230 @value{GDBN}. For example, to configure @value{GDBN} to use the
6231 @code{vi} editor, you could use these commands with the @code{sh} shell:
6232 @smallexample
6233 EDITOR=/usr/bin/vi
6234 export EDITOR
6235 gdb @dots{}
6236 @end smallexample
6237 or in the @code{csh} shell,
6238 @smallexample
6239 setenv EDITOR /usr/bin/vi
6240 gdb @dots{}
6241 @end smallexample
6242
6243 @node Search
6244 @section Searching Source Files
6245 @cindex searching source files
6246
6247 There are two commands for searching through the current source file for a
6248 regular expression.
6249
6250 @table @code
6251 @kindex search
6252 @kindex forward-search
6253 @item forward-search @var{regexp}
6254 @itemx search @var{regexp}
6255 The command @samp{forward-search @var{regexp}} checks each line,
6256 starting with the one following the last line listed, for a match for
6257 @var{regexp}. It lists the line that is found. You can use the
6258 synonym @samp{search @var{regexp}} or abbreviate the command name as
6259 @code{fo}.
6260
6261 @kindex reverse-search
6262 @item reverse-search @var{regexp}
6263 The command @samp{reverse-search @var{regexp}} checks each line, starting
6264 with the one before the last line listed and going backward, for a match
6265 for @var{regexp}. It lists the line that is found. You can abbreviate
6266 this command as @code{rev}.
6267 @end table
6268
6269 @node Source Path
6270 @section Specifying Source Directories
6271
6272 @cindex source path
6273 @cindex directories for source files
6274 Executable programs sometimes do not record the directories of the source
6275 files from which they were compiled, just the names. Even when they do,
6276 the directories could be moved between the compilation and your debugging
6277 session. @value{GDBN} has a list of directories to search for source files;
6278 this is called the @dfn{source path}. Each time @value{GDBN} wants a source file,
6279 it tries all the directories in the list, in the order they are present
6280 in the list, until it finds a file with the desired name.
6281
6282 For example, suppose an executable references the file
6283 @file{/usr/src/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c}, and our source path is
6284 @file{/mnt/cross}. The file is first looked up literally; if this
6285 fails, @file{/mnt/cross/usr/src/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c} is tried; if this
6286 fails, @file{/mnt/cross/foo.c} is opened; if this fails, an error
6287 message is printed. @value{GDBN} does not look up the parts of the
6288 source file name, such as @file{/mnt/cross/src/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c}.
6289 Likewise, the subdirectories of the source path are not searched: if
6290 the source path is @file{/mnt/cross}, and the binary refers to
6291 @file{foo.c}, @value{GDBN} would not find it under
6292 @file{/mnt/cross/usr/src/foo-1.0/lib}.
6293
6294 Plain file names, relative file names with leading directories, file
6295 names containing dots, etc.@: are all treated as described above; for
6296 instance, if the source path is @file{/mnt/cross}, and the source file
6297 is recorded as @file{../lib/foo.c}, @value{GDBN} would first try
6298 @file{../lib/foo.c}, then @file{/mnt/cross/../lib/foo.c}, and after
6299 that---@file{/mnt/cross/foo.c}.
6300
6301 Note that the executable search path is @emph{not} used to locate the
6302 source files.
6303
6304 Whenever you reset or rearrange the source path, @value{GDBN} clears out
6305 any information it has cached about where source files are found and where
6306 each line is in the file.
6307
6308 @kindex directory
6309 @kindex dir
6310 When you start @value{GDBN}, its source path includes only @samp{cdir}
6311 and @samp{cwd}, in that order.
6312 To add other directories, use the @code{directory} command.
6313
6314 The search path is used to find both program source files and @value{GDBN}
6315 script files (read using the @samp{-command} option and @samp{source} command).
6316
6317 In addition to the source path, @value{GDBN} provides a set of commands
6318 that manage a list of source path substitution rules. A @dfn{substitution
6319 rule} specifies how to rewrite source directories stored in the program's
6320 debug information in case the sources were moved to a different
6321 directory between compilation and debugging. A rule is made of
6322 two strings, the first specifying what needs to be rewritten in
6323 the path, and the second specifying how it should be rewritten.
6324 In @ref{set substitute-path}, we name these two parts @var{from} and
6325 @var{to} respectively. @value{GDBN} does a simple string replacement
6326 of @var{from} with @var{to} at the start of the directory part of the
6327 source file name, and uses that result instead of the original file
6328 name to look up the sources.
6329
6330 Using the previous example, suppose the @file{foo-1.0} tree has been
6331 moved from @file{/usr/src} to @file{/mnt/cross}, then you can tell
6332 @value{GDBN} to replace @file{/usr/src} in all source path names with
6333 @file{/mnt/cross}. The first lookup will then be
6334 @file{/mnt/cross/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c} in place of the original location
6335 of @file{/usr/src/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c}. To define a source path
6336 substitution rule, use the @code{set substitute-path} command
6337 (@pxref{set substitute-path}).
6338
6339 To avoid unexpected substitution results, a rule is applied only if the
6340 @var{from} part of the directory name ends at a directory separator.
6341 For instance, a rule substituting @file{/usr/source} into
6342 @file{/mnt/cross} will be applied to @file{/usr/source/foo-1.0} but
6343 not to @file{/usr/sourceware/foo-2.0}. And because the substitution
6344 is applied only at the beginning of the directory name, this rule will
6345 not be applied to @file{/root/usr/source/baz.c} either.
6346
6347 In many cases, you can achieve the same result using the @code{directory}
6348 command. However, @code{set substitute-path} can be more efficient in
6349 the case where the sources are organized in a complex tree with multiple
6350 subdirectories. With the @code{directory} command, you need to add each
6351 subdirectory of your project. If you moved the entire tree while
6352 preserving its internal organization, then @code{set substitute-path}
6353 allows you to direct the debugger to all the sources with one single
6354 command.
6355
6356 @code{set substitute-path} is also more than just a shortcut command.
6357 The source path is only used if the file at the original location no
6358 longer exists. On the other hand, @code{set substitute-path} modifies
6359 the debugger behavior to look at the rewritten location instead. So, if
6360 for any reason a source file that is not relevant to your executable is
6361 located at the original location, a substitution rule is the only
6362 method available to point @value{GDBN} at the new location.
6363
6364 @cindex @samp{--with-relocated-sources}
6365 @cindex default source path substitution
6366 You can configure a default source path substitution rule by
6367 configuring @value{GDBN} with the
6368 @samp{--with-relocated-sources=@var{dir}} option. The @var{dir}
6369 should be the name of a directory under @value{GDBN}'s configured
6370 prefix (set with @samp{--prefix} or @samp{--exec-prefix}), and
6371 directory names in debug information under @var{dir} will be adjusted
6372 automatically if the installed @value{GDBN} is moved to a new
6373 location. This is useful if @value{GDBN}, libraries or executables
6374 with debug information and corresponding source code are being moved
6375 together.
6376
6377 @table @code
6378 @item directory @var{dirname} @dots{}
6379 @item dir @var{dirname} @dots{}
6380 Add directory @var{dirname} to the front of the source path. Several
6381 directory names may be given to this command, separated by @samp{:}
6382 (@samp{;} on MS-DOS and MS-Windows, where @samp{:} usually appears as
6383 part of absolute file names) or
6384 whitespace. You may specify a directory that is already in the source
6385 path; this moves it forward, so @value{GDBN} searches it sooner.
6386
6387 @kindex cdir
6388 @kindex cwd
6389 @vindex $cdir@r{, convenience variable}
6390 @vindex $cwd@r{, convenience variable}
6391 @cindex compilation directory
6392 @cindex current directory
6393 @cindex working directory
6394 @cindex directory, current
6395 @cindex directory, compilation
6396 You can use the string @samp{$cdir} to refer to the compilation
6397 directory (if one is recorded), and @samp{$cwd} to refer to the current
6398 working directory. @samp{$cwd} is not the same as @samp{.}---the former
6399 tracks the current working directory as it changes during your @value{GDBN}
6400 session, while the latter is immediately expanded to the current
6401 directory at the time you add an entry to the source path.
6402
6403 @item directory
6404 Reset the source path to its default value (@samp{$cdir:$cwd} on Unix systems). This requires confirmation.
6405
6406 @c RET-repeat for @code{directory} is explicitly disabled, but since
6407 @c repeating it would be a no-op we do not say that. (thanks to RMS)
6408
6409 @item show directories
6410 @kindex show directories
6411 Print the source path: show which directories it contains.
6412
6413 @anchor{set substitute-path}
6414 @item set substitute-path @var{from} @var{to}
6415 @kindex set substitute-path
6416 Define a source path substitution rule, and add it at the end of the
6417 current list of existing substitution rules. If a rule with the same
6418 @var{from} was already defined, then the old rule is also deleted.
6419
6420 For example, if the file @file{/foo/bar/baz.c} was moved to
6421 @file{/mnt/cross/baz.c}, then the command
6422
6423 @smallexample
6424 (@value{GDBP}) set substitute-path /usr/src /mnt/cross
6425 @end smallexample
6426
6427 @noindent
6428 will tell @value{GDBN} to replace @samp{/usr/src} with
6429 @samp{/mnt/cross}, which will allow @value{GDBN} to find the file
6430 @file{baz.c} even though it was moved.
6431
6432 In the case when more than one substitution rule have been defined,
6433 the rules are evaluated one by one in the order where they have been
6434 defined. The first one matching, if any, is selected to perform
6435 the substitution.
6436
6437 For instance, if we had entered the following commands:
6438
6439 @smallexample
6440 (@value{GDBP}) set substitute-path /usr/src/include /mnt/include
6441 (@value{GDBP}) set substitute-path /usr/src /mnt/src
6442 @end smallexample
6443
6444 @noindent
6445 @value{GDBN} would then rewrite @file{/usr/src/include/defs.h} into
6446 @file{/mnt/include/defs.h} by using the first rule. However, it would
6447 use the second rule to rewrite @file{/usr/src/lib/foo.c} into
6448 @file{/mnt/src/lib/foo.c}.
6449
6450
6451 @item unset substitute-path [path]
6452 @kindex unset substitute-path
6453 If a path is specified, search the current list of substitution rules
6454 for a rule that would rewrite that path. Delete that rule if found.
6455 A warning is emitted by the debugger if no rule could be found.
6456
6457 If no path is specified, then all substitution rules are deleted.
6458
6459 @item show substitute-path [path]
6460 @kindex show substitute-path
6461 If a path is specified, then print the source path substitution rule
6462 which would rewrite that path, if any.
6463
6464 If no path is specified, then print all existing source path substitution
6465 rules.
6466
6467 @end table
6468
6469 If your source path is cluttered with directories that are no longer of
6470 interest, @value{GDBN} may sometimes cause confusion by finding the wrong
6471 versions of source. You can correct the situation as follows:
6472
6473 @enumerate
6474 @item
6475 Use @code{directory} with no argument to reset the source path to its default value.
6476
6477 @item
6478 Use @code{directory} with suitable arguments to reinstall the
6479 directories you want in the source path. You can add all the
6480 directories in one command.
6481 @end enumerate
6482
6483 @node Machine Code
6484 @section Source and Machine Code
6485 @cindex source line and its code address
6486
6487 You can use the command @code{info line} to map source lines to program
6488 addresses (and vice versa), and the command @code{disassemble} to display
6489 a range of addresses as machine instructions. You can use the command
6490 @code{set disassemble-next-line} to set whether to disassemble next
6491 source line when execution stops. When run under @sc{gnu} Emacs
6492 mode, the @code{info line} command causes the arrow to point to the
6493 line specified. Also, @code{info line} prints addresses in symbolic form as
6494 well as hex.
6495
6496 @table @code
6497 @kindex info line
6498 @item info line @var{linespec}
6499 Print the starting and ending addresses of the compiled code for
6500 source line @var{linespec}. You can specify source lines in any of
6501 the ways documented in @ref{Specify Location}.
6502 @end table
6503
6504 For example, we can use @code{info line} to discover the location of
6505 the object code for the first line of function
6506 @code{m4_changequote}:
6507
6508 @c FIXME: I think this example should also show the addresses in
6509 @c symbolic form, as they usually would be displayed.
6510 @smallexample
6511 (@value{GDBP}) info line m4_changequote
6512 Line 895 of "builtin.c" starts at pc 0x634c and ends at 0x6350.
6513 @end smallexample
6514
6515 @noindent
6516 @cindex code address and its source line
6517 We can also inquire (using @code{*@var{addr}} as the form for
6518 @var{linespec}) what source line covers a particular address:
6519 @smallexample
6520 (@value{GDBP}) info line *0x63ff
6521 Line 926 of "builtin.c" starts at pc 0x63e4 and ends at 0x6404.
6522 @end smallexample
6523
6524 @cindex @code{$_} and @code{info line}
6525 @cindex @code{x} command, default address
6526 @kindex x@r{(examine), and} info line
6527 After @code{info line}, the default address for the @code{x} command
6528 is changed to the starting address of the line, so that @samp{x/i} is
6529 sufficient to begin examining the machine code (@pxref{Memory,
6530 ,Examining Memory}). Also, this address is saved as the value of the
6531 convenience variable @code{$_} (@pxref{Convenience Vars, ,Convenience
6532 Variables}).
6533
6534 @table @code
6535 @kindex disassemble
6536 @cindex assembly instructions
6537 @cindex instructions, assembly
6538 @cindex machine instructions
6539 @cindex listing machine instructions
6540 @item disassemble
6541 @itemx disassemble /m
6542 @itemx disassemble /r
6543 This specialized command dumps a range of memory as machine
6544 instructions. It can also print mixed source+disassembly by specifying
6545 the @code{/m} modifier and print the raw instructions in hex as well as
6546 in symbolic form by specifying the @code{/r}.
6547 The default memory range is the function surrounding the
6548 program counter of the selected frame. A single argument to this
6549 command is a program counter value; @value{GDBN} dumps the function
6550 surrounding this value. When two arguments are given, they should
6551 be separated by a comma, possibly surrounded by whitespace. The
6552 arguments specify a range of addresses (first inclusive, second exclusive)
6553 to dump. In that case, the name of the function is also printed (since
6554 there could be several functions in the given range).
6555
6556 The argument(s) can be any expression yielding a numeric value, such as
6557 @samp{0x32c4}, @samp{&main+10} or @samp{$pc - 8}.
6558
6559 If the range of memory being disassembled contains current program counter,
6560 the instruction at that location is shown with a @code{=>} marker.
6561 @end table
6562
6563 The following example shows the disassembly of a range of addresses of
6564 HP PA-RISC 2.0 code:
6565
6566 @smallexample
6567 (@value{GDBP}) disas 0x32c4, 0x32e4
6568 Dump of assembler code from 0x32c4 to 0x32e4:
6569 0x32c4 <main+204>: addil 0,dp
6570 0x32c8 <main+208>: ldw 0x22c(sr0,r1),r26
6571 0x32cc <main+212>: ldil 0x3000,r31
6572 0x32d0 <main+216>: ble 0x3f8(sr4,r31)
6573 0x32d4 <main+220>: ldo 0(r31),rp
6574 0x32d8 <main+224>: addil -0x800,dp
6575 0x32dc <main+228>: ldo 0x588(r1),r26
6576 0x32e0 <main+232>: ldil 0x3000,r31
6577 End of assembler dump.
6578 @end smallexample
6579
6580 Here is an example showing mixed source+assembly for Intel x86, when the
6581 program is stopped just after function prologue:
6582
6583 @smallexample
6584 (@value{GDBP}) disas /m main
6585 Dump of assembler code for function main:
6586 5 @{
6587 0x08048330 <+0>: push %ebp
6588 0x08048331 <+1>: mov %esp,%ebp
6589 0x08048333 <+3>: sub $0x8,%esp
6590 0x08048336 <+6>: and $0xfffffff0,%esp
6591 0x08048339 <+9>: sub $0x10,%esp
6592
6593 6 printf ("Hello.\n");
6594 => 0x0804833c <+12>: movl $0x8048440,(%esp)
6595 0x08048343 <+19>: call 0x8048284 <puts@@plt>
6596
6597 7 return 0;
6598 8 @}
6599 0x08048348 <+24>: mov $0x0,%eax
6600 0x0804834d <+29>: leave
6601 0x0804834e <+30>: ret
6602
6603 End of assembler dump.
6604 @end smallexample
6605
6606 Some architectures have more than one commonly-used set of instruction
6607 mnemonics or other syntax.
6608
6609 For programs that were dynamically linked and use shared libraries,
6610 instructions that call functions or branch to locations in the shared
6611 libraries might show a seemingly bogus location---it's actually a
6612 location of the relocation table. On some architectures, @value{GDBN}
6613 might be able to resolve these to actual function names.
6614
6615 @table @code
6616 @kindex set disassembly-flavor
6617 @cindex Intel disassembly flavor
6618 @cindex AT&T disassembly flavor
6619 @item set disassembly-flavor @var{instruction-set}
6620 Select the instruction set to use when disassembling the
6621 program via the @code{disassemble} or @code{x/i} commands.
6622
6623 Currently this command is only defined for the Intel x86 family. You
6624 can set @var{instruction-set} to either @code{intel} or @code{att}.
6625 The default is @code{att}, the AT&T flavor used by default by Unix
6626 assemblers for x86-based targets.
6627
6628 @kindex show disassembly-flavor
6629 @item show disassembly-flavor
6630 Show the current setting of the disassembly flavor.
6631 @end table
6632
6633 @table @code
6634 @kindex set disassemble-next-line
6635 @kindex show disassemble-next-line
6636 @item set disassemble-next-line
6637 @itemx show disassemble-next-line
6638 Control whether or not @value{GDBN} will disassemble the next source
6639 line or instruction when execution stops. If ON, @value{GDBN} will
6640 display disassembly of the next source line when execution of the
6641 program being debugged stops. This is @emph{in addition} to
6642 displaying the source line itself, which @value{GDBN} always does if
6643 possible. If the next source line cannot be displayed for some reason
6644 (e.g., if @value{GDBN} cannot find the source file, or there's no line
6645 info in the debug info), @value{GDBN} will display disassembly of the
6646 next @emph{instruction} instead of showing the next source line. If
6647 AUTO, @value{GDBN} will display disassembly of next instruction only
6648 if the source line cannot be displayed. This setting causes
6649 @value{GDBN} to display some feedback when you step through a function
6650 with no line info or whose source file is unavailable. The default is
6651 OFF, which means never display the disassembly of the next line or
6652 instruction.
6653 @end table
6654
6655
6656 @node Data
6657 @chapter Examining Data
6658
6659 @cindex printing data
6660 @cindex examining data
6661 @kindex print
6662 @kindex inspect
6663 @c "inspect" is not quite a synonym if you are using Epoch, which we do not
6664 @c document because it is nonstandard... Under Epoch it displays in a
6665 @c different window or something like that.
6666 The usual way to examine data in your program is with the @code{print}
6667 command (abbreviated @code{p}), or its synonym @code{inspect}. It
6668 evaluates and prints the value of an expression of the language your
6669 program is written in (@pxref{Languages, ,Using @value{GDBN} with
6670 Different Languages}). It may also print the expression using a
6671 Python-based pretty-printer (@pxref{Pretty Printing}).
6672
6673 @table @code
6674 @item print @var{expr}
6675 @itemx print /@var{f} @var{expr}
6676 @var{expr} is an expression (in the source language). By default the
6677 value of @var{expr} is printed in a format appropriate to its data type;
6678 you can choose a different format by specifying @samp{/@var{f}}, where
6679 @var{f} is a letter specifying the format; see @ref{Output Formats,,Output
6680 Formats}.
6681
6682 @item print
6683 @itemx print /@var{f}
6684 @cindex reprint the last value
6685 If you omit @var{expr}, @value{GDBN} displays the last value again (from the
6686 @dfn{value history}; @pxref{Value History, ,Value History}). This allows you to
6687 conveniently inspect the same value in an alternative format.
6688 @end table
6689
6690 A more low-level way of examining data is with the @code{x} command.
6691 It examines data in memory at a specified address and prints it in a
6692 specified format. @xref{Memory, ,Examining Memory}.
6693
6694 If you are interested in information about types, or about how the
6695 fields of a struct or a class are declared, use the @code{ptype @var{exp}}
6696 command rather than @code{print}. @xref{Symbols, ,Examining the Symbol
6697 Table}.
6698
6699 @menu
6700 * Expressions:: Expressions
6701 * Ambiguous Expressions:: Ambiguous Expressions
6702 * Variables:: Program variables
6703 * Arrays:: Artificial arrays
6704 * Output Formats:: Output formats
6705 * Memory:: Examining memory
6706 * Auto Display:: Automatic display
6707 * Print Settings:: Print settings
6708 * Value History:: Value history
6709 * Convenience Vars:: Convenience variables
6710 * Registers:: Registers
6711 * Floating Point Hardware:: Floating point hardware
6712 * Vector Unit:: Vector Unit
6713 * OS Information:: Auxiliary data provided by operating system
6714 * Memory Region Attributes:: Memory region attributes
6715 * Dump/Restore Files:: Copy between memory and a file
6716 * Core File Generation:: Cause a program dump its core
6717 * Character Sets:: Debugging programs that use a different
6718 character set than GDB does
6719 * Caching Remote Data:: Data caching for remote targets
6720 * Searching Memory:: Searching memory for a sequence of bytes
6721 @end menu
6722
6723 @node Expressions
6724 @section Expressions
6725
6726 @cindex expressions
6727 @code{print} and many other @value{GDBN} commands accept an expression and
6728 compute its value. Any kind of constant, variable or operator defined
6729 by the programming language you are using is valid in an expression in
6730 @value{GDBN}. This includes conditional expressions, function calls,
6731 casts, and string constants. It also includes preprocessor macros, if
6732 you compiled your program to include this information; see
6733 @ref{Compilation}.
6734
6735 @cindex arrays in expressions
6736 @value{GDBN} supports array constants in expressions input by
6737 the user. The syntax is @{@var{element}, @var{element}@dots{}@}. For example,
6738 you can use the command @code{print @{1, 2, 3@}} to create an array
6739 of three integers. If you pass an array to a function or assign it
6740 to a program variable, @value{GDBN} copies the array to memory that
6741 is @code{malloc}ed in the target program.
6742
6743 Because C is so widespread, most of the expressions shown in examples in
6744 this manual are in C. @xref{Languages, , Using @value{GDBN} with Different
6745 Languages}, for information on how to use expressions in other
6746 languages.
6747
6748 In this section, we discuss operators that you can use in @value{GDBN}
6749 expressions regardless of your programming language.
6750
6751 @cindex casts, in expressions
6752 Casts are supported in all languages, not just in C, because it is so
6753 useful to cast a number into a pointer in order to examine a structure
6754 at that address in memory.
6755 @c FIXME: casts supported---Mod2 true?
6756
6757 @value{GDBN} supports these operators, in addition to those common
6758 to programming languages:
6759
6760 @table @code
6761 @item @@
6762 @samp{@@} is a binary operator for treating parts of memory as arrays.
6763 @xref{Arrays, ,Artificial Arrays}, for more information.
6764
6765 @item ::
6766 @samp{::} allows you to specify a variable in terms of the file or
6767 function where it is defined. @xref{Variables, ,Program Variables}.
6768
6769 @cindex @{@var{type}@}
6770 @cindex type casting memory
6771 @cindex memory, viewing as typed object
6772 @cindex casts, to view memory
6773 @item @{@var{type}@} @var{addr}
6774 Refers to an object of type @var{type} stored at address @var{addr} in
6775 memory. @var{addr} may be any expression whose value is an integer or
6776 pointer (but parentheses are required around binary operators, just as in
6777 a cast). This construct is allowed regardless of what kind of data is
6778 normally supposed to reside at @var{addr}.
6779 @end table
6780
6781 @node Ambiguous Expressions
6782 @section Ambiguous Expressions
6783 @cindex ambiguous expressions
6784
6785 Expressions can sometimes contain some ambiguous elements. For instance,
6786 some programming languages (notably Ada, C@t{++} and Objective-C) permit
6787 a single function name to be defined several times, for application in
6788 different contexts. This is called @dfn{overloading}. Another example
6789 involving Ada is generics. A @dfn{generic package} is similar to C@t{++}
6790 templates and is typically instantiated several times, resulting in
6791 the same function name being defined in different contexts.
6792
6793 In some cases and depending on the language, it is possible to adjust
6794 the expression to remove the ambiguity. For instance in C@t{++}, you
6795 can specify the signature of the function you want to break on, as in
6796 @kbd{break @var{function}(@var{types})}. In Ada, using the fully
6797 qualified name of your function often makes the expression unambiguous
6798 as well.
6799
6800 When an ambiguity that needs to be resolved is detected, the debugger
6801 has the capability to display a menu of numbered choices for each
6802 possibility, and then waits for the selection with the prompt @samp{>}.
6803 The first option is always @samp{[0] cancel}, and typing @kbd{0 @key{RET}}
6804 aborts the current command. If the command in which the expression was
6805 used allows more than one choice to be selected, the next option in the
6806 menu is @samp{[1] all}, and typing @kbd{1 @key{RET}} selects all possible
6807 choices.
6808
6809 For example, the following session excerpt shows an attempt to set a
6810 breakpoint at the overloaded symbol @code{String::after}.
6811 We choose three particular definitions of that function name:
6812
6813 @c FIXME! This is likely to change to show arg type lists, at least
6814 @smallexample
6815 @group
6816 (@value{GDBP}) b String::after
6817 [0] cancel
6818 [1] all
6819 [2] file:String.cc; line number:867
6820 [3] file:String.cc; line number:860
6821 [4] file:String.cc; line number:875
6822 [5] file:String.cc; line number:853
6823 [6] file:String.cc; line number:846
6824 [7] file:String.cc; line number:735
6825 > 2 4 6
6826 Breakpoint 1 at 0xb26c: file String.cc, line 867.
6827 Breakpoint 2 at 0xb344: file String.cc, line 875.
6828 Breakpoint 3 at 0xafcc: file String.cc, line 846.
6829 Multiple breakpoints were set.
6830 Use the "delete" command to delete unwanted
6831 breakpoints.
6832 (@value{GDBP})
6833 @end group
6834 @end smallexample
6835
6836 @table @code
6837 @kindex set multiple-symbols
6838 @item set multiple-symbols @var{mode}
6839 @cindex multiple-symbols menu
6840
6841 This option allows you to adjust the debugger behavior when an expression
6842 is ambiguous.
6843
6844 By default, @var{mode} is set to @code{all}. If the command with which
6845 the expression is used allows more than one choice, then @value{GDBN}
6846 automatically selects all possible choices. For instance, inserting
6847 a breakpoint on a function using an ambiguous name results in a breakpoint
6848 inserted on each possible match. However, if a unique choice must be made,
6849 then @value{GDBN} uses the menu to help you disambiguate the expression.
6850 For instance, printing the address of an overloaded function will result
6851 in the use of the menu.
6852
6853 When @var{mode} is set to @code{ask}, the debugger always uses the menu
6854 when an ambiguity is detected.
6855
6856 Finally, when @var{mode} is set to @code{cancel}, the debugger reports
6857 an error due to the ambiguity and the command is aborted.
6858
6859 @kindex show multiple-symbols
6860 @item show multiple-symbols
6861 Show the current value of the @code{multiple-symbols} setting.
6862 @end table
6863
6864 @node Variables
6865 @section Program Variables
6866
6867 The most common kind of expression to use is the name of a variable
6868 in your program.
6869
6870 Variables in expressions are understood in the selected stack frame
6871 (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}); they must be either:
6872
6873 @itemize @bullet
6874 @item
6875 global (or file-static)
6876 @end itemize
6877
6878 @noindent or
6879
6880 @itemize @bullet
6881 @item
6882 visible according to the scope rules of the
6883 programming language from the point of execution in that frame
6884 @end itemize
6885
6886 @noindent This means that in the function
6887
6888 @smallexample
6889 foo (a)
6890 int a;
6891 @{
6892 bar (a);
6893 @{
6894 int b = test ();
6895 bar (b);
6896 @}
6897 @}
6898 @end smallexample
6899
6900 @noindent
6901 you can examine and use the variable @code{a} whenever your program is
6902 executing within the function @code{foo}, but you can only use or
6903 examine the variable @code{b} while your program is executing inside
6904 the block where @code{b} is declared.
6905
6906 @cindex variable name conflict
6907 There is an exception: you can refer to a variable or function whose
6908 scope is a single source file even if the current execution point is not
6909 in this file. But it is possible to have more than one such variable or
6910 function with the same name (in different source files). If that
6911 happens, referring to that name has unpredictable effects. If you wish,
6912 you can specify a static variable in a particular function or file,
6913 using the colon-colon (@code{::}) notation:
6914
6915 @cindex colon-colon, context for variables/functions
6916 @ifnotinfo
6917 @c info cannot cope with a :: index entry, but why deprive hard copy readers?
6918 @cindex @code{::}, context for variables/functions
6919 @end ifnotinfo
6920 @smallexample
6921 @var{file}::@var{variable}
6922 @var{function}::@var{variable}
6923 @end smallexample
6924
6925 @noindent
6926 Here @var{file} or @var{function} is the name of the context for the
6927 static @var{variable}. In the case of file names, you can use quotes to
6928 make sure @value{GDBN} parses the file name as a single word---for example,
6929 to print a global value of @code{x} defined in @file{f2.c}:
6930
6931 @smallexample
6932 (@value{GDBP}) p 'f2.c'::x
6933 @end smallexample
6934
6935 @cindex C@t{++} scope resolution
6936 This use of @samp{::} is very rarely in conflict with the very similar
6937 use of the same notation in C@t{++}. @value{GDBN} also supports use of the C@t{++}
6938 scope resolution operator in @value{GDBN} expressions.
6939 @c FIXME: Um, so what happens in one of those rare cases where it's in
6940 @c conflict?? --mew
6941
6942 @cindex wrong values
6943 @cindex variable values, wrong
6944 @cindex function entry/exit, wrong values of variables
6945 @cindex optimized code, wrong values of variables
6946 @quotation
6947 @emph{Warning:} Occasionally, a local variable may appear to have the
6948 wrong value at certain points in a function---just after entry to a new
6949 scope, and just before exit.
6950 @end quotation
6951 You may see this problem when you are stepping by machine instructions.
6952 This is because, on most machines, it takes more than one instruction to
6953 set up a stack frame (including local variable definitions); if you are
6954 stepping by machine instructions, variables may appear to have the wrong
6955 values until the stack frame is completely built. On exit, it usually
6956 also takes more than one machine instruction to destroy a stack frame;
6957 after you begin stepping through that group of instructions, local
6958 variable definitions may be gone.
6959
6960 This may also happen when the compiler does significant optimizations.
6961 To be sure of always seeing accurate values, turn off all optimization
6962 when compiling.
6963
6964 @cindex ``No symbol "foo" in current context''
6965 Another possible effect of compiler optimizations is to optimize
6966 unused variables out of existence, or assign variables to registers (as
6967 opposed to memory addresses). Depending on the support for such cases
6968 offered by the debug info format used by the compiler, @value{GDBN}
6969 might not be able to display values for such local variables. If that
6970 happens, @value{GDBN} will print a message like this:
6971
6972 @smallexample
6973 No symbol "foo" in current context.
6974 @end smallexample
6975
6976 To solve such problems, either recompile without optimizations, or use a
6977 different debug info format, if the compiler supports several such
6978 formats. For example, @value{NGCC}, the @sc{gnu} C/C@t{++} compiler,
6979 usually supports the @option{-gstabs+} option. @option{-gstabs+}
6980 produces debug info in a format that is superior to formats such as
6981 COFF. You may be able to use DWARF 2 (@option{-gdwarf-2}), which is also
6982 an effective form for debug info. @xref{Debugging Options,,Options
6983 for Debugging Your Program or GCC, gcc.info, Using the @sc{gnu}
6984 Compiler Collection (GCC)}.
6985 @xref{C, ,C and C@t{++}}, for more information about debug info formats
6986 that are best suited to C@t{++} programs.
6987
6988 If you ask to print an object whose contents are unknown to
6989 @value{GDBN}, e.g., because its data type is not completely specified
6990 by the debug information, @value{GDBN} will say @samp{<incomplete
6991 type>}. @xref{Symbols, incomplete type}, for more about this.
6992
6993 Strings are identified as arrays of @code{char} values without specified
6994 signedness. Arrays of either @code{signed char} or @code{unsigned char} get
6995 printed as arrays of 1 byte sized integers. @code{-fsigned-char} or
6996 @code{-funsigned-char} @value{NGCC} options have no effect as @value{GDBN}
6997 defines literal string type @code{"char"} as @code{char} without a sign.
6998 For program code
6999
7000 @smallexample
7001 char var0[] = "A";
7002 signed char var1[] = "A";
7003 @end smallexample
7004
7005 You get during debugging
7006 @smallexample
7007 (gdb) print var0
7008 $1 = "A"
7009 (gdb) print var1
7010 $2 = @{65 'A', 0 '\0'@}
7011 @end smallexample
7012
7013 @node Arrays
7014 @section Artificial Arrays
7015
7016 @cindex artificial array
7017 @cindex arrays
7018 @kindex @@@r{, referencing memory as an array}
7019 It is often useful to print out several successive objects of the
7020 same type in memory; a section of an array, or an array of
7021 dynamically determined size for which only a pointer exists in the
7022 program.
7023
7024 You can do this by referring to a contiguous span of memory as an
7025 @dfn{artificial array}, using the binary operator @samp{@@}. The left
7026 operand of @samp{@@} should be the first element of the desired array
7027 and be an individual object. The right operand should be the desired length
7028 of the array. The result is an array value whose elements are all of
7029 the type of the left argument. The first element is actually the left
7030 argument; the second element comes from bytes of memory immediately
7031 following those that hold the first element, and so on. Here is an
7032 example. If a program says
7033
7034 @smallexample
7035 int *array = (int *) malloc (len * sizeof (int));
7036 @end smallexample
7037
7038 @noindent
7039 you can print the contents of @code{array} with
7040
7041 @smallexample
7042 p *array@@len
7043 @end smallexample
7044
7045 The left operand of @samp{@@} must reside in memory. Array values made
7046 with @samp{@@} in this way behave just like other arrays in terms of
7047 subscripting, and are coerced to pointers when used in expressions.
7048 Artificial arrays most often appear in expressions via the value history
7049 (@pxref{Value History, ,Value History}), after printing one out.
7050
7051 Another way to create an artificial array is to use a cast.
7052 This re-interprets a value as if it were an array.
7053 The value need not be in memory:
7054 @smallexample
7055 (@value{GDBP}) p/x (short[2])0x12345678
7056 $1 = @{0x1234, 0x5678@}
7057 @end smallexample
7058
7059 As a convenience, if you leave the array length out (as in
7060 @samp{(@var{type}[])@var{value}}) @value{GDBN} calculates the size to fill
7061 the value (as @samp{sizeof(@var{value})/sizeof(@var{type})}:
7062 @smallexample
7063 (@value{GDBP}) p/x (short[])0x12345678
7064 $2 = @{0x1234, 0x5678@}
7065 @end smallexample
7066
7067 Sometimes the artificial array mechanism is not quite enough; in
7068 moderately complex data structures, the elements of interest may not
7069 actually be adjacent---for example, if you are interested in the values
7070 of pointers in an array. One useful work-around in this situation is
7071 to use a convenience variable (@pxref{Convenience Vars, ,Convenience
7072 Variables}) as a counter in an expression that prints the first
7073 interesting value, and then repeat that expression via @key{RET}. For
7074 instance, suppose you have an array @code{dtab} of pointers to
7075 structures, and you are interested in the values of a field @code{fv}
7076 in each structure. Here is an example of what you might type:
7077
7078 @smallexample
7079 set $i = 0
7080 p dtab[$i++]->fv
7081 @key{RET}
7082 @key{RET}
7083 @dots{}
7084 @end smallexample
7085
7086 @node Output Formats
7087 @section Output Formats
7088
7089 @cindex formatted output
7090 @cindex output formats
7091 By default, @value{GDBN} prints a value according to its data type. Sometimes
7092 this is not what you want. For example, you might want to print a number
7093 in hex, or a pointer in decimal. Or you might want to view data in memory
7094 at a certain address as a character string or as an instruction. To do
7095 these things, specify an @dfn{output format} when you print a value.
7096
7097 The simplest use of output formats is to say how to print a value
7098 already computed. This is done by starting the arguments of the
7099 @code{print} command with a slash and a format letter. The format
7100 letters supported are:
7101
7102 @table @code
7103 @item x
7104 Regard the bits of the value as an integer, and print the integer in
7105 hexadecimal.
7106
7107 @item d
7108 Print as integer in signed decimal.
7109
7110 @item u
7111 Print as integer in unsigned decimal.
7112
7113 @item o
7114 Print as integer in octal.
7115
7116 @item t
7117 Print as integer in binary. The letter @samp{t} stands for ``two''.
7118 @footnote{@samp{b} cannot be used because these format letters are also
7119 used with the @code{x} command, where @samp{b} stands for ``byte'';
7120 see @ref{Memory,,Examining Memory}.}
7121
7122 @item a
7123 @cindex unknown address, locating
7124 @cindex locate address
7125 Print as an address, both absolute in hexadecimal and as an offset from
7126 the nearest preceding symbol. You can use this format used to discover
7127 where (in what function) an unknown address is located:
7128
7129 @smallexample
7130 (@value{GDBP}) p/a 0x54320
7131 $3 = 0x54320 <_initialize_vx+396>
7132 @end smallexample
7133
7134 @noindent
7135 The command @code{info symbol 0x54320} yields similar results.
7136 @xref{Symbols, info symbol}.
7137
7138 @item c
7139 Regard as an integer and print it as a character constant. This
7140 prints both the numerical value and its character representation. The
7141 character representation is replaced with the octal escape @samp{\nnn}
7142 for characters outside the 7-bit @sc{ascii} range.
7143
7144 Without this format, @value{GDBN} displays @code{char},
7145 @w{@code{unsigned char}}, and @w{@code{signed char}} data as character
7146 constants. Single-byte members of vectors are displayed as integer
7147 data.
7148
7149 @item f
7150 Regard the bits of the value as a floating point number and print
7151 using typical floating point syntax.
7152
7153 @item s
7154 @cindex printing strings
7155 @cindex printing byte arrays
7156 Regard as a string, if possible. With this format, pointers to single-byte
7157 data are displayed as null-terminated strings and arrays of single-byte data
7158 are displayed as fixed-length strings. Other values are displayed in their
7159 natural types.
7160
7161 Without this format, @value{GDBN} displays pointers to and arrays of
7162 @code{char}, @w{@code{unsigned char}}, and @w{@code{signed char}} as
7163 strings. Single-byte members of a vector are displayed as an integer
7164 array.
7165
7166 @item r
7167 @cindex raw printing
7168 Print using the @samp{raw} formatting. By default, @value{GDBN} will
7169 use a Python-based pretty-printer, if one is available (@pxref{Pretty
7170 Printing}). This typically results in a higher-level display of the
7171 value's contents. The @samp{r} format bypasses any Python
7172 pretty-printer which might exist.
7173 @end table
7174
7175 For example, to print the program counter in hex (@pxref{Registers}), type
7176
7177 @smallexample
7178 p/x $pc
7179 @end smallexample
7180
7181 @noindent
7182 Note that no space is required before the slash; this is because command
7183 names in @value{GDBN} cannot contain a slash.
7184
7185 To reprint the last value in the value history with a different format,
7186 you can use the @code{print} command with just a format and no
7187 expression. For example, @samp{p/x} reprints the last value in hex.
7188
7189 @node Memory
7190 @section Examining Memory
7191
7192 You can use the command @code{x} (for ``examine'') to examine memory in
7193 any of several formats, independently of your program's data types.
7194
7195 @cindex examining memory
7196 @table @code
7197 @kindex x @r{(examine memory)}
7198 @item x/@var{nfu} @var{addr}
7199 @itemx x @var{addr}
7200 @itemx x
7201 Use the @code{x} command to examine memory.
7202 @end table
7203
7204 @var{n}, @var{f}, and @var{u} are all optional parameters that specify how
7205 much memory to display and how to format it; @var{addr} is an
7206 expression giving the address where you want to start displaying memory.
7207 If you use defaults for @var{nfu}, you need not type the slash @samp{/}.
7208 Several commands set convenient defaults for @var{addr}.
7209
7210 @table @r
7211 @item @var{n}, the repeat count
7212 The repeat count is a decimal integer; the default is 1. It specifies
7213 how much memory (counting by units @var{u}) to display.
7214 @c This really is **decimal**; unaffected by 'set radix' as of GDB
7215 @c 4.1.2.
7216
7217 @item @var{f}, the display format
7218 The display format is one of the formats used by @code{print}
7219 (@samp{x}, @samp{d}, @samp{u}, @samp{o}, @samp{t}, @samp{a}, @samp{c},
7220 @samp{f}, @samp{s}), and in addition @samp{i} (for machine instructions).
7221 The default is @samp{x} (hexadecimal) initially. The default changes
7222 each time you use either @code{x} or @code{print}.
7223
7224 @item @var{u}, the unit size
7225 The unit size is any of
7226
7227 @table @code
7228 @item b
7229 Bytes.
7230 @item h
7231 Halfwords (two bytes).
7232 @item w
7233 Words (four bytes). This is the initial default.
7234 @item g
7235 Giant words (eight bytes).
7236 @end table
7237
7238 Each time you specify a unit size with @code{x}, that size becomes the
7239 default unit the next time you use @code{x}. (For the @samp{s} and
7240 @samp{i} formats, the unit size is ignored and is normally not written.)
7241
7242 @item @var{addr}, starting display address
7243 @var{addr} is the address where you want @value{GDBN} to begin displaying
7244 memory. The expression need not have a pointer value (though it may);
7245 it is always interpreted as an integer address of a byte of memory.
7246 @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}, for more information on expressions. The default for
7247 @var{addr} is usually just after the last address examined---but several
7248 other commands also set the default address: @code{info breakpoints} (to
7249 the address of the last breakpoint listed), @code{info line} (to the
7250 starting address of a line), and @code{print} (if you use it to display
7251 a value from memory).
7252 @end table
7253
7254 For example, @samp{x/3uh 0x54320} is a request to display three halfwords
7255 (@code{h}) of memory, formatted as unsigned decimal integers (@samp{u}),
7256 starting at address @code{0x54320}. @samp{x/4xw $sp} prints the four
7257 words (@samp{w}) of memory above the stack pointer (here, @samp{$sp};
7258 @pxref{Registers, ,Registers}) in hexadecimal (@samp{x}).
7259
7260 Since the letters indicating unit sizes are all distinct from the
7261 letters specifying output formats, you do not have to remember whether
7262 unit size or format comes first; either order works. The output
7263 specifications @samp{4xw} and @samp{4wx} mean exactly the same thing.
7264 (However, the count @var{n} must come first; @samp{wx4} does not work.)
7265
7266 Even though the unit size @var{u} is ignored for the formats @samp{s}
7267 and @samp{i}, you might still want to use a count @var{n}; for example,
7268 @samp{3i} specifies that you want to see three machine instructions,
7269 including any operands. For convenience, especially when used with
7270 the @code{display} command, the @samp{i} format also prints branch delay
7271 slot instructions, if any, beyond the count specified, which immediately
7272 follow the last instruction that is within the count. The command
7273 @code{disassemble} gives an alternative way of inspecting machine
7274 instructions; see @ref{Machine Code,,Source and Machine Code}.
7275
7276 All the defaults for the arguments to @code{x} are designed to make it
7277 easy to continue scanning memory with minimal specifications each time
7278 you use @code{x}. For example, after you have inspected three machine
7279 instructions with @samp{x/3i @var{addr}}, you can inspect the next seven
7280 with just @samp{x/7}. If you use @key{RET} to repeat the @code{x} command,
7281 the repeat count @var{n} is used again; the other arguments default as
7282 for successive uses of @code{x}.
7283
7284 When examining machine instructions, the instruction at current program
7285 counter is shown with a @code{=>} marker. For example:
7286
7287 @smallexample
7288 (@value{GDBP}) x/5i $pc-6
7289 0x804837f <main+11>: mov %esp,%ebp
7290 0x8048381 <main+13>: push %ecx
7291 0x8048382 <main+14>: sub $0x4,%esp
7292 => 0x8048385 <main+17>: movl $0x8048460,(%esp)
7293 0x804838c <main+24>: call 0x80482d4 <puts@@plt>
7294 @end smallexample
7295
7296 @cindex @code{$_}, @code{$__}, and value history
7297 The addresses and contents printed by the @code{x} command are not saved
7298 in the value history because there is often too much of them and they
7299 would get in the way. Instead, @value{GDBN} makes these values available for
7300 subsequent use in expressions as values of the convenience variables
7301 @code{$_} and @code{$__}. After an @code{x} command, the last address
7302 examined is available for use in expressions in the convenience variable
7303 @code{$_}. The contents of that address, as examined, are available in
7304 the convenience variable @code{$__}.
7305
7306 If the @code{x} command has a repeat count, the address and contents saved
7307 are from the last memory unit printed; this is not the same as the last
7308 address printed if several units were printed on the last line of output.
7309
7310 @cindex remote memory comparison
7311 @cindex verify remote memory image
7312 When you are debugging a program running on a remote target machine
7313 (@pxref{Remote Debugging}), you may wish to verify the program's image in the
7314 remote machine's memory against the executable file you downloaded to
7315 the target. The @code{compare-sections} command is provided for such
7316 situations.
7317
7318 @table @code
7319 @kindex compare-sections
7320 @item compare-sections @r{[}@var{section-name}@r{]}
7321 Compare the data of a loadable section @var{section-name} in the
7322 executable file of the program being debugged with the same section in
7323 the remote machine's memory, and report any mismatches. With no
7324 arguments, compares all loadable sections. This command's
7325 availability depends on the target's support for the @code{"qCRC"}
7326 remote request.
7327 @end table
7328
7329 @node Auto Display
7330 @section Automatic Display
7331 @cindex automatic display
7332 @cindex display of expressions
7333
7334 If you find that you want to print the value of an expression frequently
7335 (to see how it changes), you might want to add it to the @dfn{automatic
7336 display list} so that @value{GDBN} prints its value each time your program stops.
7337 Each expression added to the list is given a number to identify it;
7338 to remove an expression from the list, you specify that number.
7339 The automatic display looks like this:
7340
7341 @smallexample
7342 2: foo = 38
7343 3: bar[5] = (struct hack *) 0x3804
7344 @end smallexample
7345
7346 @noindent
7347 This display shows item numbers, expressions and their current values. As with
7348 displays you request manually using @code{x} or @code{print}, you can
7349 specify the output format you prefer; in fact, @code{display} decides
7350 whether to use @code{print} or @code{x} depending your format
7351 specification---it uses @code{x} if you specify either the @samp{i}
7352 or @samp{s} format, or a unit size; otherwise it uses @code{print}.
7353
7354 @table @code
7355 @kindex display
7356 @item display @var{expr}
7357 Add the expression @var{expr} to the list of expressions to display
7358 each time your program stops. @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}.
7359
7360 @code{display} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again after using it.
7361
7362 @item display/@var{fmt} @var{expr}
7363 For @var{fmt} specifying only a display format and not a size or
7364 count, add the expression @var{expr} to the auto-display list but
7365 arrange to display it each time in the specified format @var{fmt}.
7366 @xref{Output Formats,,Output Formats}.
7367
7368 @item display/@var{fmt} @var{addr}
7369 For @var{fmt} @samp{i} or @samp{s}, or including a unit-size or a
7370 number of units, add the expression @var{addr} as a memory address to
7371 be examined each time your program stops. Examining means in effect
7372 doing @samp{x/@var{fmt} @var{addr}}. @xref{Memory, ,Examining Memory}.
7373 @end table
7374
7375 For example, @samp{display/i $pc} can be helpful, to see the machine
7376 instruction about to be executed each time execution stops (@samp{$pc}
7377 is a common name for the program counter; @pxref{Registers, ,Registers}).
7378
7379 @table @code
7380 @kindex delete display
7381 @kindex undisplay
7382 @item undisplay @var{dnums}@dots{}
7383 @itemx delete display @var{dnums}@dots{}
7384 Remove item numbers @var{dnums} from the list of expressions to display.
7385
7386 @code{undisplay} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} after using it.
7387 (Otherwise you would just get the error @samp{No display number @dots{}}.)
7388
7389 @kindex disable display
7390 @item disable display @var{dnums}@dots{}
7391 Disable the display of item numbers @var{dnums}. A disabled display
7392 item is not printed automatically, but is not forgotten. It may be
7393 enabled again later.
7394
7395 @kindex enable display
7396 @item enable display @var{dnums}@dots{}
7397 Enable display of item numbers @var{dnums}. It becomes effective once
7398 again in auto display of its expression, until you specify otherwise.
7399
7400 @item display
7401 Display the current values of the expressions on the list, just as is
7402 done when your program stops.
7403
7404 @kindex info display
7405 @item info display
7406 Print the list of expressions previously set up to display
7407 automatically, each one with its item number, but without showing the
7408 values. This includes disabled expressions, which are marked as such.
7409 It also includes expressions which would not be displayed right now
7410 because they refer to automatic variables not currently available.
7411 @end table
7412
7413 @cindex display disabled out of scope
7414 If a display expression refers to local variables, then it does not make
7415 sense outside the lexical context for which it was set up. Such an
7416 expression is disabled when execution enters a context where one of its
7417 variables is not defined. For example, if you give the command
7418 @code{display last_char} while inside a function with an argument
7419 @code{last_char}, @value{GDBN} displays this argument while your program
7420 continues to stop inside that function. When it stops elsewhere---where
7421 there is no variable @code{last_char}---the display is disabled
7422 automatically. The next time your program stops where @code{last_char}
7423 is meaningful, you can enable the display expression once again.
7424
7425 @node Print Settings
7426 @section Print Settings
7427
7428 @cindex format options
7429 @cindex print settings
7430 @value{GDBN} provides the following ways to control how arrays, structures,
7431 and symbols are printed.
7432
7433 @noindent
7434 These settings are useful for debugging programs in any language:
7435
7436 @table @code
7437 @kindex set print
7438 @item set print address
7439 @itemx set print address on
7440 @cindex print/don't print memory addresses
7441 @value{GDBN} prints memory addresses showing the location of stack
7442 traces, structure values, pointer values, breakpoints, and so forth,
7443 even when it also displays the contents of those addresses. The default
7444 is @code{on}. For example, this is what a stack frame display looks like with
7445 @code{set print address on}:
7446
7447 @smallexample
7448 @group
7449 (@value{GDBP}) f
7450 #0 set_quotes (lq=0x34c78 "<<", rq=0x34c88 ">>")
7451 at input.c:530
7452 530 if (lquote != def_lquote)
7453 @end group
7454 @end smallexample
7455
7456 @item set print address off
7457 Do not print addresses when displaying their contents. For example,
7458 this is the same stack frame displayed with @code{set print address off}:
7459
7460 @smallexample
7461 @group
7462 (@value{GDBP}) set print addr off
7463 (@value{GDBP}) f
7464 #0 set_quotes (lq="<<", rq=">>") at input.c:530
7465 530 if (lquote != def_lquote)
7466 @end group
7467 @end smallexample
7468
7469 You can use @samp{set print address off} to eliminate all machine
7470 dependent displays from the @value{GDBN} interface. For example, with
7471 @code{print address off}, you should get the same text for backtraces on
7472 all machines---whether or not they involve pointer arguments.
7473
7474 @kindex show print
7475 @item show print address
7476 Show whether or not addresses are to be printed.
7477 @end table
7478
7479 When @value{GDBN} prints a symbolic address, it normally prints the
7480 closest earlier symbol plus an offset. If that symbol does not uniquely
7481 identify the address (for example, it is a name whose scope is a single
7482 source file), you may need to clarify. One way to do this is with
7483 @code{info line}, for example @samp{info line *0x4537}. Alternately,
7484 you can set @value{GDBN} to print the source file and line number when
7485 it prints a symbolic address:
7486
7487 @table @code
7488 @item set print symbol-filename on
7489 @cindex source file and line of a symbol
7490 @cindex symbol, source file and line
7491 Tell @value{GDBN} to print the source file name and line number of a
7492 symbol in the symbolic form of an address.
7493
7494 @item set print symbol-filename off
7495 Do not print source file name and line number of a symbol. This is the
7496 default.
7497
7498 @item show print symbol-filename
7499 Show whether or not @value{GDBN} will print the source file name and
7500 line number of a symbol in the symbolic form of an address.
7501 @end table
7502
7503 Another situation where it is helpful to show symbol filenames and line
7504 numbers is when disassembling code; @value{GDBN} shows you the line
7505 number and source file that corresponds to each instruction.
7506
7507 Also, you may wish to see the symbolic form only if the address being
7508 printed is reasonably close to the closest earlier symbol:
7509
7510 @table @code
7511 @item set print max-symbolic-offset @var{max-offset}
7512 @cindex maximum value for offset of closest symbol
7513 Tell @value{GDBN} to only display the symbolic form of an address if the
7514 offset between the closest earlier symbol and the address is less than
7515 @var{max-offset}. The default is 0, which tells @value{GDBN}
7516 to always print the symbolic form of an address if any symbol precedes it.
7517
7518 @item show print max-symbolic-offset
7519 Ask how large the maximum offset is that @value{GDBN} prints in a
7520 symbolic address.
7521 @end table
7522
7523 @cindex wild pointer, interpreting
7524 @cindex pointer, finding referent
7525 If you have a pointer and you are not sure where it points, try
7526 @samp{set print symbol-filename on}. Then you can determine the name
7527 and source file location of the variable where it points, using
7528 @samp{p/a @var{pointer}}. This interprets the address in symbolic form.
7529 For example, here @value{GDBN} shows that a variable @code{ptt} points
7530 at another variable @code{t}, defined in @file{hi2.c}:
7531
7532 @smallexample
7533 (@value{GDBP}) set print symbol-filename on
7534 (@value{GDBP}) p/a ptt
7535 $4 = 0xe008 <t in hi2.c>
7536 @end smallexample
7537
7538 @quotation
7539 @emph{Warning:} For pointers that point to a local variable, @samp{p/a}
7540 does not show the symbol name and filename of the referent, even with
7541 the appropriate @code{set print} options turned on.
7542 @end quotation
7543
7544 Other settings control how different kinds of objects are printed:
7545
7546 @table @code
7547 @item set print array
7548 @itemx set print array on
7549 @cindex pretty print arrays
7550 Pretty print arrays. This format is more convenient to read,
7551 but uses more space. The default is off.
7552
7553 @item set print array off
7554 Return to compressed format for arrays.
7555
7556 @item show print array
7557 Show whether compressed or pretty format is selected for displaying
7558 arrays.
7559
7560 @cindex print array indexes
7561 @item set print array-indexes
7562 @itemx set print array-indexes on
7563 Print the index of each element when displaying arrays. May be more
7564 convenient to locate a given element in the array or quickly find the
7565 index of a given element in that printed array. The default is off.
7566
7567 @item set print array-indexes off
7568 Stop printing element indexes when displaying arrays.
7569
7570 @item show print array-indexes
7571 Show whether the index of each element is printed when displaying
7572 arrays.
7573
7574 @item set print elements @var{number-of-elements}
7575 @cindex number of array elements to print
7576 @cindex limit on number of printed array elements
7577 Set a limit on how many elements of an array @value{GDBN} will print.
7578 If @value{GDBN} is printing a large array, it stops printing after it has
7579 printed the number of elements set by the @code{set print elements} command.
7580 This limit also applies to the display of strings.
7581 When @value{GDBN} starts, this limit is set to 200.
7582 Setting @var{number-of-elements} to zero means that the printing is unlimited.
7583
7584 @item show print elements
7585 Display the number of elements of a large array that @value{GDBN} will print.
7586 If the number is 0, then the printing is unlimited.
7587
7588 @item set print frame-arguments @var{value}
7589 @kindex set print frame-arguments
7590 @cindex printing frame argument values
7591 @cindex print all frame argument values
7592 @cindex print frame argument values for scalars only
7593 @cindex do not print frame argument values
7594 This command allows to control how the values of arguments are printed
7595 when the debugger prints a frame (@pxref{Frames}). The possible
7596 values are:
7597
7598 @table @code
7599 @item all
7600 The values of all arguments are printed.
7601
7602 @item scalars
7603 Print the value of an argument only if it is a scalar. The value of more
7604 complex arguments such as arrays, structures, unions, etc, is replaced
7605 by @code{@dots{}}. This is the default. Here is an example where
7606 only scalar arguments are shown:
7607
7608 @smallexample
7609 #1 0x08048361 in call_me (i=3, s=@dots{}, ss=0xbf8d508c, u=@dots{}, e=green)
7610 at frame-args.c:23
7611 @end smallexample
7612
7613 @item none
7614 None of the argument values are printed. Instead, the value of each argument
7615 is replaced by @code{@dots{}}. In this case, the example above now becomes:
7616
7617 @smallexample
7618 #1 0x08048361 in call_me (i=@dots{}, s=@dots{}, ss=@dots{}, u=@dots{}, e=@dots{})
7619 at frame-args.c:23
7620 @end smallexample
7621 @end table
7622
7623 By default, only scalar arguments are printed. This command can be used
7624 to configure the debugger to print the value of all arguments, regardless
7625 of their type. However, it is often advantageous to not print the value
7626 of more complex parameters. For instance, it reduces the amount of
7627 information printed in each frame, making the backtrace more readable.
7628 Also, it improves performance when displaying Ada frames, because
7629 the computation of large arguments can sometimes be CPU-intensive,
7630 especially in large applications. Setting @code{print frame-arguments}
7631 to @code{scalars} (the default) or @code{none} avoids this computation,
7632 thus speeding up the display of each Ada frame.
7633
7634 @item show print frame-arguments
7635 Show how the value of arguments should be displayed when printing a frame.
7636
7637 @item set print repeats
7638 @cindex repeated array elements
7639 Set the threshold for suppressing display of repeated array
7640 elements. When the number of consecutive identical elements of an
7641 array exceeds the threshold, @value{GDBN} prints the string
7642 @code{"<repeats @var{n} times>"}, where @var{n} is the number of
7643 identical repetitions, instead of displaying the identical elements
7644 themselves. Setting the threshold to zero will cause all elements to
7645 be individually printed. The default threshold is 10.
7646
7647 @item show print repeats
7648 Display the current threshold for printing repeated identical
7649 elements.
7650
7651 @item set print null-stop
7652 @cindex @sc{null} elements in arrays
7653 Cause @value{GDBN} to stop printing the characters of an array when the first
7654 @sc{null} is encountered. This is useful when large arrays actually
7655 contain only short strings.
7656 The default is off.
7657
7658 @item show print null-stop
7659 Show whether @value{GDBN} stops printing an array on the first
7660 @sc{null} character.
7661
7662 @item set print pretty on
7663 @cindex print structures in indented form
7664 @cindex indentation in structure display
7665 Cause @value{GDBN} to print structures in an indented format with one member
7666 per line, like this:
7667
7668 @smallexample
7669 @group
7670 $1 = @{
7671 next = 0x0,
7672 flags = @{
7673 sweet = 1,
7674 sour = 1
7675 @},
7676 meat = 0x54 "Pork"
7677 @}
7678 @end group
7679 @end smallexample
7680
7681 @item set print pretty off
7682 Cause @value{GDBN} to print structures in a compact format, like this:
7683
7684 @smallexample
7685 @group
7686 $1 = @{next = 0x0, flags = @{sweet = 1, sour = 1@}, \
7687 meat = 0x54 "Pork"@}
7688 @end group
7689 @end smallexample
7690
7691 @noindent
7692 This is the default format.
7693
7694 @item show print pretty
7695 Show which format @value{GDBN} is using to print structures.
7696
7697 @item set print sevenbit-strings on
7698 @cindex eight-bit characters in strings
7699 @cindex octal escapes in strings
7700 Print using only seven-bit characters; if this option is set,
7701 @value{GDBN} displays any eight-bit characters (in strings or
7702 character values) using the notation @code{\}@var{nnn}. This setting is
7703 best if you are working in English (@sc{ascii}) and you use the
7704 high-order bit of characters as a marker or ``meta'' bit.
7705
7706 @item set print sevenbit-strings off
7707 Print full eight-bit characters. This allows the use of more
7708 international character sets, and is the default.
7709
7710 @item show print sevenbit-strings
7711 Show whether or not @value{GDBN} is printing only seven-bit characters.
7712
7713 @item set print union on
7714 @cindex unions in structures, printing
7715 Tell @value{GDBN} to print unions which are contained in structures
7716 and other unions. This is the default setting.
7717
7718 @item set print union off
7719 Tell @value{GDBN} not to print unions which are contained in
7720 structures and other unions. @value{GDBN} will print @code{"@{...@}"}
7721 instead.
7722
7723 @item show print union
7724 Ask @value{GDBN} whether or not it will print unions which are contained in
7725 structures and other unions.
7726
7727 For example, given the declarations
7728
7729 @smallexample
7730 typedef enum @{Tree, Bug@} Species;
7731 typedef enum @{Big_tree, Acorn, Seedling@} Tree_forms;
7732 typedef enum @{Caterpillar, Cocoon, Butterfly@}
7733 Bug_forms;
7734
7735 struct thing @{
7736 Species it;
7737 union @{
7738 Tree_forms tree;
7739 Bug_forms bug;
7740 @} form;
7741 @};
7742
7743 struct thing foo = @{Tree, @{Acorn@}@};
7744 @end smallexample
7745
7746 @noindent
7747 with @code{set print union on} in effect @samp{p foo} would print
7748
7749 @smallexample
7750 $1 = @{it = Tree, form = @{tree = Acorn, bug = Cocoon@}@}
7751 @end smallexample
7752
7753 @noindent
7754 and with @code{set print union off} in effect it would print
7755
7756 @smallexample
7757 $1 = @{it = Tree, form = @{...@}@}
7758 @end smallexample
7759
7760 @noindent
7761 @code{set print union} affects programs written in C-like languages
7762 and in Pascal.
7763 @end table
7764
7765 @need 1000
7766 @noindent
7767 These settings are of interest when debugging C@t{++} programs:
7768
7769 @table @code
7770 @cindex demangling C@t{++} names
7771 @item set print demangle
7772 @itemx set print demangle on
7773 Print C@t{++} names in their source form rather than in the encoded
7774 (``mangled'') form passed to the assembler and linker for type-safe
7775 linkage. The default is on.
7776
7777 @item show print demangle
7778 Show whether C@t{++} names are printed in mangled or demangled form.
7779
7780 @item set print asm-demangle
7781 @itemx set print asm-demangle on
7782 Print C@t{++} names in their source form rather than their mangled form, even
7783 in assembler code printouts such as instruction disassemblies.
7784 The default is off.
7785
7786 @item show print asm-demangle
7787 Show whether C@t{++} names in assembly listings are printed in mangled
7788 or demangled form.
7789
7790 @cindex C@t{++} symbol decoding style
7791 @cindex symbol decoding style, C@t{++}
7792 @kindex set demangle-style
7793 @item set demangle-style @var{style}
7794 Choose among several encoding schemes used by different compilers to
7795 represent C@t{++} names. The choices for @var{style} are currently:
7796
7797 @table @code
7798 @item auto
7799 Allow @value{GDBN} to choose a decoding style by inspecting your program.
7800
7801 @item gnu
7802 Decode based on the @sc{gnu} C@t{++} compiler (@code{g++}) encoding algorithm.
7803 This is the default.
7804
7805 @item hp
7806 Decode based on the HP ANSI C@t{++} (@code{aCC}) encoding algorithm.
7807
7808 @item lucid
7809 Decode based on the Lucid C@t{++} compiler (@code{lcc}) encoding algorithm.
7810
7811 @item arm
7812 Decode using the algorithm in the @cite{C@t{++} Annotated Reference Manual}.
7813 @strong{Warning:} this setting alone is not sufficient to allow
7814 debugging @code{cfront}-generated executables. @value{GDBN} would
7815 require further enhancement to permit that.
7816
7817 @end table
7818 If you omit @var{style}, you will see a list of possible formats.
7819
7820 @item show demangle-style
7821 Display the encoding style currently in use for decoding C@t{++} symbols.
7822
7823 @item set print object
7824 @itemx set print object on
7825 @cindex derived type of an object, printing
7826 @cindex display derived types
7827 When displaying a pointer to an object, identify the @emph{actual}
7828 (derived) type of the object rather than the @emph{declared} type, using
7829 the virtual function table.
7830
7831 @item set print object off
7832 Display only the declared type of objects, without reference to the
7833 virtual function table. This is the default setting.
7834
7835 @item show print object
7836 Show whether actual, or declared, object types are displayed.
7837
7838 @item set print static-members
7839 @itemx set print static-members on
7840 @cindex static members of C@t{++} objects
7841 Print static members when displaying a C@t{++} object. The default is on.
7842
7843 @item set print static-members off
7844 Do not print static members when displaying a C@t{++} object.
7845
7846 @item show print static-members
7847 Show whether C@t{++} static members are printed or not.
7848
7849 @item set print pascal_static-members
7850 @itemx set print pascal_static-members on
7851 @cindex static members of Pascal objects
7852 @cindex Pascal objects, static members display
7853 Print static members when displaying a Pascal object. The default is on.
7854
7855 @item set print pascal_static-members off
7856 Do not print static members when displaying a Pascal object.
7857
7858 @item show print pascal_static-members
7859 Show whether Pascal static members are printed or not.
7860
7861 @c These don't work with HP ANSI C++ yet.
7862 @item set print vtbl
7863 @itemx set print vtbl on
7864 @cindex pretty print C@t{++} virtual function tables
7865 @cindex virtual functions (C@t{++}) display
7866 @cindex VTBL display
7867 Pretty print C@t{++} virtual function tables. The default is off.
7868 (The @code{vtbl} commands do not work on programs compiled with the HP
7869 ANSI C@t{++} compiler (@code{aCC}).)
7870
7871 @item set print vtbl off
7872 Do not pretty print C@t{++} virtual function tables.
7873
7874 @item show print vtbl
7875 Show whether C@t{++} virtual function tables are pretty printed, or not.
7876 @end table
7877
7878 @node Value History
7879 @section Value History
7880
7881 @cindex value history
7882 @cindex history of values printed by @value{GDBN}
7883 Values printed by the @code{print} command are saved in the @value{GDBN}
7884 @dfn{value history}. This allows you to refer to them in other expressions.
7885 Values are kept until the symbol table is re-read or discarded
7886 (for example with the @code{file} or @code{symbol-file} commands).
7887 When the symbol table changes, the value history is discarded,
7888 since the values may contain pointers back to the types defined in the
7889 symbol table.
7890
7891 @cindex @code{$}
7892 @cindex @code{$$}
7893 @cindex history number
7894 The values printed are given @dfn{history numbers} by which you can
7895 refer to them. These are successive integers starting with one.
7896 @code{print} shows you the history number assigned to a value by
7897 printing @samp{$@var{num} = } before the value; here @var{num} is the
7898 history number.
7899
7900 To refer to any previous value, use @samp{$} followed by the value's
7901 history number. The way @code{print} labels its output is designed to
7902 remind you of this. Just @code{$} refers to the most recent value in
7903 the history, and @code{$$} refers to the value before that.
7904 @code{$$@var{n}} refers to the @var{n}th value from the end; @code{$$2}
7905 is the value just prior to @code{$$}, @code{$$1} is equivalent to
7906 @code{$$}, and @code{$$0} is equivalent to @code{$}.
7907
7908 For example, suppose you have just printed a pointer to a structure and
7909 want to see the contents of the structure. It suffices to type
7910
7911 @smallexample
7912 p *$
7913 @end smallexample
7914
7915 If you have a chain of structures where the component @code{next} points
7916 to the next one, you can print the contents of the next one with this:
7917
7918 @smallexample
7919 p *$.next
7920 @end smallexample
7921
7922 @noindent
7923 You can print successive links in the chain by repeating this
7924 command---which you can do by just typing @key{RET}.
7925
7926 Note that the history records values, not expressions. If the value of
7927 @code{x} is 4 and you type these commands:
7928
7929 @smallexample
7930 print x
7931 set x=5
7932 @end smallexample
7933
7934 @noindent
7935 then the value recorded in the value history by the @code{print} command
7936 remains 4 even though the value of @code{x} has changed.
7937
7938 @table @code
7939 @kindex show values
7940 @item show values
7941 Print the last ten values in the value history, with their item numbers.
7942 This is like @samp{p@ $$9} repeated ten times, except that @code{show
7943 values} does not change the history.
7944
7945 @item show values @var{n}
7946 Print ten history values centered on history item number @var{n}.
7947
7948 @item show values +
7949 Print ten history values just after the values last printed. If no more
7950 values are available, @code{show values +} produces no display.
7951 @end table
7952
7953 Pressing @key{RET} to repeat @code{show values @var{n}} has exactly the
7954 same effect as @samp{show values +}.
7955
7956 @node Convenience Vars
7957 @section Convenience Variables
7958
7959 @cindex convenience variables
7960 @cindex user-defined variables
7961 @value{GDBN} provides @dfn{convenience variables} that you can use within
7962 @value{GDBN} to hold on to a value and refer to it later. These variables
7963 exist entirely within @value{GDBN}; they are not part of your program, and
7964 setting a convenience variable has no direct effect on further execution
7965 of your program. That is why you can use them freely.
7966
7967 Convenience variables are prefixed with @samp{$}. Any name preceded by
7968 @samp{$} can be used for a convenience variable, unless it is one of
7969 the predefined machine-specific register names (@pxref{Registers, ,Registers}).
7970 (Value history references, in contrast, are @emph{numbers} preceded
7971 by @samp{$}. @xref{Value History, ,Value History}.)
7972
7973 You can save a value in a convenience variable with an assignment
7974 expression, just as you would set a variable in your program.
7975 For example:
7976
7977 @smallexample
7978 set $foo = *object_ptr
7979 @end smallexample
7980
7981 @noindent
7982 would save in @code{$foo} the value contained in the object pointed to by
7983 @code{object_ptr}.
7984
7985 Using a convenience variable for the first time creates it, but its
7986 value is @code{void} until you assign a new value. You can alter the
7987 value with another assignment at any time.
7988
7989 Convenience variables have no fixed types. You can assign a convenience
7990 variable any type of value, including structures and arrays, even if
7991 that variable already has a value of a different type. The convenience
7992 variable, when used as an expression, has the type of its current value.
7993
7994 @table @code
7995 @kindex show convenience
7996 @cindex show all user variables
7997 @item show convenience
7998 Print a list of convenience variables used so far, and their values.
7999 Abbreviated @code{show conv}.
8000
8001 @kindex init-if-undefined
8002 @cindex convenience variables, initializing
8003 @item init-if-undefined $@var{variable} = @var{expression}
8004 Set a convenience variable if it has not already been set. This is useful
8005 for user-defined commands that keep some state. It is similar, in concept,
8006 to using local static variables with initializers in C (except that
8007 convenience variables are global). It can also be used to allow users to
8008 override default values used in a command script.
8009
8010 If the variable is already defined then the expression is not evaluated so
8011 any side-effects do not occur.
8012 @end table
8013
8014 One of the ways to use a convenience variable is as a counter to be
8015 incremented or a pointer to be advanced. For example, to print
8016 a field from successive elements of an array of structures:
8017
8018 @smallexample
8019 set $i = 0
8020 print bar[$i++]->contents
8021 @end smallexample
8022
8023 @noindent
8024 Repeat that command by typing @key{RET}.
8025
8026 Some convenience variables are created automatically by @value{GDBN} and given
8027 values likely to be useful.
8028
8029 @table @code
8030 @vindex $_@r{, convenience variable}
8031 @item $_
8032 The variable @code{$_} is automatically set by the @code{x} command to
8033 the last address examined (@pxref{Memory, ,Examining Memory}). Other
8034 commands which provide a default address for @code{x} to examine also
8035 set @code{$_} to that address; these commands include @code{info line}
8036 and @code{info breakpoint}. The type of @code{$_} is @code{void *}
8037 except when set by the @code{x} command, in which case it is a pointer
8038 to the type of @code{$__}.
8039
8040 @vindex $__@r{, convenience variable}
8041 @item $__
8042 The variable @code{$__} is automatically set by the @code{x} command
8043 to the value found in the last address examined. Its type is chosen
8044 to match the format in which the data was printed.
8045
8046 @item $_exitcode
8047 @vindex $_exitcode@r{, convenience variable}
8048 The variable @code{$_exitcode} is automatically set to the exit code when
8049 the program being debugged terminates.
8050
8051 @item $_siginfo
8052 @vindex $_siginfo@r{, convenience variable}
8053 The variable @code{$_siginfo} contains extra signal information
8054 (@pxref{extra signal information}). Note that @code{$_siginfo}
8055 could be empty, if the application has not yet received any signals.
8056 For example, it will be empty before you execute the @code{run} command.
8057 @end table
8058
8059 On HP-UX systems, if you refer to a function or variable name that
8060 begins with a dollar sign, @value{GDBN} searches for a user or system
8061 name first, before it searches for a convenience variable.
8062
8063 @cindex convenience functions
8064 @value{GDBN} also supplies some @dfn{convenience functions}. These
8065 have a syntax similar to convenience variables. A convenience
8066 function can be used in an expression just like an ordinary function;
8067 however, a convenience function is implemented internally to
8068 @value{GDBN}.
8069
8070 @table @code
8071 @item help function
8072 @kindex help function
8073 @cindex show all convenience functions
8074 Print a list of all convenience functions.
8075 @end table
8076
8077 @node Registers
8078 @section Registers
8079
8080 @cindex registers
8081 You can refer to machine register contents, in expressions, as variables
8082 with names starting with @samp{$}. The names of registers are different
8083 for each machine; use @code{info registers} to see the names used on
8084 your machine.
8085
8086 @table @code
8087 @kindex info registers
8088 @item info registers
8089 Print the names and values of all registers except floating-point
8090 and vector registers (in the selected stack frame).
8091
8092 @kindex info all-registers
8093 @cindex floating point registers
8094 @item info all-registers
8095 Print the names and values of all registers, including floating-point
8096 and vector registers (in the selected stack frame).
8097
8098 @item info registers @var{regname} @dots{}
8099 Print the @dfn{relativized} value of each specified register @var{regname}.
8100 As discussed in detail below, register values are normally relative to
8101 the selected stack frame. @var{regname} may be any register name valid on
8102 the machine you are using, with or without the initial @samp{$}.
8103 @end table
8104
8105 @cindex stack pointer register
8106 @cindex program counter register
8107 @cindex process status register
8108 @cindex frame pointer register
8109 @cindex standard registers
8110 @value{GDBN} has four ``standard'' register names that are available (in
8111 expressions) on most machines---whenever they do not conflict with an
8112 architecture's canonical mnemonics for registers. The register names
8113 @code{$pc} and @code{$sp} are used for the program counter register and
8114 the stack pointer. @code{$fp} is used for a register that contains a
8115 pointer to the current stack frame, and @code{$ps} is used for a
8116 register that contains the processor status. For example,
8117 you could print the program counter in hex with
8118
8119 @smallexample
8120 p/x $pc
8121 @end smallexample
8122
8123 @noindent
8124 or print the instruction to be executed next with
8125
8126 @smallexample
8127 x/i $pc
8128 @end smallexample
8129
8130 @noindent
8131 or add four to the stack pointer@footnote{This is a way of removing
8132 one word from the stack, on machines where stacks grow downward in
8133 memory (most machines, nowadays). This assumes that the innermost
8134 stack frame is selected; setting @code{$sp} is not allowed when other
8135 stack frames are selected. To pop entire frames off the stack,
8136 regardless of machine architecture, use @code{return};
8137 see @ref{Returning, ,Returning from a Function}.} with
8138
8139 @smallexample
8140 set $sp += 4
8141 @end smallexample
8142
8143 Whenever possible, these four standard register names are available on
8144 your machine even though the machine has different canonical mnemonics,
8145 so long as there is no conflict. The @code{info registers} command
8146 shows the canonical names. For example, on the SPARC, @code{info
8147 registers} displays the processor status register as @code{$psr} but you
8148 can also refer to it as @code{$ps}; and on x86-based machines @code{$ps}
8149 is an alias for the @sc{eflags} register.
8150
8151 @value{GDBN} always considers the contents of an ordinary register as an
8152 integer when the register is examined in this way. Some machines have
8153 special registers which can hold nothing but floating point; these
8154 registers are considered to have floating point values. There is no way
8155 to refer to the contents of an ordinary register as floating point value
8156 (although you can @emph{print} it as a floating point value with
8157 @samp{print/f $@var{regname}}).
8158
8159 Some registers have distinct ``raw'' and ``virtual'' data formats. This
8160 means that the data format in which the register contents are saved by
8161 the operating system is not the same one that your program normally
8162 sees. For example, the registers of the 68881 floating point
8163 coprocessor are always saved in ``extended'' (raw) format, but all C
8164 programs expect to work with ``double'' (virtual) format. In such
8165 cases, @value{GDBN} normally works with the virtual format only (the format
8166 that makes sense for your program), but the @code{info registers} command
8167 prints the data in both formats.
8168
8169 @cindex SSE registers (x86)
8170 @cindex MMX registers (x86)
8171 Some machines have special registers whose contents can be interpreted
8172 in several different ways. For example, modern x86-based machines
8173 have SSE and MMX registers that can hold several values packed
8174 together in several different formats. @value{GDBN} refers to such
8175 registers in @code{struct} notation:
8176
8177 @smallexample
8178 (@value{GDBP}) print $xmm1
8179 $1 = @{
8180 v4_float = @{0, 3.43859137e-038, 1.54142831e-044, 1.821688e-044@},
8181 v2_double = @{9.92129282474342e-303, 2.7585945287983262e-313@},
8182 v16_int8 = "\000\000\000\000\3706;\001\v\000\000\000\r\000\000",
8183 v8_int16 = @{0, 0, 14072, 315, 11, 0, 13, 0@},
8184 v4_int32 = @{0, 20657912, 11, 13@},
8185 v2_int64 = @{88725056443645952, 55834574859@},
8186 uint128 = 0x0000000d0000000b013b36f800000000
8187 @}
8188 @end smallexample
8189
8190 @noindent
8191 To set values of such registers, you need to tell @value{GDBN} which
8192 view of the register you wish to change, as if you were assigning
8193 value to a @code{struct} member:
8194
8195 @smallexample
8196 (@value{GDBP}) set $xmm1.uint128 = 0x000000000000000000000000FFFFFFFF
8197 @end smallexample
8198
8199 Normally, register values are relative to the selected stack frame
8200 (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}). This means that you get the
8201 value that the register would contain if all stack frames farther in
8202 were exited and their saved registers restored. In order to see the
8203 true contents of hardware registers, you must select the innermost
8204 frame (with @samp{frame 0}).
8205
8206 However, @value{GDBN} must deduce where registers are saved, from the machine
8207 code generated by your compiler. If some registers are not saved, or if
8208 @value{GDBN} is unable to locate the saved registers, the selected stack
8209 frame makes no difference.
8210
8211 @node Floating Point Hardware
8212 @section Floating Point Hardware
8213 @cindex floating point
8214
8215 Depending on the configuration, @value{GDBN} may be able to give
8216 you more information about the status of the floating point hardware.
8217
8218 @table @code
8219 @kindex info float
8220 @item info float
8221 Display hardware-dependent information about the floating
8222 point unit. The exact contents and layout vary depending on the
8223 floating point chip. Currently, @samp{info float} is supported on
8224 the ARM and x86 machines.
8225 @end table
8226
8227 @node Vector Unit
8228 @section Vector Unit
8229 @cindex vector unit
8230
8231 Depending on the configuration, @value{GDBN} may be able to give you
8232 more information about the status of the vector unit.
8233
8234 @table @code
8235 @kindex info vector
8236 @item info vector
8237 Display information about the vector unit. The exact contents and
8238 layout vary depending on the hardware.
8239 @end table
8240
8241 @node OS Information
8242 @section Operating System Auxiliary Information
8243 @cindex OS information
8244
8245 @value{GDBN} provides interfaces to useful OS facilities that can help
8246 you debug your program.
8247
8248 @cindex @code{ptrace} system call
8249 @cindex @code{struct user} contents
8250 When @value{GDBN} runs on a @dfn{Posix system} (such as GNU or Unix
8251 machines), it interfaces with the inferior via the @code{ptrace}
8252 system call. The operating system creates a special sata structure,
8253 called @code{struct user}, for this interface. You can use the
8254 command @code{info udot} to display the contents of this data
8255 structure.
8256
8257 @table @code
8258 @item info udot
8259 @kindex info udot
8260 Display the contents of the @code{struct user} maintained by the OS
8261 kernel for the program being debugged. @value{GDBN} displays the
8262 contents of @code{struct user} as a list of hex numbers, similar to
8263 the @code{examine} command.
8264 @end table
8265
8266 @cindex auxiliary vector
8267 @cindex vector, auxiliary
8268 Some operating systems supply an @dfn{auxiliary vector} to programs at
8269 startup. This is akin to the arguments and environment that you
8270 specify for a program, but contains a system-dependent variety of
8271 binary values that tell system libraries important details about the
8272 hardware, operating system, and process. Each value's purpose is
8273 identified by an integer tag; the meanings are well-known but system-specific.
8274 Depending on the configuration and operating system facilities,
8275 @value{GDBN} may be able to show you this information. For remote
8276 targets, this functionality may further depend on the remote stub's
8277 support of the @samp{qXfer:auxv:read} packet, see
8278 @ref{qXfer auxiliary vector read}.
8279
8280 @table @code
8281 @kindex info auxv
8282 @item info auxv
8283 Display the auxiliary vector of the inferior, which can be either a
8284 live process or a core dump file. @value{GDBN} prints each tag value
8285 numerically, and also shows names and text descriptions for recognized
8286 tags. Some values in the vector are numbers, some bit masks, and some
8287 pointers to strings or other data. @value{GDBN} displays each value in the
8288 most appropriate form for a recognized tag, and in hexadecimal for
8289 an unrecognized tag.
8290 @end table
8291
8292 On some targets, @value{GDBN} can access operating-system-specific information
8293 and display it to user, without interpretation. For remote targets,
8294 this functionality depends on the remote stub's support of the
8295 @samp{qXfer:osdata:read} packet, see @ref{qXfer osdata read}.
8296
8297 @table @code
8298 @kindex info os processes
8299 @item info os processes
8300 Display the list of processes on the target. For each process,
8301 @value{GDBN} prints the process identifier, the name of the user, and
8302 the command corresponding to the process.
8303 @end table
8304
8305 @node Memory Region Attributes
8306 @section Memory Region Attributes
8307 @cindex memory region attributes
8308
8309 @dfn{Memory region attributes} allow you to describe special handling
8310 required by regions of your target's memory. @value{GDBN} uses
8311 attributes to determine whether to allow certain types of memory
8312 accesses; whether to use specific width accesses; and whether to cache
8313 target memory. By default the description of memory regions is
8314 fetched from the target (if the current target supports this), but the
8315 user can override the fetched regions.
8316
8317 Defined memory regions can be individually enabled and disabled. When a
8318 memory region is disabled, @value{GDBN} uses the default attributes when
8319 accessing memory in that region. Similarly, if no memory regions have
8320 been defined, @value{GDBN} uses the default attributes when accessing
8321 all memory.
8322
8323 When a memory region is defined, it is given a number to identify it;
8324 to enable, disable, or remove a memory region, you specify that number.
8325
8326 @table @code
8327 @kindex mem
8328 @item mem @var{lower} @var{upper} @var{attributes}@dots{}
8329 Define a memory region bounded by @var{lower} and @var{upper} with
8330 attributes @var{attributes}@dots{}, and add it to the list of regions
8331 monitored by @value{GDBN}. Note that @var{upper} == 0 is a special
8332 case: it is treated as the target's maximum memory address.
8333 (0xffff on 16 bit targets, 0xffffffff on 32 bit targets, etc.)
8334
8335 @item mem auto
8336 Discard any user changes to the memory regions and use target-supplied
8337 regions, if available, or no regions if the target does not support.
8338
8339 @kindex delete mem
8340 @item delete mem @var{nums}@dots{}
8341 Remove memory regions @var{nums}@dots{} from the list of regions
8342 monitored by @value{GDBN}.
8343
8344 @kindex disable mem
8345 @item disable mem @var{nums}@dots{}
8346 Disable monitoring of memory regions @var{nums}@dots{}.
8347 A disabled memory region is not forgotten.
8348 It may be enabled again later.
8349
8350 @kindex enable mem
8351 @item enable mem @var{nums}@dots{}
8352 Enable monitoring of memory regions @var{nums}@dots{}.
8353
8354 @kindex info mem
8355 @item info mem
8356 Print a table of all defined memory regions, with the following columns
8357 for each region:
8358
8359 @table @emph
8360 @item Memory Region Number
8361 @item Enabled or Disabled.
8362 Enabled memory regions are marked with @samp{y}.
8363 Disabled memory regions are marked with @samp{n}.
8364
8365 @item Lo Address
8366 The address defining the inclusive lower bound of the memory region.
8367
8368 @item Hi Address
8369 The address defining the exclusive upper bound of the memory region.
8370
8371 @item Attributes
8372 The list of attributes set for this memory region.
8373 @end table
8374 @end table
8375
8376
8377 @subsection Attributes
8378
8379 @subsubsection Memory Access Mode
8380 The access mode attributes set whether @value{GDBN} may make read or
8381 write accesses to a memory region.
8382
8383 While these attributes prevent @value{GDBN} from performing invalid
8384 memory accesses, they do nothing to prevent the target system, I/O DMA,
8385 etc.@: from accessing memory.
8386
8387 @table @code
8388 @item ro
8389 Memory is read only.
8390 @item wo
8391 Memory is write only.
8392 @item rw
8393 Memory is read/write. This is the default.
8394 @end table
8395
8396 @subsubsection Memory Access Size
8397 The access size attribute tells @value{GDBN} to use specific sized
8398 accesses in the memory region. Often memory mapped device registers
8399 require specific sized accesses. If no access size attribute is
8400 specified, @value{GDBN} may use accesses of any size.
8401
8402 @table @code
8403 @item 8
8404 Use 8 bit memory accesses.
8405 @item 16
8406 Use 16 bit memory accesses.
8407 @item 32
8408 Use 32 bit memory accesses.
8409 @item 64
8410 Use 64 bit memory accesses.
8411 @end table
8412
8413 @c @subsubsection Hardware/Software Breakpoints
8414 @c The hardware/software breakpoint attributes set whether @value{GDBN}
8415 @c will use hardware or software breakpoints for the internal breakpoints
8416 @c used by the step, next, finish, until, etc. commands.
8417 @c
8418 @c @table @code
8419 @c @item hwbreak
8420 @c Always use hardware breakpoints
8421 @c @item swbreak (default)
8422 @c @end table
8423
8424 @subsubsection Data Cache
8425 The data cache attributes set whether @value{GDBN} will cache target
8426 memory. While this generally improves performance by reducing debug
8427 protocol overhead, it can lead to incorrect results because @value{GDBN}
8428 does not know about volatile variables or memory mapped device
8429 registers.
8430
8431 @table @code
8432 @item cache
8433 Enable @value{GDBN} to cache target memory.
8434 @item nocache
8435 Disable @value{GDBN} from caching target memory. This is the default.
8436 @end table
8437
8438 @subsection Memory Access Checking
8439 @value{GDBN} can be instructed to refuse accesses to memory that is
8440 not explicitly described. This can be useful if accessing such
8441 regions has undesired effects for a specific target, or to provide
8442 better error checking. The following commands control this behaviour.
8443
8444 @table @code
8445 @kindex set mem inaccessible-by-default
8446 @item set mem inaccessible-by-default [on|off]
8447 If @code{on} is specified, make @value{GDBN} treat memory not
8448 explicitly described by the memory ranges as non-existent and refuse accesses
8449 to such memory. The checks are only performed if there's at least one
8450 memory range defined. If @code{off} is specified, make @value{GDBN}
8451 treat the memory not explicitly described by the memory ranges as RAM.
8452 The default value is @code{on}.
8453 @kindex show mem inaccessible-by-default
8454 @item show mem inaccessible-by-default
8455 Show the current handling of accesses to unknown memory.
8456 @end table
8457
8458
8459 @c @subsubsection Memory Write Verification
8460 @c The memory write verification attributes set whether @value{GDBN}
8461 @c will re-reads data after each write to verify the write was successful.
8462 @c
8463 @c @table @code
8464 @c @item verify
8465 @c @item noverify (default)
8466 @c @end table
8467
8468 @node Dump/Restore Files
8469 @section Copy Between Memory and a File
8470 @cindex dump/restore files
8471 @cindex append data to a file
8472 @cindex dump data to a file
8473 @cindex restore data from a file
8474
8475 You can use the commands @code{dump}, @code{append}, and
8476 @code{restore} to copy data between target memory and a file. The
8477 @code{dump} and @code{append} commands write data to a file, and the
8478 @code{restore} command reads data from a file back into the inferior's
8479 memory. Files may be in binary, Motorola S-record, Intel hex, or
8480 Tektronix Hex format; however, @value{GDBN} can only append to binary
8481 files.
8482
8483 @table @code
8484
8485 @kindex dump
8486 @item dump @r{[}@var{format}@r{]} memory @var{filename} @var{start_addr} @var{end_addr}
8487 @itemx dump @r{[}@var{format}@r{]} value @var{filename} @var{expr}
8488 Dump the contents of memory from @var{start_addr} to @var{end_addr},
8489 or the value of @var{expr}, to @var{filename} in the given format.
8490
8491 The @var{format} parameter may be any one of:
8492 @table @code
8493 @item binary
8494 Raw binary form.
8495 @item ihex
8496 Intel hex format.
8497 @item srec
8498 Motorola S-record format.
8499 @item tekhex
8500 Tektronix Hex format.
8501 @end table
8502
8503 @value{GDBN} uses the same definitions of these formats as the
8504 @sc{gnu} binary utilities, like @samp{objdump} and @samp{objcopy}. If
8505 @var{format} is omitted, @value{GDBN} dumps the data in raw binary
8506 form.
8507
8508 @kindex append
8509 @item append @r{[}binary@r{]} memory @var{filename} @var{start_addr} @var{end_addr}
8510 @itemx append @r{[}binary@r{]} value @var{filename} @var{expr}
8511 Append the contents of memory from @var{start_addr} to @var{end_addr},
8512 or the value of @var{expr}, to the file @var{filename}, in raw binary form.
8513 (@value{GDBN} can only append data to files in raw binary form.)
8514
8515 @kindex restore
8516 @item restore @var{filename} @r{[}binary@r{]} @var{bias} @var{start} @var{end}
8517 Restore the contents of file @var{filename} into memory. The
8518 @code{restore} command can automatically recognize any known @sc{bfd}
8519 file format, except for raw binary. To restore a raw binary file you
8520 must specify the optional keyword @code{binary} after the filename.
8521
8522 If @var{bias} is non-zero, its value will be added to the addresses
8523 contained in the file. Binary files always start at address zero, so
8524 they will be restored at address @var{bias}. Other bfd files have
8525 a built-in location; they will be restored at offset @var{bias}
8526 from that location.
8527
8528 If @var{start} and/or @var{end} are non-zero, then only data between
8529 file offset @var{start} and file offset @var{end} will be restored.
8530 These offsets are relative to the addresses in the file, before
8531 the @var{bias} argument is applied.
8532
8533 @end table
8534
8535 @node Core File Generation
8536 @section How to Produce a Core File from Your Program
8537 @cindex dump core from inferior
8538
8539 A @dfn{core file} or @dfn{core dump} is a file that records the memory
8540 image of a running process and its process status (register values
8541 etc.). Its primary use is post-mortem debugging of a program that
8542 crashed while it ran outside a debugger. A program that crashes
8543 automatically produces a core file, unless this feature is disabled by
8544 the user. @xref{Files}, for information on invoking @value{GDBN} in
8545 the post-mortem debugging mode.
8546
8547 Occasionally, you may wish to produce a core file of the program you
8548 are debugging in order to preserve a snapshot of its state.
8549 @value{GDBN} has a special command for that.
8550
8551 @table @code
8552 @kindex gcore
8553 @kindex generate-core-file
8554 @item generate-core-file [@var{file}]
8555 @itemx gcore [@var{file}]
8556 Produce a core dump of the inferior process. The optional argument
8557 @var{file} specifies the file name where to put the core dump. If not
8558 specified, the file name defaults to @file{core.@var{pid}}, where
8559 @var{pid} is the inferior process ID.
8560
8561 Note that this command is implemented only for some systems (as of
8562 this writing, @sc{gnu}/Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, Unixware, and S390).
8563 @end table
8564
8565 @node Character Sets
8566 @section Character Sets
8567 @cindex character sets
8568 @cindex charset
8569 @cindex translating between character sets
8570 @cindex host character set
8571 @cindex target character set
8572
8573 If the program you are debugging uses a different character set to
8574 represent characters and strings than the one @value{GDBN} uses itself,
8575 @value{GDBN} can automatically translate between the character sets for
8576 you. The character set @value{GDBN} uses we call the @dfn{host
8577 character set}; the one the inferior program uses we call the
8578 @dfn{target character set}.
8579
8580 For example, if you are running @value{GDBN} on a @sc{gnu}/Linux system, which
8581 uses the ISO Latin 1 character set, but you are using @value{GDBN}'s
8582 remote protocol (@pxref{Remote Debugging}) to debug a program
8583 running on an IBM mainframe, which uses the @sc{ebcdic} character set,
8584 then the host character set is Latin-1, and the target character set is
8585 @sc{ebcdic}. If you give @value{GDBN} the command @code{set
8586 target-charset EBCDIC-US}, then @value{GDBN} translates between
8587 @sc{ebcdic} and Latin 1 as you print character or string values, or use
8588 character and string literals in expressions.
8589
8590 @value{GDBN} has no way to automatically recognize which character set
8591 the inferior program uses; you must tell it, using the @code{set
8592 target-charset} command, described below.
8593
8594 Here are the commands for controlling @value{GDBN}'s character set
8595 support:
8596
8597 @table @code
8598 @item set target-charset @var{charset}
8599 @kindex set target-charset
8600 Set the current target character set to @var{charset}. To display the
8601 list of supported target character sets, type
8602 @kbd{@w{set target-charset @key{TAB}@key{TAB}}}.
8603
8604 @item set host-charset @var{charset}
8605 @kindex set host-charset
8606 Set the current host character set to @var{charset}.
8607
8608 By default, @value{GDBN} uses a host character set appropriate to the
8609 system it is running on; you can override that default using the
8610 @code{set host-charset} command. On some systems, @value{GDBN} cannot
8611 automatically determine the appropriate host character set. In this
8612 case, @value{GDBN} uses @samp{UTF-8}.
8613
8614 @value{GDBN} can only use certain character sets as its host character
8615 set. If you type @kbd{@w{set target-charset @key{TAB}@key{TAB}}},
8616 @value{GDBN} will list the host character sets it supports.
8617
8618 @item set charset @var{charset}
8619 @kindex set charset
8620 Set the current host and target character sets to @var{charset}. As
8621 above, if you type @kbd{@w{set charset @key{TAB}@key{TAB}}},
8622 @value{GDBN} will list the names of the character sets that can be used
8623 for both host and target.
8624
8625 @item show charset
8626 @kindex show charset
8627 Show the names of the current host and target character sets.
8628
8629 @item show host-charset
8630 @kindex show host-charset
8631 Show the name of the current host character set.
8632
8633 @item show target-charset
8634 @kindex show target-charset
8635 Show the name of the current target character set.
8636
8637 @item set target-wide-charset @var{charset}
8638 @kindex set target-wide-charset
8639 Set the current target's wide character set to @var{charset}. This is
8640 the character set used by the target's @code{wchar_t} type. To
8641 display the list of supported wide character sets, type
8642 @kbd{@w{set target-wide-charset @key{TAB}@key{TAB}}}.
8643
8644 @item show target-wide-charset
8645 @kindex show target-wide-charset
8646 Show the name of the current target's wide character set.
8647 @end table
8648
8649 Here is an example of @value{GDBN}'s character set support in action.
8650 Assume that the following source code has been placed in the file
8651 @file{charset-test.c}:
8652
8653 @smallexample
8654 #include <stdio.h>
8655
8656 char ascii_hello[]
8657 = @{72, 101, 108, 108, 111, 44, 32, 119,
8658 111, 114, 108, 100, 33, 10, 0@};
8659 char ibm1047_hello[]
8660 = @{200, 133, 147, 147, 150, 107, 64, 166,
8661 150, 153, 147, 132, 90, 37, 0@};
8662
8663 main ()
8664 @{
8665 printf ("Hello, world!\n");
8666 @}
8667 @end smallexample
8668
8669 In this program, @code{ascii_hello} and @code{ibm1047_hello} are arrays
8670 containing the string @samp{Hello, world!} followed by a newline,
8671 encoded in the @sc{ascii} and @sc{ibm1047} character sets.
8672
8673 We compile the program, and invoke the debugger on it:
8674
8675 @smallexample
8676 $ gcc -g charset-test.c -o charset-test
8677 $ gdb -nw charset-test
8678 GNU gdb 2001-12-19-cvs
8679 Copyright 2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
8680 @dots{}
8681 (@value{GDBP})
8682 @end smallexample
8683
8684 We can use the @code{show charset} command to see what character sets
8685 @value{GDBN} is currently using to interpret and display characters and
8686 strings:
8687
8688 @smallexample
8689 (@value{GDBP}) show charset
8690 The current host and target character set is `ISO-8859-1'.
8691 (@value{GDBP})
8692 @end smallexample
8693
8694 For the sake of printing this manual, let's use @sc{ascii} as our
8695 initial character set:
8696 @smallexample
8697 (@value{GDBP}) set charset ASCII
8698 (@value{GDBP}) show charset
8699 The current host and target character set is `ASCII'.
8700 (@value{GDBP})
8701 @end smallexample
8702
8703 Let's assume that @sc{ascii} is indeed the correct character set for our
8704 host system --- in other words, let's assume that if @value{GDBN} prints
8705 characters using the @sc{ascii} character set, our terminal will display
8706 them properly. Since our current target character set is also
8707 @sc{ascii}, the contents of @code{ascii_hello} print legibly:
8708
8709 @smallexample
8710 (@value{GDBP}) print ascii_hello
8711 $1 = 0x401698 "Hello, world!\n"
8712 (@value{GDBP}) print ascii_hello[0]
8713 $2 = 72 'H'
8714 (@value{GDBP})
8715 @end smallexample
8716
8717 @value{GDBN} uses the target character set for character and string
8718 literals you use in expressions:
8719
8720 @smallexample
8721 (@value{GDBP}) print '+'
8722 $3 = 43 '+'
8723 (@value{GDBP})
8724 @end smallexample
8725
8726 The @sc{ascii} character set uses the number 43 to encode the @samp{+}
8727 character.
8728
8729 @value{GDBN} relies on the user to tell it which character set the
8730 target program uses. If we print @code{ibm1047_hello} while our target
8731 character set is still @sc{ascii}, we get jibberish:
8732
8733 @smallexample
8734 (@value{GDBP}) print ibm1047_hello
8735 $4 = 0x4016a8 "\310\205\223\223\226k@@\246\226\231\223\204Z%"
8736 (@value{GDBP}) print ibm1047_hello[0]
8737 $5 = 200 '\310'
8738 (@value{GDBP})
8739 @end smallexample
8740
8741 If we invoke the @code{set target-charset} followed by @key{TAB}@key{TAB},
8742 @value{GDBN} tells us the character sets it supports:
8743
8744 @smallexample
8745 (@value{GDBP}) set target-charset
8746 ASCII EBCDIC-US IBM1047 ISO-8859-1
8747 (@value{GDBP}) set target-charset
8748 @end smallexample
8749
8750 We can select @sc{ibm1047} as our target character set, and examine the
8751 program's strings again. Now the @sc{ascii} string is wrong, but
8752 @value{GDBN} translates the contents of @code{ibm1047_hello} from the
8753 target character set, @sc{ibm1047}, to the host character set,
8754 @sc{ascii}, and they display correctly:
8755
8756 @smallexample
8757 (@value{GDBP}) set target-charset IBM1047
8758 (@value{GDBP}) show charset
8759 The current host character set is `ASCII'.
8760 The current target character set is `IBM1047'.
8761 (@value{GDBP}) print ascii_hello
8762 $6 = 0x401698 "\110\145%%?\054\040\167?\162%\144\041\012"
8763 (@value{GDBP}) print ascii_hello[0]
8764 $7 = 72 '\110'
8765 (@value{GDBP}) print ibm1047_hello
8766 $8 = 0x4016a8 "Hello, world!\n"
8767 (@value{GDBP}) print ibm1047_hello[0]
8768 $9 = 200 'H'
8769 (@value{GDBP})
8770 @end smallexample
8771
8772 As above, @value{GDBN} uses the target character set for character and
8773 string literals you use in expressions:
8774
8775 @smallexample
8776 (@value{GDBP}) print '+'
8777 $10 = 78 '+'
8778 (@value{GDBP})
8779 @end smallexample
8780
8781 The @sc{ibm1047} character set uses the number 78 to encode the @samp{+}
8782 character.
8783
8784 @node Caching Remote Data
8785 @section Caching Data of Remote Targets
8786 @cindex caching data of remote targets
8787
8788 @value{GDBN} caches data exchanged between the debugger and a
8789 remote target (@pxref{Remote Debugging}). Such caching generally improves
8790 performance, because it reduces the overhead of the remote protocol by
8791 bundling memory reads and writes into large chunks. Unfortunately, simply
8792 caching everything would lead to incorrect results, since @value{GDBN}
8793 does not necessarily know anything about volatile values, memory-mapped I/O
8794 addresses, etc. Furthermore, in non-stop mode (@pxref{Non-Stop Mode})
8795 memory can be changed @emph{while} a gdb command is executing.
8796 Therefore, by default, @value{GDBN} only caches data
8797 known to be on the stack@footnote{In non-stop mode, it is moderately
8798 rare for a running thread to modify the stack of a stopped thread
8799 in a way that would interfere with a backtrace, and caching of
8800 stack reads provides a significant speed up of remote backtraces.}.
8801 Other regions of memory can be explicitly marked as
8802 cacheable; see @pxref{Memory Region Attributes}.
8803
8804 @table @code
8805 @kindex set remotecache
8806 @item set remotecache on
8807 @itemx set remotecache off
8808 This option no longer does anything; it exists for compatibility
8809 with old scripts.
8810
8811 @kindex show remotecache
8812 @item show remotecache
8813 Show the current state of the obsolete remotecache flag.
8814
8815 @kindex set stack-cache
8816 @item set stack-cache on
8817 @itemx set stack-cache off
8818 Enable or disable caching of stack accesses. When @code{ON}, use
8819 caching. By default, this option is @code{ON}.
8820
8821 @kindex show stack-cache
8822 @item show stack-cache
8823 Show the current state of data caching for memory accesses.
8824
8825 @kindex info dcache
8826 @item info dcache @r{[}line@r{]}
8827 Print the information about the data cache performance. The
8828 information displayed includes the dcache width and depth, and for
8829 each cache line, its number, address, and how many times it was
8830 referenced. This command is useful for debugging the data cache
8831 operation.
8832
8833 If a line number is specified, the contents of that line will be
8834 printed in hex.
8835 @end table
8836
8837 @node Searching Memory
8838 @section Search Memory
8839 @cindex searching memory
8840
8841 Memory can be searched for a particular sequence of bytes with the
8842 @code{find} command.
8843
8844 @table @code
8845 @kindex find
8846 @item find @r{[}/@var{sn}@r{]} @var{start_addr}, +@var{len}, @var{val1} @r{[}, @var{val2}, @dots{}@r{]}
8847 @itemx find @r{[}/@var{sn}@r{]} @var{start_addr}, @var{end_addr}, @var{val1} @r{[}, @var{val2}, @dots{}@r{]}
8848 Search memory for the sequence of bytes specified by @var{val1}, @var{val2},
8849 etc. The search begins at address @var{start_addr} and continues for either
8850 @var{len} bytes or through to @var{end_addr} inclusive.
8851 @end table
8852
8853 @var{s} and @var{n} are optional parameters.
8854 They may be specified in either order, apart or together.
8855
8856 @table @r
8857 @item @var{s}, search query size
8858 The size of each search query value.
8859
8860 @table @code
8861 @item b
8862 bytes
8863 @item h
8864 halfwords (two bytes)
8865 @item w
8866 words (four bytes)
8867 @item g
8868 giant words (eight bytes)
8869 @end table
8870
8871 All values are interpreted in the current language.
8872 This means, for example, that if the current source language is C/C@t{++}
8873 then searching for the string ``hello'' includes the trailing '\0'.
8874
8875 If the value size is not specified, it is taken from the
8876 value's type in the current language.
8877 This is useful when one wants to specify the search
8878 pattern as a mixture of types.
8879 Note that this means, for example, that in the case of C-like languages
8880 a search for an untyped 0x42 will search for @samp{(int) 0x42}
8881 which is typically four bytes.
8882
8883 @item @var{n}, maximum number of finds
8884 The maximum number of matches to print. The default is to print all finds.
8885 @end table
8886
8887 You can use strings as search values. Quote them with double-quotes
8888 (@code{"}).
8889 The string value is copied into the search pattern byte by byte,
8890 regardless of the endianness of the target and the size specification.
8891
8892 The address of each match found is printed as well as a count of the
8893 number of matches found.
8894
8895 The address of the last value found is stored in convenience variable
8896 @samp{$_}.
8897 A count of the number of matches is stored in @samp{$numfound}.
8898
8899 For example, if stopped at the @code{printf} in this function:
8900
8901 @smallexample
8902 void
8903 hello ()
8904 @{
8905 static char hello[] = "hello-hello";
8906 static struct @{ char c; short s; int i; @}
8907 __attribute__ ((packed)) mixed
8908 = @{ 'c', 0x1234, 0x87654321 @};
8909 printf ("%s\n", hello);
8910 @}
8911 @end smallexample
8912
8913 @noindent
8914 you get during debugging:
8915
8916 @smallexample
8917 (gdb) find &hello[0], +sizeof(hello), "hello"
8918 0x804956d <hello.1620+6>
8919 1 pattern found
8920 (gdb) find &hello[0], +sizeof(hello), 'h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o'
8921 0x8049567 <hello.1620>
8922 0x804956d <hello.1620+6>
8923 2 patterns found
8924 (gdb) find /b1 &hello[0], +sizeof(hello), 'h', 0x65, 'l'
8925 0x8049567 <hello.1620>
8926 1 pattern found
8927 (gdb) find &mixed, +sizeof(mixed), (char) 'c', (short) 0x1234, (int) 0x87654321
8928 0x8049560 <mixed.1625>
8929 1 pattern found
8930 (gdb) print $numfound
8931 $1 = 1
8932 (gdb) print $_
8933 $2 = (void *) 0x8049560
8934 @end smallexample
8935
8936 @node Optimized Code
8937 @chapter Debugging Optimized Code
8938 @cindex optimized code, debugging
8939 @cindex debugging optimized code
8940
8941 Almost all compilers support optimization. With optimization
8942 disabled, the compiler generates assembly code that corresponds
8943 directly to your source code, in a simplistic way. As the compiler
8944 applies more powerful optimizations, the generated assembly code
8945 diverges from your original source code. With help from debugging
8946 information generated by the compiler, @value{GDBN} can map from
8947 the running program back to constructs from your original source.
8948
8949 @value{GDBN} is more accurate with optimization disabled. If you
8950 can recompile without optimization, it is easier to follow the
8951 progress of your program during debugging. But, there are many cases
8952 where you may need to debug an optimized version.
8953
8954 When you debug a program compiled with @samp{-g -O}, remember that the
8955 optimizer has rearranged your code; the debugger shows you what is
8956 really there. Do not be too surprised when the execution path does not
8957 exactly match your source file! An extreme example: if you define a
8958 variable, but never use it, @value{GDBN} never sees that
8959 variable---because the compiler optimizes it out of existence.
8960
8961 Some things do not work as well with @samp{-g -O} as with just
8962 @samp{-g}, particularly on machines with instruction scheduling. If in
8963 doubt, recompile with @samp{-g} alone, and if this fixes the problem,
8964 please report it to us as a bug (including a test case!).
8965 @xref{Variables}, for more information about debugging optimized code.
8966
8967 @menu
8968 * Inline Functions:: How @value{GDBN} presents inlining
8969 @end menu
8970
8971 @node Inline Functions
8972 @section Inline Functions
8973 @cindex inline functions, debugging
8974
8975 @dfn{Inlining} is an optimization that inserts a copy of the function
8976 body directly at each call site, instead of jumping to a shared
8977 routine. @value{GDBN} displays inlined functions just like
8978 non-inlined functions. They appear in backtraces. You can view their
8979 arguments and local variables, step into them with @code{step}, skip
8980 them with @code{next}, and escape from them with @code{finish}.
8981 You can check whether a function was inlined by using the
8982 @code{info frame} command.
8983
8984 For @value{GDBN} to support inlined functions, the compiler must
8985 record information about inlining in the debug information ---
8986 @value{NGCC} using the @sc{dwarf 2} format does this, and several
8987 other compilers do also. @value{GDBN} only supports inlined functions
8988 when using @sc{dwarf 2}. Versions of @value{NGCC} before 4.1
8989 do not emit two required attributes (@samp{DW_AT_call_file} and
8990 @samp{DW_AT_call_line}); @value{GDBN} does not display inlined
8991 function calls with earlier versions of @value{NGCC}. It instead
8992 displays the arguments and local variables of inlined functions as
8993 local variables in the caller.
8994
8995 The body of an inlined function is directly included at its call site;
8996 unlike a non-inlined function, there are no instructions devoted to
8997 the call. @value{GDBN} still pretends that the call site and the
8998 start of the inlined function are different instructions. Stepping to
8999 the call site shows the call site, and then stepping again shows
9000 the first line of the inlined function, even though no additional
9001 instructions are executed.
9002
9003 This makes source-level debugging much clearer; you can see both the
9004 context of the call and then the effect of the call. Only stepping by
9005 a single instruction using @code{stepi} or @code{nexti} does not do
9006 this; single instruction steps always show the inlined body.
9007
9008 There are some ways that @value{GDBN} does not pretend that inlined
9009 function calls are the same as normal calls:
9010
9011 @itemize @bullet
9012 @item
9013 You cannot set breakpoints on inlined functions. @value{GDBN}
9014 either reports that there is no symbol with that name, or else sets the
9015 breakpoint only on non-inlined copies of the function. This limitation
9016 will be removed in a future version of @value{GDBN}; until then,
9017 set a breakpoint by line number on the first line of the inlined
9018 function instead.
9019
9020 @item
9021 Setting breakpoints at the call site of an inlined function may not
9022 work, because the call site does not contain any code. @value{GDBN}
9023 may incorrectly move the breakpoint to the next line of the enclosing
9024 function, after the call. This limitation will be removed in a future
9025 version of @value{GDBN}; until then, set a breakpoint on an earlier line
9026 or inside the inlined function instead.
9027
9028 @item
9029 @value{GDBN} cannot locate the return value of inlined calls after
9030 using the @code{finish} command. This is a limitation of compiler-generated
9031 debugging information; after @code{finish}, you can step to the next line
9032 and print a variable where your program stored the return value.
9033
9034 @end itemize
9035
9036
9037 @node Macros
9038 @chapter C Preprocessor Macros
9039
9040 Some languages, such as C and C@t{++}, provide a way to define and invoke
9041 ``preprocessor macros'' which expand into strings of tokens.
9042 @value{GDBN} can evaluate expressions containing macro invocations, show
9043 the result of macro expansion, and show a macro's definition, including
9044 where it was defined.
9045
9046 You may need to compile your program specially to provide @value{GDBN}
9047 with information about preprocessor macros. Most compilers do not
9048 include macros in their debugging information, even when you compile
9049 with the @option{-g} flag. @xref{Compilation}.
9050
9051 A program may define a macro at one point, remove that definition later,
9052 and then provide a different definition after that. Thus, at different
9053 points in the program, a macro may have different definitions, or have
9054 no definition at all. If there is a current stack frame, @value{GDBN}
9055 uses the macros in scope at that frame's source code line. Otherwise,
9056 @value{GDBN} uses the macros in scope at the current listing location;
9057 see @ref{List}.
9058
9059 Whenever @value{GDBN} evaluates an expression, it always expands any
9060 macro invocations present in the expression. @value{GDBN} also provides
9061 the following commands for working with macros explicitly.
9062
9063 @table @code
9064
9065 @kindex macro expand
9066 @cindex macro expansion, showing the results of preprocessor
9067 @cindex preprocessor macro expansion, showing the results of
9068 @cindex expanding preprocessor macros
9069 @item macro expand @var{expression}
9070 @itemx macro exp @var{expression}
9071 Show the results of expanding all preprocessor macro invocations in
9072 @var{expression}. Since @value{GDBN} simply expands macros, but does
9073 not parse the result, @var{expression} need not be a valid expression;
9074 it can be any string of tokens.
9075
9076 @kindex macro exp1
9077 @item macro expand-once @var{expression}
9078 @itemx macro exp1 @var{expression}
9079 @cindex expand macro once
9080 @i{(This command is not yet implemented.)} Show the results of
9081 expanding those preprocessor macro invocations that appear explicitly in
9082 @var{expression}. Macro invocations appearing in that expansion are
9083 left unchanged. This command allows you to see the effect of a
9084 particular macro more clearly, without being confused by further
9085 expansions. Since @value{GDBN} simply expands macros, but does not
9086 parse the result, @var{expression} need not be a valid expression; it
9087 can be any string of tokens.
9088
9089 @kindex info macro
9090 @cindex macro definition, showing
9091 @cindex definition, showing a macro's
9092 @item info macro @var{macro}
9093 Show the definition of the macro named @var{macro}, and describe the
9094 source location or compiler command-line where that definition was established.
9095
9096 @kindex macro define
9097 @cindex user-defined macros
9098 @cindex defining macros interactively
9099 @cindex macros, user-defined
9100 @item macro define @var{macro} @var{replacement-list}
9101 @itemx macro define @var{macro}(@var{arglist}) @var{replacement-list}
9102 Introduce a definition for a preprocessor macro named @var{macro},
9103 invocations of which are replaced by the tokens given in
9104 @var{replacement-list}. The first form of this command defines an
9105 ``object-like'' macro, which takes no arguments; the second form
9106 defines a ``function-like'' macro, which takes the arguments given in
9107 @var{arglist}.
9108
9109 A definition introduced by this command is in scope in every
9110 expression evaluated in @value{GDBN}, until it is removed with the
9111 @code{macro undef} command, described below. The definition overrides
9112 all definitions for @var{macro} present in the program being debugged,
9113 as well as any previous user-supplied definition.
9114
9115 @kindex macro undef
9116 @item macro undef @var{macro}
9117 Remove any user-supplied definition for the macro named @var{macro}.
9118 This command only affects definitions provided with the @code{macro
9119 define} command, described above; it cannot remove definitions present
9120 in the program being debugged.
9121
9122 @kindex macro list
9123 @item macro list
9124 List all the macros defined using the @code{macro define} command.
9125 @end table
9126
9127 @cindex macros, example of debugging with
9128 Here is a transcript showing the above commands in action. First, we
9129 show our source files:
9130
9131 @smallexample
9132 $ cat sample.c
9133 #include <stdio.h>
9134 #include "sample.h"
9135
9136 #define M 42
9137 #define ADD(x) (M + x)
9138
9139 main ()
9140 @{
9141 #define N 28
9142 printf ("Hello, world!\n");
9143 #undef N
9144 printf ("We're so creative.\n");
9145 #define N 1729
9146 printf ("Goodbye, world!\n");
9147 @}
9148 $ cat sample.h
9149 #define Q <
9150 $
9151 @end smallexample
9152
9153 Now, we compile the program using the @sc{gnu} C compiler, @value{NGCC}.
9154 We pass the @option{-gdwarf-2} and @option{-g3} flags to ensure the
9155 compiler includes information about preprocessor macros in the debugging
9156 information.
9157
9158 @smallexample
9159 $ gcc -gdwarf-2 -g3 sample.c -o sample
9160 $
9161 @end smallexample
9162
9163 Now, we start @value{GDBN} on our sample program:
9164
9165 @smallexample
9166 $ gdb -nw sample
9167 GNU gdb 2002-05-06-cvs
9168 Copyright 2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
9169 GDB is free software, @dots{}
9170 (@value{GDBP})
9171 @end smallexample
9172
9173 We can expand macros and examine their definitions, even when the
9174 program is not running. @value{GDBN} uses the current listing position
9175 to decide which macro definitions are in scope:
9176
9177 @smallexample
9178 (@value{GDBP}) list main
9179 3
9180 4 #define M 42
9181 5 #define ADD(x) (M + x)
9182 6
9183 7 main ()
9184 8 @{
9185 9 #define N 28
9186 10 printf ("Hello, world!\n");
9187 11 #undef N
9188 12 printf ("We're so creative.\n");
9189 (@value{GDBP}) info macro ADD
9190 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:5
9191 #define ADD(x) (M + x)
9192 (@value{GDBP}) info macro Q
9193 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.h:1
9194 included at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:2
9195 #define Q <
9196 (@value{GDBP}) macro expand ADD(1)
9197 expands to: (42 + 1)
9198 (@value{GDBP}) macro expand-once ADD(1)
9199 expands to: once (M + 1)
9200 (@value{GDBP})
9201 @end smallexample
9202
9203 In the example above, note that @code{macro expand-once} expands only
9204 the macro invocation explicit in the original text --- the invocation of
9205 @code{ADD} --- but does not expand the invocation of the macro @code{M},
9206 which was introduced by @code{ADD}.
9207
9208 Once the program is running, @value{GDBN} uses the macro definitions in
9209 force at the source line of the current stack frame:
9210
9211 @smallexample
9212 (@value{GDBP}) break main
9213 Breakpoint 1 at 0x8048370: file sample.c, line 10.
9214 (@value{GDBP}) run
9215 Starting program: /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample
9216
9217 Breakpoint 1, main () at sample.c:10
9218 10 printf ("Hello, world!\n");
9219 (@value{GDBP})
9220 @end smallexample
9221
9222 At line 10, the definition of the macro @code{N} at line 9 is in force:
9223
9224 @smallexample
9225 (@value{GDBP}) info macro N
9226 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:9
9227 #define N 28
9228 (@value{GDBP}) macro expand N Q M
9229 expands to: 28 < 42
9230 (@value{GDBP}) print N Q M
9231 $1 = 1
9232 (@value{GDBP})
9233 @end smallexample
9234
9235 As we step over directives that remove @code{N}'s definition, and then
9236 give it a new definition, @value{GDBN} finds the definition (or lack
9237 thereof) in force at each point:
9238
9239 @smallexample
9240 (@value{GDBP}) next
9241 Hello, world!
9242 12 printf ("We're so creative.\n");
9243 (@value{GDBP}) info macro N
9244 The symbol `N' has no definition as a C/C++ preprocessor macro
9245 at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:12
9246 (@value{GDBP}) next
9247 We're so creative.
9248 14 printf ("Goodbye, world!\n");
9249 (@value{GDBP}) info macro N
9250 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:13
9251 #define N 1729
9252 (@value{GDBP}) macro expand N Q M
9253 expands to: 1729 < 42
9254 (@value{GDBP}) print N Q M
9255 $2 = 0
9256 (@value{GDBP})
9257 @end smallexample
9258
9259 In addition to source files, macros can be defined on the compilation command
9260 line using the @option{-D@var{name}=@var{value}} syntax. For macros defined in
9261 such a way, @value{GDBN} displays the location of their definition as line zero
9262 of the source file submitted to the compiler.
9263
9264 @smallexample
9265 (@value{GDBP}) info macro __STDC__
9266 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:0
9267 -D__STDC__=1
9268 (@value{GDBP})
9269 @end smallexample
9270
9271
9272 @node Tracepoints
9273 @chapter Tracepoints
9274 @c This chapter is based on the documentation written by Michael
9275 @c Snyder, David Taylor, Jim Blandy, and Elena Zannoni.
9276
9277 @cindex tracepoints
9278 In some applications, it is not feasible for the debugger to interrupt
9279 the program's execution long enough for the developer to learn
9280 anything helpful about its behavior. If the program's correctness
9281 depends on its real-time behavior, delays introduced by a debugger
9282 might cause the program to change its behavior drastically, or perhaps
9283 fail, even when the code itself is correct. It is useful to be able
9284 to observe the program's behavior without interrupting it.
9285
9286 Using @value{GDBN}'s @code{trace} and @code{collect} commands, you can
9287 specify locations in the program, called @dfn{tracepoints}, and
9288 arbitrary expressions to evaluate when those tracepoints are reached.
9289 Later, using the @code{tfind} command, you can examine the values
9290 those expressions had when the program hit the tracepoints. The
9291 expressions may also denote objects in memory---structures or arrays,
9292 for example---whose values @value{GDBN} should record; while visiting
9293 a particular tracepoint, you may inspect those objects as if they were
9294 in memory at that moment. However, because @value{GDBN} records these
9295 values without interacting with you, it can do so quickly and
9296 unobtrusively, hopefully not disturbing the program's behavior.
9297
9298 The tracepoint facility is currently available only for remote
9299 targets. @xref{Targets}. In addition, your remote target must know
9300 how to collect trace data. This functionality is implemented in the
9301 remote stub; however, none of the stubs distributed with @value{GDBN}
9302 support tracepoints as of this writing. The format of the remote
9303 packets used to implement tracepoints are described in @ref{Tracepoint
9304 Packets}.
9305
9306 It is also possible to get trace data from a file, in a manner reminiscent
9307 of corefiles; you specify the filename, and use @code{tfind} to search
9308 through the file. @xref{Trace Files}, for more details.
9309
9310 This chapter describes the tracepoint commands and features.
9311
9312 @menu
9313 * Set Tracepoints::
9314 * Analyze Collected Data::
9315 * Tracepoint Variables::
9316 * Trace Files::
9317 @end menu
9318
9319 @node Set Tracepoints
9320 @section Commands to Set Tracepoints
9321
9322 Before running such a @dfn{trace experiment}, an arbitrary number of
9323 tracepoints can be set. A tracepoint is actually a special type of
9324 breakpoint (@pxref{Set Breaks}), so you can manipulate it using
9325 standard breakpoint commands. For instance, as with breakpoints,
9326 tracepoint numbers are successive integers starting from one, and many
9327 of the commands associated with tracepoints take the tracepoint number
9328 as their argument, to identify which tracepoint to work on.
9329
9330 For each tracepoint, you can specify, in advance, some arbitrary set
9331 of data that you want the target to collect in the trace buffer when
9332 it hits that tracepoint. The collected data can include registers,
9333 local variables, or global data. Later, you can use @value{GDBN}
9334 commands to examine the values these data had at the time the
9335 tracepoint was hit.
9336
9337 Tracepoints do not support every breakpoint feature. Ignore counts on
9338 tracepoints have no effect, and tracepoints cannot run @value{GDBN}
9339 commands when they are hit. Tracepoints may not be thread-specific
9340 either.
9341
9342 @cindex fast tracepoints
9343 Some targets may support @dfn{fast tracepoints}, which are inserted in
9344 a different way (such as with a jump instead of a trap), that is
9345 faster but possibly restricted in where they may be installed.
9346
9347 This section describes commands to set tracepoints and associated
9348 conditions and actions.
9349
9350 @menu
9351 * Create and Delete Tracepoints::
9352 * Enable and Disable Tracepoints::
9353 * Tracepoint Passcounts::
9354 * Tracepoint Conditions::
9355 * Trace State Variables::
9356 * Tracepoint Actions::
9357 * Listing Tracepoints::
9358 * Starting and Stopping Trace Experiments::
9359 * Tracepoint Restrictions::
9360 @end menu
9361
9362 @node Create and Delete Tracepoints
9363 @subsection Create and Delete Tracepoints
9364
9365 @table @code
9366 @cindex set tracepoint
9367 @kindex trace
9368 @item trace @var{location}
9369 The @code{trace} command is very similar to the @code{break} command.
9370 Its argument @var{location} can be a source line, a function name, or
9371 an address in the target program. @xref{Specify Location}. The
9372 @code{trace} command defines a tracepoint, which is a point in the
9373 target program where the debugger will briefly stop, collect some
9374 data, and then allow the program to continue. Setting a tracepoint or
9375 changing its actions doesn't take effect until the next @code{tstart}
9376 command, and once a trace experiment is running, further changes will
9377 not have any effect until the next trace experiment starts.
9378
9379 Here are some examples of using the @code{trace} command:
9380
9381 @smallexample
9382 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace foo.c:121} // a source file and line number
9383
9384 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace +2} // 2 lines forward
9385
9386 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace my_function} // first source line of function
9387
9388 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace *my_function} // EXACT start address of function
9389
9390 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace *0x2117c4} // an address
9391 @end smallexample
9392
9393 @noindent
9394 You can abbreviate @code{trace} as @code{tr}.
9395
9396 @item trace @var{location} if @var{cond}
9397 Set a tracepoint with condition @var{cond}; evaluate the expression
9398 @var{cond} each time the tracepoint is reached, and collect data only
9399 if the value is nonzero---that is, if @var{cond} evaluates as true.
9400 @xref{Tracepoint Conditions, ,Tracepoint Conditions}, for more
9401 information on tracepoint conditions.
9402
9403 @item ftrace @var{location} [ if @var{cond} ]
9404 @cindex set fast tracepoint
9405 @kindex ftrace
9406 The @code{ftrace} command sets a fast tracepoint. For targets that
9407 support them, fast tracepoints will use a more efficient but possibly
9408 less general technique to trigger data collection, such as a jump
9409 instruction instead of a trap, or some sort of hardware support. It
9410 may not be possible to create a fast tracepoint at the desired
9411 location, in which case the command will exit with an explanatory
9412 message.
9413
9414 @value{GDBN} handles arguments to @code{ftrace} exactly as for
9415 @code{trace}.
9416
9417 @vindex $tpnum
9418 @cindex last tracepoint number
9419 @cindex recent tracepoint number
9420 @cindex tracepoint number
9421 The convenience variable @code{$tpnum} records the tracepoint number
9422 of the most recently set tracepoint.
9423
9424 @kindex delete tracepoint
9425 @cindex tracepoint deletion
9426 @item delete tracepoint @r{[}@var{num}@r{]}
9427 Permanently delete one or more tracepoints. With no argument, the
9428 default is to delete all tracepoints. Note that the regular
9429 @code{delete} command can remove tracepoints also.
9430
9431 Examples:
9432
9433 @smallexample
9434 (@value{GDBP}) @b{delete trace 1 2 3} // remove three tracepoints
9435
9436 (@value{GDBP}) @b{delete trace} // remove all tracepoints
9437 @end smallexample
9438
9439 @noindent
9440 You can abbreviate this command as @code{del tr}.
9441 @end table
9442
9443 @node Enable and Disable Tracepoints
9444 @subsection Enable and Disable Tracepoints
9445
9446 These commands are deprecated; they are equivalent to plain @code{disable} and @code{enable}.
9447
9448 @table @code
9449 @kindex disable tracepoint
9450 @item disable tracepoint @r{[}@var{num}@r{]}
9451 Disable tracepoint @var{num}, or all tracepoints if no argument
9452 @var{num} is given. A disabled tracepoint will have no effect during
9453 the next trace experiment, but it is not forgotten. You can re-enable
9454 a disabled tracepoint using the @code{enable tracepoint} command.
9455
9456 @kindex enable tracepoint
9457 @item enable tracepoint @r{[}@var{num}@r{]}
9458 Enable tracepoint @var{num}, or all tracepoints. The enabled
9459 tracepoints will become effective the next time a trace experiment is
9460 run.
9461 @end table
9462
9463 @node Tracepoint Passcounts
9464 @subsection Tracepoint Passcounts
9465
9466 @table @code
9467 @kindex passcount
9468 @cindex tracepoint pass count
9469 @item passcount @r{[}@var{n} @r{[}@var{num}@r{]]}
9470 Set the @dfn{passcount} of a tracepoint. The passcount is a way to
9471 automatically stop a trace experiment. If a tracepoint's passcount is
9472 @var{n}, then the trace experiment will be automatically stopped on
9473 the @var{n}'th time that tracepoint is hit. If the tracepoint number
9474 @var{num} is not specified, the @code{passcount} command sets the
9475 passcount of the most recently defined tracepoint. If no passcount is
9476 given, the trace experiment will run until stopped explicitly by the
9477 user.
9478
9479 Examples:
9480
9481 @smallexample
9482 (@value{GDBP}) @b{passcount 5 2} // Stop on the 5th execution of
9483 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// tracepoint 2}
9484
9485 (@value{GDBP}) @b{passcount 12} // Stop on the 12th execution of the
9486 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// most recently defined tracepoint.}
9487 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace foo}
9488 (@value{GDBP}) @b{pass 3}
9489 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace bar}
9490 (@value{GDBP}) @b{pass 2}
9491 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace baz}
9492 (@value{GDBP}) @b{pass 1} // Stop tracing when foo has been
9493 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// executed 3 times OR when bar has}
9494 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// been executed 2 times}
9495 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// OR when baz has been executed 1 time.}
9496 @end smallexample
9497 @end table
9498
9499 @node Tracepoint Conditions
9500 @subsection Tracepoint Conditions
9501 @cindex conditional tracepoints
9502 @cindex tracepoint conditions
9503
9504 The simplest sort of tracepoint collects data every time your program
9505 reaches a specified place. You can also specify a @dfn{condition} for
9506 a tracepoint. A condition is just a Boolean expression in your
9507 programming language (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}). A
9508 tracepoint with a condition evaluates the expression each time your
9509 program reaches it, and data collection happens only if the condition
9510 is true.
9511
9512 Tracepoint conditions can be specified when a tracepoint is set, by
9513 using @samp{if} in the arguments to the @code{trace} command.
9514 @xref{Create and Delete Tracepoints, ,Setting Tracepoints}. They can
9515 also be set or changed at any time with the @code{condition} command,
9516 just as with breakpoints.
9517
9518 Unlike breakpoint conditions, @value{GDBN} does not actually evaluate
9519 the conditional expression itself. Instead, @value{GDBN} encodes the
9520 expression into an agent expression (@pxref{Agent Expressions}
9521 suitable for execution on the target, independently of @value{GDBN}.
9522 Global variables become raw memory locations, locals become stack
9523 accesses, and so forth.
9524
9525 For instance, suppose you have a function that is usually called
9526 frequently, but should not be called after an error has occurred. You
9527 could use the following tracepoint command to collect data about calls
9528 of that function that happen while the error code is propagating
9529 through the program; an unconditional tracepoint could end up
9530 collecting thousands of useless trace frames that you would have to
9531 search through.
9532
9533 @smallexample
9534 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{trace normal_operation if errcode > 0}
9535 @end smallexample
9536
9537 @node Trace State Variables
9538 @subsection Trace State Variables
9539 @cindex trace state variables
9540
9541 A @dfn{trace state variable} is a special type of variable that is
9542 created and managed by target-side code. The syntax is the same as
9543 that for GDB's convenience variables (a string prefixed with ``$''),
9544 but they are stored on the target. They must be created explicitly,
9545 using a @code{tvariable} command. They are always 64-bit signed
9546 integers.
9547
9548 Trace state variables are remembered by @value{GDBN}, and downloaded
9549 to the target along with tracepoint information when the trace
9550 experiment starts. There are no intrinsic limits on the number of
9551 trace state variables, beyond memory limitations of the target.
9552
9553 @cindex convenience variables, and trace state variables
9554 Although trace state variables are managed by the target, you can use
9555 them in print commands and expressions as if they were convenience
9556 variables; @value{GDBN} will get the current value from the target
9557 while the trace experiment is running. Trace state variables share
9558 the same namespace as other ``$'' variables, which means that you
9559 cannot have trace state variables with names like @code{$23} or
9560 @code{$pc}, nor can you have a trace state variable and a convenience
9561 variable with the same name.
9562
9563 @table @code
9564
9565 @item tvariable $@var{name} [ = @var{expression} ]
9566 @kindex tvariable
9567 The @code{tvariable} command creates a new trace state variable named
9568 @code{$@var{name}}, and optionally gives it an initial value of
9569 @var{expression}. @var{expression} is evaluated when this command is
9570 entered; the result will be converted to an integer if possible,
9571 otherwise @value{GDBN} will report an error. A subsequent
9572 @code{tvariable} command specifying the same name does not create a
9573 variable, but instead assigns the supplied initial value to the
9574 existing variable of that name, overwriting any previous initial
9575 value. The default initial value is 0.
9576
9577 @item info tvariables
9578 @kindex info tvariables
9579 List all the trace state variables along with their initial values.
9580 Their current values may also be displayed, if the trace experiment is
9581 currently running.
9582
9583 @item delete tvariable @r{[} $@var{name} @dots{} @r{]}
9584 @kindex delete tvariable
9585 Delete the given trace state variables, or all of them if no arguments
9586 are specified.
9587
9588 @end table
9589
9590 @node Tracepoint Actions
9591 @subsection Tracepoint Action Lists
9592
9593 @table @code
9594 @kindex actions
9595 @cindex tracepoint actions
9596 @item actions @r{[}@var{num}@r{]}
9597 This command will prompt for a list of actions to be taken when the
9598 tracepoint is hit. If the tracepoint number @var{num} is not
9599 specified, this command sets the actions for the one that was most
9600 recently defined (so that you can define a tracepoint and then say
9601 @code{actions} without bothering about its number). You specify the
9602 actions themselves on the following lines, one action at a time, and
9603 terminate the actions list with a line containing just @code{end}. So
9604 far, the only defined actions are @code{collect}, @code{teval}, and
9605 @code{while-stepping}.
9606
9607 @cindex remove actions from a tracepoint
9608 To remove all actions from a tracepoint, type @samp{actions @var{num}}
9609 and follow it immediately with @samp{end}.
9610
9611 @smallexample
9612 (@value{GDBP}) @b{collect @var{data}} // collect some data
9613
9614 (@value{GDBP}) @b{while-stepping 5} // single-step 5 times, collect data
9615
9616 (@value{GDBP}) @b{end} // signals the end of actions.
9617 @end smallexample
9618
9619 In the following example, the action list begins with @code{collect}
9620 commands indicating the things to be collected when the tracepoint is
9621 hit. Then, in order to single-step and collect additional data
9622 following the tracepoint, a @code{while-stepping} command is used,
9623 followed by the list of things to be collected after each step in a
9624 sequence of single steps. The @code{while-stepping} command is
9625 terminated by its own separate @code{end} command. Lastly, the action
9626 list is terminated by an @code{end} command.
9627
9628 @smallexample
9629 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace foo}
9630 (@value{GDBP}) @b{actions}
9631 Enter actions for tracepoint 1, one per line:
9632 > collect bar,baz
9633 > collect $regs
9634 > while-stepping 12
9635 > collect $fp, $sp
9636 > end
9637 end
9638 @end smallexample
9639
9640 @kindex collect @r{(tracepoints)}
9641 @item collect @var{expr1}, @var{expr2}, @dots{}
9642 Collect values of the given expressions when the tracepoint is hit.
9643 This command accepts a comma-separated list of any valid expressions.
9644 In addition to global, static, or local variables, the following
9645 special arguments are supported:
9646
9647 @table @code
9648 @item $regs
9649 collect all registers
9650
9651 @item $args
9652 collect all function arguments
9653
9654 @item $locals
9655 collect all local variables.
9656 @end table
9657
9658 You can give several consecutive @code{collect} commands, each one
9659 with a single argument, or one @code{collect} command with several
9660 arguments separated by commas: the effect is the same.
9661
9662 The command @code{info scope} (@pxref{Symbols, info scope}) is
9663 particularly useful for figuring out what data to collect.
9664
9665 @kindex teval @r{(tracepoints)}
9666 @item teval @var{expr1}, @var{expr2}, @dots{}
9667 Evaluate the given expressions when the tracepoint is hit. This
9668 command accepts a comma-separated list of expressions. The results
9669 are discarded, so this is mainly useful for assigning values to trace
9670 state variables (@pxref{Trace State Variables}) without adding those
9671 values to the trace buffer, as would be the case if the @code{collect}
9672 action were used.
9673
9674 @kindex while-stepping @r{(tracepoints)}
9675 @item while-stepping @var{n}
9676 Perform @var{n} single-step instruction traces after the tracepoint,
9677 collecting new data after each step. The @code{while-stepping}
9678 command is followed by the list of what to collect while stepping
9679 (followed by its own @code{end} command):
9680
9681 @smallexample
9682 > while-stepping 12
9683 > collect $regs, myglobal
9684 > end
9685 >
9686 @end smallexample
9687
9688 @noindent
9689 Note that @code{$pc} is not automatically collected by
9690 @code{while-stepping}; you need to explicitly collect that register if
9691 you need it. You may abbreviate @code{while-stepping} as @code{ws} or
9692 @code{stepping}.
9693
9694 @item set default-collect @var{expr1}, @var{expr2}, @dots{}
9695 @kindex set default-collect
9696 @cindex default collection action
9697 This variable is a list of expressions to collect at each tracepoint
9698 hit. It is effectively an additional @code{collect} action prepended
9699 to every tracepoint action list. The expressions are parsed
9700 individually for each tracepoint, so for instance a variable named
9701 @code{xyz} may be interpreted as a global for one tracepoint, and a
9702 local for another, as appropriate to the tracepoint's location.
9703
9704 @item show default-collect
9705 @kindex show default-collect
9706 Show the list of expressions that are collected by default at each
9707 tracepoint hit.
9708
9709 @end table
9710
9711 @node Listing Tracepoints
9712 @subsection Listing Tracepoints
9713
9714 @table @code
9715 @kindex info tracepoints
9716 @kindex info tp
9717 @cindex information about tracepoints
9718 @item info tracepoints @r{[}@var{num}@r{]}
9719 Display information about the tracepoint @var{num}. If you don't
9720 specify a tracepoint number, displays information about all the
9721 tracepoints defined so far. The format is similar to that used for
9722 @code{info breakpoints}; in fact, @code{info tracepoints} is the same
9723 command, simply restricting itself to tracepoints.
9724
9725 A tracepoint's listing may include additional information specific to
9726 tracing:
9727
9728 @itemize @bullet
9729 @item
9730 its passcount as given by the @code{passcount @var{n}} command
9731 @item
9732 its step count as given by the @code{while-stepping @var{n}} command
9733 @item
9734 its action list as given by the @code{actions} command. The actions
9735 are prefixed with an @samp{A} so as to distinguish them from commands.
9736 @end itemize
9737
9738 @smallexample
9739 (@value{GDBP}) @b{info trace}
9740 Num Type Disp Enb Address What
9741 1 tracepoint keep y 0x0804ab57 in foo() at main.cxx:7
9742 pass count 1200
9743 step count 20
9744 A while-stepping 20
9745 A collect globfoo, $regs
9746 A end
9747 A collect globfoo2
9748 A end
9749 (@value{GDBP})
9750 @end smallexample
9751
9752 @noindent
9753 This command can be abbreviated @code{info tp}.
9754 @end table
9755
9756 @node Starting and Stopping Trace Experiments
9757 @subsection Starting and Stopping Trace Experiments
9758
9759 @table @code
9760 @kindex tstart
9761 @cindex start a new trace experiment
9762 @cindex collected data discarded
9763 @item tstart
9764 This command takes no arguments. It starts the trace experiment, and
9765 begins collecting data. This has the side effect of discarding all
9766 the data collected in the trace buffer during the previous trace
9767 experiment.
9768
9769 @kindex tstop
9770 @cindex stop a running trace experiment
9771 @item tstop
9772 This command takes no arguments. It ends the trace experiment, and
9773 stops collecting data.
9774
9775 @strong{Note}: a trace experiment and data collection may stop
9776 automatically if any tracepoint's passcount is reached
9777 (@pxref{Tracepoint Passcounts}), or if the trace buffer becomes full.
9778
9779 @kindex tstatus
9780 @cindex status of trace data collection
9781 @cindex trace experiment, status of
9782 @item tstatus
9783 This command displays the status of the current trace data
9784 collection.
9785 @end table
9786
9787 Here is an example of the commands we described so far:
9788
9789 @smallexample
9790 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace gdb_c_test}
9791 (@value{GDBP}) @b{actions}
9792 Enter actions for tracepoint #1, one per line.
9793 > collect $regs,$locals,$args
9794 > while-stepping 11
9795 > collect $regs
9796 > end
9797 > end
9798 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tstart}
9799 [time passes @dots{}]
9800 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tstop}
9801 @end smallexample
9802
9803 @cindex disconnected tracing
9804 You can choose to continue running the trace experiment even if
9805 @value{GDBN} disconnects from the target, voluntarily or
9806 involuntarily. For commands such as @code{detach}, the debugger will
9807 ask what you want to do with the trace. But for unexpected
9808 terminations (@value{GDBN} crash, network outage), it would be
9809 unfortunate to lose hard-won trace data, so the variable
9810 @code{disconnected-tracing} lets you decide whether the trace should
9811 continue running without @value{GDBN}.
9812
9813 @table @code
9814 @item set disconnected-tracing on
9815 @itemx set disconnected-tracing off
9816 @kindex set disconnected-tracing
9817 Choose whether a tracing run should continue to run if @value{GDBN}
9818 has disconnected from the target. Note that @code{detach} or
9819 @code{quit} will ask you directly what to do about a running trace no
9820 matter what this variable's setting, so the variable is mainly useful
9821 for handling unexpected situations, such as loss of the network.
9822
9823 @item show disconnected-tracing
9824 @kindex show disconnected-tracing
9825 Show the current choice for disconnected tracing.
9826
9827 @end table
9828
9829 When you reconnect to the target, the trace experiment may or may not
9830 still be running; it might have filled the trace buffer in the
9831 meantime, or stopped for one of the other reasons. If it is running,
9832 it will continue after reconnection.
9833
9834 Upon reconnection, the target will upload information about the
9835 tracepoints in effect. @value{GDBN} will then compare that
9836 information to the set of tracepoints currently defined, and attempt
9837 to match them up, allowing for the possibility that the numbers may
9838 have changed due to creation and deletion in the meantime. If one of
9839 the target's tracepoints does not match any in @value{GDBN}, the
9840 debugger will create a new tracepoint, so that you have a number with
9841 which to specify that tracepoint. This matching-up process is
9842 necessarily heuristic, and it may result in useless tracepoints being
9843 created; you may simply delete them if they are of no use.
9844
9845 @cindex circular trace buffer
9846 If your target agent supports a @dfn{circular trace buffer}, then you
9847 can run a trace experiment indefinitely without filling the trace
9848 buffer; when space runs out, the agent deletes already-collected trace
9849 frames, oldest first, until there is enough room to continue
9850 collecting. This is especially useful if your tracepoints are being
9851 hit too often, and your trace gets terminated prematurely because the
9852 buffer is full. To ask for a circular trace buffer, simply set
9853 @samp{circular_trace_buffer} to on. You can set this at any time,
9854 including during tracing; if the agent can do it, it will change
9855 buffer handling on the fly, otherwise it will not take effect until
9856 the next run.
9857
9858 @table @code
9859 @item set circular-trace-buffer on
9860 @itemx set circular-trace-buffer off
9861 @kindex set circular-trace-buffer
9862 Choose whether a tracing run should use a linear or circular buffer
9863 for trace data. A linear buffer will not lose any trace data, but may
9864 fill up prematurely, while a circular buffer will discard old trace
9865 data, but it will have always room for the latest tracepoint hits.
9866
9867 @item show circular-trace-buffer
9868 @kindex show circular-trace-buffer
9869 Show the current choice for the trace buffer. Note that this may not
9870 match the agent's current buffer handling, nor is it guaranteed to
9871 match the setting that might have been in effect during a past run,
9872 for instance if you are looking at frames from a trace file.
9873
9874 @end table
9875
9876 @node Tracepoint Restrictions
9877 @subsection Tracepoint Restrictions
9878
9879 @cindex tracepoint restrictions
9880 There are a number of restrictions on the use of tracepoints. As
9881 described above, tracepoint data gathering occurs on the target
9882 without interaction from @value{GDBN}. Thus the full capabilities of
9883 the debugger are not available during data gathering, and then at data
9884 examination time, you will be limited by only having what was
9885 collected. The following items describe some common problems, but it
9886 is not exhaustive, and you may run into additional difficulties not
9887 mentioned here.
9888
9889 @itemize @bullet
9890
9891 @item
9892 Tracepoint expressions are intended to gather objects (lvalues). Thus
9893 the full flexibility of GDB's expression evaluator is not available.
9894 You cannot call functions, cast objects to aggregate types, access
9895 convenience variables or modify values (except by assignment to trace
9896 state variables). Some language features may implicitly call
9897 functions (for instance Objective-C fields with accessors), and therefore
9898 cannot be collected either.
9899
9900 @item
9901 Collection of local variables, either individually or in bulk with
9902 @code{$locals} or @code{$args}, during @code{while-stepping} may
9903 behave erratically. The stepping action may enter a new scope (for
9904 instance by stepping into a function), or the location of the variable
9905 may change (for instance it is loaded into a register). The
9906 tracepoint data recorded uses the location information for the
9907 variables that is correct for the tracepoint location. When the
9908 tracepoint is created, it is not possible, in general, to determine
9909 where the steps of a @code{while-stepping} sequence will advance the
9910 program---particularly if a conditional branch is stepped.
9911
9912 @item
9913 Collection of an incompletely-initialized or partially-destroyed object
9914 may result in something that @value{GDBN} cannot display, or displays
9915 in a misleading way.
9916
9917 @item
9918 When @value{GDBN} displays a pointer to character it automatically
9919 dereferences the pointer to also display characters of the string
9920 being pointed to. However, collecting the pointer during tracing does
9921 not automatically collect the string. You need to explicitly
9922 dereference the pointer and provide size information if you want to
9923 collect not only the pointer, but the memory pointed to. For example,
9924 @code{*ptr@@50} can be used to collect the 50 element array pointed to
9925 by @code{ptr}.
9926
9927 @item
9928 It is not possible to collect a complete stack backtrace at a
9929 tracepoint. Instead, you may collect the registers and a few hundred
9930 bytes from the stack pointer with something like @code{*$esp@@300}
9931 (adjust to use the name of the actual stack pointer register on your
9932 target architecture, and the amount of stack you wish to capture).
9933 Then the @code{backtrace} command will show a partial backtrace when
9934 using a trace frame. The number of stack frames that can be examined
9935 depends on the sizes of the frames in the collected stack. Note that
9936 if you ask for a block so large that it goes past the bottom of the
9937 stack, the target agent may report an error trying to read from an
9938 invalid address.
9939
9940 @item
9941 If you do not collect registers at a tracepoint, @value{GDBN} can
9942 infer that the value of @code{$pc} must be the same as the address of
9943 the tracepoint and use that when you are looking at a trace frame
9944 for that tracepoint. However, this cannot work if the tracepoint has
9945 multiple locations (for instance if it was set in a function that was
9946 inlined), or if it has a @code{while-stepping} loop. In those cases
9947 @value{GDBN} will warn you that it can't infer @code{$pc}, and default
9948 it to zero.
9949
9950 @end itemize
9951
9952 @node Analyze Collected Data
9953 @section Using the Collected Data
9954
9955 After the tracepoint experiment ends, you use @value{GDBN} commands
9956 for examining the trace data. The basic idea is that each tracepoint
9957 collects a trace @dfn{snapshot} every time it is hit and another
9958 snapshot every time it single-steps. All these snapshots are
9959 consecutively numbered from zero and go into a buffer, and you can
9960 examine them later. The way you examine them is to @dfn{focus} on a
9961 specific trace snapshot. When the remote stub is focused on a trace
9962 snapshot, it will respond to all @value{GDBN} requests for memory and
9963 registers by reading from the buffer which belongs to that snapshot,
9964 rather than from @emph{real} memory or registers of the program being
9965 debugged. This means that @strong{all} @value{GDBN} commands
9966 (@code{print}, @code{info registers}, @code{backtrace}, etc.) will
9967 behave as if we were currently debugging the program state as it was
9968 when the tracepoint occurred. Any requests for data that are not in
9969 the buffer will fail.
9970
9971 @menu
9972 * tfind:: How to select a trace snapshot
9973 * tdump:: How to display all data for a snapshot
9974 * save-tracepoints:: How to save tracepoints for a future run
9975 @end menu
9976
9977 @node tfind
9978 @subsection @code{tfind @var{n}}
9979
9980 @kindex tfind
9981 @cindex select trace snapshot
9982 @cindex find trace snapshot
9983 The basic command for selecting a trace snapshot from the buffer is
9984 @code{tfind @var{n}}, which finds trace snapshot number @var{n},
9985 counting from zero. If no argument @var{n} is given, the next
9986 snapshot is selected.
9987
9988 Here are the various forms of using the @code{tfind} command.
9989
9990 @table @code
9991 @item tfind start
9992 Find the first snapshot in the buffer. This is a synonym for
9993 @code{tfind 0} (since 0 is the number of the first snapshot).
9994
9995 @item tfind none
9996 Stop debugging trace snapshots, resume @emph{live} debugging.
9997
9998 @item tfind end
9999 Same as @samp{tfind none}.
10000
10001 @item tfind
10002 No argument means find the next trace snapshot.
10003
10004 @item tfind -
10005 Find the previous trace snapshot before the current one. This permits
10006 retracing earlier steps.
10007
10008 @item tfind tracepoint @var{num}
10009 Find the next snapshot associated with tracepoint @var{num}. Search
10010 proceeds forward from the last examined trace snapshot. If no
10011 argument @var{num} is given, it means find the next snapshot collected
10012 for the same tracepoint as the current snapshot.
10013
10014 @item tfind pc @var{addr}
10015 Find the next snapshot associated with the value @var{addr} of the
10016 program counter. Search proceeds forward from the last examined trace
10017 snapshot. If no argument @var{addr} is given, it means find the next
10018 snapshot with the same value of PC as the current snapshot.
10019
10020 @item tfind outside @var{addr1}, @var{addr2}
10021 Find the next snapshot whose PC is outside the given range of
10022 addresses (exclusive).
10023
10024 @item tfind range @var{addr1}, @var{addr2}
10025 Find the next snapshot whose PC is between @var{addr1} and
10026 @var{addr2} (inclusive).
10027
10028 @item tfind line @r{[}@var{file}:@r{]}@var{n}
10029 Find the next snapshot associated with the source line @var{n}. If
10030 the optional argument @var{file} is given, refer to line @var{n} in
10031 that source file. Search proceeds forward from the last examined
10032 trace snapshot. If no argument @var{n} is given, it means find the
10033 next line other than the one currently being examined; thus saying
10034 @code{tfind line} repeatedly can appear to have the same effect as
10035 stepping from line to line in a @emph{live} debugging session.
10036 @end table
10037
10038 The default arguments for the @code{tfind} commands are specifically
10039 designed to make it easy to scan through the trace buffer. For
10040 instance, @code{tfind} with no argument selects the next trace
10041 snapshot, and @code{tfind -} with no argument selects the previous
10042 trace snapshot. So, by giving one @code{tfind} command, and then
10043 simply hitting @key{RET} repeatedly you can examine all the trace
10044 snapshots in order. Or, by saying @code{tfind -} and then hitting
10045 @key{RET} repeatedly you can examine the snapshots in reverse order.
10046 The @code{tfind line} command with no argument selects the snapshot
10047 for the next source line executed. The @code{tfind pc} command with
10048 no argument selects the next snapshot with the same program counter
10049 (PC) as the current frame. The @code{tfind tracepoint} command with
10050 no argument selects the next trace snapshot collected by the same
10051 tracepoint as the current one.
10052
10053 In addition to letting you scan through the trace buffer manually,
10054 these commands make it easy to construct @value{GDBN} scripts that
10055 scan through the trace buffer and print out whatever collected data
10056 you are interested in. Thus, if we want to examine the PC, FP, and SP
10057 registers from each trace frame in the buffer, we can say this:
10058
10059 @smallexample
10060 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tfind start}
10061 (@value{GDBP}) @b{while ($trace_frame != -1)}
10062 > printf "Frame %d, PC = %08X, SP = %08X, FP = %08X\n", \
10063 $trace_frame, $pc, $sp, $fp
10064 > tfind
10065 > end
10066
10067 Frame 0, PC = 0020DC64, SP = 0030BF3C, FP = 0030BF44
10068 Frame 1, PC = 0020DC6C, SP = 0030BF38, FP = 0030BF44
10069 Frame 2, PC = 0020DC70, SP = 0030BF34, FP = 0030BF44
10070 Frame 3, PC = 0020DC74, SP = 0030BF30, FP = 0030BF44
10071 Frame 4, PC = 0020DC78, SP = 0030BF2C, FP = 0030BF44
10072 Frame 5, PC = 0020DC7C, SP = 0030BF28, FP = 0030BF44
10073 Frame 6, PC = 0020DC80, SP = 0030BF24, FP = 0030BF44
10074 Frame 7, PC = 0020DC84, SP = 0030BF20, FP = 0030BF44
10075 Frame 8, PC = 0020DC88, SP = 0030BF1C, FP = 0030BF44
10076 Frame 9, PC = 0020DC8E, SP = 0030BF18, FP = 0030BF44
10077 Frame 10, PC = 00203F6C, SP = 0030BE3C, FP = 0030BF14
10078 @end smallexample
10079
10080 Or, if we want to examine the variable @code{X} at each source line in
10081 the buffer:
10082
10083 @smallexample
10084 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tfind start}
10085 (@value{GDBP}) @b{while ($trace_frame != -1)}
10086 > printf "Frame %d, X == %d\n", $trace_frame, X
10087 > tfind line
10088 > end
10089
10090 Frame 0, X = 1
10091 Frame 7, X = 2
10092 Frame 13, X = 255
10093 @end smallexample
10094
10095 @node tdump
10096 @subsection @code{tdump}
10097 @kindex tdump
10098 @cindex dump all data collected at tracepoint
10099 @cindex tracepoint data, display
10100
10101 This command takes no arguments. It prints all the data collected at
10102 the current trace snapshot.
10103
10104 @smallexample
10105 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace 444}
10106 (@value{GDBP}) @b{actions}
10107 Enter actions for tracepoint #2, one per line:
10108 > collect $regs, $locals, $args, gdb_long_test
10109 > end
10110
10111 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tstart}
10112
10113 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tfind line 444}
10114 #0 gdb_test (p1=0x11, p2=0x22, p3=0x33, p4=0x44, p5=0x55, p6=0x66)
10115 at gdb_test.c:444
10116 444 printp( "%s: arguments = 0x%X 0x%X 0x%X 0x%X 0x%X 0x%X\n", )
10117
10118 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tdump}
10119 Data collected at tracepoint 2, trace frame 1:
10120 d0 0xc4aa0085 -995491707
10121 d1 0x18 24
10122 d2 0x80 128
10123 d3 0x33 51
10124 d4 0x71aea3d 119204413
10125 d5 0x22 34
10126 d6 0xe0 224
10127 d7 0x380035 3670069
10128 a0 0x19e24a 1696330
10129 a1 0x3000668 50333288
10130 a2 0x100 256
10131 a3 0x322000 3284992
10132 a4 0x3000698 50333336
10133 a5 0x1ad3cc 1758156
10134 fp 0x30bf3c 0x30bf3c
10135 sp 0x30bf34 0x30bf34
10136 ps 0x0 0
10137 pc 0x20b2c8 0x20b2c8
10138 fpcontrol 0x0 0
10139 fpstatus 0x0 0
10140 fpiaddr 0x0 0
10141 p = 0x20e5b4 "gdb-test"
10142 p1 = (void *) 0x11
10143 p2 = (void *) 0x22
10144 p3 = (void *) 0x33
10145 p4 = (void *) 0x44
10146 p5 = (void *) 0x55
10147 p6 = (void *) 0x66
10148 gdb_long_test = 17 '\021'
10149
10150 (@value{GDBP})
10151 @end smallexample
10152
10153 @code{tdump} works by scanning the tracepoint's current collection
10154 actions and printing the value of each expression listed. So
10155 @code{tdump} can fail, if after a run, you change the tracepoint's
10156 actions to mention variables that were not collected during the run.
10157
10158 Also, for tracepoints with @code{while-stepping} loops, @code{tdump}
10159 uses the collected value of @code{$pc} to distinguish between trace
10160 frames that were collected at the tracepoint hit, and frames that were
10161 collected while stepping. This allows it to correctly choose whether
10162 to display the basic list of collections, or the collections from the
10163 body of the while-stepping loop. However, if @code{$pc} was not collected,
10164 then @code{tdump} will always attempt to dump using the basic collection
10165 list, and may fail if a while-stepping frame does not include all the
10166 same data that is collected at the tracepoint hit.
10167 @c This is getting pretty arcane, example would be good.
10168
10169 @node save-tracepoints
10170 @subsection @code{save-tracepoints @var{filename}}
10171 @kindex save-tracepoints
10172 @cindex save tracepoints for future sessions
10173
10174 This command saves all current tracepoint definitions together with
10175 their actions and passcounts, into a file @file{@var{filename}}
10176 suitable for use in a later debugging session. To read the saved
10177 tracepoint definitions, use the @code{source} command (@pxref{Command
10178 Files}).
10179
10180 @node Tracepoint Variables
10181 @section Convenience Variables for Tracepoints
10182 @cindex tracepoint variables
10183 @cindex convenience variables for tracepoints
10184
10185 @table @code
10186 @vindex $trace_frame
10187 @item (int) $trace_frame
10188 The current trace snapshot (a.k.a.@: @dfn{frame}) number, or -1 if no
10189 snapshot is selected.
10190
10191 @vindex $tracepoint
10192 @item (int) $tracepoint
10193 The tracepoint for the current trace snapshot.
10194
10195 @vindex $trace_line
10196 @item (int) $trace_line
10197 The line number for the current trace snapshot.
10198
10199 @vindex $trace_file
10200 @item (char []) $trace_file
10201 The source file for the current trace snapshot.
10202
10203 @vindex $trace_func
10204 @item (char []) $trace_func
10205 The name of the function containing @code{$tracepoint}.
10206 @end table
10207
10208 Note: @code{$trace_file} is not suitable for use in @code{printf},
10209 use @code{output} instead.
10210
10211 Here's a simple example of using these convenience variables for
10212 stepping through all the trace snapshots and printing some of their
10213 data. Note that these are not the same as trace state variables,
10214 which are managed by the target.
10215
10216 @smallexample
10217 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tfind start}
10218
10219 (@value{GDBP}) @b{while $trace_frame != -1}
10220 > output $trace_file
10221 > printf ", line %d (tracepoint #%d)\n", $trace_line, $tracepoint
10222 > tfind
10223 > end
10224 @end smallexample
10225
10226 @node Trace Files
10227 @section Using Trace Files
10228 @cindex trace files
10229
10230 In some situations, the target running a trace experiment may no
10231 longer be available; perhaps it crashed, or the hardware was needed
10232 for a different activity. To handle these cases, you can arrange to
10233 dump the trace data into a file, and later use that file as a source
10234 of trace data, via the @code{target tfile} command.
10235
10236 @table @code
10237
10238 @kindex tsave
10239 @item tsave [ -r ] @var{filename}
10240 Save the trace data to @var{filename}. By default, this command
10241 assumes that @var{filename} refers to the host filesystem, so if
10242 necessary @value{GDBN} will copy raw trace data up from the target and
10243 then save it. If the target supports it, you can also supply the
10244 optional argument @code{-r} (``remote'') to direct the target to save
10245 the data directly into @var{filename} in its own filesystem, which may be
10246 more efficient if the trace buffer is very large. (Note, however, that
10247 @code{target tfile} can only read from files accessible to the host.)
10248
10249 @kindex target tfile
10250 @kindex tfile
10251 @item target tfile @var{filename}
10252 Use the file named @var{filename} as a source of trace data. Commands
10253 that examine data work as they do with a live target, but it is not
10254 possible to run any new trace experiments. @code{tstatus} will report
10255 the state of the trace run at the moment the data was saved, as well
10256 as the current trace frame you are examining. @var{filename} must be
10257 on a filesystem accessible to the host.
10258
10259 @end table
10260
10261 @node Overlays
10262 @chapter Debugging Programs That Use Overlays
10263 @cindex overlays
10264
10265 If your program is too large to fit completely in your target system's
10266 memory, you can sometimes use @dfn{overlays} to work around this
10267 problem. @value{GDBN} provides some support for debugging programs that
10268 use overlays.
10269
10270 @menu
10271 * How Overlays Work:: A general explanation of overlays.
10272 * Overlay Commands:: Managing overlays in @value{GDBN}.
10273 * Automatic Overlay Debugging:: @value{GDBN} can find out which overlays are
10274 mapped by asking the inferior.
10275 * Overlay Sample Program:: A sample program using overlays.
10276 @end menu
10277
10278 @node How Overlays Work
10279 @section How Overlays Work
10280 @cindex mapped overlays
10281 @cindex unmapped overlays
10282 @cindex load address, overlay's
10283 @cindex mapped address
10284 @cindex overlay area
10285
10286 Suppose you have a computer whose instruction address space is only 64
10287 kilobytes long, but which has much more memory which can be accessed by
10288 other means: special instructions, segment registers, or memory
10289 management hardware, for example. Suppose further that you want to
10290 adapt a program which is larger than 64 kilobytes to run on this system.
10291
10292 One solution is to identify modules of your program which are relatively
10293 independent, and need not call each other directly; call these modules
10294 @dfn{overlays}. Separate the overlays from the main program, and place
10295 their machine code in the larger memory. Place your main program in
10296 instruction memory, but leave at least enough space there to hold the
10297 largest overlay as well.
10298
10299 Now, to call a function located in an overlay, you must first copy that
10300 overlay's machine code from the large memory into the space set aside
10301 for it in the instruction memory, and then jump to its entry point
10302 there.
10303
10304 @c NB: In the below the mapped area's size is greater or equal to the
10305 @c size of all overlays. This is intentional to remind the developer
10306 @c that overlays don't necessarily need to be the same size.
10307
10308 @smallexample
10309 @group
10310 Data Instruction Larger
10311 Address Space Address Space Address Space
10312 +-----------+ +-----------+ +-----------+
10313 | | | | | |
10314 +-----------+ +-----------+ +-----------+<-- overlay 1
10315 | program | | main | .----| overlay 1 | load address
10316 | variables | | program | | +-----------+
10317 | and heap | | | | | |
10318 +-----------+ | | | +-----------+<-- overlay 2
10319 | | +-----------+ | | | load address
10320 +-----------+ | | | .-| overlay 2 |
10321 | | | | | |
10322 mapped --->+-----------+ | | +-----------+
10323 address | | | | | |
10324 | overlay | <-' | | |
10325 | area | <---' +-----------+<-- overlay 3
10326 | | <---. | | load address
10327 +-----------+ `--| overlay 3 |
10328 | | | |
10329 +-----------+ | |
10330 +-----------+
10331 | |
10332 +-----------+
10333
10334 @anchor{A code overlay}A code overlay
10335 @end group
10336 @end smallexample
10337
10338 The diagram (@pxref{A code overlay}) shows a system with separate data
10339 and instruction address spaces. To map an overlay, the program copies
10340 its code from the larger address space to the instruction address space.
10341 Since the overlays shown here all use the same mapped address, only one
10342 may be mapped at a time. For a system with a single address space for
10343 data and instructions, the diagram would be similar, except that the
10344 program variables and heap would share an address space with the main
10345 program and the overlay area.
10346
10347 An overlay loaded into instruction memory and ready for use is called a
10348 @dfn{mapped} overlay; its @dfn{mapped address} is its address in the
10349 instruction memory. An overlay not present (or only partially present)
10350 in instruction memory is called @dfn{unmapped}; its @dfn{load address}
10351 is its address in the larger memory. The mapped address is also called
10352 the @dfn{virtual memory address}, or @dfn{VMA}; the load address is also
10353 called the @dfn{load memory address}, or @dfn{LMA}.
10354
10355 Unfortunately, overlays are not a completely transparent way to adapt a
10356 program to limited instruction memory. They introduce a new set of
10357 global constraints you must keep in mind as you design your program:
10358
10359 @itemize @bullet
10360
10361 @item
10362 Before calling or returning to a function in an overlay, your program
10363 must make sure that overlay is actually mapped. Otherwise, the call or
10364 return will transfer control to the right address, but in the wrong
10365 overlay, and your program will probably crash.
10366
10367 @item
10368 If the process of mapping an overlay is expensive on your system, you
10369 will need to choose your overlays carefully to minimize their effect on
10370 your program's performance.
10371
10372 @item
10373 The executable file you load onto your system must contain each
10374 overlay's instructions, appearing at the overlay's load address, not its
10375 mapped address. However, each overlay's instructions must be relocated
10376 and its symbols defined as if the overlay were at its mapped address.
10377 You can use GNU linker scripts to specify different load and relocation
10378 addresses for pieces of your program; see @ref{Overlay Description,,,
10379 ld.info, Using ld: the GNU linker}.
10380
10381 @item
10382 The procedure for loading executable files onto your system must be able
10383 to load their contents into the larger address space as well as the
10384 instruction and data spaces.
10385
10386 @end itemize
10387
10388 The overlay system described above is rather simple, and could be
10389 improved in many ways:
10390
10391 @itemize @bullet
10392
10393 @item
10394 If your system has suitable bank switch registers or memory management
10395 hardware, you could use those facilities to make an overlay's load area
10396 contents simply appear at their mapped address in instruction space.
10397 This would probably be faster than copying the overlay to its mapped
10398 area in the usual way.
10399
10400 @item
10401 If your overlays are small enough, you could set aside more than one
10402 overlay area, and have more than one overlay mapped at a time.
10403
10404 @item
10405 You can use overlays to manage data, as well as instructions. In
10406 general, data overlays are even less transparent to your design than
10407 code overlays: whereas code overlays only require care when you call or
10408 return to functions, data overlays require care every time you access
10409 the data. Also, if you change the contents of a data overlay, you
10410 must copy its contents back out to its load address before you can copy a
10411 different data overlay into the same mapped area.
10412
10413 @end itemize
10414
10415
10416 @node Overlay Commands
10417 @section Overlay Commands
10418
10419 To use @value{GDBN}'s overlay support, each overlay in your program must
10420 correspond to a separate section of the executable file. The section's
10421 virtual memory address and load memory address must be the overlay's
10422 mapped and load addresses. Identifying overlays with sections allows
10423 @value{GDBN} to determine the appropriate address of a function or
10424 variable, depending on whether the overlay is mapped or not.
10425
10426 @value{GDBN}'s overlay commands all start with the word @code{overlay};
10427 you can abbreviate this as @code{ov} or @code{ovly}. The commands are:
10428
10429 @table @code
10430 @item overlay off
10431 @kindex overlay
10432 Disable @value{GDBN}'s overlay support. When overlay support is
10433 disabled, @value{GDBN} assumes that all functions and variables are
10434 always present at their mapped addresses. By default, @value{GDBN}'s
10435 overlay support is disabled.
10436
10437 @item overlay manual
10438 @cindex manual overlay debugging
10439 Enable @dfn{manual} overlay debugging. In this mode, @value{GDBN}
10440 relies on you to tell it which overlays are mapped, and which are not,
10441 using the @code{overlay map-overlay} and @code{overlay unmap-overlay}
10442 commands described below.
10443
10444 @item overlay map-overlay @var{overlay}
10445 @itemx overlay map @var{overlay}
10446 @cindex map an overlay
10447 Tell @value{GDBN} that @var{overlay} is now mapped; @var{overlay} must
10448 be the name of the object file section containing the overlay. When an
10449 overlay is mapped, @value{GDBN} assumes it can find the overlay's
10450 functions and variables at their mapped addresses. @value{GDBN} assumes
10451 that any other overlays whose mapped ranges overlap that of
10452 @var{overlay} are now unmapped.
10453
10454 @item overlay unmap-overlay @var{overlay}
10455 @itemx overlay unmap @var{overlay}
10456 @cindex unmap an overlay
10457 Tell @value{GDBN} that @var{overlay} is no longer mapped; @var{overlay}
10458 must be the name of the object file section containing the overlay.
10459 When an overlay is unmapped, @value{GDBN} assumes it can find the
10460 overlay's functions and variables at their load addresses.
10461
10462 @item overlay auto
10463 Enable @dfn{automatic} overlay debugging. In this mode, @value{GDBN}
10464 consults a data structure the overlay manager maintains in the inferior
10465 to see which overlays are mapped. For details, see @ref{Automatic
10466 Overlay Debugging}.
10467
10468 @item overlay load-target
10469 @itemx overlay load
10470 @cindex reloading the overlay table
10471 Re-read the overlay table from the inferior. Normally, @value{GDBN}
10472 re-reads the table @value{GDBN} automatically each time the inferior
10473 stops, so this command should only be necessary if you have changed the
10474 overlay mapping yourself using @value{GDBN}. This command is only
10475 useful when using automatic overlay debugging.
10476
10477 @item overlay list-overlays
10478 @itemx overlay list
10479 @cindex listing mapped overlays
10480 Display a list of the overlays currently mapped, along with their mapped
10481 addresses, load addresses, and sizes.
10482
10483 @end table
10484
10485 Normally, when @value{GDBN} prints a code address, it includes the name
10486 of the function the address falls in:
10487
10488 @smallexample
10489 (@value{GDBP}) print main
10490 $3 = @{int ()@} 0x11a0 <main>
10491 @end smallexample
10492 @noindent
10493 When overlay debugging is enabled, @value{GDBN} recognizes code in
10494 unmapped overlays, and prints the names of unmapped functions with
10495 asterisks around them. For example, if @code{foo} is a function in an
10496 unmapped overlay, @value{GDBN} prints it this way:
10497
10498 @smallexample
10499 (@value{GDBP}) overlay list
10500 No sections are mapped.
10501 (@value{GDBP}) print foo
10502 $5 = @{int (int)@} 0x100000 <*foo*>
10503 @end smallexample
10504 @noindent
10505 When @code{foo}'s overlay is mapped, @value{GDBN} prints the function's
10506 name normally:
10507
10508 @smallexample
10509 (@value{GDBP}) overlay list
10510 Section .ov.foo.text, loaded at 0x100000 - 0x100034,
10511 mapped at 0x1016 - 0x104a
10512 (@value{GDBP}) print foo
10513 $6 = @{int (int)@} 0x1016 <foo>
10514 @end smallexample
10515
10516 When overlay debugging is enabled, @value{GDBN} can find the correct
10517 address for functions and variables in an overlay, whether or not the
10518 overlay is mapped. This allows most @value{GDBN} commands, like
10519 @code{break} and @code{disassemble}, to work normally, even on unmapped
10520 code. However, @value{GDBN}'s breakpoint support has some limitations:
10521
10522 @itemize @bullet
10523 @item
10524 @cindex breakpoints in overlays
10525 @cindex overlays, setting breakpoints in
10526 You can set breakpoints in functions in unmapped overlays, as long as
10527 @value{GDBN} can write to the overlay at its load address.
10528 @item
10529 @value{GDBN} can not set hardware or simulator-based breakpoints in
10530 unmapped overlays. However, if you set a breakpoint at the end of your
10531 overlay manager (and tell @value{GDBN} which overlays are now mapped, if
10532 you are using manual overlay management), @value{GDBN} will re-set its
10533 breakpoints properly.
10534 @end itemize
10535
10536
10537 @node Automatic Overlay Debugging
10538 @section Automatic Overlay Debugging
10539 @cindex automatic overlay debugging
10540
10541 @value{GDBN} can automatically track which overlays are mapped and which
10542 are not, given some simple co-operation from the overlay manager in the
10543 inferior. If you enable automatic overlay debugging with the
10544 @code{overlay auto} command (@pxref{Overlay Commands}), @value{GDBN}
10545 looks in the inferior's memory for certain variables describing the
10546 current state of the overlays.
10547
10548 Here are the variables your overlay manager must define to support
10549 @value{GDBN}'s automatic overlay debugging:
10550
10551 @table @asis
10552
10553 @item @code{_ovly_table}:
10554 This variable must be an array of the following structures:
10555
10556 @smallexample
10557 struct
10558 @{
10559 /* The overlay's mapped address. */
10560 unsigned long vma;
10561
10562 /* The size of the overlay, in bytes. */
10563 unsigned long size;
10564
10565 /* The overlay's load address. */
10566 unsigned long lma;
10567
10568 /* Non-zero if the overlay is currently mapped;
10569 zero otherwise. */
10570 unsigned long mapped;
10571 @}
10572 @end smallexample
10573
10574 @item @code{_novlys}:
10575 This variable must be a four-byte signed integer, holding the total
10576 number of elements in @code{_ovly_table}.
10577
10578 @end table
10579
10580 To decide whether a particular overlay is mapped or not, @value{GDBN}
10581 looks for an entry in @w{@code{_ovly_table}} whose @code{vma} and
10582 @code{lma} members equal the VMA and LMA of the overlay's section in the
10583 executable file. When @value{GDBN} finds a matching entry, it consults
10584 the entry's @code{mapped} member to determine whether the overlay is
10585 currently mapped.
10586
10587 In addition, your overlay manager may define a function called
10588 @code{_ovly_debug_event}. If this function is defined, @value{GDBN}
10589 will silently set a breakpoint there. If the overlay manager then
10590 calls this function whenever it has changed the overlay table, this
10591 will enable @value{GDBN} to accurately keep track of which overlays
10592 are in program memory, and update any breakpoints that may be set
10593 in overlays. This will allow breakpoints to work even if the
10594 overlays are kept in ROM or other non-writable memory while they
10595 are not being executed.
10596
10597 @node Overlay Sample Program
10598 @section Overlay Sample Program
10599 @cindex overlay example program
10600
10601 When linking a program which uses overlays, you must place the overlays
10602 at their load addresses, while relocating them to run at their mapped
10603 addresses. To do this, you must write a linker script (@pxref{Overlay
10604 Description,,, ld.info, Using ld: the GNU linker}). Unfortunately,
10605 since linker scripts are specific to a particular host system, target
10606 architecture, and target memory layout, this manual cannot provide
10607 portable sample code demonstrating @value{GDBN}'s overlay support.
10608
10609 However, the @value{GDBN} source distribution does contain an overlaid
10610 program, with linker scripts for a few systems, as part of its test
10611 suite. The program consists of the following files from
10612 @file{gdb/testsuite/gdb.base}:
10613
10614 @table @file
10615 @item overlays.c
10616 The main program file.
10617 @item ovlymgr.c
10618 A simple overlay manager, used by @file{overlays.c}.
10619 @item foo.c
10620 @itemx bar.c
10621 @itemx baz.c
10622 @itemx grbx.c
10623 Overlay modules, loaded and used by @file{overlays.c}.
10624 @item d10v.ld
10625 @itemx m32r.ld
10626 Linker scripts for linking the test program on the @code{d10v-elf}
10627 and @code{m32r-elf} targets.
10628 @end table
10629
10630 You can build the test program using the @code{d10v-elf} GCC
10631 cross-compiler like this:
10632
10633 @smallexample
10634 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c overlays.c
10635 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c ovlymgr.c
10636 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c foo.c
10637 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c bar.c
10638 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c baz.c
10639 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c grbx.c
10640 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g overlays.o ovlymgr.o foo.o bar.o \
10641 baz.o grbx.o -Wl,-Td10v.ld -o overlays
10642 @end smallexample
10643
10644 The build process is identical for any other architecture, except that
10645 you must substitute the appropriate compiler and linker script for the
10646 target system for @code{d10v-elf-gcc} and @code{d10v.ld}.
10647
10648
10649 @node Languages
10650 @chapter Using @value{GDBN} with Different Languages
10651 @cindex languages
10652
10653 Although programming languages generally have common aspects, they are
10654 rarely expressed in the same manner. For instance, in ANSI C,
10655 dereferencing a pointer @code{p} is accomplished by @code{*p}, but in
10656 Modula-2, it is accomplished by @code{p^}. Values can also be
10657 represented (and displayed) differently. Hex numbers in C appear as
10658 @samp{0x1ae}, while in Modula-2 they appear as @samp{1AEH}.
10659
10660 @cindex working language
10661 Language-specific information is built into @value{GDBN} for some languages,
10662 allowing you to express operations like the above in your program's
10663 native language, and allowing @value{GDBN} to output values in a manner
10664 consistent with the syntax of your program's native language. The
10665 language you use to build expressions is called the @dfn{working
10666 language}.
10667
10668 @menu
10669 * Setting:: Switching between source languages
10670 * Show:: Displaying the language
10671 * Checks:: Type and range checks
10672 * Supported Languages:: Supported languages
10673 * Unsupported Languages:: Unsupported languages
10674 @end menu
10675
10676 @node Setting
10677 @section Switching Between Source Languages
10678
10679 There are two ways to control the working language---either have @value{GDBN}
10680 set it automatically, or select it manually yourself. You can use the
10681 @code{set language} command for either purpose. On startup, @value{GDBN}
10682 defaults to setting the language automatically. The working language is
10683 used to determine how expressions you type are interpreted, how values
10684 are printed, etc.
10685
10686 In addition to the working language, every source file that
10687 @value{GDBN} knows about has its own working language. For some object
10688 file formats, the compiler might indicate which language a particular
10689 source file is in. However, most of the time @value{GDBN} infers the
10690 language from the name of the file. The language of a source file
10691 controls whether C@t{++} names are demangled---this way @code{backtrace} can
10692 show each frame appropriately for its own language. There is no way to
10693 set the language of a source file from within @value{GDBN}, but you can
10694 set the language associated with a filename extension. @xref{Show, ,
10695 Displaying the Language}.
10696
10697 This is most commonly a problem when you use a program, such
10698 as @code{cfront} or @code{f2c}, that generates C but is written in
10699 another language. In that case, make the
10700 program use @code{#line} directives in its C output; that way
10701 @value{GDBN} will know the correct language of the source code of the original
10702 program, and will display that source code, not the generated C code.
10703
10704 @menu
10705 * Filenames:: Filename extensions and languages.
10706 * Manually:: Setting the working language manually
10707 * Automatically:: Having @value{GDBN} infer the source language
10708 @end menu
10709
10710 @node Filenames
10711 @subsection List of Filename Extensions and Languages
10712
10713 If a source file name ends in one of the following extensions, then
10714 @value{GDBN} infers that its language is the one indicated.
10715
10716 @table @file
10717 @item .ada
10718 @itemx .ads
10719 @itemx .adb
10720 @itemx .a
10721 Ada source file.
10722
10723 @item .c
10724 C source file
10725
10726 @item .C
10727 @itemx .cc
10728 @itemx .cp
10729 @itemx .cpp
10730 @itemx .cxx
10731 @itemx .c++
10732 C@t{++} source file
10733
10734 @item .m
10735 Objective-C source file
10736
10737 @item .f
10738 @itemx .F
10739 Fortran source file
10740
10741 @item .mod
10742 Modula-2 source file
10743
10744 @item .s
10745 @itemx .S
10746 Assembler source file. This actually behaves almost like C, but
10747 @value{GDBN} does not skip over function prologues when stepping.
10748 @end table
10749
10750 In addition, you may set the language associated with a filename
10751 extension. @xref{Show, , Displaying the Language}.
10752
10753 @node Manually
10754 @subsection Setting the Working Language
10755
10756 If you allow @value{GDBN} to set the language automatically,
10757 expressions are interpreted the same way in your debugging session and
10758 your program.
10759
10760 @kindex set language
10761 If you wish, you may set the language manually. To do this, issue the
10762 command @samp{set language @var{lang}}, where @var{lang} is the name of
10763 a language, such as
10764 @code{c} or @code{modula-2}.
10765 For a list of the supported languages, type @samp{set language}.
10766
10767 Setting the language manually prevents @value{GDBN} from updating the working
10768 language automatically. This can lead to confusion if you try
10769 to debug a program when the working language is not the same as the
10770 source language, when an expression is acceptable to both
10771 languages---but means different things. For instance, if the current
10772 source file were written in C, and @value{GDBN} was parsing Modula-2, a
10773 command such as:
10774
10775 @smallexample
10776 print a = b + c
10777 @end smallexample
10778
10779 @noindent
10780 might not have the effect you intended. In C, this means to add
10781 @code{b} and @code{c} and place the result in @code{a}. The result
10782 printed would be the value of @code{a}. In Modula-2, this means to compare
10783 @code{a} to the result of @code{b+c}, yielding a @code{BOOLEAN} value.
10784
10785 @node Automatically
10786 @subsection Having @value{GDBN} Infer the Source Language
10787
10788 To have @value{GDBN} set the working language automatically, use
10789 @samp{set language local} or @samp{set language auto}. @value{GDBN}
10790 then infers the working language. That is, when your program stops in a
10791 frame (usually by encountering a breakpoint), @value{GDBN} sets the
10792 working language to the language recorded for the function in that
10793 frame. If the language for a frame is unknown (that is, if the function
10794 or block corresponding to the frame was defined in a source file that
10795 does not have a recognized extension), the current working language is
10796 not changed, and @value{GDBN} issues a warning.
10797
10798 This may not seem necessary for most programs, which are written
10799 entirely in one source language. However, program modules and libraries
10800 written in one source language can be used by a main program written in
10801 a different source language. Using @samp{set language auto} in this
10802 case frees you from having to set the working language manually.
10803
10804 @node Show
10805 @section Displaying the Language
10806
10807 The following commands help you find out which language is the
10808 working language, and also what language source files were written in.
10809
10810 @table @code
10811 @item show language
10812 @kindex show language
10813 Display the current working language. This is the
10814 language you can use with commands such as @code{print} to
10815 build and compute expressions that may involve variables in your program.
10816
10817 @item info frame
10818 @kindex info frame@r{, show the source language}
10819 Display the source language for this frame. This language becomes the
10820 working language if you use an identifier from this frame.
10821 @xref{Frame Info, ,Information about a Frame}, to identify the other
10822 information listed here.
10823
10824 @item info source
10825 @kindex info source@r{, show the source language}
10826 Display the source language of this source file.
10827 @xref{Symbols, ,Examining the Symbol Table}, to identify the other
10828 information listed here.
10829 @end table
10830
10831 In unusual circumstances, you may have source files with extensions
10832 not in the standard list. You can then set the extension associated
10833 with a language explicitly:
10834
10835 @table @code
10836 @item set extension-language @var{ext} @var{language}
10837 @kindex set extension-language
10838 Tell @value{GDBN} that source files with extension @var{ext} are to be
10839 assumed as written in the source language @var{language}.
10840
10841 @item info extensions
10842 @kindex info extensions
10843 List all the filename extensions and the associated languages.
10844 @end table
10845
10846 @node Checks
10847 @section Type and Range Checking
10848
10849 @quotation
10850 @emph{Warning:} In this release, the @value{GDBN} commands for type and range
10851 checking are included, but they do not yet have any effect. This
10852 section documents the intended facilities.
10853 @end quotation
10854 @c FIXME remove warning when type/range code added
10855
10856 Some languages are designed to guard you against making seemingly common
10857 errors through a series of compile- and run-time checks. These include
10858 checking the type of arguments to functions and operators, and making
10859 sure mathematical overflows are caught at run time. Checks such as
10860 these help to ensure a program's correctness once it has been compiled
10861 by eliminating type mismatches, and providing active checks for range
10862 errors when your program is running.
10863
10864 @value{GDBN} can check for conditions like the above if you wish.
10865 Although @value{GDBN} does not check the statements in your program,
10866 it can check expressions entered directly into @value{GDBN} for
10867 evaluation via the @code{print} command, for example. As with the
10868 working language, @value{GDBN} can also decide whether or not to check
10869 automatically based on your program's source language.
10870 @xref{Supported Languages, ,Supported Languages}, for the default
10871 settings of supported languages.
10872
10873 @menu
10874 * Type Checking:: An overview of type checking
10875 * Range Checking:: An overview of range checking
10876 @end menu
10877
10878 @cindex type checking
10879 @cindex checks, type
10880 @node Type Checking
10881 @subsection An Overview of Type Checking
10882
10883 Some languages, such as Modula-2, are strongly typed, meaning that the
10884 arguments to operators and functions have to be of the correct type,
10885 otherwise an error occurs. These checks prevent type mismatch
10886 errors from ever causing any run-time problems. For example,
10887
10888 @smallexample
10889 1 + 2 @result{} 3
10890 @exdent but
10891 @error{} 1 + 2.3
10892 @end smallexample
10893
10894 The second example fails because the @code{CARDINAL} 1 is not
10895 type-compatible with the @code{REAL} 2.3.
10896
10897 For the expressions you use in @value{GDBN} commands, you can tell the
10898 @value{GDBN} type checker to skip checking;
10899 to treat any mismatches as errors and abandon the expression;
10900 or to only issue warnings when type mismatches occur,
10901 but evaluate the expression anyway. When you choose the last of
10902 these, @value{GDBN} evaluates expressions like the second example above, but
10903 also issues a warning.
10904
10905 Even if you turn type checking off, there may be other reasons
10906 related to type that prevent @value{GDBN} from evaluating an expression.
10907 For instance, @value{GDBN} does not know how to add an @code{int} and
10908 a @code{struct foo}. These particular type errors have nothing to do
10909 with the language in use, and usually arise from expressions, such as
10910 the one described above, which make little sense to evaluate anyway.
10911
10912 Each language defines to what degree it is strict about type. For
10913 instance, both Modula-2 and C require the arguments to arithmetical
10914 operators to be numbers. In C, enumerated types and pointers can be
10915 represented as numbers, so that they are valid arguments to mathematical
10916 operators. @xref{Supported Languages, ,Supported Languages}, for further
10917 details on specific languages.
10918
10919 @value{GDBN} provides some additional commands for controlling the type checker:
10920
10921 @kindex set check type
10922 @kindex show check type
10923 @table @code
10924 @item set check type auto
10925 Set type checking on or off based on the current working language.
10926 @xref{Supported Languages, ,Supported Languages}, for the default settings for
10927 each language.
10928
10929 @item set check type on
10930 @itemx set check type off
10931 Set type checking on or off, overriding the default setting for the
10932 current working language. Issue a warning if the setting does not
10933 match the language default. If any type mismatches occur in
10934 evaluating an expression while type checking is on, @value{GDBN} prints a
10935 message and aborts evaluation of the expression.
10936
10937 @item set check type warn
10938 Cause the type checker to issue warnings, but to always attempt to
10939 evaluate the expression. Evaluating the expression may still
10940 be impossible for other reasons. For example, @value{GDBN} cannot add
10941 numbers and structures.
10942
10943 @item show type
10944 Show the current setting of the type checker, and whether or not @value{GDBN}
10945 is setting it automatically.
10946 @end table
10947
10948 @cindex range checking
10949 @cindex checks, range
10950 @node Range Checking
10951 @subsection An Overview of Range Checking
10952
10953 In some languages (such as Modula-2), it is an error to exceed the
10954 bounds of a type; this is enforced with run-time checks. Such range
10955 checking is meant to ensure program correctness by making sure
10956 computations do not overflow, or indices on an array element access do
10957 not exceed the bounds of the array.
10958
10959 For expressions you use in @value{GDBN} commands, you can tell
10960 @value{GDBN} to treat range errors in one of three ways: ignore them,
10961 always treat them as errors and abandon the expression, or issue
10962 warnings but evaluate the expression anyway.
10963
10964 A range error can result from numerical overflow, from exceeding an
10965 array index bound, or when you type a constant that is not a member
10966 of any type. Some languages, however, do not treat overflows as an
10967 error. In many implementations of C, mathematical overflow causes the
10968 result to ``wrap around'' to lower values---for example, if @var{m} is
10969 the largest integer value, and @var{s} is the smallest, then
10970
10971 @smallexample
10972 @var{m} + 1 @result{} @var{s}
10973 @end smallexample
10974
10975 This, too, is specific to individual languages, and in some cases
10976 specific to individual compilers or machines. @xref{Supported Languages, ,
10977 Supported Languages}, for further details on specific languages.
10978
10979 @value{GDBN} provides some additional commands for controlling the range checker:
10980
10981 @kindex set check range
10982 @kindex show check range
10983 @table @code
10984 @item set check range auto
10985 Set range checking on or off based on the current working language.
10986 @xref{Supported Languages, ,Supported Languages}, for the default settings for
10987 each language.
10988
10989 @item set check range on
10990 @itemx set check range off
10991 Set range checking on or off, overriding the default setting for the
10992 current working language. A warning is issued if the setting does not
10993 match the language default. If a range error occurs and range checking is on,
10994 then a message is printed and evaluation of the expression is aborted.
10995
10996 @item set check range warn
10997 Output messages when the @value{GDBN} range checker detects a range error,
10998 but attempt to evaluate the expression anyway. Evaluating the
10999 expression may still be impossible for other reasons, such as accessing
11000 memory that the process does not own (a typical example from many Unix
11001 systems).
11002
11003 @item show range
11004 Show the current setting of the range checker, and whether or not it is
11005 being set automatically by @value{GDBN}.
11006 @end table
11007
11008 @node Supported Languages
11009 @section Supported Languages
11010
11011 @value{GDBN} supports C, C@t{++}, Objective-C, Fortran, Java, Pascal,
11012 assembly, Modula-2, and Ada.
11013 @c This is false ...
11014 Some @value{GDBN} features may be used in expressions regardless of the
11015 language you use: the @value{GDBN} @code{@@} and @code{::} operators,
11016 and the @samp{@{type@}addr} construct (@pxref{Expressions,
11017 ,Expressions}) can be used with the constructs of any supported
11018 language.
11019
11020 The following sections detail to what degree each source language is
11021 supported by @value{GDBN}. These sections are not meant to be language
11022 tutorials or references, but serve only as a reference guide to what the
11023 @value{GDBN} expression parser accepts, and what input and output
11024 formats should look like for different languages. There are many good
11025 books written on each of these languages; please look to these for a
11026 language reference or tutorial.
11027
11028 @menu
11029 * C:: C and C@t{++}
11030 * Objective-C:: Objective-C
11031 * Fortran:: Fortran
11032 * Pascal:: Pascal
11033 * Modula-2:: Modula-2
11034 * Ada:: Ada
11035 @end menu
11036
11037 @node C
11038 @subsection C and C@t{++}
11039
11040 @cindex C and C@t{++}
11041 @cindex expressions in C or C@t{++}
11042
11043 Since C and C@t{++} are so closely related, many features of @value{GDBN} apply
11044 to both languages. Whenever this is the case, we discuss those languages
11045 together.
11046
11047 @cindex C@t{++}
11048 @cindex @code{g++}, @sc{gnu} C@t{++} compiler
11049 @cindex @sc{gnu} C@t{++}
11050 The C@t{++} debugging facilities are jointly implemented by the C@t{++}
11051 compiler and @value{GDBN}. Therefore, to debug your C@t{++} code
11052 effectively, you must compile your C@t{++} programs with a supported
11053 C@t{++} compiler, such as @sc{gnu} @code{g++}, or the HP ANSI C@t{++}
11054 compiler (@code{aCC}).
11055
11056 For best results when using @sc{gnu} C@t{++}, use the DWARF 2 debugging
11057 format; if it doesn't work on your system, try the stabs+ debugging
11058 format. You can select those formats explicitly with the @code{g++}
11059 command-line options @option{-gdwarf-2} and @option{-gstabs+}.
11060 @xref{Debugging Options,,Options for Debugging Your Program or GCC,
11061 gcc.info, Using the @sc{gnu} Compiler Collection (GCC)}.
11062
11063 @menu
11064 * C Operators:: C and C@t{++} operators
11065 * C Constants:: C and C@t{++} constants
11066 * C Plus Plus Expressions:: C@t{++} expressions
11067 * C Defaults:: Default settings for C and C@t{++}
11068 * C Checks:: C and C@t{++} type and range checks
11069 * Debugging C:: @value{GDBN} and C
11070 * Debugging C Plus Plus:: @value{GDBN} features for C@t{++}
11071 * Decimal Floating Point:: Numbers in Decimal Floating Point format
11072 @end menu
11073
11074 @node C Operators
11075 @subsubsection C and C@t{++} Operators
11076
11077 @cindex C and C@t{++} operators
11078
11079 Operators must be defined on values of specific types. For instance,
11080 @code{+} is defined on numbers, but not on structures. Operators are
11081 often defined on groups of types.
11082
11083 For the purposes of C and C@t{++}, the following definitions hold:
11084
11085 @itemize @bullet
11086
11087 @item
11088 @emph{Integral types} include @code{int} with any of its storage-class
11089 specifiers; @code{char}; @code{enum}; and, for C@t{++}, @code{bool}.
11090
11091 @item
11092 @emph{Floating-point types} include @code{float}, @code{double}, and
11093 @code{long double} (if supported by the target platform).
11094
11095 @item
11096 @emph{Pointer types} include all types defined as @code{(@var{type} *)}.
11097
11098 @item
11099 @emph{Scalar types} include all of the above.
11100
11101 @end itemize
11102
11103 @noindent
11104 The following operators are supported. They are listed here
11105 in order of increasing precedence:
11106
11107 @table @code
11108 @item ,
11109 The comma or sequencing operator. Expressions in a comma-separated list
11110 are evaluated from left to right, with the result of the entire
11111 expression being the last expression evaluated.
11112
11113 @item =
11114 Assignment. The value of an assignment expression is the value
11115 assigned. Defined on scalar types.
11116
11117 @item @var{op}=
11118 Used in an expression of the form @w{@code{@var{a} @var{op}= @var{b}}},
11119 and translated to @w{@code{@var{a} = @var{a op b}}}.
11120 @w{@code{@var{op}=}} and @code{=} have the same precedence.
11121 @var{op} is any one of the operators @code{|}, @code{^}, @code{&},
11122 @code{<<}, @code{>>}, @code{+}, @code{-}, @code{*}, @code{/}, @code{%}.
11123
11124 @item ?:
11125 The ternary operator. @code{@var{a} ? @var{b} : @var{c}} can be thought
11126 of as: if @var{a} then @var{b} else @var{c}. @var{a} should be of an
11127 integral type.
11128
11129 @item ||
11130 Logical @sc{or}. Defined on integral types.
11131
11132 @item &&
11133 Logical @sc{and}. Defined on integral types.
11134
11135 @item |
11136 Bitwise @sc{or}. Defined on integral types.
11137
11138 @item ^
11139 Bitwise exclusive-@sc{or}. Defined on integral types.
11140
11141 @item &
11142 Bitwise @sc{and}. Defined on integral types.
11143
11144 @item ==@r{, }!=
11145 Equality and inequality. Defined on scalar types. The value of these
11146 expressions is 0 for false and non-zero for true.
11147
11148 @item <@r{, }>@r{, }<=@r{, }>=
11149 Less than, greater than, less than or equal, greater than or equal.
11150 Defined on scalar types. The value of these expressions is 0 for false
11151 and non-zero for true.
11152
11153 @item <<@r{, }>>
11154 left shift, and right shift. Defined on integral types.
11155
11156 @item @@
11157 The @value{GDBN} ``artificial array'' operator (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}).
11158
11159 @item +@r{, }-
11160 Addition and subtraction. Defined on integral types, floating-point types and
11161 pointer types.
11162
11163 @item *@r{, }/@r{, }%
11164 Multiplication, division, and modulus. Multiplication and division are
11165 defined on integral and floating-point types. Modulus is defined on
11166 integral types.
11167
11168 @item ++@r{, }--
11169 Increment and decrement. When appearing before a variable, the
11170 operation is performed before the variable is used in an expression;
11171 when appearing after it, the variable's value is used before the
11172 operation takes place.
11173
11174 @item *
11175 Pointer dereferencing. Defined on pointer types. Same precedence as
11176 @code{++}.
11177
11178 @item &
11179 Address operator. Defined on variables. Same precedence as @code{++}.
11180
11181 For debugging C@t{++}, @value{GDBN} implements a use of @samp{&} beyond what is
11182 allowed in the C@t{++} language itself: you can use @samp{&(&@var{ref})}
11183 to examine the address
11184 where a C@t{++} reference variable (declared with @samp{&@var{ref}}) is
11185 stored.
11186
11187 @item -
11188 Negative. Defined on integral and floating-point types. Same
11189 precedence as @code{++}.
11190
11191 @item !
11192 Logical negation. Defined on integral types. Same precedence as
11193 @code{++}.
11194
11195 @item ~
11196 Bitwise complement operator. Defined on integral types. Same precedence as
11197 @code{++}.
11198
11199
11200 @item .@r{, }->
11201 Structure member, and pointer-to-structure member. For convenience,
11202 @value{GDBN} regards the two as equivalent, choosing whether to dereference a
11203 pointer based on the stored type information.
11204 Defined on @code{struct} and @code{union} data.
11205
11206 @item .*@r{, }->*
11207 Dereferences of pointers to members.
11208
11209 @item []
11210 Array indexing. @code{@var{a}[@var{i}]} is defined as
11211 @code{*(@var{a}+@var{i})}. Same precedence as @code{->}.
11212
11213 @item ()
11214 Function parameter list. Same precedence as @code{->}.
11215
11216 @item ::
11217 C@t{++} scope resolution operator. Defined on @code{struct}, @code{union},
11218 and @code{class} types.
11219
11220 @item ::
11221 Doubled colons also represent the @value{GDBN} scope operator
11222 (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}). Same precedence as @code{::},
11223 above.
11224 @end table
11225
11226 If an operator is redefined in the user code, @value{GDBN} usually
11227 attempts to invoke the redefined version instead of using the operator's
11228 predefined meaning.
11229
11230 @node C Constants
11231 @subsubsection C and C@t{++} Constants
11232
11233 @cindex C and C@t{++} constants
11234
11235 @value{GDBN} allows you to express the constants of C and C@t{++} in the
11236 following ways:
11237
11238 @itemize @bullet
11239 @item
11240 Integer constants are a sequence of digits. Octal constants are
11241 specified by a leading @samp{0} (i.e.@: zero), and hexadecimal constants
11242 by a leading @samp{0x} or @samp{0X}. Constants may also end with a letter
11243 @samp{l}, specifying that the constant should be treated as a
11244 @code{long} value.
11245
11246 @item
11247 Floating point constants are a sequence of digits, followed by a decimal
11248 point, followed by a sequence of digits, and optionally followed by an
11249 exponent. An exponent is of the form:
11250 @samp{@w{e@r{[[}+@r{]|}-@r{]}@var{nnn}}}, where @var{nnn} is another
11251 sequence of digits. The @samp{+} is optional for positive exponents.
11252 A floating-point constant may also end with a letter @samp{f} or
11253 @samp{F}, specifying that the constant should be treated as being of
11254 the @code{float} (as opposed to the default @code{double}) type; or with
11255 a letter @samp{l} or @samp{L}, which specifies a @code{long double}
11256 constant.
11257
11258 @item
11259 Enumerated constants consist of enumerated identifiers, or their
11260 integral equivalents.
11261
11262 @item
11263 Character constants are a single character surrounded by single quotes
11264 (@code{'}), or a number---the ordinal value of the corresponding character
11265 (usually its @sc{ascii} value). Within quotes, the single character may
11266 be represented by a letter or by @dfn{escape sequences}, which are of
11267 the form @samp{\@var{nnn}}, where @var{nnn} is the octal representation
11268 of the character's ordinal value; or of the form @samp{\@var{x}}, where
11269 @samp{@var{x}} is a predefined special character---for example,
11270 @samp{\n} for newline.
11271
11272 @item
11273 String constants are a sequence of character constants surrounded by
11274 double quotes (@code{"}). Any valid character constant (as described
11275 above) may appear. Double quotes within the string must be preceded by
11276 a backslash, so for instance @samp{"a\"b'c"} is a string of five
11277 characters.
11278
11279 @item
11280 Pointer constants are an integral value. You can also write pointers
11281 to constants using the C operator @samp{&}.
11282
11283 @item
11284 Array constants are comma-separated lists surrounded by braces @samp{@{}
11285 and @samp{@}}; for example, @samp{@{1,2,3@}} is a three-element array of
11286 integers, @samp{@{@{1,2@}, @{3,4@}, @{5,6@}@}} is a three-by-two array,
11287 and @samp{@{&"hi", &"there", &"fred"@}} is a three-element array of pointers.
11288 @end itemize
11289
11290 @node C Plus Plus Expressions
11291 @subsubsection C@t{++} Expressions
11292
11293 @cindex expressions in C@t{++}
11294 @value{GDBN} expression handling can interpret most C@t{++} expressions.
11295
11296 @cindex debugging C@t{++} programs
11297 @cindex C@t{++} compilers
11298 @cindex debug formats and C@t{++}
11299 @cindex @value{NGCC} and C@t{++}
11300 @quotation
11301 @emph{Warning:} @value{GDBN} can only debug C@t{++} code if you use the
11302 proper compiler and the proper debug format. Currently, @value{GDBN}
11303 works best when debugging C@t{++} code that is compiled with
11304 @value{NGCC} 2.95.3 or with @value{NGCC} 3.1 or newer, using the options
11305 @option{-gdwarf-2} or @option{-gstabs+}. DWARF 2 is preferred over
11306 stabs+. Most configurations of @value{NGCC} emit either DWARF 2 or
11307 stabs+ as their default debug format, so you usually don't need to
11308 specify a debug format explicitly. Other compilers and/or debug formats
11309 are likely to work badly or not at all when using @value{GDBN} to debug
11310 C@t{++} code.
11311 @end quotation
11312
11313 @enumerate
11314
11315 @cindex member functions
11316 @item
11317 Member function calls are allowed; you can use expressions like
11318
11319 @smallexample
11320 count = aml->GetOriginal(x, y)
11321 @end smallexample
11322
11323 @vindex this@r{, inside C@t{++} member functions}
11324 @cindex namespace in C@t{++}
11325 @item
11326 While a member function is active (in the selected stack frame), your
11327 expressions have the same namespace available as the member function;
11328 that is, @value{GDBN} allows implicit references to the class instance
11329 pointer @code{this} following the same rules as C@t{++}.
11330
11331 @cindex call overloaded functions
11332 @cindex overloaded functions, calling
11333 @cindex type conversions in C@t{++}
11334 @item
11335 You can call overloaded functions; @value{GDBN} resolves the function
11336 call to the right definition, with some restrictions. @value{GDBN} does not
11337 perform overload resolution involving user-defined type conversions,
11338 calls to constructors, or instantiations of templates that do not exist
11339 in the program. It also cannot handle ellipsis argument lists or
11340 default arguments.
11341
11342 It does perform integral conversions and promotions, floating-point
11343 promotions, arithmetic conversions, pointer conversions, conversions of
11344 class objects to base classes, and standard conversions such as those of
11345 functions or arrays to pointers; it requires an exact match on the
11346 number of function arguments.
11347
11348 Overload resolution is always performed, unless you have specified
11349 @code{set overload-resolution off}. @xref{Debugging C Plus Plus,
11350 ,@value{GDBN} Features for C@t{++}}.
11351
11352 You must specify @code{set overload-resolution off} in order to use an
11353 explicit function signature to call an overloaded function, as in
11354 @smallexample
11355 p 'foo(char,int)'('x', 13)
11356 @end smallexample
11357
11358 The @value{GDBN} command-completion facility can simplify this;
11359 see @ref{Completion, ,Command Completion}.
11360
11361 @cindex reference declarations
11362 @item
11363 @value{GDBN} understands variables declared as C@t{++} references; you can use
11364 them in expressions just as you do in C@t{++} source---they are automatically
11365 dereferenced.
11366
11367 In the parameter list shown when @value{GDBN} displays a frame, the values of
11368 reference variables are not displayed (unlike other variables); this
11369 avoids clutter, since references are often used for large structures.
11370 The @emph{address} of a reference variable is always shown, unless
11371 you have specified @samp{set print address off}.
11372
11373 @item
11374 @value{GDBN} supports the C@t{++} name resolution operator @code{::}---your
11375 expressions can use it just as expressions in your program do. Since
11376 one scope may be defined in another, you can use @code{::} repeatedly if
11377 necessary, for example in an expression like
11378 @samp{@var{scope1}::@var{scope2}::@var{name}}. @value{GDBN} also allows
11379 resolving name scope by reference to source files, in both C and C@t{++}
11380 debugging (@pxref{Variables, ,Program Variables}).
11381 @end enumerate
11382
11383 In addition, when used with HP's C@t{++} compiler, @value{GDBN} supports
11384 calling virtual functions correctly, printing out virtual bases of
11385 objects, calling functions in a base subobject, casting objects, and
11386 invoking user-defined operators.
11387
11388 @node C Defaults
11389 @subsubsection C and C@t{++} Defaults
11390
11391 @cindex C and C@t{++} defaults
11392
11393 If you allow @value{GDBN} to set type and range checking automatically, they
11394 both default to @code{off} whenever the working language changes to
11395 C or C@t{++}. This happens regardless of whether you or @value{GDBN}
11396 selects the working language.
11397
11398 If you allow @value{GDBN} to set the language automatically, it
11399 recognizes source files whose names end with @file{.c}, @file{.C}, or
11400 @file{.cc}, etc, and when @value{GDBN} enters code compiled from one of
11401 these files, it sets the working language to C or C@t{++}.
11402 @xref{Automatically, ,Having @value{GDBN} Infer the Source Language},
11403 for further details.
11404
11405 @c Type checking is (a) primarily motivated by Modula-2, and (b)
11406 @c unimplemented. If (b) changes, it might make sense to let this node
11407 @c appear even if Mod-2 does not, but meanwhile ignore it. roland 16jul93.
11408
11409 @node C Checks
11410 @subsubsection C and C@t{++} Type and Range Checks
11411
11412 @cindex C and C@t{++} checks
11413
11414 By default, when @value{GDBN} parses C or C@t{++} expressions, type checking
11415 is not used. However, if you turn type checking on, @value{GDBN}
11416 considers two variables type equivalent if:
11417
11418 @itemize @bullet
11419 @item
11420 The two variables are structured and have the same structure, union, or
11421 enumerated tag.
11422
11423 @item
11424 The two variables have the same type name, or types that have been
11425 declared equivalent through @code{typedef}.
11426
11427 @ignore
11428 @c leaving this out because neither J Gilmore nor R Pesch understand it.
11429 @c FIXME--beers?
11430 @item
11431 The two @code{struct}, @code{union}, or @code{enum} variables are
11432 declared in the same declaration. (Note: this may not be true for all C
11433 compilers.)
11434 @end ignore
11435 @end itemize
11436
11437 Range checking, if turned on, is done on mathematical operations. Array
11438 indices are not checked, since they are often used to index a pointer
11439 that is not itself an array.
11440
11441 @node Debugging C
11442 @subsubsection @value{GDBN} and C
11443
11444 The @code{set print union} and @code{show print union} commands apply to
11445 the @code{union} type. When set to @samp{on}, any @code{union} that is
11446 inside a @code{struct} or @code{class} is also printed. Otherwise, it
11447 appears as @samp{@{...@}}.
11448
11449 The @code{@@} operator aids in the debugging of dynamic arrays, formed
11450 with pointers and a memory allocation function. @xref{Expressions,
11451 ,Expressions}.
11452
11453 @node Debugging C Plus Plus
11454 @subsubsection @value{GDBN} Features for C@t{++}
11455
11456 @cindex commands for C@t{++}
11457
11458 Some @value{GDBN} commands are particularly useful with C@t{++}, and some are
11459 designed specifically for use with C@t{++}. Here is a summary:
11460
11461 @table @code
11462 @cindex break in overloaded functions
11463 @item @r{breakpoint menus}
11464 When you want a breakpoint in a function whose name is overloaded,
11465 @value{GDBN} has the capability to display a menu of possible breakpoint
11466 locations to help you specify which function definition you want.
11467 @xref{Ambiguous Expressions,,Ambiguous Expressions}.
11468
11469 @cindex overloading in C@t{++}
11470 @item rbreak @var{regex}
11471 Setting breakpoints using regular expressions is helpful for setting
11472 breakpoints on overloaded functions that are not members of any special
11473 classes.
11474 @xref{Set Breaks, ,Setting Breakpoints}.
11475
11476 @cindex C@t{++} exception handling
11477 @item catch throw
11478 @itemx catch catch
11479 Debug C@t{++} exception handling using these commands. @xref{Set
11480 Catchpoints, , Setting Catchpoints}.
11481
11482 @cindex inheritance
11483 @item ptype @var{typename}
11484 Print inheritance relationships as well as other information for type
11485 @var{typename}.
11486 @xref{Symbols, ,Examining the Symbol Table}.
11487
11488 @cindex C@t{++} symbol display
11489 @item set print demangle
11490 @itemx show print demangle
11491 @itemx set print asm-demangle
11492 @itemx show print asm-demangle
11493 Control whether C@t{++} symbols display in their source form, both when
11494 displaying code as C@t{++} source and when displaying disassemblies.
11495 @xref{Print Settings, ,Print Settings}.
11496
11497 @item set print object
11498 @itemx show print object
11499 Choose whether to print derived (actual) or declared types of objects.
11500 @xref{Print Settings, ,Print Settings}.
11501
11502 @item set print vtbl
11503 @itemx show print vtbl
11504 Control the format for printing virtual function tables.
11505 @xref{Print Settings, ,Print Settings}.
11506 (The @code{vtbl} commands do not work on programs compiled with the HP
11507 ANSI C@t{++} compiler (@code{aCC}).)
11508
11509 @kindex set overload-resolution
11510 @cindex overloaded functions, overload resolution
11511 @item set overload-resolution on
11512 Enable overload resolution for C@t{++} expression evaluation. The default
11513 is on. For overloaded functions, @value{GDBN} evaluates the arguments
11514 and searches for a function whose signature matches the argument types,
11515 using the standard C@t{++} conversion rules (see @ref{C Plus Plus
11516 Expressions, ,C@t{++} Expressions}, for details).
11517 If it cannot find a match, it emits a message.
11518
11519 @item set overload-resolution off
11520 Disable overload resolution for C@t{++} expression evaluation. For
11521 overloaded functions that are not class member functions, @value{GDBN}
11522 chooses the first function of the specified name that it finds in the
11523 symbol table, whether or not its arguments are of the correct type. For
11524 overloaded functions that are class member functions, @value{GDBN}
11525 searches for a function whose signature @emph{exactly} matches the
11526 argument types.
11527
11528 @kindex show overload-resolution
11529 @item show overload-resolution
11530 Show the current setting of overload resolution.
11531
11532 @item @r{Overloaded symbol names}
11533 You can specify a particular definition of an overloaded symbol, using
11534 the same notation that is used to declare such symbols in C@t{++}: type
11535 @code{@var{symbol}(@var{types})} rather than just @var{symbol}. You can
11536 also use the @value{GDBN} command-line word completion facilities to list the
11537 available choices, or to finish the type list for you.
11538 @xref{Completion,, Command Completion}, for details on how to do this.
11539 @end table
11540
11541 @node Decimal Floating Point
11542 @subsubsection Decimal Floating Point format
11543 @cindex decimal floating point format
11544
11545 @value{GDBN} can examine, set and perform computations with numbers in
11546 decimal floating point format, which in the C language correspond to the
11547 @code{_Decimal32}, @code{_Decimal64} and @code{_Decimal128} types as
11548 specified by the extension to support decimal floating-point arithmetic.
11549
11550 There are two encodings in use, depending on the architecture: BID (Binary
11551 Integer Decimal) for x86 and x86-64, and DPD (Densely Packed Decimal) for
11552 PowerPC. @value{GDBN} will use the appropriate encoding for the configured
11553 target.
11554
11555 Because of a limitation in @file{libdecnumber}, the library used by @value{GDBN}
11556 to manipulate decimal floating point numbers, it is not possible to convert
11557 (using a cast, for example) integers wider than 32-bit to decimal float.
11558
11559 In addition, in order to imitate @value{GDBN}'s behaviour with binary floating
11560 point computations, error checking in decimal float operations ignores
11561 underflow, overflow and divide by zero exceptions.
11562
11563 In the PowerPC architecture, @value{GDBN} provides a set of pseudo-registers
11564 to inspect @code{_Decimal128} values stored in floating point registers.
11565 See @ref{PowerPC,,PowerPC} for more details.
11566
11567 @node Objective-C
11568 @subsection Objective-C
11569
11570 @cindex Objective-C
11571 This section provides information about some commands and command
11572 options that are useful for debugging Objective-C code. See also
11573 @ref{Symbols, info classes}, and @ref{Symbols, info selectors}, for a
11574 few more commands specific to Objective-C support.
11575
11576 @menu
11577 * Method Names in Commands::
11578 * The Print Command with Objective-C::
11579 @end menu
11580
11581 @node Method Names in Commands
11582 @subsubsection Method Names in Commands
11583
11584 The following commands have been extended to accept Objective-C method
11585 names as line specifications:
11586
11587 @kindex clear@r{, and Objective-C}
11588 @kindex break@r{, and Objective-C}
11589 @kindex info line@r{, and Objective-C}
11590 @kindex jump@r{, and Objective-C}
11591 @kindex list@r{, and Objective-C}
11592 @itemize
11593 @item @code{clear}
11594 @item @code{break}
11595 @item @code{info line}
11596 @item @code{jump}
11597 @item @code{list}
11598 @end itemize
11599
11600 A fully qualified Objective-C method name is specified as
11601
11602 @smallexample
11603 -[@var{Class} @var{methodName}]
11604 @end smallexample
11605
11606 where the minus sign is used to indicate an instance method and a
11607 plus sign (not shown) is used to indicate a class method. The class
11608 name @var{Class} and method name @var{methodName} are enclosed in
11609 brackets, similar to the way messages are specified in Objective-C
11610 source code. For example, to set a breakpoint at the @code{create}
11611 instance method of class @code{Fruit} in the program currently being
11612 debugged, enter:
11613
11614 @smallexample
11615 break -[Fruit create]
11616 @end smallexample
11617
11618 To list ten program lines around the @code{initialize} class method,
11619 enter:
11620
11621 @smallexample
11622 list +[NSText initialize]
11623 @end smallexample
11624
11625 In the current version of @value{GDBN}, the plus or minus sign is
11626 required. In future versions of @value{GDBN}, the plus or minus
11627 sign will be optional, but you can use it to narrow the search. It
11628 is also possible to specify just a method name:
11629
11630 @smallexample
11631 break create
11632 @end smallexample
11633
11634 You must specify the complete method name, including any colons. If
11635 your program's source files contain more than one @code{create} method,
11636 you'll be presented with a numbered list of classes that implement that
11637 method. Indicate your choice by number, or type @samp{0} to exit if
11638 none apply.
11639
11640 As another example, to clear a breakpoint established at the
11641 @code{makeKeyAndOrderFront:} method of the @code{NSWindow} class, enter:
11642
11643 @smallexample
11644 clear -[NSWindow makeKeyAndOrderFront:]
11645 @end smallexample
11646
11647 @node The Print Command with Objective-C
11648 @subsubsection The Print Command With Objective-C
11649 @cindex Objective-C, print objects
11650 @kindex print-object
11651 @kindex po @r{(@code{print-object})}
11652
11653 The print command has also been extended to accept methods. For example:
11654
11655 @smallexample
11656 print -[@var{object} hash]
11657 @end smallexample
11658
11659 @cindex print an Objective-C object description
11660 @cindex @code{_NSPrintForDebugger}, and printing Objective-C objects
11661 @noindent
11662 will tell @value{GDBN} to send the @code{hash} message to @var{object}
11663 and print the result. Also, an additional command has been added,
11664 @code{print-object} or @code{po} for short, which is meant to print
11665 the description of an object. However, this command may only work
11666 with certain Objective-C libraries that have a particular hook
11667 function, @code{_NSPrintForDebugger}, defined.
11668
11669 @node Fortran
11670 @subsection Fortran
11671 @cindex Fortran-specific support in @value{GDBN}
11672
11673 @value{GDBN} can be used to debug programs written in Fortran, but it
11674 currently supports only the features of Fortran 77 language.
11675
11676 @cindex trailing underscore, in Fortran symbols
11677 Some Fortran compilers (@sc{gnu} Fortran 77 and Fortran 95 compilers
11678 among them) append an underscore to the names of variables and
11679 functions. When you debug programs compiled by those compilers, you
11680 will need to refer to variables and functions with a trailing
11681 underscore.
11682
11683 @menu
11684 * Fortran Operators:: Fortran operators and expressions
11685 * Fortran Defaults:: Default settings for Fortran
11686 * Special Fortran Commands:: Special @value{GDBN} commands for Fortran
11687 @end menu
11688
11689 @node Fortran Operators
11690 @subsubsection Fortran Operators and Expressions
11691
11692 @cindex Fortran operators and expressions
11693
11694 Operators must be defined on values of specific types. For instance,
11695 @code{+} is defined on numbers, but not on characters or other non-
11696 arithmetic types. Operators are often defined on groups of types.
11697
11698 @table @code
11699 @item **
11700 The exponentiation operator. It raises the first operand to the power
11701 of the second one.
11702
11703 @item :
11704 The range operator. Normally used in the form of array(low:high) to
11705 represent a section of array.
11706
11707 @item %
11708 The access component operator. Normally used to access elements in derived
11709 types. Also suitable for unions. As unions aren't part of regular Fortran,
11710 this can only happen when accessing a register that uses a gdbarch-defined
11711 union type.
11712 @end table
11713
11714 @node Fortran Defaults
11715 @subsubsection Fortran Defaults
11716
11717 @cindex Fortran Defaults
11718
11719 Fortran symbols are usually case-insensitive, so @value{GDBN} by
11720 default uses case-insensitive matches for Fortran symbols. You can
11721 change that with the @samp{set case-insensitive} command, see
11722 @ref{Symbols}, for the details.
11723
11724 @node Special Fortran Commands
11725 @subsubsection Special Fortran Commands
11726
11727 @cindex Special Fortran commands
11728
11729 @value{GDBN} has some commands to support Fortran-specific features,
11730 such as displaying common blocks.
11731
11732 @table @code
11733 @cindex @code{COMMON} blocks, Fortran
11734 @kindex info common
11735 @item info common @r{[}@var{common-name}@r{]}
11736 This command prints the values contained in the Fortran @code{COMMON}
11737 block whose name is @var{common-name}. With no argument, the names of
11738 all @code{COMMON} blocks visible at the current program location are
11739 printed.
11740 @end table
11741
11742 @node Pascal
11743 @subsection Pascal
11744
11745 @cindex Pascal support in @value{GDBN}, limitations
11746 Debugging Pascal programs which use sets, subranges, file variables, or
11747 nested functions does not currently work. @value{GDBN} does not support
11748 entering expressions, printing values, or similar features using Pascal
11749 syntax.
11750
11751 The Pascal-specific command @code{set print pascal_static-members}
11752 controls whether static members of Pascal objects are displayed.
11753 @xref{Print Settings, pascal_static-members}.
11754
11755 @node Modula-2
11756 @subsection Modula-2
11757
11758 @cindex Modula-2, @value{GDBN} support
11759
11760 The extensions made to @value{GDBN} to support Modula-2 only support
11761 output from the @sc{gnu} Modula-2 compiler (which is currently being
11762 developed). Other Modula-2 compilers are not currently supported, and
11763 attempting to debug executables produced by them is most likely
11764 to give an error as @value{GDBN} reads in the executable's symbol
11765 table.
11766
11767 @cindex expressions in Modula-2
11768 @menu
11769 * M2 Operators:: Built-in operators
11770 * Built-In Func/Proc:: Built-in functions and procedures
11771 * M2 Constants:: Modula-2 constants
11772 * M2 Types:: Modula-2 types
11773 * M2 Defaults:: Default settings for Modula-2
11774 * Deviations:: Deviations from standard Modula-2
11775 * M2 Checks:: Modula-2 type and range checks
11776 * M2 Scope:: The scope operators @code{::} and @code{.}
11777 * GDB/M2:: @value{GDBN} and Modula-2
11778 @end menu
11779
11780 @node M2 Operators
11781 @subsubsection Operators
11782 @cindex Modula-2 operators
11783
11784 Operators must be defined on values of specific types. For instance,
11785 @code{+} is defined on numbers, but not on structures. Operators are
11786 often defined on groups of types. For the purposes of Modula-2, the
11787 following definitions hold:
11788
11789 @itemize @bullet
11790
11791 @item
11792 @emph{Integral types} consist of @code{INTEGER}, @code{CARDINAL}, and
11793 their subranges.
11794
11795 @item
11796 @emph{Character types} consist of @code{CHAR} and its subranges.
11797
11798 @item
11799 @emph{Floating-point types} consist of @code{REAL}.
11800
11801 @item
11802 @emph{Pointer types} consist of anything declared as @code{POINTER TO
11803 @var{type}}.
11804
11805 @item
11806 @emph{Scalar types} consist of all of the above.
11807
11808 @item
11809 @emph{Set types} consist of @code{SET} and @code{BITSET} types.
11810
11811 @item
11812 @emph{Boolean types} consist of @code{BOOLEAN}.
11813 @end itemize
11814
11815 @noindent
11816 The following operators are supported, and appear in order of
11817 increasing precedence:
11818
11819 @table @code
11820 @item ,
11821 Function argument or array index separator.
11822
11823 @item :=
11824 Assignment. The value of @var{var} @code{:=} @var{value} is
11825 @var{value}.
11826
11827 @item <@r{, }>
11828 Less than, greater than on integral, floating-point, or enumerated
11829 types.
11830
11831 @item <=@r{, }>=
11832 Less than or equal to, greater than or equal to
11833 on integral, floating-point and enumerated types, or set inclusion on
11834 set types. Same precedence as @code{<}.
11835
11836 @item =@r{, }<>@r{, }#
11837 Equality and two ways of expressing inequality, valid on scalar types.
11838 Same precedence as @code{<}. In @value{GDBN} scripts, only @code{<>} is
11839 available for inequality, since @code{#} conflicts with the script
11840 comment character.
11841
11842 @item IN
11843 Set membership. Defined on set types and the types of their members.
11844 Same precedence as @code{<}.
11845
11846 @item OR
11847 Boolean disjunction. Defined on boolean types.
11848
11849 @item AND@r{, }&
11850 Boolean conjunction. Defined on boolean types.
11851
11852 @item @@
11853 The @value{GDBN} ``artificial array'' operator (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}).
11854
11855 @item +@r{, }-
11856 Addition and subtraction on integral and floating-point types, or union
11857 and difference on set types.
11858
11859 @item *
11860 Multiplication on integral and floating-point types, or set intersection
11861 on set types.
11862
11863 @item /
11864 Division on floating-point types, or symmetric set difference on set
11865 types. Same precedence as @code{*}.
11866
11867 @item DIV@r{, }MOD
11868 Integer division and remainder. Defined on integral types. Same
11869 precedence as @code{*}.
11870
11871 @item -
11872 Negative. Defined on @code{INTEGER} and @code{REAL} data.
11873
11874 @item ^
11875 Pointer dereferencing. Defined on pointer types.
11876
11877 @item NOT
11878 Boolean negation. Defined on boolean types. Same precedence as
11879 @code{^}.
11880
11881 @item .
11882 @code{RECORD} field selector. Defined on @code{RECORD} data. Same
11883 precedence as @code{^}.
11884
11885 @item []
11886 Array indexing. Defined on @code{ARRAY} data. Same precedence as @code{^}.
11887
11888 @item ()
11889 Procedure argument list. Defined on @code{PROCEDURE} objects. Same precedence
11890 as @code{^}.
11891
11892 @item ::@r{, }.
11893 @value{GDBN} and Modula-2 scope operators.
11894 @end table
11895
11896 @quotation
11897 @emph{Warning:} Set expressions and their operations are not yet supported, so @value{GDBN}
11898 treats the use of the operator @code{IN}, or the use of operators
11899 @code{+}, @code{-}, @code{*}, @code{/}, @code{=}, , @code{<>}, @code{#},
11900 @code{<=}, and @code{>=} on sets as an error.
11901 @end quotation
11902
11903
11904 @node Built-In Func/Proc
11905 @subsubsection Built-in Functions and Procedures
11906 @cindex Modula-2 built-ins
11907
11908 Modula-2 also makes available several built-in procedures and functions.
11909 In describing these, the following metavariables are used:
11910
11911 @table @var
11912
11913 @item a
11914 represents an @code{ARRAY} variable.
11915
11916 @item c
11917 represents a @code{CHAR} constant or variable.
11918
11919 @item i
11920 represents a variable or constant of integral type.
11921
11922 @item m
11923 represents an identifier that belongs to a set. Generally used in the
11924 same function with the metavariable @var{s}. The type of @var{s} should
11925 be @code{SET OF @var{mtype}} (where @var{mtype} is the type of @var{m}).
11926
11927 @item n
11928 represents a variable or constant of integral or floating-point type.
11929
11930 @item r
11931 represents a variable or constant of floating-point type.
11932
11933 @item t
11934 represents a type.
11935
11936 @item v
11937 represents a variable.
11938
11939 @item x
11940 represents a variable or constant of one of many types. See the
11941 explanation of the function for details.
11942 @end table
11943
11944 All Modula-2 built-in procedures also return a result, described below.
11945
11946 @table @code
11947 @item ABS(@var{n})
11948 Returns the absolute value of @var{n}.
11949
11950 @item CAP(@var{c})
11951 If @var{c} is a lower case letter, it returns its upper case
11952 equivalent, otherwise it returns its argument.
11953
11954 @item CHR(@var{i})
11955 Returns the character whose ordinal value is @var{i}.
11956
11957 @item DEC(@var{v})
11958 Decrements the value in the variable @var{v} by one. Returns the new value.
11959
11960 @item DEC(@var{v},@var{i})
11961 Decrements the value in the variable @var{v} by @var{i}. Returns the
11962 new value.
11963
11964 @item EXCL(@var{m},@var{s})
11965 Removes the element @var{m} from the set @var{s}. Returns the new
11966 set.
11967
11968 @item FLOAT(@var{i})
11969 Returns the floating point equivalent of the integer @var{i}.
11970
11971 @item HIGH(@var{a})
11972 Returns the index of the last member of @var{a}.
11973
11974 @item INC(@var{v})
11975 Increments the value in the variable @var{v} by one. Returns the new value.
11976
11977 @item INC(@var{v},@var{i})
11978 Increments the value in the variable @var{v} by @var{i}. Returns the
11979 new value.
11980
11981 @item INCL(@var{m},@var{s})
11982 Adds the element @var{m} to the set @var{s} if it is not already
11983 there. Returns the new set.
11984
11985 @item MAX(@var{t})
11986 Returns the maximum value of the type @var{t}.
11987
11988 @item MIN(@var{t})
11989 Returns the minimum value of the type @var{t}.
11990
11991 @item ODD(@var{i})
11992 Returns boolean TRUE if @var{i} is an odd number.
11993
11994 @item ORD(@var{x})
11995 Returns the ordinal value of its argument. For example, the ordinal
11996 value of a character is its @sc{ascii} value (on machines supporting the
11997 @sc{ascii} character set). @var{x} must be of an ordered type, which include
11998 integral, character and enumerated types.
11999
12000 @item SIZE(@var{x})
12001 Returns the size of its argument. @var{x} can be a variable or a type.
12002
12003 @item TRUNC(@var{r})
12004 Returns the integral part of @var{r}.
12005
12006 @item TSIZE(@var{x})
12007 Returns the size of its argument. @var{x} can be a variable or a type.
12008
12009 @item VAL(@var{t},@var{i})
12010 Returns the member of the type @var{t} whose ordinal value is @var{i}.
12011 @end table
12012
12013 @quotation
12014 @emph{Warning:} Sets and their operations are not yet supported, so
12015 @value{GDBN} treats the use of procedures @code{INCL} and @code{EXCL} as
12016 an error.
12017 @end quotation
12018
12019 @cindex Modula-2 constants
12020 @node M2 Constants
12021 @subsubsection Constants
12022
12023 @value{GDBN} allows you to express the constants of Modula-2 in the following
12024 ways:
12025
12026 @itemize @bullet
12027
12028 @item
12029 Integer constants are simply a sequence of digits. When used in an
12030 expression, a constant is interpreted to be type-compatible with the
12031 rest of the expression. Hexadecimal integers are specified by a
12032 trailing @samp{H}, and octal integers by a trailing @samp{B}.
12033
12034 @item
12035 Floating point constants appear as a sequence of digits, followed by a
12036 decimal point and another sequence of digits. An optional exponent can
12037 then be specified, in the form @samp{E@r{[}+@r{|}-@r{]}@var{nnn}}, where
12038 @samp{@r{[}+@r{|}-@r{]}@var{nnn}} is the desired exponent. All of the
12039 digits of the floating point constant must be valid decimal (base 10)
12040 digits.
12041
12042 @item
12043 Character constants consist of a single character enclosed by a pair of
12044 like quotes, either single (@code{'}) or double (@code{"}). They may
12045 also be expressed by their ordinal value (their @sc{ascii} value, usually)
12046 followed by a @samp{C}.
12047
12048 @item
12049 String constants consist of a sequence of characters enclosed by a
12050 pair of like quotes, either single (@code{'}) or double (@code{"}).
12051 Escape sequences in the style of C are also allowed. @xref{C
12052 Constants, ,C and C@t{++} Constants}, for a brief explanation of escape
12053 sequences.
12054
12055 @item
12056 Enumerated constants consist of an enumerated identifier.
12057
12058 @item
12059 Boolean constants consist of the identifiers @code{TRUE} and
12060 @code{FALSE}.
12061
12062 @item
12063 Pointer constants consist of integral values only.
12064
12065 @item
12066 Set constants are not yet supported.
12067 @end itemize
12068
12069 @node M2 Types
12070 @subsubsection Modula-2 Types
12071 @cindex Modula-2 types
12072
12073 Currently @value{GDBN} can print the following data types in Modula-2
12074 syntax: array types, record types, set types, pointer types, procedure
12075 types, enumerated types, subrange types and base types. You can also
12076 print the contents of variables declared using these type.
12077 This section gives a number of simple source code examples together with
12078 sample @value{GDBN} sessions.
12079
12080 The first example contains the following section of code:
12081
12082 @smallexample
12083 VAR
12084 s: SET OF CHAR ;
12085 r: [20..40] ;
12086 @end smallexample
12087
12088 @noindent
12089 and you can request @value{GDBN} to interrogate the type and value of
12090 @code{r} and @code{s}.
12091
12092 @smallexample
12093 (@value{GDBP}) print s
12094 @{'A'..'C', 'Z'@}
12095 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
12096 SET OF CHAR
12097 (@value{GDBP}) print r
12098 21
12099 (@value{GDBP}) ptype r
12100 [20..40]
12101 @end smallexample
12102
12103 @noindent
12104 Likewise if your source code declares @code{s} as:
12105
12106 @smallexample
12107 VAR
12108 s: SET ['A'..'Z'] ;
12109 @end smallexample
12110
12111 @noindent
12112 then you may query the type of @code{s} by:
12113
12114 @smallexample
12115 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
12116 type = SET ['A'..'Z']
12117 @end smallexample
12118
12119 @noindent
12120 Note that at present you cannot interactively manipulate set
12121 expressions using the debugger.
12122
12123 The following example shows how you might declare an array in Modula-2
12124 and how you can interact with @value{GDBN} to print its type and contents:
12125
12126 @smallexample
12127 VAR
12128 s: ARRAY [-10..10] OF CHAR ;
12129 @end smallexample
12130
12131 @smallexample
12132 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
12133 ARRAY [-10..10] OF CHAR
12134 @end smallexample
12135
12136 Note that the array handling is not yet complete and although the type
12137 is printed correctly, expression handling still assumes that all
12138 arrays have a lower bound of zero and not @code{-10} as in the example
12139 above.
12140
12141 Here are some more type related Modula-2 examples:
12142
12143 @smallexample
12144 TYPE
12145 colour = (blue, red, yellow, green) ;
12146 t = [blue..yellow] ;
12147 VAR
12148 s: t ;
12149 BEGIN
12150 s := blue ;
12151 @end smallexample
12152
12153 @noindent
12154 The @value{GDBN} interaction shows how you can query the data type
12155 and value of a variable.
12156
12157 @smallexample
12158 (@value{GDBP}) print s
12159 $1 = blue
12160 (@value{GDBP}) ptype t
12161 type = [blue..yellow]
12162 @end smallexample
12163
12164 @noindent
12165 In this example a Modula-2 array is declared and its contents
12166 displayed. Observe that the contents are written in the same way as
12167 their @code{C} counterparts.
12168
12169 @smallexample
12170 VAR
12171 s: ARRAY [1..5] OF CARDINAL ;
12172 BEGIN
12173 s[1] := 1 ;
12174 @end smallexample
12175
12176 @smallexample
12177 (@value{GDBP}) print s
12178 $1 = @{1, 0, 0, 0, 0@}
12179 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
12180 type = ARRAY [1..5] OF CARDINAL
12181 @end smallexample
12182
12183 The Modula-2 language interface to @value{GDBN} also understands
12184 pointer types as shown in this example:
12185
12186 @smallexample
12187 VAR
12188 s: POINTER TO ARRAY [1..5] OF CARDINAL ;
12189 BEGIN
12190 NEW(s) ;
12191 s^[1] := 1 ;
12192 @end smallexample
12193
12194 @noindent
12195 and you can request that @value{GDBN} describes the type of @code{s}.
12196
12197 @smallexample
12198 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
12199 type = POINTER TO ARRAY [1..5] OF CARDINAL
12200 @end smallexample
12201
12202 @value{GDBN} handles compound types as we can see in this example.
12203 Here we combine array types, record types, pointer types and subrange
12204 types:
12205
12206 @smallexample
12207 TYPE
12208 foo = RECORD
12209 f1: CARDINAL ;
12210 f2: CHAR ;
12211 f3: myarray ;
12212 END ;
12213
12214 myarray = ARRAY myrange OF CARDINAL ;
12215 myrange = [-2..2] ;
12216 VAR
12217 s: POINTER TO ARRAY myrange OF foo ;
12218 @end smallexample
12219
12220 @noindent
12221 and you can ask @value{GDBN} to describe the type of @code{s} as shown
12222 below.
12223
12224 @smallexample
12225 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
12226 type = POINTER TO ARRAY [-2..2] OF foo = RECORD
12227 f1 : CARDINAL;
12228 f2 : CHAR;
12229 f3 : ARRAY [-2..2] OF CARDINAL;
12230 END
12231 @end smallexample
12232
12233 @node M2 Defaults
12234 @subsubsection Modula-2 Defaults
12235 @cindex Modula-2 defaults
12236
12237 If type and range checking are set automatically by @value{GDBN}, they
12238 both default to @code{on} whenever the working language changes to
12239 Modula-2. This happens regardless of whether you or @value{GDBN}
12240 selected the working language.
12241
12242 If you allow @value{GDBN} to set the language automatically, then entering
12243 code compiled from a file whose name ends with @file{.mod} sets the
12244 working language to Modula-2. @xref{Automatically, ,Having @value{GDBN}
12245 Infer the Source Language}, for further details.
12246
12247 @node Deviations
12248 @subsubsection Deviations from Standard Modula-2
12249 @cindex Modula-2, deviations from
12250
12251 A few changes have been made to make Modula-2 programs easier to debug.
12252 This is done primarily via loosening its type strictness:
12253
12254 @itemize @bullet
12255 @item
12256 Unlike in standard Modula-2, pointer constants can be formed by
12257 integers. This allows you to modify pointer variables during
12258 debugging. (In standard Modula-2, the actual address contained in a
12259 pointer variable is hidden from you; it can only be modified
12260 through direct assignment to another pointer variable or expression that
12261 returned a pointer.)
12262
12263 @item
12264 C escape sequences can be used in strings and characters to represent
12265 non-printable characters. @value{GDBN} prints out strings with these
12266 escape sequences embedded. Single non-printable characters are
12267 printed using the @samp{CHR(@var{nnn})} format.
12268
12269 @item
12270 The assignment operator (@code{:=}) returns the value of its right-hand
12271 argument.
12272
12273 @item
12274 All built-in procedures both modify @emph{and} return their argument.
12275 @end itemize
12276
12277 @node M2 Checks
12278 @subsubsection Modula-2 Type and Range Checks
12279 @cindex Modula-2 checks
12280
12281 @quotation
12282 @emph{Warning:} in this release, @value{GDBN} does not yet perform type or
12283 range checking.
12284 @end quotation
12285 @c FIXME remove warning when type/range checks added
12286
12287 @value{GDBN} considers two Modula-2 variables type equivalent if:
12288
12289 @itemize @bullet
12290 @item
12291 They are of types that have been declared equivalent via a @code{TYPE
12292 @var{t1} = @var{t2}} statement
12293
12294 @item
12295 They have been declared on the same line. (Note: This is true of the
12296 @sc{gnu} Modula-2 compiler, but it may not be true of other compilers.)
12297 @end itemize
12298
12299 As long as type checking is enabled, any attempt to combine variables
12300 whose types are not equivalent is an error.
12301
12302 Range checking is done on all mathematical operations, assignment, array
12303 index bounds, and all built-in functions and procedures.
12304
12305 @node M2 Scope
12306 @subsubsection The Scope Operators @code{::} and @code{.}
12307 @cindex scope
12308 @cindex @code{.}, Modula-2 scope operator
12309 @cindex colon, doubled as scope operator
12310 @ifinfo
12311 @vindex colon-colon@r{, in Modula-2}
12312 @c Info cannot handle :: but TeX can.
12313 @end ifinfo
12314 @ifnotinfo
12315 @vindex ::@r{, in Modula-2}
12316 @end ifnotinfo
12317
12318 There are a few subtle differences between the Modula-2 scope operator
12319 (@code{.}) and the @value{GDBN} scope operator (@code{::}). The two have
12320 similar syntax:
12321
12322 @smallexample
12323
12324 @var{module} . @var{id}
12325 @var{scope} :: @var{id}
12326 @end smallexample
12327
12328 @noindent
12329 where @var{scope} is the name of a module or a procedure,
12330 @var{module} the name of a module, and @var{id} is any declared
12331 identifier within your program, except another module.
12332
12333 Using the @code{::} operator makes @value{GDBN} search the scope
12334 specified by @var{scope} for the identifier @var{id}. If it is not
12335 found in the specified scope, then @value{GDBN} searches all scopes
12336 enclosing the one specified by @var{scope}.
12337
12338 Using the @code{.} operator makes @value{GDBN} search the current scope for
12339 the identifier specified by @var{id} that was imported from the
12340 definition module specified by @var{module}. With this operator, it is
12341 an error if the identifier @var{id} was not imported from definition
12342 module @var{module}, or if @var{id} is not an identifier in
12343 @var{module}.
12344
12345 @node GDB/M2
12346 @subsubsection @value{GDBN} and Modula-2
12347
12348 Some @value{GDBN} commands have little use when debugging Modula-2 programs.
12349 Five subcommands of @code{set print} and @code{show print} apply
12350 specifically to C and C@t{++}: @samp{vtbl}, @samp{demangle},
12351 @samp{asm-demangle}, @samp{object}, and @samp{union}. The first four
12352 apply to C@t{++}, and the last to the C @code{union} type, which has no direct
12353 analogue in Modula-2.
12354
12355 The @code{@@} operator (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}), while available
12356 with any language, is not useful with Modula-2. Its
12357 intent is to aid the debugging of @dfn{dynamic arrays}, which cannot be
12358 created in Modula-2 as they can in C or C@t{++}. However, because an
12359 address can be specified by an integral constant, the construct
12360 @samp{@{@var{type}@}@var{adrexp}} is still useful.
12361
12362 @cindex @code{#} in Modula-2
12363 In @value{GDBN} scripts, the Modula-2 inequality operator @code{#} is
12364 interpreted as the beginning of a comment. Use @code{<>} instead.
12365
12366 @node Ada
12367 @subsection Ada
12368 @cindex Ada
12369
12370 The extensions made to @value{GDBN} for Ada only support
12371 output from the @sc{gnu} Ada (GNAT) compiler.
12372 Other Ada compilers are not currently supported, and
12373 attempting to debug executables produced by them is most likely
12374 to be difficult.
12375
12376
12377 @cindex expressions in Ada
12378 @menu
12379 * Ada Mode Intro:: General remarks on the Ada syntax
12380 and semantics supported by Ada mode
12381 in @value{GDBN}.
12382 * Omissions from Ada:: Restrictions on the Ada expression syntax.
12383 * Additions to Ada:: Extensions of the Ada expression syntax.
12384 * Stopping Before Main Program:: Debugging the program during elaboration.
12385 * Ada Tasks:: Listing and setting breakpoints in tasks.
12386 * Ada Tasks and Core Files:: Tasking Support when Debugging Core Files
12387 * Ada Glitches:: Known peculiarities of Ada mode.
12388 @end menu
12389
12390 @node Ada Mode Intro
12391 @subsubsection Introduction
12392 @cindex Ada mode, general
12393
12394 The Ada mode of @value{GDBN} supports a fairly large subset of Ada expression
12395 syntax, with some extensions.
12396 The philosophy behind the design of this subset is
12397
12398 @itemize @bullet
12399 @item
12400 That @value{GDBN} should provide basic literals and access to operations for
12401 arithmetic, dereferencing, field selection, indexing, and subprogram calls,
12402 leaving more sophisticated computations to subprograms written into the
12403 program (which therefore may be called from @value{GDBN}).
12404
12405 @item
12406 That type safety and strict adherence to Ada language restrictions
12407 are not particularly important to the @value{GDBN} user.
12408
12409 @item
12410 That brevity is important to the @value{GDBN} user.
12411 @end itemize
12412
12413 Thus, for brevity, the debugger acts as if all names declared in
12414 user-written packages are directly visible, even if they are not visible
12415 according to Ada rules, thus making it unnecessary to fully qualify most
12416 names with their packages, regardless of context. Where this causes
12417 ambiguity, @value{GDBN} asks the user's intent.
12418
12419 The debugger will start in Ada mode if it detects an Ada main program.
12420 As for other languages, it will enter Ada mode when stopped in a program that
12421 was translated from an Ada source file.
12422
12423 While in Ada mode, you may use `@t{--}' for comments. This is useful
12424 mostly for documenting command files. The standard @value{GDBN} comment
12425 (@samp{#}) still works at the beginning of a line in Ada mode, but not in the
12426 middle (to allow based literals).
12427
12428 The debugger supports limited overloading. Given a subprogram call in which
12429 the function symbol has multiple definitions, it will use the number of
12430 actual parameters and some information about their types to attempt to narrow
12431 the set of definitions. It also makes very limited use of context, preferring
12432 procedures to functions in the context of the @code{call} command, and
12433 functions to procedures elsewhere.
12434
12435 @node Omissions from Ada
12436 @subsubsection Omissions from Ada
12437 @cindex Ada, omissions from
12438
12439 Here are the notable omissions from the subset:
12440
12441 @itemize @bullet
12442 @item
12443 Only a subset of the attributes are supported:
12444
12445 @itemize @minus
12446 @item
12447 @t{'First}, @t{'Last}, and @t{'Length}
12448 on array objects (not on types and subtypes).
12449
12450 @item
12451 @t{'Min} and @t{'Max}.
12452
12453 @item
12454 @t{'Pos} and @t{'Val}.
12455
12456 @item
12457 @t{'Tag}.
12458
12459 @item
12460 @t{'Range} on array objects (not subtypes), but only as the right
12461 operand of the membership (@code{in}) operator.
12462
12463 @item
12464 @t{'Access}, @t{'Unchecked_Access}, and
12465 @t{'Unrestricted_Access} (a GNAT extension).
12466
12467 @item
12468 @t{'Address}.
12469 @end itemize
12470
12471 @item
12472 The names in
12473 @code{Characters.Latin_1} are not available and
12474 concatenation is not implemented. Thus, escape characters in strings are
12475 not currently available.
12476
12477 @item
12478 Equality tests (@samp{=} and @samp{/=}) on arrays test for bitwise
12479 equality of representations. They will generally work correctly
12480 for strings and arrays whose elements have integer or enumeration types.
12481 They may not work correctly for arrays whose element
12482 types have user-defined equality, for arrays of real values
12483 (in particular, IEEE-conformant floating point, because of negative
12484 zeroes and NaNs), and for arrays whose elements contain unused bits with
12485 indeterminate values.
12486
12487 @item
12488 The other component-by-component array operations (@code{and}, @code{or},
12489 @code{xor}, @code{not}, and relational tests other than equality)
12490 are not implemented.
12491
12492 @item
12493 @cindex array aggregates (Ada)
12494 @cindex record aggregates (Ada)
12495 @cindex aggregates (Ada)
12496 There is limited support for array and record aggregates. They are
12497 permitted only on the right sides of assignments, as in these examples:
12498
12499 @smallexample
12500 (@value{GDBP}) set An_Array := (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
12501 (@value{GDBP}) set An_Array := (1, others => 0)
12502 (@value{GDBP}) set An_Array := (0|4 => 1, 1..3 => 2, 5 => 6)
12503 (@value{GDBP}) set A_2D_Array := ((1, 2, 3), (4, 5, 6), (7, 8, 9))
12504 (@value{GDBP}) set A_Record := (1, "Peter", True);
12505 (@value{GDBP}) set A_Record := (Name => "Peter", Id => 1, Alive => True)
12506 @end smallexample
12507
12508 Changing a
12509 discriminant's value by assigning an aggregate has an
12510 undefined effect if that discriminant is used within the record.
12511 However, you can first modify discriminants by directly assigning to
12512 them (which normally would not be allowed in Ada), and then performing an
12513 aggregate assignment. For example, given a variable @code{A_Rec}
12514 declared to have a type such as:
12515
12516 @smallexample
12517 type Rec (Len : Small_Integer := 0) is record
12518 Id : Integer;
12519 Vals : IntArray (1 .. Len);
12520 end record;
12521 @end smallexample
12522
12523 you can assign a value with a different size of @code{Vals} with two
12524 assignments:
12525
12526 @smallexample
12527 (@value{GDBP}) set A_Rec.Len := 4
12528 (@value{GDBP}) set A_Rec := (Id => 42, Vals => (1, 2, 3, 4))
12529 @end smallexample
12530
12531 As this example also illustrates, @value{GDBN} is very loose about the usual
12532 rules concerning aggregates. You may leave out some of the
12533 components of an array or record aggregate (such as the @code{Len}
12534 component in the assignment to @code{A_Rec} above); they will retain their
12535 original values upon assignment. You may freely use dynamic values as
12536 indices in component associations. You may even use overlapping or
12537 redundant component associations, although which component values are
12538 assigned in such cases is not defined.
12539
12540 @item
12541 Calls to dispatching subprograms are not implemented.
12542
12543 @item
12544 The overloading algorithm is much more limited (i.e., less selective)
12545 than that of real Ada. It makes only limited use of the context in
12546 which a subexpression appears to resolve its meaning, and it is much
12547 looser in its rules for allowing type matches. As a result, some
12548 function calls will be ambiguous, and the user will be asked to choose
12549 the proper resolution.
12550
12551 @item
12552 The @code{new} operator is not implemented.
12553
12554 @item
12555 Entry calls are not implemented.
12556
12557 @item
12558 Aside from printing, arithmetic operations on the native VAX floating-point
12559 formats are not supported.
12560
12561 @item
12562 It is not possible to slice a packed array.
12563
12564 @item
12565 The names @code{True} and @code{False}, when not part of a qualified name,
12566 are interpreted as if implicitly prefixed by @code{Standard}, regardless of
12567 context.
12568 Should your program
12569 redefine these names in a package or procedure (at best a dubious practice),
12570 you will have to use fully qualified names to access their new definitions.
12571 @end itemize
12572
12573 @node Additions to Ada
12574 @subsubsection Additions to Ada
12575 @cindex Ada, deviations from
12576
12577 As it does for other languages, @value{GDBN} makes certain generic
12578 extensions to Ada (@pxref{Expressions}):
12579
12580 @itemize @bullet
12581 @item
12582 If the expression @var{E} is a variable residing in memory (typically
12583 a local variable or array element) and @var{N} is a positive integer,
12584 then @code{@var{E}@@@var{N}} displays the values of @var{E} and the
12585 @var{N}-1 adjacent variables following it in memory as an array. In
12586 Ada, this operator is generally not necessary, since its prime use is
12587 in displaying parts of an array, and slicing will usually do this in
12588 Ada. However, there are occasional uses when debugging programs in
12589 which certain debugging information has been optimized away.
12590
12591 @item
12592 @code{@var{B}::@var{var}} means ``the variable named @var{var} that
12593 appears in function or file @var{B}.'' When @var{B} is a file name,
12594 you must typically surround it in single quotes.
12595
12596 @item
12597 The expression @code{@{@var{type}@} @var{addr}} means ``the variable of type
12598 @var{type} that appears at address @var{addr}.''
12599
12600 @item
12601 A name starting with @samp{$} is a convenience variable
12602 (@pxref{Convenience Vars}) or a machine register (@pxref{Registers}).
12603 @end itemize
12604
12605 In addition, @value{GDBN} provides a few other shortcuts and outright
12606 additions specific to Ada:
12607
12608 @itemize @bullet
12609 @item
12610 The assignment statement is allowed as an expression, returning
12611 its right-hand operand as its value. Thus, you may enter
12612
12613 @smallexample
12614 (@value{GDBP}) set x := y + 3
12615 (@value{GDBP}) print A(tmp := y + 1)
12616 @end smallexample
12617
12618 @item
12619 The semicolon is allowed as an ``operator,'' returning as its value
12620 the value of its right-hand operand.
12621 This allows, for example,
12622 complex conditional breaks:
12623
12624 @smallexample
12625 (@value{GDBP}) break f
12626 (@value{GDBP}) condition 1 (report(i); k += 1; A(k) > 100)
12627 @end smallexample
12628
12629 @item
12630 Rather than use catenation and symbolic character names to introduce special
12631 characters into strings, one may instead use a special bracket notation,
12632 which is also used to print strings. A sequence of characters of the form
12633 @samp{["@var{XX}"]} within a string or character literal denotes the
12634 (single) character whose numeric encoding is @var{XX} in hexadecimal. The
12635 sequence of characters @samp{["""]} also denotes a single quotation mark
12636 in strings. For example,
12637 @smallexample
12638 "One line.["0a"]Next line.["0a"]"
12639 @end smallexample
12640 @noindent
12641 contains an ASCII newline character (@code{Ada.Characters.Latin_1.LF})
12642 after each period.
12643
12644 @item
12645 The subtype used as a prefix for the attributes @t{'Pos}, @t{'Min}, and
12646 @t{'Max} is optional (and is ignored in any case). For example, it is valid
12647 to write
12648
12649 @smallexample
12650 (@value{GDBP}) print 'max(x, y)
12651 @end smallexample
12652
12653 @item
12654 When printing arrays, @value{GDBN} uses positional notation when the
12655 array has a lower bound of 1, and uses a modified named notation otherwise.
12656 For example, a one-dimensional array of three integers with a lower bound
12657 of 3 might print as
12658
12659 @smallexample
12660 (3 => 10, 17, 1)
12661 @end smallexample
12662
12663 @noindent
12664 That is, in contrast to valid Ada, only the first component has a @code{=>}
12665 clause.
12666
12667 @item
12668 You may abbreviate attributes in expressions with any unique,
12669 multi-character subsequence of
12670 their names (an exact match gets preference).
12671 For example, you may use @t{a'len}, @t{a'gth}, or @t{a'lh}
12672 in place of @t{a'length}.
12673
12674 @item
12675 @cindex quoting Ada internal identifiers
12676 Since Ada is case-insensitive, the debugger normally maps identifiers you type
12677 to lower case. The GNAT compiler uses upper-case characters for
12678 some of its internal identifiers, which are normally of no interest to users.
12679 For the rare occasions when you actually have to look at them,
12680 enclose them in angle brackets to avoid the lower-case mapping.
12681 For example,
12682 @smallexample
12683 (@value{GDBP}) print <JMPBUF_SAVE>[0]
12684 @end smallexample
12685
12686 @item
12687 Printing an object of class-wide type or dereferencing an
12688 access-to-class-wide value will display all the components of the object's
12689 specific type (as indicated by its run-time tag). Likewise, component
12690 selection on such a value will operate on the specific type of the
12691 object.
12692
12693 @end itemize
12694
12695 @node Stopping Before Main Program
12696 @subsubsection Stopping at the Very Beginning
12697
12698 @cindex breakpointing Ada elaboration code
12699 It is sometimes necessary to debug the program during elaboration, and
12700 before reaching the main procedure.
12701 As defined in the Ada Reference
12702 Manual, the elaboration code is invoked from a procedure called
12703 @code{adainit}. To run your program up to the beginning of
12704 elaboration, simply use the following two commands:
12705 @code{tbreak adainit} and @code{run}.
12706
12707 @node Ada Tasks
12708 @subsubsection Extensions for Ada Tasks
12709 @cindex Ada, tasking
12710
12711 Support for Ada tasks is analogous to that for threads (@pxref{Threads}).
12712 @value{GDBN} provides the following task-related commands:
12713
12714 @table @code
12715 @kindex info tasks
12716 @item info tasks
12717 This command shows a list of current Ada tasks, as in the following example:
12718
12719
12720 @smallexample
12721 @iftex
12722 @leftskip=0.5cm
12723 @end iftex
12724 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
12725 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
12726 1 8088000 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
12727 2 80a4000 1 15 Accept Statement b
12728 3 809a800 1 15 Child Activation Wait a
12729 * 4 80ae800 3 15 Runnable c
12730
12731 @end smallexample
12732
12733 @noindent
12734 In this listing, the asterisk before the last task indicates it to be the
12735 task currently being inspected.
12736
12737 @table @asis
12738 @item ID
12739 Represents @value{GDBN}'s internal task number.
12740
12741 @item TID
12742 The Ada task ID.
12743
12744 @item P-ID
12745 The parent's task ID (@value{GDBN}'s internal task number).
12746
12747 @item Pri
12748 The base priority of the task.
12749
12750 @item State
12751 Current state of the task.
12752
12753 @table @code
12754 @item Unactivated
12755 The task has been created but has not been activated. It cannot be
12756 executing.
12757
12758 @item Runnable
12759 The task is not blocked for any reason known to Ada. (It may be waiting
12760 for a mutex, though.) It is conceptually "executing" in normal mode.
12761
12762 @item Terminated
12763 The task is terminated, in the sense of ARM 9.3 (5). Any dependents
12764 that were waiting on terminate alternatives have been awakened and have
12765 terminated themselves.
12766
12767 @item Child Activation Wait
12768 The task is waiting for created tasks to complete activation.
12769
12770 @item Accept Statement
12771 The task is waiting on an accept or selective wait statement.
12772
12773 @item Waiting on entry call
12774 The task is waiting on an entry call.
12775
12776 @item Async Select Wait
12777 The task is waiting to start the abortable part of an asynchronous
12778 select statement.
12779
12780 @item Delay Sleep
12781 The task is waiting on a select statement with only a delay
12782 alternative open.
12783
12784 @item Child Termination Wait
12785 The task is sleeping having completed a master within itself, and is
12786 waiting for the tasks dependent on that master to become terminated or
12787 waiting on a terminate Phase.
12788
12789 @item Wait Child in Term Alt
12790 The task is sleeping waiting for tasks on terminate alternatives to
12791 finish terminating.
12792
12793 @item Accepting RV with @var{taskno}
12794 The task is accepting a rendez-vous with the task @var{taskno}.
12795 @end table
12796
12797 @item Name
12798 Name of the task in the program.
12799
12800 @end table
12801
12802 @kindex info task @var{taskno}
12803 @item info task @var{taskno}
12804 This command shows detailled informations on the specified task, as in
12805 the following example:
12806 @smallexample
12807 @iftex
12808 @leftskip=0.5cm
12809 @end iftex
12810 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
12811 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
12812 1 8077880 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
12813 * 2 807c468 1 15 Runnable task_1
12814 (@value{GDBP}) info task 2
12815 Ada Task: 0x807c468
12816 Name: task_1
12817 Thread: 0x807f378
12818 Parent: 1 (main_task)
12819 Base Priority: 15
12820 State: Runnable
12821 @end smallexample
12822
12823 @item task
12824 @kindex task@r{ (Ada)}
12825 @cindex current Ada task ID
12826 This command prints the ID of the current task.
12827
12828 @smallexample
12829 @iftex
12830 @leftskip=0.5cm
12831 @end iftex
12832 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
12833 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
12834 1 8077870 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
12835 * 2 807c458 1 15 Runnable t
12836 (@value{GDBP}) task
12837 [Current task is 2]
12838 @end smallexample
12839
12840 @item task @var{taskno}
12841 @cindex Ada task switching
12842 This command is like the @code{thread @var{threadno}}
12843 command (@pxref{Threads}). It switches the context of debugging
12844 from the current task to the given task.
12845
12846 @smallexample
12847 @iftex
12848 @leftskip=0.5cm
12849 @end iftex
12850 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
12851 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
12852 1 8077870 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
12853 * 2 807c458 1 15 Runnable t
12854 (@value{GDBP}) task 1
12855 [Switching to task 1]
12856 #0 0x8067726 in pthread_cond_wait ()
12857 (@value{GDBP}) bt
12858 #0 0x8067726 in pthread_cond_wait ()
12859 #1 0x8056714 in system.os_interface.pthread_cond_wait ()
12860 #2 0x805cb63 in system.task_primitives.operations.sleep ()
12861 #3 0x806153e in system.tasking.stages.activate_tasks ()
12862 #4 0x804aacc in un () at un.adb:5
12863 @end smallexample
12864
12865 @item break @var{linespec} task @var{taskno}
12866 @itemx break @var{linespec} task @var{taskno} if @dots{}
12867 @cindex breakpoints and tasks, in Ada
12868 @cindex task breakpoints, in Ada
12869 @kindex break @dots{} task @var{taskno}@r{ (Ada)}
12870 These commands are like the @code{break @dots{} thread @dots{}}
12871 command (@pxref{Thread Stops}).
12872 @var{linespec} specifies source lines, as described
12873 in @ref{Specify Location}.
12874
12875 Use the qualifier @samp{task @var{taskno}} with a breakpoint command
12876 to specify that you only want @value{GDBN} to stop the program when a
12877 particular Ada task reaches this breakpoint. @var{taskno} is one of the
12878 numeric task identifiers assigned by @value{GDBN}, shown in the first
12879 column of the @samp{info tasks} display.
12880
12881 If you do not specify @samp{task @var{taskno}} when you set a
12882 breakpoint, the breakpoint applies to @emph{all} tasks of your
12883 program.
12884
12885 You can use the @code{task} qualifier on conditional breakpoints as
12886 well; in this case, place @samp{task @var{taskno}} before the
12887 breakpoint condition (before the @code{if}).
12888
12889 For example,
12890
12891 @smallexample
12892 @iftex
12893 @leftskip=0.5cm
12894 @end iftex
12895 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
12896 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
12897 1 140022020 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
12898 2 140045060 1 15 Accept/Select Wait t2
12899 3 140044840 1 15 Runnable t1
12900 * 4 140056040 1 15 Runnable t3
12901 (@value{GDBP}) b 15 task 2
12902 Breakpoint 5 at 0x120044cb0: file test_task_debug.adb, line 15.
12903 (@value{GDBP}) cont
12904 Continuing.
12905 task # 1 running
12906 task # 2 running
12907
12908 Breakpoint 5, test_task_debug () at test_task_debug.adb:15
12909 15 flush;
12910 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
12911 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
12912 1 140022020 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
12913 * 2 140045060 1 15 Runnable t2
12914 3 140044840 1 15 Runnable t1
12915 4 140056040 1 15 Delay Sleep t3
12916 @end smallexample
12917 @end table
12918
12919 @node Ada Tasks and Core Files
12920 @subsubsection Tasking Support when Debugging Core Files
12921 @cindex Ada tasking and core file debugging
12922
12923 When inspecting a core file, as opposed to debugging a live program,
12924 tasking support may be limited or even unavailable, depending on
12925 the platform being used.
12926 For instance, on x86-linux, the list of tasks is available, but task
12927 switching is not supported. On Tru64, however, task switching will work
12928 as usual.
12929
12930 On certain platforms, including Tru64, the debugger needs to perform some
12931 memory writes in order to provide Ada tasking support. When inspecting
12932 a core file, this means that the core file must be opened with read-write
12933 privileges, using the command @samp{"set write on"} (@pxref{Patching}).
12934 Under these circumstances, you should make a backup copy of the core
12935 file before inspecting it with @value{GDBN}.
12936
12937 @node Ada Glitches
12938 @subsubsection Known Peculiarities of Ada Mode
12939 @cindex Ada, problems
12940
12941 Besides the omissions listed previously (@pxref{Omissions from Ada}),
12942 we know of several problems with and limitations of Ada mode in
12943 @value{GDBN},
12944 some of which will be fixed with planned future releases of the debugger
12945 and the GNU Ada compiler.
12946
12947 @itemize @bullet
12948 @item
12949 Currently, the debugger
12950 has insufficient information to determine whether certain pointers represent
12951 pointers to objects or the objects themselves.
12952 Thus, the user may have to tack an extra @code{.all} after an expression
12953 to get it printed properly.
12954
12955 @item
12956 Static constants that the compiler chooses not to materialize as objects in
12957 storage are invisible to the debugger.
12958
12959 @item
12960 Named parameter associations in function argument lists are ignored (the
12961 argument lists are treated as positional).
12962
12963 @item
12964 Many useful library packages are currently invisible to the debugger.
12965
12966 @item
12967 Fixed-point arithmetic, conversions, input, and output is carried out using
12968 floating-point arithmetic, and may give results that only approximate those on
12969 the host machine.
12970
12971 @item
12972 The GNAT compiler never generates the prefix @code{Standard} for any of
12973 the standard symbols defined by the Ada language. @value{GDBN} knows about
12974 this: it will strip the prefix from names when you use it, and will never
12975 look for a name you have so qualified among local symbols, nor match against
12976 symbols in other packages or subprograms. If you have
12977 defined entities anywhere in your program other than parameters and
12978 local variables whose simple names match names in @code{Standard},
12979 GNAT's lack of qualification here can cause confusion. When this happens,
12980 you can usually resolve the confusion
12981 by qualifying the problematic names with package
12982 @code{Standard} explicitly.
12983 @end itemize
12984
12985 Older versions of the compiler sometimes generate erroneous debugging
12986 information, resulting in the debugger incorrectly printing the value
12987 of affected entities. In some cases, the debugger is able to work
12988 around an issue automatically. In other cases, the debugger is able
12989 to work around the issue, but the work-around has to be specifically
12990 enabled.
12991
12992 @kindex set ada trust-PAD-over-XVS
12993 @kindex show ada trust-PAD-over-XVS
12994 @table @code
12995
12996 @item set ada trust-PAD-over-XVS on
12997 Configure GDB to strictly follow the GNAT encoding when computing the
12998 value of Ada entities, particularly when @code{PAD} and @code{PAD___XVS}
12999 types are involved (see @code{ada/exp_dbug.ads} in the GCC sources for
13000 a complete description of the encoding used by the GNAT compiler).
13001 This is the default.
13002
13003 @item set ada trust-PAD-over-XVS off
13004 This is related to the encoding using by the GNAT compiler. If @value{GDBN}
13005 sometimes prints the wrong value for certain entities, changing @code{ada
13006 trust-PAD-over-XVS} to @code{off} activates a work-around which may fix
13007 the issue. It is always safe to set @code{ada trust-PAD-over-XVS} to
13008 @code{off}, but this incurs a slight performance penalty, so it is
13009 recommended to leave this setting to @code{on} unless necessary.
13010
13011 @end table
13012
13013 @node Unsupported Languages
13014 @section Unsupported Languages
13015
13016 @cindex unsupported languages
13017 @cindex minimal language
13018 In addition to the other fully-supported programming languages,
13019 @value{GDBN} also provides a pseudo-language, called @code{minimal}.
13020 It does not represent a real programming language, but provides a set
13021 of capabilities close to what the C or assembly languages provide.
13022 This should allow most simple operations to be performed while debugging
13023 an application that uses a language currently not supported by @value{GDBN}.
13024
13025 If the language is set to @code{auto}, @value{GDBN} will automatically
13026 select this language if the current frame corresponds to an unsupported
13027 language.
13028
13029 @node Symbols
13030 @chapter Examining the Symbol Table
13031
13032 The commands described in this chapter allow you to inquire about the
13033 symbols (names of variables, functions and types) defined in your
13034 program. This information is inherent in the text of your program and
13035 does not change as your program executes. @value{GDBN} finds it in your
13036 program's symbol table, in the file indicated when you started @value{GDBN}
13037 (@pxref{File Options, ,Choosing Files}), or by one of the
13038 file-management commands (@pxref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}).
13039
13040 @cindex symbol names
13041 @cindex names of symbols
13042 @cindex quoting names
13043 Occasionally, you may need to refer to symbols that contain unusual
13044 characters, which @value{GDBN} ordinarily treats as word delimiters. The
13045 most frequent case is in referring to static variables in other
13046 source files (@pxref{Variables,,Program Variables}). File names
13047 are recorded in object files as debugging symbols, but @value{GDBN} would
13048 ordinarily parse a typical file name, like @file{foo.c}, as the three words
13049 @samp{foo} @samp{.} @samp{c}. To allow @value{GDBN} to recognize
13050 @samp{foo.c} as a single symbol, enclose it in single quotes; for example,
13051
13052 @smallexample
13053 p 'foo.c'::x
13054 @end smallexample
13055
13056 @noindent
13057 looks up the value of @code{x} in the scope of the file @file{foo.c}.
13058
13059 @table @code
13060 @cindex case-insensitive symbol names
13061 @cindex case sensitivity in symbol names
13062 @kindex set case-sensitive
13063 @item set case-sensitive on
13064 @itemx set case-sensitive off
13065 @itemx set case-sensitive auto
13066 Normally, when @value{GDBN} looks up symbols, it matches their names
13067 with case sensitivity determined by the current source language.
13068 Occasionally, you may wish to control that. The command @code{set
13069 case-sensitive} lets you do that by specifying @code{on} for
13070 case-sensitive matches or @code{off} for case-insensitive ones. If
13071 you specify @code{auto}, case sensitivity is reset to the default
13072 suitable for the source language. The default is case-sensitive
13073 matches for all languages except for Fortran, for which the default is
13074 case-insensitive matches.
13075
13076 @kindex show case-sensitive
13077 @item show case-sensitive
13078 This command shows the current setting of case sensitivity for symbols
13079 lookups.
13080
13081 @kindex info address
13082 @cindex address of a symbol
13083 @item info address @var{symbol}
13084 Describe where the data for @var{symbol} is stored. For a register
13085 variable, this says which register it is kept in. For a non-register
13086 local variable, this prints the stack-frame offset at which the variable
13087 is always stored.
13088
13089 Note the contrast with @samp{print &@var{symbol}}, which does not work
13090 at all for a register variable, and for a stack local variable prints
13091 the exact address of the current instantiation of the variable.
13092
13093 @kindex info symbol
13094 @cindex symbol from address
13095 @cindex closest symbol and offset for an address
13096 @item info symbol @var{addr}
13097 Print the name of a symbol which is stored at the address @var{addr}.
13098 If no symbol is stored exactly at @var{addr}, @value{GDBN} prints the
13099 nearest symbol and an offset from it:
13100
13101 @smallexample
13102 (@value{GDBP}) info symbol 0x54320
13103 _initialize_vx + 396 in section .text
13104 @end smallexample
13105
13106 @noindent
13107 This is the opposite of the @code{info address} command. You can use
13108 it to find out the name of a variable or a function given its address.
13109
13110 For dynamically linked executables, the name of executable or shared
13111 library containing the symbol is also printed:
13112
13113 @smallexample
13114 (@value{GDBP}) info symbol 0x400225
13115 _start + 5 in section .text of /tmp/a.out
13116 (@value{GDBP}) info symbol 0x2aaaac2811cf
13117 __read_nocancel + 6 in section .text of /usr/lib64/libc.so.6
13118 @end smallexample
13119
13120 @kindex whatis
13121 @item whatis [@var{arg}]
13122 Print the data type of @var{arg}, which can be either an expression or
13123 a data type. With no argument, print the data type of @code{$}, the
13124 last value in the value history. If @var{arg} is an expression, it is
13125 not actually evaluated, and any side-effecting operations (such as
13126 assignments or function calls) inside it do not take place. If
13127 @var{arg} is a type name, it may be the name of a type or typedef, or
13128 for C code it may have the form @samp{class @var{class-name}},
13129 @samp{struct @var{struct-tag}}, @samp{union @var{union-tag}} or
13130 @samp{enum @var{enum-tag}}.
13131 @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}.
13132
13133 @kindex ptype
13134 @item ptype [@var{arg}]
13135 @code{ptype} accepts the same arguments as @code{whatis}, but prints a
13136 detailed description of the type, instead of just the name of the type.
13137 @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}.
13138
13139 For example, for this variable declaration:
13140
13141 @smallexample
13142 struct complex @{double real; double imag;@} v;
13143 @end smallexample
13144
13145 @noindent
13146 the two commands give this output:
13147
13148 @smallexample
13149 @group
13150 (@value{GDBP}) whatis v
13151 type = struct complex
13152 (@value{GDBP}) ptype v
13153 type = struct complex @{
13154 double real;
13155 double imag;
13156 @}
13157 @end group
13158 @end smallexample
13159
13160 @noindent
13161 As with @code{whatis}, using @code{ptype} without an argument refers to
13162 the type of @code{$}, the last value in the value history.
13163
13164 @cindex incomplete type
13165 Sometimes, programs use opaque data types or incomplete specifications
13166 of complex data structure. If the debug information included in the
13167 program does not allow @value{GDBN} to display a full declaration of
13168 the data type, it will say @samp{<incomplete type>}. For example,
13169 given these declarations:
13170
13171 @smallexample
13172 struct foo;
13173 struct foo *fooptr;
13174 @end smallexample
13175
13176 @noindent
13177 but no definition for @code{struct foo} itself, @value{GDBN} will say:
13178
13179 @smallexample
13180 (@value{GDBP}) ptype foo
13181 $1 = <incomplete type>
13182 @end smallexample
13183
13184 @noindent
13185 ``Incomplete type'' is C terminology for data types that are not
13186 completely specified.
13187
13188 @kindex info types
13189 @item info types @var{regexp}
13190 @itemx info types
13191 Print a brief description of all types whose names match the regular
13192 expression @var{regexp} (or all types in your program, if you supply
13193 no argument). Each complete typename is matched as though it were a
13194 complete line; thus, @samp{i type value} gives information on all
13195 types in your program whose names include the string @code{value}, but
13196 @samp{i type ^value$} gives information only on types whose complete
13197 name is @code{value}.
13198
13199 This command differs from @code{ptype} in two ways: first, like
13200 @code{whatis}, it does not print a detailed description; second, it
13201 lists all source files where a type is defined.
13202
13203 @kindex info scope
13204 @cindex local variables
13205 @item info scope @var{location}
13206 List all the variables local to a particular scope. This command
13207 accepts a @var{location} argument---a function name, a source line, or
13208 an address preceded by a @samp{*}, and prints all the variables local
13209 to the scope defined by that location. (@xref{Specify Location}, for
13210 details about supported forms of @var{location}.) For example:
13211
13212 @smallexample
13213 (@value{GDBP}) @b{info scope command_line_handler}
13214 Scope for command_line_handler:
13215 Symbol rl is an argument at stack/frame offset 8, length 4.
13216 Symbol linebuffer is in static storage at address 0x150a18, length 4.
13217 Symbol linelength is in static storage at address 0x150a1c, length 4.
13218 Symbol p is a local variable in register $esi, length 4.
13219 Symbol p1 is a local variable in register $ebx, length 4.
13220 Symbol nline is a local variable in register $edx, length 4.
13221 Symbol repeat is a local variable at frame offset -8, length 4.
13222 @end smallexample
13223
13224 @noindent
13225 This command is especially useful for determining what data to collect
13226 during a @dfn{trace experiment}, see @ref{Tracepoint Actions,
13227 collect}.
13228
13229 @kindex info source
13230 @item info source
13231 Show information about the current source file---that is, the source file for
13232 the function containing the current point of execution:
13233 @itemize @bullet
13234 @item
13235 the name of the source file, and the directory containing it,
13236 @item
13237 the directory it was compiled in,
13238 @item
13239 its length, in lines,
13240 @item
13241 which programming language it is written in,
13242 @item
13243 whether the executable includes debugging information for that file, and
13244 if so, what format the information is in (e.g., STABS, Dwarf 2, etc.), and
13245 @item
13246 whether the debugging information includes information about
13247 preprocessor macros.
13248 @end itemize
13249
13250
13251 @kindex info sources
13252 @item info sources
13253 Print the names of all source files in your program for which there is
13254 debugging information, organized into two lists: files whose symbols
13255 have already been read, and files whose symbols will be read when needed.
13256
13257 @kindex info functions
13258 @item info functions
13259 Print the names and data types of all defined functions.
13260
13261 @item info functions @var{regexp}
13262 Print the names and data types of all defined functions
13263 whose names contain a match for regular expression @var{regexp}.
13264 Thus, @samp{info fun step} finds all functions whose names
13265 include @code{step}; @samp{info fun ^step} finds those whose names
13266 start with @code{step}. If a function name contains characters
13267 that conflict with the regular expression language (e.g.@:
13268 @samp{operator*()}), they may be quoted with a backslash.
13269
13270 @kindex info variables
13271 @item info variables
13272 Print the names and data types of all variables that are defined
13273 outside of functions (i.e.@: excluding local variables).
13274
13275 @item info variables @var{regexp}
13276 Print the names and data types of all variables (except for local
13277 variables) whose names contain a match for regular expression
13278 @var{regexp}.
13279
13280 @kindex info classes
13281 @cindex Objective-C, classes and selectors
13282 @item info classes
13283 @itemx info classes @var{regexp}
13284 Display all Objective-C classes in your program, or
13285 (with the @var{regexp} argument) all those matching a particular regular
13286 expression.
13287
13288 @kindex info selectors
13289 @item info selectors
13290 @itemx info selectors @var{regexp}
13291 Display all Objective-C selectors in your program, or
13292 (with the @var{regexp} argument) all those matching a particular regular
13293 expression.
13294
13295 @ignore
13296 This was never implemented.
13297 @kindex info methods
13298 @item info methods
13299 @itemx info methods @var{regexp}
13300 The @code{info methods} command permits the user to examine all defined
13301 methods within C@t{++} program, or (with the @var{regexp} argument) a
13302 specific set of methods found in the various C@t{++} classes. Many
13303 C@t{++} classes provide a large number of methods. Thus, the output
13304 from the @code{ptype} command can be overwhelming and hard to use. The
13305 @code{info-methods} command filters the methods, printing only those
13306 which match the regular-expression @var{regexp}.
13307 @end ignore
13308
13309 @cindex reloading symbols
13310 Some systems allow individual object files that make up your program to
13311 be replaced without stopping and restarting your program. For example,
13312 in VxWorks you can simply recompile a defective object file and keep on
13313 running. If you are running on one of these systems, you can allow
13314 @value{GDBN} to reload the symbols for automatically relinked modules:
13315
13316 @table @code
13317 @kindex set symbol-reloading
13318 @item set symbol-reloading on
13319 Replace symbol definitions for the corresponding source file when an
13320 object file with a particular name is seen again.
13321
13322 @item set symbol-reloading off
13323 Do not replace symbol definitions when encountering object files of the
13324 same name more than once. This is the default state; if you are not
13325 running on a system that permits automatic relinking of modules, you
13326 should leave @code{symbol-reloading} off, since otherwise @value{GDBN}
13327 may discard symbols when linking large programs, that may contain
13328 several modules (from different directories or libraries) with the same
13329 name.
13330
13331 @kindex show symbol-reloading
13332 @item show symbol-reloading
13333 Show the current @code{on} or @code{off} setting.
13334 @end table
13335
13336 @cindex opaque data types
13337 @kindex set opaque-type-resolution
13338 @item set opaque-type-resolution on
13339 Tell @value{GDBN} to resolve opaque types. An opaque type is a type
13340 declared as a pointer to a @code{struct}, @code{class}, or
13341 @code{union}---for example, @code{struct MyType *}---that is used in one
13342 source file although the full declaration of @code{struct MyType} is in
13343 another source file. The default is on.
13344
13345 A change in the setting of this subcommand will not take effect until
13346 the next time symbols for a file are loaded.
13347
13348 @item set opaque-type-resolution off
13349 Tell @value{GDBN} not to resolve opaque types. In this case, the type
13350 is printed as follows:
13351 @smallexample
13352 @{<no data fields>@}
13353 @end smallexample
13354
13355 @kindex show opaque-type-resolution
13356 @item show opaque-type-resolution
13357 Show whether opaque types are resolved or not.
13358
13359 @kindex maint print symbols
13360 @cindex symbol dump
13361 @kindex maint print psymbols
13362 @cindex partial symbol dump
13363 @item maint print symbols @var{filename}
13364 @itemx maint print psymbols @var{filename}
13365 @itemx maint print msymbols @var{filename}
13366 Write a dump of debugging symbol data into the file @var{filename}.
13367 These commands are used to debug the @value{GDBN} symbol-reading code. Only
13368 symbols with debugging data are included. If you use @samp{maint print
13369 symbols}, @value{GDBN} includes all the symbols for which it has already
13370 collected full details: that is, @var{filename} reflects symbols for
13371 only those files whose symbols @value{GDBN} has read. You can use the
13372 command @code{info sources} to find out which files these are. If you
13373 use @samp{maint print psymbols} instead, the dump shows information about
13374 symbols that @value{GDBN} only knows partially---that is, symbols defined in
13375 files that @value{GDBN} has skimmed, but not yet read completely. Finally,
13376 @samp{maint print msymbols} dumps just the minimal symbol information
13377 required for each object file from which @value{GDBN} has read some symbols.
13378 @xref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}, for a discussion of how
13379 @value{GDBN} reads symbols (in the description of @code{symbol-file}).
13380
13381 @kindex maint info symtabs
13382 @kindex maint info psymtabs
13383 @cindex listing @value{GDBN}'s internal symbol tables
13384 @cindex symbol tables, listing @value{GDBN}'s internal
13385 @cindex full symbol tables, listing @value{GDBN}'s internal
13386 @cindex partial symbol tables, listing @value{GDBN}'s internal
13387 @item maint info symtabs @r{[} @var{regexp} @r{]}
13388 @itemx maint info psymtabs @r{[} @var{regexp} @r{]}
13389
13390 List the @code{struct symtab} or @code{struct partial_symtab}
13391 structures whose names match @var{regexp}. If @var{regexp} is not
13392 given, list them all. The output includes expressions which you can
13393 copy into a @value{GDBN} debugging this one to examine a particular
13394 structure in more detail. For example:
13395
13396 @smallexample
13397 (@value{GDBP}) maint info psymtabs dwarf2read
13398 @{ objfile /home/gnu/build/gdb/gdb
13399 ((struct objfile *) 0x82e69d0)
13400 @{ psymtab /home/gnu/src/gdb/dwarf2read.c
13401 ((struct partial_symtab *) 0x8474b10)
13402 readin no
13403 fullname (null)
13404 text addresses 0x814d3c8 -- 0x8158074
13405 globals (* (struct partial_symbol **) 0x8507a08 @@ 9)
13406 statics (* (struct partial_symbol **) 0x40e95b78 @@ 2882)
13407 dependencies (none)
13408 @}
13409 @}
13410 (@value{GDBP}) maint info symtabs
13411 (@value{GDBP})
13412 @end smallexample
13413 @noindent
13414 We see that there is one partial symbol table whose filename contains
13415 the string @samp{dwarf2read}, belonging to the @samp{gdb} executable;
13416 and we see that @value{GDBN} has not read in any symtabs yet at all.
13417 If we set a breakpoint on a function, that will cause @value{GDBN} to
13418 read the symtab for the compilation unit containing that function:
13419
13420 @smallexample
13421 (@value{GDBP}) break dwarf2_psymtab_to_symtab
13422 Breakpoint 1 at 0x814e5da: file /home/gnu/src/gdb/dwarf2read.c,
13423 line 1574.
13424 (@value{GDBP}) maint info symtabs
13425 @{ objfile /home/gnu/build/gdb/gdb
13426 ((struct objfile *) 0x82e69d0)
13427 @{ symtab /home/gnu/src/gdb/dwarf2read.c
13428 ((struct symtab *) 0x86c1f38)
13429 dirname (null)
13430 fullname (null)
13431 blockvector ((struct blockvector *) 0x86c1bd0) (primary)
13432 linetable ((struct linetable *) 0x8370fa0)
13433 debugformat DWARF 2
13434 @}
13435 @}
13436 (@value{GDBP})
13437 @end smallexample
13438 @end table
13439
13440
13441 @node Altering
13442 @chapter Altering Execution
13443
13444 Once you think you have found an error in your program, you might want to
13445 find out for certain whether correcting the apparent error would lead to
13446 correct results in the rest of the run. You can find the answer by
13447 experiment, using the @value{GDBN} features for altering execution of the
13448 program.
13449
13450 For example, you can store new values into variables or memory
13451 locations, give your program a signal, restart it at a different
13452 address, or even return prematurely from a function.
13453
13454 @menu
13455 * Assignment:: Assignment to variables
13456 * Jumping:: Continuing at a different address
13457 * Signaling:: Giving your program a signal
13458 * Returning:: Returning from a function
13459 * Calling:: Calling your program's functions
13460 * Patching:: Patching your program
13461 @end menu
13462
13463 @node Assignment
13464 @section Assignment to Variables
13465
13466 @cindex assignment
13467 @cindex setting variables
13468 To alter the value of a variable, evaluate an assignment expression.
13469 @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}. For example,
13470
13471 @smallexample
13472 print x=4
13473 @end smallexample
13474
13475 @noindent
13476 stores the value 4 into the variable @code{x}, and then prints the
13477 value of the assignment expression (which is 4).
13478 @xref{Languages, ,Using @value{GDBN} with Different Languages}, for more
13479 information on operators in supported languages.
13480
13481 @kindex set variable
13482 @cindex variables, setting
13483 If you are not interested in seeing the value of the assignment, use the
13484 @code{set} command instead of the @code{print} command. @code{set} is
13485 really the same as @code{print} except that the expression's value is
13486 not printed and is not put in the value history (@pxref{Value History,
13487 ,Value History}). The expression is evaluated only for its effects.
13488
13489 If the beginning of the argument string of the @code{set} command
13490 appears identical to a @code{set} subcommand, use the @code{set
13491 variable} command instead of just @code{set}. This command is identical
13492 to @code{set} except for its lack of subcommands. For example, if your
13493 program has a variable @code{width}, you get an error if you try to set
13494 a new value with just @samp{set width=13}, because @value{GDBN} has the
13495 command @code{set width}:
13496
13497 @smallexample
13498 (@value{GDBP}) whatis width
13499 type = double
13500 (@value{GDBP}) p width
13501 $4 = 13
13502 (@value{GDBP}) set width=47
13503 Invalid syntax in expression.
13504 @end smallexample
13505
13506 @noindent
13507 The invalid expression, of course, is @samp{=47}. In
13508 order to actually set the program's variable @code{width}, use
13509
13510 @smallexample
13511 (@value{GDBP}) set var width=47
13512 @end smallexample
13513
13514 Because the @code{set} command has many subcommands that can conflict
13515 with the names of program variables, it is a good idea to use the
13516 @code{set variable} command instead of just @code{set}. For example, if
13517 your program has a variable @code{g}, you run into problems if you try
13518 to set a new value with just @samp{set g=4}, because @value{GDBN} has
13519 the command @code{set gnutarget}, abbreviated @code{set g}:
13520
13521 @smallexample
13522 @group
13523 (@value{GDBP}) whatis g
13524 type = double
13525 (@value{GDBP}) p g
13526 $1 = 1
13527 (@value{GDBP}) set g=4
13528 (@value{GDBP}) p g
13529 $2 = 1
13530 (@value{GDBP}) r
13531 The program being debugged has been started already.
13532 Start it from the beginning? (y or n) y
13533 Starting program: /home/smith/cc_progs/a.out
13534 "/home/smith/cc_progs/a.out": can't open to read symbols:
13535 Invalid bfd target.
13536 (@value{GDBP}) show g
13537 The current BFD target is "=4".
13538 @end group
13539 @end smallexample
13540
13541 @noindent
13542 The program variable @code{g} did not change, and you silently set the
13543 @code{gnutarget} to an invalid value. In order to set the variable
13544 @code{g}, use
13545
13546 @smallexample
13547 (@value{GDBP}) set var g=4
13548 @end smallexample
13549
13550 @value{GDBN} allows more implicit conversions in assignments than C; you can
13551 freely store an integer value into a pointer variable or vice versa,
13552 and you can convert any structure to any other structure that is the
13553 same length or shorter.
13554 @comment FIXME: how do structs align/pad in these conversions?
13555 @comment /doc@cygnus.com 18dec1990
13556
13557 To store values into arbitrary places in memory, use the @samp{@{@dots{}@}}
13558 construct to generate a value of specified type at a specified address
13559 (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}). For example, @code{@{int@}0x83040} refers
13560 to memory location @code{0x83040} as an integer (which implies a certain size
13561 and representation in memory), and
13562
13563 @smallexample
13564 set @{int@}0x83040 = 4
13565 @end smallexample
13566
13567 @noindent
13568 stores the value 4 into that memory location.
13569
13570 @node Jumping
13571 @section Continuing at a Different Address
13572
13573 Ordinarily, when you continue your program, you do so at the place where
13574 it stopped, with the @code{continue} command. You can instead continue at
13575 an address of your own choosing, with the following commands:
13576
13577 @table @code
13578 @kindex jump
13579 @item jump @var{linespec}
13580 @itemx jump @var{location}
13581 Resume execution at line @var{linespec} or at address given by
13582 @var{location}. Execution stops again immediately if there is a
13583 breakpoint there. @xref{Specify Location}, for a description of the
13584 different forms of @var{linespec} and @var{location}. It is common
13585 practice to use the @code{tbreak} command in conjunction with
13586 @code{jump}. @xref{Set Breaks, ,Setting Breakpoints}.
13587
13588 The @code{jump} command does not change the current stack frame, or
13589 the stack pointer, or the contents of any memory location or any
13590 register other than the program counter. If line @var{linespec} is in
13591 a different function from the one currently executing, the results may
13592 be bizarre if the two functions expect different patterns of arguments or
13593 of local variables. For this reason, the @code{jump} command requests
13594 confirmation if the specified line is not in the function currently
13595 executing. However, even bizarre results are predictable if you are
13596 well acquainted with the machine-language code of your program.
13597 @end table
13598
13599 @c Doesn't work on HP-UX; have to set $pcoqh and $pcoqt.
13600 On many systems, you can get much the same effect as the @code{jump}
13601 command by storing a new value into the register @code{$pc}. The
13602 difference is that this does not start your program running; it only
13603 changes the address of where it @emph{will} run when you continue. For
13604 example,
13605
13606 @smallexample
13607 set $pc = 0x485
13608 @end smallexample
13609
13610 @noindent
13611 makes the next @code{continue} command or stepping command execute at
13612 address @code{0x485}, rather than at the address where your program stopped.
13613 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, ,Continuing and Stepping}.
13614
13615 The most common occasion to use the @code{jump} command is to back
13616 up---perhaps with more breakpoints set---over a portion of a program
13617 that has already executed, in order to examine its execution in more
13618 detail.
13619
13620 @c @group
13621 @node Signaling
13622 @section Giving your Program a Signal
13623 @cindex deliver a signal to a program
13624
13625 @table @code
13626 @kindex signal
13627 @item signal @var{signal}
13628 Resume execution where your program stopped, but immediately give it the
13629 signal @var{signal}. @var{signal} can be the name or the number of a
13630 signal. For example, on many systems @code{signal 2} and @code{signal
13631 SIGINT} are both ways of sending an interrupt signal.
13632
13633 Alternatively, if @var{signal} is zero, continue execution without
13634 giving a signal. This is useful when your program stopped on account of
13635 a signal and would ordinary see the signal when resumed with the
13636 @code{continue} command; @samp{signal 0} causes it to resume without a
13637 signal.
13638
13639 @code{signal} does not repeat when you press @key{RET} a second time
13640 after executing the command.
13641 @end table
13642 @c @end group
13643
13644 Invoking the @code{signal} command is not the same as invoking the
13645 @code{kill} utility from the shell. Sending a signal with @code{kill}
13646 causes @value{GDBN} to decide what to do with the signal depending on
13647 the signal handling tables (@pxref{Signals}). The @code{signal} command
13648 passes the signal directly to your program.
13649
13650
13651 @node Returning
13652 @section Returning from a Function
13653
13654 @table @code
13655 @cindex returning from a function
13656 @kindex return
13657 @item return
13658 @itemx return @var{expression}
13659 You can cancel execution of a function call with the @code{return}
13660 command. If you give an
13661 @var{expression} argument, its value is used as the function's return
13662 value.
13663 @end table
13664
13665 When you use @code{return}, @value{GDBN} discards the selected stack frame
13666 (and all frames within it). You can think of this as making the
13667 discarded frame return prematurely. If you wish to specify a value to
13668 be returned, give that value as the argument to @code{return}.
13669
13670 This pops the selected stack frame (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a
13671 Frame}), and any other frames inside of it, leaving its caller as the
13672 innermost remaining frame. That frame becomes selected. The
13673 specified value is stored in the registers used for returning values
13674 of functions.
13675
13676 The @code{return} command does not resume execution; it leaves the
13677 program stopped in the state that would exist if the function had just
13678 returned. In contrast, the @code{finish} command (@pxref{Continuing
13679 and Stepping, ,Continuing and Stepping}) resumes execution until the
13680 selected stack frame returns naturally.
13681
13682 @value{GDBN} needs to know how the @var{expression} argument should be set for
13683 the inferior. The concrete registers assignment depends on the OS ABI and the
13684 type being returned by the selected stack frame. For example it is common for
13685 OS ABI to return floating point values in FPU registers while integer values in
13686 CPU registers. Still some ABIs return even floating point values in CPU
13687 registers. Larger integer widths (such as @code{long long int}) also have
13688 specific placement rules. @value{GDBN} already knows the OS ABI from its
13689 current target so it needs to find out also the type being returned to make the
13690 assignment into the right register(s).
13691
13692 Normally, the selected stack frame has debug info. @value{GDBN} will always
13693 use the debug info instead of the implicit type of @var{expression} when the
13694 debug info is available. For example, if you type @kbd{return -1}, and the
13695 function in the current stack frame is declared to return a @code{long long
13696 int}, @value{GDBN} transparently converts the implicit @code{int} value of -1
13697 into a @code{long long int}:
13698
13699 @smallexample
13700 Breakpoint 1, func () at gdb.base/return-nodebug.c:29
13701 29 return 31;
13702 (@value{GDBP}) return -1
13703 Make func return now? (y or n) y
13704 #0 0x004004f6 in main () at gdb.base/return-nodebug.c:43
13705 43 printf ("result=%lld\n", func ());
13706 (@value{GDBP})
13707 @end smallexample
13708
13709 However, if the selected stack frame does not have a debug info, e.g., if the
13710 function was compiled without debug info, @value{GDBN} has to find out the type
13711 to return from user. Specifying a different type by mistake may set the value
13712 in different inferior registers than the caller code expects. For example,
13713 typing @kbd{return -1} with its implicit type @code{int} would set only a part
13714 of a @code{long long int} result for a debug info less function (on 32-bit
13715 architectures). Therefore the user is required to specify the return type by
13716 an appropriate cast explicitly:
13717
13718 @smallexample
13719 Breakpoint 2, 0x0040050b in func ()
13720 (@value{GDBP}) return -1
13721 Return value type not available for selected stack frame.
13722 Please use an explicit cast of the value to return.
13723 (@value{GDBP}) return (long long int) -1
13724 Make selected stack frame return now? (y or n) y
13725 #0 0x00400526 in main ()
13726 (@value{GDBP})
13727 @end smallexample
13728
13729 @node Calling
13730 @section Calling Program Functions
13731
13732 @table @code
13733 @cindex calling functions
13734 @cindex inferior functions, calling
13735 @item print @var{expr}
13736 Evaluate the expression @var{expr} and display the resulting value.
13737 @var{expr} may include calls to functions in the program being
13738 debugged.
13739
13740 @kindex call
13741 @item call @var{expr}
13742 Evaluate the expression @var{expr} without displaying @code{void}
13743 returned values.
13744
13745 You can use this variant of the @code{print} command if you want to
13746 execute a function from your program that does not return anything
13747 (a.k.a.@: @dfn{a void function}), but without cluttering the output
13748 with @code{void} returned values that @value{GDBN} will otherwise
13749 print. If the result is not void, it is printed and saved in the
13750 value history.
13751 @end table
13752
13753 It is possible for the function you call via the @code{print} or
13754 @code{call} command to generate a signal (e.g., if there's a bug in
13755 the function, or if you passed it incorrect arguments). What happens
13756 in that case is controlled by the @code{set unwindonsignal} command.
13757
13758 Similarly, with a C@t{++} program it is possible for the function you
13759 call via the @code{print} or @code{call} command to generate an
13760 exception that is not handled due to the constraints of the dummy
13761 frame. In this case, any exception that is raised in the frame, but has
13762 an out-of-frame exception handler will not be found. GDB builds a
13763 dummy-frame for the inferior function call, and the unwinder cannot
13764 seek for exception handlers outside of this dummy-frame. What happens
13765 in that case is controlled by the
13766 @code{set unwind-on-terminating-exception} command.
13767
13768 @table @code
13769 @item set unwindonsignal
13770 @kindex set unwindonsignal
13771 @cindex unwind stack in called functions
13772 @cindex call dummy stack unwinding
13773 Set unwinding of the stack if a signal is received while in a function
13774 that @value{GDBN} called in the program being debugged. If set to on,
13775 @value{GDBN} unwinds the stack it created for the call and restores
13776 the context to what it was before the call. If set to off (the
13777 default), @value{GDBN} stops in the frame where the signal was
13778 received.
13779
13780 @item show unwindonsignal
13781 @kindex show unwindonsignal
13782 Show the current setting of stack unwinding in the functions called by
13783 @value{GDBN}.
13784
13785 @item set unwind-on-terminating-exception
13786 @kindex set unwind-on-terminating-exception
13787 @cindex unwind stack in called functions with unhandled exceptions
13788 @cindex call dummy stack unwinding on unhandled exception.
13789 Set unwinding of the stack if a C@t{++} exception is raised, but left
13790 unhandled while in a function that @value{GDBN} called in the program being
13791 debugged. If set to on (the default), @value{GDBN} unwinds the stack
13792 it created for the call and restores the context to what it was before
13793 the call. If set to off, @value{GDBN} the exception is delivered to
13794 the default C@t{++} exception handler and the inferior terminated.
13795
13796 @item show unwind-on-terminating-exception
13797 @kindex show unwind-on-terminating-exception
13798 Show the current setting of stack unwinding in the functions called by
13799 @value{GDBN}.
13800
13801 @end table
13802
13803 @cindex weak alias functions
13804 Sometimes, a function you wish to call is actually a @dfn{weak alias}
13805 for another function. In such case, @value{GDBN} might not pick up
13806 the type information, including the types of the function arguments,
13807 which causes @value{GDBN} to call the inferior function incorrectly.
13808 As a result, the called function will function erroneously and may
13809 even crash. A solution to that is to use the name of the aliased
13810 function instead.
13811
13812 @node Patching
13813 @section Patching Programs
13814
13815 @cindex patching binaries
13816 @cindex writing into executables
13817 @cindex writing into corefiles
13818
13819 By default, @value{GDBN} opens the file containing your program's
13820 executable code (or the corefile) read-only. This prevents accidental
13821 alterations to machine code; but it also prevents you from intentionally
13822 patching your program's binary.
13823
13824 If you'd like to be able to patch the binary, you can specify that
13825 explicitly with the @code{set write} command. For example, you might
13826 want to turn on internal debugging flags, or even to make emergency
13827 repairs.
13828
13829 @table @code
13830 @kindex set write
13831 @item set write on
13832 @itemx set write off
13833 If you specify @samp{set write on}, @value{GDBN} opens executable and
13834 core files for both reading and writing; if you specify @kbd{set write
13835 off} (the default), @value{GDBN} opens them read-only.
13836
13837 If you have already loaded a file, you must load it again (using the
13838 @code{exec-file} or @code{core-file} command) after changing @code{set
13839 write}, for your new setting to take effect.
13840
13841 @item show write
13842 @kindex show write
13843 Display whether executable files and core files are opened for writing
13844 as well as reading.
13845 @end table
13846
13847 @node GDB Files
13848 @chapter @value{GDBN} Files
13849
13850 @value{GDBN} needs to know the file name of the program to be debugged,
13851 both in order to read its symbol table and in order to start your
13852 program. To debug a core dump of a previous run, you must also tell
13853 @value{GDBN} the name of the core dump file.
13854
13855 @menu
13856 * Files:: Commands to specify files
13857 * Separate Debug Files:: Debugging information in separate files
13858 * Symbol Errors:: Errors reading symbol files
13859 * Data Files:: GDB data files
13860 @end menu
13861
13862 @node Files
13863 @section Commands to Specify Files
13864
13865 @cindex symbol table
13866 @cindex core dump file
13867
13868 You may want to specify executable and core dump file names. The usual
13869 way to do this is at start-up time, using the arguments to
13870 @value{GDBN}'s start-up commands (@pxref{Invocation, , Getting In and
13871 Out of @value{GDBN}}).
13872
13873 Occasionally it is necessary to change to a different file during a
13874 @value{GDBN} session. Or you may run @value{GDBN} and forget to
13875 specify a file you want to use. Or you are debugging a remote target
13876 via @code{gdbserver} (@pxref{Server, file, Using the @code{gdbserver}
13877 Program}). In these situations the @value{GDBN} commands to specify
13878 new files are useful.
13879
13880 @table @code
13881 @cindex executable file
13882 @kindex file
13883 @item file @var{filename}
13884 Use @var{filename} as the program to be debugged. It is read for its
13885 symbols and for the contents of pure memory. It is also the program
13886 executed when you use the @code{run} command. If you do not specify a
13887 directory and the file is not found in the @value{GDBN} working directory,
13888 @value{GDBN} uses the environment variable @code{PATH} as a list of
13889 directories to search, just as the shell does when looking for a program
13890 to run. You can change the value of this variable, for both @value{GDBN}
13891 and your program, using the @code{path} command.
13892
13893 @cindex unlinked object files
13894 @cindex patching object files
13895 You can load unlinked object @file{.o} files into @value{GDBN} using
13896 the @code{file} command. You will not be able to ``run'' an object
13897 file, but you can disassemble functions and inspect variables. Also,
13898 if the underlying BFD functionality supports it, you could use
13899 @kbd{gdb -write} to patch object files using this technique. Note
13900 that @value{GDBN} can neither interpret nor modify relocations in this
13901 case, so branches and some initialized variables will appear to go to
13902 the wrong place. But this feature is still handy from time to time.
13903
13904 @item file
13905 @code{file} with no argument makes @value{GDBN} discard any information it
13906 has on both executable file and the symbol table.
13907
13908 @kindex exec-file
13909 @item exec-file @r{[} @var{filename} @r{]}
13910 Specify that the program to be run (but not the symbol table) is found
13911 in @var{filename}. @value{GDBN} searches the environment variable @code{PATH}
13912 if necessary to locate your program. Omitting @var{filename} means to
13913 discard information on the executable file.
13914
13915 @kindex symbol-file
13916 @item symbol-file @r{[} @var{filename} @r{]}
13917 Read symbol table information from file @var{filename}. @code{PATH} is
13918 searched when necessary. Use the @code{file} command to get both symbol
13919 table and program to run from the same file.
13920
13921 @code{symbol-file} with no argument clears out @value{GDBN} information on your
13922 program's symbol table.
13923
13924 The @code{symbol-file} command causes @value{GDBN} to forget the contents of
13925 some breakpoints and auto-display expressions. This is because they may
13926 contain pointers to the internal data recording symbols and data types,
13927 which are part of the old symbol table data being discarded inside
13928 @value{GDBN}.
13929
13930 @code{symbol-file} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again after
13931 executing it once.
13932
13933 When @value{GDBN} is configured for a particular environment, it
13934 understands debugging information in whatever format is the standard
13935 generated for that environment; you may use either a @sc{gnu} compiler, or
13936 other compilers that adhere to the local conventions.
13937 Best results are usually obtained from @sc{gnu} compilers; for example,
13938 using @code{@value{NGCC}} you can generate debugging information for
13939 optimized code.
13940
13941 For most kinds of object files, with the exception of old SVR3 systems
13942 using COFF, the @code{symbol-file} command does not normally read the
13943 symbol table in full right away. Instead, it scans the symbol table
13944 quickly to find which source files and which symbols are present. The
13945 details are read later, one source file at a time, as they are needed.
13946
13947 The purpose of this two-stage reading strategy is to make @value{GDBN}
13948 start up faster. For the most part, it is invisible except for
13949 occasional pauses while the symbol table details for a particular source
13950 file are being read. (The @code{set verbose} command can turn these
13951 pauses into messages if desired. @xref{Messages/Warnings, ,Optional
13952 Warnings and Messages}.)
13953
13954 We have not implemented the two-stage strategy for COFF yet. When the
13955 symbol table is stored in COFF format, @code{symbol-file} reads the
13956 symbol table data in full right away. Note that ``stabs-in-COFF''
13957 still does the two-stage strategy, since the debug info is actually
13958 in stabs format.
13959
13960 @kindex readnow
13961 @cindex reading symbols immediately
13962 @cindex symbols, reading immediately
13963 @item symbol-file @r{[} -readnow @r{]} @var{filename}
13964 @itemx file @r{[} -readnow @r{]} @var{filename}
13965 You can override the @value{GDBN} two-stage strategy for reading symbol
13966 tables by using the @samp{-readnow} option with any of the commands that
13967 load symbol table information, if you want to be sure @value{GDBN} has the
13968 entire symbol table available.
13969
13970 @c FIXME: for now no mention of directories, since this seems to be in
13971 @c flux. 13mar1992 status is that in theory GDB would look either in
13972 @c current dir or in same dir as myprog; but issues like competing
13973 @c GDB's, or clutter in system dirs, mean that in practice right now
13974 @c only current dir is used. FFish says maybe a special GDB hierarchy
13975 @c (eg rooted in val of env var GDBSYMS) could exist for mappable symbol
13976 @c files.
13977
13978 @kindex core-file
13979 @item core-file @r{[}@var{filename}@r{]}
13980 @itemx core
13981 Specify the whereabouts of a core dump file to be used as the ``contents
13982 of memory''. Traditionally, core files contain only some parts of the
13983 address space of the process that generated them; @value{GDBN} can access the
13984 executable file itself for other parts.
13985
13986 @code{core-file} with no argument specifies that no core file is
13987 to be used.
13988
13989 Note that the core file is ignored when your program is actually running
13990 under @value{GDBN}. So, if you have been running your program and you
13991 wish to debug a core file instead, you must kill the subprocess in which
13992 the program is running. To do this, use the @code{kill} command
13993 (@pxref{Kill Process, ,Killing the Child Process}).
13994
13995 @kindex add-symbol-file
13996 @cindex dynamic linking
13997 @item add-symbol-file @var{filename} @var{address}
13998 @itemx add-symbol-file @var{filename} @var{address} @r{[} -readnow @r{]}
13999 @itemx add-symbol-file @var{filename} @r{-s}@var{section} @var{address} @dots{}
14000 The @code{add-symbol-file} command reads additional symbol table
14001 information from the file @var{filename}. You would use this command
14002 when @var{filename} has been dynamically loaded (by some other means)
14003 into the program that is running. @var{address} should be the memory
14004 address at which the file has been loaded; @value{GDBN} cannot figure
14005 this out for itself. You can additionally specify an arbitrary number
14006 of @samp{@r{-s}@var{section} @var{address}} pairs, to give an explicit
14007 section name and base address for that section. You can specify any
14008 @var{address} as an expression.
14009
14010 The symbol table of the file @var{filename} is added to the symbol table
14011 originally read with the @code{symbol-file} command. You can use the
14012 @code{add-symbol-file} command any number of times; the new symbol data
14013 thus read keeps adding to the old. To discard all old symbol data
14014 instead, use the @code{symbol-file} command without any arguments.
14015
14016 @cindex relocatable object files, reading symbols from
14017 @cindex object files, relocatable, reading symbols from
14018 @cindex reading symbols from relocatable object files
14019 @cindex symbols, reading from relocatable object files
14020 @cindex @file{.o} files, reading symbols from
14021 Although @var{filename} is typically a shared library file, an
14022 executable file, or some other object file which has been fully
14023 relocated for loading into a process, you can also load symbolic
14024 information from relocatable @file{.o} files, as long as:
14025
14026 @itemize @bullet
14027 @item
14028 the file's symbolic information refers only to linker symbols defined in
14029 that file, not to symbols defined by other object files,
14030 @item
14031 every section the file's symbolic information refers to has actually
14032 been loaded into the inferior, as it appears in the file, and
14033 @item
14034 you can determine the address at which every section was loaded, and
14035 provide these to the @code{add-symbol-file} command.
14036 @end itemize
14037
14038 @noindent
14039 Some embedded operating systems, like Sun Chorus and VxWorks, can load
14040 relocatable files into an already running program; such systems
14041 typically make the requirements above easy to meet. However, it's
14042 important to recognize that many native systems use complex link
14043 procedures (@code{.linkonce} section factoring and C@t{++} constructor table
14044 assembly, for example) that make the requirements difficult to meet. In
14045 general, one cannot assume that using @code{add-symbol-file} to read a
14046 relocatable object file's symbolic information will have the same effect
14047 as linking the relocatable object file into the program in the normal
14048 way.
14049
14050 @code{add-symbol-file} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} after using it.
14051
14052 @kindex add-symbol-file-from-memory
14053 @cindex @code{syscall DSO}
14054 @cindex load symbols from memory
14055 @item add-symbol-file-from-memory @var{address}
14056 Load symbols from the given @var{address} in a dynamically loaded
14057 object file whose image is mapped directly into the inferior's memory.
14058 For example, the Linux kernel maps a @code{syscall DSO} into each
14059 process's address space; this DSO provides kernel-specific code for
14060 some system calls. The argument can be any expression whose
14061 evaluation yields the address of the file's shared object file header.
14062 For this command to work, you must have used @code{symbol-file} or
14063 @code{exec-file} commands in advance.
14064
14065 @kindex add-shared-symbol-files
14066 @kindex assf
14067 @item add-shared-symbol-files @var{library-file}
14068 @itemx assf @var{library-file}
14069 The @code{add-shared-symbol-files} command can currently be used only
14070 in the Cygwin build of @value{GDBN} on MS-Windows OS, where it is an
14071 alias for the @code{dll-symbols} command (@pxref{Cygwin Native}).
14072 @value{GDBN} automatically looks for shared libraries, however if
14073 @value{GDBN} does not find yours, you can invoke
14074 @code{add-shared-symbol-files}. It takes one argument: the shared
14075 library's file name. @code{assf} is a shorthand alias for
14076 @code{add-shared-symbol-files}.
14077
14078 @kindex section
14079 @item section @var{section} @var{addr}
14080 The @code{section} command changes the base address of the named
14081 @var{section} of the exec file to @var{addr}. This can be used if the
14082 exec file does not contain section addresses, (such as in the
14083 @code{a.out} format), or when the addresses specified in the file
14084 itself are wrong. Each section must be changed separately. The
14085 @code{info files} command, described below, lists all the sections and
14086 their addresses.
14087
14088 @kindex info files
14089 @kindex info target
14090 @item info files
14091 @itemx info target
14092 @code{info files} and @code{info target} are synonymous; both print the
14093 current target (@pxref{Targets, ,Specifying a Debugging Target}),
14094 including the names of the executable and core dump files currently in
14095 use by @value{GDBN}, and the files from which symbols were loaded. The
14096 command @code{help target} lists all possible targets rather than
14097 current ones.
14098
14099 @kindex maint info sections
14100 @item maint info sections
14101 Another command that can give you extra information about program sections
14102 is @code{maint info sections}. In addition to the section information
14103 displayed by @code{info files}, this command displays the flags and file
14104 offset of each section in the executable and core dump files. In addition,
14105 @code{maint info sections} provides the following command options (which
14106 may be arbitrarily combined):
14107
14108 @table @code
14109 @item ALLOBJ
14110 Display sections for all loaded object files, including shared libraries.
14111 @item @var{sections}
14112 Display info only for named @var{sections}.
14113 @item @var{section-flags}
14114 Display info only for sections for which @var{section-flags} are true.
14115 The section flags that @value{GDBN} currently knows about are:
14116 @table @code
14117 @item ALLOC
14118 Section will have space allocated in the process when loaded.
14119 Set for all sections except those containing debug information.
14120 @item LOAD
14121 Section will be loaded from the file into the child process memory.
14122 Set for pre-initialized code and data, clear for @code{.bss} sections.
14123 @item RELOC
14124 Section needs to be relocated before loading.
14125 @item READONLY
14126 Section cannot be modified by the child process.
14127 @item CODE
14128 Section contains executable code only.
14129 @item DATA
14130 Section contains data only (no executable code).
14131 @item ROM
14132 Section will reside in ROM.
14133 @item CONSTRUCTOR
14134 Section contains data for constructor/destructor lists.
14135 @item HAS_CONTENTS
14136 Section is not empty.
14137 @item NEVER_LOAD
14138 An instruction to the linker to not output the section.
14139 @item COFF_SHARED_LIBRARY
14140 A notification to the linker that the section contains
14141 COFF shared library information.
14142 @item IS_COMMON
14143 Section contains common symbols.
14144 @end table
14145 @end table
14146 @kindex set trust-readonly-sections
14147 @cindex read-only sections
14148 @item set trust-readonly-sections on
14149 Tell @value{GDBN} that readonly sections in your object file
14150 really are read-only (i.e.@: that their contents will not change).
14151 In that case, @value{GDBN} can fetch values from these sections
14152 out of the object file, rather than from the target program.
14153 For some targets (notably embedded ones), this can be a significant
14154 enhancement to debugging performance.
14155
14156 The default is off.
14157
14158 @item set trust-readonly-sections off
14159 Tell @value{GDBN} not to trust readonly sections. This means that
14160 the contents of the section might change while the program is running,
14161 and must therefore be fetched from the target when needed.
14162
14163 @item show trust-readonly-sections
14164 Show the current setting of trusting readonly sections.
14165 @end table
14166
14167 All file-specifying commands allow both absolute and relative file names
14168 as arguments. @value{GDBN} always converts the file name to an absolute file
14169 name and remembers it that way.
14170
14171 @cindex shared libraries
14172 @anchor{Shared Libraries}
14173 @value{GDBN} supports @sc{gnu}/Linux, MS-Windows, HP-UX, SunOS, SVr4, Irix,
14174 and IBM RS/6000 AIX shared libraries.
14175
14176 On MS-Windows @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support
14177 shared libraries. @xref{Expat}.
14178
14179 @value{GDBN} automatically loads symbol definitions from shared libraries
14180 when you use the @code{run} command, or when you examine a core file.
14181 (Before you issue the @code{run} command, @value{GDBN} does not understand
14182 references to a function in a shared library, however---unless you are
14183 debugging a core file).
14184
14185 On HP-UX, if the program loads a library explicitly, @value{GDBN}
14186 automatically loads the symbols at the time of the @code{shl_load} call.
14187
14188 @c FIXME: some @value{GDBN} release may permit some refs to undef
14189 @c FIXME...symbols---eg in a break cmd---assuming they are from a shared
14190 @c FIXME...lib; check this from time to time when updating manual
14191
14192 There are times, however, when you may wish to not automatically load
14193 symbol definitions from shared libraries, such as when they are
14194 particularly large or there are many of them.
14195
14196 To control the automatic loading of shared library symbols, use the
14197 commands:
14198
14199 @table @code
14200 @kindex set auto-solib-add
14201 @item set auto-solib-add @var{mode}
14202 If @var{mode} is @code{on}, symbols from all shared object libraries
14203 will be loaded automatically when the inferior begins execution, you
14204 attach to an independently started inferior, or when the dynamic linker
14205 informs @value{GDBN} that a new library has been loaded. If @var{mode}
14206 is @code{off}, symbols must be loaded manually, using the
14207 @code{sharedlibrary} command. The default value is @code{on}.
14208
14209 @cindex memory used for symbol tables
14210 If your program uses lots of shared libraries with debug info that
14211 takes large amounts of memory, you can decrease the @value{GDBN}
14212 memory footprint by preventing it from automatically loading the
14213 symbols from shared libraries. To that end, type @kbd{set
14214 auto-solib-add off} before running the inferior, then load each
14215 library whose debug symbols you do need with @kbd{sharedlibrary
14216 @var{regexp}}, where @var{regexp} is a regular expression that matches
14217 the libraries whose symbols you want to be loaded.
14218
14219 @kindex show auto-solib-add
14220 @item show auto-solib-add
14221 Display the current autoloading mode.
14222 @end table
14223
14224 @cindex load shared library
14225 To explicitly load shared library symbols, use the @code{sharedlibrary}
14226 command:
14227
14228 @table @code
14229 @kindex info sharedlibrary
14230 @kindex info share
14231 @item info share @var{regex}
14232 @itemx info sharedlibrary @var{regex}
14233 Print the names of the shared libraries which are currently loaded
14234 that match @var{regex}. If @var{regex} is omitted then print
14235 all shared libraries that are loaded.
14236
14237 @kindex sharedlibrary
14238 @kindex share
14239 @item sharedlibrary @var{regex}
14240 @itemx share @var{regex}
14241 Load shared object library symbols for files matching a
14242 Unix regular expression.
14243 As with files loaded automatically, it only loads shared libraries
14244 required by your program for a core file or after typing @code{run}. If
14245 @var{regex} is omitted all shared libraries required by your program are
14246 loaded.
14247
14248 @item nosharedlibrary
14249 @kindex nosharedlibrary
14250 @cindex unload symbols from shared libraries
14251 Unload all shared object library symbols. This discards all symbols
14252 that have been loaded from all shared libraries. Symbols from shared
14253 libraries that were loaded by explicit user requests are not
14254 discarded.
14255 @end table
14256
14257 Sometimes you may wish that @value{GDBN} stops and gives you control
14258 when any of shared library events happen. Use the @code{set
14259 stop-on-solib-events} command for this:
14260
14261 @table @code
14262 @item set stop-on-solib-events
14263 @kindex set stop-on-solib-events
14264 This command controls whether @value{GDBN} should give you control
14265 when the dynamic linker notifies it about some shared library event.
14266 The most common event of interest is loading or unloading of a new
14267 shared library.
14268
14269 @item show stop-on-solib-events
14270 @kindex show stop-on-solib-events
14271 Show whether @value{GDBN} stops and gives you control when shared
14272 library events happen.
14273 @end table
14274
14275 Shared libraries are also supported in many cross or remote debugging
14276 configurations. @value{GDBN} needs to have access to the target's libraries;
14277 this can be accomplished either by providing copies of the libraries
14278 on the host system, or by asking @value{GDBN} to automatically retrieve the
14279 libraries from the target. If copies of the target libraries are
14280 provided, they need to be the same as the target libraries, although the
14281 copies on the target can be stripped as long as the copies on the host are
14282 not.
14283
14284 @cindex where to look for shared libraries
14285 For remote debugging, you need to tell @value{GDBN} where the target
14286 libraries are, so that it can load the correct copies---otherwise, it
14287 may try to load the host's libraries. @value{GDBN} has two variables
14288 to specify the search directories for target libraries.
14289
14290 @table @code
14291 @cindex prefix for shared library file names
14292 @cindex system root, alternate
14293 @kindex set solib-absolute-prefix
14294 @kindex set sysroot
14295 @item set sysroot @var{path}
14296 Use @var{path} as the system root for the program being debugged. Any
14297 absolute shared library paths will be prefixed with @var{path}; many
14298 runtime loaders store the absolute paths to the shared library in the
14299 target program's memory. If you use @code{set sysroot} to find shared
14300 libraries, they need to be laid out in the same way that they are on
14301 the target, with e.g.@: a @file{/lib} and @file{/usr/lib} hierarchy
14302 under @var{path}.
14303
14304 If @var{path} starts with the sequence @file{remote:}, @value{GDBN} will
14305 retrieve the target libraries from the remote system. This is only
14306 supported when using a remote target that supports the @code{remote get}
14307 command (@pxref{File Transfer,,Sending files to a remote system}).
14308 The part of @var{path} following the initial @file{remote:}
14309 (if present) is used as system root prefix on the remote file system.
14310 @footnote{If you want to specify a local system root using a directory
14311 that happens to be named @file{remote:}, you need to use some equivalent
14312 variant of the name like @file{./remote:}.}
14313
14314 The @code{set solib-absolute-prefix} command is an alias for @code{set
14315 sysroot}.
14316
14317 @cindex default system root
14318 @cindex @samp{--with-sysroot}
14319 You can set the default system root by using the configure-time
14320 @samp{--with-sysroot} option. If the system root is inside
14321 @value{GDBN}'s configured binary prefix (set with @samp{--prefix} or
14322 @samp{--exec-prefix}), then the default system root will be updated
14323 automatically if the installed @value{GDBN} is moved to a new
14324 location.
14325
14326 @kindex show sysroot
14327 @item show sysroot
14328 Display the current shared library prefix.
14329
14330 @kindex set solib-search-path
14331 @item set solib-search-path @var{path}
14332 If this variable is set, @var{path} is a colon-separated list of
14333 directories to search for shared libraries. @samp{solib-search-path}
14334 is used after @samp{sysroot} fails to locate the library, or if the
14335 path to the library is relative instead of absolute. If you want to
14336 use @samp{solib-search-path} instead of @samp{sysroot}, be sure to set
14337 @samp{sysroot} to a nonexistent directory to prevent @value{GDBN} from
14338 finding your host's libraries. @samp{sysroot} is preferred; setting
14339 it to a nonexistent directory may interfere with automatic loading
14340 of shared library symbols.
14341
14342 @kindex show solib-search-path
14343 @item show solib-search-path
14344 Display the current shared library search path.
14345 @end table
14346
14347
14348 @node Separate Debug Files
14349 @section Debugging Information in Separate Files
14350 @cindex separate debugging information files
14351 @cindex debugging information in separate files
14352 @cindex @file{.debug} subdirectories
14353 @cindex debugging information directory, global
14354 @cindex global debugging information directory
14355 @cindex build ID, and separate debugging files
14356 @cindex @file{.build-id} directory
14357
14358 @value{GDBN} allows you to put a program's debugging information in a
14359 file separate from the executable itself, in a way that allows
14360 @value{GDBN} to find and load the debugging information automatically.
14361 Since debugging information can be very large---sometimes larger
14362 than the executable code itself---some systems distribute debugging
14363 information for their executables in separate files, which users can
14364 install only when they need to debug a problem.
14365
14366 @value{GDBN} supports two ways of specifying the separate debug info
14367 file:
14368
14369 @itemize @bullet
14370 @item
14371 The executable contains a @dfn{debug link} that specifies the name of
14372 the separate debug info file. The separate debug file's name is
14373 usually @file{@var{executable}.debug}, where @var{executable} is the
14374 name of the corresponding executable file without leading directories
14375 (e.g., @file{ls.debug} for @file{/usr/bin/ls}). In addition, the
14376 debug link specifies a 32-bit @dfn{Cyclic Redundancy Check} (CRC)
14377 checksum for the debug file, which @value{GDBN} uses to validate that
14378 the executable and the debug file came from the same build.
14379
14380 @item
14381 The executable contains a @dfn{build ID}, a unique bit string that is
14382 also present in the corresponding debug info file. (This is supported
14383 only on some operating systems, notably those which use the ELF format
14384 for binary files and the @sc{gnu} Binutils.) For more details about
14385 this feature, see the description of the @option{--build-id}
14386 command-line option in @ref{Options, , Command Line Options, ld.info,
14387 The GNU Linker}. The debug info file's name is not specified
14388 explicitly by the build ID, but can be computed from the build ID, see
14389 below.
14390 @end itemize
14391
14392 Depending on the way the debug info file is specified, @value{GDBN}
14393 uses two different methods of looking for the debug file:
14394
14395 @itemize @bullet
14396 @item
14397 For the ``debug link'' method, @value{GDBN} looks up the named file in
14398 the directory of the executable file, then in a subdirectory of that
14399 directory named @file{.debug}, and finally under the global debug
14400 directory, in a subdirectory whose name is identical to the leading
14401 directories of the executable's absolute file name.
14402
14403 @item
14404 For the ``build ID'' method, @value{GDBN} looks in the
14405 @file{.build-id} subdirectory of the global debug directory for a file
14406 named @file{@var{nn}/@var{nnnnnnnn}.debug}, where @var{nn} are the
14407 first 2 hex characters of the build ID bit string, and @var{nnnnnnnn}
14408 are the rest of the bit string. (Real build ID strings are 32 or more
14409 hex characters, not 10.)
14410 @end itemize
14411
14412 So, for example, suppose you ask @value{GDBN} to debug
14413 @file{/usr/bin/ls}, which has a debug link that specifies the
14414 file @file{ls.debug}, and a build ID whose value in hex is
14415 @code{abcdef1234}. If the global debug directory is
14416 @file{/usr/lib/debug}, then @value{GDBN} will look for the following
14417 debug information files, in the indicated order:
14418
14419 @itemize @minus
14420 @item
14421 @file{/usr/lib/debug/.build-id/ab/cdef1234.debug}
14422 @item
14423 @file{/usr/bin/ls.debug}
14424 @item
14425 @file{/usr/bin/.debug/ls.debug}
14426 @item
14427 @file{/usr/lib/debug/usr/bin/ls.debug}.
14428 @end itemize
14429
14430 You can set the global debugging info directory's name, and view the
14431 name @value{GDBN} is currently using.
14432
14433 @table @code
14434
14435 @kindex set debug-file-directory
14436 @item set debug-file-directory @var{directories}
14437 Set the directories which @value{GDBN} searches for separate debugging
14438 information files to @var{directory}. Multiple directory components can be set
14439 concatenating them by a directory separator.
14440
14441 @kindex show debug-file-directory
14442 @item show debug-file-directory
14443 Show the directories @value{GDBN} searches for separate debugging
14444 information files.
14445
14446 @end table
14447
14448 @cindex @code{.gnu_debuglink} sections
14449 @cindex debug link sections
14450 A debug link is a special section of the executable file named
14451 @code{.gnu_debuglink}. The section must contain:
14452
14453 @itemize
14454 @item
14455 A filename, with any leading directory components removed, followed by
14456 a zero byte,
14457 @item
14458 zero to three bytes of padding, as needed to reach the next four-byte
14459 boundary within the section, and
14460 @item
14461 a four-byte CRC checksum, stored in the same endianness used for the
14462 executable file itself. The checksum is computed on the debugging
14463 information file's full contents by the function given below, passing
14464 zero as the @var{crc} argument.
14465 @end itemize
14466
14467 Any executable file format can carry a debug link, as long as it can
14468 contain a section named @code{.gnu_debuglink} with the contents
14469 described above.
14470
14471 @cindex @code{.note.gnu.build-id} sections
14472 @cindex build ID sections
14473 The build ID is a special section in the executable file (and in other
14474 ELF binary files that @value{GDBN} may consider). This section is
14475 often named @code{.note.gnu.build-id}, but that name is not mandatory.
14476 It contains unique identification for the built files---the ID remains
14477 the same across multiple builds of the same build tree. The default
14478 algorithm SHA1 produces 160 bits (40 hexadecimal characters) of the
14479 content for the build ID string. The same section with an identical
14480 value is present in the original built binary with symbols, in its
14481 stripped variant, and in the separate debugging information file.
14482
14483 The debugging information file itself should be an ordinary
14484 executable, containing a full set of linker symbols, sections, and
14485 debugging information. The sections of the debugging information file
14486 should have the same names, addresses, and sizes as the original file,
14487 but they need not contain any data---much like a @code{.bss} section
14488 in an ordinary executable.
14489
14490 The @sc{gnu} binary utilities (Binutils) package includes the
14491 @samp{objcopy} utility that can produce
14492 the separated executable / debugging information file pairs using the
14493 following commands:
14494
14495 @smallexample
14496 @kbd{objcopy --only-keep-debug foo foo.debug}
14497 @kbd{strip -g foo}
14498 @end smallexample
14499
14500 @noindent
14501 These commands remove the debugging
14502 information from the executable file @file{foo} and place it in the file
14503 @file{foo.debug}. You can use the first, second or both methods to link the
14504 two files:
14505
14506 @itemize @bullet
14507 @item
14508 The debug link method needs the following additional command to also leave
14509 behind a debug link in @file{foo}:
14510
14511 @smallexample
14512 @kbd{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.debug foo}
14513 @end smallexample
14514
14515 Ulrich Drepper's @file{elfutils} package, starting with version 0.53, contains
14516 a version of the @code{strip} command such that the command @kbd{strip foo -f
14517 foo.debug} has the same functionality as the two @code{objcopy} commands and
14518 the @code{ln -s} command above, together.
14519
14520 @item
14521 Build ID gets embedded into the main executable using @code{ld --build-id} or
14522 the @value{NGCC} counterpart @code{gcc -Wl,--build-id}. Build ID support plus
14523 compatibility fixes for debug files separation are present in @sc{gnu} binary
14524 utilities (Binutils) package since version 2.18.
14525 @end itemize
14526
14527 @noindent
14528
14529 @cindex CRC algorithm definition
14530 The CRC used in @code{.gnu_debuglink} is the CRC-32 defined in
14531 IEEE 802.3 using the polynomial:
14532
14533 @c TexInfo requires naked braces for multi-digit exponents for Tex
14534 @c output, but this causes HTML output to barf. HTML has to be set using
14535 @c raw commands. So we end up having to specify this equation in 2
14536 @c different ways!
14537 @ifhtml
14538 @display
14539 @html
14540 <em>x</em><sup>32</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>26</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>23</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>22</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>16</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>12</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>11</sup>
14541 + <em>x</em><sup>10</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>8</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>7</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>5</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>4</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>2</sup> + <em>x</em> + 1
14542 @end html
14543 @end display
14544 @end ifhtml
14545 @ifnothtml
14546 @display
14547 @math{x^{32} + x^{26} + x^{23} + x^{22} + x^{16} + x^{12} + x^{11}}
14548 @math{+ x^{10} + x^8 + x^7 + x^5 + x^4 + x^2 + x + 1}
14549 @end display
14550 @end ifnothtml
14551
14552 The function is computed byte at a time, taking the least
14553 significant bit of each byte first. The initial pattern
14554 @code{0xffffffff} is used, to ensure leading zeros affect the CRC and
14555 the final result is inverted to ensure trailing zeros also affect the
14556 CRC.
14557
14558 @emph{Note:} This is the same CRC polynomial as used in handling the
14559 @dfn{Remote Serial Protocol} @code{qCRC} packet (@pxref{Remote Protocol,
14560 , @value{GDBN} Remote Serial Protocol}). However in the
14561 case of the Remote Serial Protocol, the CRC is computed @emph{most}
14562 significant bit first, and the result is not inverted, so trailing
14563 zeros have no effect on the CRC value.
14564
14565 To complete the description, we show below the code of the function
14566 which produces the CRC used in @code{.gnu_debuglink}. Inverting the
14567 initially supplied @code{crc} argument means that an initial call to
14568 this function passing in zero will start computing the CRC using
14569 @code{0xffffffff}.
14570
14571 @kindex gnu_debuglink_crc32
14572 @smallexample
14573 unsigned long
14574 gnu_debuglink_crc32 (unsigned long crc,
14575 unsigned char *buf, size_t len)
14576 @{
14577 static const unsigned long crc32_table[256] =
14578 @{
14579 0x00000000, 0x77073096, 0xee0e612c, 0x990951ba, 0x076dc419,
14580 0x706af48f, 0xe963a535, 0x9e6495a3, 0x0edb8832, 0x79dcb8a4,
14581 0xe0d5e91e, 0x97d2d988, 0x09b64c2b, 0x7eb17cbd, 0xe7b82d07,
14582 0x90bf1d91, 0x1db71064, 0x6ab020f2, 0xf3b97148, 0x84be41de,
14583 0x1adad47d, 0x6ddde4eb, 0xf4d4b551, 0x83d385c7, 0x136c9856,
14584 0x646ba8c0, 0xfd62f97a, 0x8a65c9ec, 0x14015c4f, 0x63066cd9,
14585 0xfa0f3d63, 0x8d080df5, 0x3b6e20c8, 0x4c69105e, 0xd56041e4,
14586 0xa2677172, 0x3c03e4d1, 0x4b04d447, 0xd20d85fd, 0xa50ab56b,
14587 0x35b5a8fa, 0x42b2986c, 0xdbbbc9d6, 0xacbcf940, 0x32d86ce3,
14588 0x45df5c75, 0xdcd60dcf, 0xabd13d59, 0x26d930ac, 0x51de003a,
14589 0xc8d75180, 0xbfd06116, 0x21b4f4b5, 0x56b3c423, 0xcfba9599,
14590 0xb8bda50f, 0x2802b89e, 0x5f058808, 0xc60cd9b2, 0xb10be924,
14591 0x2f6f7c87, 0x58684c11, 0xc1611dab, 0xb6662d3d, 0x76dc4190,
14592 0x01db7106, 0x98d220bc, 0xefd5102a, 0x71b18589, 0x06b6b51f,
14593 0x9fbfe4a5, 0xe8b8d433, 0x7807c9a2, 0x0f00f934, 0x9609a88e,
14594 0xe10e9818, 0x7f6a0dbb, 0x086d3d2d, 0x91646c97, 0xe6635c01,
14595 0x6b6b51f4, 0x1c6c6162, 0x856530d8, 0xf262004e, 0x6c0695ed,
14596 0x1b01a57b, 0x8208f4c1, 0xf50fc457, 0x65b0d9c6, 0x12b7e950,
14597 0x8bbeb8ea, 0xfcb9887c, 0x62dd1ddf, 0x15da2d49, 0x8cd37cf3,
14598 0xfbd44c65, 0x4db26158, 0x3ab551ce, 0xa3bc0074, 0xd4bb30e2,
14599 0x4adfa541, 0x3dd895d7, 0xa4d1c46d, 0xd3d6f4fb, 0x4369e96a,
14600 0x346ed9fc, 0xad678846, 0xda60b8d0, 0x44042d73, 0x33031de5,
14601 0xaa0a4c5f, 0xdd0d7cc9, 0x5005713c, 0x270241aa, 0xbe0b1010,
14602 0xc90c2086, 0x5768b525, 0x206f85b3, 0xb966d409, 0xce61e49f,
14603 0x5edef90e, 0x29d9c998, 0xb0d09822, 0xc7d7a8b4, 0x59b33d17,
14604 0x2eb40d81, 0xb7bd5c3b, 0xc0ba6cad, 0xedb88320, 0x9abfb3b6,
14605 0x03b6e20c, 0x74b1d29a, 0xead54739, 0x9dd277af, 0x04db2615,
14606 0x73dc1683, 0xe3630b12, 0x94643b84, 0x0d6d6a3e, 0x7a6a5aa8,
14607 0xe40ecf0b, 0x9309ff9d, 0x0a00ae27, 0x7d079eb1, 0xf00f9344,
14608 0x8708a3d2, 0x1e01f268, 0x6906c2fe, 0xf762575d, 0x806567cb,
14609 0x196c3671, 0x6e6b06e7, 0xfed41b76, 0x89d32be0, 0x10da7a5a,
14610 0x67dd4acc, 0xf9b9df6f, 0x8ebeeff9, 0x17b7be43, 0x60b08ed5,
14611 0xd6d6a3e8, 0xa1d1937e, 0x38d8c2c4, 0x4fdff252, 0xd1bb67f1,
14612 0xa6bc5767, 0x3fb506dd, 0x48b2364b, 0xd80d2bda, 0xaf0a1b4c,
14613 0x36034af6, 0x41047a60, 0xdf60efc3, 0xa867df55, 0x316e8eef,
14614 0x4669be79, 0xcb61b38c, 0xbc66831a, 0x256fd2a0, 0x5268e236,
14615 0xcc0c7795, 0xbb0b4703, 0x220216b9, 0x5505262f, 0xc5ba3bbe,
14616 0xb2bd0b28, 0x2bb45a92, 0x5cb36a04, 0xc2d7ffa7, 0xb5d0cf31,
14617 0x2cd99e8b, 0x5bdeae1d, 0x9b64c2b0, 0xec63f226, 0x756aa39c,
14618 0x026d930a, 0x9c0906a9, 0xeb0e363f, 0x72076785, 0x05005713,
14619 0x95bf4a82, 0xe2b87a14, 0x7bb12bae, 0x0cb61b38, 0x92d28e9b,
14620 0xe5d5be0d, 0x7cdcefb7, 0x0bdbdf21, 0x86d3d2d4, 0xf1d4e242,
14621 0x68ddb3f8, 0x1fda836e, 0x81be16cd, 0xf6b9265b, 0x6fb077e1,
14622 0x18b74777, 0x88085ae6, 0xff0f6a70, 0x66063bca, 0x11010b5c,
14623 0x8f659eff, 0xf862ae69, 0x616bffd3, 0x166ccf45, 0xa00ae278,
14624 0xd70dd2ee, 0x4e048354, 0x3903b3c2, 0xa7672661, 0xd06016f7,
14625 0x4969474d, 0x3e6e77db, 0xaed16a4a, 0xd9d65adc, 0x40df0b66,
14626 0x37d83bf0, 0xa9bcae53, 0xdebb9ec5, 0x47b2cf7f, 0x30b5ffe9,
14627 0xbdbdf21c, 0xcabac28a, 0x53b39330, 0x24b4a3a6, 0xbad03605,
14628 0xcdd70693, 0x54de5729, 0x23d967bf, 0xb3667a2e, 0xc4614ab8,
14629 0x5d681b02, 0x2a6f2b94, 0xb40bbe37, 0xc30c8ea1, 0x5a05df1b,
14630 0x2d02ef8d
14631 @};
14632 unsigned char *end;
14633
14634 crc = ~crc & 0xffffffff;
14635 for (end = buf + len; buf < end; ++buf)
14636 crc = crc32_table[(crc ^ *buf) & 0xff] ^ (crc >> 8);
14637 return ~crc & 0xffffffff;
14638 @}
14639 @end smallexample
14640
14641 @noindent
14642 This computation does not apply to the ``build ID'' method.
14643
14644
14645 @node Symbol Errors
14646 @section Errors Reading Symbol Files
14647
14648 While reading a symbol file, @value{GDBN} occasionally encounters problems,
14649 such as symbol types it does not recognize, or known bugs in compiler
14650 output. By default, @value{GDBN} does not notify you of such problems, since
14651 they are relatively common and primarily of interest to people
14652 debugging compilers. If you are interested in seeing information
14653 about ill-constructed symbol tables, you can either ask @value{GDBN} to print
14654 only one message about each such type of problem, no matter how many
14655 times the problem occurs; or you can ask @value{GDBN} to print more messages,
14656 to see how many times the problems occur, with the @code{set
14657 complaints} command (@pxref{Messages/Warnings, ,Optional Warnings and
14658 Messages}).
14659
14660 The messages currently printed, and their meanings, include:
14661
14662 @table @code
14663 @item inner block not inside outer block in @var{symbol}
14664
14665 The symbol information shows where symbol scopes begin and end
14666 (such as at the start of a function or a block of statements). This
14667 error indicates that an inner scope block is not fully contained
14668 in its outer scope blocks.
14669
14670 @value{GDBN} circumvents the problem by treating the inner block as if it had
14671 the same scope as the outer block. In the error message, @var{symbol}
14672 may be shown as ``@code{(don't know)}'' if the outer block is not a
14673 function.
14674
14675 @item block at @var{address} out of order
14676
14677 The symbol information for symbol scope blocks should occur in
14678 order of increasing addresses. This error indicates that it does not
14679 do so.
14680
14681 @value{GDBN} does not circumvent this problem, and has trouble
14682 locating symbols in the source file whose symbols it is reading. (You
14683 can often determine what source file is affected by specifying
14684 @code{set verbose on}. @xref{Messages/Warnings, ,Optional Warnings and
14685 Messages}.)
14686
14687 @item bad block start address patched
14688
14689 The symbol information for a symbol scope block has a start address
14690 smaller than the address of the preceding source line. This is known
14691 to occur in the SunOS 4.1.1 (and earlier) C compiler.
14692
14693 @value{GDBN} circumvents the problem by treating the symbol scope block as
14694 starting on the previous source line.
14695
14696 @item bad string table offset in symbol @var{n}
14697
14698 @cindex foo
14699 Symbol number @var{n} contains a pointer into the string table which is
14700 larger than the size of the string table.
14701
14702 @value{GDBN} circumvents the problem by considering the symbol to have the
14703 name @code{foo}, which may cause other problems if many symbols end up
14704 with this name.
14705
14706 @item unknown symbol type @code{0x@var{nn}}
14707
14708 The symbol information contains new data types that @value{GDBN} does
14709 not yet know how to read. @code{0x@var{nn}} is the symbol type of the
14710 uncomprehended information, in hexadecimal.
14711
14712 @value{GDBN} circumvents the error by ignoring this symbol information.
14713 This usually allows you to debug your program, though certain symbols
14714 are not accessible. If you encounter such a problem and feel like
14715 debugging it, you can debug @code{@value{GDBP}} with itself, breakpoint
14716 on @code{complain}, then go up to the function @code{read_dbx_symtab}
14717 and examine @code{*bufp} to see the symbol.
14718
14719 @item stub type has NULL name
14720
14721 @value{GDBN} could not find the full definition for a struct or class.
14722
14723 @item const/volatile indicator missing (ok if using g++ v1.x), got@dots{}
14724 The symbol information for a C@t{++} member function is missing some
14725 information that recent versions of the compiler should have output for
14726 it.
14727
14728 @item info mismatch between compiler and debugger
14729
14730 @value{GDBN} could not parse a type specification output by the compiler.
14731
14732 @end table
14733
14734 @node Data Files
14735 @section GDB Data Files
14736
14737 @cindex prefix for data files
14738 @value{GDBN} will sometimes read an auxiliary data file. These files
14739 are kept in a directory known as the @dfn{data directory}.
14740
14741 You can set the data directory's name, and view the name @value{GDBN}
14742 is currently using.
14743
14744 @table @code
14745 @kindex set data-directory
14746 @item set data-directory @var{directory}
14747 Set the directory which @value{GDBN} searches for auxiliary data files
14748 to @var{directory}.
14749
14750 @kindex show data-directory
14751 @item show data-directory
14752 Show the directory @value{GDBN} searches for auxiliary data files.
14753 @end table
14754
14755 @cindex default data directory
14756 @cindex @samp{--with-gdb-datadir}
14757 You can set the default data directory by using the configure-time
14758 @samp{--with-gdb-datadir} option. If the data directory is inside
14759 @value{GDBN}'s configured binary prefix (set with @samp{--prefix} or
14760 @samp{--exec-prefix}), then the default data directory will be updated
14761 automatically if the installed @value{GDBN} is moved to a new
14762 location.
14763
14764 @node Targets
14765 @chapter Specifying a Debugging Target
14766
14767 @cindex debugging target
14768 A @dfn{target} is the execution environment occupied by your program.
14769
14770 Often, @value{GDBN} runs in the same host environment as your program;
14771 in that case, the debugging target is specified as a side effect when
14772 you use the @code{file} or @code{core} commands. When you need more
14773 flexibility---for example, running @value{GDBN} on a physically separate
14774 host, or controlling a standalone system over a serial port or a
14775 realtime system over a TCP/IP connection---you can use the @code{target}
14776 command to specify one of the target types configured for @value{GDBN}
14777 (@pxref{Target Commands, ,Commands for Managing Targets}).
14778
14779 @cindex target architecture
14780 It is possible to build @value{GDBN} for several different @dfn{target
14781 architectures}. When @value{GDBN} is built like that, you can choose
14782 one of the available architectures with the @kbd{set architecture}
14783 command.
14784
14785 @table @code
14786 @kindex set architecture
14787 @kindex show architecture
14788 @item set architecture @var{arch}
14789 This command sets the current target architecture to @var{arch}. The
14790 value of @var{arch} can be @code{"auto"}, in addition to one of the
14791 supported architectures.
14792
14793 @item show architecture
14794 Show the current target architecture.
14795
14796 @item set processor
14797 @itemx processor
14798 @kindex set processor
14799 @kindex show processor
14800 These are alias commands for, respectively, @code{set architecture}
14801 and @code{show architecture}.
14802 @end table
14803
14804 @menu
14805 * Active Targets:: Active targets
14806 * Target Commands:: Commands for managing targets
14807 * Byte Order:: Choosing target byte order
14808 @end menu
14809
14810 @node Active Targets
14811 @section Active Targets
14812
14813 @cindex stacking targets
14814 @cindex active targets
14815 @cindex multiple targets
14816
14817 There are three classes of targets: processes, core files, and
14818 executable files. @value{GDBN} can work concurrently on up to three
14819 active targets, one in each class. This allows you to (for example)
14820 start a process and inspect its activity without abandoning your work on
14821 a core file.
14822
14823 For example, if you execute @samp{gdb a.out}, then the executable file
14824 @code{a.out} is the only active target. If you designate a core file as
14825 well---presumably from a prior run that crashed and coredumped---then
14826 @value{GDBN} has two active targets and uses them in tandem, looking
14827 first in the corefile target, then in the executable file, to satisfy
14828 requests for memory addresses. (Typically, these two classes of target
14829 are complementary, since core files contain only a program's
14830 read-write memory---variables and so on---plus machine status, while
14831 executable files contain only the program text and initialized data.)
14832
14833 When you type @code{run}, your executable file becomes an active process
14834 target as well. When a process target is active, all @value{GDBN}
14835 commands requesting memory addresses refer to that target; addresses in
14836 an active core file or executable file target are obscured while the
14837 process target is active.
14838
14839 Use the @code{core-file} and @code{exec-file} commands to select a new
14840 core file or executable target (@pxref{Files, ,Commands to Specify
14841 Files}). To specify as a target a process that is already running, use
14842 the @code{attach} command (@pxref{Attach, ,Debugging an Already-running
14843 Process}).
14844
14845 @node Target Commands
14846 @section Commands for Managing Targets
14847
14848 @table @code
14849 @item target @var{type} @var{parameters}
14850 Connects the @value{GDBN} host environment to a target machine or
14851 process. A target is typically a protocol for talking to debugging
14852 facilities. You use the argument @var{type} to specify the type or
14853 protocol of the target machine.
14854
14855 Further @var{parameters} are interpreted by the target protocol, but
14856 typically include things like device names or host names to connect
14857 with, process numbers, and baud rates.
14858
14859 The @code{target} command does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again
14860 after executing the command.
14861
14862 @kindex help target
14863 @item help target
14864 Displays the names of all targets available. To display targets
14865 currently selected, use either @code{info target} or @code{info files}
14866 (@pxref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}).
14867
14868 @item help target @var{name}
14869 Describe a particular target, including any parameters necessary to
14870 select it.
14871
14872 @kindex set gnutarget
14873 @item set gnutarget @var{args}
14874 @value{GDBN} uses its own library BFD to read your files. @value{GDBN}
14875 knows whether it is reading an @dfn{executable},
14876 a @dfn{core}, or a @dfn{.o} file; however, you can specify the file format
14877 with the @code{set gnutarget} command. Unlike most @code{target} commands,
14878 with @code{gnutarget} the @code{target} refers to a program, not a machine.
14879
14880 @quotation
14881 @emph{Warning:} To specify a file format with @code{set gnutarget},
14882 you must know the actual BFD name.
14883 @end quotation
14884
14885 @noindent
14886 @xref{Files, , Commands to Specify Files}.
14887
14888 @kindex show gnutarget
14889 @item show gnutarget
14890 Use the @code{show gnutarget} command to display what file format
14891 @code{gnutarget} is set to read. If you have not set @code{gnutarget},
14892 @value{GDBN} will determine the file format for each file automatically,
14893 and @code{show gnutarget} displays @samp{The current BDF target is "auto"}.
14894 @end table
14895
14896 @cindex common targets
14897 Here are some common targets (available, or not, depending on the GDB
14898 configuration):
14899
14900 @table @code
14901 @kindex target
14902 @item target exec @var{program}
14903 @cindex executable file target
14904 An executable file. @samp{target exec @var{program}} is the same as
14905 @samp{exec-file @var{program}}.
14906
14907 @item target core @var{filename}
14908 @cindex core dump file target
14909 A core dump file. @samp{target core @var{filename}} is the same as
14910 @samp{core-file @var{filename}}.
14911
14912 @item target remote @var{medium}
14913 @cindex remote target
14914 A remote system connected to @value{GDBN} via a serial line or network
14915 connection. This command tells @value{GDBN} to use its own remote
14916 protocol over @var{medium} for debugging. @xref{Remote Debugging}.
14917
14918 For example, if you have a board connected to @file{/dev/ttya} on the
14919 machine running @value{GDBN}, you could say:
14920
14921 @smallexample
14922 target remote /dev/ttya
14923 @end smallexample
14924
14925 @code{target remote} supports the @code{load} command. This is only
14926 useful if you have some other way of getting the stub to the target
14927 system, and you can put it somewhere in memory where it won't get
14928 clobbered by the download.
14929
14930 @item target sim @r{[}@var{simargs}@r{]} @dots{}
14931 @cindex built-in simulator target
14932 Builtin CPU simulator. @value{GDBN} includes simulators for most architectures.
14933 In general,
14934 @smallexample
14935 target sim
14936 load
14937 run
14938 @end smallexample
14939 @noindent
14940 works; however, you cannot assume that a specific memory map, device
14941 drivers, or even basic I/O is available, although some simulators do
14942 provide these. For info about any processor-specific simulator details,
14943 see the appropriate section in @ref{Embedded Processors, ,Embedded
14944 Processors}.
14945
14946 @end table
14947
14948 Some configurations may include these targets as well:
14949
14950 @table @code
14951
14952 @item target nrom @var{dev}
14953 @cindex NetROM ROM emulator target
14954 NetROM ROM emulator. This target only supports downloading.
14955
14956 @end table
14957
14958 Different targets are available on different configurations of @value{GDBN};
14959 your configuration may have more or fewer targets.
14960
14961 Many remote targets require you to download the executable's code once
14962 you've successfully established a connection. You may wish to control
14963 various aspects of this process.
14964
14965 @table @code
14966
14967 @item set hash
14968 @kindex set hash@r{, for remote monitors}
14969 @cindex hash mark while downloading
14970 This command controls whether a hash mark @samp{#} is displayed while
14971 downloading a file to the remote monitor. If on, a hash mark is
14972 displayed after each S-record is successfully downloaded to the
14973 monitor.
14974
14975 @item show hash
14976 @kindex show hash@r{, for remote monitors}
14977 Show the current status of displaying the hash mark.
14978
14979 @item set debug monitor
14980 @kindex set debug monitor
14981 @cindex display remote monitor communications
14982 Enable or disable display of communications messages between
14983 @value{GDBN} and the remote monitor.
14984
14985 @item show debug monitor
14986 @kindex show debug monitor
14987 Show the current status of displaying communications between
14988 @value{GDBN} and the remote monitor.
14989 @end table
14990
14991 @table @code
14992
14993 @kindex load @var{filename}
14994 @item load @var{filename}
14995 @anchor{load}
14996 Depending on what remote debugging facilities are configured into
14997 @value{GDBN}, the @code{load} command may be available. Where it exists, it
14998 is meant to make @var{filename} (an executable) available for debugging
14999 on the remote system---by downloading, or dynamic linking, for example.
15000 @code{load} also records the @var{filename} symbol table in @value{GDBN}, like
15001 the @code{add-symbol-file} command.
15002
15003 If your @value{GDBN} does not have a @code{load} command, attempting to
15004 execute it gets the error message ``@code{You can't do that when your
15005 target is @dots{}}''
15006
15007 The file is loaded at whatever address is specified in the executable.
15008 For some object file formats, you can specify the load address when you
15009 link the program; for other formats, like a.out, the object file format
15010 specifies a fixed address.
15011 @c FIXME! This would be a good place for an xref to the GNU linker doc.
15012
15013 Depending on the remote side capabilities, @value{GDBN} may be able to
15014 load programs into flash memory.
15015
15016 @code{load} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again after using it.
15017 @end table
15018
15019 @node Byte Order
15020 @section Choosing Target Byte Order
15021
15022 @cindex choosing target byte order
15023 @cindex target byte order
15024
15025 Some types of processors, such as the MIPS, PowerPC, and Renesas SH,
15026 offer the ability to run either big-endian or little-endian byte
15027 orders. Usually the executable or symbol will include a bit to
15028 designate the endian-ness, and you will not need to worry about
15029 which to use. However, you may still find it useful to adjust
15030 @value{GDBN}'s idea of processor endian-ness manually.
15031
15032 @table @code
15033 @kindex set endian
15034 @item set endian big
15035 Instruct @value{GDBN} to assume the target is big-endian.
15036
15037 @item set endian little
15038 Instruct @value{GDBN} to assume the target is little-endian.
15039
15040 @item set endian auto
15041 Instruct @value{GDBN} to use the byte order associated with the
15042 executable.
15043
15044 @item show endian
15045 Display @value{GDBN}'s current idea of the target byte order.
15046
15047 @end table
15048
15049 Note that these commands merely adjust interpretation of symbolic
15050 data on the host, and that they have absolutely no effect on the
15051 target system.
15052
15053
15054 @node Remote Debugging
15055 @chapter Debugging Remote Programs
15056 @cindex remote debugging
15057
15058 If you are trying to debug a program running on a machine that cannot run
15059 @value{GDBN} in the usual way, it is often useful to use remote debugging.
15060 For example, you might use remote debugging on an operating system kernel,
15061 or on a small system which does not have a general purpose operating system
15062 powerful enough to run a full-featured debugger.
15063
15064 Some configurations of @value{GDBN} have special serial or TCP/IP interfaces
15065 to make this work with particular debugging targets. In addition,
15066 @value{GDBN} comes with a generic serial protocol (specific to @value{GDBN},
15067 but not specific to any particular target system) which you can use if you
15068 write the remote stubs---the code that runs on the remote system to
15069 communicate with @value{GDBN}.
15070
15071 Other remote targets may be available in your
15072 configuration of @value{GDBN}; use @code{help target} to list them.
15073
15074 @menu
15075 * Connecting:: Connecting to a remote target
15076 * File Transfer:: Sending files to a remote system
15077 * Server:: Using the gdbserver program
15078 * Remote Configuration:: Remote configuration
15079 * Remote Stub:: Implementing a remote stub
15080 @end menu
15081
15082 @node Connecting
15083 @section Connecting to a Remote Target
15084
15085 On the @value{GDBN} host machine, you will need an unstripped copy of
15086 your program, since @value{GDBN} needs symbol and debugging information.
15087 Start up @value{GDBN} as usual, using the name of the local copy of your
15088 program as the first argument.
15089
15090 @cindex @code{target remote}
15091 @value{GDBN} can communicate with the target over a serial line, or
15092 over an @acronym{IP} network using @acronym{TCP} or @acronym{UDP}. In
15093 each case, @value{GDBN} uses the same protocol for debugging your
15094 program; only the medium carrying the debugging packets varies. The
15095 @code{target remote} command establishes a connection to the target.
15096 Its arguments indicate which medium to use:
15097
15098 @table @code
15099
15100 @item target remote @var{serial-device}
15101 @cindex serial line, @code{target remote}
15102 Use @var{serial-device} to communicate with the target. For example,
15103 to use a serial line connected to the device named @file{/dev/ttyb}:
15104
15105 @smallexample
15106 target remote /dev/ttyb
15107 @end smallexample
15108
15109 If you're using a serial line, you may want to give @value{GDBN} the
15110 @w{@samp{--baud}} option, or use the @code{set remotebaud} command
15111 (@pxref{Remote Configuration, set remotebaud}) before the
15112 @code{target} command.
15113
15114 @item target remote @code{@var{host}:@var{port}}
15115 @itemx target remote @code{tcp:@var{host}:@var{port}}
15116 @cindex @acronym{TCP} port, @code{target remote}
15117 Debug using a @acronym{TCP} connection to @var{port} on @var{host}.
15118 The @var{host} may be either a host name or a numeric @acronym{IP}
15119 address; @var{port} must be a decimal number. The @var{host} could be
15120 the target machine itself, if it is directly connected to the net, or
15121 it might be a terminal server which in turn has a serial line to the
15122 target.
15123
15124 For example, to connect to port 2828 on a terminal server named
15125 @code{manyfarms}:
15126
15127 @smallexample
15128 target remote manyfarms:2828
15129 @end smallexample
15130
15131 If your remote target is actually running on the same machine as your
15132 debugger session (e.g.@: a simulator for your target running on the
15133 same host), you can omit the hostname. For example, to connect to
15134 port 1234 on your local machine:
15135
15136 @smallexample
15137 target remote :1234
15138 @end smallexample
15139 @noindent
15140
15141 Note that the colon is still required here.
15142
15143 @item target remote @code{udp:@var{host}:@var{port}}
15144 @cindex @acronym{UDP} port, @code{target remote}
15145 Debug using @acronym{UDP} packets to @var{port} on @var{host}. For example, to
15146 connect to @acronym{UDP} port 2828 on a terminal server named @code{manyfarms}:
15147
15148 @smallexample
15149 target remote udp:manyfarms:2828
15150 @end smallexample
15151
15152 When using a @acronym{UDP} connection for remote debugging, you should
15153 keep in mind that the `U' stands for ``Unreliable''. @acronym{UDP}
15154 can silently drop packets on busy or unreliable networks, which will
15155 cause havoc with your debugging session.
15156
15157 @item target remote | @var{command}
15158 @cindex pipe, @code{target remote} to
15159 Run @var{command} in the background and communicate with it using a
15160 pipe. The @var{command} is a shell command, to be parsed and expanded
15161 by the system's command shell, @code{/bin/sh}; it should expect remote
15162 protocol packets on its standard input, and send replies on its
15163 standard output. You could use this to run a stand-alone simulator
15164 that speaks the remote debugging protocol, to make net connections
15165 using programs like @code{ssh}, or for other similar tricks.
15166
15167 If @var{command} closes its standard output (perhaps by exiting),
15168 @value{GDBN} will try to send it a @code{SIGTERM} signal. (If the
15169 program has already exited, this will have no effect.)
15170
15171 @end table
15172
15173 Once the connection has been established, you can use all the usual
15174 commands to examine and change data. The remote program is already
15175 running; you can use @kbd{step} and @kbd{continue}, and you do not
15176 need to use @kbd{run}.
15177
15178 @cindex interrupting remote programs
15179 @cindex remote programs, interrupting
15180 Whenever @value{GDBN} is waiting for the remote program, if you type the
15181 interrupt character (often @kbd{Ctrl-c}), @value{GDBN} attempts to stop the
15182 program. This may or may not succeed, depending in part on the hardware
15183 and the serial drivers the remote system uses. If you type the
15184 interrupt character once again, @value{GDBN} displays this prompt:
15185
15186 @smallexample
15187 Interrupted while waiting for the program.
15188 Give up (and stop debugging it)? (y or n)
15189 @end smallexample
15190
15191 If you type @kbd{y}, @value{GDBN} abandons the remote debugging session.
15192 (If you decide you want to try again later, you can use @samp{target
15193 remote} again to connect once more.) If you type @kbd{n}, @value{GDBN}
15194 goes back to waiting.
15195
15196 @table @code
15197 @kindex detach (remote)
15198 @item detach
15199 When you have finished debugging the remote program, you can use the
15200 @code{detach} command to release it from @value{GDBN} control.
15201 Detaching from the target normally resumes its execution, but the results
15202 will depend on your particular remote stub. After the @code{detach}
15203 command, @value{GDBN} is free to connect to another target.
15204
15205 @kindex disconnect
15206 @item disconnect
15207 The @code{disconnect} command behaves like @code{detach}, except that
15208 the target is generally not resumed. It will wait for @value{GDBN}
15209 (this instance or another one) to connect and continue debugging. After
15210 the @code{disconnect} command, @value{GDBN} is again free to connect to
15211 another target.
15212
15213 @cindex send command to remote monitor
15214 @cindex extend @value{GDBN} for remote targets
15215 @cindex add new commands for external monitor
15216 @kindex monitor
15217 @item monitor @var{cmd}
15218 This command allows you to send arbitrary commands directly to the
15219 remote monitor. Since @value{GDBN} doesn't care about the commands it
15220 sends like this, this command is the way to extend @value{GDBN}---you
15221 can add new commands that only the external monitor will understand
15222 and implement.
15223 @end table
15224
15225 @node File Transfer
15226 @section Sending files to a remote system
15227 @cindex remote target, file transfer
15228 @cindex file transfer
15229 @cindex sending files to remote systems
15230
15231 Some remote targets offer the ability to transfer files over the same
15232 connection used to communicate with @value{GDBN}. This is convenient
15233 for targets accessible through other means, e.g.@: @sc{gnu}/Linux systems
15234 running @code{gdbserver} over a network interface. For other targets,
15235 e.g.@: embedded devices with only a single serial port, this may be
15236 the only way to upload or download files.
15237
15238 Not all remote targets support these commands.
15239
15240 @table @code
15241 @kindex remote put
15242 @item remote put @var{hostfile} @var{targetfile}
15243 Copy file @var{hostfile} from the host system (the machine running
15244 @value{GDBN}) to @var{targetfile} on the target system.
15245
15246 @kindex remote get
15247 @item remote get @var{targetfile} @var{hostfile}
15248 Copy file @var{targetfile} from the target system to @var{hostfile}
15249 on the host system.
15250
15251 @kindex remote delete
15252 @item remote delete @var{targetfile}
15253 Delete @var{targetfile} from the target system.
15254
15255 @end table
15256
15257 @node Server
15258 @section Using the @code{gdbserver} Program
15259
15260 @kindex gdbserver
15261 @cindex remote connection without stubs
15262 @code{gdbserver} is a control program for Unix-like systems, which
15263 allows you to connect your program with a remote @value{GDBN} via
15264 @code{target remote}---but without linking in the usual debugging stub.
15265
15266 @code{gdbserver} is not a complete replacement for the debugging stubs,
15267 because it requires essentially the same operating-system facilities
15268 that @value{GDBN} itself does. In fact, a system that can run
15269 @code{gdbserver} to connect to a remote @value{GDBN} could also run
15270 @value{GDBN} locally! @code{gdbserver} is sometimes useful nevertheless,
15271 because it is a much smaller program than @value{GDBN} itself. It is
15272 also easier to port than all of @value{GDBN}, so you may be able to get
15273 started more quickly on a new system by using @code{gdbserver}.
15274 Finally, if you develop code for real-time systems, you may find that
15275 the tradeoffs involved in real-time operation make it more convenient to
15276 do as much development work as possible on another system, for example
15277 by cross-compiling. You can use @code{gdbserver} to make a similar
15278 choice for debugging.
15279
15280 @value{GDBN} and @code{gdbserver} communicate via either a serial line
15281 or a TCP connection, using the standard @value{GDBN} remote serial
15282 protocol.
15283
15284 @quotation
15285 @emph{Warning:} @code{gdbserver} does not have any built-in security.
15286 Do not run @code{gdbserver} connected to any public network; a
15287 @value{GDBN} connection to @code{gdbserver} provides access to the
15288 target system with the same privileges as the user running
15289 @code{gdbserver}.
15290 @end quotation
15291
15292 @subsection Running @code{gdbserver}
15293 @cindex arguments, to @code{gdbserver}
15294
15295 Run @code{gdbserver} on the target system. You need a copy of the
15296 program you want to debug, including any libraries it requires.
15297 @code{gdbserver} does not need your program's symbol table, so you can
15298 strip the program if necessary to save space. @value{GDBN} on the host
15299 system does all the symbol handling.
15300
15301 To use the server, you must tell it how to communicate with @value{GDBN};
15302 the name of your program; and the arguments for your program. The usual
15303 syntax is:
15304
15305 @smallexample
15306 target> gdbserver @var{comm} @var{program} [ @var{args} @dots{} ]
15307 @end smallexample
15308
15309 @var{comm} is either a device name (to use a serial line) or a TCP
15310 hostname and portnumber. For example, to debug Emacs with the argument
15311 @samp{foo.txt} and communicate with @value{GDBN} over the serial port
15312 @file{/dev/com1}:
15313
15314 @smallexample
15315 target> gdbserver /dev/com1 emacs foo.txt
15316 @end smallexample
15317
15318 @code{gdbserver} waits passively for the host @value{GDBN} to communicate
15319 with it.
15320
15321 To use a TCP connection instead of a serial line:
15322
15323 @smallexample
15324 target> gdbserver host:2345 emacs foo.txt
15325 @end smallexample
15326
15327 The only difference from the previous example is the first argument,
15328 specifying that you are communicating with the host @value{GDBN} via
15329 TCP. The @samp{host:2345} argument means that @code{gdbserver} is to
15330 expect a TCP connection from machine @samp{host} to local TCP port 2345.
15331 (Currently, the @samp{host} part is ignored.) You can choose any number
15332 you want for the port number as long as it does not conflict with any
15333 TCP ports already in use on the target system (for example, @code{23} is
15334 reserved for @code{telnet}).@footnote{If you choose a port number that
15335 conflicts with another service, @code{gdbserver} prints an error message
15336 and exits.} You must use the same port number with the host @value{GDBN}
15337 @code{target remote} command.
15338
15339 @subsubsection Attaching to a Running Program
15340
15341 On some targets, @code{gdbserver} can also attach to running programs.
15342 This is accomplished via the @code{--attach} argument. The syntax is:
15343
15344 @smallexample
15345 target> gdbserver --attach @var{comm} @var{pid}
15346 @end smallexample
15347
15348 @var{pid} is the process ID of a currently running process. It isn't necessary
15349 to point @code{gdbserver} at a binary for the running process.
15350
15351 @pindex pidof
15352 @cindex attach to a program by name
15353 You can debug processes by name instead of process ID if your target has the
15354 @code{pidof} utility:
15355
15356 @smallexample
15357 target> gdbserver --attach @var{comm} `pidof @var{program}`
15358 @end smallexample
15359
15360 In case more than one copy of @var{program} is running, or @var{program}
15361 has multiple threads, most versions of @code{pidof} support the
15362 @code{-s} option to only return the first process ID.
15363
15364 @subsubsection Multi-Process Mode for @code{gdbserver}
15365 @cindex gdbserver, multiple processes
15366 @cindex multiple processes with gdbserver
15367
15368 When you connect to @code{gdbserver} using @code{target remote},
15369 @code{gdbserver} debugs the specified program only once. When the
15370 program exits, or you detach from it, @value{GDBN} closes the connection
15371 and @code{gdbserver} exits.
15372
15373 If you connect using @kbd{target extended-remote}, @code{gdbserver}
15374 enters multi-process mode. When the debugged program exits, or you
15375 detach from it, @value{GDBN} stays connected to @code{gdbserver} even
15376 though no program is running. The @code{run} and @code{attach}
15377 commands instruct @code{gdbserver} to run or attach to a new program.
15378 The @code{run} command uses @code{set remote exec-file} (@pxref{set
15379 remote exec-file}) to select the program to run. Command line
15380 arguments are supported, except for wildcard expansion and I/O
15381 redirection (@pxref{Arguments}).
15382
15383 To start @code{gdbserver} without supplying an initial command to run
15384 or process ID to attach, use the @option{--multi} command line option.
15385 Then you can connect using @kbd{target extended-remote} and start
15386 the program you want to debug.
15387
15388 @code{gdbserver} does not automatically exit in multi-process mode.
15389 You can terminate it by using @code{monitor exit}
15390 (@pxref{Monitor Commands for gdbserver}).
15391
15392 @subsubsection Other Command-Line Arguments for @code{gdbserver}
15393
15394 The @option{--debug} option tells @code{gdbserver} to display extra
15395 status information about the debugging process. The
15396 @option{--remote-debug} option tells @code{gdbserver} to display
15397 remote protocol debug output. These options are intended for
15398 @code{gdbserver} development and for bug reports to the developers.
15399
15400 The @option{--wrapper} option specifies a wrapper to launch programs
15401 for debugging. The option should be followed by the name of the
15402 wrapper, then any command-line arguments to pass to the wrapper, then
15403 @kbd{--} indicating the end of the wrapper arguments.
15404
15405 @code{gdbserver} runs the specified wrapper program with a combined
15406 command line including the wrapper arguments, then the name of the
15407 program to debug, then any arguments to the program. The wrapper
15408 runs until it executes your program, and then @value{GDBN} gains control.
15409
15410 You can use any program that eventually calls @code{execve} with
15411 its arguments as a wrapper. Several standard Unix utilities do
15412 this, e.g.@: @code{env} and @code{nohup}. Any Unix shell script ending
15413 with @code{exec "$@@"} will also work.
15414
15415 For example, you can use @code{env} to pass an environment variable to
15416 the debugged program, without setting the variable in @code{gdbserver}'s
15417 environment:
15418
15419 @smallexample
15420 $ gdbserver --wrapper env LD_PRELOAD=libtest.so -- :2222 ./testprog
15421 @end smallexample
15422
15423 @subsection Connecting to @code{gdbserver}
15424
15425 Run @value{GDBN} on the host system.
15426
15427 First make sure you have the necessary symbol files. Load symbols for
15428 your application using the @code{file} command before you connect. Use
15429 @code{set sysroot} to locate target libraries (unless your @value{GDBN}
15430 was compiled with the correct sysroot using @code{--with-sysroot}).
15431
15432 The symbol file and target libraries must exactly match the executable
15433 and libraries on the target, with one exception: the files on the host
15434 system should not be stripped, even if the files on the target system
15435 are. Mismatched or missing files will lead to confusing results
15436 during debugging. On @sc{gnu}/Linux targets, mismatched or missing
15437 files may also prevent @code{gdbserver} from debugging multi-threaded
15438 programs.
15439
15440 Connect to your target (@pxref{Connecting,,Connecting to a Remote Target}).
15441 For TCP connections, you must start up @code{gdbserver} prior to using
15442 the @code{target remote} command. Otherwise you may get an error whose
15443 text depends on the host system, but which usually looks something like
15444 @samp{Connection refused}. Don't use the @code{load}
15445 command in @value{GDBN} when using @code{gdbserver}, since the program is
15446 already on the target.
15447
15448 @subsection Monitor Commands for @code{gdbserver}
15449 @cindex monitor commands, for @code{gdbserver}
15450 @anchor{Monitor Commands for gdbserver}
15451
15452 During a @value{GDBN} session using @code{gdbserver}, you can use the
15453 @code{monitor} command to send special requests to @code{gdbserver}.
15454 Here are the available commands.
15455
15456 @table @code
15457 @item monitor help
15458 List the available monitor commands.
15459
15460 @item monitor set debug 0
15461 @itemx monitor set debug 1
15462 Disable or enable general debugging messages.
15463
15464 @item monitor set remote-debug 0
15465 @itemx monitor set remote-debug 1
15466 Disable or enable specific debugging messages associated with the remote
15467 protocol (@pxref{Remote Protocol}).
15468
15469 @item monitor set libthread-db-search-path [PATH]
15470 @cindex gdbserver, search path for @code{libthread_db}
15471 When this command is issued, @var{path} is a colon-separated list of
15472 directories to search for @code{libthread_db} (@pxref{Threads,,set
15473 libthread-db-search-path}). If you omit @var{path},
15474 @samp{libthread-db-search-path} will be reset to an empty list.
15475
15476 @item monitor exit
15477 Tell gdbserver to exit immediately. This command should be followed by
15478 @code{disconnect} to close the debugging session. @code{gdbserver} will
15479 detach from any attached processes and kill any processes it created.
15480 Use @code{monitor exit} to terminate @code{gdbserver} at the end
15481 of a multi-process mode debug session.
15482
15483 @end table
15484
15485 @node Remote Configuration
15486 @section Remote Configuration
15487
15488 @kindex set remote
15489 @kindex show remote
15490 This section documents the configuration options available when
15491 debugging remote programs. For the options related to the File I/O
15492 extensions of the remote protocol, see @ref{system,
15493 system-call-allowed}.
15494
15495 @table @code
15496 @item set remoteaddresssize @var{bits}
15497 @cindex address size for remote targets
15498 @cindex bits in remote address
15499 Set the maximum size of address in a memory packet to the specified
15500 number of bits. @value{GDBN} will mask off the address bits above
15501 that number, when it passes addresses to the remote target. The
15502 default value is the number of bits in the target's address.
15503
15504 @item show remoteaddresssize
15505 Show the current value of remote address size in bits.
15506
15507 @item set remotebaud @var{n}
15508 @cindex baud rate for remote targets
15509 Set the baud rate for the remote serial I/O to @var{n} baud. The
15510 value is used to set the speed of the serial port used for debugging
15511 remote targets.
15512
15513 @item show remotebaud
15514 Show the current speed of the remote connection.
15515
15516 @item set remotebreak
15517 @cindex interrupt remote programs
15518 @cindex BREAK signal instead of Ctrl-C
15519 @anchor{set remotebreak}
15520 If set to on, @value{GDBN} sends a @code{BREAK} signal to the remote
15521 when you type @kbd{Ctrl-c} to interrupt the program running
15522 on the remote. If set to off, @value{GDBN} sends the @samp{Ctrl-C}
15523 character instead. The default is off, since most remote systems
15524 expect to see @samp{Ctrl-C} as the interrupt signal.
15525
15526 @item show remotebreak
15527 Show whether @value{GDBN} sends @code{BREAK} or @samp{Ctrl-C} to
15528 interrupt the remote program.
15529
15530 @item set remoteflow on
15531 @itemx set remoteflow off
15532 @kindex set remoteflow
15533 Enable or disable hardware flow control (@code{RTS}/@code{CTS})
15534 on the serial port used to communicate to the remote target.
15535
15536 @item show remoteflow
15537 @kindex show remoteflow
15538 Show the current setting of hardware flow control.
15539
15540 @item set remotelogbase @var{base}
15541 Set the base (a.k.a.@: radix) of logging serial protocol
15542 communications to @var{base}. Supported values of @var{base} are:
15543 @code{ascii}, @code{octal}, and @code{hex}. The default is
15544 @code{ascii}.
15545
15546 @item show remotelogbase
15547 Show the current setting of the radix for logging remote serial
15548 protocol.
15549
15550 @item set remotelogfile @var{file}
15551 @cindex record serial communications on file
15552 Record remote serial communications on the named @var{file}. The
15553 default is not to record at all.
15554
15555 @item show remotelogfile.
15556 Show the current setting of the file name on which to record the
15557 serial communications.
15558
15559 @item set remotetimeout @var{num}
15560 @cindex timeout for serial communications
15561 @cindex remote timeout
15562 Set the timeout limit to wait for the remote target to respond to
15563 @var{num} seconds. The default is 2 seconds.
15564
15565 @item show remotetimeout
15566 Show the current number of seconds to wait for the remote target
15567 responses.
15568
15569 @cindex limit hardware breakpoints and watchpoints
15570 @cindex remote target, limit break- and watchpoints
15571 @anchor{set remote hardware-watchpoint-limit}
15572 @anchor{set remote hardware-breakpoint-limit}
15573 @item set remote hardware-watchpoint-limit @var{limit}
15574 @itemx set remote hardware-breakpoint-limit @var{limit}
15575 Restrict @value{GDBN} to using @var{limit} remote hardware breakpoint or
15576 watchpoints. A limit of -1, the default, is treated as unlimited.
15577
15578 @item set remote exec-file @var{filename}
15579 @itemx show remote exec-file
15580 @anchor{set remote exec-file}
15581 @cindex executable file, for remote target
15582 Select the file used for @code{run} with @code{target
15583 extended-remote}. This should be set to a filename valid on the
15584 target system. If it is not set, the target will use a default
15585 filename (e.g.@: the last program run).
15586
15587 @item set remote interrupt-sequence
15588 @cindex interrupt remote programs
15589 @cindex select Ctrl-C, BREAK or BREAK-g
15590 Allow the user to select one of @samp{Ctrl-C}, a @code{BREAK} or
15591 @samp{BREAK-g} as the
15592 sequence to the remote target in order to interrupt the execution.
15593 @samp{Ctrl-C} is a default. Some system prefers @code{BREAK} which
15594 is high level of serial line for some certain time.
15595 Linux kernel prefers @samp{BREAK-g}, a.k.a Magic SysRq g.
15596 It is @code{BREAK} signal followed by character @code{g}.
15597
15598 @item show interrupt-sequence
15599 Show which of @samp{Ctrl-C}, @code{BREAK} or @code{BREAK-g}
15600 is sent by @value{GDBN} to interrupt the remote program.
15601 @code{BREAK-g} is BREAK signal followed by @code{g} and
15602 also known as Magic SysRq g.
15603
15604 @item set remote interrupt-on-connect
15605 @cindex send interrupt-sequence on start
15606 Specify whether interrupt-sequence is sent to remote target when
15607 @value{GDBN} connects to it. This is mostly needed when you debug
15608 Linux kernel. Linux kernel expects @code{BREAK} followed by @code{g}
15609 which is known as Magic SysRq g in order to connect @value{GDBN}.
15610
15611 @item show interrupt-on-connect
15612 Show whether interrupt-sequence is sent
15613 to remote target when @value{GDBN} connects to it.
15614
15615 @kindex set tcp
15616 @kindex show tcp
15617 @item set tcp auto-retry on
15618 @cindex auto-retry, for remote TCP target
15619 Enable auto-retry for remote TCP connections. This is useful if the remote
15620 debugging agent is launched in parallel with @value{GDBN}; there is a race
15621 condition because the agent may not become ready to accept the connection
15622 before @value{GDBN} attempts to connect. When auto-retry is
15623 enabled, if the initial attempt to connect fails, @value{GDBN} reattempts
15624 to establish the connection using the timeout specified by
15625 @code{set tcp connect-timeout}.
15626
15627 @item set tcp auto-retry off
15628 Do not auto-retry failed TCP connections.
15629
15630 @item show tcp auto-retry
15631 Show the current auto-retry setting.
15632
15633 @item set tcp connect-timeout @var{seconds}
15634 @cindex connection timeout, for remote TCP target
15635 @cindex timeout, for remote target connection
15636 Set the timeout for establishing a TCP connection to the remote target to
15637 @var{seconds}. The timeout affects both polling to retry failed connections
15638 (enabled by @code{set tcp auto-retry on}) and waiting for connections
15639 that are merely slow to complete, and represents an approximate cumulative
15640 value.
15641
15642 @item show tcp connect-timeout
15643 Show the current connection timeout setting.
15644 @end table
15645
15646 @cindex remote packets, enabling and disabling
15647 The @value{GDBN} remote protocol autodetects the packets supported by
15648 your debugging stub. If you need to override the autodetection, you
15649 can use these commands to enable or disable individual packets. Each
15650 packet can be set to @samp{on} (the remote target supports this
15651 packet), @samp{off} (the remote target does not support this packet),
15652 or @samp{auto} (detect remote target support for this packet). They
15653 all default to @samp{auto}. For more information about each packet,
15654 see @ref{Remote Protocol}.
15655
15656 During normal use, you should not have to use any of these commands.
15657 If you do, that may be a bug in your remote debugging stub, or a bug
15658 in @value{GDBN}. You may want to report the problem to the
15659 @value{GDBN} developers.
15660
15661 For each packet @var{name}, the command to enable or disable the
15662 packet is @code{set remote @var{name}-packet}. The available settings
15663 are:
15664
15665 @multitable @columnfractions 0.28 0.32 0.25
15666 @item Command Name
15667 @tab Remote Packet
15668 @tab Related Features
15669
15670 @item @code{fetch-register}
15671 @tab @code{p}
15672 @tab @code{info registers}
15673
15674 @item @code{set-register}
15675 @tab @code{P}
15676 @tab @code{set}
15677
15678 @item @code{binary-download}
15679 @tab @code{X}
15680 @tab @code{load}, @code{set}
15681
15682 @item @code{read-aux-vector}
15683 @tab @code{qXfer:auxv:read}
15684 @tab @code{info auxv}
15685
15686 @item @code{symbol-lookup}
15687 @tab @code{qSymbol}
15688 @tab Detecting multiple threads
15689
15690 @item @code{attach}
15691 @tab @code{vAttach}
15692 @tab @code{attach}
15693
15694 @item @code{verbose-resume}
15695 @tab @code{vCont}
15696 @tab Stepping or resuming multiple threads
15697
15698 @item @code{run}
15699 @tab @code{vRun}
15700 @tab @code{run}
15701
15702 @item @code{software-breakpoint}
15703 @tab @code{Z0}
15704 @tab @code{break}
15705
15706 @item @code{hardware-breakpoint}
15707 @tab @code{Z1}
15708 @tab @code{hbreak}
15709
15710 @item @code{write-watchpoint}
15711 @tab @code{Z2}
15712 @tab @code{watch}
15713
15714 @item @code{read-watchpoint}
15715 @tab @code{Z3}
15716 @tab @code{rwatch}
15717
15718 @item @code{access-watchpoint}
15719 @tab @code{Z4}
15720 @tab @code{awatch}
15721
15722 @item @code{target-features}
15723 @tab @code{qXfer:features:read}
15724 @tab @code{set architecture}
15725
15726 @item @code{library-info}
15727 @tab @code{qXfer:libraries:read}
15728 @tab @code{info sharedlibrary}
15729
15730 @item @code{memory-map}
15731 @tab @code{qXfer:memory-map:read}
15732 @tab @code{info mem}
15733
15734 @item @code{read-spu-object}
15735 @tab @code{qXfer:spu:read}
15736 @tab @code{info spu}
15737
15738 @item @code{write-spu-object}
15739 @tab @code{qXfer:spu:write}
15740 @tab @code{info spu}
15741
15742 @item @code{read-siginfo-object}
15743 @tab @code{qXfer:siginfo:read}
15744 @tab @code{print $_siginfo}
15745
15746 @item @code{write-siginfo-object}
15747 @tab @code{qXfer:siginfo:write}
15748 @tab @code{set $_siginfo}
15749
15750 @item @code{threads}
15751 @tab @code{qXfer:threads:read}
15752 @tab @code{info threads}
15753
15754 @item @code{get-thread-local-@*storage-address}
15755 @tab @code{qGetTLSAddr}
15756 @tab Displaying @code{__thread} variables
15757
15758 @item @code{search-memory}
15759 @tab @code{qSearch:memory}
15760 @tab @code{find}
15761
15762 @item @code{supported-packets}
15763 @tab @code{qSupported}
15764 @tab Remote communications parameters
15765
15766 @item @code{pass-signals}
15767 @tab @code{QPassSignals}
15768 @tab @code{handle @var{signal}}
15769
15770 @item @code{hostio-close-packet}
15771 @tab @code{vFile:close}
15772 @tab @code{remote get}, @code{remote put}
15773
15774 @item @code{hostio-open-packet}
15775 @tab @code{vFile:open}
15776 @tab @code{remote get}, @code{remote put}
15777
15778 @item @code{hostio-pread-packet}
15779 @tab @code{vFile:pread}
15780 @tab @code{remote get}, @code{remote put}
15781
15782 @item @code{hostio-pwrite-packet}
15783 @tab @code{vFile:pwrite}
15784 @tab @code{remote get}, @code{remote put}
15785
15786 @item @code{hostio-unlink-packet}
15787 @tab @code{vFile:unlink}
15788 @tab @code{remote delete}
15789
15790 @item @code{noack-packet}
15791 @tab @code{QStartNoAckMode}
15792 @tab Packet acknowledgment
15793
15794 @item @code{osdata}
15795 @tab @code{qXfer:osdata:read}
15796 @tab @code{info os}
15797
15798 @item @code{query-attached}
15799 @tab @code{qAttached}
15800 @tab Querying remote process attach state.
15801 @end multitable
15802
15803 @node Remote Stub
15804 @section Implementing a Remote Stub
15805
15806 @cindex debugging stub, example
15807 @cindex remote stub, example
15808 @cindex stub example, remote debugging
15809 The stub files provided with @value{GDBN} implement the target side of the
15810 communication protocol, and the @value{GDBN} side is implemented in the
15811 @value{GDBN} source file @file{remote.c}. Normally, you can simply allow
15812 these subroutines to communicate, and ignore the details. (If you're
15813 implementing your own stub file, you can still ignore the details: start
15814 with one of the existing stub files. @file{sparc-stub.c} is the best
15815 organized, and therefore the easiest to read.)
15816
15817 @cindex remote serial debugging, overview
15818 To debug a program running on another machine (the debugging
15819 @dfn{target} machine), you must first arrange for all the usual
15820 prerequisites for the program to run by itself. For example, for a C
15821 program, you need:
15822
15823 @enumerate
15824 @item
15825 A startup routine to set up the C runtime environment; these usually
15826 have a name like @file{crt0}. The startup routine may be supplied by
15827 your hardware supplier, or you may have to write your own.
15828
15829 @item
15830 A C subroutine library to support your program's
15831 subroutine calls, notably managing input and output.
15832
15833 @item
15834 A way of getting your program to the other machine---for example, a
15835 download program. These are often supplied by the hardware
15836 manufacturer, but you may have to write your own from hardware
15837 documentation.
15838 @end enumerate
15839
15840 The next step is to arrange for your program to use a serial port to
15841 communicate with the machine where @value{GDBN} is running (the @dfn{host}
15842 machine). In general terms, the scheme looks like this:
15843
15844 @table @emph
15845 @item On the host,
15846 @value{GDBN} already understands how to use this protocol; when everything
15847 else is set up, you can simply use the @samp{target remote} command
15848 (@pxref{Targets,,Specifying a Debugging Target}).
15849
15850 @item On the target,
15851 you must link with your program a few special-purpose subroutines that
15852 implement the @value{GDBN} remote serial protocol. The file containing these
15853 subroutines is called a @dfn{debugging stub}.
15854
15855 On certain remote targets, you can use an auxiliary program
15856 @code{gdbserver} instead of linking a stub into your program.
15857 @xref{Server,,Using the @code{gdbserver} Program}, for details.
15858 @end table
15859
15860 The debugging stub is specific to the architecture of the remote
15861 machine; for example, use @file{sparc-stub.c} to debug programs on
15862 @sc{sparc} boards.
15863
15864 @cindex remote serial stub list
15865 These working remote stubs are distributed with @value{GDBN}:
15866
15867 @table @code
15868
15869 @item i386-stub.c
15870 @cindex @file{i386-stub.c}
15871 @cindex Intel
15872 @cindex i386
15873 For Intel 386 and compatible architectures.
15874
15875 @item m68k-stub.c
15876 @cindex @file{m68k-stub.c}
15877 @cindex Motorola 680x0
15878 @cindex m680x0
15879 For Motorola 680x0 architectures.
15880
15881 @item sh-stub.c
15882 @cindex @file{sh-stub.c}
15883 @cindex Renesas
15884 @cindex SH
15885 For Renesas SH architectures.
15886
15887 @item sparc-stub.c
15888 @cindex @file{sparc-stub.c}
15889 @cindex Sparc
15890 For @sc{sparc} architectures.
15891
15892 @item sparcl-stub.c
15893 @cindex @file{sparcl-stub.c}
15894 @cindex Fujitsu
15895 @cindex SparcLite
15896 For Fujitsu @sc{sparclite} architectures.
15897
15898 @end table
15899
15900 The @file{README} file in the @value{GDBN} distribution may list other
15901 recently added stubs.
15902
15903 @menu
15904 * Stub Contents:: What the stub can do for you
15905 * Bootstrapping:: What you must do for the stub
15906 * Debug Session:: Putting it all together
15907 @end menu
15908
15909 @node Stub Contents
15910 @subsection What the Stub Can Do for You
15911
15912 @cindex remote serial stub
15913 The debugging stub for your architecture supplies these three
15914 subroutines:
15915
15916 @table @code
15917 @item set_debug_traps
15918 @findex set_debug_traps
15919 @cindex remote serial stub, initialization
15920 This routine arranges for @code{handle_exception} to run when your
15921 program stops. You must call this subroutine explicitly near the
15922 beginning of your program.
15923
15924 @item handle_exception
15925 @findex handle_exception
15926 @cindex remote serial stub, main routine
15927 This is the central workhorse, but your program never calls it
15928 explicitly---the setup code arranges for @code{handle_exception} to
15929 run when a trap is triggered.
15930
15931 @code{handle_exception} takes control when your program stops during
15932 execution (for example, on a breakpoint), and mediates communications
15933 with @value{GDBN} on the host machine. This is where the communications
15934 protocol is implemented; @code{handle_exception} acts as the @value{GDBN}
15935 representative on the target machine. It begins by sending summary
15936 information on the state of your program, then continues to execute,
15937 retrieving and transmitting any information @value{GDBN} needs, until you
15938 execute a @value{GDBN} command that makes your program resume; at that point,
15939 @code{handle_exception} returns control to your own code on the target
15940 machine.
15941
15942 @item breakpoint
15943 @cindex @code{breakpoint} subroutine, remote
15944 Use this auxiliary subroutine to make your program contain a
15945 breakpoint. Depending on the particular situation, this may be the only
15946 way for @value{GDBN} to get control. For instance, if your target
15947 machine has some sort of interrupt button, you won't need to call this;
15948 pressing the interrupt button transfers control to
15949 @code{handle_exception}---in effect, to @value{GDBN}. On some machines,
15950 simply receiving characters on the serial port may also trigger a trap;
15951 again, in that situation, you don't need to call @code{breakpoint} from
15952 your own program---simply running @samp{target remote} from the host
15953 @value{GDBN} session gets control.
15954
15955 Call @code{breakpoint} if none of these is true, or if you simply want
15956 to make certain your program stops at a predetermined point for the
15957 start of your debugging session.
15958 @end table
15959
15960 @node Bootstrapping
15961 @subsection What You Must Do for the Stub
15962
15963 @cindex remote stub, support routines
15964 The debugging stubs that come with @value{GDBN} are set up for a particular
15965 chip architecture, but they have no information about the rest of your
15966 debugging target machine.
15967
15968 First of all you need to tell the stub how to communicate with the
15969 serial port.
15970
15971 @table @code
15972 @item int getDebugChar()
15973 @findex getDebugChar
15974 Write this subroutine to read a single character from the serial port.
15975 It may be identical to @code{getchar} for your target system; a
15976 different name is used to allow you to distinguish the two if you wish.
15977
15978 @item void putDebugChar(int)
15979 @findex putDebugChar
15980 Write this subroutine to write a single character to the serial port.
15981 It may be identical to @code{putchar} for your target system; a
15982 different name is used to allow you to distinguish the two if you wish.
15983 @end table
15984
15985 @cindex control C, and remote debugging
15986 @cindex interrupting remote targets
15987 If you want @value{GDBN} to be able to stop your program while it is
15988 running, you need to use an interrupt-driven serial driver, and arrange
15989 for it to stop when it receives a @code{^C} (@samp{\003}, the control-C
15990 character). That is the character which @value{GDBN} uses to tell the
15991 remote system to stop.
15992
15993 Getting the debugging target to return the proper status to @value{GDBN}
15994 probably requires changes to the standard stub; one quick and dirty way
15995 is to just execute a breakpoint instruction (the ``dirty'' part is that
15996 @value{GDBN} reports a @code{SIGTRAP} instead of a @code{SIGINT}).
15997
15998 Other routines you need to supply are:
15999
16000 @table @code
16001 @item void exceptionHandler (int @var{exception_number}, void *@var{exception_address})
16002 @findex exceptionHandler
16003 Write this function to install @var{exception_address} in the exception
16004 handling tables. You need to do this because the stub does not have any
16005 way of knowing what the exception handling tables on your target system
16006 are like (for example, the processor's table might be in @sc{rom},
16007 containing entries which point to a table in @sc{ram}).
16008 @var{exception_number} is the exception number which should be changed;
16009 its meaning is architecture-dependent (for example, different numbers
16010 might represent divide by zero, misaligned access, etc). When this
16011 exception occurs, control should be transferred directly to
16012 @var{exception_address}, and the processor state (stack, registers,
16013 and so on) should be just as it is when a processor exception occurs. So if
16014 you want to use a jump instruction to reach @var{exception_address}, it
16015 should be a simple jump, not a jump to subroutine.
16016
16017 For the 386, @var{exception_address} should be installed as an interrupt
16018 gate so that interrupts are masked while the handler runs. The gate
16019 should be at privilege level 0 (the most privileged level). The
16020 @sc{sparc} and 68k stubs are able to mask interrupts themselves without
16021 help from @code{exceptionHandler}.
16022
16023 @item void flush_i_cache()
16024 @findex flush_i_cache
16025 On @sc{sparc} and @sc{sparclite} only, write this subroutine to flush the
16026 instruction cache, if any, on your target machine. If there is no
16027 instruction cache, this subroutine may be a no-op.
16028
16029 On target machines that have instruction caches, @value{GDBN} requires this
16030 function to make certain that the state of your program is stable.
16031 @end table
16032
16033 @noindent
16034 You must also make sure this library routine is available:
16035
16036 @table @code
16037 @item void *memset(void *, int, int)
16038 @findex memset
16039 This is the standard library function @code{memset} that sets an area of
16040 memory to a known value. If you have one of the free versions of
16041 @code{libc.a}, @code{memset} can be found there; otherwise, you must
16042 either obtain it from your hardware manufacturer, or write your own.
16043 @end table
16044
16045 If you do not use the GNU C compiler, you may need other standard
16046 library subroutines as well; this varies from one stub to another,
16047 but in general the stubs are likely to use any of the common library
16048 subroutines which @code{@value{NGCC}} generates as inline code.
16049
16050
16051 @node Debug Session
16052 @subsection Putting it All Together
16053
16054 @cindex remote serial debugging summary
16055 In summary, when your program is ready to debug, you must follow these
16056 steps.
16057
16058 @enumerate
16059 @item
16060 Make sure you have defined the supporting low-level routines
16061 (@pxref{Bootstrapping,,What You Must Do for the Stub}):
16062 @display
16063 @code{getDebugChar}, @code{putDebugChar},
16064 @code{flush_i_cache}, @code{memset}, @code{exceptionHandler}.
16065 @end display
16066
16067 @item
16068 Insert these lines near the top of your program:
16069
16070 @smallexample
16071 set_debug_traps();
16072 breakpoint();
16073 @end smallexample
16074
16075 @item
16076 For the 680x0 stub only, you need to provide a variable called
16077 @code{exceptionHook}. Normally you just use:
16078
16079 @smallexample
16080 void (*exceptionHook)() = 0;
16081 @end smallexample
16082
16083 @noindent
16084 but if before calling @code{set_debug_traps}, you set it to point to a
16085 function in your program, that function is called when
16086 @code{@value{GDBN}} continues after stopping on a trap (for example, bus
16087 error). The function indicated by @code{exceptionHook} is called with
16088 one parameter: an @code{int} which is the exception number.
16089
16090 @item
16091 Compile and link together: your program, the @value{GDBN} debugging stub for
16092 your target architecture, and the supporting subroutines.
16093
16094 @item
16095 Make sure you have a serial connection between your target machine and
16096 the @value{GDBN} host, and identify the serial port on the host.
16097
16098 @item
16099 @c The "remote" target now provides a `load' command, so we should
16100 @c document that. FIXME.
16101 Download your program to your target machine (or get it there by
16102 whatever means the manufacturer provides), and start it.
16103
16104 @item
16105 Start @value{GDBN} on the host, and connect to the target
16106 (@pxref{Connecting,,Connecting to a Remote Target}).
16107
16108 @end enumerate
16109
16110 @node Configurations
16111 @chapter Configuration-Specific Information
16112
16113 While nearly all @value{GDBN} commands are available for all native and
16114 cross versions of the debugger, there are some exceptions. This chapter
16115 describes things that are only available in certain configurations.
16116
16117 There are three major categories of configurations: native
16118 configurations, where the host and target are the same, embedded
16119 operating system configurations, which are usually the same for several
16120 different processor architectures, and bare embedded processors, which
16121 are quite different from each other.
16122
16123 @menu
16124 * Native::
16125 * Embedded OS::
16126 * Embedded Processors::
16127 * Architectures::
16128 @end menu
16129
16130 @node Native
16131 @section Native
16132
16133 This section describes details specific to particular native
16134 configurations.
16135
16136 @menu
16137 * HP-UX:: HP-UX
16138 * BSD libkvm Interface:: Debugging BSD kernel memory images
16139 * SVR4 Process Information:: SVR4 process information
16140 * DJGPP Native:: Features specific to the DJGPP port
16141 * Cygwin Native:: Features specific to the Cygwin port
16142 * Hurd Native:: Features specific to @sc{gnu} Hurd
16143 * Neutrino:: Features specific to QNX Neutrino
16144 * Darwin:: Features specific to Darwin
16145 @end menu
16146
16147 @node HP-UX
16148 @subsection HP-UX
16149
16150 On HP-UX systems, if you refer to a function or variable name that
16151 begins with a dollar sign, @value{GDBN} searches for a user or system
16152 name first, before it searches for a convenience variable.
16153
16154
16155 @node BSD libkvm Interface
16156 @subsection BSD libkvm Interface
16157
16158 @cindex libkvm
16159 @cindex kernel memory image
16160 @cindex kernel crash dump
16161
16162 BSD-derived systems (FreeBSD/NetBSD/OpenBSD) have a kernel memory
16163 interface that provides a uniform interface for accessing kernel virtual
16164 memory images, including live systems and crash dumps. @value{GDBN}
16165 uses this interface to allow you to debug live kernels and kernel crash
16166 dumps on many native BSD configurations. This is implemented as a
16167 special @code{kvm} debugging target. For debugging a live system, load
16168 the currently running kernel into @value{GDBN} and connect to the
16169 @code{kvm} target:
16170
16171 @smallexample
16172 (@value{GDBP}) @b{target kvm}
16173 @end smallexample
16174
16175 For debugging crash dumps, provide the file name of the crash dump as an
16176 argument:
16177
16178 @smallexample
16179 (@value{GDBP}) @b{target kvm /var/crash/bsd.0}
16180 @end smallexample
16181
16182 Once connected to the @code{kvm} target, the following commands are
16183 available:
16184
16185 @table @code
16186 @kindex kvm
16187 @item kvm pcb
16188 Set current context from the @dfn{Process Control Block} (PCB) address.
16189
16190 @item kvm proc
16191 Set current context from proc address. This command isn't available on
16192 modern FreeBSD systems.
16193 @end table
16194
16195 @node SVR4 Process Information
16196 @subsection SVR4 Process Information
16197 @cindex /proc
16198 @cindex examine process image
16199 @cindex process info via @file{/proc}
16200
16201 Many versions of SVR4 and compatible systems provide a facility called
16202 @samp{/proc} that can be used to examine the image of a running
16203 process using file-system subroutines. If @value{GDBN} is configured
16204 for an operating system with this facility, the command @code{info
16205 proc} is available to report information about the process running
16206 your program, or about any process running on your system. @code{info
16207 proc} works only on SVR4 systems that include the @code{procfs} code.
16208 This includes, as of this writing, @sc{gnu}/Linux, OSF/1 (Digital
16209 Unix), Solaris, Irix, and Unixware, but not HP-UX, for example.
16210
16211 @table @code
16212 @kindex info proc
16213 @cindex process ID
16214 @item info proc
16215 @itemx info proc @var{process-id}
16216 Summarize available information about any running process. If a
16217 process ID is specified by @var{process-id}, display information about
16218 that process; otherwise display information about the program being
16219 debugged. The summary includes the debugged process ID, the command
16220 line used to invoke it, its current working directory, and its
16221 executable file's absolute file name.
16222
16223 On some systems, @var{process-id} can be of the form
16224 @samp{[@var{pid}]/@var{tid}} which specifies a certain thread ID
16225 within a process. If the optional @var{pid} part is missing, it means
16226 a thread from the process being debugged (the leading @samp{/} still
16227 needs to be present, or else @value{GDBN} will interpret the number as
16228 a process ID rather than a thread ID).
16229
16230 @item info proc mappings
16231 @cindex memory address space mappings
16232 Report the memory address space ranges accessible in the program, with
16233 information on whether the process has read, write, or execute access
16234 rights to each range. On @sc{gnu}/Linux systems, each memory range
16235 includes the object file which is mapped to that range, instead of the
16236 memory access rights to that range.
16237
16238 @item info proc stat
16239 @itemx info proc status
16240 @cindex process detailed status information
16241 These subcommands are specific to @sc{gnu}/Linux systems. They show
16242 the process-related information, including the user ID and group ID;
16243 how many threads are there in the process; its virtual memory usage;
16244 the signals that are pending, blocked, and ignored; its TTY; its
16245 consumption of system and user time; its stack size; its @samp{nice}
16246 value; etc. For more information, see the @samp{proc} man page
16247 (type @kbd{man 5 proc} from your shell prompt).
16248
16249 @item info proc all
16250 Show all the information about the process described under all of the
16251 above @code{info proc} subcommands.
16252
16253 @ignore
16254 @comment These sub-options of 'info proc' were not included when
16255 @comment procfs.c was re-written. Keep their descriptions around
16256 @comment against the day when someone finds the time to put them back in.
16257 @kindex info proc times
16258 @item info proc times
16259 Starting time, user CPU time, and system CPU time for your program and
16260 its children.
16261
16262 @kindex info proc id
16263 @item info proc id
16264 Report on the process IDs related to your program: its own process ID,
16265 the ID of its parent, the process group ID, and the session ID.
16266 @end ignore
16267
16268 @item set procfs-trace
16269 @kindex set procfs-trace
16270 @cindex @code{procfs} API calls
16271 This command enables and disables tracing of @code{procfs} API calls.
16272
16273 @item show procfs-trace
16274 @kindex show procfs-trace
16275 Show the current state of @code{procfs} API call tracing.
16276
16277 @item set procfs-file @var{file}
16278 @kindex set procfs-file
16279 Tell @value{GDBN} to write @code{procfs} API trace to the named
16280 @var{file}. @value{GDBN} appends the trace info to the previous
16281 contents of the file. The default is to display the trace on the
16282 standard output.
16283
16284 @item show procfs-file
16285 @kindex show procfs-file
16286 Show the file to which @code{procfs} API trace is written.
16287
16288 @item proc-trace-entry
16289 @itemx proc-trace-exit
16290 @itemx proc-untrace-entry
16291 @itemx proc-untrace-exit
16292 @kindex proc-trace-entry
16293 @kindex proc-trace-exit
16294 @kindex proc-untrace-entry
16295 @kindex proc-untrace-exit
16296 These commands enable and disable tracing of entries into and exits
16297 from the @code{syscall} interface.
16298
16299 @item info pidlist
16300 @kindex info pidlist
16301 @cindex process list, QNX Neutrino
16302 For QNX Neutrino only, this command displays the list of all the
16303 processes and all the threads within each process.
16304
16305 @item info meminfo
16306 @kindex info meminfo
16307 @cindex mapinfo list, QNX Neutrino
16308 For QNX Neutrino only, this command displays the list of all mapinfos.
16309 @end table
16310
16311 @node DJGPP Native
16312 @subsection Features for Debugging @sc{djgpp} Programs
16313 @cindex @sc{djgpp} debugging
16314 @cindex native @sc{djgpp} debugging
16315 @cindex MS-DOS-specific commands
16316
16317 @cindex DPMI
16318 @sc{djgpp} is a port of the @sc{gnu} development tools to MS-DOS and
16319 MS-Windows. @sc{djgpp} programs are 32-bit protected-mode programs
16320 that use the @dfn{DPMI} (DOS Protected-Mode Interface) API to run on
16321 top of real-mode DOS systems and their emulations.
16322
16323 @value{GDBN} supports native debugging of @sc{djgpp} programs, and
16324 defines a few commands specific to the @sc{djgpp} port. This
16325 subsection describes those commands.
16326
16327 @table @code
16328 @kindex info dos
16329 @item info dos
16330 This is a prefix of @sc{djgpp}-specific commands which print
16331 information about the target system and important OS structures.
16332
16333 @kindex sysinfo
16334 @cindex MS-DOS system info
16335 @cindex free memory information (MS-DOS)
16336 @item info dos sysinfo
16337 This command displays assorted information about the underlying
16338 platform: the CPU type and features, the OS version and flavor, the
16339 DPMI version, and the available conventional and DPMI memory.
16340
16341 @cindex GDT
16342 @cindex LDT
16343 @cindex IDT
16344 @cindex segment descriptor tables
16345 @cindex descriptor tables display
16346 @item info dos gdt
16347 @itemx info dos ldt
16348 @itemx info dos idt
16349 These 3 commands display entries from, respectively, Global, Local,
16350 and Interrupt Descriptor Tables (GDT, LDT, and IDT). The descriptor
16351 tables are data structures which store a descriptor for each segment
16352 that is currently in use. The segment's selector is an index into a
16353 descriptor table; the table entry for that index holds the
16354 descriptor's base address and limit, and its attributes and access
16355 rights.
16356
16357 A typical @sc{djgpp} program uses 3 segments: a code segment, a data
16358 segment (used for both data and the stack), and a DOS segment (which
16359 allows access to DOS/BIOS data structures and absolute addresses in
16360 conventional memory). However, the DPMI host will usually define
16361 additional segments in order to support the DPMI environment.
16362
16363 @cindex garbled pointers
16364 These commands allow to display entries from the descriptor tables.
16365 Without an argument, all entries from the specified table are
16366 displayed. An argument, which should be an integer expression, means
16367 display a single entry whose index is given by the argument. For
16368 example, here's a convenient way to display information about the
16369 debugged program's data segment:
16370
16371 @smallexample
16372 @exdent @code{(@value{GDBP}) info dos ldt $ds}
16373 @exdent @code{0x13f: base=0x11970000 limit=0x0009ffff 32-Bit Data (Read/Write, Exp-up)}
16374 @end smallexample
16375
16376 @noindent
16377 This comes in handy when you want to see whether a pointer is outside
16378 the data segment's limit (i.e.@: @dfn{garbled}).
16379
16380 @cindex page tables display (MS-DOS)
16381 @item info dos pde
16382 @itemx info dos pte
16383 These two commands display entries from, respectively, the Page
16384 Directory and the Page Tables. Page Directories and Page Tables are
16385 data structures which control how virtual memory addresses are mapped
16386 into physical addresses. A Page Table includes an entry for every
16387 page of memory that is mapped into the program's address space; there
16388 may be several Page Tables, each one holding up to 4096 entries. A
16389 Page Directory has up to 4096 entries, one each for every Page Table
16390 that is currently in use.
16391
16392 Without an argument, @kbd{info dos pde} displays the entire Page
16393 Directory, and @kbd{info dos pte} displays all the entries in all of
16394 the Page Tables. An argument, an integer expression, given to the
16395 @kbd{info dos pde} command means display only that entry from the Page
16396 Directory table. An argument given to the @kbd{info dos pte} command
16397 means display entries from a single Page Table, the one pointed to by
16398 the specified entry in the Page Directory.
16399
16400 @cindex direct memory access (DMA) on MS-DOS
16401 These commands are useful when your program uses @dfn{DMA} (Direct
16402 Memory Access), which needs physical addresses to program the DMA
16403 controller.
16404
16405 These commands are supported only with some DPMI servers.
16406
16407 @cindex physical address from linear address
16408 @item info dos address-pte @var{addr}
16409 This command displays the Page Table entry for a specified linear
16410 address. The argument @var{addr} is a linear address which should
16411 already have the appropriate segment's base address added to it,
16412 because this command accepts addresses which may belong to @emph{any}
16413 segment. For example, here's how to display the Page Table entry for
16414 the page where a variable @code{i} is stored:
16415
16416 @smallexample
16417 @exdent @code{(@value{GDBP}) info dos address-pte __djgpp_base_address + (char *)&i}
16418 @exdent @code{Page Table entry for address 0x11a00d30:}
16419 @exdent @code{Base=0x02698000 Dirty Acc. Not-Cached Write-Back Usr Read-Write +0xd30}
16420 @end smallexample
16421
16422 @noindent
16423 This says that @code{i} is stored at offset @code{0xd30} from the page
16424 whose physical base address is @code{0x02698000}, and shows all the
16425 attributes of that page.
16426
16427 Note that you must cast the addresses of variables to a @code{char *},
16428 since otherwise the value of @code{__djgpp_base_address}, the base
16429 address of all variables and functions in a @sc{djgpp} program, will
16430 be added using the rules of C pointer arithmetics: if @code{i} is
16431 declared an @code{int}, @value{GDBN} will add 4 times the value of
16432 @code{__djgpp_base_address} to the address of @code{i}.
16433
16434 Here's another example, it displays the Page Table entry for the
16435 transfer buffer:
16436
16437 @smallexample
16438 @exdent @code{(@value{GDBP}) info dos address-pte *((unsigned *)&_go32_info_block + 3)}
16439 @exdent @code{Page Table entry for address 0x29110:}
16440 @exdent @code{Base=0x00029000 Dirty Acc. Not-Cached Write-Back Usr Read-Write +0x110}
16441 @end smallexample
16442
16443 @noindent
16444 (The @code{+ 3} offset is because the transfer buffer's address is the
16445 3rd member of the @code{_go32_info_block} structure.) The output
16446 clearly shows that this DPMI server maps the addresses in conventional
16447 memory 1:1, i.e.@: the physical (@code{0x00029000} + @code{0x110}) and
16448 linear (@code{0x29110}) addresses are identical.
16449
16450 This command is supported only with some DPMI servers.
16451 @end table
16452
16453 @cindex DOS serial data link, remote debugging
16454 In addition to native debugging, the DJGPP port supports remote
16455 debugging via a serial data link. The following commands are specific
16456 to remote serial debugging in the DJGPP port of @value{GDBN}.
16457
16458 @table @code
16459 @kindex set com1base
16460 @kindex set com1irq
16461 @kindex set com2base
16462 @kindex set com2irq
16463 @kindex set com3base
16464 @kindex set com3irq
16465 @kindex set com4base
16466 @kindex set com4irq
16467 @item set com1base @var{addr}
16468 This command sets the base I/O port address of the @file{COM1} serial
16469 port.
16470
16471 @item set com1irq @var{irq}
16472 This command sets the @dfn{Interrupt Request} (@code{IRQ}) line to use
16473 for the @file{COM1} serial port.
16474
16475 There are similar commands @samp{set com2base}, @samp{set com3irq},
16476 etc.@: for setting the port address and the @code{IRQ} lines for the
16477 other 3 COM ports.
16478
16479 @kindex show com1base
16480 @kindex show com1irq
16481 @kindex show com2base
16482 @kindex show com2irq
16483 @kindex show com3base
16484 @kindex show com3irq
16485 @kindex show com4base
16486 @kindex show com4irq
16487 The related commands @samp{show com1base}, @samp{show com1irq} etc.@:
16488 display the current settings of the base address and the @code{IRQ}
16489 lines used by the COM ports.
16490
16491 @item info serial
16492 @kindex info serial
16493 @cindex DOS serial port status
16494 This command prints the status of the 4 DOS serial ports. For each
16495 port, it prints whether it's active or not, its I/O base address and
16496 IRQ number, whether it uses a 16550-style FIFO, its baudrate, and the
16497 counts of various errors encountered so far.
16498 @end table
16499
16500
16501 @node Cygwin Native
16502 @subsection Features for Debugging MS Windows PE Executables
16503 @cindex MS Windows debugging
16504 @cindex native Cygwin debugging
16505 @cindex Cygwin-specific commands
16506
16507 @value{GDBN} supports native debugging of MS Windows programs, including
16508 DLLs with and without symbolic debugging information.
16509
16510 @cindex Ctrl-BREAK, MS-Windows
16511 @cindex interrupt debuggee on MS-Windows
16512 MS-Windows programs that call @code{SetConsoleMode} to switch off the
16513 special meaning of the @samp{Ctrl-C} keystroke cannot be interrupted
16514 by typing @kbd{C-c}. For this reason, @value{GDBN} on MS-Windows
16515 supports @kbd{C-@key{BREAK}} as an alternative interrupt key
16516 sequence, which can be used to interrupt the debuggee even if it
16517 ignores @kbd{C-c}.
16518
16519 There are various additional Cygwin-specific commands, described in
16520 this section. Working with DLLs that have no debugging symbols is
16521 described in @ref{Non-debug DLL Symbols}.
16522
16523 @table @code
16524 @kindex info w32
16525 @item info w32
16526 This is a prefix of MS Windows-specific commands which print
16527 information about the target system and important OS structures.
16528
16529 @item info w32 selector
16530 This command displays information returned by
16531 the Win32 API @code{GetThreadSelectorEntry} function.
16532 It takes an optional argument that is evaluated to
16533 a long value to give the information about this given selector.
16534 Without argument, this command displays information
16535 about the six segment registers.
16536
16537 @kindex info dll
16538 @item info dll
16539 This is a Cygwin-specific alias of @code{info shared}.
16540
16541 @kindex dll-symbols
16542 @item dll-symbols
16543 This command loads symbols from a dll similarly to
16544 add-sym command but without the need to specify a base address.
16545
16546 @kindex set cygwin-exceptions
16547 @cindex debugging the Cygwin DLL
16548 @cindex Cygwin DLL, debugging
16549 @item set cygwin-exceptions @var{mode}
16550 If @var{mode} is @code{on}, @value{GDBN} will break on exceptions that
16551 happen inside the Cygwin DLL. If @var{mode} is @code{off},
16552 @value{GDBN} will delay recognition of exceptions, and may ignore some
16553 exceptions which seem to be caused by internal Cygwin DLL
16554 ``bookkeeping''. This option is meant primarily for debugging the
16555 Cygwin DLL itself; the default value is @code{off} to avoid annoying
16556 @value{GDBN} users with false @code{SIGSEGV} signals.
16557
16558 @kindex show cygwin-exceptions
16559 @item show cygwin-exceptions
16560 Displays whether @value{GDBN} will break on exceptions that happen
16561 inside the Cygwin DLL itself.
16562
16563 @kindex set new-console
16564 @item set new-console @var{mode}
16565 If @var{mode} is @code{on} the debuggee will
16566 be started in a new console on next start.
16567 If @var{mode} is @code{off}, the debuggee will
16568 be started in the same console as the debugger.
16569
16570 @kindex show new-console
16571 @item show new-console
16572 Displays whether a new console is used
16573 when the debuggee is started.
16574
16575 @kindex set new-group
16576 @item set new-group @var{mode}
16577 This boolean value controls whether the debuggee should
16578 start a new group or stay in the same group as the debugger.
16579 This affects the way the Windows OS handles
16580 @samp{Ctrl-C}.
16581
16582 @kindex show new-group
16583 @item show new-group
16584 Displays current value of new-group boolean.
16585
16586 @kindex set debugevents
16587 @item set debugevents
16588 This boolean value adds debug output concerning kernel events related
16589 to the debuggee seen by the debugger. This includes events that
16590 signal thread and process creation and exit, DLL loading and
16591 unloading, console interrupts, and debugging messages produced by the
16592 Windows @code{OutputDebugString} API call.
16593
16594 @kindex set debugexec
16595 @item set debugexec
16596 This boolean value adds debug output concerning execute events
16597 (such as resume thread) seen by the debugger.
16598
16599 @kindex set debugexceptions
16600 @item set debugexceptions
16601 This boolean value adds debug output concerning exceptions in the
16602 debuggee seen by the debugger.
16603
16604 @kindex set debugmemory
16605 @item set debugmemory
16606 This boolean value adds debug output concerning debuggee memory reads
16607 and writes by the debugger.
16608
16609 @kindex set shell
16610 @item set shell
16611 This boolean values specifies whether the debuggee is called
16612 via a shell or directly (default value is on).
16613
16614 @kindex show shell
16615 @item show shell
16616 Displays if the debuggee will be started with a shell.
16617
16618 @end table
16619
16620 @menu
16621 * Non-debug DLL Symbols:: Support for DLLs without debugging symbols
16622 @end menu
16623
16624 @node Non-debug DLL Symbols
16625 @subsubsection Support for DLLs without Debugging Symbols
16626 @cindex DLLs with no debugging symbols
16627 @cindex Minimal symbols and DLLs
16628
16629 Very often on windows, some of the DLLs that your program relies on do
16630 not include symbolic debugging information (for example,
16631 @file{kernel32.dll}). When @value{GDBN} doesn't recognize any debugging
16632 symbols in a DLL, it relies on the minimal amount of symbolic
16633 information contained in the DLL's export table. This section
16634 describes working with such symbols, known internally to @value{GDBN} as
16635 ``minimal symbols''.
16636
16637 Note that before the debugged program has started execution, no DLLs
16638 will have been loaded. The easiest way around this problem is simply to
16639 start the program --- either by setting a breakpoint or letting the
16640 program run once to completion. It is also possible to force
16641 @value{GDBN} to load a particular DLL before starting the executable ---
16642 see the shared library information in @ref{Files}, or the
16643 @code{dll-symbols} command in @ref{Cygwin Native}. Currently,
16644 explicitly loading symbols from a DLL with no debugging information will
16645 cause the symbol names to be duplicated in @value{GDBN}'s lookup table,
16646 which may adversely affect symbol lookup performance.
16647
16648 @subsubsection DLL Name Prefixes
16649
16650 In keeping with the naming conventions used by the Microsoft debugging
16651 tools, DLL export symbols are made available with a prefix based on the
16652 DLL name, for instance @code{KERNEL32!CreateFileA}. The plain name is
16653 also entered into the symbol table, so @code{CreateFileA} is often
16654 sufficient. In some cases there will be name clashes within a program
16655 (particularly if the executable itself includes full debugging symbols)
16656 necessitating the use of the fully qualified name when referring to the
16657 contents of the DLL. Use single-quotes around the name to avoid the
16658 exclamation mark (``!'') being interpreted as a language operator.
16659
16660 Note that the internal name of the DLL may be all upper-case, even
16661 though the file name of the DLL is lower-case, or vice-versa. Since
16662 symbols within @value{GDBN} are @emph{case-sensitive} this may cause
16663 some confusion. If in doubt, try the @code{info functions} and
16664 @code{info variables} commands or even @code{maint print msymbols}
16665 (@pxref{Symbols}). Here's an example:
16666
16667 @smallexample
16668 (@value{GDBP}) info function CreateFileA
16669 All functions matching regular expression "CreateFileA":
16670
16671 Non-debugging symbols:
16672 0x77e885f4 CreateFileA
16673 0x77e885f4 KERNEL32!CreateFileA
16674 @end smallexample
16675
16676 @smallexample
16677 (@value{GDBP}) info function !
16678 All functions matching regular expression "!":
16679
16680 Non-debugging symbols:
16681 0x6100114c cygwin1!__assert
16682 0x61004034 cygwin1!_dll_crt0@@0
16683 0x61004240 cygwin1!dll_crt0(per_process *)
16684 [etc...]
16685 @end smallexample
16686
16687 @subsubsection Working with Minimal Symbols
16688
16689 Symbols extracted from a DLL's export table do not contain very much
16690 type information. All that @value{GDBN} can do is guess whether a symbol
16691 refers to a function or variable depending on the linker section that
16692 contains the symbol. Also note that the actual contents of the memory
16693 contained in a DLL are not available unless the program is running. This
16694 means that you cannot examine the contents of a variable or disassemble
16695 a function within a DLL without a running program.
16696
16697 Variables are generally treated as pointers and dereferenced
16698 automatically. For this reason, it is often necessary to prefix a
16699 variable name with the address-of operator (``&'') and provide explicit
16700 type information in the command. Here's an example of the type of
16701 problem:
16702
16703 @smallexample
16704 (@value{GDBP}) print 'cygwin1!__argv'
16705 $1 = 268572168
16706 @end smallexample
16707
16708 @smallexample
16709 (@value{GDBP}) x 'cygwin1!__argv'
16710 0x10021610: "\230y\""
16711 @end smallexample
16712
16713 And two possible solutions:
16714
16715 @smallexample
16716 (@value{GDBP}) print ((char **)'cygwin1!__argv')[0]
16717 $2 = 0x22fd98 "/cygdrive/c/mydirectory/myprogram"
16718 @end smallexample
16719
16720 @smallexample
16721 (@value{GDBP}) x/2x &'cygwin1!__argv'
16722 0x610c0aa8 <cygwin1!__argv>: 0x10021608 0x00000000
16723 (@value{GDBP}) x/x 0x10021608
16724 0x10021608: 0x0022fd98
16725 (@value{GDBP}) x/s 0x0022fd98
16726 0x22fd98: "/cygdrive/c/mydirectory/myprogram"
16727 @end smallexample
16728
16729 Setting a break point within a DLL is possible even before the program
16730 starts execution. However, under these circumstances, @value{GDBN} can't
16731 examine the initial instructions of the function in order to skip the
16732 function's frame set-up code. You can work around this by using ``*&''
16733 to set the breakpoint at a raw memory address:
16734
16735 @smallexample
16736 (@value{GDBP}) break *&'python22!PyOS_Readline'
16737 Breakpoint 1 at 0x1e04eff0
16738 @end smallexample
16739
16740 The author of these extensions is not entirely convinced that setting a
16741 break point within a shared DLL like @file{kernel32.dll} is completely
16742 safe.
16743
16744 @node Hurd Native
16745 @subsection Commands Specific to @sc{gnu} Hurd Systems
16746 @cindex @sc{gnu} Hurd debugging
16747
16748 This subsection describes @value{GDBN} commands specific to the
16749 @sc{gnu} Hurd native debugging.
16750
16751 @table @code
16752 @item set signals
16753 @itemx set sigs
16754 @kindex set signals@r{, Hurd command}
16755 @kindex set sigs@r{, Hurd command}
16756 This command toggles the state of inferior signal interception by
16757 @value{GDBN}. Mach exceptions, such as breakpoint traps, are not
16758 affected by this command. @code{sigs} is a shorthand alias for
16759 @code{signals}.
16760
16761 @item show signals
16762 @itemx show sigs
16763 @kindex show signals@r{, Hurd command}
16764 @kindex show sigs@r{, Hurd command}
16765 Show the current state of intercepting inferior's signals.
16766
16767 @item set signal-thread
16768 @itemx set sigthread
16769 @kindex set signal-thread
16770 @kindex set sigthread
16771 This command tells @value{GDBN} which thread is the @code{libc} signal
16772 thread. That thread is run when a signal is delivered to a running
16773 process. @code{set sigthread} is the shorthand alias of @code{set
16774 signal-thread}.
16775
16776 @item show signal-thread
16777 @itemx show sigthread
16778 @kindex show signal-thread
16779 @kindex show sigthread
16780 These two commands show which thread will run when the inferior is
16781 delivered a signal.
16782
16783 @item set stopped
16784 @kindex set stopped@r{, Hurd command}
16785 This commands tells @value{GDBN} that the inferior process is stopped,
16786 as with the @code{SIGSTOP} signal. The stopped process can be
16787 continued by delivering a signal to it.
16788
16789 @item show stopped
16790 @kindex show stopped@r{, Hurd command}
16791 This command shows whether @value{GDBN} thinks the debuggee is
16792 stopped.
16793
16794 @item set exceptions
16795 @kindex set exceptions@r{, Hurd command}
16796 Use this command to turn off trapping of exceptions in the inferior.
16797 When exception trapping is off, neither breakpoints nor
16798 single-stepping will work. To restore the default, set exception
16799 trapping on.
16800
16801 @item show exceptions
16802 @kindex show exceptions@r{, Hurd command}
16803 Show the current state of trapping exceptions in the inferior.
16804
16805 @item set task pause
16806 @kindex set task@r{, Hurd commands}
16807 @cindex task attributes (@sc{gnu} Hurd)
16808 @cindex pause current task (@sc{gnu} Hurd)
16809 This command toggles task suspension when @value{GDBN} has control.
16810 Setting it to on takes effect immediately, and the task is suspended
16811 whenever @value{GDBN} gets control. Setting it to off will take
16812 effect the next time the inferior is continued. If this option is set
16813 to off, you can use @code{set thread default pause on} or @code{set
16814 thread pause on} (see below) to pause individual threads.
16815
16816 @item show task pause
16817 @kindex show task@r{, Hurd commands}
16818 Show the current state of task suspension.
16819
16820 @item set task detach-suspend-count
16821 @cindex task suspend count
16822 @cindex detach from task, @sc{gnu} Hurd
16823 This command sets the suspend count the task will be left with when
16824 @value{GDBN} detaches from it.
16825
16826 @item show task detach-suspend-count
16827 Show the suspend count the task will be left with when detaching.
16828
16829 @item set task exception-port
16830 @itemx set task excp
16831 @cindex task exception port, @sc{gnu} Hurd
16832 This command sets the task exception port to which @value{GDBN} will
16833 forward exceptions. The argument should be the value of the @dfn{send
16834 rights} of the task. @code{set task excp} is a shorthand alias.
16835
16836 @item set noninvasive
16837 @cindex noninvasive task options
16838 This command switches @value{GDBN} to a mode that is the least
16839 invasive as far as interfering with the inferior is concerned. This
16840 is the same as using @code{set task pause}, @code{set exceptions}, and
16841 @code{set signals} to values opposite to the defaults.
16842
16843 @item info send-rights
16844 @itemx info receive-rights
16845 @itemx info port-rights
16846 @itemx info port-sets
16847 @itemx info dead-names
16848 @itemx info ports
16849 @itemx info psets
16850 @cindex send rights, @sc{gnu} Hurd
16851 @cindex receive rights, @sc{gnu} Hurd
16852 @cindex port rights, @sc{gnu} Hurd
16853 @cindex port sets, @sc{gnu} Hurd
16854 @cindex dead names, @sc{gnu} Hurd
16855 These commands display information about, respectively, send rights,
16856 receive rights, port rights, port sets, and dead names of a task.
16857 There are also shorthand aliases: @code{info ports} for @code{info
16858 port-rights} and @code{info psets} for @code{info port-sets}.
16859
16860 @item set thread pause
16861 @kindex set thread@r{, Hurd command}
16862 @cindex thread properties, @sc{gnu} Hurd
16863 @cindex pause current thread (@sc{gnu} Hurd)
16864 This command toggles current thread suspension when @value{GDBN} has
16865 control. Setting it to on takes effect immediately, and the current
16866 thread is suspended whenever @value{GDBN} gets control. Setting it to
16867 off will take effect the next time the inferior is continued.
16868 Normally, this command has no effect, since when @value{GDBN} has
16869 control, the whole task is suspended. However, if you used @code{set
16870 task pause off} (see above), this command comes in handy to suspend
16871 only the current thread.
16872
16873 @item show thread pause
16874 @kindex show thread@r{, Hurd command}
16875 This command shows the state of current thread suspension.
16876
16877 @item set thread run
16878 This command sets whether the current thread is allowed to run.
16879
16880 @item show thread run
16881 Show whether the current thread is allowed to run.
16882
16883 @item set thread detach-suspend-count
16884 @cindex thread suspend count, @sc{gnu} Hurd
16885 @cindex detach from thread, @sc{gnu} Hurd
16886 This command sets the suspend count @value{GDBN} will leave on a
16887 thread when detaching. This number is relative to the suspend count
16888 found by @value{GDBN} when it notices the thread; use @code{set thread
16889 takeover-suspend-count} to force it to an absolute value.
16890
16891 @item show thread detach-suspend-count
16892 Show the suspend count @value{GDBN} will leave on the thread when
16893 detaching.
16894
16895 @item set thread exception-port
16896 @itemx set thread excp
16897 Set the thread exception port to which to forward exceptions. This
16898 overrides the port set by @code{set task exception-port} (see above).
16899 @code{set thread excp} is the shorthand alias.
16900
16901 @item set thread takeover-suspend-count
16902 Normally, @value{GDBN}'s thread suspend counts are relative to the
16903 value @value{GDBN} finds when it notices each thread. This command
16904 changes the suspend counts to be absolute instead.
16905
16906 @item set thread default
16907 @itemx show thread default
16908 @cindex thread default settings, @sc{gnu} Hurd
16909 Each of the above @code{set thread} commands has a @code{set thread
16910 default} counterpart (e.g., @code{set thread default pause}, @code{set
16911 thread default exception-port}, etc.). The @code{thread default}
16912 variety of commands sets the default thread properties for all
16913 threads; you can then change the properties of individual threads with
16914 the non-default commands.
16915 @end table
16916
16917
16918 @node Neutrino
16919 @subsection QNX Neutrino
16920 @cindex QNX Neutrino
16921
16922 @value{GDBN} provides the following commands specific to the QNX
16923 Neutrino target:
16924
16925 @table @code
16926 @item set debug nto-debug
16927 @kindex set debug nto-debug
16928 When set to on, enables debugging messages specific to the QNX
16929 Neutrino support.
16930
16931 @item show debug nto-debug
16932 @kindex show debug nto-debug
16933 Show the current state of QNX Neutrino messages.
16934 @end table
16935
16936 @node Darwin
16937 @subsection Darwin
16938 @cindex Darwin
16939
16940 @value{GDBN} provides the following commands specific to the Darwin target:
16941
16942 @table @code
16943 @item set debug darwin @var{num}
16944 @kindex set debug darwin
16945 When set to a non zero value, enables debugging messages specific to
16946 the Darwin support. Higher values produce more verbose output.
16947
16948 @item show debug darwin
16949 @kindex show debug darwin
16950 Show the current state of Darwin messages.
16951
16952 @item set debug mach-o @var{num}
16953 @kindex set debug mach-o
16954 When set to a non zero value, enables debugging messages while
16955 @value{GDBN} is reading Darwin object files. (@dfn{Mach-O} is the
16956 file format used on Darwin for object and executable files.) Higher
16957 values produce more verbose output. This is a command to diagnose
16958 problems internal to @value{GDBN} and should not be needed in normal
16959 usage.
16960
16961 @item show debug mach-o
16962 @kindex show debug mach-o
16963 Show the current state of Mach-O file messages.
16964
16965 @item set mach-exceptions on
16966 @itemx set mach-exceptions off
16967 @kindex set mach-exceptions
16968 On Darwin, faults are first reported as a Mach exception and are then
16969 mapped to a Posix signal. Use this command to turn on trapping of
16970 Mach exceptions in the inferior. This might be sometimes useful to
16971 better understand the cause of a fault. The default is off.
16972
16973 @item show mach-exceptions
16974 @kindex show mach-exceptions
16975 Show the current state of exceptions trapping.
16976 @end table
16977
16978
16979 @node Embedded OS
16980 @section Embedded Operating Systems
16981
16982 This section describes configurations involving the debugging of
16983 embedded operating systems that are available for several different
16984 architectures.
16985
16986 @menu
16987 * VxWorks:: Using @value{GDBN} with VxWorks
16988 @end menu
16989
16990 @value{GDBN} includes the ability to debug programs running on
16991 various real-time operating systems.
16992
16993 @node VxWorks
16994 @subsection Using @value{GDBN} with VxWorks
16995
16996 @cindex VxWorks
16997
16998 @table @code
16999
17000 @kindex target vxworks
17001 @item target vxworks @var{machinename}
17002 A VxWorks system, attached via TCP/IP. The argument @var{machinename}
17003 is the target system's machine name or IP address.
17004
17005 @end table
17006
17007 On VxWorks, @code{load} links @var{filename} dynamically on the
17008 current target system as well as adding its symbols in @value{GDBN}.
17009
17010 @value{GDBN} enables developers to spawn and debug tasks running on networked
17011 VxWorks targets from a Unix host. Already-running tasks spawned from
17012 the VxWorks shell can also be debugged. @value{GDBN} uses code that runs on
17013 both the Unix host and on the VxWorks target. The program
17014 @code{@value{GDBP}} is installed and executed on the Unix host. (It may be
17015 installed with the name @code{vxgdb}, to distinguish it from a
17016 @value{GDBN} for debugging programs on the host itself.)
17017
17018 @table @code
17019 @item VxWorks-timeout @var{args}
17020 @kindex vxworks-timeout
17021 All VxWorks-based targets now support the option @code{vxworks-timeout}.
17022 This option is set by the user, and @var{args} represents the number of
17023 seconds @value{GDBN} waits for responses to rpc's. You might use this if
17024 your VxWorks target is a slow software simulator or is on the far side
17025 of a thin network line.
17026 @end table
17027
17028 The following information on connecting to VxWorks was current when
17029 this manual was produced; newer releases of VxWorks may use revised
17030 procedures.
17031
17032 @findex INCLUDE_RDB
17033 To use @value{GDBN} with VxWorks, you must rebuild your VxWorks kernel
17034 to include the remote debugging interface routines in the VxWorks
17035 library @file{rdb.a}. To do this, define @code{INCLUDE_RDB} in the
17036 VxWorks configuration file @file{configAll.h} and rebuild your VxWorks
17037 kernel. The resulting kernel contains @file{rdb.a}, and spawns the
17038 source debugging task @code{tRdbTask} when VxWorks is booted. For more
17039 information on configuring and remaking VxWorks, see the manufacturer's
17040 manual.
17041 @c VxWorks, see the @cite{VxWorks Programmer's Guide}.
17042
17043 Once you have included @file{rdb.a} in your VxWorks system image and set
17044 your Unix execution search path to find @value{GDBN}, you are ready to
17045 run @value{GDBN}. From your Unix host, run @code{@value{GDBP}} (or
17046 @code{vxgdb}, depending on your installation).
17047
17048 @value{GDBN} comes up showing the prompt:
17049
17050 @smallexample
17051 (vxgdb)
17052 @end smallexample
17053
17054 @menu
17055 * VxWorks Connection:: Connecting to VxWorks
17056 * VxWorks Download:: VxWorks download
17057 * VxWorks Attach:: Running tasks
17058 @end menu
17059
17060 @node VxWorks Connection
17061 @subsubsection Connecting to VxWorks
17062
17063 The @value{GDBN} command @code{target} lets you connect to a VxWorks target on the
17064 network. To connect to a target whose host name is ``@code{tt}'', type:
17065
17066 @smallexample
17067 (vxgdb) target vxworks tt
17068 @end smallexample
17069
17070 @need 750
17071 @value{GDBN} displays messages like these:
17072
17073 @smallexample
17074 Attaching remote machine across net...
17075 Connected to tt.
17076 @end smallexample
17077
17078 @need 1000
17079 @value{GDBN} then attempts to read the symbol tables of any object modules
17080 loaded into the VxWorks target since it was last booted. @value{GDBN} locates
17081 these files by searching the directories listed in the command search
17082 path (@pxref{Environment, ,Your Program's Environment}); if it fails
17083 to find an object file, it displays a message such as:
17084
17085 @smallexample
17086 prog.o: No such file or directory.
17087 @end smallexample
17088
17089 When this happens, add the appropriate directory to the search path with
17090 the @value{GDBN} command @code{path}, and execute the @code{target}
17091 command again.
17092
17093 @node VxWorks Download
17094 @subsubsection VxWorks Download
17095
17096 @cindex download to VxWorks
17097 If you have connected to the VxWorks target and you want to debug an
17098 object that has not yet been loaded, you can use the @value{GDBN}
17099 @code{load} command to download a file from Unix to VxWorks
17100 incrementally. The object file given as an argument to the @code{load}
17101 command is actually opened twice: first by the VxWorks target in order
17102 to download the code, then by @value{GDBN} in order to read the symbol
17103 table. This can lead to problems if the current working directories on
17104 the two systems differ. If both systems have NFS mounted the same
17105 filesystems, you can avoid these problems by using absolute paths.
17106 Otherwise, it is simplest to set the working directory on both systems
17107 to the directory in which the object file resides, and then to reference
17108 the file by its name, without any path. For instance, a program
17109 @file{prog.o} may reside in @file{@var{vxpath}/vw/demo/rdb} in VxWorks
17110 and in @file{@var{hostpath}/vw/demo/rdb} on the host. To load this
17111 program, type this on VxWorks:
17112
17113 @smallexample
17114 -> cd "@var{vxpath}/vw/demo/rdb"
17115 @end smallexample
17116
17117 @noindent
17118 Then, in @value{GDBN}, type:
17119
17120 @smallexample
17121 (vxgdb) cd @var{hostpath}/vw/demo/rdb
17122 (vxgdb) load prog.o
17123 @end smallexample
17124
17125 @value{GDBN} displays a response similar to this:
17126
17127 @smallexample
17128 Reading symbol data from wherever/vw/demo/rdb/prog.o... done.
17129 @end smallexample
17130
17131 You can also use the @code{load} command to reload an object module
17132 after editing and recompiling the corresponding source file. Note that
17133 this makes @value{GDBN} delete all currently-defined breakpoints,
17134 auto-displays, and convenience variables, and to clear the value
17135 history. (This is necessary in order to preserve the integrity of
17136 debugger's data structures that reference the target system's symbol
17137 table.)
17138
17139 @node VxWorks Attach
17140 @subsubsection Running Tasks
17141
17142 @cindex running VxWorks tasks
17143 You can also attach to an existing task using the @code{attach} command as
17144 follows:
17145
17146 @smallexample
17147 (vxgdb) attach @var{task}
17148 @end smallexample
17149
17150 @noindent
17151 where @var{task} is the VxWorks hexadecimal task ID. The task can be running
17152 or suspended when you attach to it. Running tasks are suspended at
17153 the time of attachment.
17154
17155 @node Embedded Processors
17156 @section Embedded Processors
17157
17158 This section goes into details specific to particular embedded
17159 configurations.
17160
17161 @cindex send command to simulator
17162 Whenever a specific embedded processor has a simulator, @value{GDBN}
17163 allows to send an arbitrary command to the simulator.
17164
17165 @table @code
17166 @item sim @var{command}
17167 @kindex sim@r{, a command}
17168 Send an arbitrary @var{command} string to the simulator. Consult the
17169 documentation for the specific simulator in use for information about
17170 acceptable commands.
17171 @end table
17172
17173
17174 @menu
17175 * ARM:: ARM RDI
17176 * M32R/D:: Renesas M32R/D
17177 * M68K:: Motorola M68K
17178 * MicroBlaze:: Xilinx MicroBlaze
17179 * MIPS Embedded:: MIPS Embedded
17180 * OpenRISC 1000:: OpenRisc 1000
17181 * PA:: HP PA Embedded
17182 * PowerPC Embedded:: PowerPC Embedded
17183 * Sparclet:: Tsqware Sparclet
17184 * Sparclite:: Fujitsu Sparclite
17185 * Z8000:: Zilog Z8000
17186 * AVR:: Atmel AVR
17187 * CRIS:: CRIS
17188 * Super-H:: Renesas Super-H
17189 @end menu
17190
17191 @node ARM
17192 @subsection ARM
17193 @cindex ARM RDI
17194
17195 @table @code
17196 @kindex target rdi
17197 @item target rdi @var{dev}
17198 ARM Angel monitor, via RDI library interface to ADP protocol. You may
17199 use this target to communicate with both boards running the Angel
17200 monitor, or with the EmbeddedICE JTAG debug device.
17201
17202 @kindex target rdp
17203 @item target rdp @var{dev}
17204 ARM Demon monitor.
17205
17206 @end table
17207
17208 @value{GDBN} provides the following ARM-specific commands:
17209
17210 @table @code
17211 @item set arm disassembler
17212 @kindex set arm
17213 This commands selects from a list of disassembly styles. The
17214 @code{"std"} style is the standard style.
17215
17216 @item show arm disassembler
17217 @kindex show arm
17218 Show the current disassembly style.
17219
17220 @item set arm apcs32
17221 @cindex ARM 32-bit mode
17222 This command toggles ARM operation mode between 32-bit and 26-bit.
17223
17224 @item show arm apcs32
17225 Display the current usage of the ARM 32-bit mode.
17226
17227 @item set arm fpu @var{fputype}
17228 This command sets the ARM floating-point unit (FPU) type. The
17229 argument @var{fputype} can be one of these:
17230
17231 @table @code
17232 @item auto
17233 Determine the FPU type by querying the OS ABI.
17234 @item softfpa
17235 Software FPU, with mixed-endian doubles on little-endian ARM
17236 processors.
17237 @item fpa
17238 GCC-compiled FPA co-processor.
17239 @item softvfp
17240 Software FPU with pure-endian doubles.
17241 @item vfp
17242 VFP co-processor.
17243 @end table
17244
17245 @item show arm fpu
17246 Show the current type of the FPU.
17247
17248 @item set arm abi
17249 This command forces @value{GDBN} to use the specified ABI.
17250
17251 @item show arm abi
17252 Show the currently used ABI.
17253
17254 @item set arm fallback-mode (arm|thumb|auto)
17255 @value{GDBN} uses the symbol table, when available, to determine
17256 whether instructions are ARM or Thumb. This command controls
17257 @value{GDBN}'s default behavior when the symbol table is not
17258 available. The default is @samp{auto}, which causes @value{GDBN} to
17259 use the current execution mode (from the @code{T} bit in the @code{CPSR}
17260 register).
17261
17262 @item show arm fallback-mode
17263 Show the current fallback instruction mode.
17264
17265 @item set arm force-mode (arm|thumb|auto)
17266 This command overrides use of the symbol table to determine whether
17267 instructions are ARM or Thumb. The default is @samp{auto}, which
17268 causes @value{GDBN} to use the symbol table and then the setting
17269 of @samp{set arm fallback-mode}.
17270
17271 @item show arm force-mode
17272 Show the current forced instruction mode.
17273
17274 @item set debug arm
17275 Toggle whether to display ARM-specific debugging messages from the ARM
17276 target support subsystem.
17277
17278 @item show debug arm
17279 Show whether ARM-specific debugging messages are enabled.
17280 @end table
17281
17282 The following commands are available when an ARM target is debugged
17283 using the RDI interface:
17284
17285 @table @code
17286 @item rdilogfile @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
17287 @kindex rdilogfile
17288 @cindex ADP (Angel Debugger Protocol) logging
17289 Set the filename for the ADP (Angel Debugger Protocol) packet log.
17290 With an argument, sets the log file to the specified @var{file}. With
17291 no argument, show the current log file name. The default log file is
17292 @file{rdi.log}.
17293
17294 @item rdilogenable @r{[}@var{arg}@r{]}
17295 @kindex rdilogenable
17296 Control logging of ADP packets. With an argument of 1 or @code{"yes"}
17297 enables logging, with an argument 0 or @code{"no"} disables it. With
17298 no arguments displays the current setting. When logging is enabled,
17299 ADP packets exchanged between @value{GDBN} and the RDI target device
17300 are logged to a file.
17301
17302 @item set rdiromatzero
17303 @kindex set rdiromatzero
17304 @cindex ROM at zero address, RDI
17305 Tell @value{GDBN} whether the target has ROM at address 0. If on,
17306 vector catching is disabled, so that zero address can be used. If off
17307 (the default), vector catching is enabled. For this command to take
17308 effect, it needs to be invoked prior to the @code{target rdi} command.
17309
17310 @item show rdiromatzero
17311 @kindex show rdiromatzero
17312 Show the current setting of ROM at zero address.
17313
17314 @item set rdiheartbeat
17315 @kindex set rdiheartbeat
17316 @cindex RDI heartbeat
17317 Enable or disable RDI heartbeat packets. It is not recommended to
17318 turn on this option, since it confuses ARM and EPI JTAG interface, as
17319 well as the Angel monitor.
17320
17321 @item show rdiheartbeat
17322 @kindex show rdiheartbeat
17323 Show the setting of RDI heartbeat packets.
17324 @end table
17325
17326 @table @code
17327 @item target sim @r{[}@var{simargs}@r{]} @dots{}
17328 The @value{GDBN} ARM simulator accepts the following optional arguments.
17329
17330 @table @code
17331 @item --swi-support=@var{type}
17332 Tell the simulator which SWI interfaces to support.
17333 @var{type} may be a comma separated list of the following values.
17334 The default value is @code{all}.
17335
17336 @table @code
17337 @item none
17338 @item demon
17339 @item angel
17340 @item redboot
17341 @item all
17342 @end table
17343 @end table
17344 @end table
17345
17346 @node M32R/D
17347 @subsection Renesas M32R/D and M32R/SDI
17348
17349 @table @code
17350 @kindex target m32r
17351 @item target m32r @var{dev}
17352 Renesas M32R/D ROM monitor.
17353
17354 @kindex target m32rsdi
17355 @item target m32rsdi @var{dev}
17356 Renesas M32R SDI server, connected via parallel port to the board.
17357 @end table
17358
17359 The following @value{GDBN} commands are specific to the M32R monitor:
17360
17361 @table @code
17362 @item set download-path @var{path}
17363 @kindex set download-path
17364 @cindex find downloadable @sc{srec} files (M32R)
17365 Set the default path for finding downloadable @sc{srec} files.
17366
17367 @item show download-path
17368 @kindex show download-path
17369 Show the default path for downloadable @sc{srec} files.
17370
17371 @item set board-address @var{addr}
17372 @kindex set board-address
17373 @cindex M32-EVA target board address
17374 Set the IP address for the M32R-EVA target board.
17375
17376 @item show board-address
17377 @kindex show board-address
17378 Show the current IP address of the target board.
17379
17380 @item set server-address @var{addr}
17381 @kindex set server-address
17382 @cindex download server address (M32R)
17383 Set the IP address for the download server, which is the @value{GDBN}'s
17384 host machine.
17385
17386 @item show server-address
17387 @kindex show server-address
17388 Display the IP address of the download server.
17389
17390 @item upload @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
17391 @kindex upload@r{, M32R}
17392 Upload the specified @sc{srec} @var{file} via the monitor's Ethernet
17393 upload capability. If no @var{file} argument is given, the current
17394 executable file is uploaded.
17395
17396 @item tload @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
17397 @kindex tload@r{, M32R}
17398 Test the @code{upload} command.
17399 @end table
17400
17401 The following commands are available for M32R/SDI:
17402
17403 @table @code
17404 @item sdireset
17405 @kindex sdireset
17406 @cindex reset SDI connection, M32R
17407 This command resets the SDI connection.
17408
17409 @item sdistatus
17410 @kindex sdistatus
17411 This command shows the SDI connection status.
17412
17413 @item debug_chaos
17414 @kindex debug_chaos
17415 @cindex M32R/Chaos debugging
17416 Instructs the remote that M32R/Chaos debugging is to be used.
17417
17418 @item use_debug_dma
17419 @kindex use_debug_dma
17420 Instructs the remote to use the DEBUG_DMA method of accessing memory.
17421
17422 @item use_mon_code
17423 @kindex use_mon_code
17424 Instructs the remote to use the MON_CODE method of accessing memory.
17425
17426 @item use_ib_break
17427 @kindex use_ib_break
17428 Instructs the remote to set breakpoints by IB break.
17429
17430 @item use_dbt_break
17431 @kindex use_dbt_break
17432 Instructs the remote to set breakpoints by DBT.
17433 @end table
17434
17435 @node M68K
17436 @subsection M68k
17437
17438 The Motorola m68k configuration includes ColdFire support, and a
17439 target command for the following ROM monitor.
17440
17441 @table @code
17442
17443 @kindex target dbug
17444 @item target dbug @var{dev}
17445 dBUG ROM monitor for Motorola ColdFire.
17446
17447 @end table
17448
17449 @node MicroBlaze
17450 @subsection MicroBlaze
17451 @cindex Xilinx MicroBlaze
17452 @cindex XMD, Xilinx Microprocessor Debugger
17453
17454 The MicroBlaze is a soft-core processor supported on various Xilinx
17455 FPGAs, such as Spartan or Virtex series. Boards with these processors
17456 usually have JTAG ports which connect to a host system running the Xilinx
17457 Embedded Development Kit (EDK) or Software Development Kit (SDK).
17458 This host system is used to download the configuration bitstream to
17459 the target FPGA. The Xilinx Microprocessor Debugger (XMD) program
17460 communicates with the target board using the JTAG interface and
17461 presents a @code{gdbserver} interface to the board. By default
17462 @code{xmd} uses port @code{1234}. (While it is possible to change
17463 this default port, it requires the use of undocumented @code{xmd}
17464 commands. Contact Xilinx support if you need to do this.)
17465
17466 Use these GDB commands to connect to the MicroBlaze target processor.
17467
17468 @table @code
17469 @item target remote :1234
17470 Use this command to connect to the target if you are running @value{GDBN}
17471 on the same system as @code{xmd}.
17472
17473 @item target remote @var{xmd-host}:1234
17474 Use this command to connect to the target if it is connected to @code{xmd}
17475 running on a different system named @var{xmd-host}.
17476
17477 @item load
17478 Use this command to download a program to the MicroBlaze target.
17479
17480 @item set debug microblaze @var{n}
17481 Enable MicroBlaze-specific debugging messages if non-zero.
17482
17483 @item show debug microblaze @var{n}
17484 Show MicroBlaze-specific debugging level.
17485 @end table
17486
17487 @node MIPS Embedded
17488 @subsection MIPS Embedded
17489
17490 @cindex MIPS boards
17491 @value{GDBN} can use the MIPS remote debugging protocol to talk to a
17492 MIPS board attached to a serial line. This is available when
17493 you configure @value{GDBN} with @samp{--target=mips-idt-ecoff}.
17494
17495 @need 1000
17496 Use these @value{GDBN} commands to specify the connection to your target board:
17497
17498 @table @code
17499 @item target mips @var{port}
17500 @kindex target mips @var{port}
17501 To run a program on the board, start up @code{@value{GDBP}} with the
17502 name of your program as the argument. To connect to the board, use the
17503 command @samp{target mips @var{port}}, where @var{port} is the name of
17504 the serial port connected to the board. If the program has not already
17505 been downloaded to the board, you may use the @code{load} command to
17506 download it. You can then use all the usual @value{GDBN} commands.
17507
17508 For example, this sequence connects to the target board through a serial
17509 port, and loads and runs a program called @var{prog} through the
17510 debugger:
17511
17512 @smallexample
17513 host$ @value{GDBP} @var{prog}
17514 @value{GDBN} is free software and @dots{}
17515 (@value{GDBP}) target mips /dev/ttyb
17516 (@value{GDBP}) load @var{prog}
17517 (@value{GDBP}) run
17518 @end smallexample
17519
17520 @item target mips @var{hostname}:@var{portnumber}
17521 On some @value{GDBN} host configurations, you can specify a TCP
17522 connection (for instance, to a serial line managed by a terminal
17523 concentrator) instead of a serial port, using the syntax
17524 @samp{@var{hostname}:@var{portnumber}}.
17525
17526 @item target pmon @var{port}
17527 @kindex target pmon @var{port}
17528 PMON ROM monitor.
17529
17530 @item target ddb @var{port}
17531 @kindex target ddb @var{port}
17532 NEC's DDB variant of PMON for Vr4300.
17533
17534 @item target lsi @var{port}
17535 @kindex target lsi @var{port}
17536 LSI variant of PMON.
17537
17538 @kindex target r3900
17539 @item target r3900 @var{dev}
17540 Densan DVE-R3900 ROM monitor for Toshiba R3900 Mips.
17541
17542 @kindex target array
17543 @item target array @var{dev}
17544 Array Tech LSI33K RAID controller board.
17545
17546 @end table
17547
17548
17549 @noindent
17550 @value{GDBN} also supports these special commands for MIPS targets:
17551
17552 @table @code
17553 @item set mipsfpu double
17554 @itemx set mipsfpu single
17555 @itemx set mipsfpu none
17556 @itemx set mipsfpu auto
17557 @itemx show mipsfpu
17558 @kindex set mipsfpu
17559 @kindex show mipsfpu
17560 @cindex MIPS remote floating point
17561 @cindex floating point, MIPS remote
17562 If your target board does not support the MIPS floating point
17563 coprocessor, you should use the command @samp{set mipsfpu none} (if you
17564 need this, you may wish to put the command in your @value{GDBN} init
17565 file). This tells @value{GDBN} how to find the return value of
17566 functions which return floating point values. It also allows
17567 @value{GDBN} to avoid saving the floating point registers when calling
17568 functions on the board. If you are using a floating point coprocessor
17569 with only single precision floating point support, as on the @sc{r4650}
17570 processor, use the command @samp{set mipsfpu single}. The default
17571 double precision floating point coprocessor may be selected using
17572 @samp{set mipsfpu double}.
17573
17574 In previous versions the only choices were double precision or no
17575 floating point, so @samp{set mipsfpu on} will select double precision
17576 and @samp{set mipsfpu off} will select no floating point.
17577
17578 As usual, you can inquire about the @code{mipsfpu} variable with
17579 @samp{show mipsfpu}.
17580
17581 @item set timeout @var{seconds}
17582 @itemx set retransmit-timeout @var{seconds}
17583 @itemx show timeout
17584 @itemx show retransmit-timeout
17585 @cindex @code{timeout}, MIPS protocol
17586 @cindex @code{retransmit-timeout}, MIPS protocol
17587 @kindex set timeout
17588 @kindex show timeout
17589 @kindex set retransmit-timeout
17590 @kindex show retransmit-timeout
17591 You can control the timeout used while waiting for a packet, in the MIPS
17592 remote protocol, with the @code{set timeout @var{seconds}} command. The
17593 default is 5 seconds. Similarly, you can control the timeout used while
17594 waiting for an acknowledgment of a packet with the @code{set
17595 retransmit-timeout @var{seconds}} command. The default is 3 seconds.
17596 You can inspect both values with @code{show timeout} and @code{show
17597 retransmit-timeout}. (These commands are @emph{only} available when
17598 @value{GDBN} is configured for @samp{--target=mips-idt-ecoff}.)
17599
17600 The timeout set by @code{set timeout} does not apply when @value{GDBN}
17601 is waiting for your program to stop. In that case, @value{GDBN} waits
17602 forever because it has no way of knowing how long the program is going
17603 to run before stopping.
17604
17605 @item set syn-garbage-limit @var{num}
17606 @kindex set syn-garbage-limit@r{, MIPS remote}
17607 @cindex synchronize with remote MIPS target
17608 Limit the maximum number of characters @value{GDBN} should ignore when
17609 it tries to synchronize with the remote target. The default is 10
17610 characters. Setting the limit to -1 means there's no limit.
17611
17612 @item show syn-garbage-limit
17613 @kindex show syn-garbage-limit@r{, MIPS remote}
17614 Show the current limit on the number of characters to ignore when
17615 trying to synchronize with the remote system.
17616
17617 @item set monitor-prompt @var{prompt}
17618 @kindex set monitor-prompt@r{, MIPS remote}
17619 @cindex remote monitor prompt
17620 Tell @value{GDBN} to expect the specified @var{prompt} string from the
17621 remote monitor. The default depends on the target:
17622 @table @asis
17623 @item pmon target
17624 @samp{PMON}
17625 @item ddb target
17626 @samp{NEC010}
17627 @item lsi target
17628 @samp{PMON>}
17629 @end table
17630
17631 @item show monitor-prompt
17632 @kindex show monitor-prompt@r{, MIPS remote}
17633 Show the current strings @value{GDBN} expects as the prompt from the
17634 remote monitor.
17635
17636 @item set monitor-warnings
17637 @kindex set monitor-warnings@r{, MIPS remote}
17638 Enable or disable monitor warnings about hardware breakpoints. This
17639 has effect only for the @code{lsi} target. When on, @value{GDBN} will
17640 display warning messages whose codes are returned by the @code{lsi}
17641 PMON monitor for breakpoint commands.
17642
17643 @item show monitor-warnings
17644 @kindex show monitor-warnings@r{, MIPS remote}
17645 Show the current setting of printing monitor warnings.
17646
17647 @item pmon @var{command}
17648 @kindex pmon@r{, MIPS remote}
17649 @cindex send PMON command
17650 This command allows sending an arbitrary @var{command} string to the
17651 monitor. The monitor must be in debug mode for this to work.
17652 @end table
17653
17654 @node OpenRISC 1000
17655 @subsection OpenRISC 1000
17656 @cindex OpenRISC 1000
17657
17658 @cindex or1k boards
17659 See OR1k Architecture document (@uref{www.opencores.org}) for more information
17660 about platform and commands.
17661
17662 @table @code
17663
17664 @kindex target jtag
17665 @item target jtag jtag://@var{host}:@var{port}
17666
17667 Connects to remote JTAG server.
17668 JTAG remote server can be either an or1ksim or JTAG server,
17669 connected via parallel port to the board.
17670
17671 Example: @code{target jtag jtag://localhost:9999}
17672
17673 @kindex or1ksim
17674 @item or1ksim @var{command}
17675 If connected to @code{or1ksim} OpenRISC 1000 Architectural
17676 Simulator, proprietary commands can be executed.
17677
17678 @kindex info or1k spr
17679 @item info or1k spr
17680 Displays spr groups.
17681
17682 @item info or1k spr @var{group}
17683 @itemx info or1k spr @var{groupno}
17684 Displays register names in selected group.
17685
17686 @item info or1k spr @var{group} @var{register}
17687 @itemx info or1k spr @var{register}
17688 @itemx info or1k spr @var{groupno} @var{registerno}
17689 @itemx info or1k spr @var{registerno}
17690 Shows information about specified spr register.
17691
17692 @kindex spr
17693 @item spr @var{group} @var{register} @var{value}
17694 @itemx spr @var{register @var{value}}
17695 @itemx spr @var{groupno} @var{registerno @var{value}}
17696 @itemx spr @var{registerno @var{value}}
17697 Writes @var{value} to specified spr register.
17698 @end table
17699
17700 Some implementations of OpenRISC 1000 Architecture also have hardware trace.
17701 It is very similar to @value{GDBN} trace, except it does not interfere with normal
17702 program execution and is thus much faster. Hardware breakpoints/watchpoint
17703 triggers can be set using:
17704 @table @code
17705 @item $LEA/$LDATA
17706 Load effective address/data
17707 @item $SEA/$SDATA
17708 Store effective address/data
17709 @item $AEA/$ADATA
17710 Access effective address ($SEA or $LEA) or data ($SDATA/$LDATA)
17711 @item $FETCH
17712 Fetch data
17713 @end table
17714
17715 When triggered, it can capture low level data, like: @code{PC}, @code{LSEA},
17716 @code{LDATA}, @code{SDATA}, @code{READSPR}, @code{WRITESPR}, @code{INSTR}.
17717
17718 @code{htrace} commands:
17719 @cindex OpenRISC 1000 htrace
17720 @table @code
17721 @kindex hwatch
17722 @item hwatch @var{conditional}
17723 Set hardware watchpoint on combination of Load/Store Effective Address(es)
17724 or Data. For example:
17725
17726 @code{hwatch ($LEA == my_var) && ($LDATA < 50) || ($SEA == my_var) && ($SDATA >= 50)}
17727
17728 @code{hwatch ($LEA == my_var) && ($LDATA < 50) || ($SEA == my_var) && ($SDATA >= 50)}
17729
17730 @kindex htrace
17731 @item htrace info
17732 Display information about current HW trace configuration.
17733
17734 @item htrace trigger @var{conditional}
17735 Set starting criteria for HW trace.
17736
17737 @item htrace qualifier @var{conditional}
17738 Set acquisition qualifier for HW trace.
17739
17740 @item htrace stop @var{conditional}
17741 Set HW trace stopping criteria.
17742
17743 @item htrace record [@var{data}]*
17744 Selects the data to be recorded, when qualifier is met and HW trace was
17745 triggered.
17746
17747 @item htrace enable
17748 @itemx htrace disable
17749 Enables/disables the HW trace.
17750
17751 @item htrace rewind [@var{filename}]
17752 Clears currently recorded trace data.
17753
17754 If filename is specified, new trace file is made and any newly collected data
17755 will be written there.
17756
17757 @item htrace print [@var{start} [@var{len}]]
17758 Prints trace buffer, using current record configuration.
17759
17760 @item htrace mode continuous
17761 Set continuous trace mode.
17762
17763 @item htrace mode suspend
17764 Set suspend trace mode.
17765
17766 @end table
17767
17768 @node PowerPC Embedded
17769 @subsection PowerPC Embedded
17770
17771 @value{GDBN} provides the following PowerPC-specific commands:
17772
17773 @table @code
17774 @kindex set powerpc
17775 @item set powerpc soft-float
17776 @itemx show powerpc soft-float
17777 Force @value{GDBN} to use (or not use) a software floating point calling
17778 convention. By default, @value{GDBN} selects the calling convention based
17779 on the selected architecture and the provided executable file.
17780
17781 @item set powerpc vector-abi
17782 @itemx show powerpc vector-abi
17783 Force @value{GDBN} to use the specified calling convention for vector
17784 arguments and return values. The valid options are @samp{auto};
17785 @samp{generic}, to avoid vector registers even if they are present;
17786 @samp{altivec}, to use AltiVec registers; and @samp{spe} to use SPE
17787 registers. By default, @value{GDBN} selects the calling convention
17788 based on the selected architecture and the provided executable file.
17789
17790 @kindex target dink32
17791 @item target dink32 @var{dev}
17792 DINK32 ROM monitor.
17793
17794 @kindex target ppcbug
17795 @item target ppcbug @var{dev}
17796 @kindex target ppcbug1
17797 @item target ppcbug1 @var{dev}
17798 PPCBUG ROM monitor for PowerPC.
17799
17800 @kindex target sds
17801 @item target sds @var{dev}
17802 SDS monitor, running on a PowerPC board (such as Motorola's ADS).
17803 @end table
17804
17805 @cindex SDS protocol
17806 The following commands specific to the SDS protocol are supported
17807 by @value{GDBN}:
17808
17809 @table @code
17810 @item set sdstimeout @var{nsec}
17811 @kindex set sdstimeout
17812 Set the timeout for SDS protocol reads to be @var{nsec} seconds. The
17813 default is 2 seconds.
17814
17815 @item show sdstimeout
17816 @kindex show sdstimeout
17817 Show the current value of the SDS timeout.
17818
17819 @item sds @var{command}
17820 @kindex sds@r{, a command}
17821 Send the specified @var{command} string to the SDS monitor.
17822 @end table
17823
17824
17825 @node PA
17826 @subsection HP PA Embedded
17827
17828 @table @code
17829
17830 @kindex target op50n
17831 @item target op50n @var{dev}
17832 OP50N monitor, running on an OKI HPPA board.
17833
17834 @kindex target w89k
17835 @item target w89k @var{dev}
17836 W89K monitor, running on a Winbond HPPA board.
17837
17838 @end table
17839
17840 @node Sparclet
17841 @subsection Tsqware Sparclet
17842
17843 @cindex Sparclet
17844
17845 @value{GDBN} enables developers to debug tasks running on
17846 Sparclet targets from a Unix host.
17847 @value{GDBN} uses code that runs on
17848 both the Unix host and on the Sparclet target. The program
17849 @code{@value{GDBP}} is installed and executed on the Unix host.
17850
17851 @table @code
17852 @item remotetimeout @var{args}
17853 @kindex remotetimeout
17854 @value{GDBN} supports the option @code{remotetimeout}.
17855 This option is set by the user, and @var{args} represents the number of
17856 seconds @value{GDBN} waits for responses.
17857 @end table
17858
17859 @cindex compiling, on Sparclet
17860 When compiling for debugging, include the options @samp{-g} to get debug
17861 information and @samp{-Ttext} to relocate the program to where you wish to
17862 load it on the target. You may also want to add the options @samp{-n} or
17863 @samp{-N} in order to reduce the size of the sections. Example:
17864
17865 @smallexample
17866 sparclet-aout-gcc prog.c -Ttext 0x12010000 -g -o prog -N
17867 @end smallexample
17868
17869 You can use @code{objdump} to verify that the addresses are what you intended:
17870
17871 @smallexample
17872 sparclet-aout-objdump --headers --syms prog
17873 @end smallexample
17874
17875 @cindex running, on Sparclet
17876 Once you have set
17877 your Unix execution search path to find @value{GDBN}, you are ready to
17878 run @value{GDBN}. From your Unix host, run @code{@value{GDBP}}
17879 (or @code{sparclet-aout-gdb}, depending on your installation).
17880
17881 @value{GDBN} comes up showing the prompt:
17882
17883 @smallexample
17884 (gdbslet)
17885 @end smallexample
17886
17887 @menu
17888 * Sparclet File:: Setting the file to debug
17889 * Sparclet Connection:: Connecting to Sparclet
17890 * Sparclet Download:: Sparclet download
17891 * Sparclet Execution:: Running and debugging
17892 @end menu
17893
17894 @node Sparclet File
17895 @subsubsection Setting File to Debug
17896
17897 The @value{GDBN} command @code{file} lets you choose with program to debug.
17898
17899 @smallexample
17900 (gdbslet) file prog
17901 @end smallexample
17902
17903 @need 1000
17904 @value{GDBN} then attempts to read the symbol table of @file{prog}.
17905 @value{GDBN} locates
17906 the file by searching the directories listed in the command search
17907 path.
17908 If the file was compiled with debug information (option @samp{-g}), source
17909 files will be searched as well.
17910 @value{GDBN} locates
17911 the source files by searching the directories listed in the directory search
17912 path (@pxref{Environment, ,Your Program's Environment}).
17913 If it fails
17914 to find a file, it displays a message such as:
17915
17916 @smallexample
17917 prog: No such file or directory.
17918 @end smallexample
17919
17920 When this happens, add the appropriate directories to the search paths with
17921 the @value{GDBN} commands @code{path} and @code{dir}, and execute the
17922 @code{target} command again.
17923
17924 @node Sparclet Connection
17925 @subsubsection Connecting to Sparclet
17926
17927 The @value{GDBN} command @code{target} lets you connect to a Sparclet target.
17928 To connect to a target on serial port ``@code{ttya}'', type:
17929
17930 @smallexample
17931 (gdbslet) target sparclet /dev/ttya
17932 Remote target sparclet connected to /dev/ttya
17933 main () at ../prog.c:3
17934 @end smallexample
17935
17936 @need 750
17937 @value{GDBN} displays messages like these:
17938
17939 @smallexample
17940 Connected to ttya.
17941 @end smallexample
17942
17943 @node Sparclet Download
17944 @subsubsection Sparclet Download
17945
17946 @cindex download to Sparclet
17947 Once connected to the Sparclet target,
17948 you can use the @value{GDBN}
17949 @code{load} command to download the file from the host to the target.
17950 The file name and load offset should be given as arguments to the @code{load}
17951 command.
17952 Since the file format is aout, the program must be loaded to the starting
17953 address. You can use @code{objdump} to find out what this value is. The load
17954 offset is an offset which is added to the VMA (virtual memory address)
17955 of each of the file's sections.
17956 For instance, if the program
17957 @file{prog} was linked to text address 0x1201000, with data at 0x12010160
17958 and bss at 0x12010170, in @value{GDBN}, type:
17959
17960 @smallexample
17961 (gdbslet) load prog 0x12010000
17962 Loading section .text, size 0xdb0 vma 0x12010000
17963 @end smallexample
17964
17965 If the code is loaded at a different address then what the program was linked
17966 to, you may need to use the @code{section} and @code{add-symbol-file} commands
17967 to tell @value{GDBN} where to map the symbol table.
17968
17969 @node Sparclet Execution
17970 @subsubsection Running and Debugging
17971
17972 @cindex running and debugging Sparclet programs
17973 You can now begin debugging the task using @value{GDBN}'s execution control
17974 commands, @code{b}, @code{step}, @code{run}, etc. See the @value{GDBN}
17975 manual for the list of commands.
17976
17977 @smallexample
17978 (gdbslet) b main
17979 Breakpoint 1 at 0x12010000: file prog.c, line 3.
17980 (gdbslet) run
17981 Starting program: prog
17982 Breakpoint 1, main (argc=1, argv=0xeffff21c) at prog.c:3
17983 3 char *symarg = 0;
17984 (gdbslet) step
17985 4 char *execarg = "hello!";
17986 (gdbslet)
17987 @end smallexample
17988
17989 @node Sparclite
17990 @subsection Fujitsu Sparclite
17991
17992 @table @code
17993
17994 @kindex target sparclite
17995 @item target sparclite @var{dev}
17996 Fujitsu sparclite boards, used only for the purpose of loading.
17997 You must use an additional command to debug the program.
17998 For example: target remote @var{dev} using @value{GDBN} standard
17999 remote protocol.
18000
18001 @end table
18002
18003 @node Z8000
18004 @subsection Zilog Z8000
18005
18006 @cindex Z8000
18007 @cindex simulator, Z8000
18008 @cindex Zilog Z8000 simulator
18009
18010 When configured for debugging Zilog Z8000 targets, @value{GDBN} includes
18011 a Z8000 simulator.
18012
18013 For the Z8000 family, @samp{target sim} simulates either the Z8002 (the
18014 unsegmented variant of the Z8000 architecture) or the Z8001 (the
18015 segmented variant). The simulator recognizes which architecture is
18016 appropriate by inspecting the object code.
18017
18018 @table @code
18019 @item target sim @var{args}
18020 @kindex sim
18021 @kindex target sim@r{, with Z8000}
18022 Debug programs on a simulated CPU. If the simulator supports setup
18023 options, specify them via @var{args}.
18024 @end table
18025
18026 @noindent
18027 After specifying this target, you can debug programs for the simulated
18028 CPU in the same style as programs for your host computer; use the
18029 @code{file} command to load a new program image, the @code{run} command
18030 to run your program, and so on.
18031
18032 As well as making available all the usual machine registers
18033 (@pxref{Registers, ,Registers}), the Z8000 simulator provides three
18034 additional items of information as specially named registers:
18035
18036 @table @code
18037
18038 @item cycles
18039 Counts clock-ticks in the simulator.
18040
18041 @item insts
18042 Counts instructions run in the simulator.
18043
18044 @item time
18045 Execution time in 60ths of a second.
18046
18047 @end table
18048
18049 You can refer to these values in @value{GDBN} expressions with the usual
18050 conventions; for example, @w{@samp{b fputc if $cycles>5000}} sets a
18051 conditional breakpoint that suspends only after at least 5000
18052 simulated clock ticks.
18053
18054 @node AVR
18055 @subsection Atmel AVR
18056 @cindex AVR
18057
18058 When configured for debugging the Atmel AVR, @value{GDBN} supports the
18059 following AVR-specific commands:
18060
18061 @table @code
18062 @item info io_registers
18063 @kindex info io_registers@r{, AVR}
18064 @cindex I/O registers (Atmel AVR)
18065 This command displays information about the AVR I/O registers. For
18066 each register, @value{GDBN} prints its number and value.
18067 @end table
18068
18069 @node CRIS
18070 @subsection CRIS
18071 @cindex CRIS
18072
18073 When configured for debugging CRIS, @value{GDBN} provides the
18074 following CRIS-specific commands:
18075
18076 @table @code
18077 @item set cris-version @var{ver}
18078 @cindex CRIS version
18079 Set the current CRIS version to @var{ver}, either @samp{10} or @samp{32}.
18080 The CRIS version affects register names and sizes. This command is useful in
18081 case autodetection of the CRIS version fails.
18082
18083 @item show cris-version
18084 Show the current CRIS version.
18085
18086 @item set cris-dwarf2-cfi
18087 @cindex DWARF-2 CFI and CRIS
18088 Set the usage of DWARF-2 CFI for CRIS debugging. The default is @samp{on}.
18089 Change to @samp{off} when using @code{gcc-cris} whose version is below
18090 @code{R59}.
18091
18092 @item show cris-dwarf2-cfi
18093 Show the current state of using DWARF-2 CFI.
18094
18095 @item set cris-mode @var{mode}
18096 @cindex CRIS mode
18097 Set the current CRIS mode to @var{mode}. It should only be changed when
18098 debugging in guru mode, in which case it should be set to
18099 @samp{guru} (the default is @samp{normal}).
18100
18101 @item show cris-mode
18102 Show the current CRIS mode.
18103 @end table
18104
18105 @node Super-H
18106 @subsection Renesas Super-H
18107 @cindex Super-H
18108
18109 For the Renesas Super-H processor, @value{GDBN} provides these
18110 commands:
18111
18112 @table @code
18113 @item regs
18114 @kindex regs@r{, Super-H}
18115 Show the values of all Super-H registers.
18116
18117 @item set sh calling-convention @var{convention}
18118 @kindex set sh calling-convention
18119 Set the calling-convention used when calling functions from @value{GDBN}.
18120 Allowed values are @samp{gcc}, which is the default setting, and @samp{renesas}.
18121 With the @samp{gcc} setting, functions are called using the @value{NGCC} calling
18122 convention. If the DWARF-2 information of the called function specifies
18123 that the function follows the Renesas calling convention, the function
18124 is called using the Renesas calling convention. If the calling convention
18125 is set to @samp{renesas}, the Renesas calling convention is always used,
18126 regardless of the DWARF-2 information. This can be used to override the
18127 default of @samp{gcc} if debug information is missing, or the compiler
18128 does not emit the DWARF-2 calling convention entry for a function.
18129
18130 @item show sh calling-convention
18131 @kindex show sh calling-convention
18132 Show the current calling convention setting.
18133
18134 @end table
18135
18136
18137 @node Architectures
18138 @section Architectures
18139
18140 This section describes characteristics of architectures that affect
18141 all uses of @value{GDBN} with the architecture, both native and cross.
18142
18143 @menu
18144 * i386::
18145 * A29K::
18146 * Alpha::
18147 * MIPS::
18148 * HPPA:: HP PA architecture
18149 * SPU:: Cell Broadband Engine SPU architecture
18150 * PowerPC::
18151 @end menu
18152
18153 @node i386
18154 @subsection x86 Architecture-specific Issues
18155
18156 @table @code
18157 @item set struct-convention @var{mode}
18158 @kindex set struct-convention
18159 @cindex struct return convention
18160 @cindex struct/union returned in registers
18161 Set the convention used by the inferior to return @code{struct}s and
18162 @code{union}s from functions to @var{mode}. Possible values of
18163 @var{mode} are @code{"pcc"}, @code{"reg"}, and @code{"default"} (the
18164 default). @code{"default"} or @code{"pcc"} means that @code{struct}s
18165 are returned on the stack, while @code{"reg"} means that a
18166 @code{struct} or a @code{union} whose size is 1, 2, 4, or 8 bytes will
18167 be returned in a register.
18168
18169 @item show struct-convention
18170 @kindex show struct-convention
18171 Show the current setting of the convention to return @code{struct}s
18172 from functions.
18173 @end table
18174
18175 @node A29K
18176 @subsection A29K
18177
18178 @table @code
18179
18180 @kindex set rstack_high_address
18181 @cindex AMD 29K register stack
18182 @cindex register stack, AMD29K
18183 @item set rstack_high_address @var{address}
18184 On AMD 29000 family processors, registers are saved in a separate
18185 @dfn{register stack}. There is no way for @value{GDBN} to determine the
18186 extent of this stack. Normally, @value{GDBN} just assumes that the
18187 stack is ``large enough''. This may result in @value{GDBN} referencing
18188 memory locations that do not exist. If necessary, you can get around
18189 this problem by specifying the ending address of the register stack with
18190 the @code{set rstack_high_address} command. The argument should be an
18191 address, which you probably want to precede with @samp{0x} to specify in
18192 hexadecimal.
18193
18194 @kindex show rstack_high_address
18195 @item show rstack_high_address
18196 Display the current limit of the register stack, on AMD 29000 family
18197 processors.
18198
18199 @end table
18200
18201 @node Alpha
18202 @subsection Alpha
18203
18204 See the following section.
18205
18206 @node MIPS
18207 @subsection MIPS
18208
18209 @cindex stack on Alpha
18210 @cindex stack on MIPS
18211 @cindex Alpha stack
18212 @cindex MIPS stack
18213 Alpha- and MIPS-based computers use an unusual stack frame, which
18214 sometimes requires @value{GDBN} to search backward in the object code to
18215 find the beginning of a function.
18216
18217 @cindex response time, MIPS debugging
18218 To improve response time (especially for embedded applications, where
18219 @value{GDBN} may be restricted to a slow serial line for this search)
18220 you may want to limit the size of this search, using one of these
18221 commands:
18222
18223 @table @code
18224 @cindex @code{heuristic-fence-post} (Alpha, MIPS)
18225 @item set heuristic-fence-post @var{limit}
18226 Restrict @value{GDBN} to examining at most @var{limit} bytes in its
18227 search for the beginning of a function. A value of @var{0} (the
18228 default) means there is no limit. However, except for @var{0}, the
18229 larger the limit the more bytes @code{heuristic-fence-post} must search
18230 and therefore the longer it takes to run. You should only need to use
18231 this command when debugging a stripped executable.
18232
18233 @item show heuristic-fence-post
18234 Display the current limit.
18235 @end table
18236
18237 @noindent
18238 These commands are available @emph{only} when @value{GDBN} is configured
18239 for debugging programs on Alpha or MIPS processors.
18240
18241 Several MIPS-specific commands are available when debugging MIPS
18242 programs:
18243
18244 @table @code
18245 @item set mips abi @var{arg}
18246 @kindex set mips abi
18247 @cindex set ABI for MIPS
18248 Tell @value{GDBN} which MIPS ABI is used by the inferior. Possible
18249 values of @var{arg} are:
18250
18251 @table @samp
18252 @item auto
18253 The default ABI associated with the current binary (this is the
18254 default).
18255 @item o32
18256 @item o64
18257 @item n32
18258 @item n64
18259 @item eabi32
18260 @item eabi64
18261 @item auto
18262 @end table
18263
18264 @item show mips abi
18265 @kindex show mips abi
18266 Show the MIPS ABI used by @value{GDBN} to debug the inferior.
18267
18268 @item set mipsfpu
18269 @itemx show mipsfpu
18270 @xref{MIPS Embedded, set mipsfpu}.
18271
18272 @item set mips mask-address @var{arg}
18273 @kindex set mips mask-address
18274 @cindex MIPS addresses, masking
18275 This command determines whether the most-significant 32 bits of 64-bit
18276 MIPS addresses are masked off. The argument @var{arg} can be
18277 @samp{on}, @samp{off}, or @samp{auto}. The latter is the default
18278 setting, which lets @value{GDBN} determine the correct value.
18279
18280 @item show mips mask-address
18281 @kindex show mips mask-address
18282 Show whether the upper 32 bits of MIPS addresses are masked off or
18283 not.
18284
18285 @item set remote-mips64-transfers-32bit-regs
18286 @kindex set remote-mips64-transfers-32bit-regs
18287 This command controls compatibility with 64-bit MIPS targets that
18288 transfer data in 32-bit quantities. If you have an old MIPS 64 target
18289 that transfers 32 bits for some registers, like @sc{sr} and @sc{fsr},
18290 and 64 bits for other registers, set this option to @samp{on}.
18291
18292 @item show remote-mips64-transfers-32bit-regs
18293 @kindex show remote-mips64-transfers-32bit-regs
18294 Show the current setting of compatibility with older MIPS 64 targets.
18295
18296 @item set debug mips
18297 @kindex set debug mips
18298 This command turns on and off debugging messages for the MIPS-specific
18299 target code in @value{GDBN}.
18300
18301 @item show debug mips
18302 @kindex show debug mips
18303 Show the current setting of MIPS debugging messages.
18304 @end table
18305
18306
18307 @node HPPA
18308 @subsection HPPA
18309 @cindex HPPA support
18310
18311 When @value{GDBN} is debugging the HP PA architecture, it provides the
18312 following special commands:
18313
18314 @table @code
18315 @item set debug hppa
18316 @kindex set debug hppa
18317 This command determines whether HPPA architecture-specific debugging
18318 messages are to be displayed.
18319
18320 @item show debug hppa
18321 Show whether HPPA debugging messages are displayed.
18322
18323 @item maint print unwind @var{address}
18324 @kindex maint print unwind@r{, HPPA}
18325 This command displays the contents of the unwind table entry at the
18326 given @var{address}.
18327
18328 @end table
18329
18330
18331 @node SPU
18332 @subsection Cell Broadband Engine SPU architecture
18333 @cindex Cell Broadband Engine
18334 @cindex SPU
18335
18336 When @value{GDBN} is debugging the Cell Broadband Engine SPU architecture,
18337 it provides the following special commands:
18338
18339 @table @code
18340 @item info spu event
18341 @kindex info spu
18342 Display SPU event facility status. Shows current event mask
18343 and pending event status.
18344
18345 @item info spu signal
18346 Display SPU signal notification facility status. Shows pending
18347 signal-control word and signal notification mode of both signal
18348 notification channels.
18349
18350 @item info spu mailbox
18351 Display SPU mailbox facility status. Shows all pending entries,
18352 in order of processing, in each of the SPU Write Outbound,
18353 SPU Write Outbound Interrupt, and SPU Read Inbound mailboxes.
18354
18355 @item info spu dma
18356 Display MFC DMA status. Shows all pending commands in the MFC
18357 DMA queue. For each entry, opcode, tag, class IDs, effective
18358 and local store addresses and transfer size are shown.
18359
18360 @item info spu proxydma
18361 Display MFC Proxy-DMA status. Shows all pending commands in the MFC
18362 Proxy-DMA queue. For each entry, opcode, tag, class IDs, effective
18363 and local store addresses and transfer size are shown.
18364
18365 @end table
18366
18367 When @value{GDBN} is debugging a combined PowerPC/SPU application
18368 on the Cell Broadband Engine, it provides in addition the following
18369 special commands:
18370
18371 @table @code
18372 @item set spu stop-on-load @var{arg}
18373 @kindex set spu
18374 Set whether to stop for new SPE threads. When set to @code{on}, @value{GDBN}
18375 will give control to the user when a new SPE thread enters its @code{main}
18376 function. The default is @code{off}.
18377
18378 @item show spu stop-on-load
18379 @kindex show spu
18380 Show whether to stop for new SPE threads.
18381
18382 @item set spu auto-flush-cache @var{arg}
18383 Set whether to automatically flush the software-managed cache. When set to
18384 @code{on}, @value{GDBN} will automatically cause the SPE software-managed
18385 cache to be flushed whenever SPE execution stops. This provides a consistent
18386 view of PowerPC memory that is accessed via the cache. If an application
18387 does not use the software-managed cache, this option has no effect.
18388
18389 @item show spu auto-flush-cache
18390 Show whether to automatically flush the software-managed cache.
18391
18392 @end table
18393
18394 @node PowerPC
18395 @subsection PowerPC
18396 @cindex PowerPC architecture
18397
18398 When @value{GDBN} is debugging the PowerPC architecture, it provides a set of
18399 pseudo-registers to enable inspection of 128-bit wide Decimal Floating Point
18400 numbers stored in the floating point registers. These values must be stored
18401 in two consecutive registers, always starting at an even register like
18402 @code{f0} or @code{f2}.
18403
18404 The pseudo-registers go from @code{$dl0} through @code{$dl15}, and are formed
18405 by joining the even/odd register pairs @code{f0} and @code{f1} for @code{$dl0},
18406 @code{f2} and @code{f3} for @code{$dl1} and so on.
18407
18408 For POWER7 processors, @value{GDBN} provides a set of pseudo-registers, the 64-bit
18409 wide Extended Floating Point Registers (@samp{f32} through @samp{f63}).
18410
18411
18412 @node Controlling GDB
18413 @chapter Controlling @value{GDBN}
18414
18415 You can alter the way @value{GDBN} interacts with you by using the
18416 @code{set} command. For commands controlling how @value{GDBN} displays
18417 data, see @ref{Print Settings, ,Print Settings}. Other settings are
18418 described here.
18419
18420 @menu
18421 * Prompt:: Prompt
18422 * Editing:: Command editing
18423 * Command History:: Command history
18424 * Screen Size:: Screen size
18425 * Numbers:: Numbers
18426 * ABI:: Configuring the current ABI
18427 * Messages/Warnings:: Optional warnings and messages
18428 * Debugging Output:: Optional messages about internal happenings
18429 * Other Misc Settings:: Other Miscellaneous Settings
18430 @end menu
18431
18432 @node Prompt
18433 @section Prompt
18434
18435 @cindex prompt
18436
18437 @value{GDBN} indicates its readiness to read a command by printing a string
18438 called the @dfn{prompt}. This string is normally @samp{(@value{GDBP})}. You
18439 can change the prompt string with the @code{set prompt} command. For
18440 instance, when debugging @value{GDBN} with @value{GDBN}, it is useful to change
18441 the prompt in one of the @value{GDBN} sessions so that you can always tell
18442 which one you are talking to.
18443
18444 @emph{Note:} @code{set prompt} does not add a space for you after the
18445 prompt you set. This allows you to set a prompt which ends in a space
18446 or a prompt that does not.
18447
18448 @table @code
18449 @kindex set prompt
18450 @item set prompt @var{newprompt}
18451 Directs @value{GDBN} to use @var{newprompt} as its prompt string henceforth.
18452
18453 @kindex show prompt
18454 @item show prompt
18455 Prints a line of the form: @samp{Gdb's prompt is: @var{your-prompt}}
18456 @end table
18457
18458 @node Editing
18459 @section Command Editing
18460 @cindex readline
18461 @cindex command line editing
18462
18463 @value{GDBN} reads its input commands via the @dfn{Readline} interface. This
18464 @sc{gnu} library provides consistent behavior for programs which provide a
18465 command line interface to the user. Advantages are @sc{gnu} Emacs-style
18466 or @dfn{vi}-style inline editing of commands, @code{csh}-like history
18467 substitution, and a storage and recall of command history across
18468 debugging sessions.
18469
18470 You may control the behavior of command line editing in @value{GDBN} with the
18471 command @code{set}.
18472
18473 @table @code
18474 @kindex set editing
18475 @cindex editing
18476 @item set editing
18477 @itemx set editing on
18478 Enable command line editing (enabled by default).
18479
18480 @item set editing off
18481 Disable command line editing.
18482
18483 @kindex show editing
18484 @item show editing
18485 Show whether command line editing is enabled.
18486 @end table
18487
18488 @xref{Command Line Editing}, for more details about the Readline
18489 interface. Users unfamiliar with @sc{gnu} Emacs or @code{vi} are
18490 encouraged to read that chapter.
18491
18492 @node Command History
18493 @section Command History
18494 @cindex command history
18495
18496 @value{GDBN} can keep track of the commands you type during your
18497 debugging sessions, so that you can be certain of precisely what
18498 happened. Use these commands to manage the @value{GDBN} command
18499 history facility.
18500
18501 @value{GDBN} uses the @sc{gnu} History library, a part of the Readline
18502 package, to provide the history facility. @xref{Using History
18503 Interactively}, for the detailed description of the History library.
18504
18505 To issue a command to @value{GDBN} without affecting certain aspects of
18506 the state which is seen by users, prefix it with @samp{server }
18507 (@pxref{Server Prefix}). This
18508 means that this command will not affect the command history, nor will it
18509 affect @value{GDBN}'s notion of which command to repeat if @key{RET} is
18510 pressed on a line by itself.
18511
18512 @cindex @code{server}, command prefix
18513 The server prefix does not affect the recording of values into the value
18514 history; to print a value without recording it into the value history,
18515 use the @code{output} command instead of the @code{print} command.
18516
18517 Here is the description of @value{GDBN} commands related to command
18518 history.
18519
18520 @table @code
18521 @cindex history substitution
18522 @cindex history file
18523 @kindex set history filename
18524 @cindex @env{GDBHISTFILE}, environment variable
18525 @item set history filename @var{fname}
18526 Set the name of the @value{GDBN} command history file to @var{fname}.
18527 This is the file where @value{GDBN} reads an initial command history
18528 list, and where it writes the command history from this session when it
18529 exits. You can access this list through history expansion or through
18530 the history command editing characters listed below. This file defaults
18531 to the value of the environment variable @code{GDBHISTFILE}, or to
18532 @file{./.gdb_history} (@file{./_gdb_history} on MS-DOS) if this variable
18533 is not set.
18534
18535 @cindex save command history
18536 @kindex set history save
18537 @item set history save
18538 @itemx set history save on
18539 Record command history in a file, whose name may be specified with the
18540 @code{set history filename} command. By default, this option is disabled.
18541
18542 @item set history save off
18543 Stop recording command history in a file.
18544
18545 @cindex history size
18546 @kindex set history size
18547 @cindex @env{HISTSIZE}, environment variable
18548 @item set history size @var{size}
18549 Set the number of commands which @value{GDBN} keeps in its history list.
18550 This defaults to the value of the environment variable
18551 @code{HISTSIZE}, or to 256 if this variable is not set.
18552 @end table
18553
18554 History expansion assigns special meaning to the character @kbd{!}.
18555 @xref{Event Designators}, for more details.
18556
18557 @cindex history expansion, turn on/off
18558 Since @kbd{!} is also the logical not operator in C, history expansion
18559 is off by default. If you decide to enable history expansion with the
18560 @code{set history expansion on} command, you may sometimes need to
18561 follow @kbd{!} (when it is used as logical not, in an expression) with
18562 a space or a tab to prevent it from being expanded. The readline
18563 history facilities do not attempt substitution on the strings
18564 @kbd{!=} and @kbd{!(}, even when history expansion is enabled.
18565
18566 The commands to control history expansion are:
18567
18568 @table @code
18569 @item set history expansion on
18570 @itemx set history expansion
18571 @kindex set history expansion
18572 Enable history expansion. History expansion is off by default.
18573
18574 @item set history expansion off
18575 Disable history expansion.
18576
18577 @c @group
18578 @kindex show history
18579 @item show history
18580 @itemx show history filename
18581 @itemx show history save
18582 @itemx show history size
18583 @itemx show history expansion
18584 These commands display the state of the @value{GDBN} history parameters.
18585 @code{show history} by itself displays all four states.
18586 @c @end group
18587 @end table
18588
18589 @table @code
18590 @kindex show commands
18591 @cindex show last commands
18592 @cindex display command history
18593 @item show commands
18594 Display the last ten commands in the command history.
18595
18596 @item show commands @var{n}
18597 Print ten commands centered on command number @var{n}.
18598
18599 @item show commands +
18600 Print ten commands just after the commands last printed.
18601 @end table
18602
18603 @node Screen Size
18604 @section Screen Size
18605 @cindex size of screen
18606 @cindex pauses in output
18607
18608 Certain commands to @value{GDBN} may produce large amounts of
18609 information output to the screen. To help you read all of it,
18610 @value{GDBN} pauses and asks you for input at the end of each page of
18611 output. Type @key{RET} when you want to continue the output, or @kbd{q}
18612 to discard the remaining output. Also, the screen width setting
18613 determines when to wrap lines of output. Depending on what is being
18614 printed, @value{GDBN} tries to break the line at a readable place,
18615 rather than simply letting it overflow onto the following line.
18616
18617 Normally @value{GDBN} knows the size of the screen from the terminal
18618 driver software. For example, on Unix @value{GDBN} uses the termcap data base
18619 together with the value of the @code{TERM} environment variable and the
18620 @code{stty rows} and @code{stty cols} settings. If this is not correct,
18621 you can override it with the @code{set height} and @code{set
18622 width} commands:
18623
18624 @table @code
18625 @kindex set height
18626 @kindex set width
18627 @kindex show width
18628 @kindex show height
18629 @item set height @var{lpp}
18630 @itemx show height
18631 @itemx set width @var{cpl}
18632 @itemx show width
18633 These @code{set} commands specify a screen height of @var{lpp} lines and
18634 a screen width of @var{cpl} characters. The associated @code{show}
18635 commands display the current settings.
18636
18637 If you specify a height of zero lines, @value{GDBN} does not pause during
18638 output no matter how long the output is. This is useful if output is to a
18639 file or to an editor buffer.
18640
18641 Likewise, you can specify @samp{set width 0} to prevent @value{GDBN}
18642 from wrapping its output.
18643
18644 @item set pagination on
18645 @itemx set pagination off
18646 @kindex set pagination
18647 Turn the output pagination on or off; the default is on. Turning
18648 pagination off is the alternative to @code{set height 0}. Note that
18649 running @value{GDBN} with the @option{--batch} option (@pxref{Mode
18650 Options, -batch}) also automatically disables pagination.
18651
18652 @item show pagination
18653 @kindex show pagination
18654 Show the current pagination mode.
18655 @end table
18656
18657 @node Numbers
18658 @section Numbers
18659 @cindex number representation
18660 @cindex entering numbers
18661
18662 You can always enter numbers in octal, decimal, or hexadecimal in
18663 @value{GDBN} by the usual conventions: octal numbers begin with
18664 @samp{0}, decimal numbers end with @samp{.}, and hexadecimal numbers
18665 begin with @samp{0x}. Numbers that neither begin with @samp{0} or
18666 @samp{0x}, nor end with a @samp{.} are, by default, entered in base
18667 10; likewise, the default display for numbers---when no particular
18668 format is specified---is base 10. You can change the default base for
18669 both input and output with the commands described below.
18670
18671 @table @code
18672 @kindex set input-radix
18673 @item set input-radix @var{base}
18674 Set the default base for numeric input. Supported choices
18675 for @var{base} are decimal 8, 10, or 16. @var{base} must itself be
18676 specified either unambiguously or using the current input radix; for
18677 example, any of
18678
18679 @smallexample
18680 set input-radix 012
18681 set input-radix 10.
18682 set input-radix 0xa
18683 @end smallexample
18684
18685 @noindent
18686 sets the input base to decimal. On the other hand, @samp{set input-radix 10}
18687 leaves the input radix unchanged, no matter what it was, since
18688 @samp{10}, being without any leading or trailing signs of its base, is
18689 interpreted in the current radix. Thus, if the current radix is 16,
18690 @samp{10} is interpreted in hex, i.e.@: as 16 decimal, which doesn't
18691 change the radix.
18692
18693 @kindex set output-radix
18694 @item set output-radix @var{base}
18695 Set the default base for numeric display. Supported choices
18696 for @var{base} are decimal 8, 10, or 16. @var{base} must itself be
18697 specified either unambiguously or using the current input radix.
18698
18699 @kindex show input-radix
18700 @item show input-radix
18701 Display the current default base for numeric input.
18702
18703 @kindex show output-radix
18704 @item show output-radix
18705 Display the current default base for numeric display.
18706
18707 @item set radix @r{[}@var{base}@r{]}
18708 @itemx show radix
18709 @kindex set radix
18710 @kindex show radix
18711 These commands set and show the default base for both input and output
18712 of numbers. @code{set radix} sets the radix of input and output to
18713 the same base; without an argument, it resets the radix back to its
18714 default value of 10.
18715
18716 @end table
18717
18718 @node ABI
18719 @section Configuring the Current ABI
18720
18721 @value{GDBN} can determine the @dfn{ABI} (Application Binary Interface) of your
18722 application automatically. However, sometimes you need to override its
18723 conclusions. Use these commands to manage @value{GDBN}'s view of the
18724 current ABI.
18725
18726 @cindex OS ABI
18727 @kindex set osabi
18728 @kindex show osabi
18729
18730 One @value{GDBN} configuration can debug binaries for multiple operating
18731 system targets, either via remote debugging or native emulation.
18732 @value{GDBN} will autodetect the @dfn{OS ABI} (Operating System ABI) in use,
18733 but you can override its conclusion using the @code{set osabi} command.
18734 One example where this is useful is in debugging of binaries which use
18735 an alternate C library (e.g.@: @sc{uClibc} for @sc{gnu}/Linux) which does
18736 not have the same identifying marks that the standard C library for your
18737 platform provides.
18738
18739 @table @code
18740 @item show osabi
18741 Show the OS ABI currently in use.
18742
18743 @item set osabi
18744 With no argument, show the list of registered available OS ABI's.
18745
18746 @item set osabi @var{abi}
18747 Set the current OS ABI to @var{abi}.
18748 @end table
18749
18750 @cindex float promotion
18751
18752 Generally, the way that an argument of type @code{float} is passed to a
18753 function depends on whether the function is prototyped. For a prototyped
18754 (i.e.@: ANSI/ISO style) function, @code{float} arguments are passed unchanged,
18755 according to the architecture's convention for @code{float}. For unprototyped
18756 (i.e.@: K&R style) functions, @code{float} arguments are first promoted to type
18757 @code{double} and then passed.
18758
18759 Unfortunately, some forms of debug information do not reliably indicate whether
18760 a function is prototyped. If @value{GDBN} calls a function that is not marked
18761 as prototyped, it consults @kbd{set coerce-float-to-double}.
18762
18763 @table @code
18764 @kindex set coerce-float-to-double
18765 @item set coerce-float-to-double
18766 @itemx set coerce-float-to-double on
18767 Arguments of type @code{float} will be promoted to @code{double} when passed
18768 to an unprototyped function. This is the default setting.
18769
18770 @item set coerce-float-to-double off
18771 Arguments of type @code{float} will be passed directly to unprototyped
18772 functions.
18773
18774 @kindex show coerce-float-to-double
18775 @item show coerce-float-to-double
18776 Show the current setting of promoting @code{float} to @code{double}.
18777 @end table
18778
18779 @kindex set cp-abi
18780 @kindex show cp-abi
18781 @value{GDBN} needs to know the ABI used for your program's C@t{++}
18782 objects. The correct C@t{++} ABI depends on which C@t{++} compiler was
18783 used to build your application. @value{GDBN} only fully supports
18784 programs with a single C@t{++} ABI; if your program contains code using
18785 multiple C@t{++} ABI's or if @value{GDBN} can not identify your
18786 program's ABI correctly, you can tell @value{GDBN} which ABI to use.
18787 Currently supported ABI's include ``gnu-v2'', for @code{g++} versions
18788 before 3.0, ``gnu-v3'', for @code{g++} versions 3.0 and later, and
18789 ``hpaCC'' for the HP ANSI C@t{++} compiler. Other C@t{++} compilers may
18790 use the ``gnu-v2'' or ``gnu-v3'' ABI's as well. The default setting is
18791 ``auto''.
18792
18793 @table @code
18794 @item show cp-abi
18795 Show the C@t{++} ABI currently in use.
18796
18797 @item set cp-abi
18798 With no argument, show the list of supported C@t{++} ABI's.
18799
18800 @item set cp-abi @var{abi}
18801 @itemx set cp-abi auto
18802 Set the current C@t{++} ABI to @var{abi}, or return to automatic detection.
18803 @end table
18804
18805 @node Messages/Warnings
18806 @section Optional Warnings and Messages
18807
18808 @cindex verbose operation
18809 @cindex optional warnings
18810 By default, @value{GDBN} is silent about its inner workings. If you are
18811 running on a slow machine, you may want to use the @code{set verbose}
18812 command. This makes @value{GDBN} tell you when it does a lengthy
18813 internal operation, so you will not think it has crashed.
18814
18815 Currently, the messages controlled by @code{set verbose} are those
18816 which announce that the symbol table for a source file is being read;
18817 see @code{symbol-file} in @ref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}.
18818
18819 @table @code
18820 @kindex set verbose
18821 @item set verbose on
18822 Enables @value{GDBN} output of certain informational messages.
18823
18824 @item set verbose off
18825 Disables @value{GDBN} output of certain informational messages.
18826
18827 @kindex show verbose
18828 @item show verbose
18829 Displays whether @code{set verbose} is on or off.
18830 @end table
18831
18832 By default, if @value{GDBN} encounters bugs in the symbol table of an
18833 object file, it is silent; but if you are debugging a compiler, you may
18834 find this information useful (@pxref{Symbol Errors, ,Errors Reading
18835 Symbol Files}).
18836
18837 @table @code
18838
18839 @kindex set complaints
18840 @item set complaints @var{limit}
18841 Permits @value{GDBN} to output @var{limit} complaints about each type of
18842 unusual symbols before becoming silent about the problem. Set
18843 @var{limit} to zero to suppress all complaints; set it to a large number
18844 to prevent complaints from being suppressed.
18845
18846 @kindex show complaints
18847 @item show complaints
18848 Displays how many symbol complaints @value{GDBN} is permitted to produce.
18849
18850 @end table
18851
18852 @anchor{confirmation requests}
18853 By default, @value{GDBN} is cautious, and asks what sometimes seems to be a
18854 lot of stupid questions to confirm certain commands. For example, if
18855 you try to run a program which is already running:
18856
18857 @smallexample
18858 (@value{GDBP}) run
18859 The program being debugged has been started already.
18860 Start it from the beginning? (y or n)
18861 @end smallexample
18862
18863 If you are willing to unflinchingly face the consequences of your own
18864 commands, you can disable this ``feature'':
18865
18866 @table @code
18867
18868 @kindex set confirm
18869 @cindex flinching
18870 @cindex confirmation
18871 @cindex stupid questions
18872 @item set confirm off
18873 Disables confirmation requests. Note that running @value{GDBN} with
18874 the @option{--batch} option (@pxref{Mode Options, -batch}) also
18875 automatically disables confirmation requests.
18876
18877 @item set confirm on
18878 Enables confirmation requests (the default).
18879
18880 @kindex show confirm
18881 @item show confirm
18882 Displays state of confirmation requests.
18883
18884 @end table
18885
18886 @cindex command tracing
18887 If you need to debug user-defined commands or sourced files you may find it
18888 useful to enable @dfn{command tracing}. In this mode each command will be
18889 printed as it is executed, prefixed with one or more @samp{+} symbols, the
18890 quantity denoting the call depth of each command.
18891
18892 @table @code
18893 @kindex set trace-commands
18894 @cindex command scripts, debugging
18895 @item set trace-commands on
18896 Enable command tracing.
18897 @item set trace-commands off
18898 Disable command tracing.
18899 @item show trace-commands
18900 Display the current state of command tracing.
18901 @end table
18902
18903 @node Debugging Output
18904 @section Optional Messages about Internal Happenings
18905 @cindex optional debugging messages
18906
18907 @value{GDBN} has commands that enable optional debugging messages from
18908 various @value{GDBN} subsystems; normally these commands are of
18909 interest to @value{GDBN} maintainers, or when reporting a bug. This
18910 section documents those commands.
18911
18912 @table @code
18913 @kindex set exec-done-display
18914 @item set exec-done-display
18915 Turns on or off the notification of asynchronous commands'
18916 completion. When on, @value{GDBN} will print a message when an
18917 asynchronous command finishes its execution. The default is off.
18918 @kindex show exec-done-display
18919 @item show exec-done-display
18920 Displays the current setting of asynchronous command completion
18921 notification.
18922 @kindex set debug
18923 @cindex gdbarch debugging info
18924 @cindex architecture debugging info
18925 @item set debug arch
18926 Turns on or off display of gdbarch debugging info. The default is off
18927 @kindex show debug
18928 @item show debug arch
18929 Displays the current state of displaying gdbarch debugging info.
18930 @item set debug aix-thread
18931 @cindex AIX threads
18932 Display debugging messages about inner workings of the AIX thread
18933 module.
18934 @item show debug aix-thread
18935 Show the current state of AIX thread debugging info display.
18936 @item set debug dwarf2-die
18937 @cindex DWARF2 DIEs
18938 Dump DWARF2 DIEs after they are read in.
18939 The value is the number of nesting levels to print.
18940 A value of zero turns off the display.
18941 @item show debug dwarf2-die
18942 Show the current state of DWARF2 DIE debugging.
18943 @item set debug displaced
18944 @cindex displaced stepping debugging info
18945 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} debugging info for the
18946 displaced stepping support. The default is off.
18947 @item show debug displaced
18948 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} debugging info
18949 related to displaced stepping.
18950 @item set debug event
18951 @cindex event debugging info
18952 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} event debugging info. The
18953 default is off.
18954 @item show debug event
18955 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} event debugging
18956 info.
18957 @item set debug expression
18958 @cindex expression debugging info
18959 Turns on or off display of debugging info about @value{GDBN}
18960 expression parsing. The default is off.
18961 @item show debug expression
18962 Displays the current state of displaying debugging info about
18963 @value{GDBN} expression parsing.
18964 @item set debug frame
18965 @cindex frame debugging info
18966 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} frame debugging info. The
18967 default is off.
18968 @item show debug frame
18969 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} frame debugging
18970 info.
18971 @item set debug gnu-nat
18972 @cindex @sc{gnu}/Hurd debug messages
18973 Turns on or off debugging messages from the @sc{gnu}/Hurd debug support.
18974 @item show debug gnu-nat
18975 Show the current state of @sc{gnu}/Hurd debugging messages.
18976 @item set debug infrun
18977 @cindex inferior debugging info
18978 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} debugging info for running the inferior.
18979 The default is off. @file{infrun.c} contains GDB's runtime state machine used
18980 for implementing operations such as single-stepping the inferior.
18981 @item show debug infrun
18982 Displays the current state of @value{GDBN} inferior debugging.
18983 @item set debug lin-lwp
18984 @cindex @sc{gnu}/Linux LWP debug messages
18985 @cindex Linux lightweight processes
18986 Turns on or off debugging messages from the Linux LWP debug support.
18987 @item show debug lin-lwp
18988 Show the current state of Linux LWP debugging messages.
18989 @item set debug lin-lwp-async
18990 @cindex @sc{gnu}/Linux LWP async debug messages
18991 @cindex Linux lightweight processes
18992 Turns on or off debugging messages from the Linux LWP async debug support.
18993 @item show debug lin-lwp-async
18994 Show the current state of Linux LWP async debugging messages.
18995 @item set debug observer
18996 @cindex observer debugging info
18997 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} observer debugging. This
18998 includes info such as the notification of observable events.
18999 @item show debug observer
19000 Displays the current state of observer debugging.
19001 @item set debug overload
19002 @cindex C@t{++} overload debugging info
19003 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} C@t{++} overload debugging
19004 info. This includes info such as ranking of functions, etc. The default
19005 is off.
19006 @item show debug overload
19007 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} C@t{++} overload
19008 debugging info.
19009 @cindex expression parser, debugging info
19010 @cindex debug expression parser
19011 @item set debug parser
19012 Turns on or off the display of expression parser debugging output.
19013 Internally, this sets the @code{yydebug} variable in the expression
19014 parser. @xref{Tracing, , Tracing Your Parser, bison, Bison}, for
19015 details. The default is off.
19016 @item show debug parser
19017 Show the current state of expression parser debugging.
19018 @cindex packets, reporting on stdout
19019 @cindex serial connections, debugging
19020 @cindex debug remote protocol
19021 @cindex remote protocol debugging
19022 @cindex display remote packets
19023 @item set debug remote
19024 Turns on or off display of reports on all packets sent back and forth across
19025 the serial line to the remote machine. The info is printed on the
19026 @value{GDBN} standard output stream. The default is off.
19027 @item show debug remote
19028 Displays the state of display of remote packets.
19029 @item set debug serial
19030 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} serial debugging info. The
19031 default is off.
19032 @item show debug serial
19033 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} serial debugging
19034 info.
19035 @item set debug solib-frv
19036 @cindex FR-V shared-library debugging
19037 Turns on or off debugging messages for FR-V shared-library code.
19038 @item show debug solib-frv
19039 Display the current state of FR-V shared-library code debugging
19040 messages.
19041 @item set debug target
19042 @cindex target debugging info
19043 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} target debugging info. This info
19044 includes what is going on at the target level of GDB, as it happens. The
19045 default is 0. Set it to 1 to track events, and to 2 to also track the
19046 value of large memory transfers. Changes to this flag do not take effect
19047 until the next time you connect to a target or use the @code{run} command.
19048 @item show debug target
19049 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} target debugging
19050 info.
19051 @item set debug timestamp
19052 @cindex timestampping debugging info
19053 Turns on or off display of timestamps with @value{GDBN} debugging info.
19054 When enabled, seconds and microseconds are displayed before each debugging
19055 message.
19056 @item show debug timestamp
19057 Displays the current state of displaying timestamps with @value{GDBN}
19058 debugging info.
19059 @item set debugvarobj
19060 @cindex variable object debugging info
19061 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} variable object debugging
19062 info. The default is off.
19063 @item show debugvarobj
19064 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} variable object
19065 debugging info.
19066 @item set debug xml
19067 @cindex XML parser debugging
19068 Turns on or off debugging messages for built-in XML parsers.
19069 @item show debug xml
19070 Displays the current state of XML debugging messages.
19071 @end table
19072
19073 @node Other Misc Settings
19074 @section Other Miscellaneous Settings
19075 @cindex miscellaneous settings
19076
19077 @table @code
19078 @kindex set interactive-mode
19079 @item set interactive-mode
19080 If @code{on}, forces @value{GDBN} to operate interactively.
19081 If @code{off}, forces @value{GDBN} to operate non-interactively,
19082 If @code{auto} (the default), @value{GDBN} guesses which mode to use,
19083 based on whether the debugger was started in a terminal or not.
19084
19085 In the vast majority of cases, the debugger should be able to guess
19086 correctly which mode should be used. But this setting can be useful
19087 in certain specific cases, such as running a MinGW @value{GDBN}
19088 inside a cygwin window.
19089
19090 @kindex show interactive-mode
19091 @item show interactive-mode
19092 Displays whether the debugger is operating in interactive mode or not.
19093 @end table
19094
19095 @node Extending GDB
19096 @chapter Extending @value{GDBN}
19097 @cindex extending GDB
19098
19099 @value{GDBN} provides two mechanisms for extension. The first is based
19100 on composition of @value{GDBN} commands, and the second is based on the
19101 Python scripting language.
19102
19103 To facilitate the use of these extensions, @value{GDBN} is capable
19104 of evaluating the contents of a file. When doing so, @value{GDBN}
19105 can recognize which scripting language is being used by looking at
19106 the filename extension. Files with an unrecognized filename extension
19107 are always treated as a @value{GDBN} Command Files.
19108 @xref{Command Files,, Command files}.
19109
19110 You can control how @value{GDBN} evaluates these files with the following
19111 setting:
19112
19113 @table @code
19114 @kindex set script-extension
19115 @kindex show script-extension
19116 @item set script-extension off
19117 All scripts are always evaluated as @value{GDBN} Command Files.
19118
19119 @item set script-extension soft
19120 The debugger determines the scripting language based on filename
19121 extension. If this scripting language is supported, @value{GDBN}
19122 evaluates the script using that language. Otherwise, it evaluates
19123 the file as a @value{GDBN} Command File.
19124
19125 @item set script-extension strict
19126 The debugger determines the scripting language based on filename
19127 extension, and evaluates the script using that language. If the
19128 language is not supported, then the evaluation fails.
19129
19130 @item show script-extension
19131 Display the current value of the @code{script-extension} option.
19132
19133 @end table
19134
19135 @menu
19136 * Sequences:: Canned Sequences of Commands
19137 * Python:: Scripting @value{GDBN} using Python
19138 @end menu
19139
19140 @node Sequences
19141 @section Canned Sequences of Commands
19142
19143 Aside from breakpoint commands (@pxref{Break Commands, ,Breakpoint
19144 Command Lists}), @value{GDBN} provides two ways to store sequences of
19145 commands for execution as a unit: user-defined commands and command
19146 files.
19147
19148 @menu
19149 * Define:: How to define your own commands
19150 * Hooks:: Hooks for user-defined commands
19151 * Command Files:: How to write scripts of commands to be stored in a file
19152 * Output:: Commands for controlled output
19153 @end menu
19154
19155 @node Define
19156 @subsection User-defined Commands
19157
19158 @cindex user-defined command
19159 @cindex arguments, to user-defined commands
19160 A @dfn{user-defined command} is a sequence of @value{GDBN} commands to
19161 which you assign a new name as a command. This is done with the
19162 @code{define} command. User commands may accept up to 10 arguments
19163 separated by whitespace. Arguments are accessed within the user command
19164 via @code{$arg0@dots{}$arg9}. A trivial example:
19165
19166 @smallexample
19167 define adder
19168 print $arg0 + $arg1 + $arg2
19169 end
19170 @end smallexample
19171
19172 @noindent
19173 To execute the command use:
19174
19175 @smallexample
19176 adder 1 2 3
19177 @end smallexample
19178
19179 @noindent
19180 This defines the command @code{adder}, which prints the sum of
19181 its three arguments. Note the arguments are text substitutions, so they may
19182 reference variables, use complex expressions, or even perform inferior
19183 functions calls.
19184
19185 @cindex argument count in user-defined commands
19186 @cindex how many arguments (user-defined commands)
19187 In addition, @code{$argc} may be used to find out how many arguments have
19188 been passed. This expands to a number in the range 0@dots{}10.
19189
19190 @smallexample
19191 define adder
19192 if $argc == 2
19193 print $arg0 + $arg1
19194 end
19195 if $argc == 3
19196 print $arg0 + $arg1 + $arg2
19197 end
19198 end
19199 @end smallexample
19200
19201 @table @code
19202
19203 @kindex define
19204 @item define @var{commandname}
19205 Define a command named @var{commandname}. If there is already a command
19206 by that name, you are asked to confirm that you want to redefine it.
19207 @var{commandname} may be a bare command name consisting of letters,
19208 numbers, dashes, and underscores. It may also start with any predefined
19209 prefix command. For example, @samp{define target my-target} creates
19210 a user-defined @samp{target my-target} command.
19211
19212 The definition of the command is made up of other @value{GDBN} command lines,
19213 which are given following the @code{define} command. The end of these
19214 commands is marked by a line containing @code{end}.
19215
19216 @kindex document
19217 @kindex end@r{ (user-defined commands)}
19218 @item document @var{commandname}
19219 Document the user-defined command @var{commandname}, so that it can be
19220 accessed by @code{help}. The command @var{commandname} must already be
19221 defined. This command reads lines of documentation just as @code{define}
19222 reads the lines of the command definition, ending with @code{end}.
19223 After the @code{document} command is finished, @code{help} on command
19224 @var{commandname} displays the documentation you have written.
19225
19226 You may use the @code{document} command again to change the
19227 documentation of a command. Redefining the command with @code{define}
19228 does not change the documentation.
19229
19230 @kindex dont-repeat
19231 @cindex don't repeat command
19232 @item dont-repeat
19233 Used inside a user-defined command, this tells @value{GDBN} that this
19234 command should not be repeated when the user hits @key{RET}
19235 (@pxref{Command Syntax, repeat last command}).
19236
19237 @kindex help user-defined
19238 @item help user-defined
19239 List all user-defined commands, with the first line of the documentation
19240 (if any) for each.
19241
19242 @kindex show user
19243 @item show user
19244 @itemx show user @var{commandname}
19245 Display the @value{GDBN} commands used to define @var{commandname} (but
19246 not its documentation). If no @var{commandname} is given, display the
19247 definitions for all user-defined commands.
19248
19249 @cindex infinite recursion in user-defined commands
19250 @kindex show max-user-call-depth
19251 @kindex set max-user-call-depth
19252 @item show max-user-call-depth
19253 @itemx set max-user-call-depth
19254 The value of @code{max-user-call-depth} controls how many recursion
19255 levels are allowed in user-defined commands before @value{GDBN} suspects an
19256 infinite recursion and aborts the command.
19257 @end table
19258
19259 In addition to the above commands, user-defined commands frequently
19260 use control flow commands, described in @ref{Command Files}.
19261
19262 When user-defined commands are executed, the
19263 commands of the definition are not printed. An error in any command
19264 stops execution of the user-defined command.
19265
19266 If used interactively, commands that would ask for confirmation proceed
19267 without asking when used inside a user-defined command. Many @value{GDBN}
19268 commands that normally print messages to say what they are doing omit the
19269 messages when used in a user-defined command.
19270
19271 @node Hooks
19272 @subsection User-defined Command Hooks
19273 @cindex command hooks
19274 @cindex hooks, for commands
19275 @cindex hooks, pre-command
19276
19277 @kindex hook
19278 You may define @dfn{hooks}, which are a special kind of user-defined
19279 command. Whenever you run the command @samp{foo}, if the user-defined
19280 command @samp{hook-foo} exists, it is executed (with no arguments)
19281 before that command.
19282
19283 @cindex hooks, post-command
19284 @kindex hookpost
19285 A hook may also be defined which is run after the command you executed.
19286 Whenever you run the command @samp{foo}, if the user-defined command
19287 @samp{hookpost-foo} exists, it is executed (with no arguments) after
19288 that command. Post-execution hooks may exist simultaneously with
19289 pre-execution hooks, for the same command.
19290
19291 It is valid for a hook to call the command which it hooks. If this
19292 occurs, the hook is not re-executed, thereby avoiding infinite recursion.
19293
19294 @c It would be nice if hookpost could be passed a parameter indicating
19295 @c if the command it hooks executed properly or not. FIXME!
19296
19297 @kindex stop@r{, a pseudo-command}
19298 In addition, a pseudo-command, @samp{stop} exists. Defining
19299 (@samp{hook-stop}) makes the associated commands execute every time
19300 execution stops in your program: before breakpoint commands are run,
19301 displays are printed, or the stack frame is printed.
19302
19303 For example, to ignore @code{SIGALRM} signals while
19304 single-stepping, but treat them normally during normal execution,
19305 you could define:
19306
19307 @smallexample
19308 define hook-stop
19309 handle SIGALRM nopass
19310 end
19311
19312 define hook-run
19313 handle SIGALRM pass
19314 end
19315
19316 define hook-continue
19317 handle SIGALRM pass
19318 end
19319 @end smallexample
19320
19321 As a further example, to hook at the beginning and end of the @code{echo}
19322 command, and to add extra text to the beginning and end of the message,
19323 you could define:
19324
19325 @smallexample
19326 define hook-echo
19327 echo <<<---
19328 end
19329
19330 define hookpost-echo
19331 echo --->>>\n
19332 end
19333
19334 (@value{GDBP}) echo Hello World
19335 <<<---Hello World--->>>
19336 (@value{GDBP})
19337
19338 @end smallexample
19339
19340 You can define a hook for any single-word command in @value{GDBN}, but
19341 not for command aliases; you should define a hook for the basic command
19342 name, e.g.@: @code{backtrace} rather than @code{bt}.
19343 @c FIXME! So how does Joe User discover whether a command is an alias
19344 @c or not?
19345 You can hook a multi-word command by adding @code{hook-} or
19346 @code{hookpost-} to the last word of the command, e.g.@:
19347 @samp{define target hook-remote} to add a hook to @samp{target remote}.
19348
19349 If an error occurs during the execution of your hook, execution of
19350 @value{GDBN} commands stops and @value{GDBN} issues a prompt
19351 (before the command that you actually typed had a chance to run).
19352
19353 If you try to define a hook which does not match any known command, you
19354 get a warning from the @code{define} command.
19355
19356 @node Command Files
19357 @subsection Command Files
19358
19359 @cindex command files
19360 @cindex scripting commands
19361 A command file for @value{GDBN} is a text file made of lines that are
19362 @value{GDBN} commands. Comments (lines starting with @kbd{#}) may
19363 also be included. An empty line in a command file does nothing; it
19364 does not mean to repeat the last command, as it would from the
19365 terminal.
19366
19367 You can request the execution of a command file with the @code{source}
19368 command. Note that the @code{source} command is also used to evaluate
19369 scripts that are not Command Files. The exact behavior can be configured
19370 using the @code{script-extension} setting.
19371 @xref{Extending GDB,, Extending GDB}.
19372
19373 @table @code
19374 @kindex source
19375 @cindex execute commands from a file
19376 @item source [@code{-v}] @var{filename}
19377 Execute the command file @var{filename}.
19378 @end table
19379
19380 The lines in a command file are generally executed sequentially,
19381 unless the order of execution is changed by one of the
19382 @emph{flow-control commands} described below. The commands are not
19383 printed as they are executed. An error in any command terminates
19384 execution of the command file and control is returned to the console.
19385
19386 @value{GDBN} first searches for @var{filename} in the current directory.
19387 If the file is not found there, and @var{filename} does not specify a
19388 directory, then @value{GDBN} also looks for the file on the source search path
19389 (specified with the @samp{directory} command);
19390 except that @file{$cdir} is not searched because the compilation directory
19391 is not relevant to scripts.
19392
19393 If @code{-v}, for verbose mode, is given then @value{GDBN} displays
19394 each command as it is executed. The option must be given before
19395 @var{filename}, and is interpreted as part of the filename anywhere else.
19396
19397 Commands that would ask for confirmation if used interactively proceed
19398 without asking when used in a command file. Many @value{GDBN} commands that
19399 normally print messages to say what they are doing omit the messages
19400 when called from command files.
19401
19402 @value{GDBN} also accepts command input from standard input. In this
19403 mode, normal output goes to standard output and error output goes to
19404 standard error. Errors in a command file supplied on standard input do
19405 not terminate execution of the command file---execution continues with
19406 the next command.
19407
19408 @smallexample
19409 gdb < cmds > log 2>&1
19410 @end smallexample
19411
19412 (The syntax above will vary depending on the shell used.) This example
19413 will execute commands from the file @file{cmds}. All output and errors
19414 would be directed to @file{log}.
19415
19416 Since commands stored on command files tend to be more general than
19417 commands typed interactively, they frequently need to deal with
19418 complicated situations, such as different or unexpected values of
19419 variables and symbols, changes in how the program being debugged is
19420 built, etc. @value{GDBN} provides a set of flow-control commands to
19421 deal with these complexities. Using these commands, you can write
19422 complex scripts that loop over data structures, execute commands
19423 conditionally, etc.
19424
19425 @table @code
19426 @kindex if
19427 @kindex else
19428 @item if
19429 @itemx else
19430 This command allows to include in your script conditionally executed
19431 commands. The @code{if} command takes a single argument, which is an
19432 expression to evaluate. It is followed by a series of commands that
19433 are executed only if the expression is true (its value is nonzero).
19434 There can then optionally be an @code{else} line, followed by a series
19435 of commands that are only executed if the expression was false. The
19436 end of the list is marked by a line containing @code{end}.
19437
19438 @kindex while
19439 @item while
19440 This command allows to write loops. Its syntax is similar to
19441 @code{if}: the command takes a single argument, which is an expression
19442 to evaluate, and must be followed by the commands to execute, one per
19443 line, terminated by an @code{end}. These commands are called the
19444 @dfn{body} of the loop. The commands in the body of @code{while} are
19445 executed repeatedly as long as the expression evaluates to true.
19446
19447 @kindex loop_break
19448 @item loop_break
19449 This command exits the @code{while} loop in whose body it is included.
19450 Execution of the script continues after that @code{while}s @code{end}
19451 line.
19452
19453 @kindex loop_continue
19454 @item loop_continue
19455 This command skips the execution of the rest of the body of commands
19456 in the @code{while} loop in whose body it is included. Execution
19457 branches to the beginning of the @code{while} loop, where it evaluates
19458 the controlling expression.
19459
19460 @kindex end@r{ (if/else/while commands)}
19461 @item end
19462 Terminate the block of commands that are the body of @code{if},
19463 @code{else}, or @code{while} flow-control commands.
19464 @end table
19465
19466
19467 @node Output
19468 @subsection Commands for Controlled Output
19469
19470 During the execution of a command file or a user-defined command, normal
19471 @value{GDBN} output is suppressed; the only output that appears is what is
19472 explicitly printed by the commands in the definition. This section
19473 describes three commands useful for generating exactly the output you
19474 want.
19475
19476 @table @code
19477 @kindex echo
19478 @item echo @var{text}
19479 @c I do not consider backslash-space a standard C escape sequence
19480 @c because it is not in ANSI.
19481 Print @var{text}. Nonprinting characters can be included in
19482 @var{text} using C escape sequences, such as @samp{\n} to print a
19483 newline. @strong{No newline is printed unless you specify one.}
19484 In addition to the standard C escape sequences, a backslash followed
19485 by a space stands for a space. This is useful for displaying a
19486 string with spaces at the beginning or the end, since leading and
19487 trailing spaces are otherwise trimmed from all arguments.
19488 To print @samp{@w{ }and foo =@w{ }}, use the command
19489 @samp{echo \@w{ }and foo = \@w{ }}.
19490
19491 A backslash at the end of @var{text} can be used, as in C, to continue
19492 the command onto subsequent lines. For example,
19493
19494 @smallexample
19495 echo This is some text\n\
19496 which is continued\n\
19497 onto several lines.\n
19498 @end smallexample
19499
19500 produces the same output as
19501
19502 @smallexample
19503 echo This is some text\n
19504 echo which is continued\n
19505 echo onto several lines.\n
19506 @end smallexample
19507
19508 @kindex output
19509 @item output @var{expression}
19510 Print the value of @var{expression} and nothing but that value: no
19511 newlines, no @samp{$@var{nn} = }. The value is not entered in the
19512 value history either. @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}, for more information
19513 on expressions.
19514
19515 @item output/@var{fmt} @var{expression}
19516 Print the value of @var{expression} in format @var{fmt}. You can use
19517 the same formats as for @code{print}. @xref{Output Formats,,Output
19518 Formats}, for more information.
19519
19520 @kindex printf
19521 @item printf @var{template}, @var{expressions}@dots{}
19522 Print the values of one or more @var{expressions} under the control of
19523 the string @var{template}. To print several values, make
19524 @var{expressions} be a comma-separated list of individual expressions,
19525 which may be either numbers or pointers. Their values are printed as
19526 specified by @var{template}, exactly as a C program would do by
19527 executing the code below:
19528
19529 @smallexample
19530 printf (@var{template}, @var{expressions}@dots{});
19531 @end smallexample
19532
19533 As in @code{C} @code{printf}, ordinary characters in @var{template}
19534 are printed verbatim, while @dfn{conversion specification} introduced
19535 by the @samp{%} character cause subsequent @var{expressions} to be
19536 evaluated, their values converted and formatted according to type and
19537 style information encoded in the conversion specifications, and then
19538 printed.
19539
19540 For example, you can print two values in hex like this:
19541
19542 @smallexample
19543 printf "foo, bar-foo = 0x%x, 0x%x\n", foo, bar-foo
19544 @end smallexample
19545
19546 @code{printf} supports all the standard @code{C} conversion
19547 specifications, including the flags and modifiers between the @samp{%}
19548 character and the conversion letter, with the following exceptions:
19549
19550 @itemize @bullet
19551 @item
19552 The argument-ordering modifiers, such as @samp{2$}, are not supported.
19553
19554 @item
19555 The modifier @samp{*} is not supported for specifying precision or
19556 width.
19557
19558 @item
19559 The @samp{'} flag (for separation of digits into groups according to
19560 @code{LC_NUMERIC'}) is not supported.
19561
19562 @item
19563 The type modifiers @samp{hh}, @samp{j}, @samp{t}, and @samp{z} are not
19564 supported.
19565
19566 @item
19567 The conversion letter @samp{n} (as in @samp{%n}) is not supported.
19568
19569 @item
19570 The conversion letters @samp{a} and @samp{A} are not supported.
19571 @end itemize
19572
19573 @noindent
19574 Note that the @samp{ll} type modifier is supported only if the
19575 underlying @code{C} implementation used to build @value{GDBN} supports
19576 the @code{long long int} type, and the @samp{L} type modifier is
19577 supported only if @code{long double} type is available.
19578
19579 As in @code{C}, @code{printf} supports simple backslash-escape
19580 sequences, such as @code{\n}, @samp{\t}, @samp{\\}, @samp{\"},
19581 @samp{\a}, and @samp{\f}, that consist of backslash followed by a
19582 single character. Octal and hexadecimal escape sequences are not
19583 supported.
19584
19585 Additionally, @code{printf} supports conversion specifications for DFP
19586 (@dfn{Decimal Floating Point}) types using the following length modifiers
19587 together with a floating point specifier.
19588 letters:
19589
19590 @itemize @bullet
19591 @item
19592 @samp{H} for printing @code{Decimal32} types.
19593
19594 @item
19595 @samp{D} for printing @code{Decimal64} types.
19596
19597 @item
19598 @samp{DD} for printing @code{Decimal128} types.
19599 @end itemize
19600
19601 If the underlying @code{C} implementation used to build @value{GDBN} has
19602 support for the three length modifiers for DFP types, other modifiers
19603 such as width and precision will also be available for @value{GDBN} to use.
19604
19605 In case there is no such @code{C} support, no additional modifiers will be
19606 available and the value will be printed in the standard way.
19607
19608 Here's an example of printing DFP types using the above conversion letters:
19609 @smallexample
19610 printf "D32: %Hf - D64: %Df - D128: %DDf\n",1.2345df,1.2E10dd,1.2E1dl
19611 @end smallexample
19612
19613 @end table
19614
19615 @node Python
19616 @section Scripting @value{GDBN} using Python
19617 @cindex python scripting
19618 @cindex scripting with python
19619
19620 You can script @value{GDBN} using the @uref{http://www.python.org/,
19621 Python programming language}. This feature is available only if
19622 @value{GDBN} was configured using @option{--with-python}.
19623
19624 @menu
19625 * Python Commands:: Accessing Python from @value{GDBN}.
19626 * Python API:: Accessing @value{GDBN} from Python.
19627 @end menu
19628
19629 @node Python Commands
19630 @subsection Python Commands
19631 @cindex python commands
19632 @cindex commands to access python
19633
19634 @value{GDBN} provides one command for accessing the Python interpreter,
19635 and one related setting:
19636
19637 @table @code
19638 @kindex python
19639 @item python @r{[}@var{code}@r{]}
19640 The @code{python} command can be used to evaluate Python code.
19641
19642 If given an argument, the @code{python} command will evaluate the
19643 argument as a Python command. For example:
19644
19645 @smallexample
19646 (@value{GDBP}) python print 23
19647 23
19648 @end smallexample
19649
19650 If you do not provide an argument to @code{python}, it will act as a
19651 multi-line command, like @code{define}. In this case, the Python
19652 script is made up of subsequent command lines, given after the
19653 @code{python} command. This command list is terminated using a line
19654 containing @code{end}. For example:
19655
19656 @smallexample
19657 (@value{GDBP}) python
19658 Type python script
19659 End with a line saying just "end".
19660 >print 23
19661 >end
19662 23
19663 @end smallexample
19664
19665 @kindex maint set python print-stack
19666 @item maint set python print-stack
19667 By default, @value{GDBN} will print a stack trace when an error occurs
19668 in a Python script. This can be controlled using @code{maint set
19669 python print-stack}: if @code{on}, the default, then Python stack
19670 printing is enabled; if @code{off}, then Python stack printing is
19671 disabled.
19672 @end table
19673
19674 It is also possible to execute a Python script from the @value{GDBN}
19675 interpreter:
19676
19677 @table @code
19678 @item source @file{script-name}
19679 The script name must end with @samp{.py} and @value{GDBN} must be configured
19680 to recognize the script language based on filename extension using
19681 the @code{script-extension} setting. @xref{Extending GDB, ,Extending GDB}.
19682
19683 @item python execfile ("script-name")
19684 This method is based on the @code{execfile} Python built-in function,
19685 and thus is always available.
19686 @end table
19687
19688 @node Python API
19689 @subsection Python API
19690 @cindex python api
19691 @cindex programming in python
19692
19693 @cindex python stdout
19694 @cindex python pagination
19695 At startup, @value{GDBN} overrides Python's @code{sys.stdout} and
19696 @code{sys.stderr} to print using @value{GDBN}'s output-paging streams.
19697 A Python program which outputs to one of these streams may have its
19698 output interrupted by the user (@pxref{Screen Size}). In this
19699 situation, a Python @code{KeyboardInterrupt} exception is thrown.
19700
19701 @menu
19702 * Basic Python:: Basic Python Functions.
19703 * Exception Handling::
19704 * Auto-loading:: Automatically loading Python code.
19705 * Values From Inferior::
19706 * Types In Python:: Python representation of types.
19707 * Pretty Printing:: Pretty-printing values.
19708 * Selecting Pretty-Printers:: How GDB chooses a pretty-printer.
19709 * Commands In Python:: Implementing new commands in Python.
19710 * Functions In Python:: Writing new convenience functions.
19711 * Objfiles In Python:: Object files.
19712 * Frames In Python:: Accessing inferior stack frames from Python.
19713 * Blocks In Python:: Accessing frame blocks from Python.
19714 * Symbols In Python:: Python representation of symbols.
19715 * Symbol Tables In Python:: Python representation of symbol tables.
19716 * Lazy Strings In Python:: Python representation of lazy strings.
19717 * Breakpoints In Python:: Manipulating breakpoints using Python.
19718 @end menu
19719
19720 @node Basic Python
19721 @subsubsection Basic Python
19722
19723 @cindex python functions
19724 @cindex python module
19725 @cindex gdb module
19726 @value{GDBN} introduces a new Python module, named @code{gdb}. All
19727 methods and classes added by @value{GDBN} are placed in this module.
19728 @value{GDBN} automatically @code{import}s the @code{gdb} module for
19729 use in all scripts evaluated by the @code{python} command.
19730
19731 @findex gdb.execute
19732 @defun execute command [from_tty]
19733 Evaluate @var{command}, a string, as a @value{GDBN} CLI command.
19734 If a GDB exception happens while @var{command} runs, it is
19735 translated as described in @ref{Exception Handling,,Exception Handling}.
19736 If no exceptions occur, this function returns @code{None}.
19737
19738 @var{from_tty} specifies whether @value{GDBN} ought to consider this
19739 command as having originated from the user invoking it interactively.
19740 It must be a boolean value. If omitted, it defaults to @code{False}.
19741 @end defun
19742
19743 @findex gdb.breakpoints
19744 @defun breakpoints
19745 Return a sequence holding all of @value{GDBN}'s breakpoints.
19746 @xref{Breakpoints In Python}, for more information.
19747 @end defun
19748
19749 @findex gdb.parameter
19750 @defun parameter parameter
19751 Return the value of a @value{GDBN} parameter. @var{parameter} is a
19752 string naming the parameter to look up; @var{parameter} may contain
19753 spaces if the parameter has a multi-part name. For example,
19754 @samp{print object} is a valid parameter name.
19755
19756 If the named parameter does not exist, this function throws a
19757 @code{RuntimeError}. Otherwise, the parameter's value is converted to
19758 a Python value of the appropriate type, and returned.
19759 @end defun
19760
19761 @findex gdb.history
19762 @defun history number
19763 Return a value from @value{GDBN}'s value history (@pxref{Value
19764 History}). @var{number} indicates which history element to return.
19765 If @var{number} is negative, then @value{GDBN} will take its absolute value
19766 and count backward from the last element (i.e., the most recent element) to
19767 find the value to return. If @var{number} is zero, then @value{GDBN} will
19768 return the most recent element. If the element specified by @var{number}
19769 doesn't exist in the value history, a @code{RuntimeError} exception will be
19770 raised.
19771
19772 If no exception is raised, the return value is always an instance of
19773 @code{gdb.Value} (@pxref{Values From Inferior}).
19774 @end defun
19775
19776 @findex gdb.parse_and_eval
19777 @defun parse_and_eval expression
19778 Parse @var{expression} as an expression in the current language,
19779 evaluate it, and return the result as a @code{gdb.Value}.
19780 @var{expression} must be a string.
19781
19782 This function can be useful when implementing a new command
19783 (@pxref{Commands In Python}), as it provides a way to parse the
19784 command's argument as an expression. It is also useful simply to
19785 compute values, for example, it is the only way to get the value of a
19786 convenience variable (@pxref{Convenience Vars}) as a @code{gdb.Value}.
19787 @end defun
19788
19789 @findex gdb.write
19790 @defun write string
19791 Print a string to @value{GDBN}'s paginated standard output stream.
19792 Writing to @code{sys.stdout} or @code{sys.stderr} will automatically
19793 call this function.
19794 @end defun
19795
19796 @findex gdb.flush
19797 @defun flush
19798 Flush @value{GDBN}'s paginated standard output stream. Flushing
19799 @code{sys.stdout} or @code{sys.stderr} will automatically call this
19800 function.
19801 @end defun
19802
19803 @findex gdb.target_charset
19804 @defun target_charset
19805 Return the name of the current target character set (@pxref{Character
19806 Sets}). This differs from @code{gdb.parameter('target-charset')} in
19807 that @samp{auto} is never returned.
19808 @end defun
19809
19810 @findex gdb.target_wide_charset
19811 @defun target_wide_charset
19812 Return the name of the current target wide character set
19813 (@pxref{Character Sets}). This differs from
19814 @code{gdb.parameter('target-wide-charset')} in that @samp{auto} is
19815 never returned.
19816 @end defun
19817
19818 @node Exception Handling
19819 @subsubsection Exception Handling
19820 @cindex python exceptions
19821 @cindex exceptions, python
19822
19823 When executing the @code{python} command, Python exceptions
19824 uncaught within the Python code are translated to calls to
19825 @value{GDBN} error-reporting mechanism. If the command that called
19826 @code{python} does not handle the error, @value{GDBN} will
19827 terminate it and print an error message containing the Python
19828 exception name, the associated value, and the Python call stack
19829 backtrace at the point where the exception was raised. Example:
19830
19831 @smallexample
19832 (@value{GDBP}) python print foo
19833 Traceback (most recent call last):
19834 File "<string>", line 1, in <module>
19835 NameError: name 'foo' is not defined
19836 @end smallexample
19837
19838 @value{GDBN} errors that happen in @value{GDBN} commands invoked by Python
19839 code are converted to Python @code{RuntimeError} exceptions. User
19840 interrupt (via @kbd{C-c} or by typing @kbd{q} at a pagination
19841 prompt) is translated to a Python @code{KeyboardInterrupt}
19842 exception. If you catch these exceptions in your Python code, your
19843 exception handler will see @code{RuntimeError} or
19844 @code{KeyboardInterrupt} as the exception type, the @value{GDBN} error
19845 message as its value, and the Python call stack backtrace at the
19846 Python statement closest to where the @value{GDBN} error occured as the
19847 traceback.
19848
19849 @node Auto-loading
19850 @subsubsection Auto-loading
19851 @cindex auto-loading, Python
19852
19853 When a new object file is read (for example, due to the @code{file}
19854 command, or because the inferior has loaded a shared library),
19855 @value{GDBN} will look for a file named @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.py},
19856 where @var{objfile} is the object file's real name, formed by ensuring
19857 that the file name is absolute, following all symlinks, and resolving
19858 @code{.} and @code{..} components. If this file exists and is
19859 readable, @value{GDBN} will evaluate it as a Python script.
19860
19861 If this file does not exist, and if the parameter
19862 @code{debug-file-directory} is set (@pxref{Separate Debug Files}),
19863 then @value{GDBN} will use for its each separated directory component
19864 @code{component} the file named @file{@code{component}/@var{real-name}}, where
19865 @var{real-name} is the object file's real name, as described above.
19866
19867 Finally, if this file does not exist, then @value{GDBN} will look for
19868 a file named @file{@var{data-directory}/python/auto-load/@var{real-name}}, where
19869 @var{data-directory} is @value{GDBN}'s data directory (available via
19870 @code{show data-directory}, @pxref{Data Files}), and @var{real-name}
19871 is the object file's real name, as described above.
19872
19873 When reading an auto-loaded file, @value{GDBN} sets the ``current
19874 objfile''. This is available via the @code{gdb.current_objfile}
19875 function (@pxref{Objfiles In Python}). This can be useful for
19876 registering objfile-specific pretty-printers.
19877
19878 The auto-loading feature is useful for supplying application-specific
19879 debugging commands and scripts. You can enable or disable this
19880 feature, and view its current state.
19881
19882 @table @code
19883 @kindex maint set python auto-load
19884 @item maint set python auto-load [yes|no]
19885 Enable or disable the Python auto-loading feature.
19886
19887 @kindex maint show python auto-load
19888 @item maint show python auto-load
19889 Show whether Python auto-loading is enabled or disabled.
19890 @end table
19891
19892 @value{GDBN} does not track which files it has already auto-loaded.
19893 So, your @samp{-gdb.py} file should take care to ensure that it may be
19894 evaluated multiple times without error.
19895
19896 @node Values From Inferior
19897 @subsubsection Values From Inferior
19898 @cindex values from inferior, with Python
19899 @cindex python, working with values from inferior
19900
19901 @cindex @code{gdb.Value}
19902 @value{GDBN} provides values it obtains from the inferior program in
19903 an object of type @code{gdb.Value}. @value{GDBN} uses this object
19904 for its internal bookkeeping of the inferior's values, and for
19905 fetching values when necessary.
19906
19907 Inferior values that are simple scalars can be used directly in
19908 Python expressions that are valid for the value's data type. Here's
19909 an example for an integer or floating-point value @code{some_val}:
19910
19911 @smallexample
19912 bar = some_val + 2
19913 @end smallexample
19914
19915 @noindent
19916 As result of this, @code{bar} will also be a @code{gdb.Value} object
19917 whose values are of the same type as those of @code{some_val}.
19918
19919 Inferior values that are structures or instances of some class can
19920 be accessed using the Python @dfn{dictionary syntax}. For example, if
19921 @code{some_val} is a @code{gdb.Value} instance holding a structure, you
19922 can access its @code{foo} element with:
19923
19924 @smallexample
19925 bar = some_val['foo']
19926 @end smallexample
19927
19928 Again, @code{bar} will also be a @code{gdb.Value} object.
19929
19930 The following attributes are provided:
19931
19932 @table @code
19933 @defivar Value address
19934 If this object is addressable, this read-only attribute holds a
19935 @code{gdb.Value} object representing the address. Otherwise,
19936 this attribute holds @code{None}.
19937 @end defivar
19938
19939 @cindex optimized out value in Python
19940 @defivar Value is_optimized_out
19941 This read-only boolean attribute is true if the compiler optimized out
19942 this value, thus it is not available for fetching from the inferior.
19943 @end defivar
19944
19945 @defivar Value type
19946 The type of this @code{gdb.Value}. The value of this attribute is a
19947 @code{gdb.Type} object.
19948 @end defivar
19949 @end table
19950
19951 The following methods are provided:
19952
19953 @table @code
19954 @defmethod Value cast type
19955 Return a new instance of @code{gdb.Value} that is the result of
19956 casting this instance to the type described by @var{type}, which must
19957 be a @code{gdb.Type} object. If the cast cannot be performed for some
19958 reason, this method throws an exception.
19959 @end defmethod
19960
19961 @defmethod Value dereference
19962 For pointer data types, this method returns a new @code{gdb.Value} object
19963 whose contents is the object pointed to by the pointer. For example, if
19964 @code{foo} is a C pointer to an @code{int}, declared in your C program as
19965
19966 @smallexample
19967 int *foo;
19968 @end smallexample
19969
19970 @noindent
19971 then you can use the corresponding @code{gdb.Value} to access what
19972 @code{foo} points to like this:
19973
19974 @smallexample
19975 bar = foo.dereference ()
19976 @end smallexample
19977
19978 The result @code{bar} will be a @code{gdb.Value} object holding the
19979 value pointed to by @code{foo}.
19980 @end defmethod
19981
19982 @defmethod Value string @r{[}encoding@r{]} @r{[}errors@r{]} @r{[}length@r{]}
19983 If this @code{gdb.Value} represents a string, then this method
19984 converts the contents to a Python string. Otherwise, this method will
19985 throw an exception.
19986
19987 Strings are recognized in a language-specific way; whether a given
19988 @code{gdb.Value} represents a string is determined by the current
19989 language.
19990
19991 For C-like languages, a value is a string if it is a pointer to or an
19992 array of characters or ints. The string is assumed to be terminated
19993 by a zero of the appropriate width. However if the optional length
19994 argument is given, the string will be converted to that given length,
19995 ignoring any embedded zeros that the string may contain.
19996
19997 If the optional @var{encoding} argument is given, it must be a string
19998 naming the encoding of the string in the @code{gdb.Value}, such as
19999 @code{"ascii"}, @code{"iso-8859-6"} or @code{"utf-8"}. It accepts
20000 the same encodings as the corresponding argument to Python's
20001 @code{string.decode} method, and the Python codec machinery will be used
20002 to convert the string. If @var{encoding} is not given, or if
20003 @var{encoding} is the empty string, then either the @code{target-charset}
20004 (@pxref{Character Sets}) will be used, or a language-specific encoding
20005 will be used, if the current language is able to supply one.
20006
20007 The optional @var{errors} argument is the same as the corresponding
20008 argument to Python's @code{string.decode} method.
20009
20010 If the optional @var{length} argument is given, the string will be
20011 fetched and converted to the given length.
20012 @end defmethod
20013
20014 @defmethod Value lazy_string @r{[}encoding@r{]} @r{[}length@r{]}
20015 If this @code{gdb.Value} represents a string, then this method
20016 converts the contents to a @code{gdb.LazyString} (@pxref{Lazy Strings
20017 In Python}). Otherwise, this method will throw an exception.
20018
20019 If the optional @var{encoding} argument is given, it must be a string
20020 naming the encoding of the @code{gdb.LazyString}. Some examples are:
20021 @samp{ascii}, @samp{iso-8859-6} or @samp{utf-8}. If the
20022 @var{encoding} argument is an encoding that @value{GDBN} does
20023 recognize, @value{GDBN} will raise an error.
20024
20025 When a lazy string is printed, the @value{GDBN} encoding machinery is
20026 used to convert the string during printing. If the optional
20027 @var{encoding} argument is not provided, or is an empty string,
20028 @value{GDBN} will automatically select the encoding most suitable for
20029 the string type. For further information on encoding in @value{GDBN}
20030 please see @ref{Character Sets}.
20031
20032 If the optional @var{length} argument is given, the string will be
20033 fetched and encoded to the length of characters specified. If
20034 the @var{length} argument is not provided, the string will be fetched
20035 and encoded until a null of appropriate width is found.
20036 @end defmethod
20037 @end table
20038
20039 @node Types In Python
20040 @subsubsection Types In Python
20041 @cindex types in Python
20042 @cindex Python, working with types
20043
20044 @tindex gdb.Type
20045 @value{GDBN} represents types from the inferior using the class
20046 @code{gdb.Type}.
20047
20048 The following type-related functions are available in the @code{gdb}
20049 module:
20050
20051 @findex gdb.lookup_type
20052 @defun lookup_type name [block]
20053 This function looks up a type by name. @var{name} is the name of the
20054 type to look up. It must be a string.
20055
20056 If @var{block} is given, then @var{name} is looked up in that scope.
20057 Otherwise, it is searched for globally.
20058
20059 Ordinarily, this function will return an instance of @code{gdb.Type}.
20060 If the named type cannot be found, it will throw an exception.
20061 @end defun
20062
20063 An instance of @code{Type} has the following attributes:
20064
20065 @table @code
20066 @defivar Type code
20067 The type code for this type. The type code will be one of the
20068 @code{TYPE_CODE_} constants defined below.
20069 @end defivar
20070
20071 @defivar Type sizeof
20072 The size of this type, in target @code{char} units. Usually, a
20073 target's @code{char} type will be an 8-bit byte. However, on some
20074 unusual platforms, this type may have a different size.
20075 @end defivar
20076
20077 @defivar Type tag
20078 The tag name for this type. The tag name is the name after
20079 @code{struct}, @code{union}, or @code{enum} in C and C@t{++}; not all
20080 languages have this concept. If this type has no tag name, then
20081 @code{None} is returned.
20082 @end defivar
20083 @end table
20084
20085 The following methods are provided:
20086
20087 @table @code
20088 @defmethod Type fields
20089 For structure and union types, this method returns the fields. Range
20090 types have two fields, the minimum and maximum values. Enum types
20091 have one field per enum constant. Function and method types have one
20092 field per parameter. The base types of C@t{++} classes are also
20093 represented as fields. If the type has no fields, or does not fit
20094 into one of these categories, an empty sequence will be returned.
20095
20096 Each field is an object, with some pre-defined attributes:
20097 @table @code
20098 @item bitpos
20099 This attribute is not available for @code{static} fields (as in
20100 C@t{++} or Java). For non-@code{static} fields, the value is the bit
20101 position of the field.
20102
20103 @item name
20104 The name of the field, or @code{None} for anonymous fields.
20105
20106 @item artificial
20107 This is @code{True} if the field is artificial, usually meaning that
20108 it was provided by the compiler and not the user. This attribute is
20109 always provided, and is @code{False} if the field is not artificial.
20110
20111 @item is_base_class
20112 This is @code{True} if the field represents a base class of a C@t{++}
20113 structure. This attribute is always provided, and is @code{False}
20114 if the field is not a base class of the type that is the argument of
20115 @code{fields}, or if that type was not a C@t{++} class.
20116
20117 @item bitsize
20118 If the field is packed, or is a bitfield, then this will have a
20119 non-zero value, which is the size of the field in bits. Otherwise,
20120 this will be zero; in this case the field's size is given by its type.
20121
20122 @item type
20123 The type of the field. This is usually an instance of @code{Type},
20124 but it can be @code{None} in some situations.
20125 @end table
20126 @end defmethod
20127
20128 @defmethod Type const
20129 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents a
20130 @code{const}-qualified variant of this type.
20131 @end defmethod
20132
20133 @defmethod Type volatile
20134 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents a
20135 @code{volatile}-qualified variant of this type.
20136 @end defmethod
20137
20138 @defmethod Type unqualified
20139 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents an unqualified
20140 variant of this type. That is, the result is neither @code{const} nor
20141 @code{volatile}.
20142 @end defmethod
20143
20144 @defmethod Type range
20145 Return a Python @code{Tuple} object that contains two elements: the
20146 low bound of the argument type and the high bound of that type. If
20147 the type does not have a range, @value{GDBN} will raise a
20148 @code{RuntimeError} exception.
20149 @end defmethod
20150
20151 @defmethod Type reference
20152 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents a reference to this
20153 type.
20154 @end defmethod
20155
20156 @defmethod Type pointer
20157 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents a pointer to this
20158 type.
20159 @end defmethod
20160
20161 @defmethod Type strip_typedefs
20162 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} that represents the real type,
20163 after removing all layers of typedefs.
20164 @end defmethod
20165
20166 @defmethod Type target
20167 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents the target type
20168 of this type.
20169
20170 For a pointer type, the target type is the type of the pointed-to
20171 object. For an array type (meaning C-like arrays), the target type is
20172 the type of the elements of the array. For a function or method type,
20173 the target type is the type of the return value. For a complex type,
20174 the target type is the type of the elements. For a typedef, the
20175 target type is the aliased type.
20176
20177 If the type does not have a target, this method will throw an
20178 exception.
20179 @end defmethod
20180
20181 @defmethod Type template_argument n [block]
20182 If this @code{gdb.Type} is an instantiation of a template, this will
20183 return a new @code{gdb.Type} which represents the type of the
20184 @var{n}th template argument.
20185
20186 If this @code{gdb.Type} is not a template type, this will throw an
20187 exception. Ordinarily, only C@t{++} code will have template types.
20188
20189 If @var{block} is given, then @var{name} is looked up in that scope.
20190 Otherwise, it is searched for globally.
20191 @end defmethod
20192 @end table
20193
20194
20195 Each type has a code, which indicates what category this type falls
20196 into. The available type categories are represented by constants
20197 defined in the @code{gdb} module:
20198
20199 @table @code
20200 @findex TYPE_CODE_PTR
20201 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_PTR
20202 @item TYPE_CODE_PTR
20203 The type is a pointer.
20204
20205 @findex TYPE_CODE_ARRAY
20206 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_ARRAY
20207 @item TYPE_CODE_ARRAY
20208 The type is an array.
20209
20210 @findex TYPE_CODE_STRUCT
20211 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_STRUCT
20212 @item TYPE_CODE_STRUCT
20213 The type is a structure.
20214
20215 @findex TYPE_CODE_UNION
20216 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_UNION
20217 @item TYPE_CODE_UNION
20218 The type is a union.
20219
20220 @findex TYPE_CODE_ENUM
20221 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_ENUM
20222 @item TYPE_CODE_ENUM
20223 The type is an enum.
20224
20225 @findex TYPE_CODE_FLAGS
20226 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_FLAGS
20227 @item TYPE_CODE_FLAGS
20228 A bit flags type, used for things such as status registers.
20229
20230 @findex TYPE_CODE_FUNC
20231 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_FUNC
20232 @item TYPE_CODE_FUNC
20233 The type is a function.
20234
20235 @findex TYPE_CODE_INT
20236 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_INT
20237 @item TYPE_CODE_INT
20238 The type is an integer type.
20239
20240 @findex TYPE_CODE_FLT
20241 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_FLT
20242 @item TYPE_CODE_FLT
20243 A floating point type.
20244
20245 @findex TYPE_CODE_VOID
20246 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_VOID
20247 @item TYPE_CODE_VOID
20248 The special type @code{void}.
20249
20250 @findex TYPE_CODE_SET
20251 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_SET
20252 @item TYPE_CODE_SET
20253 A Pascal set type.
20254
20255 @findex TYPE_CODE_RANGE
20256 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_RANGE
20257 @item TYPE_CODE_RANGE
20258 A range type, that is, an integer type with bounds.
20259
20260 @findex TYPE_CODE_STRING
20261 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_STRING
20262 @item TYPE_CODE_STRING
20263 A string type. Note that this is only used for certain languages with
20264 language-defined string types; C strings are not represented this way.
20265
20266 @findex TYPE_CODE_BITSTRING
20267 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_BITSTRING
20268 @item TYPE_CODE_BITSTRING
20269 A string of bits.
20270
20271 @findex TYPE_CODE_ERROR
20272 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_ERROR
20273 @item TYPE_CODE_ERROR
20274 An unknown or erroneous type.
20275
20276 @findex TYPE_CODE_METHOD
20277 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_METHOD
20278 @item TYPE_CODE_METHOD
20279 A method type, as found in C@t{++} or Java.
20280
20281 @findex TYPE_CODE_METHODPTR
20282 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_METHODPTR
20283 @item TYPE_CODE_METHODPTR
20284 A pointer-to-member-function.
20285
20286 @findex TYPE_CODE_MEMBERPTR
20287 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_MEMBERPTR
20288 @item TYPE_CODE_MEMBERPTR
20289 A pointer-to-member.
20290
20291 @findex TYPE_CODE_REF
20292 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_REF
20293 @item TYPE_CODE_REF
20294 A reference type.
20295
20296 @findex TYPE_CODE_CHAR
20297 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_CHAR
20298 @item TYPE_CODE_CHAR
20299 A character type.
20300
20301 @findex TYPE_CODE_BOOL
20302 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_BOOL
20303 @item TYPE_CODE_BOOL
20304 A boolean type.
20305
20306 @findex TYPE_CODE_COMPLEX
20307 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_COMPLEX
20308 @item TYPE_CODE_COMPLEX
20309 A complex float type.
20310
20311 @findex TYPE_CODE_TYPEDEF
20312 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_TYPEDEF
20313 @item TYPE_CODE_TYPEDEF
20314 A typedef to some other type.
20315
20316 @findex TYPE_CODE_NAMESPACE
20317 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_NAMESPACE
20318 @item TYPE_CODE_NAMESPACE
20319 A C@t{++} namespace.
20320
20321 @findex TYPE_CODE_DECFLOAT
20322 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_DECFLOAT
20323 @item TYPE_CODE_DECFLOAT
20324 A decimal floating point type.
20325
20326 @findex TYPE_CODE_INTERNAL_FUNCTION
20327 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_INTERNAL_FUNCTION
20328 @item TYPE_CODE_INTERNAL_FUNCTION
20329 A function internal to @value{GDBN}. This is the type used to represent
20330 convenience functions.
20331 @end table
20332
20333 @node Pretty Printing
20334 @subsubsection Pretty Printing
20335
20336 @value{GDBN} provides a mechanism to allow pretty-printing of values
20337 using Python code. The pretty-printer API allows application-specific
20338 code to greatly simplify the display of complex objects. This
20339 mechanism works for both MI and the CLI.
20340
20341 For example, here is how a C@t{++} @code{std::string} looks without a
20342 pretty-printer:
20343
20344 @smallexample
20345 (@value{GDBP}) print s
20346 $1 = @{
20347 static npos = 4294967295,
20348 _M_dataplus = @{
20349 <std::allocator<char>> = @{
20350 <__gnu_cxx::new_allocator<char>> = @{<No data fields>@}, <No data fields>@},
20351 members of std::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >::_Alloc_hider:
20352 _M_p = 0x804a014 "abcd"
20353 @}
20354 @}
20355 @end smallexample
20356
20357 After a pretty-printer for @code{std::string} has been installed, only
20358 the contents are printed:
20359
20360 @smallexample
20361 (@value{GDBP}) print s
20362 $2 = "abcd"
20363 @end smallexample
20364
20365 A pretty-printer is just an object that holds a value and implements a
20366 specific interface, defined here.
20367
20368 @defop Operation {pretty printer} children (self)
20369 @value{GDBN} will call this method on a pretty-printer to compute the
20370 children of the pretty-printer's value.
20371
20372 This method must return an object conforming to the Python iterator
20373 protocol. Each item returned by the iterator must be a tuple holding
20374 two elements. The first element is the ``name'' of the child; the
20375 second element is the child's value. The value can be any Python
20376 object which is convertible to a @value{GDBN} value.
20377
20378 This method is optional. If it does not exist, @value{GDBN} will act
20379 as though the value has no children.
20380 @end defop
20381
20382 @defop Operation {pretty printer} display_hint (self)
20383 The CLI may call this method and use its result to change the
20384 formatting of a value. The result will also be supplied to an MI
20385 consumer as a @samp{displayhint} attribute of the variable being
20386 printed.
20387
20388 This method is optional. If it does exist, this method must return a
20389 string.
20390
20391 Some display hints are predefined by @value{GDBN}:
20392
20393 @table @samp
20394 @item array
20395 Indicate that the object being printed is ``array-like''. The CLI
20396 uses this to respect parameters such as @code{set print elements} and
20397 @code{set print array}.
20398
20399 @item map
20400 Indicate that the object being printed is ``map-like'', and that the
20401 children of this value can be assumed to alternate between keys and
20402 values.
20403
20404 @item string
20405 Indicate that the object being printed is ``string-like''. If the
20406 printer's @code{to_string} method returns a Python string of some
20407 kind, then @value{GDBN} will call its internal language-specific
20408 string-printing function to format the string. For the CLI this means
20409 adding quotation marks, possibly escaping some characters, respecting
20410 @code{set print elements}, and the like.
20411 @end table
20412 @end defop
20413
20414 @defop Operation {pretty printer} to_string (self)
20415 @value{GDBN} will call this method to display the string
20416 representation of the value passed to the object's constructor.
20417
20418 When printing from the CLI, if the @code{to_string} method exists,
20419 then @value{GDBN} will prepend its result to the values returned by
20420 @code{children}. Exactly how this formatting is done is dependent on
20421 the display hint, and may change as more hints are added. Also,
20422 depending on the print settings (@pxref{Print Settings}), the CLI may
20423 print just the result of @code{to_string} in a stack trace, omitting
20424 the result of @code{children}.
20425
20426 If this method returns a string, it is printed verbatim.
20427
20428 Otherwise, if this method returns an instance of @code{gdb.Value},
20429 then @value{GDBN} prints this value. This may result in a call to
20430 another pretty-printer.
20431
20432 If instead the method returns a Python value which is convertible to a
20433 @code{gdb.Value}, then @value{GDBN} performs the conversion and prints
20434 the resulting value. Again, this may result in a call to another
20435 pretty-printer. Python scalars (integers, floats, and booleans) and
20436 strings are convertible to @code{gdb.Value}; other types are not.
20437
20438 If the result is not one of these types, an exception is raised.
20439 @end defop
20440
20441 @node Selecting Pretty-Printers
20442 @subsubsection Selecting Pretty-Printers
20443
20444 The Python list @code{gdb.pretty_printers} contains an array of
20445 functions that have been registered via addition as a pretty-printer.
20446 Each @code{gdb.Objfile} also contains a @code{pretty_printers}
20447 attribute.
20448
20449 A function on one of these lists is passed a single @code{gdb.Value}
20450 argument and should return a pretty-printer object conforming to the
20451 interface definition above (@pxref{Pretty Printing}). If a function
20452 cannot create a pretty-printer for the value, it should return
20453 @code{None}.
20454
20455 @value{GDBN} first checks the @code{pretty_printers} attribute of each
20456 @code{gdb.Objfile} and iteratively calls each function in the list for
20457 that @code{gdb.Objfile} until it receives a pretty-printer object.
20458 After these lists have been exhausted, it tries the global
20459 @code{gdb.pretty-printers} list, again calling each function until an
20460 object is returned.
20461
20462 The order in which the objfiles are searched is not specified. For a
20463 given list, functions are always invoked from the head of the list,
20464 and iterated over sequentially until the end of the list, or a printer
20465 object is returned.
20466
20467 Here is an example showing how a @code{std::string} printer might be
20468 written:
20469
20470 @smallexample
20471 class StdStringPrinter:
20472 "Print a std::string"
20473
20474 def __init__ (self, val):
20475 self.val = val
20476
20477 def to_string (self):
20478 return self.val['_M_dataplus']['_M_p']
20479
20480 def display_hint (self):
20481 return 'string'
20482 @end smallexample
20483
20484 And here is an example showing how a lookup function for the printer
20485 example above might be written.
20486
20487 @smallexample
20488 def str_lookup_function (val):
20489
20490 lookup_tag = val.type.tag
20491 regex = re.compile ("^std::basic_string<char,.*>$")
20492 if lookup_tag == None:
20493 return None
20494 if regex.match (lookup_tag):
20495 return StdStringPrinter (val)
20496
20497 return None
20498 @end smallexample
20499
20500 The example lookup function extracts the value's type, and attempts to
20501 match it to a type that it can pretty-print. If it is a type the
20502 printer can pretty-print, it will return a printer object. If not, it
20503 returns @code{None}.
20504
20505 We recommend that you put your core pretty-printers into a Python
20506 package. If your pretty-printers are for use with a library, we
20507 further recommend embedding a version number into the package name.
20508 This practice will enable @value{GDBN} to load multiple versions of
20509 your pretty-printers at the same time, because they will have
20510 different names.
20511
20512 You should write auto-loaded code (@pxref{Auto-loading}) such that it
20513 can be evaluated multiple times without changing its meaning. An
20514 ideal auto-load file will consist solely of @code{import}s of your
20515 printer modules, followed by a call to a register pretty-printers with
20516 the current objfile.
20517
20518 Taken as a whole, this approach will scale nicely to multiple
20519 inferiors, each potentially using a different library version.
20520 Embedding a version number in the Python package name will ensure that
20521 @value{GDBN} is able to load both sets of printers simultaneously.
20522 Then, because the search for pretty-printers is done by objfile, and
20523 because your auto-loaded code took care to register your library's
20524 printers with a specific objfile, @value{GDBN} will find the correct
20525 printers for the specific version of the library used by each
20526 inferior.
20527
20528 To continue the @code{std::string} example (@pxref{Pretty Printing}),
20529 this code might appear in @code{gdb.libstdcxx.v6}:
20530
20531 @smallexample
20532 def register_printers (objfile):
20533 objfile.pretty_printers.add (str_lookup_function)
20534 @end smallexample
20535
20536 @noindent
20537 And then the corresponding contents of the auto-load file would be:
20538
20539 @smallexample
20540 import gdb.libstdcxx.v6
20541 gdb.libstdcxx.v6.register_printers (gdb.current_objfile ())
20542 @end smallexample
20543
20544 @node Commands In Python
20545 @subsubsection Commands In Python
20546
20547 @cindex commands in python
20548 @cindex python commands
20549 You can implement new @value{GDBN} CLI commands in Python. A CLI
20550 command is implemented using an instance of the @code{gdb.Command}
20551 class, most commonly using a subclass.
20552
20553 @defmethod Command __init__ name @var{command_class} @r{[}@var{completer_class}@r{]} @r{[}@var{prefix}@r{]}
20554 The object initializer for @code{Command} registers the new command
20555 with @value{GDBN}. This initializer is normally invoked from the
20556 subclass' own @code{__init__} method.
20557
20558 @var{name} is the name of the command. If @var{name} consists of
20559 multiple words, then the initial words are looked for as prefix
20560 commands. In this case, if one of the prefix commands does not exist,
20561 an exception is raised.
20562
20563 There is no support for multi-line commands.
20564
20565 @var{command_class} should be one of the @samp{COMMAND_} constants
20566 defined below. This argument tells @value{GDBN} how to categorize the
20567 new command in the help system.
20568
20569 @var{completer_class} is an optional argument. If given, it should be
20570 one of the @samp{COMPLETE_} constants defined below. This argument
20571 tells @value{GDBN} how to perform completion for this command. If not
20572 given, @value{GDBN} will attempt to complete using the object's
20573 @code{complete} method (see below); if no such method is found, an
20574 error will occur when completion is attempted.
20575
20576 @var{prefix} is an optional argument. If @code{True}, then the new
20577 command is a prefix command; sub-commands of this command may be
20578 registered.
20579
20580 The help text for the new command is taken from the Python
20581 documentation string for the command's class, if there is one. If no
20582 documentation string is provided, the default value ``This command is
20583 not documented.'' is used.
20584 @end defmethod
20585
20586 @cindex don't repeat Python command
20587 @defmethod Command dont_repeat
20588 By default, a @value{GDBN} command is repeated when the user enters a
20589 blank line at the command prompt. A command can suppress this
20590 behavior by invoking the @code{dont_repeat} method. This is similar
20591 to the user command @code{dont-repeat}, see @ref{Define, dont-repeat}.
20592 @end defmethod
20593
20594 @defmethod Command invoke argument from_tty
20595 This method is called by @value{GDBN} when this command is invoked.
20596
20597 @var{argument} is a string. It is the argument to the command, after
20598 leading and trailing whitespace has been stripped.
20599
20600 @var{from_tty} is a boolean argument. When true, this means that the
20601 command was entered by the user at the terminal; when false it means
20602 that the command came from elsewhere.
20603
20604 If this method throws an exception, it is turned into a @value{GDBN}
20605 @code{error} call. Otherwise, the return value is ignored.
20606 @end defmethod
20607
20608 @cindex completion of Python commands
20609 @defmethod Command complete text word
20610 This method is called by @value{GDBN} when the user attempts
20611 completion on this command. All forms of completion are handled by
20612 this method, that is, the @key{TAB} and @key{M-?} key bindings
20613 (@pxref{Completion}), and the @code{complete} command (@pxref{Help,
20614 complete}).
20615
20616 The arguments @var{text} and @var{word} are both strings. @var{text}
20617 holds the complete command line up to the cursor's location.
20618 @var{word} holds the last word of the command line; this is computed
20619 using a word-breaking heuristic.
20620
20621 The @code{complete} method can return several values:
20622 @itemize @bullet
20623 @item
20624 If the return value is a sequence, the contents of the sequence are
20625 used as the completions. It is up to @code{complete} to ensure that the
20626 contents actually do complete the word. A zero-length sequence is
20627 allowed, it means that there were no completions available. Only
20628 string elements of the sequence are used; other elements in the
20629 sequence are ignored.
20630
20631 @item
20632 If the return value is one of the @samp{COMPLETE_} constants defined
20633 below, then the corresponding @value{GDBN}-internal completion
20634 function is invoked, and its result is used.
20635
20636 @item
20637 All other results are treated as though there were no available
20638 completions.
20639 @end itemize
20640 @end defmethod
20641
20642 When a new command is registered, it must be declared as a member of
20643 some general class of commands. This is used to classify top-level
20644 commands in the on-line help system; note that prefix commands are not
20645 listed under their own category but rather that of their top-level
20646 command. The available classifications are represented by constants
20647 defined in the @code{gdb} module:
20648
20649 @table @code
20650 @findex COMMAND_NONE
20651 @findex gdb.COMMAND_NONE
20652 @item COMMAND_NONE
20653 The command does not belong to any particular class. A command in
20654 this category will not be displayed in any of the help categories.
20655
20656 @findex COMMAND_RUNNING
20657 @findex gdb.COMMAND_RUNNING
20658 @item COMMAND_RUNNING
20659 The command is related to running the inferior. For example,
20660 @code{start}, @code{step}, and @code{continue} are in this category.
20661 Type @kbd{help running} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of
20662 commands in this category.
20663
20664 @findex COMMAND_DATA
20665 @findex gdb.COMMAND_DATA
20666 @item COMMAND_DATA
20667 The command is related to data or variables. For example,
20668 @code{call}, @code{find}, and @code{print} are in this category. Type
20669 @kbd{help data} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of commands
20670 in this category.
20671
20672 @findex COMMAND_STACK
20673 @findex gdb.COMMAND_STACK
20674 @item COMMAND_STACK
20675 The command has to do with manipulation of the stack. For example,
20676 @code{backtrace}, @code{frame}, and @code{return} are in this
20677 category. Type @kbd{help stack} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a
20678 list of commands in this category.
20679
20680 @findex COMMAND_FILES
20681 @findex gdb.COMMAND_FILES
20682 @item COMMAND_FILES
20683 This class is used for file-related commands. For example,
20684 @code{file}, @code{list} and @code{section} are in this category.
20685 Type @kbd{help files} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of
20686 commands in this category.
20687
20688 @findex COMMAND_SUPPORT
20689 @findex gdb.COMMAND_SUPPORT
20690 @item COMMAND_SUPPORT
20691 This should be used for ``support facilities'', generally meaning
20692 things that are useful to the user when interacting with @value{GDBN},
20693 but not related to the state of the inferior. For example,
20694 @code{help}, @code{make}, and @code{shell} are in this category. Type
20695 @kbd{help support} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of
20696 commands in this category.
20697
20698 @findex COMMAND_STATUS
20699 @findex gdb.COMMAND_STATUS
20700 @item COMMAND_STATUS
20701 The command is an @samp{info}-related command, that is, related to the
20702 state of @value{GDBN} itself. For example, @code{info}, @code{macro},
20703 and @code{show} are in this category. Type @kbd{help status} at the
20704 @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of commands in this category.
20705
20706 @findex COMMAND_BREAKPOINTS
20707 @findex gdb.COMMAND_BREAKPOINTS
20708 @item COMMAND_BREAKPOINTS
20709 The command has to do with breakpoints. For example, @code{break},
20710 @code{clear}, and @code{delete} are in this category. Type @kbd{help
20711 breakpoints} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of commands in
20712 this category.
20713
20714 @findex COMMAND_TRACEPOINTS
20715 @findex gdb.COMMAND_TRACEPOINTS
20716 @item COMMAND_TRACEPOINTS
20717 The command has to do with tracepoints. For example, @code{trace},
20718 @code{actions}, and @code{tfind} are in this category. Type
20719 @kbd{help tracepoints} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of
20720 commands in this category.
20721
20722 @findex COMMAND_OBSCURE
20723 @findex gdb.COMMAND_OBSCURE
20724 @item COMMAND_OBSCURE
20725 The command is only used in unusual circumstances, or is not of
20726 general interest to users. For example, @code{checkpoint},
20727 @code{fork}, and @code{stop} are in this category. Type @kbd{help
20728 obscure} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of commands in this
20729 category.
20730
20731 @findex COMMAND_MAINTENANCE
20732 @findex gdb.COMMAND_MAINTENANCE
20733 @item COMMAND_MAINTENANCE
20734 The command is only useful to @value{GDBN} maintainers. The
20735 @code{maintenance} and @code{flushregs} commands are in this category.
20736 Type @kbd{help internals} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of
20737 commands in this category.
20738 @end table
20739
20740 A new command can use a predefined completion function, either by
20741 specifying it via an argument at initialization, or by returning it
20742 from the @code{complete} method. These predefined completion
20743 constants are all defined in the @code{gdb} module:
20744
20745 @table @code
20746 @findex COMPLETE_NONE
20747 @findex gdb.COMPLETE_NONE
20748 @item COMPLETE_NONE
20749 This constant means that no completion should be done.
20750
20751 @findex COMPLETE_FILENAME
20752 @findex gdb.COMPLETE_FILENAME
20753 @item COMPLETE_FILENAME
20754 This constant means that filename completion should be performed.
20755
20756 @findex COMPLETE_LOCATION
20757 @findex gdb.COMPLETE_LOCATION
20758 @item COMPLETE_LOCATION
20759 This constant means that location completion should be done.
20760 @xref{Specify Location}.
20761
20762 @findex COMPLETE_COMMAND
20763 @findex gdb.COMPLETE_COMMAND
20764 @item COMPLETE_COMMAND
20765 This constant means that completion should examine @value{GDBN}
20766 command names.
20767
20768 @findex COMPLETE_SYMBOL
20769 @findex gdb.COMPLETE_SYMBOL
20770 @item COMPLETE_SYMBOL
20771 This constant means that completion should be done using symbol names
20772 as the source.
20773 @end table
20774
20775 The following code snippet shows how a trivial CLI command can be
20776 implemented in Python:
20777
20778 @smallexample
20779 class HelloWorld (gdb.Command):
20780 """Greet the whole world."""
20781
20782 def __init__ (self):
20783 super (HelloWorld, self).__init__ ("hello-world", gdb.COMMAND_OBSCURE)
20784
20785 def invoke (self, arg, from_tty):
20786 print "Hello, World!"
20787
20788 HelloWorld ()
20789 @end smallexample
20790
20791 The last line instantiates the class, and is necessary to trigger the
20792 registration of the command with @value{GDBN}. Depending on how the
20793 Python code is read into @value{GDBN}, you may need to import the
20794 @code{gdb} module explicitly.
20795
20796 @node Functions In Python
20797 @subsubsection Writing new convenience functions
20798
20799 @cindex writing convenience functions
20800 @cindex convenience functions in python
20801 @cindex python convenience functions
20802 @tindex gdb.Function
20803 @tindex Function
20804 You can implement new convenience functions (@pxref{Convenience Vars})
20805 in Python. A convenience function is an instance of a subclass of the
20806 class @code{gdb.Function}.
20807
20808 @defmethod Function __init__ name
20809 The initializer for @code{Function} registers the new function with
20810 @value{GDBN}. The argument @var{name} is the name of the function,
20811 a string. The function will be visible to the user as a convenience
20812 variable of type @code{internal function}, whose name is the same as
20813 the given @var{name}.
20814
20815 The documentation for the new function is taken from the documentation
20816 string for the new class.
20817 @end defmethod
20818
20819 @defmethod Function invoke @var{*args}
20820 When a convenience function is evaluated, its arguments are converted
20821 to instances of @code{gdb.Value}, and then the function's
20822 @code{invoke} method is called. Note that @value{GDBN} does not
20823 predetermine the arity of convenience functions. Instead, all
20824 available arguments are passed to @code{invoke}, following the
20825 standard Python calling convention. In particular, a convenience
20826 function can have default values for parameters without ill effect.
20827
20828 The return value of this method is used as its value in the enclosing
20829 expression. If an ordinary Python value is returned, it is converted
20830 to a @code{gdb.Value} following the usual rules.
20831 @end defmethod
20832
20833 The following code snippet shows how a trivial convenience function can
20834 be implemented in Python:
20835
20836 @smallexample
20837 class Greet (gdb.Function):
20838 """Return string to greet someone.
20839 Takes a name as argument."""
20840
20841 def __init__ (self):
20842 super (Greet, self).__init__ ("greet")
20843
20844 def invoke (self, name):
20845 return "Hello, %s!" % name.string ()
20846
20847 Greet ()
20848 @end smallexample
20849
20850 The last line instantiates the class, and is necessary to trigger the
20851 registration of the function with @value{GDBN}. Depending on how the
20852 Python code is read into @value{GDBN}, you may need to import the
20853 @code{gdb} module explicitly.
20854
20855 @node Objfiles In Python
20856 @subsubsection Objfiles In Python
20857
20858 @cindex objfiles in python
20859 @tindex gdb.Objfile
20860 @tindex Objfile
20861 @value{GDBN} loads symbols for an inferior from various
20862 symbol-containing files (@pxref{Files}). These include the primary
20863 executable file, any shared libraries used by the inferior, and any
20864 separate debug info files (@pxref{Separate Debug Files}).
20865 @value{GDBN} calls these symbol-containing files @dfn{objfiles}.
20866
20867 The following objfile-related functions are available in the
20868 @code{gdb} module:
20869
20870 @findex gdb.current_objfile
20871 @defun current_objfile
20872 When auto-loading a Python script (@pxref{Auto-loading}), @value{GDBN}
20873 sets the ``current objfile'' to the corresponding objfile. This
20874 function returns the current objfile. If there is no current objfile,
20875 this function returns @code{None}.
20876 @end defun
20877
20878 @findex gdb.objfiles
20879 @defun objfiles
20880 Return a sequence of all the objfiles current known to @value{GDBN}.
20881 @xref{Objfiles In Python}.
20882 @end defun
20883
20884 Each objfile is represented by an instance of the @code{gdb.Objfile}
20885 class.
20886
20887 @defivar Objfile filename
20888 The file name of the objfile as a string.
20889 @end defivar
20890
20891 @defivar Objfile pretty_printers
20892 The @code{pretty_printers} attribute is a list of functions. It is
20893 used to look up pretty-printers. A @code{Value} is passed to each
20894 function in order; if the function returns @code{None}, then the
20895 search continues. Otherwise, the return value should be an object
20896 which is used to format the value. @xref{Pretty Printing}, for more
20897 information.
20898 @end defivar
20899
20900 @node Frames In Python
20901 @subsubsection Accessing inferior stack frames from Python.
20902
20903 @cindex frames in python
20904 When the debugged program stops, @value{GDBN} is able to analyze its call
20905 stack (@pxref{Frames,,Stack frames}). The @code{gdb.Frame} class
20906 represents a frame in the stack. A @code{gdb.Frame} object is only valid
20907 while its corresponding frame exists in the inferior's stack. If you try
20908 to use an invalid frame object, @value{GDBN} will throw a @code{RuntimeError}
20909 exception.
20910
20911 Two @code{gdb.Frame} objects can be compared for equality with the @code{==}
20912 operator, like:
20913
20914 @smallexample
20915 (@value{GDBP}) python print gdb.newest_frame() == gdb.selected_frame ()
20916 True
20917 @end smallexample
20918
20919 The following frame-related functions are available in the @code{gdb} module:
20920
20921 @findex gdb.selected_frame
20922 @defun selected_frame
20923 Return the selected frame object. (@pxref{Selection,,Selecting a Frame}).
20924 @end defun
20925
20926 @defun frame_stop_reason_string reason
20927 Return a string explaining the reason why @value{GDBN} stopped unwinding
20928 frames, as expressed by the given @var{reason} code (an integer, see the
20929 @code{unwind_stop_reason} method further down in this section).
20930 @end defun
20931
20932 A @code{gdb.Frame} object has the following methods:
20933
20934 @table @code
20935 @defmethod Frame is_valid
20936 Returns true if the @code{gdb.Frame} object is valid, false if not.
20937 A frame object can become invalid if the frame it refers to doesn't
20938 exist anymore in the inferior. All @code{gdb.Frame} methods will throw
20939 an exception if it is invalid at the time the method is called.
20940 @end defmethod
20941
20942 @defmethod Frame name
20943 Returns the function name of the frame, or @code{None} if it can't be
20944 obtained.
20945 @end defmethod
20946
20947 @defmethod Frame type
20948 Returns the type of the frame. The value can be one of
20949 @code{gdb.NORMAL_FRAME}, @code{gdb.DUMMY_FRAME}, @code{gdb.SIGTRAMP_FRAME}
20950 or @code{gdb.SENTINEL_FRAME}.
20951 @end defmethod
20952
20953 @defmethod Frame unwind_stop_reason
20954 Return an integer representing the reason why it's not possible to find
20955 more frames toward the outermost frame. Use
20956 @code{gdb.frame_stop_reason_string} to convert the value returned by this
20957 function to a string.
20958 @end defmethod
20959
20960 @defmethod Frame pc
20961 Returns the frame's resume address.
20962 @end defmethod
20963
20964 @defmethod Frame block
20965 Return the frame's code block. @xref{Blocks In Python}.
20966 @end defmethod
20967
20968 @defmethod Frame function
20969 Return the symbol for the function corresponding to this frame.
20970 @xref{Symbols In Python}.
20971 @end defmethod
20972
20973 @defmethod Frame older
20974 Return the frame that called this frame.
20975 @end defmethod
20976
20977 @defmethod Frame newer
20978 Return the frame called by this frame.
20979 @end defmethod
20980
20981 @defmethod Frame find_sal
20982 Return the frame's symtab and line object.
20983 @xref{Symbol Tables In Python}.
20984 @end defmethod
20985
20986 @defmethod Frame read_var variable @r{[}block@r{]}
20987 Return the value of @var{variable} in this frame. If the optional
20988 argument @var{block} is provided, search for the variable from that
20989 block; otherwise start at the frame's current block (which is
20990 determined by the frame's current program counter). @var{variable}
20991 must be a string or a @code{gdb.Symbol} object. @var{block} must be a
20992 @code{gdb.Block} object.
20993 @end defmethod
20994
20995 @defmethod Frame select
20996 Set this frame to be the selected frame. @xref{Stack, ,Examining the
20997 Stack}.
20998 @end defmethod
20999 @end table
21000
21001 @node Blocks In Python
21002 @subsubsection Accessing frame blocks from Python.
21003
21004 @cindex blocks in python
21005 @tindex gdb.Block
21006
21007 Within each frame, @value{GDBN} maintains information on each block
21008 stored in that frame. These blocks are organized hierarchically, and
21009 are represented individually in Python as a @code{gdb.Block}.
21010 Please see @ref{Frames In Python}, for a more in-depth discussion on
21011 frames. Furthermore, see @ref{Stack, ,Examining the Stack}, for more
21012 detailed technical information on @value{GDBN}'s book-keeping of the
21013 stack.
21014
21015 The following block-related functions are available in the @code{gdb}
21016 module:
21017
21018 @findex gdb.block_for_pc
21019 @defun block_for_pc pc
21020 Return the @code{gdb.Block} containing the given @var{pc} value. If the
21021 block cannot be found for the @var{pc} value specified, the function
21022 will return @code{None}.
21023 @end defun
21024
21025 A @code{gdb.Block} object has the following attributes:
21026
21027 @table @code
21028 @defivar Block start
21029 The start address of the block. This attribute is not writable.
21030 @end defivar
21031
21032 @defivar Block end
21033 The end address of the block. This attribute is not writable.
21034 @end defivar
21035
21036 @defivar Block function
21037 The name of the block represented as a @code{gdb.Symbol}. If the
21038 block is not named, then this attribute holds @code{None}. This
21039 attribute is not writable.
21040 @end defivar
21041
21042 @defivar Block superblock
21043 The block containing this block. If this parent block does not exist,
21044 this attribute holds @code{None}. This attribute is not writable.
21045 @end defivar
21046 @end table
21047
21048 @node Symbols In Python
21049 @subsubsection Python representation of Symbols.
21050
21051 @cindex symbols in python
21052 @tindex gdb.Symbol
21053
21054 @value{GDBN} represents every variable, function and type as an
21055 entry in a symbol table. @xref{Symbols, ,Examining the Symbol Table}.
21056 Similarly, Python represents these symbols in @value{GDBN} with the
21057 @code{gdb.Symbol} object.
21058
21059 The following symbol-related functions are available in the @code{gdb}
21060 module:
21061
21062 @findex gdb.lookup_symbol
21063 @defun lookup_symbol name [block] [domain]
21064 This function searches for a symbol by name. The search scope can be
21065 restricted to the parameters defined in the optional domain and block
21066 arguments.
21067
21068 @var{name} is the name of the symbol. It must be a string. The
21069 optional @var{block} argument restricts the search to symbols visible
21070 in that @var{block}. The @var{block} argument must be a
21071 @code{gdb.Block} object. The optional @var{domain} argument restricts
21072 the search to the domain type. The @var{domain} argument must be a
21073 domain constant defined in the @code{gdb} module and described later
21074 in this chapter.
21075 @end defun
21076
21077 A @code{gdb.Symbol} object has the following attributes:
21078
21079 @table @code
21080 @defivar Symbol symtab
21081 The symbol table in which the symbol appears. This attribute is
21082 represented as a @code{gdb.Symtab} object. @xref{Symbol Tables In
21083 Python}. This attribute is not writable.
21084 @end defivar
21085
21086 @defivar Symbol name
21087 The name of the symbol as a string. This attribute is not writable.
21088 @end defivar
21089
21090 @defivar Symbol linkage_name
21091 The name of the symbol, as used by the linker (i.e., may be mangled).
21092 This attribute is not writable.
21093 @end defivar
21094
21095 @defivar Symbol print_name
21096 The name of the symbol in a form suitable for output. This is either
21097 @code{name} or @code{linkage_name}, depending on whether the user
21098 asked @value{GDBN} to display demangled or mangled names.
21099 @end defivar
21100
21101 @defivar Symbol addr_class
21102 The address class of the symbol. This classifies how to find the value
21103 of a symbol. Each address class is a constant defined in the
21104 @code{gdb} module and described later in this chapter.
21105 @end defivar
21106
21107 @defivar Symbol is_argument
21108 @code{True} if the symbol is an argument of a function.
21109 @end defivar
21110
21111 @defivar Symbol is_constant
21112 @code{True} if the symbol is a constant.
21113 @end defivar
21114
21115 @defivar Symbol is_function
21116 @code{True} if the symbol is a function or a method.
21117 @end defivar
21118
21119 @defivar Symbol is_variable
21120 @code{True} if the symbol is a variable.
21121 @end defivar
21122 @end table
21123
21124 The available domain categories in @code{gdb.Symbol} are represented
21125 as constants in the @code{gdb} module:
21126
21127 @table @code
21128 @findex SYMBOL_UNDEF_DOMAIN
21129 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_UNDEF_DOMAIN
21130 @item SYMBOL_UNDEF_DOMAIN
21131 This is used when a domain has not been discovered or none of the
21132 following domains apply. This usually indicates an error either
21133 in the symbol information or in @value{GDBN}'s handling of symbols.
21134 @findex SYMBOL_VAR_DOMAIN
21135 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_VAR_DOMAIN
21136 @item SYMBOL_VAR_DOMAIN
21137 This domain contains variables, function names, typedef names and enum
21138 type values.
21139 @findex SYMBOL_STRUCT_DOMAIN
21140 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_STRUCT_DOMAIN
21141 @item SYMBOL_STRUCT_DOMAIN
21142 This domain holds struct, union and enum type names.
21143 @findex SYMBOL_LABEL_DOMAIN
21144 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LABEL_DOMAIN
21145 @item SYMBOL_LABEL_DOMAIN
21146 This domain contains names of labels (for gotos).
21147 @findex SYMBOL_VARIABLES_DOMAIN
21148 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_VARIABLES_DOMAIN
21149 @item SYMBOL_VARIABLES_DOMAIN
21150 This domain holds a subset of the @code{SYMBOLS_VAR_DOMAIN}; it
21151 contains everything minus functions and types.
21152 @findex SYMBOL_FUNCTIONS_DOMAIN
21153 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_FUNCTIONS_DOMAIN
21154 @item SYMBOL_FUNCTION_DOMAIN
21155 This domain contains all functions.
21156 @findex SYMBOL_TYPES_DOMAIN
21157 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_TYPES_DOMAIN
21158 @item SYMBOL_TYPES_DOMAIN
21159 This domain contains all types.
21160 @end table
21161
21162 The available address class categories in @code{gdb.Symbol} are represented
21163 as constants in the @code{gdb} module:
21164
21165 @table @code
21166 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_UNDEF
21167 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_UNDEF
21168 @item SYMBOL_LOC_UNDEF
21169 If this is returned by address class, it indicates an error either in
21170 the symbol information or in @value{GDBN}'s handling of symbols.
21171 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_CONST
21172 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_CONST
21173 @item SYMBOL_LOC_CONST
21174 Value is constant int.
21175 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_STATIC
21176 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_STATIC
21177 @item SYMBOL_LOC_STATIC
21178 Value is at a fixed address.
21179 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_REGISTER
21180 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_REGISTER
21181 @item SYMBOL_LOC_REGISTER
21182 Value is in a register.
21183 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_ARG
21184 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_ARG
21185 @item SYMBOL_LOC_ARG
21186 Value is an argument. This value is at the offset stored within the
21187 symbol inside the frame's argument list.
21188 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_REF_ARG
21189 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_REF_ARG
21190 @item SYMBOL_LOC_REF_ARG
21191 Value address is stored in the frame's argument list. Just like
21192 @code{LOC_ARG} except that the value's address is stored at the
21193 offset, not the value itself.
21194 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_REGPARM_ADDR
21195 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_REGPARM_ADDR
21196 @item SYMBOL_LOC_REGPARM_ADDR
21197 Value is a specified register. Just like @code{LOC_REGISTER} except
21198 the register holds the address of the argument instead of the argument
21199 itself.
21200 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_LOCAL
21201 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_LOCAL
21202 @item SYMBOL_LOC_LOCAL
21203 Value is a local variable.
21204 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_TYPEDEF
21205 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_TYPEDEF
21206 @item SYMBOL_LOC_TYPEDEF
21207 Value not used. Symbols in the domain @code{SYMBOL_STRUCT_DOMAIN} all
21208 have this class.
21209 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_BLOCK
21210 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_BLOCK
21211 @item SYMBOL_LOC_BLOCK
21212 Value is a block.
21213 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_CONST_BYTES
21214 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_CONST_BYTES
21215 @item SYMBOL_LOC_CONST_BYTES
21216 Value is a byte-sequence.
21217 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_UNRESOLVED
21218 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_UNRESOLVED
21219 @item SYMBOL_LOC_UNRESOLVED
21220 Value is at a fixed address, but the address of the variable has to be
21221 determined from the minimal symbol table whenever the variable is
21222 referenced.
21223 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_OPTIMIZED_OUT
21224 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_OPTIMIZED_OUT
21225 @item SYMBOL_LOC_OPTIMIZED_OUT
21226 The value does not actually exist in the program.
21227 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_COMPUTED
21228 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_COMPUTED
21229 @item SYMBOL_LOC_COMPUTED
21230 The value's address is a computed location.
21231 @end table
21232
21233 @node Symbol Tables In Python
21234 @subsubsection Symbol table representation in Python.
21235
21236 @cindex symbol tables in python
21237 @tindex gdb.Symtab
21238 @tindex gdb.Symtab_and_line
21239
21240 Access to symbol table data maintained by @value{GDBN} on the inferior
21241 is exposed to Python via two objects: @code{gdb.Symtab_and_line} and
21242 @code{gdb.Symtab}. Symbol table and line data for a frame is returned
21243 from the @code{find_sal} method in @code{gdb.Frame} object.
21244 @xref{Frames In Python}.
21245
21246 For more information on @value{GDBN}'s symbol table management, see
21247 @ref{Symbols, ,Examining the Symbol Table}, for more information.
21248
21249 A @code{gdb.Symtab_and_line} object has the following attributes:
21250
21251 @table @code
21252 @defivar Symtab_and_line symtab
21253 The symbol table object (@code{gdb.Symtab}) for this frame.
21254 This attribute is not writable.
21255 @end defivar
21256
21257 @defivar Symtab_and_line pc
21258 Indicates the current program counter address. This attribute is not
21259 writable.
21260 @end defivar
21261
21262 @defivar Symtab_and_line line
21263 Indicates the current line number for this object. This
21264 attribute is not writable.
21265 @end defivar
21266 @end table
21267
21268 A @code{gdb.Symtab} object has the following attributes:
21269
21270 @table @code
21271 @defivar Symtab filename
21272 The symbol table's source filename. This attribute is not writable.
21273 @end defivar
21274
21275 @defivar Symtab objfile
21276 The symbol table's backing object file. @xref{Objfiles In Python}.
21277 This attribute is not writable.
21278 @end defivar
21279 @end table
21280
21281 The following methods are provided:
21282
21283 @table @code
21284 @defmethod Symtab fullname
21285 Return the symbol table's source absolute file name.
21286 @end defmethod
21287 @end table
21288
21289 @node Breakpoints In Python
21290 @subsubsection Manipulating breakpoints using Python
21291
21292 @cindex breakpoints in python
21293 @tindex gdb.Breakpoint
21294
21295 Python code can manipulate breakpoints via the @code{gdb.Breakpoint}
21296 class.
21297
21298 @defmethod Breakpoint __init__ spec @r{[}type@r{]} @r{[}wp_class@r{]}
21299 Create a new breakpoint. @var{spec} is a string naming the
21300 location of the breakpoint, or an expression that defines a
21301 watchpoint. The contents can be any location recognized by the
21302 @code{break} command, or in the case of a watchpoint, by the @code{watch}
21303 command. The optional @var{type} denotes the breakpoint to create
21304 from the types defined later in this chapter. This argument can be
21305 either: @code{BP_BREAKPOINT} or @code{BP_WATCHPOINT}. @var{type}
21306 defaults to @code{BP_BREAKPOINT}. The optional @var{wp_class}
21307 argument defines the class of watchpoint to create, if @var{type} is
21308 defined as @code{BP_WATCHPOINT}. If a watchpoint class is not
21309 provided, it is assumed to be a @var{WP_WRITE} class.
21310 @end defmethod
21311
21312 The available watchpoint types represented by constants are defined in the
21313 @code{gdb} module:
21314
21315 @table @code
21316 @findex WP_READ
21317 @findex gdb.WP_READ
21318 @item WP_READ
21319 Read only watchpoint.
21320
21321 @findex WP_WRITE
21322 @findex gdb.WP_WRITE
21323 @item WP_WRITE
21324 Write only watchpoint.
21325
21326 @findex WP_ACCESS
21327 @findex gdb.WP_ACCESS
21328 @item WP_ACCESS
21329 Read/Write watchpoint.
21330 @end table
21331
21332 @defmethod Breakpoint is_valid
21333 Return @code{True} if this @code{Breakpoint} object is valid,
21334 @code{False} otherwise. A @code{Breakpoint} object can become invalid
21335 if the user deletes the breakpoint. In this case, the object still
21336 exists, but the underlying breakpoint does not. In the cases of
21337 watchpoint scope, the watchpoint remains valid even if execution of the
21338 inferior leaves the scope of that watchpoint.
21339 @end defmethod
21340
21341 @defivar Breakpoint enabled
21342 This attribute is @code{True} if the breakpoint is enabled, and
21343 @code{False} otherwise. This attribute is writable.
21344 @end defivar
21345
21346 @defivar Breakpoint silent
21347 This attribute is @code{True} if the breakpoint is silent, and
21348 @code{False} otherwise. This attribute is writable.
21349
21350 Note that a breakpoint can also be silent if it has commands and the
21351 first command is @code{silent}. This is not reported by the
21352 @code{silent} attribute.
21353 @end defivar
21354
21355 @defivar Breakpoint thread
21356 If the breakpoint is thread-specific, this attribute holds the thread
21357 id. If the breakpoint is not thread-specific, this attribute is
21358 @code{None}. This attribute is writable.
21359 @end defivar
21360
21361 @defivar Breakpoint task
21362 If the breakpoint is Ada task-specific, this attribute holds the Ada task
21363 id. If the breakpoint is not task-specific (or the underlying
21364 language is not Ada), this attribute is @code{None}. This attribute
21365 is writable.
21366 @end defivar
21367
21368 @defivar Breakpoint ignore_count
21369 This attribute holds the ignore count for the breakpoint, an integer.
21370 This attribute is writable.
21371 @end defivar
21372
21373 @defivar Breakpoint number
21374 This attribute holds the breakpoint's number --- the identifier used by
21375 the user to manipulate the breakpoint. This attribute is not writable.
21376 @end defivar
21377
21378 @defivar Breakpoint type
21379 This attribute holds the breakpoint's type --- the identifier used to
21380 determine the actual breakpoint type or use-case. This attribute is not
21381 writable.
21382 @end defivar
21383
21384 The available types are represented by constants defined in the @code{gdb}
21385 module:
21386
21387 @table @code
21388 @findex BP_BREAKPOINT
21389 @findex gdb.BP_BREAKPOINT
21390 @item BP_BREAKPOINT
21391 Normal code breakpoint.
21392
21393 @findex BP_WATCHPOINT
21394 @findex gdb.BP_WATCHPOINT
21395 @item BP_WATCHPOINT
21396 Watchpoint breakpoint.
21397
21398 @findex BP_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINT
21399 @findex gdb.BP_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINT
21400 @item BP_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINT
21401 Hardware assisted watchpoint.
21402
21403 @findex BP_READ_WATCHPOINT
21404 @findex gdb.BP_READ_WATCHPOINT
21405 @item BP_READ_WATCHPOINT
21406 Hardware assisted read watchpoint.
21407
21408 @findex BP_ACCESS_WATCHPOINT
21409 @findex gdb.BP_ACCESS_WATCHPOINT
21410 @item BP_ACCESS_WATCHPOINT
21411 Hardware assisted access watchpoint.
21412 @end table
21413
21414 @defivar Breakpoint hit_count
21415 This attribute holds the hit count for the breakpoint, an integer.
21416 This attribute is writable, but currently it can only be set to zero.
21417 @end defivar
21418
21419 @defivar Breakpoint location
21420 This attribute holds the location of the breakpoint, as specified by
21421 the user. It is a string. If the breakpoint does not have a location
21422 (that is, it is a watchpoint) the attribute's value is @code{None}. This
21423 attribute is not writable.
21424 @end defivar
21425
21426 @defivar Breakpoint expression
21427 This attribute holds a breakpoint expression, as specified by
21428 the user. It is a string. If the breakpoint does not have an
21429 expression (the breakpoint is not a watchpoint) the attribute's value
21430 is @code{None}. This attribute is not writable.
21431 @end defivar
21432
21433 @defivar Breakpoint condition
21434 This attribute holds the condition of the breakpoint, as specified by
21435 the user. It is a string. If there is no condition, this attribute's
21436 value is @code{None}. This attribute is writable.
21437 @end defivar
21438
21439 @defivar Breakpoint commands
21440 This attribute holds the commands attached to the breakpoint. If
21441 there are commands, this attribute's value is a string holding all the
21442 commands, separated by newlines. If there are no commands, this
21443 attribute is @code{None}. This attribute is not writable.
21444 @end defivar
21445
21446 @node Lazy Strings In Python
21447 @subsubsection Python representation of lazy strings.
21448
21449 @cindex lazy strings in python
21450 @tindex gdb.LazyString
21451
21452 A @dfn{lazy string} is a string whose contents is not retrieved or
21453 encoded until it is needed.
21454
21455 A @code{gdb.LazyString} is represented in @value{GDBN} as an
21456 @code{address} that points to a region of memory, an @code{encoding}
21457 that will be used to encode that region of memory, and a @code{length}
21458 to delimit the region of memory that represents the string. The
21459 difference between a @code{gdb.LazyString} and a string wrapped within
21460 a @code{gdb.Value} is that a @code{gdb.LazyString} will be treated
21461 differently by @value{GDBN} when printing. A @code{gdb.LazyString} is
21462 retrieved and encoded during printing, while a @code{gdb.Value}
21463 wrapping a string is immediately retrieved and encoded on creation.
21464
21465 A @code{gdb.LazyString} object has the following functions:
21466
21467 @defmethod LazyString value
21468 Convert the @code{gdb.LazyString} to a @code{gdb.Value}. This value
21469 will point to the string in memory, but will lose all the delayed
21470 retrieval, encoding and handling that @value{GDBN} applies to a
21471 @code{gdb.LazyString}.
21472 @end defmethod
21473
21474 @defivar LazyString address
21475 This attribute holds the address of the string. This attribute is not
21476 writable.
21477 @end defivar
21478
21479 @defivar LazyString length
21480 This attribute holds the length of the string in characters. If the
21481 length is -1, then the string will be fetched and encoded up to the
21482 first null of appropriate width. This attribute is not writable.
21483 @end defivar
21484
21485 @defivar LazyString encoding
21486 This attribute holds the encoding that will be applied to the string
21487 when the string is printed by @value{GDBN}. If the encoding is not
21488 set, or contains an empty string, then @value{GDBN} will select the
21489 most appropriate encoding when the string is printed. This attribute
21490 is not writable.
21491 @end defivar
21492
21493 @defivar LazyString type
21494 This attribute holds the type that is represented by the lazy string's
21495 type. For a lazy string this will always be a pointer type. To
21496 resolve this to the lazy string's character type, use the type's
21497 @code{target} method. @xref{Types In Python}. This attribute is not
21498 writable.
21499 @end defivar
21500
21501 @node Interpreters
21502 @chapter Command Interpreters
21503 @cindex command interpreters
21504
21505 @value{GDBN} supports multiple command interpreters, and some command
21506 infrastructure to allow users or user interface writers to switch
21507 between interpreters or run commands in other interpreters.
21508
21509 @value{GDBN} currently supports two command interpreters, the console
21510 interpreter (sometimes called the command-line interpreter or @sc{cli})
21511 and the machine interface interpreter (or @sc{gdb/mi}). This manual
21512 describes both of these interfaces in great detail.
21513
21514 By default, @value{GDBN} will start with the console interpreter.
21515 However, the user may choose to start @value{GDBN} with another
21516 interpreter by specifying the @option{-i} or @option{--interpreter}
21517 startup options. Defined interpreters include:
21518
21519 @table @code
21520 @item console
21521 @cindex console interpreter
21522 The traditional console or command-line interpreter. This is the most often
21523 used interpreter with @value{GDBN}. With no interpreter specified at runtime,
21524 @value{GDBN} will use this interpreter.
21525
21526 @item mi
21527 @cindex mi interpreter
21528 The newest @sc{gdb/mi} interface (currently @code{mi2}). Used primarily
21529 by programs wishing to use @value{GDBN} as a backend for a debugger GUI
21530 or an IDE. For more information, see @ref{GDB/MI, ,The @sc{gdb/mi}
21531 Interface}.
21532
21533 @item mi2
21534 @cindex mi2 interpreter
21535 The current @sc{gdb/mi} interface.
21536
21537 @item mi1
21538 @cindex mi1 interpreter
21539 The @sc{gdb/mi} interface included in @value{GDBN} 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3.
21540
21541 @end table
21542
21543 @cindex invoke another interpreter
21544 The interpreter being used by @value{GDBN} may not be dynamically
21545 switched at runtime. Although possible, this could lead to a very
21546 precarious situation. Consider an IDE using @sc{gdb/mi}. If a user
21547 enters the command "interpreter-set console" in a console view,
21548 @value{GDBN} would switch to using the console interpreter, rendering
21549 the IDE inoperable!
21550
21551 @kindex interpreter-exec
21552 Although you may only choose a single interpreter at startup, you may execute
21553 commands in any interpreter from the current interpreter using the appropriate
21554 command. If you are running the console interpreter, simply use the
21555 @code{interpreter-exec} command:
21556
21557 @smallexample
21558 interpreter-exec mi "-data-list-register-names"
21559 @end smallexample
21560
21561 @sc{gdb/mi} has a similar command, although it is only available in versions of
21562 @value{GDBN} which support @sc{gdb/mi} version 2 (or greater).
21563
21564 @node TUI
21565 @chapter @value{GDBN} Text User Interface
21566 @cindex TUI
21567 @cindex Text User Interface
21568
21569 @menu
21570 * TUI Overview:: TUI overview
21571 * TUI Keys:: TUI key bindings
21572 * TUI Single Key Mode:: TUI single key mode
21573 * TUI Commands:: TUI-specific commands
21574 * TUI Configuration:: TUI configuration variables
21575 @end menu
21576
21577 The @value{GDBN} Text User Interface (TUI) is a terminal
21578 interface which uses the @code{curses} library to show the source
21579 file, the assembly output, the program registers and @value{GDBN}
21580 commands in separate text windows. The TUI mode is supported only
21581 on platforms where a suitable version of the @code{curses} library
21582 is available.
21583
21584 @pindex @value{GDBTUI}
21585 The TUI mode is enabled by default when you invoke @value{GDBN} as
21586 either @samp{@value{GDBTUI}} or @samp{@value{GDBP} -tui}.
21587 You can also switch in and out of TUI mode while @value{GDBN} runs by
21588 using various TUI commands and key bindings, such as @kbd{C-x C-a}.
21589 @xref{TUI Keys, ,TUI Key Bindings}.
21590
21591 @node TUI Overview
21592 @section TUI Overview
21593
21594 In TUI mode, @value{GDBN} can display several text windows:
21595
21596 @table @emph
21597 @item command
21598 This window is the @value{GDBN} command window with the @value{GDBN}
21599 prompt and the @value{GDBN} output. The @value{GDBN} input is still
21600 managed using readline.
21601
21602 @item source
21603 The source window shows the source file of the program. The current
21604 line and active breakpoints are displayed in this window.
21605
21606 @item assembly
21607 The assembly window shows the disassembly output of the program.
21608
21609 @item register
21610 This window shows the processor registers. Registers are highlighted
21611 when their values change.
21612 @end table
21613
21614 The source and assembly windows show the current program position
21615 by highlighting the current line and marking it with a @samp{>} marker.
21616 Breakpoints are indicated with two markers. The first marker
21617 indicates the breakpoint type:
21618
21619 @table @code
21620 @item B
21621 Breakpoint which was hit at least once.
21622
21623 @item b
21624 Breakpoint which was never hit.
21625
21626 @item H
21627 Hardware breakpoint which was hit at least once.
21628
21629 @item h
21630 Hardware breakpoint which was never hit.
21631 @end table
21632
21633 The second marker indicates whether the breakpoint is enabled or not:
21634
21635 @table @code
21636 @item +
21637 Breakpoint is enabled.
21638
21639 @item -
21640 Breakpoint is disabled.
21641 @end table
21642
21643 The source, assembly and register windows are updated when the current
21644 thread changes, when the frame changes, or when the program counter
21645 changes.
21646
21647 These windows are not all visible at the same time. The command
21648 window is always visible. The others can be arranged in several
21649 layouts:
21650
21651 @itemize @bullet
21652 @item
21653 source only,
21654
21655 @item
21656 assembly only,
21657
21658 @item
21659 source and assembly,
21660
21661 @item
21662 source and registers, or
21663
21664 @item
21665 assembly and registers.
21666 @end itemize
21667
21668 A status line above the command window shows the following information:
21669
21670 @table @emph
21671 @item target
21672 Indicates the current @value{GDBN} target.
21673 (@pxref{Targets, ,Specifying a Debugging Target}).
21674
21675 @item process
21676 Gives the current process or thread number.
21677 When no process is being debugged, this field is set to @code{No process}.
21678
21679 @item function
21680 Gives the current function name for the selected frame.
21681 The name is demangled if demangling is turned on (@pxref{Print Settings}).
21682 When there is no symbol corresponding to the current program counter,
21683 the string @code{??} is displayed.
21684
21685 @item line
21686 Indicates the current line number for the selected frame.
21687 When the current line number is not known, the string @code{??} is displayed.
21688
21689 @item pc
21690 Indicates the current program counter address.
21691 @end table
21692
21693 @node TUI Keys
21694 @section TUI Key Bindings
21695 @cindex TUI key bindings
21696
21697 The TUI installs several key bindings in the readline keymaps
21698 (@pxref{Command Line Editing}). The following key bindings
21699 are installed for both TUI mode and the @value{GDBN} standard mode.
21700
21701 @table @kbd
21702 @kindex C-x C-a
21703 @item C-x C-a
21704 @kindex C-x a
21705 @itemx C-x a
21706 @kindex C-x A
21707 @itemx C-x A
21708 Enter or leave the TUI mode. When leaving the TUI mode,
21709 the curses window management stops and @value{GDBN} operates using
21710 its standard mode, writing on the terminal directly. When reentering
21711 the TUI mode, control is given back to the curses windows.
21712 The screen is then refreshed.
21713
21714 @kindex C-x 1
21715 @item C-x 1
21716 Use a TUI layout with only one window. The layout will
21717 either be @samp{source} or @samp{assembly}. When the TUI mode
21718 is not active, it will switch to the TUI mode.
21719
21720 Think of this key binding as the Emacs @kbd{C-x 1} binding.
21721
21722 @kindex C-x 2
21723 @item C-x 2
21724 Use a TUI layout with at least two windows. When the current
21725 layout already has two windows, the next layout with two windows is used.
21726 When a new layout is chosen, one window will always be common to the
21727 previous layout and the new one.
21728
21729 Think of it as the Emacs @kbd{C-x 2} binding.
21730
21731 @kindex C-x o
21732 @item C-x o
21733 Change the active window. The TUI associates several key bindings
21734 (like scrolling and arrow keys) with the active window. This command
21735 gives the focus to the next TUI window.
21736
21737 Think of it as the Emacs @kbd{C-x o} binding.
21738
21739 @kindex C-x s
21740 @item C-x s
21741 Switch in and out of the TUI SingleKey mode that binds single
21742 keys to @value{GDBN} commands (@pxref{TUI Single Key Mode}).
21743 @end table
21744
21745 The following key bindings only work in the TUI mode:
21746
21747 @table @asis
21748 @kindex PgUp
21749 @item @key{PgUp}
21750 Scroll the active window one page up.
21751
21752 @kindex PgDn
21753 @item @key{PgDn}
21754 Scroll the active window one page down.
21755
21756 @kindex Up
21757 @item @key{Up}
21758 Scroll the active window one line up.
21759
21760 @kindex Down
21761 @item @key{Down}
21762 Scroll the active window one line down.
21763
21764 @kindex Left
21765 @item @key{Left}
21766 Scroll the active window one column left.
21767
21768 @kindex Right
21769 @item @key{Right}
21770 Scroll the active window one column right.
21771
21772 @kindex C-L
21773 @item @kbd{C-L}
21774 Refresh the screen.
21775 @end table
21776
21777 Because the arrow keys scroll the active window in the TUI mode, they
21778 are not available for their normal use by readline unless the command
21779 window has the focus. When another window is active, you must use
21780 other readline key bindings such as @kbd{C-p}, @kbd{C-n}, @kbd{C-b}
21781 and @kbd{C-f} to control the command window.
21782
21783 @node TUI Single Key Mode
21784 @section TUI Single Key Mode
21785 @cindex TUI single key mode
21786
21787 The TUI also provides a @dfn{SingleKey} mode, which binds several
21788 frequently used @value{GDBN} commands to single keys. Type @kbd{C-x s} to
21789 switch into this mode, where the following key bindings are used:
21790
21791 @table @kbd
21792 @kindex c @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
21793 @item c
21794 continue
21795
21796 @kindex d @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
21797 @item d
21798 down
21799
21800 @kindex f @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
21801 @item f
21802 finish
21803
21804 @kindex n @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
21805 @item n
21806 next
21807
21808 @kindex q @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
21809 @item q
21810 exit the SingleKey mode.
21811
21812 @kindex r @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
21813 @item r
21814 run
21815
21816 @kindex s @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
21817 @item s
21818 step
21819
21820 @kindex u @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
21821 @item u
21822 up
21823
21824 @kindex v @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
21825 @item v
21826 info locals
21827
21828 @kindex w @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
21829 @item w
21830 where
21831 @end table
21832
21833 Other keys temporarily switch to the @value{GDBN} command prompt.
21834 The key that was pressed is inserted in the editing buffer so that
21835 it is possible to type most @value{GDBN} commands without interaction
21836 with the TUI SingleKey mode. Once the command is entered the TUI
21837 SingleKey mode is restored. The only way to permanently leave
21838 this mode is by typing @kbd{q} or @kbd{C-x s}.
21839
21840
21841 @node TUI Commands
21842 @section TUI-specific Commands
21843 @cindex TUI commands
21844
21845 The TUI has specific commands to control the text windows.
21846 These commands are always available, even when @value{GDBN} is not in
21847 the TUI mode. When @value{GDBN} is in the standard mode, most
21848 of these commands will automatically switch to the TUI mode.
21849
21850 Note that if @value{GDBN}'s @code{stdout} is not connected to a
21851 terminal, or @value{GDBN} has been started with the machine interface
21852 interpreter (@pxref{GDB/MI, ,The @sc{gdb/mi} Interface}), most of
21853 these commands will fail with an error, because it would not be
21854 possible or desirable to enable curses window management.
21855
21856 @table @code
21857 @item info win
21858 @kindex info win
21859 List and give the size of all displayed windows.
21860
21861 @item layout next
21862 @kindex layout
21863 Display the next layout.
21864
21865 @item layout prev
21866 Display the previous layout.
21867
21868 @item layout src
21869 Display the source window only.
21870
21871 @item layout asm
21872 Display the assembly window only.
21873
21874 @item layout split
21875 Display the source and assembly window.
21876
21877 @item layout regs
21878 Display the register window together with the source or assembly window.
21879
21880 @item focus next
21881 @kindex focus
21882 Make the next window active for scrolling.
21883
21884 @item focus prev
21885 Make the previous window active for scrolling.
21886
21887 @item focus src
21888 Make the source window active for scrolling.
21889
21890 @item focus asm
21891 Make the assembly window active for scrolling.
21892
21893 @item focus regs
21894 Make the register window active for scrolling.
21895
21896 @item focus cmd
21897 Make the command window active for scrolling.
21898
21899 @item refresh
21900 @kindex refresh
21901 Refresh the screen. This is similar to typing @kbd{C-L}.
21902
21903 @item tui reg float
21904 @kindex tui reg
21905 Show the floating point registers in the register window.
21906
21907 @item tui reg general
21908 Show the general registers in the register window.
21909
21910 @item tui reg next
21911 Show the next register group. The list of register groups as well as
21912 their order is target specific. The predefined register groups are the
21913 following: @code{general}, @code{float}, @code{system}, @code{vector},
21914 @code{all}, @code{save}, @code{restore}.
21915
21916 @item tui reg system
21917 Show the system registers in the register window.
21918
21919 @item update
21920 @kindex update
21921 Update the source window and the current execution point.
21922
21923 @item winheight @var{name} +@var{count}
21924 @itemx winheight @var{name} -@var{count}
21925 @kindex winheight
21926 Change the height of the window @var{name} by @var{count}
21927 lines. Positive counts increase the height, while negative counts
21928 decrease it.
21929
21930 @item tabset @var{nchars}
21931 @kindex tabset
21932 Set the width of tab stops to be @var{nchars} characters.
21933 @end table
21934
21935 @node TUI Configuration
21936 @section TUI Configuration Variables
21937 @cindex TUI configuration variables
21938
21939 Several configuration variables control the appearance of TUI windows.
21940
21941 @table @code
21942 @item set tui border-kind @var{kind}
21943 @kindex set tui border-kind
21944 Select the border appearance for the source, assembly and register windows.
21945 The possible values are the following:
21946 @table @code
21947 @item space
21948 Use a space character to draw the border.
21949
21950 @item ascii
21951 Use @sc{ascii} characters @samp{+}, @samp{-} and @samp{|} to draw the border.
21952
21953 @item acs
21954 Use the Alternate Character Set to draw the border. The border is
21955 drawn using character line graphics if the terminal supports them.
21956 @end table
21957
21958 @item set tui border-mode @var{mode}
21959 @kindex set tui border-mode
21960 @itemx set tui active-border-mode @var{mode}
21961 @kindex set tui active-border-mode
21962 Select the display attributes for the borders of the inactive windows
21963 or the active window. The @var{mode} can be one of the following:
21964 @table @code
21965 @item normal
21966 Use normal attributes to display the border.
21967
21968 @item standout
21969 Use standout mode.
21970
21971 @item reverse
21972 Use reverse video mode.
21973
21974 @item half
21975 Use half bright mode.
21976
21977 @item half-standout
21978 Use half bright and standout mode.
21979
21980 @item bold
21981 Use extra bright or bold mode.
21982
21983 @item bold-standout
21984 Use extra bright or bold and standout mode.
21985 @end table
21986 @end table
21987
21988 @node Emacs
21989 @chapter Using @value{GDBN} under @sc{gnu} Emacs
21990
21991 @cindex Emacs
21992 @cindex @sc{gnu} Emacs
21993 A special interface allows you to use @sc{gnu} Emacs to view (and
21994 edit) the source files for the program you are debugging with
21995 @value{GDBN}.
21996
21997 To use this interface, use the command @kbd{M-x gdb} in Emacs. Give the
21998 executable file you want to debug as an argument. This command starts
21999 @value{GDBN} as a subprocess of Emacs, with input and output through a newly
22000 created Emacs buffer.
22001 @c (Do not use the @code{-tui} option to run @value{GDBN} from Emacs.)
22002
22003 Running @value{GDBN} under Emacs can be just like running @value{GDBN} normally except for two
22004 things:
22005
22006 @itemize @bullet
22007 @item
22008 All ``terminal'' input and output goes through an Emacs buffer, called
22009 the GUD buffer.
22010
22011 This applies both to @value{GDBN} commands and their output, and to the input
22012 and output done by the program you are debugging.
22013
22014 This is useful because it means that you can copy the text of previous
22015 commands and input them again; you can even use parts of the output
22016 in this way.
22017
22018 All the facilities of Emacs' Shell mode are available for interacting
22019 with your program. In particular, you can send signals the usual
22020 way---for example, @kbd{C-c C-c} for an interrupt, @kbd{C-c C-z} for a
22021 stop.
22022
22023 @item
22024 @value{GDBN} displays source code through Emacs.
22025
22026 Each time @value{GDBN} displays a stack frame, Emacs automatically finds the
22027 source file for that frame and puts an arrow (@samp{=>}) at the
22028 left margin of the current line. Emacs uses a separate buffer for
22029 source display, and splits the screen to show both your @value{GDBN} session
22030 and the source.
22031
22032 Explicit @value{GDBN} @code{list} or search commands still produce output as
22033 usual, but you probably have no reason to use them from Emacs.
22034 @end itemize
22035
22036 We call this @dfn{text command mode}. Emacs 22.1, and later, also uses
22037 a graphical mode, enabled by default, which provides further buffers
22038 that can control the execution and describe the state of your program.
22039 @xref{GDB Graphical Interface,,, Emacs, The @sc{gnu} Emacs Manual}.
22040
22041 If you specify an absolute file name when prompted for the @kbd{M-x
22042 gdb} argument, then Emacs sets your current working directory to where
22043 your program resides. If you only specify the file name, then Emacs
22044 sets your current working directory to to the directory associated
22045 with the previous buffer. In this case, @value{GDBN} may find your
22046 program by searching your environment's @code{PATH} variable, but on
22047 some operating systems it might not find the source. So, although the
22048 @value{GDBN} input and output session proceeds normally, the auxiliary
22049 buffer does not display the current source and line of execution.
22050
22051 The initial working directory of @value{GDBN} is printed on the top
22052 line of the GUD buffer and this serves as a default for the commands
22053 that specify files for @value{GDBN} to operate on. @xref{Files,
22054 ,Commands to Specify Files}.
22055
22056 By default, @kbd{M-x gdb} calls the program called @file{gdb}. If you
22057 need to call @value{GDBN} by a different name (for example, if you
22058 keep several configurations around, with different names) you can
22059 customize the Emacs variable @code{gud-gdb-command-name} to run the
22060 one you want.
22061
22062 In the GUD buffer, you can use these special Emacs commands in
22063 addition to the standard Shell mode commands:
22064
22065 @table @kbd
22066 @item C-h m
22067 Describe the features of Emacs' GUD Mode.
22068
22069 @item C-c C-s
22070 Execute to another source line, like the @value{GDBN} @code{step} command; also
22071 update the display window to show the current file and location.
22072
22073 @item C-c C-n
22074 Execute to next source line in this function, skipping all function
22075 calls, like the @value{GDBN} @code{next} command. Then update the display window
22076 to show the current file and location.
22077
22078 @item C-c C-i
22079 Execute one instruction, like the @value{GDBN} @code{stepi} command; update
22080 display window accordingly.
22081
22082 @item C-c C-f
22083 Execute until exit from the selected stack frame, like the @value{GDBN}
22084 @code{finish} command.
22085
22086 @item C-c C-r
22087 Continue execution of your program, like the @value{GDBN} @code{continue}
22088 command.
22089
22090 @item C-c <
22091 Go up the number of frames indicated by the numeric argument
22092 (@pxref{Arguments, , Numeric Arguments, Emacs, The @sc{gnu} Emacs Manual}),
22093 like the @value{GDBN} @code{up} command.
22094
22095 @item C-c >
22096 Go down the number of frames indicated by the numeric argument, like the
22097 @value{GDBN} @code{down} command.
22098 @end table
22099
22100 In any source file, the Emacs command @kbd{C-x @key{SPC}} (@code{gud-break})
22101 tells @value{GDBN} to set a breakpoint on the source line point is on.
22102
22103 In text command mode, if you type @kbd{M-x speedbar}, Emacs displays a
22104 separate frame which shows a backtrace when the GUD buffer is current.
22105 Move point to any frame in the stack and type @key{RET} to make it
22106 become the current frame and display the associated source in the
22107 source buffer. Alternatively, click @kbd{Mouse-2} to make the
22108 selected frame become the current one. In graphical mode, the
22109 speedbar displays watch expressions.
22110
22111 If you accidentally delete the source-display buffer, an easy way to get
22112 it back is to type the command @code{f} in the @value{GDBN} buffer, to
22113 request a frame display; when you run under Emacs, this recreates
22114 the source buffer if necessary to show you the context of the current
22115 frame.
22116
22117 The source files displayed in Emacs are in ordinary Emacs buffers
22118 which are visiting the source files in the usual way. You can edit
22119 the files with these buffers if you wish; but keep in mind that @value{GDBN}
22120 communicates with Emacs in terms of line numbers. If you add or
22121 delete lines from the text, the line numbers that @value{GDBN} knows cease
22122 to correspond properly with the code.
22123
22124 A more detailed description of Emacs' interaction with @value{GDBN} is
22125 given in the Emacs manual (@pxref{Debuggers,,, Emacs, The @sc{gnu}
22126 Emacs Manual}).
22127
22128 @c The following dropped because Epoch is nonstandard. Reactivate
22129 @c if/when v19 does something similar. ---doc@cygnus.com 19dec1990
22130 @ignore
22131 @kindex Emacs Epoch environment
22132 @kindex Epoch
22133 @kindex inspect
22134
22135 Version 18 of @sc{gnu} Emacs has a built-in window system
22136 called the @code{epoch}
22137 environment. Users of this environment can use a new command,
22138 @code{inspect} which performs identically to @code{print} except that
22139 each value is printed in its own window.
22140 @end ignore
22141
22142
22143 @node GDB/MI
22144 @chapter The @sc{gdb/mi} Interface
22145
22146 @unnumberedsec Function and Purpose
22147
22148 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, its purpose
22149 @sc{gdb/mi} is a line based machine oriented text interface to
22150 @value{GDBN} and is activated by specifying using the
22151 @option{--interpreter} command line option (@pxref{Mode Options}). It
22152 is specifically intended to support the development of systems which
22153 use the debugger as just one small component of a larger system.
22154
22155 This chapter is a specification of the @sc{gdb/mi} interface. It is written
22156 in the form of a reference manual.
22157
22158 Note that @sc{gdb/mi} is still under construction, so some of the
22159 features described below are incomplete and subject to change
22160 (@pxref{GDB/MI Development and Front Ends, , @sc{gdb/mi} Development and Front Ends}).
22161
22162 @unnumberedsec Notation and Terminology
22163
22164 @cindex notational conventions, for @sc{gdb/mi}
22165 This chapter uses the following notation:
22166
22167 @itemize @bullet
22168 @item
22169 @code{|} separates two alternatives.
22170
22171 @item
22172 @code{[ @var{something} ]} indicates that @var{something} is optional:
22173 it may or may not be given.
22174
22175 @item
22176 @code{( @var{group} )*} means that @var{group} inside the parentheses
22177 may repeat zero or more times.
22178
22179 @item
22180 @code{( @var{group} )+} means that @var{group} inside the parentheses
22181 may repeat one or more times.
22182
22183 @item
22184 @code{"@var{string}"} means a literal @var{string}.
22185 @end itemize
22186
22187 @ignore
22188 @heading Dependencies
22189 @end ignore
22190
22191 @menu
22192 * GDB/MI General Design::
22193 * GDB/MI Command Syntax::
22194 * GDB/MI Compatibility with CLI::
22195 * GDB/MI Development and Front Ends::
22196 * GDB/MI Output Records::
22197 * GDB/MI Simple Examples::
22198 * GDB/MI Command Description Format::
22199 * GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands::
22200 * GDB/MI Program Context::
22201 * GDB/MI Thread Commands::
22202 * GDB/MI Program Execution::
22203 * GDB/MI Stack Manipulation::
22204 * GDB/MI Variable Objects::
22205 * GDB/MI Data Manipulation::
22206 * GDB/MI Tracepoint Commands::
22207 * GDB/MI Symbol Query::
22208 * GDB/MI File Commands::
22209 @ignore
22210 * GDB/MI Kod Commands::
22211 * GDB/MI Memory Overlay Commands::
22212 * GDB/MI Signal Handling Commands::
22213 @end ignore
22214 * GDB/MI Target Manipulation::
22215 * GDB/MI File Transfer Commands::
22216 * GDB/MI Miscellaneous Commands::
22217 @end menu
22218
22219 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
22220 @node GDB/MI General Design
22221 @section @sc{gdb/mi} General Design
22222 @cindex GDB/MI General Design
22223
22224 Interaction of a @sc{GDB/MI} frontend with @value{GDBN} involves three
22225 parts---commands sent to @value{GDBN}, responses to those commands
22226 and notifications. Each command results in exactly one response,
22227 indicating either successful completion of the command, or an error.
22228 For the commands that do not resume the target, the response contains the
22229 requested information. For the commands that resume the target, the
22230 response only indicates whether the target was successfully resumed.
22231 Notifications is the mechanism for reporting changes in the state of the
22232 target, or in @value{GDBN} state, that cannot conveniently be associated with
22233 a command and reported as part of that command response.
22234
22235 The important examples of notifications are:
22236 @itemize @bullet
22237
22238 @item
22239 Exec notifications. These are used to report changes in
22240 target state---when a target is resumed, or stopped. It would not
22241 be feasible to include this information in response of resuming
22242 commands, because one resume commands can result in multiple events in
22243 different threads. Also, quite some time may pass before any event
22244 happens in the target, while a frontend needs to know whether the resuming
22245 command itself was successfully executed.
22246
22247 @item
22248 Console output, and status notifications. Console output
22249 notifications are used to report output of CLI commands, as well as
22250 diagnostics for other commands. Status notifications are used to
22251 report the progress of a long-running operation. Naturally, including
22252 this information in command response would mean no output is produced
22253 until the command is finished, which is undesirable.
22254
22255 @item
22256 General notifications. Commands may have various side effects on
22257 the @value{GDBN} or target state beyond their official purpose. For example,
22258 a command may change the selected thread. Although such changes can
22259 be included in command response, using notification allows for more
22260 orthogonal frontend design.
22261
22262 @end itemize
22263
22264 There's no guarantee that whenever an MI command reports an error,
22265 @value{GDBN} or the target are in any specific state, and especially,
22266 the state is not reverted to the state before the MI command was
22267 processed. Therefore, whenever an MI command results in an error,
22268 we recommend that the frontend refreshes all the information shown in
22269 the user interface.
22270
22271
22272 @menu
22273 * Context management::
22274 * Asynchronous and non-stop modes::
22275 * Thread groups::
22276 @end menu
22277
22278 @node Context management
22279 @subsection Context management
22280
22281 In most cases when @value{GDBN} accesses the target, this access is
22282 done in context of a specific thread and frame (@pxref{Frames}).
22283 Often, even when accessing global data, the target requires that a thread
22284 be specified. The CLI interface maintains the selected thread and frame,
22285 and supplies them to target on each command. This is convenient,
22286 because a command line user would not want to specify that information
22287 explicitly on each command, and because user interacts with
22288 @value{GDBN} via a single terminal, so no confusion is possible as
22289 to what thread and frame are the current ones.
22290
22291 In the case of MI, the concept of selected thread and frame is less
22292 useful. First, a frontend can easily remember this information
22293 itself. Second, a graphical frontend can have more than one window,
22294 each one used for debugging a different thread, and the frontend might
22295 want to access additional threads for internal purposes. This
22296 increases the risk that by relying on implicitly selected thread, the
22297 frontend may be operating on a wrong one. Therefore, each MI command
22298 should explicitly specify which thread and frame to operate on. To
22299 make it possible, each MI command accepts the @samp{--thread} and
22300 @samp{--frame} options, the value to each is @value{GDBN} identifier
22301 for thread and frame to operate on.
22302
22303 Usually, each top-level window in a frontend allows the user to select
22304 a thread and a frame, and remembers the user selection for further
22305 operations. However, in some cases @value{GDBN} may suggest that the
22306 current thread be changed. For example, when stopping on a breakpoint
22307 it is reasonable to switch to the thread where breakpoint is hit. For
22308 another example, if the user issues the CLI @samp{thread} command via
22309 the frontend, it is desirable to change the frontend's selected thread to the
22310 one specified by user. @value{GDBN} communicates the suggestion to
22311 change current thread using the @samp{=thread-selected} notification.
22312 No such notification is available for the selected frame at the moment.
22313
22314 Note that historically, MI shares the selected thread with CLI, so
22315 frontends used the @code{-thread-select} to execute commands in the
22316 right context. However, getting this to work right is cumbersome. The
22317 simplest way is for frontend to emit @code{-thread-select} command
22318 before every command. This doubles the number of commands that need
22319 to be sent. The alternative approach is to suppress @code{-thread-select}
22320 if the selected thread in @value{GDBN} is supposed to be identical to the
22321 thread the frontend wants to operate on. However, getting this
22322 optimization right can be tricky. In particular, if the frontend
22323 sends several commands to @value{GDBN}, and one of the commands changes the
22324 selected thread, then the behaviour of subsequent commands will
22325 change. So, a frontend should either wait for response from such
22326 problematic commands, or explicitly add @code{-thread-select} for
22327 all subsequent commands. No frontend is known to do this exactly
22328 right, so it is suggested to just always pass the @samp{--thread} and
22329 @samp{--frame} options.
22330
22331 @node Asynchronous and non-stop modes
22332 @subsection Asynchronous command execution and non-stop mode
22333
22334 On some targets, @value{GDBN} is capable of processing MI commands
22335 even while the target is running. This is called @dfn{asynchronous
22336 command execution} (@pxref{Background Execution}). The frontend may
22337 specify a preferrence for asynchronous execution using the
22338 @code{-gdb-set target-async 1} command, which should be emitted before
22339 either running the executable or attaching to the target. After the
22340 frontend has started the executable or attached to the target, it can
22341 find if asynchronous execution is enabled using the
22342 @code{-list-target-features} command.
22343
22344 Even if @value{GDBN} can accept a command while target is running,
22345 many commands that access the target do not work when the target is
22346 running. Therefore, asynchronous command execution is most useful
22347 when combined with non-stop mode (@pxref{Non-Stop Mode}). Then,
22348 it is possible to examine the state of one thread, while other threads
22349 are running.
22350
22351 When a given thread is running, MI commands that try to access the
22352 target in the context of that thread may not work, or may work only on
22353 some targets. In particular, commands that try to operate on thread's
22354 stack will not work, on any target. Commands that read memory, or
22355 modify breakpoints, may work or not work, depending on the target. Note
22356 that even commands that operate on global state, such as @code{print},
22357 @code{set}, and breakpoint commands, still access the target in the
22358 context of a specific thread, so frontend should try to find a
22359 stopped thread and perform the operation on that thread (using the
22360 @samp{--thread} option).
22361
22362 Which commands will work in the context of a running thread is
22363 highly target dependent. However, the two commands
22364 @code{-exec-interrupt}, to stop a thread, and @code{-thread-info},
22365 to find the state of a thread, will always work.
22366
22367 @node Thread groups
22368 @subsection Thread groups
22369 @value{GDBN} may be used to debug several processes at the same time.
22370 On some platfroms, @value{GDBN} may support debugging of several
22371 hardware systems, each one having several cores with several different
22372 processes running on each core. This section describes the MI
22373 mechanism to support such debugging scenarios.
22374
22375 The key observation is that regardless of the structure of the
22376 target, MI can have a global list of threads, because most commands that
22377 accept the @samp{--thread} option do not need to know what process that
22378 thread belongs to. Therefore, it is not necessary to introduce
22379 neither additional @samp{--process} option, nor an notion of the
22380 current process in the MI interface. The only strictly new feature
22381 that is required is the ability to find how the threads are grouped
22382 into processes.
22383
22384 To allow the user to discover such grouping, and to support arbitrary
22385 hierarchy of machines/cores/processes, MI introduces the concept of a
22386 @dfn{thread group}. Thread group is a collection of threads and other
22387 thread groups. A thread group always has a string identifier, a type,
22388 and may have additional attributes specific to the type. A new
22389 command, @code{-list-thread-groups}, returns the list of top-level
22390 thread groups, which correspond to processes that @value{GDBN} is
22391 debugging at the moment. By passing an identifier of a thread group
22392 to the @code{-list-thread-groups} command, it is possible to obtain
22393 the members of specific thread group.
22394
22395 To allow the user to easily discover processes, and other objects, he
22396 wishes to debug, a concept of @dfn{available thread group} is
22397 introduced. Available thread group is an thread group that
22398 @value{GDBN} is not debugging, but that can be attached to, using the
22399 @code{-target-attach} command. The list of available top-level thread
22400 groups can be obtained using @samp{-list-thread-groups --available}.
22401 In general, the content of a thread group may be only retrieved only
22402 after attaching to that thread group.
22403
22404 Thread groups are related to inferiors (@pxref{Inferiors and
22405 Programs}). Each inferior corresponds to a thread group of a special
22406 type @samp{process}, and some additional operations are permitted on
22407 such thread groups.
22408
22409 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
22410 @node GDB/MI Command Syntax
22411 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Command Syntax
22412
22413 @menu
22414 * GDB/MI Input Syntax::
22415 * GDB/MI Output Syntax::
22416 @end menu
22417
22418 @node GDB/MI Input Syntax
22419 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Input Syntax
22420
22421 @cindex input syntax for @sc{gdb/mi}
22422 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, input syntax
22423 @table @code
22424 @item @var{command} @expansion{}
22425 @code{@var{cli-command} | @var{mi-command}}
22426
22427 @item @var{cli-command} @expansion{}
22428 @code{[ @var{token} ] @var{cli-command} @var{nl}}, where
22429 @var{cli-command} is any existing @value{GDBN} CLI command.
22430
22431 @item @var{mi-command} @expansion{}
22432 @code{[ @var{token} ] "-" @var{operation} ( " " @var{option} )*
22433 @code{[} " --" @code{]} ( " " @var{parameter} )* @var{nl}}
22434
22435 @item @var{token} @expansion{}
22436 "any sequence of digits"
22437
22438 @item @var{option} @expansion{}
22439 @code{"-" @var{parameter} [ " " @var{parameter} ]}
22440
22441 @item @var{parameter} @expansion{}
22442 @code{@var{non-blank-sequence} | @var{c-string}}
22443
22444 @item @var{operation} @expansion{}
22445 @emph{any of the operations described in this chapter}
22446
22447 @item @var{non-blank-sequence} @expansion{}
22448 @emph{anything, provided it doesn't contain special characters such as
22449 "-", @var{nl}, """ and of course " "}
22450
22451 @item @var{c-string} @expansion{}
22452 @code{""" @var{seven-bit-iso-c-string-content} """}
22453
22454 @item @var{nl} @expansion{}
22455 @code{CR | CR-LF}
22456 @end table
22457
22458 @noindent
22459 Notes:
22460
22461 @itemize @bullet
22462 @item
22463 The CLI commands are still handled by the @sc{mi} interpreter; their
22464 output is described below.
22465
22466 @item
22467 The @code{@var{token}}, when present, is passed back when the command
22468 finishes.
22469
22470 @item
22471 Some @sc{mi} commands accept optional arguments as part of the parameter
22472 list. Each option is identified by a leading @samp{-} (dash) and may be
22473 followed by an optional argument parameter. Options occur first in the
22474 parameter list and can be delimited from normal parameters using
22475 @samp{--} (this is useful when some parameters begin with a dash).
22476 @end itemize
22477
22478 Pragmatics:
22479
22480 @itemize @bullet
22481 @item
22482 We want easy access to the existing CLI syntax (for debugging).
22483
22484 @item
22485 We want it to be easy to spot a @sc{mi} operation.
22486 @end itemize
22487
22488 @node GDB/MI Output Syntax
22489 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Output Syntax
22490
22491 @cindex output syntax of @sc{gdb/mi}
22492 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, output syntax
22493 The output from @sc{gdb/mi} consists of zero or more out-of-band records
22494 followed, optionally, by a single result record. This result record
22495 is for the most recent command. The sequence of output records is
22496 terminated by @samp{(gdb)}.
22497
22498 If an input command was prefixed with a @code{@var{token}} then the
22499 corresponding output for that command will also be prefixed by that same
22500 @var{token}.
22501
22502 @table @code
22503 @item @var{output} @expansion{}
22504 @code{( @var{out-of-band-record} )* [ @var{result-record} ] "(gdb)" @var{nl}}
22505
22506 @item @var{result-record} @expansion{}
22507 @code{ [ @var{token} ] "^" @var{result-class} ( "," @var{result} )* @var{nl}}
22508
22509 @item @var{out-of-band-record} @expansion{}
22510 @code{@var{async-record} | @var{stream-record}}
22511
22512 @item @var{async-record} @expansion{}
22513 @code{@var{exec-async-output} | @var{status-async-output} | @var{notify-async-output}}
22514
22515 @item @var{exec-async-output} @expansion{}
22516 @code{[ @var{token} ] "*" @var{async-output}}
22517
22518 @item @var{status-async-output} @expansion{}
22519 @code{[ @var{token} ] "+" @var{async-output}}
22520
22521 @item @var{notify-async-output} @expansion{}
22522 @code{[ @var{token} ] "=" @var{async-output}}
22523
22524 @item @var{async-output} @expansion{}
22525 @code{@var{async-class} ( "," @var{result} )* @var{nl}}
22526
22527 @item @var{result-class} @expansion{}
22528 @code{"done" | "running" | "connected" | "error" | "exit"}
22529
22530 @item @var{async-class} @expansion{}
22531 @code{"stopped" | @var{others}} (where @var{others} will be added
22532 depending on the needs---this is still in development).
22533
22534 @item @var{result} @expansion{}
22535 @code{ @var{variable} "=" @var{value}}
22536
22537 @item @var{variable} @expansion{}
22538 @code{ @var{string} }
22539
22540 @item @var{value} @expansion{}
22541 @code{ @var{const} | @var{tuple} | @var{list} }
22542
22543 @item @var{const} @expansion{}
22544 @code{@var{c-string}}
22545
22546 @item @var{tuple} @expansion{}
22547 @code{ "@{@}" | "@{" @var{result} ( "," @var{result} )* "@}" }
22548
22549 @item @var{list} @expansion{}
22550 @code{ "[]" | "[" @var{value} ( "," @var{value} )* "]" | "["
22551 @var{result} ( "," @var{result} )* "]" }
22552
22553 @item @var{stream-record} @expansion{}
22554 @code{@var{console-stream-output} | @var{target-stream-output} | @var{log-stream-output}}
22555
22556 @item @var{console-stream-output} @expansion{}
22557 @code{"~" @var{c-string}}
22558
22559 @item @var{target-stream-output} @expansion{}
22560 @code{"@@" @var{c-string}}
22561
22562 @item @var{log-stream-output} @expansion{}
22563 @code{"&" @var{c-string}}
22564
22565 @item @var{nl} @expansion{}
22566 @code{CR | CR-LF}
22567
22568 @item @var{token} @expansion{}
22569 @emph{any sequence of digits}.
22570 @end table
22571
22572 @noindent
22573 Notes:
22574
22575 @itemize @bullet
22576 @item
22577 All output sequences end in a single line containing a period.
22578
22579 @item
22580 The @code{@var{token}} is from the corresponding request. Note that
22581 for all async output, while the token is allowed by the grammar and
22582 may be output by future versions of @value{GDBN} for select async
22583 output messages, it is generally omitted. Frontends should treat
22584 all async output as reporting general changes in the state of the
22585 target and there should be no need to associate async output to any
22586 prior command.
22587
22588 @item
22589 @cindex status output in @sc{gdb/mi}
22590 @var{status-async-output} contains on-going status information about the
22591 progress of a slow operation. It can be discarded. All status output is
22592 prefixed by @samp{+}.
22593
22594 @item
22595 @cindex async output in @sc{gdb/mi}
22596 @var{exec-async-output} contains asynchronous state change on the target
22597 (stopped, started, disappeared). All async output is prefixed by
22598 @samp{*}.
22599
22600 @item
22601 @cindex notify output in @sc{gdb/mi}
22602 @var{notify-async-output} contains supplementary information that the
22603 client should handle (e.g., a new breakpoint information). All notify
22604 output is prefixed by @samp{=}.
22605
22606 @item
22607 @cindex console output in @sc{gdb/mi}
22608 @var{console-stream-output} is output that should be displayed as is in the
22609 console. It is the textual response to a CLI command. All the console
22610 output is prefixed by @samp{~}.
22611
22612 @item
22613 @cindex target output in @sc{gdb/mi}
22614 @var{target-stream-output} is the output produced by the target program.
22615 All the target output is prefixed by @samp{@@}.
22616
22617 @item
22618 @cindex log output in @sc{gdb/mi}
22619 @var{log-stream-output} is output text coming from @value{GDBN}'s internals, for
22620 instance messages that should be displayed as part of an error log. All
22621 the log output is prefixed by @samp{&}.
22622
22623 @item
22624 @cindex list output in @sc{gdb/mi}
22625 New @sc{gdb/mi} commands should only output @var{lists} containing
22626 @var{values}.
22627
22628
22629 @end itemize
22630
22631 @xref{GDB/MI Stream Records, , @sc{gdb/mi} Stream Records}, for more
22632 details about the various output records.
22633
22634 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
22635 @node GDB/MI Compatibility with CLI
22636 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Compatibility with CLI
22637
22638 @cindex compatibility, @sc{gdb/mi} and CLI
22639 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, compatibility with CLI
22640
22641 For the developers convenience CLI commands can be entered directly,
22642 but there may be some unexpected behaviour. For example, commands
22643 that query the user will behave as if the user replied yes, breakpoint
22644 command lists are not executed and some CLI commands, such as
22645 @code{if}, @code{when} and @code{define}, prompt for further input with
22646 @samp{>}, which is not valid MI output.
22647
22648 This feature may be removed at some stage in the future and it is
22649 recommended that front ends use the @code{-interpreter-exec} command
22650 (@pxref{-interpreter-exec}).
22651
22652 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
22653 @node GDB/MI Development and Front Ends
22654 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Development and Front Ends
22655 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi} development
22656
22657 The application which takes the MI output and presents the state of the
22658 program being debugged to the user is called a @dfn{front end}.
22659
22660 Although @sc{gdb/mi} is still incomplete, it is currently being used
22661 by a variety of front ends to @value{GDBN}. This makes it difficult
22662 to introduce new functionality without breaking existing usage. This
22663 section tries to minimize the problems by describing how the protocol
22664 might change.
22665
22666 Some changes in MI need not break a carefully designed front end, and
22667 for these the MI version will remain unchanged. The following is a
22668 list of changes that may occur within one level, so front ends should
22669 parse MI output in a way that can handle them:
22670
22671 @itemize @bullet
22672 @item
22673 New MI commands may be added.
22674
22675 @item
22676 New fields may be added to the output of any MI command.
22677
22678 @item
22679 The range of values for fields with specified values, e.g.,
22680 @code{in_scope} (@pxref{-var-update}) may be extended.
22681
22682 @c The format of field's content e.g type prefix, may change so parse it
22683 @c at your own risk. Yes, in general?
22684
22685 @c The order of fields may change? Shouldn't really matter but it might
22686 @c resolve inconsistencies.
22687 @end itemize
22688
22689 If the changes are likely to break front ends, the MI version level
22690 will be increased by one. This will allow the front end to parse the
22691 output according to the MI version. Apart from mi0, new versions of
22692 @value{GDBN} will not support old versions of MI and it will be the
22693 responsibility of the front end to work with the new one.
22694
22695 @c Starting with mi3, add a new command -mi-version that prints the MI
22696 @c version?
22697
22698 The best way to avoid unexpected changes in MI that might break your front
22699 end is to make your project known to @value{GDBN} developers and
22700 follow development on @email{gdb@@sourceware.org} and
22701 @email{gdb-patches@@sourceware.org}.
22702 @cindex mailing lists
22703
22704 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
22705 @node GDB/MI Output Records
22706 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Output Records
22707
22708 @menu
22709 * GDB/MI Result Records::
22710 * GDB/MI Stream Records::
22711 * GDB/MI Async Records::
22712 * GDB/MI Frame Information::
22713 * GDB/MI Thread Information::
22714 @end menu
22715
22716 @node GDB/MI Result Records
22717 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Result Records
22718
22719 @cindex result records in @sc{gdb/mi}
22720 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, result records
22721 In addition to a number of out-of-band notifications, the response to a
22722 @sc{gdb/mi} command includes one of the following result indications:
22723
22724 @table @code
22725 @findex ^done
22726 @item "^done" [ "," @var{results} ]
22727 The synchronous operation was successful, @code{@var{results}} are the return
22728 values.
22729
22730 @item "^running"
22731 @findex ^running
22732 This result record is equivalent to @samp{^done}. Historically, it
22733 was output instead of @samp{^done} if the command has resumed the
22734 target. This behaviour is maintained for backward compatibility, but
22735 all frontends should treat @samp{^done} and @samp{^running}
22736 identically and rely on the @samp{*running} output record to determine
22737 which threads are resumed.
22738
22739 @item "^connected"
22740 @findex ^connected
22741 @value{GDBN} has connected to a remote target.
22742
22743 @item "^error" "," @var{c-string}
22744 @findex ^error
22745 The operation failed. The @code{@var{c-string}} contains the corresponding
22746 error message.
22747
22748 @item "^exit"
22749 @findex ^exit
22750 @value{GDBN} has terminated.
22751
22752 @end table
22753
22754 @node GDB/MI Stream Records
22755 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Stream Records
22756
22757 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, stream records
22758 @cindex stream records in @sc{gdb/mi}
22759 @value{GDBN} internally maintains a number of output streams: the console, the
22760 target, and the log. The output intended for each of these streams is
22761 funneled through the @sc{gdb/mi} interface using @dfn{stream records}.
22762
22763 Each stream record begins with a unique @dfn{prefix character} which
22764 identifies its stream (@pxref{GDB/MI Output Syntax, , @sc{gdb/mi} Output
22765 Syntax}). In addition to the prefix, each stream record contains a
22766 @code{@var{string-output}}. This is either raw text (with an implicit new
22767 line) or a quoted C string (which does not contain an implicit newline).
22768
22769 @table @code
22770 @item "~" @var{string-output}
22771 The console output stream contains text that should be displayed in the
22772 CLI console window. It contains the textual responses to CLI commands.
22773
22774 @item "@@" @var{string-output}
22775 The target output stream contains any textual output from the running
22776 target. This is only present when GDB's event loop is truly
22777 asynchronous, which is currently only the case for remote targets.
22778
22779 @item "&" @var{string-output}
22780 The log stream contains debugging messages being produced by @value{GDBN}'s
22781 internals.
22782 @end table
22783
22784 @node GDB/MI Async Records
22785 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Async Records
22786
22787 @cindex async records in @sc{gdb/mi}
22788 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, async records
22789 @dfn{Async} records are used to notify the @sc{gdb/mi} client of
22790 additional changes that have occurred. Those changes can either be a
22791 consequence of @sc{gdb/mi} commands (e.g., a breakpoint modified) or a result of
22792 target activity (e.g., target stopped).
22793
22794 The following is the list of possible async records:
22795
22796 @table @code
22797
22798 @item *running,thread-id="@var{thread}"
22799 The target is now running. The @var{thread} field tells which
22800 specific thread is now running, and can be @samp{all} if all threads
22801 are running. The frontend should assume that no interaction with a
22802 running thread is possible after this notification is produced.
22803 The frontend should not assume that this notification is output
22804 only once for any command. @value{GDBN} may emit this notification
22805 several times, either for different threads, because it cannot resume
22806 all threads together, or even for a single thread, if the thread must
22807 be stepped though some code before letting it run freely.
22808
22809 @item *stopped,reason="@var{reason}",thread-id="@var{id}",stopped-threads="@var{stopped}",core="@var{core}"
22810 The target has stopped. The @var{reason} field can have one of the
22811 following values:
22812
22813 @table @code
22814 @item breakpoint-hit
22815 A breakpoint was reached.
22816 @item watchpoint-trigger
22817 A watchpoint was triggered.
22818 @item read-watchpoint-trigger
22819 A read watchpoint was triggered.
22820 @item access-watchpoint-trigger
22821 An access watchpoint was triggered.
22822 @item function-finished
22823 An -exec-finish or similar CLI command was accomplished.
22824 @item location-reached
22825 An -exec-until or similar CLI command was accomplished.
22826 @item watchpoint-scope
22827 A watchpoint has gone out of scope.
22828 @item end-stepping-range
22829 An -exec-next, -exec-next-instruction, -exec-step, -exec-step-instruction or
22830 similar CLI command was accomplished.
22831 @item exited-signalled
22832 The inferior exited because of a signal.
22833 @item exited
22834 The inferior exited.
22835 @item exited-normally
22836 The inferior exited normally.
22837 @item signal-received
22838 A signal was received by the inferior.
22839 @end table
22840
22841 The @var{id} field identifies the thread that directly caused the stop
22842 -- for example by hitting a breakpoint. Depending on whether all-stop
22843 mode is in effect (@pxref{All-Stop Mode}), @value{GDBN} may either
22844 stop all threads, or only the thread that directly triggered the stop.
22845 If all threads are stopped, the @var{stopped} field will have the
22846 value of @code{"all"}. Otherwise, the value of the @var{stopped}
22847 field will be a list of thread identifiers. Presently, this list will
22848 always include a single thread, but frontend should be prepared to see
22849 several threads in the list. The @var{core} field reports the
22850 processor core on which the stop event has happened. This field may be absent
22851 if such information is not available.
22852
22853 @item =thread-group-added,id="@var{id}"
22854 @itemx =thread-group-removed,id="@var{id}"
22855 A thread group was either added or removed. The @var{id} field
22856 contains the @value{GDBN} identifier of the thread group. When a thread
22857 group is added, it generally might not be associated with a running
22858 process. When a thread group is removed, its id becomes invalid and
22859 cannot be used in any way.
22860
22861 @item =thread-group-started,id="@var{id}",pid="@var{pid}"
22862 A thread group became associated with a running program,
22863 either because the program was just started or the thread group
22864 was attached to a program. The @var{id} field contains the
22865 @value{GDBN} identifier of the thread group. The @var{pid} field
22866 contains process identifier, specific to the operating system.
22867
22868 @itemx =thread-group-exited,id="@var{id}"
22869 A thread group is no longer associated with a running program,
22870 either because the program has exited, or because it was detached
22871 from. The @var{id} field contains the @value{GDBN} identifier of the
22872 thread group.
22873
22874 @item =thread-created,id="@var{id}",group-id="@var{gid}"
22875 @itemx =thread-exited,id="@var{id}",group-id="@var{gid}"
22876 A thread either was created, or has exited. The @var{id} field
22877 contains the @value{GDBN} identifier of the thread. The @var{gid}
22878 field identifies the thread group this thread belongs to.
22879
22880 @item =thread-selected,id="@var{id}"
22881 Informs that the selected thread was changed as result of the last
22882 command. This notification is not emitted as result of @code{-thread-select}
22883 command but is emitted whenever an MI command that is not documented
22884 to change the selected thread actually changes it. In particular,
22885 invoking, directly or indirectly (via user-defined command), the CLI
22886 @code{thread} command, will generate this notification.
22887
22888 We suggest that in response to this notification, front ends
22889 highlight the selected thread and cause subsequent commands to apply to
22890 that thread.
22891
22892 @item =library-loaded,...
22893 Reports that a new library file was loaded by the program. This
22894 notification has 4 fields---@var{id}, @var{target-name},
22895 @var{host-name}, and @var{symbols-loaded}. The @var{id} field is an
22896 opaque identifier of the library. For remote debugging case,
22897 @var{target-name} and @var{host-name} fields give the name of the
22898 library file on the target, and on the host respectively. For native
22899 debugging, both those fields have the same value. The
22900 @var{symbols-loaded} field reports if the debug symbols for this
22901 library are loaded. The @var{thread-group} field, if present,
22902 specifies the id of the thread group in whose context the library was loaded.
22903 If the field is absent, it means the library was loaded in the context
22904 of all present thread groups.
22905
22906 @item =library-unloaded,...
22907 Reports that a library was unloaded by the program. This notification
22908 has 3 fields---@var{id}, @var{target-name} and @var{host-name} with
22909 the same meaning as for the @code{=library-loaded} notification.
22910 The @var{thread-group} field, if present, specifies the id of the
22911 thread group in whose context the library was unloaded. If the field is
22912 absent, it means the library was unloaded in the context of all present
22913 thread groups.
22914
22915 @end table
22916
22917 @node GDB/MI Frame Information
22918 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Frame Information
22919
22920 Response from many MI commands includes an information about stack
22921 frame. This information is a tuple that may have the following
22922 fields:
22923
22924 @table @code
22925 @item level
22926 The level of the stack frame. The innermost frame has the level of
22927 zero. This field is always present.
22928
22929 @item func
22930 The name of the function corresponding to the frame. This field may
22931 be absent if @value{GDBN} is unable to determine the function name.
22932
22933 @item addr
22934 The code address for the frame. This field is always present.
22935
22936 @item file
22937 The name of the source files that correspond to the frame's code
22938 address. This field may be absent.
22939
22940 @item line
22941 The source line corresponding to the frames' code address. This field
22942 may be absent.
22943
22944 @item from
22945 The name of the binary file (either executable or shared library) the
22946 corresponds to the frame's code address. This field may be absent.
22947
22948 @end table
22949
22950 @node GDB/MI Thread Information
22951 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Thread Information
22952
22953 Whenever @value{GDBN} has to report an information about a thread, it
22954 uses a tuple with the following fields:
22955
22956 @table @code
22957 @item id
22958 The numeric id assigned to the thread by @value{GDBN}. This field is
22959 always present.
22960
22961 @item target-id
22962 Target-specific string identifying the thread. This field is always present.
22963
22964 @item details
22965 Additional information about the thread provided by the target.
22966 It is supposed to be human-readable and not interpreted by the
22967 frontend. This field is optional.
22968
22969 @item state
22970 Either @samp{stopped} or @samp{running}, depending on whether the
22971 thread is presently running. This field is always present.
22972
22973 @item core
22974 The value of this field is an integer number of the processor core the
22975 thread was last seen on. This field is optional.
22976 @end table
22977
22978
22979 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
22980 @node GDB/MI Simple Examples
22981 @section Simple Examples of @sc{gdb/mi} Interaction
22982 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, simple examples
22983
22984 This subsection presents several simple examples of interaction using
22985 the @sc{gdb/mi} interface. In these examples, @samp{->} means that the
22986 following line is passed to @sc{gdb/mi} as input, while @samp{<-} means
22987 the output received from @sc{gdb/mi}.
22988
22989 Note the line breaks shown in the examples are here only for
22990 readability, they don't appear in the real output.
22991
22992 @subheading Setting a Breakpoint
22993
22994 Setting a breakpoint generates synchronous output which contains detailed
22995 information of the breakpoint.
22996
22997 @smallexample
22998 -> -break-insert main
22999 <- ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
23000 enabled="y",addr="0x08048564",func="main",file="myprog.c",
23001 fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="68",times="0"@}
23002 <- (gdb)
23003 @end smallexample
23004
23005 @subheading Program Execution
23006
23007 Program execution generates asynchronous records and MI gives the
23008 reason that execution stopped.
23009
23010 @smallexample
23011 -> -exec-run
23012 <- ^running
23013 <- (gdb)
23014 <- *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",thread-id="0",
23015 frame=@{addr="0x08048564",func="main",
23016 args=[@{name="argc",value="1"@},@{name="argv",value="0xbfc4d4d4"@}],
23017 file="myprog.c",fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="68"@}
23018 <- (gdb)
23019 -> -exec-continue
23020 <- ^running
23021 <- (gdb)
23022 <- *stopped,reason="exited-normally"
23023 <- (gdb)
23024 @end smallexample
23025
23026 @subheading Quitting @value{GDBN}
23027
23028 Quitting @value{GDBN} just prints the result class @samp{^exit}.
23029
23030 @smallexample
23031 -> (gdb)
23032 <- -gdb-exit
23033 <- ^exit
23034 @end smallexample
23035
23036 Please note that @samp{^exit} is printed immediately, but it might
23037 take some time for @value{GDBN} to actually exit. During that time, @value{GDBN}
23038 performs necessary cleanups, including killing programs being debugged
23039 or disconnecting from debug hardware, so the frontend should wait till
23040 @value{GDBN} exits and should only forcibly kill @value{GDBN} if it
23041 fails to exit in reasonable time.
23042
23043 @subheading A Bad Command
23044
23045 Here's what happens if you pass a non-existent command:
23046
23047 @smallexample
23048 -> -rubbish
23049 <- ^error,msg="Undefined MI command: rubbish"
23050 <- (gdb)
23051 @end smallexample
23052
23053
23054 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
23055 @node GDB/MI Command Description Format
23056 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Command Description Format
23057
23058 The remaining sections describe blocks of commands. Each block of
23059 commands is laid out in a fashion similar to this section.
23060
23061 @subheading Motivation
23062
23063 The motivation for this collection of commands.
23064
23065 @subheading Introduction
23066
23067 A brief introduction to this collection of commands as a whole.
23068
23069 @subheading Commands
23070
23071 For each command in the block, the following is described:
23072
23073 @subsubheading Synopsis
23074
23075 @smallexample
23076 -command @var{args}@dots{}
23077 @end smallexample
23078
23079 @subsubheading Result
23080
23081 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23082
23083 The corresponding @value{GDBN} CLI command(s), if any.
23084
23085 @subsubheading Example
23086
23087 Example(s) formatted for readability. Some of the described commands have
23088 not been implemented yet and these are labeled N.A.@: (not available).
23089
23090
23091 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
23092 @node GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands
23093 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Breakpoint Commands
23094
23095 @cindex breakpoint commands for @sc{gdb/mi}
23096 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, breakpoint commands
23097 This section documents @sc{gdb/mi} commands for manipulating
23098 breakpoints.
23099
23100 @subheading The @code{-break-after} Command
23101 @findex -break-after
23102
23103 @subsubheading Synopsis
23104
23105 @smallexample
23106 -break-after @var{number} @var{count}
23107 @end smallexample
23108
23109 The breakpoint number @var{number} is not in effect until it has been
23110 hit @var{count} times. To see how this is reflected in the output of
23111 the @samp{-break-list} command, see the description of the
23112 @samp{-break-list} command below.
23113
23114 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23115
23116 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{ignore}.
23117
23118 @subsubheading Example
23119
23120 @smallexample
23121 (gdb)
23122 -break-insert main
23123 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
23124 enabled="y",addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",
23125 fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",line="5",times="0"@}
23126 (gdb)
23127 -break-after 1 3
23128 ~
23129 ^done
23130 (gdb)
23131 -break-list
23132 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
23133 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
23134 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
23135 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
23136 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
23137 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
23138 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
23139 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
23140 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
23141 line="5",times="0",ignore="3"@}]@}
23142 (gdb)
23143 @end smallexample
23144
23145 @ignore
23146 @subheading The @code{-break-catch} Command
23147 @findex -break-catch
23148 @end ignore
23149
23150 @subheading The @code{-break-commands} Command
23151 @findex -break-commands
23152
23153 @subsubheading Synopsis
23154
23155 @smallexample
23156 -break-commands @var{number} [ @var{command1} ... @var{commandN} ]
23157 @end smallexample
23158
23159 Specifies the CLI commands that should be executed when breakpoint
23160 @var{number} is hit. The parameters @var{command1} to @var{commandN}
23161 are the commands. If no command is specified, any previously-set
23162 commands are cleared. @xref{Break Commands}. Typical use of this
23163 functionality is tracing a program, that is, printing of values of
23164 some variables whenever breakpoint is hit and then continuing.
23165
23166 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23167
23168 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{commands}.
23169
23170 @subsubheading Example
23171
23172 @smallexample
23173 (gdb)
23174 -break-insert main
23175 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
23176 enabled="y",addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",
23177 fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",line="5",times="0"@}
23178 (gdb)
23179 -break-commands 1 "print v" "continue"
23180 ^done
23181 (gdb)
23182 @end smallexample
23183
23184 @subheading The @code{-break-condition} Command
23185 @findex -break-condition
23186
23187 @subsubheading Synopsis
23188
23189 @smallexample
23190 -break-condition @var{number} @var{expr}
23191 @end smallexample
23192
23193 Breakpoint @var{number} will stop the program only if the condition in
23194 @var{expr} is true. The condition becomes part of the
23195 @samp{-break-list} output (see the description of the @samp{-break-list}
23196 command below).
23197
23198 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23199
23200 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{condition}.
23201
23202 @subsubheading Example
23203
23204 @smallexample
23205 (gdb)
23206 -break-condition 1 1
23207 ^done
23208 (gdb)
23209 -break-list
23210 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
23211 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
23212 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
23213 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
23214 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
23215 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
23216 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
23217 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
23218 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
23219 line="5",cond="1",times="0",ignore="3"@}]@}
23220 (gdb)
23221 @end smallexample
23222
23223 @subheading The @code{-break-delete} Command
23224 @findex -break-delete
23225
23226 @subsubheading Synopsis
23227
23228 @smallexample
23229 -break-delete ( @var{breakpoint} )+
23230 @end smallexample
23231
23232 Delete the breakpoint(s) whose number(s) are specified in the argument
23233 list. This is obviously reflected in the breakpoint list.
23234
23235 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23236
23237 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{delete}.
23238
23239 @subsubheading Example
23240
23241 @smallexample
23242 (gdb)
23243 -break-delete 1
23244 ^done
23245 (gdb)
23246 -break-list
23247 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="0",nr_cols="6",
23248 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
23249 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
23250 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
23251 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
23252 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
23253 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
23254 body=[]@}
23255 (gdb)
23256 @end smallexample
23257
23258 @subheading The @code{-break-disable} Command
23259 @findex -break-disable
23260
23261 @subsubheading Synopsis
23262
23263 @smallexample
23264 -break-disable ( @var{breakpoint} )+
23265 @end smallexample
23266
23267 Disable the named @var{breakpoint}(s). The field @samp{enabled} in the
23268 break list is now set to @samp{n} for the named @var{breakpoint}(s).
23269
23270 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23271
23272 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{disable}.
23273
23274 @subsubheading Example
23275
23276 @smallexample
23277 (gdb)
23278 -break-disable 2
23279 ^done
23280 (gdb)
23281 -break-list
23282 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
23283 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
23284 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
23285 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
23286 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
23287 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
23288 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
23289 body=[bkpt=@{number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="n",
23290 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
23291 line="5",times="0"@}]@}
23292 (gdb)
23293 @end smallexample
23294
23295 @subheading The @code{-break-enable} Command
23296 @findex -break-enable
23297
23298 @subsubheading Synopsis
23299
23300 @smallexample
23301 -break-enable ( @var{breakpoint} )+
23302 @end smallexample
23303
23304 Enable (previously disabled) @var{breakpoint}(s).
23305
23306 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23307
23308 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{enable}.
23309
23310 @subsubheading Example
23311
23312 @smallexample
23313 (gdb)
23314 -break-enable 2
23315 ^done
23316 (gdb)
23317 -break-list
23318 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
23319 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
23320 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
23321 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
23322 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
23323 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
23324 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
23325 body=[bkpt=@{number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
23326 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
23327 line="5",times="0"@}]@}
23328 (gdb)
23329 @end smallexample
23330
23331 @subheading The @code{-break-info} Command
23332 @findex -break-info
23333
23334 @subsubheading Synopsis
23335
23336 @smallexample
23337 -break-info @var{breakpoint}
23338 @end smallexample
23339
23340 @c REDUNDANT???
23341 Get information about a single breakpoint.
23342
23343 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23344
23345 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info break @var{breakpoint}}.
23346
23347 @subsubheading Example
23348 N.A.
23349
23350 @subheading The @code{-break-insert} Command
23351 @findex -break-insert
23352
23353 @subsubheading Synopsis
23354
23355 @smallexample
23356 -break-insert [ -t ] [ -h ] [ -f ] [ -d ] [ -a ]
23357 [ -c @var{condition} ] [ -i @var{ignore-count} ]
23358 [ -p @var{thread} ] [ @var{location} ]
23359 @end smallexample
23360
23361 @noindent
23362 If specified, @var{location}, can be one of:
23363
23364 @itemize @bullet
23365 @item function
23366 @c @item +offset
23367 @c @item -offset
23368 @c @item linenum
23369 @item filename:linenum
23370 @item filename:function
23371 @item *address
23372 @end itemize
23373
23374 The possible optional parameters of this command are:
23375
23376 @table @samp
23377 @item -t
23378 Insert a temporary breakpoint.
23379 @item -h
23380 Insert a hardware breakpoint.
23381 @item -c @var{condition}
23382 Make the breakpoint conditional on @var{condition}.
23383 @item -i @var{ignore-count}
23384 Initialize the @var{ignore-count}.
23385 @item -f
23386 If @var{location} cannot be parsed (for example if it
23387 refers to unknown files or functions), create a pending
23388 breakpoint. Without this flag, @value{GDBN} will report
23389 an error, and won't create a breakpoint, if @var{location}
23390 cannot be parsed.
23391 @item -d
23392 Create a disabled breakpoint.
23393 @item -a
23394 Create a tracepoint. @xref{Tracepoints}. When this parameter
23395 is used together with @samp{-h}, a fast tracepoint is created.
23396 @end table
23397
23398 @subsubheading Result
23399
23400 The result is in the form:
23401
23402 @smallexample
23403 ^done,bkpt=@{number="@var{number}",type="@var{type}",disp="del"|"keep",
23404 enabled="y"|"n",addr="@var{hex}",func="@var{funcname}",file="@var{filename}",
23405 fullname="@var{full_filename}",line="@var{lineno}",[thread="@var{threadno},]
23406 times="@var{times}"@}
23407 @end smallexample
23408
23409 @noindent
23410 where @var{number} is the @value{GDBN} number for this breakpoint,
23411 @var{funcname} is the name of the function where the breakpoint was
23412 inserted, @var{filename} is the name of the source file which contains
23413 this function, @var{lineno} is the source line number within that file
23414 and @var{times} the number of times that the breakpoint has been hit
23415 (always 0 for -break-insert but may be greater for -break-info or -break-list
23416 which use the same output).
23417
23418 Note: this format is open to change.
23419 @c An out-of-band breakpoint instead of part of the result?
23420
23421 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23422
23423 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{break}, @samp{tbreak},
23424 @samp{hbreak}, @samp{thbreak}, and @samp{rbreak}.
23425
23426 @subsubheading Example
23427
23428 @smallexample
23429 (gdb)
23430 -break-insert main
23431 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",addr="0x0001072c",file="recursive2.c",
23432 fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c,line="4",times="0"@}
23433 (gdb)
23434 -break-insert -t foo
23435 ^done,bkpt=@{number="2",addr="0x00010774",file="recursive2.c",
23436 fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c,line="11",times="0"@}
23437 (gdb)
23438 -break-list
23439 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
23440 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
23441 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
23442 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
23443 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
23444 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
23445 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
23446 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
23447 addr="0x0001072c", func="main",file="recursive2.c",
23448 fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c,"line="4",times="0"@},
23449 bkpt=@{number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="del",enabled="y",
23450 addr="0x00010774",func="foo",file="recursive2.c",
23451 fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c",line="11",times="0"@}]@}
23452 (gdb)
23453 -break-insert -r foo.*
23454 ~int foo(int, int);
23455 ^done,bkpt=@{number="3",addr="0x00010774",file="recursive2.c,
23456 "fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c",line="11",times="0"@}
23457 (gdb)
23458 @end smallexample
23459
23460 @subheading The @code{-break-list} Command
23461 @findex -break-list
23462
23463 @subsubheading Synopsis
23464
23465 @smallexample
23466 -break-list
23467 @end smallexample
23468
23469 Displays the list of inserted breakpoints, showing the following fields:
23470
23471 @table @samp
23472 @item Number
23473 number of the breakpoint
23474 @item Type
23475 type of the breakpoint: @samp{breakpoint} or @samp{watchpoint}
23476 @item Disposition
23477 should the breakpoint be deleted or disabled when it is hit: @samp{keep}
23478 or @samp{nokeep}
23479 @item Enabled
23480 is the breakpoint enabled or no: @samp{y} or @samp{n}
23481 @item Address
23482 memory location at which the breakpoint is set
23483 @item What
23484 logical location of the breakpoint, expressed by function name, file
23485 name, line number
23486 @item Times
23487 number of times the breakpoint has been hit
23488 @end table
23489
23490 If there are no breakpoints or watchpoints, the @code{BreakpointTable}
23491 @code{body} field is an empty list.
23492
23493 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23494
23495 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info break}.
23496
23497 @subsubheading Example
23498
23499 @smallexample
23500 (gdb)
23501 -break-list
23502 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
23503 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
23504 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
23505 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
23506 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
23507 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
23508 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
23509 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
23510 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",line="5",times="0"@},
23511 bkpt=@{number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
23512 addr="0x00010114",func="foo",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
23513 line="13",times="0"@}]@}
23514 (gdb)
23515 @end smallexample
23516
23517 Here's an example of the result when there are no breakpoints:
23518
23519 @smallexample
23520 (gdb)
23521 -break-list
23522 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="0",nr_cols="6",
23523 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
23524 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
23525 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
23526 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
23527 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
23528 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
23529 body=[]@}
23530 (gdb)
23531 @end smallexample
23532
23533 @subheading The @code{-break-passcount} Command
23534 @findex -break-passcount
23535
23536 @subsubheading Synopsis
23537
23538 @smallexample
23539 -break-passcount @var{tracepoint-number} @var{passcount}
23540 @end smallexample
23541
23542 Set the passcount for tracepoint @var{tracepoint-number} to
23543 @var{passcount}. If the breakpoint referred to by @var{tracepoint-number}
23544 is not a tracepoint, error is emitted. This corresponds to CLI
23545 command @samp{passcount}.
23546
23547 @subheading The @code{-break-watch} Command
23548 @findex -break-watch
23549
23550 @subsubheading Synopsis
23551
23552 @smallexample
23553 -break-watch [ -a | -r ]
23554 @end smallexample
23555
23556 Create a watchpoint. With the @samp{-a} option it will create an
23557 @dfn{access} watchpoint, i.e., a watchpoint that triggers either on a
23558 read from or on a write to the memory location. With the @samp{-r}
23559 option, the watchpoint created is a @dfn{read} watchpoint, i.e., it will
23560 trigger only when the memory location is accessed for reading. Without
23561 either of the options, the watchpoint created is a regular watchpoint,
23562 i.e., it will trigger when the memory location is accessed for writing.
23563 @xref{Set Watchpoints, , Setting Watchpoints}.
23564
23565 Note that @samp{-break-list} will report a single list of watchpoints and
23566 breakpoints inserted.
23567
23568 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23569
23570 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{watch}, @samp{awatch}, and
23571 @samp{rwatch}.
23572
23573 @subsubheading Example
23574
23575 Setting a watchpoint on a variable in the @code{main} function:
23576
23577 @smallexample
23578 (gdb)
23579 -break-watch x
23580 ^done,wpt=@{number="2",exp="x"@}
23581 (gdb)
23582 -exec-continue
23583 ^running
23584 (gdb)
23585 *stopped,reason="watchpoint-trigger",wpt=@{number="2",exp="x"@},
23586 value=@{old="-268439212",new="55"@},
23587 frame=@{func="main",args=[],file="recursive2.c",
23588 fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="5"@}
23589 (gdb)
23590 @end smallexample
23591
23592 Setting a watchpoint on a variable local to a function. @value{GDBN} will stop
23593 the program execution twice: first for the variable changing value, then
23594 for the watchpoint going out of scope.
23595
23596 @smallexample
23597 (gdb)
23598 -break-watch C
23599 ^done,wpt=@{number="5",exp="C"@}
23600 (gdb)
23601 -exec-continue
23602 ^running
23603 (gdb)
23604 *stopped,reason="watchpoint-trigger",
23605 wpt=@{number="5",exp="C"@},value=@{old="-276895068",new="3"@},
23606 frame=@{func="callee4",args=[],
23607 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
23608 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="13"@}
23609 (gdb)
23610 -exec-continue
23611 ^running
23612 (gdb)
23613 *stopped,reason="watchpoint-scope",wpnum="5",
23614 frame=@{func="callee3",args=[@{name="strarg",
23615 value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}],
23616 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
23617 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="18"@}
23618 (gdb)
23619 @end smallexample
23620
23621 Listing breakpoints and watchpoints, at different points in the program
23622 execution. Note that once the watchpoint goes out of scope, it is
23623 deleted.
23624
23625 @smallexample
23626 (gdb)
23627 -break-watch C
23628 ^done,wpt=@{number="2",exp="C"@}
23629 (gdb)
23630 -break-list
23631 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
23632 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
23633 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
23634 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
23635 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
23636 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
23637 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
23638 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
23639 addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
23640 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
23641 fullname="/home/foo/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c"line="8",times="1"@},
23642 bkpt=@{number="2",type="watchpoint",disp="keep",
23643 enabled="y",addr="",what="C",times="0"@}]@}
23644 (gdb)
23645 -exec-continue
23646 ^running
23647 (gdb)
23648 *stopped,reason="watchpoint-trigger",wpt=@{number="2",exp="C"@},
23649 value=@{old="-276895068",new="3"@},
23650 frame=@{func="callee4",args=[],
23651 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
23652 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="13"@}
23653 (gdb)
23654 -break-list
23655 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
23656 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
23657 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
23658 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
23659 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
23660 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
23661 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
23662 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
23663 addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
23664 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
23665 fullname="/home/foo/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8",times="1"@},
23666 bkpt=@{number="2",type="watchpoint",disp="keep",
23667 enabled="y",addr="",what="C",times="-5"@}]@}
23668 (gdb)
23669 -exec-continue
23670 ^running
23671 ^done,reason="watchpoint-scope",wpnum="2",
23672 frame=@{func="callee3",args=[@{name="strarg",
23673 value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}],
23674 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
23675 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="18"@}
23676 (gdb)
23677 -break-list
23678 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
23679 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
23680 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
23681 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
23682 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
23683 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
23684 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
23685 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
23686 addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
23687 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
23688 fullname="/home/foo/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8",
23689 times="1"@}]@}
23690 (gdb)
23691 @end smallexample
23692
23693 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
23694 @node GDB/MI Program Context
23695 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Program Context
23696
23697 @subheading The @code{-exec-arguments} Command
23698 @findex -exec-arguments
23699
23700
23701 @subsubheading Synopsis
23702
23703 @smallexample
23704 -exec-arguments @var{args}
23705 @end smallexample
23706
23707 Set the inferior program arguments, to be used in the next
23708 @samp{-exec-run}.
23709
23710 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23711
23712 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{set args}.
23713
23714 @subsubheading Example
23715
23716 @smallexample
23717 (gdb)
23718 -exec-arguments -v word
23719 ^done
23720 (gdb)
23721 @end smallexample
23722
23723
23724 @ignore
23725 @subheading The @code{-exec-show-arguments} Command
23726 @findex -exec-show-arguments
23727
23728 @subsubheading Synopsis
23729
23730 @smallexample
23731 -exec-show-arguments
23732 @end smallexample
23733
23734 Print the arguments of the program.
23735
23736 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23737
23738 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{show args}.
23739
23740 @subsubheading Example
23741 N.A.
23742 @end ignore
23743
23744
23745 @subheading The @code{-environment-cd} Command
23746 @findex -environment-cd
23747
23748 @subsubheading Synopsis
23749
23750 @smallexample
23751 -environment-cd @var{pathdir}
23752 @end smallexample
23753
23754 Set @value{GDBN}'s working directory.
23755
23756 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23757
23758 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{cd}.
23759
23760 @subsubheading Example
23761
23762 @smallexample
23763 (gdb)
23764 -environment-cd /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb
23765 ^done
23766 (gdb)
23767 @end smallexample
23768
23769
23770 @subheading The @code{-environment-directory} Command
23771 @findex -environment-directory
23772
23773 @subsubheading Synopsis
23774
23775 @smallexample
23776 -environment-directory [ -r ] [ @var{pathdir} ]+
23777 @end smallexample
23778
23779 Add directories @var{pathdir} to beginning of search path for source files.
23780 If the @samp{-r} option is used, the search path is reset to the default
23781 search path. If directories @var{pathdir} are supplied in addition to the
23782 @samp{-r} option, the search path is first reset and then addition
23783 occurs as normal.
23784 Multiple directories may be specified, separated by blanks. Specifying
23785 multiple directories in a single command
23786 results in the directories added to the beginning of the
23787 search path in the same order they were presented in the command.
23788 If blanks are needed as
23789 part of a directory name, double-quotes should be used around
23790 the name. In the command output, the path will show up separated
23791 by the system directory-separator character. The directory-separator
23792 character must not be used
23793 in any directory name.
23794 If no directories are specified, the current search path is displayed.
23795
23796 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23797
23798 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{dir}.
23799
23800 @subsubheading Example
23801
23802 @smallexample
23803 (gdb)
23804 -environment-directory /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb
23805 ^done,source-path="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb:$cdir:$cwd"
23806 (gdb)
23807 -environment-directory ""
23808 ^done,source-path="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb:$cdir:$cwd"
23809 (gdb)
23810 -environment-directory -r /home/jjohnstn/src/gdb /usr/src
23811 ^done,source-path="/home/jjohnstn/src/gdb:/usr/src:$cdir:$cwd"
23812 (gdb)
23813 -environment-directory -r
23814 ^done,source-path="$cdir:$cwd"
23815 (gdb)
23816 @end smallexample
23817
23818
23819 @subheading The @code{-environment-path} Command
23820 @findex -environment-path
23821
23822 @subsubheading Synopsis
23823
23824 @smallexample
23825 -environment-path [ -r ] [ @var{pathdir} ]+
23826 @end smallexample
23827
23828 Add directories @var{pathdir} to beginning of search path for object files.
23829 If the @samp{-r} option is used, the search path is reset to the original
23830 search path that existed at gdb start-up. If directories @var{pathdir} are
23831 supplied in addition to the
23832 @samp{-r} option, the search path is first reset and then addition
23833 occurs as normal.
23834 Multiple directories may be specified, separated by blanks. Specifying
23835 multiple directories in a single command
23836 results in the directories added to the beginning of the
23837 search path in the same order they were presented in the command.
23838 If blanks are needed as
23839 part of a directory name, double-quotes should be used around
23840 the name. In the command output, the path will show up separated
23841 by the system directory-separator character. The directory-separator
23842 character must not be used
23843 in any directory name.
23844 If no directories are specified, the current path is displayed.
23845
23846
23847 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23848
23849 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{path}.
23850
23851 @subsubheading Example
23852
23853 @smallexample
23854 (gdb)
23855 -environment-path
23856 ^done,path="/usr/bin"
23857 (gdb)
23858 -environment-path /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/ppc-eabi/gdb /bin
23859 ^done,path="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/ppc-eabi/gdb:/bin:/usr/bin"
23860 (gdb)
23861 -environment-path -r /usr/local/bin
23862 ^done,path="/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin"
23863 (gdb)
23864 @end smallexample
23865
23866
23867 @subheading The @code{-environment-pwd} Command
23868 @findex -environment-pwd
23869
23870 @subsubheading Synopsis
23871
23872 @smallexample
23873 -environment-pwd
23874 @end smallexample
23875
23876 Show the current working directory.
23877
23878 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23879
23880 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{pwd}.
23881
23882 @subsubheading Example
23883
23884 @smallexample
23885 (gdb)
23886 -environment-pwd
23887 ^done,cwd="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb"
23888 (gdb)
23889 @end smallexample
23890
23891 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
23892 @node GDB/MI Thread Commands
23893 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Thread Commands
23894
23895
23896 @subheading The @code{-thread-info} Command
23897 @findex -thread-info
23898
23899 @subsubheading Synopsis
23900
23901 @smallexample
23902 -thread-info [ @var{thread-id} ]
23903 @end smallexample
23904
23905 Reports information about either a specific thread, if
23906 the @var{thread-id} parameter is present, or about all
23907 threads. When printing information about all threads,
23908 also reports the current thread.
23909
23910 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23911
23912 The @samp{info thread} command prints the same information
23913 about all threads.
23914
23915 @subsubheading Example
23916
23917 @smallexample
23918 -thread-info
23919 ^done,threads=[
23920 @{id="2",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90 (LWP 21257)",
23921 frame=@{level="0",addr="0xffffe410",func="__kernel_vsyscall",args=[]@},state="running"@},
23922 @{id="1",target-id="Thread 0xb7e156b0 (LWP 21254)",
23923 frame=@{level="0",addr="0x0804891f",func="foo",args=[@{name="i",value="10"@}],
23924 file="/tmp/a.c",fullname="/tmp/a.c",line="158"@},state="running"@}],
23925 current-thread-id="1"
23926 (gdb)
23927 @end smallexample
23928
23929 The @samp{state} field may have the following values:
23930
23931 @table @code
23932 @item stopped
23933 The thread is stopped. Frame information is available for stopped
23934 threads.
23935
23936 @item running
23937 The thread is running. There's no frame information for running
23938 threads.
23939
23940 @end table
23941
23942 @subheading The @code{-thread-list-ids} Command
23943 @findex -thread-list-ids
23944
23945 @subsubheading Synopsis
23946
23947 @smallexample
23948 -thread-list-ids
23949 @end smallexample
23950
23951 Produces a list of the currently known @value{GDBN} thread ids. At the
23952 end of the list it also prints the total number of such threads.
23953
23954 This command is retained for historical reasons, the
23955 @code{-thread-info} command should be used instead.
23956
23957 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23958
23959 Part of @samp{info threads} supplies the same information.
23960
23961 @subsubheading Example
23962
23963 @smallexample
23964 (gdb)
23965 -thread-list-ids
23966 ^done,thread-ids=@{thread-id="3",thread-id="2",thread-id="1"@},
23967 current-thread-id="1",number-of-threads="3"
23968 (gdb)
23969 @end smallexample
23970
23971
23972 @subheading The @code{-thread-select} Command
23973 @findex -thread-select
23974
23975 @subsubheading Synopsis
23976
23977 @smallexample
23978 -thread-select @var{threadnum}
23979 @end smallexample
23980
23981 Make @var{threadnum} the current thread. It prints the number of the new
23982 current thread, and the topmost frame for that thread.
23983
23984 This command is deprecated in favor of explicitly using the
23985 @samp{--thread} option to each command.
23986
23987 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
23988
23989 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{thread}.
23990
23991 @subsubheading Example
23992
23993 @smallexample
23994 (gdb)
23995 -exec-next
23996 ^running
23997 (gdb)
23998 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",thread-id="2",line="187",
23999 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.threads/linux-dp.c"
24000 (gdb)
24001 -thread-list-ids
24002 ^done,
24003 thread-ids=@{thread-id="3",thread-id="2",thread-id="1"@},
24004 number-of-threads="3"
24005 (gdb)
24006 -thread-select 3
24007 ^done,new-thread-id="3",
24008 frame=@{level="0",func="vprintf",
24009 args=[@{name="format",value="0x8048e9c \"%*s%c %d %c\\n\""@},
24010 @{name="arg",value="0x2"@}],file="vprintf.c",line="31"@}
24011 (gdb)
24012 @end smallexample
24013
24014 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
24015 @node GDB/MI Program Execution
24016 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Program Execution
24017
24018 These are the asynchronous commands which generate the out-of-band
24019 record @samp{*stopped}. Currently @value{GDBN} only really executes
24020 asynchronously with remote targets and this interaction is mimicked in
24021 other cases.
24022
24023 @subheading The @code{-exec-continue} Command
24024 @findex -exec-continue
24025
24026 @subsubheading Synopsis
24027
24028 @smallexample
24029 -exec-continue [--reverse] [--all|--thread-group N]
24030 @end smallexample
24031
24032 Resumes the execution of the inferior program, which will continue
24033 to execute until it reaches a debugger stop event. If the
24034 @samp{--reverse} option is specified, execution resumes in reverse until
24035 it reaches a stop event. Stop events may include
24036 @itemize @bullet
24037 @item
24038 breakpoints or watchpoints
24039 @item
24040 signals or exceptions
24041 @item
24042 the end of the process (or its beginning under @samp{--reverse})
24043 @item
24044 the end or beginning of a replay log if one is being used.
24045 @end itemize
24046 In all-stop mode (@pxref{All-Stop
24047 Mode}), may resume only one thread, or all threads, depending on the
24048 value of the @samp{scheduler-locking} variable. If @samp{--all} is
24049 specified, all threads (in all inferiors) will be resumed. The @samp{--all} option is
24050 ignored in all-stop mode. If the @samp{--thread-group} options is
24051 specified, then all threads in that thread group are resumed.
24052
24053 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
24054
24055 The corresponding @value{GDBN} corresponding is @samp{continue}.
24056
24057 @subsubheading Example
24058
24059 @smallexample
24060 -exec-continue
24061 ^running
24062 (gdb)
24063 @@Hello world
24064 *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="2",frame=@{
24065 func="foo",args=[],file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/hello.c",
24066 line="13"@}
24067 (gdb)
24068 @end smallexample
24069
24070
24071 @subheading The @code{-exec-finish} Command
24072 @findex -exec-finish
24073
24074 @subsubheading Synopsis
24075
24076 @smallexample
24077 -exec-finish [--reverse]
24078 @end smallexample
24079
24080 Resumes the execution of the inferior program until the current
24081 function is exited. Displays the results returned by the function.
24082 If the @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes the reverse
24083 execution of the inferior program until the point where current
24084 function was called.
24085
24086 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
24087
24088 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{finish}.
24089
24090 @subsubheading Example
24091
24092 Function returning @code{void}.
24093
24094 @smallexample
24095 -exec-finish
24096 ^running
24097 (gdb)
24098 @@hello from foo
24099 *stopped,reason="function-finished",frame=@{func="main",args=[],
24100 file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/hello.c",line="7"@}
24101 (gdb)
24102 @end smallexample
24103
24104 Function returning other than @code{void}. The name of the internal
24105 @value{GDBN} variable storing the result is printed, together with the
24106 value itself.
24107
24108 @smallexample
24109 -exec-finish
24110 ^running
24111 (gdb)
24112 *stopped,reason="function-finished",frame=@{addr="0x000107b0",func="foo",
24113 args=[@{name="a",value="1"],@{name="b",value="9"@}@},
24114 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
24115 gdb-result-var="$1",return-value="0"
24116 (gdb)
24117 @end smallexample
24118
24119
24120 @subheading The @code{-exec-interrupt} Command
24121 @findex -exec-interrupt
24122
24123 @subsubheading Synopsis
24124
24125 @smallexample
24126 -exec-interrupt [--all|--thread-group N]
24127 @end smallexample
24128
24129 Interrupts the background execution of the target. Note how the token
24130 associated with the stop message is the one for the execution command
24131 that has been interrupted. The token for the interrupt itself only
24132 appears in the @samp{^done} output. If the user is trying to
24133 interrupt a non-running program, an error message will be printed.
24134
24135 Note that when asynchronous execution is enabled, this command is
24136 asynchronous just like other execution commands. That is, first the
24137 @samp{^done} response will be printed, and the target stop will be
24138 reported after that using the @samp{*stopped} notification.
24139
24140 In non-stop mode, only the context thread is interrupted by default.
24141 All threads (in all inferiors) will be interrupted if the
24142 @samp{--all} option is specified. If the @samp{--thread-group}
24143 option is specified, all threads in that group will be interrupted.
24144
24145 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
24146
24147 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{interrupt}.
24148
24149 @subsubheading Example
24150
24151 @smallexample
24152 (gdb)
24153 111-exec-continue
24154 111^running
24155
24156 (gdb)
24157 222-exec-interrupt
24158 222^done
24159 (gdb)
24160 111*stopped,signal-name="SIGINT",signal-meaning="Interrupt",
24161 frame=@{addr="0x00010140",func="foo",args=[],file="try.c",
24162 fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",line="13"@}
24163 (gdb)
24164
24165 (gdb)
24166 -exec-interrupt
24167 ^error,msg="mi_cmd_exec_interrupt: Inferior not executing."
24168 (gdb)
24169 @end smallexample
24170
24171 @subheading The @code{-exec-jump} Command
24172 @findex -exec-jump
24173
24174 @subsubheading Synopsis
24175
24176 @smallexample
24177 -exec-jump @var{location}
24178 @end smallexample
24179
24180 Resumes execution of the inferior program at the location specified by
24181 parameter. @xref{Specify Location}, for a description of the
24182 different forms of @var{location}.
24183
24184 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
24185
24186 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{jump}.
24187
24188 @subsubheading Example
24189
24190 @smallexample
24191 -exec-jump foo.c:10
24192 *running,thread-id="all"
24193 ^running
24194 @end smallexample
24195
24196
24197 @subheading The @code{-exec-next} Command
24198 @findex -exec-next
24199
24200 @subsubheading Synopsis
24201
24202 @smallexample
24203 -exec-next [--reverse]
24204 @end smallexample
24205
24206 Resumes execution of the inferior program, stopping when the beginning
24207 of the next source line is reached.
24208
24209 If the @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes reverse execution
24210 of the inferior program, stopping at the beginning of the previous
24211 source line. If you issue this command on the first line of a
24212 function, it will take you back to the caller of that function, to the
24213 source line where the function was called.
24214
24215
24216 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
24217
24218 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{next}.
24219
24220 @subsubheading Example
24221
24222 @smallexample
24223 -exec-next
24224 ^running
24225 (gdb)
24226 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",line="8",file="hello.c"
24227 (gdb)
24228 @end smallexample
24229
24230
24231 @subheading The @code{-exec-next-instruction} Command
24232 @findex -exec-next-instruction
24233
24234 @subsubheading Synopsis
24235
24236 @smallexample
24237 -exec-next-instruction [--reverse]
24238 @end smallexample
24239
24240 Executes one machine instruction. If the instruction is a function
24241 call, continues until the function returns. If the program stops at an
24242 instruction in the middle of a source line, the address will be
24243 printed as well.
24244
24245 If the @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes reverse execution
24246 of the inferior program, stopping at the previous instruction. If the
24247 previously executed instruction was a return from another function,
24248 it will continue to execute in reverse until the call to that function
24249 (from the current stack frame) is reached.
24250
24251 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
24252
24253 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{nexti}.
24254
24255 @subsubheading Example
24256
24257 @smallexample
24258 (gdb)
24259 -exec-next-instruction
24260 ^running
24261
24262 (gdb)
24263 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
24264 addr="0x000100d4",line="5",file="hello.c"
24265 (gdb)
24266 @end smallexample
24267
24268
24269 @subheading The @code{-exec-return} Command
24270 @findex -exec-return
24271
24272 @subsubheading Synopsis
24273
24274 @smallexample
24275 -exec-return
24276 @end smallexample
24277
24278 Makes current function return immediately. Doesn't execute the inferior.
24279 Displays the new current frame.
24280
24281 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
24282
24283 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{return}.
24284
24285 @subsubheading Example
24286
24287 @smallexample
24288 (gdb)
24289 200-break-insert callee4
24290 200^done,bkpt=@{number="1",addr="0x00010734",
24291 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8"@}
24292 (gdb)
24293 000-exec-run
24294 000^running
24295 (gdb)
24296 000*stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",
24297 frame=@{func="callee4",args=[],
24298 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
24299 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8"@}
24300 (gdb)
24301 205-break-delete
24302 205^done
24303 (gdb)
24304 111-exec-return
24305 111^done,frame=@{level="0",func="callee3",
24306 args=[@{name="strarg",
24307 value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}],
24308 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
24309 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="18"@}
24310 (gdb)
24311 @end smallexample
24312
24313
24314 @subheading The @code{-exec-run} Command
24315 @findex -exec-run
24316
24317 @subsubheading Synopsis
24318
24319 @smallexample
24320 -exec-run [--all | --thread-group N]
24321 @end smallexample
24322
24323 Starts execution of the inferior from the beginning. The inferior
24324 executes until either a breakpoint is encountered or the program
24325 exits. In the latter case the output will include an exit code, if
24326 the program has exited exceptionally.
24327
24328 When no option is specified, the current inferior is started. If the
24329 @samp{--thread-group} option is specified, it should refer to a thread
24330 group of type @samp{process}, and that thread group will be started.
24331 If the @samp{--all} option is specified, then all inferiors will be started.
24332
24333 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
24334
24335 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{run}.
24336
24337 @subsubheading Examples
24338
24339 @smallexample
24340 (gdb)
24341 -break-insert main
24342 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",addr="0x0001072c",file="recursive2.c",line="4"@}
24343 (gdb)
24344 -exec-run
24345 ^running
24346 (gdb)
24347 *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",
24348 frame=@{func="main",args=[],file="recursive2.c",
24349 fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="4"@}
24350 (gdb)
24351 @end smallexample
24352
24353 @noindent
24354 Program exited normally:
24355
24356 @smallexample
24357 (gdb)
24358 -exec-run
24359 ^running
24360 (gdb)
24361 x = 55
24362 *stopped,reason="exited-normally"
24363 (gdb)
24364 @end smallexample
24365
24366 @noindent
24367 Program exited exceptionally:
24368
24369 @smallexample
24370 (gdb)
24371 -exec-run
24372 ^running
24373 (gdb)
24374 x = 55
24375 *stopped,reason="exited",exit-code="01"
24376 (gdb)
24377 @end smallexample
24378
24379 Another way the program can terminate is if it receives a signal such as
24380 @code{SIGINT}. In this case, @sc{gdb/mi} displays this:
24381
24382 @smallexample
24383 (gdb)
24384 *stopped,reason="exited-signalled",signal-name="SIGINT",
24385 signal-meaning="Interrupt"
24386 @end smallexample
24387
24388
24389 @c @subheading -exec-signal
24390
24391
24392 @subheading The @code{-exec-step} Command
24393 @findex -exec-step
24394
24395 @subsubheading Synopsis
24396
24397 @smallexample
24398 -exec-step [--reverse]
24399 @end smallexample
24400
24401 Resumes execution of the inferior program, stopping when the beginning
24402 of the next source line is reached, if the next source line is not a
24403 function call. If it is, stop at the first instruction of the called
24404 function. If the @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes reverse
24405 execution of the inferior program, stopping at the beginning of the
24406 previously executed source line.
24407
24408 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
24409
24410 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{step}.
24411
24412 @subsubheading Example
24413
24414 Stepping into a function:
24415
24416 @smallexample
24417 -exec-step
24418 ^running
24419 (gdb)
24420 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
24421 frame=@{func="foo",args=[@{name="a",value="10"@},
24422 @{name="b",value="0"@}],file="recursive2.c",
24423 fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="11"@}
24424 (gdb)
24425 @end smallexample
24426
24427 Regular stepping:
24428
24429 @smallexample
24430 -exec-step
24431 ^running
24432 (gdb)
24433 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",line="14",file="recursive2.c"
24434 (gdb)
24435 @end smallexample
24436
24437
24438 @subheading The @code{-exec-step-instruction} Command
24439 @findex -exec-step-instruction
24440
24441 @subsubheading Synopsis
24442
24443 @smallexample
24444 -exec-step-instruction [--reverse]
24445 @end smallexample
24446
24447 Resumes the inferior which executes one machine instruction. If the
24448 @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes reverse execution of the
24449 inferior program, stopping at the previously executed instruction.
24450 The output, once @value{GDBN} has stopped, will vary depending on
24451 whether we have stopped in the middle of a source line or not. In the
24452 former case, the address at which the program stopped will be printed
24453 as well.
24454
24455 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
24456
24457 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{stepi}.
24458
24459 @subsubheading Example
24460
24461 @smallexample
24462 (gdb)
24463 -exec-step-instruction
24464 ^running
24465
24466 (gdb)
24467 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
24468 frame=@{func="foo",args=[],file="try.c",
24469 fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",line="10"@}
24470 (gdb)
24471 -exec-step-instruction
24472 ^running
24473
24474 (gdb)
24475 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
24476 frame=@{addr="0x000100f4",func="foo",args=[],file="try.c",
24477 fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",line="10"@}
24478 (gdb)
24479 @end smallexample
24480
24481
24482 @subheading The @code{-exec-until} Command
24483 @findex -exec-until
24484
24485 @subsubheading Synopsis
24486
24487 @smallexample
24488 -exec-until [ @var{location} ]
24489 @end smallexample
24490
24491 Executes the inferior until the @var{location} specified in the
24492 argument is reached. If there is no argument, the inferior executes
24493 until a source line greater than the current one is reached. The
24494 reason for stopping in this case will be @samp{location-reached}.
24495
24496 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
24497
24498 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{until}.
24499
24500 @subsubheading Example
24501
24502 @smallexample
24503 (gdb)
24504 -exec-until recursive2.c:6
24505 ^running
24506 (gdb)
24507 x = 55
24508 *stopped,reason="location-reached",frame=@{func="main",args=[],
24509 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="6"@}
24510 (gdb)
24511 @end smallexample
24512
24513 @ignore
24514 @subheading -file-clear
24515 Is this going away????
24516 @end ignore
24517
24518 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
24519 @node GDB/MI Stack Manipulation
24520 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Stack Manipulation Commands
24521
24522
24523 @subheading The @code{-stack-info-frame} Command
24524 @findex -stack-info-frame
24525
24526 @subsubheading Synopsis
24527
24528 @smallexample
24529 -stack-info-frame
24530 @end smallexample
24531
24532 Get info on the selected frame.
24533
24534 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
24535
24536 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info frame} or @samp{frame}
24537 (without arguments).
24538
24539 @subsubheading Example
24540
24541 @smallexample
24542 (gdb)
24543 -stack-info-frame
24544 ^done,frame=@{level="1",addr="0x0001076c",func="callee3",
24545 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
24546 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="17"@}
24547 (gdb)
24548 @end smallexample
24549
24550 @subheading The @code{-stack-info-depth} Command
24551 @findex -stack-info-depth
24552
24553 @subsubheading Synopsis
24554
24555 @smallexample
24556 -stack-info-depth [ @var{max-depth} ]
24557 @end smallexample
24558
24559 Return the depth of the stack. If the integer argument @var{max-depth}
24560 is specified, do not count beyond @var{max-depth} frames.
24561
24562 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
24563
24564 There's no equivalent @value{GDBN} command.
24565
24566 @subsubheading Example
24567
24568 For a stack with frame levels 0 through 11:
24569
24570 @smallexample
24571 (gdb)
24572 -stack-info-depth
24573 ^done,depth="12"
24574 (gdb)
24575 -stack-info-depth 4
24576 ^done,depth="4"
24577 (gdb)
24578 -stack-info-depth 12
24579 ^done,depth="12"
24580 (gdb)
24581 -stack-info-depth 11
24582 ^done,depth="11"
24583 (gdb)
24584 -stack-info-depth 13
24585 ^done,depth="12"
24586 (gdb)
24587 @end smallexample
24588
24589 @subheading The @code{-stack-list-arguments} Command
24590 @findex -stack-list-arguments
24591
24592 @subsubheading Synopsis
24593
24594 @smallexample
24595 -stack-list-arguments @var{print-values}
24596 [ @var{low-frame} @var{high-frame} ]
24597 @end smallexample
24598
24599 Display a list of the arguments for the frames between @var{low-frame}
24600 and @var{high-frame} (inclusive). If @var{low-frame} and
24601 @var{high-frame} are not provided, list the arguments for the whole
24602 call stack. If the two arguments are equal, show the single frame
24603 at the corresponding level. It is an error if @var{low-frame} is
24604 larger than the actual number of frames. On the other hand,
24605 @var{high-frame} may be larger than the actual number of frames, in
24606 which case only existing frames will be returned.
24607
24608 If @var{print-values} is 0 or @code{--no-values}, print only the names of
24609 the variables; if it is 1 or @code{--all-values}, print also their
24610 values; and if it is 2 or @code{--simple-values}, print the name,
24611 type and value for simple data types, and the name and type for arrays,
24612 structures and unions.
24613
24614 Use of this command to obtain arguments in a single frame is
24615 deprecated in favor of the @samp{-stack-list-variables} command.
24616
24617 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
24618
24619 @value{GDBN} does not have an equivalent command. @code{gdbtk} has a
24620 @samp{gdb_get_args} command which partially overlaps with the
24621 functionality of @samp{-stack-list-arguments}.
24622
24623 @subsubheading Example
24624
24625 @smallexample
24626 (gdb)
24627 -stack-list-frames
24628 ^done,
24629 stack=[
24630 frame=@{level="0",addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
24631 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
24632 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8"@},
24633 frame=@{level="1",addr="0x0001076c",func="callee3",
24634 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
24635 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="17"@},
24636 frame=@{level="2",addr="0x0001078c",func="callee2",
24637 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
24638 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="22"@},
24639 frame=@{level="3",addr="0x000107b4",func="callee1",
24640 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
24641 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="27"@},
24642 frame=@{level="4",addr="0x000107e0",func="main",
24643 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
24644 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="32"@}]
24645 (gdb)
24646 -stack-list-arguments 0
24647 ^done,
24648 stack-args=[
24649 frame=@{level="0",args=[]@},
24650 frame=@{level="1",args=[name="strarg"]@},
24651 frame=@{level="2",args=[name="intarg",name="strarg"]@},
24652 frame=@{level="3",args=[name="intarg",name="strarg",name="fltarg"]@},
24653 frame=@{level="4",args=[]@}]
24654 (gdb)
24655 -stack-list-arguments 1
24656 ^done,
24657 stack-args=[
24658 frame=@{level="0",args=[]@},
24659 frame=@{level="1",
24660 args=[@{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}]@},
24661 frame=@{level="2",args=[
24662 @{name="intarg",value="2"@},
24663 @{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}]@},
24664 @{frame=@{level="3",args=[
24665 @{name="intarg",value="2"@},
24666 @{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@},
24667 @{name="fltarg",value="3.5"@}]@},
24668 frame=@{level="4",args=[]@}]
24669 (gdb)
24670 -stack-list-arguments 0 2 2
24671 ^done,stack-args=[frame=@{level="2",args=[name="intarg",name="strarg"]@}]
24672 (gdb)
24673 -stack-list-arguments 1 2 2
24674 ^done,stack-args=[frame=@{level="2",
24675 args=[@{name="intarg",value="2"@},
24676 @{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}]@}]
24677 (gdb)
24678 @end smallexample
24679
24680 @c @subheading -stack-list-exception-handlers
24681
24682
24683 @subheading The @code{-stack-list-frames} Command
24684 @findex -stack-list-frames
24685
24686 @subsubheading Synopsis
24687
24688 @smallexample
24689 -stack-list-frames [ @var{low-frame} @var{high-frame} ]
24690 @end smallexample
24691
24692 List the frames currently on the stack. For each frame it displays the
24693 following info:
24694
24695 @table @samp
24696 @item @var{level}
24697 The frame number, 0 being the topmost frame, i.e., the innermost function.
24698 @item @var{addr}
24699 The @code{$pc} value for that frame.
24700 @item @var{func}
24701 Function name.
24702 @item @var{file}
24703 File name of the source file where the function lives.
24704 @item @var{line}
24705 Line number corresponding to the @code{$pc}.
24706 @end table
24707
24708 If invoked without arguments, this command prints a backtrace for the
24709 whole stack. If given two integer arguments, it shows the frames whose
24710 levels are between the two arguments (inclusive). If the two arguments
24711 are equal, it shows the single frame at the corresponding level. It is
24712 an error if @var{low-frame} is larger than the actual number of
24713 frames. On the other hand, @var{high-frame} may be larger than the
24714 actual number of frames, in which case only existing frames will be returned.
24715
24716 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
24717
24718 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{backtrace} and @samp{where}.
24719
24720 @subsubheading Example
24721
24722 Full stack backtrace:
24723
24724 @smallexample
24725 (gdb)
24726 -stack-list-frames
24727 ^done,stack=
24728 [frame=@{level="0",addr="0x0001076c",func="foo",
24729 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="11"@},
24730 frame=@{level="1",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
24731 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
24732 frame=@{level="2",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
24733 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
24734 frame=@{level="3",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
24735 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
24736 frame=@{level="4",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
24737 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
24738 frame=@{level="5",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
24739 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
24740 frame=@{level="6",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
24741 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
24742 frame=@{level="7",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
24743 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
24744 frame=@{level="8",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
24745 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
24746 frame=@{level="9",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
24747 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
24748 frame=@{level="10",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
24749 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
24750 frame=@{level="11",addr="0x00010738",func="main",
24751 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="4"@}]
24752 (gdb)
24753 @end smallexample
24754
24755 Show frames between @var{low_frame} and @var{high_frame}:
24756
24757 @smallexample
24758 (gdb)
24759 -stack-list-frames 3 5
24760 ^done,stack=
24761 [frame=@{level="3",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
24762 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
24763 frame=@{level="4",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
24764 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
24765 frame=@{level="5",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
24766 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@}]
24767 (gdb)
24768 @end smallexample
24769
24770 Show a single frame:
24771
24772 @smallexample
24773 (gdb)
24774 -stack-list-frames 3 3
24775 ^done,stack=
24776 [frame=@{level="3",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
24777 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@}]
24778 (gdb)
24779 @end smallexample
24780
24781
24782 @subheading The @code{-stack-list-locals} Command
24783 @findex -stack-list-locals
24784
24785 @subsubheading Synopsis
24786
24787 @smallexample
24788 -stack-list-locals @var{print-values}
24789 @end smallexample
24790
24791 Display the local variable names for the selected frame. If
24792 @var{print-values} is 0 or @code{--no-values}, print only the names of
24793 the variables; if it is 1 or @code{--all-values}, print also their
24794 values; and if it is 2 or @code{--simple-values}, print the name,
24795 type and value for simple data types, and the name and type for arrays,
24796 structures and unions. In this last case, a frontend can immediately
24797 display the value of simple data types and create variable objects for
24798 other data types when the user wishes to explore their values in
24799 more detail.
24800
24801 This command is deprecated in favor of the
24802 @samp{-stack-list-variables} command.
24803
24804 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
24805
24806 @samp{info locals} in @value{GDBN}, @samp{gdb_get_locals} in @code{gdbtk}.
24807
24808 @subsubheading Example
24809
24810 @smallexample
24811 (gdb)
24812 -stack-list-locals 0
24813 ^done,locals=[name="A",name="B",name="C"]
24814 (gdb)
24815 -stack-list-locals --all-values
24816 ^done,locals=[@{name="A",value="1"@},@{name="B",value="2"@},
24817 @{name="C",value="@{1, 2, 3@}"@}]
24818 -stack-list-locals --simple-values
24819 ^done,locals=[@{name="A",type="int",value="1"@},
24820 @{name="B",type="int",value="2"@},@{name="C",type="int [3]"@}]
24821 (gdb)
24822 @end smallexample
24823
24824 @subheading The @code{-stack-list-variables} Command
24825 @findex -stack-list-variables
24826
24827 @subsubheading Synopsis
24828
24829 @smallexample
24830 -stack-list-variables @var{print-values}
24831 @end smallexample
24832
24833 Display the names of local variables and function arguments for the selected frame. If
24834 @var{print-values} is 0 or @code{--no-values}, print only the names of
24835 the variables; if it is 1 or @code{--all-values}, print also their
24836 values; and if it is 2 or @code{--simple-values}, print the name,
24837 type and value for simple data types, and the name and type for arrays,
24838 structures and unions.
24839
24840 @subsubheading Example
24841
24842 @smallexample
24843 (gdb)
24844 -stack-list-variables --thread 1 --frame 0 --all-values
24845 ^done,variables=[@{name="x",value="11"@},@{name="s",value="@{a = 1, b = 2@}"@}]
24846 (gdb)
24847 @end smallexample
24848
24849
24850 @subheading The @code{-stack-select-frame} Command
24851 @findex -stack-select-frame
24852
24853 @subsubheading Synopsis
24854
24855 @smallexample
24856 -stack-select-frame @var{framenum}
24857 @end smallexample
24858
24859 Change the selected frame. Select a different frame @var{framenum} on
24860 the stack.
24861
24862 This command in deprecated in favor of passing the @samp{--frame}
24863 option to every command.
24864
24865 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
24866
24867 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{frame}, @samp{up},
24868 @samp{down}, @samp{select-frame}, @samp{up-silent}, and @samp{down-silent}.
24869
24870 @subsubheading Example
24871
24872 @smallexample
24873 (gdb)
24874 -stack-select-frame 2
24875 ^done
24876 (gdb)
24877 @end smallexample
24878
24879 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
24880 @node GDB/MI Variable Objects
24881 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Variable Objects
24882
24883 @ignore
24884
24885 @subheading Motivation for Variable Objects in @sc{gdb/mi}
24886
24887 For the implementation of a variable debugger window (locals, watched
24888 expressions, etc.), we are proposing the adaptation of the existing code
24889 used by @code{Insight}.
24890
24891 The two main reasons for that are:
24892
24893 @enumerate 1
24894 @item
24895 It has been proven in practice (it is already on its second generation).
24896
24897 @item
24898 It will shorten development time (needless to say how important it is
24899 now).
24900 @end enumerate
24901
24902 The original interface was designed to be used by Tcl code, so it was
24903 slightly changed so it could be used through @sc{gdb/mi}. This section
24904 describes the @sc{gdb/mi} operations that will be available and gives some
24905 hints about their use.
24906
24907 @emph{Note}: In addition to the set of operations described here, we
24908 expect the @sc{gui} implementation of a variable window to require, at
24909 least, the following operations:
24910
24911 @itemize @bullet
24912 @item @code{-gdb-show} @code{output-radix}
24913 @item @code{-stack-list-arguments}
24914 @item @code{-stack-list-locals}
24915 @item @code{-stack-select-frame}
24916 @end itemize
24917
24918 @end ignore
24919
24920 @subheading Introduction to Variable Objects
24921
24922 @cindex variable objects in @sc{gdb/mi}
24923
24924 Variable objects are "object-oriented" MI interface for examining and
24925 changing values of expressions. Unlike some other MI interfaces that
24926 work with expressions, variable objects are specifically designed for
24927 simple and efficient presentation in the frontend. A variable object
24928 is identified by string name. When a variable object is created, the
24929 frontend specifies the expression for that variable object. The
24930 expression can be a simple variable, or it can be an arbitrary complex
24931 expression, and can even involve CPU registers. After creating a
24932 variable object, the frontend can invoke other variable object
24933 operations---for example to obtain or change the value of a variable
24934 object, or to change display format.
24935
24936 Variable objects have hierarchical tree structure. Any variable object
24937 that corresponds to a composite type, such as structure in C, has
24938 a number of child variable objects, for example corresponding to each
24939 element of a structure. A child variable object can itself have
24940 children, recursively. Recursion ends when we reach
24941 leaf variable objects, which always have built-in types. Child variable
24942 objects are created only by explicit request, so if a frontend
24943 is not interested in the children of a particular variable object, no
24944 child will be created.
24945
24946 For a leaf variable object it is possible to obtain its value as a
24947 string, or set the value from a string. String value can be also
24948 obtained for a non-leaf variable object, but it's generally a string
24949 that only indicates the type of the object, and does not list its
24950 contents. Assignment to a non-leaf variable object is not allowed.
24951
24952 A frontend does not need to read the values of all variable objects each time
24953 the program stops. Instead, MI provides an update command that lists all
24954 variable objects whose values has changed since the last update
24955 operation. This considerably reduces the amount of data that must
24956 be transferred to the frontend. As noted above, children variable
24957 objects are created on demand, and only leaf variable objects have a
24958 real value. As result, gdb will read target memory only for leaf
24959 variables that frontend has created.
24960
24961 The automatic update is not always desirable. For example, a frontend
24962 might want to keep a value of some expression for future reference,
24963 and never update it. For another example, fetching memory is
24964 relatively slow for embedded targets, so a frontend might want
24965 to disable automatic update for the variables that are either not
24966 visible on the screen, or ``closed''. This is possible using so
24967 called ``frozen variable objects''. Such variable objects are never
24968 implicitly updated.
24969
24970 Variable objects can be either @dfn{fixed} or @dfn{floating}. For the
24971 fixed variable object, the expression is parsed when the variable
24972 object is created, including associating identifiers to specific
24973 variables. The meaning of expression never changes. For a floating
24974 variable object the values of variables whose names appear in the
24975 expressions are re-evaluated every time in the context of the current
24976 frame. Consider this example:
24977
24978 @smallexample
24979 void do_work(...)
24980 @{
24981 struct work_state state;
24982
24983 if (...)
24984 do_work(...);
24985 @}
24986 @end smallexample
24987
24988 If a fixed variable object for the @code{state} variable is created in
24989 this function, and we enter the recursive call, the the variable
24990 object will report the value of @code{state} in the top-level
24991 @code{do_work} invocation. On the other hand, a floating variable
24992 object will report the value of @code{state} in the current frame.
24993
24994 If an expression specified when creating a fixed variable object
24995 refers to a local variable, the variable object becomes bound to the
24996 thread and frame in which the variable object is created. When such
24997 variable object is updated, @value{GDBN} makes sure that the
24998 thread/frame combination the variable object is bound to still exists,
24999 and re-evaluates the variable object in context of that thread/frame.
25000
25001 The following is the complete set of @sc{gdb/mi} operations defined to
25002 access this functionality:
25003
25004 @multitable @columnfractions .4 .6
25005 @item @strong{Operation}
25006 @tab @strong{Description}
25007
25008 @item @code{-enable-pretty-printing}
25009 @tab enable Python-based pretty-printing
25010 @item @code{-var-create}
25011 @tab create a variable object
25012 @item @code{-var-delete}
25013 @tab delete the variable object and/or its children
25014 @item @code{-var-set-format}
25015 @tab set the display format of this variable
25016 @item @code{-var-show-format}
25017 @tab show the display format of this variable
25018 @item @code{-var-info-num-children}
25019 @tab tells how many children this object has
25020 @item @code{-var-list-children}
25021 @tab return a list of the object's children
25022 @item @code{-var-info-type}
25023 @tab show the type of this variable object
25024 @item @code{-var-info-expression}
25025 @tab print parent-relative expression that this variable object represents
25026 @item @code{-var-info-path-expression}
25027 @tab print full expression that this variable object represents
25028 @item @code{-var-show-attributes}
25029 @tab is this variable editable? does it exist here?
25030 @item @code{-var-evaluate-expression}
25031 @tab get the value of this variable
25032 @item @code{-var-assign}
25033 @tab set the value of this variable
25034 @item @code{-var-update}
25035 @tab update the variable and its children
25036 @item @code{-var-set-frozen}
25037 @tab set frozeness attribute
25038 @item @code{-var-set-update-range}
25039 @tab set range of children to display on update
25040 @end multitable
25041
25042 In the next subsection we describe each operation in detail and suggest
25043 how it can be used.
25044
25045 @subheading Description And Use of Operations on Variable Objects
25046
25047 @subheading The @code{-enable-pretty-printing} Command
25048 @findex -enable-pretty-printing
25049
25050 @smallexample
25051 -enable-pretty-printing
25052 @end smallexample
25053
25054 @value{GDBN} allows Python-based visualizers to affect the output of the
25055 MI variable object commands. However, because there was no way to
25056 implement this in a fully backward-compatible way, a front end must
25057 request that this functionality be enabled.
25058
25059 Once enabled, this feature cannot be disabled.
25060
25061 Note that if Python support has not been compiled into @value{GDBN},
25062 this command will still succeed (and do nothing).
25063
25064 This feature is currently (as of @value{GDBN} 7.0) experimental, and
25065 may work differently in future versions of @value{GDBN}.
25066
25067 @subheading The @code{-var-create} Command
25068 @findex -var-create
25069
25070 @subsubheading Synopsis
25071
25072 @smallexample
25073 -var-create @{@var{name} | "-"@}
25074 @{@var{frame-addr} | "*" | "@@"@} @var{expression}
25075 @end smallexample
25076
25077 This operation creates a variable object, which allows the monitoring of
25078 a variable, the result of an expression, a memory cell or a CPU
25079 register.
25080
25081 The @var{name} parameter is the string by which the object can be
25082 referenced. It must be unique. If @samp{-} is specified, the varobj
25083 system will generate a string ``varNNNNNN'' automatically. It will be
25084 unique provided that one does not specify @var{name} of that format.
25085 The command fails if a duplicate name is found.
25086
25087 The frame under which the expression should be evaluated can be
25088 specified by @var{frame-addr}. A @samp{*} indicates that the current
25089 frame should be used. A @samp{@@} indicates that a floating variable
25090 object must be created.
25091
25092 @var{expression} is any expression valid on the current language set (must not
25093 begin with a @samp{*}), or one of the following:
25094
25095 @itemize @bullet
25096 @item
25097 @samp{*@var{addr}}, where @var{addr} is the address of a memory cell
25098
25099 @item
25100 @samp{*@var{addr}-@var{addr}} --- a memory address range (TBD)
25101
25102 @item
25103 @samp{$@var{regname}} --- a CPU register name
25104 @end itemize
25105
25106 @cindex dynamic varobj
25107 A varobj's contents may be provided by a Python-based pretty-printer. In this
25108 case the varobj is known as a @dfn{dynamic varobj}. Dynamic varobjs
25109 have slightly different semantics in some cases. If the
25110 @code{-enable-pretty-printing} command is not sent, then @value{GDBN}
25111 will never create a dynamic varobj. This ensures backward
25112 compatibility for existing clients.
25113
25114 @subsubheading Result
25115
25116 This operation returns attributes of the newly-created varobj. These
25117 are:
25118
25119 @table @samp
25120 @item name
25121 The name of the varobj.
25122
25123 @item numchild
25124 The number of children of the varobj. This number is not necessarily
25125 reliable for a dynamic varobj. Instead, you must examine the
25126 @samp{has_more} attribute.
25127
25128 @item value
25129 The varobj's scalar value. For a varobj whose type is some sort of
25130 aggregate (e.g., a @code{struct}), or for a dynamic varobj, this value
25131 will not be interesting.
25132
25133 @item type
25134 The varobj's type. This is a string representation of the type, as
25135 would be printed by the @value{GDBN} CLI.
25136
25137 @item thread-id
25138 If a variable object is bound to a specific thread, then this is the
25139 thread's identifier.
25140
25141 @item has_more
25142 For a dynamic varobj, this indicates whether there appear to be any
25143 children available. For a non-dynamic varobj, this will be 0.
25144
25145 @item dynamic
25146 This attribute will be present and have the value @samp{1} if the
25147 varobj is a dynamic varobj. If the varobj is not a dynamic varobj,
25148 then this attribute will not be present.
25149
25150 @item displayhint
25151 A dynamic varobj can supply a display hint to the front end. The
25152 value comes directly from the Python pretty-printer object's
25153 @code{display_hint} method. @xref{Pretty Printing}.
25154 @end table
25155
25156 Typical output will look like this:
25157
25158 @smallexample
25159 name="@var{name}",numchild="@var{N}",type="@var{type}",thread-id="@var{M}",
25160 has_more="@var{has_more}"
25161 @end smallexample
25162
25163
25164 @subheading The @code{-var-delete} Command
25165 @findex -var-delete
25166
25167 @subsubheading Synopsis
25168
25169 @smallexample
25170 -var-delete [ -c ] @var{name}
25171 @end smallexample
25172
25173 Deletes a previously created variable object and all of its children.
25174 With the @samp{-c} option, just deletes the children.
25175
25176 Returns an error if the object @var{name} is not found.
25177
25178
25179 @subheading The @code{-var-set-format} Command
25180 @findex -var-set-format
25181
25182 @subsubheading Synopsis
25183
25184 @smallexample
25185 -var-set-format @var{name} @var{format-spec}
25186 @end smallexample
25187
25188 Sets the output format for the value of the object @var{name} to be
25189 @var{format-spec}.
25190
25191 @anchor{-var-set-format}
25192 The syntax for the @var{format-spec} is as follows:
25193
25194 @smallexample
25195 @var{format-spec} @expansion{}
25196 @{binary | decimal | hexadecimal | octal | natural@}
25197 @end smallexample
25198
25199 The natural format is the default format choosen automatically
25200 based on the variable type (like decimal for an @code{int}, hex
25201 for pointers, etc.).
25202
25203 For a variable with children, the format is set only on the
25204 variable itself, and the children are not affected.
25205
25206 @subheading The @code{-var-show-format} Command
25207 @findex -var-show-format
25208
25209 @subsubheading Synopsis
25210
25211 @smallexample
25212 -var-show-format @var{name}
25213 @end smallexample
25214
25215 Returns the format used to display the value of the object @var{name}.
25216
25217 @smallexample
25218 @var{format} @expansion{}
25219 @var{format-spec}
25220 @end smallexample
25221
25222
25223 @subheading The @code{-var-info-num-children} Command
25224 @findex -var-info-num-children
25225
25226 @subsubheading Synopsis
25227
25228 @smallexample
25229 -var-info-num-children @var{name}
25230 @end smallexample
25231
25232 Returns the number of children of a variable object @var{name}:
25233
25234 @smallexample
25235 numchild=@var{n}
25236 @end smallexample
25237
25238 Note that this number is not completely reliable for a dynamic varobj.
25239 It will return the current number of children, but more children may
25240 be available.
25241
25242
25243 @subheading The @code{-var-list-children} Command
25244 @findex -var-list-children
25245
25246 @subsubheading Synopsis
25247
25248 @smallexample
25249 -var-list-children [@var{print-values}] @var{name} [@var{from} @var{to}]
25250 @end smallexample
25251 @anchor{-var-list-children}
25252
25253 Return a list of the children of the specified variable object and
25254 create variable objects for them, if they do not already exist. With
25255 a single argument or if @var{print-values} has a value for of 0 or
25256 @code{--no-values}, print only the names of the variables; if
25257 @var{print-values} is 1 or @code{--all-values}, also print their
25258 values; and if it is 2 or @code{--simple-values} print the name and
25259 value for simple data types and just the name for arrays, structures
25260 and unions.
25261
25262 @var{from} and @var{to}, if specified, indicate the range of children
25263 to report. If @var{from} or @var{to} is less than zero, the range is
25264 reset and all children will be reported. Otherwise, children starting
25265 at @var{from} (zero-based) and up to and excluding @var{to} will be
25266 reported.
25267
25268 If a child range is requested, it will only affect the current call to
25269 @code{-var-list-children}, but not future calls to @code{-var-update}.
25270 For this, you must instead use @code{-var-set-update-range}. The
25271 intent of this approach is to enable a front end to implement any
25272 update approach it likes; for example, scrolling a view may cause the
25273 front end to request more children with @code{-var-list-children}, and
25274 then the front end could call @code{-var-set-update-range} with a
25275 different range to ensure that future updates are restricted to just
25276 the visible items.
25277
25278 For each child the following results are returned:
25279
25280 @table @var
25281
25282 @item name
25283 Name of the variable object created for this child.
25284
25285 @item exp
25286 The expression to be shown to the user by the front end to designate this child.
25287 For example this may be the name of a structure member.
25288
25289 For a dynamic varobj, this value cannot be used to form an
25290 expression. There is no way to do this at all with a dynamic varobj.
25291
25292 For C/C@t{++} structures there are several pseudo children returned to
25293 designate access qualifiers. For these pseudo children @var{exp} is
25294 @samp{public}, @samp{private}, or @samp{protected}. In this case the
25295 type and value are not present.
25296
25297 A dynamic varobj will not report the access qualifying
25298 pseudo-children, regardless of the language. This information is not
25299 available at all with a dynamic varobj.
25300
25301 @item numchild
25302 Number of children this child has. For a dynamic varobj, this will be
25303 0.
25304
25305 @item type
25306 The type of the child.
25307
25308 @item value
25309 If values were requested, this is the value.
25310
25311 @item thread-id
25312 If this variable object is associated with a thread, this is the thread id.
25313 Otherwise this result is not present.
25314
25315 @item frozen
25316 If the variable object is frozen, this variable will be present with a value of 1.
25317 @end table
25318
25319 The result may have its own attributes:
25320
25321 @table @samp
25322 @item displayhint
25323 A dynamic varobj can supply a display hint to the front end. The
25324 value comes directly from the Python pretty-printer object's
25325 @code{display_hint} method. @xref{Pretty Printing}.
25326
25327 @item has_more
25328 This is an integer attribute which is nonzero if there are children
25329 remaining after the end of the selected range.
25330 @end table
25331
25332 @subsubheading Example
25333
25334 @smallexample
25335 (gdb)
25336 -var-list-children n
25337 ^done,numchild=@var{n},children=[child=@{name=@var{name},exp=@var{exp},
25338 numchild=@var{n},type=@var{type}@},@r{(repeats N times)}]
25339 (gdb)
25340 -var-list-children --all-values n
25341 ^done,numchild=@var{n},children=[child=@{name=@var{name},exp=@var{exp},
25342 numchild=@var{n},value=@var{value},type=@var{type}@},@r{(repeats N times)}]
25343 @end smallexample
25344
25345
25346 @subheading The @code{-var-info-type} Command
25347 @findex -var-info-type
25348
25349 @subsubheading Synopsis
25350
25351 @smallexample
25352 -var-info-type @var{name}
25353 @end smallexample
25354
25355 Returns the type of the specified variable @var{name}. The type is
25356 returned as a string in the same format as it is output by the
25357 @value{GDBN} CLI:
25358
25359 @smallexample
25360 type=@var{typename}
25361 @end smallexample
25362
25363
25364 @subheading The @code{-var-info-expression} Command
25365 @findex -var-info-expression
25366
25367 @subsubheading Synopsis
25368
25369 @smallexample
25370 -var-info-expression @var{name}
25371 @end smallexample
25372
25373 Returns a string that is suitable for presenting this
25374 variable object in user interface. The string is generally
25375 not valid expression in the current language, and cannot be evaluated.
25376
25377 For example, if @code{a} is an array, and variable object
25378 @code{A} was created for @code{a}, then we'll get this output:
25379
25380 @smallexample
25381 (gdb) -var-info-expression A.1
25382 ^done,lang="C",exp="1"
25383 @end smallexample
25384
25385 @noindent
25386 Here, the values of @code{lang} can be @code{@{"C" | "C++" | "Java"@}}.
25387
25388 Note that the output of the @code{-var-list-children} command also
25389 includes those expressions, so the @code{-var-info-expression} command
25390 is of limited use.
25391
25392 @subheading The @code{-var-info-path-expression} Command
25393 @findex -var-info-path-expression
25394
25395 @subsubheading Synopsis
25396
25397 @smallexample
25398 -var-info-path-expression @var{name}
25399 @end smallexample
25400
25401 Returns an expression that can be evaluated in the current
25402 context and will yield the same value that a variable object has.
25403 Compare this with the @code{-var-info-expression} command, which
25404 result can be used only for UI presentation. Typical use of
25405 the @code{-var-info-path-expression} command is creating a
25406 watchpoint from a variable object.
25407
25408 This command is currently not valid for children of a dynamic varobj,
25409 and will give an error when invoked on one.
25410
25411 For example, suppose @code{C} is a C@t{++} class, derived from class
25412 @code{Base}, and that the @code{Base} class has a member called
25413 @code{m_size}. Assume a variable @code{c} is has the type of
25414 @code{C} and a variable object @code{C} was created for variable
25415 @code{c}. Then, we'll get this output:
25416 @smallexample
25417 (gdb) -var-info-path-expression C.Base.public.m_size
25418 ^done,path_expr=((Base)c).m_size)
25419 @end smallexample
25420
25421 @subheading The @code{-var-show-attributes} Command
25422 @findex -var-show-attributes
25423
25424 @subsubheading Synopsis
25425
25426 @smallexample
25427 -var-show-attributes @var{name}
25428 @end smallexample
25429
25430 List attributes of the specified variable object @var{name}:
25431
25432 @smallexample
25433 status=@var{attr} [ ( ,@var{attr} )* ]
25434 @end smallexample
25435
25436 @noindent
25437 where @var{attr} is @code{@{ @{ editable | noneditable @} | TBD @}}.
25438
25439 @subheading The @code{-var-evaluate-expression} Command
25440 @findex -var-evaluate-expression
25441
25442 @subsubheading Synopsis
25443
25444 @smallexample
25445 -var-evaluate-expression [-f @var{format-spec}] @var{name}
25446 @end smallexample
25447
25448 Evaluates the expression that is represented by the specified variable
25449 object and returns its value as a string. The format of the string
25450 can be specified with the @samp{-f} option. The possible values of
25451 this option are the same as for @code{-var-set-format}
25452 (@pxref{-var-set-format}). If the @samp{-f} option is not specified,
25453 the current display format will be used. The current display format
25454 can be changed using the @code{-var-set-format} command.
25455
25456 @smallexample
25457 value=@var{value}
25458 @end smallexample
25459
25460 Note that one must invoke @code{-var-list-children} for a variable
25461 before the value of a child variable can be evaluated.
25462
25463 @subheading The @code{-var-assign} Command
25464 @findex -var-assign
25465
25466 @subsubheading Synopsis
25467
25468 @smallexample
25469 -var-assign @var{name} @var{expression}
25470 @end smallexample
25471
25472 Assigns the value of @var{expression} to the variable object specified
25473 by @var{name}. The object must be @samp{editable}. If the variable's
25474 value is altered by the assign, the variable will show up in any
25475 subsequent @code{-var-update} list.
25476
25477 @subsubheading Example
25478
25479 @smallexample
25480 (gdb)
25481 -var-assign var1 3
25482 ^done,value="3"
25483 (gdb)
25484 -var-update *
25485 ^done,changelist=[@{name="var1",in_scope="true",type_changed="false"@}]
25486 (gdb)
25487 @end smallexample
25488
25489 @subheading The @code{-var-update} Command
25490 @findex -var-update
25491
25492 @subsubheading Synopsis
25493
25494 @smallexample
25495 -var-update [@var{print-values}] @{@var{name} | "*"@}
25496 @end smallexample
25497
25498 Reevaluate the expressions corresponding to the variable object
25499 @var{name} and all its direct and indirect children, and return the
25500 list of variable objects whose values have changed; @var{name} must
25501 be a root variable object. Here, ``changed'' means that the result of
25502 @code{-var-evaluate-expression} before and after the
25503 @code{-var-update} is different. If @samp{*} is used as the variable
25504 object names, all existing variable objects are updated, except
25505 for frozen ones (@pxref{-var-set-frozen}). The option
25506 @var{print-values} determines whether both names and values, or just
25507 names are printed. The possible values of this option are the same
25508 as for @code{-var-list-children} (@pxref{-var-list-children}). It is
25509 recommended to use the @samp{--all-values} option, to reduce the
25510 number of MI commands needed on each program stop.
25511
25512 With the @samp{*} parameter, if a variable object is bound to a
25513 currently running thread, it will not be updated, without any
25514 diagnostic.
25515
25516 If @code{-var-set-update-range} was previously used on a varobj, then
25517 only the selected range of children will be reported.
25518
25519 @code{-var-update} reports all the changed varobjs in a tuple named
25520 @samp{changelist}.
25521
25522 Each item in the change list is itself a tuple holding:
25523
25524 @table @samp
25525 @item name
25526 The name of the varobj.
25527
25528 @item value
25529 If values were requested for this update, then this field will be
25530 present and will hold the value of the varobj.
25531
25532 @item in_scope
25533 @anchor{-var-update}
25534 This field is a string which may take one of three values:
25535
25536 @table @code
25537 @item "true"
25538 The variable object's current value is valid.
25539
25540 @item "false"
25541 The variable object does not currently hold a valid value but it may
25542 hold one in the future if its associated expression comes back into
25543 scope.
25544
25545 @item "invalid"
25546 The variable object no longer holds a valid value.
25547 This can occur when the executable file being debugged has changed,
25548 either through recompilation or by using the @value{GDBN} @code{file}
25549 command. The front end should normally choose to delete these variable
25550 objects.
25551 @end table
25552
25553 In the future new values may be added to this list so the front should
25554 be prepared for this possibility. @xref{GDB/MI Development and Front Ends, ,@sc{GDB/MI} Development and Front Ends}.
25555
25556 @item type_changed
25557 This is only present if the varobj is still valid. If the type
25558 changed, then this will be the string @samp{true}; otherwise it will
25559 be @samp{false}.
25560
25561 @item new_type
25562 If the varobj's type changed, then this field will be present and will
25563 hold the new type.
25564
25565 @item new_num_children
25566 For a dynamic varobj, if the number of children changed, or if the
25567 type changed, this will be the new number of children.
25568
25569 The @samp{numchild} field in other varobj responses is generally not
25570 valid for a dynamic varobj -- it will show the number of children that
25571 @value{GDBN} knows about, but because dynamic varobjs lazily
25572 instantiate their children, this will not reflect the number of
25573 children which may be available.
25574
25575 The @samp{new_num_children} attribute only reports changes to the
25576 number of children known by @value{GDBN}. This is the only way to
25577 detect whether an update has removed children (which necessarily can
25578 only happen at the end of the update range).
25579
25580 @item displayhint
25581 The display hint, if any.
25582
25583 @item has_more
25584 This is an integer value, which will be 1 if there are more children
25585 available outside the varobj's update range.
25586
25587 @item dynamic
25588 This attribute will be present and have the value @samp{1} if the
25589 varobj is a dynamic varobj. If the varobj is not a dynamic varobj,
25590 then this attribute will not be present.
25591
25592 @item new_children
25593 If new children were added to a dynamic varobj within the selected
25594 update range (as set by @code{-var-set-update-range}), then they will
25595 be listed in this attribute.
25596 @end table
25597
25598 @subsubheading Example
25599
25600 @smallexample
25601 (gdb)
25602 -var-assign var1 3
25603 ^done,value="3"
25604 (gdb)
25605 -var-update --all-values var1
25606 ^done,changelist=[@{name="var1",value="3",in_scope="true",
25607 type_changed="false"@}]
25608 (gdb)
25609 @end smallexample
25610
25611 @subheading The @code{-var-set-frozen} Command
25612 @findex -var-set-frozen
25613 @anchor{-var-set-frozen}
25614
25615 @subsubheading Synopsis
25616
25617 @smallexample
25618 -var-set-frozen @var{name} @var{flag}
25619 @end smallexample
25620
25621 Set the frozenness flag on the variable object @var{name}. The
25622 @var{flag} parameter should be either @samp{1} to make the variable
25623 frozen or @samp{0} to make it unfrozen. If a variable object is
25624 frozen, then neither itself, nor any of its children, are
25625 implicitly updated by @code{-var-update} of
25626 a parent variable or by @code{-var-update *}. Only
25627 @code{-var-update} of the variable itself will update its value and
25628 values of its children. After a variable object is unfrozen, it is
25629 implicitly updated by all subsequent @code{-var-update} operations.
25630 Unfreezing a variable does not update it, only subsequent
25631 @code{-var-update} does.
25632
25633 @subsubheading Example
25634
25635 @smallexample
25636 (gdb)
25637 -var-set-frozen V 1
25638 ^done
25639 (gdb)
25640 @end smallexample
25641
25642 @subheading The @code{-var-set-update-range} command
25643 @findex -var-set-update-range
25644 @anchor{-var-set-update-range}
25645
25646 @subsubheading Synopsis
25647
25648 @smallexample
25649 -var-set-update-range @var{name} @var{from} @var{to}
25650 @end smallexample
25651
25652 Set the range of children to be returned by future invocations of
25653 @code{-var-update}.
25654
25655 @var{from} and @var{to} indicate the range of children to report. If
25656 @var{from} or @var{to} is less than zero, the range is reset and all
25657 children will be reported. Otherwise, children starting at @var{from}
25658 (zero-based) and up to and excluding @var{to} will be reported.
25659
25660 @subsubheading Example
25661
25662 @smallexample
25663 (gdb)
25664 -var-set-update-range V 1 2
25665 ^done
25666 @end smallexample
25667
25668 @subheading The @code{-var-set-visualizer} command
25669 @findex -var-set-visualizer
25670 @anchor{-var-set-visualizer}
25671
25672 @subsubheading Synopsis
25673
25674 @smallexample
25675 -var-set-visualizer @var{name} @var{visualizer}
25676 @end smallexample
25677
25678 Set a visualizer for the variable object @var{name}.
25679
25680 @var{visualizer} is the visualizer to use. The special value
25681 @samp{None} means to disable any visualizer in use.
25682
25683 If not @samp{None}, @var{visualizer} must be a Python expression.
25684 This expression must evaluate to a callable object which accepts a
25685 single argument. @value{GDBN} will call this object with the value of
25686 the varobj @var{name} as an argument (this is done so that the same
25687 Python pretty-printing code can be used for both the CLI and MI).
25688 When called, this object must return an object which conforms to the
25689 pretty-printing interface (@pxref{Pretty Printing}).
25690
25691 The pre-defined function @code{gdb.default_visualizer} may be used to
25692 select a visualizer by following the built-in process
25693 (@pxref{Selecting Pretty-Printers}). This is done automatically when
25694 a varobj is created, and so ordinarily is not needed.
25695
25696 This feature is only available if Python support is enabled. The MI
25697 command @code{-list-features} (@pxref{GDB/MI Miscellaneous Commands})
25698 can be used to check this.
25699
25700 @subsubheading Example
25701
25702 Resetting the visualizer:
25703
25704 @smallexample
25705 (gdb)
25706 -var-set-visualizer V None
25707 ^done
25708 @end smallexample
25709
25710 Reselecting the default (type-based) visualizer:
25711
25712 @smallexample
25713 (gdb)
25714 -var-set-visualizer V gdb.default_visualizer
25715 ^done
25716 @end smallexample
25717
25718 Suppose @code{SomeClass} is a visualizer class. A lambda expression
25719 can be used to instantiate this class for a varobj:
25720
25721 @smallexample
25722 (gdb)
25723 -var-set-visualizer V "lambda val: SomeClass()"
25724 ^done
25725 @end smallexample
25726
25727 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
25728 @node GDB/MI Data Manipulation
25729 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Data Manipulation
25730
25731 @cindex data manipulation, in @sc{gdb/mi}
25732 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, data manipulation
25733 This section describes the @sc{gdb/mi} commands that manipulate data:
25734 examine memory and registers, evaluate expressions, etc.
25735
25736 @c REMOVED FROM THE INTERFACE.
25737 @c @subheading -data-assign
25738 @c Change the value of a program variable. Plenty of side effects.
25739 @c @subsubheading GDB Command
25740 @c set variable
25741 @c @subsubheading Example
25742 @c N.A.
25743
25744 @subheading The @code{-data-disassemble} Command
25745 @findex -data-disassemble
25746
25747 @subsubheading Synopsis
25748
25749 @smallexample
25750 -data-disassemble
25751 [ -s @var{start-addr} -e @var{end-addr} ]
25752 | [ -f @var{filename} -l @var{linenum} [ -n @var{lines} ] ]
25753 -- @var{mode}
25754 @end smallexample
25755
25756 @noindent
25757 Where:
25758
25759 @table @samp
25760 @item @var{start-addr}
25761 is the beginning address (or @code{$pc})
25762 @item @var{end-addr}
25763 is the end address
25764 @item @var{filename}
25765 is the name of the file to disassemble
25766 @item @var{linenum}
25767 is the line number to disassemble around
25768 @item @var{lines}
25769 is the number of disassembly lines to be produced. If it is -1,
25770 the whole function will be disassembled, in case no @var{end-addr} is
25771 specified. If @var{end-addr} is specified as a non-zero value, and
25772 @var{lines} is lower than the number of disassembly lines between
25773 @var{start-addr} and @var{end-addr}, only @var{lines} lines are
25774 displayed; if @var{lines} is higher than the number of lines between
25775 @var{start-addr} and @var{end-addr}, only the lines up to @var{end-addr}
25776 are displayed.
25777 @item @var{mode}
25778 is either 0 (meaning only disassembly) or 1 (meaning mixed source and
25779 disassembly).
25780 @end table
25781
25782 @subsubheading Result
25783
25784 The output for each instruction is composed of four fields:
25785
25786 @itemize @bullet
25787 @item Address
25788 @item Func-name
25789 @item Offset
25790 @item Instruction
25791 @end itemize
25792
25793 Note that whatever included in the instruction field, is not manipulated
25794 directly by @sc{gdb/mi}, i.e., it is not possible to adjust its format.
25795
25796 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
25797
25798 There's no direct mapping from this command to the CLI.
25799
25800 @subsubheading Example
25801
25802 Disassemble from the current value of @code{$pc} to @code{$pc + 20}:
25803
25804 @smallexample
25805 (gdb)
25806 -data-disassemble -s $pc -e "$pc + 20" -- 0
25807 ^done,
25808 asm_insns=[
25809 @{address="0x000107c0",func-name="main",offset="4",
25810 inst="mov 2, %o0"@},
25811 @{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
25812 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@},
25813 @{address="0x000107c8",func-name="main",offset="12",
25814 inst="or %o2, 0x140, %o1\t! 0x11940 <_lib_version+8>"@},
25815 @{address="0x000107cc",func-name="main",offset="16",
25816 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@},
25817 @{address="0x000107d0",func-name="main",offset="20",
25818 inst="or %o2, 0x168, %o4\t! 0x11968 <_lib_version+48>"@}]
25819 (gdb)
25820 @end smallexample
25821
25822 Disassemble the whole @code{main} function. Line 32 is part of
25823 @code{main}.
25824
25825 @smallexample
25826 -data-disassemble -f basics.c -l 32 -- 0
25827 ^done,asm_insns=[
25828 @{address="0x000107bc",func-name="main",offset="0",
25829 inst="save %sp, -112, %sp"@},
25830 @{address="0x000107c0",func-name="main",offset="4",
25831 inst="mov 2, %o0"@},
25832 @{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
25833 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@},
25834 [@dots{}]
25835 @{address="0x0001081c",func-name="main",offset="96",inst="ret "@},
25836 @{address="0x00010820",func-name="main",offset="100",inst="restore "@}]
25837 (gdb)
25838 @end smallexample
25839
25840 Disassemble 3 instructions from the start of @code{main}:
25841
25842 @smallexample
25843 (gdb)
25844 -data-disassemble -f basics.c -l 32 -n 3 -- 0
25845 ^done,asm_insns=[
25846 @{address="0x000107bc",func-name="main",offset="0",
25847 inst="save %sp, -112, %sp"@},
25848 @{address="0x000107c0",func-name="main",offset="4",
25849 inst="mov 2, %o0"@},
25850 @{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
25851 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@}]
25852 (gdb)
25853 @end smallexample
25854
25855 Disassemble 3 instructions from the start of @code{main} in mixed mode:
25856
25857 @smallexample
25858 (gdb)
25859 -data-disassemble -f basics.c -l 32 -n 3 -- 1
25860 ^done,asm_insns=[
25861 src_and_asm_line=@{line="31",
25862 file="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb/ \
25863 testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line_asm_insn=[
25864 @{address="0x000107bc",func-name="main",offset="0",
25865 inst="save %sp, -112, %sp"@}]@},
25866 src_and_asm_line=@{line="32",
25867 file="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb/ \
25868 testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line_asm_insn=[
25869 @{address="0x000107c0",func-name="main",offset="4",
25870 inst="mov 2, %o0"@},
25871 @{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
25872 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@}]@}]
25873 (gdb)
25874 @end smallexample
25875
25876
25877 @subheading The @code{-data-evaluate-expression} Command
25878 @findex -data-evaluate-expression
25879
25880 @subsubheading Synopsis
25881
25882 @smallexample
25883 -data-evaluate-expression @var{expr}
25884 @end smallexample
25885
25886 Evaluate @var{expr} as an expression. The expression could contain an
25887 inferior function call. The function call will execute synchronously.
25888 If the expression contains spaces, it must be enclosed in double quotes.
25889
25890 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
25891
25892 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{print}, @samp{output}, and
25893 @samp{call}. In @code{gdbtk} only, there's a corresponding
25894 @samp{gdb_eval} command.
25895
25896 @subsubheading Example
25897
25898 In the following example, the numbers that precede the commands are the
25899 @dfn{tokens} described in @ref{GDB/MI Command Syntax, ,@sc{gdb/mi}
25900 Command Syntax}. Notice how @sc{gdb/mi} returns the same tokens in its
25901 output.
25902
25903 @smallexample
25904 211-data-evaluate-expression A
25905 211^done,value="1"
25906 (gdb)
25907 311-data-evaluate-expression &A
25908 311^done,value="0xefffeb7c"
25909 (gdb)
25910 411-data-evaluate-expression A+3
25911 411^done,value="4"
25912 (gdb)
25913 511-data-evaluate-expression "A + 3"
25914 511^done,value="4"
25915 (gdb)
25916 @end smallexample
25917
25918
25919 @subheading The @code{-data-list-changed-registers} Command
25920 @findex -data-list-changed-registers
25921
25922 @subsubheading Synopsis
25923
25924 @smallexample
25925 -data-list-changed-registers
25926 @end smallexample
25927
25928 Display a list of the registers that have changed.
25929
25930 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
25931
25932 @value{GDBN} doesn't have a direct analog for this command; @code{gdbtk}
25933 has the corresponding command @samp{gdb_changed_register_list}.
25934
25935 @subsubheading Example
25936
25937 On a PPC MBX board:
25938
25939 @smallexample
25940 (gdb)
25941 -exec-continue
25942 ^running
25943
25944 (gdb)
25945 *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",frame=@{
25946 func="main",args=[],file="try.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",
25947 line="5"@}
25948 (gdb)
25949 -data-list-changed-registers
25950 ^done,changed-registers=["0","1","2","4","5","6","7","8","9",
25951 "10","11","13","14","15","16","17","18","19","20","21","22","23",
25952 "24","25","26","27","28","30","31","64","65","66","67","69"]
25953 (gdb)
25954 @end smallexample
25955
25956
25957 @subheading The @code{-data-list-register-names} Command
25958 @findex -data-list-register-names
25959
25960 @subsubheading Synopsis
25961
25962 @smallexample
25963 -data-list-register-names [ ( @var{regno} )+ ]
25964 @end smallexample
25965
25966 Show a list of register names for the current target. If no arguments
25967 are given, it shows a list of the names of all the registers. If
25968 integer numbers are given as arguments, it will print a list of the
25969 names of the registers corresponding to the arguments. To ensure
25970 consistency between a register name and its number, the output list may
25971 include empty register names.
25972
25973 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
25974
25975 @value{GDBN} does not have a command which corresponds to
25976 @samp{-data-list-register-names}. In @code{gdbtk} there is a
25977 corresponding command @samp{gdb_regnames}.
25978
25979 @subsubheading Example
25980
25981 For the PPC MBX board:
25982 @smallexample
25983 (gdb)
25984 -data-list-register-names
25985 ^done,register-names=["r0","r1","r2","r3","r4","r5","r6","r7",
25986 "r8","r9","r10","r11","r12","r13","r14","r15","r16","r17","r18",
25987 "r19","r20","r21","r22","r23","r24","r25","r26","r27","r28","r29",
25988 "r30","r31","f0","f1","f2","f3","f4","f5","f6","f7","f8","f9",
25989 "f10","f11","f12","f13","f14","f15","f16","f17","f18","f19","f20",
25990 "f21","f22","f23","f24","f25","f26","f27","f28","f29","f30","f31",
25991 "", "pc","ps","cr","lr","ctr","xer"]
25992 (gdb)
25993 -data-list-register-names 1 2 3
25994 ^done,register-names=["r1","r2","r3"]
25995 (gdb)
25996 @end smallexample
25997
25998 @subheading The @code{-data-list-register-values} Command
25999 @findex -data-list-register-values
26000
26001 @subsubheading Synopsis
26002
26003 @smallexample
26004 -data-list-register-values @var{fmt} [ ( @var{regno} )*]
26005 @end smallexample
26006
26007 Display the registers' contents. @var{fmt} is the format according to
26008 which the registers' contents are to be returned, followed by an optional
26009 list of numbers specifying the registers to display. A missing list of
26010 numbers indicates that the contents of all the registers must be returned.
26011
26012 Allowed formats for @var{fmt} are:
26013
26014 @table @code
26015 @item x
26016 Hexadecimal
26017 @item o
26018 Octal
26019 @item t
26020 Binary
26021 @item d
26022 Decimal
26023 @item r
26024 Raw
26025 @item N
26026 Natural
26027 @end table
26028
26029 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26030
26031 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{info reg}, @samp{info
26032 all-reg}, and (in @code{gdbtk}) @samp{gdb_fetch_registers}.
26033
26034 @subsubheading Example
26035
26036 For a PPC MBX board (note: line breaks are for readability only, they
26037 don't appear in the actual output):
26038
26039 @smallexample
26040 (gdb)
26041 -data-list-register-values r 64 65
26042 ^done,register-values=[@{number="64",value="0xfe00a300"@},
26043 @{number="65",value="0x00029002"@}]
26044 (gdb)
26045 -data-list-register-values x
26046 ^done,register-values=[@{number="0",value="0xfe0043c8"@},
26047 @{number="1",value="0x3fff88"@},@{number="2",value="0xfffffffe"@},
26048 @{number="3",value="0x0"@},@{number="4",value="0xa"@},
26049 @{number="5",value="0x3fff68"@},@{number="6",value="0x3fff58"@},
26050 @{number="7",value="0xfe011e98"@},@{number="8",value="0x2"@},
26051 @{number="9",value="0xfa202820"@},@{number="10",value="0xfa202808"@},
26052 @{number="11",value="0x1"@},@{number="12",value="0x0"@},
26053 @{number="13",value="0x4544"@},@{number="14",value="0xffdfffff"@},
26054 @{number="15",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="16",value="0xfffffeff"@},
26055 @{number="17",value="0xefffffed"@},@{number="18",value="0xfffffffe"@},
26056 @{number="19",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="20",value="0xffffffff"@},
26057 @{number="21",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="22",value="0xfffffff7"@},
26058 @{number="23",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="24",value="0xffffffff"@},
26059 @{number="25",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="26",value="0xfffffffb"@},
26060 @{number="27",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="28",value="0xf7bfffff"@},
26061 @{number="29",value="0x0"@},@{number="30",value="0xfe010000"@},
26062 @{number="31",value="0x0"@},@{number="32",value="0x0"@},
26063 @{number="33",value="0x0"@},@{number="34",value="0x0"@},
26064 @{number="35",value="0x0"@},@{number="36",value="0x0"@},
26065 @{number="37",value="0x0"@},@{number="38",value="0x0"@},
26066 @{number="39",value="0x0"@},@{number="40",value="0x0"@},
26067 @{number="41",value="0x0"@},@{number="42",value="0x0"@},
26068 @{number="43",value="0x0"@},@{number="44",value="0x0"@},
26069 @{number="45",value="0x0"@},@{number="46",value="0x0"@},
26070 @{number="47",value="0x0"@},@{number="48",value="0x0"@},
26071 @{number="49",value="0x0"@},@{number="50",value="0x0"@},
26072 @{number="51",value="0x0"@},@{number="52",value="0x0"@},
26073 @{number="53",value="0x0"@},@{number="54",value="0x0"@},
26074 @{number="55",value="0x0"@},@{number="56",value="0x0"@},
26075 @{number="57",value="0x0"@},@{number="58",value="0x0"@},
26076 @{number="59",value="0x0"@},@{number="60",value="0x0"@},
26077 @{number="61",value="0x0"@},@{number="62",value="0x0"@},
26078 @{number="63",value="0x0"@},@{number="64",value="0xfe00a300"@},
26079 @{number="65",value="0x29002"@},@{number="66",value="0x202f04b5"@},
26080 @{number="67",value="0xfe0043b0"@},@{number="68",value="0xfe00b3e4"@},
26081 @{number="69",value="0x20002b03"@}]
26082 (gdb)
26083 @end smallexample
26084
26085
26086 @subheading The @code{-data-read-memory} Command
26087 @findex -data-read-memory
26088
26089 @subsubheading Synopsis
26090
26091 @smallexample
26092 -data-read-memory [ -o @var{byte-offset} ]
26093 @var{address} @var{word-format} @var{word-size}
26094 @var{nr-rows} @var{nr-cols} [ @var{aschar} ]
26095 @end smallexample
26096
26097 @noindent
26098 where:
26099
26100 @table @samp
26101 @item @var{address}
26102 An expression specifying the address of the first memory word to be
26103 read. Complex expressions containing embedded white space should be
26104 quoted using the C convention.
26105
26106 @item @var{word-format}
26107 The format to be used to print the memory words. The notation is the
26108 same as for @value{GDBN}'s @code{print} command (@pxref{Output Formats,
26109 ,Output Formats}).
26110
26111 @item @var{word-size}
26112 The size of each memory word in bytes.
26113
26114 @item @var{nr-rows}
26115 The number of rows in the output table.
26116
26117 @item @var{nr-cols}
26118 The number of columns in the output table.
26119
26120 @item @var{aschar}
26121 If present, indicates that each row should include an @sc{ascii} dump. The
26122 value of @var{aschar} is used as a padding character when a byte is not a
26123 member of the printable @sc{ascii} character set (printable @sc{ascii}
26124 characters are those whose code is between 32 and 126, inclusively).
26125
26126 @item @var{byte-offset}
26127 An offset to add to the @var{address} before fetching memory.
26128 @end table
26129
26130 This command displays memory contents as a table of @var{nr-rows} by
26131 @var{nr-cols} words, each word being @var{word-size} bytes. In total,
26132 @code{@var{nr-rows} * @var{nr-cols} * @var{word-size}} bytes are read
26133 (returned as @samp{total-bytes}). Should less than the requested number
26134 of bytes be returned by the target, the missing words are identified
26135 using @samp{N/A}. The number of bytes read from the target is returned
26136 in @samp{nr-bytes} and the starting address used to read memory in
26137 @samp{addr}.
26138
26139 The address of the next/previous row or page is available in
26140 @samp{next-row} and @samp{prev-row}, @samp{next-page} and
26141 @samp{prev-page}.
26142
26143 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26144
26145 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{x}. @code{gdbtk} has
26146 @samp{gdb_get_mem} memory read command.
26147
26148 @subsubheading Example
26149
26150 Read six bytes of memory starting at @code{bytes+6} but then offset by
26151 @code{-6} bytes. Format as three rows of two columns. One byte per
26152 word. Display each word in hex.
26153
26154 @smallexample
26155 (gdb)
26156 9-data-read-memory -o -6 -- bytes+6 x 1 3 2
26157 9^done,addr="0x00001390",nr-bytes="6",total-bytes="6",
26158 next-row="0x00001396",prev-row="0x0000138e",next-page="0x00001396",
26159 prev-page="0x0000138a",memory=[
26160 @{addr="0x00001390",data=["0x00","0x01"]@},
26161 @{addr="0x00001392",data=["0x02","0x03"]@},
26162 @{addr="0x00001394",data=["0x04","0x05"]@}]
26163 (gdb)
26164 @end smallexample
26165
26166 Read two bytes of memory starting at address @code{shorts + 64} and
26167 display as a single word formatted in decimal.
26168
26169 @smallexample
26170 (gdb)
26171 5-data-read-memory shorts+64 d 2 1 1
26172 5^done,addr="0x00001510",nr-bytes="2",total-bytes="2",
26173 next-row="0x00001512",prev-row="0x0000150e",
26174 next-page="0x00001512",prev-page="0x0000150e",memory=[
26175 @{addr="0x00001510",data=["128"]@}]
26176 (gdb)
26177 @end smallexample
26178
26179 Read thirty two bytes of memory starting at @code{bytes+16} and format
26180 as eight rows of four columns. Include a string encoding with @samp{x}
26181 used as the non-printable character.
26182
26183 @smallexample
26184 (gdb)
26185 4-data-read-memory bytes+16 x 1 8 4 x
26186 4^done,addr="0x000013a0",nr-bytes="32",total-bytes="32",
26187 next-row="0x000013c0",prev-row="0x0000139c",
26188 next-page="0x000013c0",prev-page="0x00001380",memory=[
26189 @{addr="0x000013a0",data=["0x10","0x11","0x12","0x13"],ascii="xxxx"@},
26190 @{addr="0x000013a4",data=["0x14","0x15","0x16","0x17"],ascii="xxxx"@},
26191 @{addr="0x000013a8",data=["0x18","0x19","0x1a","0x1b"],ascii="xxxx"@},
26192 @{addr="0x000013ac",data=["0x1c","0x1d","0x1e","0x1f"],ascii="xxxx"@},
26193 @{addr="0x000013b0",data=["0x20","0x21","0x22","0x23"],ascii=" !\"#"@},
26194 @{addr="0x000013b4",data=["0x24","0x25","0x26","0x27"],ascii="$%&'"@},
26195 @{addr="0x000013b8",data=["0x28","0x29","0x2a","0x2b"],ascii="()*+"@},
26196 @{addr="0x000013bc",data=["0x2c","0x2d","0x2e","0x2f"],ascii=",-./"@}]
26197 (gdb)
26198 @end smallexample
26199
26200 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
26201 @node GDB/MI Tracepoint Commands
26202 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Tracepoint Commands
26203
26204 The commands defined in this section implement MI support for
26205 tracepoints. For detailed introduction, see @ref{Tracepoints}.
26206
26207 @subheading The @code{-trace-find} Command
26208 @findex -trace-find
26209
26210 @subsubheading Synopsis
26211
26212 @smallexample
26213 -trace-find @var{mode} [@var{parameters}@dots{}]
26214 @end smallexample
26215
26216 Find a trace frame using criteria defined by @var{mode} and
26217 @var{parameters}. The following table lists permissible
26218 modes and their parameters. For details of operation, see @ref{tfind}.
26219
26220 @table @samp
26221
26222 @item none
26223 No parameters are required. Stops examining trace frames.
26224
26225 @item frame-number
26226 An integer is required as parameter. Selects tracepoint frame with
26227 that index.
26228
26229 @item tracepoint-number
26230 An integer is required as parameter. Finds next
26231 trace frame that corresponds to tracepoint with the specified number.
26232
26233 @item pc
26234 An address is required as parameter. Finds
26235 next trace frame that corresponds to any tracepoint at the specified
26236 address.
26237
26238 @item pc-inside-range
26239 Two addresses are required as parameters. Finds next trace
26240 frame that corresponds to a tracepoint at an address inside the
26241 specified range. Both bounds are considered to be inside the range.
26242
26243 @item pc-outside-range
26244 Two addresses are required as parameters. Finds
26245 next trace frame that corresponds to a tracepoint at an address outside
26246 the specified range. Both bounds are considered to be inside the range.
26247
26248 @item line
26249 Line specification is required as parameter. @xref{Specify Location}.
26250 Finds next trace frame that corresponds to a tracepoint at
26251 the specified location.
26252
26253 @end table
26254
26255 If @samp{none} was passed as @var{mode}, the response does not
26256 have fields. Otherwise, the response may have the following fields:
26257
26258 @table @samp
26259 @item found
26260 This field has either @samp{0} or @samp{1} as the value, depending
26261 on whether a matching tracepoint was found.
26262
26263 @item traceframe
26264 The index of the found traceframe. This field is present iff
26265 the @samp{found} field has value of @samp{1}.
26266
26267 @item tracepoint
26268 The index of the found tracepoint. This field is present iff
26269 the @samp{found} field has value of @samp{1}.
26270
26271 @item frame
26272 The information about the frame corresponding to the found trace
26273 frame. This field is present only if a trace frame was found.
26274 @xref{GDB/MI Frame Information}, for description of this field.
26275
26276 @end table
26277
26278 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26279
26280 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tfind}.
26281
26282 @subheading -trace-define-variable
26283 @findex -trace-define-variable
26284
26285 @subsubheading Synopsis
26286
26287 @smallexample
26288 -trace-define-variable @var{name} [ @var{value} ]
26289 @end smallexample
26290
26291 Create trace variable @var{name} if it does not exist. If
26292 @var{value} is specified, sets the initial value of the specified
26293 trace variable to that value. Note that the @var{name} should start
26294 with the @samp{$} character.
26295
26296 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26297
26298 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tvariable}.
26299
26300 @subheading -trace-list-variables
26301 @findex -trace-list-variables
26302
26303 @subsubheading Synopsis
26304
26305 @smallexample
26306 -trace-list-variables
26307 @end smallexample
26308
26309 Return a table of all defined trace variables. Each element of the
26310 table has the following fields:
26311
26312 @table @samp
26313 @item name
26314 The name of the trace variable. This field is always present.
26315
26316 @item initial
26317 The initial value. This is a 64-bit signed integer. This
26318 field is always present.
26319
26320 @item current
26321 The value the trace variable has at the moment. This is a 64-bit
26322 signed integer. This field is absent iff current value is
26323 not defined, for example if the trace was never run, or is
26324 presently running.
26325
26326 @end table
26327
26328 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26329
26330 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tvariables}.
26331
26332 @subsubheading Example
26333
26334 @smallexample
26335 (gdb)
26336 -trace-list-variables
26337 ^done,trace-variables=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="3",
26338 hdr=[@{width="15",alignment="-1",col_name="name",colhdr="Name"@},
26339 @{width="11",alignment="-1",col_name="initial",colhdr="Initial"@},
26340 @{width="11",alignment="-1",col_name="current",colhdr="Current"@}],
26341 body=[variable=@{name="$trace_timestamp",initial="0"@}
26342 variable=@{name="$foo",initial="10",current="15"@}]@}
26343 (gdb)
26344 @end smallexample
26345
26346 @subheading -trace-save
26347 @findex -trace-save
26348
26349 @subsubheading Synopsis
26350
26351 @smallexample
26352 -trace-save [-r ] @var{filename}
26353 @end smallexample
26354
26355 Saves the collected trace data to @var{filename}. Without the
26356 @samp{-r} option, the data is downloaded from the target and saved
26357 in a local file. With the @samp{-r} option the target is asked
26358 to perform the save.
26359
26360 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26361
26362 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tsave}.
26363
26364
26365 @subheading -trace-start
26366 @findex -trace-start
26367
26368 @subsubheading Synopsis
26369
26370 @smallexample
26371 -trace-start
26372 @end smallexample
26373
26374 Starts a tracing experiments. The result of this command does not
26375 have any fields.
26376
26377 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26378
26379 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tstart}.
26380
26381 @subheading -trace-status
26382 @findex -trace-status
26383
26384 @subsubheading Synopsis
26385
26386 @smallexample
26387 -trace-status
26388 @end smallexample
26389
26390 Obtains the status of a tracing experiement. The result may include
26391 the following fields:
26392
26393 @table @samp
26394
26395 @item supported
26396 May have a value of either @samp{0}, when no tracing operations are
26397 supported, @samp{1}, when all tracing operations are supported, or
26398 @samp{file} when examining trace file. In the latter case, examining
26399 of trace frame is possible but new tracing experiement cannot be
26400 started. This field is always present.
26401
26402 @item running
26403 May have a value of either @samp{0} or @samp{1} depending on whether
26404 tracing experiement is in progress on target. This field is present
26405 if @samp{supported} field is not @samp{0}.
26406
26407 @item stop-reason
26408 Report the reason why the tracing was stopped last time. This field
26409 may be absent iff tracing was never stopped on target yet. The
26410 value of @samp{request} means the tracing was stopped as result of
26411 the @code{-trace-stop} command. The value of @samp{overflow} means
26412 the tracing buffer is full. The value of @samp{disconnection} means
26413 tracing was automatically stopped when @value{GDBN} has disconnected.
26414 The value of @samp{passcount} means tracing was stopped when a
26415 tracepoint was passed a maximal number of times for that tracepoint.
26416 This field is present if @samp{supported} field is not @samp{0}.
26417
26418 @item stopping-tracepoint
26419 The number of tracepoint whose passcount as exceeded. This field is
26420 present iff the @samp{stop-reason} field has the value of
26421 @samp{passcount}.
26422
26423 @item frames
26424 This field is an integer number of currently collected frames. This
26425 field is optional.
26426
26427 @item buffer-size
26428 @itemx buffer-free
26429 These fields tell the current size of the tracing buffer and the
26430 remaining space. These field is optional.
26431
26432 @end table
26433
26434 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26435
26436 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tstatus}.
26437
26438 @subheading -trace-stop
26439 @findex -trace-stop
26440
26441 @subsubheading Synopsis
26442
26443 @smallexample
26444 -trace-stop
26445 @end smallexample
26446
26447 Stops a tracing experiment. The result of this command has the same
26448 fields as @code{-trace-status}, except that the @samp{supported} and
26449 @samp{running} fields are not output.
26450
26451 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26452
26453 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tstop}.
26454
26455
26456 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
26457 @node GDB/MI Symbol Query
26458 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Symbol Query Commands
26459
26460
26461 @ignore
26462 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-address} Command
26463 @findex -symbol-info-address
26464
26465 @subsubheading Synopsis
26466
26467 @smallexample
26468 -symbol-info-address @var{symbol}
26469 @end smallexample
26470
26471 Describe where @var{symbol} is stored.
26472
26473 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26474
26475 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info address}.
26476
26477 @subsubheading Example
26478 N.A.
26479
26480
26481 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-file} Command
26482 @findex -symbol-info-file
26483
26484 @subsubheading Synopsis
26485
26486 @smallexample
26487 -symbol-info-file
26488 @end smallexample
26489
26490 Show the file for the symbol.
26491
26492 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26493
26494 There's no equivalent @value{GDBN} command. @code{gdbtk} has
26495 @samp{gdb_find_file}.
26496
26497 @subsubheading Example
26498 N.A.
26499
26500
26501 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-function} Command
26502 @findex -symbol-info-function
26503
26504 @subsubheading Synopsis
26505
26506 @smallexample
26507 -symbol-info-function
26508 @end smallexample
26509
26510 Show which function the symbol lives in.
26511
26512 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26513
26514 @samp{gdb_get_function} in @code{gdbtk}.
26515
26516 @subsubheading Example
26517 N.A.
26518
26519
26520 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-line} Command
26521 @findex -symbol-info-line
26522
26523 @subsubheading Synopsis
26524
26525 @smallexample
26526 -symbol-info-line
26527 @end smallexample
26528
26529 Show the core addresses of the code for a source line.
26530
26531 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26532
26533 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info line}.
26534 @code{gdbtk} has the @samp{gdb_get_line} and @samp{gdb_get_file} commands.
26535
26536 @subsubheading Example
26537 N.A.
26538
26539
26540 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-symbol} Command
26541 @findex -symbol-info-symbol
26542
26543 @subsubheading Synopsis
26544
26545 @smallexample
26546 -symbol-info-symbol @var{addr}
26547 @end smallexample
26548
26549 Describe what symbol is at location @var{addr}.
26550
26551 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26552
26553 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info symbol}.
26554
26555 @subsubheading Example
26556 N.A.
26557
26558
26559 @subheading The @code{-symbol-list-functions} Command
26560 @findex -symbol-list-functions
26561
26562 @subsubheading Synopsis
26563
26564 @smallexample
26565 -symbol-list-functions
26566 @end smallexample
26567
26568 List the functions in the executable.
26569
26570 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26571
26572 @samp{info functions} in @value{GDBN}, @samp{gdb_listfunc} and
26573 @samp{gdb_search} in @code{gdbtk}.
26574
26575 @subsubheading Example
26576 N.A.
26577 @end ignore
26578
26579
26580 @subheading The @code{-symbol-list-lines} Command
26581 @findex -symbol-list-lines
26582
26583 @subsubheading Synopsis
26584
26585 @smallexample
26586 -symbol-list-lines @var{filename}
26587 @end smallexample
26588
26589 Print the list of lines that contain code and their associated program
26590 addresses for the given source filename. The entries are sorted in
26591 ascending PC order.
26592
26593 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26594
26595 There is no corresponding @value{GDBN} command.
26596
26597 @subsubheading Example
26598 @smallexample
26599 (gdb)
26600 -symbol-list-lines basics.c
26601 ^done,lines=[@{pc="0x08048554",line="7"@},@{pc="0x0804855a",line="8"@}]
26602 (gdb)
26603 @end smallexample
26604
26605
26606 @ignore
26607 @subheading The @code{-symbol-list-types} Command
26608 @findex -symbol-list-types
26609
26610 @subsubheading Synopsis
26611
26612 @smallexample
26613 -symbol-list-types
26614 @end smallexample
26615
26616 List all the type names.
26617
26618 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26619
26620 The corresponding commands are @samp{info types} in @value{GDBN},
26621 @samp{gdb_search} in @code{gdbtk}.
26622
26623 @subsubheading Example
26624 N.A.
26625
26626
26627 @subheading The @code{-symbol-list-variables} Command
26628 @findex -symbol-list-variables
26629
26630 @subsubheading Synopsis
26631
26632 @smallexample
26633 -symbol-list-variables
26634 @end smallexample
26635
26636 List all the global and static variable names.
26637
26638 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26639
26640 @samp{info variables} in @value{GDBN}, @samp{gdb_search} in @code{gdbtk}.
26641
26642 @subsubheading Example
26643 N.A.
26644
26645
26646 @subheading The @code{-symbol-locate} Command
26647 @findex -symbol-locate
26648
26649 @subsubheading Synopsis
26650
26651 @smallexample
26652 -symbol-locate
26653 @end smallexample
26654
26655 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26656
26657 @samp{gdb_loc} in @code{gdbtk}.
26658
26659 @subsubheading Example
26660 N.A.
26661
26662
26663 @subheading The @code{-symbol-type} Command
26664 @findex -symbol-type
26665
26666 @subsubheading Synopsis
26667
26668 @smallexample
26669 -symbol-type @var{variable}
26670 @end smallexample
26671
26672 Show type of @var{variable}.
26673
26674 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26675
26676 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{ptype}, @code{gdbtk} has
26677 @samp{gdb_obj_variable}.
26678
26679 @subsubheading Example
26680 N.A.
26681 @end ignore
26682
26683
26684 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
26685 @node GDB/MI File Commands
26686 @section @sc{gdb/mi} File Commands
26687
26688 This section describes the GDB/MI commands to specify executable file names
26689 and to read in and obtain symbol table information.
26690
26691 @subheading The @code{-file-exec-and-symbols} Command
26692 @findex -file-exec-and-symbols
26693
26694 @subsubheading Synopsis
26695
26696 @smallexample
26697 -file-exec-and-symbols @var{file}
26698 @end smallexample
26699
26700 Specify the executable file to be debugged. This file is the one from
26701 which the symbol table is also read. If no file is specified, the
26702 command clears the executable and symbol information. If breakpoints
26703 are set when using this command with no arguments, @value{GDBN} will produce
26704 error messages. Otherwise, no output is produced, except a completion
26705 notification.
26706
26707 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26708
26709 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{file}.
26710
26711 @subsubheading Example
26712
26713 @smallexample
26714 (gdb)
26715 -file-exec-and-symbols /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/TRUNK/mbx/hello.mbx
26716 ^done
26717 (gdb)
26718 @end smallexample
26719
26720
26721 @subheading The @code{-file-exec-file} Command
26722 @findex -file-exec-file
26723
26724 @subsubheading Synopsis
26725
26726 @smallexample
26727 -file-exec-file @var{file}
26728 @end smallexample
26729
26730 Specify the executable file to be debugged. Unlike
26731 @samp{-file-exec-and-symbols}, the symbol table is @emph{not} read
26732 from this file. If used without argument, @value{GDBN} clears the information
26733 about the executable file. No output is produced, except a completion
26734 notification.
26735
26736 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26737
26738 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{exec-file}.
26739
26740 @subsubheading Example
26741
26742 @smallexample
26743 (gdb)
26744 -file-exec-file /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/TRUNK/mbx/hello.mbx
26745 ^done
26746 (gdb)
26747 @end smallexample
26748
26749
26750 @ignore
26751 @subheading The @code{-file-list-exec-sections} Command
26752 @findex -file-list-exec-sections
26753
26754 @subsubheading Synopsis
26755
26756 @smallexample
26757 -file-list-exec-sections
26758 @end smallexample
26759
26760 List the sections of the current executable file.
26761
26762 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26763
26764 The @value{GDBN} command @samp{info file} shows, among the rest, the same
26765 information as this command. @code{gdbtk} has a corresponding command
26766 @samp{gdb_load_info}.
26767
26768 @subsubheading Example
26769 N.A.
26770 @end ignore
26771
26772
26773 @subheading The @code{-file-list-exec-source-file} Command
26774 @findex -file-list-exec-source-file
26775
26776 @subsubheading Synopsis
26777
26778 @smallexample
26779 -file-list-exec-source-file
26780 @end smallexample
26781
26782 List the line number, the current source file, and the absolute path
26783 to the current source file for the current executable. The macro
26784 information field has a value of @samp{1} or @samp{0} depending on
26785 whether or not the file includes preprocessor macro information.
26786
26787 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26788
26789 The @value{GDBN} equivalent is @samp{info source}
26790
26791 @subsubheading Example
26792
26793 @smallexample
26794 (gdb)
26795 123-file-list-exec-source-file
26796 123^done,line="1",file="foo.c",fullname="/home/bar/foo.c,macro-info="1"
26797 (gdb)
26798 @end smallexample
26799
26800
26801 @subheading The @code{-file-list-exec-source-files} Command
26802 @findex -file-list-exec-source-files
26803
26804 @subsubheading Synopsis
26805
26806 @smallexample
26807 -file-list-exec-source-files
26808 @end smallexample
26809
26810 List the source files for the current executable.
26811
26812 It will always output the filename, but only when @value{GDBN} can find
26813 the absolute file name of a source file, will it output the fullname.
26814
26815 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26816
26817 The @value{GDBN} equivalent is @samp{info sources}.
26818 @code{gdbtk} has an analogous command @samp{gdb_listfiles}.
26819
26820 @subsubheading Example
26821 @smallexample
26822 (gdb)
26823 -file-list-exec-source-files
26824 ^done,files=[
26825 @{file=foo.c,fullname=/home/foo.c@},
26826 @{file=/home/bar.c,fullname=/home/bar.c@},
26827 @{file=gdb_could_not_find_fullpath.c@}]
26828 (gdb)
26829 @end smallexample
26830
26831 @ignore
26832 @subheading The @code{-file-list-shared-libraries} Command
26833 @findex -file-list-shared-libraries
26834
26835 @subsubheading Synopsis
26836
26837 @smallexample
26838 -file-list-shared-libraries
26839 @end smallexample
26840
26841 List the shared libraries in the program.
26842
26843 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26844
26845 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info shared}.
26846
26847 @subsubheading Example
26848 N.A.
26849
26850
26851 @subheading The @code{-file-list-symbol-files} Command
26852 @findex -file-list-symbol-files
26853
26854 @subsubheading Synopsis
26855
26856 @smallexample
26857 -file-list-symbol-files
26858 @end smallexample
26859
26860 List symbol files.
26861
26862 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26863
26864 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info file} (part of it).
26865
26866 @subsubheading Example
26867 N.A.
26868 @end ignore
26869
26870
26871 @subheading The @code{-file-symbol-file} Command
26872 @findex -file-symbol-file
26873
26874 @subsubheading Synopsis
26875
26876 @smallexample
26877 -file-symbol-file @var{file}
26878 @end smallexample
26879
26880 Read symbol table info from the specified @var{file} argument. When
26881 used without arguments, clears @value{GDBN}'s symbol table info. No output is
26882 produced, except for a completion notification.
26883
26884 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26885
26886 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{symbol-file}.
26887
26888 @subsubheading Example
26889
26890 @smallexample
26891 (gdb)
26892 -file-symbol-file /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/TRUNK/mbx/hello.mbx
26893 ^done
26894 (gdb)
26895 @end smallexample
26896
26897 @ignore
26898 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
26899 @node GDB/MI Memory Overlay Commands
26900 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Memory Overlay Commands
26901
26902 The memory overlay commands are not implemented.
26903
26904 @c @subheading -overlay-auto
26905
26906 @c @subheading -overlay-list-mapping-state
26907
26908 @c @subheading -overlay-list-overlays
26909
26910 @c @subheading -overlay-map
26911
26912 @c @subheading -overlay-off
26913
26914 @c @subheading -overlay-on
26915
26916 @c @subheading -overlay-unmap
26917
26918 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
26919 @node GDB/MI Signal Handling Commands
26920 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Signal Handling Commands
26921
26922 Signal handling commands are not implemented.
26923
26924 @c @subheading -signal-handle
26925
26926 @c @subheading -signal-list-handle-actions
26927
26928 @c @subheading -signal-list-signal-types
26929 @end ignore
26930
26931
26932 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
26933 @node GDB/MI Target Manipulation
26934 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Target Manipulation Commands
26935
26936
26937 @subheading The @code{-target-attach} Command
26938 @findex -target-attach
26939
26940 @subsubheading Synopsis
26941
26942 @smallexample
26943 -target-attach @var{pid} | @var{gid} | @var{file}
26944 @end smallexample
26945
26946 Attach to a process @var{pid} or a file @var{file} outside of
26947 @value{GDBN}, or a thread group @var{gid}. If attaching to a thread
26948 group, the id previously returned by
26949 @samp{-list-thread-groups --available} must be used.
26950
26951 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26952
26953 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{attach}.
26954
26955 @subsubheading Example
26956 @smallexample
26957 (gdb)
26958 -target-attach 34
26959 =thread-created,id="1"
26960 *stopped,thread-id="1",frame=@{addr="0xb7f7e410",func="bar",args=[]@}
26961 ^done
26962 (gdb)
26963 @end smallexample
26964
26965 @ignore
26966 @subheading The @code{-target-compare-sections} Command
26967 @findex -target-compare-sections
26968
26969 @subsubheading Synopsis
26970
26971 @smallexample
26972 -target-compare-sections [ @var{section} ]
26973 @end smallexample
26974
26975 Compare data of section @var{section} on target to the exec file.
26976 Without the argument, all sections are compared.
26977
26978 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26979
26980 The @value{GDBN} equivalent is @samp{compare-sections}.
26981
26982 @subsubheading Example
26983 N.A.
26984 @end ignore
26985
26986
26987 @subheading The @code{-target-detach} Command
26988 @findex -target-detach
26989
26990 @subsubheading Synopsis
26991
26992 @smallexample
26993 -target-detach [ @var{pid} | @var{gid} ]
26994 @end smallexample
26995
26996 Detach from the remote target which normally resumes its execution.
26997 If either @var{pid} or @var{gid} is specified, detaches from either
26998 the specified process, or specified thread group. There's no output.
26999
27000 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27001
27002 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{detach}.
27003
27004 @subsubheading Example
27005
27006 @smallexample
27007 (gdb)
27008 -target-detach
27009 ^done
27010 (gdb)
27011 @end smallexample
27012
27013
27014 @subheading The @code{-target-disconnect} Command
27015 @findex -target-disconnect
27016
27017 @subsubheading Synopsis
27018
27019 @smallexample
27020 -target-disconnect
27021 @end smallexample
27022
27023 Disconnect from the remote target. There's no output and the target is
27024 generally not resumed.
27025
27026 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27027
27028 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{disconnect}.
27029
27030 @subsubheading Example
27031
27032 @smallexample
27033 (gdb)
27034 -target-disconnect
27035 ^done
27036 (gdb)
27037 @end smallexample
27038
27039
27040 @subheading The @code{-target-download} Command
27041 @findex -target-download
27042
27043 @subsubheading Synopsis
27044
27045 @smallexample
27046 -target-download
27047 @end smallexample
27048
27049 Loads the executable onto the remote target.
27050 It prints out an update message every half second, which includes the fields:
27051
27052 @table @samp
27053 @item section
27054 The name of the section.
27055 @item section-sent
27056 The size of what has been sent so far for that section.
27057 @item section-size
27058 The size of the section.
27059 @item total-sent
27060 The total size of what was sent so far (the current and the previous sections).
27061 @item total-size
27062 The size of the overall executable to download.
27063 @end table
27064
27065 @noindent
27066 Each message is sent as status record (@pxref{GDB/MI Output Syntax, ,
27067 @sc{gdb/mi} Output Syntax}).
27068
27069 In addition, it prints the name and size of the sections, as they are
27070 downloaded. These messages include the following fields:
27071
27072 @table @samp
27073 @item section
27074 The name of the section.
27075 @item section-size
27076 The size of the section.
27077 @item total-size
27078 The size of the overall executable to download.
27079 @end table
27080
27081 @noindent
27082 At the end, a summary is printed.
27083
27084 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27085
27086 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{load}.
27087
27088 @subsubheading Example
27089
27090 Note: each status message appears on a single line. Here the messages
27091 have been broken down so that they can fit onto a page.
27092
27093 @smallexample
27094 (gdb)
27095 -target-download
27096 +download,@{section=".text",section-size="6668",total-size="9880"@}
27097 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="512",section-size="6668",
27098 total-sent="512",total-size="9880"@}
27099 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="1024",section-size="6668",
27100 total-sent="1024",total-size="9880"@}
27101 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="1536",section-size="6668",
27102 total-sent="1536",total-size="9880"@}
27103 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="2048",section-size="6668",
27104 total-sent="2048",total-size="9880"@}
27105 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="2560",section-size="6668",
27106 total-sent="2560",total-size="9880"@}
27107 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="3072",section-size="6668",
27108 total-sent="3072",total-size="9880"@}
27109 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="3584",section-size="6668",
27110 total-sent="3584",total-size="9880"@}
27111 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="4096",section-size="6668",
27112 total-sent="4096",total-size="9880"@}
27113 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="4608",section-size="6668",
27114 total-sent="4608",total-size="9880"@}
27115 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="5120",section-size="6668",
27116 total-sent="5120",total-size="9880"@}
27117 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="5632",section-size="6668",
27118 total-sent="5632",total-size="9880"@}
27119 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="6144",section-size="6668",
27120 total-sent="6144",total-size="9880"@}
27121 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="6656",section-size="6668",
27122 total-sent="6656",total-size="9880"@}
27123 +download,@{section=".init",section-size="28",total-size="9880"@}
27124 +download,@{section=".fini",section-size="28",total-size="9880"@}
27125 +download,@{section=".data",section-size="3156",total-size="9880"@}
27126 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="512",section-size="3156",
27127 total-sent="7236",total-size="9880"@}
27128 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="1024",section-size="3156",
27129 total-sent="7748",total-size="9880"@}
27130 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="1536",section-size="3156",
27131 total-sent="8260",total-size="9880"@}
27132 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="2048",section-size="3156",
27133 total-sent="8772",total-size="9880"@}
27134 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="2560",section-size="3156",
27135 total-sent="9284",total-size="9880"@}
27136 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="3072",section-size="3156",
27137 total-sent="9796",total-size="9880"@}
27138 ^done,address="0x10004",load-size="9880",transfer-rate="6586",
27139 write-rate="429"
27140 (gdb)
27141 @end smallexample
27142
27143
27144 @ignore
27145 @subheading The @code{-target-exec-status} Command
27146 @findex -target-exec-status
27147
27148 @subsubheading Synopsis
27149
27150 @smallexample
27151 -target-exec-status
27152 @end smallexample
27153
27154 Provide information on the state of the target (whether it is running or
27155 not, for instance).
27156
27157 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27158
27159 There's no equivalent @value{GDBN} command.
27160
27161 @subsubheading Example
27162 N.A.
27163
27164
27165 @subheading The @code{-target-list-available-targets} Command
27166 @findex -target-list-available-targets
27167
27168 @subsubheading Synopsis
27169
27170 @smallexample
27171 -target-list-available-targets
27172 @end smallexample
27173
27174 List the possible targets to connect to.
27175
27176 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27177
27178 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{help target}.
27179
27180 @subsubheading Example
27181 N.A.
27182
27183
27184 @subheading The @code{-target-list-current-targets} Command
27185 @findex -target-list-current-targets
27186
27187 @subsubheading Synopsis
27188
27189 @smallexample
27190 -target-list-current-targets
27191 @end smallexample
27192
27193 Describe the current target.
27194
27195 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27196
27197 The corresponding information is printed by @samp{info file} (among
27198 other things).
27199
27200 @subsubheading Example
27201 N.A.
27202
27203
27204 @subheading The @code{-target-list-parameters} Command
27205 @findex -target-list-parameters
27206
27207 @subsubheading Synopsis
27208
27209 @smallexample
27210 -target-list-parameters
27211 @end smallexample
27212
27213 @c ????
27214 @end ignore
27215
27216 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27217
27218 No equivalent.
27219
27220 @subsubheading Example
27221 N.A.
27222
27223
27224 @subheading The @code{-target-select} Command
27225 @findex -target-select
27226
27227 @subsubheading Synopsis
27228
27229 @smallexample
27230 -target-select @var{type} @var{parameters @dots{}}
27231 @end smallexample
27232
27233 Connect @value{GDBN} to the remote target. This command takes two args:
27234
27235 @table @samp
27236 @item @var{type}
27237 The type of target, for instance @samp{remote}, etc.
27238 @item @var{parameters}
27239 Device names, host names and the like. @xref{Target Commands, ,
27240 Commands for Managing Targets}, for more details.
27241 @end table
27242
27243 The output is a connection notification, followed by the address at
27244 which the target program is, in the following form:
27245
27246 @smallexample
27247 ^connected,addr="@var{address}",func="@var{function name}",
27248 args=[@var{arg list}]
27249 @end smallexample
27250
27251 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27252
27253 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{target}.
27254
27255 @subsubheading Example
27256
27257 @smallexample
27258 (gdb)
27259 -target-select remote /dev/ttya
27260 ^connected,addr="0xfe00a300",func="??",args=[]
27261 (gdb)
27262 @end smallexample
27263
27264 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
27265 @node GDB/MI File Transfer Commands
27266 @section @sc{gdb/mi} File Transfer Commands
27267
27268
27269 @subheading The @code{-target-file-put} Command
27270 @findex -target-file-put
27271
27272 @subsubheading Synopsis
27273
27274 @smallexample
27275 -target-file-put @var{hostfile} @var{targetfile}
27276 @end smallexample
27277
27278 Copy file @var{hostfile} from the host system (the machine running
27279 @value{GDBN}) to @var{targetfile} on the target system.
27280
27281 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27282
27283 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{remote put}.
27284
27285 @subsubheading Example
27286
27287 @smallexample
27288 (gdb)
27289 -target-file-put localfile remotefile
27290 ^done
27291 (gdb)
27292 @end smallexample
27293
27294
27295 @subheading The @code{-target-file-get} Command
27296 @findex -target-file-get
27297
27298 @subsubheading Synopsis
27299
27300 @smallexample
27301 -target-file-get @var{targetfile} @var{hostfile}
27302 @end smallexample
27303
27304 Copy file @var{targetfile} from the target system to @var{hostfile}
27305 on the host system.
27306
27307 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27308
27309 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{remote get}.
27310
27311 @subsubheading Example
27312
27313 @smallexample
27314 (gdb)
27315 -target-file-get remotefile localfile
27316 ^done
27317 (gdb)
27318 @end smallexample
27319
27320
27321 @subheading The @code{-target-file-delete} Command
27322 @findex -target-file-delete
27323
27324 @subsubheading Synopsis
27325
27326 @smallexample
27327 -target-file-delete @var{targetfile}
27328 @end smallexample
27329
27330 Delete @var{targetfile} from the target system.
27331
27332 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27333
27334 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{remote delete}.
27335
27336 @subsubheading Example
27337
27338 @smallexample
27339 (gdb)
27340 -target-file-delete remotefile
27341 ^done
27342 (gdb)
27343 @end smallexample
27344
27345
27346 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
27347 @node GDB/MI Miscellaneous Commands
27348 @section Miscellaneous @sc{gdb/mi} Commands
27349
27350 @c @subheading -gdb-complete
27351
27352 @subheading The @code{-gdb-exit} Command
27353 @findex -gdb-exit
27354
27355 @subsubheading Synopsis
27356
27357 @smallexample
27358 -gdb-exit
27359 @end smallexample
27360
27361 Exit @value{GDBN} immediately.
27362
27363 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27364
27365 Approximately corresponds to @samp{quit}.
27366
27367 @subsubheading Example
27368
27369 @smallexample
27370 (gdb)
27371 -gdb-exit
27372 ^exit
27373 @end smallexample
27374
27375
27376 @ignore
27377 @subheading The @code{-exec-abort} Command
27378 @findex -exec-abort
27379
27380 @subsubheading Synopsis
27381
27382 @smallexample
27383 -exec-abort
27384 @end smallexample
27385
27386 Kill the inferior running program.
27387
27388 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27389
27390 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{kill}.
27391
27392 @subsubheading Example
27393 N.A.
27394 @end ignore
27395
27396
27397 @subheading The @code{-gdb-set} Command
27398 @findex -gdb-set
27399
27400 @subsubheading Synopsis
27401
27402 @smallexample
27403 -gdb-set
27404 @end smallexample
27405
27406 Set an internal @value{GDBN} variable.
27407 @c IS THIS A DOLLAR VARIABLE? OR SOMETHING LIKE ANNOTATE ?????
27408
27409 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27410
27411 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{set}.
27412
27413 @subsubheading Example
27414
27415 @smallexample
27416 (gdb)
27417 -gdb-set $foo=3
27418 ^done
27419 (gdb)
27420 @end smallexample
27421
27422
27423 @subheading The @code{-gdb-show} Command
27424 @findex -gdb-show
27425
27426 @subsubheading Synopsis
27427
27428 @smallexample
27429 -gdb-show
27430 @end smallexample
27431
27432 Show the current value of a @value{GDBN} variable.
27433
27434 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27435
27436 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{show}.
27437
27438 @subsubheading Example
27439
27440 @smallexample
27441 (gdb)
27442 -gdb-show annotate
27443 ^done,value="0"
27444 (gdb)
27445 @end smallexample
27446
27447 @c @subheading -gdb-source
27448
27449
27450 @subheading The @code{-gdb-version} Command
27451 @findex -gdb-version
27452
27453 @subsubheading Synopsis
27454
27455 @smallexample
27456 -gdb-version
27457 @end smallexample
27458
27459 Show version information for @value{GDBN}. Used mostly in testing.
27460
27461 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27462
27463 The @value{GDBN} equivalent is @samp{show version}. @value{GDBN} by
27464 default shows this information when you start an interactive session.
27465
27466 @subsubheading Example
27467
27468 @c This example modifies the actual output from GDB to avoid overfull
27469 @c box in TeX.
27470 @smallexample
27471 (gdb)
27472 -gdb-version
27473 ~GNU gdb 5.2.1
27474 ~Copyright 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
27475 ~GDB is free software, covered by the GNU General Public License, and
27476 ~you are welcome to change it and/or distribute copies of it under
27477 ~ certain conditions.
27478 ~Type "show copying" to see the conditions.
27479 ~There is absolutely no warranty for GDB. Type "show warranty" for
27480 ~ details.
27481 ~This GDB was configured as
27482 "--host=sparc-sun-solaris2.5.1 --target=ppc-eabi".
27483 ^done
27484 (gdb)
27485 @end smallexample
27486
27487 @subheading The @code{-list-features} Command
27488 @findex -list-features
27489
27490 Returns a list of particular features of the MI protocol that
27491 this version of gdb implements. A feature can be a command,
27492 or a new field in an output of some command, or even an
27493 important bugfix. While a frontend can sometimes detect presence
27494 of a feature at runtime, it is easier to perform detection at debugger
27495 startup.
27496
27497 The command returns a list of strings, with each string naming an
27498 available feature. Each returned string is just a name, it does not
27499 have any internal structure. The list of possible feature names
27500 is given below.
27501
27502 Example output:
27503
27504 @smallexample
27505 (gdb) -list-features
27506 ^done,result=["feature1","feature2"]
27507 @end smallexample
27508
27509 The current list of features is:
27510
27511 @table @samp
27512 @item frozen-varobjs
27513 Indicates presence of the @code{-var-set-frozen} command, as well
27514 as possible presense of the @code{frozen} field in the output
27515 of @code{-varobj-create}.
27516 @item pending-breakpoints
27517 Indicates presence of the @option{-f} option to the @code{-break-insert} command.
27518 @item python
27519 Indicates presence of Python scripting support, Python-based
27520 pretty-printing commands, and possible presence of the
27521 @samp{display_hint} field in the output of @code{-var-list-children}
27522 @item thread-info
27523 Indicates presence of the @code{-thread-info} command.
27524
27525 @end table
27526
27527 @subheading The @code{-list-target-features} Command
27528 @findex -list-target-features
27529
27530 Returns a list of particular features that are supported by the
27531 target. Those features affect the permitted MI commands, but
27532 unlike the features reported by the @code{-list-features} command, the
27533 features depend on which target GDB is using at the moment. Whenever
27534 a target can change, due to commands such as @code{-target-select},
27535 @code{-target-attach} or @code{-exec-run}, the list of target features
27536 may change, and the frontend should obtain it again.
27537 Example output:
27538
27539 @smallexample
27540 (gdb) -list-features
27541 ^done,result=["async"]
27542 @end smallexample
27543
27544 The current list of features is:
27545
27546 @table @samp
27547 @item async
27548 Indicates that the target is capable of asynchronous command
27549 execution, which means that @value{GDBN} will accept further commands
27550 while the target is running.
27551
27552 @end table
27553
27554 @subheading The @code{-list-thread-groups} Command
27555 @findex -list-thread-groups
27556
27557 @subheading Synopsis
27558
27559 @smallexample
27560 -list-thread-groups [ --available ] [ --recurse 1 ] [ @var{group} ... ]
27561 @end smallexample
27562
27563 Lists thread groups (@pxref{Thread groups}). When a single thread
27564 group is passed as the argument, lists the children of that group.
27565 When several thread group are passed, lists information about those
27566 thread groups. Without any parameters, lists information about all
27567 top-level thread groups.
27568
27569 Normally, thread groups that are being debugged are reported.
27570 With the @samp{--available} option, @value{GDBN} reports thread groups
27571 available on the target.
27572
27573 The output of this command may have either a @samp{threads} result or
27574 a @samp{groups} result. The @samp{thread} result has a list of tuples
27575 as value, with each tuple describing a thread (@pxref{GDB/MI Thread
27576 Information}). The @samp{groups} result has a list of tuples as value,
27577 each tuple describing a thread group. If top-level groups are
27578 requested (that is, no parameter is passed), or when several groups
27579 are passed, the output always has a @samp{groups} result. The format
27580 of the @samp{group} result is described below.
27581
27582 To reduce the number of roundtrips it's possible to list thread groups
27583 together with their children, by passing the @samp{--recurse} option
27584 and the recursion depth. Presently, only recursion depth of 1 is
27585 permitted. If this option is present, then every reported thread group
27586 will also include its children, either as @samp{group} or
27587 @samp{threads} field.
27588
27589 In general, any combination of option and parameters is permitted, with
27590 the following caveats:
27591
27592 @itemize @bullet
27593 @item
27594 When a single thread group is passed, the output will typically
27595 be the @samp{threads} result. Because threads may not contain
27596 anything, the @samp{recurse} option will be ignored.
27597
27598 @item
27599 When the @samp{--available} option is passed, limited information may
27600 be available. In particular, the list of threads of a process might
27601 be inaccessible. Further, specifying specific thread groups might
27602 not give any performance advantage over listing all thread groups.
27603 The frontend should assume that @samp{-list-thread-groups --available}
27604 is always an expensive operation and cache the results.
27605
27606 @end itemize
27607
27608 The @samp{groups} result is a list of tuples, where each tuple may
27609 have the following fields:
27610
27611 @table @code
27612 @item id
27613 Identifier of the thread group. This field is always present.
27614 The identifier is an opaque string; frontends should not try to
27615 convert it to an integer, even though it might look like one.
27616
27617 @item type
27618 The type of the thread group. At present, only @samp{process} is a
27619 valid type.
27620
27621 @item pid
27622 The target-specific process identifier. This field is only present
27623 for thread groups of type @samp{process} and only if the process exists.
27624
27625 @item num_children
27626 The number of children this thread group has. This field may be
27627 absent for an available thread group.
27628
27629 @item threads
27630 This field has a list of tuples as value, each tuple describing a
27631 thread. It may be present if the @samp{--recurse} option is
27632 specified, and it's actually possible to obtain the threads.
27633
27634 @item cores
27635 This field is a list of integers, each identifying a core that one
27636 thread of the group is running on. This field may be absent if
27637 such information is not available.
27638
27639 @item executable
27640 The name of the executable file that corresponds to this thread group.
27641 The field is only present for thread groups of type @samp{process},
27642 and only if there is a corresponding executable file.
27643
27644 @end table
27645
27646 @subheading Example
27647
27648 @smallexample
27649 @value{GDBP}
27650 -list-thread-groups
27651 ^done,groups=[@{id="17",type="process",pid="yyy",num_children="2"@}]
27652 -list-thread-groups 17
27653 ^done,threads=[@{id="2",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90 (LWP 21257)",
27654 frame=@{level="0",addr="0xffffe410",func="__kernel_vsyscall",args=[]@},state="running"@},
27655 @{id="1",target-id="Thread 0xb7e156b0 (LWP 21254)",
27656 frame=@{level="0",addr="0x0804891f",func="foo",args=[@{name="i",value="10"@}],
27657 file="/tmp/a.c",fullname="/tmp/a.c",line="158"@},state="running"@}]]
27658 -list-thread-groups --available
27659 ^done,groups=[@{id="17",type="process",pid="yyy",num_children="2",cores=[1,2]@}]
27660 -list-thread-groups --available --recurse 1
27661 ^done,groups=[@{id="17", types="process",pid="yyy",num_children="2",cores=[1,2],
27662 threads=[@{id="1",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90",cores=[1]@},
27663 @{id="2",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90",cores=[2]@}]@},..]
27664 -list-thread-groups --available --recurse 1 17 18
27665 ^done,groups=[@{id="17", types="process",pid="yyy",num_children="2",cores=[1,2],
27666 threads=[@{id="1",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90",cores=[1]@},
27667 @{id="2",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90",cores=[2]@}]@},...]
27668 @end smallexample
27669
27670
27671 @subheading The @code{-add-inferior} Command
27672 @findex -add-inferior
27673
27674 @subheading Synopsis
27675
27676 @smallexample
27677 -add-inferior
27678 @end smallexample
27679
27680 Creates a new inferior (@pxref{Inferiors and Programs}). The created
27681 inferior is not associated with any executable. Such association may
27682 be established with the @samp{-file-exec-and-symbols} command
27683 (@pxref{GDB/MI File Commands}). The command response has a single
27684 field, @samp{thread-group}, whose value is the identifier of the
27685 thread group corresponding to the new inferior.
27686
27687 @subheading Example
27688
27689 @smallexample
27690 @value{GDBP}
27691 -add-inferior
27692 ^done,thread-group="i3"
27693 @end smallexample
27694
27695 @subheading The @code{-interpreter-exec} Command
27696 @findex -interpreter-exec
27697
27698 @subheading Synopsis
27699
27700 @smallexample
27701 -interpreter-exec @var{interpreter} @var{command}
27702 @end smallexample
27703 @anchor{-interpreter-exec}
27704
27705 Execute the specified @var{command} in the given @var{interpreter}.
27706
27707 @subheading @value{GDBN} Command
27708
27709 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{interpreter-exec}.
27710
27711 @subheading Example
27712
27713 @smallexample
27714 (gdb)
27715 -interpreter-exec console "break main"
27716 &"During symbol reading, couldn't parse type; debugger out of date?.\n"
27717 &"During symbol reading, bad structure-type format.\n"
27718 ~"Breakpoint 1 at 0x8074fc6: file ../../src/gdb/main.c, line 743.\n"
27719 ^done
27720 (gdb)
27721 @end smallexample
27722
27723 @subheading The @code{-inferior-tty-set} Command
27724 @findex -inferior-tty-set
27725
27726 @subheading Synopsis
27727
27728 @smallexample
27729 -inferior-tty-set /dev/pts/1
27730 @end smallexample
27731
27732 Set terminal for future runs of the program being debugged.
27733
27734 @subheading @value{GDBN} Command
27735
27736 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{set inferior-tty} /dev/pts/1.
27737
27738 @subheading Example
27739
27740 @smallexample
27741 (gdb)
27742 -inferior-tty-set /dev/pts/1
27743 ^done
27744 (gdb)
27745 @end smallexample
27746
27747 @subheading The @code{-inferior-tty-show} Command
27748 @findex -inferior-tty-show
27749
27750 @subheading Synopsis
27751
27752 @smallexample
27753 -inferior-tty-show
27754 @end smallexample
27755
27756 Show terminal for future runs of program being debugged.
27757
27758 @subheading @value{GDBN} Command
27759
27760 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{show inferior-tty}.
27761
27762 @subheading Example
27763
27764 @smallexample
27765 (gdb)
27766 -inferior-tty-set /dev/pts/1
27767 ^done
27768 (gdb)
27769 -inferior-tty-show
27770 ^done,inferior_tty_terminal="/dev/pts/1"
27771 (gdb)
27772 @end smallexample
27773
27774 @subheading The @code{-enable-timings} Command
27775 @findex -enable-timings
27776
27777 @subheading Synopsis
27778
27779 @smallexample
27780 -enable-timings [yes | no]
27781 @end smallexample
27782
27783 Toggle the printing of the wallclock, user and system times for an MI
27784 command as a field in its output. This command is to help frontend
27785 developers optimize the performance of their code. No argument is
27786 equivalent to @samp{yes}.
27787
27788 @subheading @value{GDBN} Command
27789
27790 No equivalent.
27791
27792 @subheading Example
27793
27794 @smallexample
27795 (gdb)
27796 -enable-timings
27797 ^done
27798 (gdb)
27799 -break-insert main
27800 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
27801 addr="0x080484ed",func="main",file="myprog.c",
27802 fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="73",times="0"@},
27803 time=@{wallclock="0.05185",user="0.00800",system="0.00000"@}
27804 (gdb)
27805 -enable-timings no
27806 ^done
27807 (gdb)
27808 -exec-run
27809 ^running
27810 (gdb)
27811 *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",thread-id="0",
27812 frame=@{addr="0x080484ed",func="main",args=[@{name="argc",value="1"@},
27813 @{name="argv",value="0xbfb60364"@}],file="myprog.c",
27814 fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="73"@}
27815 (gdb)
27816 @end smallexample
27817
27818 @node Annotations
27819 @chapter @value{GDBN} Annotations
27820
27821 This chapter describes annotations in @value{GDBN}. Annotations were
27822 designed to interface @value{GDBN} to graphical user interfaces or other
27823 similar programs which want to interact with @value{GDBN} at a
27824 relatively high level.
27825
27826 The annotation mechanism has largely been superseded by @sc{gdb/mi}
27827 (@pxref{GDB/MI}).
27828
27829 @ignore
27830 This is Edition @value{EDITION}, @value{DATE}.
27831 @end ignore
27832
27833 @menu
27834 * Annotations Overview:: What annotations are; the general syntax.
27835 * Server Prefix:: Issuing a command without affecting user state.
27836 * Prompting:: Annotations marking @value{GDBN}'s need for input.
27837 * Errors:: Annotations for error messages.
27838 * Invalidation:: Some annotations describe things now invalid.
27839 * Annotations for Running::
27840 Whether the program is running, how it stopped, etc.
27841 * Source Annotations:: Annotations describing source code.
27842 @end menu
27843
27844 @node Annotations Overview
27845 @section What is an Annotation?
27846 @cindex annotations
27847
27848 Annotations start with a newline character, two @samp{control-z}
27849 characters, and the name of the annotation. If there is no additional
27850 information associated with this annotation, the name of the annotation
27851 is followed immediately by a newline. If there is additional
27852 information, the name of the annotation is followed by a space, the
27853 additional information, and a newline. The additional information
27854 cannot contain newline characters.
27855
27856 Any output not beginning with a newline and two @samp{control-z}
27857 characters denotes literal output from @value{GDBN}. Currently there is
27858 no need for @value{GDBN} to output a newline followed by two
27859 @samp{control-z} characters, but if there was such a need, the
27860 annotations could be extended with an @samp{escape} annotation which
27861 means those three characters as output.
27862
27863 The annotation @var{level}, which is specified using the
27864 @option{--annotate} command line option (@pxref{Mode Options}), controls
27865 how much information @value{GDBN} prints together with its prompt,
27866 values of expressions, source lines, and other types of output. Level 0
27867 is for no annotations, level 1 is for use when @value{GDBN} is run as a
27868 subprocess of @sc{gnu} Emacs, level 3 is the maximum annotation suitable
27869 for programs that control @value{GDBN}, and level 2 annotations have
27870 been made obsolete (@pxref{Limitations, , Limitations of the Annotation
27871 Interface, annotate, GDB's Obsolete Annotations}).
27872
27873 @table @code
27874 @kindex set annotate
27875 @item set annotate @var{level}
27876 The @value{GDBN} command @code{set annotate} sets the level of
27877 annotations to the specified @var{level}.
27878
27879 @item show annotate
27880 @kindex show annotate
27881 Show the current annotation level.
27882 @end table
27883
27884 This chapter describes level 3 annotations.
27885
27886 A simple example of starting up @value{GDBN} with annotations is:
27887
27888 @smallexample
27889 $ @kbd{gdb --annotate=3}
27890 GNU gdb 6.0
27891 Copyright 2003 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
27892 GDB is free software, covered by the GNU General Public License,
27893 and you are welcome to change it and/or distribute copies of it
27894 under certain conditions.
27895 Type "show copying" to see the conditions.
27896 There is absolutely no warranty for GDB. Type "show warranty"
27897 for details.
27898 This GDB was configured as "i386-pc-linux-gnu"
27899
27900 ^Z^Zpre-prompt
27901 (@value{GDBP})
27902 ^Z^Zprompt
27903 @kbd{quit}
27904
27905 ^Z^Zpost-prompt
27906 $
27907 @end smallexample
27908
27909 Here @samp{quit} is input to @value{GDBN}; the rest is output from
27910 @value{GDBN}. The three lines beginning @samp{^Z^Z} (where @samp{^Z}
27911 denotes a @samp{control-z} character) are annotations; the rest is
27912 output from @value{GDBN}.
27913
27914 @node Server Prefix
27915 @section The Server Prefix
27916 @cindex server prefix
27917
27918 If you prefix a command with @samp{server } then it will not affect
27919 the command history, nor will it affect @value{GDBN}'s notion of which
27920 command to repeat if @key{RET} is pressed on a line by itself. This
27921 means that commands can be run behind a user's back by a front-end in
27922 a transparent manner.
27923
27924 The @code{server } prefix does not affect the recording of values into
27925 the value history; to print a value without recording it into the
27926 value history, use the @code{output} command instead of the
27927 @code{print} command.
27928
27929 Using this prefix also disables confirmation requests
27930 (@pxref{confirmation requests}).
27931
27932 @node Prompting
27933 @section Annotation for @value{GDBN} Input
27934
27935 @cindex annotations for prompts
27936 When @value{GDBN} prompts for input, it annotates this fact so it is possible
27937 to know when to send output, when the output from a given command is
27938 over, etc.
27939
27940 Different kinds of input each have a different @dfn{input type}. Each
27941 input type has three annotations: a @code{pre-} annotation, which
27942 denotes the beginning of any prompt which is being output, a plain
27943 annotation, which denotes the end of the prompt, and then a @code{post-}
27944 annotation which denotes the end of any echo which may (or may not) be
27945 associated with the input. For example, the @code{prompt} input type
27946 features the following annotations:
27947
27948 @smallexample
27949 ^Z^Zpre-prompt
27950 ^Z^Zprompt
27951 ^Z^Zpost-prompt
27952 @end smallexample
27953
27954 The input types are
27955
27956 @table @code
27957 @findex pre-prompt annotation
27958 @findex prompt annotation
27959 @findex post-prompt annotation
27960 @item prompt
27961 When @value{GDBN} is prompting for a command (the main @value{GDBN} prompt).
27962
27963 @findex pre-commands annotation
27964 @findex commands annotation
27965 @findex post-commands annotation
27966 @item commands
27967 When @value{GDBN} prompts for a set of commands, like in the @code{commands}
27968 command. The annotations are repeated for each command which is input.
27969
27970 @findex pre-overload-choice annotation
27971 @findex overload-choice annotation
27972 @findex post-overload-choice annotation
27973 @item overload-choice
27974 When @value{GDBN} wants the user to select between various overloaded functions.
27975
27976 @findex pre-query annotation
27977 @findex query annotation
27978 @findex post-query annotation
27979 @item query
27980 When @value{GDBN} wants the user to confirm a potentially dangerous operation.
27981
27982 @findex pre-prompt-for-continue annotation
27983 @findex prompt-for-continue annotation
27984 @findex post-prompt-for-continue annotation
27985 @item prompt-for-continue
27986 When @value{GDBN} is asking the user to press return to continue. Note: Don't
27987 expect this to work well; instead use @code{set height 0} to disable
27988 prompting. This is because the counting of lines is buggy in the
27989 presence of annotations.
27990 @end table
27991
27992 @node Errors
27993 @section Errors
27994 @cindex annotations for errors, warnings and interrupts
27995
27996 @findex quit annotation
27997 @smallexample
27998 ^Z^Zquit
27999 @end smallexample
28000
28001 This annotation occurs right before @value{GDBN} responds to an interrupt.
28002
28003 @findex error annotation
28004 @smallexample
28005 ^Z^Zerror
28006 @end smallexample
28007
28008 This annotation occurs right before @value{GDBN} responds to an error.
28009
28010 Quit and error annotations indicate that any annotations which @value{GDBN} was
28011 in the middle of may end abruptly. For example, if a
28012 @code{value-history-begin} annotation is followed by a @code{error}, one
28013 cannot expect to receive the matching @code{value-history-end}. One
28014 cannot expect not to receive it either, however; an error annotation
28015 does not necessarily mean that @value{GDBN} is immediately returning all the way
28016 to the top level.
28017
28018 @findex error-begin annotation
28019 A quit or error annotation may be preceded by
28020
28021 @smallexample
28022 ^Z^Zerror-begin
28023 @end smallexample
28024
28025 Any output between that and the quit or error annotation is the error
28026 message.
28027
28028 Warning messages are not yet annotated.
28029 @c If we want to change that, need to fix warning(), type_error(),
28030 @c range_error(), and possibly other places.
28031
28032 @node Invalidation
28033 @section Invalidation Notices
28034
28035 @cindex annotations for invalidation messages
28036 The following annotations say that certain pieces of state may have
28037 changed.
28038
28039 @table @code
28040 @findex frames-invalid annotation
28041 @item ^Z^Zframes-invalid
28042
28043 The frames (for example, output from the @code{backtrace} command) may
28044 have changed.
28045
28046 @findex breakpoints-invalid annotation
28047 @item ^Z^Zbreakpoints-invalid
28048
28049 The breakpoints may have changed. For example, the user just added or
28050 deleted a breakpoint.
28051 @end table
28052
28053 @node Annotations for Running
28054 @section Running the Program
28055 @cindex annotations for running programs
28056
28057 @findex starting annotation
28058 @findex stopping annotation
28059 When the program starts executing due to a @value{GDBN} command such as
28060 @code{step} or @code{continue},
28061
28062 @smallexample
28063 ^Z^Zstarting
28064 @end smallexample
28065
28066 is output. When the program stops,
28067
28068 @smallexample
28069 ^Z^Zstopped
28070 @end smallexample
28071
28072 is output. Before the @code{stopped} annotation, a variety of
28073 annotations describe how the program stopped.
28074
28075 @table @code
28076 @findex exited annotation
28077 @item ^Z^Zexited @var{exit-status}
28078 The program exited, and @var{exit-status} is the exit status (zero for
28079 successful exit, otherwise nonzero).
28080
28081 @findex signalled annotation
28082 @findex signal-name annotation
28083 @findex signal-name-end annotation
28084 @findex signal-string annotation
28085 @findex signal-string-end annotation
28086 @item ^Z^Zsignalled
28087 The program exited with a signal. After the @code{^Z^Zsignalled}, the
28088 annotation continues:
28089
28090 @smallexample
28091 @var{intro-text}
28092 ^Z^Zsignal-name
28093 @var{name}
28094 ^Z^Zsignal-name-end
28095 @var{middle-text}
28096 ^Z^Zsignal-string
28097 @var{string}
28098 ^Z^Zsignal-string-end
28099 @var{end-text}
28100 @end smallexample
28101
28102 @noindent
28103 where @var{name} is the name of the signal, such as @code{SIGILL} or
28104 @code{SIGSEGV}, and @var{string} is the explanation of the signal, such
28105 as @code{Illegal Instruction} or @code{Segmentation fault}.
28106 @var{intro-text}, @var{middle-text}, and @var{end-text} are for the
28107 user's benefit and have no particular format.
28108
28109 @findex signal annotation
28110 @item ^Z^Zsignal
28111 The syntax of this annotation is just like @code{signalled}, but @value{GDBN} is
28112 just saying that the program received the signal, not that it was
28113 terminated with it.
28114
28115 @findex breakpoint annotation
28116 @item ^Z^Zbreakpoint @var{number}
28117 The program hit breakpoint number @var{number}.
28118
28119 @findex watchpoint annotation
28120 @item ^Z^Zwatchpoint @var{number}
28121 The program hit watchpoint number @var{number}.
28122 @end table
28123
28124 @node Source Annotations
28125 @section Displaying Source
28126 @cindex annotations for source display
28127
28128 @findex source annotation
28129 The following annotation is used instead of displaying source code:
28130
28131 @smallexample
28132 ^Z^Zsource @var{filename}:@var{line}:@var{character}:@var{middle}:@var{addr}
28133 @end smallexample
28134
28135 where @var{filename} is an absolute file name indicating which source
28136 file, @var{line} is the line number within that file (where 1 is the
28137 first line in the file), @var{character} is the character position
28138 within the file (where 0 is the first character in the file) (for most
28139 debug formats this will necessarily point to the beginning of a line),
28140 @var{middle} is @samp{middle} if @var{addr} is in the middle of the
28141 line, or @samp{beg} if @var{addr} is at the beginning of the line, and
28142 @var{addr} is the address in the target program associated with the
28143 source which is being displayed. @var{addr} is in the form @samp{0x}
28144 followed by one or more lowercase hex digits (note that this does not
28145 depend on the language).
28146
28147 @node JIT Interface
28148 @chapter JIT Compilation Interface
28149 @cindex just-in-time compilation
28150 @cindex JIT compilation interface
28151
28152 This chapter documents @value{GDBN}'s @dfn{just-in-time} (JIT) compilation
28153 interface. A JIT compiler is a program or library that generates native
28154 executable code at runtime and executes it, usually in order to achieve good
28155 performance while maintaining platform independence.
28156
28157 Programs that use JIT compilation are normally difficult to debug because
28158 portions of their code are generated at runtime, instead of being loaded from
28159 object files, which is where @value{GDBN} normally finds the program's symbols
28160 and debug information. In order to debug programs that use JIT compilation,
28161 @value{GDBN} has an interface that allows the program to register in-memory
28162 symbol files with @value{GDBN} at runtime.
28163
28164 If you are using @value{GDBN} to debug a program that uses this interface, then
28165 it should work transparently so long as you have not stripped the binary. If
28166 you are developing a JIT compiler, then the interface is documented in the rest
28167 of this chapter. At this time, the only known client of this interface is the
28168 LLVM JIT.
28169
28170 Broadly speaking, the JIT interface mirrors the dynamic loader interface. The
28171 JIT compiler communicates with @value{GDBN} by writing data into a global
28172 variable and calling a fuction at a well-known symbol. When @value{GDBN}
28173 attaches, it reads a linked list of symbol files from the global variable to
28174 find existing code, and puts a breakpoint in the function so that it can find
28175 out about additional code.
28176
28177 @menu
28178 * Declarations:: Relevant C struct declarations
28179 * Registering Code:: Steps to register code
28180 * Unregistering Code:: Steps to unregister code
28181 @end menu
28182
28183 @node Declarations
28184 @section JIT Declarations
28185
28186 These are the relevant struct declarations that a C program should include to
28187 implement the interface:
28188
28189 @smallexample
28190 typedef enum
28191 @{
28192 JIT_NOACTION = 0,
28193 JIT_REGISTER_FN,
28194 JIT_UNREGISTER_FN
28195 @} jit_actions_t;
28196
28197 struct jit_code_entry
28198 @{
28199 struct jit_code_entry *next_entry;
28200 struct jit_code_entry *prev_entry;
28201 const char *symfile_addr;
28202 uint64_t symfile_size;
28203 @};
28204
28205 struct jit_descriptor
28206 @{
28207 uint32_t version;
28208 /* This type should be jit_actions_t, but we use uint32_t
28209 to be explicit about the bitwidth. */
28210 uint32_t action_flag;
28211 struct jit_code_entry *relevant_entry;
28212 struct jit_code_entry *first_entry;
28213 @};
28214
28215 /* GDB puts a breakpoint in this function. */
28216 void __attribute__((noinline)) __jit_debug_register_code() @{ @};
28217
28218 /* Make sure to specify the version statically, because the
28219 debugger may check the version before we can set it. */
28220 struct jit_descriptor __jit_debug_descriptor = @{ 1, 0, 0, 0 @};
28221 @end smallexample
28222
28223 If the JIT is multi-threaded, then it is important that the JIT synchronize any
28224 modifications to this global data properly, which can easily be done by putting
28225 a global mutex around modifications to these structures.
28226
28227 @node Registering Code
28228 @section Registering Code
28229
28230 To register code with @value{GDBN}, the JIT should follow this protocol:
28231
28232 @itemize @bullet
28233 @item
28234 Generate an object file in memory with symbols and other desired debug
28235 information. The file must include the virtual addresses of the sections.
28236
28237 @item
28238 Create a code entry for the file, which gives the start and size of the symbol
28239 file.
28240
28241 @item
28242 Add it to the linked list in the JIT descriptor.
28243
28244 @item
28245 Point the relevant_entry field of the descriptor at the entry.
28246
28247 @item
28248 Set @code{action_flag} to @code{JIT_REGISTER} and call
28249 @code{__jit_debug_register_code}.
28250 @end itemize
28251
28252 When @value{GDBN} is attached and the breakpoint fires, @value{GDBN} uses the
28253 @code{relevant_entry} pointer so it doesn't have to walk the list looking for
28254 new code. However, the linked list must still be maintained in order to allow
28255 @value{GDBN} to attach to a running process and still find the symbol files.
28256
28257 @node Unregistering Code
28258 @section Unregistering Code
28259
28260 If code is freed, then the JIT should use the following protocol:
28261
28262 @itemize @bullet
28263 @item
28264 Remove the code entry corresponding to the code from the linked list.
28265
28266 @item
28267 Point the @code{relevant_entry} field of the descriptor at the code entry.
28268
28269 @item
28270 Set @code{action_flag} to @code{JIT_UNREGISTER} and call
28271 @code{__jit_debug_register_code}.
28272 @end itemize
28273
28274 If the JIT frees or recompiles code without unregistering it, then @value{GDBN}
28275 and the JIT will leak the memory used for the associated symbol files.
28276
28277 @node GDB Bugs
28278 @chapter Reporting Bugs in @value{GDBN}
28279 @cindex bugs in @value{GDBN}
28280 @cindex reporting bugs in @value{GDBN}
28281
28282 Your bug reports play an essential role in making @value{GDBN} reliable.
28283
28284 Reporting a bug may help you by bringing a solution to your problem, or it
28285 may not. But in any case the principal function of a bug report is to help
28286 the entire community by making the next version of @value{GDBN} work better. Bug
28287 reports are your contribution to the maintenance of @value{GDBN}.
28288
28289 In order for a bug report to serve its purpose, you must include the
28290 information that enables us to fix the bug.
28291
28292 @menu
28293 * Bug Criteria:: Have you found a bug?
28294 * Bug Reporting:: How to report bugs
28295 @end menu
28296
28297 @node Bug Criteria
28298 @section Have You Found a Bug?
28299 @cindex bug criteria
28300
28301 If you are not sure whether you have found a bug, here are some guidelines:
28302
28303 @itemize @bullet
28304 @cindex fatal signal
28305 @cindex debugger crash
28306 @cindex crash of debugger
28307 @item
28308 If the debugger gets a fatal signal, for any input whatever, that is a
28309 @value{GDBN} bug. Reliable debuggers never crash.
28310
28311 @cindex error on valid input
28312 @item
28313 If @value{GDBN} produces an error message for valid input, that is a
28314 bug. (Note that if you're cross debugging, the problem may also be
28315 somewhere in the connection to the target.)
28316
28317 @cindex invalid input
28318 @item
28319 If @value{GDBN} does not produce an error message for invalid input,
28320 that is a bug. However, you should note that your idea of
28321 ``invalid input'' might be our idea of ``an extension'' or ``support
28322 for traditional practice''.
28323
28324 @item
28325 If you are an experienced user of debugging tools, your suggestions
28326 for improvement of @value{GDBN} are welcome in any case.
28327 @end itemize
28328
28329 @node Bug Reporting
28330 @section How to Report Bugs
28331 @cindex bug reports
28332 @cindex @value{GDBN} bugs, reporting
28333
28334 A number of companies and individuals offer support for @sc{gnu} products.
28335 If you obtained @value{GDBN} from a support organization, we recommend you
28336 contact that organization first.
28337
28338 You can find contact information for many support companies and
28339 individuals in the file @file{etc/SERVICE} in the @sc{gnu} Emacs
28340 distribution.
28341 @c should add a web page ref...
28342
28343 @ifset BUGURL
28344 @ifset BUGURL_DEFAULT
28345 In any event, we also recommend that you submit bug reports for
28346 @value{GDBN}. The preferred method is to submit them directly using
28347 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/bugs/, @value{GDBN}'s Bugs web
28348 page}. Alternatively, the @email{bug-gdb@@gnu.org, e-mail gateway} can
28349 be used.
28350
28351 @strong{Do not send bug reports to @samp{info-gdb}, or to
28352 @samp{help-gdb}, or to any newsgroups.} Most users of @value{GDBN} do
28353 not want to receive bug reports. Those that do have arranged to receive
28354 @samp{bug-gdb}.
28355
28356 The mailing list @samp{bug-gdb} has a newsgroup @samp{gnu.gdb.bug} which
28357 serves as a repeater. The mailing list and the newsgroup carry exactly
28358 the same messages. Often people think of posting bug reports to the
28359 newsgroup instead of mailing them. This appears to work, but it has one
28360 problem which can be crucial: a newsgroup posting often lacks a mail
28361 path back to the sender. Thus, if we need to ask for more information,
28362 we may be unable to reach you. For this reason, it is better to send
28363 bug reports to the mailing list.
28364 @end ifset
28365 @ifclear BUGURL_DEFAULT
28366 In any event, we also recommend that you submit bug reports for
28367 @value{GDBN} to @value{BUGURL}.
28368 @end ifclear
28369 @end ifset
28370
28371 The fundamental principle of reporting bugs usefully is this:
28372 @strong{report all the facts}. If you are not sure whether to state a
28373 fact or leave it out, state it!
28374
28375 Often people omit facts because they think they know what causes the
28376 problem and assume that some details do not matter. Thus, you might
28377 assume that the name of the variable you use in an example does not matter.
28378 Well, probably it does not, but one cannot be sure. Perhaps the bug is a
28379 stray memory reference which happens to fetch from the location where that
28380 name is stored in memory; perhaps, if the name were different, the contents
28381 of that location would fool the debugger into doing the right thing despite
28382 the bug. Play it safe and give a specific, complete example. That is the
28383 easiest thing for you to do, and the most helpful.
28384
28385 Keep in mind that the purpose of a bug report is to enable us to fix the
28386 bug. It may be that the bug has been reported previously, but neither
28387 you nor we can know that unless your bug report is complete and
28388 self-contained.
28389
28390 Sometimes people give a few sketchy facts and ask, ``Does this ring a
28391 bell?'' Those bug reports are useless, and we urge everyone to
28392 @emph{refuse to respond to them} except to chide the sender to report
28393 bugs properly.
28394
28395 To enable us to fix the bug, you should include all these things:
28396
28397 @itemize @bullet
28398 @item
28399 The version of @value{GDBN}. @value{GDBN} announces it if you start
28400 with no arguments; you can also print it at any time using @code{show
28401 version}.
28402
28403 Without this, we will not know whether there is any point in looking for
28404 the bug in the current version of @value{GDBN}.
28405
28406 @item
28407 The type of machine you are using, and the operating system name and
28408 version number.
28409
28410 @item
28411 What compiler (and its version) was used to compile @value{GDBN}---e.g.@:
28412 ``@value{GCC}--2.8.1''.
28413
28414 @item
28415 What compiler (and its version) was used to compile the program you are
28416 debugging---e.g.@: ``@value{GCC}--2.8.1'', or ``HP92453-01 A.10.32.03 HP
28417 C Compiler''. For @value{NGCC}, you can say @kbd{@value{GCC} --version}
28418 to get this information; for other compilers, see the documentation for
28419 those compilers.
28420
28421 @item
28422 The command arguments you gave the compiler to compile your example and
28423 observe the bug. For example, did you use @samp{-O}? To guarantee
28424 you will not omit something important, list them all. A copy of the
28425 Makefile (or the output from make) is sufficient.
28426
28427 If we were to try to guess the arguments, we would probably guess wrong
28428 and then we might not encounter the bug.
28429
28430 @item
28431 A complete input script, and all necessary source files, that will
28432 reproduce the bug.
28433
28434 @item
28435 A description of what behavior you observe that you believe is
28436 incorrect. For example, ``It gets a fatal signal.''
28437
28438 Of course, if the bug is that @value{GDBN} gets a fatal signal, then we
28439 will certainly notice it. But if the bug is incorrect output, we might
28440 not notice unless it is glaringly wrong. You might as well not give us
28441 a chance to make a mistake.
28442
28443 Even if the problem you experience is a fatal signal, you should still
28444 say so explicitly. Suppose something strange is going on, such as, your
28445 copy of @value{GDBN} is out of synch, or you have encountered a bug in
28446 the C library on your system. (This has happened!) Your copy might
28447 crash and ours would not. If you told us to expect a crash, then when
28448 ours fails to crash, we would know that the bug was not happening for
28449 us. If you had not told us to expect a crash, then we would not be able
28450 to draw any conclusion from our observations.
28451
28452 @pindex script
28453 @cindex recording a session script
28454 To collect all this information, you can use a session recording program
28455 such as @command{script}, which is available on many Unix systems.
28456 Just run your @value{GDBN} session inside @command{script} and then
28457 include the @file{typescript} file with your bug report.
28458
28459 Another way to record a @value{GDBN} session is to run @value{GDBN}
28460 inside Emacs and then save the entire buffer to a file.
28461
28462 @item
28463 If you wish to suggest changes to the @value{GDBN} source, send us context
28464 diffs. If you even discuss something in the @value{GDBN} source, refer to
28465 it by context, not by line number.
28466
28467 The line numbers in our development sources will not match those in your
28468 sources. Your line numbers would convey no useful information to us.
28469
28470 @end itemize
28471
28472 Here are some things that are not necessary:
28473
28474 @itemize @bullet
28475 @item
28476 A description of the envelope of the bug.
28477
28478 Often people who encounter a bug spend a lot of time investigating
28479 which changes to the input file will make the bug go away and which
28480 changes will not affect it.
28481
28482 This is often time consuming and not very useful, because the way we
28483 will find the bug is by running a single example under the debugger
28484 with breakpoints, not by pure deduction from a series of examples.
28485 We recommend that you save your time for something else.
28486
28487 Of course, if you can find a simpler example to report @emph{instead}
28488 of the original one, that is a convenience for us. Errors in the
28489 output will be easier to spot, running under the debugger will take
28490 less time, and so on.
28491
28492 However, simplification is not vital; if you do not want to do this,
28493 report the bug anyway and send us the entire test case you used.
28494
28495 @item
28496 A patch for the bug.
28497
28498 A patch for the bug does help us if it is a good one. But do not omit
28499 the necessary information, such as the test case, on the assumption that
28500 a patch is all we need. We might see problems with your patch and decide
28501 to fix the problem another way, or we might not understand it at all.
28502
28503 Sometimes with a program as complicated as @value{GDBN} it is very hard to
28504 construct an example that will make the program follow a certain path
28505 through the code. If you do not send us the example, we will not be able
28506 to construct one, so we will not be able to verify that the bug is fixed.
28507
28508 And if we cannot understand what bug you are trying to fix, or why your
28509 patch should be an improvement, we will not install it. A test case will
28510 help us to understand.
28511
28512 @item
28513 A guess about what the bug is or what it depends on.
28514
28515 Such guesses are usually wrong. Even we cannot guess right about such
28516 things without first using the debugger to find the facts.
28517 @end itemize
28518
28519 @c The readline documentation is distributed with the readline code
28520 @c and consists of the two following files:
28521 @c rluser.texinfo
28522 @c inc-hist.texinfo
28523 @c Use -I with makeinfo to point to the appropriate directory,
28524 @c environment var TEXINPUTS with TeX.
28525 @include rluser.texi
28526 @include inc-hist.texinfo
28527
28528
28529 @node Formatting Documentation
28530 @appendix Formatting Documentation
28531
28532 @cindex @value{GDBN} reference card
28533 @cindex reference card
28534 The @value{GDBN} 4 release includes an already-formatted reference card, ready
28535 for printing with PostScript or Ghostscript, in the @file{gdb}
28536 subdirectory of the main source directory@footnote{In
28537 @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb/refcard.ps} of the version @value{GDBVN}
28538 release.}. If you can use PostScript or Ghostscript with your printer,
28539 you can print the reference card immediately with @file{refcard.ps}.
28540
28541 The release also includes the source for the reference card. You
28542 can format it, using @TeX{}, by typing:
28543
28544 @smallexample
28545 make refcard.dvi
28546 @end smallexample
28547
28548 The @value{GDBN} reference card is designed to print in @dfn{landscape}
28549 mode on US ``letter'' size paper;
28550 that is, on a sheet 11 inches wide by 8.5 inches
28551 high. You will need to specify this form of printing as an option to
28552 your @sc{dvi} output program.
28553
28554 @cindex documentation
28555
28556 All the documentation for @value{GDBN} comes as part of the machine-readable
28557 distribution. The documentation is written in Texinfo format, which is
28558 a documentation system that uses a single source file to produce both
28559 on-line information and a printed manual. You can use one of the Info
28560 formatting commands to create the on-line version of the documentation
28561 and @TeX{} (or @code{texi2roff}) to typeset the printed version.
28562
28563 @value{GDBN} includes an already formatted copy of the on-line Info
28564 version of this manual in the @file{gdb} subdirectory. The main Info
28565 file is @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb/gdb.info}, and it refers to
28566 subordinate files matching @samp{gdb.info*} in the same directory. If
28567 necessary, you can print out these files, or read them with any editor;
28568 but they are easier to read using the @code{info} subsystem in @sc{gnu}
28569 Emacs or the standalone @code{info} program, available as part of the
28570 @sc{gnu} Texinfo distribution.
28571
28572 If you want to format these Info files yourself, you need one of the
28573 Info formatting programs, such as @code{texinfo-format-buffer} or
28574 @code{makeinfo}.
28575
28576 If you have @code{makeinfo} installed, and are in the top level
28577 @value{GDBN} source directory (@file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}}, in the case of
28578 version @value{GDBVN}), you can make the Info file by typing:
28579
28580 @smallexample
28581 cd gdb
28582 make gdb.info
28583 @end smallexample
28584
28585 If you want to typeset and print copies of this manual, you need @TeX{},
28586 a program to print its @sc{dvi} output files, and @file{texinfo.tex}, the
28587 Texinfo definitions file.
28588
28589 @TeX{} is a typesetting program; it does not print files directly, but
28590 produces output files called @sc{dvi} files. To print a typeset
28591 document, you need a program to print @sc{dvi} files. If your system
28592 has @TeX{} installed, chances are it has such a program. The precise
28593 command to use depends on your system; @kbd{lpr -d} is common; another
28594 (for PostScript devices) is @kbd{dvips}. The @sc{dvi} print command may
28595 require a file name without any extension or a @samp{.dvi} extension.
28596
28597 @TeX{} also requires a macro definitions file called
28598 @file{texinfo.tex}. This file tells @TeX{} how to typeset a document
28599 written in Texinfo format. On its own, @TeX{} cannot either read or
28600 typeset a Texinfo file. @file{texinfo.tex} is distributed with GDB
28601 and is located in the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}/texinfo}
28602 directory.
28603
28604 If you have @TeX{} and a @sc{dvi} printer program installed, you can
28605 typeset and print this manual. First switch to the @file{gdb}
28606 subdirectory of the main source directory (for example, to
28607 @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb}) and type:
28608
28609 @smallexample
28610 make gdb.dvi
28611 @end smallexample
28612
28613 Then give @file{gdb.dvi} to your @sc{dvi} printing program.
28614
28615 @node Installing GDB
28616 @appendix Installing @value{GDBN}
28617 @cindex installation
28618
28619 @menu
28620 * Requirements:: Requirements for building @value{GDBN}
28621 * Running Configure:: Invoking the @value{GDBN} @file{configure} script
28622 * Separate Objdir:: Compiling @value{GDBN} in another directory
28623 * Config Names:: Specifying names for hosts and targets
28624 * Configure Options:: Summary of options for configure
28625 * System-wide configuration:: Having a system-wide init file
28626 @end menu
28627
28628 @node Requirements
28629 @section Requirements for Building @value{GDBN}
28630 @cindex building @value{GDBN}, requirements for
28631
28632 Building @value{GDBN} requires various tools and packages to be available.
28633 Other packages will be used only if they are found.
28634
28635 @heading Tools/Packages Necessary for Building @value{GDBN}
28636 @table @asis
28637 @item ISO C90 compiler
28638 @value{GDBN} is written in ISO C90. It should be buildable with any
28639 working C90 compiler, e.g.@: GCC.
28640
28641 @end table
28642
28643 @heading Tools/Packages Optional for Building @value{GDBN}
28644 @table @asis
28645 @item Expat
28646 @anchor{Expat}
28647 @value{GDBN} can use the Expat XML parsing library. This library may be
28648 included with your operating system distribution; if it is not, you
28649 can get the latest version from @url{http://expat.sourceforge.net}.
28650 The @file{configure} script will search for this library in several
28651 standard locations; if it is installed in an unusual path, you can
28652 use the @option{--with-libexpat-prefix} option to specify its location.
28653
28654 Expat is used for:
28655
28656 @itemize @bullet
28657 @item
28658 Remote protocol memory maps (@pxref{Memory Map Format})
28659 @item
28660 Target descriptions (@pxref{Target Descriptions})
28661 @item
28662 Remote shared library lists (@pxref{Library List Format})
28663 @item
28664 MS-Windows shared libraries (@pxref{Shared Libraries})
28665 @end itemize
28666
28667 @item zlib
28668 @cindex compressed debug sections
28669 @value{GDBN} will use the @samp{zlib} library, if available, to read
28670 compressed debug sections. Some linkers, such as GNU gold, are capable
28671 of producing binaries with compressed debug sections. If @value{GDBN}
28672 is compiled with @samp{zlib}, it will be able to read the debug
28673 information in such binaries.
28674
28675 The @samp{zlib} library is likely included with your operating system
28676 distribution; if it is not, you can get the latest version from
28677 @url{http://zlib.net}.
28678
28679 @item iconv
28680 @value{GDBN}'s features related to character sets (@pxref{Character
28681 Sets}) require a functioning @code{iconv} implementation. If you are
28682 on a GNU system, then this is provided by the GNU C Library. Some
28683 other systems also provide a working @code{iconv}.
28684
28685 On systems with @code{iconv}, you can install GNU Libiconv. If you
28686 have previously installed Libiconv, you can use the
28687 @option{--with-libiconv-prefix} option to configure.
28688
28689 @value{GDBN}'s top-level @file{configure} and @file{Makefile} will
28690 arrange to build Libiconv if a directory named @file{libiconv} appears
28691 in the top-most source directory. If Libiconv is built this way, and
28692 if the operating system does not provide a suitable @code{iconv}
28693 implementation, then the just-built library will automatically be used
28694 by @value{GDBN}. One easy way to set this up is to download GNU
28695 Libiconv, unpack it, and then rename the directory holding the
28696 Libiconv source code to @samp{libiconv}.
28697 @end table
28698
28699 @node Running Configure
28700 @section Invoking the @value{GDBN} @file{configure} Script
28701 @cindex configuring @value{GDBN}
28702 @value{GDBN} comes with a @file{configure} script that automates the process
28703 of preparing @value{GDBN} for installation; you can then use @code{make} to
28704 build the @code{gdb} program.
28705 @iftex
28706 @c irrelevant in info file; it's as current as the code it lives with.
28707 @footnote{If you have a more recent version of @value{GDBN} than @value{GDBVN},
28708 look at the @file{README} file in the sources; we may have improved the
28709 installation procedures since publishing this manual.}
28710 @end iftex
28711
28712 The @value{GDBN} distribution includes all the source code you need for
28713 @value{GDBN} in a single directory, whose name is usually composed by
28714 appending the version number to @samp{gdb}.
28715
28716 For example, the @value{GDBN} version @value{GDBVN} distribution is in the
28717 @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} directory. That directory contains:
28718
28719 @table @code
28720 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/configure @r{(and supporting files)}
28721 script for configuring @value{GDBN} and all its supporting libraries
28722
28723 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb
28724 the source specific to @value{GDBN} itself
28725
28726 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/bfd
28727 source for the Binary File Descriptor library
28728
28729 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/include
28730 @sc{gnu} include files
28731
28732 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/libiberty
28733 source for the @samp{-liberty} free software library
28734
28735 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/opcodes
28736 source for the library of opcode tables and disassemblers
28737
28738 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/readline
28739 source for the @sc{gnu} command-line interface
28740
28741 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/glob
28742 source for the @sc{gnu} filename pattern-matching subroutine
28743
28744 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/mmalloc
28745 source for the @sc{gnu} memory-mapped malloc package
28746 @end table
28747
28748 The simplest way to configure and build @value{GDBN} is to run @file{configure}
28749 from the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} source directory, which in
28750 this example is the @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} directory.
28751
28752 First switch to the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} source directory
28753 if you are not already in it; then run @file{configure}. Pass the
28754 identifier for the platform on which @value{GDBN} will run as an
28755 argument.
28756
28757 For example:
28758
28759 @smallexample
28760 cd gdb-@value{GDBVN}
28761 ./configure @var{host}
28762 make
28763 @end smallexample
28764
28765 @noindent
28766 where @var{host} is an identifier such as @samp{sun4} or
28767 @samp{decstation}, that identifies the platform where @value{GDBN} will run.
28768 (You can often leave off @var{host}; @file{configure} tries to guess the
28769 correct value by examining your system.)
28770
28771 Running @samp{configure @var{host}} and then running @code{make} builds the
28772 @file{bfd}, @file{readline}, @file{mmalloc}, and @file{libiberty}
28773 libraries, then @code{gdb} itself. The configured source files, and the
28774 binaries, are left in the corresponding source directories.
28775
28776 @need 750
28777 @file{configure} is a Bourne-shell (@code{/bin/sh}) script; if your
28778 system does not recognize this automatically when you run a different
28779 shell, you may need to run @code{sh} on it explicitly:
28780
28781 @smallexample
28782 sh configure @var{host}
28783 @end smallexample
28784
28785 If you run @file{configure} from a directory that contains source
28786 directories for multiple libraries or programs, such as the
28787 @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} source directory for version @value{GDBVN},
28788 @file{configure}
28789 creates configuration files for every directory level underneath (unless
28790 you tell it not to, with the @samp{--norecursion} option).
28791
28792 You should run the @file{configure} script from the top directory in the
28793 source tree, the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} directory. If you run
28794 @file{configure} from one of the subdirectories, you will configure only
28795 that subdirectory. That is usually not what you want. In particular,
28796 if you run the first @file{configure} from the @file{gdb} subdirectory
28797 of the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} directory, you will omit the
28798 configuration of @file{bfd}, @file{readline}, and other sibling
28799 directories of the @file{gdb} subdirectory. This leads to build errors
28800 about missing include files such as @file{bfd/bfd.h}.
28801
28802 You can install @code{@value{GDBP}} anywhere; it has no hardwired paths.
28803 However, you should make sure that the shell on your path (named by
28804 the @samp{SHELL} environment variable) is publicly readable. Remember
28805 that @value{GDBN} uses the shell to start your program---some systems refuse to
28806 let @value{GDBN} debug child processes whose programs are not readable.
28807
28808 @node Separate Objdir
28809 @section Compiling @value{GDBN} in Another Directory
28810
28811 If you want to run @value{GDBN} versions for several host or target machines,
28812 you need a different @code{gdb} compiled for each combination of
28813 host and target. @file{configure} is designed to make this easy by
28814 allowing you to generate each configuration in a separate subdirectory,
28815 rather than in the source directory. If your @code{make} program
28816 handles the @samp{VPATH} feature (@sc{gnu} @code{make} does), running
28817 @code{make} in each of these directories builds the @code{gdb}
28818 program specified there.
28819
28820 To build @code{gdb} in a separate directory, run @file{configure}
28821 with the @samp{--srcdir} option to specify where to find the source.
28822 (You also need to specify a path to find @file{configure}
28823 itself from your working directory. If the path to @file{configure}
28824 would be the same as the argument to @samp{--srcdir}, you can leave out
28825 the @samp{--srcdir} option; it is assumed.)
28826
28827 For example, with version @value{GDBVN}, you can build @value{GDBN} in a
28828 separate directory for a Sun 4 like this:
28829
28830 @smallexample
28831 @group
28832 cd gdb-@value{GDBVN}
28833 mkdir ../gdb-sun4
28834 cd ../gdb-sun4
28835 ../gdb-@value{GDBVN}/configure sun4
28836 make
28837 @end group
28838 @end smallexample
28839
28840 When @file{configure} builds a configuration using a remote source
28841 directory, it creates a tree for the binaries with the same structure
28842 (and using the same names) as the tree under the source directory. In
28843 the example, you'd find the Sun 4 library @file{libiberty.a} in the
28844 directory @file{gdb-sun4/libiberty}, and @value{GDBN} itself in
28845 @file{gdb-sun4/gdb}.
28846
28847 Make sure that your path to the @file{configure} script has just one
28848 instance of @file{gdb} in it. If your path to @file{configure} looks
28849 like @file{../gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb/configure}, you are configuring only
28850 one subdirectory of @value{GDBN}, not the whole package. This leads to
28851 build errors about missing include files such as @file{bfd/bfd.h}.
28852
28853 One popular reason to build several @value{GDBN} configurations in separate
28854 directories is to configure @value{GDBN} for cross-compiling (where
28855 @value{GDBN} runs on one machine---the @dfn{host}---while debugging
28856 programs that run on another machine---the @dfn{target}).
28857 You specify a cross-debugging target by
28858 giving the @samp{--target=@var{target}} option to @file{configure}.
28859
28860 When you run @code{make} to build a program or library, you must run
28861 it in a configured directory---whatever directory you were in when you
28862 called @file{configure} (or one of its subdirectories).
28863
28864 The @code{Makefile} that @file{configure} generates in each source
28865 directory also runs recursively. If you type @code{make} in a source
28866 directory such as @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} (or in a separate configured
28867 directory configured with @samp{--srcdir=@var{dirname}/gdb-@value{GDBVN}}), you
28868 will build all the required libraries, and then build GDB.
28869
28870 When you have multiple hosts or targets configured in separate
28871 directories, you can run @code{make} on them in parallel (for example,
28872 if they are NFS-mounted on each of the hosts); they will not interfere
28873 with each other.
28874
28875 @node Config Names
28876 @section Specifying Names for Hosts and Targets
28877
28878 The specifications used for hosts and targets in the @file{configure}
28879 script are based on a three-part naming scheme, but some short predefined
28880 aliases are also supported. The full naming scheme encodes three pieces
28881 of information in the following pattern:
28882
28883 @smallexample
28884 @var{architecture}-@var{vendor}-@var{os}
28885 @end smallexample
28886
28887 For example, you can use the alias @code{sun4} as a @var{host} argument,
28888 or as the value for @var{target} in a @code{--target=@var{target}}
28889 option. The equivalent full name is @samp{sparc-sun-sunos4}.
28890
28891 The @file{configure} script accompanying @value{GDBN} does not provide
28892 any query facility to list all supported host and target names or
28893 aliases. @file{configure} calls the Bourne shell script
28894 @code{config.sub} to map abbreviations to full names; you can read the
28895 script, if you wish, or you can use it to test your guesses on
28896 abbreviations---for example:
28897
28898 @smallexample
28899 % sh config.sub i386-linux
28900 i386-pc-linux-gnu
28901 % sh config.sub alpha-linux
28902 alpha-unknown-linux-gnu
28903 % sh config.sub hp9k700
28904 hppa1.1-hp-hpux
28905 % sh config.sub sun4
28906 sparc-sun-sunos4.1.1
28907 % sh config.sub sun3
28908 m68k-sun-sunos4.1.1
28909 % sh config.sub i986v
28910 Invalid configuration `i986v': machine `i986v' not recognized
28911 @end smallexample
28912
28913 @noindent
28914 @code{config.sub} is also distributed in the @value{GDBN} source
28915 directory (@file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}}, for version @value{GDBVN}).
28916
28917 @node Configure Options
28918 @section @file{configure} Options
28919
28920 Here is a summary of the @file{configure} options and arguments that
28921 are most often useful for building @value{GDBN}. @file{configure} also has
28922 several other options not listed here. @inforef{What Configure
28923 Does,,configure.info}, for a full explanation of @file{configure}.
28924
28925 @smallexample
28926 configure @r{[}--help@r{]}
28927 @r{[}--prefix=@var{dir}@r{]}
28928 @r{[}--exec-prefix=@var{dir}@r{]}
28929 @r{[}--srcdir=@var{dirname}@r{]}
28930 @r{[}--norecursion@r{]} @r{[}--rm@r{]}
28931 @r{[}--target=@var{target}@r{]}
28932 @var{host}
28933 @end smallexample
28934
28935 @noindent
28936 You may introduce options with a single @samp{-} rather than
28937 @samp{--} if you prefer; but you may abbreviate option names if you use
28938 @samp{--}.
28939
28940 @table @code
28941 @item --help
28942 Display a quick summary of how to invoke @file{configure}.
28943
28944 @item --prefix=@var{dir}
28945 Configure the source to install programs and files under directory
28946 @file{@var{dir}}.
28947
28948 @item --exec-prefix=@var{dir}
28949 Configure the source to install programs under directory
28950 @file{@var{dir}}.
28951
28952 @c avoid splitting the warning from the explanation:
28953 @need 2000
28954 @item --srcdir=@var{dirname}
28955 @strong{Warning: using this option requires @sc{gnu} @code{make}, or another
28956 @code{make} that implements the @code{VPATH} feature.}@*
28957 Use this option to make configurations in directories separate from the
28958 @value{GDBN} source directories. Among other things, you can use this to
28959 build (or maintain) several configurations simultaneously, in separate
28960 directories. @file{configure} writes configuration-specific files in
28961 the current directory, but arranges for them to use the source in the
28962 directory @var{dirname}. @file{configure} creates directories under
28963 the working directory in parallel to the source directories below
28964 @var{dirname}.
28965
28966 @item --norecursion
28967 Configure only the directory level where @file{configure} is executed; do not
28968 propagate configuration to subdirectories.
28969
28970 @item --target=@var{target}
28971 Configure @value{GDBN} for cross-debugging programs running on the specified
28972 @var{target}. Without this option, @value{GDBN} is configured to debug
28973 programs that run on the same machine (@var{host}) as @value{GDBN} itself.
28974
28975 There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available targets.
28976
28977 @item @var{host} @dots{}
28978 Configure @value{GDBN} to run on the specified @var{host}.
28979
28980 There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available hosts.
28981 @end table
28982
28983 There are many other options available as well, but they are generally
28984 needed for special purposes only.
28985
28986 @node System-wide configuration
28987 @section System-wide configuration and settings
28988 @cindex system-wide init file
28989
28990 @value{GDBN} can be configured to have a system-wide init file;
28991 this file will be read and executed at startup (@pxref{Startup, , What
28992 @value{GDBN} does during startup}).
28993
28994 Here is the corresponding configure option:
28995
28996 @table @code
28997 @item --with-system-gdbinit=@var{file}
28998 Specify that the default location of the system-wide init file is
28999 @var{file}.
29000 @end table
29001
29002 If @value{GDBN} has been configured with the option @option{--prefix=$prefix},
29003 it may be subject to relocation. Two possible cases:
29004
29005 @itemize @bullet
29006 @item
29007 If the default location of this init file contains @file{$prefix},
29008 it will be subject to relocation. Suppose that the configure options
29009 are @option{--prefix=$prefix --with-system-gdbinit=$prefix/etc/gdbinit};
29010 if @value{GDBN} is moved from @file{$prefix} to @file{$install}, the system
29011 init file is looked for as @file{$install/etc/gdbinit} instead of
29012 @file{$prefix/etc/gdbinit}.
29013
29014 @item
29015 By contrast, if the default location does not contain the prefix,
29016 it will not be relocated. E.g.@: if @value{GDBN} has been configured with
29017 @option{--prefix=/usr/local --with-system-gdbinit=/usr/share/gdb/gdbinit},
29018 then @value{GDBN} will always look for @file{/usr/share/gdb/gdbinit},
29019 wherever @value{GDBN} is installed.
29020 @end itemize
29021
29022 @node Maintenance Commands
29023 @appendix Maintenance Commands
29024 @cindex maintenance commands
29025 @cindex internal commands
29026
29027 In addition to commands intended for @value{GDBN} users, @value{GDBN}
29028 includes a number of commands intended for @value{GDBN} developers,
29029 that are not documented elsewhere in this manual. These commands are
29030 provided here for reference. (For commands that turn on debugging
29031 messages, see @ref{Debugging Output}.)
29032
29033 @table @code
29034 @kindex maint agent
29035 @kindex maint agent-eval
29036 @item maint agent @var{expression}
29037 @itemx maint agent-eval @var{expression}
29038 Translate the given @var{expression} into remote agent bytecodes.
29039 This command is useful for debugging the Agent Expression mechanism
29040 (@pxref{Agent Expressions}). The @samp{agent} version produces an
29041 expression useful for data collection, such as by tracepoints, while
29042 @samp{maint agent-eval} produces an expression that evaluates directly
29043 to a result. For instance, a collection expression for @code{globa +
29044 globb} will include bytecodes to record four bytes of memory at each
29045 of the addresses of @code{globa} and @code{globb}, while discarding
29046 the result of the addition, while an evaluation expression will do the
29047 addition and return the sum.
29048
29049 @kindex maint info breakpoints
29050 @item @anchor{maint info breakpoints}maint info breakpoints
29051 Using the same format as @samp{info breakpoints}, display both the
29052 breakpoints you've set explicitly, and those @value{GDBN} is using for
29053 internal purposes. Internal breakpoints are shown with negative
29054 breakpoint numbers. The type column identifies what kind of breakpoint
29055 is shown:
29056
29057 @table @code
29058 @item breakpoint
29059 Normal, explicitly set breakpoint.
29060
29061 @item watchpoint
29062 Normal, explicitly set watchpoint.
29063
29064 @item longjmp
29065 Internal breakpoint, used to handle correctly stepping through
29066 @code{longjmp} calls.
29067
29068 @item longjmp resume
29069 Internal breakpoint at the target of a @code{longjmp}.
29070
29071 @item until
29072 Temporary internal breakpoint used by the @value{GDBN} @code{until} command.
29073
29074 @item finish
29075 Temporary internal breakpoint used by the @value{GDBN} @code{finish} command.
29076
29077 @item shlib events
29078 Shared library events.
29079
29080 @end table
29081
29082 @kindex set displaced-stepping
29083 @kindex show displaced-stepping
29084 @cindex displaced stepping support
29085 @cindex out-of-line single-stepping
29086 @item set displaced-stepping
29087 @itemx show displaced-stepping
29088 Control whether or not @value{GDBN} will do @dfn{displaced stepping}
29089 if the target supports it. Displaced stepping is a way to single-step
29090 over breakpoints without removing them from the inferior, by executing
29091 an out-of-line copy of the instruction that was originally at the
29092 breakpoint location. It is also known as out-of-line single-stepping.
29093
29094 @table @code
29095 @item set displaced-stepping on
29096 If the target architecture supports it, @value{GDBN} will use
29097 displaced stepping to step over breakpoints.
29098
29099 @item set displaced-stepping off
29100 @value{GDBN} will not use displaced stepping to step over breakpoints,
29101 even if such is supported by the target architecture.
29102
29103 @cindex non-stop mode, and @samp{set displaced-stepping}
29104 @item set displaced-stepping auto
29105 This is the default mode. @value{GDBN} will use displaced stepping
29106 only if non-stop mode is active (@pxref{Non-Stop Mode}) and the target
29107 architecture supports displaced stepping.
29108 @end table
29109
29110 @kindex maint check-symtabs
29111 @item maint check-symtabs
29112 Check the consistency of psymtabs and symtabs.
29113
29114 @kindex maint cplus first_component
29115 @item maint cplus first_component @var{name}
29116 Print the first C@t{++} class/namespace component of @var{name}.
29117
29118 @kindex maint cplus namespace
29119 @item maint cplus namespace
29120 Print the list of possible C@t{++} namespaces.
29121
29122 @kindex maint demangle
29123 @item maint demangle @var{name}
29124 Demangle a C@t{++} or Objective-C mangled @var{name}.
29125
29126 @kindex maint deprecate
29127 @kindex maint undeprecate
29128 @cindex deprecated commands
29129 @item maint deprecate @var{command} @r{[}@var{replacement}@r{]}
29130 @itemx maint undeprecate @var{command}
29131 Deprecate or undeprecate the named @var{command}. Deprecated commands
29132 cause @value{GDBN} to issue a warning when you use them. The optional
29133 argument @var{replacement} says which newer command should be used in
29134 favor of the deprecated one; if it is given, @value{GDBN} will mention
29135 the replacement as part of the warning.
29136
29137 @kindex maint dump-me
29138 @item maint dump-me
29139 @cindex @code{SIGQUIT} signal, dump core of @value{GDBN}
29140 Cause a fatal signal in the debugger and force it to dump its core.
29141 This is supported only on systems which support aborting a program
29142 with the @code{SIGQUIT} signal.
29143
29144 @kindex maint internal-error
29145 @kindex maint internal-warning
29146 @item maint internal-error @r{[}@var{message-text}@r{]}
29147 @itemx maint internal-warning @r{[}@var{message-text}@r{]}
29148 Cause @value{GDBN} to call the internal function @code{internal_error}
29149 or @code{internal_warning} and hence behave as though an internal error
29150 or internal warning has been detected. In addition to reporting the
29151 internal problem, these functions give the user the opportunity to
29152 either quit @value{GDBN} or create a core file of the current
29153 @value{GDBN} session.
29154
29155 These commands take an optional parameter @var{message-text} that is
29156 used as the text of the error or warning message.
29157
29158 Here's an example of using @code{internal-error}:
29159
29160 @smallexample
29161 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{maint internal-error testing, 1, 2}
29162 @dots{}/maint.c:121: internal-error: testing, 1, 2
29163 A problem internal to GDB has been detected. Further
29164 debugging may prove unreliable.
29165 Quit this debugging session? (y or n) @kbd{n}
29166 Create a core file? (y or n) @kbd{n}
29167 (@value{GDBP})
29168 @end smallexample
29169
29170 @cindex @value{GDBN} internal error
29171 @cindex internal errors, control of @value{GDBN} behavior
29172
29173 @kindex maint set internal-error
29174 @kindex maint show internal-error
29175 @kindex maint set internal-warning
29176 @kindex maint show internal-warning
29177 @item maint set internal-error @var{action} [ask|yes|no]
29178 @itemx maint show internal-error @var{action}
29179 @itemx maint set internal-warning @var{action} [ask|yes|no]
29180 @itemx maint show internal-warning @var{action}
29181 When @value{GDBN} reports an internal problem (error or warning) it
29182 gives the user the opportunity to both quit @value{GDBN} and create a
29183 core file of the current @value{GDBN} session. These commands let you
29184 override the default behaviour for each particular @var{action},
29185 described in the table below.
29186
29187 @table @samp
29188 @item quit
29189 You can specify that @value{GDBN} should always (yes) or never (no)
29190 quit. The default is to ask the user what to do.
29191
29192 @item corefile
29193 You can specify that @value{GDBN} should always (yes) or never (no)
29194 create a core file. The default is to ask the user what to do.
29195 @end table
29196
29197 @kindex maint packet
29198 @item maint packet @var{text}
29199 If @value{GDBN} is talking to an inferior via the serial protocol,
29200 then this command sends the string @var{text} to the inferior, and
29201 displays the response packet. @value{GDBN} supplies the initial
29202 @samp{$} character, the terminating @samp{#} character, and the
29203 checksum.
29204
29205 @kindex maint print architecture
29206 @item maint print architecture @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
29207 Print the entire architecture configuration. The optional argument
29208 @var{file} names the file where the output goes.
29209
29210 @kindex maint print c-tdesc
29211 @item maint print c-tdesc
29212 Print the current target description (@pxref{Target Descriptions}) as
29213 a C source file. The created source file can be used in @value{GDBN}
29214 when an XML parser is not available to parse the description.
29215
29216 @kindex maint print dummy-frames
29217 @item maint print dummy-frames
29218 Prints the contents of @value{GDBN}'s internal dummy-frame stack.
29219
29220 @smallexample
29221 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{b add}
29222 @dots{}
29223 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{print add(2,3)}
29224 Breakpoint 2, add (a=2, b=3) at @dots{}
29225 58 return (a + b);
29226 The program being debugged stopped while in a function called from GDB.
29227 @dots{}
29228 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{maint print dummy-frames}
29229 0x1a57c80: pc=0x01014068 fp=0x0200bddc sp=0x0200bdd6
29230 top=0x0200bdd4 id=@{stack=0x200bddc,code=0x101405c@}
29231 call_lo=0x01014000 call_hi=0x01014001
29232 (@value{GDBP})
29233 @end smallexample
29234
29235 Takes an optional file parameter.
29236
29237 @kindex maint print registers
29238 @kindex maint print raw-registers
29239 @kindex maint print cooked-registers
29240 @kindex maint print register-groups
29241 @item maint print registers @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
29242 @itemx maint print raw-registers @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
29243 @itemx maint print cooked-registers @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
29244 @itemx maint print register-groups @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
29245 Print @value{GDBN}'s internal register data structures.
29246
29247 The command @code{maint print raw-registers} includes the contents of
29248 the raw register cache; the command @code{maint print cooked-registers}
29249 includes the (cooked) value of all registers, including registers which
29250 aren't available on the target nor visible to user; and the
29251 command @code{maint print register-groups} includes the groups that each
29252 register is a member of. @xref{Registers,, Registers, gdbint,
29253 @value{GDBN} Internals}.
29254
29255 These commands take an optional parameter, a file name to which to
29256 write the information.
29257
29258 @kindex maint print reggroups
29259 @item maint print reggroups @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
29260 Print @value{GDBN}'s internal register group data structures. The
29261 optional argument @var{file} tells to what file to write the
29262 information.
29263
29264 The register groups info looks like this:
29265
29266 @smallexample
29267 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{maint print reggroups}
29268 Group Type
29269 general user
29270 float user
29271 all user
29272 vector user
29273 system user
29274 save internal
29275 restore internal
29276 @end smallexample
29277
29278 @kindex flushregs
29279 @item flushregs
29280 This command forces @value{GDBN} to flush its internal register cache.
29281
29282 @kindex maint print objfiles
29283 @cindex info for known object files
29284 @item maint print objfiles
29285 Print a dump of all known object files. For each object file, this
29286 command prints its name, address in memory, and all of its psymtabs
29287 and symtabs.
29288
29289 @kindex maint print statistics
29290 @cindex bcache statistics
29291 @item maint print statistics
29292 This command prints, for each object file in the program, various data
29293 about that object file followed by the byte cache (@dfn{bcache})
29294 statistics for the object file. The objfile data includes the number
29295 of minimal, partial, full, and stabs symbols, the number of types
29296 defined by the objfile, the number of as yet unexpanded psym tables,
29297 the number of line tables and string tables, and the amount of memory
29298 used by the various tables. The bcache statistics include the counts,
29299 sizes, and counts of duplicates of all and unique objects, max,
29300 average, and median entry size, total memory used and its overhead and
29301 savings, and various measures of the hash table size and chain
29302 lengths.
29303
29304 @kindex maint print target-stack
29305 @cindex target stack description
29306 @item maint print target-stack
29307 A @dfn{target} is an interface between the debugger and a particular
29308 kind of file or process. Targets can be stacked in @dfn{strata},
29309 so that more than one target can potentially respond to a request.
29310 In particular, memory accesses will walk down the stack of targets
29311 until they find a target that is interested in handling that particular
29312 address.
29313
29314 This command prints a short description of each layer that was pushed on
29315 the @dfn{target stack}, starting from the top layer down to the bottom one.
29316
29317 @kindex maint print type
29318 @cindex type chain of a data type
29319 @item maint print type @var{expr}
29320 Print the type chain for a type specified by @var{expr}. The argument
29321 can be either a type name or a symbol. If it is a symbol, the type of
29322 that symbol is described. The type chain produced by this command is
29323 a recursive definition of the data type as stored in @value{GDBN}'s
29324 data structures, including its flags and contained types.
29325
29326 @kindex maint set dwarf2 max-cache-age
29327 @kindex maint show dwarf2 max-cache-age
29328 @item maint set dwarf2 max-cache-age
29329 @itemx maint show dwarf2 max-cache-age
29330 Control the DWARF 2 compilation unit cache.
29331
29332 @cindex DWARF 2 compilation units cache
29333 In object files with inter-compilation-unit references, such as those
29334 produced by the GCC option @samp{-feliminate-dwarf2-dups}, the DWARF 2
29335 reader needs to frequently refer to previously read compilation units.
29336 This setting controls how long a compilation unit will remain in the
29337 cache if it is not referenced. A higher limit means that cached
29338 compilation units will be stored in memory longer, and more total
29339 memory will be used. Setting it to zero disables caching, which will
29340 slow down @value{GDBN} startup, but reduce memory consumption.
29341
29342 @kindex maint set profile
29343 @kindex maint show profile
29344 @cindex profiling GDB
29345 @item maint set profile
29346 @itemx maint show profile
29347 Control profiling of @value{GDBN}.
29348
29349 Profiling will be disabled until you use the @samp{maint set profile}
29350 command to enable it. When you enable profiling, the system will begin
29351 collecting timing and execution count data; when you disable profiling or
29352 exit @value{GDBN}, the results will be written to a log file. Remember that
29353 if you use profiling, @value{GDBN} will overwrite the profiling log file
29354 (often called @file{gmon.out}). If you have a record of important profiling
29355 data in a @file{gmon.out} file, be sure to move it to a safe location.
29356
29357 Configuring with @samp{--enable-profiling} arranges for @value{GDBN} to be
29358 compiled with the @samp{-pg} compiler option.
29359
29360 @kindex maint set show-debug-regs
29361 @kindex maint show show-debug-regs
29362 @cindex hardware debug registers
29363 @item maint set show-debug-regs
29364 @itemx maint show show-debug-regs
29365 Control whether to show variables that mirror the hardware debug
29366 registers. Use @code{ON} to enable, @code{OFF} to disable. If
29367 enabled, the debug registers values are shown when @value{GDBN} inserts or
29368 removes a hardware breakpoint or watchpoint, and when the inferior
29369 triggers a hardware-assisted breakpoint or watchpoint.
29370
29371 @kindex maint space
29372 @cindex memory used by commands
29373 @item maint space
29374 Control whether to display memory usage for each command. If set to a
29375 nonzero value, @value{GDBN} will display how much memory each command
29376 took, following the command's own output. This can also be requested
29377 by invoking @value{GDBN} with the @option{--statistics} command-line
29378 switch (@pxref{Mode Options}).
29379
29380 @kindex maint time
29381 @cindex time of command execution
29382 @item maint time
29383 Control whether to display the execution time for each command. If
29384 set to a nonzero value, @value{GDBN} will display how much time it
29385 took to execute each command, following the command's own output.
29386 The time is not printed for the commands that run the target, since
29387 there's no mechanism currently to compute how much time was spend
29388 by @value{GDBN} and how much time was spend by the program been debugged.
29389 it's not possibly currently
29390 This can also be requested by invoking @value{GDBN} with the
29391 @option{--statistics} command-line switch (@pxref{Mode Options}).
29392
29393 @kindex maint translate-address
29394 @item maint translate-address @r{[}@var{section}@r{]} @var{addr}
29395 Find the symbol stored at the location specified by the address
29396 @var{addr} and an optional section name @var{section}. If found,
29397 @value{GDBN} prints the name of the closest symbol and an offset from
29398 the symbol's location to the specified address. This is similar to
29399 the @code{info address} command (@pxref{Symbols}), except that this
29400 command also allows to find symbols in other sections.
29401
29402 If section was not specified, the section in which the symbol was found
29403 is also printed. For dynamically linked executables, the name of
29404 executable or shared library containing the symbol is printed as well.
29405
29406 @end table
29407
29408 The following command is useful for non-interactive invocations of
29409 @value{GDBN}, such as in the test suite.
29410
29411 @table @code
29412 @item set watchdog @var{nsec}
29413 @kindex set watchdog
29414 @cindex watchdog timer
29415 @cindex timeout for commands
29416 Set the maximum number of seconds @value{GDBN} will wait for the
29417 target operation to finish. If this time expires, @value{GDBN}
29418 reports and error and the command is aborted.
29419
29420 @item show watchdog
29421 Show the current setting of the target wait timeout.
29422 @end table
29423
29424 @node Remote Protocol
29425 @appendix @value{GDBN} Remote Serial Protocol
29426
29427 @menu
29428 * Overview::
29429 * Packets::
29430 * Stop Reply Packets::
29431 * General Query Packets::
29432 * Architecture-Specific Protocol Details::
29433 * Tracepoint Packets::
29434 * Host I/O Packets::
29435 * Interrupts::
29436 * Notification Packets::
29437 * Remote Non-Stop::
29438 * Packet Acknowledgment::
29439 * Examples::
29440 * File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension::
29441 * Library List Format::
29442 * Memory Map Format::
29443 * Thread List Format::
29444 @end menu
29445
29446 @node Overview
29447 @section Overview
29448
29449 There may be occasions when you need to know something about the
29450 protocol---for example, if there is only one serial port to your target
29451 machine, you might want your program to do something special if it
29452 recognizes a packet meant for @value{GDBN}.
29453
29454 In the examples below, @samp{->} and @samp{<-} are used to indicate
29455 transmitted and received data, respectively.
29456
29457 @cindex protocol, @value{GDBN} remote serial
29458 @cindex serial protocol, @value{GDBN} remote
29459 @cindex remote serial protocol
29460 All @value{GDBN} commands and responses (other than acknowledgments
29461 and notifications, see @ref{Notification Packets}) are sent as a
29462 @var{packet}. A @var{packet} is introduced with the character
29463 @samp{$}, the actual @var{packet-data}, and the terminating character
29464 @samp{#} followed by a two-digit @var{checksum}:
29465
29466 @smallexample
29467 @code{$}@var{packet-data}@code{#}@var{checksum}
29468 @end smallexample
29469 @noindent
29470
29471 @cindex checksum, for @value{GDBN} remote
29472 @noindent
29473 The two-digit @var{checksum} is computed as the modulo 256 sum of all
29474 characters between the leading @samp{$} and the trailing @samp{#} (an
29475 eight bit unsigned checksum).
29476
29477 Implementors should note that prior to @value{GDBN} 5.0 the protocol
29478 specification also included an optional two-digit @var{sequence-id}:
29479
29480 @smallexample
29481 @code{$}@var{sequence-id}@code{:}@var{packet-data}@code{#}@var{checksum}
29482 @end smallexample
29483
29484 @cindex sequence-id, for @value{GDBN} remote
29485 @noindent
29486 That @var{sequence-id} was appended to the acknowledgment. @value{GDBN}
29487 has never output @var{sequence-id}s. Stubs that handle packets added
29488 since @value{GDBN} 5.0 must not accept @var{sequence-id}.
29489
29490 When either the host or the target machine receives a packet, the first
29491 response expected is an acknowledgment: either @samp{+} (to indicate
29492 the package was received correctly) or @samp{-} (to request
29493 retransmission):
29494
29495 @smallexample
29496 -> @code{$}@var{packet-data}@code{#}@var{checksum}
29497 <- @code{+}
29498 @end smallexample
29499 @noindent
29500
29501 The @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgments can be disabled
29502 once a connection is established.
29503 @xref{Packet Acknowledgment}, for details.
29504
29505 The host (@value{GDBN}) sends @var{command}s, and the target (the
29506 debugging stub incorporated in your program) sends a @var{response}. In
29507 the case of step and continue @var{command}s, the response is only sent
29508 when the operation has completed, and the target has again stopped all
29509 threads in all attached processes. This is the default all-stop mode
29510 behavior, but the remote protocol also supports @value{GDBN}'s non-stop
29511 execution mode; see @ref{Remote Non-Stop}, for details.
29512
29513 @var{packet-data} consists of a sequence of characters with the
29514 exception of @samp{#} and @samp{$} (see @samp{X} packet for additional
29515 exceptions).
29516
29517 @cindex remote protocol, field separator
29518 Fields within the packet should be separated using @samp{,} @samp{;} or
29519 @samp{:}. Except where otherwise noted all numbers are represented in
29520 @sc{hex} with leading zeros suppressed.
29521
29522 Implementors should note that prior to @value{GDBN} 5.0, the character
29523 @samp{:} could not appear as the third character in a packet (as it
29524 would potentially conflict with the @var{sequence-id}).
29525
29526 @cindex remote protocol, binary data
29527 @anchor{Binary Data}
29528 Binary data in most packets is encoded either as two hexadecimal
29529 digits per byte of binary data. This allowed the traditional remote
29530 protocol to work over connections which were only seven-bit clean.
29531 Some packets designed more recently assume an eight-bit clean
29532 connection, and use a more efficient encoding to send and receive
29533 binary data.
29534
29535 The binary data representation uses @code{7d} (@sc{ascii} @samp{@}})
29536 as an escape character. Any escaped byte is transmitted as the escape
29537 character followed by the original character XORed with @code{0x20}.
29538 For example, the byte @code{0x7d} would be transmitted as the two
29539 bytes @code{0x7d 0x5d}. The bytes @code{0x23} (@sc{ascii} @samp{#}),
29540 @code{0x24} (@sc{ascii} @samp{$}), and @code{0x7d} (@sc{ascii}
29541 @samp{@}}) must always be escaped. Responses sent by the stub
29542 must also escape @code{0x2a} (@sc{ascii} @samp{*}), so that it
29543 is not interpreted as the start of a run-length encoded sequence
29544 (described next).
29545
29546 Response @var{data} can be run-length encoded to save space.
29547 Run-length encoding replaces runs of identical characters with one
29548 instance of the repeated character, followed by a @samp{*} and a
29549 repeat count. The repeat count is itself sent encoded, to avoid
29550 binary characters in @var{data}: a value of @var{n} is sent as
29551 @code{@var{n}+29}. For a repeat count greater or equal to 3, this
29552 produces a printable @sc{ascii} character, e.g.@: a space (@sc{ascii}
29553 code 32) for a repeat count of 3. (This is because run-length
29554 encoding starts to win for counts 3 or more.) Thus, for example,
29555 @samp{0* } is a run-length encoding of ``0000'': the space character
29556 after @samp{*} means repeat the leading @code{0} @w{@code{32 - 29 =
29557 3}} more times.
29558
29559 The printable characters @samp{#} and @samp{$} or with a numeric value
29560 greater than 126 must not be used. Runs of six repeats (@samp{#}) or
29561 seven repeats (@samp{$}) can be expanded using a repeat count of only
29562 five (@samp{"}). For example, @samp{00000000} can be encoded as
29563 @samp{0*"00}.
29564
29565 The error response returned for some packets includes a two character
29566 error number. That number is not well defined.
29567
29568 @cindex empty response, for unsupported packets
29569 For any @var{command} not supported by the stub, an empty response
29570 (@samp{$#00}) should be returned. That way it is possible to extend the
29571 protocol. A newer @value{GDBN} can tell if a packet is supported based
29572 on that response.
29573
29574 A stub is required to support the @samp{g}, @samp{G}, @samp{m}, @samp{M},
29575 @samp{c}, and @samp{s} @var{command}s. All other @var{command}s are
29576 optional.
29577
29578 @node Packets
29579 @section Packets
29580
29581 The following table provides a complete list of all currently defined
29582 @var{command}s and their corresponding response @var{data}.
29583 @xref{File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension}, for details about the File
29584 I/O extension of the remote protocol.
29585
29586 Each packet's description has a template showing the packet's overall
29587 syntax, followed by an explanation of the packet's meaning. We
29588 include spaces in some of the templates for clarity; these are not
29589 part of the packet's syntax. No @value{GDBN} packet uses spaces to
29590 separate its components. For example, a template like @samp{foo
29591 @var{bar} @var{baz}} describes a packet beginning with the three ASCII
29592 bytes @samp{foo}, followed by a @var{bar}, followed directly by a
29593 @var{baz}. @value{GDBN} does not transmit a space character between the
29594 @samp{foo} and the @var{bar}, or between the @var{bar} and the
29595 @var{baz}.
29596
29597 @cindex @var{thread-id}, in remote protocol
29598 @anchor{thread-id syntax}
29599 Several packets and replies include a @var{thread-id} field to identify
29600 a thread. Normally these are positive numbers with a target-specific
29601 interpretation, formatted as big-endian hex strings. A @var{thread-id}
29602 can also be a literal @samp{-1} to indicate all threads, or @samp{0} to
29603 pick any thread.
29604
29605 In addition, the remote protocol supports a multiprocess feature in
29606 which the @var{thread-id} syntax is extended to optionally include both
29607 process and thread ID fields, as @samp{p@var{pid}.@var{tid}}.
29608 The @var{pid} (process) and @var{tid} (thread) components each have the
29609 format described above: a positive number with target-specific
29610 interpretation formatted as a big-endian hex string, literal @samp{-1}
29611 to indicate all processes or threads (respectively), or @samp{0} to
29612 indicate an arbitrary process or thread. Specifying just a process, as
29613 @samp{p@var{pid}}, is equivalent to @samp{p@var{pid}.-1}. It is an
29614 error to specify all processes but a specific thread, such as
29615 @samp{p-1.@var{tid}}. Note that the @samp{p} prefix is @emph{not} used
29616 for those packets and replies explicitly documented to include a process
29617 ID, rather than a @var{thread-id}.
29618
29619 The multiprocess @var{thread-id} syntax extensions are only used if both
29620 @value{GDBN} and the stub report support for the @samp{multiprocess}
29621 feature using @samp{qSupported}. @xref{multiprocess extensions}, for
29622 more information.
29623
29624 Note that all packet forms beginning with an upper- or lower-case
29625 letter, other than those described here, are reserved for future use.
29626
29627 Here are the packet descriptions.
29628
29629 @table @samp
29630
29631 @item !
29632 @cindex @samp{!} packet
29633 @anchor{extended mode}
29634 Enable extended mode. In extended mode, the remote server is made
29635 persistent. The @samp{R} packet is used to restart the program being
29636 debugged.
29637
29638 Reply:
29639 @table @samp
29640 @item OK
29641 The remote target both supports and has enabled extended mode.
29642 @end table
29643
29644 @item ?
29645 @cindex @samp{?} packet
29646 Indicate the reason the target halted. The reply is the same as for
29647 step and continue. This packet has a special interpretation when the
29648 target is in non-stop mode; see @ref{Remote Non-Stop}.
29649
29650 Reply:
29651 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
29652
29653 @item A @var{arglen},@var{argnum},@var{arg},@dots{}
29654 @cindex @samp{A} packet
29655 Initialized @code{argv[]} array passed into program. @var{arglen}
29656 specifies the number of bytes in the hex encoded byte stream
29657 @var{arg}. See @code{gdbserver} for more details.
29658
29659 Reply:
29660 @table @samp
29661 @item OK
29662 The arguments were set.
29663 @item E @var{NN}
29664 An error occurred.
29665 @end table
29666
29667 @item b @var{baud}
29668 @cindex @samp{b} packet
29669 (Don't use this packet; its behavior is not well-defined.)
29670 Change the serial line speed to @var{baud}.
29671
29672 JTC: @emph{When does the transport layer state change? When it's
29673 received, or after the ACK is transmitted. In either case, there are
29674 problems if the command or the acknowledgment packet is dropped.}
29675
29676 Stan: @emph{If people really wanted to add something like this, and get
29677 it working for the first time, they ought to modify ser-unix.c to send
29678 some kind of out-of-band message to a specially-setup stub and have the
29679 switch happen "in between" packets, so that from remote protocol's point
29680 of view, nothing actually happened.}
29681
29682 @item B @var{addr},@var{mode}
29683 @cindex @samp{B} packet
29684 Set (@var{mode} is @samp{S}) or clear (@var{mode} is @samp{C}) a
29685 breakpoint at @var{addr}.
29686
29687 Don't use this packet. Use the @samp{Z} and @samp{z} packets instead
29688 (@pxref{insert breakpoint or watchpoint packet}).
29689
29690 @cindex @samp{bc} packet
29691 @anchor{bc}
29692 @item bc
29693 Backward continue. Execute the target system in reverse. No parameter.
29694 @xref{Reverse Execution}, for more information.
29695
29696 Reply:
29697 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
29698
29699 @cindex @samp{bs} packet
29700 @anchor{bs}
29701 @item bs
29702 Backward single step. Execute one instruction in reverse. No parameter.
29703 @xref{Reverse Execution}, for more information.
29704
29705 Reply:
29706 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
29707
29708 @item c @r{[}@var{addr}@r{]}
29709 @cindex @samp{c} packet
29710 Continue. @var{addr} is address to resume. If @var{addr} is omitted,
29711 resume at current address.
29712
29713 Reply:
29714 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
29715
29716 @item C @var{sig}@r{[};@var{addr}@r{]}
29717 @cindex @samp{C} packet
29718 Continue with signal @var{sig} (hex signal number). If
29719 @samp{;@var{addr}} is omitted, resume at same address.
29720
29721 Reply:
29722 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
29723
29724 @item d
29725 @cindex @samp{d} packet
29726 Toggle debug flag.
29727
29728 Don't use this packet; instead, define a general set packet
29729 (@pxref{General Query Packets}).
29730
29731 @item D
29732 @itemx D;@var{pid}
29733 @cindex @samp{D} packet
29734 The first form of the packet is used to detach @value{GDBN} from the
29735 remote system. It is sent to the remote target
29736 before @value{GDBN} disconnects via the @code{detach} command.
29737
29738 The second form, including a process ID, is used when multiprocess
29739 protocol extensions are enabled (@pxref{multiprocess extensions}), to
29740 detach only a specific process. The @var{pid} is specified as a
29741 big-endian hex string.
29742
29743 Reply:
29744 @table @samp
29745 @item OK
29746 for success
29747 @item E @var{NN}
29748 for an error
29749 @end table
29750
29751 @item F @var{RC},@var{EE},@var{CF};@var{XX}
29752 @cindex @samp{F} packet
29753 A reply from @value{GDBN} to an @samp{F} packet sent by the target.
29754 This is part of the File-I/O protocol extension. @xref{File-I/O
29755 Remote Protocol Extension}, for the specification.
29756
29757 @item g
29758 @anchor{read registers packet}
29759 @cindex @samp{g} packet
29760 Read general registers.
29761
29762 Reply:
29763 @table @samp
29764 @item @var{XX@dots{}}
29765 Each byte of register data is described by two hex digits. The bytes
29766 with the register are transmitted in target byte order. The size of
29767 each register and their position within the @samp{g} packet are
29768 determined by the @value{GDBN} internal gdbarch functions
29769 @code{DEPRECATED_REGISTER_RAW_SIZE} and @code{gdbarch_register_name}. The
29770 specification of several standard @samp{g} packets is specified below.
29771 @item E @var{NN}
29772 for an error.
29773 @end table
29774
29775 @item G @var{XX@dots{}}
29776 @cindex @samp{G} packet
29777 Write general registers. @xref{read registers packet}, for a
29778 description of the @var{XX@dots{}} data.
29779
29780 Reply:
29781 @table @samp
29782 @item OK
29783 for success
29784 @item E @var{NN}
29785 for an error
29786 @end table
29787
29788 @item H @var{c} @var{thread-id}
29789 @cindex @samp{H} packet
29790 Set thread for subsequent operations (@samp{m}, @samp{M}, @samp{g},
29791 @samp{G}, et.al.). @var{c} depends on the operation to be performed: it
29792 should be @samp{c} for step and continue operations, @samp{g} for other
29793 operations. The thread designator @var{thread-id} has the format and
29794 interpretation described in @ref{thread-id syntax}.
29795
29796 Reply:
29797 @table @samp
29798 @item OK
29799 for success
29800 @item E @var{NN}
29801 for an error
29802 @end table
29803
29804 @c FIXME: JTC:
29805 @c 'H': How restrictive (or permissive) is the thread model. If a
29806 @c thread is selected and stopped, are other threads allowed
29807 @c to continue to execute? As I mentioned above, I think the
29808 @c semantics of each command when a thread is selected must be
29809 @c described. For example:
29810 @c
29811 @c 'g': If the stub supports threads and a specific thread is
29812 @c selected, returns the register block from that thread;
29813 @c otherwise returns current registers.
29814 @c
29815 @c 'G' If the stub supports threads and a specific thread is
29816 @c selected, sets the registers of the register block of
29817 @c that thread; otherwise sets current registers.
29818
29819 @item i @r{[}@var{addr}@r{[},@var{nnn}@r{]]}
29820 @anchor{cycle step packet}
29821 @cindex @samp{i} packet
29822 Step the remote target by a single clock cycle. If @samp{,@var{nnn}} is
29823 present, cycle step @var{nnn} cycles. If @var{addr} is present, cycle
29824 step starting at that address.
29825
29826 @item I
29827 @cindex @samp{I} packet
29828 Signal, then cycle step. @xref{step with signal packet}. @xref{cycle
29829 step packet}.
29830
29831 @item k
29832 @cindex @samp{k} packet
29833 Kill request.
29834
29835 FIXME: @emph{There is no description of how to operate when a specific
29836 thread context has been selected (i.e.@: does 'k' kill only that
29837 thread?)}.
29838
29839 @item m @var{addr},@var{length}
29840 @cindex @samp{m} packet
29841 Read @var{length} bytes of memory starting at address @var{addr}.
29842 Note that @var{addr} may not be aligned to any particular boundary.
29843
29844 The stub need not use any particular size or alignment when gathering
29845 data from memory for the response; even if @var{addr} is word-aligned
29846 and @var{length} is a multiple of the word size, the stub is free to
29847 use byte accesses, or not. For this reason, this packet may not be
29848 suitable for accessing memory-mapped I/O devices.
29849 @cindex alignment of remote memory accesses
29850 @cindex size of remote memory accesses
29851 @cindex memory, alignment and size of remote accesses
29852
29853 Reply:
29854 @table @samp
29855 @item @var{XX@dots{}}
29856 Memory contents; each byte is transmitted as a two-digit hexadecimal
29857 number. The reply may contain fewer bytes than requested if the
29858 server was able to read only part of the region of memory.
29859 @item E @var{NN}
29860 @var{NN} is errno
29861 @end table
29862
29863 @item M @var{addr},@var{length}:@var{XX@dots{}}
29864 @cindex @samp{M} packet
29865 Write @var{length} bytes of memory starting at address @var{addr}.
29866 @var{XX@dots{}} is the data; each byte is transmitted as a two-digit
29867 hexadecimal number.
29868
29869 Reply:
29870 @table @samp
29871 @item OK
29872 for success
29873 @item E @var{NN}
29874 for an error (this includes the case where only part of the data was
29875 written).
29876 @end table
29877
29878 @item p @var{n}
29879 @cindex @samp{p} packet
29880 Read the value of register @var{n}; @var{n} is in hex.
29881 @xref{read registers packet}, for a description of how the returned
29882 register value is encoded.
29883
29884 Reply:
29885 @table @samp
29886 @item @var{XX@dots{}}
29887 the register's value
29888 @item E @var{NN}
29889 for an error
29890 @item
29891 Indicating an unrecognized @var{query}.
29892 @end table
29893
29894 @item P @var{n@dots{}}=@var{r@dots{}}
29895 @anchor{write register packet}
29896 @cindex @samp{P} packet
29897 Write register @var{n@dots{}} with value @var{r@dots{}}. The register
29898 number @var{n} is in hexadecimal, and @var{r@dots{}} contains two hex
29899 digits for each byte in the register (target byte order).
29900
29901 Reply:
29902 @table @samp
29903 @item OK
29904 for success
29905 @item E @var{NN}
29906 for an error
29907 @end table
29908
29909 @item q @var{name} @var{params}@dots{}
29910 @itemx Q @var{name} @var{params}@dots{}
29911 @cindex @samp{q} packet
29912 @cindex @samp{Q} packet
29913 General query (@samp{q}) and set (@samp{Q}). These packets are
29914 described fully in @ref{General Query Packets}.
29915
29916 @item r
29917 @cindex @samp{r} packet
29918 Reset the entire system.
29919
29920 Don't use this packet; use the @samp{R} packet instead.
29921
29922 @item R @var{XX}
29923 @cindex @samp{R} packet
29924 Restart the program being debugged. @var{XX}, while needed, is ignored.
29925 This packet is only available in extended mode (@pxref{extended mode}).
29926
29927 The @samp{R} packet has no reply.
29928
29929 @item s @r{[}@var{addr}@r{]}
29930 @cindex @samp{s} packet
29931 Single step. @var{addr} is the address at which to resume. If
29932 @var{addr} is omitted, resume at same address.
29933
29934 Reply:
29935 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
29936
29937 @item S @var{sig}@r{[};@var{addr}@r{]}
29938 @anchor{step with signal packet}
29939 @cindex @samp{S} packet
29940 Step with signal. This is analogous to the @samp{C} packet, but
29941 requests a single-step, rather than a normal resumption of execution.
29942
29943 Reply:
29944 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
29945
29946 @item t @var{addr}:@var{PP},@var{MM}
29947 @cindex @samp{t} packet
29948 Search backwards starting at address @var{addr} for a match with pattern
29949 @var{PP} and mask @var{MM}. @var{PP} and @var{MM} are 4 bytes.
29950 @var{addr} must be at least 3 digits.
29951
29952 @item T @var{thread-id}
29953 @cindex @samp{T} packet
29954 Find out if the thread @var{thread-id} is alive. @xref{thread-id syntax}.
29955
29956 Reply:
29957 @table @samp
29958 @item OK
29959 thread is still alive
29960 @item E @var{NN}
29961 thread is dead
29962 @end table
29963
29964 @item v
29965 Packets starting with @samp{v} are identified by a multi-letter name,
29966 up to the first @samp{;} or @samp{?} (or the end of the packet).
29967
29968 @item vAttach;@var{pid}
29969 @cindex @samp{vAttach} packet
29970 Attach to a new process with the specified process ID @var{pid}.
29971 The process ID is a
29972 hexadecimal integer identifying the process. In all-stop mode, all
29973 threads in the attached process are stopped; in non-stop mode, it may be
29974 attached without being stopped if that is supported by the target.
29975
29976 @c In non-stop mode, on a successful vAttach, the stub should set the
29977 @c current thread to a thread of the newly-attached process. After
29978 @c attaching, GDB queries for the attached process's thread ID with qC.
29979 @c Also note that, from a user perspective, whether or not the
29980 @c target is stopped on attach in non-stop mode depends on whether you
29981 @c use the foreground or background version of the attach command, not
29982 @c on what vAttach does; GDB does the right thing with respect to either
29983 @c stopping or restarting threads.
29984
29985 This packet is only available in extended mode (@pxref{extended mode}).
29986
29987 Reply:
29988 @table @samp
29989 @item E @var{nn}
29990 for an error
29991 @item @r{Any stop packet}
29992 for success in all-stop mode (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets})
29993 @item OK
29994 for success in non-stop mode (@pxref{Remote Non-Stop})
29995 @end table
29996
29997 @item vCont@r{[};@var{action}@r{[}:@var{thread-id}@r{]]}@dots{}
29998 @cindex @samp{vCont} packet
29999 Resume the inferior, specifying different actions for each thread.
30000 If an action is specified with no @var{thread-id}, then it is applied to any
30001 threads that don't have a specific action specified; if no default action is
30002 specified then other threads should remain stopped in all-stop mode and
30003 in their current state in non-stop mode.
30004 Specifying multiple
30005 default actions is an error; specifying no actions is also an error.
30006 Thread IDs are specified using the syntax described in @ref{thread-id syntax}.
30007
30008 Currently supported actions are:
30009
30010 @table @samp
30011 @item c
30012 Continue.
30013 @item C @var{sig}
30014 Continue with signal @var{sig}. The signal @var{sig} should be two hex digits.
30015 @item s
30016 Step.
30017 @item S @var{sig}
30018 Step with signal @var{sig}. The signal @var{sig} should be two hex digits.
30019 @item t
30020 Stop.
30021 @end table
30022
30023 The optional argument @var{addr} normally associated with the
30024 @samp{c}, @samp{C}, @samp{s}, and @samp{S} packets is
30025 not supported in @samp{vCont}.
30026
30027 The @samp{t} action is only relevant in non-stop mode
30028 (@pxref{Remote Non-Stop}) and may be ignored by the stub otherwise.
30029 A stop reply should be generated for any affected thread not already stopped.
30030 When a thread is stopped by means of a @samp{t} action,
30031 the corresponding stop reply should indicate that the thread has stopped with
30032 signal @samp{0}, regardless of whether the target uses some other signal
30033 as an implementation detail.
30034
30035 Reply:
30036 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
30037
30038 @item vCont?
30039 @cindex @samp{vCont?} packet
30040 Request a list of actions supported by the @samp{vCont} packet.
30041
30042 Reply:
30043 @table @samp
30044 @item vCont@r{[};@var{action}@dots{}@r{]}
30045 The @samp{vCont} packet is supported. Each @var{action} is a supported
30046 command in the @samp{vCont} packet.
30047 @item
30048 The @samp{vCont} packet is not supported.
30049 @end table
30050
30051 @item vFile:@var{operation}:@var{parameter}@dots{}
30052 @cindex @samp{vFile} packet
30053 Perform a file operation on the target system. For details,
30054 see @ref{Host I/O Packets}.
30055
30056 @item vFlashErase:@var{addr},@var{length}
30057 @cindex @samp{vFlashErase} packet
30058 Direct the stub to erase @var{length} bytes of flash starting at
30059 @var{addr}. The region may enclose any number of flash blocks, but
30060 its start and end must fall on block boundaries, as indicated by the
30061 flash block size appearing in the memory map (@pxref{Memory Map
30062 Format}). @value{GDBN} groups flash memory programming operations
30063 together, and sends a @samp{vFlashDone} request after each group; the
30064 stub is allowed to delay erase operation until the @samp{vFlashDone}
30065 packet is received.
30066
30067 The stub must support @samp{vCont} if it reports support for
30068 multiprocess extensions (@pxref{multiprocess extensions}). Note that in
30069 this case @samp{vCont} actions can be specified to apply to all threads
30070 in a process by using the @samp{p@var{pid}.-1} form of the
30071 @var{thread-id}.
30072
30073 Reply:
30074 @table @samp
30075 @item OK
30076 for success
30077 @item E @var{NN}
30078 for an error
30079 @end table
30080
30081 @item vFlashWrite:@var{addr}:@var{XX@dots{}}
30082 @cindex @samp{vFlashWrite} packet
30083 Direct the stub to write data to flash address @var{addr}. The data
30084 is passed in binary form using the same encoding as for the @samp{X}
30085 packet (@pxref{Binary Data}). The memory ranges specified by
30086 @samp{vFlashWrite} packets preceding a @samp{vFlashDone} packet must
30087 not overlap, and must appear in order of increasing addresses
30088 (although @samp{vFlashErase} packets for higher addresses may already
30089 have been received; the ordering is guaranteed only between
30090 @samp{vFlashWrite} packets). If a packet writes to an address that was
30091 neither erased by a preceding @samp{vFlashErase} packet nor by some other
30092 target-specific method, the results are unpredictable.
30093
30094
30095 Reply:
30096 @table @samp
30097 @item OK
30098 for success
30099 @item E.memtype
30100 for vFlashWrite addressing non-flash memory
30101 @item E @var{NN}
30102 for an error
30103 @end table
30104
30105 @item vFlashDone
30106 @cindex @samp{vFlashDone} packet
30107 Indicate to the stub that flash programming operation is finished.
30108 The stub is permitted to delay or batch the effects of a group of
30109 @samp{vFlashErase} and @samp{vFlashWrite} packets until a
30110 @samp{vFlashDone} packet is received. The contents of the affected
30111 regions of flash memory are unpredictable until the @samp{vFlashDone}
30112 request is completed.
30113
30114 @item vKill;@var{pid}
30115 @cindex @samp{vKill} packet
30116 Kill the process with the specified process ID. @var{pid} is a
30117 hexadecimal integer identifying the process. This packet is used in
30118 preference to @samp{k} when multiprocess protocol extensions are
30119 supported; see @ref{multiprocess extensions}.
30120
30121 Reply:
30122 @table @samp
30123 @item E @var{nn}
30124 for an error
30125 @item OK
30126 for success
30127 @end table
30128
30129 @item vRun;@var{filename}@r{[};@var{argument}@r{]}@dots{}
30130 @cindex @samp{vRun} packet
30131 Run the program @var{filename}, passing it each @var{argument} on its
30132 command line. The file and arguments are hex-encoded strings. If
30133 @var{filename} is an empty string, the stub may use a default program
30134 (e.g.@: the last program run). The program is created in the stopped
30135 state.
30136
30137 @c FIXME: What about non-stop mode?
30138
30139 This packet is only available in extended mode (@pxref{extended mode}).
30140
30141 Reply:
30142 @table @samp
30143 @item E @var{nn}
30144 for an error
30145 @item @r{Any stop packet}
30146 for success (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets})
30147 @end table
30148
30149 @item vStopped
30150 @anchor{vStopped packet}
30151 @cindex @samp{vStopped} packet
30152
30153 In non-stop mode (@pxref{Remote Non-Stop}), acknowledge a previous stop
30154 reply and prompt for the stub to report another one.
30155
30156 Reply:
30157 @table @samp
30158 @item @r{Any stop packet}
30159 if there is another unreported stop event (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets})
30160 @item OK
30161 if there are no unreported stop events
30162 @end table
30163
30164 @item X @var{addr},@var{length}:@var{XX@dots{}}
30165 @anchor{X packet}
30166 @cindex @samp{X} packet
30167 Write data to memory, where the data is transmitted in binary.
30168 @var{addr} is address, @var{length} is number of bytes,
30169 @samp{@var{XX}@dots{}} is binary data (@pxref{Binary Data}).
30170
30171 Reply:
30172 @table @samp
30173 @item OK
30174 for success
30175 @item E @var{NN}
30176 for an error
30177 @end table
30178
30179 @item z @var{type},@var{addr},@var{kind}
30180 @itemx Z @var{type},@var{addr},@var{kind}
30181 @anchor{insert breakpoint or watchpoint packet}
30182 @cindex @samp{z} packet
30183 @cindex @samp{Z} packets
30184 Insert (@samp{Z}) or remove (@samp{z}) a @var{type} breakpoint or
30185 watchpoint starting at address @var{address} of kind @var{kind}.
30186
30187 Each breakpoint and watchpoint packet @var{type} is documented
30188 separately.
30189
30190 @emph{Implementation notes: A remote target shall return an empty string
30191 for an unrecognized breakpoint or watchpoint packet @var{type}. A
30192 remote target shall support either both or neither of a given
30193 @samp{Z@var{type}@dots{}} and @samp{z@var{type}@dots{}} packet pair. To
30194 avoid potential problems with duplicate packets, the operations should
30195 be implemented in an idempotent way.}
30196
30197 @item z0,@var{addr},@var{kind}
30198 @itemx Z0,@var{addr},@var{kind}
30199 @cindex @samp{z0} packet
30200 @cindex @samp{Z0} packet
30201 Insert (@samp{Z0}) or remove (@samp{z0}) a memory breakpoint at address
30202 @var{addr} of type @var{kind}.
30203
30204 A memory breakpoint is implemented by replacing the instruction at
30205 @var{addr} with a software breakpoint or trap instruction. The
30206 @var{kind} is target-specific and typically indicates the size of
30207 the breakpoint in bytes that should be inserted. E.g., the @sc{arm}
30208 and @sc{mips} can insert either a 2 or 4 byte breakpoint. Some
30209 architectures have additional meanings for @var{kind};
30210 see @ref{Architecture-Specific Protocol Details}.
30211
30212 @emph{Implementation note: It is possible for a target to copy or move
30213 code that contains memory breakpoints (e.g., when implementing
30214 overlays). The behavior of this packet, in the presence of such a
30215 target, is not defined.}
30216
30217 Reply:
30218 @table @samp
30219 @item OK
30220 success
30221 @item
30222 not supported
30223 @item E @var{NN}
30224 for an error
30225 @end table
30226
30227 @item z1,@var{addr},@var{kind}
30228 @itemx Z1,@var{addr},@var{kind}
30229 @cindex @samp{z1} packet
30230 @cindex @samp{Z1} packet
30231 Insert (@samp{Z1}) or remove (@samp{z1}) a hardware breakpoint at
30232 address @var{addr}.
30233
30234 A hardware breakpoint is implemented using a mechanism that is not
30235 dependant on being able to modify the target's memory. @var{kind}
30236 has the same meaning as in @samp{Z0} packets.
30237
30238 @emph{Implementation note: A hardware breakpoint is not affected by code
30239 movement.}
30240
30241 Reply:
30242 @table @samp
30243 @item OK
30244 success
30245 @item
30246 not supported
30247 @item E @var{NN}
30248 for an error
30249 @end table
30250
30251 @item z2,@var{addr},@var{kind}
30252 @itemx Z2,@var{addr},@var{kind}
30253 @cindex @samp{z2} packet
30254 @cindex @samp{Z2} packet
30255 Insert (@samp{Z2}) or remove (@samp{z2}) a write watchpoint at @var{addr}.
30256 @var{kind} is interpreted as the number of bytes to watch.
30257
30258 Reply:
30259 @table @samp
30260 @item OK
30261 success
30262 @item
30263 not supported
30264 @item E @var{NN}
30265 for an error
30266 @end table
30267
30268 @item z3,@var{addr},@var{kind}
30269 @itemx Z3,@var{addr},@var{kind}
30270 @cindex @samp{z3} packet
30271 @cindex @samp{Z3} packet
30272 Insert (@samp{Z3}) or remove (@samp{z3}) a read watchpoint at @var{addr}.
30273 @var{kind} is interpreted as the number of bytes to watch.
30274
30275 Reply:
30276 @table @samp
30277 @item OK
30278 success
30279 @item
30280 not supported
30281 @item E @var{NN}
30282 for an error
30283 @end table
30284
30285 @item z4,@var{addr},@var{kind}
30286 @itemx Z4,@var{addr},@var{kind}
30287 @cindex @samp{z4} packet
30288 @cindex @samp{Z4} packet
30289 Insert (@samp{Z4}) or remove (@samp{z4}) an access watchpoint at @var{addr}.
30290 @var{kind} is interpreted as the number of bytes to watch.
30291
30292 Reply:
30293 @table @samp
30294 @item OK
30295 success
30296 @item
30297 not supported
30298 @item E @var{NN}
30299 for an error
30300 @end table
30301
30302 @end table
30303
30304 @node Stop Reply Packets
30305 @section Stop Reply Packets
30306 @cindex stop reply packets
30307
30308 The @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S}, @samp{s}, @samp{vCont},
30309 @samp{vAttach}, @samp{vRun}, @samp{vStopped}, and @samp{?} packets can
30310 receive any of the below as a reply. Except for @samp{?}
30311 and @samp{vStopped}, that reply is only returned
30312 when the target halts. In the below the exact meaning of @dfn{signal
30313 number} is defined by the header @file{include/gdb/signals.h} in the
30314 @value{GDBN} source code.
30315
30316 As in the description of request packets, we include spaces in the
30317 reply templates for clarity; these are not part of the reply packet's
30318 syntax. No @value{GDBN} stop reply packet uses spaces to separate its
30319 components.
30320
30321 @table @samp
30322
30323 @item S @var{AA}
30324 The program received signal number @var{AA} (a two-digit hexadecimal
30325 number). This is equivalent to a @samp{T} response with no
30326 @var{n}:@var{r} pairs.
30327
30328 @item T @var{AA} @var{n1}:@var{r1};@var{n2}:@var{r2};@dots{}
30329 @cindex @samp{T} packet reply
30330 The program received signal number @var{AA} (a two-digit hexadecimal
30331 number). This is equivalent to an @samp{S} response, except that the
30332 @samp{@var{n}:@var{r}} pairs can carry values of important registers
30333 and other information directly in the stop reply packet, reducing
30334 round-trip latency. Single-step and breakpoint traps are reported
30335 this way. Each @samp{@var{n}:@var{r}} pair is interpreted as follows:
30336
30337 @itemize @bullet
30338 @item
30339 If @var{n} is a hexadecimal number, it is a register number, and the
30340 corresponding @var{r} gives that register's value. @var{r} is a
30341 series of bytes in target byte order, with each byte given by a
30342 two-digit hex number.
30343
30344 @item
30345 If @var{n} is @samp{thread}, then @var{r} is the @var{thread-id} of
30346 the stopped thread, as specified in @ref{thread-id syntax}.
30347
30348 @item
30349 If @var{n} is @samp{core}, then @var{r} is the hexadecimal number of
30350 the core on which the stop event was detected.
30351
30352 @item
30353 If @var{n} is a recognized @dfn{stop reason}, it describes a more
30354 specific event that stopped the target. The currently defined stop
30355 reasons are listed below. @var{aa} should be @samp{05}, the trap
30356 signal. At most one stop reason should be present.
30357
30358 @item
30359 Otherwise, @value{GDBN} should ignore this @samp{@var{n}:@var{r}} pair
30360 and go on to the next; this allows us to extend the protocol in the
30361 future.
30362 @end itemize
30363
30364 The currently defined stop reasons are:
30365
30366 @table @samp
30367 @item watch
30368 @itemx rwatch
30369 @itemx awatch
30370 The packet indicates a watchpoint hit, and @var{r} is the data address, in
30371 hex.
30372
30373 @cindex shared library events, remote reply
30374 @item library
30375 The packet indicates that the loaded libraries have changed.
30376 @value{GDBN} should use @samp{qXfer:libraries:read} to fetch a new
30377 list of loaded libraries. @var{r} is ignored.
30378
30379 @cindex replay log events, remote reply
30380 @item replaylog
30381 The packet indicates that the target cannot continue replaying
30382 logged execution events, because it has reached the end (or the
30383 beginning when executing backward) of the log. The value of @var{r}
30384 will be either @samp{begin} or @samp{end}. @xref{Reverse Execution},
30385 for more information.
30386 @end table
30387
30388 @item W @var{AA}
30389 @itemx W @var{AA} ; process:@var{pid}
30390 The process exited, and @var{AA} is the exit status. This is only
30391 applicable to certain targets.
30392
30393 The second form of the response, including the process ID of the exited
30394 process, can be used only when @value{GDBN} has reported support for
30395 multiprocess protocol extensions; see @ref{multiprocess extensions}.
30396 The @var{pid} is formatted as a big-endian hex string.
30397
30398 @item X @var{AA}
30399 @itemx X @var{AA} ; process:@var{pid}
30400 The process terminated with signal @var{AA}.
30401
30402 The second form of the response, including the process ID of the
30403 terminated process, can be used only when @value{GDBN} has reported
30404 support for multiprocess protocol extensions; see @ref{multiprocess
30405 extensions}. The @var{pid} is formatted as a big-endian hex string.
30406
30407 @item O @var{XX}@dots{}
30408 @samp{@var{XX}@dots{}} is hex encoding of @sc{ascii} data, to be
30409 written as the program's console output. This can happen at any time
30410 while the program is running and the debugger should continue to wait
30411 for @samp{W}, @samp{T}, etc. This reply is not permitted in non-stop mode.
30412
30413 @item F @var{call-id},@var{parameter}@dots{}
30414 @var{call-id} is the identifier which says which host system call should
30415 be called. This is just the name of the function. Translation into the
30416 correct system call is only applicable as it's defined in @value{GDBN}.
30417 @xref{File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension}, for a list of implemented
30418 system calls.
30419
30420 @samp{@var{parameter}@dots{}} is a list of parameters as defined for
30421 this very system call.
30422
30423 The target replies with this packet when it expects @value{GDBN} to
30424 call a host system call on behalf of the target. @value{GDBN} replies
30425 with an appropriate @samp{F} packet and keeps up waiting for the next
30426 reply packet from the target. The latest @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S}
30427 or @samp{s} action is expected to be continued. @xref{File-I/O Remote
30428 Protocol Extension}, for more details.
30429
30430 @end table
30431
30432 @node General Query Packets
30433 @section General Query Packets
30434 @cindex remote query requests
30435
30436 Packets starting with @samp{q} are @dfn{general query packets};
30437 packets starting with @samp{Q} are @dfn{general set packets}. General
30438 query and set packets are a semi-unified form for retrieving and
30439 sending information to and from the stub.
30440
30441 The initial letter of a query or set packet is followed by a name
30442 indicating what sort of thing the packet applies to. For example,
30443 @value{GDBN} may use a @samp{qSymbol} packet to exchange symbol
30444 definitions with the stub. These packet names follow some
30445 conventions:
30446
30447 @itemize @bullet
30448 @item
30449 The name must not contain commas, colons or semicolons.
30450 @item
30451 Most @value{GDBN} query and set packets have a leading upper case
30452 letter.
30453 @item
30454 The names of custom vendor packets should use a company prefix, in
30455 lower case, followed by a period. For example, packets designed at
30456 the Acme Corporation might begin with @samp{qacme.foo} (for querying
30457 foos) or @samp{Qacme.bar} (for setting bars).
30458 @end itemize
30459
30460 The name of a query or set packet should be separated from any
30461 parameters by a @samp{:}; the parameters themselves should be
30462 separated by @samp{,} or @samp{;}. Stubs must be careful to match the
30463 full packet name, and check for a separator or the end of the packet,
30464 in case two packet names share a common prefix. New packets should not begin
30465 with @samp{qC}, @samp{qP}, or @samp{qL}@footnote{The @samp{qP} and @samp{qL}
30466 packets predate these conventions, and have arguments without any terminator
30467 for the packet name; we suspect they are in widespread use in places that
30468 are difficult to upgrade. The @samp{qC} packet has no arguments, but some
30469 existing stubs (e.g.@: RedBoot) are known to not check for the end of the
30470 packet.}.
30471
30472 Like the descriptions of the other packets, each description here
30473 has a template showing the packet's overall syntax, followed by an
30474 explanation of the packet's meaning. We include spaces in some of the
30475 templates for clarity; these are not part of the packet's syntax. No
30476 @value{GDBN} packet uses spaces to separate its components.
30477
30478 Here are the currently defined query and set packets:
30479
30480 @table @samp
30481
30482 @item qC
30483 @cindex current thread, remote request
30484 @cindex @samp{qC} packet
30485 Return the current thread ID.
30486
30487 Reply:
30488 @table @samp
30489 @item QC @var{thread-id}
30490 Where @var{thread-id} is a thread ID as documented in
30491 @ref{thread-id syntax}.
30492 @item @r{(anything else)}
30493 Any other reply implies the old thread ID.
30494 @end table
30495
30496 @item qCRC:@var{addr},@var{length}
30497 @cindex CRC of memory block, remote request
30498 @cindex @samp{qCRC} packet
30499 Compute the CRC checksum of a block of memory using CRC-32 defined in
30500 IEEE 802.3. The CRC is computed byte at a time, taking the most
30501 significant bit of each byte first. The initial pattern code
30502 @code{0xffffffff} is used to ensure leading zeros affect the CRC.
30503
30504 @emph{Note:} This is the same CRC used in validating separate debug
30505 files (@pxref{Separate Debug Files, , Debugging Information in Separate
30506 Files}). However the algorithm is slightly different. When validating
30507 separate debug files, the CRC is computed taking the @emph{least}
30508 significant bit of each byte first, and the final result is inverted to
30509 detect trailing zeros.
30510
30511 Reply:
30512 @table @samp
30513 @item E @var{NN}
30514 An error (such as memory fault)
30515 @item C @var{crc32}
30516 The specified memory region's checksum is @var{crc32}.
30517 @end table
30518
30519 @item qfThreadInfo
30520 @itemx qsThreadInfo
30521 @cindex list active threads, remote request
30522 @cindex @samp{qfThreadInfo} packet
30523 @cindex @samp{qsThreadInfo} packet
30524 Obtain a list of all active thread IDs from the target (OS). Since there
30525 may be too many active threads to fit into one reply packet, this query
30526 works iteratively: it may require more than one query/reply sequence to
30527 obtain the entire list of threads. The first query of the sequence will
30528 be the @samp{qfThreadInfo} query; subsequent queries in the
30529 sequence will be the @samp{qsThreadInfo} query.
30530
30531 NOTE: This packet replaces the @samp{qL} query (see below).
30532
30533 Reply:
30534 @table @samp
30535 @item m @var{thread-id}
30536 A single thread ID
30537 @item m @var{thread-id},@var{thread-id}@dots{}
30538 a comma-separated list of thread IDs
30539 @item l
30540 (lower case letter @samp{L}) denotes end of list.
30541 @end table
30542
30543 In response to each query, the target will reply with a list of one or
30544 more thread IDs, separated by commas.
30545 @value{GDBN} will respond to each reply with a request for more thread
30546 ids (using the @samp{qs} form of the query), until the target responds
30547 with @samp{l} (lower-case el, for @dfn{last}).
30548 Refer to @ref{thread-id syntax}, for the format of the @var{thread-id}
30549 fields.
30550
30551 @item qGetTLSAddr:@var{thread-id},@var{offset},@var{lm}
30552 @cindex get thread-local storage address, remote request
30553 @cindex @samp{qGetTLSAddr} packet
30554 Fetch the address associated with thread local storage specified
30555 by @var{thread-id}, @var{offset}, and @var{lm}.
30556
30557 @var{thread-id} is the thread ID associated with the
30558 thread for which to fetch the TLS address. @xref{thread-id syntax}.
30559
30560 @var{offset} is the (big endian, hex encoded) offset associated with the
30561 thread local variable. (This offset is obtained from the debug
30562 information associated with the variable.)
30563
30564 @var{lm} is the (big endian, hex encoded) OS/ABI-specific encoding of the
30565 the load module associated with the thread local storage. For example,
30566 a @sc{gnu}/Linux system will pass the link map address of the shared
30567 object associated with the thread local storage under consideration.
30568 Other operating environments may choose to represent the load module
30569 differently, so the precise meaning of this parameter will vary.
30570
30571 Reply:
30572 @table @samp
30573 @item @var{XX}@dots{}
30574 Hex encoded (big endian) bytes representing the address of the thread
30575 local storage requested.
30576
30577 @item E @var{nn}
30578 An error occurred. @var{nn} are hex digits.
30579
30580 @item
30581 An empty reply indicates that @samp{qGetTLSAddr} is not supported by the stub.
30582 @end table
30583
30584 @item qL @var{startflag} @var{threadcount} @var{nextthread}
30585 Obtain thread information from RTOS. Where: @var{startflag} (one hex
30586 digit) is one to indicate the first query and zero to indicate a
30587 subsequent query; @var{threadcount} (two hex digits) is the maximum
30588 number of threads the response packet can contain; and @var{nextthread}
30589 (eight hex digits), for subsequent queries (@var{startflag} is zero), is
30590 returned in the response as @var{argthread}.
30591
30592 Don't use this packet; use the @samp{qfThreadInfo} query instead (see above).
30593
30594 Reply:
30595 @table @samp
30596 @item qM @var{count} @var{done} @var{argthread} @var{thread}@dots{}
30597 Where: @var{count} (two hex digits) is the number of threads being
30598 returned; @var{done} (one hex digit) is zero to indicate more threads
30599 and one indicates no further threads; @var{argthreadid} (eight hex
30600 digits) is @var{nextthread} from the request packet; @var{thread}@dots{}
30601 is a sequence of thread IDs from the target. @var{threadid} (eight hex
30602 digits). See @code{remote.c:parse_threadlist_response()}.
30603 @end table
30604
30605 @item qOffsets
30606 @cindex section offsets, remote request
30607 @cindex @samp{qOffsets} packet
30608 Get section offsets that the target used when relocating the downloaded
30609 image.
30610
30611 Reply:
30612 @table @samp
30613 @item Text=@var{xxx};Data=@var{yyy}@r{[};Bss=@var{zzz}@r{]}
30614 Relocate the @code{Text} section by @var{xxx} from its original address.
30615 Relocate the @code{Data} section by @var{yyy} from its original address.
30616 If the object file format provides segment information (e.g.@: @sc{elf}
30617 @samp{PT_LOAD} program headers), @value{GDBN} will relocate entire
30618 segments by the supplied offsets.
30619
30620 @emph{Note: while a @code{Bss} offset may be included in the response,
30621 @value{GDBN} ignores this and instead applies the @code{Data} offset
30622 to the @code{Bss} section.}
30623
30624 @item TextSeg=@var{xxx}@r{[};DataSeg=@var{yyy}@r{]}
30625 Relocate the first segment of the object file, which conventionally
30626 contains program code, to a starting address of @var{xxx}. If
30627 @samp{DataSeg} is specified, relocate the second segment, which
30628 conventionally contains modifiable data, to a starting address of
30629 @var{yyy}. @value{GDBN} will report an error if the object file
30630 does not contain segment information, or does not contain at least
30631 as many segments as mentioned in the reply. Extra segments are
30632 kept at fixed offsets relative to the last relocated segment.
30633 @end table
30634
30635 @item qP @var{mode} @var{thread-id}
30636 @cindex thread information, remote request
30637 @cindex @samp{qP} packet
30638 Returns information on @var{thread-id}. Where: @var{mode} is a hex
30639 encoded 32 bit mode; @var{thread-id} is a thread ID
30640 (@pxref{thread-id syntax}).
30641
30642 Don't use this packet; use the @samp{qThreadExtraInfo} query instead
30643 (see below).
30644
30645 Reply: see @code{remote.c:remote_unpack_thread_info_response()}.
30646
30647 @item QNonStop:1
30648 @item QNonStop:0
30649 @cindex non-stop mode, remote request
30650 @cindex @samp{QNonStop} packet
30651 @anchor{QNonStop}
30652 Enter non-stop (@samp{QNonStop:1}) or all-stop (@samp{QNonStop:0}) mode.
30653 @xref{Remote Non-Stop}, for more information.
30654
30655 Reply:
30656 @table @samp
30657 @item OK
30658 The request succeeded.
30659
30660 @item E @var{nn}
30661 An error occurred. @var{nn} are hex digits.
30662
30663 @item
30664 An empty reply indicates that @samp{QNonStop} is not supported by
30665 the stub.
30666 @end table
30667
30668 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
30669 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
30670 Use of this packet is controlled by the @code{set non-stop} command;
30671 @pxref{Non-Stop Mode}.
30672
30673 @item QPassSignals: @var{signal} @r{[};@var{signal}@r{]}@dots{}
30674 @cindex pass signals to inferior, remote request
30675 @cindex @samp{QPassSignals} packet
30676 @anchor{QPassSignals}
30677 Each listed @var{signal} should be passed directly to the inferior process.
30678 Signals are numbered identically to continue packets and stop replies
30679 (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets}). Each @var{signal} list item should be
30680 strictly greater than the previous item. These signals do not need to stop
30681 the inferior, or be reported to @value{GDBN}. All other signals should be
30682 reported to @value{GDBN}. Multiple @samp{QPassSignals} packets do not
30683 combine; any earlier @samp{QPassSignals} list is completely replaced by the
30684 new list. This packet improves performance when using @samp{handle
30685 @var{signal} nostop noprint pass}.
30686
30687 Reply:
30688 @table @samp
30689 @item OK
30690 The request succeeded.
30691
30692 @item E @var{nn}
30693 An error occurred. @var{nn} are hex digits.
30694
30695 @item
30696 An empty reply indicates that @samp{QPassSignals} is not supported by
30697 the stub.
30698 @end table
30699
30700 Use of this packet is controlled by the @code{set remote pass-signals}
30701 command (@pxref{Remote Configuration, set remote pass-signals}).
30702 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
30703 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
30704
30705 @item qRcmd,@var{command}
30706 @cindex execute remote command, remote request
30707 @cindex @samp{qRcmd} packet
30708 @var{command} (hex encoded) is passed to the local interpreter for
30709 execution. Invalid commands should be reported using the output
30710 string. Before the final result packet, the target may also respond
30711 with a number of intermediate @samp{O@var{output}} console output
30712 packets. @emph{Implementors should note that providing access to a
30713 stubs's interpreter may have security implications}.
30714
30715 Reply:
30716 @table @samp
30717 @item OK
30718 A command response with no output.
30719 @item @var{OUTPUT}
30720 A command response with the hex encoded output string @var{OUTPUT}.
30721 @item E @var{NN}
30722 Indicate a badly formed request.
30723 @item
30724 An empty reply indicates that @samp{qRcmd} is not recognized.
30725 @end table
30726
30727 (Note that the @code{qRcmd} packet's name is separated from the
30728 command by a @samp{,}, not a @samp{:}, contrary to the naming
30729 conventions above. Please don't use this packet as a model for new
30730 packets.)
30731
30732 @item qSearch:memory:@var{address};@var{length};@var{search-pattern}
30733 @cindex searching memory, in remote debugging
30734 @cindex @samp{qSearch:memory} packet
30735 @anchor{qSearch memory}
30736 Search @var{length} bytes at @var{address} for @var{search-pattern}.
30737 @var{address} and @var{length} are encoded in hex.
30738 @var{search-pattern} is a sequence of bytes, hex encoded.
30739
30740 Reply:
30741 @table @samp
30742 @item 0
30743 The pattern was not found.
30744 @item 1,address
30745 The pattern was found at @var{address}.
30746 @item E @var{NN}
30747 A badly formed request or an error was encountered while searching memory.
30748 @item
30749 An empty reply indicates that @samp{qSearch:memory} is not recognized.
30750 @end table
30751
30752 @item QStartNoAckMode
30753 @cindex @samp{QStartNoAckMode} packet
30754 @anchor{QStartNoAckMode}
30755 Request that the remote stub disable the normal @samp{+}/@samp{-}
30756 protocol acknowledgments (@pxref{Packet Acknowledgment}).
30757
30758 Reply:
30759 @table @samp
30760 @item OK
30761 The stub has switched to no-acknowledgment mode.
30762 @value{GDBN} acknowledges this reponse,
30763 but neither the stub nor @value{GDBN} shall send or expect further
30764 @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgments in the current connection.
30765 @item
30766 An empty reply indicates that the stub does not support no-acknowledgment mode.
30767 @end table
30768
30769 @item qSupported @r{[}:@var{gdbfeature} @r{[};@var{gdbfeature}@r{]}@dots{} @r{]}
30770 @cindex supported packets, remote query
30771 @cindex features of the remote protocol
30772 @cindex @samp{qSupported} packet
30773 @anchor{qSupported}
30774 Tell the remote stub about features supported by @value{GDBN}, and
30775 query the stub for features it supports. This packet allows
30776 @value{GDBN} and the remote stub to take advantage of each others'
30777 features. @samp{qSupported} also consolidates multiple feature probes
30778 at startup, to improve @value{GDBN} performance---a single larger
30779 packet performs better than multiple smaller probe packets on
30780 high-latency links. Some features may enable behavior which must not
30781 be on by default, e.g.@: because it would confuse older clients or
30782 stubs. Other features may describe packets which could be
30783 automatically probed for, but are not. These features must be
30784 reported before @value{GDBN} will use them. This ``default
30785 unsupported'' behavior is not appropriate for all packets, but it
30786 helps to keep the initial connection time under control with new
30787 versions of @value{GDBN} which support increasing numbers of packets.
30788
30789 Reply:
30790 @table @samp
30791 @item @var{stubfeature} @r{[};@var{stubfeature}@r{]}@dots{}
30792 The stub supports or does not support each returned @var{stubfeature},
30793 depending on the form of each @var{stubfeature} (see below for the
30794 possible forms).
30795 @item
30796 An empty reply indicates that @samp{qSupported} is not recognized,
30797 or that no features needed to be reported to @value{GDBN}.
30798 @end table
30799
30800 The allowed forms for each feature (either a @var{gdbfeature} in the
30801 @samp{qSupported} packet, or a @var{stubfeature} in the response)
30802 are:
30803
30804 @table @samp
30805 @item @var{name}=@var{value}
30806 The remote protocol feature @var{name} is supported, and associated
30807 with the specified @var{value}. The format of @var{value} depends
30808 on the feature, but it must not include a semicolon.
30809 @item @var{name}+
30810 The remote protocol feature @var{name} is supported, and does not
30811 need an associated value.
30812 @item @var{name}-
30813 The remote protocol feature @var{name} is not supported.
30814 @item @var{name}?
30815 The remote protocol feature @var{name} may be supported, and
30816 @value{GDBN} should auto-detect support in some other way when it is
30817 needed. This form will not be used for @var{gdbfeature} notifications,
30818 but may be used for @var{stubfeature} responses.
30819 @end table
30820
30821 Whenever the stub receives a @samp{qSupported} request, the
30822 supplied set of @value{GDBN} features should override any previous
30823 request. This allows @value{GDBN} to put the stub in a known
30824 state, even if the stub had previously been communicating with
30825 a different version of @value{GDBN}.
30826
30827 The following values of @var{gdbfeature} (for the packet sent by @value{GDBN})
30828 are defined:
30829
30830 @table @samp
30831 @item multiprocess
30832 This feature indicates whether @value{GDBN} supports multiprocess
30833 extensions to the remote protocol. @value{GDBN} does not use such
30834 extensions unless the stub also reports that it supports them by
30835 including @samp{multiprocess+} in its @samp{qSupported} reply.
30836 @xref{multiprocess extensions}, for details.
30837
30838 @item xmlRegisters
30839 This feature indicates that @value{GDBN} supports the XML target
30840 description. If the stub sees @samp{xmlRegisters=} with target
30841 specific strings separated by a comma, it will report register
30842 description.
30843 @end table
30844
30845 Stubs should ignore any unknown values for
30846 @var{gdbfeature}. Any @value{GDBN} which sends a @samp{qSupported}
30847 packet supports receiving packets of unlimited length (earlier
30848 versions of @value{GDBN} may reject overly long responses). Additional values
30849 for @var{gdbfeature} may be defined in the future to let the stub take
30850 advantage of new features in @value{GDBN}, e.g.@: incompatible
30851 improvements in the remote protocol---the @samp{multiprocess} feature is
30852 an example of such a feature. The stub's reply should be independent
30853 of the @var{gdbfeature} entries sent by @value{GDBN}; first @value{GDBN}
30854 describes all the features it supports, and then the stub replies with
30855 all the features it supports.
30856
30857 Similarly, @value{GDBN} will silently ignore unrecognized stub feature
30858 responses, as long as each response uses one of the standard forms.
30859
30860 Some features are flags. A stub which supports a flag feature
30861 should respond with a @samp{+} form response. Other features
30862 require values, and the stub should respond with an @samp{=}
30863 form response.
30864
30865 Each feature has a default value, which @value{GDBN} will use if
30866 @samp{qSupported} is not available or if the feature is not mentioned
30867 in the @samp{qSupported} response. The default values are fixed; a
30868 stub is free to omit any feature responses that match the defaults.
30869
30870 Not all features can be probed, but for those which can, the probing
30871 mechanism is useful: in some cases, a stub's internal
30872 architecture may not allow the protocol layer to know some information
30873 about the underlying target in advance. This is especially common in
30874 stubs which may be configured for multiple targets.
30875
30876 These are the currently defined stub features and their properties:
30877
30878 @multitable @columnfractions 0.35 0.2 0.12 0.2
30879 @c NOTE: The first row should be @headitem, but we do not yet require
30880 @c a new enough version of Texinfo (4.7) to use @headitem.
30881 @item Feature Name
30882 @tab Value Required
30883 @tab Default
30884 @tab Probe Allowed
30885
30886 @item @samp{PacketSize}
30887 @tab Yes
30888 @tab @samp{-}
30889 @tab No
30890
30891 @item @samp{qXfer:auxv:read}
30892 @tab No
30893 @tab @samp{-}
30894 @tab Yes
30895
30896 @item @samp{qXfer:features:read}
30897 @tab No
30898 @tab @samp{-}
30899 @tab Yes
30900
30901 @item @samp{qXfer:libraries:read}
30902 @tab No
30903 @tab @samp{-}
30904 @tab Yes
30905
30906 @item @samp{qXfer:memory-map:read}
30907 @tab No
30908 @tab @samp{-}
30909 @tab Yes
30910
30911 @item @samp{qXfer:spu:read}
30912 @tab No
30913 @tab @samp{-}
30914 @tab Yes
30915
30916 @item @samp{qXfer:spu:write}
30917 @tab No
30918 @tab @samp{-}
30919 @tab Yes
30920
30921 @item @samp{qXfer:siginfo:read}
30922 @tab No
30923 @tab @samp{-}
30924 @tab Yes
30925
30926 @item @samp{qXfer:siginfo:write}
30927 @tab No
30928 @tab @samp{-}
30929 @tab Yes
30930
30931 @item @samp{qXfer:threads:read}
30932 @tab No
30933 @tab @samp{-}
30934 @tab Yes
30935
30936
30937 @item @samp{QNonStop}
30938 @tab No
30939 @tab @samp{-}
30940 @tab Yes
30941
30942 @item @samp{QPassSignals}
30943 @tab No
30944 @tab @samp{-}
30945 @tab Yes
30946
30947 @item @samp{QStartNoAckMode}
30948 @tab No
30949 @tab @samp{-}
30950 @tab Yes
30951
30952 @item @samp{multiprocess}
30953 @tab No
30954 @tab @samp{-}
30955 @tab No
30956
30957 @item @samp{ConditionalTracepoints}
30958 @tab No
30959 @tab @samp{-}
30960 @tab No
30961
30962 @item @samp{ReverseContinue}
30963 @tab No
30964 @tab @samp{-}
30965 @tab No
30966
30967 @item @samp{ReverseStep}
30968 @tab No
30969 @tab @samp{-}
30970 @tab No
30971
30972 @item @samp{TracepointSource}
30973 @tab No
30974 @tab @samp{-}
30975 @tab No
30976
30977 @end multitable
30978
30979 These are the currently defined stub features, in more detail:
30980
30981 @table @samp
30982 @cindex packet size, remote protocol
30983 @item PacketSize=@var{bytes}
30984 The remote stub can accept packets up to at least @var{bytes} in
30985 length. @value{GDBN} will send packets up to this size for bulk
30986 transfers, and will never send larger packets. This is a limit on the
30987 data characters in the packet, including the frame and checksum.
30988 There is no trailing NUL byte in a remote protocol packet; if the stub
30989 stores packets in a NUL-terminated format, it should allow an extra
30990 byte in its buffer for the NUL. If this stub feature is not supported,
30991 @value{GDBN} guesses based on the size of the @samp{g} packet response.
30992
30993 @item qXfer:auxv:read
30994 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:auxv:read} packet
30995 (@pxref{qXfer auxiliary vector read}).
30996
30997 @item qXfer:features:read
30998 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:features:read} packet
30999 (@pxref{qXfer target description read}).
31000
31001 @item qXfer:libraries:read
31002 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:libraries:read} packet
31003 (@pxref{qXfer library list read}).
31004
31005 @item qXfer:memory-map:read
31006 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:memory-map:read} packet
31007 (@pxref{qXfer memory map read}).
31008
31009 @item qXfer:spu:read
31010 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:spu:read} packet
31011 (@pxref{qXfer spu read}).
31012
31013 @item qXfer:spu:write
31014 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:spu:write} packet
31015 (@pxref{qXfer spu write}).
31016
31017 @item qXfer:siginfo:read
31018 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:siginfo:read} packet
31019 (@pxref{qXfer siginfo read}).
31020
31021 @item qXfer:siginfo:write
31022 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:siginfo:write} packet
31023 (@pxref{qXfer siginfo write}).
31024
31025 @item qXfer:threads:read
31026 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:threads:read} packet
31027 (@pxref{qXfer threads read}).
31028
31029 @item QNonStop
31030 The remote stub understands the @samp{QNonStop} packet
31031 (@pxref{QNonStop}).
31032
31033 @item QPassSignals
31034 The remote stub understands the @samp{QPassSignals} packet
31035 (@pxref{QPassSignals}).
31036
31037 @item QStartNoAckMode
31038 The remote stub understands the @samp{QStartNoAckMode} packet and
31039 prefers to operate in no-acknowledgment mode. @xref{Packet Acknowledgment}.
31040
31041 @item multiprocess
31042 @anchor{multiprocess extensions}
31043 @cindex multiprocess extensions, in remote protocol
31044 The remote stub understands the multiprocess extensions to the remote
31045 protocol syntax. The multiprocess extensions affect the syntax of
31046 thread IDs in both packets and replies (@pxref{thread-id syntax}), and
31047 add process IDs to the @samp{D} packet and @samp{W} and @samp{X}
31048 replies. Note that reporting this feature indicates support for the
31049 syntactic extensions only, not that the stub necessarily supports
31050 debugging of more than one process at a time. The stub must not use
31051 multiprocess extensions in packet replies unless @value{GDBN} has also
31052 indicated it supports them in its @samp{qSupported} request.
31053
31054 @item qXfer:osdata:read
31055 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:osdata:read} packet
31056 ((@pxref{qXfer osdata read}).
31057
31058 @item ConditionalTracepoints
31059 The remote stub accepts and implements conditional expressions defined
31060 for tracepoints (@pxref{Tracepoint Conditions}).
31061
31062 @item ReverseContinue
31063 The remote stub accepts and implements the reverse continue packet
31064 (@pxref{bc}).
31065
31066 @item ReverseStep
31067 The remote stub accepts and implements the reverse step packet
31068 (@pxref{bs}).
31069
31070 @item TracepointSource
31071 The remote stub understands the @samp{QTDPsrc} packet that supplies
31072 the source form of tracepoint definitions.
31073
31074 @end table
31075
31076 @item qSymbol::
31077 @cindex symbol lookup, remote request
31078 @cindex @samp{qSymbol} packet
31079 Notify the target that @value{GDBN} is prepared to serve symbol lookup
31080 requests. Accept requests from the target for the values of symbols.
31081
31082 Reply:
31083 @table @samp
31084 @item OK
31085 The target does not need to look up any (more) symbols.
31086 @item qSymbol:@var{sym_name}
31087 The target requests the value of symbol @var{sym_name} (hex encoded).
31088 @value{GDBN} may provide the value by using the
31089 @samp{qSymbol:@var{sym_value}:@var{sym_name}} message, described
31090 below.
31091 @end table
31092
31093 @item qSymbol:@var{sym_value}:@var{sym_name}
31094 Set the value of @var{sym_name} to @var{sym_value}.
31095
31096 @var{sym_name} (hex encoded) is the name of a symbol whose value the
31097 target has previously requested.
31098
31099 @var{sym_value} (hex) is the value for symbol @var{sym_name}. If
31100 @value{GDBN} cannot supply a value for @var{sym_name}, then this field
31101 will be empty.
31102
31103 Reply:
31104 @table @samp
31105 @item OK
31106 The target does not need to look up any (more) symbols.
31107 @item qSymbol:@var{sym_name}
31108 The target requests the value of a new symbol @var{sym_name} (hex
31109 encoded). @value{GDBN} will continue to supply the values of symbols
31110 (if available), until the target ceases to request them.
31111 @end table
31112
31113 @item qTBuffer
31114 @item QTBuffer
31115 @item QTDisconnected
31116 @itemx QTDP
31117 @itemx QTDPsrc
31118 @itemx QTDV
31119 @itemx qTfP
31120 @itemx qTfV
31121 @itemx QTFrame
31122 @xref{Tracepoint Packets}.
31123
31124 @item qThreadExtraInfo,@var{thread-id}
31125 @cindex thread attributes info, remote request
31126 @cindex @samp{qThreadExtraInfo} packet
31127 Obtain a printable string description of a thread's attributes from
31128 the target OS. @var{thread-id} is a thread ID;
31129 see @ref{thread-id syntax}. This
31130 string may contain anything that the target OS thinks is interesting
31131 for @value{GDBN} to tell the user about the thread. The string is
31132 displayed in @value{GDBN}'s @code{info threads} display. Some
31133 examples of possible thread extra info strings are @samp{Runnable}, or
31134 @samp{Blocked on Mutex}.
31135
31136 Reply:
31137 @table @samp
31138 @item @var{XX}@dots{}
31139 Where @samp{@var{XX}@dots{}} is a hex encoding of @sc{ascii} data,
31140 comprising the printable string containing the extra information about
31141 the thread's attributes.
31142 @end table
31143
31144 (Note that the @code{qThreadExtraInfo} packet's name is separated from
31145 the command by a @samp{,}, not a @samp{:}, contrary to the naming
31146 conventions above. Please don't use this packet as a model for new
31147 packets.)
31148
31149 @item QTSave
31150 @item qTsP
31151 @item qTsV
31152 @itemx QTStart
31153 @itemx QTStop
31154 @itemx QTinit
31155 @itemx QTro
31156 @itemx qTStatus
31157 @itemx qTV
31158 @xref{Tracepoint Packets}.
31159
31160 @item qXfer:@var{object}:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
31161 @cindex read special object, remote request
31162 @cindex @samp{qXfer} packet
31163 @anchor{qXfer read}
31164 Read uninterpreted bytes from the target's special data area
31165 identified by the keyword @var{object}. Request @var{length} bytes
31166 starting at @var{offset} bytes into the data. The content and
31167 encoding of @var{annex} is specific to @var{object}; it can supply
31168 additional details about what data to access.
31169
31170 Here are the specific requests of this form defined so far. All
31171 @samp{qXfer:@var{object}:read:@dots{}} requests use the same reply
31172 formats, listed below.
31173
31174 @table @samp
31175 @item qXfer:auxv:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
31176 @anchor{qXfer auxiliary vector read}
31177 Access the target's @dfn{auxiliary vector}. @xref{OS Information,
31178 auxiliary vector}. Note @var{annex} must be empty.
31179
31180 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
31181 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
31182
31183 @item qXfer:features:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
31184 @anchor{qXfer target description read}
31185 Access the @dfn{target description}. @xref{Target Descriptions}. The
31186 annex specifies which XML document to access. The main description is
31187 always loaded from the @samp{target.xml} annex.
31188
31189 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
31190 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
31191
31192 @item qXfer:libraries:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
31193 @anchor{qXfer library list read}
31194 Access the target's list of loaded libraries. @xref{Library List Format}.
31195 The annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be empty
31196 (@pxref{qXfer read}).
31197
31198 Targets which maintain a list of libraries in the program's memory do
31199 not need to implement this packet; it is designed for platforms where
31200 the operating system manages the list of loaded libraries.
31201
31202 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
31203 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
31204
31205 @item qXfer:memory-map:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
31206 @anchor{qXfer memory map read}
31207 Access the target's @dfn{memory-map}. @xref{Memory Map Format}. The
31208 annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be empty
31209 (@pxref{qXfer read}).
31210
31211 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
31212 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
31213
31214 @item qXfer:siginfo:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
31215 @anchor{qXfer siginfo read}
31216 Read contents of the extra signal information on the target
31217 system. The annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be
31218 empty (@pxref{qXfer read}).
31219
31220 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
31221 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response
31222 (@pxref{qSupported}).
31223
31224 @item qXfer:spu:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
31225 @anchor{qXfer spu read}
31226 Read contents of an @code{spufs} file on the target system. The
31227 annex specifies which file to read; it must be of the form
31228 @file{@var{id}/@var{name}}, where @var{id} specifies an SPU context ID
31229 in the target process, and @var{name} identifes the @code{spufs} file
31230 in that context to be accessed.
31231
31232 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
31233 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response
31234 (@pxref{qSupported}).
31235
31236 @item qXfer:threads:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
31237 @anchor{qXfer threads read}
31238 Access the list of threads on target. @xref{Thread List Format}. The
31239 annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be empty
31240 (@pxref{qXfer read}).
31241
31242 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
31243 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
31244
31245 @item qXfer:osdata:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
31246 @anchor{qXfer osdata read}
31247 Access the target's @dfn{operating system information}.
31248 @xref{Operating System Information}.
31249
31250 @end table
31251
31252 Reply:
31253 @table @samp
31254 @item m @var{data}
31255 Data @var{data} (@pxref{Binary Data}) has been read from the
31256 target. There may be more data at a higher address (although
31257 it is permitted to return @samp{m} even for the last valid
31258 block of data, as long as at least one byte of data was read).
31259 @var{data} may have fewer bytes than the @var{length} in the
31260 request.
31261
31262 @item l @var{data}
31263 Data @var{data} (@pxref{Binary Data}) has been read from the target.
31264 There is no more data to be read. @var{data} may have fewer bytes
31265 than the @var{length} in the request.
31266
31267 @item l
31268 The @var{offset} in the request is at the end of the data.
31269 There is no more data to be read.
31270
31271 @item E00
31272 The request was malformed, or @var{annex} was invalid.
31273
31274 @item E @var{nn}
31275 The offset was invalid, or there was an error encountered reading the data.
31276 @var{nn} is a hex-encoded @code{errno} value.
31277
31278 @item
31279 An empty reply indicates the @var{object} string was not recognized by
31280 the stub, or that the object does not support reading.
31281 @end table
31282
31283 @item qXfer:@var{object}:write:@var{annex}:@var{offset}:@var{data}@dots{}
31284 @cindex write data into object, remote request
31285 @anchor{qXfer write}
31286 Write uninterpreted bytes into the target's special data area
31287 identified by the keyword @var{object}, starting at @var{offset} bytes
31288 into the data. @var{data}@dots{} is the binary-encoded data
31289 (@pxref{Binary Data}) to be written. The content and encoding of @var{annex}
31290 is specific to @var{object}; it can supply additional details about what data
31291 to access.
31292
31293 Here are the specific requests of this form defined so far. All
31294 @samp{qXfer:@var{object}:write:@dots{}} requests use the same reply
31295 formats, listed below.
31296
31297 @table @samp
31298 @item qXfer:siginfo:write::@var{offset}:@var{data}@dots{}
31299 @anchor{qXfer siginfo write}
31300 Write @var{data} to the extra signal information on the target system.
31301 The annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be
31302 empty (@pxref{qXfer write}).
31303
31304 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
31305 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response
31306 (@pxref{qSupported}).
31307
31308 @item qXfer:spu:write:@var{annex}:@var{offset}:@var{data}@dots{}
31309 @anchor{qXfer spu write}
31310 Write @var{data} to an @code{spufs} file on the target system. The
31311 annex specifies which file to write; it must be of the form
31312 @file{@var{id}/@var{name}}, where @var{id} specifies an SPU context ID
31313 in the target process, and @var{name} identifes the @code{spufs} file
31314 in that context to be accessed.
31315
31316 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
31317 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
31318 @end table
31319
31320 Reply:
31321 @table @samp
31322 @item @var{nn}
31323 @var{nn} (hex encoded) is the number of bytes written.
31324 This may be fewer bytes than supplied in the request.
31325
31326 @item E00
31327 The request was malformed, or @var{annex} was invalid.
31328
31329 @item E @var{nn}
31330 The offset was invalid, or there was an error encountered writing the data.
31331 @var{nn} is a hex-encoded @code{errno} value.
31332
31333 @item
31334 An empty reply indicates the @var{object} string was not
31335 recognized by the stub, or that the object does not support writing.
31336 @end table
31337
31338 @item qXfer:@var{object}:@var{operation}:@dots{}
31339 Requests of this form may be added in the future. When a stub does
31340 not recognize the @var{object} keyword, or its support for
31341 @var{object} does not recognize the @var{operation} keyword, the stub
31342 must respond with an empty packet.
31343
31344 @item qAttached:@var{pid}
31345 @cindex query attached, remote request
31346 @cindex @samp{qAttached} packet
31347 Return an indication of whether the remote server attached to an
31348 existing process or created a new process. When the multiprocess
31349 protocol extensions are supported (@pxref{multiprocess extensions}),
31350 @var{pid} is an integer in hexadecimal format identifying the target
31351 process. Otherwise, @value{GDBN} will omit the @var{pid} field and
31352 the query packet will be simplified as @samp{qAttached}.
31353
31354 This query is used, for example, to know whether the remote process
31355 should be detached or killed when a @value{GDBN} session is ended with
31356 the @code{quit} command.
31357
31358 Reply:
31359 @table @samp
31360 @item 1
31361 The remote server attached to an existing process.
31362 @item 0
31363 The remote server created a new process.
31364 @item E @var{NN}
31365 A badly formed request or an error was encountered.
31366 @end table
31367
31368 @end table
31369
31370 @node Architecture-Specific Protocol Details
31371 @section Architecture-Specific Protocol Details
31372
31373 This section describes how the remote protocol is applied to specific
31374 target architectures. Also see @ref{Standard Target Features}, for
31375 details of XML target descriptions for each architecture.
31376
31377 @subsection ARM
31378
31379 @subsubsection Breakpoint Kinds
31380
31381 These breakpoint kinds are defined for the @samp{Z0} and @samp{Z1} packets.
31382
31383 @table @r
31384
31385 @item 2
31386 16-bit Thumb mode breakpoint.
31387
31388 @item 3
31389 32-bit Thumb mode (Thumb-2) breakpoint.
31390
31391 @item 4
31392 32-bit ARM mode breakpoint.
31393
31394 @end table
31395
31396 @subsection MIPS
31397
31398 @subsubsection Register Packet Format
31399
31400 The following @code{g}/@code{G} packets have previously been defined.
31401 In the below, some thirty-two bit registers are transferred as
31402 sixty-four bits. Those registers should be zero/sign extended (which?)
31403 to fill the space allocated. Register bytes are transferred in target
31404 byte order. The two nibbles within a register byte are transferred
31405 most-significant - least-significant.
31406
31407 @table @r
31408
31409 @item MIPS32
31410
31411 All registers are transferred as thirty-two bit quantities in the order:
31412 32 general-purpose; sr; lo; hi; bad; cause; pc; 32 floating-point
31413 registers; fsr; fir; fp.
31414
31415 @item MIPS64
31416
31417 All registers are transferred as sixty-four bit quantities (including
31418 thirty-two bit registers such as @code{sr}). The ordering is the same
31419 as @code{MIPS32}.
31420
31421 @end table
31422
31423 @node Tracepoint Packets
31424 @section Tracepoint Packets
31425 @cindex tracepoint packets
31426 @cindex packets, tracepoint
31427
31428 Here we describe the packets @value{GDBN} uses to implement
31429 tracepoints (@pxref{Tracepoints}).
31430
31431 @table @samp
31432
31433 @item QTDP:@var{n}:@var{addr}:@var{ena}:@var{step}:@var{pass}[:F@var{flen}][:X@var{len},@var{bytes}]@r{[}-@r{]}
31434 Create a new tracepoint, number @var{n}, at @var{addr}. If @var{ena}
31435 is @samp{E}, then the tracepoint is enabled; if it is @samp{D}, then
31436 the tracepoint is disabled. @var{step} is the tracepoint's step
31437 count, and @var{pass} is its pass count. If an @samp{F} is present,
31438 then the tracepoint is to be a fast tracepoint, and the @var{flen} is
31439 the number of bytes that the target should copy elsewhere to make room
31440 for the tracepoint. If an @samp{X} is present, it introduces a
31441 tracepoint condition, which consists of a hexadecimal length, followed
31442 by a comma and hex-encoded bytes, in a manner similar to action
31443 encodings as described below. If the trailing @samp{-} is present,
31444 further @samp{QTDP} packets will follow to specify this tracepoint's
31445 actions.
31446
31447 Replies:
31448 @table @samp
31449 @item OK
31450 The packet was understood and carried out.
31451 @item
31452 The packet was not recognized.
31453 @end table
31454
31455 @item QTDP:-@var{n}:@var{addr}:@r{[}S@r{]}@var{action}@dots{}@r{[}-@r{]}
31456 Define actions to be taken when a tracepoint is hit. @var{n} and
31457 @var{addr} must be the same as in the initial @samp{QTDP} packet for
31458 this tracepoint. This packet may only be sent immediately after
31459 another @samp{QTDP} packet that ended with a @samp{-}. If the
31460 trailing @samp{-} is present, further @samp{QTDP} packets will follow,
31461 specifying more actions for this tracepoint.
31462
31463 In the series of action packets for a given tracepoint, at most one
31464 can have an @samp{S} before its first @var{action}. If such a packet
31465 is sent, it and the following packets define ``while-stepping''
31466 actions. Any prior packets define ordinary actions --- that is, those
31467 taken when the tracepoint is first hit. If no action packet has an
31468 @samp{S}, then all the packets in the series specify ordinary
31469 tracepoint actions.
31470
31471 The @samp{@var{action}@dots{}} portion of the packet is a series of
31472 actions, concatenated without separators. Each action has one of the
31473 following forms:
31474
31475 @table @samp
31476
31477 @item R @var{mask}
31478 Collect the registers whose bits are set in @var{mask}. @var{mask} is
31479 a hexadecimal number whose @var{i}'th bit is set if register number
31480 @var{i} should be collected. (The least significant bit is numbered
31481 zero.) Note that @var{mask} may be any number of digits long; it may
31482 not fit in a 32-bit word.
31483
31484 @item M @var{basereg},@var{offset},@var{len}
31485 Collect @var{len} bytes of memory starting at the address in register
31486 number @var{basereg}, plus @var{offset}. If @var{basereg} is
31487 @samp{-1}, then the range has a fixed address: @var{offset} is the
31488 address of the lowest byte to collect. The @var{basereg},
31489 @var{offset}, and @var{len} parameters are all unsigned hexadecimal
31490 values (the @samp{-1} value for @var{basereg} is a special case).
31491
31492 @item X @var{len},@var{expr}
31493 Evaluate @var{expr}, whose length is @var{len}, and collect memory as
31494 it directs. @var{expr} is an agent expression, as described in
31495 @ref{Agent Expressions}. Each byte of the expression is encoded as a
31496 two-digit hex number in the packet; @var{len} is the number of bytes
31497 in the expression (and thus one-half the number of hex digits in the
31498 packet).
31499
31500 @end table
31501
31502 Any number of actions may be packed together in a single @samp{QTDP}
31503 packet, as long as the packet does not exceed the maximum packet
31504 length (400 bytes, for many stubs). There may be only one @samp{R}
31505 action per tracepoint, and it must precede any @samp{M} or @samp{X}
31506 actions. Any registers referred to by @samp{M} and @samp{X} actions
31507 must be collected by a preceding @samp{R} action. (The
31508 ``while-stepping'' actions are treated as if they were attached to a
31509 separate tracepoint, as far as these restrictions are concerned.)
31510
31511 Replies:
31512 @table @samp
31513 @item OK
31514 The packet was understood and carried out.
31515 @item
31516 The packet was not recognized.
31517 @end table
31518
31519 @item QTDPsrc:@var{n}:@var{addr}:@var{type}:@var{start}:@var{slen}:@var{bytes}
31520 @cindex @samp{QTDPsrc} packet
31521 Specify a source string of tracepoint @var{n} at address @var{addr}.
31522 This is useful to get accurate reproduction of the tracepoints
31523 originally downloaded at the beginning of the trace run. @var{type}
31524 is the name of the tracepoint part, such as @samp{cond} for the
31525 tracepoint's conditional expression (see below for a list of types), while
31526 @var{bytes} is the string, encoded in hexadecimal.
31527
31528 @var{start} is the offset of the @var{bytes} within the overall source
31529 string, while @var{slen} is the total length of the source string.
31530 This is intended for handling source strings that are longer than will
31531 fit in a single packet.
31532 @c Add detailed example when this info is moved into a dedicated
31533 @c tracepoint descriptions section.
31534
31535 The available string types are @samp{at} for the location,
31536 @samp{cond} for the conditional, and @samp{cmd} for an action command.
31537 @value{GDBN} sends a separate packet for each command in the action
31538 list, in the same order in which the commands are stored in the list.
31539
31540 The target does not need to do anything with source strings except
31541 report them back as part of the replies to the @samp{qTfP}/@samp{qTsP}
31542 query packets.
31543
31544 Although this packet is optional, and @value{GDBN} will only send it
31545 if the target replies with @samp{TracepointSource} @xref{General
31546 Query Packets}, it makes both disconnected tracing and trace files
31547 much easier to use. Otherwise the user must be careful that the
31548 tracepoints in effect while looking at trace frames are identical to
31549 the ones in effect during the trace run; even a small discrepancy
31550 could cause @samp{tdump} not to work, or a particular trace frame not
31551 be found.
31552
31553 @item QTDV:@var{n}:@var{value}
31554 @cindex define trace state variable, remote request
31555 @cindex @samp{QTDV} packet
31556 Create a new trace state variable, number @var{n}, with an initial
31557 value of @var{value}, which is a 64-bit signed integer. Both @var{n}
31558 and @var{value} are encoded as hexadecimal values. @value{GDBN} has
31559 the option of not using this packet for initial values of zero; the
31560 target should simply create the trace state variables as they are
31561 mentioned in expressions.
31562
31563 @item QTFrame:@var{n}
31564 Select the @var{n}'th tracepoint frame from the buffer, and use the
31565 register and memory contents recorded there to answer subsequent
31566 request packets from @value{GDBN}.
31567
31568 A successful reply from the stub indicates that the stub has found the
31569 requested frame. The response is a series of parts, concatenated
31570 without separators, describing the frame we selected. Each part has
31571 one of the following forms:
31572
31573 @table @samp
31574 @item F @var{f}
31575 The selected frame is number @var{n} in the trace frame buffer;
31576 @var{f} is a hexadecimal number. If @var{f} is @samp{-1}, then there
31577 was no frame matching the criteria in the request packet.
31578
31579 @item T @var{t}
31580 The selected trace frame records a hit of tracepoint number @var{t};
31581 @var{t} is a hexadecimal number.
31582
31583 @end table
31584
31585 @item QTFrame:pc:@var{addr}
31586 Like @samp{QTFrame:@var{n}}, but select the first tracepoint frame after the
31587 currently selected frame whose PC is @var{addr};
31588 @var{addr} is a hexadecimal number.
31589
31590 @item QTFrame:tdp:@var{t}
31591 Like @samp{QTFrame:@var{n}}, but select the first tracepoint frame after the
31592 currently selected frame that is a hit of tracepoint @var{t}; @var{t}
31593 is a hexadecimal number.
31594
31595 @item QTFrame:range:@var{start}:@var{end}
31596 Like @samp{QTFrame:@var{n}}, but select the first tracepoint frame after the
31597 currently selected frame whose PC is between @var{start} (inclusive)
31598 and @var{end} (inclusive); @var{start} and @var{end} are hexadecimal
31599 numbers.
31600
31601 @item QTFrame:outside:@var{start}:@var{end}
31602 Like @samp{QTFrame:range:@var{start}:@var{end}}, but select the first
31603 frame @emph{outside} the given range of addresses (exclusive).
31604
31605 @item QTStart
31606 Begin the tracepoint experiment. Begin collecting data from tracepoint
31607 hits in the trace frame buffer.
31608
31609 @item QTStop
31610 End the tracepoint experiment. Stop collecting trace frames.
31611
31612 @item QTinit
31613 Clear the table of tracepoints, and empty the trace frame buffer.
31614
31615 @item QTro:@var{start1},@var{end1}:@var{start2},@var{end2}:@dots{}
31616 Establish the given ranges of memory as ``transparent''. The stub
31617 will answer requests for these ranges from memory's current contents,
31618 if they were not collected as part of the tracepoint hit.
31619
31620 @value{GDBN} uses this to mark read-only regions of memory, like those
31621 containing program code. Since these areas never change, they should
31622 still have the same contents they did when the tracepoint was hit, so
31623 there's no reason for the stub to refuse to provide their contents.
31624
31625 @item QTDisconnected:@var{value}
31626 Set the choice to what to do with the tracing run when @value{GDBN}
31627 disconnects from the target. A @var{value} of 1 directs the target to
31628 continue the tracing run, while 0 tells the target to stop tracing if
31629 @value{GDBN} is no longer in the picture.
31630
31631 @item qTStatus
31632 Ask the stub if there is a trace experiment running right now.
31633
31634 The reply has the form:
31635
31636 @table @samp
31637
31638 @item T@var{running}@r{[};@var{field}@r{]}@dots{}
31639 @var{running} is a single digit @code{1} if the trace is presently
31640 running, or @code{0} if not. It is followed by semicolon-separated
31641 optional fields that an agent may use to report additional status.
31642
31643 @end table
31644
31645 If the trace is not running, the agent may report any of several
31646 explanations as one of the optional fields:
31647
31648 @table @samp
31649
31650 @item tnotrun:0
31651 No trace has been run yet.
31652
31653 @item tstop:0
31654 The trace was stopped by a user-originated stop command.
31655
31656 @item tfull:0
31657 The trace stopped because the trace buffer filled up.
31658
31659 @item tdisconnected:0
31660 The trace stopped because @value{GDBN} disconnected from the target.
31661
31662 @item tpasscount:@var{tpnum}
31663 The trace stopped because tracepoint @var{tpnum} exceeded its pass count.
31664
31665 @item terror:@var{text}:@var{tpnum}
31666 The trace stopped because tracepoint @var{tpnum} had an error. The
31667 string @var{text} is available to describe the nature of the error
31668 (for instance, a divide by zero in the condition expression).
31669 @var{text} is hex encoded.
31670
31671 @item tunknown:0
31672 The trace stopped for some other reason.
31673
31674 @end table
31675
31676 Additional optional fields supply statistical and other information.
31677 Although not required, they are extremely useful for users monitoring
31678 the progress of a trace run. If a trace has stopped, and these
31679 numbers are reported, they must reflect the state of the just-stopped
31680 trace.
31681
31682 @table @samp
31683
31684 @item tframes:@var{n}
31685 The number of trace frames in the buffer.
31686
31687 @item tcreated:@var{n}
31688 The total number of trace frames created during the run. This may
31689 be larger than the trace frame count, if the buffer is circular.
31690
31691 @item tsize:@var{n}
31692 The total size of the trace buffer, in bytes.
31693
31694 @item tfree:@var{n}
31695 The number of bytes still unused in the buffer.
31696
31697 @item circular:@var{n}
31698 The value of the circular trace buffer flag. @code{1} means that the
31699 trace buffer is circular and old trace frames will be discarded if
31700 necessary to make room, @code{0} means that the trace buffer is linear
31701 and may fill up.
31702
31703 @item disconn:@var{n}
31704 The value of the disconnected tracing flag. @code{1} means that
31705 tracing will continue after @value{GDBN} disconnects, @code{0} means
31706 that the trace run will stop.
31707
31708 @end table
31709
31710 @item qTV:@var{var}
31711 @cindex trace state variable value, remote request
31712 @cindex @samp{qTV} packet
31713 Ask the stub for the value of the trace state variable number @var{var}.
31714
31715 Replies:
31716 @table @samp
31717 @item V@var{value}
31718 The value of the variable is @var{value}. This will be the current
31719 value of the variable if the user is examining a running target, or a
31720 saved value if the variable was collected in the trace frame that the
31721 user is looking at. Note that multiple requests may result in
31722 different reply values, such as when requesting values while the
31723 program is running.
31724
31725 @item U
31726 The value of the variable is unknown. This would occur, for example,
31727 if the user is examining a trace frame in which the requested variable
31728 was not collected.
31729 @end table
31730
31731 @item qTfP
31732 @itemx qTsP
31733 These packets request data about tracepoints that are being used by
31734 the target. @value{GDBN} sends @code{qTfP} to get the first piece
31735 of data, and multiple @code{qTsP} to get additional pieces. Replies
31736 to these packets generally take the form of the @code{QTDP} packets
31737 that define tracepoints. (FIXME add detailed syntax)
31738
31739 @item qTfV
31740 @itemx qTsV
31741 These packets request data about trace state variables that are on the
31742 target. @value{GDBN} sends @code{qTfV} to get the first vari of data,
31743 and multiple @code{qTsV} to get additional variables. Replies to
31744 these packets follow the syntax of the @code{QTDV} packets that define
31745 trace state variables.
31746
31747 @item QTSave:@var{filename}
31748 This packet directs the target to save trace data to the file name
31749 @var{filename} in the target's filesystem. @var{filename} is encoded
31750 as a hex string; the interpretation of the file name (relative vs
31751 absolute, wild cards, etc) is up to the target.
31752
31753 @item qTBuffer:@var{offset},@var{len}
31754 Return up to @var{len} bytes of the current contents of trace buffer,
31755 starting at @var{offset}. The trace buffer is treated as if it were
31756 a contiguous collection of traceframes, as per the trace file format.
31757 The reply consists as many hex-encoded bytes as the target can deliver
31758 in a packet; it is not an error to return fewer than were asked for.
31759 A reply consisting of just @code{l} indicates that no bytes are
31760 available.
31761
31762 @item QTBuffer:circular:@var{value}
31763 This packet directs the target to use a circular trace buffer if
31764 @var{value} is 1, or a linear buffer if the value is 0.
31765
31766 @end table
31767
31768 @node Host I/O Packets
31769 @section Host I/O Packets
31770 @cindex Host I/O, remote protocol
31771 @cindex file transfer, remote protocol
31772
31773 The @dfn{Host I/O} packets allow @value{GDBN} to perform I/O
31774 operations on the far side of a remote link. For example, Host I/O is
31775 used to upload and download files to a remote target with its own
31776 filesystem. Host I/O uses the same constant values and data structure
31777 layout as the target-initiated File-I/O protocol. However, the
31778 Host I/O packets are structured differently. The target-initiated
31779 protocol relies on target memory to store parameters and buffers.
31780 Host I/O requests are initiated by @value{GDBN}, and the
31781 target's memory is not involved. @xref{File-I/O Remote Protocol
31782 Extension}, for more details on the target-initiated protocol.
31783
31784 The Host I/O request packets all encode a single operation along with
31785 its arguments. They have this format:
31786
31787 @table @samp
31788
31789 @item vFile:@var{operation}: @var{parameter}@dots{}
31790 @var{operation} is the name of the particular request; the target
31791 should compare the entire packet name up to the second colon when checking
31792 for a supported operation. The format of @var{parameter} depends on
31793 the operation. Numbers are always passed in hexadecimal. Negative
31794 numbers have an explicit minus sign (i.e.@: two's complement is not
31795 used). Strings (e.g.@: filenames) are encoded as a series of
31796 hexadecimal bytes. The last argument to a system call may be a
31797 buffer of escaped binary data (@pxref{Binary Data}).
31798
31799 @end table
31800
31801 The valid responses to Host I/O packets are:
31802
31803 @table @samp
31804
31805 @item F @var{result} [, @var{errno}] [; @var{attachment}]
31806 @var{result} is the integer value returned by this operation, usually
31807 non-negative for success and -1 for errors. If an error has occured,
31808 @var{errno} will be included in the result. @var{errno} will have a
31809 value defined by the File-I/O protocol (@pxref{Errno Values}). For
31810 operations which return data, @var{attachment} supplies the data as a
31811 binary buffer. Binary buffers in response packets are escaped in the
31812 normal way (@pxref{Binary Data}). See the individual packet
31813 documentation for the interpretation of @var{result} and
31814 @var{attachment}.
31815
31816 @item
31817 An empty response indicates that this operation is not recognized.
31818
31819 @end table
31820
31821 These are the supported Host I/O operations:
31822
31823 @table @samp
31824 @item vFile:open: @var{pathname}, @var{flags}, @var{mode}
31825 Open a file at @var{pathname} and return a file descriptor for it, or
31826 return -1 if an error occurs. @var{pathname} is a string,
31827 @var{flags} is an integer indicating a mask of open flags
31828 (@pxref{Open Flags}), and @var{mode} is an integer indicating a mask
31829 of mode bits to use if the file is created (@pxref{mode_t Values}).
31830 @xref{open}, for details of the open flags and mode values.
31831
31832 @item vFile:close: @var{fd}
31833 Close the open file corresponding to @var{fd} and return 0, or
31834 -1 if an error occurs.
31835
31836 @item vFile:pread: @var{fd}, @var{count}, @var{offset}
31837 Read data from the open file corresponding to @var{fd}. Up to
31838 @var{count} bytes will be read from the file, starting at @var{offset}
31839 relative to the start of the file. The target may read fewer bytes;
31840 common reasons include packet size limits and an end-of-file
31841 condition. The number of bytes read is returned. Zero should only be
31842 returned for a successful read at the end of the file, or if
31843 @var{count} was zero.
31844
31845 The data read should be returned as a binary attachment on success.
31846 If zero bytes were read, the response should include an empty binary
31847 attachment (i.e.@: a trailing semicolon). The return value is the
31848 number of target bytes read; the binary attachment may be longer if
31849 some characters were escaped.
31850
31851 @item vFile:pwrite: @var{fd}, @var{offset}, @var{data}
31852 Write @var{data} (a binary buffer) to the open file corresponding
31853 to @var{fd}. Start the write at @var{offset} from the start of the
31854 file. Unlike many @code{write} system calls, there is no
31855 separate @var{count} argument; the length of @var{data} in the
31856 packet is used. @samp{vFile:write} returns the number of bytes written,
31857 which may be shorter than the length of @var{data}, or -1 if an
31858 error occurred.
31859
31860 @item vFile:unlink: @var{pathname}
31861 Delete the file at @var{pathname} on the target. Return 0,
31862 or -1 if an error occurs. @var{pathname} is a string.
31863
31864 @end table
31865
31866 @node Interrupts
31867 @section Interrupts
31868 @cindex interrupts (remote protocol)
31869
31870 When a program on the remote target is running, @value{GDBN} may
31871 attempt to interrupt it by sending a @samp{Ctrl-C}, @code{BREAK} or
31872 a @code{BREAK} followed by @code{g},
31873 control of which is specified via @value{GDBN}'s @samp{interrupt-sequence}.
31874
31875 The precise meaning of @code{BREAK} is defined by the transport
31876 mechanism and may, in fact, be undefined. @value{GDBN} does not
31877 currently define a @code{BREAK} mechanism for any of the network
31878 interfaces except for TCP, in which case @value{GDBN} sends the
31879 @code{telnet} BREAK sequence.
31880
31881 @samp{Ctrl-C}, on the other hand, is defined and implemented for all
31882 transport mechanisms. It is represented by sending the single byte
31883 @code{0x03} without any of the usual packet overhead described in
31884 the Overview section (@pxref{Overview}). When a @code{0x03} byte is
31885 transmitted as part of a packet, it is considered to be packet data
31886 and does @emph{not} represent an interrupt. E.g., an @samp{X} packet
31887 (@pxref{X packet}), used for binary downloads, may include an unescaped
31888 @code{0x03} as part of its packet.
31889
31890 @code{BREAK} followed by @code{g} is also known as Magic SysRq g.
31891 When Linux kernel receives this sequence from serial port,
31892 it stops execution and connects to gdb.
31893
31894 Stubs are not required to recognize these interrupt mechanisms and the
31895 precise meaning associated with receipt of the interrupt is
31896 implementation defined. If the target supports debugging of multiple
31897 threads and/or processes, it should attempt to interrupt all
31898 currently-executing threads and processes.
31899 If the stub is successful at interrupting the
31900 running program, it should send one of the stop
31901 reply packets (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets}) to @value{GDBN} as a result
31902 of successfully stopping the program in all-stop mode, and a stop reply
31903 for each stopped thread in non-stop mode.
31904 Interrupts received while the
31905 program is stopped are discarded.
31906
31907 @node Notification Packets
31908 @section Notification Packets
31909 @cindex notification packets
31910 @cindex packets, notification
31911
31912 The @value{GDBN} remote serial protocol includes @dfn{notifications},
31913 packets that require no acknowledgment. Both the GDB and the stub
31914 may send notifications (although the only notifications defined at
31915 present are sent by the stub). Notifications carry information
31916 without incurring the round-trip latency of an acknowledgment, and so
31917 are useful for low-impact communications where occasional packet loss
31918 is not a problem.
31919
31920 A notification packet has the form @samp{% @var{data} #
31921 @var{checksum}}, where @var{data} is the content of the notification,
31922 and @var{checksum} is a checksum of @var{data}, computed and formatted
31923 as for ordinary @value{GDBN} packets. A notification's @var{data}
31924 never contains @samp{$}, @samp{%} or @samp{#} characters. Upon
31925 receiving a notification, the recipient sends no @samp{+} or @samp{-}
31926 to acknowledge the notification's receipt or to report its corruption.
31927
31928 Every notification's @var{data} begins with a name, which contains no
31929 colon characters, followed by a colon character.
31930
31931 Recipients should silently ignore corrupted notifications and
31932 notifications they do not understand. Recipients should restart
31933 timeout periods on receipt of a well-formed notification, whether or
31934 not they understand it.
31935
31936 Senders should only send the notifications described here when this
31937 protocol description specifies that they are permitted. In the
31938 future, we may extend the protocol to permit existing notifications in
31939 new contexts; this rule helps older senders avoid confusing newer
31940 recipients.
31941
31942 (Older versions of @value{GDBN} ignore bytes received until they see
31943 the @samp{$} byte that begins an ordinary packet, so new stubs may
31944 transmit notifications without fear of confusing older clients. There
31945 are no notifications defined for @value{GDBN} to send at the moment, but we
31946 assume that most older stubs would ignore them, as well.)
31947
31948 The following notification packets from the stub to @value{GDBN} are
31949 defined:
31950
31951 @table @samp
31952 @item Stop: @var{reply}
31953 Report an asynchronous stop event in non-stop mode.
31954 The @var{reply} has the form of a stop reply, as
31955 described in @ref{Stop Reply Packets}. Refer to @ref{Remote Non-Stop},
31956 for information on how these notifications are acknowledged by
31957 @value{GDBN}.
31958 @end table
31959
31960 @node Remote Non-Stop
31961 @section Remote Protocol Support for Non-Stop Mode
31962
31963 @value{GDBN}'s remote protocol supports non-stop debugging of
31964 multi-threaded programs, as described in @ref{Non-Stop Mode}. If the stub
31965 supports non-stop mode, it should report that to @value{GDBN} by including
31966 @samp{QNonStop+} in its @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
31967
31968 @value{GDBN} typically sends a @samp{QNonStop} packet only when
31969 establishing a new connection with the stub. Entering non-stop mode
31970 does not alter the state of any currently-running threads, but targets
31971 must stop all threads in any already-attached processes when entering
31972 all-stop mode. @value{GDBN} uses the @samp{?} packet as necessary to
31973 probe the target state after a mode change.
31974
31975 In non-stop mode, when an attached process encounters an event that
31976 would otherwise be reported with a stop reply, it uses the
31977 asynchronous notification mechanism (@pxref{Notification Packets}) to
31978 inform @value{GDBN}. In contrast to all-stop mode, where all threads
31979 in all processes are stopped when a stop reply is sent, in non-stop
31980 mode only the thread reporting the stop event is stopped. That is,
31981 when reporting a @samp{S} or @samp{T} response to indicate completion
31982 of a step operation, hitting a breakpoint, or a fault, only the
31983 affected thread is stopped; any other still-running threads continue
31984 to run. When reporting a @samp{W} or @samp{X} response, all running
31985 threads belonging to other attached processes continue to run.
31986
31987 Only one stop reply notification at a time may be pending; if
31988 additional stop events occur before @value{GDBN} has acknowledged the
31989 previous notification, they must be queued by the stub for later
31990 synchronous transmission in response to @samp{vStopped} packets from
31991 @value{GDBN}. Because the notification mechanism is unreliable,
31992 the stub is permitted to resend a stop reply notification
31993 if it believes @value{GDBN} may not have received it. @value{GDBN}
31994 ignores additional stop reply notifications received before it has
31995 finished processing a previous notification and the stub has completed
31996 sending any queued stop events.
31997
31998 Otherwise, @value{GDBN} must be prepared to receive a stop reply
31999 notification at any time. Specifically, they may appear when
32000 @value{GDBN} is not otherwise reading input from the stub, or when
32001 @value{GDBN} is expecting to read a normal synchronous response or a
32002 @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgment to a packet it has sent.
32003 Notification packets are distinct from any other communication from
32004 the stub so there is no ambiguity.
32005
32006 After receiving a stop reply notification, @value{GDBN} shall
32007 acknowledge it by sending a @samp{vStopped} packet (@pxref{vStopped packet})
32008 as a regular, synchronous request to the stub. Such acknowledgment
32009 is not required to happen immediately, as @value{GDBN} is permitted to
32010 send other, unrelated packets to the stub first, which the stub should
32011 process normally.
32012
32013 Upon receiving a @samp{vStopped} packet, if the stub has other queued
32014 stop events to report to @value{GDBN}, it shall respond by sending a
32015 normal stop reply response. @value{GDBN} shall then send another
32016 @samp{vStopped} packet to solicit further responses; again, it is
32017 permitted to send other, unrelated packets as well which the stub
32018 should process normally.
32019
32020 If the stub receives a @samp{vStopped} packet and there are no
32021 additional stop events to report, the stub shall return an @samp{OK}
32022 response. At this point, if further stop events occur, the stub shall
32023 send a new stop reply notification, @value{GDBN} shall accept the
32024 notification, and the process shall be repeated.
32025
32026 In non-stop mode, the target shall respond to the @samp{?} packet as
32027 follows. First, any incomplete stop reply notification/@samp{vStopped}
32028 sequence in progress is abandoned. The target must begin a new
32029 sequence reporting stop events for all stopped threads, whether or not
32030 it has previously reported those events to @value{GDBN}. The first
32031 stop reply is sent as a synchronous reply to the @samp{?} packet, and
32032 subsequent stop replies are sent as responses to @samp{vStopped} packets
32033 using the mechanism described above. The target must not send
32034 asynchronous stop reply notifications until the sequence is complete.
32035 If all threads are running when the target receives the @samp{?} packet,
32036 or if the target is not attached to any process, it shall respond
32037 @samp{OK}.
32038
32039 @node Packet Acknowledgment
32040 @section Packet Acknowledgment
32041
32042 @cindex acknowledgment, for @value{GDBN} remote
32043 @cindex packet acknowledgment, for @value{GDBN} remote
32044 By default, when either the host or the target machine receives a packet,
32045 the first response expected is an acknowledgment: either @samp{+} (to indicate
32046 the package was received correctly) or @samp{-} (to request retransmission).
32047 This mechanism allows the @value{GDBN} remote protocol to operate over
32048 unreliable transport mechanisms, such as a serial line.
32049
32050 In cases where the transport mechanism is itself reliable (such as a pipe or
32051 TCP connection), the @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgments are redundant.
32052 It may be desirable to disable them in that case to reduce communication
32053 overhead, or for other reasons. This can be accomplished by means of the
32054 @samp{QStartNoAckMode} packet; @pxref{QStartNoAckMode}.
32055
32056 When in no-acknowledgment mode, neither the stub nor @value{GDBN} shall send or
32057 expect @samp{+}/@samp{-} protocol acknowledgments. The packet
32058 and response format still includes the normal checksum, as described in
32059 @ref{Overview}, but the checksum may be ignored by the receiver.
32060
32061 If the stub supports @samp{QStartNoAckMode} and prefers to operate in
32062 no-acknowledgment mode, it should report that to @value{GDBN}
32063 by including @samp{QStartNoAckMode+} in its response to @samp{qSupported};
32064 @pxref{qSupported}.
32065 If @value{GDBN} also supports @samp{QStartNoAckMode} and it has not been
32066 disabled via the @code{set remote noack-packet off} command
32067 (@pxref{Remote Configuration}),
32068 @value{GDBN} may then send a @samp{QStartNoAckMode} packet to the stub.
32069 Only then may the stub actually turn off packet acknowledgments.
32070 @value{GDBN} sends a final @samp{+} acknowledgment of the stub's @samp{OK}
32071 response, which can be safely ignored by the stub.
32072
32073 Note that @code{set remote noack-packet} command only affects negotiation
32074 between @value{GDBN} and the stub when subsequent connections are made;
32075 it does not affect the protocol acknowledgment state for any current
32076 connection.
32077 Since @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgments are enabled by default when a
32078 new connection is established,
32079 there is also no protocol request to re-enable the acknowledgments
32080 for the current connection, once disabled.
32081
32082 @node Examples
32083 @section Examples
32084
32085 Example sequence of a target being re-started. Notice how the restart
32086 does not get any direct output:
32087
32088 @smallexample
32089 -> @code{R00}
32090 <- @code{+}
32091 @emph{target restarts}
32092 -> @code{?}
32093 <- @code{+}
32094 <- @code{T001:1234123412341234}
32095 -> @code{+}
32096 @end smallexample
32097
32098 Example sequence of a target being stepped by a single instruction:
32099
32100 @smallexample
32101 -> @code{G1445@dots{}}
32102 <- @code{+}
32103 -> @code{s}
32104 <- @code{+}
32105 @emph{time passes}
32106 <- @code{T001:1234123412341234}
32107 -> @code{+}
32108 -> @code{g}
32109 <- @code{+}
32110 <- @code{1455@dots{}}
32111 -> @code{+}
32112 @end smallexample
32113
32114 @node File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension
32115 @section File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension
32116 @cindex File-I/O remote protocol extension
32117
32118 @menu
32119 * File-I/O Overview::
32120 * Protocol Basics::
32121 * The F Request Packet::
32122 * The F Reply Packet::
32123 * The Ctrl-C Message::
32124 * Console I/O::
32125 * List of Supported Calls::
32126 * Protocol-specific Representation of Datatypes::
32127 * Constants::
32128 * File-I/O Examples::
32129 @end menu
32130
32131 @node File-I/O Overview
32132 @subsection File-I/O Overview
32133 @cindex file-i/o overview
32134
32135 The @dfn{File I/O remote protocol extension} (short: File-I/O) allows the
32136 target to use the host's file system and console I/O to perform various
32137 system calls. System calls on the target system are translated into a
32138 remote protocol packet to the host system, which then performs the needed
32139 actions and returns a response packet to the target system.
32140 This simulates file system operations even on targets that lack file systems.
32141
32142 The protocol is defined to be independent of both the host and target systems.
32143 It uses its own internal representation of datatypes and values. Both
32144 @value{GDBN} and the target's @value{GDBN} stub are responsible for
32145 translating the system-dependent value representations into the internal
32146 protocol representations when data is transmitted.
32147
32148 The communication is synchronous. A system call is possible only when
32149 @value{GDBN} is waiting for a response from the @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S}
32150 or @samp{s} packets. While @value{GDBN} handles the request for a system call,
32151 the target is stopped to allow deterministic access to the target's
32152 memory. Therefore File-I/O is not interruptible by target signals. On
32153 the other hand, it is possible to interrupt File-I/O by a user interrupt
32154 (@samp{Ctrl-C}) within @value{GDBN}.
32155
32156 The target's request to perform a host system call does not finish
32157 the latest @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S} or @samp{s} action. That means,
32158 after finishing the system call, the target returns to continuing the
32159 previous activity (continue, step). No additional continue or step
32160 request from @value{GDBN} is required.
32161
32162 @smallexample
32163 (@value{GDBP}) continue
32164 <- target requests 'system call X'
32165 target is stopped, @value{GDBN} executes system call
32166 -> @value{GDBN} returns result
32167 ... target continues, @value{GDBN} returns to wait for the target
32168 <- target hits breakpoint and sends a Txx packet
32169 @end smallexample
32170
32171 The protocol only supports I/O on the console and to regular files on
32172 the host file system. Character or block special devices, pipes,
32173 named pipes, sockets or any other communication method on the host
32174 system are not supported by this protocol.
32175
32176 File I/O is not supported in non-stop mode.
32177
32178 @node Protocol Basics
32179 @subsection Protocol Basics
32180 @cindex protocol basics, file-i/o
32181
32182 The File-I/O protocol uses the @code{F} packet as the request as well
32183 as reply packet. Since a File-I/O system call can only occur when
32184 @value{GDBN} is waiting for a response from the continuing or stepping target,
32185 the File-I/O request is a reply that @value{GDBN} has to expect as a result
32186 of a previous @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S} or @samp{s} packet.
32187 This @code{F} packet contains all information needed to allow @value{GDBN}
32188 to call the appropriate host system call:
32189
32190 @itemize @bullet
32191 @item
32192 A unique identifier for the requested system call.
32193
32194 @item
32195 All parameters to the system call. Pointers are given as addresses
32196 in the target memory address space. Pointers to strings are given as
32197 pointer/length pair. Numerical values are given as they are.
32198 Numerical control flags are given in a protocol-specific representation.
32199
32200 @end itemize
32201
32202 At this point, @value{GDBN} has to perform the following actions.
32203
32204 @itemize @bullet
32205 @item
32206 If the parameters include pointer values to data needed as input to a
32207 system call, @value{GDBN} requests this data from the target with a
32208 standard @code{m} packet request. This additional communication has to be
32209 expected by the target implementation and is handled as any other @code{m}
32210 packet.
32211
32212 @item
32213 @value{GDBN} translates all value from protocol representation to host
32214 representation as needed. Datatypes are coerced into the host types.
32215
32216 @item
32217 @value{GDBN} calls the system call.
32218
32219 @item
32220 It then coerces datatypes back to protocol representation.
32221
32222 @item
32223 If the system call is expected to return data in buffer space specified
32224 by pointer parameters to the call, the data is transmitted to the
32225 target using a @code{M} or @code{X} packet. This packet has to be expected
32226 by the target implementation and is handled as any other @code{M} or @code{X}
32227 packet.
32228
32229 @end itemize
32230
32231 Eventually @value{GDBN} replies with another @code{F} packet which contains all
32232 necessary information for the target to continue. This at least contains
32233
32234 @itemize @bullet
32235 @item
32236 Return value.
32237
32238 @item
32239 @code{errno}, if has been changed by the system call.
32240
32241 @item
32242 ``Ctrl-C'' flag.
32243
32244 @end itemize
32245
32246 After having done the needed type and value coercion, the target continues
32247 the latest continue or step action.
32248
32249 @node The F Request Packet
32250 @subsection The @code{F} Request Packet
32251 @cindex file-i/o request packet
32252 @cindex @code{F} request packet
32253
32254 The @code{F} request packet has the following format:
32255
32256 @table @samp
32257 @item F@var{call-id},@var{parameter@dots{}}
32258
32259 @var{call-id} is the identifier to indicate the host system call to be called.
32260 This is just the name of the function.
32261
32262 @var{parameter@dots{}} are the parameters to the system call.
32263 Parameters are hexadecimal integer values, either the actual values in case
32264 of scalar datatypes, pointers to target buffer space in case of compound
32265 datatypes and unspecified memory areas, or pointer/length pairs in case
32266 of string parameters. These are appended to the @var{call-id} as a
32267 comma-delimited list. All values are transmitted in ASCII
32268 string representation, pointer/length pairs separated by a slash.
32269
32270 @end table
32271
32272
32273
32274 @node The F Reply Packet
32275 @subsection The @code{F} Reply Packet
32276 @cindex file-i/o reply packet
32277 @cindex @code{F} reply packet
32278
32279 The @code{F} reply packet has the following format:
32280
32281 @table @samp
32282
32283 @item F@var{retcode},@var{errno},@var{Ctrl-C flag};@var{call-specific attachment}
32284
32285 @var{retcode} is the return code of the system call as hexadecimal value.
32286
32287 @var{errno} is the @code{errno} set by the call, in protocol-specific
32288 representation.
32289 This parameter can be omitted if the call was successful.
32290
32291 @var{Ctrl-C flag} is only sent if the user requested a break. In this
32292 case, @var{errno} must be sent as well, even if the call was successful.
32293 The @var{Ctrl-C flag} itself consists of the character @samp{C}:
32294
32295 @smallexample
32296 F0,0,C
32297 @end smallexample
32298
32299 @noindent
32300 or, if the call was interrupted before the host call has been performed:
32301
32302 @smallexample
32303 F-1,4,C
32304 @end smallexample
32305
32306 @noindent
32307 assuming 4 is the protocol-specific representation of @code{EINTR}.
32308
32309 @end table
32310
32311
32312 @node The Ctrl-C Message
32313 @subsection The @samp{Ctrl-C} Message
32314 @cindex ctrl-c message, in file-i/o protocol
32315
32316 If the @samp{Ctrl-C} flag is set in the @value{GDBN}
32317 reply packet (@pxref{The F Reply Packet}),
32318 the target should behave as if it had
32319 gotten a break message. The meaning for the target is ``system call
32320 interrupted by @code{SIGINT}''. Consequentially, the target should actually stop
32321 (as with a break message) and return to @value{GDBN} with a @code{T02}
32322 packet.
32323
32324 It's important for the target to know in which
32325 state the system call was interrupted. There are two possible cases:
32326
32327 @itemize @bullet
32328 @item
32329 The system call hasn't been performed on the host yet.
32330
32331 @item
32332 The system call on the host has been finished.
32333
32334 @end itemize
32335
32336 These two states can be distinguished by the target by the value of the
32337 returned @code{errno}. If it's the protocol representation of @code{EINTR}, the system
32338 call hasn't been performed. This is equivalent to the @code{EINTR} handling
32339 on POSIX systems. In any other case, the target may presume that the
32340 system call has been finished --- successfully or not --- and should behave
32341 as if the break message arrived right after the system call.
32342
32343 @value{GDBN} must behave reliably. If the system call has not been called
32344 yet, @value{GDBN} may send the @code{F} reply immediately, setting @code{EINTR} as
32345 @code{errno} in the packet. If the system call on the host has been finished
32346 before the user requests a break, the full action must be finished by
32347 @value{GDBN}. This requires sending @code{M} or @code{X} packets as necessary.
32348 The @code{F} packet may only be sent when either nothing has happened
32349 or the full action has been completed.
32350
32351 @node Console I/O
32352 @subsection Console I/O
32353 @cindex console i/o as part of file-i/o
32354
32355 By default and if not explicitly closed by the target system, the file
32356 descriptors 0, 1 and 2 are connected to the @value{GDBN} console. Output
32357 on the @value{GDBN} console is handled as any other file output operation
32358 (@code{write(1, @dots{})} or @code{write(2, @dots{})}). Console input is handled
32359 by @value{GDBN} so that after the target read request from file descriptor
32360 0 all following typing is buffered until either one of the following
32361 conditions is met:
32362
32363 @itemize @bullet
32364 @item
32365 The user types @kbd{Ctrl-c}. The behaviour is as explained above, and the
32366 @code{read}
32367 system call is treated as finished.
32368
32369 @item
32370 The user presses @key{RET}. This is treated as end of input with a trailing
32371 newline.
32372
32373 @item
32374 The user types @kbd{Ctrl-d}. This is treated as end of input. No trailing
32375 character (neither newline nor @samp{Ctrl-D}) is appended to the input.
32376
32377 @end itemize
32378
32379 If the user has typed more characters than fit in the buffer given to
32380 the @code{read} call, the trailing characters are buffered in @value{GDBN} until
32381 either another @code{read(0, @dots{})} is requested by the target, or debugging
32382 is stopped at the user's request.
32383
32384
32385 @node List of Supported Calls
32386 @subsection List of Supported Calls
32387 @cindex list of supported file-i/o calls
32388
32389 @menu
32390 * open::
32391 * close::
32392 * read::
32393 * write::
32394 * lseek::
32395 * rename::
32396 * unlink::
32397 * stat/fstat::
32398 * gettimeofday::
32399 * isatty::
32400 * system::
32401 @end menu
32402
32403 @node open
32404 @unnumberedsubsubsec open
32405 @cindex open, file-i/o system call
32406
32407 @table @asis
32408 @item Synopsis:
32409 @smallexample
32410 int open(const char *pathname, int flags);
32411 int open(const char *pathname, int flags, mode_t mode);
32412 @end smallexample
32413
32414 @item Request:
32415 @samp{Fopen,@var{pathptr}/@var{len},@var{flags},@var{mode}}
32416
32417 @noindent
32418 @var{flags} is the bitwise @code{OR} of the following values:
32419
32420 @table @code
32421 @item O_CREAT
32422 If the file does not exist it will be created. The host
32423 rules apply as far as file ownership and time stamps
32424 are concerned.
32425
32426 @item O_EXCL
32427 When used with @code{O_CREAT}, if the file already exists it is
32428 an error and open() fails.
32429
32430 @item O_TRUNC
32431 If the file already exists and the open mode allows
32432 writing (@code{O_RDWR} or @code{O_WRONLY} is given) it will be
32433 truncated to zero length.
32434
32435 @item O_APPEND
32436 The file is opened in append mode.
32437
32438 @item O_RDONLY
32439 The file is opened for reading only.
32440
32441 @item O_WRONLY
32442 The file is opened for writing only.
32443
32444 @item O_RDWR
32445 The file is opened for reading and writing.
32446 @end table
32447
32448 @noindent
32449 Other bits are silently ignored.
32450
32451
32452 @noindent
32453 @var{mode} is the bitwise @code{OR} of the following values:
32454
32455 @table @code
32456 @item S_IRUSR
32457 User has read permission.
32458
32459 @item S_IWUSR
32460 User has write permission.
32461
32462 @item S_IRGRP
32463 Group has read permission.
32464
32465 @item S_IWGRP
32466 Group has write permission.
32467
32468 @item S_IROTH
32469 Others have read permission.
32470
32471 @item S_IWOTH
32472 Others have write permission.
32473 @end table
32474
32475 @noindent
32476 Other bits are silently ignored.
32477
32478
32479 @item Return value:
32480 @code{open} returns the new file descriptor or -1 if an error
32481 occurred.
32482
32483 @item Errors:
32484
32485 @table @code
32486 @item EEXIST
32487 @var{pathname} already exists and @code{O_CREAT} and @code{O_EXCL} were used.
32488
32489 @item EISDIR
32490 @var{pathname} refers to a directory.
32491
32492 @item EACCES
32493 The requested access is not allowed.
32494
32495 @item ENAMETOOLONG
32496 @var{pathname} was too long.
32497
32498 @item ENOENT
32499 A directory component in @var{pathname} does not exist.
32500
32501 @item ENODEV
32502 @var{pathname} refers to a device, pipe, named pipe or socket.
32503
32504 @item EROFS
32505 @var{pathname} refers to a file on a read-only filesystem and
32506 write access was requested.
32507
32508 @item EFAULT
32509 @var{pathname} is an invalid pointer value.
32510
32511 @item ENOSPC
32512 No space on device to create the file.
32513
32514 @item EMFILE
32515 The process already has the maximum number of files open.
32516
32517 @item ENFILE
32518 The limit on the total number of files open on the system
32519 has been reached.
32520
32521 @item EINTR
32522 The call was interrupted by the user.
32523 @end table
32524
32525 @end table
32526
32527 @node close
32528 @unnumberedsubsubsec close
32529 @cindex close, file-i/o system call
32530
32531 @table @asis
32532 @item Synopsis:
32533 @smallexample
32534 int close(int fd);
32535 @end smallexample
32536
32537 @item Request:
32538 @samp{Fclose,@var{fd}}
32539
32540 @item Return value:
32541 @code{close} returns zero on success, or -1 if an error occurred.
32542
32543 @item Errors:
32544
32545 @table @code
32546 @item EBADF
32547 @var{fd} isn't a valid open file descriptor.
32548
32549 @item EINTR
32550 The call was interrupted by the user.
32551 @end table
32552
32553 @end table
32554
32555 @node read
32556 @unnumberedsubsubsec read
32557 @cindex read, file-i/o system call
32558
32559 @table @asis
32560 @item Synopsis:
32561 @smallexample
32562 int read(int fd, void *buf, unsigned int count);
32563 @end smallexample
32564
32565 @item Request:
32566 @samp{Fread,@var{fd},@var{bufptr},@var{count}}
32567
32568 @item Return value:
32569 On success, the number of bytes read is returned.
32570 Zero indicates end of file. If count is zero, read
32571 returns zero as well. On error, -1 is returned.
32572
32573 @item Errors:
32574
32575 @table @code
32576 @item EBADF
32577 @var{fd} is not a valid file descriptor or is not open for
32578 reading.
32579
32580 @item EFAULT
32581 @var{bufptr} is an invalid pointer value.
32582
32583 @item EINTR
32584 The call was interrupted by the user.
32585 @end table
32586
32587 @end table
32588
32589 @node write
32590 @unnumberedsubsubsec write
32591 @cindex write, file-i/o system call
32592
32593 @table @asis
32594 @item Synopsis:
32595 @smallexample
32596 int write(int fd, const void *buf, unsigned int count);
32597 @end smallexample
32598
32599 @item Request:
32600 @samp{Fwrite,@var{fd},@var{bufptr},@var{count}}
32601
32602 @item Return value:
32603 On success, the number of bytes written are returned.
32604 Zero indicates nothing was written. On error, -1
32605 is returned.
32606
32607 @item Errors:
32608
32609 @table @code
32610 @item EBADF
32611 @var{fd} is not a valid file descriptor or is not open for
32612 writing.
32613
32614 @item EFAULT
32615 @var{bufptr} is an invalid pointer value.
32616
32617 @item EFBIG
32618 An attempt was made to write a file that exceeds the
32619 host-specific maximum file size allowed.
32620
32621 @item ENOSPC
32622 No space on device to write the data.
32623
32624 @item EINTR
32625 The call was interrupted by the user.
32626 @end table
32627
32628 @end table
32629
32630 @node lseek
32631 @unnumberedsubsubsec lseek
32632 @cindex lseek, file-i/o system call
32633
32634 @table @asis
32635 @item Synopsis:
32636 @smallexample
32637 long lseek (int fd, long offset, int flag);
32638 @end smallexample
32639
32640 @item Request:
32641 @samp{Flseek,@var{fd},@var{offset},@var{flag}}
32642
32643 @var{flag} is one of:
32644
32645 @table @code
32646 @item SEEK_SET
32647 The offset is set to @var{offset} bytes.
32648
32649 @item SEEK_CUR
32650 The offset is set to its current location plus @var{offset}
32651 bytes.
32652
32653 @item SEEK_END
32654 The offset is set to the size of the file plus @var{offset}
32655 bytes.
32656 @end table
32657
32658 @item Return value:
32659 On success, the resulting unsigned offset in bytes from
32660 the beginning of the file is returned. Otherwise, a
32661 value of -1 is returned.
32662
32663 @item Errors:
32664
32665 @table @code
32666 @item EBADF
32667 @var{fd} is not a valid open file descriptor.
32668
32669 @item ESPIPE
32670 @var{fd} is associated with the @value{GDBN} console.
32671
32672 @item EINVAL
32673 @var{flag} is not a proper value.
32674
32675 @item EINTR
32676 The call was interrupted by the user.
32677 @end table
32678
32679 @end table
32680
32681 @node rename
32682 @unnumberedsubsubsec rename
32683 @cindex rename, file-i/o system call
32684
32685 @table @asis
32686 @item Synopsis:
32687 @smallexample
32688 int rename(const char *oldpath, const char *newpath);
32689 @end smallexample
32690
32691 @item Request:
32692 @samp{Frename,@var{oldpathptr}/@var{len},@var{newpathptr}/@var{len}}
32693
32694 @item Return value:
32695 On success, zero is returned. On error, -1 is returned.
32696
32697 @item Errors:
32698
32699 @table @code
32700 @item EISDIR
32701 @var{newpath} is an existing directory, but @var{oldpath} is not a
32702 directory.
32703
32704 @item EEXIST
32705 @var{newpath} is a non-empty directory.
32706
32707 @item EBUSY
32708 @var{oldpath} or @var{newpath} is a directory that is in use by some
32709 process.
32710
32711 @item EINVAL
32712 An attempt was made to make a directory a subdirectory
32713 of itself.
32714
32715 @item ENOTDIR
32716 A component used as a directory in @var{oldpath} or new
32717 path is not a directory. Or @var{oldpath} is a directory
32718 and @var{newpath} exists but is not a directory.
32719
32720 @item EFAULT
32721 @var{oldpathptr} or @var{newpathptr} are invalid pointer values.
32722
32723 @item EACCES
32724 No access to the file or the path of the file.
32725
32726 @item ENAMETOOLONG
32727
32728 @var{oldpath} or @var{newpath} was too long.
32729
32730 @item ENOENT
32731 A directory component in @var{oldpath} or @var{newpath} does not exist.
32732
32733 @item EROFS
32734 The file is on a read-only filesystem.
32735
32736 @item ENOSPC
32737 The device containing the file has no room for the new
32738 directory entry.
32739
32740 @item EINTR
32741 The call was interrupted by the user.
32742 @end table
32743
32744 @end table
32745
32746 @node unlink
32747 @unnumberedsubsubsec unlink
32748 @cindex unlink, file-i/o system call
32749
32750 @table @asis
32751 @item Synopsis:
32752 @smallexample
32753 int unlink(const char *pathname);
32754 @end smallexample
32755
32756 @item Request:
32757 @samp{Funlink,@var{pathnameptr}/@var{len}}
32758
32759 @item Return value:
32760 On success, zero is returned. On error, -1 is returned.
32761
32762 @item Errors:
32763
32764 @table @code
32765 @item EACCES
32766 No access to the file or the path of the file.
32767
32768 @item EPERM
32769 The system does not allow unlinking of directories.
32770
32771 @item EBUSY
32772 The file @var{pathname} cannot be unlinked because it's
32773 being used by another process.
32774
32775 @item EFAULT
32776 @var{pathnameptr} is an invalid pointer value.
32777
32778 @item ENAMETOOLONG
32779 @var{pathname} was too long.
32780
32781 @item ENOENT
32782 A directory component in @var{pathname} does not exist.
32783
32784 @item ENOTDIR
32785 A component of the path is not a directory.
32786
32787 @item EROFS
32788 The file is on a read-only filesystem.
32789
32790 @item EINTR
32791 The call was interrupted by the user.
32792 @end table
32793
32794 @end table
32795
32796 @node stat/fstat
32797 @unnumberedsubsubsec stat/fstat
32798 @cindex fstat, file-i/o system call
32799 @cindex stat, file-i/o system call
32800
32801 @table @asis
32802 @item Synopsis:
32803 @smallexample
32804 int stat(const char *pathname, struct stat *buf);
32805 int fstat(int fd, struct stat *buf);
32806 @end smallexample
32807
32808 @item Request:
32809 @samp{Fstat,@var{pathnameptr}/@var{len},@var{bufptr}}@*
32810 @samp{Ffstat,@var{fd},@var{bufptr}}
32811
32812 @item Return value:
32813 On success, zero is returned. On error, -1 is returned.
32814
32815 @item Errors:
32816
32817 @table @code
32818 @item EBADF
32819 @var{fd} is not a valid open file.
32820
32821 @item ENOENT
32822 A directory component in @var{pathname} does not exist or the
32823 path is an empty string.
32824
32825 @item ENOTDIR
32826 A component of the path is not a directory.
32827
32828 @item EFAULT
32829 @var{pathnameptr} is an invalid pointer value.
32830
32831 @item EACCES
32832 No access to the file or the path of the file.
32833
32834 @item ENAMETOOLONG
32835 @var{pathname} was too long.
32836
32837 @item EINTR
32838 The call was interrupted by the user.
32839 @end table
32840
32841 @end table
32842
32843 @node gettimeofday
32844 @unnumberedsubsubsec gettimeofday
32845 @cindex gettimeofday, file-i/o system call
32846
32847 @table @asis
32848 @item Synopsis:
32849 @smallexample
32850 int gettimeofday(struct timeval *tv, void *tz);
32851 @end smallexample
32852
32853 @item Request:
32854 @samp{Fgettimeofday,@var{tvptr},@var{tzptr}}
32855
32856 @item Return value:
32857 On success, 0 is returned, -1 otherwise.
32858
32859 @item Errors:
32860
32861 @table @code
32862 @item EINVAL
32863 @var{tz} is a non-NULL pointer.
32864
32865 @item EFAULT
32866 @var{tvptr} and/or @var{tzptr} is an invalid pointer value.
32867 @end table
32868
32869 @end table
32870
32871 @node isatty
32872 @unnumberedsubsubsec isatty
32873 @cindex isatty, file-i/o system call
32874
32875 @table @asis
32876 @item Synopsis:
32877 @smallexample
32878 int isatty(int fd);
32879 @end smallexample
32880
32881 @item Request:
32882 @samp{Fisatty,@var{fd}}
32883
32884 @item Return value:
32885 Returns 1 if @var{fd} refers to the @value{GDBN} console, 0 otherwise.
32886
32887 @item Errors:
32888
32889 @table @code
32890 @item EINTR
32891 The call was interrupted by the user.
32892 @end table
32893
32894 @end table
32895
32896 Note that the @code{isatty} call is treated as a special case: it returns
32897 1 to the target if the file descriptor is attached
32898 to the @value{GDBN} console, 0 otherwise. Implementing through system calls
32899 would require implementing @code{ioctl} and would be more complex than
32900 needed.
32901
32902
32903 @node system
32904 @unnumberedsubsubsec system
32905 @cindex system, file-i/o system call
32906
32907 @table @asis
32908 @item Synopsis:
32909 @smallexample
32910 int system(const char *command);
32911 @end smallexample
32912
32913 @item Request:
32914 @samp{Fsystem,@var{commandptr}/@var{len}}
32915
32916 @item Return value:
32917 If @var{len} is zero, the return value indicates whether a shell is
32918 available. A zero return value indicates a shell is not available.
32919 For non-zero @var{len}, the value returned is -1 on error and the
32920 return status of the command otherwise. Only the exit status of the
32921 command is returned, which is extracted from the host's @code{system}
32922 return value by calling @code{WEXITSTATUS(retval)}. In case
32923 @file{/bin/sh} could not be executed, 127 is returned.
32924
32925 @item Errors:
32926
32927 @table @code
32928 @item EINTR
32929 The call was interrupted by the user.
32930 @end table
32931
32932 @end table
32933
32934 @value{GDBN} takes over the full task of calling the necessary host calls
32935 to perform the @code{system} call. The return value of @code{system} on
32936 the host is simplified before it's returned
32937 to the target. Any termination signal information from the child process
32938 is discarded, and the return value consists
32939 entirely of the exit status of the called command.
32940
32941 Due to security concerns, the @code{system} call is by default refused
32942 by @value{GDBN}. The user has to allow this call explicitly with the
32943 @code{set remote system-call-allowed 1} command.
32944
32945 @table @code
32946 @item set remote system-call-allowed
32947 @kindex set remote system-call-allowed
32948 Control whether to allow the @code{system} calls in the File I/O
32949 protocol for the remote target. The default is zero (disabled).
32950
32951 @item show remote system-call-allowed
32952 @kindex show remote system-call-allowed
32953 Show whether the @code{system} calls are allowed in the File I/O
32954 protocol.
32955 @end table
32956
32957 @node Protocol-specific Representation of Datatypes
32958 @subsection Protocol-specific Representation of Datatypes
32959 @cindex protocol-specific representation of datatypes, in file-i/o protocol
32960
32961 @menu
32962 * Integral Datatypes::
32963 * Pointer Values::
32964 * Memory Transfer::
32965 * struct stat::
32966 * struct timeval::
32967 @end menu
32968
32969 @node Integral Datatypes
32970 @unnumberedsubsubsec Integral Datatypes
32971 @cindex integral datatypes, in file-i/o protocol
32972
32973 The integral datatypes used in the system calls are @code{int},
32974 @code{unsigned int}, @code{long}, @code{unsigned long},
32975 @code{mode_t}, and @code{time_t}.
32976
32977 @code{int}, @code{unsigned int}, @code{mode_t} and @code{time_t} are
32978 implemented as 32 bit values in this protocol.
32979
32980 @code{long} and @code{unsigned long} are implemented as 64 bit types.
32981
32982 @xref{Limits}, for corresponding MIN and MAX values (similar to those
32983 in @file{limits.h}) to allow range checking on host and target.
32984
32985 @code{time_t} datatypes are defined as seconds since the Epoch.
32986
32987 All integral datatypes transferred as part of a memory read or write of a
32988 structured datatype e.g.@: a @code{struct stat} have to be given in big endian
32989 byte order.
32990
32991 @node Pointer Values
32992 @unnumberedsubsubsec Pointer Values
32993 @cindex pointer values, in file-i/o protocol
32994
32995 Pointers to target data are transmitted as they are. An exception
32996 is made for pointers to buffers for which the length isn't
32997 transmitted as part of the function call, namely strings. Strings
32998 are transmitted as a pointer/length pair, both as hex values, e.g.@:
32999
33000 @smallexample
33001 @code{1aaf/12}
33002 @end smallexample
33003
33004 @noindent
33005 which is a pointer to data of length 18 bytes at position 0x1aaf.
33006 The length is defined as the full string length in bytes, including
33007 the trailing null byte. For example, the string @code{"hello world"}
33008 at address 0x123456 is transmitted as
33009
33010 @smallexample
33011 @code{123456/d}
33012 @end smallexample
33013
33014 @node Memory Transfer
33015 @unnumberedsubsubsec Memory Transfer
33016 @cindex memory transfer, in file-i/o protocol
33017
33018 Structured data which is transferred using a memory read or write (for
33019 example, a @code{struct stat}) is expected to be in a protocol-specific format
33020 with all scalar multibyte datatypes being big endian. Translation to
33021 this representation needs to be done both by the target before the @code{F}
33022 packet is sent, and by @value{GDBN} before
33023 it transfers memory to the target. Transferred pointers to structured
33024 data should point to the already-coerced data at any time.
33025
33026
33027 @node struct stat
33028 @unnumberedsubsubsec struct stat
33029 @cindex struct stat, in file-i/o protocol
33030
33031 The buffer of type @code{struct stat} used by the target and @value{GDBN}
33032 is defined as follows:
33033
33034 @smallexample
33035 struct stat @{
33036 unsigned int st_dev; /* device */
33037 unsigned int st_ino; /* inode */
33038 mode_t st_mode; /* protection */
33039 unsigned int st_nlink; /* number of hard links */
33040 unsigned int st_uid; /* user ID of owner */
33041 unsigned int st_gid; /* group ID of owner */
33042 unsigned int st_rdev; /* device type (if inode device) */
33043 unsigned long st_size; /* total size, in bytes */
33044 unsigned long st_blksize; /* blocksize for filesystem I/O */
33045 unsigned long st_blocks; /* number of blocks allocated */
33046 time_t st_atime; /* time of last access */
33047 time_t st_mtime; /* time of last modification */
33048 time_t st_ctime; /* time of last change */
33049 @};
33050 @end smallexample
33051
33052 The integral datatypes conform to the definitions given in the
33053 appropriate section (see @ref{Integral Datatypes}, for details) so this
33054 structure is of size 64 bytes.
33055
33056 The values of several fields have a restricted meaning and/or
33057 range of values.
33058
33059 @table @code
33060
33061 @item st_dev
33062 A value of 0 represents a file, 1 the console.
33063
33064 @item st_ino
33065 No valid meaning for the target. Transmitted unchanged.
33066
33067 @item st_mode
33068 Valid mode bits are described in @ref{Constants}. Any other
33069 bits have currently no meaning for the target.
33070
33071 @item st_uid
33072 @itemx st_gid
33073 @itemx st_rdev
33074 No valid meaning for the target. Transmitted unchanged.
33075
33076 @item st_atime
33077 @itemx st_mtime
33078 @itemx st_ctime
33079 These values have a host and file system dependent
33080 accuracy. Especially on Windows hosts, the file system may not
33081 support exact timing values.
33082 @end table
33083
33084 The target gets a @code{struct stat} of the above representation and is
33085 responsible for coercing it to the target representation before
33086 continuing.
33087
33088 Note that due to size differences between the host, target, and protocol
33089 representations of @code{struct stat} members, these members could eventually
33090 get truncated on the target.
33091
33092 @node struct timeval
33093 @unnumberedsubsubsec struct timeval
33094 @cindex struct timeval, in file-i/o protocol
33095
33096 The buffer of type @code{struct timeval} used by the File-I/O protocol
33097 is defined as follows:
33098
33099 @smallexample
33100 struct timeval @{
33101 time_t tv_sec; /* second */
33102 long tv_usec; /* microsecond */
33103 @};
33104 @end smallexample
33105
33106 The integral datatypes conform to the definitions given in the
33107 appropriate section (see @ref{Integral Datatypes}, for details) so this
33108 structure is of size 8 bytes.
33109
33110 @node Constants
33111 @subsection Constants
33112 @cindex constants, in file-i/o protocol
33113
33114 The following values are used for the constants inside of the
33115 protocol. @value{GDBN} and target are responsible for translating these
33116 values before and after the call as needed.
33117
33118 @menu
33119 * Open Flags::
33120 * mode_t Values::
33121 * Errno Values::
33122 * Lseek Flags::
33123 * Limits::
33124 @end menu
33125
33126 @node Open Flags
33127 @unnumberedsubsubsec Open Flags
33128 @cindex open flags, in file-i/o protocol
33129
33130 All values are given in hexadecimal representation.
33131
33132 @smallexample
33133 O_RDONLY 0x0
33134 O_WRONLY 0x1
33135 O_RDWR 0x2
33136 O_APPEND 0x8
33137 O_CREAT 0x200
33138 O_TRUNC 0x400
33139 O_EXCL 0x800
33140 @end smallexample
33141
33142 @node mode_t Values
33143 @unnumberedsubsubsec mode_t Values
33144 @cindex mode_t values, in file-i/o protocol
33145
33146 All values are given in octal representation.
33147
33148 @smallexample
33149 S_IFREG 0100000
33150 S_IFDIR 040000
33151 S_IRUSR 0400
33152 S_IWUSR 0200
33153 S_IXUSR 0100
33154 S_IRGRP 040
33155 S_IWGRP 020
33156 S_IXGRP 010
33157 S_IROTH 04
33158 S_IWOTH 02
33159 S_IXOTH 01
33160 @end smallexample
33161
33162 @node Errno Values
33163 @unnumberedsubsubsec Errno Values
33164 @cindex errno values, in file-i/o protocol
33165
33166 All values are given in decimal representation.
33167
33168 @smallexample
33169 EPERM 1
33170 ENOENT 2
33171 EINTR 4
33172 EBADF 9
33173 EACCES 13
33174 EFAULT 14
33175 EBUSY 16
33176 EEXIST 17
33177 ENODEV 19
33178 ENOTDIR 20
33179 EISDIR 21
33180 EINVAL 22
33181 ENFILE 23
33182 EMFILE 24
33183 EFBIG 27
33184 ENOSPC 28
33185 ESPIPE 29
33186 EROFS 30
33187 ENAMETOOLONG 91
33188 EUNKNOWN 9999
33189 @end smallexample
33190
33191 @code{EUNKNOWN} is used as a fallback error value if a host system returns
33192 any error value not in the list of supported error numbers.
33193
33194 @node Lseek Flags
33195 @unnumberedsubsubsec Lseek Flags
33196 @cindex lseek flags, in file-i/o protocol
33197
33198 @smallexample
33199 SEEK_SET 0
33200 SEEK_CUR 1
33201 SEEK_END 2
33202 @end smallexample
33203
33204 @node Limits
33205 @unnumberedsubsubsec Limits
33206 @cindex limits, in file-i/o protocol
33207
33208 All values are given in decimal representation.
33209
33210 @smallexample
33211 INT_MIN -2147483648
33212 INT_MAX 2147483647
33213 UINT_MAX 4294967295
33214 LONG_MIN -9223372036854775808
33215 LONG_MAX 9223372036854775807
33216 ULONG_MAX 18446744073709551615
33217 @end smallexample
33218
33219 @node File-I/O Examples
33220 @subsection File-I/O Examples
33221 @cindex file-i/o examples
33222
33223 Example sequence of a write call, file descriptor 3, buffer is at target
33224 address 0x1234, 6 bytes should be written:
33225
33226 @smallexample
33227 <- @code{Fwrite,3,1234,6}
33228 @emph{request memory read from target}
33229 -> @code{m1234,6}
33230 <- XXXXXX
33231 @emph{return "6 bytes written"}
33232 -> @code{F6}
33233 @end smallexample
33234
33235 Example sequence of a read call, file descriptor 3, buffer is at target
33236 address 0x1234, 6 bytes should be read:
33237
33238 @smallexample
33239 <- @code{Fread,3,1234,6}
33240 @emph{request memory write to target}
33241 -> @code{X1234,6:XXXXXX}
33242 @emph{return "6 bytes read"}
33243 -> @code{F6}
33244 @end smallexample
33245
33246 Example sequence of a read call, call fails on the host due to invalid
33247 file descriptor (@code{EBADF}):
33248
33249 @smallexample
33250 <- @code{Fread,3,1234,6}
33251 -> @code{F-1,9}
33252 @end smallexample
33253
33254 Example sequence of a read call, user presses @kbd{Ctrl-c} before syscall on
33255 host is called:
33256
33257 @smallexample
33258 <- @code{Fread,3,1234,6}
33259 -> @code{F-1,4,C}
33260 <- @code{T02}
33261 @end smallexample
33262
33263 Example sequence of a read call, user presses @kbd{Ctrl-c} after syscall on
33264 host is called:
33265
33266 @smallexample
33267 <- @code{Fread,3,1234,6}
33268 -> @code{X1234,6:XXXXXX}
33269 <- @code{T02}
33270 @end smallexample
33271
33272 @node Library List Format
33273 @section Library List Format
33274 @cindex library list format, remote protocol
33275
33276 On some platforms, a dynamic loader (e.g.@: @file{ld.so}) runs in the
33277 same process as your application to manage libraries. In this case,
33278 @value{GDBN} can use the loader's symbol table and normal memory
33279 operations to maintain a list of shared libraries. On other
33280 platforms, the operating system manages loaded libraries.
33281 @value{GDBN} can not retrieve the list of currently loaded libraries
33282 through memory operations, so it uses the @samp{qXfer:libraries:read}
33283 packet (@pxref{qXfer library list read}) instead. The remote stub
33284 queries the target's operating system and reports which libraries
33285 are loaded.
33286
33287 The @samp{qXfer:libraries:read} packet returns an XML document which
33288 lists loaded libraries and their offsets. Each library has an
33289 associated name and one or more segment or section base addresses,
33290 which report where the library was loaded in memory.
33291
33292 For the common case of libraries that are fully linked binaries, the
33293 library should have a list of segments. If the target supports
33294 dynamic linking of a relocatable object file, its library XML element
33295 should instead include a list of allocated sections. The segment or
33296 section bases are start addresses, not relocation offsets; they do not
33297 depend on the library's link-time base addresses.
33298
33299 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
33300 library lists. @xref{Expat}.
33301
33302 A simple memory map, with one loaded library relocated by a single
33303 offset, looks like this:
33304
33305 @smallexample
33306 <library-list>
33307 <library name="/lib/libc.so.6">
33308 <segment address="0x10000000"/>
33309 </library>
33310 </library-list>
33311 @end smallexample
33312
33313 Another simple memory map, with one loaded library with three
33314 allocated sections (.text, .data, .bss), looks like this:
33315
33316 @smallexample
33317 <library-list>
33318 <library name="sharedlib.o">
33319 <section address="0x10000000"/>
33320 <section address="0x20000000"/>
33321 <section address="0x30000000"/>
33322 </library>
33323 </library-list>
33324 @end smallexample
33325
33326 The format of a library list is described by this DTD:
33327
33328 @smallexample
33329 <!-- library-list: Root element with versioning -->
33330 <!ELEMENT library-list (library)*>
33331 <!ATTLIST library-list version CDATA #FIXED "1.0">
33332 <!ELEMENT library (segment*, section*)>
33333 <!ATTLIST library name CDATA #REQUIRED>
33334 <!ELEMENT segment EMPTY>
33335 <!ATTLIST segment address CDATA #REQUIRED>
33336 <!ELEMENT section EMPTY>
33337 <!ATTLIST section address CDATA #REQUIRED>
33338 @end smallexample
33339
33340 In addition, segments and section descriptors cannot be mixed within a
33341 single library element, and you must supply at least one segment or
33342 section for each library.
33343
33344 @node Memory Map Format
33345 @section Memory Map Format
33346 @cindex memory map format
33347
33348 To be able to write into flash memory, @value{GDBN} needs to obtain a
33349 memory map from the target. This section describes the format of the
33350 memory map.
33351
33352 The memory map is obtained using the @samp{qXfer:memory-map:read}
33353 (@pxref{qXfer memory map read}) packet and is an XML document that
33354 lists memory regions.
33355
33356 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
33357 memory maps. @xref{Expat}.
33358
33359 The top-level structure of the document is shown below:
33360
33361 @smallexample
33362 <?xml version="1.0"?>
33363 <!DOCTYPE memory-map
33364 PUBLIC "+//IDN gnu.org//DTD GDB Memory Map V1.0//EN"
33365 "http://sourceware.org/gdb/gdb-memory-map.dtd">
33366 <memory-map>
33367 region...
33368 </memory-map>
33369 @end smallexample
33370
33371 Each region can be either:
33372
33373 @itemize
33374
33375 @item
33376 A region of RAM starting at @var{addr} and extending for @var{length}
33377 bytes from there:
33378
33379 @smallexample
33380 <memory type="ram" start="@var{addr}" length="@var{length}"/>
33381 @end smallexample
33382
33383
33384 @item
33385 A region of read-only memory:
33386
33387 @smallexample
33388 <memory type="rom" start="@var{addr}" length="@var{length}"/>
33389 @end smallexample
33390
33391
33392 @item
33393 A region of flash memory, with erasure blocks @var{blocksize}
33394 bytes in length:
33395
33396 @smallexample
33397 <memory type="flash" start="@var{addr}" length="@var{length}">
33398 <property name="blocksize">@var{blocksize}</property>
33399 </memory>
33400 @end smallexample
33401
33402 @end itemize
33403
33404 Regions must not overlap. @value{GDBN} assumes that areas of memory not covered
33405 by the memory map are RAM, and uses the ordinary @samp{M} and @samp{X}
33406 packets to write to addresses in such ranges.
33407
33408 The formal DTD for memory map format is given below:
33409
33410 @smallexample
33411 <!-- ................................................... -->
33412 <!-- Memory Map XML DTD ................................ -->
33413 <!-- File: memory-map.dtd .............................. -->
33414 <!-- .................................... .............. -->
33415 <!-- memory-map.dtd -->
33416 <!-- memory-map: Root element with versioning -->
33417 <!ELEMENT memory-map (memory | property)>
33418 <!ATTLIST memory-map version CDATA #FIXED "1.0.0">
33419 <!ELEMENT memory (property)>
33420 <!-- memory: Specifies a memory region,
33421 and its type, or device. -->
33422 <!ATTLIST memory type CDATA #REQUIRED
33423 start CDATA #REQUIRED
33424 length CDATA #REQUIRED
33425 device CDATA #IMPLIED>
33426 <!-- property: Generic attribute tag -->
33427 <!ELEMENT property (#PCDATA | property)*>
33428 <!ATTLIST property name CDATA #REQUIRED>
33429 @end smallexample
33430
33431 @node Thread List Format
33432 @section Thread List Format
33433 @cindex thread list format
33434
33435 To efficiently update the list of threads and their attributes,
33436 @value{GDBN} issues the @samp{qXfer:threads:read} packet
33437 (@pxref{qXfer threads read}) and obtains the XML document with
33438 the following structure:
33439
33440 @smallexample
33441 <?xml version="1.0"?>
33442 <threads>
33443 <thread id="id" core="0">
33444 ... description ...
33445 </thread>
33446 </threads>
33447 @end smallexample
33448
33449 Each @samp{thread} element must have the @samp{id} attribute that
33450 identifies the thread (@pxref{thread-id syntax}). The
33451 @samp{core} attribute, if present, specifies which processor core
33452 the thread was last executing on. The content of the of @samp{thread}
33453 element is interpreted as human-readable auxilliary information.
33454
33455 @include agentexpr.texi
33456
33457 @node Trace File Format
33458 @appendix Trace File Format
33459 @cindex trace file format
33460
33461 The trace file comes in three parts: a header, a textual description
33462 section, and a trace frame section with binary data.
33463
33464 The header has the form @code{\x7fTRACE0\n}. The first byte is
33465 @code{0x7f} so as to indicate that the file contains binary data,
33466 while the @code{0} is a version number that may have different values
33467 in the future.
33468
33469 The description section consists of multiple lines of @sc{ascii} text
33470 separated by newline characters (@code{0xa}). The lines may include a
33471 variety of optional descriptive or context-setting information, such
33472 as tracepoint definitions or register set size. @value{GDBN} will
33473 ignore any line that it does not recognize. An empty line marks the end
33474 of this section.
33475
33476 @c FIXME add some specific types of data
33477
33478 The trace frame section consists of a number of consecutive frames.
33479 Each frame begins with a two-byte tracepoint number, followed by a
33480 four-byte size giving the amount of data in the frame. The data in
33481 the frame consists of a number of blocks, each introduced by a
33482 character indicating its type (at least register, memory, and trace
33483 state variable). The data in this section is raw binary, not a
33484 hexadecimal or other encoding; its endianness matches the target's
33485 endianness.
33486
33487 @c FIXME bi-arch may require endianness/arch info in description section
33488
33489 @table @code
33490 @item R @var{bytes}
33491 Register block. The number and ordering of bytes matches that of a
33492 @code{g} packet in the remote protocol. Note that these are the
33493 actual bytes, in target order and @value{GDBN} register order, not a
33494 hexadecimal encoding.
33495
33496 @item M @var{address} @var{length} @var{bytes}...
33497 Memory block. This is a contiguous block of memory, at the 8-byte
33498 address @var{address}, with a 2-byte length @var{length}, followed by
33499 @var{length} bytes.
33500
33501 @item V @var{number} @var{value}
33502 Trace state variable block. This records the 8-byte signed value
33503 @var{value} of trace state variable numbered @var{number}.
33504
33505 @end table
33506
33507 Future enhancements of the trace file format may include additional types
33508 of blocks.
33509
33510 @node Target Descriptions
33511 @appendix Target Descriptions
33512 @cindex target descriptions
33513
33514 @strong{Warning:} target descriptions are still under active development,
33515 and the contents and format may change between @value{GDBN} releases.
33516 The format is expected to stabilize in the future.
33517
33518 One of the challenges of using @value{GDBN} to debug embedded systems
33519 is that there are so many minor variants of each processor
33520 architecture in use. It is common practice for vendors to start with
33521 a standard processor core --- ARM, PowerPC, or MIPS, for example ---
33522 and then make changes to adapt it to a particular market niche. Some
33523 architectures have hundreds of variants, available from dozens of
33524 vendors. This leads to a number of problems:
33525
33526 @itemize @bullet
33527 @item
33528 With so many different customized processors, it is difficult for
33529 the @value{GDBN} maintainers to keep up with the changes.
33530 @item
33531 Since individual variants may have short lifetimes or limited
33532 audiences, it may not be worthwhile to carry information about every
33533 variant in the @value{GDBN} source tree.
33534 @item
33535 When @value{GDBN} does support the architecture of the embedded system
33536 at hand, the task of finding the correct architecture name to give the
33537 @command{set architecture} command can be error-prone.
33538 @end itemize
33539
33540 To address these problems, the @value{GDBN} remote protocol allows a
33541 target system to not only identify itself to @value{GDBN}, but to
33542 actually describe its own features. This lets @value{GDBN} support
33543 processor variants it has never seen before --- to the extent that the
33544 descriptions are accurate, and that @value{GDBN} understands them.
33545
33546 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
33547 target descriptions. @xref{Expat}.
33548
33549 @menu
33550 * Retrieving Descriptions:: How descriptions are fetched from a target.
33551 * Target Description Format:: The contents of a target description.
33552 * Predefined Target Types:: Standard types available for target
33553 descriptions.
33554 * Standard Target Features:: Features @value{GDBN} knows about.
33555 @end menu
33556
33557 @node Retrieving Descriptions
33558 @section Retrieving Descriptions
33559
33560 Target descriptions can be read from the target automatically, or
33561 specified by the user manually. The default behavior is to read the
33562 description from the target. @value{GDBN} retrieves it via the remote
33563 protocol using @samp{qXfer} requests (@pxref{General Query Packets,
33564 qXfer}). The @var{annex} in the @samp{qXfer} packet will be
33565 @samp{target.xml}. The contents of the @samp{target.xml} annex are an
33566 XML document, of the form described in @ref{Target Description
33567 Format}.
33568
33569 Alternatively, you can specify a file to read for the target description.
33570 If a file is set, the target will not be queried. The commands to
33571 specify a file are:
33572
33573 @table @code
33574 @cindex set tdesc filename
33575 @item set tdesc filename @var{path}
33576 Read the target description from @var{path}.
33577
33578 @cindex unset tdesc filename
33579 @item unset tdesc filename
33580 Do not read the XML target description from a file. @value{GDBN}
33581 will use the description supplied by the current target.
33582
33583 @cindex show tdesc filename
33584 @item show tdesc filename
33585 Show the filename to read for a target description, if any.
33586 @end table
33587
33588
33589 @node Target Description Format
33590 @section Target Description Format
33591 @cindex target descriptions, XML format
33592
33593 A target description annex is an @uref{http://www.w3.org/XML/, XML}
33594 document which complies with the Document Type Definition provided in
33595 the @value{GDBN} sources in @file{gdb/features/gdb-target.dtd}. This
33596 means you can use generally available tools like @command{xmllint} to
33597 check that your feature descriptions are well-formed and valid.
33598 However, to help people unfamiliar with XML write descriptions for
33599 their targets, we also describe the grammar here.
33600
33601 Target descriptions can identify the architecture of the remote target
33602 and (for some architectures) provide information about custom register
33603 sets. They can also identify the OS ABI of the remote target.
33604 @value{GDBN} can use this information to autoconfigure for your
33605 target, or to warn you if you connect to an unsupported target.
33606
33607 Here is a simple target description:
33608
33609 @smallexample
33610 <target version="1.0">
33611 <architecture>i386:x86-64</architecture>
33612 </target>
33613 @end smallexample
33614
33615 @noindent
33616 This minimal description only says that the target uses
33617 the x86-64 architecture.
33618
33619 A target description has the following overall form, with [ ] marking
33620 optional elements and @dots{} marking repeatable elements. The elements
33621 are explained further below.
33622
33623 @smallexample
33624 <?xml version="1.0"?>
33625 <!DOCTYPE target SYSTEM "gdb-target.dtd">
33626 <target version="1.0">
33627 @r{[}@var{architecture}@r{]}
33628 @r{[}@var{osabi}@r{]}
33629 @r{[}@var{compatible}@r{]}
33630 @r{[}@var{feature}@dots{}@r{]}
33631 </target>
33632 @end smallexample
33633
33634 @noindent
33635 The description is generally insensitive to whitespace and line
33636 breaks, under the usual common-sense rules. The XML version
33637 declaration and document type declaration can generally be omitted
33638 (@value{GDBN} does not require them), but specifying them may be
33639 useful for XML validation tools. The @samp{version} attribute for
33640 @samp{<target>} may also be omitted, but we recommend
33641 including it; if future versions of @value{GDBN} use an incompatible
33642 revision of @file{gdb-target.dtd}, they will detect and report
33643 the version mismatch.
33644
33645 @subsection Inclusion
33646 @cindex target descriptions, inclusion
33647 @cindex XInclude
33648 @ifnotinfo
33649 @cindex <xi:include>
33650 @end ifnotinfo
33651
33652 It can sometimes be valuable to split a target description up into
33653 several different annexes, either for organizational purposes, or to
33654 share files between different possible target descriptions. You can
33655 divide a description into multiple files by replacing any element of
33656 the target description with an inclusion directive of the form:
33657
33658 @smallexample
33659 <xi:include href="@var{document}"/>
33660 @end smallexample
33661
33662 @noindent
33663 When @value{GDBN} encounters an element of this form, it will retrieve
33664 the named XML @var{document}, and replace the inclusion directive with
33665 the contents of that document. If the current description was read
33666 using @samp{qXfer}, then so will be the included document;
33667 @var{document} will be interpreted as the name of an annex. If the
33668 current description was read from a file, @value{GDBN} will look for
33669 @var{document} as a file in the same directory where it found the
33670 original description.
33671
33672 @subsection Architecture
33673 @cindex <architecture>
33674
33675 An @samp{<architecture>} element has this form:
33676
33677 @smallexample
33678 <architecture>@var{arch}</architecture>
33679 @end smallexample
33680
33681 @var{arch} is one of the architectures from the set accepted by
33682 @code{set architecture} (@pxref{Targets, ,Specifying a Debugging Target}).
33683
33684 @subsection OS ABI
33685 @cindex @code{<osabi>}
33686
33687 This optional field was introduced in @value{GDBN} version 7.0.
33688 Previous versions of @value{GDBN} ignore it.
33689
33690 An @samp{<osabi>} element has this form:
33691
33692 @smallexample
33693 <osabi>@var{abi-name}</osabi>
33694 @end smallexample
33695
33696 @var{abi-name} is an OS ABI name from the same selection accepted by
33697 @w{@code{set osabi}} (@pxref{ABI, ,Configuring the Current ABI}).
33698
33699 @subsection Compatible Architecture
33700 @cindex @code{<compatible>}
33701
33702 This optional field was introduced in @value{GDBN} version 7.0.
33703 Previous versions of @value{GDBN} ignore it.
33704
33705 A @samp{<compatible>} element has this form:
33706
33707 @smallexample
33708 <compatible>@var{arch}</compatible>
33709 @end smallexample
33710
33711 @var{arch} is one of the architectures from the set accepted by
33712 @code{set architecture} (@pxref{Targets, ,Specifying a Debugging Target}).
33713
33714 A @samp{<compatible>} element is used to specify that the target
33715 is able to run binaries in some other than the main target architecture
33716 given by the @samp{<architecture>} element. For example, on the
33717 Cell Broadband Engine, the main architecture is @code{powerpc:common}
33718 or @code{powerpc:common64}, but the system is able to run binaries
33719 in the @code{spu} architecture as well. The way to describe this
33720 capability with @samp{<compatible>} is as follows:
33721
33722 @smallexample
33723 <architecture>powerpc:common</architecture>
33724 <compatible>spu</compatible>
33725 @end smallexample
33726
33727 @subsection Features
33728 @cindex <feature>
33729
33730 Each @samp{<feature>} describes some logical portion of the target
33731 system. Features are currently used to describe available CPU
33732 registers and the types of their contents. A @samp{<feature>} element
33733 has this form:
33734
33735 @smallexample
33736 <feature name="@var{name}">
33737 @r{[}@var{type}@dots{}@r{]}
33738 @var{reg}@dots{}
33739 </feature>
33740 @end smallexample
33741
33742 @noindent
33743 Each feature's name should be unique within the description. The name
33744 of a feature does not matter unless @value{GDBN} has some special
33745 knowledge of the contents of that feature; if it does, the feature
33746 should have its standard name. @xref{Standard Target Features}.
33747
33748 @subsection Types
33749
33750 Any register's value is a collection of bits which @value{GDBN} must
33751 interpret. The default interpretation is a two's complement integer,
33752 but other types can be requested by name in the register description.
33753 Some predefined types are provided by @value{GDBN} (@pxref{Predefined
33754 Target Types}), and the description can define additional composite types.
33755
33756 Each type element must have an @samp{id} attribute, which gives
33757 a unique (within the containing @samp{<feature>}) name to the type.
33758 Types must be defined before they are used.
33759
33760 @cindex <vector>
33761 Some targets offer vector registers, which can be treated as arrays
33762 of scalar elements. These types are written as @samp{<vector>} elements,
33763 specifying the array element type, @var{type}, and the number of elements,
33764 @var{count}:
33765
33766 @smallexample
33767 <vector id="@var{id}" type="@var{type}" count="@var{count}"/>
33768 @end smallexample
33769
33770 @cindex <union>
33771 If a register's value is usefully viewed in multiple ways, define it
33772 with a union type containing the useful representations. The
33773 @samp{<union>} element contains one or more @samp{<field>} elements,
33774 each of which has a @var{name} and a @var{type}:
33775
33776 @smallexample
33777 <union id="@var{id}">
33778 <field name="@var{name}" type="@var{type}"/>
33779 @dots{}
33780 </union>
33781 @end smallexample
33782
33783 @cindex <struct>
33784 If a register's value is composed from several separate values, define
33785 it with a structure type. There are two forms of the @samp{<struct>}
33786 element; a @samp{<struct>} element must either contain only bitfields
33787 or contain no bitfields. If the structure contains only bitfields,
33788 its total size in bytes must be specified, each bitfield must have an
33789 explicit start and end, and bitfields are automatically assigned an
33790 integer type. The field's @var{start} should be less than or
33791 equal to its @var{end}, and zero represents the least significant bit.
33792
33793 @smallexample
33794 <struct id="@var{id}" size="@var{size}">
33795 <field name="@var{name}" start="@var{start}" end="@var{end}"/>
33796 @dots{}
33797 </struct>
33798 @end smallexample
33799
33800 If the structure contains no bitfields, then each field has an
33801 explicit type, and no implicit padding is added.
33802
33803 @smallexample
33804 <struct id="@var{id}">
33805 <field name="@var{name}" type="@var{type}"/>
33806 @dots{}
33807 </struct>
33808 @end smallexample
33809
33810 @cindex <flags>
33811 If a register's value is a series of single-bit flags, define it with
33812 a flags type. The @samp{<flags>} element has an explicit @var{size}
33813 and contains one or more @samp{<field>} elements. Each field has a
33814 @var{name}, a @var{start}, and an @var{end}. Only single-bit flags
33815 are supported.
33816
33817 @smallexample
33818 <flags id="@var{id}" size="@var{size}">
33819 <field name="@var{name}" start="@var{start}" end="@var{end}"/>
33820 @dots{}
33821 </flags>
33822 @end smallexample
33823
33824 @subsection Registers
33825 @cindex <reg>
33826
33827 Each register is represented as an element with this form:
33828
33829 @smallexample
33830 <reg name="@var{name}"
33831 bitsize="@var{size}"
33832 @r{[}regnum="@var{num}"@r{]}
33833 @r{[}save-restore="@var{save-restore}"@r{]}
33834 @r{[}type="@var{type}"@r{]}
33835 @r{[}group="@var{group}"@r{]}/>
33836 @end smallexample
33837
33838 @noindent
33839 The components are as follows:
33840
33841 @table @var
33842
33843 @item name
33844 The register's name; it must be unique within the target description.
33845
33846 @item bitsize
33847 The register's size, in bits.
33848
33849 @item regnum
33850 The register's number. If omitted, a register's number is one greater
33851 than that of the previous register (either in the current feature or in
33852 a preceeding feature); the first register in the target description
33853 defaults to zero. This register number is used to read or write
33854 the register; e.g.@: it is used in the remote @code{p} and @code{P}
33855 packets, and registers appear in the @code{g} and @code{G} packets
33856 in order of increasing register number.
33857
33858 @item save-restore
33859 Whether the register should be preserved across inferior function
33860 calls; this must be either @code{yes} or @code{no}. The default is
33861 @code{yes}, which is appropriate for most registers except for
33862 some system control registers; this is not related to the target's
33863 ABI.
33864
33865 @item type
33866 The type of the register. @var{type} may be a predefined type, a type
33867 defined in the current feature, or one of the special types @code{int}
33868 and @code{float}. @code{int} is an integer type of the correct size
33869 for @var{bitsize}, and @code{float} is a floating point type (in the
33870 architecture's normal floating point format) of the correct size for
33871 @var{bitsize}. The default is @code{int}.
33872
33873 @item group
33874 The register group to which this register belongs. @var{group} must
33875 be either @code{general}, @code{float}, or @code{vector}. If no
33876 @var{group} is specified, @value{GDBN} will not display the register
33877 in @code{info registers}.
33878
33879 @end table
33880
33881 @node Predefined Target Types
33882 @section Predefined Target Types
33883 @cindex target descriptions, predefined types
33884
33885 Type definitions in the self-description can build up composite types
33886 from basic building blocks, but can not define fundamental types. Instead,
33887 standard identifiers are provided by @value{GDBN} for the fundamental
33888 types. The currently supported types are:
33889
33890 @table @code
33891
33892 @item int8
33893 @itemx int16
33894 @itemx int32
33895 @itemx int64
33896 @itemx int128
33897 Signed integer types holding the specified number of bits.
33898
33899 @item uint8
33900 @itemx uint16
33901 @itemx uint32
33902 @itemx uint64
33903 @itemx uint128
33904 Unsigned integer types holding the specified number of bits.
33905
33906 @item code_ptr
33907 @itemx data_ptr
33908 Pointers to unspecified code and data. The program counter and
33909 any dedicated return address register may be marked as code
33910 pointers; printing a code pointer converts it into a symbolic
33911 address. The stack pointer and any dedicated address registers
33912 may be marked as data pointers.
33913
33914 @item ieee_single
33915 Single precision IEEE floating point.
33916
33917 @item ieee_double
33918 Double precision IEEE floating point.
33919
33920 @item arm_fpa_ext
33921 The 12-byte extended precision format used by ARM FPA registers.
33922
33923 @item i387_ext
33924 The 10-byte extended precision format used by x87 registers.
33925
33926 @item i386_eflags
33927 32bit @sc{eflags} register used by x86.
33928
33929 @item i386_mxcsr
33930 32bit @sc{mxcsr} register used by x86.
33931
33932 @end table
33933
33934 @node Standard Target Features
33935 @section Standard Target Features
33936 @cindex target descriptions, standard features
33937
33938 A target description must contain either no registers or all the
33939 target's registers. If the description contains no registers, then
33940 @value{GDBN} will assume a default register layout, selected based on
33941 the architecture. If the description contains any registers, the
33942 default layout will not be used; the standard registers must be
33943 described in the target description, in such a way that @value{GDBN}
33944 can recognize them.
33945
33946 This is accomplished by giving specific names to feature elements
33947 which contain standard registers. @value{GDBN} will look for features
33948 with those names and verify that they contain the expected registers;
33949 if any known feature is missing required registers, or if any required
33950 feature is missing, @value{GDBN} will reject the target
33951 description. You can add additional registers to any of the
33952 standard features --- @value{GDBN} will display them just as if
33953 they were added to an unrecognized feature.
33954
33955 This section lists the known features and their expected contents.
33956 Sample XML documents for these features are included in the
33957 @value{GDBN} source tree, in the directory @file{gdb/features}.
33958
33959 Names recognized by @value{GDBN} should include the name of the
33960 company or organization which selected the name, and the overall
33961 architecture to which the feature applies; so e.g.@: the feature
33962 containing ARM core registers is named @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.core}.
33963
33964 The names of registers are not case sensitive for the purpose
33965 of recognizing standard features, but @value{GDBN} will only display
33966 registers using the capitalization used in the description.
33967
33968 @menu
33969 * ARM Features::
33970 * i386 Features::
33971 * MIPS Features::
33972 * M68K Features::
33973 * PowerPC Features::
33974 @end menu
33975
33976
33977 @node ARM Features
33978 @subsection ARM Features
33979 @cindex target descriptions, ARM features
33980
33981 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.core} feature is required for ARM targets.
33982 It should contain registers @samp{r0} through @samp{r13}, @samp{sp},
33983 @samp{lr}, @samp{pc}, and @samp{cpsr}.
33984
33985 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.fpa} feature is optional. If present, it
33986 should contain registers @samp{f0} through @samp{f7} and @samp{fps}.
33987
33988 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.xscale.iwmmxt} feature is optional. If present,
33989 it should contain at least registers @samp{wR0} through @samp{wR15} and
33990 @samp{wCGR0} through @samp{wCGR3}. The @samp{wCID}, @samp{wCon},
33991 @samp{wCSSF}, and @samp{wCASF} registers are optional.
33992
33993 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.vfp} feature is optional. If present, it
33994 should contain at least registers @samp{d0} through @samp{d15}. If
33995 they are present, @samp{d16} through @samp{d31} should also be included.
33996 @value{GDBN} will synthesize the single-precision registers from
33997 halves of the double-precision registers.
33998
33999 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.neon} feature is optional. It does not
34000 need to contain registers; it instructs @value{GDBN} to display the
34001 VFP double-precision registers as vectors and to synthesize the
34002 quad-precision registers from pairs of double-precision registers.
34003 If this feature is present, @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.vfp} must also
34004 be present and include 32 double-precision registers.
34005
34006 @node i386 Features
34007 @subsection i386 Features
34008 @cindex target descriptions, i386 features
34009
34010 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.core} feature is required for i386/amd64
34011 targets. It should describe the following registers:
34012
34013 @itemize @minus
34014 @item
34015 @samp{eax} through @samp{edi} plus @samp{eip} for i386
34016 @item
34017 @samp{rax} through @samp{r15} plus @samp{rip} for amd64
34018 @item
34019 @samp{eflags}, @samp{cs}, @samp{ss}, @samp{ds}, @samp{es},
34020 @samp{fs}, @samp{gs}
34021 @item
34022 @samp{st0} through @samp{st7}
34023 @item
34024 @samp{fctrl}, @samp{fstat}, @samp{ftag}, @samp{fiseg}, @samp{fioff},
34025 @samp{foseg}, @samp{fooff} and @samp{fop}
34026 @end itemize
34027
34028 The register sets may be different, depending on the target.
34029
34030 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.sse} feature is optional. It should
34031 describe registers:
34032
34033 @itemize @minus
34034 @item
34035 @samp{xmm0} through @samp{xmm7} for i386
34036 @item
34037 @samp{xmm0} through @samp{xmm15} for amd64
34038 @item
34039 @samp{mxcsr}
34040 @end itemize
34041
34042 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.avx} feature is optional and requires the
34043 @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.sse} feature. It should
34044 describe the upper 128 bits of @sc{ymm} registers:
34045
34046 @itemize @minus
34047 @item
34048 @samp{ymm0h} through @samp{ymm7h} for i386
34049 @item
34050 @samp{ymm0h} through @samp{ymm15h} for amd64
34051 @item
34052 @end itemize
34053
34054 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.linux} feature is optional. It should
34055 describe a single register, @samp{orig_eax}.
34056
34057 @node MIPS Features
34058 @subsection MIPS Features
34059 @cindex target descriptions, MIPS features
34060
34061 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.mips.cpu} feature is required for MIPS targets.
34062 It should contain registers @samp{r0} through @samp{r31}, @samp{lo},
34063 @samp{hi}, and @samp{pc}. They may be 32-bit or 64-bit depending
34064 on the target.
34065
34066 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.mips.cp0} feature is also required. It should
34067 contain at least the @samp{status}, @samp{badvaddr}, and @samp{cause}
34068 registers. They may be 32-bit or 64-bit depending on the target.
34069
34070 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.mips.fpu} feature is currently required, though
34071 it may be optional in a future version of @value{GDBN}. It should
34072 contain registers @samp{f0} through @samp{f31}, @samp{fcsr}, and
34073 @samp{fir}. They may be 32-bit or 64-bit depending on the target.
34074
34075 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.mips.linux} feature is optional. It should
34076 contain a single register, @samp{restart}, which is used by the
34077 Linux kernel to control restartable syscalls.
34078
34079 @node M68K Features
34080 @subsection M68K Features
34081 @cindex target descriptions, M68K features
34082
34083 @table @code
34084 @item @samp{org.gnu.gdb.m68k.core}
34085 @itemx @samp{org.gnu.gdb.coldfire.core}
34086 @itemx @samp{org.gnu.gdb.fido.core}
34087 One of those features must be always present.
34088 The feature that is present determines which flavor of m68k is
34089 used. The feature that is present should contain registers
34090 @samp{d0} through @samp{d7}, @samp{a0} through @samp{a5}, @samp{fp},
34091 @samp{sp}, @samp{ps} and @samp{pc}.
34092
34093 @item @samp{org.gnu.gdb.coldfire.fp}
34094 This feature is optional. If present, it should contain registers
34095 @samp{fp0} through @samp{fp7}, @samp{fpcontrol}, @samp{fpstatus} and
34096 @samp{fpiaddr}.
34097 @end table
34098
34099 @node PowerPC Features
34100 @subsection PowerPC Features
34101 @cindex target descriptions, PowerPC features
34102
34103 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.core} feature is required for PowerPC
34104 targets. It should contain registers @samp{r0} through @samp{r31},
34105 @samp{pc}, @samp{msr}, @samp{cr}, @samp{lr}, @samp{ctr}, and
34106 @samp{xer}. They may be 32-bit or 64-bit depending on the target.
34107
34108 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.fpu} feature is optional. It should
34109 contain registers @samp{f0} through @samp{f31} and @samp{fpscr}.
34110
34111 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.altivec} feature is optional. It should
34112 contain registers @samp{vr0} through @samp{vr31}, @samp{vscr},
34113 and @samp{vrsave}.
34114
34115 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.vsx} feature is optional. It should
34116 contain registers @samp{vs0h} through @samp{vs31h}. @value{GDBN}
34117 will combine these registers with the floating point registers
34118 (@samp{f0} through @samp{f31}) and the altivec registers (@samp{vr0}
34119 through @samp{vr31}) to present the 128-bit wide registers @samp{vs0}
34120 through @samp{vs63}, the set of vector registers for POWER7.
34121
34122 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.spe} feature is optional. It should
34123 contain registers @samp{ev0h} through @samp{ev31h}, @samp{acc}, and
34124 @samp{spefscr}. SPE targets should provide 32-bit registers in
34125 @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.core} and provide the upper halves in
34126 @samp{ev0h} through @samp{ev31h}. @value{GDBN} will combine
34127 these to present registers @samp{ev0} through @samp{ev31} to the
34128 user.
34129
34130 @node Operating System Information
34131 @appendix Operating System Information
34132 @cindex operating system information
34133
34134 @menu
34135 * Process list::
34136 @end menu
34137
34138 Users of @value{GDBN} often wish to obtain information about the state of
34139 the operating system running on the target---for example the list of
34140 processes, or the list of open files. This section describes the
34141 mechanism that makes it possible. This mechanism is similar to the
34142 target features mechanism (@pxref{Target Descriptions}), but focuses
34143 on a different aspect of target.
34144
34145 Operating system information is retrived from the target via the
34146 remote protocol, using @samp{qXfer} requests (@pxref{qXfer osdata
34147 read}). The object name in the request should be @samp{osdata}, and
34148 the @var{annex} identifies the data to be fetched.
34149
34150 @node Process list
34151 @appendixsection Process list
34152 @cindex operating system information, process list
34153
34154 When requesting the process list, the @var{annex} field in the
34155 @samp{qXfer} request should be @samp{processes}. The returned data is
34156 an XML document. The formal syntax of this document is defined in
34157 @file{gdb/features/osdata.dtd}.
34158
34159 An example document is:
34160
34161 @smallexample
34162 <?xml version="1.0"?>
34163 <!DOCTYPE target SYSTEM "osdata.dtd">
34164 <osdata type="processes">
34165 <item>
34166 <column name="pid">1</column>
34167 <column name="user">root</column>
34168 <column name="command">/sbin/init</column>
34169 <column name="cores">1,2,3</column>
34170 </item>
34171 </osdata>
34172 @end smallexample
34173
34174 Each item should include a column whose name is @samp{pid}. The value
34175 of that column should identify the process on the target. The
34176 @samp{user} and @samp{command} columns are optional, and will be
34177 displayed by @value{GDBN}. The @samp{cores} column, if present,
34178 should contain a comma-separated list of cores that this process
34179 is running on. Target may provide additional columns,
34180 which @value{GDBN} currently ignores.
34181
34182 @include gpl.texi
34183
34184 @raisesections
34185 @include fdl.texi
34186 @lowersections
34187
34188 @node Index
34189 @unnumbered Index
34190
34191 @printindex cp
34192
34193 @tex
34194 % I think something like @colophon should be in texinfo. In the
34195 % meantime:
34196 \long\def\colophon{\hbox to0pt{}\vfill
34197 \centerline{The body of this manual is set in}
34198 \centerline{\fontname\tenrm,}
34199 \centerline{with headings in {\bf\fontname\tenbf}}
34200 \centerline{and examples in {\tt\fontname\tentt}.}
34201 \centerline{{\it\fontname\tenit\/},}
34202 \centerline{{\bf\fontname\tenbf}, and}
34203 \centerline{{\sl\fontname\tensl\/}}
34204 \centerline{are used for emphasis.}\vfill}
34205 \page\colophon
34206 % Blame: doc@cygnus.com, 1991.
34207 @end tex
34208
34209 @bye
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