- README for gdb-4.4 release
- John Gilmore & Stu Grossman 31 Jan 1992
+ README for gdb-4.13 release
+ Updated 8-Aug-94 by Fred Fish
This is GDB, the GNU source-level debugger, presently running under un*x.
-A summary of new features is in the file `WHATS.NEW'.
+A summary of new features is in the file `NEWS'.
Unpacking and Installation -- quick overview
==========================
In this release, the GDB debugger sources, the generic GNU include
-files, the BFD ("binary file description") library, the readline library,
-and a miscellaneous library all have directories of their own underneath
-the gdb-4.4 directory. The idea is that a variety of GNU tools can
-share a common copy of these things. Configuration scripts and
-makefiles exist to cruise up and down this directory tree and
-automatically build all the pieces in the right order.
-
-When you unpack the gdb-4.4.tar.Z file, you'll get a directory called
-`gdb-4.4', which contains:
-
- DOC.configure bfd/ configure* glob/ readline/
- Makefile.in config/ configure.in include/ texinfo/
- README config.sub* gdb/ libiberty/
+files, the BFD ("binary file description") library, the readline
+library, and other libraries all have directories of their own
+underneath the gdb-4.13 directory. The idea is that a variety of GNU
+tools can share a common copy of these things. Be aware of variation
+over time--for example don't try to build gdb with a copy of bfd from
+a release other than the gdb release (such as a binutils or gas
+release), especially if the releases are more than a few weeks apart.
+Configuration scripts and makefiles exist to cruise up and down this
+directory tree and automatically build all the pieces in the right
+order.
+
+When you unpack the gdb-4.13.tar.gz file, you'll find a directory
+called `gdb-4.13', which contains:
+
+ Makefile.in config.sub* glob/ opcodes/
+ README configure* include/ readline/
+ bfd/ configure.in libiberty/ texinfo/
+ config/ etc/ mmalloc/
+ config.guess* gdb/ move-if-change*
To build GDB, you can just do:
- cd gdb-4.4
- ./configure HOSTTYPE (e.g. sun4, decstation)
+ cd gdb-4.13
+ ./configure
make
cp gdb/gdb /usr/local/bin/gdb (or wherever you want)
This will configure and build all the libraries as well as GDB.
+If `configure' can't determine your system type, specify one as its
+argument, e.g. sun4 or decstation.
+
If you get compiler warnings during this stage, see the `Reporting Bugs'
section below; there are a few known problems.
More Documentation
-==================
+******************
The GDB 4 release includes an already-formatted reference card,
-ready for printing on a PostScript or GhostScript printer, in the `gdb'
-subdirectory of the main source directory--in `gdb-4.4/gdb/refcard.ps'
-of the version 4.4 release. If you have a PostScript or GhostScript
-printer, you can print the reference card by just sending `refcard.ps'
-to the printer.
+ready for printing with PostScript or Ghostscript, in the `gdb'
+subdirectory of the main source directory. (In `gdb-4.13/gdb/refcard.ps'.)
+If you can use PostScript or Ghostscript with your printer, you can
+print the reference card immediately with `refcard.ps'.
- If all you have is TeX, format the GDB reference card by typing:
+ The release also includes the source for the reference card. You
+can format it, using TeX, by typing:
make refcard.dvi
high. You will need to specify this form of printing as an option to
your DVI output program.
- All the documentation for GDB comes as part of the online
-distribution. The documentation is written in Texinfo format,
-which is a documentation system that uses a single source file to
-produce both on-line information and a printed manual. You can use
-one of the Info formatting commands to create the on-line version of
-the documentation and TeX (or `texi2roff') to typeset the printed
-version.
+ All the documentation for GDB comes as part of the machine-readable
+distribution. The documentation is written in Texinfo format, which is
+a documentation system that uses a single source file to produce both
+on-line information and a printed manual. You can use one of the Info
+formatting commands to create the on-line version of the documentation
+and TeX (or `texi2roff') to typeset the printed version.
- GDB includes an already formatted copy of the on-line Info version
-of this manual in the `gdb' subdirectory. The main Info file is
+ GDB includes an already formatted copy of the on-line Info version of
+this manual in the `gdb' subdirectory. The main Info file is
`gdb-VERSION-NUMBER/gdb/gdb.info', and it refers to subordinate files
-matching `gdb.info*' in the same directory.
+matching `gdb.info*' in the same directory. If necessary, you can
+print out these files, or read them with any editor; but they are
+easier to read using the `info' subsystem in GNU Emacs or the
+standalone `info' program, available as part of the GNU Texinfo
+distribution.
If you want to format these Info files yourself, you need one of the
-Info formatting programs, such as `texinfo-format-buffer' or
-`makeinfo'.
+Info formatting programs, such as `texinfo-format-buffer' or `makeinfo'.
If you have `makeinfo' installed, and are in the top level GDB
-source directory (`gdb-4.4', in the case of version 4.4), you can make
+source directory (`gdb-4.13', in the case of version 4.13), you can make
the Info file by typing:
cd gdb
make gdb.info
- If you want to typeset and print copies of this manual, you need
-TeX, a printing program such as `lpr', and `texinfo.tex', the Texinfo
+ If you want to typeset and print copies of this manual, you need TeX,
+a program to print its DVI output files, and `texinfo.tex', the Texinfo
definitions file.
- TeX is typesetting program; it does not print files directly, but
+ TeX is a typesetting program; it does not print files directly, but
produces output files called DVI files. To print a typeset document,
you need a program to print DVI files. If your system has TeX
installed, chances are it has such a program. The precise command to
-use depends on your system; `lpr -d' is common; another is `dvips'.
-The DVI print command may require a file name without any extension or
-a `.dvi' extension.
+use depends on your system; `lpr -d' is common; another (for PostScript
+devices) is `dvips'. The DVI print command may require a file name
+without any extension or a `.dvi' extension.
TeX also requires a macro definitions file called `texinfo.tex'.
This file tells TeX how to typeset a document written in Texinfo
-format. On its own, TeX cannot read, much less typeset a Texinfo
-file. `texinfo.tex' is distributed with GDB and is located in the
+format. On its own, TeX cannot read, much less typeset a Texinfo file.
+ `texinfo.tex' is distributed with GDB and is located in the
`gdb-VERSION-NUMBER/texinfo' directory.
- If you have TeX and a DVI printer program installed, you can
-typeset and print this manual. First switch to the the `gdb'
-subdirectory of the main source directory (for example, to
-`gdb-4.4/gdb') and then type:
+ If you have TeX and a DVI printer program installed, you can typeset
+and print this manual. First switch to the the `gdb' subdirectory of
+the main source directory (for example, to `gdb-4.13/gdb') and then type:
make gdb.dvi
+
Installing GDB
-==============
+**************
GDB comes with a `configure' script that automates the process of
preparing GDB for installation; you can then use `make' to build the
`gdb' program.
- The GDB distribution includes all the source code you need for GDB
-in a single directory, whose name is usually composed by appending the
+ The GDB distribution includes all the source code you need for GDB in
+a single directory, whose name is usually composed by appending the
version number to `gdb'.
- For example, the GDB version 4.4 distribution is in the `gdb-4.4'
+ For example, the GDB version 4.13 distribution is in the `gdb-4.13'
directory. That directory contains:
-`gdb-4.4/configure (and supporting files)'
+`gdb-4.13/configure (and supporting files)'
script for configuring GDB and all its supporting libraries.
-`gdb-4.4/gdb'
+`gdb-4.13/gdb'
the source specific to GDB itself
-`gdb-4.4/bfd'
- source for the Binary File Descriptor Library
+`gdb-4.13/bfd'
+ source for the Binary File Descriptor library
-`gdb-4.4/include'
+`gdb-4.13/include'
GNU include files
-`gdb-4.4/libiberty'
+`gdb-4.13/libiberty'
source for the `-liberty' free software library
-`gdb-4.4/readline'
+`gdb-4.13/opcodes'
+ source for the library of opcode tables and disassemblers
+
+`gdb-4.13/readline'
source for the GNU command-line interface
+`gdb-4.13/glob'
+ source for the GNU filename pattern-matching subroutine
+
+`gdb-4.13/mmalloc'
+ source for the GNU memory-mapped malloc package
+
+'gdb-4.13/sim'
+ source for some simulators (z8000, H8/300, H8/500, etc)
+
The simplest way to configure and build GDB is to run `configure'
from the `gdb-VERSION-NUMBER' source directory, which in this example
-is the `gdb-4.4' directory.
+is the `gdb-4.13' directory.
- First switch to the `gdb-VERSION-NUMBER' source directory if you
-are not already in it; then run `configure'. Pass the identifier for
-the platform on which GDB will run as an argument.
+ First switch to the `gdb-VERSION-NUMBER' source directory if you are
+not already in it; then run `configure'. Pass the identifier for the
+platform on which GDB will run as an argument.
For example:
- cd gdb-4.4
+ cd gdb-4.13
./configure HOST
make
where HOST is an identifier such as `sun4' or `decstation', that
identifies the platform where GDB will run.
- These `configure' and `make' commands build the three libraries `bfd',
-`readline', and `libiberty', then `gdb' itself. The configured source
-files, and the binaries, are left in the corresponding source
-directories.
+ Running `configure HOST' followed by `make' builds the `bfd',
+`readline', `mmalloc', and `libiberty' libraries, then `gdb' itself.
+The configured source files, and the binaries, are left in the
+corresponding source directories.
`configure' is a Bourne-shell (`/bin/sh') script; if your system
does not recognize this automatically when you run a different shell,
sh configure HOST
If you run `configure' from a directory that contains source
-directories for multiple libraries or programs, such as the `gdb-4.4'
-source directory for version 4.4, `configure' creates configuration
+directories for multiple libraries or programs, such as the `gdb-4.13'
+source directory for version 4.13, `configure' creates configuration
files for every directory level underneath (unless you tell it not to,
with the `--norecursion' option).
You can run the `configure' script from any of the subordinate
-directories in the GDB distribution, if you only want to configure
-that subdirectory; but be sure to specify a path to it.
+directories in the GDB distribution, if you only want to configure that
+subdirectory; but be sure to specify a path to it.
- For example, with version 4.4, type the following to configure only
+ For example, with version 4.13, type the following to configure only
the `bfd' subdirectory:
- cd gdb-4.4/bfd
+ cd gdb-4.13/bfd
../configure HOST
- You can install `gdb' anywhere; it has no hardwired paths.
-However, you should make sure that the shell on your path (named by
-the `SHELL' environment variable) is publicly readable. Remember that
-GDB uses the shell to start your program--some systems refuse to let
-GDB debug child processes whose programs are not readable.
+ You can install `gdb' anywhere; it has no hardwired paths. However,
+you should make sure that the shell on your path (named by the `SHELL'
+environment variable) is publicly readable. Remember that GDB uses the
+shell to start your program--some systems refuse to let GDB debug child
+processes whose programs are not readable.
-Compiling GDB in Another Directory
+Compiling GDB in another directory
==================================
If you want to run GDB versions for several host or target machines,
-you'll need a different `gdb' compiled for each combination of host
-and target. `configure' is designed to make this easy by allowing you
-to generate each configuration in a separate subdirectory, rather than
-in the source directory. If your `make' program handles the `VPATH'
-feature (GNU `make' does), running `make' in each of these directories
-then builds the `gdb' program specified there.
+you need a different `gdb' compiled for each combination of host and
+target. `configure' is designed to make this easy by allowing you to
+generate each configuration in a separate subdirectory, rather than in
+the source directory. If your `make' program handles the `VPATH'
+feature correctly (GNU `make' and SunOS 'make' are two that should),
+running `make' in each of these directories builds the `gdb' program
+specified there.
To build `gdb' in a separate directory, run `configure' with the
-`--srcdir' option to specify where to find the source. (Remember,
-you'll also need to specify a path to find `configure' itself from
-your working directory.)
+`--srcdir' option to specify where to find the source. (You also need
+to specify a path to find `configure' itself from your working
+directory. If the path to `configure' would be the same as the
+argument to `--srcdir', you can leave out the `--srcdir' option; it
+will be assumed.)
- For example, with version 4.4, you can build GDB in a separate
+ For example, with version 4.13, you can build GDB in a separate
directory for a Sun 4 like this:
- cd gdb-4.4
+ cd gdb-4.13
mkdir ../gdb-sun4
cd ../gdb-sun4
- ../gdb-4.4/configure --srcdir=../gdb-4.4 sun4
+ ../gdb-4.13/configure sun4
make
When `configure' builds a configuration using a remote source
the example, you'd find the Sun 4 library `libiberty.a' in the
directory `gdb-sun4/libiberty', and GDB itself in `gdb-sun4/gdb'.
- One popular use for building several GDB configurations in separate
+ One popular reason to build several GDB configurations in separate
directories is to configure GDB for cross-compiling (where GDB runs on
one machine--the host--while debugging programs that run on another
machine--the target). You specify a cross-debugging target by giving
in a configured directory--whatever directory you were in when you
called `configure' (or one of its subdirectories).
- The `Makefile' generated by `configure' for each source directory
+ The `Makefile' that `configure' generates in each source directory
also runs recursively. If you type `make' in a source directory such
-as `gdb-4.4' (or in a separate configured directory configured with
-`--srcdir=PATH/gdb-4.4'), you will build all the required libraries,
-then build GDB.
+as `gdb-4.13' (or in a separate configured directory configured with
+`--srcdir=PATH/gdb-4.13'), you will build all the required libraries,
+and then build GDB.
When you have multiple hosts or targets configured in separate
directories, you can run `make' on them in parallel (for example, if
with each other.
-Specifying Names for Hosts and Targets
+Specifying names for hosts and targets
======================================
The specifications used for hosts and targets in the `configure'
ARCHITECTURE-VENDOR-OS
- For example, you can use the alias `sun4' as a HOST argument or in
-a `+target=TARGET' option, but the equivalent full name is
+ For example, you can use the alias `sun4' as a HOST argument or in a
+`--target=TARGET' option. The equivalent full name is
`sparc-sun-sunos4'.
- The following table shows all the architectures, hosts, and OS
-prefixes that `configure' recognizes in GDB version 4.4. Entries in
-the "OS prefix" column ending in a `*' may be followed by a release
-number.
-
-
- ARCHITECTURE VENDOR OS prefix
- ------------+--------------------------+---------------------------
- | |
- 580 | altos hp | aix* msdos*
- a29k | amd ibm | amigados newsos*
- alliant | amdahl intel | aout nindy*
- arm | aout isi | bout osf*
- c1 | apollo little | bsd* sco*
- c2 | att mips | coff sunos*
- cray2 | bcs motorola | ctix* svr4
- h8300 | bout ncr | dgux* sym*
- i386 | bull next | dynix* sysv*
- i860 | cbm nyu | ebmon ultrix*
- i960 | coff sco | esix* unicos*
- m68000 | convergent sequent | hds unos*
- m68k | convex sgi | hpux* uts
- m88k | cray sony | irix* v88r*
- mips | dec sun | isc* vms*
- ns32k | encore unicom | kern vxworks*
- pyramid | gould utek | mach*
- romp | hitachi wrs |
- rs6000 | |
- sparc | |
- tahoe | |
- tron | |
- vax | |
- xmp | |
- ymp | |
-
- *Warning:* `configure' can represent a very large number of
- combinations of architecture, vendor, and OS. There is by no
- means support available for all possible combinations!
-
The `configure' script accompanying GDB does not provide any query
facility to list all supported host and target names or aliases.
`configure' calls the Bourne shell script `config.sub' to map
you can use it to test your guesses on abbreviations--for example:
% sh config.sub sun4
- sparc-sun-sunos4
+ sparc-sun-sunos411
% sh config.sub sun3
- m68k-sun-sunos4
+ m68k-sun-sunos411
% sh config.sub decstation
- mips-dec-ultrix
+ mips-dec-ultrix42
% sh config.sub hp300bsd
m68k-hp-bsd
% sh config.sub i386v
- i386-none-sysv
- % sh config.sub i486v
- *** Configuration "i486v" not recognized
+ i386-unknown-sysv
+ % sh config.sub i786v
+ Invalid configuration `i786v': machine `i786v' not recognized
`config.sub' is also distributed in the GDB source directory
-(`gdb-4.4', for version 4.4).
+(`gdb-4.13', for version 4.13).
-`configure' Options
+`configure' options
===================
- Here is a summary of all the `configure' options and arguments that
-you might use for building GDB:
+ Here is a summary of the `configure' options and arguments that are
+most often useful for building GDB. `configure' also has several other
+options not listed here. *note : (configure.info)What Configure Does,
+for a full explanation of `configure'.
- configure [--destdir=DIR] [--srcdir=PATH]
+ configure [--help]
+ [--prefix=DIR]
+ [--srcdir=PATH]
[--norecursion] [--rm]
[--target=TARGET] HOST
You may introduce options with a single `-' rather than `--' if you
prefer; but you may abbreviate option names if you use `--'.
-`--destdir=DIR'
- DIR is an installation directory *path prefix*. After you
- configure with this option, `make install' will install GDB as
- `DIR/bin/gdb', and the libraries in `DIR/lib'. If you specify
- `--destdir=/usr/local', for example, `make install' creates
- `/usr/local/bin/gdb'.
+`--help'
+ Display a quick summary of how to invoke `configure'.
+
+`-prefix=DIR'
+ Configure the source to install programs and files under directory
+ `DIR'.
`--srcdir=PATH'
+ *Warning: using this option requires GNU `make', or another `make'
+ that compatibly implements the `VPATH' feature.*
Use this option to make configurations in directories separate
from the GDB source directories. Among other things, you can use
- this to build (or maintain) several configurations
- simultaneously, in separate directories. `configure' writes
- configuration specific files in the current directory, but
- arranges for them to use the source in the directory PATH.
- `configure' will create directories under the working directory
- in parallel to the source directories below PATH.
+ this to build (or maintain) several configurations simultaneously,
+ in separate directories. `configure' writes configuration
+ specific files in the current directory, but arranges for them to
+ use the source in the directory PATH. `configure' will create
+ directories under the working directory in parallel to the source
+ directories below PATH.
`--norecursion'
Configure only the directory level where `configure' is executed;
Remove the configuration that the other arguments specify.
`--target=TARGET'
- Configure GDB for cross-debugging programs running on the
- specified TARGET. Without this option, GDB is configured to debug
- programs that run on the same machine (HOST) as GDB itself.
+ Configure GDB for cross-debugging programs running on the specified
+ TARGET. Without this option, GDB is configured to debug programs
+ that run on the same machine (HOST) as GDB itself.
There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available
targets.
hosts.
`configure' accepts other options, for compatibility with configuring
-other GNU tools recursively; but these are the only options that
-affect GDB or its supporting libraries.
-
+other GNU tools recursively; but these are the only options that affect
+GDB or its supporting libraries.
- Languages other than C
-GDB provides some support for debugging C++ progams. Partial Modula-2
-support is now in GDB. GDB should work with FORTRAN programs. (If you
-have problems, please send a bug report; you may have to refer to some
-FORTRAN variables with a trailing underscore). I am not aware of
-anyone who is working on getting gdb to use the syntax of any other
-language. Pascal programs which use sets, subranges, file variables,
-or nested functions will not currently work.
+Languages other than C
+=======================
+See the GDB manual (doc/gdb.texinfo) for information on this.
- Kernel debugging
+Kernel debugging
+=================
I have't done this myself so I can't really offer any advice.
Remote debugging over serial lines works fine, but the kernel debugging
-code in here has not been tested in years. Van Jacobson claims to have
-better kernel debugging.
+code in here has not been tested in years. Van Jacobson has
+better kernel debugging, but the UC lawyers won't let FSF have it.
- Remote debugging
+Remote debugging
+=================
-The files m68k-stub.c and i386-stub.c contain two examples of remote
-stubs to be used with remote.c. They are designeded to run standalone
-on a 68k or 386 cpu and communicate properly with the remote.c stub
-over a serial line.
+The files m68k-stub.c, i386-stub.c, and sparc-stub.c are examples of
+remote stubs to be used with remote.c. They are designed to run
+standalone on an m68k, i386, or SPARC cpu and communicate properly with
+the remote.c stub over a serial line.
The file rem-multi.shar contains a general stub that can probably
run on various different flavors of unix to allow debugging over a
Some working remote interfaces for talking to existing ROM monitors
are:
- remote-eb.c AMD 29000 "EBMON"
- remote-nindy.c Intel 960 "Nindy"
remote-adapt.c AMD 29000 "Adapt"
+ remote-eb.c AMD 29000 "EBMON"
+ remote-es1800.c Ericsson 1800 monitor
+ remote-hms.c Hitachi Micro Systems H8/300 monitor
+ remote-mips.c MIPS remote debugging protocol
remote-mm.c AMD 29000 "minimon"
+ remote-nindy.c Intel 960 "Nindy"
+ remote-sim.c Generalized simulator protocol
+ remote-st2000.c Tandem ST-2000 monitor
+ remote-udi.c AMD 29000 using the AMD "Universal Debug Interface"
+ remote-vx.c VxWorks realtime kernel
+ remote-z8k.c Zilog Z8000 simulator
Remote-vx.c and the vx-share subdirectory contain a remote interface for the
VxWorks realtime kernel, which communicates over TCP using the Sun
RPC library. This would be a useful starting point for other remote-
via-ethernet back ends.
+Remote-udi.c and the 29k-share subdirectory contain a remote interface
+for AMD 29000 programs, which uses the AMD "Universal Debug Interface".
+This allows GDB to talk to software simulators, emulators, and/or bare
+hardware boards, via network or serial interfaces. Note that GDB only
+provides an interface that speaks UDI, not a complete solution. You
+will need something on the other end that also speaks UDI.
- Reporting Bugs
-
-The correct address for reporting bugs found in gdb is
-"bug-gdb@prep.ai.mit.edu". Please email all bugs to that address.
-Please include the GDB version number (e.g. gdb-4.4), and how
-you configured it (e.g. "sun4" or "mach386 host, i586-intel-synopsys
-target").
-A known bug:
+Reporting Bugs
+===============
- * If you run with a watchpoint enabled, breakpoints will become
- erratic and might not stop the program. Disabling or deleting the
- watchpoint will fix the problem.
+The correct address for reporting bugs found in gdb is
+"bug-gdb@prep.ai.mit.edu". Please email all bugs, and all requests for
+help with GDB, to that address. Please include the GDB version number
+(e.g. gdb-4.13), and how you configured it (e.g. "sun4" or "mach386
+host, i586-intel-synopsys target"). If you include the banner that GDB
+prints when it starts up, that will give us enough information.
+
+For more information on how/whether to report bugs, see the GDB Bugs
+section of the GDB manual (gdb/doc/gdb.texinfo).
+
+Known bugs:
+
+ * Under Ultrix 4.2 (DECstation-3100) or Alphas under OSF/1, we have
+ seen problems with backtraces after interrupting the inferior out
+ of a read(). The problem is caused by ptrace() returning an
+ incorrect value for the frame pointer register (register 15 or
+ 30). As far as we can tell, this is a kernel problem. Any help
+ with this would be greatly appreciated.
+
+ * On DECstations there are warnings about shift counts out of range in
+ various BFD modules. None of them is a cause for alarm, they are actually
+ a result of bugs in the DECstation compiler.
+
+ * Notes for the DEC Alpha using OSF/1:
+ The debugging output of native cc has two known problems; we view these
+ as compiler bugs.
+ The linker miscompacts symbol tables, which causes gdb to confuse the
+ type of variables or results in `struct <illegal>' type outputs.
+ dbx has the same problems with those executables. A workaround is to
+ specify -Wl,-b when linking, but that will increase the executable size
+ considerably.
+ If a structure has incomplete type in one file (e.g. "struct foo *"
+ without a definition for "struct foo"), gdb will be unable to find the
+ structure definition from another file.
+ It has been reported that the Ultrix 4.3A compiler on decstations has the
+ same problems.
+
+ Under some circumstances OSF/1 shared libraries do get relocated to a
+ different address, but gdb cannot handle these relocations yet. If you
+ encounter problems while debugging executables which use shared libraries,
+ try to relink your executable with the -non_shared option when using cc
+ or with the -static option when using gcc.
+
+ * Notes for Solaris 2.x, using the SPARCworks cc compiler:
+ You have to compile your program with the -xs option of the SPARCworks
+ compiler to be able to debug your program with gdb.
+ Under Solaris 2.3 you also need patch 101409-03 (Jumbo linker patch).
+ Under Solaris 2.2, if you have patch 101052 installed, make sure
+ that it is at least at revision 101052-06.
+
+ * Notes for BSD/386:
+ To compile gdb-4.13 on BSD/386, you must run the configure script and
+ its subscripts with bash. Here is an easy way to do this:
+
+ bash -c 'CONFIG_SHELL=/bin/bash ./configure'
+
+ (configure will report i386-unknown-bsd). Then, compile with the
+ standard "make" command.
GDB can produce warnings about symbols that it does not understand. By
default, these warnings are disabled. You can enable them by executing
it's a mismatch between the specs for the object file format, and what
the compiler actually outputs or the debugger actually understands.
-If you port gdb to a new machine, please send the required changes to
-bug-gdb@prep.ai.mit.edu. There's lots of information about doing your
-own port in the file gdb-4.4/gdb/doc/gdbint.texinfo, which you can
-print out, or read with `info' (see the Makefile.in there). If your
-changes are more than a few lines, obtain and send in a copyright
-assignment from gnu@prep.ai.mit.edu, as described in the section
-`Writing Code for GDB'.
-
- X Windows versus GDB
+X Windows versus GDB
+=====================
-xgdb is obsolete. We are not doing any development or support of it.
+There is an "xxgdb", which seems to work for simple operations,
+which was posted to comp.sources.x.
-There is an "xxgdb", which shows more promise, which was posted to
-comp.sources.x.
-
-For those intersted in auto display of source and the availability of
+For those interested in auto display of source and the availability of
an editor while debugging I suggest trying gdb-mode in gnu-emacs
(Try typing M-x gdb RETURN). Comments on this mode are welcome.
- Writing Code for GDB
-
-We appreciate having users contribute code that is of general use, but
-for it to be included in future GDB releases it must be cleanly
-written. We do not want to include changes that will needlessly make
-future maintainance difficult. It is not much harder to do things
-right, and in the long term it is worth it to the GNU project, and
-probably to you individually as well.
-
-If you make substantial changes, you'll have to file a copyright
-assignment with the Free Software Foundation before we can produce a
-release that includes your changes. Send mail requesting the copyright
-assignment to gnu@prep.ai.mit.edu. Do this early, like before the
-changes actually work, or even before you start them, because a manager
-or lawyer on your end will probably make this a slow process.
-
-Please code according to the GNU coding standards. If you do not have
-a copy, you can request one by sending mail to gnu@prep.ai.mit.edu.
-
-Please try to avoid making machine-specific changes to
-machine-independent files. If this is unavoidable, put a hook in the
-machine-independent file which calls a (possibly) machine-dependent
-macro (for example, the IGNORE_SYMBOL macro can be used for any
-symbols which need to be ignored on a specific machine. Calling
-IGNORE_SYMBOL in dbxread.c is a lot cleaner than a maze of #if
-defined's). The machine-independent code should do whatever "most"
-machines want if the macro is not defined in param.h. Using #if
-defined can sometimes be OK (e.g. SET_STACK_LIMIT_HUGE) but should be
-conditionalized on a specific feature of an operating system (set in
-tm.h or xm.h) rather than something like #if defined(vax) or #if
-defined(SYSV). If you use an #ifdef on some symbol that is defined
-in a header file (e.g. #ifdef TIOCSETP), *please* make sure that you
-have #include'd the relevant header file in that module!
-
-It is better to replace entire routines which may be system-specific,
-rather than put in a whole bunch of hooks which are probably not going
-to be helpful for any purpose other than your changes. For example,
-if you want to modify dbxread.c to deal with DBX debugging symbols
-which are in COFF files rather than BSD a.out files, do something
-along the lines of a macro GET_NEXT_SYMBOL, which could have
-different definitions for COFF and a.out, rather than trying to put
-the necessary changes throughout all the code in dbxread.c that
-currently assumes BSD format.
-
-When generalizing GDB along a particular interface, please use an
-attribute-struct rather than inserting tests or switch statements
-everywhere. For example, GDB has been generalized to handle multiple
-kinds of remote interfaces -- not by #ifdef's everywhere, but by
-defining the "target_ops" structure and having a current target (as
-well as a stack of targets below it, for memory references). Whenever
-something needs to be done that depends on which remote interface we
-are using, a flag in the current target_ops structure is tested (e.g.
-`target_has_stack'), or a function is called through a pointer in the
-current target_ops structure. In this way, when a new remote interface
-is added, only one module needs to be touched -- the one that actually
-implements the new remote interface. Other examples of
-attribute-structs are BFD access to multiple kinds of object file
-formats, or GDB's access to multiple source languages.
-
-Please avoid duplicating code. For example, in GDB 3.x all the stuff
-in infptrace.c was duplicated in *-dep.c, and so changing something
-was very painful. In GDB 4.x, these have all been consolidated
-into infptrace.c. infptrace.c can deal with variations between
-systems the same way any system-independent file would (hooks, #if
-defined, etc.), and machines which are radically different don't need
-to use infptrace.c at all. The same was true of core_file_command
-and exec_file_command.
-
-
- Debugging gdb with itself
-
-If gdb is limping on your machine, this is the preferred way to get it
-fully functional. Be warned that in some ancient Unix systems, like
-Ultrix 4.0, a program can't be running in one process while it is being
-debugged in another. Rather than doing "./gdb ./gdb", which works on
-Suns and such, you can copy gdb to gdb2 and then do "./gdb ./gdb2".
-
-When you run gdb in the gdb source directory, it will read a ".gdbinit"
-file that sets up some simple things to make debugging gdb easier. The
-"info" command, when executed without a subcommand in a gdb being
-debugged by gdb, will pop you back up to the top level gdb. See
-.gdbinit for details.
-
-I strongly recommend printing out the reference card and using it.
-Send reference-card suggestions to bug-gdb@prep.ai.mit.edu, just like bugs.
-
-If you use emacs, you will probably want to do a "make TAGS" after you
-configure your distribution; this will put the machine dependent
-routines for your local machine where they will be accessed first by a
-M-period.
-
-Also, make sure that you've either compiled gdb with your local cc, or
-have run `fixincludes' if you are compiling with gcc.
+Writing Code for GDB
+=====================
+
+There is a lot of information about writing code for GDB in the
+internals manual, distributed with GDB in gdb/doc/gdbint.texinfo. You
+can read it by hand, print it by using TeX and texinfo, or process it
+into an `info' file for use with Emacs' info mode or the standalone
+`info' program. In particular, see the nodes Getting Started,
+Debugging GDB, New Architectures, Coding Style, Clean Design, and
+Submitting Patches.
+
+If you are pondering writing anything but a short patch, especially
+take note of the information about copyrights in the node Submitting
+Patches. It can take quite a while to get all the paperwork done, so
+we encourage you to start that process as soon as you decide you are
+planning to work on something, or at least well ahead of when you
+think you will be ready to submit the patches.
+
+
+GDB Testsuite
+=============
+
+There is a dejagnu based testsuite available for testing your newly
+built GDB, or for regression testing GDBs with local modifications.
+The testsuite is distributed separately from the base GDB distribution
+for the convenience of people that wish to get either GDB or the testsuite
+separately.
+
+The name of the testsuite is gdb-4.13-testsuite.tar.gz. You unpack it in the
+same directory in which you unpacked the base GDB distribution, and it
+will create and populate the directory gdb-4.13/gdb/testsuite.
+
+Running the testsuite requires the prior installation of dejagnu, which
+should be available via ftp. Once dejagnu is installed, you can run
+the tests in one of two ways:
+
+ (1) cd gdb-4.13/gdb (assuming you also unpacked gdb)
+ make check
+
+or
+
+ (2) cd gdb-4.13/gdb/testsuite
+ make (builds the test executables)
+ make site.exp (builds the site specific file)
+ runtest -tool gdb GDB=../gdb (or GDB=<somepath> as appropriate)
+
+The second method gives you slightly more control in case of problems with
+building one or more test executables, in case you wish to remove some
+test executables before running the tests, or if you are using the testsuite
+'standalone', without it being part of the GDB source tree.
+
+See the dejagnu documentation for further details.
+
\f
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