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1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
2 @c Copyright (C) 1988-2016 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
3 @c
4 @c %**start of header
5 @c makeinfo ignores cmds prev to setfilename, so its arg cannot make use
6 @c of @set vars. However, you can override filename with makeinfo -o.
7 @setfilename gdb.info
8 @c
9 @c man begin INCLUDE
10 @include gdb-cfg.texi
11 @c man end
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 @c To avoid file-name clashes between index.html and Index.html, when
24 @c the manual is produced on a Posix host and then moved to a
25 @c case-insensitive filesystem (e.g., MS-Windows), we separate the
26 @c indices into two: Concept Index and all the rest.
27 @syncodeindex ky fn
28 @syncodeindex tp fn
29
30 @c readline appendices use @vindex, @findex and @ftable,
31 @c annotate.texi and gdbmi use @findex.
32 @syncodeindex vr fn
33
34 @c !!set GDB manual's edition---not the same as GDB version!
35 @c This is updated by GNU Press.
36 @set EDITION Tenth
37
38 @c !!set GDB edit command default editor
39 @set EDITOR /bin/ex
40
41 @c THIS MANUAL REQUIRES TEXINFO 4.0 OR LATER.
42
43 @c This is a dir.info fragment to support semi-automated addition of
44 @c manuals to an info tree.
45 @dircategory Software development
46 @direntry
47 * Gdb: (gdb). The GNU debugger.
48 * gdbserver: (gdb) Server. The GNU debugging server.
49 @end direntry
50
51 @copying
52 @c man begin COPYRIGHT
53 Copyright @copyright{} 1988-2016 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
54
55 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
56 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
57 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
58 Invariant Sections being ``Free Software'' and ``Free Software Needs
59 Free Documentation'', with the Front-Cover Texts being ``A GNU Manual,''
60 and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below.
61
62 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You are free to copy and modify
63 this GNU Manual. Buying copies from GNU Press supports the FSF in
64 developing GNU and promoting software freedom.''
65 @c man end
66 @end copying
67
68 @ifnottex
69 This file documents the @sc{gnu} debugger @value{GDBN}.
70
71 This is the @value{EDITION} Edition, of @cite{Debugging with
72 @value{GDBN}: the @sc{gnu} Source-Level Debugger} for @value{GDBN}
73 @ifset VERSION_PACKAGE
74 @value{VERSION_PACKAGE}
75 @end ifset
76 Version @value{GDBVN}.
77
78 @insertcopying
79 @end ifnottex
80
81 @titlepage
82 @title Debugging with @value{GDBN}
83 @subtitle The @sc{gnu} Source-Level Debugger
84 @sp 1
85 @subtitle @value{EDITION} Edition, for @value{GDBN} version @value{GDBVN}
86 @ifset VERSION_PACKAGE
87 @sp 1
88 @subtitle @value{VERSION_PACKAGE}
89 @end ifset
90 @author Richard Stallman, Roland Pesch, Stan Shebs, et al.
91 @page
92 @tex
93 {\parskip=0pt
94 \hfill (Send bugs and comments on @value{GDBN} to @value{BUGURL}.)\par
95 \hfill {\it Debugging with @value{GDBN}}\par
96 \hfill \TeX{}info \texinfoversion\par
97 }
98 @end tex
99
100 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
101 Published by the Free Software Foundation @*
102 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
103 Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA@*
104 ISBN 978-0-9831592-3-0 @*
105
106 @insertcopying
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) 1988-2016 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 * In-Process Agent:: In-Process Agent
164
165 * GDB Bugs:: Reporting bugs in @value{GDBN}
166
167 @ifset SYSTEM_READLINE
168 * Command Line Editing: (rluserman). Command Line Editing
169 * Using History Interactively: (history). Using History Interactively
170 @end ifset
171 @ifclear SYSTEM_READLINE
172 * Command Line Editing:: Command Line Editing
173 * Using History Interactively:: Using History Interactively
174 @end ifclear
175 * In Memoriam:: In Memoriam
176 * Formatting Documentation:: How to format and print @value{GDBN} documentation
177 * Installing GDB:: Installing GDB
178 * Maintenance Commands:: Maintenance Commands
179 * Remote Protocol:: GDB Remote Serial Protocol
180 * Agent Expressions:: The GDB Agent Expression Mechanism
181 * Target Descriptions:: How targets can describe themselves to
182 @value{GDBN}
183 * Operating System Information:: Getting additional information from
184 the operating system
185 * Trace File Format:: GDB trace file format
186 * Index Section Format:: .gdb_index section format
187 * Man Pages:: Manual pages
188 * Copying:: GNU General Public License says
189 how you can copy and share GDB
190 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation
191 * Concept Index:: Index of @value{GDBN} concepts
192 * Command and Variable Index:: Index of @value{GDBN} commands, variables,
193 functions, and Python data types
194 @end menu
195
196 @end ifnottex
197
198 @contents
199
200 @node Summary
201 @unnumbered Summary of @value{GDBN}
202
203 The purpose of a debugger such as @value{GDBN} is to allow you to see what is
204 going on ``inside'' another program while it executes---or what another
205 program was doing at the moment it crashed.
206
207 @value{GDBN} can do four main kinds of things (plus other things in support of
208 these) to help you catch bugs in the act:
209
210 @itemize @bullet
211 @item
212 Start your program, specifying anything that might affect its behavior.
213
214 @item
215 Make your program stop on specified conditions.
216
217 @item
218 Examine what has happened, when your program has stopped.
219
220 @item
221 Change things in your program, so you can experiment with correcting the
222 effects of one bug and go on to learn about another.
223 @end itemize
224
225 You can use @value{GDBN} to debug programs written in C and C@t{++}.
226 For more information, see @ref{Supported Languages,,Supported Languages}.
227 For more information, see @ref{C,,C and C++}.
228
229 Support for D is partial. For information on D, see
230 @ref{D,,D}.
231
232 @cindex Modula-2
233 Support for Modula-2 is partial. For information on Modula-2, see
234 @ref{Modula-2,,Modula-2}.
235
236 Support for OpenCL C is partial. For information on OpenCL C, see
237 @ref{OpenCL C,,OpenCL C}.
238
239 @cindex Pascal
240 Debugging Pascal programs which use sets, subranges, file variables, or
241 nested functions does not currently work. @value{GDBN} does not support
242 entering expressions, printing values, or similar features using Pascal
243 syntax.
244
245 @cindex Fortran
246 @value{GDBN} can be used to debug programs written in Fortran, although
247 it may be necessary to refer to some variables with a trailing
248 underscore.
249
250 @value{GDBN} can be used to debug programs written in Objective-C,
251 using either the Apple/NeXT or the GNU Objective-C runtime.
252
253 @menu
254 * Free Software:: Freely redistributable software
255 * Free Documentation:: Free Software Needs Free Documentation
256 * Contributors:: Contributors to GDB
257 @end menu
258
259 @node Free Software
260 @unnumberedsec Free Software
261
262 @value{GDBN} is @dfn{free software}, protected by the @sc{gnu}
263 General Public License
264 (GPL). The GPL gives you the freedom to copy or adapt a licensed
265 program---but every person getting a copy also gets with it the
266 freedom to modify that copy (which means that they must get access to
267 the source code), and the freedom to distribute further copies.
268 Typical software companies use copyrights to limit your freedoms; the
269 Free Software Foundation uses the GPL to preserve these freedoms.
270
271 Fundamentally, the General Public License is a license which says that
272 you have these freedoms and that you cannot take these freedoms away
273 from anyone else.
274
275 @node Free Documentation
276 @unnumberedsec Free Software Needs Free Documentation
277
278 The biggest deficiency in the free software community today is not in
279 the software---it is the lack of good free documentation that we can
280 include with the free software. Many of our most important
281 programs do not come with free reference manuals and free introductory
282 texts. Documentation is an essential part of any software package;
283 when an important free software package does not come with a free
284 manual and a free tutorial, that is a major gap. We have many such
285 gaps today.
286
287 Consider Perl, for instance. The tutorial manuals that people
288 normally use are non-free. How did this come about? Because the
289 authors of those manuals published them with restrictive terms---no
290 copying, no modification, source files not available---which exclude
291 them from the free software world.
292
293 That wasn't the first time this sort of thing happened, and it was far
294 from the last. Many times we have heard a GNU user eagerly describe a
295 manual that he is writing, his intended contribution to the community,
296 only to learn that he had ruined everything by signing a publication
297 contract to make it non-free.
298
299 Free documentation, like free software, is a matter of freedom, not
300 price. The problem with the non-free manual is not that publishers
301 charge a price for printed copies---that in itself is fine. (The Free
302 Software Foundation sells printed copies of manuals, too.) The
303 problem is the restrictions on the use of the manual. Free manuals
304 are available in source code form, and give you permission to copy and
305 modify. Non-free manuals do not allow this.
306
307 The criteria of freedom for a free manual are roughly the same as for
308 free software. Redistribution (including the normal kinds of
309 commercial redistribution) must be permitted, so that the manual can
310 accompany every copy of the program, both on-line and on paper.
311
312 Permission for modification of the technical content is crucial too.
313 When people modify the software, adding or changing features, if they
314 are conscientious they will change the manual too---so they can
315 provide accurate and clear documentation for the modified program. A
316 manual that leaves you no choice but to write a new manual to document
317 a changed version of the program is not really available to our
318 community.
319
320 Some kinds of limits on the way modification is handled are
321 acceptable. For example, requirements to preserve the original
322 author's copyright notice, the distribution terms, or the list of
323 authors, are ok. It is also no problem to require modified versions
324 to include notice that they were modified. Even entire sections that
325 may not be deleted or changed are acceptable, as long as they deal
326 with nontechnical topics (like this one). These kinds of restrictions
327 are acceptable because they don't obstruct the community's normal use
328 of the manual.
329
330 However, it must be possible to modify all the @emph{technical}
331 content of the manual, and then distribute the result in all the usual
332 media, through all the usual channels. Otherwise, the restrictions
333 obstruct the use of the manual, it is not free, and we need another
334 manual to replace it.
335
336 Please spread the word about this issue. Our community continues to
337 lose manuals to proprietary publishing. If we spread the word that
338 free software needs free reference manuals and free tutorials, perhaps
339 the next person who wants to contribute by writing documentation will
340 realize, before it is too late, that only free manuals contribute to
341 the free software community.
342
343 If you are writing documentation, please insist on publishing it under
344 the GNU Free Documentation License or another free documentation
345 license. Remember that this decision requires your approval---you
346 don't have to let the publisher decide. Some commercial publishers
347 will use a free license if you insist, but they will not propose the
348 option; it is up to you to raise the issue and say firmly that this is
349 what you want. If the publisher you are dealing with refuses, please
350 try other publishers. If you're not sure whether a proposed license
351 is free, write to @email{licensing@@gnu.org}.
352
353 You can encourage commercial publishers to sell more free, copylefted
354 manuals and tutorials by buying them, and particularly by buying
355 copies from the publishers that paid for their writing or for major
356 improvements. Meanwhile, try to avoid buying non-free documentation
357 at all. Check the distribution terms of a manual before you buy it,
358 and insist that whoever seeks your business must respect your freedom.
359 Check the history of the book, and try to reward the publishers that
360 have paid or pay the authors to work on it.
361
362 The Free Software Foundation maintains a list of free documentation
363 published by other publishers, at
364 @url{http://www.fsf.org/doc/other-free-books.html}.
365
366 @node Contributors
367 @unnumberedsec Contributors to @value{GDBN}
368
369 Richard Stallman was the original author of @value{GDBN}, and of many
370 other @sc{gnu} programs. Many others have contributed to its
371 development. This section attempts to credit major contributors. One
372 of the virtues of free software is that everyone is free to contribute
373 to it; with regret, we cannot actually acknowledge everyone here. The
374 file @file{ChangeLog} in the @value{GDBN} distribution approximates a
375 blow-by-blow account.
376
377 Changes much prior to version 2.0 are lost in the mists of time.
378
379 @quotation
380 @emph{Plea:} Additions to this section are particularly welcome. If you
381 or your friends (or enemies, to be evenhanded) have been unfairly
382 omitted from this list, we would like to add your names!
383 @end quotation
384
385 So that they may not regard their many labors as thankless, we
386 particularly thank those who shepherded @value{GDBN} through major
387 releases:
388 Andrew Cagney (releases 6.3, 6.2, 6.1, 6.0, 5.3, 5.2, 5.1 and 5.0);
389 Jim Blandy (release 4.18);
390 Jason Molenda (release 4.17);
391 Stan Shebs (release 4.14);
392 Fred Fish (releases 4.16, 4.15, 4.13, 4.12, 4.11, 4.10, and 4.9);
393 Stu Grossman and John Gilmore (releases 4.8, 4.7, 4.6, 4.5, and 4.4);
394 John Gilmore (releases 4.3, 4.2, 4.1, 4.0, and 3.9);
395 Jim Kingdon (releases 3.5, 3.4, and 3.3);
396 and Randy Smith (releases 3.2, 3.1, and 3.0).
397
398 Richard Stallman, assisted at various times by Peter TerMaat, Chris
399 Hanson, and Richard Mlynarik, handled releases through 2.8.
400
401 Michael Tiemann is the author of most of the @sc{gnu} C@t{++} support
402 in @value{GDBN}, with significant additional contributions from Per
403 Bothner and Daniel Berlin. James Clark wrote the @sc{gnu} C@t{++}
404 demangler. Early work on C@t{++} was by Peter TerMaat (who also did
405 much general update work leading to release 3.0).
406
407 @value{GDBN} uses the BFD subroutine library to examine multiple
408 object-file formats; BFD was a joint project of David V.
409 Henkel-Wallace, Rich Pixley, Steve Chamberlain, and John Gilmore.
410
411 David Johnson wrote the original COFF support; Pace Willison did
412 the original support for encapsulated COFF.
413
414 Brent Benson of Harris Computer Systems contributed DWARF 2 support.
415
416 Adam de Boor and Bradley Davis contributed the ISI Optimum V support.
417 Per Bothner, Noboyuki Hikichi, and Alessandro Forin contributed MIPS
418 support.
419 Jean-Daniel Fekete contributed Sun 386i support.
420 Chris Hanson improved the HP9000 support.
421 Noboyuki Hikichi and Tomoyuki Hasei contributed Sony/News OS 3 support.
422 David Johnson contributed Encore Umax support.
423 Jyrki Kuoppala contributed Altos 3068 support.
424 Jeff Law contributed HP PA and SOM support.
425 Keith Packard contributed NS32K support.
426 Doug Rabson contributed Acorn Risc Machine support.
427 Bob Rusk contributed Harris Nighthawk CX-UX support.
428 Chris Smith contributed Convex support (and Fortran debugging).
429 Jonathan Stone contributed Pyramid support.
430 Michael Tiemann contributed SPARC support.
431 Tim Tucker contributed support for the Gould NP1 and Gould Powernode.
432 Pace Willison contributed Intel 386 support.
433 Jay Vosburgh contributed Symmetry support.
434 Marko Mlinar contributed OpenRISC 1000 support.
435
436 Andreas Schwab contributed M68K @sc{gnu}/Linux support.
437
438 Rich Schaefer and Peter Schauer helped with support of SunOS shared
439 libraries.
440
441 Jay Fenlason and Roland McGrath ensured that @value{GDBN} and GAS agree
442 about several machine instruction sets.
443
444 Patrick Duval, Ted Goldstein, Vikram Koka and Glenn Engel helped develop
445 remote debugging. Intel Corporation, Wind River Systems, AMD, and ARM
446 contributed remote debugging modules for the i960, VxWorks, A29K UDI,
447 and RDI targets, respectively.
448
449 Brian Fox is the author of the readline libraries providing
450 command-line editing and command history.
451
452 Andrew Beers of SUNY Buffalo wrote the language-switching code, the
453 Modula-2 support, and contributed the Languages chapter of this manual.
454
455 Fred Fish wrote most of the support for Unix System Vr4.
456 He also enhanced the command-completion support to cover C@t{++} overloaded
457 symbols.
458
459 Hitachi America (now Renesas America), Ltd. sponsored the support for
460 H8/300, H8/500, and Super-H processors.
461
462 NEC sponsored the support for the v850, Vr4xxx, and Vr5xxx processors.
463
464 Mitsubishi (now Renesas) sponsored the support for D10V, D30V, and M32R/D
465 processors.
466
467 Toshiba sponsored the support for the TX39 Mips processor.
468
469 Matsushita sponsored the support for the MN10200 and MN10300 processors.
470
471 Fujitsu sponsored the support for SPARClite and FR30 processors.
472
473 Kung Hsu, Jeff Law, and Rick Sladkey added support for hardware
474 watchpoints.
475
476 Michael Snyder added support for tracepoints.
477
478 Stu Grossman wrote gdbserver.
479
480 Jim Kingdon, Peter Schauer, Ian Taylor, and Stu Grossman made
481 nearly innumerable bug fixes and cleanups throughout @value{GDBN}.
482
483 The following people at the Hewlett-Packard Company contributed
484 support for the PA-RISC 2.0 architecture, HP-UX 10.20, 10.30, and 11.0
485 (narrow mode), HP's implementation of kernel threads, HP's aC@t{++}
486 compiler, and the Text User Interface (nee Terminal User Interface):
487 Ben Krepp, Richard Title, John Bishop, Susan Macchia, Kathy Mann,
488 Satish Pai, India Paul, Steve Rehrauer, and Elena Zannoni. Kim Haase
489 provided HP-specific information in this manual.
490
491 DJ Delorie ported @value{GDBN} to MS-DOS, for the DJGPP project.
492 Robert Hoehne made significant contributions to the DJGPP port.
493
494 Cygnus Solutions has sponsored @value{GDBN} maintenance and much of its
495 development since 1991. Cygnus engineers who have worked on @value{GDBN}
496 fulltime include Mark Alexander, Jim Blandy, Per Bothner, Kevin
497 Buettner, Edith Epstein, Chris Faylor, Fred Fish, Martin Hunt, Jim
498 Ingham, John Gilmore, Stu Grossman, Kung Hsu, Jim Kingdon, John Metzler,
499 Fernando Nasser, Geoffrey Noer, Dawn Perchik, Rich Pixley, Zdenek
500 Radouch, Keith Seitz, Stan Shebs, David Taylor, and Elena Zannoni. In
501 addition, Dave Brolley, Ian Carmichael, Steve Chamberlain, Nick Clifton,
502 JT Conklin, Stan Cox, DJ Delorie, Ulrich Drepper, Frank Eigler, Doug
503 Evans, Sean Fagan, David Henkel-Wallace, Richard Henderson, Jeff
504 Holcomb, Jeff Law, Jim Lemke, Tom Lord, Bob Manson, Michael Meissner,
505 Jason Merrill, Catherine Moore, Drew Moseley, Ken Raeburn, Gavin
506 Romig-Koch, Rob Savoye, Jamie Smith, Mike Stump, Ian Taylor, Angela
507 Thomas, Michael Tiemann, Tom Tromey, Ron Unrau, Jim Wilson, and David
508 Zuhn have made contributions both large and small.
509
510 Andrew Cagney, Fernando Nasser, and Elena Zannoni, while working for
511 Cygnus Solutions, implemented the original @sc{gdb/mi} interface.
512
513 Jim Blandy added support for preprocessor macros, while working for Red
514 Hat.
515
516 Andrew Cagney designed @value{GDBN}'s architecture vector. Many
517 people including Andrew Cagney, Stephane Carrez, Randolph Chung, Nick
518 Duffek, Richard Henderson, Mark Kettenis, Grace Sainsbury, Kei
519 Sakamoto, Yoshinori Sato, Michael Snyder, Andreas Schwab, Jason
520 Thorpe, Corinna Vinschen, Ulrich Weigand, and Elena Zannoni, helped
521 with the migration of old architectures to this new framework.
522
523 Andrew Cagney completely re-designed and re-implemented @value{GDBN}'s
524 unwinder framework, this consisting of a fresh new design featuring
525 frame IDs, independent frame sniffers, and the sentinel frame. Mark
526 Kettenis implemented the @sc{dwarf 2} unwinder, Jeff Johnston the
527 libunwind unwinder, and Andrew Cagney the dummy, sentinel, tramp, and
528 trad unwinders. The architecture-specific changes, each involving a
529 complete rewrite of the architecture's frame code, were carried out by
530 Jim Blandy, Joel Brobecker, Kevin Buettner, Andrew Cagney, Stephane
531 Carrez, Randolph Chung, Orjan Friberg, Richard Henderson, Daniel
532 Jacobowitz, Jeff Johnston, Mark Kettenis, Theodore A. Roth, Kei
533 Sakamoto, Yoshinori Sato, Michael Snyder, Corinna Vinschen, and Ulrich
534 Weigand.
535
536 Christian Zankel, Ross Morley, Bob Wilson, and Maxim Grigoriev from
537 Tensilica, Inc.@: contributed support for Xtensa processors. Others
538 who have worked on the Xtensa port of @value{GDBN} in the past include
539 Steve Tjiang, John Newlin, and Scott Foehner.
540
541 Michael Eager and staff of Xilinx, Inc., contributed support for the
542 Xilinx MicroBlaze architecture.
543
544 @node Sample Session
545 @chapter A Sample @value{GDBN} Session
546
547 You can use this manual at your leisure to read all about @value{GDBN}.
548 However, a handful of commands are enough to get started using the
549 debugger. This chapter illustrates those commands.
550
551 @iftex
552 In this sample session, we emphasize user input like this: @b{input},
553 to make it easier to pick out from the surrounding output.
554 @end iftex
555
556 @c FIXME: this example may not be appropriate for some configs, where
557 @c FIXME...primary interest is in remote use.
558
559 One of the preliminary versions of @sc{gnu} @code{m4} (a generic macro
560 processor) exhibits the following bug: sometimes, when we change its
561 quote strings from the default, the commands used to capture one macro
562 definition within another stop working. In the following short @code{m4}
563 session, we define a macro @code{foo} which expands to @code{0000}; we
564 then use the @code{m4} built-in @code{defn} to define @code{bar} as the
565 same thing. However, when we change the open quote string to
566 @code{<QUOTE>} and the close quote string to @code{<UNQUOTE>}, the same
567 procedure fails to define a new synonym @code{baz}:
568
569 @smallexample
570 $ @b{cd gnu/m4}
571 $ @b{./m4}
572 @b{define(foo,0000)}
573
574 @b{foo}
575 0000
576 @b{define(bar,defn(`foo'))}
577
578 @b{bar}
579 0000
580 @b{changequote(<QUOTE>,<UNQUOTE>)}
581
582 @b{define(baz,defn(<QUOTE>foo<UNQUOTE>))}
583 @b{baz}
584 @b{Ctrl-d}
585 m4: End of input: 0: fatal error: EOF in string
586 @end smallexample
587
588 @noindent
589 Let us use @value{GDBN} to try to see what is going on.
590
591 @smallexample
592 $ @b{@value{GDBP} m4}
593 @c FIXME: this falsifies the exact text played out, to permit smallbook
594 @c FIXME... format to come out better.
595 @value{GDBN} is free software and you are welcome to distribute copies
596 of it under certain conditions; type "show copying" to see
597 the conditions.
598 There is absolutely no warranty for @value{GDBN}; type "show warranty"
599 for details.
600
601 @value{GDBN} @value{GDBVN}, Copyright 1999 Free Software Foundation, Inc...
602 (@value{GDBP})
603 @end smallexample
604
605 @noindent
606 @value{GDBN} reads only enough symbol data to know where to find the
607 rest when needed; as a result, the first prompt comes up very quickly.
608 We now tell @value{GDBN} to use a narrower display width than usual, so
609 that examples fit in this manual.
610
611 @smallexample
612 (@value{GDBP}) @b{set width 70}
613 @end smallexample
614
615 @noindent
616 We need to see how the @code{m4} built-in @code{changequote} works.
617 Having looked at the source, we know the relevant subroutine is
618 @code{m4_changequote}, so we set a breakpoint there with the @value{GDBN}
619 @code{break} command.
620
621 @smallexample
622 (@value{GDBP}) @b{break m4_changequote}
623 Breakpoint 1 at 0x62f4: file builtin.c, line 879.
624 @end smallexample
625
626 @noindent
627 Using the @code{run} command, we start @code{m4} running under @value{GDBN}
628 control; as long as control does not reach the @code{m4_changequote}
629 subroutine, the program runs as usual:
630
631 @smallexample
632 (@value{GDBP}) @b{run}
633 Starting program: /work/Editorial/gdb/gnu/m4/m4
634 @b{define(foo,0000)}
635
636 @b{foo}
637 0000
638 @end smallexample
639
640 @noindent
641 To trigger the breakpoint, we call @code{changequote}. @value{GDBN}
642 suspends execution of @code{m4}, displaying information about the
643 context where it stops.
644
645 @smallexample
646 @b{changequote(<QUOTE>,<UNQUOTE>)}
647
648 Breakpoint 1, m4_changequote (argc=3, argv=0x33c70)
649 at builtin.c:879
650 879 if (bad_argc(TOKEN_DATA_TEXT(argv[0]),argc,1,3))
651 @end smallexample
652
653 @noindent
654 Now we use the command @code{n} (@code{next}) to advance execution to
655 the next line of the current function.
656
657 @smallexample
658 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
659 882 set_quotes((argc >= 2) ? TOKEN_DATA_TEXT(argv[1])\
660 : nil,
661 @end smallexample
662
663 @noindent
664 @code{set_quotes} looks like a promising subroutine. We can go into it
665 by using the command @code{s} (@code{step}) instead of @code{next}.
666 @code{step} goes to the next line to be executed in @emph{any}
667 subroutine, so it steps into @code{set_quotes}.
668
669 @smallexample
670 (@value{GDBP}) @b{s}
671 set_quotes (lq=0x34c78 "<QUOTE>", rq=0x34c88 "<UNQUOTE>")
672 at input.c:530
673 530 if (lquote != def_lquote)
674 @end smallexample
675
676 @noindent
677 The display that shows the subroutine where @code{m4} is now
678 suspended (and its arguments) is called a stack frame display. It
679 shows a summary of the stack. We can use the @code{backtrace}
680 command (which can also be spelled @code{bt}), to see where we are
681 in the stack as a whole: the @code{backtrace} command displays a
682 stack frame for each active subroutine.
683
684 @smallexample
685 (@value{GDBP}) @b{bt}
686 #0 set_quotes (lq=0x34c78 "<QUOTE>", rq=0x34c88 "<UNQUOTE>")
687 at input.c:530
688 #1 0x6344 in m4_changequote (argc=3, argv=0x33c70)
689 at builtin.c:882
690 #2 0x8174 in expand_macro (sym=0x33320) at macro.c:242
691 #3 0x7a88 in expand_token (obs=0x0, t=209696, td=0xf7fffa30)
692 at macro.c:71
693 #4 0x79dc in expand_input () at macro.c:40
694 #5 0x2930 in main (argc=0, argv=0xf7fffb20) at m4.c:195
695 @end smallexample
696
697 @noindent
698 We step through a few more lines to see what happens. The first two
699 times, we can use @samp{s}; the next two times we use @code{n} to avoid
700 falling into the @code{xstrdup} subroutine.
701
702 @smallexample
703 (@value{GDBP}) @b{s}
704 0x3b5c 532 if (rquote != def_rquote)
705 (@value{GDBP}) @b{s}
706 0x3b80 535 lquote = (lq == nil || *lq == '\0') ? \
707 def_lquote : xstrdup(lq);
708 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
709 536 rquote = (rq == nil || *rq == '\0') ? def_rquote\
710 : xstrdup(rq);
711 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
712 538 len_lquote = strlen(rquote);
713 @end smallexample
714
715 @noindent
716 The last line displayed looks a little odd; we can examine the variables
717 @code{lquote} and @code{rquote} to see if they are in fact the new left
718 and right quotes we specified. We use the command @code{p}
719 (@code{print}) to see their values.
720
721 @smallexample
722 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p lquote}
723 $1 = 0x35d40 "<QUOTE>"
724 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p rquote}
725 $2 = 0x35d50 "<UNQUOTE>"
726 @end smallexample
727
728 @noindent
729 @code{lquote} and @code{rquote} are indeed the new left and right quotes.
730 To look at some context, we can display ten lines of source
731 surrounding the current line with the @code{l} (@code{list}) command.
732
733 @smallexample
734 (@value{GDBP}) @b{l}
735 533 xfree(rquote);
736 534
737 535 lquote = (lq == nil || *lq == '\0') ? def_lquote\
738 : xstrdup (lq);
739 536 rquote = (rq == nil || *rq == '\0') ? def_rquote\
740 : xstrdup (rq);
741 537
742 538 len_lquote = strlen(rquote);
743 539 len_rquote = strlen(lquote);
744 540 @}
745 541
746 542 void
747 @end smallexample
748
749 @noindent
750 Let us step past the two lines that set @code{len_lquote} and
751 @code{len_rquote}, and then examine the values of those variables.
752
753 @smallexample
754 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
755 539 len_rquote = strlen(lquote);
756 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
757 540 @}
758 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p len_lquote}
759 $3 = 9
760 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p len_rquote}
761 $4 = 7
762 @end smallexample
763
764 @noindent
765 That certainly looks wrong, assuming @code{len_lquote} and
766 @code{len_rquote} are meant to be the lengths of @code{lquote} and
767 @code{rquote} respectively. We can set them to better values using
768 the @code{p} command, since it can print the value of
769 any expression---and that expression can include subroutine calls and
770 assignments.
771
772 @smallexample
773 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p len_lquote=strlen(lquote)}
774 $5 = 7
775 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p len_rquote=strlen(rquote)}
776 $6 = 9
777 @end smallexample
778
779 @noindent
780 Is that enough to fix the problem of using the new quotes with the
781 @code{m4} built-in @code{defn}? We can allow @code{m4} to continue
782 executing with the @code{c} (@code{continue}) command, and then try the
783 example that caused trouble initially:
784
785 @smallexample
786 (@value{GDBP}) @b{c}
787 Continuing.
788
789 @b{define(baz,defn(<QUOTE>foo<UNQUOTE>))}
790
791 baz
792 0000
793 @end smallexample
794
795 @noindent
796 Success! The new quotes now work just as well as the default ones. The
797 problem seems to have been just the two typos defining the wrong
798 lengths. We allow @code{m4} exit by giving it an EOF as input:
799
800 @smallexample
801 @b{Ctrl-d}
802 Program exited normally.
803 @end smallexample
804
805 @noindent
806 The message @samp{Program exited normally.} is from @value{GDBN}; it
807 indicates @code{m4} has finished executing. We can end our @value{GDBN}
808 session with the @value{GDBN} @code{quit} command.
809
810 @smallexample
811 (@value{GDBP}) @b{quit}
812 @end smallexample
813
814 @node Invocation
815 @chapter Getting In and Out of @value{GDBN}
816
817 This chapter discusses how to start @value{GDBN}, and how to get out of it.
818 The essentials are:
819 @itemize @bullet
820 @item
821 type @samp{@value{GDBP}} to start @value{GDBN}.
822 @item
823 type @kbd{quit} or @kbd{Ctrl-d} to exit.
824 @end itemize
825
826 @menu
827 * Invoking GDB:: How to start @value{GDBN}
828 * Quitting GDB:: How to quit @value{GDBN}
829 * Shell Commands:: How to use shell commands inside @value{GDBN}
830 * Logging Output:: How to log @value{GDBN}'s output to a file
831 @end menu
832
833 @node Invoking GDB
834 @section Invoking @value{GDBN}
835
836 Invoke @value{GDBN} by running the program @code{@value{GDBP}}. Once started,
837 @value{GDBN} reads commands from the terminal until you tell it to exit.
838
839 You can also run @code{@value{GDBP}} with a variety of arguments and options,
840 to specify more of your debugging environment at the outset.
841
842 The command-line options described here are designed
843 to cover a variety of situations; in some environments, some of these
844 options may effectively be unavailable.
845
846 The most usual way to start @value{GDBN} is with one argument,
847 specifying an executable program:
848
849 @smallexample
850 @value{GDBP} @var{program}
851 @end smallexample
852
853 @noindent
854 You can also start with both an executable program and a core file
855 specified:
856
857 @smallexample
858 @value{GDBP} @var{program} @var{core}
859 @end smallexample
860
861 You can, instead, specify a process ID as a second argument, if you want
862 to debug a running process:
863
864 @smallexample
865 @value{GDBP} @var{program} 1234
866 @end smallexample
867
868 @noindent
869 would attach @value{GDBN} to process @code{1234} (unless you also have a file
870 named @file{1234}; @value{GDBN} does check for a core file first).
871
872 Taking advantage of the second command-line argument requires a fairly
873 complete operating system; when you use @value{GDBN} as a remote
874 debugger attached to a bare board, there may not be any notion of
875 ``process'', and there is often no way to get a core dump. @value{GDBN}
876 will warn you if it is unable to attach or to read core dumps.
877
878 You can optionally have @code{@value{GDBP}} pass any arguments after the
879 executable file to the inferior using @code{--args}. This option stops
880 option processing.
881 @smallexample
882 @value{GDBP} --args gcc -O2 -c foo.c
883 @end smallexample
884 This will cause @code{@value{GDBP}} to debug @code{gcc}, and to set
885 @code{gcc}'s command-line arguments (@pxref{Arguments}) to @samp{-O2 -c foo.c}.
886
887 You can run @code{@value{GDBP}} without printing the front material, which describes
888 @value{GDBN}'s non-warranty, by specifying @code{--silent}
889 (or @code{-q}/@code{--quiet}):
890
891 @smallexample
892 @value{GDBP} --silent
893 @end smallexample
894
895 @noindent
896 You can further control how @value{GDBN} starts up by using command-line
897 options. @value{GDBN} itself can remind you of the options available.
898
899 @noindent
900 Type
901
902 @smallexample
903 @value{GDBP} -help
904 @end smallexample
905
906 @noindent
907 to display all available options and briefly describe their use
908 (@samp{@value{GDBP} -h} is a shorter equivalent).
909
910 All options and command line arguments you give are processed
911 in sequential order. The order makes a difference when the
912 @samp{-x} option is used.
913
914
915 @menu
916 * File Options:: Choosing files
917 * Mode Options:: Choosing modes
918 * Startup:: What @value{GDBN} does during startup
919 @end menu
920
921 @node File Options
922 @subsection Choosing Files
923
924 When @value{GDBN} starts, it reads any arguments other than options as
925 specifying an executable file and core file (or process ID). This is
926 the same as if the arguments were specified by the @samp{-se} and
927 @samp{-c} (or @samp{-p}) options respectively. (@value{GDBN} reads the
928 first argument that does not have an associated option flag as
929 equivalent to the @samp{-se} option followed by that argument; and the
930 second argument that does not have an associated option flag, if any, as
931 equivalent to the @samp{-c}/@samp{-p} option followed by that argument.)
932 If the second argument begins with a decimal digit, @value{GDBN} will
933 first attempt to attach to it as a process, and if that fails, attempt
934 to open it as a corefile. If you have a corefile whose name begins with
935 a digit, you can prevent @value{GDBN} from treating it as a pid by
936 prefixing it with @file{./}, e.g.@: @file{./12345}.
937
938 If @value{GDBN} has not been configured to included core file support,
939 such as for most embedded targets, then it will complain about a second
940 argument and ignore it.
941
942 Many options have both long and short forms; both are shown in the
943 following list. @value{GDBN} also recognizes the long forms if you truncate
944 them, so long as enough of the option is present to be unambiguous.
945 (If you prefer, you can flag option arguments with @samp{--} rather
946 than @samp{-}, though we illustrate the more usual convention.)
947
948 @c NOTE: the @cindex entries here use double dashes ON PURPOSE. This
949 @c way, both those who look for -foo and --foo in the index, will find
950 @c it.
951
952 @table @code
953 @item -symbols @var{file}
954 @itemx -s @var{file}
955 @cindex @code{--symbols}
956 @cindex @code{-s}
957 Read symbol table from file @var{file}.
958
959 @item -exec @var{file}
960 @itemx -e @var{file}
961 @cindex @code{--exec}
962 @cindex @code{-e}
963 Use file @var{file} as the executable file to execute when appropriate,
964 and for examining pure data in conjunction with a core dump.
965
966 @item -se @var{file}
967 @cindex @code{--se}
968 Read symbol table from file @var{file} and use it as the executable
969 file.
970
971 @item -core @var{file}
972 @itemx -c @var{file}
973 @cindex @code{--core}
974 @cindex @code{-c}
975 Use file @var{file} as a core dump to examine.
976
977 @item -pid @var{number}
978 @itemx -p @var{number}
979 @cindex @code{--pid}
980 @cindex @code{-p}
981 Connect to process ID @var{number}, as with the @code{attach} command.
982
983 @item -command @var{file}
984 @itemx -x @var{file}
985 @cindex @code{--command}
986 @cindex @code{-x}
987 Execute commands from file @var{file}. The contents of this file is
988 evaluated exactly as the @code{source} command would.
989 @xref{Command Files,, Command files}.
990
991 @item -eval-command @var{command}
992 @itemx -ex @var{command}
993 @cindex @code{--eval-command}
994 @cindex @code{-ex}
995 Execute a single @value{GDBN} command.
996
997 This option may be used multiple times to call multiple commands. It may
998 also be interleaved with @samp{-command} as required.
999
1000 @smallexample
1001 @value{GDBP} -ex 'target sim' -ex 'load' \
1002 -x setbreakpoints -ex 'run' a.out
1003 @end smallexample
1004
1005 @item -init-command @var{file}
1006 @itemx -ix @var{file}
1007 @cindex @code{--init-command}
1008 @cindex @code{-ix}
1009 Execute commands from file @var{file} before loading the inferior (but
1010 after loading gdbinit files).
1011 @xref{Startup}.
1012
1013 @item -init-eval-command @var{command}
1014 @itemx -iex @var{command}
1015 @cindex @code{--init-eval-command}
1016 @cindex @code{-iex}
1017 Execute a single @value{GDBN} command before loading the inferior (but
1018 after loading gdbinit files).
1019 @xref{Startup}.
1020
1021 @item -directory @var{directory}
1022 @itemx -d @var{directory}
1023 @cindex @code{--directory}
1024 @cindex @code{-d}
1025 Add @var{directory} to the path to search for source and script files.
1026
1027 @item -r
1028 @itemx -readnow
1029 @cindex @code{--readnow}
1030 @cindex @code{-r}
1031 Read each symbol file's entire symbol table immediately, rather than
1032 the default, which is to read it incrementally as it is needed.
1033 This makes startup slower, but makes future operations faster.
1034
1035 @end table
1036
1037 @node Mode Options
1038 @subsection Choosing Modes
1039
1040 You can run @value{GDBN} in various alternative modes---for example, in
1041 batch mode or quiet mode.
1042
1043 @table @code
1044 @anchor{-nx}
1045 @item -nx
1046 @itemx -n
1047 @cindex @code{--nx}
1048 @cindex @code{-n}
1049 Do not execute commands found in any initialization file.
1050 There are three init files, loaded in the following order:
1051
1052 @table @code
1053 @item @file{system.gdbinit}
1054 This is the system-wide init file.
1055 Its location is specified with the @code{--with-system-gdbinit}
1056 configure option (@pxref{System-wide configuration}).
1057 It is loaded first when @value{GDBN} starts, before command line options
1058 have been processed.
1059 @item @file{~/.gdbinit}
1060 This is the init file in your home directory.
1061 It is loaded next, after @file{system.gdbinit}, and before
1062 command options have been processed.
1063 @item @file{./.gdbinit}
1064 This is the init file in the current directory.
1065 It is loaded last, after command line options other than @code{-x} and
1066 @code{-ex} have been processed. Command line options @code{-x} and
1067 @code{-ex} are processed last, after @file{./.gdbinit} has been loaded.
1068 @end table
1069
1070 For further documentation on startup processing, @xref{Startup}.
1071 For documentation on how to write command files,
1072 @xref{Command Files,,Command Files}.
1073
1074 @anchor{-nh}
1075 @item -nh
1076 @cindex @code{--nh}
1077 Do not execute commands found in @file{~/.gdbinit}, the init file
1078 in your home directory.
1079 @xref{Startup}.
1080
1081 @item -quiet
1082 @itemx -silent
1083 @itemx -q
1084 @cindex @code{--quiet}
1085 @cindex @code{--silent}
1086 @cindex @code{-q}
1087 ``Quiet''. Do not print the introductory and copyright messages. These
1088 messages are also suppressed in batch mode.
1089
1090 @item -batch
1091 @cindex @code{--batch}
1092 Run in batch mode. Exit with status @code{0} after processing all the
1093 command files specified with @samp{-x} (and all commands from
1094 initialization files, if not inhibited with @samp{-n}). Exit with
1095 nonzero status if an error occurs in executing the @value{GDBN} commands
1096 in the command files. Batch mode also disables pagination, sets unlimited
1097 terminal width and height @pxref{Screen Size}, and acts as if @kbd{set confirm
1098 off} were in effect (@pxref{Messages/Warnings}).
1099
1100 Batch mode may be useful for running @value{GDBN} as a filter, for
1101 example to download and run a program on another computer; in order to
1102 make this more useful, the message
1103
1104 @smallexample
1105 Program exited normally.
1106 @end smallexample
1107
1108 @noindent
1109 (which is ordinarily issued whenever a program running under
1110 @value{GDBN} control terminates) is not issued when running in batch
1111 mode.
1112
1113 @item -batch-silent
1114 @cindex @code{--batch-silent}
1115 Run in batch mode exactly like @samp{-batch}, but totally silently. All
1116 @value{GDBN} output to @code{stdout} is prevented (@code{stderr} is
1117 unaffected). This is much quieter than @samp{-silent} and would be useless
1118 for an interactive session.
1119
1120 This is particularly useful when using targets that give @samp{Loading section}
1121 messages, for example.
1122
1123 Note that targets that give their output via @value{GDBN}, as opposed to
1124 writing directly to @code{stdout}, will also be made silent.
1125
1126 @item -return-child-result
1127 @cindex @code{--return-child-result}
1128 The return code from @value{GDBN} will be the return code from the child
1129 process (the process being debugged), with the following exceptions:
1130
1131 @itemize @bullet
1132 @item
1133 @value{GDBN} exits abnormally. E.g., due to an incorrect argument or an
1134 internal error. In this case the exit code is the same as it would have been
1135 without @samp{-return-child-result}.
1136 @item
1137 The user quits with an explicit value. E.g., @samp{quit 1}.
1138 @item
1139 The child process never runs, or is not allowed to terminate, in which case
1140 the exit code will be -1.
1141 @end itemize
1142
1143 This option is useful in conjunction with @samp{-batch} or @samp{-batch-silent},
1144 when @value{GDBN} is being used as a remote program loader or simulator
1145 interface.
1146
1147 @item -nowindows
1148 @itemx -nw
1149 @cindex @code{--nowindows}
1150 @cindex @code{-nw}
1151 ``No windows''. If @value{GDBN} comes with a graphical user interface
1152 (GUI) built in, then this option tells @value{GDBN} to only use the command-line
1153 interface. If no GUI is available, this option has no effect.
1154
1155 @item -windows
1156 @itemx -w
1157 @cindex @code{--windows}
1158 @cindex @code{-w}
1159 If @value{GDBN} includes a GUI, then this option requires it to be
1160 used if possible.
1161
1162 @item -cd @var{directory}
1163 @cindex @code{--cd}
1164 Run @value{GDBN} using @var{directory} as its working directory,
1165 instead of the current directory.
1166
1167 @item -data-directory @var{directory}
1168 @itemx -D @var{directory}
1169 @cindex @code{--data-directory}
1170 @cindex @code{-D}
1171 Run @value{GDBN} using @var{directory} as its data directory.
1172 The data directory is where @value{GDBN} searches for its
1173 auxiliary files. @xref{Data Files}.
1174
1175 @item -fullname
1176 @itemx -f
1177 @cindex @code{--fullname}
1178 @cindex @code{-f}
1179 @sc{gnu} Emacs sets this option when it runs @value{GDBN} as a
1180 subprocess. It tells @value{GDBN} to output the full file name and line
1181 number in a standard, recognizable fashion each time a stack frame is
1182 displayed (which includes each time your program stops). This
1183 recognizable format looks like two @samp{\032} characters, followed by
1184 the file name, line number and character position separated by colons,
1185 and a newline. The Emacs-to-@value{GDBN} interface program uses the two
1186 @samp{\032} characters as a signal to display the source code for the
1187 frame.
1188
1189 @item -annotate @var{level}
1190 @cindex @code{--annotate}
1191 This option sets the @dfn{annotation level} inside @value{GDBN}. Its
1192 effect is identical to using @samp{set annotate @var{level}}
1193 (@pxref{Annotations}). The annotation @var{level} controls how much
1194 information @value{GDBN} prints together with its prompt, values of
1195 expressions, source lines, and other types of output. Level 0 is the
1196 normal, level 1 is for use when @value{GDBN} is run as a subprocess of
1197 @sc{gnu} Emacs, level 3 is the maximum annotation suitable for programs
1198 that control @value{GDBN}, and level 2 has been deprecated.
1199
1200 The annotation mechanism has largely been superseded by @sc{gdb/mi}
1201 (@pxref{GDB/MI}).
1202
1203 @item --args
1204 @cindex @code{--args}
1205 Change interpretation of command line so that arguments following the
1206 executable file are passed as command line arguments to the inferior.
1207 This option stops option processing.
1208
1209 @item -baud @var{bps}
1210 @itemx -b @var{bps}
1211 @cindex @code{--baud}
1212 @cindex @code{-b}
1213 Set the line speed (baud rate or bits per second) of any serial
1214 interface used by @value{GDBN} for remote debugging.
1215
1216 @item -l @var{timeout}
1217 @cindex @code{-l}
1218 Set the timeout (in seconds) of any communication used by @value{GDBN}
1219 for remote debugging.
1220
1221 @item -tty @var{device}
1222 @itemx -t @var{device}
1223 @cindex @code{--tty}
1224 @cindex @code{-t}
1225 Run using @var{device} for your program's standard input and output.
1226 @c FIXME: kingdon thinks there is more to -tty. Investigate.
1227
1228 @c resolve the situation of these eventually
1229 @item -tui
1230 @cindex @code{--tui}
1231 Activate the @dfn{Text User Interface} when starting. The Text User
1232 Interface manages several text windows on the terminal, showing
1233 source, assembly, registers and @value{GDBN} command outputs
1234 (@pxref{TUI, ,@value{GDBN} Text User Interface}). Do not use this
1235 option if you run @value{GDBN} from Emacs (@pxref{Emacs, ,
1236 Using @value{GDBN} under @sc{gnu} Emacs}).
1237
1238 @item -interpreter @var{interp}
1239 @cindex @code{--interpreter}
1240 Use the interpreter @var{interp} for interface with the controlling
1241 program or device. This option is meant to be set by programs which
1242 communicate with @value{GDBN} using it as a back end.
1243 @xref{Interpreters, , Command Interpreters}.
1244
1245 @samp{--interpreter=mi} (or @samp{--interpreter=mi2}) causes
1246 @value{GDBN} to use the @dfn{@sc{gdb/mi} interface} (@pxref{GDB/MI, ,
1247 The @sc{gdb/mi} Interface}) included since @value{GDBN} version 6.0. The
1248 previous @sc{gdb/mi} interface, included in @value{GDBN} version 5.3 and
1249 selected with @samp{--interpreter=mi1}, is deprecated. Earlier
1250 @sc{gdb/mi} interfaces are no longer supported.
1251
1252 @item -write
1253 @cindex @code{--write}
1254 Open the executable and core files for both reading and writing. This
1255 is equivalent to the @samp{set write on} command inside @value{GDBN}
1256 (@pxref{Patching}).
1257
1258 @item -statistics
1259 @cindex @code{--statistics}
1260 This option causes @value{GDBN} to print statistics about time and
1261 memory usage after it completes each command and returns to the prompt.
1262
1263 @item -version
1264 @cindex @code{--version}
1265 This option causes @value{GDBN} to print its version number and
1266 no-warranty blurb, and exit.
1267
1268 @item -configuration
1269 @cindex @code{--configuration}
1270 This option causes @value{GDBN} to print details about its build-time
1271 configuration parameters, and then exit. These details can be
1272 important when reporting @value{GDBN} bugs (@pxref{GDB Bugs}).
1273
1274 @end table
1275
1276 @node Startup
1277 @subsection What @value{GDBN} Does During Startup
1278 @cindex @value{GDBN} startup
1279
1280 Here's the description of what @value{GDBN} does during session startup:
1281
1282 @enumerate
1283 @item
1284 Sets up the command interpreter as specified by the command line
1285 (@pxref{Mode Options, interpreter}).
1286
1287 @item
1288 @cindex init file
1289 Reads the system-wide @dfn{init file} (if @option{--with-system-gdbinit} was
1290 used when building @value{GDBN}; @pxref{System-wide configuration,
1291 ,System-wide configuration and settings}) and executes all the commands in
1292 that file.
1293
1294 @anchor{Home Directory Init File}
1295 @item
1296 Reads the init file (if any) in your home directory@footnote{On
1297 DOS/Windows systems, the home directory is the one pointed to by the
1298 @code{HOME} environment variable.} and executes all the commands in
1299 that file.
1300
1301 @anchor{Option -init-eval-command}
1302 @item
1303 Executes commands and command files specified by the @samp{-iex} and
1304 @samp{-ix} options in their specified order. Usually you should use the
1305 @samp{-ex} and @samp{-x} options instead, but this way you can apply
1306 settings before @value{GDBN} init files get executed and before inferior
1307 gets loaded.
1308
1309 @item
1310 Processes command line options and operands.
1311
1312 @anchor{Init File in the Current Directory during Startup}
1313 @item
1314 Reads and executes the commands from init file (if any) in the current
1315 working directory as long as @samp{set auto-load local-gdbinit} is set to
1316 @samp{on} (@pxref{Init File in the Current Directory}).
1317 This is only done if the current directory is
1318 different from your home directory. Thus, you can have more than one
1319 init file, one generic in your home directory, and another, specific
1320 to the program you are debugging, in the directory where you invoke
1321 @value{GDBN}.
1322
1323 @item
1324 If the command line specified a program to debug, or a process to
1325 attach to, or a core file, @value{GDBN} loads any auto-loaded
1326 scripts provided for the program or for its loaded shared libraries.
1327 @xref{Auto-loading}.
1328
1329 If you wish to disable the auto-loading during startup,
1330 you must do something like the following:
1331
1332 @smallexample
1333 $ gdb -iex "set auto-load python-scripts off" myprogram
1334 @end smallexample
1335
1336 Option @samp{-ex} does not work because the auto-loading is then turned
1337 off too late.
1338
1339 @item
1340 Executes commands and command files specified by the @samp{-ex} and
1341 @samp{-x} options in their specified order. @xref{Command Files}, for
1342 more details about @value{GDBN} command files.
1343
1344 @item
1345 Reads the command history recorded in the @dfn{history file}.
1346 @xref{Command History}, for more details about the command history and the
1347 files where @value{GDBN} records it.
1348 @end enumerate
1349
1350 Init files use the same syntax as @dfn{command files} (@pxref{Command
1351 Files}) and are processed by @value{GDBN} in the same way. The init
1352 file in your home directory can set options (such as @samp{set
1353 complaints}) that affect subsequent processing of command line options
1354 and operands. Init files are not executed if you use the @samp{-nx}
1355 option (@pxref{Mode Options, ,Choosing Modes}).
1356
1357 To display the list of init files loaded by gdb at startup, you
1358 can use @kbd{gdb --help}.
1359
1360 @cindex init file name
1361 @cindex @file{.gdbinit}
1362 @cindex @file{gdb.ini}
1363 The @value{GDBN} init files are normally called @file{.gdbinit}.
1364 The DJGPP port of @value{GDBN} uses the name @file{gdb.ini}, due to
1365 the limitations of file names imposed by DOS filesystems. The Windows
1366 port of @value{GDBN} uses the standard name, but if it finds a
1367 @file{gdb.ini} file in your home directory, it warns you about that
1368 and suggests to rename the file to the standard name.
1369
1370
1371 @node Quitting GDB
1372 @section Quitting @value{GDBN}
1373 @cindex exiting @value{GDBN}
1374 @cindex leaving @value{GDBN}
1375
1376 @table @code
1377 @kindex quit @r{[}@var{expression}@r{]}
1378 @kindex q @r{(@code{quit})}
1379 @item quit @r{[}@var{expression}@r{]}
1380 @itemx q
1381 To exit @value{GDBN}, use the @code{quit} command (abbreviated
1382 @code{q}), or type an end-of-file character (usually @kbd{Ctrl-d}). If you
1383 do not supply @var{expression}, @value{GDBN} will terminate normally;
1384 otherwise it will terminate using the result of @var{expression} as the
1385 error code.
1386 @end table
1387
1388 @cindex interrupt
1389 An interrupt (often @kbd{Ctrl-c}) does not exit from @value{GDBN}, but rather
1390 terminates the action of any @value{GDBN} command that is in progress and
1391 returns to @value{GDBN} command level. It is safe to type the interrupt
1392 character at any time because @value{GDBN} does not allow it to take effect
1393 until a time when it is safe.
1394
1395 If you have been using @value{GDBN} to control an attached process or
1396 device, you can release it with the @code{detach} command
1397 (@pxref{Attach, ,Debugging an Already-running Process}).
1398
1399 @node Shell Commands
1400 @section Shell Commands
1401
1402 If you need to execute occasional shell commands during your
1403 debugging session, there is no need to leave or suspend @value{GDBN}; you can
1404 just use the @code{shell} command.
1405
1406 @table @code
1407 @kindex shell
1408 @kindex !
1409 @cindex shell escape
1410 @item shell @var{command-string}
1411 @itemx !@var{command-string}
1412 Invoke a standard shell to execute @var{command-string}.
1413 Note that no space is needed between @code{!} and @var{command-string}.
1414 If it exists, the environment variable @code{SHELL} determines which
1415 shell to run. Otherwise @value{GDBN} uses the default shell
1416 (@file{/bin/sh} on Unix systems, @file{COMMAND.COM} on MS-DOS, etc.).
1417 @end table
1418
1419 The utility @code{make} is often needed in development environments.
1420 You do not have to use the @code{shell} command for this purpose in
1421 @value{GDBN}:
1422
1423 @table @code
1424 @kindex make
1425 @cindex calling make
1426 @item make @var{make-args}
1427 Execute the @code{make} program with the specified
1428 arguments. This is equivalent to @samp{shell make @var{make-args}}.
1429 @end table
1430
1431 @node Logging Output
1432 @section Logging Output
1433 @cindex logging @value{GDBN} output
1434 @cindex save @value{GDBN} output to a file
1435
1436 You may want to save the output of @value{GDBN} commands to a file.
1437 There are several commands to control @value{GDBN}'s logging.
1438
1439 @table @code
1440 @kindex set logging
1441 @item set logging on
1442 Enable logging.
1443 @item set logging off
1444 Disable logging.
1445 @cindex logging file name
1446 @item set logging file @var{file}
1447 Change the name of the current logfile. The default logfile is @file{gdb.txt}.
1448 @item set logging overwrite [on|off]
1449 By default, @value{GDBN} will append to the logfile. Set @code{overwrite} if
1450 you want @code{set logging on} to overwrite the logfile instead.
1451 @item set logging redirect [on|off]
1452 By default, @value{GDBN} output will go to both the terminal and the logfile.
1453 Set @code{redirect} if you want output to go only to the log file.
1454 @kindex show logging
1455 @item show logging
1456 Show the current values of the logging settings.
1457 @end table
1458
1459 @node Commands
1460 @chapter @value{GDBN} Commands
1461
1462 You can abbreviate a @value{GDBN} command to the first few letters of the command
1463 name, if that abbreviation is unambiguous; and you can repeat certain
1464 @value{GDBN} commands by typing just @key{RET}. You can also use the @key{TAB}
1465 key to get @value{GDBN} to fill out the rest of a word in a command (or to
1466 show you the alternatives available, if there is more than one possibility).
1467
1468 @menu
1469 * Command Syntax:: How to give commands to @value{GDBN}
1470 * Completion:: Command completion
1471 * Help:: How to ask @value{GDBN} for help
1472 @end menu
1473
1474 @node Command Syntax
1475 @section Command Syntax
1476
1477 A @value{GDBN} command is a single line of input. There is no limit on
1478 how long it can be. It starts with a command name, which is followed by
1479 arguments whose meaning depends on the command name. For example, the
1480 command @code{step} accepts an argument which is the number of times to
1481 step, as in @samp{step 5}. You can also use the @code{step} command
1482 with no arguments. Some commands do not allow any arguments.
1483
1484 @cindex abbreviation
1485 @value{GDBN} command names may always be truncated if that abbreviation is
1486 unambiguous. Other possible command abbreviations are listed in the
1487 documentation for individual commands. In some cases, even ambiguous
1488 abbreviations are allowed; for example, @code{s} is specially defined as
1489 equivalent to @code{step} even though there are other commands whose
1490 names start with @code{s}. You can test abbreviations by using them as
1491 arguments to the @code{help} command.
1492
1493 @cindex repeating commands
1494 @kindex RET @r{(repeat last command)}
1495 A blank line as input to @value{GDBN} (typing just @key{RET}) means to
1496 repeat the previous command. Certain commands (for example, @code{run})
1497 will not repeat this way; these are commands whose unintentional
1498 repetition might cause trouble and which you are unlikely to want to
1499 repeat. User-defined commands can disable this feature; see
1500 @ref{Define, dont-repeat}.
1501
1502 The @code{list} and @code{x} commands, when you repeat them with
1503 @key{RET}, construct new arguments rather than repeating
1504 exactly as typed. This permits easy scanning of source or memory.
1505
1506 @value{GDBN} can also use @key{RET} in another way: to partition lengthy
1507 output, in a way similar to the common utility @code{more}
1508 (@pxref{Screen Size,,Screen Size}). Since it is easy to press one
1509 @key{RET} too many in this situation, @value{GDBN} disables command
1510 repetition after any command that generates this sort of display.
1511
1512 @kindex # @r{(a comment)}
1513 @cindex comment
1514 Any text from a @kbd{#} to the end of the line is a comment; it does
1515 nothing. This is useful mainly in command files (@pxref{Command
1516 Files,,Command Files}).
1517
1518 @cindex repeating command sequences
1519 @kindex Ctrl-o @r{(operate-and-get-next)}
1520 The @kbd{Ctrl-o} binding is useful for repeating a complex sequence of
1521 commands. This command accepts the current line, like @key{RET}, and
1522 then fetches the next line relative to the current line from the history
1523 for editing.
1524
1525 @node Completion
1526 @section Command Completion
1527
1528 @cindex completion
1529 @cindex word completion
1530 @value{GDBN} can fill in the rest of a word in a command for you, if there is
1531 only one possibility; it can also show you what the valid possibilities
1532 are for the next word in a command, at any time. This works for @value{GDBN}
1533 commands, @value{GDBN} subcommands, and the names of symbols in your program.
1534
1535 Press the @key{TAB} key whenever you want @value{GDBN} to fill out the rest
1536 of a word. If there is only one possibility, @value{GDBN} fills in the
1537 word, and waits for you to finish the command (or press @key{RET} to
1538 enter it). For example, if you type
1539
1540 @c FIXME "@key" does not distinguish its argument sufficiently to permit
1541 @c complete accuracy in these examples; space introduced for clarity.
1542 @c If texinfo enhancements make it unnecessary, it would be nice to
1543 @c replace " @key" by "@key" in the following...
1544 @smallexample
1545 (@value{GDBP}) info bre @key{TAB}
1546 @end smallexample
1547
1548 @noindent
1549 @value{GDBN} fills in the rest of the word @samp{breakpoints}, since that is
1550 the only @code{info} subcommand beginning with @samp{bre}:
1551
1552 @smallexample
1553 (@value{GDBP}) info breakpoints
1554 @end smallexample
1555
1556 @noindent
1557 You can either press @key{RET} at this point, to run the @code{info
1558 breakpoints} command, or backspace and enter something else, if
1559 @samp{breakpoints} does not look like the command you expected. (If you
1560 were sure you wanted @code{info breakpoints} in the first place, you
1561 might as well just type @key{RET} immediately after @samp{info bre},
1562 to exploit command abbreviations rather than command completion).
1563
1564 If there is more than one possibility for the next word when you press
1565 @key{TAB}, @value{GDBN} sounds a bell. You can either supply more
1566 characters and try again, or just press @key{TAB} a second time;
1567 @value{GDBN} displays all the possible completions for that word. For
1568 example, you might want to set a breakpoint on a subroutine whose name
1569 begins with @samp{make_}, but when you type @kbd{b make_@key{TAB}} @value{GDBN}
1570 just sounds the bell. Typing @key{TAB} again displays all the
1571 function names in your program that begin with those characters, for
1572 example:
1573
1574 @smallexample
1575 (@value{GDBP}) b make_ @key{TAB}
1576 @exdent @value{GDBN} sounds bell; press @key{TAB} again, to see:
1577 make_a_section_from_file make_environ
1578 make_abs_section make_function_type
1579 make_blockvector make_pointer_type
1580 make_cleanup make_reference_type
1581 make_command make_symbol_completion_list
1582 (@value{GDBP}) b make_
1583 @end smallexample
1584
1585 @noindent
1586 After displaying the available possibilities, @value{GDBN} copies your
1587 partial input (@samp{b make_} in the example) so you can finish the
1588 command.
1589
1590 If you just want to see the list of alternatives in the first place, you
1591 can press @kbd{M-?} rather than pressing @key{TAB} twice. @kbd{M-?}
1592 means @kbd{@key{META} ?}. You can type this either by holding down a
1593 key designated as the @key{META} shift on your keyboard (if there is
1594 one) while typing @kbd{?}, or as @key{ESC} followed by @kbd{?}.
1595
1596 If the number of possible completions is large, @value{GDBN} will
1597 print as much of the list as it has collected, as well as a message
1598 indicating that the list may be truncated.
1599
1600 @smallexample
1601 (@value{GDBP}) b m@key{TAB}@key{TAB}
1602 main
1603 <... the rest of the possible completions ...>
1604 *** List may be truncated, max-completions reached. ***
1605 (@value{GDBP}) b m
1606 @end smallexample
1607
1608 @noindent
1609 This behavior can be controlled with the following commands:
1610
1611 @table @code
1612 @kindex set max-completions
1613 @item set max-completions @var{limit}
1614 @itemx set max-completions unlimited
1615 Set the maximum number of completion candidates. @value{GDBN} will
1616 stop looking for more completions once it collects this many candidates.
1617 This is useful when completing on things like function names as collecting
1618 all the possible candidates can be time consuming.
1619 The default value is 200. A value of zero disables tab-completion.
1620 Note that setting either no limit or a very large limit can make
1621 completion slow.
1622 @kindex show max-completions
1623 @item show max-completions
1624 Show the maximum number of candidates that @value{GDBN} will collect and show
1625 during completion.
1626 @end table
1627
1628 @cindex quotes in commands
1629 @cindex completion of quoted strings
1630 Sometimes the string you need, while logically a ``word'', may contain
1631 parentheses or other characters that @value{GDBN} normally excludes from
1632 its notion of a word. To permit word completion to work in this
1633 situation, you may enclose words in @code{'} (single quote marks) in
1634 @value{GDBN} commands.
1635
1636 The most likely situation where you might need this is in typing the
1637 name of a C@t{++} function. This is because C@t{++} allows function
1638 overloading (multiple definitions of the same function, distinguished
1639 by argument type). For example, when you want to set a breakpoint you
1640 may need to distinguish whether you mean the version of @code{name}
1641 that takes an @code{int} parameter, @code{name(int)}, or the version
1642 that takes a @code{float} parameter, @code{name(float)}. To use the
1643 word-completion facilities in this situation, type a single quote
1644 @code{'} at the beginning of the function name. This alerts
1645 @value{GDBN} that it may need to consider more information than usual
1646 when you press @key{TAB} or @kbd{M-?} to request word completion:
1647
1648 @smallexample
1649 (@value{GDBP}) b 'bubble( @kbd{M-?}
1650 bubble(double,double) bubble(int,int)
1651 (@value{GDBP}) b 'bubble(
1652 @end smallexample
1653
1654 In some cases, @value{GDBN} can tell that completing a name requires using
1655 quotes. When this happens, @value{GDBN} inserts the quote for you (while
1656 completing as much as it can) if you do not type the quote in the first
1657 place:
1658
1659 @smallexample
1660 (@value{GDBP}) b bub @key{TAB}
1661 @exdent @value{GDBN} alters your input line to the following, and rings a bell:
1662 (@value{GDBP}) b 'bubble(
1663 @end smallexample
1664
1665 @noindent
1666 In general, @value{GDBN} can tell that a quote is needed (and inserts it) if
1667 you have not yet started typing the argument list when you ask for
1668 completion on an overloaded symbol.
1669
1670 For more information about overloaded functions, see @ref{C Plus Plus
1671 Expressions, ,C@t{++} Expressions}. You can use the command @code{set
1672 overload-resolution off} to disable overload resolution;
1673 see @ref{Debugging C Plus Plus, ,@value{GDBN} Features for C@t{++}}.
1674
1675 @cindex completion of structure field names
1676 @cindex structure field name completion
1677 @cindex completion of union field names
1678 @cindex union field name completion
1679 When completing in an expression which looks up a field in a
1680 structure, @value{GDBN} also tries@footnote{The completer can be
1681 confused by certain kinds of invalid expressions. Also, it only
1682 examines the static type of the expression, not the dynamic type.} to
1683 limit completions to the field names available in the type of the
1684 left-hand-side:
1685
1686 @smallexample
1687 (@value{GDBP}) p gdb_stdout.@kbd{M-?}
1688 magic to_fputs to_rewind
1689 to_data to_isatty to_write
1690 to_delete to_put to_write_async_safe
1691 to_flush to_read
1692 @end smallexample
1693
1694 @noindent
1695 This is because the @code{gdb_stdout} is a variable of the type
1696 @code{struct ui_file} that is defined in @value{GDBN} sources as
1697 follows:
1698
1699 @smallexample
1700 struct ui_file
1701 @{
1702 int *magic;
1703 ui_file_flush_ftype *to_flush;
1704 ui_file_write_ftype *to_write;
1705 ui_file_write_async_safe_ftype *to_write_async_safe;
1706 ui_file_fputs_ftype *to_fputs;
1707 ui_file_read_ftype *to_read;
1708 ui_file_delete_ftype *to_delete;
1709 ui_file_isatty_ftype *to_isatty;
1710 ui_file_rewind_ftype *to_rewind;
1711 ui_file_put_ftype *to_put;
1712 void *to_data;
1713 @}
1714 @end smallexample
1715
1716
1717 @node Help
1718 @section Getting Help
1719 @cindex online documentation
1720 @kindex help
1721
1722 You can always ask @value{GDBN} itself for information on its commands,
1723 using the command @code{help}.
1724
1725 @table @code
1726 @kindex h @r{(@code{help})}
1727 @item help
1728 @itemx h
1729 You can use @code{help} (abbreviated @code{h}) with no arguments to
1730 display a short list of named classes of commands:
1731
1732 @smallexample
1733 (@value{GDBP}) help
1734 List of classes of commands:
1735
1736 aliases -- Aliases of other commands
1737 breakpoints -- Making program stop at certain points
1738 data -- Examining data
1739 files -- Specifying and examining files
1740 internals -- Maintenance commands
1741 obscure -- Obscure features
1742 running -- Running the program
1743 stack -- Examining the stack
1744 status -- Status inquiries
1745 support -- Support facilities
1746 tracepoints -- Tracing of program execution without
1747 stopping the program
1748 user-defined -- User-defined commands
1749
1750 Type "help" followed by a class name for a list of
1751 commands in that class.
1752 Type "help" followed by command name for full
1753 documentation.
1754 Command name abbreviations are allowed if unambiguous.
1755 (@value{GDBP})
1756 @end smallexample
1757 @c the above line break eliminates huge line overfull...
1758
1759 @item help @var{class}
1760 Using one of the general help classes as an argument, you can get a
1761 list of the individual commands in that class. For example, here is the
1762 help display for the class @code{status}:
1763
1764 @smallexample
1765 (@value{GDBP}) help status
1766 Status inquiries.
1767
1768 List of commands:
1769
1770 @c Line break in "show" line falsifies real output, but needed
1771 @c to fit in smallbook page size.
1772 info -- Generic command for showing things
1773 about the program being debugged
1774 show -- Generic command for showing things
1775 about the debugger
1776
1777 Type "help" followed by command name for full
1778 documentation.
1779 Command name abbreviations are allowed if unambiguous.
1780 (@value{GDBP})
1781 @end smallexample
1782
1783 @item help @var{command}
1784 With a command name as @code{help} argument, @value{GDBN} displays a
1785 short paragraph on how to use that command.
1786
1787 @kindex apropos
1788 @item apropos @var{args}
1789 The @code{apropos} command searches through all of the @value{GDBN}
1790 commands, and their documentation, for the regular expression specified in
1791 @var{args}. It prints out all matches found. For example:
1792
1793 @smallexample
1794 apropos alias
1795 @end smallexample
1796
1797 @noindent
1798 results in:
1799
1800 @smallexample
1801 @c @group
1802 alias -- Define a new command that is an alias of an existing command
1803 aliases -- Aliases of other commands
1804 d -- Delete some breakpoints or auto-display expressions
1805 del -- Delete some breakpoints or auto-display expressions
1806 delete -- Delete some breakpoints or auto-display expressions
1807 @c @end group
1808 @end smallexample
1809
1810 @kindex complete
1811 @item complete @var{args}
1812 The @code{complete @var{args}} command lists all the possible completions
1813 for the beginning of a command. Use @var{args} to specify the beginning of the
1814 command you want completed. For example:
1815
1816 @smallexample
1817 complete i
1818 @end smallexample
1819
1820 @noindent results in:
1821
1822 @smallexample
1823 @group
1824 if
1825 ignore
1826 info
1827 inspect
1828 @end group
1829 @end smallexample
1830
1831 @noindent This is intended for use by @sc{gnu} Emacs.
1832 @end table
1833
1834 In addition to @code{help}, you can use the @value{GDBN} commands @code{info}
1835 and @code{show} to inquire about the state of your program, or the state
1836 of @value{GDBN} itself. Each command supports many topics of inquiry; this
1837 manual introduces each of them in the appropriate context. The listings
1838 under @code{info} and under @code{show} in the Command, Variable, and
1839 Function Index point to all the sub-commands. @xref{Command and Variable
1840 Index}.
1841
1842 @c @group
1843 @table @code
1844 @kindex info
1845 @kindex i @r{(@code{info})}
1846 @item info
1847 This command (abbreviated @code{i}) is for describing the state of your
1848 program. For example, you can show the arguments passed to a function
1849 with @code{info args}, list the registers currently in use with @code{info
1850 registers}, or list the breakpoints you have set with @code{info breakpoints}.
1851 You can get a complete list of the @code{info} sub-commands with
1852 @w{@code{help info}}.
1853
1854 @kindex set
1855 @item set
1856 You can assign the result of an expression to an environment variable with
1857 @code{set}. For example, you can set the @value{GDBN} prompt to a $-sign with
1858 @code{set prompt $}.
1859
1860 @kindex show
1861 @item show
1862 In contrast to @code{info}, @code{show} is for describing the state of
1863 @value{GDBN} itself.
1864 You can change most of the things you can @code{show}, by using the
1865 related command @code{set}; for example, you can control what number
1866 system is used for displays with @code{set radix}, or simply inquire
1867 which is currently in use with @code{show radix}.
1868
1869 @kindex info set
1870 To display all the settable parameters and their current
1871 values, you can use @code{show} with no arguments; you may also use
1872 @code{info set}. Both commands produce the same display.
1873 @c FIXME: "info set" violates the rule that "info" is for state of
1874 @c FIXME...program. Ck w/ GNU: "info set" to be called something else,
1875 @c FIXME...or change desc of rule---eg "state of prog and debugging session"?
1876 @end table
1877 @c @end group
1878
1879 Here are several miscellaneous @code{show} subcommands, all of which are
1880 exceptional in lacking corresponding @code{set} commands:
1881
1882 @table @code
1883 @kindex show version
1884 @cindex @value{GDBN} version number
1885 @item show version
1886 Show what version of @value{GDBN} is running. You should include this
1887 information in @value{GDBN} bug-reports. If multiple versions of
1888 @value{GDBN} are in use at your site, you may need to determine which
1889 version of @value{GDBN} you are running; as @value{GDBN} evolves, new
1890 commands are introduced, and old ones may wither away. Also, many
1891 system vendors ship variant versions of @value{GDBN}, and there are
1892 variant versions of @value{GDBN} in @sc{gnu}/Linux distributions as well.
1893 The version number is the same as the one announced when you start
1894 @value{GDBN}.
1895
1896 @kindex show copying
1897 @kindex info copying
1898 @cindex display @value{GDBN} copyright
1899 @item show copying
1900 @itemx info copying
1901 Display information about permission for copying @value{GDBN}.
1902
1903 @kindex show warranty
1904 @kindex info warranty
1905 @item show warranty
1906 @itemx info warranty
1907 Display the @sc{gnu} ``NO WARRANTY'' statement, or a warranty,
1908 if your version of @value{GDBN} comes with one.
1909
1910 @kindex show configuration
1911 @item show configuration
1912 Display detailed information about the way @value{GDBN} was configured
1913 when it was built. This displays the optional arguments passed to the
1914 @file{configure} script and also configuration parameters detected
1915 automatically by @command{configure}. When reporting a @value{GDBN}
1916 bug (@pxref{GDB Bugs}), it is important to include this information in
1917 your report.
1918
1919 @end table
1920
1921 @node Running
1922 @chapter Running Programs Under @value{GDBN}
1923
1924 When you run a program under @value{GDBN}, you must first generate
1925 debugging information when you compile it.
1926
1927 You may start @value{GDBN} with its arguments, if any, in an environment
1928 of your choice. If you are doing native debugging, you may redirect
1929 your program's input and output, debug an already running process, or
1930 kill a child process.
1931
1932 @menu
1933 * Compilation:: Compiling for debugging
1934 * Starting:: Starting your program
1935 * Arguments:: Your program's arguments
1936 * Environment:: Your program's environment
1937
1938 * Working Directory:: Your program's working directory
1939 * Input/Output:: Your program's input and output
1940 * Attach:: Debugging an already-running process
1941 * Kill Process:: Killing the child process
1942
1943 * Inferiors and Programs:: Debugging multiple inferiors and programs
1944 * Threads:: Debugging programs with multiple threads
1945 * Forks:: Debugging forks
1946 * Checkpoint/Restart:: Setting a @emph{bookmark} to return to later
1947 @end menu
1948
1949 @node Compilation
1950 @section Compiling for Debugging
1951
1952 In order to debug a program effectively, you need to generate
1953 debugging information when you compile it. This debugging information
1954 is stored in the object file; it describes the data type of each
1955 variable or function and the correspondence between source line numbers
1956 and addresses in the executable code.
1957
1958 To request debugging information, specify the @samp{-g} option when you run
1959 the compiler.
1960
1961 Programs that are to be shipped to your customers are compiled with
1962 optimizations, using the @samp{-O} compiler option. However, some
1963 compilers are unable to handle the @samp{-g} and @samp{-O} options
1964 together. Using those compilers, you cannot generate optimized
1965 executables containing debugging information.
1966
1967 @value{NGCC}, the @sc{gnu} C/C@t{++} compiler, supports @samp{-g} with or
1968 without @samp{-O}, making it possible to debug optimized code. We
1969 recommend that you @emph{always} use @samp{-g} whenever you compile a
1970 program. You may think your program is correct, but there is no sense
1971 in pushing your luck. For more information, see @ref{Optimized Code}.
1972
1973 Older versions of the @sc{gnu} C compiler permitted a variant option
1974 @w{@samp{-gg}} for debugging information. @value{GDBN} no longer supports this
1975 format; if your @sc{gnu} C compiler has this option, do not use it.
1976
1977 @value{GDBN} knows about preprocessor macros and can show you their
1978 expansion (@pxref{Macros}). Most compilers do not include information
1979 about preprocessor macros in the debugging information if you specify
1980 the @option{-g} flag alone. Version 3.1 and later of @value{NGCC},
1981 the @sc{gnu} C compiler, provides macro information if you are using
1982 the DWARF debugging format, and specify the option @option{-g3}.
1983
1984 @xref{Debugging Options,,Options for Debugging Your Program or GCC,
1985 gcc.info, Using the @sc{gnu} Compiler Collection (GCC)}, for more
1986 information on @value{NGCC} options affecting debug information.
1987
1988 You will have the best debugging experience if you use the latest
1989 version of the DWARF debugging format that your compiler supports.
1990 DWARF is currently the most expressive and best supported debugging
1991 format in @value{GDBN}.
1992
1993 @need 2000
1994 @node Starting
1995 @section Starting your Program
1996 @cindex starting
1997 @cindex running
1998
1999 @table @code
2000 @kindex run
2001 @kindex r @r{(@code{run})}
2002 @item run
2003 @itemx r
2004 Use the @code{run} command to start your program under @value{GDBN}.
2005 You must first specify the program name with an argument to
2006 @value{GDBN} (@pxref{Invocation, ,Getting In and Out of
2007 @value{GDBN}}), or by using the @code{file} or @code{exec-file}
2008 command (@pxref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}).
2009
2010 @end table
2011
2012 If you are running your program in an execution environment that
2013 supports processes, @code{run} creates an inferior process and makes
2014 that process run your program. In some environments without processes,
2015 @code{run} jumps to the start of your program. Other targets,
2016 like @samp{remote}, are always running. If you get an error
2017 message like this one:
2018
2019 @smallexample
2020 The "remote" target does not support "run".
2021 Try "help target" or "continue".
2022 @end smallexample
2023
2024 @noindent
2025 then use @code{continue} to run your program. You may need @code{load}
2026 first (@pxref{load}).
2027
2028 The execution of a program is affected by certain information it
2029 receives from its superior. @value{GDBN} provides ways to specify this
2030 information, which you must do @emph{before} starting your program. (You
2031 can change it after starting your program, but such changes only affect
2032 your program the next time you start it.) This information may be
2033 divided into four categories:
2034
2035 @table @asis
2036 @item The @emph{arguments.}
2037 Specify the arguments to give your program as the arguments of the
2038 @code{run} command. If a shell is available on your target, the shell
2039 is used to pass the arguments, so that you may use normal conventions
2040 (such as wildcard expansion or variable substitution) in describing
2041 the arguments.
2042 In Unix systems, you can control which shell is used with the
2043 @code{SHELL} environment variable. If you do not define @code{SHELL},
2044 @value{GDBN} uses the default shell (@file{/bin/sh}). You can disable
2045 use of any shell with the @code{set startup-with-shell} command (see
2046 below for details).
2047
2048 @item The @emph{environment.}
2049 Your program normally inherits its environment from @value{GDBN}, but you can
2050 use the @value{GDBN} commands @code{set environment} and @code{unset
2051 environment} to change parts of the environment that affect
2052 your program. @xref{Environment, ,Your Program's Environment}.
2053
2054 @item The @emph{working directory.}
2055 Your program inherits its working directory from @value{GDBN}. You can set
2056 the @value{GDBN} working directory with the @code{cd} command in @value{GDBN}.
2057 @xref{Working Directory, ,Your Program's Working Directory}.
2058
2059 @item The @emph{standard input and output.}
2060 Your program normally uses the same device for standard input and
2061 standard output as @value{GDBN} is using. You can redirect input and output
2062 in the @code{run} command line, or you can use the @code{tty} command to
2063 set a different device for your program.
2064 @xref{Input/Output, ,Your Program's Input and Output}.
2065
2066 @cindex pipes
2067 @emph{Warning:} While input and output redirection work, you cannot use
2068 pipes to pass the output of the program you are debugging to another
2069 program; if you attempt this, @value{GDBN} is likely to wind up debugging the
2070 wrong program.
2071 @end table
2072
2073 When you issue the @code{run} command, your program begins to execute
2074 immediately. @xref{Stopping, ,Stopping and Continuing}, for discussion
2075 of how to arrange for your program to stop. Once your program has
2076 stopped, you may call functions in your program, using the @code{print}
2077 or @code{call} commands. @xref{Data, ,Examining Data}.
2078
2079 If the modification time of your symbol file has changed since the last
2080 time @value{GDBN} read its symbols, @value{GDBN} discards its symbol
2081 table, and reads it again. When it does this, @value{GDBN} tries to retain
2082 your current breakpoints.
2083
2084 @table @code
2085 @kindex start
2086 @item start
2087 @cindex run to main procedure
2088 The name of the main procedure can vary from language to language.
2089 With C or C@t{++}, the main procedure name is always @code{main}, but
2090 other languages such as Ada do not require a specific name for their
2091 main procedure. The debugger provides a convenient way to start the
2092 execution of the program and to stop at the beginning of the main
2093 procedure, depending on the language used.
2094
2095 The @samp{start} command does the equivalent of setting a temporary
2096 breakpoint at the beginning of the main procedure and then invoking
2097 the @samp{run} command.
2098
2099 @cindex elaboration phase
2100 Some programs contain an @dfn{elaboration} phase where some startup code is
2101 executed before the main procedure is called. This depends on the
2102 languages used to write your program. In C@t{++}, for instance,
2103 constructors for static and global objects are executed before
2104 @code{main} is called. It is therefore possible that the debugger stops
2105 before reaching the main procedure. However, the temporary breakpoint
2106 will remain to halt execution.
2107
2108 Specify the arguments to give to your program as arguments to the
2109 @samp{start} command. These arguments will be given verbatim to the
2110 underlying @samp{run} command. Note that the same arguments will be
2111 reused if no argument is provided during subsequent calls to
2112 @samp{start} or @samp{run}.
2113
2114 It is sometimes necessary to debug the program during elaboration. In
2115 these cases, using the @code{start} command would stop the execution of
2116 your program too late, as the program would have already completed the
2117 elaboration phase. Under these circumstances, insert breakpoints in your
2118 elaboration code before running your program.
2119
2120 @anchor{set exec-wrapper}
2121 @kindex set exec-wrapper
2122 @item set exec-wrapper @var{wrapper}
2123 @itemx show exec-wrapper
2124 @itemx unset exec-wrapper
2125 When @samp{exec-wrapper} is set, the specified wrapper is used to
2126 launch programs for debugging. @value{GDBN} starts your program
2127 with a shell command of the form @kbd{exec @var{wrapper}
2128 @var{program}}. Quoting is added to @var{program} and its
2129 arguments, but not to @var{wrapper}, so you should add quotes if
2130 appropriate for your shell. The wrapper runs until it executes
2131 your program, and then @value{GDBN} takes control.
2132
2133 You can use any program that eventually calls @code{execve} with
2134 its arguments as a wrapper. Several standard Unix utilities do
2135 this, e.g.@: @code{env} and @code{nohup}. Any Unix shell script ending
2136 with @code{exec "$@@"} will also work.
2137
2138 For example, you can use @code{env} to pass an environment variable to
2139 the debugged program, without setting the variable in your shell's
2140 environment:
2141
2142 @smallexample
2143 (@value{GDBP}) set exec-wrapper env 'LD_PRELOAD=libtest.so'
2144 (@value{GDBP}) run
2145 @end smallexample
2146
2147 This command is available when debugging locally on most targets, excluding
2148 @sc{djgpp}, Cygwin, MS Windows, and QNX Neutrino.
2149
2150 @kindex set startup-with-shell
2151 @item set startup-with-shell
2152 @itemx set startup-with-shell on
2153 @itemx set startup-with-shell off
2154 @itemx show set startup-with-shell
2155 On Unix systems, by default, if a shell is available on your target,
2156 @value{GDBN}) uses it to start your program. Arguments of the
2157 @code{run} command are passed to the shell, which does variable
2158 substitution, expands wildcard characters and performs redirection of
2159 I/O. In some circumstances, it may be useful to disable such use of a
2160 shell, for example, when debugging the shell itself or diagnosing
2161 startup failures such as:
2162
2163 @smallexample
2164 (@value{GDBP}) run
2165 Starting program: ./a.out
2166 During startup program terminated with signal SIGSEGV, Segmentation fault.
2167 @end smallexample
2168
2169 @noindent
2170 which indicates the shell or the wrapper specified with
2171 @samp{exec-wrapper} crashed, not your program. Most often, this is
2172 caused by something odd in your shell's non-interactive mode
2173 initialization file---such as @file{.cshrc} for C-shell,
2174 $@file{.zshenv} for the Z shell, or the file specified in the
2175 @samp{BASH_ENV} environment variable for BASH.
2176
2177 @anchor{set auto-connect-native-target}
2178 @kindex set auto-connect-native-target
2179 @item set auto-connect-native-target
2180 @itemx set auto-connect-native-target on
2181 @itemx set auto-connect-native-target off
2182 @itemx show auto-connect-native-target
2183
2184 By default, if not connected to any target yet (e.g., with
2185 @code{target remote}), the @code{run} command starts your program as a
2186 native process under @value{GDBN}, on your local machine. If you're
2187 sure you don't want to debug programs on your local machine, you can
2188 tell @value{GDBN} to not connect to the native target automatically
2189 with the @code{set auto-connect-native-target off} command.
2190
2191 If @code{on}, which is the default, and if @value{GDBN} is not
2192 connected to a target already, the @code{run} command automaticaly
2193 connects to the native target, if one is available.
2194
2195 If @code{off}, and if @value{GDBN} is not connected to a target
2196 already, the @code{run} command fails with an error:
2197
2198 @smallexample
2199 (@value{GDBP}) run
2200 Don't know how to run. Try "help target".
2201 @end smallexample
2202
2203 If @value{GDBN} is already connected to a target, @value{GDBN} always
2204 uses it with the @code{run} command.
2205
2206 In any case, you can explicitly connect to the native target with the
2207 @code{target native} command. For example,
2208
2209 @smallexample
2210 (@value{GDBP}) set auto-connect-native-target off
2211 (@value{GDBP}) run
2212 Don't know how to run. Try "help target".
2213 (@value{GDBP}) target native
2214 (@value{GDBP}) run
2215 Starting program: ./a.out
2216 [Inferior 1 (process 10421) exited normally]
2217 @end smallexample
2218
2219 In case you connected explicitly to the @code{native} target,
2220 @value{GDBN} remains connected even if all inferiors exit, ready for
2221 the next @code{run} command. Use the @code{disconnect} command to
2222 disconnect.
2223
2224 Examples of other commands that likewise respect the
2225 @code{auto-connect-native-target} setting: @code{attach}, @code{info
2226 proc}, @code{info os}.
2227
2228 @kindex set disable-randomization
2229 @item set disable-randomization
2230 @itemx set disable-randomization on
2231 This option (enabled by default in @value{GDBN}) will turn off the native
2232 randomization of the virtual address space of the started program. This option
2233 is useful for multiple debugging sessions to make the execution better
2234 reproducible and memory addresses reusable across debugging sessions.
2235
2236 This feature is implemented only on certain targets, including @sc{gnu}/Linux.
2237 On @sc{gnu}/Linux you can get the same behavior using
2238
2239 @smallexample
2240 (@value{GDBP}) set exec-wrapper setarch `uname -m` -R
2241 @end smallexample
2242
2243 @item set disable-randomization off
2244 Leave the behavior of the started executable unchanged. Some bugs rear their
2245 ugly heads only when the program is loaded at certain addresses. If your bug
2246 disappears when you run the program under @value{GDBN}, that might be because
2247 @value{GDBN} by default disables the address randomization on platforms, such
2248 as @sc{gnu}/Linux, which do that for stand-alone programs. Use @kbd{set
2249 disable-randomization off} to try to reproduce such elusive bugs.
2250
2251 On targets where it is available, virtual address space randomization
2252 protects the programs against certain kinds of security attacks. In these
2253 cases the attacker needs to know the exact location of a concrete executable
2254 code. Randomizing its location makes it impossible to inject jumps misusing
2255 a code at its expected addresses.
2256
2257 Prelinking shared libraries provides a startup performance advantage but it
2258 makes addresses in these libraries predictable for privileged processes by
2259 having just unprivileged access at the target system. Reading the shared
2260 library binary gives enough information for assembling the malicious code
2261 misusing it. Still even a prelinked shared library can get loaded at a new
2262 random address just requiring the regular relocation process during the
2263 startup. Shared libraries not already prelinked are always loaded at
2264 a randomly chosen address.
2265
2266 Position independent executables (PIE) contain position independent code
2267 similar to the shared libraries and therefore such executables get loaded at
2268 a randomly chosen address upon startup. PIE executables always load even
2269 already prelinked shared libraries at a random address. You can build such
2270 executable using @command{gcc -fPIE -pie}.
2271
2272 Heap (malloc storage), stack and custom mmap areas are always placed randomly
2273 (as long as the randomization is enabled).
2274
2275 @item show disable-randomization
2276 Show the current setting of the explicit disable of the native randomization of
2277 the virtual address space of the started program.
2278
2279 @end table
2280
2281 @node Arguments
2282 @section Your Program's Arguments
2283
2284 @cindex arguments (to your program)
2285 The arguments to your program can be specified by the arguments of the
2286 @code{run} command.
2287 They are passed to a shell, which expands wildcard characters and
2288 performs redirection of I/O, and thence to your program. Your
2289 @code{SHELL} environment variable (if it exists) specifies what shell
2290 @value{GDBN} uses. If you do not define @code{SHELL}, @value{GDBN} uses
2291 the default shell (@file{/bin/sh} on Unix).
2292
2293 On non-Unix systems, the program is usually invoked directly by
2294 @value{GDBN}, which emulates I/O redirection via the appropriate system
2295 calls, and the wildcard characters are expanded by the startup code of
2296 the program, not by the shell.
2297
2298 @code{run} with no arguments uses the same arguments used by the previous
2299 @code{run}, or those set by the @code{set args} command.
2300
2301 @table @code
2302 @kindex set args
2303 @item set args
2304 Specify the arguments to be used the next time your program is run. If
2305 @code{set args} has no arguments, @code{run} executes your program
2306 with no arguments. Once you have run your program with arguments,
2307 using @code{set args} before the next @code{run} is the only way to run
2308 it again without arguments.
2309
2310 @kindex show args
2311 @item show args
2312 Show the arguments to give your program when it is started.
2313 @end table
2314
2315 @node Environment
2316 @section Your Program's Environment
2317
2318 @cindex environment (of your program)
2319 The @dfn{environment} consists of a set of environment variables and
2320 their values. Environment variables conventionally record such things as
2321 your user name, your home directory, your terminal type, and your search
2322 path for programs to run. Usually you set up environment variables with
2323 the shell and they are inherited by all the other programs you run. When
2324 debugging, it can be useful to try running your program with a modified
2325 environment without having to start @value{GDBN} over again.
2326
2327 @table @code
2328 @kindex path
2329 @item path @var{directory}
2330 Add @var{directory} to the front of the @code{PATH} environment variable
2331 (the search path for executables) that will be passed to your program.
2332 The value of @code{PATH} used by @value{GDBN} does not change.
2333 You may specify several directory names, separated by whitespace or by a
2334 system-dependent separator character (@samp{:} on Unix, @samp{;} on
2335 MS-DOS and MS-Windows). If @var{directory} is already in the path, it
2336 is moved to the front, so it is searched sooner.
2337
2338 You can use the string @samp{$cwd} to refer to whatever is the current
2339 working directory at the time @value{GDBN} searches the path. If you
2340 use @samp{.} instead, it refers to the directory where you executed the
2341 @code{path} command. @value{GDBN} replaces @samp{.} in the
2342 @var{directory} argument (with the current path) before adding
2343 @var{directory} to the search path.
2344 @c 'path' is explicitly nonrepeatable, but RMS points out it is silly to
2345 @c document that, since repeating it would be a no-op.
2346
2347 @kindex show paths
2348 @item show paths
2349 Display the list of search paths for executables (the @code{PATH}
2350 environment variable).
2351
2352 @kindex show environment
2353 @item show environment @r{[}@var{varname}@r{]}
2354 Print the value of environment variable @var{varname} to be given to
2355 your program when it starts. If you do not supply @var{varname},
2356 print the names and values of all environment variables to be given to
2357 your program. You can abbreviate @code{environment} as @code{env}.
2358
2359 @kindex set environment
2360 @item set environment @var{varname} @r{[}=@var{value}@r{]}
2361 Set environment variable @var{varname} to @var{value}. The value
2362 changes for your program (and the shell @value{GDBN} uses to launch
2363 it), not for @value{GDBN} itself. The @var{value} may be any string; the
2364 values of environment variables are just strings, and any
2365 interpretation is supplied by your program itself. The @var{value}
2366 parameter is optional; if it is eliminated, the variable is set to a
2367 null value.
2368 @c "any string" here does not include leading, trailing
2369 @c blanks. Gnu asks: does anyone care?
2370
2371 For example, this command:
2372
2373 @smallexample
2374 set env USER = foo
2375 @end smallexample
2376
2377 @noindent
2378 tells the debugged program, when subsequently run, that its user is named
2379 @samp{foo}. (The spaces around @samp{=} are used for clarity here; they
2380 are not actually required.)
2381
2382 Note that on Unix systems, @value{GDBN} runs your program via a shell,
2383 which also inherits the environment set with @code{set environment}.
2384 If necessary, you can avoid that by using the @samp{env} program as a
2385 wrapper instead of using @code{set environment}. @xref{set
2386 exec-wrapper}, for an example doing just that.
2387
2388 @kindex unset environment
2389 @item unset environment @var{varname}
2390 Remove variable @var{varname} from the environment to be passed to your
2391 program. This is different from @samp{set env @var{varname} =};
2392 @code{unset environment} removes the variable from the environment,
2393 rather than assigning it an empty value.
2394 @end table
2395
2396 @emph{Warning:} On Unix systems, @value{GDBN} runs your program using
2397 the shell indicated by your @code{SHELL} environment variable if it
2398 exists (or @code{/bin/sh} if not). If your @code{SHELL} variable
2399 names a shell that runs an initialization file when started
2400 non-interactively---such as @file{.cshrc} for C-shell, $@file{.zshenv}
2401 for the Z shell, or the file specified in the @samp{BASH_ENV}
2402 environment variable for BASH---any variables you set in that file
2403 affect your program. You may wish to move setting of environment
2404 variables to files that are only run when you sign on, such as
2405 @file{.login} or @file{.profile}.
2406
2407 @node Working Directory
2408 @section Your Program's Working Directory
2409
2410 @cindex working directory (of your program)
2411 Each time you start your program with @code{run}, it inherits its
2412 working directory from the current working directory of @value{GDBN}.
2413 The @value{GDBN} working directory is initially whatever it inherited
2414 from its parent process (typically the shell), but you can specify a new
2415 working directory in @value{GDBN} with the @code{cd} command.
2416
2417 The @value{GDBN} working directory also serves as a default for the commands
2418 that specify files for @value{GDBN} to operate on. @xref{Files, ,Commands to
2419 Specify Files}.
2420
2421 @table @code
2422 @kindex cd
2423 @cindex change working directory
2424 @item cd @r{[}@var{directory}@r{]}
2425 Set the @value{GDBN} working directory to @var{directory}. If not
2426 given, @var{directory} uses @file{'~'}.
2427
2428 @kindex pwd
2429 @item pwd
2430 Print the @value{GDBN} working directory.
2431 @end table
2432
2433 It is generally impossible to find the current working directory of
2434 the process being debugged (since a program can change its directory
2435 during its run). If you work on a system where @value{GDBN} is
2436 configured with the @file{/proc} support, you can use the @code{info
2437 proc} command (@pxref{SVR4 Process Information}) to find out the
2438 current working directory of the debuggee.
2439
2440 @node Input/Output
2441 @section Your Program's Input and Output
2442
2443 @cindex redirection
2444 @cindex i/o
2445 @cindex terminal
2446 By default, the program you run under @value{GDBN} does input and output to
2447 the same terminal that @value{GDBN} uses. @value{GDBN} switches the terminal
2448 to its own terminal modes to interact with you, but it records the terminal
2449 modes your program was using and switches back to them when you continue
2450 running your program.
2451
2452 @table @code
2453 @kindex info terminal
2454 @item info terminal
2455 Displays information recorded by @value{GDBN} about the terminal modes your
2456 program is using.
2457 @end table
2458
2459 You can redirect your program's input and/or output using shell
2460 redirection with the @code{run} command. For example,
2461
2462 @smallexample
2463 run > outfile
2464 @end smallexample
2465
2466 @noindent
2467 starts your program, diverting its output to the file @file{outfile}.
2468
2469 @kindex tty
2470 @cindex controlling terminal
2471 Another way to specify where your program should do input and output is
2472 with the @code{tty} command. This command accepts a file name as
2473 argument, and causes this file to be the default for future @code{run}
2474 commands. It also resets the controlling terminal for the child
2475 process, for future @code{run} commands. For example,
2476
2477 @smallexample
2478 tty /dev/ttyb
2479 @end smallexample
2480
2481 @noindent
2482 directs that processes started with subsequent @code{run} commands
2483 default to do input and output on the terminal @file{/dev/ttyb} and have
2484 that as their controlling terminal.
2485
2486 An explicit redirection in @code{run} overrides the @code{tty} command's
2487 effect on the input/output device, but not its effect on the controlling
2488 terminal.
2489
2490 When you use the @code{tty} command or redirect input in the @code{run}
2491 command, only the input @emph{for your program} is affected. The input
2492 for @value{GDBN} still comes from your terminal. @code{tty} is an alias
2493 for @code{set inferior-tty}.
2494
2495 @cindex inferior tty
2496 @cindex set inferior controlling terminal
2497 You can use the @code{show inferior-tty} command to tell @value{GDBN} to
2498 display the name of the terminal that will be used for future runs of your
2499 program.
2500
2501 @table @code
2502 @item set inferior-tty /dev/ttyb
2503 @kindex set inferior-tty
2504 Set the tty for the program being debugged to /dev/ttyb.
2505
2506 @item show inferior-tty
2507 @kindex show inferior-tty
2508 Show the current tty for the program being debugged.
2509 @end table
2510
2511 @node Attach
2512 @section Debugging an Already-running Process
2513 @kindex attach
2514 @cindex attach
2515
2516 @table @code
2517 @item attach @var{process-id}
2518 This command attaches to a running process---one that was started
2519 outside @value{GDBN}. (@code{info files} shows your active
2520 targets.) The command takes as argument a process ID. The usual way to
2521 find out the @var{process-id} of a Unix process is with the @code{ps} utility,
2522 or with the @samp{jobs -l} shell command.
2523
2524 @code{attach} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} a second time after
2525 executing the command.
2526 @end table
2527
2528 To use @code{attach}, your program must be running in an environment
2529 which supports processes; for example, @code{attach} does not work for
2530 programs on bare-board targets that lack an operating system. You must
2531 also have permission to send the process a signal.
2532
2533 When you use @code{attach}, the debugger finds the program running in
2534 the process first by looking in the current working directory, then (if
2535 the program is not found) by using the source file search path
2536 (@pxref{Source Path, ,Specifying Source Directories}). You can also use
2537 the @code{file} command to load the program. @xref{Files, ,Commands to
2538 Specify Files}.
2539
2540 The first thing @value{GDBN} does after arranging to debug the specified
2541 process is to stop it. You can examine and modify an attached process
2542 with all the @value{GDBN} commands that are ordinarily available when
2543 you start processes with @code{run}. You can insert breakpoints; you
2544 can step and continue; you can modify storage. If you would rather the
2545 process continue running, you may use the @code{continue} command after
2546 attaching @value{GDBN} to the process.
2547
2548 @table @code
2549 @kindex detach
2550 @item detach
2551 When you have finished debugging the attached process, you can use the
2552 @code{detach} command to release it from @value{GDBN} control. Detaching
2553 the process continues its execution. After the @code{detach} command,
2554 that process and @value{GDBN} become completely independent once more, and you
2555 are ready to @code{attach} another process or start one with @code{run}.
2556 @code{detach} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again after
2557 executing the command.
2558 @end table
2559
2560 If you exit @value{GDBN} while you have an attached process, you detach
2561 that process. If you use the @code{run} command, you kill that process.
2562 By default, @value{GDBN} asks for confirmation if you try to do either of these
2563 things; you can control whether or not you need to confirm by using the
2564 @code{set confirm} command (@pxref{Messages/Warnings, ,Optional Warnings and
2565 Messages}).
2566
2567 @node Kill Process
2568 @section Killing the Child Process
2569
2570 @table @code
2571 @kindex kill
2572 @item kill
2573 Kill the child process in which your program is running under @value{GDBN}.
2574 @end table
2575
2576 This command is useful if you wish to debug a core dump instead of a
2577 running process. @value{GDBN} ignores any core dump file while your program
2578 is running.
2579
2580 On some operating systems, a program cannot be executed outside @value{GDBN}
2581 while you have breakpoints set on it inside @value{GDBN}. You can use the
2582 @code{kill} command in this situation to permit running your program
2583 outside the debugger.
2584
2585 The @code{kill} command is also useful if you wish to recompile and
2586 relink your program, since on many systems it is impossible to modify an
2587 executable file while it is running in a process. In this case, when you
2588 next type @code{run}, @value{GDBN} notices that the file has changed, and
2589 reads the symbol table again (while trying to preserve your current
2590 breakpoint settings).
2591
2592 @node Inferiors and Programs
2593 @section Debugging Multiple Inferiors and Programs
2594
2595 @value{GDBN} lets you run and debug multiple programs in a single
2596 session. In addition, @value{GDBN} on some systems may let you run
2597 several programs simultaneously (otherwise you have to exit from one
2598 before starting another). In the most general case, you can have
2599 multiple threads of execution in each of multiple processes, launched
2600 from multiple executables.
2601
2602 @cindex inferior
2603 @value{GDBN} represents the state of each program execution with an
2604 object called an @dfn{inferior}. An inferior typically corresponds to
2605 a process, but is more general and applies also to targets that do not
2606 have processes. Inferiors may be created before a process runs, and
2607 may be retained after a process exits. Inferiors have unique
2608 identifiers that are different from process ids. Usually each
2609 inferior will also have its own distinct address space, although some
2610 embedded targets may have several inferiors running in different parts
2611 of a single address space. Each inferior may in turn have multiple
2612 threads running in it.
2613
2614 To find out what inferiors exist at any moment, use @w{@code{info
2615 inferiors}}:
2616
2617 @table @code
2618 @kindex info inferiors
2619 @item info inferiors
2620 Print a list of all inferiors currently being managed by @value{GDBN}.
2621
2622 @value{GDBN} displays for each inferior (in this order):
2623
2624 @enumerate
2625 @item
2626 the inferior number assigned by @value{GDBN}
2627
2628 @item
2629 the target system's inferior identifier
2630
2631 @item
2632 the name of the executable the inferior is running.
2633
2634 @end enumerate
2635
2636 @noindent
2637 An asterisk @samp{*} preceding the @value{GDBN} inferior number
2638 indicates the current inferior.
2639
2640 For example,
2641 @end table
2642 @c end table here to get a little more width for example
2643
2644 @smallexample
2645 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
2646 Num Description Executable
2647 2 process 2307 hello
2648 * 1 process 3401 goodbye
2649 @end smallexample
2650
2651 To switch focus between inferiors, use the @code{inferior} command:
2652
2653 @table @code
2654 @kindex inferior @var{infno}
2655 @item inferior @var{infno}
2656 Make inferior number @var{infno} the current inferior. The argument
2657 @var{infno} is the inferior number assigned by @value{GDBN}, as shown
2658 in the first field of the @samp{info inferiors} display.
2659 @end table
2660
2661 @vindex $_inferior@r{, convenience variable}
2662 The debugger convenience variable @samp{$_inferior} contains the
2663 number of the current inferior. You may find this useful in writing
2664 breakpoint conditional expressions, command scripts, and so forth.
2665 @xref{Convenience Vars,, Convenience Variables}, for general
2666 information on convenience variables.
2667
2668 You can get multiple executables into a debugging session via the
2669 @code{add-inferior} and @w{@code{clone-inferior}} commands. On some
2670 systems @value{GDBN} can add inferiors to the debug session
2671 automatically by following calls to @code{fork} and @code{exec}. To
2672 remove inferiors from the debugging session use the
2673 @w{@code{remove-inferiors}} command.
2674
2675 @table @code
2676 @kindex add-inferior
2677 @item add-inferior [ -copies @var{n} ] [ -exec @var{executable} ]
2678 Adds @var{n} inferiors to be run using @var{executable} as the
2679 executable; @var{n} defaults to 1. If no executable is specified,
2680 the inferiors begins empty, with no program. You can still assign or
2681 change the program assigned to the inferior at any time by using the
2682 @code{file} command with the executable name as its argument.
2683
2684 @kindex clone-inferior
2685 @item clone-inferior [ -copies @var{n} ] [ @var{infno} ]
2686 Adds @var{n} inferiors ready to execute the same program as inferior
2687 @var{infno}; @var{n} defaults to 1, and @var{infno} defaults to the
2688 number of the current inferior. This is a convenient command when you
2689 want to run another instance of the inferior you are debugging.
2690
2691 @smallexample
2692 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
2693 Num Description Executable
2694 * 1 process 29964 helloworld
2695 (@value{GDBP}) clone-inferior
2696 Added inferior 2.
2697 1 inferiors added.
2698 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
2699 Num Description Executable
2700 2 <null> helloworld
2701 * 1 process 29964 helloworld
2702 @end smallexample
2703
2704 You can now simply switch focus to inferior 2 and run it.
2705
2706 @kindex remove-inferiors
2707 @item remove-inferiors @var{infno}@dots{}
2708 Removes the inferior or inferiors @var{infno}@dots{}. It is not
2709 possible to remove an inferior that is running with this command. For
2710 those, use the @code{kill} or @code{detach} command first.
2711
2712 @end table
2713
2714 To quit debugging one of the running inferiors that is not the current
2715 inferior, you can either detach from it by using the @w{@code{detach
2716 inferior}} command (allowing it to run independently), or kill it
2717 using the @w{@code{kill inferiors}} command:
2718
2719 @table @code
2720 @kindex detach inferiors @var{infno}@dots{}
2721 @item detach inferior @var{infno}@dots{}
2722 Detach from the inferior or inferiors identified by @value{GDBN}
2723 inferior number(s) @var{infno}@dots{}. Note that the inferior's entry
2724 still stays on the list of inferiors shown by @code{info inferiors},
2725 but its Description will show @samp{<null>}.
2726
2727 @kindex kill inferiors @var{infno}@dots{}
2728 @item kill inferiors @var{infno}@dots{}
2729 Kill the inferior or inferiors identified by @value{GDBN} inferior
2730 number(s) @var{infno}@dots{}. Note that the inferior's entry still
2731 stays on the list of inferiors shown by @code{info inferiors}, but its
2732 Description will show @samp{<null>}.
2733 @end table
2734
2735 After the successful completion of a command such as @code{detach},
2736 @code{detach inferiors}, @code{kill} or @code{kill inferiors}, or after
2737 a normal process exit, the inferior is still valid and listed with
2738 @code{info inferiors}, ready to be restarted.
2739
2740
2741 To be notified when inferiors are started or exit under @value{GDBN}'s
2742 control use @w{@code{set print inferior-events}}:
2743
2744 @table @code
2745 @kindex set print inferior-events
2746 @cindex print messages on inferior start and exit
2747 @item set print inferior-events
2748 @itemx set print inferior-events on
2749 @itemx set print inferior-events off
2750 The @code{set print inferior-events} command allows you to enable or
2751 disable printing of messages when @value{GDBN} notices that new
2752 inferiors have started or that inferiors have exited or have been
2753 detached. By default, these messages will not be printed.
2754
2755 @kindex show print inferior-events
2756 @item show print inferior-events
2757 Show whether messages will be printed when @value{GDBN} detects that
2758 inferiors have started, exited or have been detached.
2759 @end table
2760
2761 Many commands will work the same with multiple programs as with a
2762 single program: e.g., @code{print myglobal} will simply display the
2763 value of @code{myglobal} in the current inferior.
2764
2765
2766 Occasionaly, when debugging @value{GDBN} itself, it may be useful to
2767 get more info about the relationship of inferiors, programs, address
2768 spaces in a debug session. You can do that with the @w{@code{maint
2769 info program-spaces}} command.
2770
2771 @table @code
2772 @kindex maint info program-spaces
2773 @item maint info program-spaces
2774 Print a list of all program spaces currently being managed by
2775 @value{GDBN}.
2776
2777 @value{GDBN} displays for each program space (in this order):
2778
2779 @enumerate
2780 @item
2781 the program space number assigned by @value{GDBN}
2782
2783 @item
2784 the name of the executable loaded into the program space, with e.g.,
2785 the @code{file} command.
2786
2787 @end enumerate
2788
2789 @noindent
2790 An asterisk @samp{*} preceding the @value{GDBN} program space number
2791 indicates the current program space.
2792
2793 In addition, below each program space line, @value{GDBN} prints extra
2794 information that isn't suitable to display in tabular form. For
2795 example, the list of inferiors bound to the program space.
2796
2797 @smallexample
2798 (@value{GDBP}) maint info program-spaces
2799 Id Executable
2800 * 1 hello
2801 2 goodbye
2802 Bound inferiors: ID 1 (process 21561)
2803 @end smallexample
2804
2805 Here we can see that no inferior is running the program @code{hello},
2806 while @code{process 21561} is running the program @code{goodbye}. On
2807 some targets, it is possible that multiple inferiors are bound to the
2808 same program space. The most common example is that of debugging both
2809 the parent and child processes of a @code{vfork} call. For example,
2810
2811 @smallexample
2812 (@value{GDBP}) maint info program-spaces
2813 Id Executable
2814 * 1 vfork-test
2815 Bound inferiors: ID 2 (process 18050), ID 1 (process 18045)
2816 @end smallexample
2817
2818 Here, both inferior 2 and inferior 1 are running in the same program
2819 space as a result of inferior 1 having executed a @code{vfork} call.
2820 @end table
2821
2822 @node Threads
2823 @section Debugging Programs with Multiple Threads
2824
2825 @cindex threads of execution
2826 @cindex multiple threads
2827 @cindex switching threads
2828 In some operating systems, such as GNU/Linux and Solaris, a single program
2829 may have more than one @dfn{thread} of execution. The precise semantics
2830 of threads differ from one operating system to another, but in general
2831 the threads of a single program are akin to multiple processes---except
2832 that they share one address space (that is, they can all examine and
2833 modify the same variables). On the other hand, each thread has its own
2834 registers and execution stack, and perhaps private memory.
2835
2836 @value{GDBN} provides these facilities for debugging multi-thread
2837 programs:
2838
2839 @itemize @bullet
2840 @item automatic notification of new threads
2841 @item @samp{thread @var{thread-id}}, a command to switch among threads
2842 @item @samp{info threads}, a command to inquire about existing threads
2843 @item @samp{thread apply [@var{thread-id-list}] [@var{all}] @var{args}},
2844 a command to apply a command to a list of threads
2845 @item thread-specific breakpoints
2846 @item @samp{set print thread-events}, which controls printing of
2847 messages on thread start and exit.
2848 @item @samp{set libthread-db-search-path @var{path}}, which lets
2849 the user specify which @code{libthread_db} to use if the default choice
2850 isn't compatible with the program.
2851 @end itemize
2852
2853 @cindex focus of debugging
2854 @cindex current thread
2855 The @value{GDBN} thread debugging facility allows you to observe all
2856 threads while your program runs---but whenever @value{GDBN} takes
2857 control, one thread in particular is always the focus of debugging.
2858 This thread is called the @dfn{current thread}. Debugging commands show
2859 program information from the perspective of the current thread.
2860
2861 @cindex @code{New} @var{systag} message
2862 @cindex thread identifier (system)
2863 @c FIXME-implementors!! It would be more helpful if the [New...] message
2864 @c included GDB's numeric thread handle, so you could just go to that
2865 @c thread without first checking `info threads'.
2866 Whenever @value{GDBN} detects a new thread in your program, it displays
2867 the target system's identification for the thread with a message in the
2868 form @samp{[New @var{systag}]}, where @var{systag} is a thread identifier
2869 whose form varies depending on the particular system. For example, on
2870 @sc{gnu}/Linux, you might see
2871
2872 @smallexample
2873 [New Thread 0x41e02940 (LWP 25582)]
2874 @end smallexample
2875
2876 @noindent
2877 when @value{GDBN} notices a new thread. In contrast, on other systems,
2878 the @var{systag} is simply something like @samp{process 368}, with no
2879 further qualifier.
2880
2881 @c FIXME!! (1) Does the [New...] message appear even for the very first
2882 @c thread of a program, or does it only appear for the
2883 @c second---i.e.@: when it becomes obvious we have a multithread
2884 @c program?
2885 @c (2) *Is* there necessarily a first thread always? Or do some
2886 @c multithread systems permit starting a program with multiple
2887 @c threads ab initio?
2888
2889 @anchor{thread numbers}
2890 @cindex thread number, per inferior
2891 @cindex thread identifier (GDB)
2892 For debugging purposes, @value{GDBN} associates its own thread number
2893 ---always a single integer---with each thread of an inferior. This
2894 number is unique between all threads of an inferior, but not unique
2895 between threads of different inferiors.
2896
2897 @cindex qualified thread ID
2898 You can refer to a given thread in an inferior using the qualified
2899 @var{inferior-num}.@var{thread-num} syntax, also known as
2900 @dfn{qualified thread ID}, with @var{inferior-num} being the inferior
2901 number and @var{thread-num} being the thread number of the given
2902 inferior. For example, thread @code{2.3} refers to thread number 3 of
2903 inferior 2. If you omit @var{inferior-num} (e.g., @code{thread 3}),
2904 then @value{GDBN} infers you're referring to a thread of the current
2905 inferior.
2906
2907 Until you create a second inferior, @value{GDBN} does not show the
2908 @var{inferior-num} part of thread IDs, even though you can always use
2909 the full @var{inferior-num}.@var{thread-num} form to refer to threads
2910 of inferior 1, the initial inferior.
2911
2912 @anchor{thread ID lists}
2913 @cindex thread ID lists
2914 Some commands accept a space-separated @dfn{thread ID list} as
2915 argument. A list element can be:
2916
2917 @enumerate
2918 @item
2919 A thread ID as shown in the first field of the @samp{info threads}
2920 display, with or without an inferior qualifier. E.g., @samp{2.1} or
2921 @samp{1}.
2922
2923 @item
2924 A range of thread numbers, again with or without an inferior
2925 qualifier, as in @var{inf}.@var{thr1}-@var{thr2} or
2926 @var{thr1}-@var{thr2}. E.g., @samp{1.2-4} or @samp{2-4}.
2927
2928 @item
2929 All threads of an inferior, specified with a star wildcard, with or
2930 without an inferior qualifier, as in @var{inf}.@code{*} (e.g.,
2931 @samp{1.*}) or @code{*}. The former refers to all threads of the
2932 given inferior, and the latter form without an inferior qualifier
2933 refers to all threads of the current inferior.
2934
2935 @end enumerate
2936
2937 For example, if the current inferior is 1, and inferior 7 has one
2938 thread with ID 7.1, the thread list @samp{1 2-3 4.5 6.7-9 7.*}
2939 includes threads 1 to 3 of inferior 1, thread 5 of inferior 4, threads
2940 7 to 9 of inferior 6 and all threads of inferior 7. That is, in
2941 expanded qualified form, the same as @samp{1.1 1.2 1.3 4.5 6.7 6.8 6.9
2942 7.1}.
2943
2944
2945 @anchor{global thread numbers}
2946 @cindex global thread number
2947 @cindex global thread identifier (GDB)
2948 In addition to a @emph{per-inferior} number, each thread is also
2949 assigned a unique @emph{global} number, also known as @dfn{global
2950 thread ID}, a single integer. Unlike the thread number component of
2951 the thread ID, no two threads have the same global ID, even when
2952 you're debugging multiple inferiors.
2953
2954 From @value{GDBN}'s perspective, a process always has at least one
2955 thread. In other words, @value{GDBN} assigns a thread number to the
2956 program's ``main thread'' even if the program is not multi-threaded.
2957
2958 @vindex $_thread@r{, convenience variable}
2959 @vindex $_gthread@r{, convenience variable}
2960 The debugger convenience variables @samp{$_thread} and
2961 @samp{$_gthread} contain, respectively, the per-inferior thread number
2962 and the global thread number of the current thread. You may find this
2963 useful in writing breakpoint conditional expressions, command scripts,
2964 and so forth. @xref{Convenience Vars,, Convenience Variables}, for
2965 general information on convenience variables.
2966
2967 If @value{GDBN} detects the program is multi-threaded, it augments the
2968 usual message about stopping at a breakpoint with the ID and name of
2969 the thread that hit the breakpoint.
2970
2971 @smallexample
2972 Thread 2 "client" hit Breakpoint 1, send_message () at client.c:68
2973 @end smallexample
2974
2975 Likewise when the program receives a signal:
2976
2977 @smallexample
2978 Thread 1 "main" received signal SIGINT, Interrupt.
2979 @end smallexample
2980
2981 @table @code
2982 @kindex info threads
2983 @item info threads @r{[}@var{thread-id-list}@r{]}
2984
2985 Display information about one or more threads. With no arguments
2986 displays information about all threads. You can specify the list of
2987 threads that you want to display using the thread ID list syntax
2988 (@pxref{thread ID lists}).
2989
2990 @value{GDBN} displays for each thread (in this order):
2991
2992 @enumerate
2993 @item
2994 the per-inferior thread number assigned by @value{GDBN}
2995
2996 @item
2997 the global thread number assigned by @value{GDBN}, if the @samp{-gid}
2998 option was specified
2999
3000 @item
3001 the target system's thread identifier (@var{systag})
3002
3003 @item
3004 the thread's name, if one is known. A thread can either be named by
3005 the user (see @code{thread name}, below), or, in some cases, by the
3006 program itself.
3007
3008 @item
3009 the current stack frame summary for that thread
3010 @end enumerate
3011
3012 @noindent
3013 An asterisk @samp{*} to the left of the @value{GDBN} thread number
3014 indicates the current thread.
3015
3016 For example,
3017 @end table
3018 @c end table here to get a little more width for example
3019
3020 @smallexample
3021 (@value{GDBP}) info threads
3022 Id Target Id Frame
3023 * 1 process 35 thread 13 main (argc=1, argv=0x7ffffff8)
3024 2 process 35 thread 23 0x34e5 in sigpause ()
3025 3 process 35 thread 27 0x34e5 in sigpause ()
3026 at threadtest.c:68
3027 @end smallexample
3028
3029 If you're debugging multiple inferiors, @value{GDBN} displays thread
3030 IDs using the qualified @var{inferior-num}.@var{thread-num} format.
3031 Otherwise, only @var{thread-num} is shown.
3032
3033 If you specify the @samp{-gid} option, @value{GDBN} displays a column
3034 indicating each thread's global thread ID:
3035
3036 @smallexample
3037 (@value{GDBP}) info threads
3038 Id GId Target Id Frame
3039 1.1 1 process 35 thread 13 main (argc=1, argv=0x7ffffff8)
3040 1.2 3 process 35 thread 23 0x34e5 in sigpause ()
3041 1.3 4 process 35 thread 27 0x34e5 in sigpause ()
3042 * 2.1 2 process 65 thread 1 main (argc=1, argv=0x7ffffff8)
3043 @end smallexample
3044
3045 On Solaris, you can display more information about user threads with a
3046 Solaris-specific command:
3047
3048 @table @code
3049 @item maint info sol-threads
3050 @kindex maint info sol-threads
3051 @cindex thread info (Solaris)
3052 Display info on Solaris user threads.
3053 @end table
3054
3055 @table @code
3056 @kindex thread @var{thread-id}
3057 @item thread @var{thread-id}
3058 Make thread ID @var{thread-id} the current thread. The command
3059 argument @var{thread-id} is the @value{GDBN} thread ID, as shown in
3060 the first field of the @samp{info threads} display, with or without an
3061 inferior qualifier (e.g., @samp{2.1} or @samp{1}).
3062
3063 @value{GDBN} responds by displaying the system identifier of the
3064 thread you selected, and its current stack frame summary:
3065
3066 @smallexample
3067 (@value{GDBP}) thread 2
3068 [Switching to thread 2 (Thread 0xb7fdab70 (LWP 12747))]
3069 #0 some_function (ignore=0x0) at example.c:8
3070 8 printf ("hello\n");
3071 @end smallexample
3072
3073 @noindent
3074 As with the @samp{[New @dots{}]} message, the form of the text after
3075 @samp{Switching to} depends on your system's conventions for identifying
3076 threads.
3077
3078 @kindex thread apply
3079 @cindex apply command to several threads
3080 @item thread apply [@var{thread-id-list} | all [-ascending]] @var{command}
3081 The @code{thread apply} command allows you to apply the named
3082 @var{command} to one or more threads. Specify the threads that you
3083 want affected using the thread ID list syntax (@pxref{thread ID
3084 lists}), or specify @code{all} to apply to all threads. To apply a
3085 command to all threads in descending order, type @kbd{thread apply all
3086 @var{command}}. To apply a command to all threads in ascending order,
3087 type @kbd{thread apply all -ascending @var{command}}.
3088
3089
3090 @kindex thread name
3091 @cindex name a thread
3092 @item thread name [@var{name}]
3093 This command assigns a name to the current thread. If no argument is
3094 given, any existing user-specified name is removed. The thread name
3095 appears in the @samp{info threads} display.
3096
3097 On some systems, such as @sc{gnu}/Linux, @value{GDBN} is able to
3098 determine the name of the thread as given by the OS. On these
3099 systems, a name specified with @samp{thread name} will override the
3100 system-give name, and removing the user-specified name will cause
3101 @value{GDBN} to once again display the system-specified name.
3102
3103 @kindex thread find
3104 @cindex search for a thread
3105 @item thread find [@var{regexp}]
3106 Search for and display thread ids whose name or @var{systag}
3107 matches the supplied regular expression.
3108
3109 As well as being the complement to the @samp{thread name} command,
3110 this command also allows you to identify a thread by its target
3111 @var{systag}. For instance, on @sc{gnu}/Linux, the target @var{systag}
3112 is the LWP id.
3113
3114 @smallexample
3115 (@value{GDBN}) thread find 26688
3116 Thread 4 has target id 'Thread 0x41e02940 (LWP 26688)'
3117 (@value{GDBN}) info thread 4
3118 Id Target Id Frame
3119 4 Thread 0x41e02940 (LWP 26688) 0x00000031ca6cd372 in select ()
3120 @end smallexample
3121
3122 @kindex set print thread-events
3123 @cindex print messages on thread start and exit
3124 @item set print thread-events
3125 @itemx set print thread-events on
3126 @itemx set print thread-events off
3127 The @code{set print thread-events} command allows you to enable or
3128 disable printing of messages when @value{GDBN} notices that new threads have
3129 started or that threads have exited. By default, these messages will
3130 be printed if detection of these events is supported by the target.
3131 Note that these messages cannot be disabled on all targets.
3132
3133 @kindex show print thread-events
3134 @item show print thread-events
3135 Show whether messages will be printed when @value{GDBN} detects that threads
3136 have started and exited.
3137 @end table
3138
3139 @xref{Thread Stops,,Stopping and Starting Multi-thread Programs}, for
3140 more information about how @value{GDBN} behaves when you stop and start
3141 programs with multiple threads.
3142
3143 @xref{Set Watchpoints,,Setting Watchpoints}, for information about
3144 watchpoints in programs with multiple threads.
3145
3146 @anchor{set libthread-db-search-path}
3147 @table @code
3148 @kindex set libthread-db-search-path
3149 @cindex search path for @code{libthread_db}
3150 @item set libthread-db-search-path @r{[}@var{path}@r{]}
3151 If this variable is set, @var{path} is a colon-separated list of
3152 directories @value{GDBN} will use to search for @code{libthread_db}.
3153 If you omit @var{path}, @samp{libthread-db-search-path} will be reset to
3154 its default value (@code{$sdir:$pdir} on @sc{gnu}/Linux and Solaris systems).
3155 Internally, the default value comes from the @code{LIBTHREAD_DB_SEARCH_PATH}
3156 macro.
3157
3158 On @sc{gnu}/Linux and Solaris systems, @value{GDBN} uses a ``helper''
3159 @code{libthread_db} library to obtain information about threads in the
3160 inferior process. @value{GDBN} will use @samp{libthread-db-search-path}
3161 to find @code{libthread_db}. @value{GDBN} also consults first if inferior
3162 specific thread debugging library loading is enabled
3163 by @samp{set auto-load libthread-db} (@pxref{libthread_db.so.1 file}).
3164
3165 A special entry @samp{$sdir} for @samp{libthread-db-search-path}
3166 refers to the default system directories that are
3167 normally searched for loading shared libraries. The @samp{$sdir} entry
3168 is the only kind not needing to be enabled by @samp{set auto-load libthread-db}
3169 (@pxref{libthread_db.so.1 file}).
3170
3171 A special entry @samp{$pdir} for @samp{libthread-db-search-path}
3172 refers to the directory from which @code{libpthread}
3173 was loaded in the inferior process.
3174
3175 For any @code{libthread_db} library @value{GDBN} finds in above directories,
3176 @value{GDBN} attempts to initialize it with the current inferior process.
3177 If this initialization fails (which could happen because of a version
3178 mismatch between @code{libthread_db} and @code{libpthread}), @value{GDBN}
3179 will unload @code{libthread_db}, and continue with the next directory.
3180 If none of @code{libthread_db} libraries initialize successfully,
3181 @value{GDBN} will issue a warning and thread debugging will be disabled.
3182
3183 Setting @code{libthread-db-search-path} is currently implemented
3184 only on some platforms.
3185
3186 @kindex show libthread-db-search-path
3187 @item show libthread-db-search-path
3188 Display current libthread_db search path.
3189
3190 @kindex set debug libthread-db
3191 @kindex show debug libthread-db
3192 @cindex debugging @code{libthread_db}
3193 @item set debug libthread-db
3194 @itemx show debug libthread-db
3195 Turns on or off display of @code{libthread_db}-related events.
3196 Use @code{1} to enable, @code{0} to disable.
3197 @end table
3198
3199 @node Forks
3200 @section Debugging Forks
3201
3202 @cindex fork, debugging programs which call
3203 @cindex multiple processes
3204 @cindex processes, multiple
3205 On most systems, @value{GDBN} has no special support for debugging
3206 programs which create additional processes using the @code{fork}
3207 function. When a program forks, @value{GDBN} will continue to debug the
3208 parent process and the child process will run unimpeded. If you have
3209 set a breakpoint in any code which the child then executes, the child
3210 will get a @code{SIGTRAP} signal which (unless it catches the signal)
3211 will cause it to terminate.
3212
3213 However, if you want to debug the child process there is a workaround
3214 which isn't too painful. Put a call to @code{sleep} in the code which
3215 the child process executes after the fork. It may be useful to sleep
3216 only if a certain environment variable is set, or a certain file exists,
3217 so that the delay need not occur when you don't want to run @value{GDBN}
3218 on the child. While the child is sleeping, use the @code{ps} program to
3219 get its process ID. Then tell @value{GDBN} (a new invocation of
3220 @value{GDBN} if you are also debugging the parent process) to attach to
3221 the child process (@pxref{Attach}). From that point on you can debug
3222 the child process just like any other process which you attached to.
3223
3224 On some systems, @value{GDBN} provides support for debugging programs
3225 that create additional processes using the @code{fork} or @code{vfork}
3226 functions. On @sc{gnu}/Linux platforms, this feature is supported
3227 with kernel version 2.5.46 and later.
3228
3229 The fork debugging commands are supported in native mode and when
3230 connected to @code{gdbserver} in either @code{target remote} mode or
3231 @code{target extended-remote} mode.
3232
3233 By default, when a program forks, @value{GDBN} will continue to debug
3234 the parent process and the child process will run unimpeded.
3235
3236 If you want to follow the child process instead of the parent process,
3237 use the command @w{@code{set follow-fork-mode}}.
3238
3239 @table @code
3240 @kindex set follow-fork-mode
3241 @item set follow-fork-mode @var{mode}
3242 Set the debugger response to a program call of @code{fork} or
3243 @code{vfork}. A call to @code{fork} or @code{vfork} creates a new
3244 process. The @var{mode} argument can be:
3245
3246 @table @code
3247 @item parent
3248 The original process is debugged after a fork. The child process runs
3249 unimpeded. This is the default.
3250
3251 @item child
3252 The new process is debugged after a fork. The parent process runs
3253 unimpeded.
3254
3255 @end table
3256
3257 @kindex show follow-fork-mode
3258 @item show follow-fork-mode
3259 Display the current debugger response to a @code{fork} or @code{vfork} call.
3260 @end table
3261
3262 @cindex debugging multiple processes
3263 On Linux, if you want to debug both the parent and child processes, use the
3264 command @w{@code{set detach-on-fork}}.
3265
3266 @table @code
3267 @kindex set detach-on-fork
3268 @item set detach-on-fork @var{mode}
3269 Tells gdb whether to detach one of the processes after a fork, or
3270 retain debugger control over them both.
3271
3272 @table @code
3273 @item on
3274 The child process (or parent process, depending on the value of
3275 @code{follow-fork-mode}) will be detached and allowed to run
3276 independently. This is the default.
3277
3278 @item off
3279 Both processes will be held under the control of @value{GDBN}.
3280 One process (child or parent, depending on the value of
3281 @code{follow-fork-mode}) is debugged as usual, while the other
3282 is held suspended.
3283
3284 @end table
3285
3286 @kindex show detach-on-fork
3287 @item show detach-on-fork
3288 Show whether detach-on-fork mode is on/off.
3289 @end table
3290
3291 If you choose to set @samp{detach-on-fork} mode off, then @value{GDBN}
3292 will retain control of all forked processes (including nested forks).
3293 You can list the forked processes under the control of @value{GDBN} by
3294 using the @w{@code{info inferiors}} command, and switch from one fork
3295 to another by using the @code{inferior} command (@pxref{Inferiors and
3296 Programs, ,Debugging Multiple Inferiors and Programs}).
3297
3298 To quit debugging one of the forked processes, you can either detach
3299 from it by using the @w{@code{detach inferiors}} command (allowing it
3300 to run independently), or kill it using the @w{@code{kill inferiors}}
3301 command. @xref{Inferiors and Programs, ,Debugging Multiple Inferiors
3302 and Programs}.
3303
3304 If you ask to debug a child process and a @code{vfork} is followed by an
3305 @code{exec}, @value{GDBN} executes the new target up to the first
3306 breakpoint in the new target. If you have a breakpoint set on
3307 @code{main} in your original program, the breakpoint will also be set on
3308 the child process's @code{main}.
3309
3310 On some systems, when a child process is spawned by @code{vfork}, you
3311 cannot debug the child or parent until an @code{exec} call completes.
3312
3313 If you issue a @code{run} command to @value{GDBN} after an @code{exec}
3314 call executes, the new target restarts. To restart the parent
3315 process, use the @code{file} command with the parent executable name
3316 as its argument. By default, after an @code{exec} call executes,
3317 @value{GDBN} discards the symbols of the previous executable image.
3318 You can change this behaviour with the @w{@code{set follow-exec-mode}}
3319 command.
3320
3321 @table @code
3322 @kindex set follow-exec-mode
3323 @item set follow-exec-mode @var{mode}
3324
3325 Set debugger response to a program call of @code{exec}. An
3326 @code{exec} call replaces the program image of a process.
3327
3328 @code{follow-exec-mode} can be:
3329
3330 @table @code
3331 @item new
3332 @value{GDBN} creates a new inferior and rebinds the process to this
3333 new inferior. The program the process was running before the
3334 @code{exec} call can be restarted afterwards by restarting the
3335 original inferior.
3336
3337 For example:
3338
3339 @smallexample
3340 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
3341 (gdb) info inferior
3342 Id Description Executable
3343 * 1 <null> prog1
3344 (@value{GDBP}) run
3345 process 12020 is executing new program: prog2
3346 Program exited normally.
3347 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
3348 Id Description Executable
3349 1 <null> prog1
3350 * 2 <null> prog2
3351 @end smallexample
3352
3353 @item same
3354 @value{GDBN} keeps the process bound to the same inferior. The new
3355 executable image replaces the previous executable loaded in the
3356 inferior. Restarting the inferior after the @code{exec} call, with
3357 e.g., the @code{run} command, restarts the executable the process was
3358 running after the @code{exec} call. This is the default mode.
3359
3360 For example:
3361
3362 @smallexample
3363 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
3364 Id Description Executable
3365 * 1 <null> prog1
3366 (@value{GDBP}) run
3367 process 12020 is executing new program: prog2
3368 Program exited normally.
3369 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
3370 Id Description Executable
3371 * 1 <null> prog2
3372 @end smallexample
3373
3374 @end table
3375 @end table
3376
3377 @code{follow-exec-mode} is supported in native mode and
3378 @code{target extended-remote} mode.
3379
3380 You can use the @code{catch} command to make @value{GDBN} stop whenever
3381 a @code{fork}, @code{vfork}, or @code{exec} call is made. @xref{Set
3382 Catchpoints, ,Setting Catchpoints}.
3383
3384 @node Checkpoint/Restart
3385 @section Setting a @emph{Bookmark} to Return to Later
3386
3387 @cindex checkpoint
3388 @cindex restart
3389 @cindex bookmark
3390 @cindex snapshot of a process
3391 @cindex rewind program state
3392
3393 On certain operating systems@footnote{Currently, only
3394 @sc{gnu}/Linux.}, @value{GDBN} is able to save a @dfn{snapshot} of a
3395 program's state, called a @dfn{checkpoint}, and come back to it
3396 later.
3397
3398 Returning to a checkpoint effectively undoes everything that has
3399 happened in the program since the @code{checkpoint} was saved. This
3400 includes changes in memory, registers, and even (within some limits)
3401 system state. Effectively, it is like going back in time to the
3402 moment when the checkpoint was saved.
3403
3404 Thus, if you're stepping thru a program and you think you're
3405 getting close to the point where things go wrong, you can save
3406 a checkpoint. Then, if you accidentally go too far and miss
3407 the critical statement, instead of having to restart your program
3408 from the beginning, you can just go back to the checkpoint and
3409 start again from there.
3410
3411 This can be especially useful if it takes a lot of time or
3412 steps to reach the point where you think the bug occurs.
3413
3414 To use the @code{checkpoint}/@code{restart} method of debugging:
3415
3416 @table @code
3417 @kindex checkpoint
3418 @item checkpoint
3419 Save a snapshot of the debugged program's current execution state.
3420 The @code{checkpoint} command takes no arguments, but each checkpoint
3421 is assigned a small integer id, similar to a breakpoint id.
3422
3423 @kindex info checkpoints
3424 @item info checkpoints
3425 List the checkpoints that have been saved in the current debugging
3426 session. For each checkpoint, the following information will be
3427 listed:
3428
3429 @table @code
3430 @item Checkpoint ID
3431 @item Process ID
3432 @item Code Address
3433 @item Source line, or label
3434 @end table
3435
3436 @kindex restart @var{checkpoint-id}
3437 @item restart @var{checkpoint-id}
3438 Restore the program state that was saved as checkpoint number
3439 @var{checkpoint-id}. All program variables, registers, stack frames
3440 etc.@: will be returned to the values that they had when the checkpoint
3441 was saved. In essence, gdb will ``wind back the clock'' to the point
3442 in time when the checkpoint was saved.
3443
3444 Note that breakpoints, @value{GDBN} variables, command history etc.
3445 are not affected by restoring a checkpoint. In general, a checkpoint
3446 only restores things that reside in the program being debugged, not in
3447 the debugger.
3448
3449 @kindex delete checkpoint @var{checkpoint-id}
3450 @item delete checkpoint @var{checkpoint-id}
3451 Delete the previously-saved checkpoint identified by @var{checkpoint-id}.
3452
3453 @end table
3454
3455 Returning to a previously saved checkpoint will restore the user state
3456 of the program being debugged, plus a significant subset of the system
3457 (OS) state, including file pointers. It won't ``un-write'' data from
3458 a file, but it will rewind the file pointer to the previous location,
3459 so that the previously written data can be overwritten. For files
3460 opened in read mode, the pointer will also be restored so that the
3461 previously read data can be read again.
3462
3463 Of course, characters that have been sent to a printer (or other
3464 external device) cannot be ``snatched back'', and characters received
3465 from eg.@: a serial device can be removed from internal program buffers,
3466 but they cannot be ``pushed back'' into the serial pipeline, ready to
3467 be received again. Similarly, the actual contents of files that have
3468 been changed cannot be restored (at this time).
3469
3470 However, within those constraints, you actually can ``rewind'' your
3471 program to a previously saved point in time, and begin debugging it
3472 again --- and you can change the course of events so as to debug a
3473 different execution path this time.
3474
3475 @cindex checkpoints and process id
3476 Finally, there is one bit of internal program state that will be
3477 different when you return to a checkpoint --- the program's process
3478 id. Each checkpoint will have a unique process id (or @var{pid}),
3479 and each will be different from the program's original @var{pid}.
3480 If your program has saved a local copy of its process id, this could
3481 potentially pose a problem.
3482
3483 @subsection A Non-obvious Benefit of Using Checkpoints
3484
3485 On some systems such as @sc{gnu}/Linux, address space randomization
3486 is performed on new processes for security reasons. This makes it
3487 difficult or impossible to set a breakpoint, or watchpoint, on an
3488 absolute address if you have to restart the program, since the
3489 absolute location of a symbol will change from one execution to the
3490 next.
3491
3492 A checkpoint, however, is an @emph{identical} copy of a process.
3493 Therefore if you create a checkpoint at (eg.@:) the start of main,
3494 and simply return to that checkpoint instead of restarting the
3495 process, you can avoid the effects of address randomization and
3496 your symbols will all stay in the same place.
3497
3498 @node Stopping
3499 @chapter Stopping and Continuing
3500
3501 The principal purposes of using a debugger are so that you can stop your
3502 program before it terminates; or so that, if your program runs into
3503 trouble, you can investigate and find out why.
3504
3505 Inside @value{GDBN}, your program may stop for any of several reasons,
3506 such as a signal, a breakpoint, or reaching a new line after a
3507 @value{GDBN} command such as @code{step}. You may then examine and
3508 change variables, set new breakpoints or remove old ones, and then
3509 continue execution. Usually, the messages shown by @value{GDBN} provide
3510 ample explanation of the status of your program---but you can also
3511 explicitly request this information at any time.
3512
3513 @table @code
3514 @kindex info program
3515 @item info program
3516 Display information about the status of your program: whether it is
3517 running or not, what process it is, and why it stopped.
3518 @end table
3519
3520 @menu
3521 * Breakpoints:: Breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints
3522 * Continuing and Stepping:: Resuming execution
3523 * Skipping Over Functions and Files::
3524 Skipping over functions and files
3525 * Signals:: Signals
3526 * Thread Stops:: Stopping and starting multi-thread programs
3527 @end menu
3528
3529 @node Breakpoints
3530 @section Breakpoints, Watchpoints, and Catchpoints
3531
3532 @cindex breakpoints
3533 A @dfn{breakpoint} makes your program stop whenever a certain point in
3534 the program is reached. For each breakpoint, you can add conditions to
3535 control in finer detail whether your program stops. You can set
3536 breakpoints with the @code{break} command and its variants (@pxref{Set
3537 Breaks, ,Setting Breakpoints}), to specify the place where your program
3538 should stop by line number, function name or exact address in the
3539 program.
3540
3541 On some systems, you can set breakpoints in shared libraries before
3542 the executable is run.
3543
3544 @cindex watchpoints
3545 @cindex data breakpoints
3546 @cindex memory tracing
3547 @cindex breakpoint on memory address
3548 @cindex breakpoint on variable modification
3549 A @dfn{watchpoint} is a special breakpoint that stops your program
3550 when the value of an expression changes. The expression may be a value
3551 of a variable, or it could involve values of one or more variables
3552 combined by operators, such as @samp{a + b}. This is sometimes called
3553 @dfn{data breakpoints}. You must use a different command to set
3554 watchpoints (@pxref{Set Watchpoints, ,Setting Watchpoints}), but aside
3555 from that, you can manage a watchpoint like any other breakpoint: you
3556 enable, disable, and delete both breakpoints and watchpoints using the
3557 same commands.
3558
3559 You can arrange to have values from your program displayed automatically
3560 whenever @value{GDBN} stops at a breakpoint. @xref{Auto Display,,
3561 Automatic Display}.
3562
3563 @cindex catchpoints
3564 @cindex breakpoint on events
3565 A @dfn{catchpoint} is another special breakpoint that stops your program
3566 when a certain kind of event occurs, such as the throwing of a C@t{++}
3567 exception or the loading of a library. As with watchpoints, you use a
3568 different command to set a catchpoint (@pxref{Set Catchpoints, ,Setting
3569 Catchpoints}), but aside from that, you can manage a catchpoint like any
3570 other breakpoint. (To stop when your program receives a signal, use the
3571 @code{handle} command; see @ref{Signals, ,Signals}.)
3572
3573 @cindex breakpoint numbers
3574 @cindex numbers for breakpoints
3575 @value{GDBN} assigns a number to each breakpoint, watchpoint, or
3576 catchpoint when you create it; these numbers are successive integers
3577 starting with one. In many of the commands for controlling various
3578 features of breakpoints you use the breakpoint number to say which
3579 breakpoint you want to change. Each breakpoint may be @dfn{enabled} or
3580 @dfn{disabled}; if disabled, it has no effect on your program until you
3581 enable it again.
3582
3583 @cindex breakpoint ranges
3584 @cindex ranges of breakpoints
3585 Some @value{GDBN} commands accept a range of breakpoints on which to
3586 operate. A breakpoint range is either a single breakpoint number, like
3587 @samp{5}, or two such numbers, in increasing order, separated by a
3588 hyphen, like @samp{5-7}. When a breakpoint range is given to a command,
3589 all breakpoints in that range are operated on.
3590
3591 @menu
3592 * Set Breaks:: Setting breakpoints
3593 * Set Watchpoints:: Setting watchpoints
3594 * Set Catchpoints:: Setting catchpoints
3595 * Delete Breaks:: Deleting breakpoints
3596 * Disabling:: Disabling breakpoints
3597 * Conditions:: Break conditions
3598 * Break Commands:: Breakpoint command lists
3599 * Dynamic Printf:: Dynamic printf
3600 * Save Breakpoints:: How to save breakpoints in a file
3601 * Static Probe Points:: Listing static probe points
3602 * Error in Breakpoints:: ``Cannot insert breakpoints''
3603 * Breakpoint-related Warnings:: ``Breakpoint address adjusted...''
3604 @end menu
3605
3606 @node Set Breaks
3607 @subsection Setting Breakpoints
3608
3609 @c FIXME LMB what does GDB do if no code on line of breakpt?
3610 @c consider in particular declaration with/without initialization.
3611 @c
3612 @c FIXME 2 is there stuff on this already? break at fun start, already init?
3613
3614 @kindex break
3615 @kindex b @r{(@code{break})}
3616 @vindex $bpnum@r{, convenience variable}
3617 @cindex latest breakpoint
3618 Breakpoints are set with the @code{break} command (abbreviated
3619 @code{b}). The debugger convenience variable @samp{$bpnum} records the
3620 number of the breakpoint you've set most recently; see @ref{Convenience
3621 Vars,, Convenience Variables}, for a discussion of what you can do with
3622 convenience variables.
3623
3624 @table @code
3625 @item break @var{location}
3626 Set a breakpoint at the given @var{location}, which can specify a
3627 function name, a line number, or an address of an instruction.
3628 (@xref{Specify Location}, for a list of all the possible ways to
3629 specify a @var{location}.) The breakpoint will stop your program just
3630 before it executes any of the code in the specified @var{location}.
3631
3632 When using source languages that permit overloading of symbols, such as
3633 C@t{++}, a function name may refer to more than one possible place to break.
3634 @xref{Ambiguous Expressions,,Ambiguous Expressions}, for a discussion of
3635 that situation.
3636
3637 It is also possible to insert a breakpoint that will stop the program
3638 only if a specific thread (@pxref{Thread-Specific Breakpoints})
3639 or a specific task (@pxref{Ada Tasks}) hits that breakpoint.
3640
3641 @item break
3642 When called without any arguments, @code{break} sets a breakpoint at
3643 the next instruction to be executed in the selected stack frame
3644 (@pxref{Stack, ,Examining the Stack}). In any selected frame but the
3645 innermost, this makes your program stop as soon as control
3646 returns to that frame. This is similar to the effect of a
3647 @code{finish} command in the frame inside the selected frame---except
3648 that @code{finish} does not leave an active breakpoint. If you use
3649 @code{break} without an argument in the innermost frame, @value{GDBN} stops
3650 the next time it reaches the current location; this may be useful
3651 inside loops.
3652
3653 @value{GDBN} normally ignores breakpoints when it resumes execution, until at
3654 least one instruction has been executed. If it did not do this, you
3655 would be unable to proceed past a breakpoint without first disabling the
3656 breakpoint. This rule applies whether or not the breakpoint already
3657 existed when your program stopped.
3658
3659 @item break @dots{} if @var{cond}
3660 Set a breakpoint with condition @var{cond}; evaluate the expression
3661 @var{cond} each time the breakpoint is reached, and stop only if the
3662 value is nonzero---that is, if @var{cond} evaluates as true.
3663 @samp{@dots{}} stands for one of the possible arguments described
3664 above (or no argument) specifying where to break. @xref{Conditions,
3665 ,Break Conditions}, for more information on breakpoint conditions.
3666
3667 @kindex tbreak
3668 @item tbreak @var{args}
3669 Set a breakpoint enabled only for one stop. The @var{args} are the
3670 same as for the @code{break} command, and the breakpoint is set in the same
3671 way, but the breakpoint is automatically deleted after the first time your
3672 program stops there. @xref{Disabling, ,Disabling Breakpoints}.
3673
3674 @kindex hbreak
3675 @cindex hardware breakpoints
3676 @item hbreak @var{args}
3677 Set a hardware-assisted breakpoint. The @var{args} are the same as for the
3678 @code{break} command and the breakpoint is set in the same way, but the
3679 breakpoint requires hardware support and some target hardware may not
3680 have this support. The main purpose of this is EPROM/ROM code
3681 debugging, so you can set a breakpoint at an instruction without
3682 changing the instruction. This can be used with the new trap-generation
3683 provided by SPARClite DSU and most x86-based targets. These targets
3684 will generate traps when a program accesses some data or instruction
3685 address that is assigned to the debug registers. However the hardware
3686 breakpoint registers can take a limited number of breakpoints. For
3687 example, on the DSU, only two data breakpoints can be set at a time, and
3688 @value{GDBN} will reject this command if more than two are used. Delete
3689 or disable unused hardware breakpoints before setting new ones
3690 (@pxref{Disabling, ,Disabling Breakpoints}).
3691 @xref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}.
3692 For remote targets, you can restrict the number of hardware
3693 breakpoints @value{GDBN} will use, see @ref{set remote
3694 hardware-breakpoint-limit}.
3695
3696 @kindex thbreak
3697 @item thbreak @var{args}
3698 Set a hardware-assisted breakpoint enabled only for one stop. The @var{args}
3699 are the same as for the @code{hbreak} command and the breakpoint is set in
3700 the same way. However, like the @code{tbreak} command,
3701 the breakpoint is automatically deleted after the
3702 first time your program stops there. Also, like the @code{hbreak}
3703 command, the breakpoint requires hardware support and some target hardware
3704 may not have this support. @xref{Disabling, ,Disabling Breakpoints}.
3705 See also @ref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}.
3706
3707 @kindex rbreak
3708 @cindex regular expression
3709 @cindex breakpoints at functions matching a regexp
3710 @cindex set breakpoints in many functions
3711 @item rbreak @var{regex}
3712 Set breakpoints on all functions matching the regular expression
3713 @var{regex}. This command sets an unconditional breakpoint on all
3714 matches, printing a list of all breakpoints it set. Once these
3715 breakpoints are set, they are treated just like the breakpoints set with
3716 the @code{break} command. You can delete them, disable them, or make
3717 them conditional the same way as any other breakpoint.
3718
3719 The syntax of the regular expression is the standard one used with tools
3720 like @file{grep}. Note that this is different from the syntax used by
3721 shells, so for instance @code{foo*} matches all functions that include
3722 an @code{fo} followed by zero or more @code{o}s. There is an implicit
3723 @code{.*} leading and trailing the regular expression you supply, so to
3724 match only functions that begin with @code{foo}, use @code{^foo}.
3725
3726 @cindex non-member C@t{++} functions, set breakpoint in
3727 When debugging C@t{++} programs, @code{rbreak} is useful for setting
3728 breakpoints on overloaded functions that are not members of any special
3729 classes.
3730
3731 @cindex set breakpoints on all functions
3732 The @code{rbreak} command can be used to set breakpoints in
3733 @strong{all} the functions in a program, like this:
3734
3735 @smallexample
3736 (@value{GDBP}) rbreak .
3737 @end smallexample
3738
3739 @item rbreak @var{file}:@var{regex}
3740 If @code{rbreak} is called with a filename qualification, it limits
3741 the search for functions matching the given regular expression to the
3742 specified @var{file}. This can be used, for example, to set breakpoints on
3743 every function in a given file:
3744
3745 @smallexample
3746 (@value{GDBP}) rbreak file.c:.
3747 @end smallexample
3748
3749 The colon separating the filename qualifier from the regex may
3750 optionally be surrounded by spaces.
3751
3752 @kindex info breakpoints
3753 @cindex @code{$_} and @code{info breakpoints}
3754 @item info breakpoints @r{[}@var{n}@dots{}@r{]}
3755 @itemx info break @r{[}@var{n}@dots{}@r{]}
3756 Print a table of all breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints set and
3757 not deleted. Optional argument @var{n} means print information only
3758 about the specified breakpoint(s) (or watchpoint(s) or catchpoint(s)).
3759 For each breakpoint, following columns are printed:
3760
3761 @table @emph
3762 @item Breakpoint Numbers
3763 @item Type
3764 Breakpoint, watchpoint, or catchpoint.
3765 @item Disposition
3766 Whether the breakpoint is marked to be disabled or deleted when hit.
3767 @item Enabled or Disabled
3768 Enabled breakpoints are marked with @samp{y}. @samp{n} marks breakpoints
3769 that are not enabled.
3770 @item Address
3771 Where the breakpoint is in your program, as a memory address. For a
3772 pending breakpoint whose address is not yet known, this field will
3773 contain @samp{<PENDING>}. Such breakpoint won't fire until a shared
3774 library that has the symbol or line referred by breakpoint is loaded.
3775 See below for details. A breakpoint with several locations will
3776 have @samp{<MULTIPLE>} in this field---see below for details.
3777 @item What
3778 Where the breakpoint is in the source for your program, as a file and
3779 line number. For a pending breakpoint, the original string passed to
3780 the breakpoint command will be listed as it cannot be resolved until
3781 the appropriate shared library is loaded in the future.
3782 @end table
3783
3784 @noindent
3785 If a breakpoint is conditional, there are two evaluation modes: ``host'' and
3786 ``target''. If mode is ``host'', breakpoint condition evaluation is done by
3787 @value{GDBN} on the host's side. If it is ``target'', then the condition
3788 is evaluated by the target. The @code{info break} command shows
3789 the condition on the line following the affected breakpoint, together with
3790 its condition evaluation mode in between parentheses.
3791
3792 Breakpoint commands, if any, are listed after that. A pending breakpoint is
3793 allowed to have a condition specified for it. The condition is not parsed for
3794 validity until a shared library is loaded that allows the pending
3795 breakpoint to resolve to a valid location.
3796
3797 @noindent
3798 @code{info break} with a breakpoint
3799 number @var{n} as argument lists only that breakpoint. The
3800 convenience variable @code{$_} and the default examining-address for
3801 the @code{x} command are set to the address of the last breakpoint
3802 listed (@pxref{Memory, ,Examining Memory}).
3803
3804 @noindent
3805 @code{info break} displays a count of the number of times the breakpoint
3806 has been hit. This is especially useful in conjunction with the
3807 @code{ignore} command. You can ignore a large number of breakpoint
3808 hits, look at the breakpoint info to see how many times the breakpoint
3809 was hit, and then run again, ignoring one less than that number. This
3810 will get you quickly to the last hit of that breakpoint.
3811
3812 @noindent
3813 For a breakpoints with an enable count (xref) greater than 1,
3814 @code{info break} also displays that count.
3815
3816 @end table
3817
3818 @value{GDBN} allows you to set any number of breakpoints at the same place in
3819 your program. There is nothing silly or meaningless about this. When
3820 the breakpoints are conditional, this is even useful
3821 (@pxref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}).
3822
3823 @cindex multiple locations, breakpoints
3824 @cindex breakpoints, multiple locations
3825 It is possible that a breakpoint corresponds to several locations
3826 in your program. Examples of this situation are:
3827
3828 @itemize @bullet
3829 @item
3830 Multiple functions in the program may have the same name.
3831
3832 @item
3833 For a C@t{++} constructor, the @value{NGCC} compiler generates several
3834 instances of the function body, used in different cases.
3835
3836 @item
3837 For a C@t{++} template function, a given line in the function can
3838 correspond to any number of instantiations.
3839
3840 @item
3841 For an inlined function, a given source line can correspond to
3842 several places where that function is inlined.
3843 @end itemize
3844
3845 In all those cases, @value{GDBN} will insert a breakpoint at all
3846 the relevant locations.
3847
3848 A breakpoint with multiple locations is displayed in the breakpoint
3849 table using several rows---one header row, followed by one row for
3850 each breakpoint location. The header row has @samp{<MULTIPLE>} in the
3851 address column. The rows for individual locations contain the actual
3852 addresses for locations, and show the functions to which those
3853 locations belong. The number column for a location is of the form
3854 @var{breakpoint-number}.@var{location-number}.
3855
3856 For example:
3857
3858 @smallexample
3859 Num Type Disp Enb Address What
3860 1 breakpoint keep y <MULTIPLE>
3861 stop only if i==1
3862 breakpoint already hit 1 time
3863 1.1 y 0x080486a2 in void foo<int>() at t.cc:8
3864 1.2 y 0x080486ca in void foo<double>() at t.cc:8
3865 @end smallexample
3866
3867 Each location can be individually enabled or disabled by passing
3868 @var{breakpoint-number}.@var{location-number} as argument to the
3869 @code{enable} and @code{disable} commands. Note that you cannot
3870 delete the individual locations from the list, you can only delete the
3871 entire list of locations that belong to their parent breakpoint (with
3872 the @kbd{delete @var{num}} command, where @var{num} is the number of
3873 the parent breakpoint, 1 in the above example). Disabling or enabling
3874 the parent breakpoint (@pxref{Disabling}) affects all of the locations
3875 that belong to that breakpoint.
3876
3877 @cindex pending breakpoints
3878 It's quite common to have a breakpoint inside a shared library.
3879 Shared libraries can be loaded and unloaded explicitly,
3880 and possibly repeatedly, as the program is executed. To support
3881 this use case, @value{GDBN} updates breakpoint locations whenever
3882 any shared library is loaded or unloaded. Typically, you would
3883 set a breakpoint in a shared library at the beginning of your
3884 debugging session, when the library is not loaded, and when the
3885 symbols from the library are not available. When you try to set
3886 breakpoint, @value{GDBN} will ask you if you want to set
3887 a so called @dfn{pending breakpoint}---breakpoint whose address
3888 is not yet resolved.
3889
3890 After the program is run, whenever a new shared library is loaded,
3891 @value{GDBN} reevaluates all the breakpoints. When a newly loaded
3892 shared library contains the symbol or line referred to by some
3893 pending breakpoint, that breakpoint is resolved and becomes an
3894 ordinary breakpoint. When a library is unloaded, all breakpoints
3895 that refer to its symbols or source lines become pending again.
3896
3897 This logic works for breakpoints with multiple locations, too. For
3898 example, if you have a breakpoint in a C@t{++} template function, and
3899 a newly loaded shared library has an instantiation of that template,
3900 a new location is added to the list of locations for the breakpoint.
3901
3902 Except for having unresolved address, pending breakpoints do not
3903 differ from regular breakpoints. You can set conditions or commands,
3904 enable and disable them and perform other breakpoint operations.
3905
3906 @value{GDBN} provides some additional commands for controlling what
3907 happens when the @samp{break} command cannot resolve breakpoint
3908 address specification to an address:
3909
3910 @kindex set breakpoint pending
3911 @kindex show breakpoint pending
3912 @table @code
3913 @item set breakpoint pending auto
3914 This is the default behavior. When @value{GDBN} cannot find the breakpoint
3915 location, it queries you whether a pending breakpoint should be created.
3916
3917 @item set breakpoint pending on
3918 This indicates that an unrecognized breakpoint location should automatically
3919 result in a pending breakpoint being created.
3920
3921 @item set breakpoint pending off
3922 This indicates that pending breakpoints are not to be created. Any
3923 unrecognized breakpoint location results in an error. This setting does
3924 not affect any pending breakpoints previously created.
3925
3926 @item show breakpoint pending
3927 Show the current behavior setting for creating pending breakpoints.
3928 @end table
3929
3930 The settings above only affect the @code{break} command and its
3931 variants. Once breakpoint is set, it will be automatically updated
3932 as shared libraries are loaded and unloaded.
3933
3934 @cindex automatic hardware breakpoints
3935 For some targets, @value{GDBN} can automatically decide if hardware or
3936 software breakpoints should be used, depending on whether the
3937 breakpoint address is read-only or read-write. This applies to
3938 breakpoints set with the @code{break} command as well as to internal
3939 breakpoints set by commands like @code{next} and @code{finish}. For
3940 breakpoints set with @code{hbreak}, @value{GDBN} will always use hardware
3941 breakpoints.
3942
3943 You can control this automatic behaviour with the following commands::
3944
3945 @kindex set breakpoint auto-hw
3946 @kindex show breakpoint auto-hw
3947 @table @code
3948 @item set breakpoint auto-hw on
3949 This is the default behavior. When @value{GDBN} sets a breakpoint, it
3950 will try to use the target memory map to decide if software or hardware
3951 breakpoint must be used.
3952
3953 @item set breakpoint auto-hw off
3954 This indicates @value{GDBN} should not automatically select breakpoint
3955 type. If the target provides a memory map, @value{GDBN} will warn when
3956 trying to set software breakpoint at a read-only address.
3957 @end table
3958
3959 @value{GDBN} normally implements breakpoints by replacing the program code
3960 at the breakpoint address with a special instruction, which, when
3961 executed, given control to the debugger. By default, the program
3962 code is so modified only when the program is resumed. As soon as
3963 the program stops, @value{GDBN} restores the original instructions. This
3964 behaviour guards against leaving breakpoints inserted in the
3965 target should gdb abrubptly disconnect. However, with slow remote
3966 targets, inserting and removing breakpoint can reduce the performance.
3967 This behavior can be controlled with the following commands::
3968
3969 @kindex set breakpoint always-inserted
3970 @kindex show breakpoint always-inserted
3971 @table @code
3972 @item set breakpoint always-inserted off
3973 All breakpoints, including newly added by the user, are inserted in
3974 the target only when the target is resumed. All breakpoints are
3975 removed from the target when it stops. This is the default mode.
3976
3977 @item set breakpoint always-inserted on
3978 Causes all breakpoints to be inserted in the target at all times. If
3979 the user adds a new breakpoint, or changes an existing breakpoint, the
3980 breakpoints in the target are updated immediately. A breakpoint is
3981 removed from the target only when breakpoint itself is deleted.
3982 @end table
3983
3984 @value{GDBN} handles conditional breakpoints by evaluating these conditions
3985 when a breakpoint breaks. If the condition is true, then the process being
3986 debugged stops, otherwise the process is resumed.
3987
3988 If the target supports evaluating conditions on its end, @value{GDBN} may
3989 download the breakpoint, together with its conditions, to it.
3990
3991 This feature can be controlled via the following commands:
3992
3993 @kindex set breakpoint condition-evaluation
3994 @kindex show breakpoint condition-evaluation
3995 @table @code
3996 @item set breakpoint condition-evaluation host
3997 This option commands @value{GDBN} to evaluate the breakpoint
3998 conditions on the host's side. Unconditional breakpoints are sent to
3999 the target which in turn receives the triggers and reports them back to GDB
4000 for condition evaluation. This is the standard evaluation mode.
4001
4002 @item set breakpoint condition-evaluation target
4003 This option commands @value{GDBN} to download breakpoint conditions
4004 to the target at the moment of their insertion. The target
4005 is responsible for evaluating the conditional expression and reporting
4006 breakpoint stop events back to @value{GDBN} whenever the condition
4007 is true. Due to limitations of target-side evaluation, some conditions
4008 cannot be evaluated there, e.g., conditions that depend on local data
4009 that is only known to the host. Examples include
4010 conditional expressions involving convenience variables, complex types
4011 that cannot be handled by the agent expression parser and expressions
4012 that are too long to be sent over to the target, specially when the
4013 target is a remote system. In these cases, the conditions will be
4014 evaluated by @value{GDBN}.
4015
4016 @item set breakpoint condition-evaluation auto
4017 This is the default mode. If the target supports evaluating breakpoint
4018 conditions on its end, @value{GDBN} will download breakpoint conditions to
4019 the target (limitations mentioned previously apply). If the target does
4020 not support breakpoint condition evaluation, then @value{GDBN} will fallback
4021 to evaluating all these conditions on the host's side.
4022 @end table
4023
4024
4025 @cindex negative breakpoint numbers
4026 @cindex internal @value{GDBN} breakpoints
4027 @value{GDBN} itself sometimes sets breakpoints in your program for
4028 special purposes, such as proper handling of @code{longjmp} (in C
4029 programs). These internal breakpoints are assigned negative numbers,
4030 starting with @code{-1}; @samp{info breakpoints} does not display them.
4031 You can see these breakpoints with the @value{GDBN} maintenance command
4032 @samp{maint info breakpoints} (@pxref{maint info breakpoints}).
4033
4034
4035 @node Set Watchpoints
4036 @subsection Setting Watchpoints
4037
4038 @cindex setting watchpoints
4039 You can use a watchpoint to stop execution whenever the value of an
4040 expression changes, without having to predict a particular place where
4041 this may happen. (This is sometimes called a @dfn{data breakpoint}.)
4042 The expression may be as simple as the value of a single variable, or
4043 as complex as many variables combined by operators. Examples include:
4044
4045 @itemize @bullet
4046 @item
4047 A reference to the value of a single variable.
4048
4049 @item
4050 An address cast to an appropriate data type. For example,
4051 @samp{*(int *)0x12345678} will watch a 4-byte region at the specified
4052 address (assuming an @code{int} occupies 4 bytes).
4053
4054 @item
4055 An arbitrarily complex expression, such as @samp{a*b + c/d}. The
4056 expression can use any operators valid in the program's native
4057 language (@pxref{Languages}).
4058 @end itemize
4059
4060 You can set a watchpoint on an expression even if the expression can
4061 not be evaluated yet. For instance, you can set a watchpoint on
4062 @samp{*global_ptr} before @samp{global_ptr} is initialized.
4063 @value{GDBN} will stop when your program sets @samp{global_ptr} and
4064 the expression produces a valid value. If the expression becomes
4065 valid in some other way than changing a variable (e.g.@: if the memory
4066 pointed to by @samp{*global_ptr} becomes readable as the result of a
4067 @code{malloc} call), @value{GDBN} may not stop until the next time
4068 the expression changes.
4069
4070 @cindex software watchpoints
4071 @cindex hardware watchpoints
4072 Depending on your system, watchpoints may be implemented in software or
4073 hardware. @value{GDBN} does software watchpointing by single-stepping your
4074 program and testing the variable's value each time, which is hundreds of
4075 times slower than normal execution. (But this may still be worth it, to
4076 catch errors where you have no clue what part of your program is the
4077 culprit.)
4078
4079 On some systems, such as most PowerPC or x86-based targets,
4080 @value{GDBN} includes support for hardware watchpoints, which do not
4081 slow down the running of your program.
4082
4083 @table @code
4084 @kindex watch
4085 @item watch @r{[}-l@r{|}-location@r{]} @var{expr} @r{[}thread @var{thread-id}@r{]} @r{[}mask @var{maskvalue}@r{]}
4086 Set a watchpoint for an expression. @value{GDBN} will break when the
4087 expression @var{expr} is written into by the program and its value
4088 changes. The simplest (and the most popular) use of this command is
4089 to watch the value of a single variable:
4090
4091 @smallexample
4092 (@value{GDBP}) watch foo
4093 @end smallexample
4094
4095 If the command includes a @code{@r{[}thread @var{thread-id}@r{]}}
4096 argument, @value{GDBN} breaks only when the thread identified by
4097 @var{thread-id} changes the value of @var{expr}. If any other threads
4098 change the value of @var{expr}, @value{GDBN} will not break. Note
4099 that watchpoints restricted to a single thread in this way only work
4100 with Hardware Watchpoints.
4101
4102 Ordinarily a watchpoint respects the scope of variables in @var{expr}
4103 (see below). The @code{-location} argument tells @value{GDBN} to
4104 instead watch the memory referred to by @var{expr}. In this case,
4105 @value{GDBN} will evaluate @var{expr}, take the address of the result,
4106 and watch the memory at that address. The type of the result is used
4107 to determine the size of the watched memory. If the expression's
4108 result does not have an address, then @value{GDBN} will print an
4109 error.
4110
4111 The @code{@r{[}mask @var{maskvalue}@r{]}} argument allows creation
4112 of masked watchpoints, if the current architecture supports this
4113 feature (e.g., PowerPC Embedded architecture, see @ref{PowerPC
4114 Embedded}.) A @dfn{masked watchpoint} specifies a mask in addition
4115 to an address to watch. The mask specifies that some bits of an address
4116 (the bits which are reset in the mask) should be ignored when matching
4117 the address accessed by the inferior against the watchpoint address.
4118 Thus, a masked watchpoint watches many addresses simultaneously---those
4119 addresses whose unmasked bits are identical to the unmasked bits in the
4120 watchpoint address. The @code{mask} argument implies @code{-location}.
4121 Examples:
4122
4123 @smallexample
4124 (@value{GDBP}) watch foo mask 0xffff00ff
4125 (@value{GDBP}) watch *0xdeadbeef mask 0xffffff00
4126 @end smallexample
4127
4128 @kindex rwatch
4129 @item rwatch @r{[}-l@r{|}-location@r{]} @var{expr} @r{[}thread @var{thread-id}@r{]} @r{[}mask @var{maskvalue}@r{]}
4130 Set a watchpoint that will break when the value of @var{expr} is read
4131 by the program.
4132
4133 @kindex awatch
4134 @item awatch @r{[}-l@r{|}-location@r{]} @var{expr} @r{[}thread @var{thread-id}@r{]} @r{[}mask @var{maskvalue}@r{]}
4135 Set a watchpoint that will break when @var{expr} is either read from
4136 or written into by the program.
4137
4138 @kindex info watchpoints @r{[}@var{n}@dots{}@r{]}
4139 @item info watchpoints @r{[}@var{n}@dots{}@r{]}
4140 This command prints a list of watchpoints, using the same format as
4141 @code{info break} (@pxref{Set Breaks}).
4142 @end table
4143
4144 If you watch for a change in a numerically entered address you need to
4145 dereference it, as the address itself is just a constant number which will
4146 never change. @value{GDBN} refuses to create a watchpoint that watches
4147 a never-changing value:
4148
4149 @smallexample
4150 (@value{GDBP}) watch 0x600850
4151 Cannot watch constant value 0x600850.
4152 (@value{GDBP}) watch *(int *) 0x600850
4153 Watchpoint 1: *(int *) 6293584
4154 @end smallexample
4155
4156 @value{GDBN} sets a @dfn{hardware watchpoint} if possible. Hardware
4157 watchpoints execute very quickly, and the debugger reports a change in
4158 value at the exact instruction where the change occurs. If @value{GDBN}
4159 cannot set a hardware watchpoint, it sets a software watchpoint, which
4160 executes more slowly and reports the change in value at the next
4161 @emph{statement}, not the instruction, after the change occurs.
4162
4163 @cindex use only software watchpoints
4164 You can force @value{GDBN} to use only software watchpoints with the
4165 @kbd{set can-use-hw-watchpoints 0} command. With this variable set to
4166 zero, @value{GDBN} will never try to use hardware watchpoints, even if
4167 the underlying system supports them. (Note that hardware-assisted
4168 watchpoints that were set @emph{before} setting
4169 @code{can-use-hw-watchpoints} to zero will still use the hardware
4170 mechanism of watching expression values.)
4171
4172 @table @code
4173 @item set can-use-hw-watchpoints
4174 @kindex set can-use-hw-watchpoints
4175 Set whether or not to use hardware watchpoints.
4176
4177 @item show can-use-hw-watchpoints
4178 @kindex show can-use-hw-watchpoints
4179 Show the current mode of using hardware watchpoints.
4180 @end table
4181
4182 For remote targets, you can restrict the number of hardware
4183 watchpoints @value{GDBN} will use, see @ref{set remote
4184 hardware-breakpoint-limit}.
4185
4186 When you issue the @code{watch} command, @value{GDBN} reports
4187
4188 @smallexample
4189 Hardware watchpoint @var{num}: @var{expr}
4190 @end smallexample
4191
4192 @noindent
4193 if it was able to set a hardware watchpoint.
4194
4195 Currently, the @code{awatch} and @code{rwatch} commands can only set
4196 hardware watchpoints, because accesses to data that don't change the
4197 value of the watched expression cannot be detected without examining
4198 every instruction as it is being executed, and @value{GDBN} does not do
4199 that currently. If @value{GDBN} finds that it is unable to set a
4200 hardware breakpoint with the @code{awatch} or @code{rwatch} command, it
4201 will print a message like this:
4202
4203 @smallexample
4204 Expression cannot be implemented with read/access watchpoint.
4205 @end smallexample
4206
4207 Sometimes, @value{GDBN} cannot set a hardware watchpoint because the
4208 data type of the watched expression is wider than what a hardware
4209 watchpoint on the target machine can handle. For example, some systems
4210 can only watch regions that are up to 4 bytes wide; on such systems you
4211 cannot set hardware watchpoints for an expression that yields a
4212 double-precision floating-point number (which is typically 8 bytes
4213 wide). As a work-around, it might be possible to break the large region
4214 into a series of smaller ones and watch them with separate watchpoints.
4215
4216 If you set too many hardware watchpoints, @value{GDBN} might be unable
4217 to insert all of them when you resume the execution of your program.
4218 Since the precise number of active watchpoints is unknown until such
4219 time as the program is about to be resumed, @value{GDBN} might not be
4220 able to warn you about this when you set the watchpoints, and the
4221 warning will be printed only when the program is resumed:
4222
4223 @smallexample
4224 Hardware watchpoint @var{num}: Could not insert watchpoint
4225 @end smallexample
4226
4227 @noindent
4228 If this happens, delete or disable some of the watchpoints.
4229
4230 Watching complex expressions that reference many variables can also
4231 exhaust the resources available for hardware-assisted watchpoints.
4232 That's because @value{GDBN} needs to watch every variable in the
4233 expression with separately allocated resources.
4234
4235 If you call a function interactively using @code{print} or @code{call},
4236 any watchpoints you have set will be inactive until @value{GDBN} reaches another
4237 kind of breakpoint or the call completes.
4238
4239 @value{GDBN} automatically deletes watchpoints that watch local
4240 (automatic) variables, or expressions that involve such variables, when
4241 they go out of scope, that is, when the execution leaves the block in
4242 which these variables were defined. In particular, when the program
4243 being debugged terminates, @emph{all} local variables go out of scope,
4244 and so only watchpoints that watch global variables remain set. If you
4245 rerun the program, you will need to set all such watchpoints again. One
4246 way of doing that would be to set a code breakpoint at the entry to the
4247 @code{main} function and when it breaks, set all the watchpoints.
4248
4249 @cindex watchpoints and threads
4250 @cindex threads and watchpoints
4251 In multi-threaded programs, watchpoints will detect changes to the
4252 watched expression from every thread.
4253
4254 @quotation
4255 @emph{Warning:} In multi-threaded programs, software watchpoints
4256 have only limited usefulness. If @value{GDBN} creates a software
4257 watchpoint, it can only watch the value of an expression @emph{in a
4258 single thread}. If you are confident that the expression can only
4259 change due to the current thread's activity (and if you are also
4260 confident that no other thread can become current), then you can use
4261 software watchpoints as usual. However, @value{GDBN} may not notice
4262 when a non-current thread's activity changes the expression. (Hardware
4263 watchpoints, in contrast, watch an expression in all threads.)
4264 @end quotation
4265
4266 @xref{set remote hardware-watchpoint-limit}.
4267
4268 @node Set Catchpoints
4269 @subsection Setting Catchpoints
4270 @cindex catchpoints, setting
4271 @cindex exception handlers
4272 @cindex event handling
4273
4274 You can use @dfn{catchpoints} to cause the debugger to stop for certain
4275 kinds of program events, such as C@t{++} exceptions or the loading of a
4276 shared library. Use the @code{catch} command to set a catchpoint.
4277
4278 @table @code
4279 @kindex catch
4280 @item catch @var{event}
4281 Stop when @var{event} occurs. The @var{event} can be any of the following:
4282
4283 @table @code
4284 @item throw @r{[}@var{regexp}@r{]}
4285 @itemx rethrow @r{[}@var{regexp}@r{]}
4286 @itemx catch @r{[}@var{regexp}@r{]}
4287 @kindex catch throw
4288 @kindex catch rethrow
4289 @kindex catch catch
4290 @cindex stop on C@t{++} exceptions
4291 The throwing, re-throwing, or catching of a C@t{++} exception.
4292
4293 If @var{regexp} is given, then only exceptions whose type matches the
4294 regular expression will be caught.
4295
4296 @vindex $_exception@r{, convenience variable}
4297 The convenience variable @code{$_exception} is available at an
4298 exception-related catchpoint, on some systems. This holds the
4299 exception being thrown.
4300
4301 There are currently some limitations to C@t{++} exception handling in
4302 @value{GDBN}:
4303
4304 @itemize @bullet
4305 @item
4306 The support for these commands is system-dependent. Currently, only
4307 systems using the @samp{gnu-v3} C@t{++} ABI (@pxref{ABI}) are
4308 supported.
4309
4310 @item
4311 The regular expression feature and the @code{$_exception} convenience
4312 variable rely on the presence of some SDT probes in @code{libstdc++}.
4313 If these probes are not present, then these features cannot be used.
4314 These probes were first available in the GCC 4.8 release, but whether
4315 or not they are available in your GCC also depends on how it was
4316 built.
4317
4318 @item
4319 The @code{$_exception} convenience variable is only valid at the
4320 instruction at which an exception-related catchpoint is set.
4321
4322 @item
4323 When an exception-related catchpoint is hit, @value{GDBN} stops at a
4324 location in the system library which implements runtime exception
4325 support for C@t{++}, usually @code{libstdc++}. You can use @code{up}
4326 (@pxref{Selection}) to get to your code.
4327
4328 @item
4329 If you call a function interactively, @value{GDBN} normally returns
4330 control to you when the function has finished executing. If the call
4331 raises an exception, however, the call may bypass the mechanism that
4332 returns control to you and cause your program either to abort or to
4333 simply continue running until it hits a breakpoint, catches a signal
4334 that @value{GDBN} is listening for, or exits. This is the case even if
4335 you set a catchpoint for the exception; catchpoints on exceptions are
4336 disabled within interactive calls. @xref{Calling}, for information on
4337 controlling this with @code{set unwind-on-terminating-exception}.
4338
4339 @item
4340 You cannot raise an exception interactively.
4341
4342 @item
4343 You cannot install an exception handler interactively.
4344 @end itemize
4345
4346 @item exception
4347 @kindex catch exception
4348 @cindex Ada exception catching
4349 @cindex catch Ada exceptions
4350 An Ada exception being raised. If an exception name is specified
4351 at the end of the command (eg @code{catch exception Program_Error}),
4352 the debugger will stop only when this specific exception is raised.
4353 Otherwise, the debugger stops execution when any Ada exception is raised.
4354
4355 When inserting an exception catchpoint on a user-defined exception whose
4356 name is identical to one of the exceptions defined by the language, the
4357 fully qualified name must be used as the exception name. Otherwise,
4358 @value{GDBN} will assume that it should stop on the pre-defined exception
4359 rather than the user-defined one. For instance, assuming an exception
4360 called @code{Constraint_Error} is defined in package @code{Pck}, then
4361 the command to use to catch such exceptions is @kbd{catch exception
4362 Pck.Constraint_Error}.
4363
4364 @item exception unhandled
4365 @kindex catch exception unhandled
4366 An exception that was raised but is not handled by the program.
4367
4368 @item assert
4369 @kindex catch assert
4370 A failed Ada assertion.
4371
4372 @item exec
4373 @kindex catch exec
4374 @cindex break on fork/exec
4375 A call to @code{exec}.
4376
4377 @item syscall
4378 @itemx syscall @r{[}@var{name} @r{|} @var{number}@r{]} @dots{}
4379 @kindex catch syscall
4380 @cindex break on a system call.
4381 A call to or return from a system call, a.k.a.@: @dfn{syscall}. A
4382 syscall is a mechanism for application programs to request a service
4383 from the operating system (OS) or one of the OS system services.
4384 @value{GDBN} can catch some or all of the syscalls issued by the
4385 debuggee, and show the related information for each syscall. If no
4386 argument is specified, calls to and returns from all system calls
4387 will be caught.
4388
4389 @var{name} can be any system call name that is valid for the
4390 underlying OS. Just what syscalls are valid depends on the OS. On
4391 GNU and Unix systems, you can find the full list of valid syscall
4392 names on @file{/usr/include/asm/unistd.h}.
4393
4394 @c For MS-Windows, the syscall names and the corresponding numbers
4395 @c can be found, e.g., on this URL:
4396 @c http://www.metasploit.com/users/opcode/syscalls.html
4397 @c but we don't support Windows syscalls yet.
4398
4399 Normally, @value{GDBN} knows in advance which syscalls are valid for
4400 each OS, so you can use the @value{GDBN} command-line completion
4401 facilities (@pxref{Completion,, command completion}) to list the
4402 available choices.
4403
4404 You may also specify the system call numerically. A syscall's
4405 number is the value passed to the OS's syscall dispatcher to
4406 identify the requested service. When you specify the syscall by its
4407 name, @value{GDBN} uses its database of syscalls to convert the name
4408 into the corresponding numeric code, but using the number directly
4409 may be useful if @value{GDBN}'s database does not have the complete
4410 list of syscalls on your system (e.g., because @value{GDBN} lags
4411 behind the OS upgrades).
4412
4413 The example below illustrates how this command works if you don't provide
4414 arguments to it:
4415
4416 @smallexample
4417 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall
4418 Catchpoint 1 (syscall)
4419 (@value{GDBP}) r
4420 Starting program: /tmp/catch-syscall
4421
4422 Catchpoint 1 (call to syscall 'close'), \
4423 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
4424 (@value{GDBP}) c
4425 Continuing.
4426
4427 Catchpoint 1 (returned from syscall 'close'), \
4428 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
4429 (@value{GDBP})
4430 @end smallexample
4431
4432 Here is an example of catching a system call by name:
4433
4434 @smallexample
4435 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall chroot
4436 Catchpoint 1 (syscall 'chroot' [61])
4437 (@value{GDBP}) r
4438 Starting program: /tmp/catch-syscall
4439
4440 Catchpoint 1 (call to syscall 'chroot'), \
4441 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
4442 (@value{GDBP}) c
4443 Continuing.
4444
4445 Catchpoint 1 (returned from syscall 'chroot'), \
4446 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
4447 (@value{GDBP})
4448 @end smallexample
4449
4450 An example of specifying a system call numerically. In the case
4451 below, the syscall number has a corresponding entry in the XML
4452 file, so @value{GDBN} finds its name and prints it:
4453
4454 @smallexample
4455 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall 252
4456 Catchpoint 1 (syscall(s) 'exit_group')
4457 (@value{GDBP}) r
4458 Starting program: /tmp/catch-syscall
4459
4460 Catchpoint 1 (call to syscall 'exit_group'), \
4461 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
4462 (@value{GDBP}) c
4463 Continuing.
4464
4465 Program exited normally.
4466 (@value{GDBP})
4467 @end smallexample
4468
4469 However, there can be situations when there is no corresponding name
4470 in XML file for that syscall number. In this case, @value{GDBN} prints
4471 a warning message saying that it was not able to find the syscall name,
4472 but the catchpoint will be set anyway. See the example below:
4473
4474 @smallexample
4475 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall 764
4476 warning: The number '764' does not represent a known syscall.
4477 Catchpoint 2 (syscall 764)
4478 (@value{GDBP})
4479 @end smallexample
4480
4481 If you configure @value{GDBN} using the @samp{--without-expat} option,
4482 it will not be able to display syscall names. Also, if your
4483 architecture does not have an XML file describing its system calls,
4484 you will not be able to see the syscall names. It is important to
4485 notice that these two features are used for accessing the syscall
4486 name database. In either case, you will see a warning like this:
4487
4488 @smallexample
4489 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall
4490 warning: Could not open "syscalls/i386-linux.xml"
4491 warning: Could not load the syscall XML file 'syscalls/i386-linux.xml'.
4492 GDB will not be able to display syscall names.
4493 Catchpoint 1 (syscall)
4494 (@value{GDBP})
4495 @end smallexample
4496
4497 Of course, the file name will change depending on your architecture and system.
4498
4499 Still using the example above, you can also try to catch a syscall by its
4500 number. In this case, you would see something like:
4501
4502 @smallexample
4503 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall 252
4504 Catchpoint 1 (syscall(s) 252)
4505 @end smallexample
4506
4507 Again, in this case @value{GDBN} would not be able to display syscall's names.
4508
4509 @item fork
4510 @kindex catch fork
4511 A call to @code{fork}.
4512
4513 @item vfork
4514 @kindex catch vfork
4515 A call to @code{vfork}.
4516
4517 @item load @r{[}regexp@r{]}
4518 @itemx unload @r{[}regexp@r{]}
4519 @kindex catch load
4520 @kindex catch unload
4521 The loading or unloading of a shared library. If @var{regexp} is
4522 given, then the catchpoint will stop only if the regular expression
4523 matches one of the affected libraries.
4524
4525 @item signal @r{[}@var{signal}@dots{} @r{|} @samp{all}@r{]}
4526 @kindex catch signal
4527 The delivery of a signal.
4528
4529 With no arguments, this catchpoint will catch any signal that is not
4530 used internally by @value{GDBN}, specifically, all signals except
4531 @samp{SIGTRAP} and @samp{SIGINT}.
4532
4533 With the argument @samp{all}, all signals, including those used by
4534 @value{GDBN}, will be caught. This argument cannot be used with other
4535 signal names.
4536
4537 Otherwise, the arguments are a list of signal names as given to
4538 @code{handle} (@pxref{Signals}). Only signals specified in this list
4539 will be caught.
4540
4541 One reason that @code{catch signal} can be more useful than
4542 @code{handle} is that you can attach commands and conditions to the
4543 catchpoint.
4544
4545 When a signal is caught by a catchpoint, the signal's @code{stop} and
4546 @code{print} settings, as specified by @code{handle}, are ignored.
4547 However, whether the signal is still delivered to the inferior depends
4548 on the @code{pass} setting; this can be changed in the catchpoint's
4549 commands.
4550
4551 @end table
4552
4553 @item tcatch @var{event}
4554 @kindex tcatch
4555 Set a catchpoint that is enabled only for one stop. The catchpoint is
4556 automatically deleted after the first time the event is caught.
4557
4558 @end table
4559
4560 Use the @code{info break} command to list the current catchpoints.
4561
4562
4563 @node Delete Breaks
4564 @subsection Deleting Breakpoints
4565
4566 @cindex clearing breakpoints, watchpoints, catchpoints
4567 @cindex deleting breakpoints, watchpoints, catchpoints
4568 It is often necessary to eliminate a breakpoint, watchpoint, or
4569 catchpoint once it has done its job and you no longer want your program
4570 to stop there. This is called @dfn{deleting} the breakpoint. A
4571 breakpoint that has been deleted no longer exists; it is forgotten.
4572
4573 With the @code{clear} command you can delete breakpoints according to
4574 where they are in your program. With the @code{delete} command you can
4575 delete individual breakpoints, watchpoints, or catchpoints by specifying
4576 their breakpoint numbers.
4577
4578 It is not necessary to delete a breakpoint to proceed past it. @value{GDBN}
4579 automatically ignores breakpoints on the first instruction to be executed
4580 when you continue execution without changing the execution address.
4581
4582 @table @code
4583 @kindex clear
4584 @item clear
4585 Delete any breakpoints at the next instruction to be executed in the
4586 selected stack frame (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}). When
4587 the innermost frame is selected, this is a good way to delete a
4588 breakpoint where your program just stopped.
4589
4590 @item clear @var{location}
4591 Delete any breakpoints set at the specified @var{location}.
4592 @xref{Specify Location}, for the various forms of @var{location}; the
4593 most useful ones are listed below:
4594
4595 @table @code
4596 @item clear @var{function}
4597 @itemx clear @var{filename}:@var{function}
4598 Delete any breakpoints set at entry to the named @var{function}.
4599
4600 @item clear @var{linenum}
4601 @itemx clear @var{filename}:@var{linenum}
4602 Delete any breakpoints set at or within the code of the specified
4603 @var{linenum} of the specified @var{filename}.
4604 @end table
4605
4606 @cindex delete breakpoints
4607 @kindex delete
4608 @kindex d @r{(@code{delete})}
4609 @item delete @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} @r{[}@var{range}@dots{}@r{]}
4610 Delete the breakpoints, watchpoints, or catchpoints of the breakpoint
4611 ranges specified as arguments. If no argument is specified, delete all
4612 breakpoints (@value{GDBN} asks confirmation, unless you have @code{set
4613 confirm off}). You can abbreviate this command as @code{d}.
4614 @end table
4615
4616 @node Disabling
4617 @subsection Disabling Breakpoints
4618
4619 @cindex enable/disable a breakpoint
4620 Rather than deleting a breakpoint, watchpoint, or catchpoint, you might
4621 prefer to @dfn{disable} it. This makes the breakpoint inoperative as if
4622 it had been deleted, but remembers the information on the breakpoint so
4623 that you can @dfn{enable} it again later.
4624
4625 You disable and enable breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints with
4626 the @code{enable} and @code{disable} commands, optionally specifying
4627 one or more breakpoint numbers as arguments. Use @code{info break} to
4628 print a list of all breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints if you
4629 do not know which numbers to use.
4630
4631 Disabling and enabling a breakpoint that has multiple locations
4632 affects all of its locations.
4633
4634 A breakpoint, watchpoint, or catchpoint can have any of several
4635 different states of enablement:
4636
4637 @itemize @bullet
4638 @item
4639 Enabled. The breakpoint stops your program. A breakpoint set
4640 with the @code{break} command starts out in this state.
4641 @item
4642 Disabled. The breakpoint has no effect on your program.
4643 @item
4644 Enabled once. The breakpoint stops your program, but then becomes
4645 disabled.
4646 @item
4647 Enabled for a count. The breakpoint stops your program for the next
4648 N times, then becomes disabled.
4649 @item
4650 Enabled for deletion. The breakpoint stops your program, but
4651 immediately after it does so it is deleted permanently. A breakpoint
4652 set with the @code{tbreak} command starts out in this state.
4653 @end itemize
4654
4655 You can use the following commands to enable or disable breakpoints,
4656 watchpoints, and catchpoints:
4657
4658 @table @code
4659 @kindex disable
4660 @kindex dis @r{(@code{disable})}
4661 @item disable @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} @r{[}@var{range}@dots{}@r{]}
4662 Disable the specified breakpoints---or all breakpoints, if none are
4663 listed. A disabled breakpoint has no effect but is not forgotten. All
4664 options such as ignore-counts, conditions and commands are remembered in
4665 case the breakpoint is enabled again later. You may abbreviate
4666 @code{disable} as @code{dis}.
4667
4668 @kindex enable
4669 @item enable @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} @r{[}@var{range}@dots{}@r{]}
4670 Enable the specified breakpoints (or all defined breakpoints). They
4671 become effective once again in stopping your program.
4672
4673 @item enable @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} once @var{range}@dots{}
4674 Enable the specified breakpoints temporarily. @value{GDBN} disables any
4675 of these breakpoints immediately after stopping your program.
4676
4677 @item enable @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} count @var{count} @var{range}@dots{}
4678 Enable the specified breakpoints temporarily. @value{GDBN} records
4679 @var{count} with each of the specified breakpoints, and decrements a
4680 breakpoint's count when it is hit. When any count reaches 0,
4681 @value{GDBN} disables that breakpoint. If a breakpoint has an ignore
4682 count (@pxref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}), that will be
4683 decremented to 0 before @var{count} is affected.
4684
4685 @item enable @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} delete @var{range}@dots{}
4686 Enable the specified breakpoints to work once, then die. @value{GDBN}
4687 deletes any of these breakpoints as soon as your program stops there.
4688 Breakpoints set by the @code{tbreak} command start out in this state.
4689 @end table
4690
4691 @c FIXME: I think the following ``Except for [...] @code{tbreak}'' is
4692 @c confusing: tbreak is also initially enabled.
4693 Except for a breakpoint set with @code{tbreak} (@pxref{Set Breaks,
4694 ,Setting Breakpoints}), breakpoints that you set are initially enabled;
4695 subsequently, they become disabled or enabled only when you use one of
4696 the commands above. (The command @code{until} can set and delete a
4697 breakpoint of its own, but it does not change the state of your other
4698 breakpoints; see @ref{Continuing and Stepping, ,Continuing and
4699 Stepping}.)
4700
4701 @node Conditions
4702 @subsection Break Conditions
4703 @cindex conditional breakpoints
4704 @cindex breakpoint conditions
4705
4706 @c FIXME what is scope of break condition expr? Context where wanted?
4707 @c in particular for a watchpoint?
4708 The simplest sort of breakpoint breaks every time your program reaches a
4709 specified place. You can also specify a @dfn{condition} for a
4710 breakpoint. A condition is just a Boolean expression in your
4711 programming language (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}). A breakpoint with
4712 a condition evaluates the expression each time your program reaches it,
4713 and your program stops only if the condition is @emph{true}.
4714
4715 This is the converse of using assertions for program validation; in that
4716 situation, you want to stop when the assertion is violated---that is,
4717 when the condition is false. In C, if you want to test an assertion expressed
4718 by the condition @var{assert}, you should set the condition
4719 @samp{! @var{assert}} on the appropriate breakpoint.
4720
4721 Conditions are also accepted for watchpoints; you may not need them,
4722 since a watchpoint is inspecting the value of an expression anyhow---but
4723 it might be simpler, say, to just set a watchpoint on a variable name,
4724 and specify a condition that tests whether the new value is an interesting
4725 one.
4726
4727 Break conditions can have side effects, and may even call functions in
4728 your program. This can be useful, for example, to activate functions
4729 that log program progress, or to use your own print functions to
4730 format special data structures. The effects are completely predictable
4731 unless there is another enabled breakpoint at the same address. (In
4732 that case, @value{GDBN} might see the other breakpoint first and stop your
4733 program without checking the condition of this one.) Note that
4734 breakpoint commands are usually more convenient and flexible than break
4735 conditions for the
4736 purpose of performing side effects when a breakpoint is reached
4737 (@pxref{Break Commands, ,Breakpoint Command Lists}).
4738
4739 Breakpoint conditions can also be evaluated on the target's side if
4740 the target supports it. Instead of evaluating the conditions locally,
4741 @value{GDBN} encodes the expression into an agent expression
4742 (@pxref{Agent Expressions}) suitable for execution on the target,
4743 independently of @value{GDBN}. Global variables become raw memory
4744 locations, locals become stack accesses, and so forth.
4745
4746 In this case, @value{GDBN} will only be notified of a breakpoint trigger
4747 when its condition evaluates to true. This mechanism may provide faster
4748 response times depending on the performance characteristics of the target
4749 since it does not need to keep @value{GDBN} informed about
4750 every breakpoint trigger, even those with false conditions.
4751
4752 Break conditions can be specified when a breakpoint is set, by using
4753 @samp{if} in the arguments to the @code{break} command. @xref{Set
4754 Breaks, ,Setting Breakpoints}. They can also be changed at any time
4755 with the @code{condition} command.
4756
4757 You can also use the @code{if} keyword with the @code{watch} command.
4758 The @code{catch} command does not recognize the @code{if} keyword;
4759 @code{condition} is the only way to impose a further condition on a
4760 catchpoint.
4761
4762 @table @code
4763 @kindex condition
4764 @item condition @var{bnum} @var{expression}
4765 Specify @var{expression} as the break condition for breakpoint,
4766 watchpoint, or catchpoint number @var{bnum}. After you set a condition,
4767 breakpoint @var{bnum} stops your program only if the value of
4768 @var{expression} is true (nonzero, in C). When you use
4769 @code{condition}, @value{GDBN} checks @var{expression} immediately for
4770 syntactic correctness, and to determine whether symbols in it have
4771 referents in the context of your breakpoint. If @var{expression} uses
4772 symbols not referenced in the context of the breakpoint, @value{GDBN}
4773 prints an error message:
4774
4775 @smallexample
4776 No symbol "foo" in current context.
4777 @end smallexample
4778
4779 @noindent
4780 @value{GDBN} does
4781 not actually evaluate @var{expression} at the time the @code{condition}
4782 command (or a command that sets a breakpoint with a condition, like
4783 @code{break if @dots{}}) is given, however. @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}.
4784
4785 @item condition @var{bnum}
4786 Remove the condition from breakpoint number @var{bnum}. It becomes
4787 an ordinary unconditional breakpoint.
4788 @end table
4789
4790 @cindex ignore count (of breakpoint)
4791 A special case of a breakpoint condition is to stop only when the
4792 breakpoint has been reached a certain number of times. This is so
4793 useful that there is a special way to do it, using the @dfn{ignore
4794 count} of the breakpoint. Every breakpoint has an ignore count, which
4795 is an integer. Most of the time, the ignore count is zero, and
4796 therefore has no effect. But if your program reaches a breakpoint whose
4797 ignore count is positive, then instead of stopping, it just decrements
4798 the ignore count by one and continues. As a result, if the ignore count
4799 value is @var{n}, the breakpoint does not stop the next @var{n} times
4800 your program reaches it.
4801
4802 @table @code
4803 @kindex ignore
4804 @item ignore @var{bnum} @var{count}
4805 Set the ignore count of breakpoint number @var{bnum} to @var{count}.
4806 The next @var{count} times the breakpoint is reached, your program's
4807 execution does not stop; other than to decrement the ignore count, @value{GDBN}
4808 takes no action.
4809
4810 To make the breakpoint stop the next time it is reached, specify
4811 a count of zero.
4812
4813 When you use @code{continue} to resume execution of your program from a
4814 breakpoint, you can specify an ignore count directly as an argument to
4815 @code{continue}, rather than using @code{ignore}. @xref{Continuing and
4816 Stepping,,Continuing and Stepping}.
4817
4818 If a breakpoint has a positive ignore count and a condition, the
4819 condition is not checked. Once the ignore count reaches zero,
4820 @value{GDBN} resumes checking the condition.
4821
4822 You could achieve the effect of the ignore count with a condition such
4823 as @w{@samp{$foo-- <= 0}} using a debugger convenience variable that
4824 is decremented each time. @xref{Convenience Vars, ,Convenience
4825 Variables}.
4826 @end table
4827
4828 Ignore counts apply to breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints.
4829
4830
4831 @node Break Commands
4832 @subsection Breakpoint Command Lists
4833
4834 @cindex breakpoint commands
4835 You can give any breakpoint (or watchpoint or catchpoint) a series of
4836 commands to execute when your program stops due to that breakpoint. For
4837 example, you might want to print the values of certain expressions, or
4838 enable other breakpoints.
4839
4840 @table @code
4841 @kindex commands
4842 @kindex end@r{ (breakpoint commands)}
4843 @item commands @r{[}@var{range}@dots{}@r{]}
4844 @itemx @dots{} @var{command-list} @dots{}
4845 @itemx end
4846 Specify a list of commands for the given breakpoints. The commands
4847 themselves appear on the following lines. Type a line containing just
4848 @code{end} to terminate the commands.
4849
4850 To remove all commands from a breakpoint, type @code{commands} and
4851 follow it immediately with @code{end}; that is, give no commands.
4852
4853 With no argument, @code{commands} refers to the last breakpoint,
4854 watchpoint, or catchpoint set (not to the breakpoint most recently
4855 encountered). If the most recent breakpoints were set with a single
4856 command, then the @code{commands} will apply to all the breakpoints
4857 set by that command. This applies to breakpoints set by
4858 @code{rbreak}, and also applies when a single @code{break} command
4859 creates multiple breakpoints (@pxref{Ambiguous Expressions,,Ambiguous
4860 Expressions}).
4861 @end table
4862
4863 Pressing @key{RET} as a means of repeating the last @value{GDBN} command is
4864 disabled within a @var{command-list}.
4865
4866 You can use breakpoint commands to start your program up again. Simply
4867 use the @code{continue} command, or @code{step}, or any other command
4868 that resumes execution.
4869
4870 Any other commands in the command list, after a command that resumes
4871 execution, are ignored. This is because any time you resume execution
4872 (even with a simple @code{next} or @code{step}), you may encounter
4873 another breakpoint---which could have its own command list, leading to
4874 ambiguities about which list to execute.
4875
4876 @kindex silent
4877 If the first command you specify in a command list is @code{silent}, the
4878 usual message about stopping at a breakpoint is not printed. This may
4879 be desirable for breakpoints that are to print a specific message and
4880 then continue. If none of the remaining commands print anything, you
4881 see no sign that the breakpoint was reached. @code{silent} is
4882 meaningful only at the beginning of a breakpoint command list.
4883
4884 The commands @code{echo}, @code{output}, and @code{printf} allow you to
4885 print precisely controlled output, and are often useful in silent
4886 breakpoints. @xref{Output, ,Commands for Controlled Output}.
4887
4888 For example, here is how you could use breakpoint commands to print the
4889 value of @code{x} at entry to @code{foo} whenever @code{x} is positive.
4890
4891 @smallexample
4892 break foo if x>0
4893 commands
4894 silent
4895 printf "x is %d\n",x
4896 cont
4897 end
4898 @end smallexample
4899
4900 One application for breakpoint commands is to compensate for one bug so
4901 you can test for another. Put a breakpoint just after the erroneous line
4902 of code, give it a condition to detect the case in which something
4903 erroneous has been done, and give it commands to assign correct values
4904 to any variables that need them. End with the @code{continue} command
4905 so that your program does not stop, and start with the @code{silent}
4906 command so that no output is produced. Here is an example:
4907
4908 @smallexample
4909 break 403
4910 commands
4911 silent
4912 set x = y + 4
4913 cont
4914 end
4915 @end smallexample
4916
4917 @node Dynamic Printf
4918 @subsection Dynamic Printf
4919
4920 @cindex dynamic printf
4921 @cindex dprintf
4922 The dynamic printf command @code{dprintf} combines a breakpoint with
4923 formatted printing of your program's data to give you the effect of
4924 inserting @code{printf} calls into your program on-the-fly, without
4925 having to recompile it.
4926
4927 In its most basic form, the output goes to the GDB console. However,
4928 you can set the variable @code{dprintf-style} for alternate handling.
4929 For instance, you can ask to format the output by calling your
4930 program's @code{printf} function. This has the advantage that the
4931 characters go to the program's output device, so they can recorded in
4932 redirects to files and so forth.
4933
4934 If you are doing remote debugging with a stub or agent, you can also
4935 ask to have the printf handled by the remote agent. In addition to
4936 ensuring that the output goes to the remote program's device along
4937 with any other output the program might produce, you can also ask that
4938 the dprintf remain active even after disconnecting from the remote
4939 target. Using the stub/agent is also more efficient, as it can do
4940 everything without needing to communicate with @value{GDBN}.
4941
4942 @table @code
4943 @kindex dprintf
4944 @item dprintf @var{location},@var{template},@var{expression}[,@var{expression}@dots{}]
4945 Whenever execution reaches @var{location}, print the values of one or
4946 more @var{expressions} under the control of the string @var{template}.
4947 To print several values, separate them with commas.
4948
4949 @item set dprintf-style @var{style}
4950 Set the dprintf output to be handled in one of several different
4951 styles enumerated below. A change of style affects all existing
4952 dynamic printfs immediately. (If you need individual control over the
4953 print commands, simply define normal breakpoints with
4954 explicitly-supplied command lists.)
4955
4956 @item gdb
4957 @kindex dprintf-style gdb
4958 Handle the output using the @value{GDBN} @code{printf} command.
4959
4960 @item call
4961 @kindex dprintf-style call
4962 Handle the output by calling a function in your program (normally
4963 @code{printf}).
4964
4965 @item agent
4966 @kindex dprintf-style agent
4967 Have the remote debugging agent (such as @code{gdbserver}) handle
4968 the output itself. This style is only available for agents that
4969 support running commands on the target.
4970
4971 @item set dprintf-function @var{function}
4972 Set the function to call if the dprintf style is @code{call}. By
4973 default its value is @code{printf}. You may set it to any expression.
4974 that @value{GDBN} can evaluate to a function, as per the @code{call}
4975 command.
4976
4977 @item set dprintf-channel @var{channel}
4978 Set a ``channel'' for dprintf. If set to a non-empty value,
4979 @value{GDBN} will evaluate it as an expression and pass the result as
4980 a first argument to the @code{dprintf-function}, in the manner of
4981 @code{fprintf} and similar functions. Otherwise, the dprintf format
4982 string will be the first argument, in the manner of @code{printf}.
4983
4984 As an example, if you wanted @code{dprintf} output to go to a logfile
4985 that is a standard I/O stream assigned to the variable @code{mylog},
4986 you could do the following:
4987
4988 @example
4989 (gdb) set dprintf-style call
4990 (gdb) set dprintf-function fprintf
4991 (gdb) set dprintf-channel mylog
4992 (gdb) dprintf 25,"at line 25, glob=%d\n",glob
4993 Dprintf 1 at 0x123456: file main.c, line 25.
4994 (gdb) info break
4995 1 dprintf keep y 0x00123456 in main at main.c:25
4996 call (void) fprintf (mylog,"at line 25, glob=%d\n",glob)
4997 continue
4998 (gdb)
4999 @end example
5000
5001 Note that the @code{info break} displays the dynamic printf commands
5002 as normal breakpoint commands; you can thus easily see the effect of
5003 the variable settings.
5004
5005 @item set disconnected-dprintf on
5006 @itemx set disconnected-dprintf off
5007 @kindex set disconnected-dprintf
5008 Choose whether @code{dprintf} commands should continue to run if
5009 @value{GDBN} has disconnected from the target. This only applies
5010 if the @code{dprintf-style} is @code{agent}.
5011
5012 @item show disconnected-dprintf off
5013 @kindex show disconnected-dprintf
5014 Show the current choice for disconnected @code{dprintf}.
5015
5016 @end table
5017
5018 @value{GDBN} does not check the validity of function and channel,
5019 relying on you to supply values that are meaningful for the contexts
5020 in which they are being used. For instance, the function and channel
5021 may be the values of local variables, but if that is the case, then
5022 all enabled dynamic prints must be at locations within the scope of
5023 those locals. If evaluation fails, @value{GDBN} will report an error.
5024
5025 @node Save Breakpoints
5026 @subsection How to save breakpoints to a file
5027
5028 To save breakpoint definitions to a file use the @w{@code{save
5029 breakpoints}} command.
5030
5031 @table @code
5032 @kindex save breakpoints
5033 @cindex save breakpoints to a file for future sessions
5034 @item save breakpoints [@var{filename}]
5035 This command saves all current breakpoint definitions together with
5036 their commands and ignore counts, into a file @file{@var{filename}}
5037 suitable for use in a later debugging session. This includes all
5038 types of breakpoints (breakpoints, watchpoints, catchpoints,
5039 tracepoints). To read the saved breakpoint definitions, use the
5040 @code{source} command (@pxref{Command Files}). Note that watchpoints
5041 with expressions involving local variables may fail to be recreated
5042 because it may not be possible to access the context where the
5043 watchpoint is valid anymore. Because the saved breakpoint definitions
5044 are simply a sequence of @value{GDBN} commands that recreate the
5045 breakpoints, you can edit the file in your favorite editing program,
5046 and remove the breakpoint definitions you're not interested in, or
5047 that can no longer be recreated.
5048 @end table
5049
5050 @node Static Probe Points
5051 @subsection Static Probe Points
5052
5053 @cindex static probe point, SystemTap
5054 @cindex static probe point, DTrace
5055 @value{GDBN} supports @dfn{SDT} probes in the code. @acronym{SDT} stands
5056 for Statically Defined Tracing, and the probes are designed to have a tiny
5057 runtime code and data footprint, and no dynamic relocations.
5058
5059 Currently, the following types of probes are supported on
5060 ELF-compatible systems:
5061
5062 @itemize @bullet
5063
5064 @item @code{SystemTap} (@uref{http://sourceware.org/systemtap/})
5065 @acronym{SDT} probes@footnote{See
5066 @uref{http://sourceware.org/systemtap/wiki/AddingUserSpaceProbingToApps}
5067 for more information on how to add @code{SystemTap} @acronym{SDT}
5068 probes in your applications.}. @code{SystemTap} probes are usable
5069 from assembly, C and C@t{++} languages@footnote{See
5070 @uref{http://sourceware.org/systemtap/wiki/UserSpaceProbeImplementation}
5071 for a good reference on how the @acronym{SDT} probes are implemented.}.
5072
5073 @item @code{DTrace} (@uref{http://oss.oracle.com/projects/DTrace})
5074 @acronym{USDT} probes. @code{DTrace} probes are usable from C and
5075 C@t{++} languages.
5076 @end itemize
5077
5078 @cindex semaphores on static probe points
5079 Some @code{SystemTap} probes have an associated semaphore variable;
5080 for instance, this happens automatically if you defined your probe
5081 using a DTrace-style @file{.d} file. If your probe has a semaphore,
5082 @value{GDBN} will automatically enable it when you specify a
5083 breakpoint using the @samp{-probe-stap} notation. But, if you put a
5084 breakpoint at a probe's location by some other method (e.g.,
5085 @code{break file:line}), then @value{GDBN} will not automatically set
5086 the semaphore. @code{DTrace} probes do not support semaphores.
5087
5088 You can examine the available static static probes using @code{info
5089 probes}, with optional arguments:
5090
5091 @table @code
5092 @kindex info probes
5093 @item info probes @r{[}@var{type}@r{]} @r{[}@var{provider} @r{[}@var{name} @r{[}@var{objfile}@r{]}@r{]}@r{]}
5094 If given, @var{type} is either @code{stap} for listing
5095 @code{SystemTap} probes or @code{dtrace} for listing @code{DTrace}
5096 probes. If omitted all probes are listed regardless of their types.
5097
5098 If given, @var{provider} is a regular expression used to match against provider
5099 names when selecting which probes to list. If omitted, probes by all
5100 probes from all providers are listed.
5101
5102 If given, @var{name} is a regular expression to match against probe names
5103 when selecting which probes to list. If omitted, probe names are not
5104 considered when deciding whether to display them.
5105
5106 If given, @var{objfile} is a regular expression used to select which
5107 object files (executable or shared libraries) to examine. If not
5108 given, all object files are considered.
5109
5110 @item info probes all
5111 List the available static probes, from all types.
5112 @end table
5113
5114 @cindex enabling and disabling probes
5115 Some probe points can be enabled and/or disabled. The effect of
5116 enabling or disabling a probe depends on the type of probe being
5117 handled. Some @code{DTrace} probes can be enabled or
5118 disabled, but @code{SystemTap} probes cannot be disabled.
5119
5120 You can enable (or disable) one or more probes using the following
5121 commands, with optional arguments:
5122
5123 @table @code
5124 @kindex enable probes
5125 @item enable probes @r{[}@var{provider} @r{[}@var{name} @r{[}@var{objfile}@r{]}@r{]}@r{]}
5126 If given, @var{provider} is a regular expression used to match against
5127 provider names when selecting which probes to enable. If omitted,
5128 all probes from all providers are enabled.
5129
5130 If given, @var{name} is a regular expression to match against probe
5131 names when selecting which probes to enable. If omitted, probe names
5132 are not considered when deciding whether to enable them.
5133
5134 If given, @var{objfile} is a regular expression used to select which
5135 object files (executable or shared libraries) to examine. If not
5136 given, all object files are considered.
5137
5138 @kindex disable probes
5139 @item disable probes @r{[}@var{provider} @r{[}@var{name} @r{[}@var{objfile}@r{]}@r{]}@r{]}
5140 See the @code{enable probes} command above for a description of the
5141 optional arguments accepted by this command.
5142 @end table
5143
5144 @vindex $_probe_arg@r{, convenience variable}
5145 A probe may specify up to twelve arguments. These are available at the
5146 point at which the probe is defined---that is, when the current PC is
5147 at the probe's location. The arguments are available using the
5148 convenience variables (@pxref{Convenience Vars})
5149 @code{$_probe_arg0}@dots{}@code{$_probe_arg11}. In @code{SystemTap}
5150 probes each probe argument is an integer of the appropriate size;
5151 types are not preserved. In @code{DTrace} probes types are preserved
5152 provided that they are recognized as such by @value{GDBN}; otherwise
5153 the value of the probe argument will be a long integer. The
5154 convenience variable @code{$_probe_argc} holds the number of arguments
5155 at the current probe point.
5156
5157 These variables are always available, but attempts to access them at
5158 any location other than a probe point will cause @value{GDBN} to give
5159 an error message.
5160
5161
5162 @c @ifclear BARETARGET
5163 @node Error in Breakpoints
5164 @subsection ``Cannot insert breakpoints''
5165
5166 If you request too many active hardware-assisted breakpoints and
5167 watchpoints, you will see this error message:
5168
5169 @c FIXME: the precise wording of this message may change; the relevant
5170 @c source change is not committed yet (Sep 3, 1999).
5171 @smallexample
5172 Stopped; cannot insert breakpoints.
5173 You may have requested too many hardware breakpoints and watchpoints.
5174 @end smallexample
5175
5176 @noindent
5177 This message is printed when you attempt to resume the program, since
5178 only then @value{GDBN} knows exactly how many hardware breakpoints and
5179 watchpoints it needs to insert.
5180
5181 When this message is printed, you need to disable or remove some of the
5182 hardware-assisted breakpoints and watchpoints, and then continue.
5183
5184 @node Breakpoint-related Warnings
5185 @subsection ``Breakpoint address adjusted...''
5186 @cindex breakpoint address adjusted
5187
5188 Some processor architectures place constraints on the addresses at
5189 which breakpoints may be placed. For architectures thus constrained,
5190 @value{GDBN} will attempt to adjust the breakpoint's address to comply
5191 with the constraints dictated by the architecture.
5192
5193 One example of such an architecture is the Fujitsu FR-V. The FR-V is
5194 a VLIW architecture in which a number of RISC-like instructions may be
5195 bundled together for parallel execution. The FR-V architecture
5196 constrains the location of a breakpoint instruction within such a
5197 bundle to the instruction with the lowest address. @value{GDBN}
5198 honors this constraint by adjusting a breakpoint's address to the
5199 first in the bundle.
5200
5201 It is not uncommon for optimized code to have bundles which contain
5202 instructions from different source statements, thus it may happen that
5203 a breakpoint's address will be adjusted from one source statement to
5204 another. Since this adjustment may significantly alter @value{GDBN}'s
5205 breakpoint related behavior from what the user expects, a warning is
5206 printed when the breakpoint is first set and also when the breakpoint
5207 is hit.
5208
5209 A warning like the one below is printed when setting a breakpoint
5210 that's been subject to address adjustment:
5211
5212 @smallexample
5213 warning: Breakpoint address adjusted from 0x00010414 to 0x00010410.
5214 @end smallexample
5215
5216 Such warnings are printed both for user settable and @value{GDBN}'s
5217 internal breakpoints. If you see one of these warnings, you should
5218 verify that a breakpoint set at the adjusted address will have the
5219 desired affect. If not, the breakpoint in question may be removed and
5220 other breakpoints may be set which will have the desired behavior.
5221 E.g., it may be sufficient to place the breakpoint at a later
5222 instruction. A conditional breakpoint may also be useful in some
5223 cases to prevent the breakpoint from triggering too often.
5224
5225 @value{GDBN} will also issue a warning when stopping at one of these
5226 adjusted breakpoints:
5227
5228 @smallexample
5229 warning: Breakpoint 1 address previously adjusted from 0x00010414
5230 to 0x00010410.
5231 @end smallexample
5232
5233 When this warning is encountered, it may be too late to take remedial
5234 action except in cases where the breakpoint is hit earlier or more
5235 frequently than expected.
5236
5237 @node Continuing and Stepping
5238 @section Continuing and Stepping
5239
5240 @cindex stepping
5241 @cindex continuing
5242 @cindex resuming execution
5243 @dfn{Continuing} means resuming program execution until your program
5244 completes normally. In contrast, @dfn{stepping} means executing just
5245 one more ``step'' of your program, where ``step'' may mean either one
5246 line of source code, or one machine instruction (depending on what
5247 particular command you use). Either when continuing or when stepping,
5248 your program may stop even sooner, due to a breakpoint or a signal. (If
5249 it stops due to a signal, you may want to use @code{handle}, or use
5250 @samp{signal 0} to resume execution (@pxref{Signals, ,Signals}),
5251 or you may step into the signal's handler (@pxref{stepping and signal
5252 handlers}).)
5253
5254 @table @code
5255 @kindex continue
5256 @kindex c @r{(@code{continue})}
5257 @kindex fg @r{(resume foreground execution)}
5258 @item continue @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
5259 @itemx c @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
5260 @itemx fg @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
5261 Resume program execution, at the address where your program last stopped;
5262 any breakpoints set at that address are bypassed. The optional argument
5263 @var{ignore-count} allows you to specify a further number of times to
5264 ignore a breakpoint at this location; its effect is like that of
5265 @code{ignore} (@pxref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}).
5266
5267 The argument @var{ignore-count} is meaningful only when your program
5268 stopped due to a breakpoint. At other times, the argument to
5269 @code{continue} is ignored.
5270
5271 The synonyms @code{c} and @code{fg} (for @dfn{foreground}, as the
5272 debugged program is deemed to be the foreground program) are provided
5273 purely for convenience, and have exactly the same behavior as
5274 @code{continue}.
5275 @end table
5276
5277 To resume execution at a different place, you can use @code{return}
5278 (@pxref{Returning, ,Returning from a Function}) to go back to the
5279 calling function; or @code{jump} (@pxref{Jumping, ,Continuing at a
5280 Different Address}) to go to an arbitrary location in your program.
5281
5282 A typical technique for using stepping is to set a breakpoint
5283 (@pxref{Breakpoints, ,Breakpoints; Watchpoints; and Catchpoints}) at the
5284 beginning of the function or the section of your program where a problem
5285 is believed to lie, run your program until it stops at that breakpoint,
5286 and then step through the suspect area, examining the variables that are
5287 interesting, until you see the problem happen.
5288
5289 @table @code
5290 @kindex step
5291 @kindex s @r{(@code{step})}
5292 @item step
5293 Continue running your program until control reaches a different source
5294 line, then stop it and return control to @value{GDBN}. This command is
5295 abbreviated @code{s}.
5296
5297 @quotation
5298 @c "without debugging information" is imprecise; actually "without line
5299 @c numbers in the debugging information". (gcc -g1 has debugging info but
5300 @c not line numbers). But it seems complex to try to make that
5301 @c distinction here.
5302 @emph{Warning:} If you use the @code{step} command while control is
5303 within a function that was compiled without debugging information,
5304 execution proceeds until control reaches a function that does have
5305 debugging information. Likewise, it will not step into a function which
5306 is compiled without debugging information. To step through functions
5307 without debugging information, use the @code{stepi} command, described
5308 below.
5309 @end quotation
5310
5311 The @code{step} command only stops at the first instruction of a source
5312 line. This prevents the multiple stops that could otherwise occur in
5313 @code{switch} statements, @code{for} loops, etc. @code{step} continues
5314 to stop if a function that has debugging information is called within
5315 the line. In other words, @code{step} @emph{steps inside} any functions
5316 called within the line.
5317
5318 Also, the @code{step} command only enters a function if there is line
5319 number information for the function. Otherwise it acts like the
5320 @code{next} command. This avoids problems when using @code{cc -gl}
5321 on @acronym{MIPS} machines. Previously, @code{step} entered subroutines if there
5322 was any debugging information about the routine.
5323
5324 @item step @var{count}
5325 Continue running as in @code{step}, but do so @var{count} times. If a
5326 breakpoint is reached, or a signal not related to stepping occurs before
5327 @var{count} steps, stepping stops right away.
5328
5329 @kindex next
5330 @kindex n @r{(@code{next})}
5331 @item next @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
5332 Continue to the next source line in the current (innermost) stack frame.
5333 This is similar to @code{step}, but function calls that appear within
5334 the line of code are executed without stopping. Execution stops when
5335 control reaches a different line of code at the original stack level
5336 that was executing when you gave the @code{next} command. This command
5337 is abbreviated @code{n}.
5338
5339 An argument @var{count} is a repeat count, as for @code{step}.
5340
5341
5342 @c FIX ME!! Do we delete this, or is there a way it fits in with
5343 @c the following paragraph? --- Vctoria
5344 @c
5345 @c @code{next} within a function that lacks debugging information acts like
5346 @c @code{step}, but any function calls appearing within the code of the
5347 @c function are executed without stopping.
5348
5349 The @code{next} command only stops at the first instruction of a
5350 source line. This prevents multiple stops that could otherwise occur in
5351 @code{switch} statements, @code{for} loops, etc.
5352
5353 @kindex set step-mode
5354 @item set step-mode
5355 @cindex functions without line info, and stepping
5356 @cindex stepping into functions with no line info
5357 @itemx set step-mode on
5358 The @code{set step-mode on} command causes the @code{step} command to
5359 stop at the first instruction of a function which contains no debug line
5360 information rather than stepping over it.
5361
5362 This is useful in cases where you may be interested in inspecting the
5363 machine instructions of a function which has no symbolic info and do not
5364 want @value{GDBN} to automatically skip over this function.
5365
5366 @item set step-mode off
5367 Causes the @code{step} command to step over any functions which contains no
5368 debug information. This is the default.
5369
5370 @item show step-mode
5371 Show whether @value{GDBN} will stop in or step over functions without
5372 source line debug information.
5373
5374 @kindex finish
5375 @kindex fin @r{(@code{finish})}
5376 @item finish
5377 Continue running until just after function in the selected stack frame
5378 returns. Print the returned value (if any). This command can be
5379 abbreviated as @code{fin}.
5380
5381 Contrast this with the @code{return} command (@pxref{Returning,
5382 ,Returning from a Function}).
5383
5384 @kindex until
5385 @kindex u @r{(@code{until})}
5386 @cindex run until specified location
5387 @item until
5388 @itemx u
5389 Continue running until a source line past the current line, in the
5390 current stack frame, is reached. This command is used to avoid single
5391 stepping through a loop more than once. It is like the @code{next}
5392 command, except that when @code{until} encounters a jump, it
5393 automatically continues execution until the program counter is greater
5394 than the address of the jump.
5395
5396 This means that when you reach the end of a loop after single stepping
5397 though it, @code{until} makes your program continue execution until it
5398 exits the loop. In contrast, a @code{next} command at the end of a loop
5399 simply steps back to the beginning of the loop, which forces you to step
5400 through the next iteration.
5401
5402 @code{until} always stops your program if it attempts to exit the current
5403 stack frame.
5404
5405 @code{until} may produce somewhat counterintuitive results if the order
5406 of machine code does not match the order of the source lines. For
5407 example, in the following excerpt from a debugging session, the @code{f}
5408 (@code{frame}) command shows that execution is stopped at line
5409 @code{206}; yet when we use @code{until}, we get to line @code{195}:
5410
5411 @smallexample
5412 (@value{GDBP}) f
5413 #0 main (argc=4, argv=0xf7fffae8) at m4.c:206
5414 206 expand_input();
5415 (@value{GDBP}) until
5416 195 for ( ; argc > 0; NEXTARG) @{
5417 @end smallexample
5418
5419 This happened because, for execution efficiency, the compiler had
5420 generated code for the loop closure test at the end, rather than the
5421 start, of the loop---even though the test in a C @code{for}-loop is
5422 written before the body of the loop. The @code{until} command appeared
5423 to step back to the beginning of the loop when it advanced to this
5424 expression; however, it has not really gone to an earlier
5425 statement---not in terms of the actual machine code.
5426
5427 @code{until} with no argument works by means of single
5428 instruction stepping, and hence is slower than @code{until} with an
5429 argument.
5430
5431 @item until @var{location}
5432 @itemx u @var{location}
5433 Continue running your program until either the specified @var{location} is
5434 reached, or the current stack frame returns. The location is any of
5435 the forms described in @ref{Specify Location}.
5436 This form of the command uses temporary breakpoints, and
5437 hence is quicker than @code{until} without an argument. The specified
5438 location is actually reached only if it is in the current frame. This
5439 implies that @code{until} can be used to skip over recursive function
5440 invocations. For instance in the code below, if the current location is
5441 line @code{96}, issuing @code{until 99} will execute the program up to
5442 line @code{99} in the same invocation of factorial, i.e., after the inner
5443 invocations have returned.
5444
5445 @smallexample
5446 94 int factorial (int value)
5447 95 @{
5448 96 if (value > 1) @{
5449 97 value *= factorial (value - 1);
5450 98 @}
5451 99 return (value);
5452 100 @}
5453 @end smallexample
5454
5455
5456 @kindex advance @var{location}
5457 @item advance @var{location}
5458 Continue running the program up to the given @var{location}. An argument is
5459 required, which should be of one of the forms described in
5460 @ref{Specify Location}.
5461 Execution will also stop upon exit from the current stack
5462 frame. This command is similar to @code{until}, but @code{advance} will
5463 not skip over recursive function calls, and the target location doesn't
5464 have to be in the same frame as the current one.
5465
5466
5467 @kindex stepi
5468 @kindex si @r{(@code{stepi})}
5469 @item stepi
5470 @itemx stepi @var{arg}
5471 @itemx si
5472 Execute one machine instruction, then stop and return to the debugger.
5473
5474 It is often useful to do @samp{display/i $pc} when stepping by machine
5475 instructions. This makes @value{GDBN} automatically display the next
5476 instruction to be executed, each time your program stops. @xref{Auto
5477 Display,, Automatic Display}.
5478
5479 An argument is a repeat count, as in @code{step}.
5480
5481 @need 750
5482 @kindex nexti
5483 @kindex ni @r{(@code{nexti})}
5484 @item nexti
5485 @itemx nexti @var{arg}
5486 @itemx ni
5487 Execute one machine instruction, but if it is a function call,
5488 proceed until the function returns.
5489
5490 An argument is a repeat count, as in @code{next}.
5491
5492 @end table
5493
5494 @anchor{range stepping}
5495 @cindex range stepping
5496 @cindex target-assisted range stepping
5497 By default, and if available, @value{GDBN} makes use of
5498 target-assisted @dfn{range stepping}. In other words, whenever you
5499 use a stepping command (e.g., @code{step}, @code{next}), @value{GDBN}
5500 tells the target to step the corresponding range of instruction
5501 addresses instead of issuing multiple single-steps. This speeds up
5502 line stepping, particularly for remote targets. Ideally, there should
5503 be no reason you would want to turn range stepping off. However, it's
5504 possible that a bug in the debug info, a bug in the remote stub (for
5505 remote targets), or even a bug in @value{GDBN} could make line
5506 stepping behave incorrectly when target-assisted range stepping is
5507 enabled. You can use the following command to turn off range stepping
5508 if necessary:
5509
5510 @table @code
5511 @kindex set range-stepping
5512 @kindex show range-stepping
5513 @item set range-stepping
5514 @itemx show range-stepping
5515 Control whether range stepping is enabled.
5516
5517 If @code{on}, and the target supports it, @value{GDBN} tells the
5518 target to step a range of addresses itself, instead of issuing
5519 multiple single-steps. If @code{off}, @value{GDBN} always issues
5520 single-steps, even if range stepping is supported by the target. The
5521 default is @code{on}.
5522
5523 @end table
5524
5525 @node Skipping Over Functions and Files
5526 @section Skipping Over Functions and Files
5527 @cindex skipping over functions and files
5528
5529 The program you are debugging may contain some functions which are
5530 uninteresting to debug. The @code{skip} comand lets you tell @value{GDBN} to
5531 skip a function or all functions in a file when stepping.
5532
5533 For example, consider the following C function:
5534
5535 @smallexample
5536 101 int func()
5537 102 @{
5538 103 foo(boring());
5539 104 bar(boring());
5540 105 @}
5541 @end smallexample
5542
5543 @noindent
5544 Suppose you wish to step into the functions @code{foo} and @code{bar}, but you
5545 are not interested in stepping through @code{boring}. If you run @code{step}
5546 at line 103, you'll enter @code{boring()}, but if you run @code{next}, you'll
5547 step over both @code{foo} and @code{boring}!
5548
5549 One solution is to @code{step} into @code{boring} and use the @code{finish}
5550 command to immediately exit it. But this can become tedious if @code{boring}
5551 is called from many places.
5552
5553 A more flexible solution is to execute @kbd{skip boring}. This instructs
5554 @value{GDBN} never to step into @code{boring}. Now when you execute
5555 @code{step} at line 103, you'll step over @code{boring} and directly into
5556 @code{foo}.
5557
5558 You can also instruct @value{GDBN} to skip all functions in a file, with, for
5559 example, @code{skip file boring.c}.
5560
5561 @table @code
5562 @kindex skip function
5563 @item skip @r{[}@var{linespec}@r{]}
5564 @itemx skip function @r{[}@var{linespec}@r{]}
5565 After running this command, the function named by @var{linespec} or the
5566 function containing the line named by @var{linespec} will be skipped over when
5567 stepping. @xref{Specify Location}.
5568
5569 If you do not specify @var{linespec}, the function you're currently debugging
5570 will be skipped.
5571
5572 (If you have a function called @code{file} that you want to skip, use
5573 @kbd{skip function file}.)
5574
5575 @kindex skip file
5576 @item skip file @r{[}@var{filename}@r{]}
5577 After running this command, any function whose source lives in @var{filename}
5578 will be skipped over when stepping.
5579
5580 If you do not specify @var{filename}, functions whose source lives in the file
5581 you're currently debugging will be skipped.
5582 @end table
5583
5584 Skips can be listed, deleted, disabled, and enabled, much like breakpoints.
5585 These are the commands for managing your list of skips:
5586
5587 @table @code
5588 @kindex info skip
5589 @item info skip @r{[}@var{range}@r{]}
5590 Print details about the specified skip(s). If @var{range} is not specified,
5591 print a table with details about all functions and files marked for skipping.
5592 @code{info skip} prints the following information about each skip:
5593
5594 @table @emph
5595 @item Identifier
5596 A number identifying this skip.
5597 @item Type
5598 The type of this skip, either @samp{function} or @samp{file}.
5599 @item Enabled or Disabled
5600 Enabled skips are marked with @samp{y}. Disabled skips are marked with @samp{n}.
5601 @item Address
5602 For function skips, this column indicates the address in memory of the function
5603 being skipped. If you've set a function skip on a function which has not yet
5604 been loaded, this field will contain @samp{<PENDING>}. Once a shared library
5605 which has the function is loaded, @code{info skip} will show the function's
5606 address here.
5607 @item What
5608 For file skips, this field contains the filename being skipped. For functions
5609 skips, this field contains the function name and its line number in the file
5610 where it is defined.
5611 @end table
5612
5613 @kindex skip delete
5614 @item skip delete @r{[}@var{range}@r{]}
5615 Delete the specified skip(s). If @var{range} is not specified, delete all
5616 skips.
5617
5618 @kindex skip enable
5619 @item skip enable @r{[}@var{range}@r{]}
5620 Enable the specified skip(s). If @var{range} is not specified, enable all
5621 skips.
5622
5623 @kindex skip disable
5624 @item skip disable @r{[}@var{range}@r{]}
5625 Disable the specified skip(s). If @var{range} is not specified, disable all
5626 skips.
5627
5628 @end table
5629
5630 @node Signals
5631 @section Signals
5632 @cindex signals
5633
5634 A signal is an asynchronous event that can happen in a program. The
5635 operating system defines the possible kinds of signals, and gives each
5636 kind a name and a number. For example, in Unix @code{SIGINT} is the
5637 signal a program gets when you type an interrupt character (often @kbd{Ctrl-c});
5638 @code{SIGSEGV} is the signal a program gets from referencing a place in
5639 memory far away from all the areas in use; @code{SIGALRM} occurs when
5640 the alarm clock timer goes off (which happens only if your program has
5641 requested an alarm).
5642
5643 @cindex fatal signals
5644 Some signals, including @code{SIGALRM}, are a normal part of the
5645 functioning of your program. Others, such as @code{SIGSEGV}, indicate
5646 errors; these signals are @dfn{fatal} (they kill your program immediately) if the
5647 program has not specified in advance some other way to handle the signal.
5648 @code{SIGINT} does not indicate an error in your program, but it is normally
5649 fatal so it can carry out the purpose of the interrupt: to kill the program.
5650
5651 @value{GDBN} has the ability to detect any occurrence of a signal in your
5652 program. You can tell @value{GDBN} in advance what to do for each kind of
5653 signal.
5654
5655 @cindex handling signals
5656 Normally, @value{GDBN} is set up to let the non-erroneous signals like
5657 @code{SIGALRM} be silently passed to your program
5658 (so as not to interfere with their role in the program's functioning)
5659 but to stop your program immediately whenever an error signal happens.
5660 You can change these settings with the @code{handle} command.
5661
5662 @table @code
5663 @kindex info signals
5664 @kindex info handle
5665 @item info signals
5666 @itemx info handle
5667 Print a table of all the kinds of signals and how @value{GDBN} has been told to
5668 handle each one. You can use this to see the signal numbers of all
5669 the defined types of signals.
5670
5671 @item info signals @var{sig}
5672 Similar, but print information only about the specified signal number.
5673
5674 @code{info handle} is an alias for @code{info signals}.
5675
5676 @item catch signal @r{[}@var{signal}@dots{} @r{|} @samp{all}@r{]}
5677 Set a catchpoint for the indicated signals. @xref{Set Catchpoints},
5678 for details about this command.
5679
5680 @kindex handle
5681 @item handle @var{signal} @r{[}@var{keywords}@dots{}@r{]}
5682 Change the way @value{GDBN} handles signal @var{signal}. The @var{signal}
5683 can be the number of a signal or its name (with or without the
5684 @samp{SIG} at the beginning); a list of signal numbers of the form
5685 @samp{@var{low}-@var{high}}; or the word @samp{all}, meaning all the
5686 known signals. Optional arguments @var{keywords}, described below,
5687 say what change to make.
5688 @end table
5689
5690 @c @group
5691 The keywords allowed by the @code{handle} command can be abbreviated.
5692 Their full names are:
5693
5694 @table @code
5695 @item nostop
5696 @value{GDBN} should not stop your program when this signal happens. It may
5697 still print a message telling you that the signal has come in.
5698
5699 @item stop
5700 @value{GDBN} should stop your program when this signal happens. This implies
5701 the @code{print} keyword as well.
5702
5703 @item print
5704 @value{GDBN} should print a message when this signal happens.
5705
5706 @item noprint
5707 @value{GDBN} should not mention the occurrence of the signal at all. This
5708 implies the @code{nostop} keyword as well.
5709
5710 @item pass
5711 @itemx noignore
5712 @value{GDBN} should allow your program to see this signal; your program
5713 can handle the signal, or else it may terminate if the signal is fatal
5714 and not handled. @code{pass} and @code{noignore} are synonyms.
5715
5716 @item nopass
5717 @itemx ignore
5718 @value{GDBN} should not allow your program to see this signal.
5719 @code{nopass} and @code{ignore} are synonyms.
5720 @end table
5721 @c @end group
5722
5723 When a signal stops your program, the signal is not visible to the
5724 program until you
5725 continue. Your program sees the signal then, if @code{pass} is in
5726 effect for the signal in question @emph{at that time}. In other words,
5727 after @value{GDBN} reports a signal, you can use the @code{handle}
5728 command with @code{pass} or @code{nopass} to control whether your
5729 program sees that signal when you continue.
5730
5731 The default is set to @code{nostop}, @code{noprint}, @code{pass} for
5732 non-erroneous signals such as @code{SIGALRM}, @code{SIGWINCH} and
5733 @code{SIGCHLD}, and to @code{stop}, @code{print}, @code{pass} for the
5734 erroneous signals.
5735
5736 You can also use the @code{signal} command to prevent your program from
5737 seeing a signal, or cause it to see a signal it normally would not see,
5738 or to give it any signal at any time. For example, if your program stopped
5739 due to some sort of memory reference error, you might store correct
5740 values into the erroneous variables and continue, hoping to see more
5741 execution; but your program would probably terminate immediately as
5742 a result of the fatal signal once it saw the signal. To prevent this,
5743 you can continue with @samp{signal 0}. @xref{Signaling, ,Giving your
5744 Program a Signal}.
5745
5746 @cindex stepping and signal handlers
5747 @anchor{stepping and signal handlers}
5748
5749 @value{GDBN} optimizes for stepping the mainline code. If a signal
5750 that has @code{handle nostop} and @code{handle pass} set arrives while
5751 a stepping command (e.g., @code{stepi}, @code{step}, @code{next}) is
5752 in progress, @value{GDBN} lets the signal handler run and then resumes
5753 stepping the mainline code once the signal handler returns. In other
5754 words, @value{GDBN} steps over the signal handler. This prevents
5755 signals that you've specified as not interesting (with @code{handle
5756 nostop}) from changing the focus of debugging unexpectedly. Note that
5757 the signal handler itself may still hit a breakpoint, stop for another
5758 signal that has @code{handle stop} in effect, or for any other event
5759 that normally results in stopping the stepping command sooner. Also
5760 note that @value{GDBN} still informs you that the program received a
5761 signal if @code{handle print} is set.
5762
5763 @anchor{stepping into signal handlers}
5764
5765 If you set @code{handle pass} for a signal, and your program sets up a
5766 handler for it, then issuing a stepping command, such as @code{step}
5767 or @code{stepi}, when your program is stopped due to the signal will
5768 step @emph{into} the signal handler (if the target supports that).
5769
5770 Likewise, if you use the @code{queue-signal} command to queue a signal
5771 to be delivered to the current thread when execution of the thread
5772 resumes (@pxref{Signaling, ,Giving your Program a Signal}), then a
5773 stepping command will step into the signal handler.
5774
5775 Here's an example, using @code{stepi} to step to the first instruction
5776 of @code{SIGUSR1}'s handler:
5777
5778 @smallexample
5779 (@value{GDBP}) handle SIGUSR1
5780 Signal Stop Print Pass to program Description
5781 SIGUSR1 Yes Yes Yes User defined signal 1
5782 (@value{GDBP}) c
5783 Continuing.
5784
5785 Program received signal SIGUSR1, User defined signal 1.
5786 main () sigusr1.c:28
5787 28 p = 0;
5788 (@value{GDBP}) si
5789 sigusr1_handler () at sigusr1.c:9
5790 9 @{
5791 @end smallexample
5792
5793 The same, but using @code{queue-signal} instead of waiting for the
5794 program to receive the signal first:
5795
5796 @smallexample
5797 (@value{GDBP}) n
5798 28 p = 0;
5799 (@value{GDBP}) queue-signal SIGUSR1
5800 (@value{GDBP}) si
5801 sigusr1_handler () at sigusr1.c:9
5802 9 @{
5803 (@value{GDBP})
5804 @end smallexample
5805
5806 @cindex extra signal information
5807 @anchor{extra signal information}
5808
5809 On some targets, @value{GDBN} can inspect extra signal information
5810 associated with the intercepted signal, before it is actually
5811 delivered to the program being debugged. This information is exported
5812 by the convenience variable @code{$_siginfo}, and consists of data
5813 that is passed by the kernel to the signal handler at the time of the
5814 receipt of a signal. The data type of the information itself is
5815 target dependent. You can see the data type using the @code{ptype
5816 $_siginfo} command. On Unix systems, it typically corresponds to the
5817 standard @code{siginfo_t} type, as defined in the @file{signal.h}
5818 system header.
5819
5820 Here's an example, on a @sc{gnu}/Linux system, printing the stray
5821 referenced address that raised a segmentation fault.
5822
5823 @smallexample
5824 @group
5825 (@value{GDBP}) continue
5826 Program received signal SIGSEGV, Segmentation fault.
5827 0x0000000000400766 in main ()
5828 69 *(int *)p = 0;
5829 (@value{GDBP}) ptype $_siginfo
5830 type = struct @{
5831 int si_signo;
5832 int si_errno;
5833 int si_code;
5834 union @{
5835 int _pad[28];
5836 struct @{...@} _kill;
5837 struct @{...@} _timer;
5838 struct @{...@} _rt;
5839 struct @{...@} _sigchld;
5840 struct @{...@} _sigfault;
5841 struct @{...@} _sigpoll;
5842 @} _sifields;
5843 @}
5844 (@value{GDBP}) ptype $_siginfo._sifields._sigfault
5845 type = struct @{
5846 void *si_addr;
5847 @}
5848 (@value{GDBP}) p $_siginfo._sifields._sigfault.si_addr
5849 $1 = (void *) 0x7ffff7ff7000
5850 @end group
5851 @end smallexample
5852
5853 Depending on target support, @code{$_siginfo} may also be writable.
5854
5855 @node Thread Stops
5856 @section Stopping and Starting Multi-thread Programs
5857
5858 @cindex stopped threads
5859 @cindex threads, stopped
5860
5861 @cindex continuing threads
5862 @cindex threads, continuing
5863
5864 @value{GDBN} supports debugging programs with multiple threads
5865 (@pxref{Threads,, Debugging Programs with Multiple Threads}). There
5866 are two modes of controlling execution of your program within the
5867 debugger. In the default mode, referred to as @dfn{all-stop mode},
5868 when any thread in your program stops (for example, at a breakpoint
5869 or while being stepped), all other threads in the program are also stopped by
5870 @value{GDBN}. On some targets, @value{GDBN} also supports
5871 @dfn{non-stop mode}, in which other threads can continue to run freely while
5872 you examine the stopped thread in the debugger.
5873
5874 @menu
5875 * All-Stop Mode:: All threads stop when GDB takes control
5876 * Non-Stop Mode:: Other threads continue to execute
5877 * Background Execution:: Running your program asynchronously
5878 * Thread-Specific Breakpoints:: Controlling breakpoints
5879 * Interrupted System Calls:: GDB may interfere with system calls
5880 * Observer Mode:: GDB does not alter program behavior
5881 @end menu
5882
5883 @node All-Stop Mode
5884 @subsection All-Stop Mode
5885
5886 @cindex all-stop mode
5887
5888 In all-stop mode, whenever your program stops under @value{GDBN} for any reason,
5889 @emph{all} threads of execution stop, not just the current thread. This
5890 allows you to examine the overall state of the program, including
5891 switching between threads, without worrying that things may change
5892 underfoot.
5893
5894 Conversely, whenever you restart the program, @emph{all} threads start
5895 executing. @emph{This is true even when single-stepping} with commands
5896 like @code{step} or @code{next}.
5897
5898 In particular, @value{GDBN} cannot single-step all threads in lockstep.
5899 Since thread scheduling is up to your debugging target's operating
5900 system (not controlled by @value{GDBN}), other threads may
5901 execute more than one statement while the current thread completes a
5902 single step. Moreover, in general other threads stop in the middle of a
5903 statement, rather than at a clean statement boundary, when the program
5904 stops.
5905
5906 You might even find your program stopped in another thread after
5907 continuing or even single-stepping. This happens whenever some other
5908 thread runs into a breakpoint, a signal, or an exception before the
5909 first thread completes whatever you requested.
5910
5911 @cindex automatic thread selection
5912 @cindex switching threads automatically
5913 @cindex threads, automatic switching
5914 Whenever @value{GDBN} stops your program, due to a breakpoint or a
5915 signal, it automatically selects the thread where that breakpoint or
5916 signal happened. @value{GDBN} alerts you to the context switch with a
5917 message such as @samp{[Switching to Thread @var{n}]} to identify the
5918 thread.
5919
5920 On some OSes, you can modify @value{GDBN}'s default behavior by
5921 locking the OS scheduler to allow only a single thread to run.
5922
5923 @table @code
5924 @item set scheduler-locking @var{mode}
5925 @cindex scheduler locking mode
5926 @cindex lock scheduler
5927 Set the scheduler locking mode. It applies to normal execution,
5928 record mode, and replay mode. If it is @code{off}, then there is no
5929 locking and any thread may run at any time. If @code{on}, then only
5930 the current thread may run when the inferior is resumed. The
5931 @code{step} mode optimizes for single-stepping; it prevents other
5932 threads from preempting the current thread while you are stepping, so
5933 that the focus of debugging does not change unexpectedly. Other
5934 threads never get a chance to run when you step, and they are
5935 completely free to run when you use commands like @samp{continue},
5936 @samp{until}, or @samp{finish}. However, unless another thread hits a
5937 breakpoint during its timeslice, @value{GDBN} does not change the
5938 current thread away from the thread that you are debugging. The
5939 @code{replay} mode behaves like @code{off} in record mode and like
5940 @code{on} in replay mode.
5941
5942 @item show scheduler-locking
5943 Display the current scheduler locking mode.
5944 @end table
5945
5946 @cindex resume threads of multiple processes simultaneously
5947 By default, when you issue one of the execution commands such as
5948 @code{continue}, @code{next} or @code{step}, @value{GDBN} allows only
5949 threads of the current inferior to run. For example, if @value{GDBN}
5950 is attached to two inferiors, each with two threads, the
5951 @code{continue} command resumes only the two threads of the current
5952 inferior. This is useful, for example, when you debug a program that
5953 forks and you want to hold the parent stopped (so that, for instance,
5954 it doesn't run to exit), while you debug the child. In other
5955 situations, you may not be interested in inspecting the current state
5956 of any of the processes @value{GDBN} is attached to, and you may want
5957 to resume them all until some breakpoint is hit. In the latter case,
5958 you can instruct @value{GDBN} to allow all threads of all the
5959 inferiors to run with the @w{@code{set schedule-multiple}} command.
5960
5961 @table @code
5962 @kindex set schedule-multiple
5963 @item set schedule-multiple
5964 Set the mode for allowing threads of multiple processes to be resumed
5965 when an execution command is issued. When @code{on}, all threads of
5966 all processes are allowed to run. When @code{off}, only the threads
5967 of the current process are resumed. The default is @code{off}. The
5968 @code{scheduler-locking} mode takes precedence when set to @code{on},
5969 or while you are stepping and set to @code{step}.
5970
5971 @item show schedule-multiple
5972 Display the current mode for resuming the execution of threads of
5973 multiple processes.
5974 @end table
5975
5976 @node Non-Stop Mode
5977 @subsection Non-Stop Mode
5978
5979 @cindex non-stop mode
5980
5981 @c This section is really only a place-holder, and needs to be expanded
5982 @c with more details.
5983
5984 For some multi-threaded targets, @value{GDBN} supports an optional
5985 mode of operation in which you can examine stopped program threads in
5986 the debugger while other threads continue to execute freely. This
5987 minimizes intrusion when debugging live systems, such as programs
5988 where some threads have real-time constraints or must continue to
5989 respond to external events. This is referred to as @dfn{non-stop} mode.
5990
5991 In non-stop mode, when a thread stops to report a debugging event,
5992 @emph{only} that thread is stopped; @value{GDBN} does not stop other
5993 threads as well, in contrast to the all-stop mode behavior. Additionally,
5994 execution commands such as @code{continue} and @code{step} apply by default
5995 only to the current thread in non-stop mode, rather than all threads as
5996 in all-stop mode. This allows you to control threads explicitly in
5997 ways that are not possible in all-stop mode --- for example, stepping
5998 one thread while allowing others to run freely, stepping
5999 one thread while holding all others stopped, or stepping several threads
6000 independently and simultaneously.
6001
6002 To enter non-stop mode, use this sequence of commands before you run
6003 or attach to your program:
6004
6005 @smallexample
6006 # If using the CLI, pagination breaks non-stop.
6007 set pagination off
6008
6009 # Finally, turn it on!
6010 set non-stop on
6011 @end smallexample
6012
6013 You can use these commands to manipulate the non-stop mode setting:
6014
6015 @table @code
6016 @kindex set non-stop
6017 @item set non-stop on
6018 Enable selection of non-stop mode.
6019 @item set non-stop off
6020 Disable selection of non-stop mode.
6021 @kindex show non-stop
6022 @item show non-stop
6023 Show the current non-stop enablement setting.
6024 @end table
6025
6026 Note these commands only reflect whether non-stop mode is enabled,
6027 not whether the currently-executing program is being run in non-stop mode.
6028 In particular, the @code{set non-stop} preference is only consulted when
6029 @value{GDBN} starts or connects to the target program, and it is generally
6030 not possible to switch modes once debugging has started. Furthermore,
6031 since not all targets support non-stop mode, even when you have enabled
6032 non-stop mode, @value{GDBN} may still fall back to all-stop operation by
6033 default.
6034
6035 In non-stop mode, all execution commands apply only to the current thread
6036 by default. That is, @code{continue} only continues one thread.
6037 To continue all threads, issue @code{continue -a} or @code{c -a}.
6038
6039 You can use @value{GDBN}'s background execution commands
6040 (@pxref{Background Execution}) to run some threads in the background
6041 while you continue to examine or step others from @value{GDBN}.
6042 The MI execution commands (@pxref{GDB/MI Program Execution}) are
6043 always executed asynchronously in non-stop mode.
6044
6045 Suspending execution is done with the @code{interrupt} command when
6046 running in the background, or @kbd{Ctrl-c} during foreground execution.
6047 In all-stop mode, this stops the whole process;
6048 but in non-stop mode the interrupt applies only to the current thread.
6049 To stop the whole program, use @code{interrupt -a}.
6050
6051 Other execution commands do not currently support the @code{-a} option.
6052
6053 In non-stop mode, when a thread stops, @value{GDBN} doesn't automatically make
6054 that thread current, as it does in all-stop mode. This is because the
6055 thread stop notifications are asynchronous with respect to @value{GDBN}'s
6056 command interpreter, and it would be confusing if @value{GDBN} unexpectedly
6057 changed to a different thread just as you entered a command to operate on the
6058 previously current thread.
6059
6060 @node Background Execution
6061 @subsection Background Execution
6062
6063 @cindex foreground execution
6064 @cindex background execution
6065 @cindex asynchronous execution
6066 @cindex execution, foreground, background and asynchronous
6067
6068 @value{GDBN}'s execution commands have two variants: the normal
6069 foreground (synchronous) behavior, and a background
6070 (asynchronous) behavior. In foreground execution, @value{GDBN} waits for
6071 the program to report that some thread has stopped before prompting for
6072 another command. In background execution, @value{GDBN} immediately gives
6073 a command prompt so that you can issue other commands while your program runs.
6074
6075 If the target doesn't support async mode, @value{GDBN} issues an error
6076 message if you attempt to use the background execution commands.
6077
6078 To specify background execution, add a @code{&} to the command. For example,
6079 the background form of the @code{continue} command is @code{continue&}, or
6080 just @code{c&}. The execution commands that accept background execution
6081 are:
6082
6083 @table @code
6084 @kindex run&
6085 @item run
6086 @xref{Starting, , Starting your Program}.
6087
6088 @item attach
6089 @kindex attach&
6090 @xref{Attach, , Debugging an Already-running Process}.
6091
6092 @item step
6093 @kindex step&
6094 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, step}.
6095
6096 @item stepi
6097 @kindex stepi&
6098 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, stepi}.
6099
6100 @item next
6101 @kindex next&
6102 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, next}.
6103
6104 @item nexti
6105 @kindex nexti&
6106 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, nexti}.
6107
6108 @item continue
6109 @kindex continue&
6110 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, continue}.
6111
6112 @item finish
6113 @kindex finish&
6114 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, finish}.
6115
6116 @item until
6117 @kindex until&
6118 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, until}.
6119
6120 @end table
6121
6122 Background execution is especially useful in conjunction with non-stop
6123 mode for debugging programs with multiple threads; see @ref{Non-Stop Mode}.
6124 However, you can also use these commands in the normal all-stop mode with
6125 the restriction that you cannot issue another execution command until the
6126 previous one finishes. Examples of commands that are valid in all-stop
6127 mode while the program is running include @code{help} and @code{info break}.
6128
6129 You can interrupt your program while it is running in the background by
6130 using the @code{interrupt} command.
6131
6132 @table @code
6133 @kindex interrupt
6134 @item interrupt
6135 @itemx interrupt -a
6136
6137 Suspend execution of the running program. In all-stop mode,
6138 @code{interrupt} stops the whole process, but in non-stop mode, it stops
6139 only the current thread. To stop the whole program in non-stop mode,
6140 use @code{interrupt -a}.
6141 @end table
6142
6143 @node Thread-Specific Breakpoints
6144 @subsection Thread-Specific Breakpoints
6145
6146 When your program has multiple threads (@pxref{Threads,, Debugging
6147 Programs with Multiple Threads}), you can choose whether to set
6148 breakpoints on all threads, or on a particular thread.
6149
6150 @table @code
6151 @cindex breakpoints and threads
6152 @cindex thread breakpoints
6153 @kindex break @dots{} thread @var{thread-id}
6154 @item break @var{location} thread @var{thread-id}
6155 @itemx break @var{location} thread @var{thread-id} if @dots{}
6156 @var{location} specifies source lines; there are several ways of
6157 writing them (@pxref{Specify Location}), but the effect is always to
6158 specify some source line.
6159
6160 Use the qualifier @samp{thread @var{thread-id}} with a breakpoint command
6161 to specify that you only want @value{GDBN} to stop the program when a
6162 particular thread reaches this breakpoint. The @var{thread-id} specifier
6163 is one of the thread identifiers assigned by @value{GDBN}, shown
6164 in the first column of the @samp{info threads} display.
6165
6166 If you do not specify @samp{thread @var{thread-id}} when you set a
6167 breakpoint, the breakpoint applies to @emph{all} threads of your
6168 program.
6169
6170 You can use the @code{thread} qualifier on conditional breakpoints as
6171 well; in this case, place @samp{thread @var{thread-id}} before or
6172 after the breakpoint condition, like this:
6173
6174 @smallexample
6175 (@value{GDBP}) break frik.c:13 thread 28 if bartab > lim
6176 @end smallexample
6177
6178 @end table
6179
6180 Thread-specific breakpoints are automatically deleted when
6181 @value{GDBN} detects the corresponding thread is no longer in the
6182 thread list. For example:
6183
6184 @smallexample
6185 (@value{GDBP}) c
6186 Thread-specific breakpoint 3 deleted - thread 28 no longer in the thread list.
6187 @end smallexample
6188
6189 There are several ways for a thread to disappear, such as a regular
6190 thread exit, but also when you detach from the process with the
6191 @code{detach} command (@pxref{Attach, ,Debugging an Already-running
6192 Process}), or if @value{GDBN} loses the remote connection
6193 (@pxref{Remote Debugging}), etc. Note that with some targets,
6194 @value{GDBN} is only able to detect a thread has exited when the user
6195 explictly asks for the thread list with the @code{info threads}
6196 command.
6197
6198 @node Interrupted System Calls
6199 @subsection Interrupted System Calls
6200
6201 @cindex thread breakpoints and system calls
6202 @cindex system calls and thread breakpoints
6203 @cindex premature return from system calls
6204 There is an unfortunate side effect when using @value{GDBN} to debug
6205 multi-threaded programs. If one thread stops for a
6206 breakpoint, or for some other reason, and another thread is blocked in a
6207 system call, then the system call may return prematurely. This is a
6208 consequence of the interaction between multiple threads and the signals
6209 that @value{GDBN} uses to implement breakpoints and other events that
6210 stop execution.
6211
6212 To handle this problem, your program should check the return value of
6213 each system call and react appropriately. This is good programming
6214 style anyways.
6215
6216 For example, do not write code like this:
6217
6218 @smallexample
6219 sleep (10);
6220 @end smallexample
6221
6222 The call to @code{sleep} will return early if a different thread stops
6223 at a breakpoint or for some other reason.
6224
6225 Instead, write this:
6226
6227 @smallexample
6228 int unslept = 10;
6229 while (unslept > 0)
6230 unslept = sleep (unslept);
6231 @end smallexample
6232
6233 A system call is allowed to return early, so the system is still
6234 conforming to its specification. But @value{GDBN} does cause your
6235 multi-threaded program to behave differently than it would without
6236 @value{GDBN}.
6237
6238 Also, @value{GDBN} uses internal breakpoints in the thread library to
6239 monitor certain events such as thread creation and thread destruction.
6240 When such an event happens, a system call in another thread may return
6241 prematurely, even though your program does not appear to stop.
6242
6243 @node Observer Mode
6244 @subsection Observer Mode
6245
6246 If you want to build on non-stop mode and observe program behavior
6247 without any chance of disruption by @value{GDBN}, you can set
6248 variables to disable all of the debugger's attempts to modify state,
6249 whether by writing memory, inserting breakpoints, etc. These operate
6250 at a low level, intercepting operations from all commands.
6251
6252 When all of these are set to @code{off}, then @value{GDBN} is said to
6253 be @dfn{observer mode}. As a convenience, the variable
6254 @code{observer} can be set to disable these, plus enable non-stop
6255 mode.
6256
6257 Note that @value{GDBN} will not prevent you from making nonsensical
6258 combinations of these settings. For instance, if you have enabled
6259 @code{may-insert-breakpoints} but disabled @code{may-write-memory},
6260 then breakpoints that work by writing trap instructions into the code
6261 stream will still not be able to be placed.
6262
6263 @table @code
6264
6265 @kindex observer
6266 @item set observer on
6267 @itemx set observer off
6268 When set to @code{on}, this disables all the permission variables
6269 below (except for @code{insert-fast-tracepoints}), plus enables
6270 non-stop debugging. Setting this to @code{off} switches back to
6271 normal debugging, though remaining in non-stop mode.
6272
6273 @item show observer
6274 Show whether observer mode is on or off.
6275
6276 @kindex may-write-registers
6277 @item set may-write-registers on
6278 @itemx set may-write-registers off
6279 This controls whether @value{GDBN} will attempt to alter the values of
6280 registers, such as with assignment expressions in @code{print}, or the
6281 @code{jump} command. It defaults to @code{on}.
6282
6283 @item show may-write-registers
6284 Show the current permission to write registers.
6285
6286 @kindex may-write-memory
6287 @item set may-write-memory on
6288 @itemx set may-write-memory off
6289 This controls whether @value{GDBN} will attempt to alter the contents
6290 of memory, such as with assignment expressions in @code{print}. It
6291 defaults to @code{on}.
6292
6293 @item show may-write-memory
6294 Show the current permission to write memory.
6295
6296 @kindex may-insert-breakpoints
6297 @item set may-insert-breakpoints on
6298 @itemx set may-insert-breakpoints off
6299 This controls whether @value{GDBN} will attempt to insert breakpoints.
6300 This affects all breakpoints, including internal breakpoints defined
6301 by @value{GDBN}. It defaults to @code{on}.
6302
6303 @item show may-insert-breakpoints
6304 Show the current permission to insert breakpoints.
6305
6306 @kindex may-insert-tracepoints
6307 @item set may-insert-tracepoints on
6308 @itemx set may-insert-tracepoints off
6309 This controls whether @value{GDBN} will attempt to insert (regular)
6310 tracepoints at the beginning of a tracing experiment. It affects only
6311 non-fast tracepoints, fast tracepoints being under the control of
6312 @code{may-insert-fast-tracepoints}. It defaults to @code{on}.
6313
6314 @item show may-insert-tracepoints
6315 Show the current permission to insert tracepoints.
6316
6317 @kindex may-insert-fast-tracepoints
6318 @item set may-insert-fast-tracepoints on
6319 @itemx set may-insert-fast-tracepoints off
6320 This controls whether @value{GDBN} will attempt to insert fast
6321 tracepoints at the beginning of a tracing experiment. It affects only
6322 fast tracepoints, regular (non-fast) tracepoints being under the
6323 control of @code{may-insert-tracepoints}. It defaults to @code{on}.
6324
6325 @item show may-insert-fast-tracepoints
6326 Show the current permission to insert fast tracepoints.
6327
6328 @kindex may-interrupt
6329 @item set may-interrupt on
6330 @itemx set may-interrupt off
6331 This controls whether @value{GDBN} will attempt to interrupt or stop
6332 program execution. When this variable is @code{off}, the
6333 @code{interrupt} command will have no effect, nor will
6334 @kbd{Ctrl-c}. It defaults to @code{on}.
6335
6336 @item show may-interrupt
6337 Show the current permission to interrupt or stop the program.
6338
6339 @end table
6340
6341 @node Reverse Execution
6342 @chapter Running programs backward
6343 @cindex reverse execution
6344 @cindex running programs backward
6345
6346 When you are debugging a program, it is not unusual to realize that
6347 you have gone too far, and some event of interest has already happened.
6348 If the target environment supports it, @value{GDBN} can allow you to
6349 ``rewind'' the program by running it backward.
6350
6351 A target environment that supports reverse execution should be able
6352 to ``undo'' the changes in machine state that have taken place as the
6353 program was executing normally. Variables, registers etc.@: should
6354 revert to their previous values. Obviously this requires a great
6355 deal of sophistication on the part of the target environment; not
6356 all target environments can support reverse execution.
6357
6358 When a program is executed in reverse, the instructions that
6359 have most recently been executed are ``un-executed'', in reverse
6360 order. The program counter runs backward, following the previous
6361 thread of execution in reverse. As each instruction is ``un-executed'',
6362 the values of memory and/or registers that were changed by that
6363 instruction are reverted to their previous states. After executing
6364 a piece of source code in reverse, all side effects of that code
6365 should be ``undone'', and all variables should be returned to their
6366 prior values@footnote{
6367 Note that some side effects are easier to undo than others. For instance,
6368 memory and registers are relatively easy, but device I/O is hard. Some
6369 targets may be able undo things like device I/O, and some may not.
6370
6371 The contract between @value{GDBN} and the reverse executing target
6372 requires only that the target do something reasonable when
6373 @value{GDBN} tells it to execute backwards, and then report the
6374 results back to @value{GDBN}. Whatever the target reports back to
6375 @value{GDBN}, @value{GDBN} will report back to the user. @value{GDBN}
6376 assumes that the memory and registers that the target reports are in a
6377 consistant state, but @value{GDBN} accepts whatever it is given.
6378 }.
6379
6380 If you are debugging in a target environment that supports
6381 reverse execution, @value{GDBN} provides the following commands.
6382
6383 @table @code
6384 @kindex reverse-continue
6385 @kindex rc @r{(@code{reverse-continue})}
6386 @item reverse-continue @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
6387 @itemx rc @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
6388 Beginning at the point where your program last stopped, start executing
6389 in reverse. Reverse execution will stop for breakpoints and synchronous
6390 exceptions (signals), just like normal execution. Behavior of
6391 asynchronous signals depends on the target environment.
6392
6393 @kindex reverse-step
6394 @kindex rs @r{(@code{step})}
6395 @item reverse-step @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
6396 Run the program backward until control reaches the start of a
6397 different source line; then stop it, and return control to @value{GDBN}.
6398
6399 Like the @code{step} command, @code{reverse-step} will only stop
6400 at the beginning of a source line. It ``un-executes'' the previously
6401 executed source line. If the previous source line included calls to
6402 debuggable functions, @code{reverse-step} will step (backward) into
6403 the called function, stopping at the beginning of the @emph{last}
6404 statement in the called function (typically a return statement).
6405
6406 Also, as with the @code{step} command, if non-debuggable functions are
6407 called, @code{reverse-step} will run thru them backward without stopping.
6408
6409 @kindex reverse-stepi
6410 @kindex rsi @r{(@code{reverse-stepi})}
6411 @item reverse-stepi @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
6412 Reverse-execute one machine instruction. Note that the instruction
6413 to be reverse-executed is @emph{not} the one pointed to by the program
6414 counter, but the instruction executed prior to that one. For instance,
6415 if the last instruction was a jump, @code{reverse-stepi} will take you
6416 back from the destination of the jump to the jump instruction itself.
6417
6418 @kindex reverse-next
6419 @kindex rn @r{(@code{reverse-next})}
6420 @item reverse-next @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
6421 Run backward to the beginning of the previous line executed in
6422 the current (innermost) stack frame. If the line contains function
6423 calls, they will be ``un-executed'' without stopping. Starting from
6424 the first line of a function, @code{reverse-next} will take you back
6425 to the caller of that function, @emph{before} the function was called,
6426 just as the normal @code{next} command would take you from the last
6427 line of a function back to its return to its caller
6428 @footnote{Unless the code is too heavily optimized.}.
6429
6430 @kindex reverse-nexti
6431 @kindex rni @r{(@code{reverse-nexti})}
6432 @item reverse-nexti @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
6433 Like @code{nexti}, @code{reverse-nexti} executes a single instruction
6434 in reverse, except that called functions are ``un-executed'' atomically.
6435 That is, if the previously executed instruction was a return from
6436 another function, @code{reverse-nexti} will continue to execute
6437 in reverse until the call to that function (from the current stack
6438 frame) is reached.
6439
6440 @kindex reverse-finish
6441 @item reverse-finish
6442 Just as the @code{finish} command takes you to the point where the
6443 current function returns, @code{reverse-finish} takes you to the point
6444 where it was called. Instead of ending up at the end of the current
6445 function invocation, you end up at the beginning.
6446
6447 @kindex set exec-direction
6448 @item set exec-direction
6449 Set the direction of target execution.
6450 @item set exec-direction reverse
6451 @cindex execute forward or backward in time
6452 @value{GDBN} will perform all execution commands in reverse, until the
6453 exec-direction mode is changed to ``forward''. Affected commands include
6454 @code{step, stepi, next, nexti, continue, and finish}. The @code{return}
6455 command cannot be used in reverse mode.
6456 @item set exec-direction forward
6457 @value{GDBN} will perform all execution commands in the normal fashion.
6458 This is the default.
6459 @end table
6460
6461
6462 @node Process Record and Replay
6463 @chapter Recording Inferior's Execution and Replaying It
6464 @cindex process record and replay
6465 @cindex recording inferior's execution and replaying it
6466
6467 On some platforms, @value{GDBN} provides a special @dfn{process record
6468 and replay} target that can record a log of the process execution, and
6469 replay it later with both forward and reverse execution commands.
6470
6471 @cindex replay mode
6472 When this target is in use, if the execution log includes the record
6473 for the next instruction, @value{GDBN} will debug in @dfn{replay
6474 mode}. In the replay mode, the inferior does not really execute code
6475 instructions. Instead, all the events that normally happen during
6476 code execution are taken from the execution log. While code is not
6477 really executed in replay mode, the values of registers (including the
6478 program counter register) and the memory of the inferior are still
6479 changed as they normally would. Their contents are taken from the
6480 execution log.
6481
6482 @cindex record mode
6483 If the record for the next instruction is not in the execution log,
6484 @value{GDBN} will debug in @dfn{record mode}. In this mode, the
6485 inferior executes normally, and @value{GDBN} records the execution log
6486 for future replay.
6487
6488 The process record and replay target supports reverse execution
6489 (@pxref{Reverse Execution}), even if the platform on which the
6490 inferior runs does not. However, the reverse execution is limited in
6491 this case by the range of the instructions recorded in the execution
6492 log. In other words, reverse execution on platforms that don't
6493 support it directly can only be done in the replay mode.
6494
6495 When debugging in the reverse direction, @value{GDBN} will work in
6496 replay mode as long as the execution log includes the record for the
6497 previous instruction; otherwise, it will work in record mode, if the
6498 platform supports reverse execution, or stop if not.
6499
6500 For architecture environments that support process record and replay,
6501 @value{GDBN} provides the following commands:
6502
6503 @table @code
6504 @kindex target record
6505 @kindex target record-full
6506 @kindex target record-btrace
6507 @kindex record
6508 @kindex record full
6509 @kindex record btrace
6510 @kindex record btrace bts
6511 @kindex record btrace pt
6512 @kindex record bts
6513 @kindex record pt
6514 @kindex rec
6515 @kindex rec full
6516 @kindex rec btrace
6517 @kindex rec btrace bts
6518 @kindex rec btrace pt
6519 @kindex rec bts
6520 @kindex rec pt
6521 @item record @var{method}
6522 This command starts the process record and replay target. The
6523 recording method can be specified as parameter. Without a parameter
6524 the command uses the @code{full} recording method. The following
6525 recording methods are available:
6526
6527 @table @code
6528 @item full
6529 Full record/replay recording using @value{GDBN}'s software record and
6530 replay implementation. This method allows replaying and reverse
6531 execution.
6532
6533 @item btrace @var{format}
6534 Hardware-supported instruction recording. This method does not record
6535 data. Further, the data is collected in a ring buffer so old data will
6536 be overwritten when the buffer is full. It allows limited reverse
6537 execution. Variables and registers are not available during reverse
6538 execution.
6539
6540 The recording format can be specified as parameter. Without a parameter
6541 the command chooses the recording format. The following recording
6542 formats are available:
6543
6544 @table @code
6545 @item bts
6546 @cindex branch trace store
6547 Use the @dfn{Branch Trace Store} (@acronym{BTS}) recording format. In
6548 this format, the processor stores a from/to record for each executed
6549 branch in the btrace ring buffer.
6550
6551 @item pt
6552 @cindex Intel Processor Trace
6553 Use the @dfn{Intel Processor Trace} recording format. In this
6554 format, the processor stores the execution trace in a compressed form
6555 that is afterwards decoded by @value{GDBN}.
6556
6557 The trace can be recorded with very low overhead. The compressed
6558 trace format also allows small trace buffers to already contain a big
6559 number of instructions compared to @acronym{BTS}.
6560
6561 Decoding the recorded execution trace, on the other hand, is more
6562 expensive than decoding @acronym{BTS} trace. This is mostly due to the
6563 increased number of instructions to process. You should increase the
6564 buffer-size with care.
6565 @end table
6566
6567 Not all recording formats may be available on all processors.
6568 @end table
6569
6570 The process record and replay target can only debug a process that is
6571 already running. Therefore, you need first to start the process with
6572 the @kbd{run} or @kbd{start} commands, and then start the recording
6573 with the @kbd{record @var{method}} command.
6574
6575 @cindex displaced stepping, and process record and replay
6576 Displaced stepping (@pxref{Maintenance Commands,, displaced stepping})
6577 will be automatically disabled when process record and replay target
6578 is started. That's because the process record and replay target
6579 doesn't support displaced stepping.
6580
6581 @cindex non-stop mode, and process record and replay
6582 @cindex asynchronous execution, and process record and replay
6583 If the inferior is in the non-stop mode (@pxref{Non-Stop Mode}) or in
6584 the asynchronous execution mode (@pxref{Background Execution}), not
6585 all recording methods are available. The @code{full} recording method
6586 does not support these two modes.
6587
6588 @kindex record stop
6589 @kindex rec s
6590 @item record stop
6591 Stop the process record and replay target. When process record and
6592 replay target stops, the entire execution log will be deleted and the
6593 inferior will either be terminated, or will remain in its final state.
6594
6595 When you stop the process record and replay target in record mode (at
6596 the end of the execution log), the inferior will be stopped at the
6597 next instruction that would have been recorded. In other words, if
6598 you record for a while and then stop recording, the inferior process
6599 will be left in the same state as if the recording never happened.
6600
6601 On the other hand, if the process record and replay target is stopped
6602 while in replay mode (that is, not at the end of the execution log,
6603 but at some earlier point), the inferior process will become ``live''
6604 at that earlier state, and it will then be possible to continue the
6605 usual ``live'' debugging of the process from that state.
6606
6607 When the inferior process exits, or @value{GDBN} detaches from it,
6608 process record and replay target will automatically stop itself.
6609
6610 @kindex record goto
6611 @item record goto
6612 Go to a specific location in the execution log. There are several
6613 ways to specify the location to go to:
6614
6615 @table @code
6616 @item record goto begin
6617 @itemx record goto start
6618 Go to the beginning of the execution log.
6619
6620 @item record goto end
6621 Go to the end of the execution log.
6622
6623 @item record goto @var{n}
6624 Go to instruction number @var{n} in the execution log.
6625 @end table
6626
6627 @kindex record save
6628 @item record save @var{filename}
6629 Save the execution log to a file @file{@var{filename}}.
6630 Default filename is @file{gdb_record.@var{process_id}}, where
6631 @var{process_id} is the process ID of the inferior.
6632
6633 This command may not be available for all recording methods.
6634
6635 @kindex record restore
6636 @item record restore @var{filename}
6637 Restore the execution log from a file @file{@var{filename}}.
6638 File must have been created with @code{record save}.
6639
6640 @kindex set record full
6641 @item set record full insn-number-max @var{limit}
6642 @itemx set record full insn-number-max unlimited
6643 Set the limit of instructions to be recorded for the @code{full}
6644 recording method. Default value is 200000.
6645
6646 If @var{limit} is a positive number, then @value{GDBN} will start
6647 deleting instructions from the log once the number of the record
6648 instructions becomes greater than @var{limit}. For every new recorded
6649 instruction, @value{GDBN} will delete the earliest recorded
6650 instruction to keep the number of recorded instructions at the limit.
6651 (Since deleting recorded instructions loses information, @value{GDBN}
6652 lets you control what happens when the limit is reached, by means of
6653 the @code{stop-at-limit} option, described below.)
6654
6655 If @var{limit} is @code{unlimited} or zero, @value{GDBN} will never
6656 delete recorded instructions from the execution log. The number of
6657 recorded instructions is limited only by the available memory.
6658
6659 @kindex show record full
6660 @item show record full insn-number-max
6661 Show the limit of instructions to be recorded with the @code{full}
6662 recording method.
6663
6664 @item set record full stop-at-limit
6665 Control the behavior of the @code{full} recording method when the
6666 number of recorded instructions reaches the limit. If ON (the
6667 default), @value{GDBN} will stop when the limit is reached for the
6668 first time and ask you whether you want to stop the inferior or
6669 continue running it and recording the execution log. If you decide
6670 to continue recording, each new recorded instruction will cause the
6671 oldest one to be deleted.
6672
6673 If this option is OFF, @value{GDBN} will automatically delete the
6674 oldest record to make room for each new one, without asking.
6675
6676 @item show record full stop-at-limit
6677 Show the current setting of @code{stop-at-limit}.
6678
6679 @item set record full memory-query
6680 Control the behavior when @value{GDBN} is unable to record memory
6681 changes caused by an instruction for the @code{full} recording method.
6682 If ON, @value{GDBN} will query whether to stop the inferior in that
6683 case.
6684
6685 If this option is OFF (the default), @value{GDBN} will automatically
6686 ignore the effect of such instructions on memory. Later, when
6687 @value{GDBN} replays this execution log, it will mark the log of this
6688 instruction as not accessible, and it will not affect the replay
6689 results.
6690
6691 @item show record full memory-query
6692 Show the current setting of @code{memory-query}.
6693
6694 @kindex set record btrace
6695 The @code{btrace} record target does not trace data. As a
6696 convenience, when replaying, @value{GDBN} reads read-only memory off
6697 the live program directly, assuming that the addresses of the
6698 read-only areas don't change. This for example makes it possible to
6699 disassemble code while replaying, but not to print variables.
6700 In some cases, being able to inspect variables might be useful.
6701 You can use the following command for that:
6702
6703 @item set record btrace replay-memory-access
6704 Control the behavior of the @code{btrace} recording method when
6705 accessing memory during replay. If @code{read-only} (the default),
6706 @value{GDBN} will only allow accesses to read-only memory.
6707 If @code{read-write}, @value{GDBN} will allow accesses to read-only
6708 and to read-write memory. Beware that the accessed memory corresponds
6709 to the live target and not necessarily to the current replay
6710 position.
6711
6712 @kindex show record btrace
6713 @item show record btrace replay-memory-access
6714 Show the current setting of @code{replay-memory-access}.
6715
6716 @kindex set record btrace bts
6717 @item set record btrace bts buffer-size @var{size}
6718 @itemx set record btrace bts buffer-size unlimited
6719 Set the requested ring buffer size for branch tracing in @acronym{BTS}
6720 format. Default is 64KB.
6721
6722 If @var{size} is a positive number, then @value{GDBN} will try to
6723 allocate a buffer of at least @var{size} bytes for each new thread
6724 that uses the btrace recording method and the @acronym{BTS} format.
6725 The actually obtained buffer size may differ from the requested
6726 @var{size}. Use the @code{info record} command to see the actual
6727 buffer size for each thread that uses the btrace recording method and
6728 the @acronym{BTS} format.
6729
6730 If @var{limit} is @code{unlimited} or zero, @value{GDBN} will try to
6731 allocate a buffer of 4MB.
6732
6733 Bigger buffers mean longer traces. On the other hand, @value{GDBN} will
6734 also need longer to process the branch trace data before it can be used.
6735
6736 @item show record btrace bts buffer-size @var{size}
6737 Show the current setting of the requested ring buffer size for branch
6738 tracing in @acronym{BTS} format.
6739
6740 @kindex set record btrace pt
6741 @item set record btrace pt buffer-size @var{size}
6742 @itemx set record btrace pt buffer-size unlimited
6743 Set the requested ring buffer size for branch tracing in Intel
6744 Processor Trace format. Default is 16KB.
6745
6746 If @var{size} is a positive number, then @value{GDBN} will try to
6747 allocate a buffer of at least @var{size} bytes for each new thread
6748 that uses the btrace recording method and the Intel Processor Trace
6749 format. The actually obtained buffer size may differ from the
6750 requested @var{size}. Use the @code{info record} command to see the
6751 actual buffer size for each thread.
6752
6753 If @var{limit} is @code{unlimited} or zero, @value{GDBN} will try to
6754 allocate a buffer of 4MB.
6755
6756 Bigger buffers mean longer traces. On the other hand, @value{GDBN} will
6757 also need longer to process the branch trace data before it can be used.
6758
6759 @item show record btrace pt buffer-size @var{size}
6760 Show the current setting of the requested ring buffer size for branch
6761 tracing in Intel Processor Trace format.
6762
6763 @kindex info record
6764 @item info record
6765 Show various statistics about the recording depending on the recording
6766 method:
6767
6768 @table @code
6769 @item full
6770 For the @code{full} recording method, it shows the state of process
6771 record and its in-memory execution log buffer, including:
6772
6773 @itemize @bullet
6774 @item
6775 Whether in record mode or replay mode.
6776 @item
6777 Lowest recorded instruction number (counting from when the current execution log started recording instructions).
6778 @item
6779 Highest recorded instruction number.
6780 @item
6781 Current instruction about to be replayed (if in replay mode).
6782 @item
6783 Number of instructions contained in the execution log.
6784 @item
6785 Maximum number of instructions that may be contained in the execution log.
6786 @end itemize
6787
6788 @item btrace
6789 For the @code{btrace} recording method, it shows:
6790
6791 @itemize @bullet
6792 @item
6793 Recording format.
6794 @item
6795 Number of instructions that have been recorded.
6796 @item
6797 Number of blocks of sequential control-flow formed by the recorded
6798 instructions.
6799 @item
6800 Whether in record mode or replay mode.
6801 @end itemize
6802
6803 For the @code{bts} recording format, it also shows:
6804 @itemize @bullet
6805 @item
6806 Size of the perf ring buffer.
6807 @end itemize
6808
6809 For the @code{pt} recording format, it also shows:
6810 @itemize @bullet
6811 @item
6812 Size of the perf ring buffer.
6813 @end itemize
6814 @end table
6815
6816 @kindex record delete
6817 @kindex rec del
6818 @item record delete
6819 When record target runs in replay mode (``in the past''), delete the
6820 subsequent execution log and begin to record a new execution log starting
6821 from the current address. This means you will abandon the previously
6822 recorded ``future'' and begin recording a new ``future''.
6823
6824 @kindex record instruction-history
6825 @kindex rec instruction-history
6826 @item record instruction-history
6827 Disassembles instructions from the recorded execution log. By
6828 default, ten instructions are disassembled. This can be changed using
6829 the @code{set record instruction-history-size} command. Instructions
6830 are printed in execution order.
6831
6832 It can also print mixed source+disassembly if you specify the the
6833 @code{/m} or @code{/s} modifier, and print the raw instructions in hex
6834 as well as in symbolic form by specifying the @code{/r} modifier.
6835
6836 The current position marker is printed for the instruction at the
6837 current program counter value. This instruction can appear multiple
6838 times in the trace and the current position marker will be printed
6839 every time. To omit the current position marker, specify the
6840 @code{/p} modifier.
6841
6842 To better align the printed instructions when the trace contains
6843 instructions from more than one function, the function name may be
6844 omitted by specifying the @code{/f} modifier.
6845
6846 Speculatively executed instructions are prefixed with @samp{?}. This
6847 feature is not available for all recording formats.
6848
6849 There are several ways to specify what part of the execution log to
6850 disassemble:
6851
6852 @table @code
6853 @item record instruction-history @var{insn}
6854 Disassembles ten instructions starting from instruction number
6855 @var{insn}.
6856
6857 @item record instruction-history @var{insn}, +/-@var{n}
6858 Disassembles @var{n} instructions around instruction number
6859 @var{insn}. If @var{n} is preceded with @code{+}, disassembles
6860 @var{n} instructions after instruction number @var{insn}. If
6861 @var{n} is preceded with @code{-}, disassembles @var{n}
6862 instructions before instruction number @var{insn}.
6863
6864 @item record instruction-history
6865 Disassembles ten more instructions after the last disassembly.
6866
6867 @item record instruction-history -
6868 Disassembles ten more instructions before the last disassembly.
6869
6870 @item record instruction-history @var{begin}, @var{end}
6871 Disassembles instructions beginning with instruction number
6872 @var{begin} until instruction number @var{end}. The instruction
6873 number @var{end} is included.
6874 @end table
6875
6876 This command may not be available for all recording methods.
6877
6878 @kindex set record
6879 @item set record instruction-history-size @var{size}
6880 @itemx set record instruction-history-size unlimited
6881 Define how many instructions to disassemble in the @code{record
6882 instruction-history} command. The default value is 10.
6883 A @var{size} of @code{unlimited} means unlimited instructions.
6884
6885 @kindex show record
6886 @item show record instruction-history-size
6887 Show how many instructions to disassemble in the @code{record
6888 instruction-history} command.
6889
6890 @kindex record function-call-history
6891 @kindex rec function-call-history
6892 @item record function-call-history
6893 Prints the execution history at function granularity. It prints one
6894 line for each sequence of instructions that belong to the same
6895 function giving the name of that function, the source lines
6896 for this instruction sequence (if the @code{/l} modifier is
6897 specified), and the instructions numbers that form the sequence (if
6898 the @code{/i} modifier is specified). The function names are indented
6899 to reflect the call stack depth if the @code{/c} modifier is
6900 specified. The @code{/l}, @code{/i}, and @code{/c} modifiers can be
6901 given together.
6902
6903 @smallexample
6904 (@value{GDBP}) @b{list 1, 10}
6905 1 void foo (void)
6906 2 @{
6907 3 @}
6908 4
6909 5 void bar (void)
6910 6 @{
6911 7 ...
6912 8 foo ();
6913 9 ...
6914 10 @}
6915 (@value{GDBP}) @b{record function-call-history /ilc}
6916 1 bar inst 1,4 at foo.c:6,8
6917 2 foo inst 5,10 at foo.c:2,3
6918 3 bar inst 11,13 at foo.c:9,10
6919 @end smallexample
6920
6921 By default, ten lines are printed. This can be changed using the
6922 @code{set record function-call-history-size} command. Functions are
6923 printed in execution order. There are several ways to specify what
6924 to print:
6925
6926 @table @code
6927 @item record function-call-history @var{func}
6928 Prints ten functions starting from function number @var{func}.
6929
6930 @item record function-call-history @var{func}, +/-@var{n}
6931 Prints @var{n} functions around function number @var{func}. If
6932 @var{n} is preceded with @code{+}, prints @var{n} functions after
6933 function number @var{func}. If @var{n} is preceded with @code{-},
6934 prints @var{n} functions before function number @var{func}.
6935
6936 @item record function-call-history
6937 Prints ten more functions after the last ten-line print.
6938
6939 @item record function-call-history -
6940 Prints ten more functions before the last ten-line print.
6941
6942 @item record function-call-history @var{begin}, @var{end}
6943 Prints functions beginning with function number @var{begin} until
6944 function number @var{end}. The function number @var{end} is included.
6945 @end table
6946
6947 This command may not be available for all recording methods.
6948
6949 @item set record function-call-history-size @var{size}
6950 @itemx set record function-call-history-size unlimited
6951 Define how many lines to print in the
6952 @code{record function-call-history} command. The default value is 10.
6953 A size of @code{unlimited} means unlimited lines.
6954
6955 @item show record function-call-history-size
6956 Show how many lines to print in the
6957 @code{record function-call-history} command.
6958 @end table
6959
6960
6961 @node Stack
6962 @chapter Examining the Stack
6963
6964 When your program has stopped, the first thing you need to know is where it
6965 stopped and how it got there.
6966
6967 @cindex call stack
6968 Each time your program performs a function call, information about the call
6969 is generated.
6970 That information includes the location of the call in your program,
6971 the arguments of the call,
6972 and the local variables of the function being called.
6973 The information is saved in a block of data called a @dfn{stack frame}.
6974 The stack frames are allocated in a region of memory called the @dfn{call
6975 stack}.
6976
6977 When your program stops, the @value{GDBN} commands for examining the
6978 stack allow you to see all of this information.
6979
6980 @cindex selected frame
6981 One of the stack frames is @dfn{selected} by @value{GDBN} and many
6982 @value{GDBN} commands refer implicitly to the selected frame. In
6983 particular, whenever you ask @value{GDBN} for the value of a variable in
6984 your program, the value is found in the selected frame. There are
6985 special @value{GDBN} commands to select whichever frame you are
6986 interested in. @xref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}.
6987
6988 When your program stops, @value{GDBN} automatically selects the
6989 currently executing frame and describes it briefly, similar to the
6990 @code{frame} command (@pxref{Frame Info, ,Information about a Frame}).
6991
6992 @menu
6993 * Frames:: Stack frames
6994 * Backtrace:: Backtraces
6995 * Selection:: Selecting a frame
6996 * Frame Info:: Information on a frame
6997 * Frame Filter Management:: Managing frame filters
6998
6999 @end menu
7000
7001 @node Frames
7002 @section Stack Frames
7003
7004 @cindex frame, definition
7005 @cindex stack frame
7006 The call stack is divided up into contiguous pieces called @dfn{stack
7007 frames}, or @dfn{frames} for short; each frame is the data associated
7008 with one call to one function. The frame contains the arguments given
7009 to the function, the function's local variables, and the address at
7010 which the function is executing.
7011
7012 @cindex initial frame
7013 @cindex outermost frame
7014 @cindex innermost frame
7015 When your program is started, the stack has only one frame, that of the
7016 function @code{main}. This is called the @dfn{initial} frame or the
7017 @dfn{outermost} frame. Each time a function is called, a new frame is
7018 made. Each time a function returns, the frame for that function invocation
7019 is eliminated. If a function is recursive, there can be many frames for
7020 the same function. The frame for the function in which execution is
7021 actually occurring is called the @dfn{innermost} frame. This is the most
7022 recently created of all the stack frames that still exist.
7023
7024 @cindex frame pointer
7025 Inside your program, stack frames are identified by their addresses. A
7026 stack frame consists of many bytes, each of which has its own address; each
7027 kind of computer has a convention for choosing one byte whose
7028 address serves as the address of the frame. Usually this address is kept
7029 in a register called the @dfn{frame pointer register}
7030 (@pxref{Registers, $fp}) while execution is going on in that frame.
7031
7032 @cindex frame number
7033 @value{GDBN} assigns numbers to all existing stack frames, starting with
7034 zero for the innermost frame, one for the frame that called it,
7035 and so on upward. These numbers do not really exist in your program;
7036 they are assigned by @value{GDBN} to give you a way of designating stack
7037 frames in @value{GDBN} commands.
7038
7039 @c The -fomit-frame-pointer below perennially causes hbox overflow
7040 @c underflow problems.
7041 @cindex frameless execution
7042 Some compilers provide a way to compile functions so that they operate
7043 without stack frames. (For example, the @value{NGCC} option
7044 @smallexample
7045 @samp{-fomit-frame-pointer}
7046 @end smallexample
7047 generates functions without a frame.)
7048 This is occasionally done with heavily used library functions to save
7049 the frame setup time. @value{GDBN} has limited facilities for dealing
7050 with these function invocations. If the innermost function invocation
7051 has no stack frame, @value{GDBN} nevertheless regards it as though
7052 it had a separate frame, which is numbered zero as usual, allowing
7053 correct tracing of the function call chain. However, @value{GDBN} has
7054 no provision for frameless functions elsewhere in the stack.
7055
7056 @node Backtrace
7057 @section Backtraces
7058
7059 @cindex traceback
7060 @cindex call stack traces
7061 A backtrace is a summary of how your program got where it is. It shows one
7062 line per frame, for many frames, starting with the currently executing
7063 frame (frame zero), followed by its caller (frame one), and on up the
7064 stack.
7065
7066 @anchor{backtrace-command}
7067 @table @code
7068 @kindex backtrace
7069 @kindex bt @r{(@code{backtrace})}
7070 @item backtrace
7071 @itemx bt
7072 Print a backtrace of the entire stack: one line per frame for all
7073 frames in the stack.
7074
7075 You can stop the backtrace at any time by typing the system interrupt
7076 character, normally @kbd{Ctrl-c}.
7077
7078 @item backtrace @var{n}
7079 @itemx bt @var{n}
7080 Similar, but print only the innermost @var{n} frames.
7081
7082 @item backtrace -@var{n}
7083 @itemx bt -@var{n}
7084 Similar, but print only the outermost @var{n} frames.
7085
7086 @item backtrace full
7087 @itemx bt full
7088 @itemx bt full @var{n}
7089 @itemx bt full -@var{n}
7090 Print the values of the local variables also. As described above,
7091 @var{n} specifies the number of frames to print.
7092
7093 @item backtrace no-filters
7094 @itemx bt no-filters
7095 @itemx bt no-filters @var{n}
7096 @itemx bt no-filters -@var{n}
7097 @itemx bt no-filters full
7098 @itemx bt no-filters full @var{n}
7099 @itemx bt no-filters full -@var{n}
7100 Do not run Python frame filters on this backtrace. @xref{Frame
7101 Filter API}, for more information. Additionally use @ref{disable
7102 frame-filter all} to turn off all frame filters. This is only
7103 relevant when @value{GDBN} has been configured with @code{Python}
7104 support.
7105 @end table
7106
7107 @kindex where
7108 @kindex info stack
7109 The names @code{where} and @code{info stack} (abbreviated @code{info s})
7110 are additional aliases for @code{backtrace}.
7111
7112 @cindex multiple threads, backtrace
7113 In a multi-threaded program, @value{GDBN} by default shows the
7114 backtrace only for the current thread. To display the backtrace for
7115 several or all of the threads, use the command @code{thread apply}
7116 (@pxref{Threads, thread apply}). For example, if you type @kbd{thread
7117 apply all backtrace}, @value{GDBN} will display the backtrace for all
7118 the threads; this is handy when you debug a core dump of a
7119 multi-threaded program.
7120
7121 Each line in the backtrace shows the frame number and the function name.
7122 The program counter value is also shown---unless you use @code{set
7123 print address off}. The backtrace also shows the source file name and
7124 line number, as well as the arguments to the function. The program
7125 counter value is omitted if it is at the beginning of the code for that
7126 line number.
7127
7128 Here is an example of a backtrace. It was made with the command
7129 @samp{bt 3}, so it shows the innermost three frames.
7130
7131 @smallexample
7132 @group
7133 #0 m4_traceon (obs=0x24eb0, argc=1, argv=0x2b8c8)
7134 at builtin.c:993
7135 #1 0x6e38 in expand_macro (sym=0x2b600, data=...) at macro.c:242
7136 #2 0x6840 in expand_token (obs=0x0, t=177664, td=0xf7fffb08)
7137 at macro.c:71
7138 (More stack frames follow...)
7139 @end group
7140 @end smallexample
7141
7142 @noindent
7143 The display for frame zero does not begin with a program counter
7144 value, indicating that your program has stopped at the beginning of the
7145 code for line @code{993} of @code{builtin.c}.
7146
7147 @noindent
7148 The value of parameter @code{data} in frame 1 has been replaced by
7149 @code{@dots{}}. By default, @value{GDBN} prints the value of a parameter
7150 only if it is a scalar (integer, pointer, enumeration, etc). See command
7151 @kbd{set print frame-arguments} in @ref{Print Settings} for more details
7152 on how to configure the way function parameter values are printed.
7153
7154 @cindex optimized out, in backtrace
7155 @cindex function call arguments, optimized out
7156 If your program was compiled with optimizations, some compilers will
7157 optimize away arguments passed to functions if those arguments are
7158 never used after the call. Such optimizations generate code that
7159 passes arguments through registers, but doesn't store those arguments
7160 in the stack frame. @value{GDBN} has no way of displaying such
7161 arguments in stack frames other than the innermost one. Here's what
7162 such a backtrace might look like:
7163
7164 @smallexample
7165 @group
7166 #0 m4_traceon (obs=0x24eb0, argc=1, argv=0x2b8c8)
7167 at builtin.c:993
7168 #1 0x6e38 in expand_macro (sym=<optimized out>) at macro.c:242
7169 #2 0x6840 in expand_token (obs=0x0, t=<optimized out>, td=0xf7fffb08)
7170 at macro.c:71
7171 (More stack frames follow...)
7172 @end group
7173 @end smallexample
7174
7175 @noindent
7176 The values of arguments that were not saved in their stack frames are
7177 shown as @samp{<optimized out>}.
7178
7179 If you need to display the values of such optimized-out arguments,
7180 either deduce that from other variables whose values depend on the one
7181 you are interested in, or recompile without optimizations.
7182
7183 @cindex backtrace beyond @code{main} function
7184 @cindex program entry point
7185 @cindex startup code, and backtrace
7186 Most programs have a standard user entry point---a place where system
7187 libraries and startup code transition into user code. For C this is
7188 @code{main}@footnote{
7189 Note that embedded programs (the so-called ``free-standing''
7190 environment) are not required to have a @code{main} function as the
7191 entry point. They could even have multiple entry points.}.
7192 When @value{GDBN} finds the entry function in a backtrace
7193 it will terminate the backtrace, to avoid tracing into highly
7194 system-specific (and generally uninteresting) code.
7195
7196 If you need to examine the startup code, or limit the number of levels
7197 in a backtrace, you can change this behavior:
7198
7199 @table @code
7200 @item set backtrace past-main
7201 @itemx set backtrace past-main on
7202 @kindex set backtrace
7203 Backtraces will continue past the user entry point.
7204
7205 @item set backtrace past-main off
7206 Backtraces will stop when they encounter the user entry point. This is the
7207 default.
7208
7209 @item show backtrace past-main
7210 @kindex show backtrace
7211 Display the current user entry point backtrace policy.
7212
7213 @item set backtrace past-entry
7214 @itemx set backtrace past-entry on
7215 Backtraces will continue past the internal entry point of an application.
7216 This entry point is encoded by the linker when the application is built,
7217 and is likely before the user entry point @code{main} (or equivalent) is called.
7218
7219 @item set backtrace past-entry off
7220 Backtraces will stop when they encounter the internal entry point of an
7221 application. This is the default.
7222
7223 @item show backtrace past-entry
7224 Display the current internal entry point backtrace policy.
7225
7226 @item set backtrace limit @var{n}
7227 @itemx set backtrace limit 0
7228 @itemx set backtrace limit unlimited
7229 @cindex backtrace limit
7230 Limit the backtrace to @var{n} levels. A value of @code{unlimited}
7231 or zero means unlimited levels.
7232
7233 @item show backtrace limit
7234 Display the current limit on backtrace levels.
7235 @end table
7236
7237 You can control how file names are displayed.
7238
7239 @table @code
7240 @item set filename-display
7241 @itemx set filename-display relative
7242 @cindex filename-display
7243 Display file names relative to the compilation directory. This is the default.
7244
7245 @item set filename-display basename
7246 Display only basename of a filename.
7247
7248 @item set filename-display absolute
7249 Display an absolute filename.
7250
7251 @item show filename-display
7252 Show the current way to display filenames.
7253 @end table
7254
7255 @node Selection
7256 @section Selecting a Frame
7257
7258 Most commands for examining the stack and other data in your program work on
7259 whichever stack frame is selected at the moment. Here are the commands for
7260 selecting a stack frame; all of them finish by printing a brief description
7261 of the stack frame just selected.
7262
7263 @table @code
7264 @kindex frame@r{, selecting}
7265 @kindex f @r{(@code{frame})}
7266 @item frame @var{n}
7267 @itemx f @var{n}
7268 Select frame number @var{n}. Recall that frame zero is the innermost
7269 (currently executing) frame, frame one is the frame that called the
7270 innermost one, and so on. The highest-numbered frame is the one for
7271 @code{main}.
7272
7273 @item frame @var{stack-addr} [ @var{pc-addr} ]
7274 @itemx f @var{stack-addr} [ @var{pc-addr} ]
7275 Select the frame at address @var{stack-addr}. This is useful mainly if the
7276 chaining of stack frames has been damaged by a bug, making it
7277 impossible for @value{GDBN} to assign numbers properly to all frames. In
7278 addition, this can be useful when your program has multiple stacks and
7279 switches between them. The optional @var{pc-addr} can also be given to
7280 specify the value of PC for the stack frame.
7281
7282 @kindex up
7283 @item up @var{n}
7284 Move @var{n} frames up the stack; @var{n} defaults to 1. For positive
7285 numbers @var{n}, this advances toward the outermost frame, to higher
7286 frame numbers, to frames that have existed longer.
7287
7288 @kindex down
7289 @kindex do @r{(@code{down})}
7290 @item down @var{n}
7291 Move @var{n} frames down the stack; @var{n} defaults to 1. For
7292 positive numbers @var{n}, this advances toward the innermost frame, to
7293 lower frame numbers, to frames that were created more recently.
7294 You may abbreviate @code{down} as @code{do}.
7295 @end table
7296
7297 All of these commands end by printing two lines of output describing the
7298 frame. The first line shows the frame number, the function name, the
7299 arguments, and the source file and line number of execution in that
7300 frame. The second line shows the text of that source line.
7301
7302 @need 1000
7303 For example:
7304
7305 @smallexample
7306 @group
7307 (@value{GDBP}) up
7308 #1 0x22f0 in main (argc=1, argv=0xf7fffbf4, env=0xf7fffbfc)
7309 at env.c:10
7310 10 read_input_file (argv[i]);
7311 @end group
7312 @end smallexample
7313
7314 After such a printout, the @code{list} command with no arguments
7315 prints ten lines centered on the point of execution in the frame.
7316 You can also edit the program at the point of execution with your favorite
7317 editing program by typing @code{edit}.
7318 @xref{List, ,Printing Source Lines},
7319 for details.
7320
7321 @table @code
7322 @kindex select-frame
7323 @item select-frame
7324 The @code{select-frame} command is a variant of @code{frame} that does
7325 not display the new frame after selecting it. This command is
7326 intended primarily for use in @value{GDBN} command scripts, where the
7327 output might be unnecessary and distracting.
7328
7329 @kindex down-silently
7330 @kindex up-silently
7331 @item up-silently @var{n}
7332 @itemx down-silently @var{n}
7333 These two commands are variants of @code{up} and @code{down},
7334 respectively; they differ in that they do their work silently, without
7335 causing display of the new frame. They are intended primarily for use
7336 in @value{GDBN} command scripts, where the output might be unnecessary and
7337 distracting.
7338 @end table
7339
7340 @node Frame Info
7341 @section Information About a Frame
7342
7343 There are several other commands to print information about the selected
7344 stack frame.
7345
7346 @table @code
7347 @item frame
7348 @itemx f
7349 When used without any argument, this command does not change which
7350 frame is selected, but prints a brief description of the currently
7351 selected stack frame. It can be abbreviated @code{f}. With an
7352 argument, this command is used to select a stack frame.
7353 @xref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}.
7354
7355 @kindex info frame
7356 @kindex info f @r{(@code{info frame})}
7357 @item info frame
7358 @itemx info f
7359 This command prints a verbose description of the selected stack frame,
7360 including:
7361
7362 @itemize @bullet
7363 @item
7364 the address of the frame
7365 @item
7366 the address of the next frame down (called by this frame)
7367 @item
7368 the address of the next frame up (caller of this frame)
7369 @item
7370 the language in which the source code corresponding to this frame is written
7371 @item
7372 the address of the frame's arguments
7373 @item
7374 the address of the frame's local variables
7375 @item
7376 the program counter saved in it (the address of execution in the caller frame)
7377 @item
7378 which registers were saved in the frame
7379 @end itemize
7380
7381 @noindent The verbose description is useful when
7382 something has gone wrong that has made the stack format fail to fit
7383 the usual conventions.
7384
7385 @item info frame @var{addr}
7386 @itemx info f @var{addr}
7387 Print a verbose description of the frame at address @var{addr}, without
7388 selecting that frame. The selected frame remains unchanged by this
7389 command. This requires the same kind of address (more than one for some
7390 architectures) that you specify in the @code{frame} command.
7391 @xref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}.
7392
7393 @kindex info args
7394 @item info args
7395 Print the arguments of the selected frame, each on a separate line.
7396
7397 @item info locals
7398 @kindex info locals
7399 Print the local variables of the selected frame, each on a separate
7400 line. These are all variables (declared either static or automatic)
7401 accessible at the point of execution of the selected frame.
7402
7403 @end table
7404
7405 @node Frame Filter Management
7406 @section Management of Frame Filters.
7407 @cindex managing frame filters
7408
7409 Frame filters are Python based utilities to manage and decorate the
7410 output of frames. @xref{Frame Filter API}, for further information.
7411
7412 Managing frame filters is performed by several commands available
7413 within @value{GDBN}, detailed here.
7414
7415 @table @code
7416 @kindex info frame-filter
7417 @item info frame-filter
7418 Print a list of installed frame filters from all dictionaries, showing
7419 their name, priority and enabled status.
7420
7421 @kindex disable frame-filter
7422 @anchor{disable frame-filter all}
7423 @item disable frame-filter @var{filter-dictionary} @var{filter-name}
7424 Disable a frame filter in the dictionary matching
7425 @var{filter-dictionary} and @var{filter-name}. The
7426 @var{filter-dictionary} may be @code{all}, @code{global},
7427 @code{progspace}, or the name of the object file where the frame filter
7428 dictionary resides. When @code{all} is specified, all frame filters
7429 across all dictionaries are disabled. The @var{filter-name} is the name
7430 of the frame filter and is used when @code{all} is not the option for
7431 @var{filter-dictionary}. A disabled frame-filter is not deleted, it
7432 may be enabled again later.
7433
7434 @kindex enable frame-filter
7435 @item enable frame-filter @var{filter-dictionary} @var{filter-name}
7436 Enable a frame filter in the dictionary matching
7437 @var{filter-dictionary} and @var{filter-name}. The
7438 @var{filter-dictionary} may be @code{all}, @code{global},
7439 @code{progspace} or the name of the object file where the frame filter
7440 dictionary resides. When @code{all} is specified, all frame filters across
7441 all dictionaries are enabled. The @var{filter-name} is the name of the frame
7442 filter and is used when @code{all} is not the option for
7443 @var{filter-dictionary}.
7444
7445 Example:
7446
7447 @smallexample
7448 (gdb) info frame-filter
7449
7450 global frame-filters:
7451 Priority Enabled Name
7452 1000 No PrimaryFunctionFilter
7453 100 Yes Reverse
7454
7455 progspace /build/test frame-filters:
7456 Priority Enabled Name
7457 100 Yes ProgspaceFilter
7458
7459 objfile /build/test frame-filters:
7460 Priority Enabled Name
7461 999 Yes BuildProgra Filter
7462
7463 (gdb) disable frame-filter /build/test BuildProgramFilter
7464 (gdb) info frame-filter
7465
7466 global frame-filters:
7467 Priority Enabled Name
7468 1000 No PrimaryFunctionFilter
7469 100 Yes Reverse
7470
7471 progspace /build/test frame-filters:
7472 Priority Enabled Name
7473 100 Yes ProgspaceFilter
7474
7475 objfile /build/test frame-filters:
7476 Priority Enabled Name
7477 999 No BuildProgramFilter
7478
7479 (gdb) enable frame-filter global PrimaryFunctionFilter
7480 (gdb) info frame-filter
7481
7482 global frame-filters:
7483 Priority Enabled Name
7484 1000 Yes PrimaryFunctionFilter
7485 100 Yes Reverse
7486
7487 progspace /build/test frame-filters:
7488 Priority Enabled Name
7489 100 Yes ProgspaceFilter
7490
7491 objfile /build/test frame-filters:
7492 Priority Enabled Name
7493 999 No BuildProgramFilter
7494 @end smallexample
7495
7496 @kindex set frame-filter priority
7497 @item set frame-filter priority @var{filter-dictionary} @var{filter-name} @var{priority}
7498 Set the @var{priority} of a frame filter in the dictionary matching
7499 @var{filter-dictionary}, and the frame filter name matching
7500 @var{filter-name}. The @var{filter-dictionary} may be @code{global},
7501 @code{progspace} or the name of the object file where the frame filter
7502 dictionary resides. The @var{priority} is an integer.
7503
7504 @kindex show frame-filter priority
7505 @item show frame-filter priority @var{filter-dictionary} @var{filter-name}
7506 Show the @var{priority} of a frame filter in the dictionary matching
7507 @var{filter-dictionary}, and the frame filter name matching
7508 @var{filter-name}. The @var{filter-dictionary} may be @code{global},
7509 @code{progspace} or the name of the object file where the frame filter
7510 dictionary resides.
7511
7512 Example:
7513
7514 @smallexample
7515 (gdb) info frame-filter
7516
7517 global frame-filters:
7518 Priority Enabled Name
7519 1000 Yes PrimaryFunctionFilter
7520 100 Yes Reverse
7521
7522 progspace /build/test frame-filters:
7523 Priority Enabled Name
7524 100 Yes ProgspaceFilter
7525
7526 objfile /build/test frame-filters:
7527 Priority Enabled Name
7528 999 No BuildProgramFilter
7529
7530 (gdb) set frame-filter priority global Reverse 50
7531 (gdb) info frame-filter
7532
7533 global frame-filters:
7534 Priority Enabled Name
7535 1000 Yes PrimaryFunctionFilter
7536 50 Yes Reverse
7537
7538 progspace /build/test frame-filters:
7539 Priority Enabled Name
7540 100 Yes ProgspaceFilter
7541
7542 objfile /build/test frame-filters:
7543 Priority Enabled Name
7544 999 No BuildProgramFilter
7545 @end smallexample
7546 @end table
7547
7548 @node Source
7549 @chapter Examining Source Files
7550
7551 @value{GDBN} can print parts of your program's source, since the debugging
7552 information recorded in the program tells @value{GDBN} what source files were
7553 used to build it. When your program stops, @value{GDBN} spontaneously prints
7554 the line where it stopped. Likewise, when you select a stack frame
7555 (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}), @value{GDBN} prints the line where
7556 execution in that frame has stopped. You can print other portions of
7557 source files by explicit command.
7558
7559 If you use @value{GDBN} through its @sc{gnu} Emacs interface, you may
7560 prefer to use Emacs facilities to view source; see @ref{Emacs, ,Using
7561 @value{GDBN} under @sc{gnu} Emacs}.
7562
7563 @menu
7564 * List:: Printing source lines
7565 * Specify Location:: How to specify code locations
7566 * Edit:: Editing source files
7567 * Search:: Searching source files
7568 * Source Path:: Specifying source directories
7569 * Machine Code:: Source and machine code
7570 @end menu
7571
7572 @node List
7573 @section Printing Source Lines
7574
7575 @kindex list
7576 @kindex l @r{(@code{list})}
7577 To print lines from a source file, use the @code{list} command
7578 (abbreviated @code{l}). By default, ten lines are printed.
7579 There are several ways to specify what part of the file you want to
7580 print; see @ref{Specify Location}, for the full list.
7581
7582 Here are the forms of the @code{list} command most commonly used:
7583
7584 @table @code
7585 @item list @var{linenum}
7586 Print lines centered around line number @var{linenum} in the
7587 current source file.
7588
7589 @item list @var{function}
7590 Print lines centered around the beginning of function
7591 @var{function}.
7592
7593 @item list
7594 Print more lines. If the last lines printed were printed with a
7595 @code{list} command, this prints lines following the last lines
7596 printed; however, if the last line printed was a solitary line printed
7597 as part of displaying a stack frame (@pxref{Stack, ,Examining the
7598 Stack}), this prints lines centered around that line.
7599
7600 @item list -
7601 Print lines just before the lines last printed.
7602 @end table
7603
7604 @cindex @code{list}, how many lines to display
7605 By default, @value{GDBN} prints ten source lines with any of these forms of
7606 the @code{list} command. You can change this using @code{set listsize}:
7607
7608 @table @code
7609 @kindex set listsize
7610 @item set listsize @var{count}
7611 @itemx set listsize unlimited
7612 Make the @code{list} command display @var{count} source lines (unless
7613 the @code{list} argument explicitly specifies some other number).
7614 Setting @var{count} to @code{unlimited} or 0 means there's no limit.
7615
7616 @kindex show listsize
7617 @item show listsize
7618 Display the number of lines that @code{list} prints.
7619 @end table
7620
7621 Repeating a @code{list} command with @key{RET} discards the argument,
7622 so it is equivalent to typing just @code{list}. This is more useful
7623 than listing the same lines again. An exception is made for an
7624 argument of @samp{-}; that argument is preserved in repetition so that
7625 each repetition moves up in the source file.
7626
7627 In general, the @code{list} command expects you to supply zero, one or two
7628 @dfn{locations}. Locations specify source lines; there are several ways
7629 of writing them (@pxref{Specify Location}), but the effect is always
7630 to specify some source line.
7631
7632 Here is a complete description of the possible arguments for @code{list}:
7633
7634 @table @code
7635 @item list @var{location}
7636 Print lines centered around the line specified by @var{location}.
7637
7638 @item list @var{first},@var{last}
7639 Print lines from @var{first} to @var{last}. Both arguments are
7640 locations. When a @code{list} command has two locations, and the
7641 source file of the second location is omitted, this refers to
7642 the same source file as the first location.
7643
7644 @item list ,@var{last}
7645 Print lines ending with @var{last}.
7646
7647 @item list @var{first},
7648 Print lines starting with @var{first}.
7649
7650 @item list +
7651 Print lines just after the lines last printed.
7652
7653 @item list -
7654 Print lines just before the lines last printed.
7655
7656 @item list
7657 As described in the preceding table.
7658 @end table
7659
7660 @node Specify Location
7661 @section Specifying a Location
7662 @cindex specifying location
7663 @cindex location
7664 @cindex source location
7665
7666 @menu
7667 * Linespec Locations:: Linespec locations
7668 * Explicit Locations:: Explicit locations
7669 * Address Locations:: Address locations
7670 @end menu
7671
7672 Several @value{GDBN} commands accept arguments that specify a location
7673 of your program's code. Since @value{GDBN} is a source-level
7674 debugger, a location usually specifies some line in the source code.
7675 Locations may be specified using three different formats:
7676 linespec locations, explicit locations, or address locations.
7677
7678 @node Linespec Locations
7679 @subsection Linespec Locations
7680 @cindex linespec locations
7681
7682 A @dfn{linespec} is a colon-separated list of source location parameters such
7683 as file name, function name, etc. Here are all the different ways of
7684 specifying a linespec:
7685
7686 @table @code
7687 @item @var{linenum}
7688 Specifies the line number @var{linenum} of the current source file.
7689
7690 @item -@var{offset}
7691 @itemx +@var{offset}
7692 Specifies the line @var{offset} lines before or after the @dfn{current
7693 line}. For the @code{list} command, the current line is the last one
7694 printed; for the breakpoint commands, this is the line at which
7695 execution stopped in the currently selected @dfn{stack frame}
7696 (@pxref{Frames, ,Frames}, for a description of stack frames.) When
7697 used as the second of the two linespecs in a @code{list} command,
7698 this specifies the line @var{offset} lines up or down from the first
7699 linespec.
7700
7701 @item @var{filename}:@var{linenum}
7702 Specifies the line @var{linenum} in the source file @var{filename}.
7703 If @var{filename} is a relative file name, then it will match any
7704 source file name with the same trailing components. For example, if
7705 @var{filename} is @samp{gcc/expr.c}, then it will match source file
7706 name of @file{/build/trunk/gcc/expr.c}, but not
7707 @file{/build/trunk/libcpp/expr.c} or @file{/build/trunk/gcc/x-expr.c}.
7708
7709 @item @var{function}
7710 Specifies the line that begins the body of the function @var{function}.
7711 For example, in C, this is the line with the open brace.
7712
7713 @item @var{function}:@var{label}
7714 Specifies the line where @var{label} appears in @var{function}.
7715
7716 @item @var{filename}:@var{function}
7717 Specifies the line that begins the body of the function @var{function}
7718 in the file @var{filename}. You only need the file name with a
7719 function name to avoid ambiguity when there are identically named
7720 functions in different source files.
7721
7722 @item @var{label}
7723 Specifies the line at which the label named @var{label} appears
7724 in the function corresponding to the currently selected stack frame.
7725 If there is no current selected stack frame (for instance, if the inferior
7726 is not running), then @value{GDBN} will not search for a label.
7727
7728 @cindex breakpoint at static probe point
7729 @item -pstap|-probe-stap @r{[}@var{objfile}:@r{[}@var{provider}:@r{]}@r{]}@var{name}
7730 The @sc{gnu}/Linux tool @code{SystemTap} provides a way for
7731 applications to embed static probes. @xref{Static Probe Points}, for more
7732 information on finding and using static probes. This form of linespec
7733 specifies the location of such a static probe.
7734
7735 If @var{objfile} is given, only probes coming from that shared library
7736 or executable matching @var{objfile} as a regular expression are considered.
7737 If @var{provider} is given, then only probes from that provider are considered.
7738 If several probes match the spec, @value{GDBN} will insert a breakpoint at
7739 each one of those probes.
7740 @end table
7741
7742 @node Explicit Locations
7743 @subsection Explicit Locations
7744 @cindex explicit locations
7745
7746 @dfn{Explicit locations} allow the user to directly specify the source
7747 location's parameters using option-value pairs.
7748
7749 Explicit locations are useful when several functions, labels, or
7750 file names have the same name (base name for files) in the program's
7751 sources. In these cases, explicit locations point to the source
7752 line you meant more accurately and unambiguously. Also, using
7753 explicit locations might be faster in large programs.
7754
7755 For example, the linespec @samp{foo:bar} may refer to a function @code{bar}
7756 defined in the file named @file{foo} or the label @code{bar} in a function
7757 named @code{foo}. @value{GDBN} must search either the file system or
7758 the symbol table to know.
7759
7760 The list of valid explicit location options is summarized in the
7761 following table:
7762
7763 @table @code
7764 @item -source @var{filename}
7765 The value specifies the source file name. To differentiate between
7766 files with the same base name, prepend as many directories as is necessary
7767 to uniquely identify the desired file, e.g., @file{foo/bar/baz.c}. Otherwise
7768 @value{GDBN} will use the first file it finds with the given base
7769 name. This option requires the use of either @code{-function} or @code{-line}.
7770
7771 @item -function @var{function}
7772 The value specifies the name of a function. Operations
7773 on function locations unmodified by other options (such as @code{-label}
7774 or @code{-line}) refer to the line that begins the body of the function.
7775 In C, for example, this is the line with the open brace.
7776
7777 @item -label @var{label}
7778 The value specifies the name of a label. When the function
7779 name is not specified, the label is searched in the function of the currently
7780 selected stack frame.
7781
7782 @item -line @var{number}
7783 The value specifies a line offset for the location. The offset may either
7784 be absolute (@code{-line 3}) or relative (@code{-line +3}), depending on
7785 the command. When specified without any other options, the line offset is
7786 relative to the current line.
7787 @end table
7788
7789 Explicit location options may be abbreviated by omitting any non-unique
7790 trailing characters from the option name, e.g., @code{break -s main.c -li 3}.
7791
7792 @node Address Locations
7793 @subsection Address Locations
7794 @cindex address locations
7795
7796 @dfn{Address locations} indicate a specific program address. They have
7797 the generalized form *@var{address}.
7798
7799 For line-oriented commands, such as @code{list} and @code{edit}, this
7800 specifies a source line that contains @var{address}. For @code{break} and
7801 other breakpoint-oriented commands, this can be used to set breakpoints in
7802 parts of your program which do not have debugging information or
7803 source files.
7804
7805 Here @var{address} may be any expression valid in the current working
7806 language (@pxref{Languages, working language}) that specifies a code
7807 address. In addition, as a convenience, @value{GDBN} extends the
7808 semantics of expressions used in locations to cover several situations
7809 that frequently occur during debugging. Here are the various forms
7810 of @var{address}:
7811
7812 @table @code
7813 @item @var{expression}
7814 Any expression valid in the current working language.
7815
7816 @item @var{funcaddr}
7817 An address of a function or procedure derived from its name. In C,
7818 C@t{++}, Java, Objective-C, Fortran, minimal, and assembly, this is
7819 simply the function's name @var{function} (and actually a special case
7820 of a valid expression). In Pascal and Modula-2, this is
7821 @code{&@var{function}}. In Ada, this is @code{@var{function}'Address}
7822 (although the Pascal form also works).
7823
7824 This form specifies the address of the function's first instruction,
7825 before the stack frame and arguments have been set up.
7826
7827 @item '@var{filename}':@var{funcaddr}
7828 Like @var{funcaddr} above, but also specifies the name of the source
7829 file explicitly. This is useful if the name of the function does not
7830 specify the function unambiguously, e.g., if there are several
7831 functions with identical names in different source files.
7832 @end table
7833
7834 @node Edit
7835 @section Editing Source Files
7836 @cindex editing source files
7837
7838 @kindex edit
7839 @kindex e @r{(@code{edit})}
7840 To edit the lines in a source file, use the @code{edit} command.
7841 The editing program of your choice
7842 is invoked with the current line set to
7843 the active line in the program.
7844 Alternatively, there are several ways to specify what part of the file you
7845 want to print if you want to see other parts of the program:
7846
7847 @table @code
7848 @item edit @var{location}
7849 Edit the source file specified by @code{location}. Editing starts at
7850 that @var{location}, e.g., at the specified source line of the
7851 specified file. @xref{Specify Location}, for all the possible forms
7852 of the @var{location} argument; here are the forms of the @code{edit}
7853 command most commonly used:
7854
7855 @table @code
7856 @item edit @var{number}
7857 Edit the current source file with @var{number} as the active line number.
7858
7859 @item edit @var{function}
7860 Edit the file containing @var{function} at the beginning of its definition.
7861 @end table
7862
7863 @end table
7864
7865 @subsection Choosing your Editor
7866 You can customize @value{GDBN} to use any editor you want
7867 @footnote{
7868 The only restriction is that your editor (say @code{ex}), recognizes the
7869 following command-line syntax:
7870 @smallexample
7871 ex +@var{number} file
7872 @end smallexample
7873 The optional numeric value +@var{number} specifies the number of the line in
7874 the file where to start editing.}.
7875 By default, it is @file{@value{EDITOR}}, but you can change this
7876 by setting the environment variable @code{EDITOR} before using
7877 @value{GDBN}. For example, to configure @value{GDBN} to use the
7878 @code{vi} editor, you could use these commands with the @code{sh} shell:
7879 @smallexample
7880 EDITOR=/usr/bin/vi
7881 export EDITOR
7882 gdb @dots{}
7883 @end smallexample
7884 or in the @code{csh} shell,
7885 @smallexample
7886 setenv EDITOR /usr/bin/vi
7887 gdb @dots{}
7888 @end smallexample
7889
7890 @node Search
7891 @section Searching Source Files
7892 @cindex searching source files
7893
7894 There are two commands for searching through the current source file for a
7895 regular expression.
7896
7897 @table @code
7898 @kindex search
7899 @kindex forward-search
7900 @kindex fo @r{(@code{forward-search})}
7901 @item forward-search @var{regexp}
7902 @itemx search @var{regexp}
7903 The command @samp{forward-search @var{regexp}} checks each line,
7904 starting with the one following the last line listed, for a match for
7905 @var{regexp}. It lists the line that is found. You can use the
7906 synonym @samp{search @var{regexp}} or abbreviate the command name as
7907 @code{fo}.
7908
7909 @kindex reverse-search
7910 @item reverse-search @var{regexp}
7911 The command @samp{reverse-search @var{regexp}} checks each line, starting
7912 with the one before the last line listed and going backward, for a match
7913 for @var{regexp}. It lists the line that is found. You can abbreviate
7914 this command as @code{rev}.
7915 @end table
7916
7917 @node Source Path
7918 @section Specifying Source Directories
7919
7920 @cindex source path
7921 @cindex directories for source files
7922 Executable programs sometimes do not record the directories of the source
7923 files from which they were compiled, just the names. Even when they do,
7924 the directories could be moved between the compilation and your debugging
7925 session. @value{GDBN} has a list of directories to search for source files;
7926 this is called the @dfn{source path}. Each time @value{GDBN} wants a source file,
7927 it tries all the directories in the list, in the order they are present
7928 in the list, until it finds a file with the desired name.
7929
7930 For example, suppose an executable references the file
7931 @file{/usr/src/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c}, and our source path is
7932 @file{/mnt/cross}. The file is first looked up literally; if this
7933 fails, @file{/mnt/cross/usr/src/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c} is tried; if this
7934 fails, @file{/mnt/cross/foo.c} is opened; if this fails, an error
7935 message is printed. @value{GDBN} does not look up the parts of the
7936 source file name, such as @file{/mnt/cross/src/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c}.
7937 Likewise, the subdirectories of the source path are not searched: if
7938 the source path is @file{/mnt/cross}, and the binary refers to
7939 @file{foo.c}, @value{GDBN} would not find it under
7940 @file{/mnt/cross/usr/src/foo-1.0/lib}.
7941
7942 Plain file names, relative file names with leading directories, file
7943 names containing dots, etc.@: are all treated as described above; for
7944 instance, if the source path is @file{/mnt/cross}, and the source file
7945 is recorded as @file{../lib/foo.c}, @value{GDBN} would first try
7946 @file{../lib/foo.c}, then @file{/mnt/cross/../lib/foo.c}, and after
7947 that---@file{/mnt/cross/foo.c}.
7948
7949 Note that the executable search path is @emph{not} used to locate the
7950 source files.
7951
7952 Whenever you reset or rearrange the source path, @value{GDBN} clears out
7953 any information it has cached about where source files are found and where
7954 each line is in the file.
7955
7956 @kindex directory
7957 @kindex dir
7958 When you start @value{GDBN}, its source path includes only @samp{cdir}
7959 and @samp{cwd}, in that order.
7960 To add other directories, use the @code{directory} command.
7961
7962 The search path is used to find both program source files and @value{GDBN}
7963 script files (read using the @samp{-command} option and @samp{source} command).
7964
7965 In addition to the source path, @value{GDBN} provides a set of commands
7966 that manage a list of source path substitution rules. A @dfn{substitution
7967 rule} specifies how to rewrite source directories stored in the program's
7968 debug information in case the sources were moved to a different
7969 directory between compilation and debugging. A rule is made of
7970 two strings, the first specifying what needs to be rewritten in
7971 the path, and the second specifying how it should be rewritten.
7972 In @ref{set substitute-path}, we name these two parts @var{from} and
7973 @var{to} respectively. @value{GDBN} does a simple string replacement
7974 of @var{from} with @var{to} at the start of the directory part of the
7975 source file name, and uses that result instead of the original file
7976 name to look up the sources.
7977
7978 Using the previous example, suppose the @file{foo-1.0} tree has been
7979 moved from @file{/usr/src} to @file{/mnt/cross}, then you can tell
7980 @value{GDBN} to replace @file{/usr/src} in all source path names with
7981 @file{/mnt/cross}. The first lookup will then be
7982 @file{/mnt/cross/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c} in place of the original location
7983 of @file{/usr/src/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c}. To define a source path
7984 substitution rule, use the @code{set substitute-path} command
7985 (@pxref{set substitute-path}).
7986
7987 To avoid unexpected substitution results, a rule is applied only if the
7988 @var{from} part of the directory name ends at a directory separator.
7989 For instance, a rule substituting @file{/usr/source} into
7990 @file{/mnt/cross} will be applied to @file{/usr/source/foo-1.0} but
7991 not to @file{/usr/sourceware/foo-2.0}. And because the substitution
7992 is applied only at the beginning of the directory name, this rule will
7993 not be applied to @file{/root/usr/source/baz.c} either.
7994
7995 In many cases, you can achieve the same result using the @code{directory}
7996 command. However, @code{set substitute-path} can be more efficient in
7997 the case where the sources are organized in a complex tree with multiple
7998 subdirectories. With the @code{directory} command, you need to add each
7999 subdirectory of your project. If you moved the entire tree while
8000 preserving its internal organization, then @code{set substitute-path}
8001 allows you to direct the debugger to all the sources with one single
8002 command.
8003
8004 @code{set substitute-path} is also more than just a shortcut command.
8005 The source path is only used if the file at the original location no
8006 longer exists. On the other hand, @code{set substitute-path} modifies
8007 the debugger behavior to look at the rewritten location instead. So, if
8008 for any reason a source file that is not relevant to your executable is
8009 located at the original location, a substitution rule is the only
8010 method available to point @value{GDBN} at the new location.
8011
8012 @cindex @samp{--with-relocated-sources}
8013 @cindex default source path substitution
8014 You can configure a default source path substitution rule by
8015 configuring @value{GDBN} with the
8016 @samp{--with-relocated-sources=@var{dir}} option. The @var{dir}
8017 should be the name of a directory under @value{GDBN}'s configured
8018 prefix (set with @samp{--prefix} or @samp{--exec-prefix}), and
8019 directory names in debug information under @var{dir} will be adjusted
8020 automatically if the installed @value{GDBN} is moved to a new
8021 location. This is useful if @value{GDBN}, libraries or executables
8022 with debug information and corresponding source code are being moved
8023 together.
8024
8025 @table @code
8026 @item directory @var{dirname} @dots{}
8027 @item dir @var{dirname} @dots{}
8028 Add directory @var{dirname} to the front of the source path. Several
8029 directory names may be given to this command, separated by @samp{:}
8030 (@samp{;} on MS-DOS and MS-Windows, where @samp{:} usually appears as
8031 part of absolute file names) or
8032 whitespace. You may specify a directory that is already in the source
8033 path; this moves it forward, so @value{GDBN} searches it sooner.
8034
8035 @kindex cdir
8036 @kindex cwd
8037 @vindex $cdir@r{, convenience variable}
8038 @vindex $cwd@r{, convenience variable}
8039 @cindex compilation directory
8040 @cindex current directory
8041 @cindex working directory
8042 @cindex directory, current
8043 @cindex directory, compilation
8044 You can use the string @samp{$cdir} to refer to the compilation
8045 directory (if one is recorded), and @samp{$cwd} to refer to the current
8046 working directory. @samp{$cwd} is not the same as @samp{.}---the former
8047 tracks the current working directory as it changes during your @value{GDBN}
8048 session, while the latter is immediately expanded to the current
8049 directory at the time you add an entry to the source path.
8050
8051 @item directory
8052 Reset the source path to its default value (@samp{$cdir:$cwd} on Unix systems). This requires confirmation.
8053
8054 @c RET-repeat for @code{directory} is explicitly disabled, but since
8055 @c repeating it would be a no-op we do not say that. (thanks to RMS)
8056
8057 @item set directories @var{path-list}
8058 @kindex set directories
8059 Set the source path to @var{path-list}.
8060 @samp{$cdir:$cwd} are added if missing.
8061
8062 @item show directories
8063 @kindex show directories
8064 Print the source path: show which directories it contains.
8065
8066 @anchor{set substitute-path}
8067 @item set substitute-path @var{from} @var{to}
8068 @kindex set substitute-path
8069 Define a source path substitution rule, and add it at the end of the
8070 current list of existing substitution rules. If a rule with the same
8071 @var{from} was already defined, then the old rule is also deleted.
8072
8073 For example, if the file @file{/foo/bar/baz.c} was moved to
8074 @file{/mnt/cross/baz.c}, then the command
8075
8076 @smallexample
8077 (@value{GDBP}) set substitute-path /foo/bar /mnt/cross
8078 @end smallexample
8079
8080 @noindent
8081 will tell @value{GDBN} to replace @samp{/foo/bar} with
8082 @samp{/mnt/cross}, which will allow @value{GDBN} to find the file
8083 @file{baz.c} even though it was moved.
8084
8085 In the case when more than one substitution rule have been defined,
8086 the rules are evaluated one by one in the order where they have been
8087 defined. The first one matching, if any, is selected to perform
8088 the substitution.
8089
8090 For instance, if we had entered the following commands:
8091
8092 @smallexample
8093 (@value{GDBP}) set substitute-path /usr/src/include /mnt/include
8094 (@value{GDBP}) set substitute-path /usr/src /mnt/src
8095 @end smallexample
8096
8097 @noindent
8098 @value{GDBN} would then rewrite @file{/usr/src/include/defs.h} into
8099 @file{/mnt/include/defs.h} by using the first rule. However, it would
8100 use the second rule to rewrite @file{/usr/src/lib/foo.c} into
8101 @file{/mnt/src/lib/foo.c}.
8102
8103
8104 @item unset substitute-path [path]
8105 @kindex unset substitute-path
8106 If a path is specified, search the current list of substitution rules
8107 for a rule that would rewrite that path. Delete that rule if found.
8108 A warning is emitted by the debugger if no rule could be found.
8109
8110 If no path is specified, then all substitution rules are deleted.
8111
8112 @item show substitute-path [path]
8113 @kindex show substitute-path
8114 If a path is specified, then print the source path substitution rule
8115 which would rewrite that path, if any.
8116
8117 If no path is specified, then print all existing source path substitution
8118 rules.
8119
8120 @end table
8121
8122 If your source path is cluttered with directories that are no longer of
8123 interest, @value{GDBN} may sometimes cause confusion by finding the wrong
8124 versions of source. You can correct the situation as follows:
8125
8126 @enumerate
8127 @item
8128 Use @code{directory} with no argument to reset the source path to its default value.
8129
8130 @item
8131 Use @code{directory} with suitable arguments to reinstall the
8132 directories you want in the source path. You can add all the
8133 directories in one command.
8134 @end enumerate
8135
8136 @node Machine Code
8137 @section Source and Machine Code
8138 @cindex source line and its code address
8139
8140 You can use the command @code{info line} to map source lines to program
8141 addresses (and vice versa), and the command @code{disassemble} to display
8142 a range of addresses as machine instructions. You can use the command
8143 @code{set disassemble-next-line} to set whether to disassemble next
8144 source line when execution stops. When run under @sc{gnu} Emacs
8145 mode, the @code{info line} command causes the arrow to point to the
8146 line specified. Also, @code{info line} prints addresses in symbolic form as
8147 well as hex.
8148
8149 @table @code
8150 @kindex info line
8151 @item info line @var{location}
8152 Print the starting and ending addresses of the compiled code for
8153 source line @var{location}. You can specify source lines in any of
8154 the ways documented in @ref{Specify Location}.
8155 @end table
8156
8157 For example, we can use @code{info line} to discover the location of
8158 the object code for the first line of function
8159 @code{m4_changequote}:
8160
8161 @c FIXME: I think this example should also show the addresses in
8162 @c symbolic form, as they usually would be displayed.
8163 @smallexample
8164 (@value{GDBP}) info line m4_changequote
8165 Line 895 of "builtin.c" starts at pc 0x634c and ends at 0x6350.
8166 @end smallexample
8167
8168 @noindent
8169 @cindex code address and its source line
8170 We can also inquire (using @code{*@var{addr}} as the form for
8171 @var{location}) what source line covers a particular address:
8172 @smallexample
8173 (@value{GDBP}) info line *0x63ff
8174 Line 926 of "builtin.c" starts at pc 0x63e4 and ends at 0x6404.
8175 @end smallexample
8176
8177 @cindex @code{$_} and @code{info line}
8178 @cindex @code{x} command, default address
8179 @kindex x@r{(examine), and} info line
8180 After @code{info line}, the default address for the @code{x} command
8181 is changed to the starting address of the line, so that @samp{x/i} is
8182 sufficient to begin examining the machine code (@pxref{Memory,
8183 ,Examining Memory}). Also, this address is saved as the value of the
8184 convenience variable @code{$_} (@pxref{Convenience Vars, ,Convenience
8185 Variables}).
8186
8187 @table @code
8188 @kindex disassemble
8189 @cindex assembly instructions
8190 @cindex instructions, assembly
8191 @cindex machine instructions
8192 @cindex listing machine instructions
8193 @item disassemble
8194 @itemx disassemble /m
8195 @itemx disassemble /s
8196 @itemx disassemble /r
8197 This specialized command dumps a range of memory as machine
8198 instructions. It can also print mixed source+disassembly by specifying
8199 the @code{/m} or @code{/s} modifier and print the raw instructions in hex
8200 as well as in symbolic form by specifying the @code{/r} modifier.
8201 The default memory range is the function surrounding the
8202 program counter of the selected frame. A single argument to this
8203 command is a program counter value; @value{GDBN} dumps the function
8204 surrounding this value. When two arguments are given, they should
8205 be separated by a comma, possibly surrounded by whitespace. The
8206 arguments specify a range of addresses to dump, in one of two forms:
8207
8208 @table @code
8209 @item @var{start},@var{end}
8210 the addresses from @var{start} (inclusive) to @var{end} (exclusive)
8211 @item @var{start},+@var{length}
8212 the addresses from @var{start} (inclusive) to
8213 @code{@var{start}+@var{length}} (exclusive).
8214 @end table
8215
8216 @noindent
8217 When 2 arguments are specified, the name of the function is also
8218 printed (since there could be several functions in the given range).
8219
8220 The argument(s) can be any expression yielding a numeric value, such as
8221 @samp{0x32c4}, @samp{&main+10} or @samp{$pc - 8}.
8222
8223 If the range of memory being disassembled contains current program counter,
8224 the instruction at that location is shown with a @code{=>} marker.
8225 @end table
8226
8227 The following example shows the disassembly of a range of addresses of
8228 HP PA-RISC 2.0 code:
8229
8230 @smallexample
8231 (@value{GDBP}) disas 0x32c4, 0x32e4
8232 Dump of assembler code from 0x32c4 to 0x32e4:
8233 0x32c4 <main+204>: addil 0,dp
8234 0x32c8 <main+208>: ldw 0x22c(sr0,r1),r26
8235 0x32cc <main+212>: ldil 0x3000,r31
8236 0x32d0 <main+216>: ble 0x3f8(sr4,r31)
8237 0x32d4 <main+220>: ldo 0(r31),rp
8238 0x32d8 <main+224>: addil -0x800,dp
8239 0x32dc <main+228>: ldo 0x588(r1),r26
8240 0x32e0 <main+232>: ldil 0x3000,r31
8241 End of assembler dump.
8242 @end smallexample
8243
8244 Here is an example showing mixed source+assembly for Intel x86
8245 with @code{/m} or @code{/s}, when the program is stopped just after
8246 function prologue in a non-optimized function with no inline code.
8247
8248 @smallexample
8249 (@value{GDBP}) disas /m main
8250 Dump of assembler code for function main:
8251 5 @{
8252 0x08048330 <+0>: push %ebp
8253 0x08048331 <+1>: mov %esp,%ebp
8254 0x08048333 <+3>: sub $0x8,%esp
8255 0x08048336 <+6>: and $0xfffffff0,%esp
8256 0x08048339 <+9>: sub $0x10,%esp
8257
8258 6 printf ("Hello.\n");
8259 => 0x0804833c <+12>: movl $0x8048440,(%esp)
8260 0x08048343 <+19>: call 0x8048284 <puts@@plt>
8261
8262 7 return 0;
8263 8 @}
8264 0x08048348 <+24>: mov $0x0,%eax
8265 0x0804834d <+29>: leave
8266 0x0804834e <+30>: ret
8267
8268 End of assembler dump.
8269 @end smallexample
8270
8271 The @code{/m} option is deprecated as its output is not useful when
8272 there is either inlined code or re-ordered code.
8273 The @code{/s} option is the preferred choice.
8274 Here is an example for AMD x86-64 showing the difference between
8275 @code{/m} output and @code{/s} output.
8276 This example has one inline function defined in a header file,
8277 and the code is compiled with @samp{-O2} optimization.
8278 Note how the @code{/m} output is missing the disassembly of
8279 several instructions that are present in the @code{/s} output.
8280
8281 @file{foo.h}:
8282
8283 @smallexample
8284 int
8285 foo (int a)
8286 @{
8287 if (a < 0)
8288 return a * 2;
8289 if (a == 0)
8290 return 1;
8291 return a + 10;
8292 @}
8293 @end smallexample
8294
8295 @file{foo.c}:
8296
8297 @smallexample
8298 #include "foo.h"
8299 volatile int x, y;
8300 int
8301 main ()
8302 @{
8303 x = foo (y);
8304 return 0;
8305 @}
8306 @end smallexample
8307
8308 @smallexample
8309 (@value{GDBP}) disas /m main
8310 Dump of assembler code for function main:
8311 5 @{
8312
8313 6 x = foo (y);
8314 0x0000000000400400 <+0>: mov 0x200c2e(%rip),%eax # 0x601034 <y>
8315 0x0000000000400417 <+23>: mov %eax,0x200c13(%rip) # 0x601030 <x>
8316
8317 7 return 0;
8318 8 @}
8319 0x000000000040041d <+29>: xor %eax,%eax
8320 0x000000000040041f <+31>: retq
8321 0x0000000000400420 <+32>: add %eax,%eax
8322 0x0000000000400422 <+34>: jmp 0x400417 <main+23>
8323
8324 End of assembler dump.
8325 (@value{GDBP}) disas /s main
8326 Dump of assembler code for function main:
8327 foo.c:
8328 5 @{
8329 6 x = foo (y);
8330 0x0000000000400400 <+0>: mov 0x200c2e(%rip),%eax # 0x601034 <y>
8331
8332 foo.h:
8333 4 if (a < 0)
8334 0x0000000000400406 <+6>: test %eax,%eax
8335 0x0000000000400408 <+8>: js 0x400420 <main+32>
8336
8337 6 if (a == 0)
8338 7 return 1;
8339 8 return a + 10;
8340 0x000000000040040a <+10>: lea 0xa(%rax),%edx
8341 0x000000000040040d <+13>: test %eax,%eax
8342 0x000000000040040f <+15>: mov $0x1,%eax
8343 0x0000000000400414 <+20>: cmovne %edx,%eax
8344
8345 foo.c:
8346 6 x = foo (y);
8347 0x0000000000400417 <+23>: mov %eax,0x200c13(%rip) # 0x601030 <x>
8348
8349 7 return 0;
8350 8 @}
8351 0x000000000040041d <+29>: xor %eax,%eax
8352 0x000000000040041f <+31>: retq
8353
8354 foo.h:
8355 5 return a * 2;
8356 0x0000000000400420 <+32>: add %eax,%eax
8357 0x0000000000400422 <+34>: jmp 0x400417 <main+23>
8358 End of assembler dump.
8359 @end smallexample
8360
8361 Here is another example showing raw instructions in hex for AMD x86-64,
8362
8363 @smallexample
8364 (gdb) disas /r 0x400281,+10
8365 Dump of assembler code from 0x400281 to 0x40028b:
8366 0x0000000000400281: 38 36 cmp %dh,(%rsi)
8367 0x0000000000400283: 2d 36 34 2e 73 sub $0x732e3436,%eax
8368 0x0000000000400288: 6f outsl %ds:(%rsi),(%dx)
8369 0x0000000000400289: 2e 32 00 xor %cs:(%rax),%al
8370 End of assembler dump.
8371 @end smallexample
8372
8373 Addresses cannot be specified as a location (@pxref{Specify Location}).
8374 So, for example, if you want to disassemble function @code{bar}
8375 in file @file{foo.c}, you must type @samp{disassemble 'foo.c'::bar}
8376 and not @samp{disassemble foo.c:bar}.
8377
8378 Some architectures have more than one commonly-used set of instruction
8379 mnemonics or other syntax.
8380
8381 For programs that were dynamically linked and use shared libraries,
8382 instructions that call functions or branch to locations in the shared
8383 libraries might show a seemingly bogus location---it's actually a
8384 location of the relocation table. On some architectures, @value{GDBN}
8385 might be able to resolve these to actual function names.
8386
8387 @table @code
8388 @kindex set disassembly-flavor
8389 @cindex Intel disassembly flavor
8390 @cindex AT&T disassembly flavor
8391 @item set disassembly-flavor @var{instruction-set}
8392 Select the instruction set to use when disassembling the
8393 program via the @code{disassemble} or @code{x/i} commands.
8394
8395 Currently this command is only defined for the Intel x86 family. You
8396 can set @var{instruction-set} to either @code{intel} or @code{att}.
8397 The default is @code{att}, the AT&T flavor used by default by Unix
8398 assemblers for x86-based targets.
8399
8400 @kindex show disassembly-flavor
8401 @item show disassembly-flavor
8402 Show the current setting of the disassembly flavor.
8403 @end table
8404
8405 @table @code
8406 @kindex set disassemble-next-line
8407 @kindex show disassemble-next-line
8408 @item set disassemble-next-line
8409 @itemx show disassemble-next-line
8410 Control whether or not @value{GDBN} will disassemble the next source
8411 line or instruction when execution stops. If ON, @value{GDBN} will
8412 display disassembly of the next source line when execution of the
8413 program being debugged stops. This is @emph{in addition} to
8414 displaying the source line itself, which @value{GDBN} always does if
8415 possible. If the next source line cannot be displayed for some reason
8416 (e.g., if @value{GDBN} cannot find the source file, or there's no line
8417 info in the debug info), @value{GDBN} will display disassembly of the
8418 next @emph{instruction} instead of showing the next source line. If
8419 AUTO, @value{GDBN} will display disassembly of next instruction only
8420 if the source line cannot be displayed. This setting causes
8421 @value{GDBN} to display some feedback when you step through a function
8422 with no line info or whose source file is unavailable. The default is
8423 OFF, which means never display the disassembly of the next line or
8424 instruction.
8425 @end table
8426
8427
8428 @node Data
8429 @chapter Examining Data
8430
8431 @cindex printing data
8432 @cindex examining data
8433 @kindex print
8434 @kindex inspect
8435 The usual way to examine data in your program is with the @code{print}
8436 command (abbreviated @code{p}), or its synonym @code{inspect}. It
8437 evaluates and prints the value of an expression of the language your
8438 program is written in (@pxref{Languages, ,Using @value{GDBN} with
8439 Different Languages}). It may also print the expression using a
8440 Python-based pretty-printer (@pxref{Pretty Printing}).
8441
8442 @table @code
8443 @item print @var{expr}
8444 @itemx print /@var{f} @var{expr}
8445 @var{expr} is an expression (in the source language). By default the
8446 value of @var{expr} is printed in a format appropriate to its data type;
8447 you can choose a different format by specifying @samp{/@var{f}}, where
8448 @var{f} is a letter specifying the format; see @ref{Output Formats,,Output
8449 Formats}.
8450
8451 @item print
8452 @itemx print /@var{f}
8453 @cindex reprint the last value
8454 If you omit @var{expr}, @value{GDBN} displays the last value again (from the
8455 @dfn{value history}; @pxref{Value History, ,Value History}). This allows you to
8456 conveniently inspect the same value in an alternative format.
8457 @end table
8458
8459 A more low-level way of examining data is with the @code{x} command.
8460 It examines data in memory at a specified address and prints it in a
8461 specified format. @xref{Memory, ,Examining Memory}.
8462
8463 If you are interested in information about types, or about how the
8464 fields of a struct or a class are declared, use the @code{ptype @var{exp}}
8465 command rather than @code{print}. @xref{Symbols, ,Examining the Symbol
8466 Table}.
8467
8468 @cindex exploring hierarchical data structures
8469 @kindex explore
8470 Another way of examining values of expressions and type information is
8471 through the Python extension command @code{explore} (available only if
8472 the @value{GDBN} build is configured with @code{--with-python}). It
8473 offers an interactive way to start at the highest level (or, the most
8474 abstract level) of the data type of an expression (or, the data type
8475 itself) and explore all the way down to leaf scalar values/fields
8476 embedded in the higher level data types.
8477
8478 @table @code
8479 @item explore @var{arg}
8480 @var{arg} is either an expression (in the source language), or a type
8481 visible in the current context of the program being debugged.
8482 @end table
8483
8484 The working of the @code{explore} command can be illustrated with an
8485 example. If a data type @code{struct ComplexStruct} is defined in your
8486 C program as
8487
8488 @smallexample
8489 struct SimpleStruct
8490 @{
8491 int i;
8492 double d;
8493 @};
8494
8495 struct ComplexStruct
8496 @{
8497 struct SimpleStruct *ss_p;
8498 int arr[10];
8499 @};
8500 @end smallexample
8501
8502 @noindent
8503 followed by variable declarations as
8504
8505 @smallexample
8506 struct SimpleStruct ss = @{ 10, 1.11 @};
8507 struct ComplexStruct cs = @{ &ss, @{ 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 @} @};
8508 @end smallexample
8509
8510 @noindent
8511 then, the value of the variable @code{cs} can be explored using the
8512 @code{explore} command as follows.
8513
8514 @smallexample
8515 (gdb) explore cs
8516 The value of `cs' is a struct/class of type `struct ComplexStruct' with
8517 the following fields:
8518
8519 ss_p = <Enter 0 to explore this field of type `struct SimpleStruct *'>
8520 arr = <Enter 1 to explore this field of type `int [10]'>
8521
8522 Enter the field number of choice:
8523 @end smallexample
8524
8525 @noindent
8526 Since the fields of @code{cs} are not scalar values, you are being
8527 prompted to chose the field you want to explore. Let's say you choose
8528 the field @code{ss_p} by entering @code{0}. Then, since this field is a
8529 pointer, you will be asked if it is pointing to a single value. From
8530 the declaration of @code{cs} above, it is indeed pointing to a single
8531 value, hence you enter @code{y}. If you enter @code{n}, then you will
8532 be asked if it were pointing to an array of values, in which case this
8533 field will be explored as if it were an array.
8534
8535 @smallexample
8536 `cs.ss_p' is a pointer to a value of type `struct SimpleStruct'
8537 Continue exploring it as a pointer to a single value [y/n]: y
8538 The value of `*(cs.ss_p)' is a struct/class of type `struct
8539 SimpleStruct' with the following fields:
8540
8541 i = 10 .. (Value of type `int')
8542 d = 1.1100000000000001 .. (Value of type `double')
8543
8544 Press enter to return to parent value:
8545 @end smallexample
8546
8547 @noindent
8548 If the field @code{arr} of @code{cs} was chosen for exploration by
8549 entering @code{1} earlier, then since it is as array, you will be
8550 prompted to enter the index of the element in the array that you want
8551 to explore.
8552
8553 @smallexample
8554 `cs.arr' is an array of `int'.
8555 Enter the index of the element you want to explore in `cs.arr': 5
8556
8557 `(cs.arr)[5]' is a scalar value of type `int'.
8558
8559 (cs.arr)[5] = 4
8560
8561 Press enter to return to parent value:
8562 @end smallexample
8563
8564 In general, at any stage of exploration, you can go deeper towards the
8565 leaf values by responding to the prompts appropriately, or hit the
8566 return key to return to the enclosing data structure (the @i{higher}
8567 level data structure).
8568
8569 Similar to exploring values, you can use the @code{explore} command to
8570 explore types. Instead of specifying a value (which is typically a
8571 variable name or an expression valid in the current context of the
8572 program being debugged), you specify a type name. If you consider the
8573 same example as above, your can explore the type
8574 @code{struct ComplexStruct} by passing the argument
8575 @code{struct ComplexStruct} to the @code{explore} command.
8576
8577 @smallexample
8578 (gdb) explore struct ComplexStruct
8579 @end smallexample
8580
8581 @noindent
8582 By responding to the prompts appropriately in the subsequent interactive
8583 session, you can explore the type @code{struct ComplexStruct} in a
8584 manner similar to how the value @code{cs} was explored in the above
8585 example.
8586
8587 The @code{explore} command also has two sub-commands,
8588 @code{explore value} and @code{explore type}. The former sub-command is
8589 a way to explicitly specify that value exploration of the argument is
8590 being invoked, while the latter is a way to explicitly specify that type
8591 exploration of the argument is being invoked.
8592
8593 @table @code
8594 @item explore value @var{expr}
8595 @cindex explore value
8596 This sub-command of @code{explore} explores the value of the
8597 expression @var{expr} (if @var{expr} is an expression valid in the
8598 current context of the program being debugged). The behavior of this
8599 command is identical to that of the behavior of the @code{explore}
8600 command being passed the argument @var{expr}.
8601
8602 @item explore type @var{arg}
8603 @cindex explore type
8604 This sub-command of @code{explore} explores the type of @var{arg} (if
8605 @var{arg} is a type visible in the current context of program being
8606 debugged), or the type of the value/expression @var{arg} (if @var{arg}
8607 is an expression valid in the current context of the program being
8608 debugged). If @var{arg} is a type, then the behavior of this command is
8609 identical to that of the @code{explore} command being passed the
8610 argument @var{arg}. If @var{arg} is an expression, then the behavior of
8611 this command will be identical to that of the @code{explore} command
8612 being passed the type of @var{arg} as the argument.
8613 @end table
8614
8615 @menu
8616 * Expressions:: Expressions
8617 * Ambiguous Expressions:: Ambiguous Expressions
8618 * Variables:: Program variables
8619 * Arrays:: Artificial arrays
8620 * Output Formats:: Output formats
8621 * Memory:: Examining memory
8622 * Auto Display:: Automatic display
8623 * Print Settings:: Print settings
8624 * Pretty Printing:: Python pretty printing
8625 * Value History:: Value history
8626 * Convenience Vars:: Convenience variables
8627 * Convenience Funs:: Convenience functions
8628 * Registers:: Registers
8629 * Floating Point Hardware:: Floating point hardware
8630 * Vector Unit:: Vector Unit
8631 * OS Information:: Auxiliary data provided by operating system
8632 * Memory Region Attributes:: Memory region attributes
8633 * Dump/Restore Files:: Copy between memory and a file
8634 * Core File Generation:: Cause a program dump its core
8635 * Character Sets:: Debugging programs that use a different
8636 character set than GDB does
8637 * Caching Target Data:: Data caching for targets
8638 * Searching Memory:: Searching memory for a sequence of bytes
8639 @end menu
8640
8641 @node Expressions
8642 @section Expressions
8643
8644 @cindex expressions
8645 @code{print} and many other @value{GDBN} commands accept an expression and
8646 compute its value. Any kind of constant, variable or operator defined
8647 by the programming language you are using is valid in an expression in
8648 @value{GDBN}. This includes conditional expressions, function calls,
8649 casts, and string constants. It also includes preprocessor macros, if
8650 you compiled your program to include this information; see
8651 @ref{Compilation}.
8652
8653 @cindex arrays in expressions
8654 @value{GDBN} supports array constants in expressions input by
8655 the user. The syntax is @{@var{element}, @var{element}@dots{}@}. For example,
8656 you can use the command @code{print @{1, 2, 3@}} to create an array
8657 of three integers. If you pass an array to a function or assign it
8658 to a program variable, @value{GDBN} copies the array to memory that
8659 is @code{malloc}ed in the target program.
8660
8661 Because C is so widespread, most of the expressions shown in examples in
8662 this manual are in C. @xref{Languages, , Using @value{GDBN} with Different
8663 Languages}, for information on how to use expressions in other
8664 languages.
8665
8666 In this section, we discuss operators that you can use in @value{GDBN}
8667 expressions regardless of your programming language.
8668
8669 @cindex casts, in expressions
8670 Casts are supported in all languages, not just in C, because it is so
8671 useful to cast a number into a pointer in order to examine a structure
8672 at that address in memory.
8673 @c FIXME: casts supported---Mod2 true?
8674
8675 @value{GDBN} supports these operators, in addition to those common
8676 to programming languages:
8677
8678 @table @code
8679 @item @@
8680 @samp{@@} is a binary operator for treating parts of memory as arrays.
8681 @xref{Arrays, ,Artificial Arrays}, for more information.
8682
8683 @item ::
8684 @samp{::} allows you to specify a variable in terms of the file or
8685 function where it is defined. @xref{Variables, ,Program Variables}.
8686
8687 @cindex @{@var{type}@}
8688 @cindex type casting memory
8689 @cindex memory, viewing as typed object
8690 @cindex casts, to view memory
8691 @item @{@var{type}@} @var{addr}
8692 Refers to an object of type @var{type} stored at address @var{addr} in
8693 memory. The address @var{addr} may be any expression whose value is
8694 an integer or pointer (but parentheses are required around binary
8695 operators, just as in a cast). This construct is allowed regardless
8696 of what kind of data is normally supposed to reside at @var{addr}.
8697 @end table
8698
8699 @node Ambiguous Expressions
8700 @section Ambiguous Expressions
8701 @cindex ambiguous expressions
8702
8703 Expressions can sometimes contain some ambiguous elements. For instance,
8704 some programming languages (notably Ada, C@t{++} and Objective-C) permit
8705 a single function name to be defined several times, for application in
8706 different contexts. This is called @dfn{overloading}. Another example
8707 involving Ada is generics. A @dfn{generic package} is similar to C@t{++}
8708 templates and is typically instantiated several times, resulting in
8709 the same function name being defined in different contexts.
8710
8711 In some cases and depending on the language, it is possible to adjust
8712 the expression to remove the ambiguity. For instance in C@t{++}, you
8713 can specify the signature of the function you want to break on, as in
8714 @kbd{break @var{function}(@var{types})}. In Ada, using the fully
8715 qualified name of your function often makes the expression unambiguous
8716 as well.
8717
8718 When an ambiguity that needs to be resolved is detected, the debugger
8719 has the capability to display a menu of numbered choices for each
8720 possibility, and then waits for the selection with the prompt @samp{>}.
8721 The first option is always @samp{[0] cancel}, and typing @kbd{0 @key{RET}}
8722 aborts the current command. If the command in which the expression was
8723 used allows more than one choice to be selected, the next option in the
8724 menu is @samp{[1] all}, and typing @kbd{1 @key{RET}} selects all possible
8725 choices.
8726
8727 For example, the following session excerpt shows an attempt to set a
8728 breakpoint at the overloaded symbol @code{String::after}.
8729 We choose three particular definitions of that function name:
8730
8731 @c FIXME! This is likely to change to show arg type lists, at least
8732 @smallexample
8733 @group
8734 (@value{GDBP}) b String::after
8735 [0] cancel
8736 [1] all
8737 [2] file:String.cc; line number:867
8738 [3] file:String.cc; line number:860
8739 [4] file:String.cc; line number:875
8740 [5] file:String.cc; line number:853
8741 [6] file:String.cc; line number:846
8742 [7] file:String.cc; line number:735
8743 > 2 4 6
8744 Breakpoint 1 at 0xb26c: file String.cc, line 867.
8745 Breakpoint 2 at 0xb344: file String.cc, line 875.
8746 Breakpoint 3 at 0xafcc: file String.cc, line 846.
8747 Multiple breakpoints were set.
8748 Use the "delete" command to delete unwanted
8749 breakpoints.
8750 (@value{GDBP})
8751 @end group
8752 @end smallexample
8753
8754 @table @code
8755 @kindex set multiple-symbols
8756 @item set multiple-symbols @var{mode}
8757 @cindex multiple-symbols menu
8758
8759 This option allows you to adjust the debugger behavior when an expression
8760 is ambiguous.
8761
8762 By default, @var{mode} is set to @code{all}. If the command with which
8763 the expression is used allows more than one choice, then @value{GDBN}
8764 automatically selects all possible choices. For instance, inserting
8765 a breakpoint on a function using an ambiguous name results in a breakpoint
8766 inserted on each possible match. However, if a unique choice must be made,
8767 then @value{GDBN} uses the menu to help you disambiguate the expression.
8768 For instance, printing the address of an overloaded function will result
8769 in the use of the menu.
8770
8771 When @var{mode} is set to @code{ask}, the debugger always uses the menu
8772 when an ambiguity is detected.
8773
8774 Finally, when @var{mode} is set to @code{cancel}, the debugger reports
8775 an error due to the ambiguity and the command is aborted.
8776
8777 @kindex show multiple-symbols
8778 @item show multiple-symbols
8779 Show the current value of the @code{multiple-symbols} setting.
8780 @end table
8781
8782 @node Variables
8783 @section Program Variables
8784
8785 The most common kind of expression to use is the name of a variable
8786 in your program.
8787
8788 Variables in expressions are understood in the selected stack frame
8789 (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}); they must be either:
8790
8791 @itemize @bullet
8792 @item
8793 global (or file-static)
8794 @end itemize
8795
8796 @noindent or
8797
8798 @itemize @bullet
8799 @item
8800 visible according to the scope rules of the
8801 programming language from the point of execution in that frame
8802 @end itemize
8803
8804 @noindent This means that in the function
8805
8806 @smallexample
8807 foo (a)
8808 int a;
8809 @{
8810 bar (a);
8811 @{
8812 int b = test ();
8813 bar (b);
8814 @}
8815 @}
8816 @end smallexample
8817
8818 @noindent
8819 you can examine and use the variable @code{a} whenever your program is
8820 executing within the function @code{foo}, but you can only use or
8821 examine the variable @code{b} while your program is executing inside
8822 the block where @code{b} is declared.
8823
8824 @cindex variable name conflict
8825 There is an exception: you can refer to a variable or function whose
8826 scope is a single source file even if the current execution point is not
8827 in this file. But it is possible to have more than one such variable or
8828 function with the same name (in different source files). If that
8829 happens, referring to that name has unpredictable effects. If you wish,
8830 you can specify a static variable in a particular function or file by
8831 using the colon-colon (@code{::}) notation:
8832
8833 @cindex colon-colon, context for variables/functions
8834 @ifnotinfo
8835 @c info cannot cope with a :: index entry, but why deprive hard copy readers?
8836 @cindex @code{::}, context for variables/functions
8837 @end ifnotinfo
8838 @smallexample
8839 @var{file}::@var{variable}
8840 @var{function}::@var{variable}
8841 @end smallexample
8842
8843 @noindent
8844 Here @var{file} or @var{function} is the name of the context for the
8845 static @var{variable}. In the case of file names, you can use quotes to
8846 make sure @value{GDBN} parses the file name as a single word---for example,
8847 to print a global value of @code{x} defined in @file{f2.c}:
8848
8849 @smallexample
8850 (@value{GDBP}) p 'f2.c'::x
8851 @end smallexample
8852
8853 The @code{::} notation is normally used for referring to
8854 static variables, since you typically disambiguate uses of local variables
8855 in functions by selecting the appropriate frame and using the
8856 simple name of the variable. However, you may also use this notation
8857 to refer to local variables in frames enclosing the selected frame:
8858
8859 @smallexample
8860 void
8861 foo (int a)
8862 @{
8863 if (a < 10)
8864 bar (a);
8865 else
8866 process (a); /* Stop here */
8867 @}
8868
8869 int
8870 bar (int a)
8871 @{
8872 foo (a + 5);
8873 @}
8874 @end smallexample
8875
8876 @noindent
8877 For example, if there is a breakpoint at the commented line,
8878 here is what you might see
8879 when the program stops after executing the call @code{bar(0)}:
8880
8881 @smallexample
8882 (@value{GDBP}) p a
8883 $1 = 10
8884 (@value{GDBP}) p bar::a
8885 $2 = 5
8886 (@value{GDBP}) up 2
8887 #2 0x080483d0 in foo (a=5) at foobar.c:12
8888 (@value{GDBP}) p a
8889 $3 = 5
8890 (@value{GDBP}) p bar::a
8891 $4 = 0
8892 @end smallexample
8893
8894 @cindex C@t{++} scope resolution
8895 These uses of @samp{::} are very rarely in conflict with the very
8896 similar use of the same notation in C@t{++}. When they are in
8897 conflict, the C@t{++} meaning takes precedence; however, this can be
8898 overridden by quoting the file or function name with single quotes.
8899
8900 For example, suppose the program is stopped in a method of a class
8901 that has a field named @code{includefile}, and there is also an
8902 include file named @file{includefile} that defines a variable,
8903 @code{some_global}.
8904
8905 @smallexample
8906 (@value{GDBP}) p includefile
8907 $1 = 23
8908 (@value{GDBP}) p includefile::some_global
8909 A syntax error in expression, near `'.
8910 (@value{GDBP}) p 'includefile'::some_global
8911 $2 = 27
8912 @end smallexample
8913
8914 @cindex wrong values
8915 @cindex variable values, wrong
8916 @cindex function entry/exit, wrong values of variables
8917 @cindex optimized code, wrong values of variables
8918 @quotation
8919 @emph{Warning:} Occasionally, a local variable may appear to have the
8920 wrong value at certain points in a function---just after entry to a new
8921 scope, and just before exit.
8922 @end quotation
8923 You may see this problem when you are stepping by machine instructions.
8924 This is because, on most machines, it takes more than one instruction to
8925 set up a stack frame (including local variable definitions); if you are
8926 stepping by machine instructions, variables may appear to have the wrong
8927 values until the stack frame is completely built. On exit, it usually
8928 also takes more than one machine instruction to destroy a stack frame;
8929 after you begin stepping through that group of instructions, local
8930 variable definitions may be gone.
8931
8932 This may also happen when the compiler does significant optimizations.
8933 To be sure of always seeing accurate values, turn off all optimization
8934 when compiling.
8935
8936 @cindex ``No symbol "foo" in current context''
8937 Another possible effect of compiler optimizations is to optimize
8938 unused variables out of existence, or assign variables to registers (as
8939 opposed to memory addresses). Depending on the support for such cases
8940 offered by the debug info format used by the compiler, @value{GDBN}
8941 might not be able to display values for such local variables. If that
8942 happens, @value{GDBN} will print a message like this:
8943
8944 @smallexample
8945 No symbol "foo" in current context.
8946 @end smallexample
8947
8948 To solve such problems, either recompile without optimizations, or use a
8949 different debug info format, if the compiler supports several such
8950 formats. @xref{Compilation}, for more information on choosing compiler
8951 options. @xref{C, ,C and C@t{++}}, for more information about debug
8952 info formats that are best suited to C@t{++} programs.
8953
8954 If you ask to print an object whose contents are unknown to
8955 @value{GDBN}, e.g., because its data type is not completely specified
8956 by the debug information, @value{GDBN} will say @samp{<incomplete
8957 type>}. @xref{Symbols, incomplete type}, for more about this.
8958
8959 If you append @kbd{@@entry} string to a function parameter name you get its
8960 value at the time the function got called. If the value is not available an
8961 error message is printed. Entry values are available only with some compilers.
8962 Entry values are normally also printed at the function parameter list according
8963 to @ref{set print entry-values}.
8964
8965 @smallexample
8966 Breakpoint 1, d (i=30) at gdb.base/entry-value.c:29
8967 29 i++;
8968 (gdb) next
8969 30 e (i);
8970 (gdb) print i
8971 $1 = 31
8972 (gdb) print i@@entry
8973 $2 = 30
8974 @end smallexample
8975
8976 Strings are identified as arrays of @code{char} values without specified
8977 signedness. Arrays of either @code{signed char} or @code{unsigned char} get
8978 printed as arrays of 1 byte sized integers. @code{-fsigned-char} or
8979 @code{-funsigned-char} @value{NGCC} options have no effect as @value{GDBN}
8980 defines literal string type @code{"char"} as @code{char} without a sign.
8981 For program code
8982
8983 @smallexample
8984 char var0[] = "A";
8985 signed char var1[] = "A";
8986 @end smallexample
8987
8988 You get during debugging
8989 @smallexample
8990 (gdb) print var0
8991 $1 = "A"
8992 (gdb) print var1
8993 $2 = @{65 'A', 0 '\0'@}
8994 @end smallexample
8995
8996 @node Arrays
8997 @section Artificial Arrays
8998
8999 @cindex artificial array
9000 @cindex arrays
9001 @kindex @@@r{, referencing memory as an array}
9002 It is often useful to print out several successive objects of the
9003 same type in memory; a section of an array, or an array of
9004 dynamically determined size for which only a pointer exists in the
9005 program.
9006
9007 You can do this by referring to a contiguous span of memory as an
9008 @dfn{artificial array}, using the binary operator @samp{@@}. The left
9009 operand of @samp{@@} should be the first element of the desired array
9010 and be an individual object. The right operand should be the desired length
9011 of the array. The result is an array value whose elements are all of
9012 the type of the left argument. The first element is actually the left
9013 argument; the second element comes from bytes of memory immediately
9014 following those that hold the first element, and so on. Here is an
9015 example. If a program says
9016
9017 @smallexample
9018 int *array = (int *) malloc (len * sizeof (int));
9019 @end smallexample
9020
9021 @noindent
9022 you can print the contents of @code{array} with
9023
9024 @smallexample
9025 p *array@@len
9026 @end smallexample
9027
9028 The left operand of @samp{@@} must reside in memory. Array values made
9029 with @samp{@@} in this way behave just like other arrays in terms of
9030 subscripting, and are coerced to pointers when used in expressions.
9031 Artificial arrays most often appear in expressions via the value history
9032 (@pxref{Value History, ,Value History}), after printing one out.
9033
9034 Another way to create an artificial array is to use a cast.
9035 This re-interprets a value as if it were an array.
9036 The value need not be in memory:
9037 @smallexample
9038 (@value{GDBP}) p/x (short[2])0x12345678
9039 $1 = @{0x1234, 0x5678@}
9040 @end smallexample
9041
9042 As a convenience, if you leave the array length out (as in
9043 @samp{(@var{type}[])@var{value}}) @value{GDBN} calculates the size to fill
9044 the value (as @samp{sizeof(@var{value})/sizeof(@var{type})}:
9045 @smallexample
9046 (@value{GDBP}) p/x (short[])0x12345678
9047 $2 = @{0x1234, 0x5678@}
9048 @end smallexample
9049
9050 Sometimes the artificial array mechanism is not quite enough; in
9051 moderately complex data structures, the elements of interest may not
9052 actually be adjacent---for example, if you are interested in the values
9053 of pointers in an array. One useful work-around in this situation is
9054 to use a convenience variable (@pxref{Convenience Vars, ,Convenience
9055 Variables}) as a counter in an expression that prints the first
9056 interesting value, and then repeat that expression via @key{RET}. For
9057 instance, suppose you have an array @code{dtab} of pointers to
9058 structures, and you are interested in the values of a field @code{fv}
9059 in each structure. Here is an example of what you might type:
9060
9061 @smallexample
9062 set $i = 0
9063 p dtab[$i++]->fv
9064 @key{RET}
9065 @key{RET}
9066 @dots{}
9067 @end smallexample
9068
9069 @node Output Formats
9070 @section Output Formats
9071
9072 @cindex formatted output
9073 @cindex output formats
9074 By default, @value{GDBN} prints a value according to its data type. Sometimes
9075 this is not what you want. For example, you might want to print a number
9076 in hex, or a pointer in decimal. Or you might want to view data in memory
9077 at a certain address as a character string or as an instruction. To do
9078 these things, specify an @dfn{output format} when you print a value.
9079
9080 The simplest use of output formats is to say how to print a value
9081 already computed. This is done by starting the arguments of the
9082 @code{print} command with a slash and a format letter. The format
9083 letters supported are:
9084
9085 @table @code
9086 @item x
9087 Regard the bits of the value as an integer, and print the integer in
9088 hexadecimal.
9089
9090 @item d
9091 Print as integer in signed decimal.
9092
9093 @item u
9094 Print as integer in unsigned decimal.
9095
9096 @item o
9097 Print as integer in octal.
9098
9099 @item t
9100 Print as integer in binary. The letter @samp{t} stands for ``two''.
9101 @footnote{@samp{b} cannot be used because these format letters are also
9102 used with the @code{x} command, where @samp{b} stands for ``byte'';
9103 see @ref{Memory,,Examining Memory}.}
9104
9105 @item a
9106 @cindex unknown address, locating
9107 @cindex locate address
9108 Print as an address, both absolute in hexadecimal and as an offset from
9109 the nearest preceding symbol. You can use this format used to discover
9110 where (in what function) an unknown address is located:
9111
9112 @smallexample
9113 (@value{GDBP}) p/a 0x54320
9114 $3 = 0x54320 <_initialize_vx+396>
9115 @end smallexample
9116
9117 @noindent
9118 The command @code{info symbol 0x54320} yields similar results.
9119 @xref{Symbols, info symbol}.
9120
9121 @item c
9122 Regard as an integer and print it as a character constant. This
9123 prints both the numerical value and its character representation. The
9124 character representation is replaced with the octal escape @samp{\nnn}
9125 for characters outside the 7-bit @sc{ascii} range.
9126
9127 Without this format, @value{GDBN} displays @code{char},
9128 @w{@code{unsigned char}}, and @w{@code{signed char}} data as character
9129 constants. Single-byte members of vectors are displayed as integer
9130 data.
9131
9132 @item f
9133 Regard the bits of the value as a floating point number and print
9134 using typical floating point syntax.
9135
9136 @item s
9137 @cindex printing strings
9138 @cindex printing byte arrays
9139 Regard as a string, if possible. With this format, pointers to single-byte
9140 data are displayed as null-terminated strings and arrays of single-byte data
9141 are displayed as fixed-length strings. Other values are displayed in their
9142 natural types.
9143
9144 Without this format, @value{GDBN} displays pointers to and arrays of
9145 @code{char}, @w{@code{unsigned char}}, and @w{@code{signed char}} as
9146 strings. Single-byte members of a vector are displayed as an integer
9147 array.
9148
9149 @item z
9150 Like @samp{x} formatting, the value is treated as an integer and
9151 printed as hexadecimal, but leading zeros are printed to pad the value
9152 to the size of the integer type.
9153
9154 @item r
9155 @cindex raw printing
9156 Print using the @samp{raw} formatting. By default, @value{GDBN} will
9157 use a Python-based pretty-printer, if one is available (@pxref{Pretty
9158 Printing}). This typically results in a higher-level display of the
9159 value's contents. The @samp{r} format bypasses any Python
9160 pretty-printer which might exist.
9161 @end table
9162
9163 For example, to print the program counter in hex (@pxref{Registers}), type
9164
9165 @smallexample
9166 p/x $pc
9167 @end smallexample
9168
9169 @noindent
9170 Note that no space is required before the slash; this is because command
9171 names in @value{GDBN} cannot contain a slash.
9172
9173 To reprint the last value in the value history with a different format,
9174 you can use the @code{print} command with just a format and no
9175 expression. For example, @samp{p/x} reprints the last value in hex.
9176
9177 @node Memory
9178 @section Examining Memory
9179
9180 You can use the command @code{x} (for ``examine'') to examine memory in
9181 any of several formats, independently of your program's data types.
9182
9183 @cindex examining memory
9184 @table @code
9185 @kindex x @r{(examine memory)}
9186 @item x/@var{nfu} @var{addr}
9187 @itemx x @var{addr}
9188 @itemx x
9189 Use the @code{x} command to examine memory.
9190 @end table
9191
9192 @var{n}, @var{f}, and @var{u} are all optional parameters that specify how
9193 much memory to display and how to format it; @var{addr} is an
9194 expression giving the address where you want to start displaying memory.
9195 If you use defaults for @var{nfu}, you need not type the slash @samp{/}.
9196 Several commands set convenient defaults for @var{addr}.
9197
9198 @table @r
9199 @item @var{n}, the repeat count
9200 The repeat count is a decimal integer; the default is 1. It specifies
9201 how much memory (counting by units @var{u}) to display.
9202 @c This really is **decimal**; unaffected by 'set radix' as of GDB
9203 @c 4.1.2.
9204
9205 @item @var{f}, the display format
9206 The display format is one of the formats used by @code{print}
9207 (@samp{x}, @samp{d}, @samp{u}, @samp{o}, @samp{t}, @samp{a}, @samp{c},
9208 @samp{f}, @samp{s}), and in addition @samp{i} (for machine instructions).
9209 The default is @samp{x} (hexadecimal) initially. The default changes
9210 each time you use either @code{x} or @code{print}.
9211
9212 @item @var{u}, the unit size
9213 The unit size is any of
9214
9215 @table @code
9216 @item b
9217 Bytes.
9218 @item h
9219 Halfwords (two bytes).
9220 @item w
9221 Words (four bytes). This is the initial default.
9222 @item g
9223 Giant words (eight bytes).
9224 @end table
9225
9226 Each time you specify a unit size with @code{x}, that size becomes the
9227 default unit the next time you use @code{x}. For the @samp{i} format,
9228 the unit size is ignored and is normally not written. For the @samp{s} format,
9229 the unit size defaults to @samp{b}, unless it is explicitly given.
9230 Use @kbd{x /hs} to display 16-bit char strings and @kbd{x /ws} to display
9231 32-bit strings. The next use of @kbd{x /s} will again display 8-bit strings.
9232 Note that the results depend on the programming language of the
9233 current compilation unit. If the language is C, the @samp{s}
9234 modifier will use the UTF-16 encoding while @samp{w} will use
9235 UTF-32. The encoding is set by the programming language and cannot
9236 be altered.
9237
9238 @item @var{addr}, starting display address
9239 @var{addr} is the address where you want @value{GDBN} to begin displaying
9240 memory. The expression need not have a pointer value (though it may);
9241 it is always interpreted as an integer address of a byte of memory.
9242 @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}, for more information on expressions. The default for
9243 @var{addr} is usually just after the last address examined---but several
9244 other commands also set the default address: @code{info breakpoints} (to
9245 the address of the last breakpoint listed), @code{info line} (to the
9246 starting address of a line), and @code{print} (if you use it to display
9247 a value from memory).
9248 @end table
9249
9250 For example, @samp{x/3uh 0x54320} is a request to display three halfwords
9251 (@code{h}) of memory, formatted as unsigned decimal integers (@samp{u}),
9252 starting at address @code{0x54320}. @samp{x/4xw $sp} prints the four
9253 words (@samp{w}) of memory above the stack pointer (here, @samp{$sp};
9254 @pxref{Registers, ,Registers}) in hexadecimal (@samp{x}).
9255
9256 Since the letters indicating unit sizes are all distinct from the
9257 letters specifying output formats, you do not have to remember whether
9258 unit size or format comes first; either order works. The output
9259 specifications @samp{4xw} and @samp{4wx} mean exactly the same thing.
9260 (However, the count @var{n} must come first; @samp{wx4} does not work.)
9261
9262 Even though the unit size @var{u} is ignored for the formats @samp{s}
9263 and @samp{i}, you might still want to use a count @var{n}; for example,
9264 @samp{3i} specifies that you want to see three machine instructions,
9265 including any operands. For convenience, especially when used with
9266 the @code{display} command, the @samp{i} format also prints branch delay
9267 slot instructions, if any, beyond the count specified, which immediately
9268 follow the last instruction that is within the count. The command
9269 @code{disassemble} gives an alternative way of inspecting machine
9270 instructions; see @ref{Machine Code,,Source and Machine Code}.
9271
9272 All the defaults for the arguments to @code{x} are designed to make it
9273 easy to continue scanning memory with minimal specifications each time
9274 you use @code{x}. For example, after you have inspected three machine
9275 instructions with @samp{x/3i @var{addr}}, you can inspect the next seven
9276 with just @samp{x/7}. If you use @key{RET} to repeat the @code{x} command,
9277 the repeat count @var{n} is used again; the other arguments default as
9278 for successive uses of @code{x}.
9279
9280 When examining machine instructions, the instruction at current program
9281 counter is shown with a @code{=>} marker. For example:
9282
9283 @smallexample
9284 (@value{GDBP}) x/5i $pc-6
9285 0x804837f <main+11>: mov %esp,%ebp
9286 0x8048381 <main+13>: push %ecx
9287 0x8048382 <main+14>: sub $0x4,%esp
9288 => 0x8048385 <main+17>: movl $0x8048460,(%esp)
9289 0x804838c <main+24>: call 0x80482d4 <puts@@plt>
9290 @end smallexample
9291
9292 @cindex @code{$_}, @code{$__}, and value history
9293 The addresses and contents printed by the @code{x} command are not saved
9294 in the value history because there is often too much of them and they
9295 would get in the way. Instead, @value{GDBN} makes these values available for
9296 subsequent use in expressions as values of the convenience variables
9297 @code{$_} and @code{$__}. After an @code{x} command, the last address
9298 examined is available for use in expressions in the convenience variable
9299 @code{$_}. The contents of that address, as examined, are available in
9300 the convenience variable @code{$__}.
9301
9302 If the @code{x} command has a repeat count, the address and contents saved
9303 are from the last memory unit printed; this is not the same as the last
9304 address printed if several units were printed on the last line of output.
9305
9306 @anchor{addressable memory unit}
9307 @cindex addressable memory unit
9308 Most targets have an addressable memory unit size of 8 bits. This means
9309 that to each memory address are associated 8 bits of data. Some
9310 targets, however, have other addressable memory unit sizes.
9311 Within @value{GDBN} and this document, the term
9312 @dfn{addressable memory unit} (or @dfn{memory unit} for short) is used
9313 when explicitly referring to a chunk of data of that size. The word
9314 @dfn{byte} is used to refer to a chunk of data of 8 bits, regardless of
9315 the addressable memory unit size of the target. For most systems,
9316 addressable memory unit is a synonym of byte.
9317
9318 @cindex remote memory comparison
9319 @cindex target memory comparison
9320 @cindex verify remote memory image
9321 @cindex verify target memory image
9322 When you are debugging a program running on a remote target machine
9323 (@pxref{Remote Debugging}), you may wish to verify the program's image
9324 in the remote machine's memory against the executable file you
9325 downloaded to the target. Or, on any target, you may want to check
9326 whether the program has corrupted its own read-only sections. The
9327 @code{compare-sections} command is provided for such situations.
9328
9329 @table @code
9330 @kindex compare-sections
9331 @item compare-sections @r{[}@var{section-name}@r{|}@code{-r}@r{]}
9332 Compare the data of a loadable section @var{section-name} in the
9333 executable file of the program being debugged with the same section in
9334 the target machine's memory, and report any mismatches. With no
9335 arguments, compares all loadable sections. With an argument of
9336 @code{-r}, compares all loadable read-only sections.
9337
9338 Note: for remote targets, this command can be accelerated if the
9339 target supports computing the CRC checksum of a block of memory
9340 (@pxref{qCRC packet}).
9341 @end table
9342
9343 @node Auto Display
9344 @section Automatic Display
9345 @cindex automatic display
9346 @cindex display of expressions
9347
9348 If you find that you want to print the value of an expression frequently
9349 (to see how it changes), you might want to add it to the @dfn{automatic
9350 display list} so that @value{GDBN} prints its value each time your program stops.
9351 Each expression added to the list is given a number to identify it;
9352 to remove an expression from the list, you specify that number.
9353 The automatic display looks like this:
9354
9355 @smallexample
9356 2: foo = 38
9357 3: bar[5] = (struct hack *) 0x3804
9358 @end smallexample
9359
9360 @noindent
9361 This display shows item numbers, expressions and their current values. As with
9362 displays you request manually using @code{x} or @code{print}, you can
9363 specify the output format you prefer; in fact, @code{display} decides
9364 whether to use @code{print} or @code{x} depending your format
9365 specification---it uses @code{x} if you specify either the @samp{i}
9366 or @samp{s} format, or a unit size; otherwise it uses @code{print}.
9367
9368 @table @code
9369 @kindex display
9370 @item display @var{expr}
9371 Add the expression @var{expr} to the list of expressions to display
9372 each time your program stops. @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}.
9373
9374 @code{display} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again after using it.
9375
9376 @item display/@var{fmt} @var{expr}
9377 For @var{fmt} specifying only a display format and not a size or
9378 count, add the expression @var{expr} to the auto-display list but
9379 arrange to display it each time in the specified format @var{fmt}.
9380 @xref{Output Formats,,Output Formats}.
9381
9382 @item display/@var{fmt} @var{addr}
9383 For @var{fmt} @samp{i} or @samp{s}, or including a unit-size or a
9384 number of units, add the expression @var{addr} as a memory address to
9385 be examined each time your program stops. Examining means in effect
9386 doing @samp{x/@var{fmt} @var{addr}}. @xref{Memory, ,Examining Memory}.
9387 @end table
9388
9389 For example, @samp{display/i $pc} can be helpful, to see the machine
9390 instruction about to be executed each time execution stops (@samp{$pc}
9391 is a common name for the program counter; @pxref{Registers, ,Registers}).
9392
9393 @table @code
9394 @kindex delete display
9395 @kindex undisplay
9396 @item undisplay @var{dnums}@dots{}
9397 @itemx delete display @var{dnums}@dots{}
9398 Remove items from the list of expressions to display. Specify the
9399 numbers of the displays that you want affected with the command
9400 argument @var{dnums}. It can be a single display number, one of the
9401 numbers shown in the first field of the @samp{info display} display;
9402 or it could be a range of display numbers, as in @code{2-4}.
9403
9404 @code{undisplay} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} after using it.
9405 (Otherwise you would just get the error @samp{No display number @dots{}}.)
9406
9407 @kindex disable display
9408 @item disable display @var{dnums}@dots{}
9409 Disable the display of item numbers @var{dnums}. A disabled display
9410 item is not printed automatically, but is not forgotten. It may be
9411 enabled again later. Specify the numbers of the displays that you
9412 want affected with the command argument @var{dnums}. It can be a
9413 single display number, one of the numbers shown in the first field of
9414 the @samp{info display} display; or it could be a range of display
9415 numbers, as in @code{2-4}.
9416
9417 @kindex enable display
9418 @item enable display @var{dnums}@dots{}
9419 Enable display of item numbers @var{dnums}. It becomes effective once
9420 again in auto display of its expression, until you specify otherwise.
9421 Specify the numbers of the displays that you want affected with the
9422 command argument @var{dnums}. It can be a single display number, one
9423 of the numbers shown in the first field of the @samp{info display}
9424 display; or it could be a range of display numbers, as in @code{2-4}.
9425
9426 @item display
9427 Display the current values of the expressions on the list, just as is
9428 done when your program stops.
9429
9430 @kindex info display
9431 @item info display
9432 Print the list of expressions previously set up to display
9433 automatically, each one with its item number, but without showing the
9434 values. This includes disabled expressions, which are marked as such.
9435 It also includes expressions which would not be displayed right now
9436 because they refer to automatic variables not currently available.
9437 @end table
9438
9439 @cindex display disabled out of scope
9440 If a display expression refers to local variables, then it does not make
9441 sense outside the lexical context for which it was set up. Such an
9442 expression is disabled when execution enters a context where one of its
9443 variables is not defined. For example, if you give the command
9444 @code{display last_char} while inside a function with an argument
9445 @code{last_char}, @value{GDBN} displays this argument while your program
9446 continues to stop inside that function. When it stops elsewhere---where
9447 there is no variable @code{last_char}---the display is disabled
9448 automatically. The next time your program stops where @code{last_char}
9449 is meaningful, you can enable the display expression once again.
9450
9451 @node Print Settings
9452 @section Print Settings
9453
9454 @cindex format options
9455 @cindex print settings
9456 @value{GDBN} provides the following ways to control how arrays, structures,
9457 and symbols are printed.
9458
9459 @noindent
9460 These settings are useful for debugging programs in any language:
9461
9462 @table @code
9463 @kindex set print
9464 @item set print address
9465 @itemx set print address on
9466 @cindex print/don't print memory addresses
9467 @value{GDBN} prints memory addresses showing the location of stack
9468 traces, structure values, pointer values, breakpoints, and so forth,
9469 even when it also displays the contents of those addresses. The default
9470 is @code{on}. For example, this is what a stack frame display looks like with
9471 @code{set print address on}:
9472
9473 @smallexample
9474 @group
9475 (@value{GDBP}) f
9476 #0 set_quotes (lq=0x34c78 "<<", rq=0x34c88 ">>")
9477 at input.c:530
9478 530 if (lquote != def_lquote)
9479 @end group
9480 @end smallexample
9481
9482 @item set print address off
9483 Do not print addresses when displaying their contents. For example,
9484 this is the same stack frame displayed with @code{set print address off}:
9485
9486 @smallexample
9487 @group
9488 (@value{GDBP}) set print addr off
9489 (@value{GDBP}) f
9490 #0 set_quotes (lq="<<", rq=">>") at input.c:530
9491 530 if (lquote != def_lquote)
9492 @end group
9493 @end smallexample
9494
9495 You can use @samp{set print address off} to eliminate all machine
9496 dependent displays from the @value{GDBN} interface. For example, with
9497 @code{print address off}, you should get the same text for backtraces on
9498 all machines---whether or not they involve pointer arguments.
9499
9500 @kindex show print
9501 @item show print address
9502 Show whether or not addresses are to be printed.
9503 @end table
9504
9505 When @value{GDBN} prints a symbolic address, it normally prints the
9506 closest earlier symbol plus an offset. If that symbol does not uniquely
9507 identify the address (for example, it is a name whose scope is a single
9508 source file), you may need to clarify. One way to do this is with
9509 @code{info line}, for example @samp{info line *0x4537}. Alternately,
9510 you can set @value{GDBN} to print the source file and line number when
9511 it prints a symbolic address:
9512
9513 @table @code
9514 @item set print symbol-filename on
9515 @cindex source file and line of a symbol
9516 @cindex symbol, source file and line
9517 Tell @value{GDBN} to print the source file name and line number of a
9518 symbol in the symbolic form of an address.
9519
9520 @item set print symbol-filename off
9521 Do not print source file name and line number of a symbol. This is the
9522 default.
9523
9524 @item show print symbol-filename
9525 Show whether or not @value{GDBN} will print the source file name and
9526 line number of a symbol in the symbolic form of an address.
9527 @end table
9528
9529 Another situation where it is helpful to show symbol filenames and line
9530 numbers is when disassembling code; @value{GDBN} shows you the line
9531 number and source file that corresponds to each instruction.
9532
9533 Also, you may wish to see the symbolic form only if the address being
9534 printed is reasonably close to the closest earlier symbol:
9535
9536 @table @code
9537 @item set print max-symbolic-offset @var{max-offset}
9538 @itemx set print max-symbolic-offset unlimited
9539 @cindex maximum value for offset of closest symbol
9540 Tell @value{GDBN} to only display the symbolic form of an address if the
9541 offset between the closest earlier symbol and the address is less than
9542 @var{max-offset}. The default is @code{unlimited}, which tells @value{GDBN}
9543 to always print the symbolic form of an address if any symbol precedes
9544 it. Zero is equivalent to @code{unlimited}.
9545
9546 @item show print max-symbolic-offset
9547 Ask how large the maximum offset is that @value{GDBN} prints in a
9548 symbolic address.
9549 @end table
9550
9551 @cindex wild pointer, interpreting
9552 @cindex pointer, finding referent
9553 If you have a pointer and you are not sure where it points, try
9554 @samp{set print symbol-filename on}. Then you can determine the name
9555 and source file location of the variable where it points, using
9556 @samp{p/a @var{pointer}}. This interprets the address in symbolic form.
9557 For example, here @value{GDBN} shows that a variable @code{ptt} points
9558 at another variable @code{t}, defined in @file{hi2.c}:
9559
9560 @smallexample
9561 (@value{GDBP}) set print symbol-filename on
9562 (@value{GDBP}) p/a ptt
9563 $4 = 0xe008 <t in hi2.c>
9564 @end smallexample
9565
9566 @quotation
9567 @emph{Warning:} For pointers that point to a local variable, @samp{p/a}
9568 does not show the symbol name and filename of the referent, even with
9569 the appropriate @code{set print} options turned on.
9570 @end quotation
9571
9572 You can also enable @samp{/a}-like formatting all the time using
9573 @samp{set print symbol on}:
9574
9575 @table @code
9576 @item set print symbol on
9577 Tell @value{GDBN} to print the symbol corresponding to an address, if
9578 one exists.
9579
9580 @item set print symbol off
9581 Tell @value{GDBN} not to print the symbol corresponding to an
9582 address. In this mode, @value{GDBN} will still print the symbol
9583 corresponding to pointers to functions. This is the default.
9584
9585 @item show print symbol
9586 Show whether @value{GDBN} will display the symbol corresponding to an
9587 address.
9588 @end table
9589
9590 Other settings control how different kinds of objects are printed:
9591
9592 @table @code
9593 @item set print array
9594 @itemx set print array on
9595 @cindex pretty print arrays
9596 Pretty print arrays. This format is more convenient to read,
9597 but uses more space. The default is off.
9598
9599 @item set print array off
9600 Return to compressed format for arrays.
9601
9602 @item show print array
9603 Show whether compressed or pretty format is selected for displaying
9604 arrays.
9605
9606 @cindex print array indexes
9607 @item set print array-indexes
9608 @itemx set print array-indexes on
9609 Print the index of each element when displaying arrays. May be more
9610 convenient to locate a given element in the array or quickly find the
9611 index of a given element in that printed array. The default is off.
9612
9613 @item set print array-indexes off
9614 Stop printing element indexes when displaying arrays.
9615
9616 @item show print array-indexes
9617 Show whether the index of each element is printed when displaying
9618 arrays.
9619
9620 @item set print elements @var{number-of-elements}
9621 @itemx set print elements unlimited
9622 @cindex number of array elements to print
9623 @cindex limit on number of printed array elements
9624 Set a limit on how many elements of an array @value{GDBN} will print.
9625 If @value{GDBN} is printing a large array, it stops printing after it has
9626 printed the number of elements set by the @code{set print elements} command.
9627 This limit also applies to the display of strings.
9628 When @value{GDBN} starts, this limit is set to 200.
9629 Setting @var{number-of-elements} to @code{unlimited} or zero means
9630 that the number of elements to print is unlimited.
9631
9632 @item show print elements
9633 Display the number of elements of a large array that @value{GDBN} will print.
9634 If the number is 0, then the printing is unlimited.
9635
9636 @item set print frame-arguments @var{value}
9637 @kindex set print frame-arguments
9638 @cindex printing frame argument values
9639 @cindex print all frame argument values
9640 @cindex print frame argument values for scalars only
9641 @cindex do not print frame argument values
9642 This command allows to control how the values of arguments are printed
9643 when the debugger prints a frame (@pxref{Frames}). The possible
9644 values are:
9645
9646 @table @code
9647 @item all
9648 The values of all arguments are printed.
9649
9650 @item scalars
9651 Print the value of an argument only if it is a scalar. The value of more
9652 complex arguments such as arrays, structures, unions, etc, is replaced
9653 by @code{@dots{}}. This is the default. Here is an example where
9654 only scalar arguments are shown:
9655
9656 @smallexample
9657 #1 0x08048361 in call_me (i=3, s=@dots{}, ss=0xbf8d508c, u=@dots{}, e=green)
9658 at frame-args.c:23
9659 @end smallexample
9660
9661 @item none
9662 None of the argument values are printed. Instead, the value of each argument
9663 is replaced by @code{@dots{}}. In this case, the example above now becomes:
9664
9665 @smallexample
9666 #1 0x08048361 in call_me (i=@dots{}, s=@dots{}, ss=@dots{}, u=@dots{}, e=@dots{})
9667 at frame-args.c:23
9668 @end smallexample
9669 @end table
9670
9671 By default, only scalar arguments are printed. This command can be used
9672 to configure the debugger to print the value of all arguments, regardless
9673 of their type. However, it is often advantageous to not print the value
9674 of more complex parameters. For instance, it reduces the amount of
9675 information printed in each frame, making the backtrace more readable.
9676 Also, it improves performance when displaying Ada frames, because
9677 the computation of large arguments can sometimes be CPU-intensive,
9678 especially in large applications. Setting @code{print frame-arguments}
9679 to @code{scalars} (the default) or @code{none} avoids this computation,
9680 thus speeding up the display of each Ada frame.
9681
9682 @item show print frame-arguments
9683 Show how the value of arguments should be displayed when printing a frame.
9684
9685 @item set print raw frame-arguments on
9686 Print frame arguments in raw, non pretty-printed, form.
9687
9688 @item set print raw frame-arguments off
9689 Print frame arguments in pretty-printed form, if there is a pretty-printer
9690 for the value (@pxref{Pretty Printing}),
9691 otherwise print the value in raw form.
9692 This is the default.
9693
9694 @item show print raw frame-arguments
9695 Show whether to print frame arguments in raw form.
9696
9697 @anchor{set print entry-values}
9698 @item set print entry-values @var{value}
9699 @kindex set print entry-values
9700 Set printing of frame argument values at function entry. In some cases
9701 @value{GDBN} can determine the value of function argument which was passed by
9702 the function caller, even if the value was modified inside the called function
9703 and therefore is different. With optimized code, the current value could be
9704 unavailable, but the entry value may still be known.
9705
9706 The default value is @code{default} (see below for its description). Older
9707 @value{GDBN} behaved as with the setting @code{no}. Compilers not supporting
9708 this feature will behave in the @code{default} setting the same way as with the
9709 @code{no} setting.
9710
9711 This functionality is currently supported only by DWARF 2 debugging format and
9712 the compiler has to produce @samp{DW_TAG_GNU_call_site} tags. With
9713 @value{NGCC}, you need to specify @option{-O -g} during compilation, to get
9714 this information.
9715
9716 The @var{value} parameter can be one of the following:
9717
9718 @table @code
9719 @item no
9720 Print only actual parameter values, never print values from function entry
9721 point.
9722 @smallexample
9723 #0 equal (val=5)
9724 #0 different (val=6)
9725 #0 lost (val=<optimized out>)
9726 #0 born (val=10)
9727 #0 invalid (val=<optimized out>)
9728 @end smallexample
9729
9730 @item only
9731 Print only parameter values from function entry point. The actual parameter
9732 values are never printed.
9733 @smallexample
9734 #0 equal (val@@entry=5)
9735 #0 different (val@@entry=5)
9736 #0 lost (val@@entry=5)
9737 #0 born (val@@entry=<optimized out>)
9738 #0 invalid (val@@entry=<optimized out>)
9739 @end smallexample
9740
9741 @item preferred
9742 Print only parameter values from function entry point. If value from function
9743 entry point is not known while the actual value is known, print the actual
9744 value for such parameter.
9745 @smallexample
9746 #0 equal (val@@entry=5)
9747 #0 different (val@@entry=5)
9748 #0 lost (val@@entry=5)
9749 #0 born (val=10)
9750 #0 invalid (val@@entry=<optimized out>)
9751 @end smallexample
9752
9753 @item if-needed
9754 Print actual parameter values. If actual parameter value is not known while
9755 value from function entry point is known, print the entry point value for such
9756 parameter.
9757 @smallexample
9758 #0 equal (val=5)
9759 #0 different (val=6)
9760 #0 lost (val@@entry=5)
9761 #0 born (val=10)
9762 #0 invalid (val=<optimized out>)
9763 @end smallexample
9764
9765 @item both
9766 Always print both the actual parameter value and its value from function entry
9767 point, even if values of one or both are not available due to compiler
9768 optimizations.
9769 @smallexample
9770 #0 equal (val=5, val@@entry=5)
9771 #0 different (val=6, val@@entry=5)
9772 #0 lost (val=<optimized out>, val@@entry=5)
9773 #0 born (val=10, val@@entry=<optimized out>)
9774 #0 invalid (val=<optimized out>, val@@entry=<optimized out>)
9775 @end smallexample
9776
9777 @item compact
9778 Print the actual parameter value if it is known and also its value from
9779 function entry point if it is known. If neither is known, print for the actual
9780 value @code{<optimized out>}. If not in MI mode (@pxref{GDB/MI}) and if both
9781 values are known and identical, print the shortened
9782 @code{param=param@@entry=VALUE} notation.
9783 @smallexample
9784 #0 equal (val=val@@entry=5)
9785 #0 different (val=6, val@@entry=5)
9786 #0 lost (val@@entry=5)
9787 #0 born (val=10)
9788 #0 invalid (val=<optimized out>)
9789 @end smallexample
9790
9791 @item default
9792 Always print the actual parameter value. Print also its value from function
9793 entry point, but only if it is known. If not in MI mode (@pxref{GDB/MI}) and
9794 if both values are known and identical, print the shortened
9795 @code{param=param@@entry=VALUE} notation.
9796 @smallexample
9797 #0 equal (val=val@@entry=5)
9798 #0 different (val=6, val@@entry=5)
9799 #0 lost (val=<optimized out>, val@@entry=5)
9800 #0 born (val=10)
9801 #0 invalid (val=<optimized out>)
9802 @end smallexample
9803 @end table
9804
9805 For analysis messages on possible failures of frame argument values at function
9806 entry resolution see @ref{set debug entry-values}.
9807
9808 @item show print entry-values
9809 Show the method being used for printing of frame argument values at function
9810 entry.
9811
9812 @item set print repeats @var{number-of-repeats}
9813 @itemx set print repeats unlimited
9814 @cindex repeated array elements
9815 Set the threshold for suppressing display of repeated array
9816 elements. When the number of consecutive identical elements of an
9817 array exceeds the threshold, @value{GDBN} prints the string
9818 @code{"<repeats @var{n} times>"}, where @var{n} is the number of
9819 identical repetitions, instead of displaying the identical elements
9820 themselves. Setting the threshold to @code{unlimited} or zero will
9821 cause all elements to be individually printed. The default threshold
9822 is 10.
9823
9824 @item show print repeats
9825 Display the current threshold for printing repeated identical
9826 elements.
9827
9828 @item set print null-stop
9829 @cindex @sc{null} elements in arrays
9830 Cause @value{GDBN} to stop printing the characters of an array when the first
9831 @sc{null} is encountered. This is useful when large arrays actually
9832 contain only short strings.
9833 The default is off.
9834
9835 @item show print null-stop
9836 Show whether @value{GDBN} stops printing an array on the first
9837 @sc{null} character.
9838
9839 @item set print pretty on
9840 @cindex print structures in indented form
9841 @cindex indentation in structure display
9842 Cause @value{GDBN} to print structures in an indented format with one member
9843 per line, like this:
9844
9845 @smallexample
9846 @group
9847 $1 = @{
9848 next = 0x0,
9849 flags = @{
9850 sweet = 1,
9851 sour = 1
9852 @},
9853 meat = 0x54 "Pork"
9854 @}
9855 @end group
9856 @end smallexample
9857
9858 @item set print pretty off
9859 Cause @value{GDBN} to print structures in a compact format, like this:
9860
9861 @smallexample
9862 @group
9863 $1 = @{next = 0x0, flags = @{sweet = 1, sour = 1@}, \
9864 meat = 0x54 "Pork"@}
9865 @end group
9866 @end smallexample
9867
9868 @noindent
9869 This is the default format.
9870
9871 @item show print pretty
9872 Show which format @value{GDBN} is using to print structures.
9873
9874 @item set print sevenbit-strings on
9875 @cindex eight-bit characters in strings
9876 @cindex octal escapes in strings
9877 Print using only seven-bit characters; if this option is set,
9878 @value{GDBN} displays any eight-bit characters (in strings or
9879 character values) using the notation @code{\}@var{nnn}. This setting is
9880 best if you are working in English (@sc{ascii}) and you use the
9881 high-order bit of characters as a marker or ``meta'' bit.
9882
9883 @item set print sevenbit-strings off
9884 Print full eight-bit characters. This allows the use of more
9885 international character sets, and is the default.
9886
9887 @item show print sevenbit-strings
9888 Show whether or not @value{GDBN} is printing only seven-bit characters.
9889
9890 @item set print union on
9891 @cindex unions in structures, printing
9892 Tell @value{GDBN} to print unions which are contained in structures
9893 and other unions. This is the default setting.
9894
9895 @item set print union off
9896 Tell @value{GDBN} not to print unions which are contained in
9897 structures and other unions. @value{GDBN} will print @code{"@{...@}"}
9898 instead.
9899
9900 @item show print union
9901 Ask @value{GDBN} whether or not it will print unions which are contained in
9902 structures and other unions.
9903
9904 For example, given the declarations
9905
9906 @smallexample
9907 typedef enum @{Tree, Bug@} Species;
9908 typedef enum @{Big_tree, Acorn, Seedling@} Tree_forms;
9909 typedef enum @{Caterpillar, Cocoon, Butterfly@}
9910 Bug_forms;
9911
9912 struct thing @{
9913 Species it;
9914 union @{
9915 Tree_forms tree;
9916 Bug_forms bug;
9917 @} form;
9918 @};
9919
9920 struct thing foo = @{Tree, @{Acorn@}@};
9921 @end smallexample
9922
9923 @noindent
9924 with @code{set print union on} in effect @samp{p foo} would print
9925
9926 @smallexample
9927 $1 = @{it = Tree, form = @{tree = Acorn, bug = Cocoon@}@}
9928 @end smallexample
9929
9930 @noindent
9931 and with @code{set print union off} in effect it would print
9932
9933 @smallexample
9934 $1 = @{it = Tree, form = @{...@}@}
9935 @end smallexample
9936
9937 @noindent
9938 @code{set print union} affects programs written in C-like languages
9939 and in Pascal.
9940 @end table
9941
9942 @need 1000
9943 @noindent
9944 These settings are of interest when debugging C@t{++} programs:
9945
9946 @table @code
9947 @cindex demangling C@t{++} names
9948 @item set print demangle
9949 @itemx set print demangle on
9950 Print C@t{++} names in their source form rather than in the encoded
9951 (``mangled'') form passed to the assembler and linker for type-safe
9952 linkage. The default is on.
9953
9954 @item show print demangle
9955 Show whether C@t{++} names are printed in mangled or demangled form.
9956
9957 @item set print asm-demangle
9958 @itemx set print asm-demangle on
9959 Print C@t{++} names in their source form rather than their mangled form, even
9960 in assembler code printouts such as instruction disassemblies.
9961 The default is off.
9962
9963 @item show print asm-demangle
9964 Show whether C@t{++} names in assembly listings are printed in mangled
9965 or demangled form.
9966
9967 @cindex C@t{++} symbol decoding style
9968 @cindex symbol decoding style, C@t{++}
9969 @kindex set demangle-style
9970 @item set demangle-style @var{style}
9971 Choose among several encoding schemes used by different compilers to
9972 represent C@t{++} names. The choices for @var{style} are currently:
9973
9974 @table @code
9975 @item auto
9976 Allow @value{GDBN} to choose a decoding style by inspecting your program.
9977 This is the default.
9978
9979 @item gnu
9980 Decode based on the @sc{gnu} C@t{++} compiler (@code{g++}) encoding algorithm.
9981
9982 @item hp
9983 Decode based on the HP ANSI C@t{++} (@code{aCC}) encoding algorithm.
9984
9985 @item lucid
9986 Decode based on the Lucid C@t{++} compiler (@code{lcc}) encoding algorithm.
9987
9988 @item arm
9989 Decode using the algorithm in the @cite{C@t{++} Annotated Reference Manual}.
9990 @strong{Warning:} this setting alone is not sufficient to allow
9991 debugging @code{cfront}-generated executables. @value{GDBN} would
9992 require further enhancement to permit that.
9993
9994 @end table
9995 If you omit @var{style}, you will see a list of possible formats.
9996
9997 @item show demangle-style
9998 Display the encoding style currently in use for decoding C@t{++} symbols.
9999
10000 @item set print object
10001 @itemx set print object on
10002 @cindex derived type of an object, printing
10003 @cindex display derived types
10004 When displaying a pointer to an object, identify the @emph{actual}
10005 (derived) type of the object rather than the @emph{declared} type, using
10006 the virtual function table. Note that the virtual function table is
10007 required---this feature can only work for objects that have run-time
10008 type identification; a single virtual method in the object's declared
10009 type is sufficient. Note that this setting is also taken into account when
10010 working with variable objects via MI (@pxref{GDB/MI}).
10011
10012 @item set print object off
10013 Display only the declared type of objects, without reference to the
10014 virtual function table. This is the default setting.
10015
10016 @item show print object
10017 Show whether actual, or declared, object types are displayed.
10018
10019 @item set print static-members
10020 @itemx set print static-members on
10021 @cindex static members of C@t{++} objects
10022 Print static members when displaying a C@t{++} object. The default is on.
10023
10024 @item set print static-members off
10025 Do not print static members when displaying a C@t{++} object.
10026
10027 @item show print static-members
10028 Show whether C@t{++} static members are printed or not.
10029
10030 @item set print pascal_static-members
10031 @itemx set print pascal_static-members on
10032 @cindex static members of Pascal objects
10033 @cindex Pascal objects, static members display
10034 Print static members when displaying a Pascal object. The default is on.
10035
10036 @item set print pascal_static-members off
10037 Do not print static members when displaying a Pascal object.
10038
10039 @item show print pascal_static-members
10040 Show whether Pascal static members are printed or not.
10041
10042 @c These don't work with HP ANSI C++ yet.
10043 @item set print vtbl
10044 @itemx set print vtbl on
10045 @cindex pretty print C@t{++} virtual function tables
10046 @cindex virtual functions (C@t{++}) display
10047 @cindex VTBL display
10048 Pretty print C@t{++} virtual function tables. The default is off.
10049 (The @code{vtbl} commands do not work on programs compiled with the HP
10050 ANSI C@t{++} compiler (@code{aCC}).)
10051
10052 @item set print vtbl off
10053 Do not pretty print C@t{++} virtual function tables.
10054
10055 @item show print vtbl
10056 Show whether C@t{++} virtual function tables are pretty printed, or not.
10057 @end table
10058
10059 @node Pretty Printing
10060 @section Pretty Printing
10061
10062 @value{GDBN} provides a mechanism to allow pretty-printing of values using
10063 Python code. It greatly simplifies the display of complex objects. This
10064 mechanism works for both MI and the CLI.
10065
10066 @menu
10067 * Pretty-Printer Introduction:: Introduction to pretty-printers
10068 * Pretty-Printer Example:: An example pretty-printer
10069 * Pretty-Printer Commands:: Pretty-printer commands
10070 @end menu
10071
10072 @node Pretty-Printer Introduction
10073 @subsection Pretty-Printer Introduction
10074
10075 When @value{GDBN} prints a value, it first sees if there is a pretty-printer
10076 registered for the value. If there is then @value{GDBN} invokes the
10077 pretty-printer to print the value. Otherwise the value is printed normally.
10078
10079 Pretty-printers are normally named. This makes them easy to manage.
10080 The @samp{info pretty-printer} command will list all the installed
10081 pretty-printers with their names.
10082 If a pretty-printer can handle multiple data types, then its
10083 @dfn{subprinters} are the printers for the individual data types.
10084 Each such subprinter has its own name.
10085 The format of the name is @var{printer-name};@var{subprinter-name}.
10086
10087 Pretty-printers are installed by @dfn{registering} them with @value{GDBN}.
10088 Typically they are automatically loaded and registered when the corresponding
10089 debug information is loaded, thus making them available without having to
10090 do anything special.
10091
10092 There are three places where a pretty-printer can be registered.
10093
10094 @itemize @bullet
10095 @item
10096 Pretty-printers registered globally are available when debugging
10097 all inferiors.
10098
10099 @item
10100 Pretty-printers registered with a program space are available only
10101 when debugging that program.
10102 @xref{Progspaces In Python}, for more details on program spaces in Python.
10103
10104 @item
10105 Pretty-printers registered with an objfile are loaded and unloaded
10106 with the corresponding objfile (e.g., shared library).
10107 @xref{Objfiles In Python}, for more details on objfiles in Python.
10108 @end itemize
10109
10110 @xref{Selecting Pretty-Printers}, for further information on how
10111 pretty-printers are selected,
10112
10113 @xref{Writing a Pretty-Printer}, for implementing pretty printers
10114 for new types.
10115
10116 @node Pretty-Printer Example
10117 @subsection Pretty-Printer Example
10118
10119 Here is how a C@t{++} @code{std::string} looks without a pretty-printer:
10120
10121 @smallexample
10122 (@value{GDBP}) print s
10123 $1 = @{
10124 static npos = 4294967295,
10125 _M_dataplus = @{
10126 <std::allocator<char>> = @{
10127 <__gnu_cxx::new_allocator<char>> = @{
10128 <No data fields>@}, <No data fields>
10129 @},
10130 members of std::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>,
10131 std::allocator<char> >::_Alloc_hider:
10132 _M_p = 0x804a014 "abcd"
10133 @}
10134 @}
10135 @end smallexample
10136
10137 With a pretty-printer for @code{std::string} only the contents are printed:
10138
10139 @smallexample
10140 (@value{GDBP}) print s
10141 $2 = "abcd"
10142 @end smallexample
10143
10144 @node Pretty-Printer Commands
10145 @subsection Pretty-Printer Commands
10146 @cindex pretty-printer commands
10147
10148 @table @code
10149 @kindex info pretty-printer
10150 @item info pretty-printer [@var{object-regexp} [@var{name-regexp}]]
10151 Print the list of installed pretty-printers.
10152 This includes disabled pretty-printers, which are marked as such.
10153
10154 @var{object-regexp} is a regular expression matching the objects
10155 whose pretty-printers to list.
10156 Objects can be @code{global}, the program space's file
10157 (@pxref{Progspaces In Python}),
10158 and the object files within that program space (@pxref{Objfiles In Python}).
10159 @xref{Selecting Pretty-Printers}, for details on how @value{GDBN}
10160 looks up a printer from these three objects.
10161
10162 @var{name-regexp} is a regular expression matching the name of the printers
10163 to list.
10164
10165 @kindex disable pretty-printer
10166 @item disable pretty-printer [@var{object-regexp} [@var{name-regexp}]]
10167 Disable pretty-printers matching @var{object-regexp} and @var{name-regexp}.
10168 A disabled pretty-printer is not forgotten, it may be enabled again later.
10169
10170 @kindex enable pretty-printer
10171 @item enable pretty-printer [@var{object-regexp} [@var{name-regexp}]]
10172 Enable pretty-printers matching @var{object-regexp} and @var{name-regexp}.
10173 @end table
10174
10175 Example:
10176
10177 Suppose we have three pretty-printers installed: one from library1.so
10178 named @code{foo} that prints objects of type @code{foo}, and
10179 another from library2.so named @code{bar} that prints two types of objects,
10180 @code{bar1} and @code{bar2}.
10181
10182 @smallexample
10183 (gdb) info pretty-printer
10184 library1.so:
10185 foo
10186 library2.so:
10187 bar
10188 bar1
10189 bar2
10190 (gdb) info pretty-printer library2
10191 library2.so:
10192 bar
10193 bar1
10194 bar2
10195 (gdb) disable pretty-printer library1
10196 1 printer disabled
10197 2 of 3 printers enabled
10198 (gdb) info pretty-printer
10199 library1.so:
10200 foo [disabled]
10201 library2.so:
10202 bar
10203 bar1
10204 bar2
10205 (gdb) disable pretty-printer library2 bar:bar1
10206 1 printer disabled
10207 1 of 3 printers enabled
10208 (gdb) info pretty-printer library2
10209 library1.so:
10210 foo [disabled]
10211 library2.so:
10212 bar
10213 bar1 [disabled]
10214 bar2
10215 (gdb) disable pretty-printer library2 bar
10216 1 printer disabled
10217 0 of 3 printers enabled
10218 (gdb) info pretty-printer library2
10219 library1.so:
10220 foo [disabled]
10221 library2.so:
10222 bar [disabled]
10223 bar1 [disabled]
10224 bar2
10225 @end smallexample
10226
10227 Note that for @code{bar} the entire printer can be disabled,
10228 as can each individual subprinter.
10229
10230 @node Value History
10231 @section Value History
10232
10233 @cindex value history
10234 @cindex history of values printed by @value{GDBN}
10235 Values printed by the @code{print} command are saved in the @value{GDBN}
10236 @dfn{value history}. This allows you to refer to them in other expressions.
10237 Values are kept until the symbol table is re-read or discarded
10238 (for example with the @code{file} or @code{symbol-file} commands).
10239 When the symbol table changes, the value history is discarded,
10240 since the values may contain pointers back to the types defined in the
10241 symbol table.
10242
10243 @cindex @code{$}
10244 @cindex @code{$$}
10245 @cindex history number
10246 The values printed are given @dfn{history numbers} by which you can
10247 refer to them. These are successive integers starting with one.
10248 @code{print} shows you the history number assigned to a value by
10249 printing @samp{$@var{num} = } before the value; here @var{num} is the
10250 history number.
10251
10252 To refer to any previous value, use @samp{$} followed by the value's
10253 history number. The way @code{print} labels its output is designed to
10254 remind you of this. Just @code{$} refers to the most recent value in
10255 the history, and @code{$$} refers to the value before that.
10256 @code{$$@var{n}} refers to the @var{n}th value from the end; @code{$$2}
10257 is the value just prior to @code{$$}, @code{$$1} is equivalent to
10258 @code{$$}, and @code{$$0} is equivalent to @code{$}.
10259
10260 For example, suppose you have just printed a pointer to a structure and
10261 want to see the contents of the structure. It suffices to type
10262
10263 @smallexample
10264 p *$
10265 @end smallexample
10266
10267 If you have a chain of structures where the component @code{next} points
10268 to the next one, you can print the contents of the next one with this:
10269
10270 @smallexample
10271 p *$.next
10272 @end smallexample
10273
10274 @noindent
10275 You can print successive links in the chain by repeating this
10276 command---which you can do by just typing @key{RET}.
10277
10278 Note that the history records values, not expressions. If the value of
10279 @code{x} is 4 and you type these commands:
10280
10281 @smallexample
10282 print x
10283 set x=5
10284 @end smallexample
10285
10286 @noindent
10287 then the value recorded in the value history by the @code{print} command
10288 remains 4 even though the value of @code{x} has changed.
10289
10290 @table @code
10291 @kindex show values
10292 @item show values
10293 Print the last ten values in the value history, with their item numbers.
10294 This is like @samp{p@ $$9} repeated ten times, except that @code{show
10295 values} does not change the history.
10296
10297 @item show values @var{n}
10298 Print ten history values centered on history item number @var{n}.
10299
10300 @item show values +
10301 Print ten history values just after the values last printed. If no more
10302 values are available, @code{show values +} produces no display.
10303 @end table
10304
10305 Pressing @key{RET} to repeat @code{show values @var{n}} has exactly the
10306 same effect as @samp{show values +}.
10307
10308 @node Convenience Vars
10309 @section Convenience Variables
10310
10311 @cindex convenience variables
10312 @cindex user-defined variables
10313 @value{GDBN} provides @dfn{convenience variables} that you can use within
10314 @value{GDBN} to hold on to a value and refer to it later. These variables
10315 exist entirely within @value{GDBN}; they are not part of your program, and
10316 setting a convenience variable has no direct effect on further execution
10317 of your program. That is why you can use them freely.
10318
10319 Convenience variables are prefixed with @samp{$}. Any name preceded by
10320 @samp{$} can be used for a convenience variable, unless it is one of
10321 the predefined machine-specific register names (@pxref{Registers, ,Registers}).
10322 (Value history references, in contrast, are @emph{numbers} preceded
10323 by @samp{$}. @xref{Value History, ,Value History}.)
10324
10325 You can save a value in a convenience variable with an assignment
10326 expression, just as you would set a variable in your program.
10327 For example:
10328
10329 @smallexample
10330 set $foo = *object_ptr
10331 @end smallexample
10332
10333 @noindent
10334 would save in @code{$foo} the value contained in the object pointed to by
10335 @code{object_ptr}.
10336
10337 Using a convenience variable for the first time creates it, but its
10338 value is @code{void} until you assign a new value. You can alter the
10339 value with another assignment at any time.
10340
10341 Convenience variables have no fixed types. You can assign a convenience
10342 variable any type of value, including structures and arrays, even if
10343 that variable already has a value of a different type. The convenience
10344 variable, when used as an expression, has the type of its current value.
10345
10346 @table @code
10347 @kindex show convenience
10348 @cindex show all user variables and functions
10349 @item show convenience
10350 Print a list of convenience variables used so far, and their values,
10351 as well as a list of the convenience functions.
10352 Abbreviated @code{show conv}.
10353
10354 @kindex init-if-undefined
10355 @cindex convenience variables, initializing
10356 @item init-if-undefined $@var{variable} = @var{expression}
10357 Set a convenience variable if it has not already been set. This is useful
10358 for user-defined commands that keep some state. It is similar, in concept,
10359 to using local static variables with initializers in C (except that
10360 convenience variables are global). It can also be used to allow users to
10361 override default values used in a command script.
10362
10363 If the variable is already defined then the expression is not evaluated so
10364 any side-effects do not occur.
10365 @end table
10366
10367 One of the ways to use a convenience variable is as a counter to be
10368 incremented or a pointer to be advanced. For example, to print
10369 a field from successive elements of an array of structures:
10370
10371 @smallexample
10372 set $i = 0
10373 print bar[$i++]->contents
10374 @end smallexample
10375
10376 @noindent
10377 Repeat that command by typing @key{RET}.
10378
10379 Some convenience variables are created automatically by @value{GDBN} and given
10380 values likely to be useful.
10381
10382 @table @code
10383 @vindex $_@r{, convenience variable}
10384 @item $_
10385 The variable @code{$_} is automatically set by the @code{x} command to
10386 the last address examined (@pxref{Memory, ,Examining Memory}). Other
10387 commands which provide a default address for @code{x} to examine also
10388 set @code{$_} to that address; these commands include @code{info line}
10389 and @code{info breakpoint}. The type of @code{$_} is @code{void *}
10390 except when set by the @code{x} command, in which case it is a pointer
10391 to the type of @code{$__}.
10392
10393 @vindex $__@r{, convenience variable}
10394 @item $__
10395 The variable @code{$__} is automatically set by the @code{x} command
10396 to the value found in the last address examined. Its type is chosen
10397 to match the format in which the data was printed.
10398
10399 @item $_exitcode
10400 @vindex $_exitcode@r{, convenience variable}
10401 When the program being debugged terminates normally, @value{GDBN}
10402 automatically sets this variable to the exit code of the program, and
10403 resets @code{$_exitsignal} to @code{void}.
10404
10405 @item $_exitsignal
10406 @vindex $_exitsignal@r{, convenience variable}
10407 When the program being debugged dies due to an uncaught signal,
10408 @value{GDBN} automatically sets this variable to that signal's number,
10409 and resets @code{$_exitcode} to @code{void}.
10410
10411 To distinguish between whether the program being debugged has exited
10412 (i.e., @code{$_exitcode} is not @code{void}) or signalled (i.e.,
10413 @code{$_exitsignal} is not @code{void}), the convenience function
10414 @code{$_isvoid} can be used (@pxref{Convenience Funs,, Convenience
10415 Functions}). For example, considering the following source code:
10416
10417 @smallexample
10418 #include <signal.h>
10419
10420 int
10421 main (int argc, char *argv[])
10422 @{
10423 raise (SIGALRM);
10424 return 0;
10425 @}
10426 @end smallexample
10427
10428 A valid way of telling whether the program being debugged has exited
10429 or signalled would be:
10430
10431 @smallexample
10432 (@value{GDBP}) define has_exited_or_signalled
10433 Type commands for definition of ``has_exited_or_signalled''.
10434 End with a line saying just ``end''.
10435 >if $_isvoid ($_exitsignal)
10436 >echo The program has exited\n
10437 >else
10438 >echo The program has signalled\n
10439 >end
10440 >end
10441 (@value{GDBP}) run
10442 Starting program:
10443
10444 Program terminated with signal SIGALRM, Alarm clock.
10445 The program no longer exists.
10446 (@value{GDBP}) has_exited_or_signalled
10447 The program has signalled
10448 @end smallexample
10449
10450 As can be seen, @value{GDBN} correctly informs that the program being
10451 debugged has signalled, since it calls @code{raise} and raises a
10452 @code{SIGALRM} signal. If the program being debugged had not called
10453 @code{raise}, then @value{GDBN} would report a normal exit:
10454
10455 @smallexample
10456 (@value{GDBP}) has_exited_or_signalled
10457 The program has exited
10458 @end smallexample
10459
10460 @item $_exception
10461 The variable @code{$_exception} is set to the exception object being
10462 thrown at an exception-related catchpoint. @xref{Set Catchpoints}.
10463
10464 @item $_probe_argc
10465 @itemx $_probe_arg0@dots{}$_probe_arg11
10466 Arguments to a static probe. @xref{Static Probe Points}.
10467
10468 @item $_sdata
10469 @vindex $_sdata@r{, inspect, convenience variable}
10470 The variable @code{$_sdata} contains extra collected static tracepoint
10471 data. @xref{Tracepoint Actions,,Tracepoint Action Lists}. Note that
10472 @code{$_sdata} could be empty, if not inspecting a trace buffer, or
10473 if extra static tracepoint data has not been collected.
10474
10475 @item $_siginfo
10476 @vindex $_siginfo@r{, convenience variable}
10477 The variable @code{$_siginfo} contains extra signal information
10478 (@pxref{extra signal information}). Note that @code{$_siginfo}
10479 could be empty, if the application has not yet received any signals.
10480 For example, it will be empty before you execute the @code{run} command.
10481
10482 @item $_tlb
10483 @vindex $_tlb@r{, convenience variable}
10484 The variable @code{$_tlb} is automatically set when debugging
10485 applications running on MS-Windows in native mode or connected to
10486 gdbserver that supports the @code{qGetTIBAddr} request.
10487 @xref{General Query Packets}.
10488 This variable contains the address of the thread information block.
10489
10490 @item $_inferior
10491 The number of the current inferior. @xref{Inferiors and
10492 Programs, ,Debugging Multiple Inferiors and Programs}.
10493
10494 @item $_thread
10495 The thread number of the current thread. @xref{thread numbers}.
10496
10497 @item $_gthread
10498 The global number of the current thread. @xref{global thread numbers}.
10499
10500 @end table
10501
10502 @node Convenience Funs
10503 @section Convenience Functions
10504
10505 @cindex convenience functions
10506 @value{GDBN} also supplies some @dfn{convenience functions}. These
10507 have a syntax similar to convenience variables. A convenience
10508 function can be used in an expression just like an ordinary function;
10509 however, a convenience function is implemented internally to
10510 @value{GDBN}.
10511
10512 These functions do not require @value{GDBN} to be configured with
10513 @code{Python} support, which means that they are always available.
10514
10515 @table @code
10516
10517 @item $_isvoid (@var{expr})
10518 @findex $_isvoid@r{, convenience function}
10519 Return one if the expression @var{expr} is @code{void}. Otherwise it
10520 returns zero.
10521
10522 A @code{void} expression is an expression where the type of the result
10523 is @code{void}. For example, you can examine a convenience variable
10524 (see @ref{Convenience Vars,, Convenience Variables}) to check whether
10525 it is @code{void}:
10526
10527 @smallexample
10528 (@value{GDBP}) print $_exitcode
10529 $1 = void
10530 (@value{GDBP}) print $_isvoid ($_exitcode)
10531 $2 = 1
10532 (@value{GDBP}) run
10533 Starting program: ./a.out
10534 [Inferior 1 (process 29572) exited normally]
10535 (@value{GDBP}) print $_exitcode
10536 $3 = 0
10537 (@value{GDBP}) print $_isvoid ($_exitcode)
10538 $4 = 0
10539 @end smallexample
10540
10541 In the example above, we used @code{$_isvoid} to check whether
10542 @code{$_exitcode} is @code{void} before and after the execution of the
10543 program being debugged. Before the execution there is no exit code to
10544 be examined, therefore @code{$_exitcode} is @code{void}. After the
10545 execution the program being debugged returned zero, therefore
10546 @code{$_exitcode} is zero, which means that it is not @code{void}
10547 anymore.
10548
10549 The @code{void} expression can also be a call of a function from the
10550 program being debugged. For example, given the following function:
10551
10552 @smallexample
10553 void
10554 foo (void)
10555 @{
10556 @}
10557 @end smallexample
10558
10559 The result of calling it inside @value{GDBN} is @code{void}:
10560
10561 @smallexample
10562 (@value{GDBP}) print foo ()
10563 $1 = void
10564 (@value{GDBP}) print $_isvoid (foo ())
10565 $2 = 1
10566 (@value{GDBP}) set $v = foo ()
10567 (@value{GDBP}) print $v
10568 $3 = void
10569 (@value{GDBP}) print $_isvoid ($v)
10570 $4 = 1
10571 @end smallexample
10572
10573 @end table
10574
10575 These functions require @value{GDBN} to be configured with
10576 @code{Python} support.
10577
10578 @table @code
10579
10580 @item $_memeq(@var{buf1}, @var{buf2}, @var{length})
10581 @findex $_memeq@r{, convenience function}
10582 Returns one if the @var{length} bytes at the addresses given by
10583 @var{buf1} and @var{buf2} are equal.
10584 Otherwise it returns zero.
10585
10586 @item $_regex(@var{str}, @var{regex})
10587 @findex $_regex@r{, convenience function}
10588 Returns one if the string @var{str} matches the regular expression
10589 @var{regex}. Otherwise it returns zero.
10590 The syntax of the regular expression is that specified by @code{Python}'s
10591 regular expression support.
10592
10593 @item $_streq(@var{str1}, @var{str2})
10594 @findex $_streq@r{, convenience function}
10595 Returns one if the strings @var{str1} and @var{str2} are equal.
10596 Otherwise it returns zero.
10597
10598 @item $_strlen(@var{str})
10599 @findex $_strlen@r{, convenience function}
10600 Returns the length of string @var{str}.
10601
10602 @item $_caller_is(@var{name}@r{[}, @var{number_of_frames}@r{]})
10603 @findex $_caller_is@r{, convenience function}
10604 Returns one if the calling function's name is equal to @var{name}.
10605 Otherwise it returns zero.
10606
10607 If the optional argument @var{number_of_frames} is provided,
10608 it is the number of frames up in the stack to look.
10609 The default is 1.
10610
10611 Example:
10612
10613 @smallexample
10614 (gdb) backtrace
10615 #0 bottom_func ()
10616 at testsuite/gdb.python/py-caller-is.c:21
10617 #1 0x00000000004005a0 in middle_func ()
10618 at testsuite/gdb.python/py-caller-is.c:27
10619 #2 0x00000000004005ab in top_func ()
10620 at testsuite/gdb.python/py-caller-is.c:33
10621 #3 0x00000000004005b6 in main ()
10622 at testsuite/gdb.python/py-caller-is.c:39
10623 (gdb) print $_caller_is ("middle_func")
10624 $1 = 1
10625 (gdb) print $_caller_is ("top_func", 2)
10626 $1 = 1
10627 @end smallexample
10628
10629 @item $_caller_matches(@var{regexp}@r{[}, @var{number_of_frames}@r{]})
10630 @findex $_caller_matches@r{, convenience function}
10631 Returns one if the calling function's name matches the regular expression
10632 @var{regexp}. Otherwise it returns zero.
10633
10634 If the optional argument @var{number_of_frames} is provided,
10635 it is the number of frames up in the stack to look.
10636 The default is 1.
10637
10638 @item $_any_caller_is(@var{name}@r{[}, @var{number_of_frames}@r{]})
10639 @findex $_any_caller_is@r{, convenience function}
10640 Returns one if any calling function's name is equal to @var{name}.
10641 Otherwise it returns zero.
10642
10643 If the optional argument @var{number_of_frames} is provided,
10644 it is the number of frames up in the stack to look.
10645 The default is 1.
10646
10647 This function differs from @code{$_caller_is} in that this function
10648 checks all stack frames from the immediate caller to the frame specified
10649 by @var{number_of_frames}, whereas @code{$_caller_is} only checks the
10650 frame specified by @var{number_of_frames}.
10651
10652 @item $_any_caller_matches(@var{regexp}@r{[}, @var{number_of_frames}@r{]})
10653 @findex $_any_caller_matches@r{, convenience function}
10654 Returns one if any calling function's name matches the regular expression
10655 @var{regexp}. Otherwise it returns zero.
10656
10657 If the optional argument @var{number_of_frames} is provided,
10658 it is the number of frames up in the stack to look.
10659 The default is 1.
10660
10661 This function differs from @code{$_caller_matches} in that this function
10662 checks all stack frames from the immediate caller to the frame specified
10663 by @var{number_of_frames}, whereas @code{$_caller_matches} only checks the
10664 frame specified by @var{number_of_frames}.
10665
10666 @end table
10667
10668 @value{GDBN} provides the ability to list and get help on
10669 convenience functions.
10670
10671 @table @code
10672 @item help function
10673 @kindex help function
10674 @cindex show all convenience functions
10675 Print a list of all convenience functions.
10676 @end table
10677
10678 @node Registers
10679 @section Registers
10680
10681 @cindex registers
10682 You can refer to machine register contents, in expressions, as variables
10683 with names starting with @samp{$}. The names of registers are different
10684 for each machine; use @code{info registers} to see the names used on
10685 your machine.
10686
10687 @table @code
10688 @kindex info registers
10689 @item info registers
10690 Print the names and values of all registers except floating-point
10691 and vector registers (in the selected stack frame).
10692
10693 @kindex info all-registers
10694 @cindex floating point registers
10695 @item info all-registers
10696 Print the names and values of all registers, including floating-point
10697 and vector registers (in the selected stack frame).
10698
10699 @item info registers @var{regname} @dots{}
10700 Print the @dfn{relativized} value of each specified register @var{regname}.
10701 As discussed in detail below, register values are normally relative to
10702 the selected stack frame. The @var{regname} may be any register name valid on
10703 the machine you are using, with or without the initial @samp{$}.
10704 @end table
10705
10706 @anchor{standard registers}
10707 @cindex stack pointer register
10708 @cindex program counter register
10709 @cindex process status register
10710 @cindex frame pointer register
10711 @cindex standard registers
10712 @value{GDBN} has four ``standard'' register names that are available (in
10713 expressions) on most machines---whenever they do not conflict with an
10714 architecture's canonical mnemonics for registers. The register names
10715 @code{$pc} and @code{$sp} are used for the program counter register and
10716 the stack pointer. @code{$fp} is used for a register that contains a
10717 pointer to the current stack frame, and @code{$ps} is used for a
10718 register that contains the processor status. For example,
10719 you could print the program counter in hex with
10720
10721 @smallexample
10722 p/x $pc
10723 @end smallexample
10724
10725 @noindent
10726 or print the instruction to be executed next with
10727
10728 @smallexample
10729 x/i $pc
10730 @end smallexample
10731
10732 @noindent
10733 or add four to the stack pointer@footnote{This is a way of removing
10734 one word from the stack, on machines where stacks grow downward in
10735 memory (most machines, nowadays). This assumes that the innermost
10736 stack frame is selected; setting @code{$sp} is not allowed when other
10737 stack frames are selected. To pop entire frames off the stack,
10738 regardless of machine architecture, use @code{return};
10739 see @ref{Returning, ,Returning from a Function}.} with
10740
10741 @smallexample
10742 set $sp += 4
10743 @end smallexample
10744
10745 Whenever possible, these four standard register names are available on
10746 your machine even though the machine has different canonical mnemonics,
10747 so long as there is no conflict. The @code{info registers} command
10748 shows the canonical names. For example, on the SPARC, @code{info
10749 registers} displays the processor status register as @code{$psr} but you
10750 can also refer to it as @code{$ps}; and on x86-based machines @code{$ps}
10751 is an alias for the @sc{eflags} register.
10752
10753 @value{GDBN} always considers the contents of an ordinary register as an
10754 integer when the register is examined in this way. Some machines have
10755 special registers which can hold nothing but floating point; these
10756 registers are considered to have floating point values. There is no way
10757 to refer to the contents of an ordinary register as floating point value
10758 (although you can @emph{print} it as a floating point value with
10759 @samp{print/f $@var{regname}}).
10760
10761 Some registers have distinct ``raw'' and ``virtual'' data formats. This
10762 means that the data format in which the register contents are saved by
10763 the operating system is not the same one that your program normally
10764 sees. For example, the registers of the 68881 floating point
10765 coprocessor are always saved in ``extended'' (raw) format, but all C
10766 programs expect to work with ``double'' (virtual) format. In such
10767 cases, @value{GDBN} normally works with the virtual format only (the format
10768 that makes sense for your program), but the @code{info registers} command
10769 prints the data in both formats.
10770
10771 @cindex SSE registers (x86)
10772 @cindex MMX registers (x86)
10773 Some machines have special registers whose contents can be interpreted
10774 in several different ways. For example, modern x86-based machines
10775 have SSE and MMX registers that can hold several values packed
10776 together in several different formats. @value{GDBN} refers to such
10777 registers in @code{struct} notation:
10778
10779 @smallexample
10780 (@value{GDBP}) print $xmm1
10781 $1 = @{
10782 v4_float = @{0, 3.43859137e-038, 1.54142831e-044, 1.821688e-044@},
10783 v2_double = @{9.92129282474342e-303, 2.7585945287983262e-313@},
10784 v16_int8 = "\000\000\000\000\3706;\001\v\000\000\000\r\000\000",
10785 v8_int16 = @{0, 0, 14072, 315, 11, 0, 13, 0@},
10786 v4_int32 = @{0, 20657912, 11, 13@},
10787 v2_int64 = @{88725056443645952, 55834574859@},
10788 uint128 = 0x0000000d0000000b013b36f800000000
10789 @}
10790 @end smallexample
10791
10792 @noindent
10793 To set values of such registers, you need to tell @value{GDBN} which
10794 view of the register you wish to change, as if you were assigning
10795 value to a @code{struct} member:
10796
10797 @smallexample
10798 (@value{GDBP}) set $xmm1.uint128 = 0x000000000000000000000000FFFFFFFF
10799 @end smallexample
10800
10801 Normally, register values are relative to the selected stack frame
10802 (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}). This means that you get the
10803 value that the register would contain if all stack frames farther in
10804 were exited and their saved registers restored. In order to see the
10805 true contents of hardware registers, you must select the innermost
10806 frame (with @samp{frame 0}).
10807
10808 @cindex caller-saved registers
10809 @cindex call-clobbered registers
10810 @cindex volatile registers
10811 @cindex <not saved> values
10812 Usually ABIs reserve some registers as not needed to be saved by the
10813 callee (a.k.a.: ``caller-saved'', ``call-clobbered'' or ``volatile''
10814 registers). It may therefore not be possible for @value{GDBN} to know
10815 the value a register had before the call (in other words, in the outer
10816 frame), if the register value has since been changed by the callee.
10817 @value{GDBN} tries to deduce where the inner frame saved
10818 (``callee-saved'') registers, from the debug info, unwind info, or the
10819 machine code generated by your compiler. If some register is not
10820 saved, and @value{GDBN} knows the register is ``caller-saved'' (via
10821 its own knowledge of the ABI, or because the debug/unwind info
10822 explicitly says the register's value is undefined), @value{GDBN}
10823 displays @w{@samp{<not saved>}} as the register's value. With targets
10824 that @value{GDBN} has no knowledge of the register saving convention,
10825 if a register was not saved by the callee, then its value and location
10826 in the outer frame are assumed to be the same of the inner frame.
10827 This is usually harmless, because if the register is call-clobbered,
10828 the caller either does not care what is in the register after the
10829 call, or has code to restore the value that it does care about. Note,
10830 however, that if you change such a register in the outer frame, you
10831 may also be affecting the inner frame. Also, the more ``outer'' the
10832 frame is you're looking at, the more likely a call-clobbered
10833 register's value is to be wrong, in the sense that it doesn't actually
10834 represent the value the register had just before the call.
10835
10836 @node Floating Point Hardware
10837 @section Floating Point Hardware
10838 @cindex floating point
10839
10840 Depending on the configuration, @value{GDBN} may be able to give
10841 you more information about the status of the floating point hardware.
10842
10843 @table @code
10844 @kindex info float
10845 @item info float
10846 Display hardware-dependent information about the floating
10847 point unit. The exact contents and layout vary depending on the
10848 floating point chip. Currently, @samp{info float} is supported on
10849 the ARM and x86 machines.
10850 @end table
10851
10852 @node Vector Unit
10853 @section Vector Unit
10854 @cindex vector unit
10855
10856 Depending on the configuration, @value{GDBN} may be able to give you
10857 more information about the status of the vector unit.
10858
10859 @table @code
10860 @kindex info vector
10861 @item info vector
10862 Display information about the vector unit. The exact contents and
10863 layout vary depending on the hardware.
10864 @end table
10865
10866 @node OS Information
10867 @section Operating System Auxiliary Information
10868 @cindex OS information
10869
10870 @value{GDBN} provides interfaces to useful OS facilities that can help
10871 you debug your program.
10872
10873 @cindex auxiliary vector
10874 @cindex vector, auxiliary
10875 Some operating systems supply an @dfn{auxiliary vector} to programs at
10876 startup. This is akin to the arguments and environment that you
10877 specify for a program, but contains a system-dependent variety of
10878 binary values that tell system libraries important details about the
10879 hardware, operating system, and process. Each value's purpose is
10880 identified by an integer tag; the meanings are well-known but system-specific.
10881 Depending on the configuration and operating system facilities,
10882 @value{GDBN} may be able to show you this information. For remote
10883 targets, this functionality may further depend on the remote stub's
10884 support of the @samp{qXfer:auxv:read} packet, see
10885 @ref{qXfer auxiliary vector read}.
10886
10887 @table @code
10888 @kindex info auxv
10889 @item info auxv
10890 Display the auxiliary vector of the inferior, which can be either a
10891 live process or a core dump file. @value{GDBN} prints each tag value
10892 numerically, and also shows names and text descriptions for recognized
10893 tags. Some values in the vector are numbers, some bit masks, and some
10894 pointers to strings or other data. @value{GDBN} displays each value in the
10895 most appropriate form for a recognized tag, and in hexadecimal for
10896 an unrecognized tag.
10897 @end table
10898
10899 On some targets, @value{GDBN} can access operating system-specific
10900 information and show it to you. The types of information available
10901 will differ depending on the type of operating system running on the
10902 target. The mechanism used to fetch the data is described in
10903 @ref{Operating System Information}. For remote targets, this
10904 functionality depends on the remote stub's support of the
10905 @samp{qXfer:osdata:read} packet, see @ref{qXfer osdata read}.
10906
10907 @table @code
10908 @kindex info os
10909 @item info os @var{infotype}
10910
10911 Display OS information of the requested type.
10912
10913 On @sc{gnu}/Linux, the following values of @var{infotype} are valid:
10914
10915 @anchor{linux info os infotypes}
10916 @table @code
10917 @kindex info os cpus
10918 @item cpus
10919 Display the list of all CPUs/cores. For each CPU/core, @value{GDBN} prints
10920 the available fields from /proc/cpuinfo. For each supported architecture
10921 different fields are available. Two common entries are processor which gives
10922 CPU number and bogomips; a system constant that is calculated during
10923 kernel initialization.
10924
10925 @kindex info os files
10926 @item files
10927 Display the list of open file descriptors on the target. For each
10928 file descriptor, @value{GDBN} prints the identifier of the process
10929 owning the descriptor, the command of the owning process, the value
10930 of the descriptor, and the target of the descriptor.
10931
10932 @kindex info os modules
10933 @item modules
10934 Display the list of all loaded kernel modules on the target. For each
10935 module, @value{GDBN} prints the module name, the size of the module in
10936 bytes, the number of times the module is used, the dependencies of the
10937 module, the status of the module, and the address of the loaded module
10938 in memory.
10939
10940 @kindex info os msg
10941 @item msg
10942 Display the list of all System V message queues on the target. For each
10943 message queue, @value{GDBN} prints the message queue key, the message
10944 queue identifier, the access permissions, the current number of bytes
10945 on the queue, the current number of messages on the queue, the processes
10946 that last sent and received a message on the queue, the user and group
10947 of the owner and creator of the message queue, the times at which a
10948 message was last sent and received on the queue, and the time at which
10949 the message queue was last changed.
10950
10951 @kindex info os processes
10952 @item processes
10953 Display the list of processes on the target. For each process,
10954 @value{GDBN} prints the process identifier, the name of the user, the
10955 command corresponding to the process, and the list of processor cores
10956 that the process is currently running on. (To understand what these
10957 properties mean, for this and the following info types, please consult
10958 the general @sc{gnu}/Linux documentation.)
10959
10960 @kindex info os procgroups
10961 @item procgroups
10962 Display the list of process groups on the target. For each process,
10963 @value{GDBN} prints the identifier of the process group that it belongs
10964 to, the command corresponding to the process group leader, the process
10965 identifier, and the command line of the process. The list is sorted
10966 first by the process group identifier, then by the process identifier,
10967 so that processes belonging to the same process group are grouped together
10968 and the process group leader is listed first.
10969
10970 @kindex info os semaphores
10971 @item semaphores
10972 Display the list of all System V semaphore sets on the target. For each
10973 semaphore set, @value{GDBN} prints the semaphore set key, the semaphore
10974 set identifier, the access permissions, the number of semaphores in the
10975 set, the user and group of the owner and creator of the semaphore set,
10976 and the times at which the semaphore set was operated upon and changed.
10977
10978 @kindex info os shm
10979 @item shm
10980 Display the list of all System V shared-memory regions on the target.
10981 For each shared-memory region, @value{GDBN} prints the region key,
10982 the shared-memory identifier, the access permissions, the size of the
10983 region, the process that created the region, the process that last
10984 attached to or detached from the region, the current number of live
10985 attaches to the region, and the times at which the region was last
10986 attached to, detach from, and changed.
10987
10988 @kindex info os sockets
10989 @item sockets
10990 Display the list of Internet-domain sockets on the target. For each
10991 socket, @value{GDBN} prints the address and port of the local and
10992 remote endpoints, the current state of the connection, the creator of
10993 the socket, the IP address family of the socket, and the type of the
10994 connection.
10995
10996 @kindex info os threads
10997 @item threads
10998 Display the list of threads running on the target. For each thread,
10999 @value{GDBN} prints the identifier of the process that the thread
11000 belongs to, the command of the process, the thread identifier, and the
11001 processor core that it is currently running on. The main thread of a
11002 process is not listed.
11003 @end table
11004
11005 @item info os
11006 If @var{infotype} is omitted, then list the possible values for
11007 @var{infotype} and the kind of OS information available for each
11008 @var{infotype}. If the target does not return a list of possible
11009 types, this command will report an error.
11010 @end table
11011
11012 @node Memory Region Attributes
11013 @section Memory Region Attributes
11014 @cindex memory region attributes
11015
11016 @dfn{Memory region attributes} allow you to describe special handling
11017 required by regions of your target's memory. @value{GDBN} uses
11018 attributes to determine whether to allow certain types of memory
11019 accesses; whether to use specific width accesses; and whether to cache
11020 target memory. By default the description of memory regions is
11021 fetched from the target (if the current target supports this), but the
11022 user can override the fetched regions.
11023
11024 Defined memory regions can be individually enabled and disabled. When a
11025 memory region is disabled, @value{GDBN} uses the default attributes when
11026 accessing memory in that region. Similarly, if no memory regions have
11027 been defined, @value{GDBN} uses the default attributes when accessing
11028 all memory.
11029
11030 When a memory region is defined, it is given a number to identify it;
11031 to enable, disable, or remove a memory region, you specify that number.
11032
11033 @table @code
11034 @kindex mem
11035 @item mem @var{lower} @var{upper} @var{attributes}@dots{}
11036 Define a memory region bounded by @var{lower} and @var{upper} with
11037 attributes @var{attributes}@dots{}, and add it to the list of regions
11038 monitored by @value{GDBN}. Note that @var{upper} == 0 is a special
11039 case: it is treated as the target's maximum memory address.
11040 (0xffff on 16 bit targets, 0xffffffff on 32 bit targets, etc.)
11041
11042 @item mem auto
11043 Discard any user changes to the memory regions and use target-supplied
11044 regions, if available, or no regions if the target does not support.
11045
11046 @kindex delete mem
11047 @item delete mem @var{nums}@dots{}
11048 Remove memory regions @var{nums}@dots{} from the list of regions
11049 monitored by @value{GDBN}.
11050
11051 @kindex disable mem
11052 @item disable mem @var{nums}@dots{}
11053 Disable monitoring of memory regions @var{nums}@dots{}.
11054 A disabled memory region is not forgotten.
11055 It may be enabled again later.
11056
11057 @kindex enable mem
11058 @item enable mem @var{nums}@dots{}
11059 Enable monitoring of memory regions @var{nums}@dots{}.
11060
11061 @kindex info mem
11062 @item info mem
11063 Print a table of all defined memory regions, with the following columns
11064 for each region:
11065
11066 @table @emph
11067 @item Memory Region Number
11068 @item Enabled or Disabled.
11069 Enabled memory regions are marked with @samp{y}.
11070 Disabled memory regions are marked with @samp{n}.
11071
11072 @item Lo Address
11073 The address defining the inclusive lower bound of the memory region.
11074
11075 @item Hi Address
11076 The address defining the exclusive upper bound of the memory region.
11077
11078 @item Attributes
11079 The list of attributes set for this memory region.
11080 @end table
11081 @end table
11082
11083
11084 @subsection Attributes
11085
11086 @subsubsection Memory Access Mode
11087 The access mode attributes set whether @value{GDBN} may make read or
11088 write accesses to a memory region.
11089
11090 While these attributes prevent @value{GDBN} from performing invalid
11091 memory accesses, they do nothing to prevent the target system, I/O DMA,
11092 etc.@: from accessing memory.
11093
11094 @table @code
11095 @item ro
11096 Memory is read only.
11097 @item wo
11098 Memory is write only.
11099 @item rw
11100 Memory is read/write. This is the default.
11101 @end table
11102
11103 @subsubsection Memory Access Size
11104 The access size attribute tells @value{GDBN} to use specific sized
11105 accesses in the memory region. Often memory mapped device registers
11106 require specific sized accesses. If no access size attribute is
11107 specified, @value{GDBN} may use accesses of any size.
11108
11109 @table @code
11110 @item 8
11111 Use 8 bit memory accesses.
11112 @item 16
11113 Use 16 bit memory accesses.
11114 @item 32
11115 Use 32 bit memory accesses.
11116 @item 64
11117 Use 64 bit memory accesses.
11118 @end table
11119
11120 @c @subsubsection Hardware/Software Breakpoints
11121 @c The hardware/software breakpoint attributes set whether @value{GDBN}
11122 @c will use hardware or software breakpoints for the internal breakpoints
11123 @c used by the step, next, finish, until, etc. commands.
11124 @c
11125 @c @table @code
11126 @c @item hwbreak
11127 @c Always use hardware breakpoints
11128 @c @item swbreak (default)
11129 @c @end table
11130
11131 @subsubsection Data Cache
11132 The data cache attributes set whether @value{GDBN} will cache target
11133 memory. While this generally improves performance by reducing debug
11134 protocol overhead, it can lead to incorrect results because @value{GDBN}
11135 does not know about volatile variables or memory mapped device
11136 registers.
11137
11138 @table @code
11139 @item cache
11140 Enable @value{GDBN} to cache target memory.
11141 @item nocache
11142 Disable @value{GDBN} from caching target memory. This is the default.
11143 @end table
11144
11145 @subsection Memory Access Checking
11146 @value{GDBN} can be instructed to refuse accesses to memory that is
11147 not explicitly described. This can be useful if accessing such
11148 regions has undesired effects for a specific target, or to provide
11149 better error checking. The following commands control this behaviour.
11150
11151 @table @code
11152 @kindex set mem inaccessible-by-default
11153 @item set mem inaccessible-by-default [on|off]
11154 If @code{on} is specified, make @value{GDBN} treat memory not
11155 explicitly described by the memory ranges as non-existent and refuse accesses
11156 to such memory. The checks are only performed if there's at least one
11157 memory range defined. If @code{off} is specified, make @value{GDBN}
11158 treat the memory not explicitly described by the memory ranges as RAM.
11159 The default value is @code{on}.
11160 @kindex show mem inaccessible-by-default
11161 @item show mem inaccessible-by-default
11162 Show the current handling of accesses to unknown memory.
11163 @end table
11164
11165
11166 @c @subsubsection Memory Write Verification
11167 @c The memory write verification attributes set whether @value{GDBN}
11168 @c will re-reads data after each write to verify the write was successful.
11169 @c
11170 @c @table @code
11171 @c @item verify
11172 @c @item noverify (default)
11173 @c @end table
11174
11175 @node Dump/Restore Files
11176 @section Copy Between Memory and a File
11177 @cindex dump/restore files
11178 @cindex append data to a file
11179 @cindex dump data to a file
11180 @cindex restore data from a file
11181
11182 You can use the commands @code{dump}, @code{append}, and
11183 @code{restore} to copy data between target memory and a file. The
11184 @code{dump} and @code{append} commands write data to a file, and the
11185 @code{restore} command reads data from a file back into the inferior's
11186 memory. Files may be in binary, Motorola S-record, Intel hex,
11187 Tektronix Hex, or Verilog Hex format; however, @value{GDBN} can only
11188 append to binary files, and cannot read from Verilog Hex files.
11189
11190 @table @code
11191
11192 @kindex dump
11193 @item dump @r{[}@var{format}@r{]} memory @var{filename} @var{start_addr} @var{end_addr}
11194 @itemx dump @r{[}@var{format}@r{]} value @var{filename} @var{expr}
11195 Dump the contents of memory from @var{start_addr} to @var{end_addr},
11196 or the value of @var{expr}, to @var{filename} in the given format.
11197
11198 The @var{format} parameter may be any one of:
11199 @table @code
11200 @item binary
11201 Raw binary form.
11202 @item ihex
11203 Intel hex format.
11204 @item srec
11205 Motorola S-record format.
11206 @item tekhex
11207 Tektronix Hex format.
11208 @item verilog
11209 Verilog Hex format.
11210 @end table
11211
11212 @value{GDBN} uses the same definitions of these formats as the
11213 @sc{gnu} binary utilities, like @samp{objdump} and @samp{objcopy}. If
11214 @var{format} is omitted, @value{GDBN} dumps the data in raw binary
11215 form.
11216
11217 @kindex append
11218 @item append @r{[}binary@r{]} memory @var{filename} @var{start_addr} @var{end_addr}
11219 @itemx append @r{[}binary@r{]} value @var{filename} @var{expr}
11220 Append the contents of memory from @var{start_addr} to @var{end_addr},
11221 or the value of @var{expr}, to the file @var{filename}, in raw binary form.
11222 (@value{GDBN} can only append data to files in raw binary form.)
11223
11224 @kindex restore
11225 @item restore @var{filename} @r{[}binary@r{]} @var{bias} @var{start} @var{end}
11226 Restore the contents of file @var{filename} into memory. The
11227 @code{restore} command can automatically recognize any known @sc{bfd}
11228 file format, except for raw binary. To restore a raw binary file you
11229 must specify the optional keyword @code{binary} after the filename.
11230
11231 If @var{bias} is non-zero, its value will be added to the addresses
11232 contained in the file. Binary files always start at address zero, so
11233 they will be restored at address @var{bias}. Other bfd files have
11234 a built-in location; they will be restored at offset @var{bias}
11235 from that location.
11236
11237 If @var{start} and/or @var{end} are non-zero, then only data between
11238 file offset @var{start} and file offset @var{end} will be restored.
11239 These offsets are relative to the addresses in the file, before
11240 the @var{bias} argument is applied.
11241
11242 @end table
11243
11244 @node Core File Generation
11245 @section How to Produce a Core File from Your Program
11246 @cindex dump core from inferior
11247
11248 A @dfn{core file} or @dfn{core dump} is a file that records the memory
11249 image of a running process and its process status (register values
11250 etc.). Its primary use is post-mortem debugging of a program that
11251 crashed while it ran outside a debugger. A program that crashes
11252 automatically produces a core file, unless this feature is disabled by
11253 the user. @xref{Files}, for information on invoking @value{GDBN} in
11254 the post-mortem debugging mode.
11255
11256 Occasionally, you may wish to produce a core file of the program you
11257 are debugging in order to preserve a snapshot of its state.
11258 @value{GDBN} has a special command for that.
11259
11260 @table @code
11261 @kindex gcore
11262 @kindex generate-core-file
11263 @item generate-core-file [@var{file}]
11264 @itemx gcore [@var{file}]
11265 Produce a core dump of the inferior process. The optional argument
11266 @var{file} specifies the file name where to put the core dump. If not
11267 specified, the file name defaults to @file{core.@var{pid}}, where
11268 @var{pid} is the inferior process ID.
11269
11270 Note that this command is implemented only for some systems (as of
11271 this writing, @sc{gnu}/Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, and S390).
11272
11273 On @sc{gnu}/Linux, this command can take into account the value of the
11274 file @file{/proc/@var{pid}/coredump_filter} when generating the core
11275 dump (@pxref{set use-coredump-filter}).
11276
11277 @kindex set use-coredump-filter
11278 @anchor{set use-coredump-filter}
11279 @item set use-coredump-filter on
11280 @itemx set use-coredump-filter off
11281 Enable or disable the use of the file
11282 @file{/proc/@var{pid}/coredump_filter} when generating core dump
11283 files. This file is used by the Linux kernel to decide what types of
11284 memory mappings will be dumped or ignored when generating a core dump
11285 file. @var{pid} is the process ID of a currently running process.
11286
11287 To make use of this feature, you have to write in the
11288 @file{/proc/@var{pid}/coredump_filter} file a value, in hexadecimal,
11289 which is a bit mask representing the memory mapping types. If a bit
11290 is set in the bit mask, then the memory mappings of the corresponding
11291 types will be dumped; otherwise, they will be ignored. This
11292 configuration is inherited by child processes. For more information
11293 about the bits that can be set in the
11294 @file{/proc/@var{pid}/coredump_filter} file, please refer to the
11295 manpage of @code{core(5)}.
11296
11297 By default, this option is @code{on}. If this option is turned
11298 @code{off}, @value{GDBN} does not read the @file{coredump_filter} file
11299 and instead uses the same default value as the Linux kernel in order
11300 to decide which pages will be dumped in the core dump file. This
11301 value is currently @code{0x33}, which means that bits @code{0}
11302 (anonymous private mappings), @code{1} (anonymous shared mappings),
11303 @code{4} (ELF headers) and @code{5} (private huge pages) are active.
11304 This will cause these memory mappings to be dumped automatically.
11305 @end table
11306
11307 @node Character Sets
11308 @section Character Sets
11309 @cindex character sets
11310 @cindex charset
11311 @cindex translating between character sets
11312 @cindex host character set
11313 @cindex target character set
11314
11315 If the program you are debugging uses a different character set to
11316 represent characters and strings than the one @value{GDBN} uses itself,
11317 @value{GDBN} can automatically translate between the character sets for
11318 you. The character set @value{GDBN} uses we call the @dfn{host
11319 character set}; the one the inferior program uses we call the
11320 @dfn{target character set}.
11321
11322 For example, if you are running @value{GDBN} on a @sc{gnu}/Linux system, which
11323 uses the ISO Latin 1 character set, but you are using @value{GDBN}'s
11324 remote protocol (@pxref{Remote Debugging}) to debug a program
11325 running on an IBM mainframe, which uses the @sc{ebcdic} character set,
11326 then the host character set is Latin-1, and the target character set is
11327 @sc{ebcdic}. If you give @value{GDBN} the command @code{set
11328 target-charset EBCDIC-US}, then @value{GDBN} translates between
11329 @sc{ebcdic} and Latin 1 as you print character or string values, or use
11330 character and string literals in expressions.
11331
11332 @value{GDBN} has no way to automatically recognize which character set
11333 the inferior program uses; you must tell it, using the @code{set
11334 target-charset} command, described below.
11335
11336 Here are the commands for controlling @value{GDBN}'s character set
11337 support:
11338
11339 @table @code
11340 @item set target-charset @var{charset}
11341 @kindex set target-charset
11342 Set the current target character set to @var{charset}. To display the
11343 list of supported target character sets, type
11344 @kbd{@w{set target-charset @key{TAB}@key{TAB}}}.
11345
11346 @item set host-charset @var{charset}
11347 @kindex set host-charset
11348 Set the current host character set to @var{charset}.
11349
11350 By default, @value{GDBN} uses a host character set appropriate to the
11351 system it is running on; you can override that default using the
11352 @code{set host-charset} command. On some systems, @value{GDBN} cannot
11353 automatically determine the appropriate host character set. In this
11354 case, @value{GDBN} uses @samp{UTF-8}.
11355
11356 @value{GDBN} can only use certain character sets as its host character
11357 set. If you type @kbd{@w{set host-charset @key{TAB}@key{TAB}}},
11358 @value{GDBN} will list the host character sets it supports.
11359
11360 @item set charset @var{charset}
11361 @kindex set charset
11362 Set the current host and target character sets to @var{charset}. As
11363 above, if you type @kbd{@w{set charset @key{TAB}@key{TAB}}},
11364 @value{GDBN} will list the names of the character sets that can be used
11365 for both host and target.
11366
11367 @item show charset
11368 @kindex show charset
11369 Show the names of the current host and target character sets.
11370
11371 @item show host-charset
11372 @kindex show host-charset
11373 Show the name of the current host character set.
11374
11375 @item show target-charset
11376 @kindex show target-charset
11377 Show the name of the current target character set.
11378
11379 @item set target-wide-charset @var{charset}
11380 @kindex set target-wide-charset
11381 Set the current target's wide character set to @var{charset}. This is
11382 the character set used by the target's @code{wchar_t} type. To
11383 display the list of supported wide character sets, type
11384 @kbd{@w{set target-wide-charset @key{TAB}@key{TAB}}}.
11385
11386 @item show target-wide-charset
11387 @kindex show target-wide-charset
11388 Show the name of the current target's wide character set.
11389 @end table
11390
11391 Here is an example of @value{GDBN}'s character set support in action.
11392 Assume that the following source code has been placed in the file
11393 @file{charset-test.c}:
11394
11395 @smallexample
11396 #include <stdio.h>
11397
11398 char ascii_hello[]
11399 = @{72, 101, 108, 108, 111, 44, 32, 119,
11400 111, 114, 108, 100, 33, 10, 0@};
11401 char ibm1047_hello[]
11402 = @{200, 133, 147, 147, 150, 107, 64, 166,
11403 150, 153, 147, 132, 90, 37, 0@};
11404
11405 main ()
11406 @{
11407 printf ("Hello, world!\n");
11408 @}
11409 @end smallexample
11410
11411 In this program, @code{ascii_hello} and @code{ibm1047_hello} are arrays
11412 containing the string @samp{Hello, world!} followed by a newline,
11413 encoded in the @sc{ascii} and @sc{ibm1047} character sets.
11414
11415 We compile the program, and invoke the debugger on it:
11416
11417 @smallexample
11418 $ gcc -g charset-test.c -o charset-test
11419 $ gdb -nw charset-test
11420 GNU gdb 2001-12-19-cvs
11421 Copyright 2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
11422 @dots{}
11423 (@value{GDBP})
11424 @end smallexample
11425
11426 We can use the @code{show charset} command to see what character sets
11427 @value{GDBN} is currently using to interpret and display characters and
11428 strings:
11429
11430 @smallexample
11431 (@value{GDBP}) show charset
11432 The current host and target character set is `ISO-8859-1'.
11433 (@value{GDBP})
11434 @end smallexample
11435
11436 For the sake of printing this manual, let's use @sc{ascii} as our
11437 initial character set:
11438 @smallexample
11439 (@value{GDBP}) set charset ASCII
11440 (@value{GDBP}) show charset
11441 The current host and target character set is `ASCII'.
11442 (@value{GDBP})
11443 @end smallexample
11444
11445 Let's assume that @sc{ascii} is indeed the correct character set for our
11446 host system --- in other words, let's assume that if @value{GDBN} prints
11447 characters using the @sc{ascii} character set, our terminal will display
11448 them properly. Since our current target character set is also
11449 @sc{ascii}, the contents of @code{ascii_hello} print legibly:
11450
11451 @smallexample
11452 (@value{GDBP}) print ascii_hello
11453 $1 = 0x401698 "Hello, world!\n"
11454 (@value{GDBP}) print ascii_hello[0]
11455 $2 = 72 'H'
11456 (@value{GDBP})
11457 @end smallexample
11458
11459 @value{GDBN} uses the target character set for character and string
11460 literals you use in expressions:
11461
11462 @smallexample
11463 (@value{GDBP}) print '+'
11464 $3 = 43 '+'
11465 (@value{GDBP})
11466 @end smallexample
11467
11468 The @sc{ascii} character set uses the number 43 to encode the @samp{+}
11469 character.
11470
11471 @value{GDBN} relies on the user to tell it which character set the
11472 target program uses. If we print @code{ibm1047_hello} while our target
11473 character set is still @sc{ascii}, we get jibberish:
11474
11475 @smallexample
11476 (@value{GDBP}) print ibm1047_hello
11477 $4 = 0x4016a8 "\310\205\223\223\226k@@\246\226\231\223\204Z%"
11478 (@value{GDBP}) print ibm1047_hello[0]
11479 $5 = 200 '\310'
11480 (@value{GDBP})
11481 @end smallexample
11482
11483 If we invoke the @code{set target-charset} followed by @key{TAB}@key{TAB},
11484 @value{GDBN} tells us the character sets it supports:
11485
11486 @smallexample
11487 (@value{GDBP}) set target-charset
11488 ASCII EBCDIC-US IBM1047 ISO-8859-1
11489 (@value{GDBP}) set target-charset
11490 @end smallexample
11491
11492 We can select @sc{ibm1047} as our target character set, and examine the
11493 program's strings again. Now the @sc{ascii} string is wrong, but
11494 @value{GDBN} translates the contents of @code{ibm1047_hello} from the
11495 target character set, @sc{ibm1047}, to the host character set,
11496 @sc{ascii}, and they display correctly:
11497
11498 @smallexample
11499 (@value{GDBP}) set target-charset IBM1047
11500 (@value{GDBP}) show charset
11501 The current host character set is `ASCII'.
11502 The current target character set is `IBM1047'.
11503 (@value{GDBP}) print ascii_hello
11504 $6 = 0x401698 "\110\145%%?\054\040\167?\162%\144\041\012"
11505 (@value{GDBP}) print ascii_hello[0]
11506 $7 = 72 '\110'
11507 (@value{GDBP}) print ibm1047_hello
11508 $8 = 0x4016a8 "Hello, world!\n"
11509 (@value{GDBP}) print ibm1047_hello[0]
11510 $9 = 200 'H'
11511 (@value{GDBP})
11512 @end smallexample
11513
11514 As above, @value{GDBN} uses the target character set for character and
11515 string literals you use in expressions:
11516
11517 @smallexample
11518 (@value{GDBP}) print '+'
11519 $10 = 78 '+'
11520 (@value{GDBP})
11521 @end smallexample
11522
11523 The @sc{ibm1047} character set uses the number 78 to encode the @samp{+}
11524 character.
11525
11526 @node Caching Target Data
11527 @section Caching Data of Targets
11528 @cindex caching data of targets
11529
11530 @value{GDBN} caches data exchanged between the debugger and a target.
11531 Each cache is associated with the address space of the inferior.
11532 @xref{Inferiors and Programs}, about inferior and address space.
11533 Such caching generally improves performance in remote debugging
11534 (@pxref{Remote Debugging}), because it reduces the overhead of the
11535 remote protocol by bundling memory reads and writes into large chunks.
11536 Unfortunately, simply caching everything would lead to incorrect results,
11537 since @value{GDBN} does not necessarily know anything about volatile
11538 values, memory-mapped I/O addresses, etc. Furthermore, in non-stop mode
11539 (@pxref{Non-Stop Mode}) memory can be changed @emph{while} a gdb command
11540 is executing.
11541 Therefore, by default, @value{GDBN} only caches data
11542 known to be on the stack@footnote{In non-stop mode, it is moderately
11543 rare for a running thread to modify the stack of a stopped thread
11544 in a way that would interfere with a backtrace, and caching of
11545 stack reads provides a significant speed up of remote backtraces.} or
11546 in the code segment.
11547 Other regions of memory can be explicitly marked as
11548 cacheable; @pxref{Memory Region Attributes}.
11549
11550 @table @code
11551 @kindex set remotecache
11552 @item set remotecache on
11553 @itemx set remotecache off
11554 This option no longer does anything; it exists for compatibility
11555 with old scripts.
11556
11557 @kindex show remotecache
11558 @item show remotecache
11559 Show the current state of the obsolete remotecache flag.
11560
11561 @kindex set stack-cache
11562 @item set stack-cache on
11563 @itemx set stack-cache off
11564 Enable or disable caching of stack accesses. When @code{on}, use
11565 caching. By default, this option is @code{on}.
11566
11567 @kindex show stack-cache
11568 @item show stack-cache
11569 Show the current state of data caching for memory accesses.
11570
11571 @kindex set code-cache
11572 @item set code-cache on
11573 @itemx set code-cache off
11574 Enable or disable caching of code segment accesses. When @code{on},
11575 use caching. By default, this option is @code{on}. This improves
11576 performance of disassembly in remote debugging.
11577
11578 @kindex show code-cache
11579 @item show code-cache
11580 Show the current state of target memory cache for code segment
11581 accesses.
11582
11583 @kindex info dcache
11584 @item info dcache @r{[}line@r{]}
11585 Print the information about the performance of data cache of the
11586 current inferior's address space. The information displayed
11587 includes the dcache width and depth, and for each cache line, its
11588 number, address, and how many times it was referenced. This
11589 command is useful for debugging the data cache operation.
11590
11591 If a line number is specified, the contents of that line will be
11592 printed in hex.
11593
11594 @item set dcache size @var{size}
11595 @cindex dcache size
11596 @kindex set dcache size
11597 Set maximum number of entries in dcache (dcache depth above).
11598
11599 @item set dcache line-size @var{line-size}
11600 @cindex dcache line-size
11601 @kindex set dcache line-size
11602 Set number of bytes each dcache entry caches (dcache width above).
11603 Must be a power of 2.
11604
11605 @item show dcache size
11606 @kindex show dcache size
11607 Show maximum number of dcache entries. @xref{Caching Target Data, info dcache}.
11608
11609 @item show dcache line-size
11610 @kindex show dcache line-size
11611 Show default size of dcache lines.
11612
11613 @end table
11614
11615 @node Searching Memory
11616 @section Search Memory
11617 @cindex searching memory
11618
11619 Memory can be searched for a particular sequence of bytes with the
11620 @code{find} command.
11621
11622 @table @code
11623 @kindex find
11624 @item find @r{[}/@var{sn}@r{]} @var{start_addr}, +@var{len}, @var{val1} @r{[}, @var{val2}, @dots{}@r{]}
11625 @itemx find @r{[}/@var{sn}@r{]} @var{start_addr}, @var{end_addr}, @var{val1} @r{[}, @var{val2}, @dots{}@r{]}
11626 Search memory for the sequence of bytes specified by @var{val1}, @var{val2},
11627 etc. The search begins at address @var{start_addr} and continues for either
11628 @var{len} bytes or through to @var{end_addr} inclusive.
11629 @end table
11630
11631 @var{s} and @var{n} are optional parameters.
11632 They may be specified in either order, apart or together.
11633
11634 @table @r
11635 @item @var{s}, search query size
11636 The size of each search query value.
11637
11638 @table @code
11639 @item b
11640 bytes
11641 @item h
11642 halfwords (two bytes)
11643 @item w
11644 words (four bytes)
11645 @item g
11646 giant words (eight bytes)
11647 @end table
11648
11649 All values are interpreted in the current language.
11650 This means, for example, that if the current source language is C/C@t{++}
11651 then searching for the string ``hello'' includes the trailing '\0'.
11652
11653 If the value size is not specified, it is taken from the
11654 value's type in the current language.
11655 This is useful when one wants to specify the search
11656 pattern as a mixture of types.
11657 Note that this means, for example, that in the case of C-like languages
11658 a search for an untyped 0x42 will search for @samp{(int) 0x42}
11659 which is typically four bytes.
11660
11661 @item @var{n}, maximum number of finds
11662 The maximum number of matches to print. The default is to print all finds.
11663 @end table
11664
11665 You can use strings as search values. Quote them with double-quotes
11666 (@code{"}).
11667 The string value is copied into the search pattern byte by byte,
11668 regardless of the endianness of the target and the size specification.
11669
11670 The address of each match found is printed as well as a count of the
11671 number of matches found.
11672
11673 The address of the last value found is stored in convenience variable
11674 @samp{$_}.
11675 A count of the number of matches is stored in @samp{$numfound}.
11676
11677 For example, if stopped at the @code{printf} in this function:
11678
11679 @smallexample
11680 void
11681 hello ()
11682 @{
11683 static char hello[] = "hello-hello";
11684 static struct @{ char c; short s; int i; @}
11685 __attribute__ ((packed)) mixed
11686 = @{ 'c', 0x1234, 0x87654321 @};
11687 printf ("%s\n", hello);
11688 @}
11689 @end smallexample
11690
11691 @noindent
11692 you get during debugging:
11693
11694 @smallexample
11695 (gdb) find &hello[0], +sizeof(hello), "hello"
11696 0x804956d <hello.1620+6>
11697 1 pattern found
11698 (gdb) find &hello[0], +sizeof(hello), 'h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o'
11699 0x8049567 <hello.1620>
11700 0x804956d <hello.1620+6>
11701 2 patterns found
11702 (gdb) find /b1 &hello[0], +sizeof(hello), 'h', 0x65, 'l'
11703 0x8049567 <hello.1620>
11704 1 pattern found
11705 (gdb) find &mixed, +sizeof(mixed), (char) 'c', (short) 0x1234, (int) 0x87654321
11706 0x8049560 <mixed.1625>
11707 1 pattern found
11708 (gdb) print $numfound
11709 $1 = 1
11710 (gdb) print $_
11711 $2 = (void *) 0x8049560
11712 @end smallexample
11713
11714 @node Optimized Code
11715 @chapter Debugging Optimized Code
11716 @cindex optimized code, debugging
11717 @cindex debugging optimized code
11718
11719 Almost all compilers support optimization. With optimization
11720 disabled, the compiler generates assembly code that corresponds
11721 directly to your source code, in a simplistic way. As the compiler
11722 applies more powerful optimizations, the generated assembly code
11723 diverges from your original source code. With help from debugging
11724 information generated by the compiler, @value{GDBN} can map from
11725 the running program back to constructs from your original source.
11726
11727 @value{GDBN} is more accurate with optimization disabled. If you
11728 can recompile without optimization, it is easier to follow the
11729 progress of your program during debugging. But, there are many cases
11730 where you may need to debug an optimized version.
11731
11732 When you debug a program compiled with @samp{-g -O}, remember that the
11733 optimizer has rearranged your code; the debugger shows you what is
11734 really there. Do not be too surprised when the execution path does not
11735 exactly match your source file! An extreme example: if you define a
11736 variable, but never use it, @value{GDBN} never sees that
11737 variable---because the compiler optimizes it out of existence.
11738
11739 Some things do not work as well with @samp{-g -O} as with just
11740 @samp{-g}, particularly on machines with instruction scheduling. If in
11741 doubt, recompile with @samp{-g} alone, and if this fixes the problem,
11742 please report it to us as a bug (including a test case!).
11743 @xref{Variables}, for more information about debugging optimized code.
11744
11745 @menu
11746 * Inline Functions:: How @value{GDBN} presents inlining
11747 * Tail Call Frames:: @value{GDBN} analysis of jumps to functions
11748 @end menu
11749
11750 @node Inline Functions
11751 @section Inline Functions
11752 @cindex inline functions, debugging
11753
11754 @dfn{Inlining} is an optimization that inserts a copy of the function
11755 body directly at each call site, instead of jumping to a shared
11756 routine. @value{GDBN} displays inlined functions just like
11757 non-inlined functions. They appear in backtraces. You can view their
11758 arguments and local variables, step into them with @code{step}, skip
11759 them with @code{next}, and escape from them with @code{finish}.
11760 You can check whether a function was inlined by using the
11761 @code{info frame} command.
11762
11763 For @value{GDBN} to support inlined functions, the compiler must
11764 record information about inlining in the debug information ---
11765 @value{NGCC} using the @sc{dwarf 2} format does this, and several
11766 other compilers do also. @value{GDBN} only supports inlined functions
11767 when using @sc{dwarf 2}. Versions of @value{NGCC} before 4.1
11768 do not emit two required attributes (@samp{DW_AT_call_file} and
11769 @samp{DW_AT_call_line}); @value{GDBN} does not display inlined
11770 function calls with earlier versions of @value{NGCC}. It instead
11771 displays the arguments and local variables of inlined functions as
11772 local variables in the caller.
11773
11774 The body of an inlined function is directly included at its call site;
11775 unlike a non-inlined function, there are no instructions devoted to
11776 the call. @value{GDBN} still pretends that the call site and the
11777 start of the inlined function are different instructions. Stepping to
11778 the call site shows the call site, and then stepping again shows
11779 the first line of the inlined function, even though no additional
11780 instructions are executed.
11781
11782 This makes source-level debugging much clearer; you can see both the
11783 context of the call and then the effect of the call. Only stepping by
11784 a single instruction using @code{stepi} or @code{nexti} does not do
11785 this; single instruction steps always show the inlined body.
11786
11787 There are some ways that @value{GDBN} does not pretend that inlined
11788 function calls are the same as normal calls:
11789
11790 @itemize @bullet
11791 @item
11792 Setting breakpoints at the call site of an inlined function may not
11793 work, because the call site does not contain any code. @value{GDBN}
11794 may incorrectly move the breakpoint to the next line of the enclosing
11795 function, after the call. This limitation will be removed in a future
11796 version of @value{GDBN}; until then, set a breakpoint on an earlier line
11797 or inside the inlined function instead.
11798
11799 @item
11800 @value{GDBN} cannot locate the return value of inlined calls after
11801 using the @code{finish} command. This is a limitation of compiler-generated
11802 debugging information; after @code{finish}, you can step to the next line
11803 and print a variable where your program stored the return value.
11804
11805 @end itemize
11806
11807 @node Tail Call Frames
11808 @section Tail Call Frames
11809 @cindex tail call frames, debugging
11810
11811 Function @code{B} can call function @code{C} in its very last statement. In
11812 unoptimized compilation the call of @code{C} is immediately followed by return
11813 instruction at the end of @code{B} code. Optimizing compiler may replace the
11814 call and return in function @code{B} into one jump to function @code{C}
11815 instead. Such use of a jump instruction is called @dfn{tail call}.
11816
11817 During execution of function @code{C}, there will be no indication in the
11818 function call stack frames that it was tail-called from @code{B}. If function
11819 @code{A} regularly calls function @code{B} which tail-calls function @code{C},
11820 then @value{GDBN} will see @code{A} as the caller of @code{C}. However, in
11821 some cases @value{GDBN} can determine that @code{C} was tail-called from
11822 @code{B}, and it will then create fictitious call frame for that, with the
11823 return address set up as if @code{B} called @code{C} normally.
11824
11825 This functionality is currently supported only by DWARF 2 debugging format and
11826 the compiler has to produce @samp{DW_TAG_GNU_call_site} tags. With
11827 @value{NGCC}, you need to specify @option{-O -g} during compilation, to get
11828 this information.
11829
11830 @kbd{info frame} command (@pxref{Frame Info}) will indicate the tail call frame
11831 kind by text @code{tail call frame} such as in this sample @value{GDBN} output:
11832
11833 @smallexample
11834 (gdb) x/i $pc - 2
11835 0x40066b <b(int, double)+11>: jmp 0x400640 <c(int, double)>
11836 (gdb) info frame
11837 Stack level 1, frame at 0x7fffffffda30:
11838 rip = 0x40066d in b (amd64-entry-value.cc:59); saved rip 0x4004c5
11839 tail call frame, caller of frame at 0x7fffffffda30
11840 source language c++.
11841 Arglist at unknown address.
11842 Locals at unknown address, Previous frame's sp is 0x7fffffffda30
11843 @end smallexample
11844
11845 The detection of all the possible code path executions can find them ambiguous.
11846 There is no execution history stored (possible @ref{Reverse Execution} is never
11847 used for this purpose) and the last known caller could have reached the known
11848 callee by multiple different jump sequences. In such case @value{GDBN} still
11849 tries to show at least all the unambiguous top tail callers and all the
11850 unambiguous bottom tail calees, if any.
11851
11852 @table @code
11853 @anchor{set debug entry-values}
11854 @item set debug entry-values
11855 @kindex set debug entry-values
11856 When set to on, enables printing of analysis messages for both frame argument
11857 values at function entry and tail calls. It will show all the possible valid
11858 tail calls code paths it has considered. It will also print the intersection
11859 of them with the final unambiguous (possibly partial or even empty) code path
11860 result.
11861
11862 @item show debug entry-values
11863 @kindex show debug entry-values
11864 Show the current state of analysis messages printing for both frame argument
11865 values at function entry and tail calls.
11866 @end table
11867
11868 The analysis messages for tail calls can for example show why the virtual tail
11869 call frame for function @code{c} has not been recognized (due to the indirect
11870 reference by variable @code{x}):
11871
11872 @smallexample
11873 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) c (void);
11874 void (*x) (void) = c;
11875 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) a (void) @{ x++; @}
11876 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) c (void) @{ a (); @}
11877 int main (void) @{ x (); return 0; @}
11878
11879 Breakpoint 1, DW_OP_GNU_entry_value resolving cannot find
11880 DW_TAG_GNU_call_site 0x40039a in main
11881 a () at t.c:3
11882 3 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) a (void) @{ x++; @}
11883 (gdb) bt
11884 #0 a () at t.c:3
11885 #1 0x000000000040039a in main () at t.c:5
11886 @end smallexample
11887
11888 Another possibility is an ambiguous virtual tail call frames resolution:
11889
11890 @smallexample
11891 int i;
11892 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) f (void) @{ i++; @}
11893 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) e (void) @{ f (); @}
11894 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) d (void) @{ f (); @}
11895 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) c (void) @{ d (); @}
11896 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) b (void)
11897 @{ if (i) c (); else e (); @}
11898 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) a (void) @{ b (); @}
11899 int main (void) @{ a (); return 0; @}
11900
11901 tailcall: initial: 0x4004d2(a) 0x4004ce(b) 0x4004b2(c) 0x4004a2(d)
11902 tailcall: compare: 0x4004d2(a) 0x4004cc(b) 0x400492(e)
11903 tailcall: reduced: 0x4004d2(a) |
11904 (gdb) bt
11905 #0 f () at t.c:2
11906 #1 0x00000000004004d2 in a () at t.c:8
11907 #2 0x0000000000400395 in main () at t.c:9
11908 @end smallexample
11909
11910 @set CALLSEQ1A @code{main@value{ARROW}a@value{ARROW}b@value{ARROW}c@value{ARROW}d@value{ARROW}f}
11911 @set CALLSEQ2A @code{main@value{ARROW}a@value{ARROW}b@value{ARROW}e@value{ARROW}f}
11912
11913 @c Convert CALLSEQ#A to CALLSEQ#B depending on HAVE_MAKEINFO_CLICK.
11914 @ifset HAVE_MAKEINFO_CLICK
11915 @set ARROW @click{}
11916 @set CALLSEQ1B @clicksequence{@value{CALLSEQ1A}}
11917 @set CALLSEQ2B @clicksequence{@value{CALLSEQ2A}}
11918 @end ifset
11919 @ifclear HAVE_MAKEINFO_CLICK
11920 @set ARROW ->
11921 @set CALLSEQ1B @value{CALLSEQ1A}
11922 @set CALLSEQ2B @value{CALLSEQ2A}
11923 @end ifclear
11924
11925 Frames #0 and #2 are real, #1 is a virtual tail call frame.
11926 The code can have possible execution paths @value{CALLSEQ1B} or
11927 @value{CALLSEQ2B}, @value{GDBN} cannot find which one from the inferior state.
11928
11929 @code{initial:} state shows some random possible calling sequence @value{GDBN}
11930 has found. It then finds another possible calling sequcen - that one is
11931 prefixed by @code{compare:}. The non-ambiguous intersection of these two is
11932 printed as the @code{reduced:} calling sequence. That one could have many
11933 futher @code{compare:} and @code{reduced:} statements as long as there remain
11934 any non-ambiguous sequence entries.
11935
11936 For the frame of function @code{b} in both cases there are different possible
11937 @code{$pc} values (@code{0x4004cc} or @code{0x4004ce}), therefore this frame is
11938 also ambigous. The only non-ambiguous frame is the one for function @code{a},
11939 therefore this one is displayed to the user while the ambiguous frames are
11940 omitted.
11941
11942 There can be also reasons why printing of frame argument values at function
11943 entry may fail:
11944
11945 @smallexample
11946 int v;
11947 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) c (int i) @{ v++; @}
11948 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) a (int i);
11949 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) b (int i) @{ a (i); @}
11950 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) a (int i)
11951 @{ if (i) b (i - 1); else c (0); @}
11952 int main (void) @{ a (5); return 0; @}
11953
11954 (gdb) bt
11955 #0 c (i=i@@entry=0) at t.c:2
11956 #1 0x0000000000400428 in a (DW_OP_GNU_entry_value resolving has found
11957 function "a" at 0x400420 can call itself via tail calls
11958 i=<optimized out>) at t.c:6
11959 #2 0x000000000040036e in main () at t.c:7
11960 @end smallexample
11961
11962 @value{GDBN} cannot find out from the inferior state if and how many times did
11963 function @code{a} call itself (via function @code{b}) as these calls would be
11964 tail calls. Such tail calls would modify thue @code{i} variable, therefore
11965 @value{GDBN} cannot be sure the value it knows would be right - @value{GDBN}
11966 prints @code{<optimized out>} instead.
11967
11968 @node Macros
11969 @chapter C Preprocessor Macros
11970
11971 Some languages, such as C and C@t{++}, provide a way to define and invoke
11972 ``preprocessor macros'' which expand into strings of tokens.
11973 @value{GDBN} can evaluate expressions containing macro invocations, show
11974 the result of macro expansion, and show a macro's definition, including
11975 where it was defined.
11976
11977 You may need to compile your program specially to provide @value{GDBN}
11978 with information about preprocessor macros. Most compilers do not
11979 include macros in their debugging information, even when you compile
11980 with the @option{-g} flag. @xref{Compilation}.
11981
11982 A program may define a macro at one point, remove that definition later,
11983 and then provide a different definition after that. Thus, at different
11984 points in the program, a macro may have different definitions, or have
11985 no definition at all. If there is a current stack frame, @value{GDBN}
11986 uses the macros in scope at that frame's source code line. Otherwise,
11987 @value{GDBN} uses the macros in scope at the current listing location;
11988 see @ref{List}.
11989
11990 Whenever @value{GDBN} evaluates an expression, it always expands any
11991 macro invocations present in the expression. @value{GDBN} also provides
11992 the following commands for working with macros explicitly.
11993
11994 @table @code
11995
11996 @kindex macro expand
11997 @cindex macro expansion, showing the results of preprocessor
11998 @cindex preprocessor macro expansion, showing the results of
11999 @cindex expanding preprocessor macros
12000 @item macro expand @var{expression}
12001 @itemx macro exp @var{expression}
12002 Show the results of expanding all preprocessor macro invocations in
12003 @var{expression}. Since @value{GDBN} simply expands macros, but does
12004 not parse the result, @var{expression} need not be a valid expression;
12005 it can be any string of tokens.
12006
12007 @kindex macro exp1
12008 @item macro expand-once @var{expression}
12009 @itemx macro exp1 @var{expression}
12010 @cindex expand macro once
12011 @i{(This command is not yet implemented.)} Show the results of
12012 expanding those preprocessor macro invocations that appear explicitly in
12013 @var{expression}. Macro invocations appearing in that expansion are
12014 left unchanged. This command allows you to see the effect of a
12015 particular macro more clearly, without being confused by further
12016 expansions. Since @value{GDBN} simply expands macros, but does not
12017 parse the result, @var{expression} need not be a valid expression; it
12018 can be any string of tokens.
12019
12020 @kindex info macro
12021 @cindex macro definition, showing
12022 @cindex definition of a macro, showing
12023 @cindex macros, from debug info
12024 @item info macro [-a|-all] [--] @var{macro}
12025 Show the current definition or all definitions of the named @var{macro},
12026 and describe the source location or compiler command-line where that
12027 definition was established. The optional double dash is to signify the end of
12028 argument processing and the beginning of @var{macro} for non C-like macros where
12029 the macro may begin with a hyphen.
12030
12031 @kindex info macros
12032 @item info macros @var{location}
12033 Show all macro definitions that are in effect at the location specified
12034 by @var{location}, and describe the source location or compiler
12035 command-line where those definitions were established.
12036
12037 @kindex macro define
12038 @cindex user-defined macros
12039 @cindex defining macros interactively
12040 @cindex macros, user-defined
12041 @item macro define @var{macro} @var{replacement-list}
12042 @itemx macro define @var{macro}(@var{arglist}) @var{replacement-list}
12043 Introduce a definition for a preprocessor macro named @var{macro},
12044 invocations of which are replaced by the tokens given in
12045 @var{replacement-list}. The first form of this command defines an
12046 ``object-like'' macro, which takes no arguments; the second form
12047 defines a ``function-like'' macro, which takes the arguments given in
12048 @var{arglist}.
12049
12050 A definition introduced by this command is in scope in every
12051 expression evaluated in @value{GDBN}, until it is removed with the
12052 @code{macro undef} command, described below. The definition overrides
12053 all definitions for @var{macro} present in the program being debugged,
12054 as well as any previous user-supplied definition.
12055
12056 @kindex macro undef
12057 @item macro undef @var{macro}
12058 Remove any user-supplied definition for the macro named @var{macro}.
12059 This command only affects definitions provided with the @code{macro
12060 define} command, described above; it cannot remove definitions present
12061 in the program being debugged.
12062
12063 @kindex macro list
12064 @item macro list
12065 List all the macros defined using the @code{macro define} command.
12066 @end table
12067
12068 @cindex macros, example of debugging with
12069 Here is a transcript showing the above commands in action. First, we
12070 show our source files:
12071
12072 @smallexample
12073 $ cat sample.c
12074 #include <stdio.h>
12075 #include "sample.h"
12076
12077 #define M 42
12078 #define ADD(x) (M + x)
12079
12080 main ()
12081 @{
12082 #define N 28
12083 printf ("Hello, world!\n");
12084 #undef N
12085 printf ("We're so creative.\n");
12086 #define N 1729
12087 printf ("Goodbye, world!\n");
12088 @}
12089 $ cat sample.h
12090 #define Q <
12091 $
12092 @end smallexample
12093
12094 Now, we compile the program using the @sc{gnu} C compiler,
12095 @value{NGCC}. We pass the @option{-gdwarf-2}@footnote{This is the
12096 minimum. Recent versions of @value{NGCC} support @option{-gdwarf-3}
12097 and @option{-gdwarf-4}; we recommend always choosing the most recent
12098 version of DWARF.} @emph{and} @option{-g3} flags to ensure the compiler
12099 includes information about preprocessor macros in the debugging
12100 information.
12101
12102 @smallexample
12103 $ gcc -gdwarf-2 -g3 sample.c -o sample
12104 $
12105 @end smallexample
12106
12107 Now, we start @value{GDBN} on our sample program:
12108
12109 @smallexample
12110 $ gdb -nw sample
12111 GNU gdb 2002-05-06-cvs
12112 Copyright 2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
12113 GDB is free software, @dots{}
12114 (@value{GDBP})
12115 @end smallexample
12116
12117 We can expand macros and examine their definitions, even when the
12118 program is not running. @value{GDBN} uses the current listing position
12119 to decide which macro definitions are in scope:
12120
12121 @smallexample
12122 (@value{GDBP}) list main
12123 3
12124 4 #define M 42
12125 5 #define ADD(x) (M + x)
12126 6
12127 7 main ()
12128 8 @{
12129 9 #define N 28
12130 10 printf ("Hello, world!\n");
12131 11 #undef N
12132 12 printf ("We're so creative.\n");
12133 (@value{GDBP}) info macro ADD
12134 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:5
12135 #define ADD(x) (M + x)
12136 (@value{GDBP}) info macro Q
12137 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.h:1
12138 included at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:2
12139 #define Q <
12140 (@value{GDBP}) macro expand ADD(1)
12141 expands to: (42 + 1)
12142 (@value{GDBP}) macro expand-once ADD(1)
12143 expands to: once (M + 1)
12144 (@value{GDBP})
12145 @end smallexample
12146
12147 In the example above, note that @code{macro expand-once} expands only
12148 the macro invocation explicit in the original text --- the invocation of
12149 @code{ADD} --- but does not expand the invocation of the macro @code{M},
12150 which was introduced by @code{ADD}.
12151
12152 Once the program is running, @value{GDBN} uses the macro definitions in
12153 force at the source line of the current stack frame:
12154
12155 @smallexample
12156 (@value{GDBP}) break main
12157 Breakpoint 1 at 0x8048370: file sample.c, line 10.
12158 (@value{GDBP}) run
12159 Starting program: /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample
12160
12161 Breakpoint 1, main () at sample.c:10
12162 10 printf ("Hello, world!\n");
12163 (@value{GDBP})
12164 @end smallexample
12165
12166 At line 10, the definition of the macro @code{N} at line 9 is in force:
12167
12168 @smallexample
12169 (@value{GDBP}) info macro N
12170 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:9
12171 #define N 28
12172 (@value{GDBP}) macro expand N Q M
12173 expands to: 28 < 42
12174 (@value{GDBP}) print N Q M
12175 $1 = 1
12176 (@value{GDBP})
12177 @end smallexample
12178
12179 As we step over directives that remove @code{N}'s definition, and then
12180 give it a new definition, @value{GDBN} finds the definition (or lack
12181 thereof) in force at each point:
12182
12183 @smallexample
12184 (@value{GDBP}) next
12185 Hello, world!
12186 12 printf ("We're so creative.\n");
12187 (@value{GDBP}) info macro N
12188 The symbol `N' has no definition as a C/C++ preprocessor macro
12189 at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:12
12190 (@value{GDBP}) next
12191 We're so creative.
12192 14 printf ("Goodbye, world!\n");
12193 (@value{GDBP}) info macro N
12194 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:13
12195 #define N 1729
12196 (@value{GDBP}) macro expand N Q M
12197 expands to: 1729 < 42
12198 (@value{GDBP}) print N Q M
12199 $2 = 0
12200 (@value{GDBP})
12201 @end smallexample
12202
12203 In addition to source files, macros can be defined on the compilation command
12204 line using the @option{-D@var{name}=@var{value}} syntax. For macros defined in
12205 such a way, @value{GDBN} displays the location of their definition as line zero
12206 of the source file submitted to the compiler.
12207
12208 @smallexample
12209 (@value{GDBP}) info macro __STDC__
12210 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:0
12211 -D__STDC__=1
12212 (@value{GDBP})
12213 @end smallexample
12214
12215
12216 @node Tracepoints
12217 @chapter Tracepoints
12218 @c This chapter is based on the documentation written by Michael
12219 @c Snyder, David Taylor, Jim Blandy, and Elena Zannoni.
12220
12221 @cindex tracepoints
12222 In some applications, it is not feasible for the debugger to interrupt
12223 the program's execution long enough for the developer to learn
12224 anything helpful about its behavior. If the program's correctness
12225 depends on its real-time behavior, delays introduced by a debugger
12226 might cause the program to change its behavior drastically, or perhaps
12227 fail, even when the code itself is correct. It is useful to be able
12228 to observe the program's behavior without interrupting it.
12229
12230 Using @value{GDBN}'s @code{trace} and @code{collect} commands, you can
12231 specify locations in the program, called @dfn{tracepoints}, and
12232 arbitrary expressions to evaluate when those tracepoints are reached.
12233 Later, using the @code{tfind} command, you can examine the values
12234 those expressions had when the program hit the tracepoints. The
12235 expressions may also denote objects in memory---structures or arrays,
12236 for example---whose values @value{GDBN} should record; while visiting
12237 a particular tracepoint, you may inspect those objects as if they were
12238 in memory at that moment. However, because @value{GDBN} records these
12239 values without interacting with you, it can do so quickly and
12240 unobtrusively, hopefully not disturbing the program's behavior.
12241
12242 The tracepoint facility is currently available only for remote
12243 targets. @xref{Targets}. In addition, your remote target must know
12244 how to collect trace data. This functionality is implemented in the
12245 remote stub; however, none of the stubs distributed with @value{GDBN}
12246 support tracepoints as of this writing. The format of the remote
12247 packets used to implement tracepoints are described in @ref{Tracepoint
12248 Packets}.
12249
12250 It is also possible to get trace data from a file, in a manner reminiscent
12251 of corefiles; you specify the filename, and use @code{tfind} to search
12252 through the file. @xref{Trace Files}, for more details.
12253
12254 This chapter describes the tracepoint commands and features.
12255
12256 @menu
12257 * Set Tracepoints::
12258 * Analyze Collected Data::
12259 * Tracepoint Variables::
12260 * Trace Files::
12261 @end menu
12262
12263 @node Set Tracepoints
12264 @section Commands to Set Tracepoints
12265
12266 Before running such a @dfn{trace experiment}, an arbitrary number of
12267 tracepoints can be set. A tracepoint is actually a special type of
12268 breakpoint (@pxref{Set Breaks}), so you can manipulate it using
12269 standard breakpoint commands. For instance, as with breakpoints,
12270 tracepoint numbers are successive integers starting from one, and many
12271 of the commands associated with tracepoints take the tracepoint number
12272 as their argument, to identify which tracepoint to work on.
12273
12274 For each tracepoint, you can specify, in advance, some arbitrary set
12275 of data that you want the target to collect in the trace buffer when
12276 it hits that tracepoint. The collected data can include registers,
12277 local variables, or global data. Later, you can use @value{GDBN}
12278 commands to examine the values these data had at the time the
12279 tracepoint was hit.
12280
12281 Tracepoints do not support every breakpoint feature. Ignore counts on
12282 tracepoints have no effect, and tracepoints cannot run @value{GDBN}
12283 commands when they are hit. Tracepoints may not be thread-specific
12284 either.
12285
12286 @cindex fast tracepoints
12287 Some targets may support @dfn{fast tracepoints}, which are inserted in
12288 a different way (such as with a jump instead of a trap), that is
12289 faster but possibly restricted in where they may be installed.
12290
12291 @cindex static tracepoints
12292 @cindex markers, static tracepoints
12293 @cindex probing markers, static tracepoints
12294 Regular and fast tracepoints are dynamic tracing facilities, meaning
12295 that they can be used to insert tracepoints at (almost) any location
12296 in the target. Some targets may also support controlling @dfn{static
12297 tracepoints} from @value{GDBN}. With static tracing, a set of
12298 instrumentation points, also known as @dfn{markers}, are embedded in
12299 the target program, and can be activated or deactivated by name or
12300 address. These are usually placed at locations which facilitate
12301 investigating what the target is actually doing. @value{GDBN}'s
12302 support for static tracing includes being able to list instrumentation
12303 points, and attach them with @value{GDBN} defined high level
12304 tracepoints that expose the whole range of convenience of
12305 @value{GDBN}'s tracepoints support. Namely, support for collecting
12306 registers values and values of global or local (to the instrumentation
12307 point) variables; tracepoint conditions and trace state variables.
12308 The act of installing a @value{GDBN} static tracepoint on an
12309 instrumentation point, or marker, is referred to as @dfn{probing} a
12310 static tracepoint marker.
12311
12312 @code{gdbserver} supports tracepoints on some target systems.
12313 @xref{Server,,Tracepoints support in @code{gdbserver}}.
12314
12315 This section describes commands to set tracepoints and associated
12316 conditions and actions.
12317
12318 @menu
12319 * Create and Delete Tracepoints::
12320 * Enable and Disable Tracepoints::
12321 * Tracepoint Passcounts::
12322 * Tracepoint Conditions::
12323 * Trace State Variables::
12324 * Tracepoint Actions::
12325 * Listing Tracepoints::
12326 * Listing Static Tracepoint Markers::
12327 * Starting and Stopping Trace Experiments::
12328 * Tracepoint Restrictions::
12329 @end menu
12330
12331 @node Create and Delete Tracepoints
12332 @subsection Create and Delete Tracepoints
12333
12334 @table @code
12335 @cindex set tracepoint
12336 @kindex trace
12337 @item trace @var{location}
12338 The @code{trace} command is very similar to the @code{break} command.
12339 Its argument @var{location} can be any valid location.
12340 @xref{Specify Location}. The @code{trace} command defines a tracepoint,
12341 which is a point in the target program where the debugger will briefly stop,
12342 collect some data, and then allow the program to continue. Setting a tracepoint
12343 or changing its actions takes effect immediately if the remote stub
12344 supports the @samp{InstallInTrace} feature (@pxref{install tracepoint
12345 in tracing}).
12346 If remote stub doesn't support the @samp{InstallInTrace} feature, all
12347 these changes don't take effect until the next @code{tstart}
12348 command, and once a trace experiment is running, further changes will
12349 not have any effect until the next trace experiment starts. In addition,
12350 @value{GDBN} supports @dfn{pending tracepoints}---tracepoints whose
12351 address is not yet resolved. (This is similar to pending breakpoints.)
12352 Pending tracepoints are not downloaded to the target and not installed
12353 until they are resolved. The resolution of pending tracepoints requires
12354 @value{GDBN} support---when debugging with the remote target, and
12355 @value{GDBN} disconnects from the remote stub (@pxref{disconnected
12356 tracing}), pending tracepoints can not be resolved (and downloaded to
12357 the remote stub) while @value{GDBN} is disconnected.
12358
12359 Here are some examples of using the @code{trace} command:
12360
12361 @smallexample
12362 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace foo.c:121} // a source file and line number
12363
12364 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace +2} // 2 lines forward
12365
12366 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace my_function} // first source line of function
12367
12368 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace *my_function} // EXACT start address of function
12369
12370 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace *0x2117c4} // an address
12371 @end smallexample
12372
12373 @noindent
12374 You can abbreviate @code{trace} as @code{tr}.
12375
12376 @item trace @var{location} if @var{cond}
12377 Set a tracepoint with condition @var{cond}; evaluate the expression
12378 @var{cond} each time the tracepoint is reached, and collect data only
12379 if the value is nonzero---that is, if @var{cond} evaluates as true.
12380 @xref{Tracepoint Conditions, ,Tracepoint Conditions}, for more
12381 information on tracepoint conditions.
12382
12383 @item ftrace @var{location} [ if @var{cond} ]
12384 @cindex set fast tracepoint
12385 @cindex fast tracepoints, setting
12386 @kindex ftrace
12387 The @code{ftrace} command sets a fast tracepoint. For targets that
12388 support them, fast tracepoints will use a more efficient but possibly
12389 less general technique to trigger data collection, such as a jump
12390 instruction instead of a trap, or some sort of hardware support. It
12391 may not be possible to create a fast tracepoint at the desired
12392 location, in which case the command will exit with an explanatory
12393 message.
12394
12395 @value{GDBN} handles arguments to @code{ftrace} exactly as for
12396 @code{trace}.
12397
12398 On 32-bit x86-architecture systems, fast tracepoints normally need to
12399 be placed at an instruction that is 5 bytes or longer, but can be
12400 placed at 4-byte instructions if the low 64K of memory of the target
12401 program is available to install trampolines. Some Unix-type systems,
12402 such as @sc{gnu}/Linux, exclude low addresses from the program's
12403 address space; but for instance with the Linux kernel it is possible
12404 to let @value{GDBN} use this area by doing a @command{sysctl} command
12405 to set the @code{mmap_min_addr} kernel parameter, as in
12406
12407 @example
12408 sudo sysctl -w vm.mmap_min_addr=32768
12409 @end example
12410
12411 @noindent
12412 which sets the low address to 32K, which leaves plenty of room for
12413 trampolines. The minimum address should be set to a page boundary.
12414
12415 @item strace @var{location} [ if @var{cond} ]
12416 @cindex set static tracepoint
12417 @cindex static tracepoints, setting
12418 @cindex probe static tracepoint marker
12419 @kindex strace
12420 The @code{strace} command sets a static tracepoint. For targets that
12421 support it, setting a static tracepoint probes a static
12422 instrumentation point, or marker, found at @var{location}. It may not
12423 be possible to set a static tracepoint at the desired location, in
12424 which case the command will exit with an explanatory message.
12425
12426 @value{GDBN} handles arguments to @code{strace} exactly as for
12427 @code{trace}, with the addition that the user can also specify
12428 @code{-m @var{marker}} as @var{location}. This probes the marker
12429 identified by the @var{marker} string identifier. This identifier
12430 depends on the static tracepoint backend library your program is
12431 using. You can find all the marker identifiers in the @samp{ID} field
12432 of the @code{info static-tracepoint-markers} command output.
12433 @xref{Listing Static Tracepoint Markers,,Listing Static Tracepoint
12434 Markers}. For example, in the following small program using the UST
12435 tracing engine:
12436
12437 @smallexample
12438 main ()
12439 @{
12440 trace_mark(ust, bar33, "str %s", "FOOBAZ");
12441 @}
12442 @end smallexample
12443
12444 @noindent
12445 the marker id is composed of joining the first two arguments to the
12446 @code{trace_mark} call with a slash, which translates to:
12447
12448 @smallexample
12449 (@value{GDBP}) info static-tracepoint-markers
12450 Cnt Enb ID Address What
12451 1 n ust/bar33 0x0000000000400ddc in main at stexample.c:22
12452 Data: "str %s"
12453 [etc...]
12454 @end smallexample
12455
12456 @noindent
12457 so you may probe the marker above with:
12458
12459 @smallexample
12460 (@value{GDBP}) strace -m ust/bar33
12461 @end smallexample
12462
12463 Static tracepoints accept an extra collect action --- @code{collect
12464 $_sdata}. This collects arbitrary user data passed in the probe point
12465 call to the tracing library. In the UST example above, you'll see
12466 that the third argument to @code{trace_mark} is a printf-like format
12467 string. The user data is then the result of running that formating
12468 string against the following arguments. Note that @code{info
12469 static-tracepoint-markers} command output lists that format string in
12470 the @samp{Data:} field.
12471
12472 You can inspect this data when analyzing the trace buffer, by printing
12473 the $_sdata variable like any other variable available to
12474 @value{GDBN}. @xref{Tracepoint Actions,,Tracepoint Action Lists}.
12475
12476 @vindex $tpnum
12477 @cindex last tracepoint number
12478 @cindex recent tracepoint number
12479 @cindex tracepoint number
12480 The convenience variable @code{$tpnum} records the tracepoint number
12481 of the most recently set tracepoint.
12482
12483 @kindex delete tracepoint
12484 @cindex tracepoint deletion
12485 @item delete tracepoint @r{[}@var{num}@r{]}
12486 Permanently delete one or more tracepoints. With no argument, the
12487 default is to delete all tracepoints. Note that the regular
12488 @code{delete} command can remove tracepoints also.
12489
12490 Examples:
12491
12492 @smallexample
12493 (@value{GDBP}) @b{delete trace 1 2 3} // remove three tracepoints
12494
12495 (@value{GDBP}) @b{delete trace} // remove all tracepoints
12496 @end smallexample
12497
12498 @noindent
12499 You can abbreviate this command as @code{del tr}.
12500 @end table
12501
12502 @node Enable and Disable Tracepoints
12503 @subsection Enable and Disable Tracepoints
12504
12505 These commands are deprecated; they are equivalent to plain @code{disable} and @code{enable}.
12506
12507 @table @code
12508 @kindex disable tracepoint
12509 @item disable tracepoint @r{[}@var{num}@r{]}
12510 Disable tracepoint @var{num}, or all tracepoints if no argument
12511 @var{num} is given. A disabled tracepoint will have no effect during
12512 a trace experiment, but it is not forgotten. You can re-enable
12513 a disabled tracepoint using the @code{enable tracepoint} command.
12514 If the command is issued during a trace experiment and the debug target
12515 has support for disabling tracepoints during a trace experiment, then the
12516 change will be effective immediately. Otherwise, it will be applied to the
12517 next trace experiment.
12518
12519 @kindex enable tracepoint
12520 @item enable tracepoint @r{[}@var{num}@r{]}
12521 Enable tracepoint @var{num}, or all tracepoints. If this command is
12522 issued during a trace experiment and the debug target supports enabling
12523 tracepoints during a trace experiment, then the enabled tracepoints will
12524 become effective immediately. Otherwise, they will become effective the
12525 next time a trace experiment is run.
12526 @end table
12527
12528 @node Tracepoint Passcounts
12529 @subsection Tracepoint Passcounts
12530
12531 @table @code
12532 @kindex passcount
12533 @cindex tracepoint pass count
12534 @item passcount @r{[}@var{n} @r{[}@var{num}@r{]]}
12535 Set the @dfn{passcount} of a tracepoint. The passcount is a way to
12536 automatically stop a trace experiment. If a tracepoint's passcount is
12537 @var{n}, then the trace experiment will be automatically stopped on
12538 the @var{n}'th time that tracepoint is hit. If the tracepoint number
12539 @var{num} is not specified, the @code{passcount} command sets the
12540 passcount of the most recently defined tracepoint. If no passcount is
12541 given, the trace experiment will run until stopped explicitly by the
12542 user.
12543
12544 Examples:
12545
12546 @smallexample
12547 (@value{GDBP}) @b{passcount 5 2} // Stop on the 5th execution of
12548 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// tracepoint 2}
12549
12550 (@value{GDBP}) @b{passcount 12} // Stop on the 12th execution of the
12551 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// most recently defined tracepoint.}
12552 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace foo}
12553 (@value{GDBP}) @b{pass 3}
12554 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace bar}
12555 (@value{GDBP}) @b{pass 2}
12556 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace baz}
12557 (@value{GDBP}) @b{pass 1} // Stop tracing when foo has been
12558 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// executed 3 times OR when bar has}
12559 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// been executed 2 times}
12560 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// OR when baz has been executed 1 time.}
12561 @end smallexample
12562 @end table
12563
12564 @node Tracepoint Conditions
12565 @subsection Tracepoint Conditions
12566 @cindex conditional tracepoints
12567 @cindex tracepoint conditions
12568
12569 The simplest sort of tracepoint collects data every time your program
12570 reaches a specified place. You can also specify a @dfn{condition} for
12571 a tracepoint. A condition is just a Boolean expression in your
12572 programming language (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}). A
12573 tracepoint with a condition evaluates the expression each time your
12574 program reaches it, and data collection happens only if the condition
12575 is true.
12576
12577 Tracepoint conditions can be specified when a tracepoint is set, by
12578 using @samp{if} in the arguments to the @code{trace} command.
12579 @xref{Create and Delete Tracepoints, ,Setting Tracepoints}. They can
12580 also be set or changed at any time with the @code{condition} command,
12581 just as with breakpoints.
12582
12583 Unlike breakpoint conditions, @value{GDBN} does not actually evaluate
12584 the conditional expression itself. Instead, @value{GDBN} encodes the
12585 expression into an agent expression (@pxref{Agent Expressions})
12586 suitable for execution on the target, independently of @value{GDBN}.
12587 Global variables become raw memory locations, locals become stack
12588 accesses, and so forth.
12589
12590 For instance, suppose you have a function that is usually called
12591 frequently, but should not be called after an error has occurred. You
12592 could use the following tracepoint command to collect data about calls
12593 of that function that happen while the error code is propagating
12594 through the program; an unconditional tracepoint could end up
12595 collecting thousands of useless trace frames that you would have to
12596 search through.
12597
12598 @smallexample
12599 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{trace normal_operation if errcode > 0}
12600 @end smallexample
12601
12602 @node Trace State Variables
12603 @subsection Trace State Variables
12604 @cindex trace state variables
12605
12606 A @dfn{trace state variable} is a special type of variable that is
12607 created and managed by target-side code. The syntax is the same as
12608 that for GDB's convenience variables (a string prefixed with ``$''),
12609 but they are stored on the target. They must be created explicitly,
12610 using a @code{tvariable} command. They are always 64-bit signed
12611 integers.
12612
12613 Trace state variables are remembered by @value{GDBN}, and downloaded
12614 to the target along with tracepoint information when the trace
12615 experiment starts. There are no intrinsic limits on the number of
12616 trace state variables, beyond memory limitations of the target.
12617
12618 @cindex convenience variables, and trace state variables
12619 Although trace state variables are managed by the target, you can use
12620 them in print commands and expressions as if they were convenience
12621 variables; @value{GDBN} will get the current value from the target
12622 while the trace experiment is running. Trace state variables share
12623 the same namespace as other ``$'' variables, which means that you
12624 cannot have trace state variables with names like @code{$23} or
12625 @code{$pc}, nor can you have a trace state variable and a convenience
12626 variable with the same name.
12627
12628 @table @code
12629
12630 @item tvariable $@var{name} [ = @var{expression} ]
12631 @kindex tvariable
12632 The @code{tvariable} command creates a new trace state variable named
12633 @code{$@var{name}}, and optionally gives it an initial value of
12634 @var{expression}. The @var{expression} is evaluated when this command is
12635 entered; the result will be converted to an integer if possible,
12636 otherwise @value{GDBN} will report an error. A subsequent
12637 @code{tvariable} command specifying the same name does not create a
12638 variable, but instead assigns the supplied initial value to the
12639 existing variable of that name, overwriting any previous initial
12640 value. The default initial value is 0.
12641
12642 @item info tvariables
12643 @kindex info tvariables
12644 List all the trace state variables along with their initial values.
12645 Their current values may also be displayed, if the trace experiment is
12646 currently running.
12647
12648 @item delete tvariable @r{[} $@var{name} @dots{} @r{]}
12649 @kindex delete tvariable
12650 Delete the given trace state variables, or all of them if no arguments
12651 are specified.
12652
12653 @end table
12654
12655 @node Tracepoint Actions
12656 @subsection Tracepoint Action Lists
12657
12658 @table @code
12659 @kindex actions
12660 @cindex tracepoint actions
12661 @item actions @r{[}@var{num}@r{]}
12662 This command will prompt for a list of actions to be taken when the
12663 tracepoint is hit. If the tracepoint number @var{num} is not
12664 specified, this command sets the actions for the one that was most
12665 recently defined (so that you can define a tracepoint and then say
12666 @code{actions} without bothering about its number). You specify the
12667 actions themselves on the following lines, one action at a time, and
12668 terminate the actions list with a line containing just @code{end}. So
12669 far, the only defined actions are @code{collect}, @code{teval}, and
12670 @code{while-stepping}.
12671
12672 @code{actions} is actually equivalent to @code{commands} (@pxref{Break
12673 Commands, ,Breakpoint Command Lists}), except that only the defined
12674 actions are allowed; any other @value{GDBN} command is rejected.
12675
12676 @cindex remove actions from a tracepoint
12677 To remove all actions from a tracepoint, type @samp{actions @var{num}}
12678 and follow it immediately with @samp{end}.
12679
12680 @smallexample
12681 (@value{GDBP}) @b{collect @var{data}} // collect some data
12682
12683 (@value{GDBP}) @b{while-stepping 5} // single-step 5 times, collect data
12684
12685 (@value{GDBP}) @b{end} // signals the end of actions.
12686 @end smallexample
12687
12688 In the following example, the action list begins with @code{collect}
12689 commands indicating the things to be collected when the tracepoint is
12690 hit. Then, in order to single-step and collect additional data
12691 following the tracepoint, a @code{while-stepping} command is used,
12692 followed by the list of things to be collected after each step in a
12693 sequence of single steps. The @code{while-stepping} command is
12694 terminated by its own separate @code{end} command. Lastly, the action
12695 list is terminated by an @code{end} command.
12696
12697 @smallexample
12698 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace foo}
12699 (@value{GDBP}) @b{actions}
12700 Enter actions for tracepoint 1, one per line:
12701 > collect bar,baz
12702 > collect $regs
12703 > while-stepping 12
12704 > collect $pc, arr[i]
12705 > end
12706 end
12707 @end smallexample
12708
12709 @kindex collect @r{(tracepoints)}
12710 @item collect@r{[}/@var{mods}@r{]} @var{expr1}, @var{expr2}, @dots{}
12711 Collect values of the given expressions when the tracepoint is hit.
12712 This command accepts a comma-separated list of any valid expressions.
12713 In addition to global, static, or local variables, the following
12714 special arguments are supported:
12715
12716 @table @code
12717 @item $regs
12718 Collect all registers.
12719
12720 @item $args
12721 Collect all function arguments.
12722
12723 @item $locals
12724 Collect all local variables.
12725
12726 @item $_ret
12727 Collect the return address. This is helpful if you want to see more
12728 of a backtrace.
12729
12730 @item $_probe_argc
12731 Collects the number of arguments from the static probe at which the
12732 tracepoint is located.
12733 @xref{Static Probe Points}.
12734
12735 @item $_probe_arg@var{n}
12736 @var{n} is an integer between 0 and 11. Collects the @var{n}th argument
12737 from the static probe at which the tracepoint is located.
12738 @xref{Static Probe Points}.
12739
12740 @item $_sdata
12741 @vindex $_sdata@r{, collect}
12742 Collect static tracepoint marker specific data. Only available for
12743 static tracepoints. @xref{Tracepoint Actions,,Tracepoint Action
12744 Lists}. On the UST static tracepoints library backend, an
12745 instrumentation point resembles a @code{printf} function call. The
12746 tracing library is able to collect user specified data formatted to a
12747 character string using the format provided by the programmer that
12748 instrumented the program. Other backends have similar mechanisms.
12749 Here's an example of a UST marker call:
12750
12751 @smallexample
12752 const char master_name[] = "$your_name";
12753 trace_mark(channel1, marker1, "hello %s", master_name)
12754 @end smallexample
12755
12756 In this case, collecting @code{$_sdata} collects the string
12757 @samp{hello $yourname}. When analyzing the trace buffer, you can
12758 inspect @samp{$_sdata} like any other variable available to
12759 @value{GDBN}.
12760 @end table
12761
12762 You can give several consecutive @code{collect} commands, each one
12763 with a single argument, or one @code{collect} command with several
12764 arguments separated by commas; the effect is the same.
12765
12766 The optional @var{mods} changes the usual handling of the arguments.
12767 @code{s} requests that pointers to chars be handled as strings, in
12768 particular collecting the contents of the memory being pointed at, up
12769 to the first zero. The upper bound is by default the value of the
12770 @code{print elements} variable; if @code{s} is followed by a decimal
12771 number, that is the upper bound instead. So for instance
12772 @samp{collect/s25 mystr} collects as many as 25 characters at
12773 @samp{mystr}.
12774
12775 The command @code{info scope} (@pxref{Symbols, info scope}) is
12776 particularly useful for figuring out what data to collect.
12777
12778 @kindex teval @r{(tracepoints)}
12779 @item teval @var{expr1}, @var{expr2}, @dots{}
12780 Evaluate the given expressions when the tracepoint is hit. This
12781 command accepts a comma-separated list of expressions. The results
12782 are discarded, so this is mainly useful for assigning values to trace
12783 state variables (@pxref{Trace State Variables}) without adding those
12784 values to the trace buffer, as would be the case if the @code{collect}
12785 action were used.
12786
12787 @kindex while-stepping @r{(tracepoints)}
12788 @item while-stepping @var{n}
12789 Perform @var{n} single-step instruction traces after the tracepoint,
12790 collecting new data after each step. The @code{while-stepping}
12791 command is followed by the list of what to collect while stepping
12792 (followed by its own @code{end} command):
12793
12794 @smallexample
12795 > while-stepping 12
12796 > collect $regs, myglobal
12797 > end
12798 >
12799 @end smallexample
12800
12801 @noindent
12802 Note that @code{$pc} is not automatically collected by
12803 @code{while-stepping}; you need to explicitly collect that register if
12804 you need it. You may abbreviate @code{while-stepping} as @code{ws} or
12805 @code{stepping}.
12806
12807 @item set default-collect @var{expr1}, @var{expr2}, @dots{}
12808 @kindex set default-collect
12809 @cindex default collection action
12810 This variable is a list of expressions to collect at each tracepoint
12811 hit. It is effectively an additional @code{collect} action prepended
12812 to every tracepoint action list. The expressions are parsed
12813 individually for each tracepoint, so for instance a variable named
12814 @code{xyz} may be interpreted as a global for one tracepoint, and a
12815 local for another, as appropriate to the tracepoint's location.
12816
12817 @item show default-collect
12818 @kindex show default-collect
12819 Show the list of expressions that are collected by default at each
12820 tracepoint hit.
12821
12822 @end table
12823
12824 @node Listing Tracepoints
12825 @subsection Listing Tracepoints
12826
12827 @table @code
12828 @kindex info tracepoints @r{[}@var{n}@dots{}@r{]}
12829 @kindex info tp @r{[}@var{n}@dots{}@r{]}
12830 @cindex information about tracepoints
12831 @item info tracepoints @r{[}@var{num}@dots{}@r{]}
12832 Display information about the tracepoint @var{num}. If you don't
12833 specify a tracepoint number, displays information about all the
12834 tracepoints defined so far. The format is similar to that used for
12835 @code{info breakpoints}; in fact, @code{info tracepoints} is the same
12836 command, simply restricting itself to tracepoints.
12837
12838 A tracepoint's listing may include additional information specific to
12839 tracing:
12840
12841 @itemize @bullet
12842 @item
12843 its passcount as given by the @code{passcount @var{n}} command
12844
12845 @item
12846 the state about installed on target of each location
12847 @end itemize
12848
12849 @smallexample
12850 (@value{GDBP}) @b{info trace}
12851 Num Type Disp Enb Address What
12852 1 tracepoint keep y 0x0804ab57 in foo() at main.cxx:7
12853 while-stepping 20
12854 collect globfoo, $regs
12855 end
12856 collect globfoo2
12857 end
12858 pass count 1200
12859 2 tracepoint keep y <MULTIPLE>
12860 collect $eip
12861 2.1 y 0x0804859c in func4 at change-loc.h:35
12862 installed on target
12863 2.2 y 0xb7ffc480 in func4 at change-loc.h:35
12864 installed on target
12865 2.3 y <PENDING> set_tracepoint
12866 3 tracepoint keep y 0x080485b1 in foo at change-loc.c:29
12867 not installed on target
12868 (@value{GDBP})
12869 @end smallexample
12870
12871 @noindent
12872 This command can be abbreviated @code{info tp}.
12873 @end table
12874
12875 @node Listing Static Tracepoint Markers
12876 @subsection Listing Static Tracepoint Markers
12877
12878 @table @code
12879 @kindex info static-tracepoint-markers
12880 @cindex information about static tracepoint markers
12881 @item info static-tracepoint-markers
12882 Display information about all static tracepoint markers defined in the
12883 program.
12884
12885 For each marker, the following columns are printed:
12886
12887 @table @emph
12888 @item Count
12889 An incrementing counter, output to help readability. This is not a
12890 stable identifier.
12891 @item ID
12892 The marker ID, as reported by the target.
12893 @item Enabled or Disabled
12894 Probed markers are tagged with @samp{y}. @samp{n} identifies marks
12895 that are not enabled.
12896 @item Address
12897 Where the marker is in your program, as a memory address.
12898 @item What
12899 Where the marker is in the source for your program, as a file and line
12900 number. If the debug information included in the program does not
12901 allow @value{GDBN} to locate the source of the marker, this column
12902 will be left blank.
12903 @end table
12904
12905 @noindent
12906 In addition, the following information may be printed for each marker:
12907
12908 @table @emph
12909 @item Data
12910 User data passed to the tracing library by the marker call. In the
12911 UST backend, this is the format string passed as argument to the
12912 marker call.
12913 @item Static tracepoints probing the marker
12914 The list of static tracepoints attached to the marker.
12915 @end table
12916
12917 @smallexample
12918 (@value{GDBP}) info static-tracepoint-markers
12919 Cnt ID Enb Address What
12920 1 ust/bar2 y 0x0000000000400e1a in main at stexample.c:25
12921 Data: number1 %d number2 %d
12922 Probed by static tracepoints: #2
12923 2 ust/bar33 n 0x0000000000400c87 in main at stexample.c:24
12924 Data: str %s
12925 (@value{GDBP})
12926 @end smallexample
12927 @end table
12928
12929 @node Starting and Stopping Trace Experiments
12930 @subsection Starting and Stopping Trace Experiments
12931
12932 @table @code
12933 @kindex tstart [ @var{notes} ]
12934 @cindex start a new trace experiment
12935 @cindex collected data discarded
12936 @item tstart
12937 This command starts the trace experiment, and begins collecting data.
12938 It has the side effect of discarding all the data collected in the
12939 trace buffer during the previous trace experiment. If any arguments
12940 are supplied, they are taken as a note and stored with the trace
12941 experiment's state. The notes may be arbitrary text, and are
12942 especially useful with disconnected tracing in a multi-user context;
12943 the notes can explain what the trace is doing, supply user contact
12944 information, and so forth.
12945
12946 @kindex tstop [ @var{notes} ]
12947 @cindex stop a running trace experiment
12948 @item tstop
12949 This command stops the trace experiment. If any arguments are
12950 supplied, they are recorded with the experiment as a note. This is
12951 useful if you are stopping a trace started by someone else, for
12952 instance if the trace is interfering with the system's behavior and
12953 needs to be stopped quickly.
12954
12955 @strong{Note}: a trace experiment and data collection may stop
12956 automatically if any tracepoint's passcount is reached
12957 (@pxref{Tracepoint Passcounts}), or if the trace buffer becomes full.
12958
12959 @kindex tstatus
12960 @cindex status of trace data collection
12961 @cindex trace experiment, status of
12962 @item tstatus
12963 This command displays the status of the current trace data
12964 collection.
12965 @end table
12966
12967 Here is an example of the commands we described so far:
12968
12969 @smallexample
12970 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace gdb_c_test}
12971 (@value{GDBP}) @b{actions}
12972 Enter actions for tracepoint #1, one per line.
12973 > collect $regs,$locals,$args
12974 > while-stepping 11
12975 > collect $regs
12976 > end
12977 > end
12978 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tstart}
12979 [time passes @dots{}]
12980 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tstop}
12981 @end smallexample
12982
12983 @anchor{disconnected tracing}
12984 @cindex disconnected tracing
12985 You can choose to continue running the trace experiment even if
12986 @value{GDBN} disconnects from the target, voluntarily or
12987 involuntarily. For commands such as @code{detach}, the debugger will
12988 ask what you want to do with the trace. But for unexpected
12989 terminations (@value{GDBN} crash, network outage), it would be
12990 unfortunate to lose hard-won trace data, so the variable
12991 @code{disconnected-tracing} lets you decide whether the trace should
12992 continue running without @value{GDBN}.
12993
12994 @table @code
12995 @item set disconnected-tracing on
12996 @itemx set disconnected-tracing off
12997 @kindex set disconnected-tracing
12998 Choose whether a tracing run should continue to run if @value{GDBN}
12999 has disconnected from the target. Note that @code{detach} or
13000 @code{quit} will ask you directly what to do about a running trace no
13001 matter what this variable's setting, so the variable is mainly useful
13002 for handling unexpected situations, such as loss of the network.
13003
13004 @item show disconnected-tracing
13005 @kindex show disconnected-tracing
13006 Show the current choice for disconnected tracing.
13007
13008 @end table
13009
13010 When you reconnect to the target, the trace experiment may or may not
13011 still be running; it might have filled the trace buffer in the
13012 meantime, or stopped for one of the other reasons. If it is running,
13013 it will continue after reconnection.
13014
13015 Upon reconnection, the target will upload information about the
13016 tracepoints in effect. @value{GDBN} will then compare that
13017 information to the set of tracepoints currently defined, and attempt
13018 to match them up, allowing for the possibility that the numbers may
13019 have changed due to creation and deletion in the meantime. If one of
13020 the target's tracepoints does not match any in @value{GDBN}, the
13021 debugger will create a new tracepoint, so that you have a number with
13022 which to specify that tracepoint. This matching-up process is
13023 necessarily heuristic, and it may result in useless tracepoints being
13024 created; you may simply delete them if they are of no use.
13025
13026 @cindex circular trace buffer
13027 If your target agent supports a @dfn{circular trace buffer}, then you
13028 can run a trace experiment indefinitely without filling the trace
13029 buffer; when space runs out, the agent deletes already-collected trace
13030 frames, oldest first, until there is enough room to continue
13031 collecting. This is especially useful if your tracepoints are being
13032 hit too often, and your trace gets terminated prematurely because the
13033 buffer is full. To ask for a circular trace buffer, simply set
13034 @samp{circular-trace-buffer} to on. You can set this at any time,
13035 including during tracing; if the agent can do it, it will change
13036 buffer handling on the fly, otherwise it will not take effect until
13037 the next run.
13038
13039 @table @code
13040 @item set circular-trace-buffer on
13041 @itemx set circular-trace-buffer off
13042 @kindex set circular-trace-buffer
13043 Choose whether a tracing run should use a linear or circular buffer
13044 for trace data. A linear buffer will not lose any trace data, but may
13045 fill up prematurely, while a circular buffer will discard old trace
13046 data, but it will have always room for the latest tracepoint hits.
13047
13048 @item show circular-trace-buffer
13049 @kindex show circular-trace-buffer
13050 Show the current choice for the trace buffer. Note that this may not
13051 match the agent's current buffer handling, nor is it guaranteed to
13052 match the setting that might have been in effect during a past run,
13053 for instance if you are looking at frames from a trace file.
13054
13055 @end table
13056
13057 @table @code
13058 @item set trace-buffer-size @var{n}
13059 @itemx set trace-buffer-size unlimited
13060 @kindex set trace-buffer-size
13061 Request that the target use a trace buffer of @var{n} bytes. Not all
13062 targets will honor the request; they may have a compiled-in size for
13063 the trace buffer, or some other limitation. Set to a value of
13064 @code{unlimited} or @code{-1} to let the target use whatever size it
13065 likes. This is also the default.
13066
13067 @item show trace-buffer-size
13068 @kindex show trace-buffer-size
13069 Show the current requested size for the trace buffer. Note that this
13070 will only match the actual size if the target supports size-setting,
13071 and was able to handle the requested size. For instance, if the
13072 target can only change buffer size between runs, this variable will
13073 not reflect the change until the next run starts. Use @code{tstatus}
13074 to get a report of the actual buffer size.
13075 @end table
13076
13077 @table @code
13078 @item set trace-user @var{text}
13079 @kindex set trace-user
13080
13081 @item show trace-user
13082 @kindex show trace-user
13083
13084 @item set trace-notes @var{text}
13085 @kindex set trace-notes
13086 Set the trace run's notes.
13087
13088 @item show trace-notes
13089 @kindex show trace-notes
13090 Show the trace run's notes.
13091
13092 @item set trace-stop-notes @var{text}
13093 @kindex set trace-stop-notes
13094 Set the trace run's stop notes. The handling of the note is as for
13095 @code{tstop} arguments; the set command is convenient way to fix a
13096 stop note that is mistaken or incomplete.
13097
13098 @item show trace-stop-notes
13099 @kindex show trace-stop-notes
13100 Show the trace run's stop notes.
13101
13102 @end table
13103
13104 @node Tracepoint Restrictions
13105 @subsection Tracepoint Restrictions
13106
13107 @cindex tracepoint restrictions
13108 There are a number of restrictions on the use of tracepoints. As
13109 described above, tracepoint data gathering occurs on the target
13110 without interaction from @value{GDBN}. Thus the full capabilities of
13111 the debugger are not available during data gathering, and then at data
13112 examination time, you will be limited by only having what was
13113 collected. The following items describe some common problems, but it
13114 is not exhaustive, and you may run into additional difficulties not
13115 mentioned here.
13116
13117 @itemize @bullet
13118
13119 @item
13120 Tracepoint expressions are intended to gather objects (lvalues). Thus
13121 the full flexibility of GDB's expression evaluator is not available.
13122 You cannot call functions, cast objects to aggregate types, access
13123 convenience variables or modify values (except by assignment to trace
13124 state variables). Some language features may implicitly call
13125 functions (for instance Objective-C fields with accessors), and therefore
13126 cannot be collected either.
13127
13128 @item
13129 Collection of local variables, either individually or in bulk with
13130 @code{$locals} or @code{$args}, during @code{while-stepping} may
13131 behave erratically. The stepping action may enter a new scope (for
13132 instance by stepping into a function), or the location of the variable
13133 may change (for instance it is loaded into a register). The
13134 tracepoint data recorded uses the location information for the
13135 variables that is correct for the tracepoint location. When the
13136 tracepoint is created, it is not possible, in general, to determine
13137 where the steps of a @code{while-stepping} sequence will advance the
13138 program---particularly if a conditional branch is stepped.
13139
13140 @item
13141 Collection of an incompletely-initialized or partially-destroyed object
13142 may result in something that @value{GDBN} cannot display, or displays
13143 in a misleading way.
13144
13145 @item
13146 When @value{GDBN} displays a pointer to character it automatically
13147 dereferences the pointer to also display characters of the string
13148 being pointed to. However, collecting the pointer during tracing does
13149 not automatically collect the string. You need to explicitly
13150 dereference the pointer and provide size information if you want to
13151 collect not only the pointer, but the memory pointed to. For example,
13152 @code{*ptr@@50} can be used to collect the 50 element array pointed to
13153 by @code{ptr}.
13154
13155 @item
13156 It is not possible to collect a complete stack backtrace at a
13157 tracepoint. Instead, you may collect the registers and a few hundred
13158 bytes from the stack pointer with something like @code{*(unsigned char *)$esp@@300}
13159 (adjust to use the name of the actual stack pointer register on your
13160 target architecture, and the amount of stack you wish to capture).
13161 Then the @code{backtrace} command will show a partial backtrace when
13162 using a trace frame. The number of stack frames that can be examined
13163 depends on the sizes of the frames in the collected stack. Note that
13164 if you ask for a block so large that it goes past the bottom of the
13165 stack, the target agent may report an error trying to read from an
13166 invalid address.
13167
13168 @item
13169 If you do not collect registers at a tracepoint, @value{GDBN} can
13170 infer that the value of @code{$pc} must be the same as the address of
13171 the tracepoint and use that when you are looking at a trace frame
13172 for that tracepoint. However, this cannot work if the tracepoint has
13173 multiple locations (for instance if it was set in a function that was
13174 inlined), or if it has a @code{while-stepping} loop. In those cases
13175 @value{GDBN} will warn you that it can't infer @code{$pc}, and default
13176 it to zero.
13177
13178 @end itemize
13179
13180 @node Analyze Collected Data
13181 @section Using the Collected Data
13182
13183 After the tracepoint experiment ends, you use @value{GDBN} commands
13184 for examining the trace data. The basic idea is that each tracepoint
13185 collects a trace @dfn{snapshot} every time it is hit and another
13186 snapshot every time it single-steps. All these snapshots are
13187 consecutively numbered from zero and go into a buffer, and you can
13188 examine them later. The way you examine them is to @dfn{focus} on a
13189 specific trace snapshot. When the remote stub is focused on a trace
13190 snapshot, it will respond to all @value{GDBN} requests for memory and
13191 registers by reading from the buffer which belongs to that snapshot,
13192 rather than from @emph{real} memory or registers of the program being
13193 debugged. This means that @strong{all} @value{GDBN} commands
13194 (@code{print}, @code{info registers}, @code{backtrace}, etc.) will
13195 behave as if we were currently debugging the program state as it was
13196 when the tracepoint occurred. Any requests for data that are not in
13197 the buffer will fail.
13198
13199 @menu
13200 * tfind:: How to select a trace snapshot
13201 * tdump:: How to display all data for a snapshot
13202 * save tracepoints:: How to save tracepoints for a future run
13203 @end menu
13204
13205 @node tfind
13206 @subsection @code{tfind @var{n}}
13207
13208 @kindex tfind
13209 @cindex select trace snapshot
13210 @cindex find trace snapshot
13211 The basic command for selecting a trace snapshot from the buffer is
13212 @code{tfind @var{n}}, which finds trace snapshot number @var{n},
13213 counting from zero. If no argument @var{n} is given, the next
13214 snapshot is selected.
13215
13216 Here are the various forms of using the @code{tfind} command.
13217
13218 @table @code
13219 @item tfind start
13220 Find the first snapshot in the buffer. This is a synonym for
13221 @code{tfind 0} (since 0 is the number of the first snapshot).
13222
13223 @item tfind none
13224 Stop debugging trace snapshots, resume @emph{live} debugging.
13225
13226 @item tfind end
13227 Same as @samp{tfind none}.
13228
13229 @item tfind
13230 No argument means find the next trace snapshot.
13231
13232 @item tfind -
13233 Find the previous trace snapshot before the current one. This permits
13234 retracing earlier steps.
13235
13236 @item tfind tracepoint @var{num}
13237 Find the next snapshot associated with tracepoint @var{num}. Search
13238 proceeds forward from the last examined trace snapshot. If no
13239 argument @var{num} is given, it means find the next snapshot collected
13240 for the same tracepoint as the current snapshot.
13241
13242 @item tfind pc @var{addr}
13243 Find the next snapshot associated with the value @var{addr} of the
13244 program counter. Search proceeds forward from the last examined trace
13245 snapshot. If no argument @var{addr} is given, it means find the next
13246 snapshot with the same value of PC as the current snapshot.
13247
13248 @item tfind outside @var{addr1}, @var{addr2}
13249 Find the next snapshot whose PC is outside the given range of
13250 addresses (exclusive).
13251
13252 @item tfind range @var{addr1}, @var{addr2}
13253 Find the next snapshot whose PC is between @var{addr1} and
13254 @var{addr2} (inclusive).
13255
13256 @item tfind line @r{[}@var{file}:@r{]}@var{n}
13257 Find the next snapshot associated with the source line @var{n}. If
13258 the optional argument @var{file} is given, refer to line @var{n} in
13259 that source file. Search proceeds forward from the last examined
13260 trace snapshot. If no argument @var{n} is given, it means find the
13261 next line other than the one currently being examined; thus saying
13262 @code{tfind line} repeatedly can appear to have the same effect as
13263 stepping from line to line in a @emph{live} debugging session.
13264 @end table
13265
13266 The default arguments for the @code{tfind} commands are specifically
13267 designed to make it easy to scan through the trace buffer. For
13268 instance, @code{tfind} with no argument selects the next trace
13269 snapshot, and @code{tfind -} with no argument selects the previous
13270 trace snapshot. So, by giving one @code{tfind} command, and then
13271 simply hitting @key{RET} repeatedly you can examine all the trace
13272 snapshots in order. Or, by saying @code{tfind -} and then hitting
13273 @key{RET} repeatedly you can examine the snapshots in reverse order.
13274 The @code{tfind line} command with no argument selects the snapshot
13275 for the next source line executed. The @code{tfind pc} command with
13276 no argument selects the next snapshot with the same program counter
13277 (PC) as the current frame. The @code{tfind tracepoint} command with
13278 no argument selects the next trace snapshot collected by the same
13279 tracepoint as the current one.
13280
13281 In addition to letting you scan through the trace buffer manually,
13282 these commands make it easy to construct @value{GDBN} scripts that
13283 scan through the trace buffer and print out whatever collected data
13284 you are interested in. Thus, if we want to examine the PC, FP, and SP
13285 registers from each trace frame in the buffer, we can say this:
13286
13287 @smallexample
13288 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tfind start}
13289 (@value{GDBP}) @b{while ($trace_frame != -1)}
13290 > printf "Frame %d, PC = %08X, SP = %08X, FP = %08X\n", \
13291 $trace_frame, $pc, $sp, $fp
13292 > tfind
13293 > end
13294
13295 Frame 0, PC = 0020DC64, SP = 0030BF3C, FP = 0030BF44
13296 Frame 1, PC = 0020DC6C, SP = 0030BF38, FP = 0030BF44
13297 Frame 2, PC = 0020DC70, SP = 0030BF34, FP = 0030BF44
13298 Frame 3, PC = 0020DC74, SP = 0030BF30, FP = 0030BF44
13299 Frame 4, PC = 0020DC78, SP = 0030BF2C, FP = 0030BF44
13300 Frame 5, PC = 0020DC7C, SP = 0030BF28, FP = 0030BF44
13301 Frame 6, PC = 0020DC80, SP = 0030BF24, FP = 0030BF44
13302 Frame 7, PC = 0020DC84, SP = 0030BF20, FP = 0030BF44
13303 Frame 8, PC = 0020DC88, SP = 0030BF1C, FP = 0030BF44
13304 Frame 9, PC = 0020DC8E, SP = 0030BF18, FP = 0030BF44
13305 Frame 10, PC = 00203F6C, SP = 0030BE3C, FP = 0030BF14
13306 @end smallexample
13307
13308 Or, if we want to examine the variable @code{X} at each source line in
13309 the buffer:
13310
13311 @smallexample
13312 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tfind start}
13313 (@value{GDBP}) @b{while ($trace_frame != -1)}
13314 > printf "Frame %d, X == %d\n", $trace_frame, X
13315 > tfind line
13316 > end
13317
13318 Frame 0, X = 1
13319 Frame 7, X = 2
13320 Frame 13, X = 255
13321 @end smallexample
13322
13323 @node tdump
13324 @subsection @code{tdump}
13325 @kindex tdump
13326 @cindex dump all data collected at tracepoint
13327 @cindex tracepoint data, display
13328
13329 This command takes no arguments. It prints all the data collected at
13330 the current trace snapshot.
13331
13332 @smallexample
13333 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace 444}
13334 (@value{GDBP}) @b{actions}
13335 Enter actions for tracepoint #2, one per line:
13336 > collect $regs, $locals, $args, gdb_long_test
13337 > end
13338
13339 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tstart}
13340
13341 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tfind line 444}
13342 #0 gdb_test (p1=0x11, p2=0x22, p3=0x33, p4=0x44, p5=0x55, p6=0x66)
13343 at gdb_test.c:444
13344 444 printp( "%s: arguments = 0x%X 0x%X 0x%X 0x%X 0x%X 0x%X\n", )
13345
13346 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tdump}
13347 Data collected at tracepoint 2, trace frame 1:
13348 d0 0xc4aa0085 -995491707
13349 d1 0x18 24
13350 d2 0x80 128
13351 d3 0x33 51
13352 d4 0x71aea3d 119204413
13353 d5 0x22 34
13354 d6 0xe0 224
13355 d7 0x380035 3670069
13356 a0 0x19e24a 1696330
13357 a1 0x3000668 50333288
13358 a2 0x100 256
13359 a3 0x322000 3284992
13360 a4 0x3000698 50333336
13361 a5 0x1ad3cc 1758156
13362 fp 0x30bf3c 0x30bf3c
13363 sp 0x30bf34 0x30bf34
13364 ps 0x0 0
13365 pc 0x20b2c8 0x20b2c8
13366 fpcontrol 0x0 0
13367 fpstatus 0x0 0
13368 fpiaddr 0x0 0
13369 p = 0x20e5b4 "gdb-test"
13370 p1 = (void *) 0x11
13371 p2 = (void *) 0x22
13372 p3 = (void *) 0x33
13373 p4 = (void *) 0x44
13374 p5 = (void *) 0x55
13375 p6 = (void *) 0x66
13376 gdb_long_test = 17 '\021'
13377
13378 (@value{GDBP})
13379 @end smallexample
13380
13381 @code{tdump} works by scanning the tracepoint's current collection
13382 actions and printing the value of each expression listed. So
13383 @code{tdump} can fail, if after a run, you change the tracepoint's
13384 actions to mention variables that were not collected during the run.
13385
13386 Also, for tracepoints with @code{while-stepping} loops, @code{tdump}
13387 uses the collected value of @code{$pc} to distinguish between trace
13388 frames that were collected at the tracepoint hit, and frames that were
13389 collected while stepping. This allows it to correctly choose whether
13390 to display the basic list of collections, or the collections from the
13391 body of the while-stepping loop. However, if @code{$pc} was not collected,
13392 then @code{tdump} will always attempt to dump using the basic collection
13393 list, and may fail if a while-stepping frame does not include all the
13394 same data that is collected at the tracepoint hit.
13395 @c This is getting pretty arcane, example would be good.
13396
13397 @node save tracepoints
13398 @subsection @code{save tracepoints @var{filename}}
13399 @kindex save tracepoints
13400 @kindex save-tracepoints
13401 @cindex save tracepoints for future sessions
13402
13403 This command saves all current tracepoint definitions together with
13404 their actions and passcounts, into a file @file{@var{filename}}
13405 suitable for use in a later debugging session. To read the saved
13406 tracepoint definitions, use the @code{source} command (@pxref{Command
13407 Files}). The @w{@code{save-tracepoints}} command is a deprecated
13408 alias for @w{@code{save tracepoints}}
13409
13410 @node Tracepoint Variables
13411 @section Convenience Variables for Tracepoints
13412 @cindex tracepoint variables
13413 @cindex convenience variables for tracepoints
13414
13415 @table @code
13416 @vindex $trace_frame
13417 @item (int) $trace_frame
13418 The current trace snapshot (a.k.a.@: @dfn{frame}) number, or -1 if no
13419 snapshot is selected.
13420
13421 @vindex $tracepoint
13422 @item (int) $tracepoint
13423 The tracepoint for the current trace snapshot.
13424
13425 @vindex $trace_line
13426 @item (int) $trace_line
13427 The line number for the current trace snapshot.
13428
13429 @vindex $trace_file
13430 @item (char []) $trace_file
13431 The source file for the current trace snapshot.
13432
13433 @vindex $trace_func
13434 @item (char []) $trace_func
13435 The name of the function containing @code{$tracepoint}.
13436 @end table
13437
13438 Note: @code{$trace_file} is not suitable for use in @code{printf},
13439 use @code{output} instead.
13440
13441 Here's a simple example of using these convenience variables for
13442 stepping through all the trace snapshots and printing some of their
13443 data. Note that these are not the same as trace state variables,
13444 which are managed by the target.
13445
13446 @smallexample
13447 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tfind start}
13448
13449 (@value{GDBP}) @b{while $trace_frame != -1}
13450 > output $trace_file
13451 > printf ", line %d (tracepoint #%d)\n", $trace_line, $tracepoint
13452 > tfind
13453 > end
13454 @end smallexample
13455
13456 @node Trace Files
13457 @section Using Trace Files
13458 @cindex trace files
13459
13460 In some situations, the target running a trace experiment may no
13461 longer be available; perhaps it crashed, or the hardware was needed
13462 for a different activity. To handle these cases, you can arrange to
13463 dump the trace data into a file, and later use that file as a source
13464 of trace data, via the @code{target tfile} command.
13465
13466 @table @code
13467
13468 @kindex tsave
13469 @item tsave [ -r ] @var{filename}
13470 @itemx tsave [-ctf] @var{dirname}
13471 Save the trace data to @var{filename}. By default, this command
13472 assumes that @var{filename} refers to the host filesystem, so if
13473 necessary @value{GDBN} will copy raw trace data up from the target and
13474 then save it. If the target supports it, you can also supply the
13475 optional argument @code{-r} (``remote'') to direct the target to save
13476 the data directly into @var{filename} in its own filesystem, which may be
13477 more efficient if the trace buffer is very large. (Note, however, that
13478 @code{target tfile} can only read from files accessible to the host.)
13479 By default, this command will save trace frame in tfile format.
13480 You can supply the optional argument @code{-ctf} to save date in CTF
13481 format. The @dfn{Common Trace Format} (CTF) is proposed as a trace format
13482 that can be shared by multiple debugging and tracing tools. Please go to
13483 @indicateurl{http://www.efficios.com/ctf} to get more information.
13484
13485 @kindex target tfile
13486 @kindex tfile
13487 @kindex target ctf
13488 @kindex ctf
13489 @item target tfile @var{filename}
13490 @itemx target ctf @var{dirname}
13491 Use the file named @var{filename} or directory named @var{dirname} as
13492 a source of trace data. Commands that examine data work as they do with
13493 a live target, but it is not possible to run any new trace experiments.
13494 @code{tstatus} will report the state of the trace run at the moment
13495 the data was saved, as well as the current trace frame you are examining.
13496 Both @var{filename} and @var{dirname} must be on a filesystem accessible to
13497 the host.
13498
13499 @smallexample
13500 (@value{GDBP}) target ctf ctf.ctf
13501 (@value{GDBP}) tfind
13502 Found trace frame 0, tracepoint 2
13503 39 ++a; /* set tracepoint 1 here */
13504 (@value{GDBP}) tdump
13505 Data collected at tracepoint 2, trace frame 0:
13506 i = 0
13507 a = 0
13508 b = 1 '\001'
13509 c = @{"123", "456", "789", "123", "456", "789"@}
13510 d = @{@{@{a = 1, b = 2@}, @{a = 3, b = 4@}@}, @{@{a = 5, b = 6@}, @{a = 7, b = 8@}@}@}
13511 (@value{GDBP}) p b
13512 $1 = 1
13513 @end smallexample
13514
13515 @end table
13516
13517 @node Overlays
13518 @chapter Debugging Programs That Use Overlays
13519 @cindex overlays
13520
13521 If your program is too large to fit completely in your target system's
13522 memory, you can sometimes use @dfn{overlays} to work around this
13523 problem. @value{GDBN} provides some support for debugging programs that
13524 use overlays.
13525
13526 @menu
13527 * How Overlays Work:: A general explanation of overlays.
13528 * Overlay Commands:: Managing overlays in @value{GDBN}.
13529 * Automatic Overlay Debugging:: @value{GDBN} can find out which overlays are
13530 mapped by asking the inferior.
13531 * Overlay Sample Program:: A sample program using overlays.
13532 @end menu
13533
13534 @node How Overlays Work
13535 @section How Overlays Work
13536 @cindex mapped overlays
13537 @cindex unmapped overlays
13538 @cindex load address, overlay's
13539 @cindex mapped address
13540 @cindex overlay area
13541
13542 Suppose you have a computer whose instruction address space is only 64
13543 kilobytes long, but which has much more memory which can be accessed by
13544 other means: special instructions, segment registers, or memory
13545 management hardware, for example. Suppose further that you want to
13546 adapt a program which is larger than 64 kilobytes to run on this system.
13547
13548 One solution is to identify modules of your program which are relatively
13549 independent, and need not call each other directly; call these modules
13550 @dfn{overlays}. Separate the overlays from the main program, and place
13551 their machine code in the larger memory. Place your main program in
13552 instruction memory, but leave at least enough space there to hold the
13553 largest overlay as well.
13554
13555 Now, to call a function located in an overlay, you must first copy that
13556 overlay's machine code from the large memory into the space set aside
13557 for it in the instruction memory, and then jump to its entry point
13558 there.
13559
13560 @c NB: In the below the mapped area's size is greater or equal to the
13561 @c size of all overlays. This is intentional to remind the developer
13562 @c that overlays don't necessarily need to be the same size.
13563
13564 @smallexample
13565 @group
13566 Data Instruction Larger
13567 Address Space Address Space Address Space
13568 +-----------+ +-----------+ +-----------+
13569 | | | | | |
13570 +-----------+ +-----------+ +-----------+<-- overlay 1
13571 | program | | main | .----| overlay 1 | load address
13572 | variables | | program | | +-----------+
13573 | and heap | | | | | |
13574 +-----------+ | | | +-----------+<-- overlay 2
13575 | | +-----------+ | | | load address
13576 +-----------+ | | | .-| overlay 2 |
13577 | | | | | |
13578 mapped --->+-----------+ | | +-----------+
13579 address | | | | | |
13580 | overlay | <-' | | |
13581 | area | <---' +-----------+<-- overlay 3
13582 | | <---. | | load address
13583 +-----------+ `--| overlay 3 |
13584 | | | |
13585 +-----------+ | |
13586 +-----------+
13587 | |
13588 +-----------+
13589
13590 @anchor{A code overlay}A code overlay
13591 @end group
13592 @end smallexample
13593
13594 The diagram (@pxref{A code overlay}) shows a system with separate data
13595 and instruction address spaces. To map an overlay, the program copies
13596 its code from the larger address space to the instruction address space.
13597 Since the overlays shown here all use the same mapped address, only one
13598 may be mapped at a time. For a system with a single address space for
13599 data and instructions, the diagram would be similar, except that the
13600 program variables and heap would share an address space with the main
13601 program and the overlay area.
13602
13603 An overlay loaded into instruction memory and ready for use is called a
13604 @dfn{mapped} overlay; its @dfn{mapped address} is its address in the
13605 instruction memory. An overlay not present (or only partially present)
13606 in instruction memory is called @dfn{unmapped}; its @dfn{load address}
13607 is its address in the larger memory. The mapped address is also called
13608 the @dfn{virtual memory address}, or @dfn{VMA}; the load address is also
13609 called the @dfn{load memory address}, or @dfn{LMA}.
13610
13611 Unfortunately, overlays are not a completely transparent way to adapt a
13612 program to limited instruction memory. They introduce a new set of
13613 global constraints you must keep in mind as you design your program:
13614
13615 @itemize @bullet
13616
13617 @item
13618 Before calling or returning to a function in an overlay, your program
13619 must make sure that overlay is actually mapped. Otherwise, the call or
13620 return will transfer control to the right address, but in the wrong
13621 overlay, and your program will probably crash.
13622
13623 @item
13624 If the process of mapping an overlay is expensive on your system, you
13625 will need to choose your overlays carefully to minimize their effect on
13626 your program's performance.
13627
13628 @item
13629 The executable file you load onto your system must contain each
13630 overlay's instructions, appearing at the overlay's load address, not its
13631 mapped address. However, each overlay's instructions must be relocated
13632 and its symbols defined as if the overlay were at its mapped address.
13633 You can use GNU linker scripts to specify different load and relocation
13634 addresses for pieces of your program; see @ref{Overlay Description,,,
13635 ld.info, Using ld: the GNU linker}.
13636
13637 @item
13638 The procedure for loading executable files onto your system must be able
13639 to load their contents into the larger address space as well as the
13640 instruction and data spaces.
13641
13642 @end itemize
13643
13644 The overlay system described above is rather simple, and could be
13645 improved in many ways:
13646
13647 @itemize @bullet
13648
13649 @item
13650 If your system has suitable bank switch registers or memory management
13651 hardware, you could use those facilities to make an overlay's load area
13652 contents simply appear at their mapped address in instruction space.
13653 This would probably be faster than copying the overlay to its mapped
13654 area in the usual way.
13655
13656 @item
13657 If your overlays are small enough, you could set aside more than one
13658 overlay area, and have more than one overlay mapped at a time.
13659
13660 @item
13661 You can use overlays to manage data, as well as instructions. In
13662 general, data overlays are even less transparent to your design than
13663 code overlays: whereas code overlays only require care when you call or
13664 return to functions, data overlays require care every time you access
13665 the data. Also, if you change the contents of a data overlay, you
13666 must copy its contents back out to its load address before you can copy a
13667 different data overlay into the same mapped area.
13668
13669 @end itemize
13670
13671
13672 @node Overlay Commands
13673 @section Overlay Commands
13674
13675 To use @value{GDBN}'s overlay support, each overlay in your program must
13676 correspond to a separate section of the executable file. The section's
13677 virtual memory address and load memory address must be the overlay's
13678 mapped and load addresses. Identifying overlays with sections allows
13679 @value{GDBN} to determine the appropriate address of a function or
13680 variable, depending on whether the overlay is mapped or not.
13681
13682 @value{GDBN}'s overlay commands all start with the word @code{overlay};
13683 you can abbreviate this as @code{ov} or @code{ovly}. The commands are:
13684
13685 @table @code
13686 @item overlay off
13687 @kindex overlay
13688 Disable @value{GDBN}'s overlay support. When overlay support is
13689 disabled, @value{GDBN} assumes that all functions and variables are
13690 always present at their mapped addresses. By default, @value{GDBN}'s
13691 overlay support is disabled.
13692
13693 @item overlay manual
13694 @cindex manual overlay debugging
13695 Enable @dfn{manual} overlay debugging. In this mode, @value{GDBN}
13696 relies on you to tell it which overlays are mapped, and which are not,
13697 using the @code{overlay map-overlay} and @code{overlay unmap-overlay}
13698 commands described below.
13699
13700 @item overlay map-overlay @var{overlay}
13701 @itemx overlay map @var{overlay}
13702 @cindex map an overlay
13703 Tell @value{GDBN} that @var{overlay} is now mapped; @var{overlay} must
13704 be the name of the object file section containing the overlay. When an
13705 overlay is mapped, @value{GDBN} assumes it can find the overlay's
13706 functions and variables at their mapped addresses. @value{GDBN} assumes
13707 that any other overlays whose mapped ranges overlap that of
13708 @var{overlay} are now unmapped.
13709
13710 @item overlay unmap-overlay @var{overlay}
13711 @itemx overlay unmap @var{overlay}
13712 @cindex unmap an overlay
13713 Tell @value{GDBN} that @var{overlay} is no longer mapped; @var{overlay}
13714 must be the name of the object file section containing the overlay.
13715 When an overlay is unmapped, @value{GDBN} assumes it can find the
13716 overlay's functions and variables at their load addresses.
13717
13718 @item overlay auto
13719 Enable @dfn{automatic} overlay debugging. In this mode, @value{GDBN}
13720 consults a data structure the overlay manager maintains in the inferior
13721 to see which overlays are mapped. For details, see @ref{Automatic
13722 Overlay Debugging}.
13723
13724 @item overlay load-target
13725 @itemx overlay load
13726 @cindex reloading the overlay table
13727 Re-read the overlay table from the inferior. Normally, @value{GDBN}
13728 re-reads the table @value{GDBN} automatically each time the inferior
13729 stops, so this command should only be necessary if you have changed the
13730 overlay mapping yourself using @value{GDBN}. This command is only
13731 useful when using automatic overlay debugging.
13732
13733 @item overlay list-overlays
13734 @itemx overlay list
13735 @cindex listing mapped overlays
13736 Display a list of the overlays currently mapped, along with their mapped
13737 addresses, load addresses, and sizes.
13738
13739 @end table
13740
13741 Normally, when @value{GDBN} prints a code address, it includes the name
13742 of the function the address falls in:
13743
13744 @smallexample
13745 (@value{GDBP}) print main
13746 $3 = @{int ()@} 0x11a0 <main>
13747 @end smallexample
13748 @noindent
13749 When overlay debugging is enabled, @value{GDBN} recognizes code in
13750 unmapped overlays, and prints the names of unmapped functions with
13751 asterisks around them. For example, if @code{foo} is a function in an
13752 unmapped overlay, @value{GDBN} prints it this way:
13753
13754 @smallexample
13755 (@value{GDBP}) overlay list
13756 No sections are mapped.
13757 (@value{GDBP}) print foo
13758 $5 = @{int (int)@} 0x100000 <*foo*>
13759 @end smallexample
13760 @noindent
13761 When @code{foo}'s overlay is mapped, @value{GDBN} prints the function's
13762 name normally:
13763
13764 @smallexample
13765 (@value{GDBP}) overlay list
13766 Section .ov.foo.text, loaded at 0x100000 - 0x100034,
13767 mapped at 0x1016 - 0x104a
13768 (@value{GDBP}) print foo
13769 $6 = @{int (int)@} 0x1016 <foo>
13770 @end smallexample
13771
13772 When overlay debugging is enabled, @value{GDBN} can find the correct
13773 address for functions and variables in an overlay, whether or not the
13774 overlay is mapped. This allows most @value{GDBN} commands, like
13775 @code{break} and @code{disassemble}, to work normally, even on unmapped
13776 code. However, @value{GDBN}'s breakpoint support has some limitations:
13777
13778 @itemize @bullet
13779 @item
13780 @cindex breakpoints in overlays
13781 @cindex overlays, setting breakpoints in
13782 You can set breakpoints in functions in unmapped overlays, as long as
13783 @value{GDBN} can write to the overlay at its load address.
13784 @item
13785 @value{GDBN} can not set hardware or simulator-based breakpoints in
13786 unmapped overlays. However, if you set a breakpoint at the end of your
13787 overlay manager (and tell @value{GDBN} which overlays are now mapped, if
13788 you are using manual overlay management), @value{GDBN} will re-set its
13789 breakpoints properly.
13790 @end itemize
13791
13792
13793 @node Automatic Overlay Debugging
13794 @section Automatic Overlay Debugging
13795 @cindex automatic overlay debugging
13796
13797 @value{GDBN} can automatically track which overlays are mapped and which
13798 are not, given some simple co-operation from the overlay manager in the
13799 inferior. If you enable automatic overlay debugging with the
13800 @code{overlay auto} command (@pxref{Overlay Commands}), @value{GDBN}
13801 looks in the inferior's memory for certain variables describing the
13802 current state of the overlays.
13803
13804 Here are the variables your overlay manager must define to support
13805 @value{GDBN}'s automatic overlay debugging:
13806
13807 @table @asis
13808
13809 @item @code{_ovly_table}:
13810 This variable must be an array of the following structures:
13811
13812 @smallexample
13813 struct
13814 @{
13815 /* The overlay's mapped address. */
13816 unsigned long vma;
13817
13818 /* The size of the overlay, in bytes. */
13819 unsigned long size;
13820
13821 /* The overlay's load address. */
13822 unsigned long lma;
13823
13824 /* Non-zero if the overlay is currently mapped;
13825 zero otherwise. */
13826 unsigned long mapped;
13827 @}
13828 @end smallexample
13829
13830 @item @code{_novlys}:
13831 This variable must be a four-byte signed integer, holding the total
13832 number of elements in @code{_ovly_table}.
13833
13834 @end table
13835
13836 To decide whether a particular overlay is mapped or not, @value{GDBN}
13837 looks for an entry in @w{@code{_ovly_table}} whose @code{vma} and
13838 @code{lma} members equal the VMA and LMA of the overlay's section in the
13839 executable file. When @value{GDBN} finds a matching entry, it consults
13840 the entry's @code{mapped} member to determine whether the overlay is
13841 currently mapped.
13842
13843 In addition, your overlay manager may define a function called
13844 @code{_ovly_debug_event}. If this function is defined, @value{GDBN}
13845 will silently set a breakpoint there. If the overlay manager then
13846 calls this function whenever it has changed the overlay table, this
13847 will enable @value{GDBN} to accurately keep track of which overlays
13848 are in program memory, and update any breakpoints that may be set
13849 in overlays. This will allow breakpoints to work even if the
13850 overlays are kept in ROM or other non-writable memory while they
13851 are not being executed.
13852
13853 @node Overlay Sample Program
13854 @section Overlay Sample Program
13855 @cindex overlay example program
13856
13857 When linking a program which uses overlays, you must place the overlays
13858 at their load addresses, while relocating them to run at their mapped
13859 addresses. To do this, you must write a linker script (@pxref{Overlay
13860 Description,,, ld.info, Using ld: the GNU linker}). Unfortunately,
13861 since linker scripts are specific to a particular host system, target
13862 architecture, and target memory layout, this manual cannot provide
13863 portable sample code demonstrating @value{GDBN}'s overlay support.
13864
13865 However, the @value{GDBN} source distribution does contain an overlaid
13866 program, with linker scripts for a few systems, as part of its test
13867 suite. The program consists of the following files from
13868 @file{gdb/testsuite/gdb.base}:
13869
13870 @table @file
13871 @item overlays.c
13872 The main program file.
13873 @item ovlymgr.c
13874 A simple overlay manager, used by @file{overlays.c}.
13875 @item foo.c
13876 @itemx bar.c
13877 @itemx baz.c
13878 @itemx grbx.c
13879 Overlay modules, loaded and used by @file{overlays.c}.
13880 @item d10v.ld
13881 @itemx m32r.ld
13882 Linker scripts for linking the test program on the @code{d10v-elf}
13883 and @code{m32r-elf} targets.
13884 @end table
13885
13886 You can build the test program using the @code{d10v-elf} GCC
13887 cross-compiler like this:
13888
13889 @smallexample
13890 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c overlays.c
13891 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c ovlymgr.c
13892 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c foo.c
13893 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c bar.c
13894 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c baz.c
13895 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c grbx.c
13896 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g overlays.o ovlymgr.o foo.o bar.o \
13897 baz.o grbx.o -Wl,-Td10v.ld -o overlays
13898 @end smallexample
13899
13900 The build process is identical for any other architecture, except that
13901 you must substitute the appropriate compiler and linker script for the
13902 target system for @code{d10v-elf-gcc} and @code{d10v.ld}.
13903
13904
13905 @node Languages
13906 @chapter Using @value{GDBN} with Different Languages
13907 @cindex languages
13908
13909 Although programming languages generally have common aspects, they are
13910 rarely expressed in the same manner. For instance, in ANSI C,
13911 dereferencing a pointer @code{p} is accomplished by @code{*p}, but in
13912 Modula-2, it is accomplished by @code{p^}. Values can also be
13913 represented (and displayed) differently. Hex numbers in C appear as
13914 @samp{0x1ae}, while in Modula-2 they appear as @samp{1AEH}.
13915
13916 @cindex working language
13917 Language-specific information is built into @value{GDBN} for some languages,
13918 allowing you to express operations like the above in your program's
13919 native language, and allowing @value{GDBN} to output values in a manner
13920 consistent with the syntax of your program's native language. The
13921 language you use to build expressions is called the @dfn{working
13922 language}.
13923
13924 @menu
13925 * Setting:: Switching between source languages
13926 * Show:: Displaying the language
13927 * Checks:: Type and range checks
13928 * Supported Languages:: Supported languages
13929 * Unsupported Languages:: Unsupported languages
13930 @end menu
13931
13932 @node Setting
13933 @section Switching Between Source Languages
13934
13935 There are two ways to control the working language---either have @value{GDBN}
13936 set it automatically, or select it manually yourself. You can use the
13937 @code{set language} command for either purpose. On startup, @value{GDBN}
13938 defaults to setting the language automatically. The working language is
13939 used to determine how expressions you type are interpreted, how values
13940 are printed, etc.
13941
13942 In addition to the working language, every source file that
13943 @value{GDBN} knows about has its own working language. For some object
13944 file formats, the compiler might indicate which language a particular
13945 source file is in. However, most of the time @value{GDBN} infers the
13946 language from the name of the file. The language of a source file
13947 controls whether C@t{++} names are demangled---this way @code{backtrace} can
13948 show each frame appropriately for its own language. There is no way to
13949 set the language of a source file from within @value{GDBN}, but you can
13950 set the language associated with a filename extension. @xref{Show, ,
13951 Displaying the Language}.
13952
13953 This is most commonly a problem when you use a program, such
13954 as @code{cfront} or @code{f2c}, that generates C but is written in
13955 another language. In that case, make the
13956 program use @code{#line} directives in its C output; that way
13957 @value{GDBN} will know the correct language of the source code of the original
13958 program, and will display that source code, not the generated C code.
13959
13960 @menu
13961 * Filenames:: Filename extensions and languages.
13962 * Manually:: Setting the working language manually
13963 * Automatically:: Having @value{GDBN} infer the source language
13964 @end menu
13965
13966 @node Filenames
13967 @subsection List of Filename Extensions and Languages
13968
13969 If a source file name ends in one of the following extensions, then
13970 @value{GDBN} infers that its language is the one indicated.
13971
13972 @table @file
13973 @item .ada
13974 @itemx .ads
13975 @itemx .adb
13976 @itemx .a
13977 Ada source file.
13978
13979 @item .c
13980 C source file
13981
13982 @item .C
13983 @itemx .cc
13984 @itemx .cp
13985 @itemx .cpp
13986 @itemx .cxx
13987 @itemx .c++
13988 C@t{++} source file
13989
13990 @item .d
13991 D source file
13992
13993 @item .m
13994 Objective-C source file
13995
13996 @item .f
13997 @itemx .F
13998 Fortran source file
13999
14000 @item .mod
14001 Modula-2 source file
14002
14003 @item .s
14004 @itemx .S
14005 Assembler source file. This actually behaves almost like C, but
14006 @value{GDBN} does not skip over function prologues when stepping.
14007 @end table
14008
14009 In addition, you may set the language associated with a filename
14010 extension. @xref{Show, , Displaying the Language}.
14011
14012 @node Manually
14013 @subsection Setting the Working Language
14014
14015 If you allow @value{GDBN} to set the language automatically,
14016 expressions are interpreted the same way in your debugging session and
14017 your program.
14018
14019 @kindex set language
14020 If you wish, you may set the language manually. To do this, issue the
14021 command @samp{set language @var{lang}}, where @var{lang} is the name of
14022 a language, such as
14023 @code{c} or @code{modula-2}.
14024 For a list of the supported languages, type @samp{set language}.
14025
14026 Setting the language manually prevents @value{GDBN} from updating the working
14027 language automatically. This can lead to confusion if you try
14028 to debug a program when the working language is not the same as the
14029 source language, when an expression is acceptable to both
14030 languages---but means different things. For instance, if the current
14031 source file were written in C, and @value{GDBN} was parsing Modula-2, a
14032 command such as:
14033
14034 @smallexample
14035 print a = b + c
14036 @end smallexample
14037
14038 @noindent
14039 might not have the effect you intended. In C, this means to add
14040 @code{b} and @code{c} and place the result in @code{a}. The result
14041 printed would be the value of @code{a}. In Modula-2, this means to compare
14042 @code{a} to the result of @code{b+c}, yielding a @code{BOOLEAN} value.
14043
14044 @node Automatically
14045 @subsection Having @value{GDBN} Infer the Source Language
14046
14047 To have @value{GDBN} set the working language automatically, use
14048 @samp{set language local} or @samp{set language auto}. @value{GDBN}
14049 then infers the working language. That is, when your program stops in a
14050 frame (usually by encountering a breakpoint), @value{GDBN} sets the
14051 working language to the language recorded for the function in that
14052 frame. If the language for a frame is unknown (that is, if the function
14053 or block corresponding to the frame was defined in a source file that
14054 does not have a recognized extension), the current working language is
14055 not changed, and @value{GDBN} issues a warning.
14056
14057 This may not seem necessary for most programs, which are written
14058 entirely in one source language. However, program modules and libraries
14059 written in one source language can be used by a main program written in
14060 a different source language. Using @samp{set language auto} in this
14061 case frees you from having to set the working language manually.
14062
14063 @node Show
14064 @section Displaying the Language
14065
14066 The following commands help you find out which language is the
14067 working language, and also what language source files were written in.
14068
14069 @table @code
14070 @item show language
14071 @anchor{show language}
14072 @kindex show language
14073 Display the current working language. This is the
14074 language you can use with commands such as @code{print} to
14075 build and compute expressions that may involve variables in your program.
14076
14077 @item info frame
14078 @kindex info frame@r{, show the source language}
14079 Display the source language for this frame. This language becomes the
14080 working language if you use an identifier from this frame.
14081 @xref{Frame Info, ,Information about a Frame}, to identify the other
14082 information listed here.
14083
14084 @item info source
14085 @kindex info source@r{, show the source language}
14086 Display the source language of this source file.
14087 @xref{Symbols, ,Examining the Symbol Table}, to identify the other
14088 information listed here.
14089 @end table
14090
14091 In unusual circumstances, you may have source files with extensions
14092 not in the standard list. You can then set the extension associated
14093 with a language explicitly:
14094
14095 @table @code
14096 @item set extension-language @var{ext} @var{language}
14097 @kindex set extension-language
14098 Tell @value{GDBN} that source files with extension @var{ext} are to be
14099 assumed as written in the source language @var{language}.
14100
14101 @item info extensions
14102 @kindex info extensions
14103 List all the filename extensions and the associated languages.
14104 @end table
14105
14106 @node Checks
14107 @section Type and Range Checking
14108
14109 Some languages are designed to guard you against making seemingly common
14110 errors through a series of compile- and run-time checks. These include
14111 checking the type of arguments to functions and operators and making
14112 sure mathematical overflows are caught at run time. Checks such as
14113 these help to ensure a program's correctness once it has been compiled
14114 by eliminating type mismatches and providing active checks for range
14115 errors when your program is running.
14116
14117 By default @value{GDBN} checks for these errors according to the
14118 rules of the current source language. Although @value{GDBN} does not check
14119 the statements in your program, it can check expressions entered directly
14120 into @value{GDBN} for evaluation via the @code{print} command, for example.
14121
14122 @menu
14123 * Type Checking:: An overview of type checking
14124 * Range Checking:: An overview of range checking
14125 @end menu
14126
14127 @cindex type checking
14128 @cindex checks, type
14129 @node Type Checking
14130 @subsection An Overview of Type Checking
14131
14132 Some languages, such as C and C@t{++}, are strongly typed, meaning that the
14133 arguments to operators and functions have to be of the correct type,
14134 otherwise an error occurs. These checks prevent type mismatch
14135 errors from ever causing any run-time problems. For example,
14136
14137 @smallexample
14138 int klass::my_method(char *b) @{ return b ? 1 : 2; @}
14139
14140 (@value{GDBP}) print obj.my_method (0)
14141 $1 = 2
14142 @exdent but
14143 (@value{GDBP}) print obj.my_method (0x1234)
14144 Cannot resolve method klass::my_method to any overloaded instance
14145 @end smallexample
14146
14147 The second example fails because in C@t{++} the integer constant
14148 @samp{0x1234} is not type-compatible with the pointer parameter type.
14149
14150 For the expressions you use in @value{GDBN} commands, you can tell
14151 @value{GDBN} to not enforce strict type checking or
14152 to treat any mismatches as errors and abandon the expression;
14153 When type checking is disabled, @value{GDBN} successfully evaluates
14154 expressions like the second example above.
14155
14156 Even if type checking is off, there may be other reasons
14157 related to type that prevent @value{GDBN} from evaluating an expression.
14158 For instance, @value{GDBN} does not know how to add an @code{int} and
14159 a @code{struct foo}. These particular type errors have nothing to do
14160 with the language in use and usually arise from expressions which make
14161 little sense to evaluate anyway.
14162
14163 @value{GDBN} provides some additional commands for controlling type checking:
14164
14165 @kindex set check type
14166 @kindex show check type
14167 @table @code
14168 @item set check type on
14169 @itemx set check type off
14170 Set strict type checking on or off. If any type mismatches occur in
14171 evaluating an expression while type checking is on, @value{GDBN} prints a
14172 message and aborts evaluation of the expression.
14173
14174 @item show check type
14175 Show the current setting of type checking and whether @value{GDBN}
14176 is enforcing strict type checking rules.
14177 @end table
14178
14179 @cindex range checking
14180 @cindex checks, range
14181 @node Range Checking
14182 @subsection An Overview of Range Checking
14183
14184 In some languages (such as Modula-2), it is an error to exceed the
14185 bounds of a type; this is enforced with run-time checks. Such range
14186 checking is meant to ensure program correctness by making sure
14187 computations do not overflow, or indices on an array element access do
14188 not exceed the bounds of the array.
14189
14190 For expressions you use in @value{GDBN} commands, you can tell
14191 @value{GDBN} to treat range errors in one of three ways: ignore them,
14192 always treat them as errors and abandon the expression, or issue
14193 warnings but evaluate the expression anyway.
14194
14195 A range error can result from numerical overflow, from exceeding an
14196 array index bound, or when you type a constant that is not a member
14197 of any type. Some languages, however, do not treat overflows as an
14198 error. In many implementations of C, mathematical overflow causes the
14199 result to ``wrap around'' to lower values---for example, if @var{m} is
14200 the largest integer value, and @var{s} is the smallest, then
14201
14202 @smallexample
14203 @var{m} + 1 @result{} @var{s}
14204 @end smallexample
14205
14206 This, too, is specific to individual languages, and in some cases
14207 specific to individual compilers or machines. @xref{Supported Languages, ,
14208 Supported Languages}, for further details on specific languages.
14209
14210 @value{GDBN} provides some additional commands for controlling the range checker:
14211
14212 @kindex set check range
14213 @kindex show check range
14214 @table @code
14215 @item set check range auto
14216 Set range checking on or off based on the current working language.
14217 @xref{Supported Languages, ,Supported Languages}, for the default settings for
14218 each language.
14219
14220 @item set check range on
14221 @itemx set check range off
14222 Set range checking on or off, overriding the default setting for the
14223 current working language. A warning is issued if the setting does not
14224 match the language default. If a range error occurs and range checking is on,
14225 then a message is printed and evaluation of the expression is aborted.
14226
14227 @item set check range warn
14228 Output messages when the @value{GDBN} range checker detects a range error,
14229 but attempt to evaluate the expression anyway. Evaluating the
14230 expression may still be impossible for other reasons, such as accessing
14231 memory that the process does not own (a typical example from many Unix
14232 systems).
14233
14234 @item show range
14235 Show the current setting of the range checker, and whether or not it is
14236 being set automatically by @value{GDBN}.
14237 @end table
14238
14239 @node Supported Languages
14240 @section Supported Languages
14241
14242 @value{GDBN} supports C, C@t{++}, D, Go, Objective-C, Fortran, Java,
14243 OpenCL C, Pascal, assembly, Modula-2, and Ada.
14244 @c This is false ...
14245 Some @value{GDBN} features may be used in expressions regardless of the
14246 language you use: the @value{GDBN} @code{@@} and @code{::} operators,
14247 and the @samp{@{type@}addr} construct (@pxref{Expressions,
14248 ,Expressions}) can be used with the constructs of any supported
14249 language.
14250
14251 The following sections detail to what degree each source language is
14252 supported by @value{GDBN}. These sections are not meant to be language
14253 tutorials or references, but serve only as a reference guide to what the
14254 @value{GDBN} expression parser accepts, and what input and output
14255 formats should look like for different languages. There are many good
14256 books written on each of these languages; please look to these for a
14257 language reference or tutorial.
14258
14259 @menu
14260 * C:: C and C@t{++}
14261 * D:: D
14262 * Go:: Go
14263 * Objective-C:: Objective-C
14264 * OpenCL C:: OpenCL C
14265 * Fortran:: Fortran
14266 * Pascal:: Pascal
14267 * Modula-2:: Modula-2
14268 * Ada:: Ada
14269 @end menu
14270
14271 @node C
14272 @subsection C and C@t{++}
14273
14274 @cindex C and C@t{++}
14275 @cindex expressions in C or C@t{++}
14276
14277 Since C and C@t{++} are so closely related, many features of @value{GDBN} apply
14278 to both languages. Whenever this is the case, we discuss those languages
14279 together.
14280
14281 @cindex C@t{++}
14282 @cindex @code{g++}, @sc{gnu} C@t{++} compiler
14283 @cindex @sc{gnu} C@t{++}
14284 The C@t{++} debugging facilities are jointly implemented by the C@t{++}
14285 compiler and @value{GDBN}. Therefore, to debug your C@t{++} code
14286 effectively, you must compile your C@t{++} programs with a supported
14287 C@t{++} compiler, such as @sc{gnu} @code{g++}, or the HP ANSI C@t{++}
14288 compiler (@code{aCC}).
14289
14290 @menu
14291 * C Operators:: C and C@t{++} operators
14292 * C Constants:: C and C@t{++} constants
14293 * C Plus Plus Expressions:: C@t{++} expressions
14294 * C Defaults:: Default settings for C and C@t{++}
14295 * C Checks:: C and C@t{++} type and range checks
14296 * Debugging C:: @value{GDBN} and C
14297 * Debugging C Plus Plus:: @value{GDBN} features for C@t{++}
14298 * Decimal Floating Point:: Numbers in Decimal Floating Point format
14299 @end menu
14300
14301 @node C Operators
14302 @subsubsection C and C@t{++} Operators
14303
14304 @cindex C and C@t{++} operators
14305
14306 Operators must be defined on values of specific types. For instance,
14307 @code{+} is defined on numbers, but not on structures. Operators are
14308 often defined on groups of types.
14309
14310 For the purposes of C and C@t{++}, the following definitions hold:
14311
14312 @itemize @bullet
14313
14314 @item
14315 @emph{Integral types} include @code{int} with any of its storage-class
14316 specifiers; @code{char}; @code{enum}; and, for C@t{++}, @code{bool}.
14317
14318 @item
14319 @emph{Floating-point types} include @code{float}, @code{double}, and
14320 @code{long double} (if supported by the target platform).
14321
14322 @item
14323 @emph{Pointer types} include all types defined as @code{(@var{type} *)}.
14324
14325 @item
14326 @emph{Scalar types} include all of the above.
14327
14328 @end itemize
14329
14330 @noindent
14331 The following operators are supported. They are listed here
14332 in order of increasing precedence:
14333
14334 @table @code
14335 @item ,
14336 The comma or sequencing operator. Expressions in a comma-separated list
14337 are evaluated from left to right, with the result of the entire
14338 expression being the last expression evaluated.
14339
14340 @item =
14341 Assignment. The value of an assignment expression is the value
14342 assigned. Defined on scalar types.
14343
14344 @item @var{op}=
14345 Used in an expression of the form @w{@code{@var{a} @var{op}= @var{b}}},
14346 and translated to @w{@code{@var{a} = @var{a op b}}}.
14347 @w{@code{@var{op}=}} and @code{=} have the same precedence. The operator
14348 @var{op} is any one of the operators @code{|}, @code{^}, @code{&},
14349 @code{<<}, @code{>>}, @code{+}, @code{-}, @code{*}, @code{/}, @code{%}.
14350
14351 @item ?:
14352 The ternary operator. @code{@var{a} ? @var{b} : @var{c}} can be thought
14353 of as: if @var{a} then @var{b} else @var{c}. The argument @var{a}
14354 should be of an integral type.
14355
14356 @item ||
14357 Logical @sc{or}. Defined on integral types.
14358
14359 @item &&
14360 Logical @sc{and}. Defined on integral types.
14361
14362 @item |
14363 Bitwise @sc{or}. Defined on integral types.
14364
14365 @item ^
14366 Bitwise exclusive-@sc{or}. Defined on integral types.
14367
14368 @item &
14369 Bitwise @sc{and}. Defined on integral types.
14370
14371 @item ==@r{, }!=
14372 Equality and inequality. Defined on scalar types. The value of these
14373 expressions is 0 for false and non-zero for true.
14374
14375 @item <@r{, }>@r{, }<=@r{, }>=
14376 Less than, greater than, less than or equal, greater than or equal.
14377 Defined on scalar types. The value of these expressions is 0 for false
14378 and non-zero for true.
14379
14380 @item <<@r{, }>>
14381 left shift, and right shift. Defined on integral types.
14382
14383 @item @@
14384 The @value{GDBN} ``artificial array'' operator (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}).
14385
14386 @item +@r{, }-
14387 Addition and subtraction. Defined on integral types, floating-point types and
14388 pointer types.
14389
14390 @item *@r{, }/@r{, }%
14391 Multiplication, division, and modulus. Multiplication and division are
14392 defined on integral and floating-point types. Modulus is defined on
14393 integral types.
14394
14395 @item ++@r{, }--
14396 Increment and decrement. When appearing before a variable, the
14397 operation is performed before the variable is used in an expression;
14398 when appearing after it, the variable's value is used before the
14399 operation takes place.
14400
14401 @item *
14402 Pointer dereferencing. Defined on pointer types. Same precedence as
14403 @code{++}.
14404
14405 @item &
14406 Address operator. Defined on variables. Same precedence as @code{++}.
14407
14408 For debugging C@t{++}, @value{GDBN} implements a use of @samp{&} beyond what is
14409 allowed in the C@t{++} language itself: you can use @samp{&(&@var{ref})}
14410 to examine the address
14411 where a C@t{++} reference variable (declared with @samp{&@var{ref}}) is
14412 stored.
14413
14414 @item -
14415 Negative. Defined on integral and floating-point types. Same
14416 precedence as @code{++}.
14417
14418 @item !
14419 Logical negation. Defined on integral types. Same precedence as
14420 @code{++}.
14421
14422 @item ~
14423 Bitwise complement operator. Defined on integral types. Same precedence as
14424 @code{++}.
14425
14426
14427 @item .@r{, }->
14428 Structure member, and pointer-to-structure member. For convenience,
14429 @value{GDBN} regards the two as equivalent, choosing whether to dereference a
14430 pointer based on the stored type information.
14431 Defined on @code{struct} and @code{union} data.
14432
14433 @item .*@r{, }->*
14434 Dereferences of pointers to members.
14435
14436 @item []
14437 Array indexing. @code{@var{a}[@var{i}]} is defined as
14438 @code{*(@var{a}+@var{i})}. Same precedence as @code{->}.
14439
14440 @item ()
14441 Function parameter list. Same precedence as @code{->}.
14442
14443 @item ::
14444 C@t{++} scope resolution operator. Defined on @code{struct}, @code{union},
14445 and @code{class} types.
14446
14447 @item ::
14448 Doubled colons also represent the @value{GDBN} scope operator
14449 (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}). Same precedence as @code{::},
14450 above.
14451 @end table
14452
14453 If an operator is redefined in the user code, @value{GDBN} usually
14454 attempts to invoke the redefined version instead of using the operator's
14455 predefined meaning.
14456
14457 @node C Constants
14458 @subsubsection C and C@t{++} Constants
14459
14460 @cindex C and C@t{++} constants
14461
14462 @value{GDBN} allows you to express the constants of C and C@t{++} in the
14463 following ways:
14464
14465 @itemize @bullet
14466 @item
14467 Integer constants are a sequence of digits. Octal constants are
14468 specified by a leading @samp{0} (i.e.@: zero), and hexadecimal constants
14469 by a leading @samp{0x} or @samp{0X}. Constants may also end with a letter
14470 @samp{l}, specifying that the constant should be treated as a
14471 @code{long} value.
14472
14473 @item
14474 Floating point constants are a sequence of digits, followed by a decimal
14475 point, followed by a sequence of digits, and optionally followed by an
14476 exponent. An exponent is of the form:
14477 @samp{@w{e@r{[[}+@r{]|}-@r{]}@var{nnn}}}, where @var{nnn} is another
14478 sequence of digits. The @samp{+} is optional for positive exponents.
14479 A floating-point constant may also end with a letter @samp{f} or
14480 @samp{F}, specifying that the constant should be treated as being of
14481 the @code{float} (as opposed to the default @code{double}) type; or with
14482 a letter @samp{l} or @samp{L}, which specifies a @code{long double}
14483 constant.
14484
14485 @item
14486 Enumerated constants consist of enumerated identifiers, or their
14487 integral equivalents.
14488
14489 @item
14490 Character constants are a single character surrounded by single quotes
14491 (@code{'}), or a number---the ordinal value of the corresponding character
14492 (usually its @sc{ascii} value). Within quotes, the single character may
14493 be represented by a letter or by @dfn{escape sequences}, which are of
14494 the form @samp{\@var{nnn}}, where @var{nnn} is the octal representation
14495 of the character's ordinal value; or of the form @samp{\@var{x}}, where
14496 @samp{@var{x}} is a predefined special character---for example,
14497 @samp{\n} for newline.
14498
14499 Wide character constants can be written by prefixing a character
14500 constant with @samp{L}, as in C. For example, @samp{L'x'} is the wide
14501 form of @samp{x}. The target wide character set is used when
14502 computing the value of this constant (@pxref{Character Sets}).
14503
14504 @item
14505 String constants are a sequence of character constants surrounded by
14506 double quotes (@code{"}). Any valid character constant (as described
14507 above) may appear. Double quotes within the string must be preceded by
14508 a backslash, so for instance @samp{"a\"b'c"} is a string of five
14509 characters.
14510
14511 Wide string constants can be written by prefixing a string constant
14512 with @samp{L}, as in C. The target wide character set is used when
14513 computing the value of this constant (@pxref{Character Sets}).
14514
14515 @item
14516 Pointer constants are an integral value. You can also write pointers
14517 to constants using the C operator @samp{&}.
14518
14519 @item
14520 Array constants are comma-separated lists surrounded by braces @samp{@{}
14521 and @samp{@}}; for example, @samp{@{1,2,3@}} is a three-element array of
14522 integers, @samp{@{@{1,2@}, @{3,4@}, @{5,6@}@}} is a three-by-two array,
14523 and @samp{@{&"hi", &"there", &"fred"@}} is a three-element array of pointers.
14524 @end itemize
14525
14526 @node C Plus Plus Expressions
14527 @subsubsection C@t{++} Expressions
14528
14529 @cindex expressions in C@t{++}
14530 @value{GDBN} expression handling can interpret most C@t{++} expressions.
14531
14532 @cindex debugging C@t{++} programs
14533 @cindex C@t{++} compilers
14534 @cindex debug formats and C@t{++}
14535 @cindex @value{NGCC} and C@t{++}
14536 @quotation
14537 @emph{Warning:} @value{GDBN} can only debug C@t{++} code if you use
14538 the proper compiler and the proper debug format. Currently,
14539 @value{GDBN} works best when debugging C@t{++} code that is compiled
14540 with the most recent version of @value{NGCC} possible. The DWARF
14541 debugging format is preferred; @value{NGCC} defaults to this on most
14542 popular platforms. Other compilers and/or debug formats are likely to
14543 work badly or not at all when using @value{GDBN} to debug C@t{++}
14544 code. @xref{Compilation}.
14545 @end quotation
14546
14547 @enumerate
14548
14549 @cindex member functions
14550 @item
14551 Member function calls are allowed; you can use expressions like
14552
14553 @smallexample
14554 count = aml->GetOriginal(x, y)
14555 @end smallexample
14556
14557 @vindex this@r{, inside C@t{++} member functions}
14558 @cindex namespace in C@t{++}
14559 @item
14560 While a member function is active (in the selected stack frame), your
14561 expressions have the same namespace available as the member function;
14562 that is, @value{GDBN} allows implicit references to the class instance
14563 pointer @code{this} following the same rules as C@t{++}. @code{using}
14564 declarations in the current scope are also respected by @value{GDBN}.
14565
14566 @cindex call overloaded functions
14567 @cindex overloaded functions, calling
14568 @cindex type conversions in C@t{++}
14569 @item
14570 You can call overloaded functions; @value{GDBN} resolves the function
14571 call to the right definition, with some restrictions. @value{GDBN} does not
14572 perform overload resolution involving user-defined type conversions,
14573 calls to constructors, or instantiations of templates that do not exist
14574 in the program. It also cannot handle ellipsis argument lists or
14575 default arguments.
14576
14577 It does perform integral conversions and promotions, floating-point
14578 promotions, arithmetic conversions, pointer conversions, conversions of
14579 class objects to base classes, and standard conversions such as those of
14580 functions or arrays to pointers; it requires an exact match on the
14581 number of function arguments.
14582
14583 Overload resolution is always performed, unless you have specified
14584 @code{set overload-resolution off}. @xref{Debugging C Plus Plus,
14585 ,@value{GDBN} Features for C@t{++}}.
14586
14587 You must specify @code{set overload-resolution off} in order to use an
14588 explicit function signature to call an overloaded function, as in
14589 @smallexample
14590 p 'foo(char,int)'('x', 13)
14591 @end smallexample
14592
14593 The @value{GDBN} command-completion facility can simplify this;
14594 see @ref{Completion, ,Command Completion}.
14595
14596 @cindex reference declarations
14597 @item
14598 @value{GDBN} understands variables declared as C@t{++} references; you can use
14599 them in expressions just as you do in C@t{++} source---they are automatically
14600 dereferenced.
14601
14602 In the parameter list shown when @value{GDBN} displays a frame, the values of
14603 reference variables are not displayed (unlike other variables); this
14604 avoids clutter, since references are often used for large structures.
14605 The @emph{address} of a reference variable is always shown, unless
14606 you have specified @samp{set print address off}.
14607
14608 @item
14609 @value{GDBN} supports the C@t{++} name resolution operator @code{::}---your
14610 expressions can use it just as expressions in your program do. Since
14611 one scope may be defined in another, you can use @code{::} repeatedly if
14612 necessary, for example in an expression like
14613 @samp{@var{scope1}::@var{scope2}::@var{name}}. @value{GDBN} also allows
14614 resolving name scope by reference to source files, in both C and C@t{++}
14615 debugging (@pxref{Variables, ,Program Variables}).
14616
14617 @item
14618 @value{GDBN} performs argument-dependent lookup, following the C@t{++}
14619 specification.
14620 @end enumerate
14621
14622 @node C Defaults
14623 @subsubsection C and C@t{++} Defaults
14624
14625 @cindex C and C@t{++} defaults
14626
14627 If you allow @value{GDBN} to set range checking automatically, it
14628 defaults to @code{off} whenever the working language changes to
14629 C or C@t{++}. This happens regardless of whether you or @value{GDBN}
14630 selects the working language.
14631
14632 If you allow @value{GDBN} to set the language automatically, it
14633 recognizes source files whose names end with @file{.c}, @file{.C}, or
14634 @file{.cc}, etc, and when @value{GDBN} enters code compiled from one of
14635 these files, it sets the working language to C or C@t{++}.
14636 @xref{Automatically, ,Having @value{GDBN} Infer the Source Language},
14637 for further details.
14638
14639 @node C Checks
14640 @subsubsection C and C@t{++} Type and Range Checks
14641
14642 @cindex C and C@t{++} checks
14643
14644 By default, when @value{GDBN} parses C or C@t{++} expressions, strict type
14645 checking is used. However, if you turn type checking off, @value{GDBN}
14646 will allow certain non-standard conversions, such as promoting integer
14647 constants to pointers.
14648
14649 Range checking, if turned on, is done on mathematical operations. Array
14650 indices are not checked, since they are often used to index a pointer
14651 that is not itself an array.
14652
14653 @node Debugging C
14654 @subsubsection @value{GDBN} and C
14655
14656 The @code{set print union} and @code{show print union} commands apply to
14657 the @code{union} type. When set to @samp{on}, any @code{union} that is
14658 inside a @code{struct} or @code{class} is also printed. Otherwise, it
14659 appears as @samp{@{...@}}.
14660
14661 The @code{@@} operator aids in the debugging of dynamic arrays, formed
14662 with pointers and a memory allocation function. @xref{Expressions,
14663 ,Expressions}.
14664
14665 @node Debugging C Plus Plus
14666 @subsubsection @value{GDBN} Features for C@t{++}
14667
14668 @cindex commands for C@t{++}
14669
14670 Some @value{GDBN} commands are particularly useful with C@t{++}, and some are
14671 designed specifically for use with C@t{++}. Here is a summary:
14672
14673 @table @code
14674 @cindex break in overloaded functions
14675 @item @r{breakpoint menus}
14676 When you want a breakpoint in a function whose name is overloaded,
14677 @value{GDBN} has the capability to display a menu of possible breakpoint
14678 locations to help you specify which function definition you want.
14679 @xref{Ambiguous Expressions,,Ambiguous Expressions}.
14680
14681 @cindex overloading in C@t{++}
14682 @item rbreak @var{regex}
14683 Setting breakpoints using regular expressions is helpful for setting
14684 breakpoints on overloaded functions that are not members of any special
14685 classes.
14686 @xref{Set Breaks, ,Setting Breakpoints}.
14687
14688 @cindex C@t{++} exception handling
14689 @item catch throw
14690 @itemx catch rethrow
14691 @itemx catch catch
14692 Debug C@t{++} exception handling using these commands. @xref{Set
14693 Catchpoints, , Setting Catchpoints}.
14694
14695 @cindex inheritance
14696 @item ptype @var{typename}
14697 Print inheritance relationships as well as other information for type
14698 @var{typename}.
14699 @xref{Symbols, ,Examining the Symbol Table}.
14700
14701 @item info vtbl @var{expression}.
14702 The @code{info vtbl} command can be used to display the virtual
14703 method tables of the object computed by @var{expression}. This shows
14704 one entry per virtual table; there may be multiple virtual tables when
14705 multiple inheritance is in use.
14706
14707 @cindex C@t{++} demangling
14708 @item demangle @var{name}
14709 Demangle @var{name}.
14710 @xref{Symbols}, for a more complete description of the @code{demangle} command.
14711
14712 @cindex C@t{++} symbol display
14713 @item set print demangle
14714 @itemx show print demangle
14715 @itemx set print asm-demangle
14716 @itemx show print asm-demangle
14717 Control whether C@t{++} symbols display in their source form, both when
14718 displaying code as C@t{++} source and when displaying disassemblies.
14719 @xref{Print Settings, ,Print Settings}.
14720
14721 @item set print object
14722 @itemx show print object
14723 Choose whether to print derived (actual) or declared types of objects.
14724 @xref{Print Settings, ,Print Settings}.
14725
14726 @item set print vtbl
14727 @itemx show print vtbl
14728 Control the format for printing virtual function tables.
14729 @xref{Print Settings, ,Print Settings}.
14730 (The @code{vtbl} commands do not work on programs compiled with the HP
14731 ANSI C@t{++} compiler (@code{aCC}).)
14732
14733 @kindex set overload-resolution
14734 @cindex overloaded functions, overload resolution
14735 @item set overload-resolution on
14736 Enable overload resolution for C@t{++} expression evaluation. The default
14737 is on. For overloaded functions, @value{GDBN} evaluates the arguments
14738 and searches for a function whose signature matches the argument types,
14739 using the standard C@t{++} conversion rules (see @ref{C Plus Plus
14740 Expressions, ,C@t{++} Expressions}, for details).
14741 If it cannot find a match, it emits a message.
14742
14743 @item set overload-resolution off
14744 Disable overload resolution for C@t{++} expression evaluation. For
14745 overloaded functions that are not class member functions, @value{GDBN}
14746 chooses the first function of the specified name that it finds in the
14747 symbol table, whether or not its arguments are of the correct type. For
14748 overloaded functions that are class member functions, @value{GDBN}
14749 searches for a function whose signature @emph{exactly} matches the
14750 argument types.
14751
14752 @kindex show overload-resolution
14753 @item show overload-resolution
14754 Show the current setting of overload resolution.
14755
14756 @item @r{Overloaded symbol names}
14757 You can specify a particular definition of an overloaded symbol, using
14758 the same notation that is used to declare such symbols in C@t{++}: type
14759 @code{@var{symbol}(@var{types})} rather than just @var{symbol}. You can
14760 also use the @value{GDBN} command-line word completion facilities to list the
14761 available choices, or to finish the type list for you.
14762 @xref{Completion,, Command Completion}, for details on how to do this.
14763 @end table
14764
14765 @node Decimal Floating Point
14766 @subsubsection Decimal Floating Point format
14767 @cindex decimal floating point format
14768
14769 @value{GDBN} can examine, set and perform computations with numbers in
14770 decimal floating point format, which in the C language correspond to the
14771 @code{_Decimal32}, @code{_Decimal64} and @code{_Decimal128} types as
14772 specified by the extension to support decimal floating-point arithmetic.
14773
14774 There are two encodings in use, depending on the architecture: BID (Binary
14775 Integer Decimal) for x86 and x86-64, and DPD (Densely Packed Decimal) for
14776 PowerPC and S/390. @value{GDBN} will use the appropriate encoding for the
14777 configured target.
14778
14779 Because of a limitation in @file{libdecnumber}, the library used by @value{GDBN}
14780 to manipulate decimal floating point numbers, it is not possible to convert
14781 (using a cast, for example) integers wider than 32-bit to decimal float.
14782
14783 In addition, in order to imitate @value{GDBN}'s behaviour with binary floating
14784 point computations, error checking in decimal float operations ignores
14785 underflow, overflow and divide by zero exceptions.
14786
14787 In the PowerPC architecture, @value{GDBN} provides a set of pseudo-registers
14788 to inspect @code{_Decimal128} values stored in floating point registers.
14789 See @ref{PowerPC,,PowerPC} for more details.
14790
14791 @node D
14792 @subsection D
14793
14794 @cindex D
14795 @value{GDBN} can be used to debug programs written in D and compiled with
14796 GDC, LDC or DMD compilers. Currently @value{GDBN} supports only one D
14797 specific feature --- dynamic arrays.
14798
14799 @node Go
14800 @subsection Go
14801
14802 @cindex Go (programming language)
14803 @value{GDBN} can be used to debug programs written in Go and compiled with
14804 @file{gccgo} or @file{6g} compilers.
14805
14806 Here is a summary of the Go-specific features and restrictions:
14807
14808 @table @code
14809 @cindex current Go package
14810 @item The current Go package
14811 The name of the current package does not need to be specified when
14812 specifying global variables and functions.
14813
14814 For example, given the program:
14815
14816 @example
14817 package main
14818 var myglob = "Shall we?"
14819 func main () @{
14820 // ...
14821 @}
14822 @end example
14823
14824 When stopped inside @code{main} either of these work:
14825
14826 @example
14827 (gdb) p myglob
14828 (gdb) p main.myglob
14829 @end example
14830
14831 @cindex builtin Go types
14832 @item Builtin Go types
14833 The @code{string} type is recognized by @value{GDBN} and is printed
14834 as a string.
14835
14836 @cindex builtin Go functions
14837 @item Builtin Go functions
14838 The @value{GDBN} expression parser recognizes the @code{unsafe.Sizeof}
14839 function and handles it internally.
14840
14841 @cindex restrictions on Go expressions
14842 @item Restrictions on Go expressions
14843 All Go operators are supported except @code{&^}.
14844 The Go @code{_} ``blank identifier'' is not supported.
14845 Automatic dereferencing of pointers is not supported.
14846 @end table
14847
14848 @node Objective-C
14849 @subsection Objective-C
14850
14851 @cindex Objective-C
14852 This section provides information about some commands and command
14853 options that are useful for debugging Objective-C code. See also
14854 @ref{Symbols, info classes}, and @ref{Symbols, info selectors}, for a
14855 few more commands specific to Objective-C support.
14856
14857 @menu
14858 * Method Names in Commands::
14859 * The Print Command with Objective-C::
14860 @end menu
14861
14862 @node Method Names in Commands
14863 @subsubsection Method Names in Commands
14864
14865 The following commands have been extended to accept Objective-C method
14866 names as line specifications:
14867
14868 @kindex clear@r{, and Objective-C}
14869 @kindex break@r{, and Objective-C}
14870 @kindex info line@r{, and Objective-C}
14871 @kindex jump@r{, and Objective-C}
14872 @kindex list@r{, and Objective-C}
14873 @itemize
14874 @item @code{clear}
14875 @item @code{break}
14876 @item @code{info line}
14877 @item @code{jump}
14878 @item @code{list}
14879 @end itemize
14880
14881 A fully qualified Objective-C method name is specified as
14882
14883 @smallexample
14884 -[@var{Class} @var{methodName}]
14885 @end smallexample
14886
14887 where the minus sign is used to indicate an instance method and a
14888 plus sign (not shown) is used to indicate a class method. The class
14889 name @var{Class} and method name @var{methodName} are enclosed in
14890 brackets, similar to the way messages are specified in Objective-C
14891 source code. For example, to set a breakpoint at the @code{create}
14892 instance method of class @code{Fruit} in the program currently being
14893 debugged, enter:
14894
14895 @smallexample
14896 break -[Fruit create]
14897 @end smallexample
14898
14899 To list ten program lines around the @code{initialize} class method,
14900 enter:
14901
14902 @smallexample
14903 list +[NSText initialize]
14904 @end smallexample
14905
14906 In the current version of @value{GDBN}, the plus or minus sign is
14907 required. In future versions of @value{GDBN}, the plus or minus
14908 sign will be optional, but you can use it to narrow the search. It
14909 is also possible to specify just a method name:
14910
14911 @smallexample
14912 break create
14913 @end smallexample
14914
14915 You must specify the complete method name, including any colons. If
14916 your program's source files contain more than one @code{create} method,
14917 you'll be presented with a numbered list of classes that implement that
14918 method. Indicate your choice by number, or type @samp{0} to exit if
14919 none apply.
14920
14921 As another example, to clear a breakpoint established at the
14922 @code{makeKeyAndOrderFront:} method of the @code{NSWindow} class, enter:
14923
14924 @smallexample
14925 clear -[NSWindow makeKeyAndOrderFront:]
14926 @end smallexample
14927
14928 @node The Print Command with Objective-C
14929 @subsubsection The Print Command With Objective-C
14930 @cindex Objective-C, print objects
14931 @kindex print-object
14932 @kindex po @r{(@code{print-object})}
14933
14934 The print command has also been extended to accept methods. For example:
14935
14936 @smallexample
14937 print -[@var{object} hash]
14938 @end smallexample
14939
14940 @cindex print an Objective-C object description
14941 @cindex @code{_NSPrintForDebugger}, and printing Objective-C objects
14942 @noindent
14943 will tell @value{GDBN} to send the @code{hash} message to @var{object}
14944 and print the result. Also, an additional command has been added,
14945 @code{print-object} or @code{po} for short, which is meant to print
14946 the description of an object. However, this command may only work
14947 with certain Objective-C libraries that have a particular hook
14948 function, @code{_NSPrintForDebugger}, defined.
14949
14950 @node OpenCL C
14951 @subsection OpenCL C
14952
14953 @cindex OpenCL C
14954 This section provides information about @value{GDBN}s OpenCL C support.
14955
14956 @menu
14957 * OpenCL C Datatypes::
14958 * OpenCL C Expressions::
14959 * OpenCL C Operators::
14960 @end menu
14961
14962 @node OpenCL C Datatypes
14963 @subsubsection OpenCL C Datatypes
14964
14965 @cindex OpenCL C Datatypes
14966 @value{GDBN} supports the builtin scalar and vector datatypes specified
14967 by OpenCL 1.1. In addition the half- and double-precision floating point
14968 data types of the @code{cl_khr_fp16} and @code{cl_khr_fp64} OpenCL
14969 extensions are also known to @value{GDBN}.
14970
14971 @node OpenCL C Expressions
14972 @subsubsection OpenCL C Expressions
14973
14974 @cindex OpenCL C Expressions
14975 @value{GDBN} supports accesses to vector components including the access as
14976 lvalue where possible. Since OpenCL C is based on C99 most C expressions
14977 supported by @value{GDBN} can be used as well.
14978
14979 @node OpenCL C Operators
14980 @subsubsection OpenCL C Operators
14981
14982 @cindex OpenCL C Operators
14983 @value{GDBN} supports the operators specified by OpenCL 1.1 for scalar and
14984 vector data types.
14985
14986 @node Fortran
14987 @subsection Fortran
14988 @cindex Fortran-specific support in @value{GDBN}
14989
14990 @value{GDBN} can be used to debug programs written in Fortran, but it
14991 currently supports only the features of Fortran 77 language.
14992
14993 @cindex trailing underscore, in Fortran symbols
14994 Some Fortran compilers (@sc{gnu} Fortran 77 and Fortran 95 compilers
14995 among them) append an underscore to the names of variables and
14996 functions. When you debug programs compiled by those compilers, you
14997 will need to refer to variables and functions with a trailing
14998 underscore.
14999
15000 @menu
15001 * Fortran Operators:: Fortran operators and expressions
15002 * Fortran Defaults:: Default settings for Fortran
15003 * Special Fortran Commands:: Special @value{GDBN} commands for Fortran
15004 @end menu
15005
15006 @node Fortran Operators
15007 @subsubsection Fortran Operators and Expressions
15008
15009 @cindex Fortran operators and expressions
15010
15011 Operators must be defined on values of specific types. For instance,
15012 @code{+} is defined on numbers, but not on characters or other non-
15013 arithmetic types. Operators are often defined on groups of types.
15014
15015 @table @code
15016 @item **
15017 The exponentiation operator. It raises the first operand to the power
15018 of the second one.
15019
15020 @item :
15021 The range operator. Normally used in the form of array(low:high) to
15022 represent a section of array.
15023
15024 @item %
15025 The access component operator. Normally used to access elements in derived
15026 types. Also suitable for unions. As unions aren't part of regular Fortran,
15027 this can only happen when accessing a register that uses a gdbarch-defined
15028 union type.
15029 @end table
15030
15031 @node Fortran Defaults
15032 @subsubsection Fortran Defaults
15033
15034 @cindex Fortran Defaults
15035
15036 Fortran symbols are usually case-insensitive, so @value{GDBN} by
15037 default uses case-insensitive matches for Fortran symbols. You can
15038 change that with the @samp{set case-insensitive} command, see
15039 @ref{Symbols}, for the details.
15040
15041 @node Special Fortran Commands
15042 @subsubsection Special Fortran Commands
15043
15044 @cindex Special Fortran commands
15045
15046 @value{GDBN} has some commands to support Fortran-specific features,
15047 such as displaying common blocks.
15048
15049 @table @code
15050 @cindex @code{COMMON} blocks, Fortran
15051 @kindex info common
15052 @item info common @r{[}@var{common-name}@r{]}
15053 This command prints the values contained in the Fortran @code{COMMON}
15054 block whose name is @var{common-name}. With no argument, the names of
15055 all @code{COMMON} blocks visible at the current program location are
15056 printed.
15057 @end table
15058
15059 @node Pascal
15060 @subsection Pascal
15061
15062 @cindex Pascal support in @value{GDBN}, limitations
15063 Debugging Pascal programs which use sets, subranges, file variables, or
15064 nested functions does not currently work. @value{GDBN} does not support
15065 entering expressions, printing values, or similar features using Pascal
15066 syntax.
15067
15068 The Pascal-specific command @code{set print pascal_static-members}
15069 controls whether static members of Pascal objects are displayed.
15070 @xref{Print Settings, pascal_static-members}.
15071
15072 @node Modula-2
15073 @subsection Modula-2
15074
15075 @cindex Modula-2, @value{GDBN} support
15076
15077 The extensions made to @value{GDBN} to support Modula-2 only support
15078 output from the @sc{gnu} Modula-2 compiler (which is currently being
15079 developed). Other Modula-2 compilers are not currently supported, and
15080 attempting to debug executables produced by them is most likely
15081 to give an error as @value{GDBN} reads in the executable's symbol
15082 table.
15083
15084 @cindex expressions in Modula-2
15085 @menu
15086 * M2 Operators:: Built-in operators
15087 * Built-In Func/Proc:: Built-in functions and procedures
15088 * M2 Constants:: Modula-2 constants
15089 * M2 Types:: Modula-2 types
15090 * M2 Defaults:: Default settings for Modula-2
15091 * Deviations:: Deviations from standard Modula-2
15092 * M2 Checks:: Modula-2 type and range checks
15093 * M2 Scope:: The scope operators @code{::} and @code{.}
15094 * GDB/M2:: @value{GDBN} and Modula-2
15095 @end menu
15096
15097 @node M2 Operators
15098 @subsubsection Operators
15099 @cindex Modula-2 operators
15100
15101 Operators must be defined on values of specific types. For instance,
15102 @code{+} is defined on numbers, but not on structures. Operators are
15103 often defined on groups of types. For the purposes of Modula-2, the
15104 following definitions hold:
15105
15106 @itemize @bullet
15107
15108 @item
15109 @emph{Integral types} consist of @code{INTEGER}, @code{CARDINAL}, and
15110 their subranges.
15111
15112 @item
15113 @emph{Character types} consist of @code{CHAR} and its subranges.
15114
15115 @item
15116 @emph{Floating-point types} consist of @code{REAL}.
15117
15118 @item
15119 @emph{Pointer types} consist of anything declared as @code{POINTER TO
15120 @var{type}}.
15121
15122 @item
15123 @emph{Scalar types} consist of all of the above.
15124
15125 @item
15126 @emph{Set types} consist of @code{SET} and @code{BITSET} types.
15127
15128 @item
15129 @emph{Boolean types} consist of @code{BOOLEAN}.
15130 @end itemize
15131
15132 @noindent
15133 The following operators are supported, and appear in order of
15134 increasing precedence:
15135
15136 @table @code
15137 @item ,
15138 Function argument or array index separator.
15139
15140 @item :=
15141 Assignment. The value of @var{var} @code{:=} @var{value} is
15142 @var{value}.
15143
15144 @item <@r{, }>
15145 Less than, greater than on integral, floating-point, or enumerated
15146 types.
15147
15148 @item <=@r{, }>=
15149 Less than or equal to, greater than or equal to
15150 on integral, floating-point and enumerated types, or set inclusion on
15151 set types. Same precedence as @code{<}.
15152
15153 @item =@r{, }<>@r{, }#
15154 Equality and two ways of expressing inequality, valid on scalar types.
15155 Same precedence as @code{<}. In @value{GDBN} scripts, only @code{<>} is
15156 available for inequality, since @code{#} conflicts with the script
15157 comment character.
15158
15159 @item IN
15160 Set membership. Defined on set types and the types of their members.
15161 Same precedence as @code{<}.
15162
15163 @item OR
15164 Boolean disjunction. Defined on boolean types.
15165
15166 @item AND@r{, }&
15167 Boolean conjunction. Defined on boolean types.
15168
15169 @item @@
15170 The @value{GDBN} ``artificial array'' operator (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}).
15171
15172 @item +@r{, }-
15173 Addition and subtraction on integral and floating-point types, or union
15174 and difference on set types.
15175
15176 @item *
15177 Multiplication on integral and floating-point types, or set intersection
15178 on set types.
15179
15180 @item /
15181 Division on floating-point types, or symmetric set difference on set
15182 types. Same precedence as @code{*}.
15183
15184 @item DIV@r{, }MOD
15185 Integer division and remainder. Defined on integral types. Same
15186 precedence as @code{*}.
15187
15188 @item -
15189 Negative. Defined on @code{INTEGER} and @code{REAL} data.
15190
15191 @item ^
15192 Pointer dereferencing. Defined on pointer types.
15193
15194 @item NOT
15195 Boolean negation. Defined on boolean types. Same precedence as
15196 @code{^}.
15197
15198 @item .
15199 @code{RECORD} field selector. Defined on @code{RECORD} data. Same
15200 precedence as @code{^}.
15201
15202 @item []
15203 Array indexing. Defined on @code{ARRAY} data. Same precedence as @code{^}.
15204
15205 @item ()
15206 Procedure argument list. Defined on @code{PROCEDURE} objects. Same precedence
15207 as @code{^}.
15208
15209 @item ::@r{, }.
15210 @value{GDBN} and Modula-2 scope operators.
15211 @end table
15212
15213 @quotation
15214 @emph{Warning:} Set expressions and their operations are not yet supported, so @value{GDBN}
15215 treats the use of the operator @code{IN}, or the use of operators
15216 @code{+}, @code{-}, @code{*}, @code{/}, @code{=}, , @code{<>}, @code{#},
15217 @code{<=}, and @code{>=} on sets as an error.
15218 @end quotation
15219
15220
15221 @node Built-In Func/Proc
15222 @subsubsection Built-in Functions and Procedures
15223 @cindex Modula-2 built-ins
15224
15225 Modula-2 also makes available several built-in procedures and functions.
15226 In describing these, the following metavariables are used:
15227
15228 @table @var
15229
15230 @item a
15231 represents an @code{ARRAY} variable.
15232
15233 @item c
15234 represents a @code{CHAR} constant or variable.
15235
15236 @item i
15237 represents a variable or constant of integral type.
15238
15239 @item m
15240 represents an identifier that belongs to a set. Generally used in the
15241 same function with the metavariable @var{s}. The type of @var{s} should
15242 be @code{SET OF @var{mtype}} (where @var{mtype} is the type of @var{m}).
15243
15244 @item n
15245 represents a variable or constant of integral or floating-point type.
15246
15247 @item r
15248 represents a variable or constant of floating-point type.
15249
15250 @item t
15251 represents a type.
15252
15253 @item v
15254 represents a variable.
15255
15256 @item x
15257 represents a variable or constant of one of many types. See the
15258 explanation of the function for details.
15259 @end table
15260
15261 All Modula-2 built-in procedures also return a result, described below.
15262
15263 @table @code
15264 @item ABS(@var{n})
15265 Returns the absolute value of @var{n}.
15266
15267 @item CAP(@var{c})
15268 If @var{c} is a lower case letter, it returns its upper case
15269 equivalent, otherwise it returns its argument.
15270
15271 @item CHR(@var{i})
15272 Returns the character whose ordinal value is @var{i}.
15273
15274 @item DEC(@var{v})
15275 Decrements the value in the variable @var{v} by one. Returns the new value.
15276
15277 @item DEC(@var{v},@var{i})
15278 Decrements the value in the variable @var{v} by @var{i}. Returns the
15279 new value.
15280
15281 @item EXCL(@var{m},@var{s})
15282 Removes the element @var{m} from the set @var{s}. Returns the new
15283 set.
15284
15285 @item FLOAT(@var{i})
15286 Returns the floating point equivalent of the integer @var{i}.
15287
15288 @item HIGH(@var{a})
15289 Returns the index of the last member of @var{a}.
15290
15291 @item INC(@var{v})
15292 Increments the value in the variable @var{v} by one. Returns the new value.
15293
15294 @item INC(@var{v},@var{i})
15295 Increments the value in the variable @var{v} by @var{i}. Returns the
15296 new value.
15297
15298 @item INCL(@var{m},@var{s})
15299 Adds the element @var{m} to the set @var{s} if it is not already
15300 there. Returns the new set.
15301
15302 @item MAX(@var{t})
15303 Returns the maximum value of the type @var{t}.
15304
15305 @item MIN(@var{t})
15306 Returns the minimum value of the type @var{t}.
15307
15308 @item ODD(@var{i})
15309 Returns boolean TRUE if @var{i} is an odd number.
15310
15311 @item ORD(@var{x})
15312 Returns the ordinal value of its argument. For example, the ordinal
15313 value of a character is its @sc{ascii} value (on machines supporting
15314 the @sc{ascii} character set). The argument @var{x} must be of an
15315 ordered type, which include integral, character and enumerated types.
15316
15317 @item SIZE(@var{x})
15318 Returns the size of its argument. The argument @var{x} can be a
15319 variable or a type.
15320
15321 @item TRUNC(@var{r})
15322 Returns the integral part of @var{r}.
15323
15324 @item TSIZE(@var{x})
15325 Returns the size of its argument. The argument @var{x} can be a
15326 variable or a type.
15327
15328 @item VAL(@var{t},@var{i})
15329 Returns the member of the type @var{t} whose ordinal value is @var{i}.
15330 @end table
15331
15332 @quotation
15333 @emph{Warning:} Sets and their operations are not yet supported, so
15334 @value{GDBN} treats the use of procedures @code{INCL} and @code{EXCL} as
15335 an error.
15336 @end quotation
15337
15338 @cindex Modula-2 constants
15339 @node M2 Constants
15340 @subsubsection Constants
15341
15342 @value{GDBN} allows you to express the constants of Modula-2 in the following
15343 ways:
15344
15345 @itemize @bullet
15346
15347 @item
15348 Integer constants are simply a sequence of digits. When used in an
15349 expression, a constant is interpreted to be type-compatible with the
15350 rest of the expression. Hexadecimal integers are specified by a
15351 trailing @samp{H}, and octal integers by a trailing @samp{B}.
15352
15353 @item
15354 Floating point constants appear as a sequence of digits, followed by a
15355 decimal point and another sequence of digits. An optional exponent can
15356 then be specified, in the form @samp{E@r{[}+@r{|}-@r{]}@var{nnn}}, where
15357 @samp{@r{[}+@r{|}-@r{]}@var{nnn}} is the desired exponent. All of the
15358 digits of the floating point constant must be valid decimal (base 10)
15359 digits.
15360
15361 @item
15362 Character constants consist of a single character enclosed by a pair of
15363 like quotes, either single (@code{'}) or double (@code{"}). They may
15364 also be expressed by their ordinal value (their @sc{ascii} value, usually)
15365 followed by a @samp{C}.
15366
15367 @item
15368 String constants consist of a sequence of characters enclosed by a
15369 pair of like quotes, either single (@code{'}) or double (@code{"}).
15370 Escape sequences in the style of C are also allowed. @xref{C
15371 Constants, ,C and C@t{++} Constants}, for a brief explanation of escape
15372 sequences.
15373
15374 @item
15375 Enumerated constants consist of an enumerated identifier.
15376
15377 @item
15378 Boolean constants consist of the identifiers @code{TRUE} and
15379 @code{FALSE}.
15380
15381 @item
15382 Pointer constants consist of integral values only.
15383
15384 @item
15385 Set constants are not yet supported.
15386 @end itemize
15387
15388 @node M2 Types
15389 @subsubsection Modula-2 Types
15390 @cindex Modula-2 types
15391
15392 Currently @value{GDBN} can print the following data types in Modula-2
15393 syntax: array types, record types, set types, pointer types, procedure
15394 types, enumerated types, subrange types and base types. You can also
15395 print the contents of variables declared using these type.
15396 This section gives a number of simple source code examples together with
15397 sample @value{GDBN} sessions.
15398
15399 The first example contains the following section of code:
15400
15401 @smallexample
15402 VAR
15403 s: SET OF CHAR ;
15404 r: [20..40] ;
15405 @end smallexample
15406
15407 @noindent
15408 and you can request @value{GDBN} to interrogate the type and value of
15409 @code{r} and @code{s}.
15410
15411 @smallexample
15412 (@value{GDBP}) print s
15413 @{'A'..'C', 'Z'@}
15414 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
15415 SET OF CHAR
15416 (@value{GDBP}) print r
15417 21
15418 (@value{GDBP}) ptype r
15419 [20..40]
15420 @end smallexample
15421
15422 @noindent
15423 Likewise if your source code declares @code{s} as:
15424
15425 @smallexample
15426 VAR
15427 s: SET ['A'..'Z'] ;
15428 @end smallexample
15429
15430 @noindent
15431 then you may query the type of @code{s} by:
15432
15433 @smallexample
15434 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
15435 type = SET ['A'..'Z']
15436 @end smallexample
15437
15438 @noindent
15439 Note that at present you cannot interactively manipulate set
15440 expressions using the debugger.
15441
15442 The following example shows how you might declare an array in Modula-2
15443 and how you can interact with @value{GDBN} to print its type and contents:
15444
15445 @smallexample
15446 VAR
15447 s: ARRAY [-10..10] OF CHAR ;
15448 @end smallexample
15449
15450 @smallexample
15451 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
15452 ARRAY [-10..10] OF CHAR
15453 @end smallexample
15454
15455 Note that the array handling is not yet complete and although the type
15456 is printed correctly, expression handling still assumes that all
15457 arrays have a lower bound of zero and not @code{-10} as in the example
15458 above.
15459
15460 Here are some more type related Modula-2 examples:
15461
15462 @smallexample
15463 TYPE
15464 colour = (blue, red, yellow, green) ;
15465 t = [blue..yellow] ;
15466 VAR
15467 s: t ;
15468 BEGIN
15469 s := blue ;
15470 @end smallexample
15471
15472 @noindent
15473 The @value{GDBN} interaction shows how you can query the data type
15474 and value of a variable.
15475
15476 @smallexample
15477 (@value{GDBP}) print s
15478 $1 = blue
15479 (@value{GDBP}) ptype t
15480 type = [blue..yellow]
15481 @end smallexample
15482
15483 @noindent
15484 In this example a Modula-2 array is declared and its contents
15485 displayed. Observe that the contents are written in the same way as
15486 their @code{C} counterparts.
15487
15488 @smallexample
15489 VAR
15490 s: ARRAY [1..5] OF CARDINAL ;
15491 BEGIN
15492 s[1] := 1 ;
15493 @end smallexample
15494
15495 @smallexample
15496 (@value{GDBP}) print s
15497 $1 = @{1, 0, 0, 0, 0@}
15498 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
15499 type = ARRAY [1..5] OF CARDINAL
15500 @end smallexample
15501
15502 The Modula-2 language interface to @value{GDBN} also understands
15503 pointer types as shown in this example:
15504
15505 @smallexample
15506 VAR
15507 s: POINTER TO ARRAY [1..5] OF CARDINAL ;
15508 BEGIN
15509 NEW(s) ;
15510 s^[1] := 1 ;
15511 @end smallexample
15512
15513 @noindent
15514 and you can request that @value{GDBN} describes the type of @code{s}.
15515
15516 @smallexample
15517 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
15518 type = POINTER TO ARRAY [1..5] OF CARDINAL
15519 @end smallexample
15520
15521 @value{GDBN} handles compound types as we can see in this example.
15522 Here we combine array types, record types, pointer types and subrange
15523 types:
15524
15525 @smallexample
15526 TYPE
15527 foo = RECORD
15528 f1: CARDINAL ;
15529 f2: CHAR ;
15530 f3: myarray ;
15531 END ;
15532
15533 myarray = ARRAY myrange OF CARDINAL ;
15534 myrange = [-2..2] ;
15535 VAR
15536 s: POINTER TO ARRAY myrange OF foo ;
15537 @end smallexample
15538
15539 @noindent
15540 and you can ask @value{GDBN} to describe the type of @code{s} as shown
15541 below.
15542
15543 @smallexample
15544 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
15545 type = POINTER TO ARRAY [-2..2] OF foo = RECORD
15546 f1 : CARDINAL;
15547 f2 : CHAR;
15548 f3 : ARRAY [-2..2] OF CARDINAL;
15549 END
15550 @end smallexample
15551
15552 @node M2 Defaults
15553 @subsubsection Modula-2 Defaults
15554 @cindex Modula-2 defaults
15555
15556 If type and range checking are set automatically by @value{GDBN}, they
15557 both default to @code{on} whenever the working language changes to
15558 Modula-2. This happens regardless of whether you or @value{GDBN}
15559 selected the working language.
15560
15561 If you allow @value{GDBN} to set the language automatically, then entering
15562 code compiled from a file whose name ends with @file{.mod} sets the
15563 working language to Modula-2. @xref{Automatically, ,Having @value{GDBN}
15564 Infer the Source Language}, for further details.
15565
15566 @node Deviations
15567 @subsubsection Deviations from Standard Modula-2
15568 @cindex Modula-2, deviations from
15569
15570 A few changes have been made to make Modula-2 programs easier to debug.
15571 This is done primarily via loosening its type strictness:
15572
15573 @itemize @bullet
15574 @item
15575 Unlike in standard Modula-2, pointer constants can be formed by
15576 integers. This allows you to modify pointer variables during
15577 debugging. (In standard Modula-2, the actual address contained in a
15578 pointer variable is hidden from you; it can only be modified
15579 through direct assignment to another pointer variable or expression that
15580 returned a pointer.)
15581
15582 @item
15583 C escape sequences can be used in strings and characters to represent
15584 non-printable characters. @value{GDBN} prints out strings with these
15585 escape sequences embedded. Single non-printable characters are
15586 printed using the @samp{CHR(@var{nnn})} format.
15587
15588 @item
15589 The assignment operator (@code{:=}) returns the value of its right-hand
15590 argument.
15591
15592 @item
15593 All built-in procedures both modify @emph{and} return their argument.
15594 @end itemize
15595
15596 @node M2 Checks
15597 @subsubsection Modula-2 Type and Range Checks
15598 @cindex Modula-2 checks
15599
15600 @quotation
15601 @emph{Warning:} in this release, @value{GDBN} does not yet perform type or
15602 range checking.
15603 @end quotation
15604 @c FIXME remove warning when type/range checks added
15605
15606 @value{GDBN} considers two Modula-2 variables type equivalent if:
15607
15608 @itemize @bullet
15609 @item
15610 They are of types that have been declared equivalent via a @code{TYPE
15611 @var{t1} = @var{t2}} statement
15612
15613 @item
15614 They have been declared on the same line. (Note: This is true of the
15615 @sc{gnu} Modula-2 compiler, but it may not be true of other compilers.)
15616 @end itemize
15617
15618 As long as type checking is enabled, any attempt to combine variables
15619 whose types are not equivalent is an error.
15620
15621 Range checking is done on all mathematical operations, assignment, array
15622 index bounds, and all built-in functions and procedures.
15623
15624 @node M2 Scope
15625 @subsubsection The Scope Operators @code{::} and @code{.}
15626 @cindex scope
15627 @cindex @code{.}, Modula-2 scope operator
15628 @cindex colon, doubled as scope operator
15629 @ifinfo
15630 @vindex colon-colon@r{, in Modula-2}
15631 @c Info cannot handle :: but TeX can.
15632 @end ifinfo
15633 @ifnotinfo
15634 @vindex ::@r{, in Modula-2}
15635 @end ifnotinfo
15636
15637 There are a few subtle differences between the Modula-2 scope operator
15638 (@code{.}) and the @value{GDBN} scope operator (@code{::}). The two have
15639 similar syntax:
15640
15641 @smallexample
15642
15643 @var{module} . @var{id}
15644 @var{scope} :: @var{id}
15645 @end smallexample
15646
15647 @noindent
15648 where @var{scope} is the name of a module or a procedure,
15649 @var{module} the name of a module, and @var{id} is any declared
15650 identifier within your program, except another module.
15651
15652 Using the @code{::} operator makes @value{GDBN} search the scope
15653 specified by @var{scope} for the identifier @var{id}. If it is not
15654 found in the specified scope, then @value{GDBN} searches all scopes
15655 enclosing the one specified by @var{scope}.
15656
15657 Using the @code{.} operator makes @value{GDBN} search the current scope for
15658 the identifier specified by @var{id} that was imported from the
15659 definition module specified by @var{module}. With this operator, it is
15660 an error if the identifier @var{id} was not imported from definition
15661 module @var{module}, or if @var{id} is not an identifier in
15662 @var{module}.
15663
15664 @node GDB/M2
15665 @subsubsection @value{GDBN} and Modula-2
15666
15667 Some @value{GDBN} commands have little use when debugging Modula-2 programs.
15668 Five subcommands of @code{set print} and @code{show print} apply
15669 specifically to C and C@t{++}: @samp{vtbl}, @samp{demangle},
15670 @samp{asm-demangle}, @samp{object}, and @samp{union}. The first four
15671 apply to C@t{++}, and the last to the C @code{union} type, which has no direct
15672 analogue in Modula-2.
15673
15674 The @code{@@} operator (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}), while available
15675 with any language, is not useful with Modula-2. Its
15676 intent is to aid the debugging of @dfn{dynamic arrays}, which cannot be
15677 created in Modula-2 as they can in C or C@t{++}. However, because an
15678 address can be specified by an integral constant, the construct
15679 @samp{@{@var{type}@}@var{adrexp}} is still useful.
15680
15681 @cindex @code{#} in Modula-2
15682 In @value{GDBN} scripts, the Modula-2 inequality operator @code{#} is
15683 interpreted as the beginning of a comment. Use @code{<>} instead.
15684
15685 @node Ada
15686 @subsection Ada
15687 @cindex Ada
15688
15689 The extensions made to @value{GDBN} for Ada only support
15690 output from the @sc{gnu} Ada (GNAT) compiler.
15691 Other Ada compilers are not currently supported, and
15692 attempting to debug executables produced by them is most likely
15693 to be difficult.
15694
15695
15696 @cindex expressions in Ada
15697 @menu
15698 * Ada Mode Intro:: General remarks on the Ada syntax
15699 and semantics supported by Ada mode
15700 in @value{GDBN}.
15701 * Omissions from Ada:: Restrictions on the Ada expression syntax.
15702 * Additions to Ada:: Extensions of the Ada expression syntax.
15703 * Overloading support for Ada:: Support for expressions involving overloaded
15704 subprograms.
15705 * Stopping Before Main Program:: Debugging the program during elaboration.
15706 * Ada Exceptions:: Ada Exceptions
15707 * Ada Tasks:: Listing and setting breakpoints in tasks.
15708 * Ada Tasks and Core Files:: Tasking Support when Debugging Core Files
15709 * Ravenscar Profile:: Tasking Support when using the Ravenscar
15710 Profile
15711 * Ada Glitches:: Known peculiarities of Ada mode.
15712 @end menu
15713
15714 @node Ada Mode Intro
15715 @subsubsection Introduction
15716 @cindex Ada mode, general
15717
15718 The Ada mode of @value{GDBN} supports a fairly large subset of Ada expression
15719 syntax, with some extensions.
15720 The philosophy behind the design of this subset is
15721
15722 @itemize @bullet
15723 @item
15724 That @value{GDBN} should provide basic literals and access to operations for
15725 arithmetic, dereferencing, field selection, indexing, and subprogram calls,
15726 leaving more sophisticated computations to subprograms written into the
15727 program (which therefore may be called from @value{GDBN}).
15728
15729 @item
15730 That type safety and strict adherence to Ada language restrictions
15731 are not particularly important to the @value{GDBN} user.
15732
15733 @item
15734 That brevity is important to the @value{GDBN} user.
15735 @end itemize
15736
15737 Thus, for brevity, the debugger acts as if all names declared in
15738 user-written packages are directly visible, even if they are not visible
15739 according to Ada rules, thus making it unnecessary to fully qualify most
15740 names with their packages, regardless of context. Where this causes
15741 ambiguity, @value{GDBN} asks the user's intent.
15742
15743 The debugger will start in Ada mode if it detects an Ada main program.
15744 As for other languages, it will enter Ada mode when stopped in a program that
15745 was translated from an Ada source file.
15746
15747 While in Ada mode, you may use `@t{--}' for comments. This is useful
15748 mostly for documenting command files. The standard @value{GDBN} comment
15749 (@samp{#}) still works at the beginning of a line in Ada mode, but not in the
15750 middle (to allow based literals).
15751
15752 @node Omissions from Ada
15753 @subsubsection Omissions from Ada
15754 @cindex Ada, omissions from
15755
15756 Here are the notable omissions from the subset:
15757
15758 @itemize @bullet
15759 @item
15760 Only a subset of the attributes are supported:
15761
15762 @itemize @minus
15763 @item
15764 @t{'First}, @t{'Last}, and @t{'Length}
15765 on array objects (not on types and subtypes).
15766
15767 @item
15768 @t{'Min} and @t{'Max}.
15769
15770 @item
15771 @t{'Pos} and @t{'Val}.
15772
15773 @item
15774 @t{'Tag}.
15775
15776 @item
15777 @t{'Range} on array objects (not subtypes), but only as the right
15778 operand of the membership (@code{in}) operator.
15779
15780 @item
15781 @t{'Access}, @t{'Unchecked_Access}, and
15782 @t{'Unrestricted_Access} (a GNAT extension).
15783
15784 @item
15785 @t{'Address}.
15786 @end itemize
15787
15788 @item
15789 The names in
15790 @code{Characters.Latin_1} are not available and
15791 concatenation is not implemented. Thus, escape characters in strings are
15792 not currently available.
15793
15794 @item
15795 Equality tests (@samp{=} and @samp{/=}) on arrays test for bitwise
15796 equality of representations. They will generally work correctly
15797 for strings and arrays whose elements have integer or enumeration types.
15798 They may not work correctly for arrays whose element
15799 types have user-defined equality, for arrays of real values
15800 (in particular, IEEE-conformant floating point, because of negative
15801 zeroes and NaNs), and for arrays whose elements contain unused bits with
15802 indeterminate values.
15803
15804 @item
15805 The other component-by-component array operations (@code{and}, @code{or},
15806 @code{xor}, @code{not}, and relational tests other than equality)
15807 are not implemented.
15808
15809 @item
15810 @cindex array aggregates (Ada)
15811 @cindex record aggregates (Ada)
15812 @cindex aggregates (Ada)
15813 There is limited support for array and record aggregates. They are
15814 permitted only on the right sides of assignments, as in these examples:
15815
15816 @smallexample
15817 (@value{GDBP}) set An_Array := (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
15818 (@value{GDBP}) set An_Array := (1, others => 0)
15819 (@value{GDBP}) set An_Array := (0|4 => 1, 1..3 => 2, 5 => 6)
15820 (@value{GDBP}) set A_2D_Array := ((1, 2, 3), (4, 5, 6), (7, 8, 9))
15821 (@value{GDBP}) set A_Record := (1, "Peter", True);
15822 (@value{GDBP}) set A_Record := (Name => "Peter", Id => 1, Alive => True)
15823 @end smallexample
15824
15825 Changing a
15826 discriminant's value by assigning an aggregate has an
15827 undefined effect if that discriminant is used within the record.
15828 However, you can first modify discriminants by directly assigning to
15829 them (which normally would not be allowed in Ada), and then performing an
15830 aggregate assignment. For example, given a variable @code{A_Rec}
15831 declared to have a type such as:
15832
15833 @smallexample
15834 type Rec (Len : Small_Integer := 0) is record
15835 Id : Integer;
15836 Vals : IntArray (1 .. Len);
15837 end record;
15838 @end smallexample
15839
15840 you can assign a value with a different size of @code{Vals} with two
15841 assignments:
15842
15843 @smallexample
15844 (@value{GDBP}) set A_Rec.Len := 4
15845 (@value{GDBP}) set A_Rec := (Id => 42, Vals => (1, 2, 3, 4))
15846 @end smallexample
15847
15848 As this example also illustrates, @value{GDBN} is very loose about the usual
15849 rules concerning aggregates. You may leave out some of the
15850 components of an array or record aggregate (such as the @code{Len}
15851 component in the assignment to @code{A_Rec} above); they will retain their
15852 original values upon assignment. You may freely use dynamic values as
15853 indices in component associations. You may even use overlapping or
15854 redundant component associations, although which component values are
15855 assigned in such cases is not defined.
15856
15857 @item
15858 Calls to dispatching subprograms are not implemented.
15859
15860 @item
15861 The overloading algorithm is much more limited (i.e., less selective)
15862 than that of real Ada. It makes only limited use of the context in
15863 which a subexpression appears to resolve its meaning, and it is much
15864 looser in its rules for allowing type matches. As a result, some
15865 function calls will be ambiguous, and the user will be asked to choose
15866 the proper resolution.
15867
15868 @item
15869 The @code{new} operator is not implemented.
15870
15871 @item
15872 Entry calls are not implemented.
15873
15874 @item
15875 Aside from printing, arithmetic operations on the native VAX floating-point
15876 formats are not supported.
15877
15878 @item
15879 It is not possible to slice a packed array.
15880
15881 @item
15882 The names @code{True} and @code{False}, when not part of a qualified name,
15883 are interpreted as if implicitly prefixed by @code{Standard}, regardless of
15884 context.
15885 Should your program
15886 redefine these names in a package or procedure (at best a dubious practice),
15887 you will have to use fully qualified names to access their new definitions.
15888 @end itemize
15889
15890 @node Additions to Ada
15891 @subsubsection Additions to Ada
15892 @cindex Ada, deviations from
15893
15894 As it does for other languages, @value{GDBN} makes certain generic
15895 extensions to Ada (@pxref{Expressions}):
15896
15897 @itemize @bullet
15898 @item
15899 If the expression @var{E} is a variable residing in memory (typically
15900 a local variable or array element) and @var{N} is a positive integer,
15901 then @code{@var{E}@@@var{N}} displays the values of @var{E} and the
15902 @var{N}-1 adjacent variables following it in memory as an array. In
15903 Ada, this operator is generally not necessary, since its prime use is
15904 in displaying parts of an array, and slicing will usually do this in
15905 Ada. However, there are occasional uses when debugging programs in
15906 which certain debugging information has been optimized away.
15907
15908 @item
15909 @code{@var{B}::@var{var}} means ``the variable named @var{var} that
15910 appears in function or file @var{B}.'' When @var{B} is a file name,
15911 you must typically surround it in single quotes.
15912
15913 @item
15914 The expression @code{@{@var{type}@} @var{addr}} means ``the variable of type
15915 @var{type} that appears at address @var{addr}.''
15916
15917 @item
15918 A name starting with @samp{$} is a convenience variable
15919 (@pxref{Convenience Vars}) or a machine register (@pxref{Registers}).
15920 @end itemize
15921
15922 In addition, @value{GDBN} provides a few other shortcuts and outright
15923 additions specific to Ada:
15924
15925 @itemize @bullet
15926 @item
15927 The assignment statement is allowed as an expression, returning
15928 its right-hand operand as its value. Thus, you may enter
15929
15930 @smallexample
15931 (@value{GDBP}) set x := y + 3
15932 (@value{GDBP}) print A(tmp := y + 1)
15933 @end smallexample
15934
15935 @item
15936 The semicolon is allowed as an ``operator,'' returning as its value
15937 the value of its right-hand operand.
15938 This allows, for example,
15939 complex conditional breaks:
15940
15941 @smallexample
15942 (@value{GDBP}) break f
15943 (@value{GDBP}) condition 1 (report(i); k += 1; A(k) > 100)
15944 @end smallexample
15945
15946 @item
15947 Rather than use catenation and symbolic character names to introduce special
15948 characters into strings, one may instead use a special bracket notation,
15949 which is also used to print strings. A sequence of characters of the form
15950 @samp{["@var{XX}"]} within a string or character literal denotes the
15951 (single) character whose numeric encoding is @var{XX} in hexadecimal. The
15952 sequence of characters @samp{["""]} also denotes a single quotation mark
15953 in strings. For example,
15954 @smallexample
15955 "One line.["0a"]Next line.["0a"]"
15956 @end smallexample
15957 @noindent
15958 contains an ASCII newline character (@code{Ada.Characters.Latin_1.LF})
15959 after each period.
15960
15961 @item
15962 The subtype used as a prefix for the attributes @t{'Pos}, @t{'Min}, and
15963 @t{'Max} is optional (and is ignored in any case). For example, it is valid
15964 to write
15965
15966 @smallexample
15967 (@value{GDBP}) print 'max(x, y)
15968 @end smallexample
15969
15970 @item
15971 When printing arrays, @value{GDBN} uses positional notation when the
15972 array has a lower bound of 1, and uses a modified named notation otherwise.
15973 For example, a one-dimensional array of three integers with a lower bound
15974 of 3 might print as
15975
15976 @smallexample
15977 (3 => 10, 17, 1)
15978 @end smallexample
15979
15980 @noindent
15981 That is, in contrast to valid Ada, only the first component has a @code{=>}
15982 clause.
15983
15984 @item
15985 You may abbreviate attributes in expressions with any unique,
15986 multi-character subsequence of
15987 their names (an exact match gets preference).
15988 For example, you may use @t{a'len}, @t{a'gth}, or @t{a'lh}
15989 in place of @t{a'length}.
15990
15991 @item
15992 @cindex quoting Ada internal identifiers
15993 Since Ada is case-insensitive, the debugger normally maps identifiers you type
15994 to lower case. The GNAT compiler uses upper-case characters for
15995 some of its internal identifiers, which are normally of no interest to users.
15996 For the rare occasions when you actually have to look at them,
15997 enclose them in angle brackets to avoid the lower-case mapping.
15998 For example,
15999 @smallexample
16000 (@value{GDBP}) print <JMPBUF_SAVE>[0]
16001 @end smallexample
16002
16003 @item
16004 Printing an object of class-wide type or dereferencing an
16005 access-to-class-wide value will display all the components of the object's
16006 specific type (as indicated by its run-time tag). Likewise, component
16007 selection on such a value will operate on the specific type of the
16008 object.
16009
16010 @end itemize
16011
16012 @node Overloading support for Ada
16013 @subsubsection Overloading support for Ada
16014 @cindex overloading, Ada
16015
16016 The debugger supports limited overloading. Given a subprogram call in which
16017 the function symbol has multiple definitions, it will use the number of
16018 actual parameters and some information about their types to attempt to narrow
16019 the set of definitions. It also makes very limited use of context, preferring
16020 procedures to functions in the context of the @code{call} command, and
16021 functions to procedures elsewhere.
16022
16023 If, after narrowing, the set of matching definitions still contains more than
16024 one definition, @value{GDBN} will display a menu to query which one it should
16025 use, for instance:
16026
16027 @smallexample
16028 (@value{GDBP}) print f(1)
16029 Multiple matches for f
16030 [0] cancel
16031 [1] foo.f (integer) return boolean at foo.adb:23
16032 [2] foo.f (foo.new_integer) return boolean at foo.adb:28
16033 >
16034 @end smallexample
16035
16036 In this case, just select one menu entry either to cancel expression evaluation
16037 (type @kbd{0} and press @key{RET}) or to continue evaluation with a specific
16038 instance (type the corresponding number and press @key{RET}).
16039
16040 Here are a couple of commands to customize @value{GDBN}'s behavior in this
16041 case:
16042
16043 @table @code
16044
16045 @kindex set ada print-signatures
16046 @item set ada print-signatures
16047 Control whether parameter types and return types are displayed in overloads
16048 selection menus. It is @code{on} by default.
16049 @xref{Overloading support for Ada}.
16050
16051 @kindex show ada print-signatures
16052 @item show ada print-signatures
16053 Show the current setting for displaying parameter types and return types in
16054 overloads selection menu.
16055 @xref{Overloading support for Ada}.
16056
16057 @end table
16058
16059 @node Stopping Before Main Program
16060 @subsubsection Stopping at the Very Beginning
16061
16062 @cindex breakpointing Ada elaboration code
16063 It is sometimes necessary to debug the program during elaboration, and
16064 before reaching the main procedure.
16065 As defined in the Ada Reference
16066 Manual, the elaboration code is invoked from a procedure called
16067 @code{adainit}. To run your program up to the beginning of
16068 elaboration, simply use the following two commands:
16069 @code{tbreak adainit} and @code{run}.
16070
16071 @node Ada Exceptions
16072 @subsubsection Ada Exceptions
16073
16074 A command is provided to list all Ada exceptions:
16075
16076 @table @code
16077 @kindex info exceptions
16078 @item info exceptions
16079 @itemx info exceptions @var{regexp}
16080 The @code{info exceptions} command allows you to list all Ada exceptions
16081 defined within the program being debugged, as well as their addresses.
16082 With a regular expression, @var{regexp}, as argument, only those exceptions
16083 whose names match @var{regexp} are listed.
16084 @end table
16085
16086 Below is a small example, showing how the command can be used, first
16087 without argument, and next with a regular expression passed as an
16088 argument.
16089
16090 @smallexample
16091 (@value{GDBP}) info exceptions
16092 All defined Ada exceptions:
16093 constraint_error: 0x613da0
16094 program_error: 0x613d20
16095 storage_error: 0x613ce0
16096 tasking_error: 0x613ca0
16097 const.aint_global_e: 0x613b00
16098 (@value{GDBP}) info exceptions const.aint
16099 All Ada exceptions matching regular expression "const.aint":
16100 constraint_error: 0x613da0
16101 const.aint_global_e: 0x613b00
16102 @end smallexample
16103
16104 It is also possible to ask @value{GDBN} to stop your program's execution
16105 when an exception is raised. For more details, see @ref{Set Catchpoints}.
16106
16107 @node Ada Tasks
16108 @subsubsection Extensions for Ada Tasks
16109 @cindex Ada, tasking
16110
16111 Support for Ada tasks is analogous to that for threads (@pxref{Threads}).
16112 @value{GDBN} provides the following task-related commands:
16113
16114 @table @code
16115 @kindex info tasks
16116 @item info tasks
16117 This command shows a list of current Ada tasks, as in the following example:
16118
16119
16120 @smallexample
16121 @iftex
16122 @leftskip=0.5cm
16123 @end iftex
16124 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
16125 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
16126 1 8088000 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
16127 2 80a4000 1 15 Accept Statement b
16128 3 809a800 1 15 Child Activation Wait a
16129 * 4 80ae800 3 15 Runnable c
16130
16131 @end smallexample
16132
16133 @noindent
16134 In this listing, the asterisk before the last task indicates it to be the
16135 task currently being inspected.
16136
16137 @table @asis
16138 @item ID
16139 Represents @value{GDBN}'s internal task number.
16140
16141 @item TID
16142 The Ada task ID.
16143
16144 @item P-ID
16145 The parent's task ID (@value{GDBN}'s internal task number).
16146
16147 @item Pri
16148 The base priority of the task.
16149
16150 @item State
16151 Current state of the task.
16152
16153 @table @code
16154 @item Unactivated
16155 The task has been created but has not been activated. It cannot be
16156 executing.
16157
16158 @item Runnable
16159 The task is not blocked for any reason known to Ada. (It may be waiting
16160 for a mutex, though.) It is conceptually "executing" in normal mode.
16161
16162 @item Terminated
16163 The task is terminated, in the sense of ARM 9.3 (5). Any dependents
16164 that were waiting on terminate alternatives have been awakened and have
16165 terminated themselves.
16166
16167 @item Child Activation Wait
16168 The task is waiting for created tasks to complete activation.
16169
16170 @item Accept Statement
16171 The task is waiting on an accept or selective wait statement.
16172
16173 @item Waiting on entry call
16174 The task is waiting on an entry call.
16175
16176 @item Async Select Wait
16177 The task is waiting to start the abortable part of an asynchronous
16178 select statement.
16179
16180 @item Delay Sleep
16181 The task is waiting on a select statement with only a delay
16182 alternative open.
16183
16184 @item Child Termination Wait
16185 The task is sleeping having completed a master within itself, and is
16186 waiting for the tasks dependent on that master to become terminated or
16187 waiting on a terminate Phase.
16188
16189 @item Wait Child in Term Alt
16190 The task is sleeping waiting for tasks on terminate alternatives to
16191 finish terminating.
16192
16193 @item Accepting RV with @var{taskno}
16194 The task is accepting a rendez-vous with the task @var{taskno}.
16195 @end table
16196
16197 @item Name
16198 Name of the task in the program.
16199
16200 @end table
16201
16202 @kindex info task @var{taskno}
16203 @item info task @var{taskno}
16204 This command shows detailled informations on the specified task, as in
16205 the following example:
16206 @smallexample
16207 @iftex
16208 @leftskip=0.5cm
16209 @end iftex
16210 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
16211 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
16212 1 8077880 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
16213 * 2 807c468 1 15 Runnable task_1
16214 (@value{GDBP}) info task 2
16215 Ada Task: 0x807c468
16216 Name: task_1
16217 Thread: 0x807f378
16218 Parent: 1 (main_task)
16219 Base Priority: 15
16220 State: Runnable
16221 @end smallexample
16222
16223 @item task
16224 @kindex task@r{ (Ada)}
16225 @cindex current Ada task ID
16226 This command prints the ID of the current task.
16227
16228 @smallexample
16229 @iftex
16230 @leftskip=0.5cm
16231 @end iftex
16232 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
16233 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
16234 1 8077870 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
16235 * 2 807c458 1 15 Runnable t
16236 (@value{GDBP}) task
16237 [Current task is 2]
16238 @end smallexample
16239
16240 @item task @var{taskno}
16241 @cindex Ada task switching
16242 This command is like the @code{thread @var{thread-id}}
16243 command (@pxref{Threads}). It switches the context of debugging
16244 from the current task to the given task.
16245
16246 @smallexample
16247 @iftex
16248 @leftskip=0.5cm
16249 @end iftex
16250 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
16251 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
16252 1 8077870 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
16253 * 2 807c458 1 15 Runnable t
16254 (@value{GDBP}) task 1
16255 [Switching to task 1]
16256 #0 0x8067726 in pthread_cond_wait ()
16257 (@value{GDBP}) bt
16258 #0 0x8067726 in pthread_cond_wait ()
16259 #1 0x8056714 in system.os_interface.pthread_cond_wait ()
16260 #2 0x805cb63 in system.task_primitives.operations.sleep ()
16261 #3 0x806153e in system.tasking.stages.activate_tasks ()
16262 #4 0x804aacc in un () at un.adb:5
16263 @end smallexample
16264
16265 @item break @var{location} task @var{taskno}
16266 @itemx break @var{location} task @var{taskno} if @dots{}
16267 @cindex breakpoints and tasks, in Ada
16268 @cindex task breakpoints, in Ada
16269 @kindex break @dots{} task @var{taskno}@r{ (Ada)}
16270 These commands are like the @code{break @dots{} thread @dots{}}
16271 command (@pxref{Thread Stops}). The
16272 @var{location} argument specifies source lines, as described
16273 in @ref{Specify Location}.
16274
16275 Use the qualifier @samp{task @var{taskno}} with a breakpoint command
16276 to specify that you only want @value{GDBN} to stop the program when a
16277 particular Ada task reaches this breakpoint. The @var{taskno} is one of the
16278 numeric task identifiers assigned by @value{GDBN}, shown in the first
16279 column of the @samp{info tasks} display.
16280
16281 If you do not specify @samp{task @var{taskno}} when you set a
16282 breakpoint, the breakpoint applies to @emph{all} tasks of your
16283 program.
16284
16285 You can use the @code{task} qualifier on conditional breakpoints as
16286 well; in this case, place @samp{task @var{taskno}} before the
16287 breakpoint condition (before the @code{if}).
16288
16289 For example,
16290
16291 @smallexample
16292 @iftex
16293 @leftskip=0.5cm
16294 @end iftex
16295 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
16296 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
16297 1 140022020 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
16298 2 140045060 1 15 Accept/Select Wait t2
16299 3 140044840 1 15 Runnable t1
16300 * 4 140056040 1 15 Runnable t3
16301 (@value{GDBP}) b 15 task 2
16302 Breakpoint 5 at 0x120044cb0: file test_task_debug.adb, line 15.
16303 (@value{GDBP}) cont
16304 Continuing.
16305 task # 1 running
16306 task # 2 running
16307
16308 Breakpoint 5, test_task_debug () at test_task_debug.adb:15
16309 15 flush;
16310 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
16311 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
16312 1 140022020 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
16313 * 2 140045060 1 15 Runnable t2
16314 3 140044840 1 15 Runnable t1
16315 4 140056040 1 15 Delay Sleep t3
16316 @end smallexample
16317 @end table
16318
16319 @node Ada Tasks and Core Files
16320 @subsubsection Tasking Support when Debugging Core Files
16321 @cindex Ada tasking and core file debugging
16322
16323 When inspecting a core file, as opposed to debugging a live program,
16324 tasking support may be limited or even unavailable, depending on
16325 the platform being used.
16326 For instance, on x86-linux, the list of tasks is available, but task
16327 switching is not supported.
16328
16329 On certain platforms, the debugger needs to perform some
16330 memory writes in order to provide Ada tasking support. When inspecting
16331 a core file, this means that the core file must be opened with read-write
16332 privileges, using the command @samp{"set write on"} (@pxref{Patching}).
16333 Under these circumstances, you should make a backup copy of the core
16334 file before inspecting it with @value{GDBN}.
16335
16336 @node Ravenscar Profile
16337 @subsubsection Tasking Support when using the Ravenscar Profile
16338 @cindex Ravenscar Profile
16339
16340 The @dfn{Ravenscar Profile} is a subset of the Ada tasking features,
16341 specifically designed for systems with safety-critical real-time
16342 requirements.
16343
16344 @table @code
16345 @kindex set ravenscar task-switching on
16346 @cindex task switching with program using Ravenscar Profile
16347 @item set ravenscar task-switching on
16348 Allows task switching when debugging a program that uses the Ravenscar
16349 Profile. This is the default.
16350
16351 @kindex set ravenscar task-switching off
16352 @item set ravenscar task-switching off
16353 Turn off task switching when debugging a program that uses the Ravenscar
16354 Profile. This is mostly intended to disable the code that adds support
16355 for the Ravenscar Profile, in case a bug in either @value{GDBN} or in
16356 the Ravenscar runtime is preventing @value{GDBN} from working properly.
16357 To be effective, this command should be run before the program is started.
16358
16359 @kindex show ravenscar task-switching
16360 @item show ravenscar task-switching
16361 Show whether it is possible to switch from task to task in a program
16362 using the Ravenscar Profile.
16363
16364 @end table
16365
16366 @node Ada Glitches
16367 @subsubsection Known Peculiarities of Ada Mode
16368 @cindex Ada, problems
16369
16370 Besides the omissions listed previously (@pxref{Omissions from Ada}),
16371 we know of several problems with and limitations of Ada mode in
16372 @value{GDBN},
16373 some of which will be fixed with planned future releases of the debugger
16374 and the GNU Ada compiler.
16375
16376 @itemize @bullet
16377 @item
16378 Static constants that the compiler chooses not to materialize as objects in
16379 storage are invisible to the debugger.
16380
16381 @item
16382 Named parameter associations in function argument lists are ignored (the
16383 argument lists are treated as positional).
16384
16385 @item
16386 Many useful library packages are currently invisible to the debugger.
16387
16388 @item
16389 Fixed-point arithmetic, conversions, input, and output is carried out using
16390 floating-point arithmetic, and may give results that only approximate those on
16391 the host machine.
16392
16393 @item
16394 The GNAT compiler never generates the prefix @code{Standard} for any of
16395 the standard symbols defined by the Ada language. @value{GDBN} knows about
16396 this: it will strip the prefix from names when you use it, and will never
16397 look for a name you have so qualified among local symbols, nor match against
16398 symbols in other packages or subprograms. If you have
16399 defined entities anywhere in your program other than parameters and
16400 local variables whose simple names match names in @code{Standard},
16401 GNAT's lack of qualification here can cause confusion. When this happens,
16402 you can usually resolve the confusion
16403 by qualifying the problematic names with package
16404 @code{Standard} explicitly.
16405 @end itemize
16406
16407 Older versions of the compiler sometimes generate erroneous debugging
16408 information, resulting in the debugger incorrectly printing the value
16409 of affected entities. In some cases, the debugger is able to work
16410 around an issue automatically. In other cases, the debugger is able
16411 to work around the issue, but the work-around has to be specifically
16412 enabled.
16413
16414 @kindex set ada trust-PAD-over-XVS
16415 @kindex show ada trust-PAD-over-XVS
16416 @table @code
16417
16418 @item set ada trust-PAD-over-XVS on
16419 Configure GDB to strictly follow the GNAT encoding when computing the
16420 value of Ada entities, particularly when @code{PAD} and @code{PAD___XVS}
16421 types are involved (see @code{ada/exp_dbug.ads} in the GCC sources for
16422 a complete description of the encoding used by the GNAT compiler).
16423 This is the default.
16424
16425 @item set ada trust-PAD-over-XVS off
16426 This is related to the encoding using by the GNAT compiler. If @value{GDBN}
16427 sometimes prints the wrong value for certain entities, changing @code{ada
16428 trust-PAD-over-XVS} to @code{off} activates a work-around which may fix
16429 the issue. It is always safe to set @code{ada trust-PAD-over-XVS} to
16430 @code{off}, but this incurs a slight performance penalty, so it is
16431 recommended to leave this setting to @code{on} unless necessary.
16432
16433 @end table
16434
16435 @cindex GNAT descriptive types
16436 @cindex GNAT encoding
16437 Internally, the debugger also relies on the compiler following a number
16438 of conventions known as the @samp{GNAT Encoding}, all documented in
16439 @file{gcc/ada/exp_dbug.ads} in the GCC sources. This encoding describes
16440 how the debugging information should be generated for certain types.
16441 In particular, this convention makes use of @dfn{descriptive types},
16442 which are artificial types generated purely to help the debugger.
16443
16444 These encodings were defined at a time when the debugging information
16445 format used was not powerful enough to describe some of the more complex
16446 types available in Ada. Since DWARF allows us to express nearly all
16447 Ada features, the long-term goal is to slowly replace these descriptive
16448 types by their pure DWARF equivalent. To facilitate that transition,
16449 a new maintenance option is available to force the debugger to ignore
16450 those descriptive types. It allows the user to quickly evaluate how
16451 well @value{GDBN} works without them.
16452
16453 @table @code
16454
16455 @kindex maint ada set ignore-descriptive-types
16456 @item maintenance ada set ignore-descriptive-types [on|off]
16457 Control whether the debugger should ignore descriptive types.
16458 The default is not to ignore descriptives types (@code{off}).
16459
16460 @kindex maint ada show ignore-descriptive-types
16461 @item maintenance ada show ignore-descriptive-types
16462 Show if descriptive types are ignored by @value{GDBN}.
16463
16464 @end table
16465
16466 @node Unsupported Languages
16467 @section Unsupported Languages
16468
16469 @cindex unsupported languages
16470 @cindex minimal language
16471 In addition to the other fully-supported programming languages,
16472 @value{GDBN} also provides a pseudo-language, called @code{minimal}.
16473 It does not represent a real programming language, but provides a set
16474 of capabilities close to what the C or assembly languages provide.
16475 This should allow most simple operations to be performed while debugging
16476 an application that uses a language currently not supported by @value{GDBN}.
16477
16478 If the language is set to @code{auto}, @value{GDBN} will automatically
16479 select this language if the current frame corresponds to an unsupported
16480 language.
16481
16482 @node Symbols
16483 @chapter Examining the Symbol Table
16484
16485 The commands described in this chapter allow you to inquire about the
16486 symbols (names of variables, functions and types) defined in your
16487 program. This information is inherent in the text of your program and
16488 does not change as your program executes. @value{GDBN} finds it in your
16489 program's symbol table, in the file indicated when you started @value{GDBN}
16490 (@pxref{File Options, ,Choosing Files}), or by one of the
16491 file-management commands (@pxref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}).
16492
16493 @cindex symbol names
16494 @cindex names of symbols
16495 @cindex quoting names
16496 Occasionally, you may need to refer to symbols that contain unusual
16497 characters, which @value{GDBN} ordinarily treats as word delimiters. The
16498 most frequent case is in referring to static variables in other
16499 source files (@pxref{Variables,,Program Variables}). File names
16500 are recorded in object files as debugging symbols, but @value{GDBN} would
16501 ordinarily parse a typical file name, like @file{foo.c}, as the three words
16502 @samp{foo} @samp{.} @samp{c}. To allow @value{GDBN} to recognize
16503 @samp{foo.c} as a single symbol, enclose it in single quotes; for example,
16504
16505 @smallexample
16506 p 'foo.c'::x
16507 @end smallexample
16508
16509 @noindent
16510 looks up the value of @code{x} in the scope of the file @file{foo.c}.
16511
16512 @table @code
16513 @cindex case-insensitive symbol names
16514 @cindex case sensitivity in symbol names
16515 @kindex set case-sensitive
16516 @item set case-sensitive on
16517 @itemx set case-sensitive off
16518 @itemx set case-sensitive auto
16519 Normally, when @value{GDBN} looks up symbols, it matches their names
16520 with case sensitivity determined by the current source language.
16521 Occasionally, you may wish to control that. The command @code{set
16522 case-sensitive} lets you do that by specifying @code{on} for
16523 case-sensitive matches or @code{off} for case-insensitive ones. If
16524 you specify @code{auto}, case sensitivity is reset to the default
16525 suitable for the source language. The default is case-sensitive
16526 matches for all languages except for Fortran, for which the default is
16527 case-insensitive matches.
16528
16529 @kindex show case-sensitive
16530 @item show case-sensitive
16531 This command shows the current setting of case sensitivity for symbols
16532 lookups.
16533
16534 @kindex set print type methods
16535 @item set print type methods
16536 @itemx set print type methods on
16537 @itemx set print type methods off
16538 Normally, when @value{GDBN} prints a class, it displays any methods
16539 declared in that class. You can control this behavior either by
16540 passing the appropriate flag to @code{ptype}, or using @command{set
16541 print type methods}. Specifying @code{on} will cause @value{GDBN} to
16542 display the methods; this is the default. Specifying @code{off} will
16543 cause @value{GDBN} to omit the methods.
16544
16545 @kindex show print type methods
16546 @item show print type methods
16547 This command shows the current setting of method display when printing
16548 classes.
16549
16550 @kindex set print type typedefs
16551 @item set print type typedefs
16552 @itemx set print type typedefs on
16553 @itemx set print type typedefs off
16554
16555 Normally, when @value{GDBN} prints a class, it displays any typedefs
16556 defined in that class. You can control this behavior either by
16557 passing the appropriate flag to @code{ptype}, or using @command{set
16558 print type typedefs}. Specifying @code{on} will cause @value{GDBN} to
16559 display the typedef definitions; this is the default. Specifying
16560 @code{off} will cause @value{GDBN} to omit the typedef definitions.
16561 Note that this controls whether the typedef definition itself is
16562 printed, not whether typedef names are substituted when printing other
16563 types.
16564
16565 @kindex show print type typedefs
16566 @item show print type typedefs
16567 This command shows the current setting of typedef display when
16568 printing classes.
16569
16570 @kindex info address
16571 @cindex address of a symbol
16572 @item info address @var{symbol}
16573 Describe where the data for @var{symbol} is stored. For a register
16574 variable, this says which register it is kept in. For a non-register
16575 local variable, this prints the stack-frame offset at which the variable
16576 is always stored.
16577
16578 Note the contrast with @samp{print &@var{symbol}}, which does not work
16579 at all for a register variable, and for a stack local variable prints
16580 the exact address of the current instantiation of the variable.
16581
16582 @kindex info symbol
16583 @cindex symbol from address
16584 @cindex closest symbol and offset for an address
16585 @item info symbol @var{addr}
16586 Print the name of a symbol which is stored at the address @var{addr}.
16587 If no symbol is stored exactly at @var{addr}, @value{GDBN} prints the
16588 nearest symbol and an offset from it:
16589
16590 @smallexample
16591 (@value{GDBP}) info symbol 0x54320
16592 _initialize_vx + 396 in section .text
16593 @end smallexample
16594
16595 @noindent
16596 This is the opposite of the @code{info address} command. You can use
16597 it to find out the name of a variable or a function given its address.
16598
16599 For dynamically linked executables, the name of executable or shared
16600 library containing the symbol is also printed:
16601
16602 @smallexample
16603 (@value{GDBP}) info symbol 0x400225
16604 _start + 5 in section .text of /tmp/a.out
16605 (@value{GDBP}) info symbol 0x2aaaac2811cf
16606 __read_nocancel + 6 in section .text of /usr/lib64/libc.so.6
16607 @end smallexample
16608
16609 @kindex demangle
16610 @cindex demangle
16611 @item demangle @r{[}-l @var{language}@r{]} @r{[}@var{--}@r{]} @var{name}
16612 Demangle @var{name}.
16613 If @var{language} is provided it is the name of the language to demangle
16614 @var{name} in. Otherwise @var{name} is demangled in the current language.
16615
16616 The @samp{--} option specifies the end of options,
16617 and is useful when @var{name} begins with a dash.
16618
16619 The parameter @code{demangle-style} specifies how to interpret the kind
16620 of mangling used. @xref{Print Settings}.
16621
16622 @kindex whatis
16623 @item whatis[/@var{flags}] [@var{arg}]
16624 Print the data type of @var{arg}, which can be either an expression
16625 or a name of a data type. With no argument, print the data type of
16626 @code{$}, the last value in the value history.
16627
16628 If @var{arg} is an expression (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}), it
16629 is not actually evaluated, and any side-effecting operations (such as
16630 assignments or function calls) inside it do not take place.
16631
16632 If @var{arg} is a variable or an expression, @code{whatis} prints its
16633 literal type as it is used in the source code. If the type was
16634 defined using a @code{typedef}, @code{whatis} will @emph{not} print
16635 the data type underlying the @code{typedef}. If the type of the
16636 variable or the expression is a compound data type, such as
16637 @code{struct} or @code{class}, @code{whatis} never prints their
16638 fields or methods. It just prints the @code{struct}/@code{class}
16639 name (a.k.a.@: its @dfn{tag}). If you want to see the members of
16640 such a compound data type, use @code{ptype}.
16641
16642 If @var{arg} is a type name that was defined using @code{typedef},
16643 @code{whatis} @dfn{unrolls} only one level of that @code{typedef}.
16644 Unrolling means that @code{whatis} will show the underlying type used
16645 in the @code{typedef} declaration of @var{arg}. However, if that
16646 underlying type is also a @code{typedef}, @code{whatis} will not
16647 unroll it.
16648
16649 For C code, the type names may also have the form @samp{class
16650 @var{class-name}}, @samp{struct @var{struct-tag}}, @samp{union
16651 @var{union-tag}} or @samp{enum @var{enum-tag}}.
16652
16653 @var{flags} can be used to modify how the type is displayed.
16654 Available flags are:
16655
16656 @table @code
16657 @item r
16658 Display in ``raw'' form. Normally, @value{GDBN} substitutes template
16659 parameters and typedefs defined in a class when printing the class'
16660 members. The @code{/r} flag disables this.
16661
16662 @item m
16663 Do not print methods defined in the class.
16664
16665 @item M
16666 Print methods defined in the class. This is the default, but the flag
16667 exists in case you change the default with @command{set print type methods}.
16668
16669 @item t
16670 Do not print typedefs defined in the class. Note that this controls
16671 whether the typedef definition itself is printed, not whether typedef
16672 names are substituted when printing other types.
16673
16674 @item T
16675 Print typedefs defined in the class. This is the default, but the flag
16676 exists in case you change the default with @command{set print type typedefs}.
16677 @end table
16678
16679 @kindex ptype
16680 @item ptype[/@var{flags}] [@var{arg}]
16681 @code{ptype} accepts the same arguments as @code{whatis}, but prints a
16682 detailed description of the type, instead of just the name of the type.
16683 @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}.
16684
16685 Contrary to @code{whatis}, @code{ptype} always unrolls any
16686 @code{typedef}s in its argument declaration, whether the argument is
16687 a variable, expression, or a data type. This means that @code{ptype}
16688 of a variable or an expression will not print literally its type as
16689 present in the source code---use @code{whatis} for that. @code{typedef}s at
16690 the pointer or reference targets are also unrolled. Only @code{typedef}s of
16691 fields, methods and inner @code{class typedef}s of @code{struct}s,
16692 @code{class}es and @code{union}s are not unrolled even with @code{ptype}.
16693
16694 For example, for this variable declaration:
16695
16696 @smallexample
16697 typedef double real_t;
16698 struct complex @{ real_t real; double imag; @};
16699 typedef struct complex complex_t;
16700 complex_t var;
16701 real_t *real_pointer_var;
16702 @end smallexample
16703
16704 @noindent
16705 the two commands give this output:
16706
16707 @smallexample
16708 @group
16709 (@value{GDBP}) whatis var
16710 type = complex_t
16711 (@value{GDBP}) ptype var
16712 type = struct complex @{
16713 real_t real;
16714 double imag;
16715 @}
16716 (@value{GDBP}) whatis complex_t
16717 type = struct complex
16718 (@value{GDBP}) whatis struct complex
16719 type = struct complex
16720 (@value{GDBP}) ptype struct complex
16721 type = struct complex @{
16722 real_t real;
16723 double imag;
16724 @}
16725 (@value{GDBP}) whatis real_pointer_var
16726 type = real_t *
16727 (@value{GDBP}) ptype real_pointer_var
16728 type = double *
16729 @end group
16730 @end smallexample
16731
16732 @noindent
16733 As with @code{whatis}, using @code{ptype} without an argument refers to
16734 the type of @code{$}, the last value in the value history.
16735
16736 @cindex incomplete type
16737 Sometimes, programs use opaque data types or incomplete specifications
16738 of complex data structure. If the debug information included in the
16739 program does not allow @value{GDBN} to display a full declaration of
16740 the data type, it will say @samp{<incomplete type>}. For example,
16741 given these declarations:
16742
16743 @smallexample
16744 struct foo;
16745 struct foo *fooptr;
16746 @end smallexample
16747
16748 @noindent
16749 but no definition for @code{struct foo} itself, @value{GDBN} will say:
16750
16751 @smallexample
16752 (@value{GDBP}) ptype foo
16753 $1 = <incomplete type>
16754 @end smallexample
16755
16756 @noindent
16757 ``Incomplete type'' is C terminology for data types that are not
16758 completely specified.
16759
16760 @kindex info types
16761 @item info types @var{regexp}
16762 @itemx info types
16763 Print a brief description of all types whose names match the regular
16764 expression @var{regexp} (or all types in your program, if you supply
16765 no argument). Each complete typename is matched as though it were a
16766 complete line; thus, @samp{i type value} gives information on all
16767 types in your program whose names include the string @code{value}, but
16768 @samp{i type ^value$} gives information only on types whose complete
16769 name is @code{value}.
16770
16771 This command differs from @code{ptype} in two ways: first, like
16772 @code{whatis}, it does not print a detailed description; second, it
16773 lists all source files where a type is defined.
16774
16775 @kindex info type-printers
16776 @item info type-printers
16777 Versions of @value{GDBN} that ship with Python scripting enabled may
16778 have ``type printers'' available. When using @command{ptype} or
16779 @command{whatis}, these printers are consulted when the name of a type
16780 is needed. @xref{Type Printing API}, for more information on writing
16781 type printers.
16782
16783 @code{info type-printers} displays all the available type printers.
16784
16785 @kindex enable type-printer
16786 @kindex disable type-printer
16787 @item enable type-printer @var{name}@dots{}
16788 @item disable type-printer @var{name}@dots{}
16789 These commands can be used to enable or disable type printers.
16790
16791 @kindex info scope
16792 @cindex local variables
16793 @item info scope @var{location}
16794 List all the variables local to a particular scope. This command
16795 accepts a @var{location} argument---a function name, a source line, or
16796 an address preceded by a @samp{*}, and prints all the variables local
16797 to the scope defined by that location. (@xref{Specify Location}, for
16798 details about supported forms of @var{location}.) For example:
16799
16800 @smallexample
16801 (@value{GDBP}) @b{info scope command_line_handler}
16802 Scope for command_line_handler:
16803 Symbol rl is an argument at stack/frame offset 8, length 4.
16804 Symbol linebuffer is in static storage at address 0x150a18, length 4.
16805 Symbol linelength is in static storage at address 0x150a1c, length 4.
16806 Symbol p is a local variable in register $esi, length 4.
16807 Symbol p1 is a local variable in register $ebx, length 4.
16808 Symbol nline is a local variable in register $edx, length 4.
16809 Symbol repeat is a local variable at frame offset -8, length 4.
16810 @end smallexample
16811
16812 @noindent
16813 This command is especially useful for determining what data to collect
16814 during a @dfn{trace experiment}, see @ref{Tracepoint Actions,
16815 collect}.
16816
16817 @kindex info source
16818 @item info source
16819 Show information about the current source file---that is, the source file for
16820 the function containing the current point of execution:
16821 @itemize @bullet
16822 @item
16823 the name of the source file, and the directory containing it,
16824 @item
16825 the directory it was compiled in,
16826 @item
16827 its length, in lines,
16828 @item
16829 which programming language it is written in,
16830 @item
16831 if the debug information provides it, the program that compiled the file
16832 (which may include, e.g., the compiler version and command line arguments),
16833 @item
16834 whether the executable includes debugging information for that file, and
16835 if so, what format the information is in (e.g., STABS, Dwarf 2, etc.), and
16836 @item
16837 whether the debugging information includes information about
16838 preprocessor macros.
16839 @end itemize
16840
16841
16842 @kindex info sources
16843 @item info sources
16844 Print the names of all source files in your program for which there is
16845 debugging information, organized into two lists: files whose symbols
16846 have already been read, and files whose symbols will be read when needed.
16847
16848 @kindex info functions
16849 @item info functions
16850 Print the names and data types of all defined functions.
16851
16852 @item info functions @var{regexp}
16853 Print the names and data types of all defined functions
16854 whose names contain a match for regular expression @var{regexp}.
16855 Thus, @samp{info fun step} finds all functions whose names
16856 include @code{step}; @samp{info fun ^step} finds those whose names
16857 start with @code{step}. If a function name contains characters
16858 that conflict with the regular expression language (e.g.@:
16859 @samp{operator*()}), they may be quoted with a backslash.
16860
16861 @kindex info variables
16862 @item info variables
16863 Print the names and data types of all variables that are defined
16864 outside of functions (i.e.@: excluding local variables).
16865
16866 @item info variables @var{regexp}
16867 Print the names and data types of all variables (except for local
16868 variables) whose names contain a match for regular expression
16869 @var{regexp}.
16870
16871 @kindex info classes
16872 @cindex Objective-C, classes and selectors
16873 @item info classes
16874 @itemx info classes @var{regexp}
16875 Display all Objective-C classes in your program, or
16876 (with the @var{regexp} argument) all those matching a particular regular
16877 expression.
16878
16879 @kindex info selectors
16880 @item info selectors
16881 @itemx info selectors @var{regexp}
16882 Display all Objective-C selectors in your program, or
16883 (with the @var{regexp} argument) all those matching a particular regular
16884 expression.
16885
16886 @ignore
16887 This was never implemented.
16888 @kindex info methods
16889 @item info methods
16890 @itemx info methods @var{regexp}
16891 The @code{info methods} command permits the user to examine all defined
16892 methods within C@t{++} program, or (with the @var{regexp} argument) a
16893 specific set of methods found in the various C@t{++} classes. Many
16894 C@t{++} classes provide a large number of methods. Thus, the output
16895 from the @code{ptype} command can be overwhelming and hard to use. The
16896 @code{info-methods} command filters the methods, printing only those
16897 which match the regular-expression @var{regexp}.
16898 @end ignore
16899
16900 @cindex opaque data types
16901 @kindex set opaque-type-resolution
16902 @item set opaque-type-resolution on
16903 Tell @value{GDBN} to resolve opaque types. An opaque type is a type
16904 declared as a pointer to a @code{struct}, @code{class}, or
16905 @code{union}---for example, @code{struct MyType *}---that is used in one
16906 source file although the full declaration of @code{struct MyType} is in
16907 another source file. The default is on.
16908
16909 A change in the setting of this subcommand will not take effect until
16910 the next time symbols for a file are loaded.
16911
16912 @item set opaque-type-resolution off
16913 Tell @value{GDBN} not to resolve opaque types. In this case, the type
16914 is printed as follows:
16915 @smallexample
16916 @{<no data fields>@}
16917 @end smallexample
16918
16919 @kindex show opaque-type-resolution
16920 @item show opaque-type-resolution
16921 Show whether opaque types are resolved or not.
16922
16923 @kindex set print symbol-loading
16924 @cindex print messages when symbols are loaded
16925 @item set print symbol-loading
16926 @itemx set print symbol-loading full
16927 @itemx set print symbol-loading brief
16928 @itemx set print symbol-loading off
16929 The @code{set print symbol-loading} command allows you to control the
16930 printing of messages when @value{GDBN} loads symbol information.
16931 By default a message is printed for the executable and one for each
16932 shared library, and normally this is what you want. However, when
16933 debugging apps with large numbers of shared libraries these messages
16934 can be annoying.
16935 When set to @code{brief} a message is printed for each executable,
16936 and when @value{GDBN} loads a collection of shared libraries at once
16937 it will only print one message regardless of the number of shared
16938 libraries. When set to @code{off} no messages are printed.
16939
16940 @kindex show print symbol-loading
16941 @item show print symbol-loading
16942 Show whether messages will be printed when a @value{GDBN} command
16943 entered from the keyboard causes symbol information to be loaded.
16944
16945 @kindex maint print symbols
16946 @cindex symbol dump
16947 @kindex maint print psymbols
16948 @cindex partial symbol dump
16949 @kindex maint print msymbols
16950 @cindex minimal symbol dump
16951 @item maint print symbols @var{filename}
16952 @itemx maint print psymbols @var{filename}
16953 @itemx maint print msymbols @var{filename}
16954 Write a dump of debugging symbol data into the file @var{filename}.
16955 These commands are used to debug the @value{GDBN} symbol-reading code. Only
16956 symbols with debugging data are included. If you use @samp{maint print
16957 symbols}, @value{GDBN} includes all the symbols for which it has already
16958 collected full details: that is, @var{filename} reflects symbols for
16959 only those files whose symbols @value{GDBN} has read. You can use the
16960 command @code{info sources} to find out which files these are. If you
16961 use @samp{maint print psymbols} instead, the dump shows information about
16962 symbols that @value{GDBN} only knows partially---that is, symbols defined in
16963 files that @value{GDBN} has skimmed, but not yet read completely. Finally,
16964 @samp{maint print msymbols} dumps just the minimal symbol information
16965 required for each object file from which @value{GDBN} has read some symbols.
16966 @xref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}, for a discussion of how
16967 @value{GDBN} reads symbols (in the description of @code{symbol-file}).
16968
16969 @kindex maint info symtabs
16970 @kindex maint info psymtabs
16971 @cindex listing @value{GDBN}'s internal symbol tables
16972 @cindex symbol tables, listing @value{GDBN}'s internal
16973 @cindex full symbol tables, listing @value{GDBN}'s internal
16974 @cindex partial symbol tables, listing @value{GDBN}'s internal
16975 @item maint info symtabs @r{[} @var{regexp} @r{]}
16976 @itemx maint info psymtabs @r{[} @var{regexp} @r{]}
16977
16978 List the @code{struct symtab} or @code{struct partial_symtab}
16979 structures whose names match @var{regexp}. If @var{regexp} is not
16980 given, list them all. The output includes expressions which you can
16981 copy into a @value{GDBN} debugging this one to examine a particular
16982 structure in more detail. For example:
16983
16984 @smallexample
16985 (@value{GDBP}) maint info psymtabs dwarf2read
16986 @{ objfile /home/gnu/build/gdb/gdb
16987 ((struct objfile *) 0x82e69d0)
16988 @{ psymtab /home/gnu/src/gdb/dwarf2read.c
16989 ((struct partial_symtab *) 0x8474b10)
16990 readin no
16991 fullname (null)
16992 text addresses 0x814d3c8 -- 0x8158074
16993 globals (* (struct partial_symbol **) 0x8507a08 @@ 9)
16994 statics (* (struct partial_symbol **) 0x40e95b78 @@ 2882)
16995 dependencies (none)
16996 @}
16997 @}
16998 (@value{GDBP}) maint info symtabs
16999 (@value{GDBP})
17000 @end smallexample
17001 @noindent
17002 We see that there is one partial symbol table whose filename contains
17003 the string @samp{dwarf2read}, belonging to the @samp{gdb} executable;
17004 and we see that @value{GDBN} has not read in any symtabs yet at all.
17005 If we set a breakpoint on a function, that will cause @value{GDBN} to
17006 read the symtab for the compilation unit containing that function:
17007
17008 @smallexample
17009 (@value{GDBP}) break dwarf2_psymtab_to_symtab
17010 Breakpoint 1 at 0x814e5da: file /home/gnu/src/gdb/dwarf2read.c,
17011 line 1574.
17012 (@value{GDBP}) maint info symtabs
17013 @{ objfile /home/gnu/build/gdb/gdb
17014 ((struct objfile *) 0x82e69d0)
17015 @{ symtab /home/gnu/src/gdb/dwarf2read.c
17016 ((struct symtab *) 0x86c1f38)
17017 dirname (null)
17018 fullname (null)
17019 blockvector ((struct blockvector *) 0x86c1bd0) (primary)
17020 linetable ((struct linetable *) 0x8370fa0)
17021 debugformat DWARF 2
17022 @}
17023 @}
17024 (@value{GDBP})
17025 @end smallexample
17026
17027 @kindex maint set symbol-cache-size
17028 @cindex symbol cache size
17029 @item maint set symbol-cache-size @var{size}
17030 Set the size of the symbol cache to @var{size}.
17031 The default size is intended to be good enough for debugging
17032 most applications. This option exists to allow for experimenting
17033 with different sizes.
17034
17035 @kindex maint show symbol-cache-size
17036 @item maint show symbol-cache-size
17037 Show the size of the symbol cache.
17038
17039 @kindex maint print symbol-cache
17040 @cindex symbol cache, printing its contents
17041 @item maint print symbol-cache
17042 Print the contents of the symbol cache.
17043 This is useful when debugging symbol cache issues.
17044
17045 @kindex maint print symbol-cache-statistics
17046 @cindex symbol cache, printing usage statistics
17047 @item maint print symbol-cache-statistics
17048 Print symbol cache usage statistics.
17049 This helps determine how well the cache is being utilized.
17050
17051 @kindex maint flush-symbol-cache
17052 @cindex symbol cache, flushing
17053 @item maint flush-symbol-cache
17054 Flush the contents of the symbol cache, all entries are removed.
17055 This command is useful when debugging the symbol cache.
17056 It is also useful when collecting performance data.
17057
17058 @end table
17059
17060 @node Altering
17061 @chapter Altering Execution
17062
17063 Once you think you have found an error in your program, you might want to
17064 find out for certain whether correcting the apparent error would lead to
17065 correct results in the rest of the run. You can find the answer by
17066 experiment, using the @value{GDBN} features for altering execution of the
17067 program.
17068
17069 For example, you can store new values into variables or memory
17070 locations, give your program a signal, restart it at a different
17071 address, or even return prematurely from a function.
17072
17073 @menu
17074 * Assignment:: Assignment to variables
17075 * Jumping:: Continuing at a different address
17076 * Signaling:: Giving your program a signal
17077 * Returning:: Returning from a function
17078 * Calling:: Calling your program's functions
17079 * Patching:: Patching your program
17080 * Compiling and Injecting Code:: Compiling and injecting code in @value{GDBN}
17081 @end menu
17082
17083 @node Assignment
17084 @section Assignment to Variables
17085
17086 @cindex assignment
17087 @cindex setting variables
17088 To alter the value of a variable, evaluate an assignment expression.
17089 @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}. For example,
17090
17091 @smallexample
17092 print x=4
17093 @end smallexample
17094
17095 @noindent
17096 stores the value 4 into the variable @code{x}, and then prints the
17097 value of the assignment expression (which is 4).
17098 @xref{Languages, ,Using @value{GDBN} with Different Languages}, for more
17099 information on operators in supported languages.
17100
17101 @kindex set variable
17102 @cindex variables, setting
17103 If you are not interested in seeing the value of the assignment, use the
17104 @code{set} command instead of the @code{print} command. @code{set} is
17105 really the same as @code{print} except that the expression's value is
17106 not printed and is not put in the value history (@pxref{Value History,
17107 ,Value History}). The expression is evaluated only for its effects.
17108
17109 If the beginning of the argument string of the @code{set} command
17110 appears identical to a @code{set} subcommand, use the @code{set
17111 variable} command instead of just @code{set}. This command is identical
17112 to @code{set} except for its lack of subcommands. For example, if your
17113 program has a variable @code{width}, you get an error if you try to set
17114 a new value with just @samp{set width=13}, because @value{GDBN} has the
17115 command @code{set width}:
17116
17117 @smallexample
17118 (@value{GDBP}) whatis width
17119 type = double
17120 (@value{GDBP}) p width
17121 $4 = 13
17122 (@value{GDBP}) set width=47
17123 Invalid syntax in expression.
17124 @end smallexample
17125
17126 @noindent
17127 The invalid expression, of course, is @samp{=47}. In
17128 order to actually set the program's variable @code{width}, use
17129
17130 @smallexample
17131 (@value{GDBP}) set var width=47
17132 @end smallexample
17133
17134 Because the @code{set} command has many subcommands that can conflict
17135 with the names of program variables, it is a good idea to use the
17136 @code{set variable} command instead of just @code{set}. For example, if
17137 your program has a variable @code{g}, you run into problems if you try
17138 to set a new value with just @samp{set g=4}, because @value{GDBN} has
17139 the command @code{set gnutarget}, abbreviated @code{set g}:
17140
17141 @smallexample
17142 @group
17143 (@value{GDBP}) whatis g
17144 type = double
17145 (@value{GDBP}) p g
17146 $1 = 1
17147 (@value{GDBP}) set g=4
17148 (@value{GDBP}) p g
17149 $2 = 1
17150 (@value{GDBP}) r
17151 The program being debugged has been started already.
17152 Start it from the beginning? (y or n) y
17153 Starting program: /home/smith/cc_progs/a.out
17154 "/home/smith/cc_progs/a.out": can't open to read symbols:
17155 Invalid bfd target.
17156 (@value{GDBP}) show g
17157 The current BFD target is "=4".
17158 @end group
17159 @end smallexample
17160
17161 @noindent
17162 The program variable @code{g} did not change, and you silently set the
17163 @code{gnutarget} to an invalid value. In order to set the variable
17164 @code{g}, use
17165
17166 @smallexample
17167 (@value{GDBP}) set var g=4
17168 @end smallexample
17169
17170 @value{GDBN} allows more implicit conversions in assignments than C; you can
17171 freely store an integer value into a pointer variable or vice versa,
17172 and you can convert any structure to any other structure that is the
17173 same length or shorter.
17174 @comment FIXME: how do structs align/pad in these conversions?
17175 @comment /doc@cygnus.com 18dec1990
17176
17177 To store values into arbitrary places in memory, use the @samp{@{@dots{}@}}
17178 construct to generate a value of specified type at a specified address
17179 (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}). For example, @code{@{int@}0x83040} refers
17180 to memory location @code{0x83040} as an integer (which implies a certain size
17181 and representation in memory), and
17182
17183 @smallexample
17184 set @{int@}0x83040 = 4
17185 @end smallexample
17186
17187 @noindent
17188 stores the value 4 into that memory location.
17189
17190 @node Jumping
17191 @section Continuing at a Different Address
17192
17193 Ordinarily, when you continue your program, you do so at the place where
17194 it stopped, with the @code{continue} command. You can instead continue at
17195 an address of your own choosing, with the following commands:
17196
17197 @table @code
17198 @kindex jump
17199 @kindex j @r{(@code{jump})}
17200 @item jump @var{location}
17201 @itemx j @var{location}
17202 Resume execution at @var{location}. Execution stops again immediately
17203 if there is a breakpoint there. @xref{Specify Location}, for a description
17204 of the different forms of @var{location}. It is common
17205 practice to use the @code{tbreak} command in conjunction with
17206 @code{jump}. @xref{Set Breaks, ,Setting Breakpoints}.
17207
17208 The @code{jump} command does not change the current stack frame, or
17209 the stack pointer, or the contents of any memory location or any
17210 register other than the program counter. If @var{location} is in
17211 a different function from the one currently executing, the results may
17212 be bizarre if the two functions expect different patterns of arguments or
17213 of local variables. For this reason, the @code{jump} command requests
17214 confirmation if the specified line is not in the function currently
17215 executing. However, even bizarre results are predictable if you are
17216 well acquainted with the machine-language code of your program.
17217 @end table
17218
17219 On many systems, you can get much the same effect as the @code{jump}
17220 command by storing a new value into the register @code{$pc}. The
17221 difference is that this does not start your program running; it only
17222 changes the address of where it @emph{will} run when you continue. For
17223 example,
17224
17225 @smallexample
17226 set $pc = 0x485
17227 @end smallexample
17228
17229 @noindent
17230 makes the next @code{continue} command or stepping command execute at
17231 address @code{0x485}, rather than at the address where your program stopped.
17232 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, ,Continuing and Stepping}.
17233
17234 The most common occasion to use the @code{jump} command is to back
17235 up---perhaps with more breakpoints set---over a portion of a program
17236 that has already executed, in order to examine its execution in more
17237 detail.
17238
17239 @c @group
17240 @node Signaling
17241 @section Giving your Program a Signal
17242 @cindex deliver a signal to a program
17243
17244 @table @code
17245 @kindex signal
17246 @item signal @var{signal}
17247 Resume execution where your program is stopped, but immediately give it the
17248 signal @var{signal}. The @var{signal} can be the name or the number of a
17249 signal. For example, on many systems @code{signal 2} and @code{signal
17250 SIGINT} are both ways of sending an interrupt signal.
17251
17252 Alternatively, if @var{signal} is zero, continue execution without
17253 giving a signal. This is useful when your program stopped on account of
17254 a signal and would ordinarily see the signal when resumed with the
17255 @code{continue} command; @samp{signal 0} causes it to resume without a
17256 signal.
17257
17258 @emph{Note:} When resuming a multi-threaded program, @var{signal} is
17259 delivered to the currently selected thread, not the thread that last
17260 reported a stop. This includes the situation where a thread was
17261 stopped due to a signal. So if you want to continue execution
17262 suppressing the signal that stopped a thread, you should select that
17263 same thread before issuing the @samp{signal 0} command. If you issue
17264 the @samp{signal 0} command with another thread as the selected one,
17265 @value{GDBN} detects that and asks for confirmation.
17266
17267 Invoking the @code{signal} command is not the same as invoking the
17268 @code{kill} utility from the shell. Sending a signal with @code{kill}
17269 causes @value{GDBN} to decide what to do with the signal depending on
17270 the signal handling tables (@pxref{Signals}). The @code{signal} command
17271 passes the signal directly to your program.
17272
17273 @code{signal} does not repeat when you press @key{RET} a second time
17274 after executing the command.
17275
17276 @kindex queue-signal
17277 @item queue-signal @var{signal}
17278 Queue @var{signal} to be delivered immediately to the current thread
17279 when execution of the thread resumes. The @var{signal} can be the name or
17280 the number of a signal. For example, on many systems @code{signal 2} and
17281 @code{signal SIGINT} are both ways of sending an interrupt signal.
17282 The handling of the signal must be set to pass the signal to the program,
17283 otherwise @value{GDBN} will report an error.
17284 You can control the handling of signals from @value{GDBN} with the
17285 @code{handle} command (@pxref{Signals}).
17286
17287 Alternatively, if @var{signal} is zero, any currently queued signal
17288 for the current thread is discarded and when execution resumes no signal
17289 will be delivered. This is useful when your program stopped on account
17290 of a signal and would ordinarily see the signal when resumed with the
17291 @code{continue} command.
17292
17293 This command differs from the @code{signal} command in that the signal
17294 is just queued, execution is not resumed. And @code{queue-signal} cannot
17295 be used to pass a signal whose handling state has been set to @code{nopass}
17296 (@pxref{Signals}).
17297 @end table
17298 @c @end group
17299
17300 @xref{stepping into signal handlers}, for information on how stepping
17301 commands behave when the thread has a signal queued.
17302
17303 @node Returning
17304 @section Returning from a Function
17305
17306 @table @code
17307 @cindex returning from a function
17308 @kindex return
17309 @item return
17310 @itemx return @var{expression}
17311 You can cancel execution of a function call with the @code{return}
17312 command. If you give an
17313 @var{expression} argument, its value is used as the function's return
17314 value.
17315 @end table
17316
17317 When you use @code{return}, @value{GDBN} discards the selected stack frame
17318 (and all frames within it). You can think of this as making the
17319 discarded frame return prematurely. If you wish to specify a value to
17320 be returned, give that value as the argument to @code{return}.
17321
17322 This pops the selected stack frame (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a
17323 Frame}), and any other frames inside of it, leaving its caller as the
17324 innermost remaining frame. That frame becomes selected. The
17325 specified value is stored in the registers used for returning values
17326 of functions.
17327
17328 The @code{return} command does not resume execution; it leaves the
17329 program stopped in the state that would exist if the function had just
17330 returned. In contrast, the @code{finish} command (@pxref{Continuing
17331 and Stepping, ,Continuing and Stepping}) resumes execution until the
17332 selected stack frame returns naturally.
17333
17334 @value{GDBN} needs to know how the @var{expression} argument should be set for
17335 the inferior. The concrete registers assignment depends on the OS ABI and the
17336 type being returned by the selected stack frame. For example it is common for
17337 OS ABI to return floating point values in FPU registers while integer values in
17338 CPU registers. Still some ABIs return even floating point values in CPU
17339 registers. Larger integer widths (such as @code{long long int}) also have
17340 specific placement rules. @value{GDBN} already knows the OS ABI from its
17341 current target so it needs to find out also the type being returned to make the
17342 assignment into the right register(s).
17343
17344 Normally, the selected stack frame has debug info. @value{GDBN} will always
17345 use the debug info instead of the implicit type of @var{expression} when the
17346 debug info is available. For example, if you type @kbd{return -1}, and the
17347 function in the current stack frame is declared to return a @code{long long
17348 int}, @value{GDBN} transparently converts the implicit @code{int} value of -1
17349 into a @code{long long int}:
17350
17351 @smallexample
17352 Breakpoint 1, func () at gdb.base/return-nodebug.c:29
17353 29 return 31;
17354 (@value{GDBP}) return -1
17355 Make func return now? (y or n) y
17356 #0 0x004004f6 in main () at gdb.base/return-nodebug.c:43
17357 43 printf ("result=%lld\n", func ());
17358 (@value{GDBP})
17359 @end smallexample
17360
17361 However, if the selected stack frame does not have a debug info, e.g., if the
17362 function was compiled without debug info, @value{GDBN} has to find out the type
17363 to return from user. Specifying a different type by mistake may set the value
17364 in different inferior registers than the caller code expects. For example,
17365 typing @kbd{return -1} with its implicit type @code{int} would set only a part
17366 of a @code{long long int} result for a debug info less function (on 32-bit
17367 architectures). Therefore the user is required to specify the return type by
17368 an appropriate cast explicitly:
17369
17370 @smallexample
17371 Breakpoint 2, 0x0040050b in func ()
17372 (@value{GDBP}) return -1
17373 Return value type not available for selected stack frame.
17374 Please use an explicit cast of the value to return.
17375 (@value{GDBP}) return (long long int) -1
17376 Make selected stack frame return now? (y or n) y
17377 #0 0x00400526 in main ()
17378 (@value{GDBP})
17379 @end smallexample
17380
17381 @node Calling
17382 @section Calling Program Functions
17383
17384 @table @code
17385 @cindex calling functions
17386 @cindex inferior functions, calling
17387 @item print @var{expr}
17388 Evaluate the expression @var{expr} and display the resulting value.
17389 The expression may include calls to functions in the program being
17390 debugged.
17391
17392 @kindex call
17393 @item call @var{expr}
17394 Evaluate the expression @var{expr} without displaying @code{void}
17395 returned values.
17396
17397 You can use this variant of the @code{print} command if you want to
17398 execute a function from your program that does not return anything
17399 (a.k.a.@: @dfn{a void function}), but without cluttering the output
17400 with @code{void} returned values that @value{GDBN} will otherwise
17401 print. If the result is not void, it is printed and saved in the
17402 value history.
17403 @end table
17404
17405 It is possible for the function you call via the @code{print} or
17406 @code{call} command to generate a signal (e.g., if there's a bug in
17407 the function, or if you passed it incorrect arguments). What happens
17408 in that case is controlled by the @code{set unwindonsignal} command.
17409
17410 Similarly, with a C@t{++} program it is possible for the function you
17411 call via the @code{print} or @code{call} command to generate an
17412 exception that is not handled due to the constraints of the dummy
17413 frame. In this case, any exception that is raised in the frame, but has
17414 an out-of-frame exception handler will not be found. GDB builds a
17415 dummy-frame for the inferior function call, and the unwinder cannot
17416 seek for exception handlers outside of this dummy-frame. What happens
17417 in that case is controlled by the
17418 @code{set unwind-on-terminating-exception} command.
17419
17420 @table @code
17421 @item set unwindonsignal
17422 @kindex set unwindonsignal
17423 @cindex unwind stack in called functions
17424 @cindex call dummy stack unwinding
17425 Set unwinding of the stack if a signal is received while in a function
17426 that @value{GDBN} called in the program being debugged. If set to on,
17427 @value{GDBN} unwinds the stack it created for the call and restores
17428 the context to what it was before the call. If set to off (the
17429 default), @value{GDBN} stops in the frame where the signal was
17430 received.
17431
17432 @item show unwindonsignal
17433 @kindex show unwindonsignal
17434 Show the current setting of stack unwinding in the functions called by
17435 @value{GDBN}.
17436
17437 @item set unwind-on-terminating-exception
17438 @kindex set unwind-on-terminating-exception
17439 @cindex unwind stack in called functions with unhandled exceptions
17440 @cindex call dummy stack unwinding on unhandled exception.
17441 Set unwinding of the stack if a C@t{++} exception is raised, but left
17442 unhandled while in a function that @value{GDBN} called in the program being
17443 debugged. If set to on (the default), @value{GDBN} unwinds the stack
17444 it created for the call and restores the context to what it was before
17445 the call. If set to off, @value{GDBN} the exception is delivered to
17446 the default C@t{++} exception handler and the inferior terminated.
17447
17448 @item show unwind-on-terminating-exception
17449 @kindex show unwind-on-terminating-exception
17450 Show the current setting of stack unwinding in the functions called by
17451 @value{GDBN}.
17452
17453 @end table
17454
17455 @cindex weak alias functions
17456 Sometimes, a function you wish to call is actually a @dfn{weak alias}
17457 for another function. In such case, @value{GDBN} might not pick up
17458 the type information, including the types of the function arguments,
17459 which causes @value{GDBN} to call the inferior function incorrectly.
17460 As a result, the called function will function erroneously and may
17461 even crash. A solution to that is to use the name of the aliased
17462 function instead.
17463
17464 @node Patching
17465 @section Patching Programs
17466
17467 @cindex patching binaries
17468 @cindex writing into executables
17469 @cindex writing into corefiles
17470
17471 By default, @value{GDBN} opens the file containing your program's
17472 executable code (or the corefile) read-only. This prevents accidental
17473 alterations to machine code; but it also prevents you from intentionally
17474 patching your program's binary.
17475
17476 If you'd like to be able to patch the binary, you can specify that
17477 explicitly with the @code{set write} command. For example, you might
17478 want to turn on internal debugging flags, or even to make emergency
17479 repairs.
17480
17481 @table @code
17482 @kindex set write
17483 @item set write on
17484 @itemx set write off
17485 If you specify @samp{set write on}, @value{GDBN} opens executable and
17486 core files for both reading and writing; if you specify @kbd{set write
17487 off} (the default), @value{GDBN} opens them read-only.
17488
17489 If you have already loaded a file, you must load it again (using the
17490 @code{exec-file} or @code{core-file} command) after changing @code{set
17491 write}, for your new setting to take effect.
17492
17493 @item show write
17494 @kindex show write
17495 Display whether executable files and core files are opened for writing
17496 as well as reading.
17497 @end table
17498
17499 @node Compiling and Injecting Code
17500 @section Compiling and injecting code in @value{GDBN}
17501 @cindex injecting code
17502 @cindex writing into executables
17503 @cindex compiling code
17504
17505 @value{GDBN} supports on-demand compilation and code injection into
17506 programs running under @value{GDBN}. GCC 5.0 or higher built with
17507 @file{libcc1.so} must be installed for this functionality to be enabled.
17508 This functionality is implemented with the following commands.
17509
17510 @table @code
17511 @kindex compile code
17512 @item compile code @var{source-code}
17513 @itemx compile code -raw @var{--} @var{source-code}
17514 Compile @var{source-code} with the compiler language found as the current
17515 language in @value{GDBN} (@pxref{Languages}). If compilation and
17516 injection is not supported with the current language specified in
17517 @value{GDBN}, or the compiler does not support this feature, an error
17518 message will be printed. If @var{source-code} compiles and links
17519 successfully, @value{GDBN} will load the object-code emitted,
17520 and execute it within the context of the currently selected inferior.
17521 It is important to note that the compiled code is executed immediately.
17522 After execution, the compiled code is removed from @value{GDBN} and any
17523 new types or variables you have defined will be deleted.
17524
17525 The command allows you to specify @var{source-code} in two ways.
17526 The simplest method is to provide a single line of code to the command.
17527 E.g.:
17528
17529 @smallexample
17530 compile code printf ("hello world\n");
17531 @end smallexample
17532
17533 If you specify options on the command line as well as source code, they
17534 may conflict. The @samp{--} delimiter can be used to separate options
17535 from actual source code. E.g.:
17536
17537 @smallexample
17538 compile code -r -- printf ("hello world\n");
17539 @end smallexample
17540
17541 Alternatively you can enter source code as multiple lines of text. To
17542 enter this mode, invoke the @samp{compile code} command without any text
17543 following the command. This will start the multiple-line editor and
17544 allow you to type as many lines of source code as required. When you
17545 have completed typing, enter @samp{end} on its own line to exit the
17546 editor.
17547
17548 @smallexample
17549 compile code
17550 >printf ("hello\n");
17551 >printf ("world\n");
17552 >end
17553 @end smallexample
17554
17555 Specifying @samp{-raw}, prohibits @value{GDBN} from wrapping the
17556 provided @var{source-code} in a callable scope. In this case, you must
17557 specify the entry point of the code by defining a function named
17558 @code{_gdb_expr_}. The @samp{-raw} code cannot access variables of the
17559 inferior. Using @samp{-raw} option may be needed for example when
17560 @var{source-code} requires @samp{#include} lines which may conflict with
17561 inferior symbols otherwise.
17562
17563 @kindex compile file
17564 @item compile file @var{filename}
17565 @itemx compile file -raw @var{filename}
17566 Like @code{compile code}, but take the source code from @var{filename}.
17567
17568 @smallexample
17569 compile file /home/user/example.c
17570 @end smallexample
17571 @end table
17572
17573 @table @code
17574 @item compile print @var{expr}
17575 @itemx compile print /@var{f} @var{expr}
17576 Compile and execute @var{expr} with the compiler language found as the
17577 current language in @value{GDBN} (@pxref{Languages}). By default the
17578 value of @var{expr} is printed in a format appropriate to its data type;
17579 you can choose a different format by specifying @samp{/@var{f}}, where
17580 @var{f} is a letter specifying the format; see @ref{Output Formats,,Output
17581 Formats}.
17582
17583 @item compile print
17584 @itemx compile print /@var{f}
17585 @cindex reprint the last value
17586 Alternatively you can enter the expression (source code producing it) as
17587 multiple lines of text. To enter this mode, invoke the @samp{compile print}
17588 command without any text following the command. This will start the
17589 multiple-line editor.
17590 @end table
17591
17592 @noindent
17593 The process of compiling and injecting the code can be inspected using:
17594
17595 @table @code
17596 @anchor{set debug compile}
17597 @item set debug compile
17598 @cindex compile command debugging info
17599 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} process of compiling and
17600 injecting the code. The default is off.
17601
17602 @item show debug compile
17603 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} process of
17604 compiling and injecting the code.
17605 @end table
17606
17607 @subsection Compilation options for the @code{compile} command
17608
17609 @value{GDBN} needs to specify the right compilation options for the code
17610 to be injected, in part to make its ABI compatible with the inferior
17611 and in part to make the injected code compatible with @value{GDBN}'s
17612 injecting process.
17613
17614 @noindent
17615 The options used, in increasing precedence:
17616
17617 @table @asis
17618 @item target architecture and OS options (@code{gdbarch})
17619 These options depend on target processor type and target operating
17620 system, usually they specify at least 32-bit (@code{-m32}) or 64-bit
17621 (@code{-m64}) compilation option.
17622
17623 @item compilation options recorded in the target
17624 @value{NGCC} (since version 4.7) stores the options used for compilation
17625 into @code{DW_AT_producer} part of DWARF debugging information according
17626 to the @value{NGCC} option @code{-grecord-gcc-switches}. One has to
17627 explicitly specify @code{-g} during inferior compilation otherwise
17628 @value{NGCC} produces no DWARF. This feature is only relevant for
17629 platforms where @code{-g} produces DWARF by default, otherwise one may
17630 try to enforce DWARF by using @code{-gdwarf-4}.
17631
17632 @item compilation options set by @code{set compile-args}
17633 @end table
17634
17635 @noindent
17636 You can override compilation options using the following command:
17637
17638 @table @code
17639 @item set compile-args
17640 @cindex compile command options override
17641 Set compilation options used for compiling and injecting code with the
17642 @code{compile} commands. These options override any conflicting ones
17643 from the target architecture and/or options stored during inferior
17644 compilation.
17645
17646 @item show compile-args
17647 Displays the current state of compilation options override.
17648 This does not show all the options actually used during compilation,
17649 use @ref{set debug compile} for that.
17650 @end table
17651
17652 @subsection Caveats when using the @code{compile} command
17653
17654 There are a few caveats to keep in mind when using the @code{compile}
17655 command. As the caveats are different per language, the table below
17656 highlights specific issues on a per language basis.
17657
17658 @table @asis
17659 @item C code examples and caveats
17660 When the language in @value{GDBN} is set to @samp{C}, the compiler will
17661 attempt to compile the source code with a @samp{C} compiler. The source
17662 code provided to the @code{compile} command will have much the same
17663 access to variables and types as it normally would if it were part of
17664 the program currently being debugged in @value{GDBN}.
17665
17666 Below is a sample program that forms the basis of the examples that
17667 follow. This program has been compiled and loaded into @value{GDBN},
17668 much like any other normal debugging session.
17669
17670 @smallexample
17671 void function1 (void)
17672 @{
17673 int i = 42;
17674 printf ("function 1\n");
17675 @}
17676
17677 void function2 (void)
17678 @{
17679 int j = 12;
17680 function1 ();
17681 @}
17682
17683 int main(void)
17684 @{
17685 int k = 6;
17686 int *p;
17687 function2 ();
17688 return 0;
17689 @}
17690 @end smallexample
17691
17692 For the purposes of the examples in this section, the program above has
17693 been compiled, loaded into @value{GDBN}, stopped at the function
17694 @code{main}, and @value{GDBN} is awaiting input from the user.
17695
17696 To access variables and types for any program in @value{GDBN}, the
17697 program must be compiled and packaged with debug information. The
17698 @code{compile} command is not an exception to this rule. Without debug
17699 information, you can still use the @code{compile} command, but you will
17700 be very limited in what variables and types you can access.
17701
17702 So with that in mind, the example above has been compiled with debug
17703 information enabled. The @code{compile} command will have access to
17704 all variables and types (except those that may have been optimized
17705 out). Currently, as @value{GDBN} has stopped the program in the
17706 @code{main} function, the @code{compile} command would have access to
17707 the variable @code{k}. You could invoke the @code{compile} command
17708 and type some source code to set the value of @code{k}. You can also
17709 read it, or do anything with that variable you would normally do in
17710 @code{C}. Be aware that changes to inferior variables in the
17711 @code{compile} command are persistent. In the following example:
17712
17713 @smallexample
17714 compile code k = 3;
17715 @end smallexample
17716
17717 @noindent
17718 the variable @code{k} is now 3. It will retain that value until
17719 something else in the example program changes it, or another
17720 @code{compile} command changes it.
17721
17722 Normal scope and access rules apply to source code compiled and
17723 injected by the @code{compile} command. In the example, the variables
17724 @code{j} and @code{k} are not accessible yet, because the program is
17725 currently stopped in the @code{main} function, where these variables
17726 are not in scope. Therefore, the following command
17727
17728 @smallexample
17729 compile code j = 3;
17730 @end smallexample
17731
17732 @noindent
17733 will result in a compilation error message.
17734
17735 Once the program is continued, execution will bring these variables in
17736 scope, and they will become accessible; then the code you specify via
17737 the @code{compile} command will be able to access them.
17738
17739 You can create variables and types with the @code{compile} command as
17740 part of your source code. Variables and types that are created as part
17741 of the @code{compile} command are not visible to the rest of the program for
17742 the duration of its run. This example is valid:
17743
17744 @smallexample
17745 compile code int ff = 5; printf ("ff is %d\n", ff);
17746 @end smallexample
17747
17748 However, if you were to type the following into @value{GDBN} after that
17749 command has completed:
17750
17751 @smallexample
17752 compile code printf ("ff is %d\n'', ff);
17753 @end smallexample
17754
17755 @noindent
17756 a compiler error would be raised as the variable @code{ff} no longer
17757 exists. Object code generated and injected by the @code{compile}
17758 command is removed when its execution ends. Caution is advised
17759 when assigning to program variables values of variables created by the
17760 code submitted to the @code{compile} command. This example is valid:
17761
17762 @smallexample
17763 compile code int ff = 5; k = ff;
17764 @end smallexample
17765
17766 The value of the variable @code{ff} is assigned to @code{k}. The variable
17767 @code{k} does not require the existence of @code{ff} to maintain the value
17768 it has been assigned. However, pointers require particular care in
17769 assignment. If the source code compiled with the @code{compile} command
17770 changed the address of a pointer in the example program, perhaps to a
17771 variable created in the @code{compile} command, that pointer would point
17772 to an invalid location when the command exits. The following example
17773 would likely cause issues with your debugged program:
17774
17775 @smallexample
17776 compile code int ff = 5; p = &ff;
17777 @end smallexample
17778
17779 In this example, @code{p} would point to @code{ff} when the
17780 @code{compile} command is executing the source code provided to it.
17781 However, as variables in the (example) program persist with their
17782 assigned values, the variable @code{p} would point to an invalid
17783 location when the command exists. A general rule should be followed
17784 in that you should either assign @code{NULL} to any assigned pointers,
17785 or restore a valid location to the pointer before the command exits.
17786
17787 Similar caution must be exercised with any structs, unions, and typedefs
17788 defined in @code{compile} command. Types defined in the @code{compile}
17789 command will no longer be available in the next @code{compile} command.
17790 Therefore, if you cast a variable to a type defined in the
17791 @code{compile} command, care must be taken to ensure that any future
17792 need to resolve the type can be achieved.
17793
17794 @smallexample
17795 (gdb) compile code static struct a @{ int a; @} v = @{ 42 @}; argv = &v;
17796 (gdb) compile code printf ("%d\n", ((struct a *) argv)->a);
17797 gdb command line:1:36: error: dereferencing pointer to incomplete type ‘struct a’
17798 Compilation failed.
17799 (gdb) compile code struct a @{ int a; @}; printf ("%d\n", ((struct a *) argv)->a);
17800 42
17801 @end smallexample
17802
17803 Variables that have been optimized away by the compiler are not
17804 accessible to the code submitted to the @code{compile} command.
17805 Access to those variables will generate a compiler error which @value{GDBN}
17806 will print to the console.
17807 @end table
17808
17809 @subsection Compiler search for the @code{compile} command
17810
17811 @value{GDBN} needs to find @value{NGCC} for the inferior being debugged which
17812 may not be obvious for remote targets of different architecture than where
17813 @value{GDBN} is running. Environment variable @code{PATH} (@code{PATH} from
17814 shell that executed @value{GDBN}, not the one set by @value{GDBN}
17815 command @code{set environment}). @xref{Environment}. @code{PATH} on
17816 @value{GDBN} host is searched for @value{NGCC} binary matching the
17817 target architecture and operating system.
17818
17819 Specifically @code{PATH} is searched for binaries matching regular expression
17820 @code{@var{arch}(-[^-]*)?-@var{os}-gcc} according to the inferior target being
17821 debugged. @var{arch} is processor name --- multiarch is supported, so for
17822 example both @code{i386} and @code{x86_64} targets look for pattern
17823 @code{(x86_64|i.86)} and both @code{s390} and @code{s390x} targets look
17824 for pattern @code{s390x?}. @var{os} is currently supported only for
17825 pattern @code{linux(-gnu)?}.
17826
17827 @node GDB Files
17828 @chapter @value{GDBN} Files
17829
17830 @value{GDBN} needs to know the file name of the program to be debugged,
17831 both in order to read its symbol table and in order to start your
17832 program. To debug a core dump of a previous run, you must also tell
17833 @value{GDBN} the name of the core dump file.
17834
17835 @menu
17836 * Files:: Commands to specify files
17837 * File Caching:: Information about @value{GDBN}'s file caching
17838 * Separate Debug Files:: Debugging information in separate files
17839 * MiniDebugInfo:: Debugging information in a special section
17840 * Index Files:: Index files speed up GDB
17841 * Symbol Errors:: Errors reading symbol files
17842 * Data Files:: GDB data files
17843 @end menu
17844
17845 @node Files
17846 @section Commands to Specify Files
17847
17848 @cindex symbol table
17849 @cindex core dump file
17850
17851 You may want to specify executable and core dump file names. The usual
17852 way to do this is at start-up time, using the arguments to
17853 @value{GDBN}'s start-up commands (@pxref{Invocation, , Getting In and
17854 Out of @value{GDBN}}).
17855
17856 Occasionally it is necessary to change to a different file during a
17857 @value{GDBN} session. Or you may run @value{GDBN} and forget to
17858 specify a file you want to use. Or you are debugging a remote target
17859 via @code{gdbserver} (@pxref{Server, file, Using the @code{gdbserver}
17860 Program}). In these situations the @value{GDBN} commands to specify
17861 new files are useful.
17862
17863 @table @code
17864 @cindex executable file
17865 @kindex file
17866 @item file @var{filename}
17867 Use @var{filename} as the program to be debugged. It is read for its
17868 symbols and for the contents of pure memory. It is also the program
17869 executed when you use the @code{run} command. If you do not specify a
17870 directory and the file is not found in the @value{GDBN} working directory,
17871 @value{GDBN} uses the environment variable @code{PATH} as a list of
17872 directories to search, just as the shell does when looking for a program
17873 to run. You can change the value of this variable, for both @value{GDBN}
17874 and your program, using the @code{path} command.
17875
17876 @cindex unlinked object files
17877 @cindex patching object files
17878 You can load unlinked object @file{.o} files into @value{GDBN} using
17879 the @code{file} command. You will not be able to ``run'' an object
17880 file, but you can disassemble functions and inspect variables. Also,
17881 if the underlying BFD functionality supports it, you could use
17882 @kbd{gdb -write} to patch object files using this technique. Note
17883 that @value{GDBN} can neither interpret nor modify relocations in this
17884 case, so branches and some initialized variables will appear to go to
17885 the wrong place. But this feature is still handy from time to time.
17886
17887 @item file
17888 @code{file} with no argument makes @value{GDBN} discard any information it
17889 has on both executable file and the symbol table.
17890
17891 @kindex exec-file
17892 @item exec-file @r{[} @var{filename} @r{]}
17893 Specify that the program to be run (but not the symbol table) is found
17894 in @var{filename}. @value{GDBN} searches the environment variable @code{PATH}
17895 if necessary to locate your program. Omitting @var{filename} means to
17896 discard information on the executable file.
17897
17898 @kindex symbol-file
17899 @item symbol-file @r{[} @var{filename} @r{]}
17900 Read symbol table information from file @var{filename}. @code{PATH} is
17901 searched when necessary. Use the @code{file} command to get both symbol
17902 table and program to run from the same file.
17903
17904 @code{symbol-file} with no argument clears out @value{GDBN} information on your
17905 program's symbol table.
17906
17907 The @code{symbol-file} command causes @value{GDBN} to forget the contents of
17908 some breakpoints and auto-display expressions. This is because they may
17909 contain pointers to the internal data recording symbols and data types,
17910 which are part of the old symbol table data being discarded inside
17911 @value{GDBN}.
17912
17913 @code{symbol-file} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again after
17914 executing it once.
17915
17916 When @value{GDBN} is configured for a particular environment, it
17917 understands debugging information in whatever format is the standard
17918 generated for that environment; you may use either a @sc{gnu} compiler, or
17919 other compilers that adhere to the local conventions.
17920 Best results are usually obtained from @sc{gnu} compilers; for example,
17921 using @code{@value{NGCC}} you can generate debugging information for
17922 optimized code.
17923
17924 For most kinds of object files, with the exception of old SVR3 systems
17925 using COFF, the @code{symbol-file} command does not normally read the
17926 symbol table in full right away. Instead, it scans the symbol table
17927 quickly to find which source files and which symbols are present. The
17928 details are read later, one source file at a time, as they are needed.
17929
17930 The purpose of this two-stage reading strategy is to make @value{GDBN}
17931 start up faster. For the most part, it is invisible except for
17932 occasional pauses while the symbol table details for a particular source
17933 file are being read. (The @code{set verbose} command can turn these
17934 pauses into messages if desired. @xref{Messages/Warnings, ,Optional
17935 Warnings and Messages}.)
17936
17937 We have not implemented the two-stage strategy for COFF yet. When the
17938 symbol table is stored in COFF format, @code{symbol-file} reads the
17939 symbol table data in full right away. Note that ``stabs-in-COFF''
17940 still does the two-stage strategy, since the debug info is actually
17941 in stabs format.
17942
17943 @kindex readnow
17944 @cindex reading symbols immediately
17945 @cindex symbols, reading immediately
17946 @item symbol-file @r{[} -readnow @r{]} @var{filename}
17947 @itemx file @r{[} -readnow @r{]} @var{filename}
17948 You can override the @value{GDBN} two-stage strategy for reading symbol
17949 tables by using the @samp{-readnow} option with any of the commands that
17950 load symbol table information, if you want to be sure @value{GDBN} has the
17951 entire symbol table available.
17952
17953 @c FIXME: for now no mention of directories, since this seems to be in
17954 @c flux. 13mar1992 status is that in theory GDB would look either in
17955 @c current dir or in same dir as myprog; but issues like competing
17956 @c GDB's, or clutter in system dirs, mean that in practice right now
17957 @c only current dir is used. FFish says maybe a special GDB hierarchy
17958 @c (eg rooted in val of env var GDBSYMS) could exist for mappable symbol
17959 @c files.
17960
17961 @kindex core-file
17962 @item core-file @r{[}@var{filename}@r{]}
17963 @itemx core
17964 Specify the whereabouts of a core dump file to be used as the ``contents
17965 of memory''. Traditionally, core files contain only some parts of the
17966 address space of the process that generated them; @value{GDBN} can access the
17967 executable file itself for other parts.
17968
17969 @code{core-file} with no argument specifies that no core file is
17970 to be used.
17971
17972 Note that the core file is ignored when your program is actually running
17973 under @value{GDBN}. So, if you have been running your program and you
17974 wish to debug a core file instead, you must kill the subprocess in which
17975 the program is running. To do this, use the @code{kill} command
17976 (@pxref{Kill Process, ,Killing the Child Process}).
17977
17978 @kindex add-symbol-file
17979 @cindex dynamic linking
17980 @item add-symbol-file @var{filename} @var{address}
17981 @itemx add-symbol-file @var{filename} @var{address} @r{[} -readnow @r{]}
17982 @itemx add-symbol-file @var{filename} @var{address} -s @var{section} @var{address} @dots{}
17983 The @code{add-symbol-file} command reads additional symbol table
17984 information from the file @var{filename}. You would use this command
17985 when @var{filename} has been dynamically loaded (by some other means)
17986 into the program that is running. The @var{address} should give the memory
17987 address at which the file has been loaded; @value{GDBN} cannot figure
17988 this out for itself. You can additionally specify an arbitrary number
17989 of @samp{-s @var{section} @var{address}} pairs, to give an explicit
17990 section name and base address for that section. You can specify any
17991 @var{address} as an expression.
17992
17993 The symbol table of the file @var{filename} is added to the symbol table
17994 originally read with the @code{symbol-file} command. You can use the
17995 @code{add-symbol-file} command any number of times; the new symbol data
17996 thus read is kept in addition to the old.
17997
17998 Changes can be reverted using the command @code{remove-symbol-file}.
17999
18000 @cindex relocatable object files, reading symbols from
18001 @cindex object files, relocatable, reading symbols from
18002 @cindex reading symbols from relocatable object files
18003 @cindex symbols, reading from relocatable object files
18004 @cindex @file{.o} files, reading symbols from
18005 Although @var{filename} is typically a shared library file, an
18006 executable file, or some other object file which has been fully
18007 relocated for loading into a process, you can also load symbolic
18008 information from relocatable @file{.o} files, as long as:
18009
18010 @itemize @bullet
18011 @item
18012 the file's symbolic information refers only to linker symbols defined in
18013 that file, not to symbols defined by other object files,
18014 @item
18015 every section the file's symbolic information refers to has actually
18016 been loaded into the inferior, as it appears in the file, and
18017 @item
18018 you can determine the address at which every section was loaded, and
18019 provide these to the @code{add-symbol-file} command.
18020 @end itemize
18021
18022 @noindent
18023 Some embedded operating systems, like Sun Chorus and VxWorks, can load
18024 relocatable files into an already running program; such systems
18025 typically make the requirements above easy to meet. However, it's
18026 important to recognize that many native systems use complex link
18027 procedures (@code{.linkonce} section factoring and C@t{++} constructor table
18028 assembly, for example) that make the requirements difficult to meet. In
18029 general, one cannot assume that using @code{add-symbol-file} to read a
18030 relocatable object file's symbolic information will have the same effect
18031 as linking the relocatable object file into the program in the normal
18032 way.
18033
18034 @code{add-symbol-file} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} after using it.
18035
18036 @kindex remove-symbol-file
18037 @item remove-symbol-file @var{filename}
18038 @item remove-symbol-file -a @var{address}
18039 Remove a symbol file added via the @code{add-symbol-file} command. The
18040 file to remove can be identified by its @var{filename} or by an @var{address}
18041 that lies within the boundaries of this symbol file in memory. Example:
18042
18043 @smallexample
18044 (gdb) add-symbol-file /home/user/gdb/mylib.so 0x7ffff7ff9480
18045 add symbol table from file "/home/user/gdb/mylib.so" at
18046 .text_addr = 0x7ffff7ff9480
18047 (y or n) y
18048 Reading symbols from /home/user/gdb/mylib.so...done.
18049 (gdb) remove-symbol-file -a 0x7ffff7ff9480
18050 Remove symbol table from file "/home/user/gdb/mylib.so"? (y or n) y
18051 (gdb)
18052 @end smallexample
18053
18054
18055 @code{remove-symbol-file} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} after using it.
18056
18057 @kindex add-symbol-file-from-memory
18058 @cindex @code{syscall DSO}
18059 @cindex load symbols from memory
18060 @item add-symbol-file-from-memory @var{address}
18061 Load symbols from the given @var{address} in a dynamically loaded
18062 object file whose image is mapped directly into the inferior's memory.
18063 For example, the Linux kernel maps a @code{syscall DSO} into each
18064 process's address space; this DSO provides kernel-specific code for
18065 some system calls. The argument can be any expression whose
18066 evaluation yields the address of the file's shared object file header.
18067 For this command to work, you must have used @code{symbol-file} or
18068 @code{exec-file} commands in advance.
18069
18070 @kindex section
18071 @item section @var{section} @var{addr}
18072 The @code{section} command changes the base address of the named
18073 @var{section} of the exec file to @var{addr}. This can be used if the
18074 exec file does not contain section addresses, (such as in the
18075 @code{a.out} format), or when the addresses specified in the file
18076 itself are wrong. Each section must be changed separately. The
18077 @code{info files} command, described below, lists all the sections and
18078 their addresses.
18079
18080 @kindex info files
18081 @kindex info target
18082 @item info files
18083 @itemx info target
18084 @code{info files} and @code{info target} are synonymous; both print the
18085 current target (@pxref{Targets, ,Specifying a Debugging Target}),
18086 including the names of the executable and core dump files currently in
18087 use by @value{GDBN}, and the files from which symbols were loaded. The
18088 command @code{help target} lists all possible targets rather than
18089 current ones.
18090
18091 @kindex maint info sections
18092 @item maint info sections
18093 Another command that can give you extra information about program sections
18094 is @code{maint info sections}. In addition to the section information
18095 displayed by @code{info files}, this command displays the flags and file
18096 offset of each section in the executable and core dump files. In addition,
18097 @code{maint info sections} provides the following command options (which
18098 may be arbitrarily combined):
18099
18100 @table @code
18101 @item ALLOBJ
18102 Display sections for all loaded object files, including shared libraries.
18103 @item @var{sections}
18104 Display info only for named @var{sections}.
18105 @item @var{section-flags}
18106 Display info only for sections for which @var{section-flags} are true.
18107 The section flags that @value{GDBN} currently knows about are:
18108 @table @code
18109 @item ALLOC
18110 Section will have space allocated in the process when loaded.
18111 Set for all sections except those containing debug information.
18112 @item LOAD
18113 Section will be loaded from the file into the child process memory.
18114 Set for pre-initialized code and data, clear for @code{.bss} sections.
18115 @item RELOC
18116 Section needs to be relocated before loading.
18117 @item READONLY
18118 Section cannot be modified by the child process.
18119 @item CODE
18120 Section contains executable code only.
18121 @item DATA
18122 Section contains data only (no executable code).
18123 @item ROM
18124 Section will reside in ROM.
18125 @item CONSTRUCTOR
18126 Section contains data for constructor/destructor lists.
18127 @item HAS_CONTENTS
18128 Section is not empty.
18129 @item NEVER_LOAD
18130 An instruction to the linker to not output the section.
18131 @item COFF_SHARED_LIBRARY
18132 A notification to the linker that the section contains
18133 COFF shared library information.
18134 @item IS_COMMON
18135 Section contains common symbols.
18136 @end table
18137 @end table
18138 @kindex set trust-readonly-sections
18139 @cindex read-only sections
18140 @item set trust-readonly-sections on
18141 Tell @value{GDBN} that readonly sections in your object file
18142 really are read-only (i.e.@: that their contents will not change).
18143 In that case, @value{GDBN} can fetch values from these sections
18144 out of the object file, rather than from the target program.
18145 For some targets (notably embedded ones), this can be a significant
18146 enhancement to debugging performance.
18147
18148 The default is off.
18149
18150 @item set trust-readonly-sections off
18151 Tell @value{GDBN} not to trust readonly sections. This means that
18152 the contents of the section might change while the program is running,
18153 and must therefore be fetched from the target when needed.
18154
18155 @item show trust-readonly-sections
18156 Show the current setting of trusting readonly sections.
18157 @end table
18158
18159 All file-specifying commands allow both absolute and relative file names
18160 as arguments. @value{GDBN} always converts the file name to an absolute file
18161 name and remembers it that way.
18162
18163 @cindex shared libraries
18164 @anchor{Shared Libraries}
18165 @value{GDBN} supports @sc{gnu}/Linux, MS-Windows, SunOS,
18166 Darwin/Mach-O, SVr4, IBM RS/6000 AIX, QNX Neutrino, FDPIC (FR-V), and
18167 DSBT (TIC6X) shared libraries.
18168
18169 On MS-Windows @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support
18170 shared libraries. @xref{Expat}.
18171
18172 @value{GDBN} automatically loads symbol definitions from shared libraries
18173 when you use the @code{run} command, or when you examine a core file.
18174 (Before you issue the @code{run} command, @value{GDBN} does not understand
18175 references to a function in a shared library, however---unless you are
18176 debugging a core file).
18177
18178 @c FIXME: some @value{GDBN} release may permit some refs to undef
18179 @c FIXME...symbols---eg in a break cmd---assuming they are from a shared
18180 @c FIXME...lib; check this from time to time when updating manual
18181
18182 There are times, however, when you may wish to not automatically load
18183 symbol definitions from shared libraries, such as when they are
18184 particularly large or there are many of them.
18185
18186 To control the automatic loading of shared library symbols, use the
18187 commands:
18188
18189 @table @code
18190 @kindex set auto-solib-add
18191 @item set auto-solib-add @var{mode}
18192 If @var{mode} is @code{on}, symbols from all shared object libraries
18193 will be loaded automatically when the inferior begins execution, you
18194 attach to an independently started inferior, or when the dynamic linker
18195 informs @value{GDBN} that a new library has been loaded. If @var{mode}
18196 is @code{off}, symbols must be loaded manually, using the
18197 @code{sharedlibrary} command. The default value is @code{on}.
18198
18199 @cindex memory used for symbol tables
18200 If your program uses lots of shared libraries with debug info that
18201 takes large amounts of memory, you can decrease the @value{GDBN}
18202 memory footprint by preventing it from automatically loading the
18203 symbols from shared libraries. To that end, type @kbd{set
18204 auto-solib-add off} before running the inferior, then load each
18205 library whose debug symbols you do need with @kbd{sharedlibrary
18206 @var{regexp}}, where @var{regexp} is a regular expression that matches
18207 the libraries whose symbols you want to be loaded.
18208
18209 @kindex show auto-solib-add
18210 @item show auto-solib-add
18211 Display the current autoloading mode.
18212 @end table
18213
18214 @cindex load shared library
18215 To explicitly load shared library symbols, use the @code{sharedlibrary}
18216 command:
18217
18218 @table @code
18219 @kindex info sharedlibrary
18220 @kindex info share
18221 @item info share @var{regex}
18222 @itemx info sharedlibrary @var{regex}
18223 Print the names of the shared libraries which are currently loaded
18224 that match @var{regex}. If @var{regex} is omitted then print
18225 all shared libraries that are loaded.
18226
18227 @kindex info dll
18228 @item info dll @var{regex}
18229 This is an alias of @code{info sharedlibrary}.
18230
18231 @kindex sharedlibrary
18232 @kindex share
18233 @item sharedlibrary @var{regex}
18234 @itemx share @var{regex}
18235 Load shared object library symbols for files matching a
18236 Unix regular expression.
18237 As with files loaded automatically, it only loads shared libraries
18238 required by your program for a core file or after typing @code{run}. If
18239 @var{regex} is omitted all shared libraries required by your program are
18240 loaded.
18241
18242 @item nosharedlibrary
18243 @kindex nosharedlibrary
18244 @cindex unload symbols from shared libraries
18245 Unload all shared object library symbols. This discards all symbols
18246 that have been loaded from all shared libraries. Symbols from shared
18247 libraries that were loaded by explicit user requests are not
18248 discarded.
18249 @end table
18250
18251 Sometimes you may wish that @value{GDBN} stops and gives you control
18252 when any of shared library events happen. The best way to do this is
18253 to use @code{catch load} and @code{catch unload} (@pxref{Set
18254 Catchpoints}).
18255
18256 @value{GDBN} also supports the the @code{set stop-on-solib-events}
18257 command for this. This command exists for historical reasons. It is
18258 less useful than setting a catchpoint, because it does not allow for
18259 conditions or commands as a catchpoint does.
18260
18261 @table @code
18262 @item set stop-on-solib-events
18263 @kindex set stop-on-solib-events
18264 This command controls whether @value{GDBN} should give you control
18265 when the dynamic linker notifies it about some shared library event.
18266 The most common event of interest is loading or unloading of a new
18267 shared library.
18268
18269 @item show stop-on-solib-events
18270 @kindex show stop-on-solib-events
18271 Show whether @value{GDBN} stops and gives you control when shared
18272 library events happen.
18273 @end table
18274
18275 Shared libraries are also supported in many cross or remote debugging
18276 configurations. @value{GDBN} needs to have access to the target's libraries;
18277 this can be accomplished either by providing copies of the libraries
18278 on the host system, or by asking @value{GDBN} to automatically retrieve the
18279 libraries from the target. If copies of the target libraries are
18280 provided, they need to be the same as the target libraries, although the
18281 copies on the target can be stripped as long as the copies on the host are
18282 not.
18283
18284 @cindex where to look for shared libraries
18285 For remote debugging, you need to tell @value{GDBN} where the target
18286 libraries are, so that it can load the correct copies---otherwise, it
18287 may try to load the host's libraries. @value{GDBN} has two variables
18288 to specify the search directories for target libraries.
18289
18290 @table @code
18291 @cindex prefix for executable and shared library file names
18292 @cindex system root, alternate
18293 @kindex set solib-absolute-prefix
18294 @kindex set sysroot
18295 @item set sysroot @var{path}
18296 Use @var{path} as the system root for the program being debugged. Any
18297 absolute shared library paths will be prefixed with @var{path}; many
18298 runtime loaders store the absolute paths to the shared library in the
18299 target program's memory. When starting processes remotely, and when
18300 attaching to already-running processes (local or remote), their
18301 executable filenames will be prefixed with @var{path} if reported to
18302 @value{GDBN} as absolute by the operating system. If you use
18303 @code{set sysroot} to find executables and shared libraries, they need
18304 to be laid out in the same way that they are on the target, with
18305 e.g.@: a @file{/bin}, @file{/lib} and @file{/usr/lib} hierarchy under
18306 @var{path}.
18307
18308 If @var{path} starts with the sequence @file{target:} and the target
18309 system is remote then @value{GDBN} will retrieve the target binaries
18310 from the remote system. This is only supported when using a remote
18311 target that supports the @code{remote get} command (@pxref{File
18312 Transfer,,Sending files to a remote system}). The part of @var{path}
18313 following the initial @file{target:} (if present) is used as system
18314 root prefix on the remote file system. If @var{path} starts with the
18315 sequence @file{remote:} this is converted to the sequence
18316 @file{target:} by @code{set sysroot}@footnote{Historically the
18317 functionality to retrieve binaries from the remote system was
18318 provided by prefixing @var{path} with @file{remote:}}. If you want
18319 to specify a local system root using a directory that happens to be
18320 named @file{target:} or @file{remote:}, you need to use some
18321 equivalent variant of the name like @file{./target:}.
18322
18323 For targets with an MS-DOS based filesystem, such as MS-Windows and
18324 SymbianOS, @value{GDBN} tries prefixing a few variants of the target
18325 absolute file name with @var{path}. But first, on Unix hosts,
18326 @value{GDBN} converts all backslash directory separators into forward
18327 slashes, because the backslash is not a directory separator on Unix:
18328
18329 @smallexample
18330 c:\foo\bar.dll @result{} c:/foo/bar.dll
18331 @end smallexample
18332
18333 Then, @value{GDBN} attempts prefixing the target file name with
18334 @var{path}, and looks for the resulting file name in the host file
18335 system:
18336
18337 @smallexample
18338 c:/foo/bar.dll @result{} /path/to/sysroot/c:/foo/bar.dll
18339 @end smallexample
18340
18341 If that does not find the binary, @value{GDBN} tries removing
18342 the @samp{:} character from the drive spec, both for convenience, and,
18343 for the case of the host file system not supporting file names with
18344 colons:
18345
18346 @smallexample
18347 c:/foo/bar.dll @result{} /path/to/sysroot/c/foo/bar.dll
18348 @end smallexample
18349
18350 This makes it possible to have a system root that mirrors a target
18351 with more than one drive. E.g., you may want to setup your local
18352 copies of the target system shared libraries like so (note @samp{c} vs
18353 @samp{z}):
18354
18355 @smallexample
18356 @file{/path/to/sysroot/c/sys/bin/foo.dll}
18357 @file{/path/to/sysroot/c/sys/bin/bar.dll}
18358 @file{/path/to/sysroot/z/sys/bin/bar.dll}
18359 @end smallexample
18360
18361 @noindent
18362 and point the system root at @file{/path/to/sysroot}, so that
18363 @value{GDBN} can find the correct copies of both
18364 @file{c:\sys\bin\foo.dll}, and @file{z:\sys\bin\bar.dll}.
18365
18366 If that still does not find the binary, @value{GDBN} tries
18367 removing the whole drive spec from the target file name:
18368
18369 @smallexample
18370 c:/foo/bar.dll @result{} /path/to/sysroot/foo/bar.dll
18371 @end smallexample
18372
18373 This last lookup makes it possible to not care about the drive name,
18374 if you don't want or need to.
18375
18376 The @code{set solib-absolute-prefix} command is an alias for @code{set
18377 sysroot}.
18378
18379 @cindex default system root
18380 @cindex @samp{--with-sysroot}
18381 You can set the default system root by using the configure-time
18382 @samp{--with-sysroot} option. If the system root is inside
18383 @value{GDBN}'s configured binary prefix (set with @samp{--prefix} or
18384 @samp{--exec-prefix}), then the default system root will be updated
18385 automatically if the installed @value{GDBN} is moved to a new
18386 location.
18387
18388 @kindex show sysroot
18389 @item show sysroot
18390 Display the current executable and shared library prefix.
18391
18392 @kindex set solib-search-path
18393 @item set solib-search-path @var{path}
18394 If this variable is set, @var{path} is a colon-separated list of
18395 directories to search for shared libraries. @samp{solib-search-path}
18396 is used after @samp{sysroot} fails to locate the library, or if the
18397 path to the library is relative instead of absolute. If you want to
18398 use @samp{solib-search-path} instead of @samp{sysroot}, be sure to set
18399 @samp{sysroot} to a nonexistent directory to prevent @value{GDBN} from
18400 finding your host's libraries. @samp{sysroot} is preferred; setting
18401 it to a nonexistent directory may interfere with automatic loading
18402 of shared library symbols.
18403
18404 @kindex show solib-search-path
18405 @item show solib-search-path
18406 Display the current shared library search path.
18407
18408 @cindex DOS file-name semantics of file names.
18409 @kindex set target-file-system-kind (unix|dos-based|auto)
18410 @kindex show target-file-system-kind
18411 @item set target-file-system-kind @var{kind}
18412 Set assumed file system kind for target reported file names.
18413
18414 Shared library file names as reported by the target system may not
18415 make sense as is on the system @value{GDBN} is running on. For
18416 example, when remote debugging a target that has MS-DOS based file
18417 system semantics, from a Unix host, the target may be reporting to
18418 @value{GDBN} a list of loaded shared libraries with file names such as
18419 @file{c:\Windows\kernel32.dll}. On Unix hosts, there's no concept of
18420 drive letters, so the @samp{c:\} prefix is not normally understood as
18421 indicating an absolute file name, and neither is the backslash
18422 normally considered a directory separator character. In that case,
18423 the native file system would interpret this whole absolute file name
18424 as a relative file name with no directory components. This would make
18425 it impossible to point @value{GDBN} at a copy of the remote target's
18426 shared libraries on the host using @code{set sysroot}, and impractical
18427 with @code{set solib-search-path}. Setting
18428 @code{target-file-system-kind} to @code{dos-based} tells @value{GDBN}
18429 to interpret such file names similarly to how the target would, and to
18430 map them to file names valid on @value{GDBN}'s native file system
18431 semantics. The value of @var{kind} can be @code{"auto"}, in addition
18432 to one of the supported file system kinds. In that case, @value{GDBN}
18433 tries to determine the appropriate file system variant based on the
18434 current target's operating system (@pxref{ABI, ,Configuring the
18435 Current ABI}). The supported file system settings are:
18436
18437 @table @code
18438 @item unix
18439 Instruct @value{GDBN} to assume the target file system is of Unix
18440 kind. Only file names starting the forward slash (@samp{/}) character
18441 are considered absolute, and the directory separator character is also
18442 the forward slash.
18443
18444 @item dos-based
18445 Instruct @value{GDBN} to assume the target file system is DOS based.
18446 File names starting with either a forward slash, or a drive letter
18447 followed by a colon (e.g., @samp{c:}), are considered absolute, and
18448 both the slash (@samp{/}) and the backslash (@samp{\\}) characters are
18449 considered directory separators.
18450
18451 @item auto
18452 Instruct @value{GDBN} to use the file system kind associated with the
18453 target operating system (@pxref{ABI, ,Configuring the Current ABI}).
18454 This is the default.
18455 @end table
18456 @end table
18457
18458 @cindex file name canonicalization
18459 @cindex base name differences
18460 When processing file names provided by the user, @value{GDBN}
18461 frequently needs to compare them to the file names recorded in the
18462 program's debug info. Normally, @value{GDBN} compares just the
18463 @dfn{base names} of the files as strings, which is reasonably fast
18464 even for very large programs. (The base name of a file is the last
18465 portion of its name, after stripping all the leading directories.)
18466 This shortcut in comparison is based upon the assumption that files
18467 cannot have more than one base name. This is usually true, but
18468 references to files that use symlinks or similar filesystem
18469 facilities violate that assumption. If your program records files
18470 using such facilities, or if you provide file names to @value{GDBN}
18471 using symlinks etc., you can set @code{basenames-may-differ} to
18472 @code{true} to instruct @value{GDBN} to completely canonicalize each
18473 pair of file names it needs to compare. This will make file-name
18474 comparisons accurate, but at a price of a significant slowdown.
18475
18476 @table @code
18477 @item set basenames-may-differ
18478 @kindex set basenames-may-differ
18479 Set whether a source file may have multiple base names.
18480
18481 @item show basenames-may-differ
18482 @kindex show basenames-may-differ
18483 Show whether a source file may have multiple base names.
18484 @end table
18485
18486 @node File Caching
18487 @section File Caching
18488 @cindex caching of opened files
18489 @cindex caching of bfd objects
18490
18491 To speed up file loading, and reduce memory usage, @value{GDBN} will
18492 reuse the @code{bfd} objects used to track open files. @xref{Top, ,
18493 BFD, bfd, The Binary File Descriptor Library}. The following commands
18494 allow visibility and control of the caching behavior.
18495
18496 @table @code
18497 @kindex maint info bfds
18498 @item maint info bfds
18499 This prints information about each @code{bfd} object that is known to
18500 @value{GDBN}.
18501
18502 @kindex maint set bfd-sharing
18503 @kindex maint show bfd-sharing
18504 @kindex bfd caching
18505 @item maint set bfd-sharing
18506 @item maint show bfd-sharing
18507 Control whether @code{bfd} objects can be shared. When sharing is
18508 enabled @value{GDBN} reuses already open @code{bfd} objects rather
18509 than reopening the same file. Turning sharing off does not cause
18510 already shared @code{bfd} objects to be unshared, but all future files
18511 that are opened will create a new @code{bfd} object. Similarly,
18512 re-enabling sharing does not cause multiple existing @code{bfd}
18513 objects to be collapsed into a single shared @code{bfd} object.
18514
18515 @kindex set debug bfd-cache @var{level}
18516 @kindex bfd caching
18517 @item set debug bfd-cache @var{level}
18518 Turns on debugging of the bfd cache, setting the level to @var{level}.
18519
18520 @kindex show debug bfd-cache
18521 @kindex bfd caching
18522 @item show debug bfd-cache
18523 Show the current debugging level of the bfd cache.
18524 @end table
18525
18526 @node Separate Debug Files
18527 @section Debugging Information in Separate Files
18528 @cindex separate debugging information files
18529 @cindex debugging information in separate files
18530 @cindex @file{.debug} subdirectories
18531 @cindex debugging information directory, global
18532 @cindex global debugging information directories
18533 @cindex build ID, and separate debugging files
18534 @cindex @file{.build-id} directory
18535
18536 @value{GDBN} allows you to put a program's debugging information in a
18537 file separate from the executable itself, in a way that allows
18538 @value{GDBN} to find and load the debugging information automatically.
18539 Since debugging information can be very large---sometimes larger
18540 than the executable code itself---some systems distribute debugging
18541 information for their executables in separate files, which users can
18542 install only when they need to debug a problem.
18543
18544 @value{GDBN} supports two ways of specifying the separate debug info
18545 file:
18546
18547 @itemize @bullet
18548 @item
18549 The executable contains a @dfn{debug link} that specifies the name of
18550 the separate debug info file. The separate debug file's name is
18551 usually @file{@var{executable}.debug}, where @var{executable} is the
18552 name of the corresponding executable file without leading directories
18553 (e.g., @file{ls.debug} for @file{/usr/bin/ls}). In addition, the
18554 debug link specifies a 32-bit @dfn{Cyclic Redundancy Check} (CRC)
18555 checksum for the debug file, which @value{GDBN} uses to validate that
18556 the executable and the debug file came from the same build.
18557
18558 @item
18559 The executable contains a @dfn{build ID}, a unique bit string that is
18560 also present in the corresponding debug info file. (This is supported
18561 only on some operating systems, when using the ELF or PE file formats
18562 for binary files and the @sc{gnu} Binutils.) For more details about
18563 this feature, see the description of the @option{--build-id}
18564 command-line option in @ref{Options, , Command Line Options, ld.info,
18565 The GNU Linker}. The debug info file's name is not specified
18566 explicitly by the build ID, but can be computed from the build ID, see
18567 below.
18568 @end itemize
18569
18570 Depending on the way the debug info file is specified, @value{GDBN}
18571 uses two different methods of looking for the debug file:
18572
18573 @itemize @bullet
18574 @item
18575 For the ``debug link'' method, @value{GDBN} looks up the named file in
18576 the directory of the executable file, then in a subdirectory of that
18577 directory named @file{.debug}, and finally under each one of the global debug
18578 directories, in a subdirectory whose name is identical to the leading
18579 directories of the executable's absolute file name.
18580
18581 @item
18582 For the ``build ID'' method, @value{GDBN} looks in the
18583 @file{.build-id} subdirectory of each one of the global debug directories for
18584 a file named @file{@var{nn}/@var{nnnnnnnn}.debug}, where @var{nn} are the
18585 first 2 hex characters of the build ID bit string, and @var{nnnnnnnn}
18586 are the rest of the bit string. (Real build ID strings are 32 or more
18587 hex characters, not 10.)
18588 @end itemize
18589
18590 So, for example, suppose you ask @value{GDBN} to debug
18591 @file{/usr/bin/ls}, which has a debug link that specifies the
18592 file @file{ls.debug}, and a build ID whose value in hex is
18593 @code{abcdef1234}. If the list of the global debug directories includes
18594 @file{/usr/lib/debug}, then @value{GDBN} will look for the following
18595 debug information files, in the indicated order:
18596
18597 @itemize @minus
18598 @item
18599 @file{/usr/lib/debug/.build-id/ab/cdef1234.debug}
18600 @item
18601 @file{/usr/bin/ls.debug}
18602 @item
18603 @file{/usr/bin/.debug/ls.debug}
18604 @item
18605 @file{/usr/lib/debug/usr/bin/ls.debug}.
18606 @end itemize
18607
18608 @anchor{debug-file-directory}
18609 Global debugging info directories default to what is set by @value{GDBN}
18610 configure option @option{--with-separate-debug-dir}. During @value{GDBN} run
18611 you can also set the global debugging info directories, and view the list
18612 @value{GDBN} is currently using.
18613
18614 @table @code
18615
18616 @kindex set debug-file-directory
18617 @item set debug-file-directory @var{directories}
18618 Set the directories which @value{GDBN} searches for separate debugging
18619 information files to @var{directory}. Multiple path components can be set
18620 concatenating them by a path separator.
18621
18622 @kindex show debug-file-directory
18623 @item show debug-file-directory
18624 Show the directories @value{GDBN} searches for separate debugging
18625 information files.
18626
18627 @end table
18628
18629 @cindex @code{.gnu_debuglink} sections
18630 @cindex debug link sections
18631 A debug link is a special section of the executable file named
18632 @code{.gnu_debuglink}. The section must contain:
18633
18634 @itemize
18635 @item
18636 A filename, with any leading directory components removed, followed by
18637 a zero byte,
18638 @item
18639 zero to three bytes of padding, as needed to reach the next four-byte
18640 boundary within the section, and
18641 @item
18642 a four-byte CRC checksum, stored in the same endianness used for the
18643 executable file itself. The checksum is computed on the debugging
18644 information file's full contents by the function given below, passing
18645 zero as the @var{crc} argument.
18646 @end itemize
18647
18648 Any executable file format can carry a debug link, as long as it can
18649 contain a section named @code{.gnu_debuglink} with the contents
18650 described above.
18651
18652 @cindex @code{.note.gnu.build-id} sections
18653 @cindex build ID sections
18654 The build ID is a special section in the executable file (and in other
18655 ELF binary files that @value{GDBN} may consider). This section is
18656 often named @code{.note.gnu.build-id}, but that name is not mandatory.
18657 It contains unique identification for the built files---the ID remains
18658 the same across multiple builds of the same build tree. The default
18659 algorithm SHA1 produces 160 bits (40 hexadecimal characters) of the
18660 content for the build ID string. The same section with an identical
18661 value is present in the original built binary with symbols, in its
18662 stripped variant, and in the separate debugging information file.
18663
18664 The debugging information file itself should be an ordinary
18665 executable, containing a full set of linker symbols, sections, and
18666 debugging information. The sections of the debugging information file
18667 should have the same names, addresses, and sizes as the original file,
18668 but they need not contain any data---much like a @code{.bss} section
18669 in an ordinary executable.
18670
18671 The @sc{gnu} binary utilities (Binutils) package includes the
18672 @samp{objcopy} utility that can produce
18673 the separated executable / debugging information file pairs using the
18674 following commands:
18675
18676 @smallexample
18677 @kbd{objcopy --only-keep-debug foo foo.debug}
18678 @kbd{strip -g foo}
18679 @end smallexample
18680
18681 @noindent
18682 These commands remove the debugging
18683 information from the executable file @file{foo} and place it in the file
18684 @file{foo.debug}. You can use the first, second or both methods to link the
18685 two files:
18686
18687 @itemize @bullet
18688 @item
18689 The debug link method needs the following additional command to also leave
18690 behind a debug link in @file{foo}:
18691
18692 @smallexample
18693 @kbd{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.debug foo}
18694 @end smallexample
18695
18696 Ulrich Drepper's @file{elfutils} package, starting with version 0.53, contains
18697 a version of the @code{strip} command such that the command @kbd{strip foo -f
18698 foo.debug} has the same functionality as the two @code{objcopy} commands and
18699 the @code{ln -s} command above, together.
18700
18701 @item
18702 Build ID gets embedded into the main executable using @code{ld --build-id} or
18703 the @value{NGCC} counterpart @code{gcc -Wl,--build-id}. Build ID support plus
18704 compatibility fixes for debug files separation are present in @sc{gnu} binary
18705 utilities (Binutils) package since version 2.18.
18706 @end itemize
18707
18708 @noindent
18709
18710 @cindex CRC algorithm definition
18711 The CRC used in @code{.gnu_debuglink} is the CRC-32 defined in
18712 IEEE 802.3 using the polynomial:
18713
18714 @c TexInfo requires naked braces for multi-digit exponents for Tex
18715 @c output, but this causes HTML output to barf. HTML has to be set using
18716 @c raw commands. So we end up having to specify this equation in 2
18717 @c different ways!
18718 @ifhtml
18719 @display
18720 @html
18721 <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>
18722 + <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
18723 @end html
18724 @end display
18725 @end ifhtml
18726 @ifnothtml
18727 @display
18728 @math{x^{32} + x^{26} + x^{23} + x^{22} + x^{16} + x^{12} + x^{11}}
18729 @math{+ x^{10} + x^8 + x^7 + x^5 + x^4 + x^2 + x + 1}
18730 @end display
18731 @end ifnothtml
18732
18733 The function is computed byte at a time, taking the least
18734 significant bit of each byte first. The initial pattern
18735 @code{0xffffffff} is used, to ensure leading zeros affect the CRC and
18736 the final result is inverted to ensure trailing zeros also affect the
18737 CRC.
18738
18739 @emph{Note:} This is the same CRC polynomial as used in handling the
18740 @dfn{Remote Serial Protocol} @code{qCRC} packet (@pxref{qCRC packet}).
18741 However in the case of the Remote Serial Protocol, the CRC is computed
18742 @emph{most} significant bit first, and the result is not inverted, so
18743 trailing zeros have no effect on the CRC value.
18744
18745 To complete the description, we show below the code of the function
18746 which produces the CRC used in @code{.gnu_debuglink}. Inverting the
18747 initially supplied @code{crc} argument means that an initial call to
18748 this function passing in zero will start computing the CRC using
18749 @code{0xffffffff}.
18750
18751 @kindex gnu_debuglink_crc32
18752 @smallexample
18753 unsigned long
18754 gnu_debuglink_crc32 (unsigned long crc,
18755 unsigned char *buf, size_t len)
18756 @{
18757 static const unsigned long crc32_table[256] =
18758 @{
18759 0x00000000, 0x77073096, 0xee0e612c, 0x990951ba, 0x076dc419,
18760 0x706af48f, 0xe963a535, 0x9e6495a3, 0x0edb8832, 0x79dcb8a4,
18761 0xe0d5e91e, 0x97d2d988, 0x09b64c2b, 0x7eb17cbd, 0xe7b82d07,
18762 0x90bf1d91, 0x1db71064, 0x6ab020f2, 0xf3b97148, 0x84be41de,
18763 0x1adad47d, 0x6ddde4eb, 0xf4d4b551, 0x83d385c7, 0x136c9856,
18764 0x646ba8c0, 0xfd62f97a, 0x8a65c9ec, 0x14015c4f, 0x63066cd9,
18765 0xfa0f3d63, 0x8d080df5, 0x3b6e20c8, 0x4c69105e, 0xd56041e4,
18766 0xa2677172, 0x3c03e4d1, 0x4b04d447, 0xd20d85fd, 0xa50ab56b,
18767 0x35b5a8fa, 0x42b2986c, 0xdbbbc9d6, 0xacbcf940, 0x32d86ce3,
18768 0x45df5c75, 0xdcd60dcf, 0xabd13d59, 0x26d930ac, 0x51de003a,
18769 0xc8d75180, 0xbfd06116, 0x21b4f4b5, 0x56b3c423, 0xcfba9599,
18770 0xb8bda50f, 0x2802b89e, 0x5f058808, 0xc60cd9b2, 0xb10be924,
18771 0x2f6f7c87, 0x58684c11, 0xc1611dab, 0xb6662d3d, 0x76dc4190,
18772 0x01db7106, 0x98d220bc, 0xefd5102a, 0x71b18589, 0x06b6b51f,
18773 0x9fbfe4a5, 0xe8b8d433, 0x7807c9a2, 0x0f00f934, 0x9609a88e,
18774 0xe10e9818, 0x7f6a0dbb, 0x086d3d2d, 0x91646c97, 0xe6635c01,
18775 0x6b6b51f4, 0x1c6c6162, 0x856530d8, 0xf262004e, 0x6c0695ed,
18776 0x1b01a57b, 0x8208f4c1, 0xf50fc457, 0x65b0d9c6, 0x12b7e950,
18777 0x8bbeb8ea, 0xfcb9887c, 0x62dd1ddf, 0x15da2d49, 0x8cd37cf3,
18778 0xfbd44c65, 0x4db26158, 0x3ab551ce, 0xa3bc0074, 0xd4bb30e2,
18779 0x4adfa541, 0x3dd895d7, 0xa4d1c46d, 0xd3d6f4fb, 0x4369e96a,
18780 0x346ed9fc, 0xad678846, 0xda60b8d0, 0x44042d73, 0x33031de5,
18781 0xaa0a4c5f, 0xdd0d7cc9, 0x5005713c, 0x270241aa, 0xbe0b1010,
18782 0xc90c2086, 0x5768b525, 0x206f85b3, 0xb966d409, 0xce61e49f,
18783 0x5edef90e, 0x29d9c998, 0xb0d09822, 0xc7d7a8b4, 0x59b33d17,
18784 0x2eb40d81, 0xb7bd5c3b, 0xc0ba6cad, 0xedb88320, 0x9abfb3b6,
18785 0x03b6e20c, 0x74b1d29a, 0xead54739, 0x9dd277af, 0x04db2615,
18786 0x73dc1683, 0xe3630b12, 0x94643b84, 0x0d6d6a3e, 0x7a6a5aa8,
18787 0xe40ecf0b, 0x9309ff9d, 0x0a00ae27, 0x7d079eb1, 0xf00f9344,
18788 0x8708a3d2, 0x1e01f268, 0x6906c2fe, 0xf762575d, 0x806567cb,
18789 0x196c3671, 0x6e6b06e7, 0xfed41b76, 0x89d32be0, 0x10da7a5a,
18790 0x67dd4acc, 0xf9b9df6f, 0x8ebeeff9, 0x17b7be43, 0x60b08ed5,
18791 0xd6d6a3e8, 0xa1d1937e, 0x38d8c2c4, 0x4fdff252, 0xd1bb67f1,
18792 0xa6bc5767, 0x3fb506dd, 0x48b2364b, 0xd80d2bda, 0xaf0a1b4c,
18793 0x36034af6, 0x41047a60, 0xdf60efc3, 0xa867df55, 0x316e8eef,
18794 0x4669be79, 0xcb61b38c, 0xbc66831a, 0x256fd2a0, 0x5268e236,
18795 0xcc0c7795, 0xbb0b4703, 0x220216b9, 0x5505262f, 0xc5ba3bbe,
18796 0xb2bd0b28, 0x2bb45a92, 0x5cb36a04, 0xc2d7ffa7, 0xb5d0cf31,
18797 0x2cd99e8b, 0x5bdeae1d, 0x9b64c2b0, 0xec63f226, 0x756aa39c,
18798 0x026d930a, 0x9c0906a9, 0xeb0e363f, 0x72076785, 0x05005713,
18799 0x95bf4a82, 0xe2b87a14, 0x7bb12bae, 0x0cb61b38, 0x92d28e9b,
18800 0xe5d5be0d, 0x7cdcefb7, 0x0bdbdf21, 0x86d3d2d4, 0xf1d4e242,
18801 0x68ddb3f8, 0x1fda836e, 0x81be16cd, 0xf6b9265b, 0x6fb077e1,
18802 0x18b74777, 0x88085ae6, 0xff0f6a70, 0x66063bca, 0x11010b5c,
18803 0x8f659eff, 0xf862ae69, 0x616bffd3, 0x166ccf45, 0xa00ae278,
18804 0xd70dd2ee, 0x4e048354, 0x3903b3c2, 0xa7672661, 0xd06016f7,
18805 0x4969474d, 0x3e6e77db, 0xaed16a4a, 0xd9d65adc, 0x40df0b66,
18806 0x37d83bf0, 0xa9bcae53, 0xdebb9ec5, 0x47b2cf7f, 0x30b5ffe9,
18807 0xbdbdf21c, 0xcabac28a, 0x53b39330, 0x24b4a3a6, 0xbad03605,
18808 0xcdd70693, 0x54de5729, 0x23d967bf, 0xb3667a2e, 0xc4614ab8,
18809 0x5d681b02, 0x2a6f2b94, 0xb40bbe37, 0xc30c8ea1, 0x5a05df1b,
18810 0x2d02ef8d
18811 @};
18812 unsigned char *end;
18813
18814 crc = ~crc & 0xffffffff;
18815 for (end = buf + len; buf < end; ++buf)
18816 crc = crc32_table[(crc ^ *buf) & 0xff] ^ (crc >> 8);
18817 return ~crc & 0xffffffff;
18818 @}
18819 @end smallexample
18820
18821 @noindent
18822 This computation does not apply to the ``build ID'' method.
18823
18824 @node MiniDebugInfo
18825 @section Debugging information in a special section
18826 @cindex separate debug sections
18827 @cindex @samp{.gnu_debugdata} section
18828
18829 Some systems ship pre-built executables and libraries that have a
18830 special @samp{.gnu_debugdata} section. This feature is called
18831 @dfn{MiniDebugInfo}. This section holds an LZMA-compressed object and
18832 is used to supply extra symbols for backtraces.
18833
18834 The intent of this section is to provide extra minimal debugging
18835 information for use in simple backtraces. It is not intended to be a
18836 replacement for full separate debugging information (@pxref{Separate
18837 Debug Files}). The example below shows the intended use; however,
18838 @value{GDBN} does not currently put restrictions on what sort of
18839 debugging information might be included in the section.
18840
18841 @value{GDBN} has support for this extension. If the section exists,
18842 then it is used provided that no other source of debugging information
18843 can be found, and that @value{GDBN} was configured with LZMA support.
18844
18845 This section can be easily created using @command{objcopy} and other
18846 standard utilities:
18847
18848 @smallexample
18849 # Extract the dynamic symbols from the main binary, there is no need
18850 # to also have these in the normal symbol table.
18851 nm -D @var{binary} --format=posix --defined-only \
18852 | awk '@{ print $1 @}' | sort > dynsyms
18853
18854 # Extract all the text (i.e. function) symbols from the debuginfo.
18855 # (Note that we actually also accept "D" symbols, for the benefit
18856 # of platforms like PowerPC64 that use function descriptors.)
18857 nm @var{binary} --format=posix --defined-only \
18858 | awk '@{ if ($2 == "T" || $2 == "t" || $2 == "D") print $1 @}' \
18859 | sort > funcsyms
18860
18861 # Keep all the function symbols not already in the dynamic symbol
18862 # table.
18863 comm -13 dynsyms funcsyms > keep_symbols
18864
18865 # Separate full debug info into debug binary.
18866 objcopy --only-keep-debug @var{binary} debug
18867
18868 # Copy the full debuginfo, keeping only a minimal set of symbols and
18869 # removing some unnecessary sections.
18870 objcopy -S --remove-section .gdb_index --remove-section .comment \
18871 --keep-symbols=keep_symbols debug mini_debuginfo
18872
18873 # Drop the full debug info from the original binary.
18874 strip --strip-all -R .comment @var{binary}
18875
18876 # Inject the compressed data into the .gnu_debugdata section of the
18877 # original binary.
18878 xz mini_debuginfo
18879 objcopy --add-section .gnu_debugdata=mini_debuginfo.xz @var{binary}
18880 @end smallexample
18881
18882 @node Index Files
18883 @section Index Files Speed Up @value{GDBN}
18884 @cindex index files
18885 @cindex @samp{.gdb_index} section
18886
18887 When @value{GDBN} finds a symbol file, it scans the symbols in the
18888 file in order to construct an internal symbol table. This lets most
18889 @value{GDBN} operations work quickly---at the cost of a delay early
18890 on. For large programs, this delay can be quite lengthy, so
18891 @value{GDBN} provides a way to build an index, which speeds up
18892 startup.
18893
18894 The index is stored as a section in the symbol file. @value{GDBN} can
18895 write the index to a file, then you can put it into the symbol file
18896 using @command{objcopy}.
18897
18898 To create an index file, use the @code{save gdb-index} command:
18899
18900 @table @code
18901 @item save gdb-index @var{directory}
18902 @kindex save gdb-index
18903 Create an index file for each symbol file currently known by
18904 @value{GDBN}. Each file is named after its corresponding symbol file,
18905 with @samp{.gdb-index} appended, and is written into the given
18906 @var{directory}.
18907 @end table
18908
18909 Once you have created an index file you can merge it into your symbol
18910 file, here named @file{symfile}, using @command{objcopy}:
18911
18912 @smallexample
18913 $ objcopy --add-section .gdb_index=symfile.gdb-index \
18914 --set-section-flags .gdb_index=readonly symfile symfile
18915 @end smallexample
18916
18917 @value{GDBN} will normally ignore older versions of @file{.gdb_index}
18918 sections that have been deprecated. Usually they are deprecated because
18919 they are missing a new feature or have performance issues.
18920 To tell @value{GDBN} to use a deprecated index section anyway
18921 specify @code{set use-deprecated-index-sections on}.
18922 The default is @code{off}.
18923 This can speed up startup, but may result in some functionality being lost.
18924 @xref{Index Section Format}.
18925
18926 @emph{Warning:} Setting @code{use-deprecated-index-sections} to @code{on}
18927 must be done before gdb reads the file. The following will not work:
18928
18929 @smallexample
18930 $ gdb -ex "set use-deprecated-index-sections on" <program>
18931 @end smallexample
18932
18933 Instead you must do, for example,
18934
18935 @smallexample
18936 $ gdb -iex "set use-deprecated-index-sections on" <program>
18937 @end smallexample
18938
18939 There are currently some limitation on indices. They only work when
18940 for DWARF debugging information, not stabs. And, they do not
18941 currently work for programs using Ada.
18942
18943 @node Symbol Errors
18944 @section Errors Reading Symbol Files
18945
18946 While reading a symbol file, @value{GDBN} occasionally encounters problems,
18947 such as symbol types it does not recognize, or known bugs in compiler
18948 output. By default, @value{GDBN} does not notify you of such problems, since
18949 they are relatively common and primarily of interest to people
18950 debugging compilers. If you are interested in seeing information
18951 about ill-constructed symbol tables, you can either ask @value{GDBN} to print
18952 only one message about each such type of problem, no matter how many
18953 times the problem occurs; or you can ask @value{GDBN} to print more messages,
18954 to see how many times the problems occur, with the @code{set
18955 complaints} command (@pxref{Messages/Warnings, ,Optional Warnings and
18956 Messages}).
18957
18958 The messages currently printed, and their meanings, include:
18959
18960 @table @code
18961 @item inner block not inside outer block in @var{symbol}
18962
18963 The symbol information shows where symbol scopes begin and end
18964 (such as at the start of a function or a block of statements). This
18965 error indicates that an inner scope block is not fully contained
18966 in its outer scope blocks.
18967
18968 @value{GDBN} circumvents the problem by treating the inner block as if it had
18969 the same scope as the outer block. In the error message, @var{symbol}
18970 may be shown as ``@code{(don't know)}'' if the outer block is not a
18971 function.
18972
18973 @item block at @var{address} out of order
18974
18975 The symbol information for symbol scope blocks should occur in
18976 order of increasing addresses. This error indicates that it does not
18977 do so.
18978
18979 @value{GDBN} does not circumvent this problem, and has trouble
18980 locating symbols in the source file whose symbols it is reading. (You
18981 can often determine what source file is affected by specifying
18982 @code{set verbose on}. @xref{Messages/Warnings, ,Optional Warnings and
18983 Messages}.)
18984
18985 @item bad block start address patched
18986
18987 The symbol information for a symbol scope block has a start address
18988 smaller than the address of the preceding source line. This is known
18989 to occur in the SunOS 4.1.1 (and earlier) C compiler.
18990
18991 @value{GDBN} circumvents the problem by treating the symbol scope block as
18992 starting on the previous source line.
18993
18994 @item bad string table offset in symbol @var{n}
18995
18996 @cindex foo
18997 Symbol number @var{n} contains a pointer into the string table which is
18998 larger than the size of the string table.
18999
19000 @value{GDBN} circumvents the problem by considering the symbol to have the
19001 name @code{foo}, which may cause other problems if many symbols end up
19002 with this name.
19003
19004 @item unknown symbol type @code{0x@var{nn}}
19005
19006 The symbol information contains new data types that @value{GDBN} does
19007 not yet know how to read. @code{0x@var{nn}} is the symbol type of the
19008 uncomprehended information, in hexadecimal.
19009
19010 @value{GDBN} circumvents the error by ignoring this symbol information.
19011 This usually allows you to debug your program, though certain symbols
19012 are not accessible. If you encounter such a problem and feel like
19013 debugging it, you can debug @code{@value{GDBP}} with itself, breakpoint
19014 on @code{complain}, then go up to the function @code{read_dbx_symtab}
19015 and examine @code{*bufp} to see the symbol.
19016
19017 @item stub type has NULL name
19018
19019 @value{GDBN} could not find the full definition for a struct or class.
19020
19021 @item const/volatile indicator missing (ok if using g++ v1.x), got@dots{}
19022 The symbol information for a C@t{++} member function is missing some
19023 information that recent versions of the compiler should have output for
19024 it.
19025
19026 @item info mismatch between compiler and debugger
19027
19028 @value{GDBN} could not parse a type specification output by the compiler.
19029
19030 @end table
19031
19032 @node Data Files
19033 @section GDB Data Files
19034
19035 @cindex prefix for data files
19036 @value{GDBN} will sometimes read an auxiliary data file. These files
19037 are kept in a directory known as the @dfn{data directory}.
19038
19039 You can set the data directory's name, and view the name @value{GDBN}
19040 is currently using.
19041
19042 @table @code
19043 @kindex set data-directory
19044 @item set data-directory @var{directory}
19045 Set the directory which @value{GDBN} searches for auxiliary data files
19046 to @var{directory}.
19047
19048 @kindex show data-directory
19049 @item show data-directory
19050 Show the directory @value{GDBN} searches for auxiliary data files.
19051 @end table
19052
19053 @cindex default data directory
19054 @cindex @samp{--with-gdb-datadir}
19055 You can set the default data directory by using the configure-time
19056 @samp{--with-gdb-datadir} option. If the data directory is inside
19057 @value{GDBN}'s configured binary prefix (set with @samp{--prefix} or
19058 @samp{--exec-prefix}), then the default data directory will be updated
19059 automatically if the installed @value{GDBN} is moved to a new
19060 location.
19061
19062 The data directory may also be specified with the
19063 @code{--data-directory} command line option.
19064 @xref{Mode Options}.
19065
19066 @node Targets
19067 @chapter Specifying a Debugging Target
19068
19069 @cindex debugging target
19070 A @dfn{target} is the execution environment occupied by your program.
19071
19072 Often, @value{GDBN} runs in the same host environment as your program;
19073 in that case, the debugging target is specified as a side effect when
19074 you use the @code{file} or @code{core} commands. When you need more
19075 flexibility---for example, running @value{GDBN} on a physically separate
19076 host, or controlling a standalone system over a serial port or a
19077 realtime system over a TCP/IP connection---you can use the @code{target}
19078 command to specify one of the target types configured for @value{GDBN}
19079 (@pxref{Target Commands, ,Commands for Managing Targets}).
19080
19081 @cindex target architecture
19082 It is possible to build @value{GDBN} for several different @dfn{target
19083 architectures}. When @value{GDBN} is built like that, you can choose
19084 one of the available architectures with the @kbd{set architecture}
19085 command.
19086
19087 @table @code
19088 @kindex set architecture
19089 @kindex show architecture
19090 @item set architecture @var{arch}
19091 This command sets the current target architecture to @var{arch}. The
19092 value of @var{arch} can be @code{"auto"}, in addition to one of the
19093 supported architectures.
19094
19095 @item show architecture
19096 Show the current target architecture.
19097
19098 @item set processor
19099 @itemx processor
19100 @kindex set processor
19101 @kindex show processor
19102 These are alias commands for, respectively, @code{set architecture}
19103 and @code{show architecture}.
19104 @end table
19105
19106 @menu
19107 * Active Targets:: Active targets
19108 * Target Commands:: Commands for managing targets
19109 * Byte Order:: Choosing target byte order
19110 @end menu
19111
19112 @node Active Targets
19113 @section Active Targets
19114
19115 @cindex stacking targets
19116 @cindex active targets
19117 @cindex multiple targets
19118
19119 There are multiple classes of targets such as: processes, executable files or
19120 recording sessions. Core files belong to the process class, making core file
19121 and process mutually exclusive. Otherwise, @value{GDBN} can work concurrently
19122 on multiple active targets, one in each class. This allows you to (for
19123 example) start a process and inspect its activity, while still having access to
19124 the executable file after the process finishes. Or if you start process
19125 recording (@pxref{Reverse Execution}) and @code{reverse-step} there, you are
19126 presented a virtual layer of the recording target, while the process target
19127 remains stopped at the chronologically last point of the process execution.
19128
19129 Use the @code{core-file} and @code{exec-file} commands to select a new core
19130 file or executable target (@pxref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}). To
19131 specify as a target a process that is already running, use the @code{attach}
19132 command (@pxref{Attach, ,Debugging an Already-running Process}).
19133
19134 @node Target Commands
19135 @section Commands for Managing Targets
19136
19137 @table @code
19138 @item target @var{type} @var{parameters}
19139 Connects the @value{GDBN} host environment to a target machine or
19140 process. A target is typically a protocol for talking to debugging
19141 facilities. You use the argument @var{type} to specify the type or
19142 protocol of the target machine.
19143
19144 Further @var{parameters} are interpreted by the target protocol, but
19145 typically include things like device names or host names to connect
19146 with, process numbers, and baud rates.
19147
19148 The @code{target} command does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again
19149 after executing the command.
19150
19151 @kindex help target
19152 @item help target
19153 Displays the names of all targets available. To display targets
19154 currently selected, use either @code{info target} or @code{info files}
19155 (@pxref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}).
19156
19157 @item help target @var{name}
19158 Describe a particular target, including any parameters necessary to
19159 select it.
19160
19161 @kindex set gnutarget
19162 @item set gnutarget @var{args}
19163 @value{GDBN} uses its own library BFD to read your files. @value{GDBN}
19164 knows whether it is reading an @dfn{executable},
19165 a @dfn{core}, or a @dfn{.o} file; however, you can specify the file format
19166 with the @code{set gnutarget} command. Unlike most @code{target} commands,
19167 with @code{gnutarget} the @code{target} refers to a program, not a machine.
19168
19169 @quotation
19170 @emph{Warning:} To specify a file format with @code{set gnutarget},
19171 you must know the actual BFD name.
19172 @end quotation
19173
19174 @noindent
19175 @xref{Files, , Commands to Specify Files}.
19176
19177 @kindex show gnutarget
19178 @item show gnutarget
19179 Use the @code{show gnutarget} command to display what file format
19180 @code{gnutarget} is set to read. If you have not set @code{gnutarget},
19181 @value{GDBN} will determine the file format for each file automatically,
19182 and @code{show gnutarget} displays @samp{The current BFD target is "auto"}.
19183 @end table
19184
19185 @cindex common targets
19186 Here are some common targets (available, or not, depending on the GDB
19187 configuration):
19188
19189 @table @code
19190 @kindex target
19191 @item target exec @var{program}
19192 @cindex executable file target
19193 An executable file. @samp{target exec @var{program}} is the same as
19194 @samp{exec-file @var{program}}.
19195
19196 @item target core @var{filename}
19197 @cindex core dump file target
19198 A core dump file. @samp{target core @var{filename}} is the same as
19199 @samp{core-file @var{filename}}.
19200
19201 @item target remote @var{medium}
19202 @cindex remote target
19203 A remote system connected to @value{GDBN} via a serial line or network
19204 connection. This command tells @value{GDBN} to use its own remote
19205 protocol over @var{medium} for debugging. @xref{Remote Debugging}.
19206
19207 For example, if you have a board connected to @file{/dev/ttya} on the
19208 machine running @value{GDBN}, you could say:
19209
19210 @smallexample
19211 target remote /dev/ttya
19212 @end smallexample
19213
19214 @code{target remote} supports the @code{load} command. This is only
19215 useful if you have some other way of getting the stub to the target
19216 system, and you can put it somewhere in memory where it won't get
19217 clobbered by the download.
19218
19219 @item target sim @r{[}@var{simargs}@r{]} @dots{}
19220 @cindex built-in simulator target
19221 Builtin CPU simulator. @value{GDBN} includes simulators for most architectures.
19222 In general,
19223 @smallexample
19224 target sim
19225 load
19226 run
19227 @end smallexample
19228 @noindent
19229 works; however, you cannot assume that a specific memory map, device
19230 drivers, or even basic I/O is available, although some simulators do
19231 provide these. For info about any processor-specific simulator details,
19232 see the appropriate section in @ref{Embedded Processors, ,Embedded
19233 Processors}.
19234
19235 @item target native
19236 @cindex native target
19237 Setup for local/native process debugging. Useful to make the
19238 @code{run} command spawn native processes (likewise @code{attach},
19239 etc.@:) even when @code{set auto-connect-native-target} is @code{off}
19240 (@pxref{set auto-connect-native-target}).
19241
19242 @end table
19243
19244 Different targets are available on different configurations of @value{GDBN};
19245 your configuration may have more or fewer targets.
19246
19247 Many remote targets require you to download the executable's code once
19248 you've successfully established a connection. You may wish to control
19249 various aspects of this process.
19250
19251 @table @code
19252
19253 @item set hash
19254 @kindex set hash@r{, for remote monitors}
19255 @cindex hash mark while downloading
19256 This command controls whether a hash mark @samp{#} is displayed while
19257 downloading a file to the remote monitor. If on, a hash mark is
19258 displayed after each S-record is successfully downloaded to the
19259 monitor.
19260
19261 @item show hash
19262 @kindex show hash@r{, for remote monitors}
19263 Show the current status of displaying the hash mark.
19264
19265 @item set debug monitor
19266 @kindex set debug monitor
19267 @cindex display remote monitor communications
19268 Enable or disable display of communications messages between
19269 @value{GDBN} and the remote monitor.
19270
19271 @item show debug monitor
19272 @kindex show debug monitor
19273 Show the current status of displaying communications between
19274 @value{GDBN} and the remote monitor.
19275 @end table
19276
19277 @table @code
19278
19279 @kindex load @var{filename}
19280 @item load @var{filename}
19281 @anchor{load}
19282 Depending on what remote debugging facilities are configured into
19283 @value{GDBN}, the @code{load} command may be available. Where it exists, it
19284 is meant to make @var{filename} (an executable) available for debugging
19285 on the remote system---by downloading, or dynamic linking, for example.
19286 @code{load} also records the @var{filename} symbol table in @value{GDBN}, like
19287 the @code{add-symbol-file} command.
19288
19289 If your @value{GDBN} does not have a @code{load} command, attempting to
19290 execute it gets the error message ``@code{You can't do that when your
19291 target is @dots{}}''
19292
19293 The file is loaded at whatever address is specified in the executable.
19294 For some object file formats, you can specify the load address when you
19295 link the program; for other formats, like a.out, the object file format
19296 specifies a fixed address.
19297 @c FIXME! This would be a good place for an xref to the GNU linker doc.
19298
19299 Depending on the remote side capabilities, @value{GDBN} may be able to
19300 load programs into flash memory.
19301
19302 @code{load} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again after using it.
19303 @end table
19304
19305 @node Byte Order
19306 @section Choosing Target Byte Order
19307
19308 @cindex choosing target byte order
19309 @cindex target byte order
19310
19311 Some types of processors, such as the @acronym{MIPS}, PowerPC, and Renesas SH,
19312 offer the ability to run either big-endian or little-endian byte
19313 orders. Usually the executable or symbol will include a bit to
19314 designate the endian-ness, and you will not need to worry about
19315 which to use. However, you may still find it useful to adjust
19316 @value{GDBN}'s idea of processor endian-ness manually.
19317
19318 @table @code
19319 @kindex set endian
19320 @item set endian big
19321 Instruct @value{GDBN} to assume the target is big-endian.
19322
19323 @item set endian little
19324 Instruct @value{GDBN} to assume the target is little-endian.
19325
19326 @item set endian auto
19327 Instruct @value{GDBN} to use the byte order associated with the
19328 executable.
19329
19330 @item show endian
19331 Display @value{GDBN}'s current idea of the target byte order.
19332
19333 @end table
19334
19335 Note that these commands merely adjust interpretation of symbolic
19336 data on the host, and that they have absolutely no effect on the
19337 target system.
19338
19339
19340 @node Remote Debugging
19341 @chapter Debugging Remote Programs
19342 @cindex remote debugging
19343
19344 If you are trying to debug a program running on a machine that cannot run
19345 @value{GDBN} in the usual way, it is often useful to use remote debugging.
19346 For example, you might use remote debugging on an operating system kernel,
19347 or on a small system which does not have a general purpose operating system
19348 powerful enough to run a full-featured debugger.
19349
19350 Some configurations of @value{GDBN} have special serial or TCP/IP interfaces
19351 to make this work with particular debugging targets. In addition,
19352 @value{GDBN} comes with a generic serial protocol (specific to @value{GDBN},
19353 but not specific to any particular target system) which you can use if you
19354 write the remote stubs---the code that runs on the remote system to
19355 communicate with @value{GDBN}.
19356
19357 Other remote targets may be available in your
19358 configuration of @value{GDBN}; use @code{help target} to list them.
19359
19360 @menu
19361 * Connecting:: Connecting to a remote target
19362 * File Transfer:: Sending files to a remote system
19363 * Server:: Using the gdbserver program
19364 * Remote Configuration:: Remote configuration
19365 * Remote Stub:: Implementing a remote stub
19366 @end menu
19367
19368 @node Connecting
19369 @section Connecting to a Remote Target
19370 @cindex remote debugging, connecting
19371 @cindex @code{gdbserver}, connecting
19372 @cindex remote debugging, types of connections
19373 @cindex @code{gdbserver}, types of connections
19374 @cindex @code{gdbserver}, @code{target remote} mode
19375 @cindex @code{gdbserver}, @code{target extended-remote} mode
19376
19377 This section describes how to connect to a remote target, including the
19378 types of connections and their differences, how to set up executable and
19379 symbol files on the host and target, and the commands used for
19380 connecting to and disconnecting from the remote target.
19381
19382 @subsection Types of Remote Connections
19383
19384 @value{GDBN} supports two types of remote connections, @code{target remote}
19385 mode and @code{target extended-remote} mode. Note that many remote targets
19386 support only @code{target remote} mode. There are several major
19387 differences between the two types of connections, enumerated here:
19388
19389 @table @asis
19390
19391 @cindex remote debugging, detach and program exit
19392 @item Result of detach or program exit
19393 @strong{With target remote mode:} When the debugged program exits or you
19394 detach from it, @value{GDBN} disconnects from the target. When using
19395 @code{gdbserver}, @code{gdbserver} will exit.
19396
19397 @strong{With target extended-remote mode:} When the debugged program exits or
19398 you detach from it, @value{GDBN} remains connected to the target, even
19399 though no program is running. You can rerun the program, attach to a
19400 running program, or use @code{monitor} commands specific to the target.
19401
19402 When using @code{gdbserver} in this case, it does not exit unless it was
19403 invoked using the @option{--once} option. If the @option{--once} option
19404 was not used, you can ask @code{gdbserver} to exit using the
19405 @code{monitor exit} command (@pxref{Monitor Commands for gdbserver}).
19406
19407 @item Specifying the program to debug
19408 For both connection types you use the @code{file} command to specify the
19409 program on the host system. If you are using @code{gdbserver} there are
19410 some differences in how to specify the location of the program on the
19411 target.
19412
19413 @strong{With target remote mode:} You must either specify the program to debug
19414 on the @code{gdbserver} command line or use the @option{--attach} option
19415 (@pxref{Attaching to a program,,Attaching to a Running Program}).
19416
19417 @cindex @option{--multi}, @code{gdbserver} option
19418 @strong{With target extended-remote mode:} You may specify the program to debug
19419 on the @code{gdbserver} command line, or you can load the program or attach
19420 to it using @value{GDBN} commands after connecting to @code{gdbserver}.
19421
19422 @anchor{--multi Option in Types of Remote Connnections}
19423 You can start @code{gdbserver} without supplying an initial command to run
19424 or process ID to attach. To do this, use the @option{--multi} command line
19425 option. Then you can connect using @code{target extended-remote} and start
19426 the program you want to debug (see below for details on using the
19427 @code{run} command in this scenario). Note that the conditions under which
19428 @code{gdbserver} terminates depend on how @value{GDBN} connects to it
19429 (@code{target remote} or @code{target extended-remote}). The
19430 @option{--multi} option to @code{gdbserver} has no influence on that.
19431
19432 @item The @code{run} command
19433 @strong{With target remote mode:} The @code{run} command is not
19434 supported. Once a connection has been established, you can use all
19435 the usual @value{GDBN} commands to examine and change data. The
19436 remote program is already running, so you can use commands like
19437 @kbd{step} and @kbd{continue}.
19438
19439 @strong{With target extended-remote mode:} The @code{run} command is
19440 supported. The @code{run} command uses the value set by
19441 @code{set remote exec-file} (@pxref{set remote exec-file}) to select
19442 the program to run. Command line arguments are supported, except for
19443 wildcard expansion and I/O redirection (@pxref{Arguments}).
19444
19445 If you specify the program to debug on the command line, then the
19446 @code{run} command is not required to start execution, and you can
19447 resume using commands like @kbd{step} and @kbd{continue} as with
19448 @code{target remote} mode.
19449
19450 @anchor{Attaching in Types of Remote Connections}
19451 @item Attaching
19452 @strong{With target remote mode:} The @value{GDBN} command @code{attach} is
19453 not supported. To attach to a running program using @code{gdbserver}, you
19454 must use the @option{--attach} option (@pxref{Running gdbserver}).
19455
19456 @strong{With target extended-remote mode:} To attach to a running program,
19457 you may use the @code{attach} command after the connection has been
19458 established. If you are using @code{gdbserver}, you may also invoke
19459 @code{gdbserver} using the @option{--attach} option
19460 (@pxref{Running gdbserver}).
19461
19462 @end table
19463
19464 @anchor{Host and target files}
19465 @subsection Host and Target Files
19466 @cindex remote debugging, symbol files
19467 @cindex symbol files, remote debugging
19468
19469 @value{GDBN}, running on the host, needs access to symbol and debugging
19470 information for your program running on the target. This requires
19471 access to an unstripped copy of your program, and possibly any associated
19472 symbol files. Note that this section applies equally to both @code{target
19473 remote} mode and @code{target extended-remote} mode.
19474
19475 Some remote targets (@pxref{qXfer executable filename read}, and
19476 @pxref{Host I/O Packets}) allow @value{GDBN} to access program files over
19477 the same connection used to communicate with @value{GDBN}. With such a
19478 target, if the remote program is unstripped, the only command you need is
19479 @code{target remote} (or @code{target extended-remote}).
19480
19481 If the remote program is stripped, or the target does not support remote
19482 program file access, start up @value{GDBN} using the name of the local
19483 unstripped copy of your program as the first argument, or use the
19484 @code{file} command. Use @code{set sysroot} to specify the location (on
19485 the host) of target libraries (unless your @value{GDBN} was compiled with
19486 the correct sysroot using @code{--with-sysroot}). Alternatively, you
19487 may use @code{set solib-search-path} to specify how @value{GDBN} locates
19488 target libraries.
19489
19490 The symbol file and target libraries must exactly match the executable
19491 and libraries on the target, with one exception: the files on the host
19492 system should not be stripped, even if the files on the target system
19493 are. Mismatched or missing files will lead to confusing results
19494 during debugging. On @sc{gnu}/Linux targets, mismatched or missing
19495 files may also prevent @code{gdbserver} from debugging multi-threaded
19496 programs.
19497
19498 @subsection Remote Connection Commands
19499 @cindex remote connection commands
19500 @value{GDBN} can communicate with the target over a serial line, or
19501 over an @acronym{IP} network using @acronym{TCP} or @acronym{UDP}. In
19502 each case, @value{GDBN} uses the same protocol for debugging your
19503 program; only the medium carrying the debugging packets varies. The
19504 @code{target remote} and @code{target extended-remote} commands
19505 establish a connection to the target. Both commands accept the same
19506 arguments, which indicate the medium to use:
19507
19508 @table @code
19509
19510 @item target remote @var{serial-device}
19511 @itemx target extended-remote @var{serial-device}
19512 @cindex serial line, @code{target remote}
19513 Use @var{serial-device} to communicate with the target. For example,
19514 to use a serial line connected to the device named @file{/dev/ttyb}:
19515
19516 @smallexample
19517 target remote /dev/ttyb
19518 @end smallexample
19519
19520 If you're using a serial line, you may want to give @value{GDBN} the
19521 @samp{--baud} option, or use the @code{set serial baud} command
19522 (@pxref{Remote Configuration, set serial baud}) before the
19523 @code{target} command.
19524
19525 @item target remote @code{@var{host}:@var{port}}
19526 @itemx target remote @code{tcp:@var{host}:@var{port}}
19527 @itemx target extended-remote @code{@var{host}:@var{port}}
19528 @itemx target extended-remote @code{tcp:@var{host}:@var{port}}
19529 @cindex @acronym{TCP} port, @code{target remote}
19530 Debug using a @acronym{TCP} connection to @var{port} on @var{host}.
19531 The @var{host} may be either a host name or a numeric @acronym{IP}
19532 address; @var{port} must be a decimal number. The @var{host} could be
19533 the target machine itself, if it is directly connected to the net, or
19534 it might be a terminal server which in turn has a serial line to the
19535 target.
19536
19537 For example, to connect to port 2828 on a terminal server named
19538 @code{manyfarms}:
19539
19540 @smallexample
19541 target remote manyfarms:2828
19542 @end smallexample
19543
19544 If your remote target is actually running on the same machine as your
19545 debugger session (e.g.@: a simulator for your target running on the
19546 same host), you can omit the hostname. For example, to connect to
19547 port 1234 on your local machine:
19548
19549 @smallexample
19550 target remote :1234
19551 @end smallexample
19552 @noindent
19553
19554 Note that the colon is still required here.
19555
19556 @item target remote @code{udp:@var{host}:@var{port}}
19557 @itemx target extended-remote @code{udp:@var{host}:@var{port}}
19558 @cindex @acronym{UDP} port, @code{target remote}
19559 Debug using @acronym{UDP} packets to @var{port} on @var{host}. For example, to
19560 connect to @acronym{UDP} port 2828 on a terminal server named @code{manyfarms}:
19561
19562 @smallexample
19563 target remote udp:manyfarms:2828
19564 @end smallexample
19565
19566 When using a @acronym{UDP} connection for remote debugging, you should
19567 keep in mind that the `U' stands for ``Unreliable''. @acronym{UDP}
19568 can silently drop packets on busy or unreliable networks, which will
19569 cause havoc with your debugging session.
19570
19571 @item target remote | @var{command}
19572 @itemx target extended-remote | @var{command}
19573 @cindex pipe, @code{target remote} to
19574 Run @var{command} in the background and communicate with it using a
19575 pipe. The @var{command} is a shell command, to be parsed and expanded
19576 by the system's command shell, @code{/bin/sh}; it should expect remote
19577 protocol packets on its standard input, and send replies on its
19578 standard output. You could use this to run a stand-alone simulator
19579 that speaks the remote debugging protocol, to make net connections
19580 using programs like @code{ssh}, or for other similar tricks.
19581
19582 If @var{command} closes its standard output (perhaps by exiting),
19583 @value{GDBN} will try to send it a @code{SIGTERM} signal. (If the
19584 program has already exited, this will have no effect.)
19585
19586 @end table
19587
19588 @cindex interrupting remote programs
19589 @cindex remote programs, interrupting
19590 Whenever @value{GDBN} is waiting for the remote program, if you type the
19591 interrupt character (often @kbd{Ctrl-c}), @value{GDBN} attempts to stop the
19592 program. This may or may not succeed, depending in part on the hardware
19593 and the serial drivers the remote system uses. If you type the
19594 interrupt character once again, @value{GDBN} displays this prompt:
19595
19596 @smallexample
19597 Interrupted while waiting for the program.
19598 Give up (and stop debugging it)? (y or n)
19599 @end smallexample
19600
19601 In @code{target remote} mode, if you type @kbd{y}, @value{GDBN} abandons
19602 the remote debugging session. (If you decide you want to try again later,
19603 you can use @kbd{target remote} again to connect once more.) If you type
19604 @kbd{n}, @value{GDBN} goes back to waiting.
19605
19606 In @code{target extended-remote} mode, typing @kbd{n} will leave
19607 @value{GDBN} connected to the target.
19608
19609 @table @code
19610 @kindex detach (remote)
19611 @item detach
19612 When you have finished debugging the remote program, you can use the
19613 @code{detach} command to release it from @value{GDBN} control.
19614 Detaching from the target normally resumes its execution, but the results
19615 will depend on your particular remote stub. After the @code{detach}
19616 command in @code{target remote} mode, @value{GDBN} is free to connect to
19617 another target. In @code{target extended-remote} mode, @value{GDBN} is
19618 still connected to the target.
19619
19620 @kindex disconnect
19621 @item disconnect
19622 The @code{disconnect} command closes the connection to the target, and
19623 the target is generally not resumed. It will wait for @value{GDBN}
19624 (this instance or another one) to connect and continue debugging. After
19625 the @code{disconnect} command, @value{GDBN} is again free to connect to
19626 another target.
19627
19628 @cindex send command to remote monitor
19629 @cindex extend @value{GDBN} for remote targets
19630 @cindex add new commands for external monitor
19631 @kindex monitor
19632 @item monitor @var{cmd}
19633 This command allows you to send arbitrary commands directly to the
19634 remote monitor. Since @value{GDBN} doesn't care about the commands it
19635 sends like this, this command is the way to extend @value{GDBN}---you
19636 can add new commands that only the external monitor will understand
19637 and implement.
19638 @end table
19639
19640 @node File Transfer
19641 @section Sending files to a remote system
19642 @cindex remote target, file transfer
19643 @cindex file transfer
19644 @cindex sending files to remote systems
19645
19646 Some remote targets offer the ability to transfer files over the same
19647 connection used to communicate with @value{GDBN}. This is convenient
19648 for targets accessible through other means, e.g.@: @sc{gnu}/Linux systems
19649 running @code{gdbserver} over a network interface. For other targets,
19650 e.g.@: embedded devices with only a single serial port, this may be
19651 the only way to upload or download files.
19652
19653 Not all remote targets support these commands.
19654
19655 @table @code
19656 @kindex remote put
19657 @item remote put @var{hostfile} @var{targetfile}
19658 Copy file @var{hostfile} from the host system (the machine running
19659 @value{GDBN}) to @var{targetfile} on the target system.
19660
19661 @kindex remote get
19662 @item remote get @var{targetfile} @var{hostfile}
19663 Copy file @var{targetfile} from the target system to @var{hostfile}
19664 on the host system.
19665
19666 @kindex remote delete
19667 @item remote delete @var{targetfile}
19668 Delete @var{targetfile} from the target system.
19669
19670 @end table
19671
19672 @node Server
19673 @section Using the @code{gdbserver} Program
19674
19675 @kindex gdbserver
19676 @cindex remote connection without stubs
19677 @code{gdbserver} is a control program for Unix-like systems, which
19678 allows you to connect your program with a remote @value{GDBN} via
19679 @code{target remote} or @code{target extended-remote}---but without
19680 linking in the usual debugging stub.
19681
19682 @code{gdbserver} is not a complete replacement for the debugging stubs,
19683 because it requires essentially the same operating-system facilities
19684 that @value{GDBN} itself does. In fact, a system that can run
19685 @code{gdbserver} to connect to a remote @value{GDBN} could also run
19686 @value{GDBN} locally! @code{gdbserver} is sometimes useful nevertheless,
19687 because it is a much smaller program than @value{GDBN} itself. It is
19688 also easier to port than all of @value{GDBN}, so you may be able to get
19689 started more quickly on a new system by using @code{gdbserver}.
19690 Finally, if you develop code for real-time systems, you may find that
19691 the tradeoffs involved in real-time operation make it more convenient to
19692 do as much development work as possible on another system, for example
19693 by cross-compiling. You can use @code{gdbserver} to make a similar
19694 choice for debugging.
19695
19696 @value{GDBN} and @code{gdbserver} communicate via either a serial line
19697 or a TCP connection, using the standard @value{GDBN} remote serial
19698 protocol.
19699
19700 @quotation
19701 @emph{Warning:} @code{gdbserver} does not have any built-in security.
19702 Do not run @code{gdbserver} connected to any public network; a
19703 @value{GDBN} connection to @code{gdbserver} provides access to the
19704 target system with the same privileges as the user running
19705 @code{gdbserver}.
19706 @end quotation
19707
19708 @anchor{Running gdbserver}
19709 @subsection Running @code{gdbserver}
19710 @cindex arguments, to @code{gdbserver}
19711 @cindex @code{gdbserver}, command-line arguments
19712
19713 Run @code{gdbserver} on the target system. You need a copy of the
19714 program you want to debug, including any libraries it requires.
19715 @code{gdbserver} does not need your program's symbol table, so you can
19716 strip the program if necessary to save space. @value{GDBN} on the host
19717 system does all the symbol handling.
19718
19719 To use the server, you must tell it how to communicate with @value{GDBN};
19720 the name of your program; and the arguments for your program. The usual
19721 syntax is:
19722
19723 @smallexample
19724 target> gdbserver @var{comm} @var{program} [ @var{args} @dots{} ]
19725 @end smallexample
19726
19727 @var{comm} is either a device name (to use a serial line), or a TCP
19728 hostname and portnumber, or @code{-} or @code{stdio} to use
19729 stdin/stdout of @code{gdbserver}.
19730 For example, to debug Emacs with the argument
19731 @samp{foo.txt} and communicate with @value{GDBN} over the serial port
19732 @file{/dev/com1}:
19733
19734 @smallexample
19735 target> gdbserver /dev/com1 emacs foo.txt
19736 @end smallexample
19737
19738 @code{gdbserver} waits passively for the host @value{GDBN} to communicate
19739 with it.
19740
19741 To use a TCP connection instead of a serial line:
19742
19743 @smallexample
19744 target> gdbserver host:2345 emacs foo.txt
19745 @end smallexample
19746
19747 The only difference from the previous example is the first argument,
19748 specifying that you are communicating with the host @value{GDBN} via
19749 TCP. The @samp{host:2345} argument means that @code{gdbserver} is to
19750 expect a TCP connection from machine @samp{host} to local TCP port 2345.
19751 (Currently, the @samp{host} part is ignored.) You can choose any number
19752 you want for the port number as long as it does not conflict with any
19753 TCP ports already in use on the target system (for example, @code{23} is
19754 reserved for @code{telnet}).@footnote{If you choose a port number that
19755 conflicts with another service, @code{gdbserver} prints an error message
19756 and exits.} You must use the same port number with the host @value{GDBN}
19757 @code{target remote} command.
19758
19759 The @code{stdio} connection is useful when starting @code{gdbserver}
19760 with ssh:
19761
19762 @smallexample
19763 (gdb) target remote | ssh -T hostname gdbserver - hello
19764 @end smallexample
19765
19766 The @samp{-T} option to ssh is provided because we don't need a remote pty,
19767 and we don't want escape-character handling. Ssh does this by default when
19768 a command is provided, the flag is provided to make it explicit.
19769 You could elide it if you want to.
19770
19771 Programs started with stdio-connected gdbserver have @file{/dev/null} for
19772 @code{stdin}, and @code{stdout},@code{stderr} are sent back to gdb for
19773 display through a pipe connected to gdbserver.
19774 Both @code{stdout} and @code{stderr} use the same pipe.
19775
19776 @anchor{Attaching to a program}
19777 @subsubsection Attaching to a Running Program
19778 @cindex attach to a program, @code{gdbserver}
19779 @cindex @option{--attach}, @code{gdbserver} option
19780
19781 On some targets, @code{gdbserver} can also attach to running programs.
19782 This is accomplished via the @code{--attach} argument. The syntax is:
19783
19784 @smallexample
19785 target> gdbserver --attach @var{comm} @var{pid}
19786 @end smallexample
19787
19788 @var{pid} is the process ID of a currently running process. It isn't
19789 necessary to point @code{gdbserver} at a binary for the running process.
19790
19791 In @code{target extended-remote} mode, you can also attach using the
19792 @value{GDBN} attach command
19793 (@pxref{Attaching in Types of Remote Connections}).
19794
19795 @pindex pidof
19796 You can debug processes by name instead of process ID if your target has the
19797 @code{pidof} utility:
19798
19799 @smallexample
19800 target> gdbserver --attach @var{comm} `pidof @var{program}`
19801 @end smallexample
19802
19803 In case more than one copy of @var{program} is running, or @var{program}
19804 has multiple threads, most versions of @code{pidof} support the
19805 @code{-s} option to only return the first process ID.
19806
19807 @subsubsection TCP port allocation lifecycle of @code{gdbserver}
19808
19809 This section applies only when @code{gdbserver} is run to listen on a TCP
19810 port.
19811
19812 @code{gdbserver} normally terminates after all of its debugged processes have
19813 terminated in @kbd{target remote} mode. On the other hand, for @kbd{target
19814 extended-remote}, @code{gdbserver} stays running even with no processes left.
19815 @value{GDBN} normally terminates the spawned debugged process on its exit,
19816 which normally also terminates @code{gdbserver} in the @kbd{target remote}
19817 mode. Therefore, when the connection drops unexpectedly, and @value{GDBN}
19818 cannot ask @code{gdbserver} to kill its debugged processes, @code{gdbserver}
19819 stays running even in the @kbd{target remote} mode.
19820
19821 When @code{gdbserver} stays running, @value{GDBN} can connect to it again later.
19822 Such reconnecting is useful for features like @ref{disconnected tracing}. For
19823 completeness, at most one @value{GDBN} can be connected at a time.
19824
19825 @cindex @option{--once}, @code{gdbserver} option
19826 By default, @code{gdbserver} keeps the listening TCP port open, so that
19827 subsequent connections are possible. However, if you start @code{gdbserver}
19828 with the @option{--once} option, it will stop listening for any further
19829 connection attempts after connecting to the first @value{GDBN} session. This
19830 means no further connections to @code{gdbserver} will be possible after the
19831 first one. It also means @code{gdbserver} will terminate after the first
19832 connection with remote @value{GDBN} has closed, even for unexpectedly closed
19833 connections and even in the @kbd{target extended-remote} mode. The
19834 @option{--once} option allows reusing the same port number for connecting to
19835 multiple instances of @code{gdbserver} running on the same host, since each
19836 instance closes its port after the first connection.
19837
19838 @anchor{Other Command-Line Arguments for gdbserver}
19839 @subsubsection Other Command-Line Arguments for @code{gdbserver}
19840
19841 You can use the @option{--multi} option to start @code{gdbserver} without
19842 specifying a program to debug or a process to attach to. Then you can
19843 attach in @code{target extended-remote} mode and run or attach to a
19844 program. For more information,
19845 @pxref{--multi Option in Types of Remote Connnections}.
19846
19847 @cindex @option{--debug}, @code{gdbserver} option
19848 The @option{--debug} option tells @code{gdbserver} to display extra
19849 status information about the debugging process.
19850 @cindex @option{--remote-debug}, @code{gdbserver} option
19851 The @option{--remote-debug} option tells @code{gdbserver} to display
19852 remote protocol debug output. These options are intended for
19853 @code{gdbserver} development and for bug reports to the developers.
19854
19855 @cindex @option{--debug-format}, @code{gdbserver} option
19856 The @option{--debug-format=option1[,option2,...]} option tells
19857 @code{gdbserver} to include additional information in each output.
19858 Possible options are:
19859
19860 @table @code
19861 @item none
19862 Turn off all extra information in debugging output.
19863 @item all
19864 Turn on all extra information in debugging output.
19865 @item timestamps
19866 Include a timestamp in each line of debugging output.
19867 @end table
19868
19869 Options are processed in order. Thus, for example, if @option{none}
19870 appears last then no additional information is added to debugging output.
19871
19872 @cindex @option{--wrapper}, @code{gdbserver} option
19873 The @option{--wrapper} option specifies a wrapper to launch programs
19874 for debugging. The option should be followed by the name of the
19875 wrapper, then any command-line arguments to pass to the wrapper, then
19876 @kbd{--} indicating the end of the wrapper arguments.
19877
19878 @code{gdbserver} runs the specified wrapper program with a combined
19879 command line including the wrapper arguments, then the name of the
19880 program to debug, then any arguments to the program. The wrapper
19881 runs until it executes your program, and then @value{GDBN} gains control.
19882
19883 You can use any program that eventually calls @code{execve} with
19884 its arguments as a wrapper. Several standard Unix utilities do
19885 this, e.g.@: @code{env} and @code{nohup}. Any Unix shell script ending
19886 with @code{exec "$@@"} will also work.
19887
19888 For example, you can use @code{env} to pass an environment variable to
19889 the debugged program, without setting the variable in @code{gdbserver}'s
19890 environment:
19891
19892 @smallexample
19893 $ gdbserver --wrapper env LD_PRELOAD=libtest.so -- :2222 ./testprog
19894 @end smallexample
19895
19896 @subsection Connecting to @code{gdbserver}
19897
19898 The basic procedure for connecting to the remote target is:
19899 @itemize
19900
19901 @item
19902 Run @value{GDBN} on the host system.
19903
19904 @item
19905 Make sure you have the necessary symbol files
19906 (@pxref{Host and target files}).
19907 Load symbols for your application using the @code{file} command before you
19908 connect. Use @code{set sysroot} to locate target libraries (unless your
19909 @value{GDBN} was compiled with the correct sysroot using
19910 @code{--with-sysroot}).
19911
19912 @item
19913 Connect to your target (@pxref{Connecting,,Connecting to a Remote Target}).
19914 For TCP connections, you must start up @code{gdbserver} prior to using
19915 the @code{target} command. Otherwise you may get an error whose
19916 text depends on the host system, but which usually looks something like
19917 @samp{Connection refused}. Don't use the @code{load}
19918 command in @value{GDBN} when using @code{target remote} mode, since the
19919 program is already on the target.
19920
19921 @end itemize
19922
19923 @anchor{Monitor Commands for gdbserver}
19924 @subsection Monitor Commands for @code{gdbserver}
19925 @cindex monitor commands, for @code{gdbserver}
19926
19927 During a @value{GDBN} session using @code{gdbserver}, you can use the
19928 @code{monitor} command to send special requests to @code{gdbserver}.
19929 Here are the available commands.
19930
19931 @table @code
19932 @item monitor help
19933 List the available monitor commands.
19934
19935 @item monitor set debug 0
19936 @itemx monitor set debug 1
19937 Disable or enable general debugging messages.
19938
19939 @item monitor set remote-debug 0
19940 @itemx monitor set remote-debug 1
19941 Disable or enable specific debugging messages associated with the remote
19942 protocol (@pxref{Remote Protocol}).
19943
19944 @item monitor set debug-format option1@r{[},option2,...@r{]}
19945 Specify additional text to add to debugging messages.
19946 Possible options are:
19947
19948 @table @code
19949 @item none
19950 Turn off all extra information in debugging output.
19951 @item all
19952 Turn on all extra information in debugging output.
19953 @item timestamps
19954 Include a timestamp in each line of debugging output.
19955 @end table
19956
19957 Options are processed in order. Thus, for example, if @option{none}
19958 appears last then no additional information is added to debugging output.
19959
19960 @item monitor set libthread-db-search-path [PATH]
19961 @cindex gdbserver, search path for @code{libthread_db}
19962 When this command is issued, @var{path} is a colon-separated list of
19963 directories to search for @code{libthread_db} (@pxref{Threads,,set
19964 libthread-db-search-path}). If you omit @var{path},
19965 @samp{libthread-db-search-path} will be reset to its default value.
19966
19967 The special entry @samp{$pdir} for @samp{libthread-db-search-path} is
19968 not supported in @code{gdbserver}.
19969
19970 @item monitor exit
19971 Tell gdbserver to exit immediately. This command should be followed by
19972 @code{disconnect} to close the debugging session. @code{gdbserver} will
19973 detach from any attached processes and kill any processes it created.
19974 Use @code{monitor exit} to terminate @code{gdbserver} at the end
19975 of a multi-process mode debug session.
19976
19977 @end table
19978
19979 @subsection Tracepoints support in @code{gdbserver}
19980 @cindex tracepoints support in @code{gdbserver}
19981
19982 On some targets, @code{gdbserver} supports tracepoints, fast
19983 tracepoints and static tracepoints.
19984
19985 For fast or static tracepoints to work, a special library called the
19986 @dfn{in-process agent} (IPA), must be loaded in the inferior process.
19987 This library is built and distributed as an integral part of
19988 @code{gdbserver}. In addition, support for static tracepoints
19989 requires building the in-process agent library with static tracepoints
19990 support. At present, the UST (LTTng Userspace Tracer,
19991 @url{http://lttng.org/ust}) tracing engine is supported. This support
19992 is automatically available if UST development headers are found in the
19993 standard include path when @code{gdbserver} is built, or if
19994 @code{gdbserver} was explicitly configured using @option{--with-ust}
19995 to point at such headers. You can explicitly disable the support
19996 using @option{--with-ust=no}.
19997
19998 There are several ways to load the in-process agent in your program:
19999
20000 @table @code
20001 @item Specifying it as dependency at link time
20002
20003 You can link your program dynamically with the in-process agent
20004 library. On most systems, this is accomplished by adding
20005 @code{-linproctrace} to the link command.
20006
20007 @item Using the system's preloading mechanisms
20008
20009 You can force loading the in-process agent at startup time by using
20010 your system's support for preloading shared libraries. Many Unixes
20011 support the concept of preloading user defined libraries. In most
20012 cases, you do that by specifying @code{LD_PRELOAD=libinproctrace.so}
20013 in the environment. See also the description of @code{gdbserver}'s
20014 @option{--wrapper} command line option.
20015
20016 @item Using @value{GDBN} to force loading the agent at run time
20017
20018 On some systems, you can force the inferior to load a shared library,
20019 by calling a dynamic loader function in the inferior that takes care
20020 of dynamically looking up and loading a shared library. On most Unix
20021 systems, the function is @code{dlopen}. You'll use the @code{call}
20022 command for that. For example:
20023
20024 @smallexample
20025 (@value{GDBP}) call dlopen ("libinproctrace.so", ...)
20026 @end smallexample
20027
20028 Note that on most Unix systems, for the @code{dlopen} function to be
20029 available, the program needs to be linked with @code{-ldl}.
20030 @end table
20031
20032 On systems that have a userspace dynamic loader, like most Unix
20033 systems, when you connect to @code{gdbserver} using @code{target
20034 remote}, you'll find that the program is stopped at the dynamic
20035 loader's entry point, and no shared library has been loaded in the
20036 program's address space yet, including the in-process agent. In that
20037 case, before being able to use any of the fast or static tracepoints
20038 features, you need to let the loader run and load the shared
20039 libraries. The simplest way to do that is to run the program to the
20040 main procedure. E.g., if debugging a C or C@t{++} program, start
20041 @code{gdbserver} like so:
20042
20043 @smallexample
20044 $ gdbserver :9999 myprogram
20045 @end smallexample
20046
20047 Start GDB and connect to @code{gdbserver} like so, and run to main:
20048
20049 @smallexample
20050 $ gdb myprogram
20051 (@value{GDBP}) target remote myhost:9999
20052 0x00007f215893ba60 in ?? () from /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2
20053 (@value{GDBP}) b main
20054 (@value{GDBP}) continue
20055 @end smallexample
20056
20057 The in-process tracing agent library should now be loaded into the
20058 process; you can confirm it with the @code{info sharedlibrary}
20059 command, which will list @file{libinproctrace.so} as loaded in the
20060 process. You are now ready to install fast tracepoints, list static
20061 tracepoint markers, probe static tracepoints markers, and start
20062 tracing.
20063
20064 @node Remote Configuration
20065 @section Remote Configuration
20066
20067 @kindex set remote
20068 @kindex show remote
20069 This section documents the configuration options available when
20070 debugging remote programs. For the options related to the File I/O
20071 extensions of the remote protocol, see @ref{system,
20072 system-call-allowed}.
20073
20074 @table @code
20075 @item set remoteaddresssize @var{bits}
20076 @cindex address size for remote targets
20077 @cindex bits in remote address
20078 Set the maximum size of address in a memory packet to the specified
20079 number of bits. @value{GDBN} will mask off the address bits above
20080 that number, when it passes addresses to the remote target. The
20081 default value is the number of bits in the target's address.
20082
20083 @item show remoteaddresssize
20084 Show the current value of remote address size in bits.
20085
20086 @item set serial baud @var{n}
20087 @cindex baud rate for remote targets
20088 Set the baud rate for the remote serial I/O to @var{n} baud. The
20089 value is used to set the speed of the serial port used for debugging
20090 remote targets.
20091
20092 @item show serial baud
20093 Show the current speed of the remote connection.
20094
20095 @item set serial parity @var{parity}
20096 Set the parity for the remote serial I/O. Supported values of @var{parity} are:
20097 @code{even}, @code{none}, and @code{odd}. The default is @code{none}.
20098
20099 @item show serial parity
20100 Show the current parity of the serial port.
20101
20102 @item set remotebreak
20103 @cindex interrupt remote programs
20104 @cindex BREAK signal instead of Ctrl-C
20105 @anchor{set remotebreak}
20106 If set to on, @value{GDBN} sends a @code{BREAK} signal to the remote
20107 when you type @kbd{Ctrl-c} to interrupt the program running
20108 on the remote. If set to off, @value{GDBN} sends the @samp{Ctrl-C}
20109 character instead. The default is off, since most remote systems
20110 expect to see @samp{Ctrl-C} as the interrupt signal.
20111
20112 @item show remotebreak
20113 Show whether @value{GDBN} sends @code{BREAK} or @samp{Ctrl-C} to
20114 interrupt the remote program.
20115
20116 @item set remoteflow on
20117 @itemx set remoteflow off
20118 @kindex set remoteflow
20119 Enable or disable hardware flow control (@code{RTS}/@code{CTS})
20120 on the serial port used to communicate to the remote target.
20121
20122 @item show remoteflow
20123 @kindex show remoteflow
20124 Show the current setting of hardware flow control.
20125
20126 @item set remotelogbase @var{base}
20127 Set the base (a.k.a.@: radix) of logging serial protocol
20128 communications to @var{base}. Supported values of @var{base} are:
20129 @code{ascii}, @code{octal}, and @code{hex}. The default is
20130 @code{ascii}.
20131
20132 @item show remotelogbase
20133 Show the current setting of the radix for logging remote serial
20134 protocol.
20135
20136 @item set remotelogfile @var{file}
20137 @cindex record serial communications on file
20138 Record remote serial communications on the named @var{file}. The
20139 default is not to record at all.
20140
20141 @item show remotelogfile.
20142 Show the current setting of the file name on which to record the
20143 serial communications.
20144
20145 @item set remotetimeout @var{num}
20146 @cindex timeout for serial communications
20147 @cindex remote timeout
20148 Set the timeout limit to wait for the remote target to respond to
20149 @var{num} seconds. The default is 2 seconds.
20150
20151 @item show remotetimeout
20152 Show the current number of seconds to wait for the remote target
20153 responses.
20154
20155 @cindex limit hardware breakpoints and watchpoints
20156 @cindex remote target, limit break- and watchpoints
20157 @anchor{set remote hardware-watchpoint-limit}
20158 @anchor{set remote hardware-breakpoint-limit}
20159 @item set remote hardware-watchpoint-limit @var{limit}
20160 @itemx set remote hardware-breakpoint-limit @var{limit}
20161 Restrict @value{GDBN} to using @var{limit} remote hardware breakpoint or
20162 watchpoints. A limit of -1, the default, is treated as unlimited.
20163
20164 @cindex limit hardware watchpoints length
20165 @cindex remote target, limit watchpoints length
20166 @anchor{set remote hardware-watchpoint-length-limit}
20167 @item set remote hardware-watchpoint-length-limit @var{limit}
20168 Restrict @value{GDBN} to using @var{limit} bytes for the maximum length of
20169 a remote hardware watchpoint. A limit of -1, the default, is treated
20170 as unlimited.
20171
20172 @item show remote hardware-watchpoint-length-limit
20173 Show the current limit (in bytes) of the maximum length of
20174 a remote hardware watchpoint.
20175
20176 @item set remote exec-file @var{filename}
20177 @itemx show remote exec-file
20178 @anchor{set remote exec-file}
20179 @cindex executable file, for remote target
20180 Select the file used for @code{run} with @code{target
20181 extended-remote}. This should be set to a filename valid on the
20182 target system. If it is not set, the target will use a default
20183 filename (e.g.@: the last program run).
20184
20185 @item set remote interrupt-sequence
20186 @cindex interrupt remote programs
20187 @cindex select Ctrl-C, BREAK or BREAK-g
20188 Allow the user to select one of @samp{Ctrl-C}, a @code{BREAK} or
20189 @samp{BREAK-g} as the
20190 sequence to the remote target in order to interrupt the execution.
20191 @samp{Ctrl-C} is a default. Some system prefers @code{BREAK} which
20192 is high level of serial line for some certain time.
20193 Linux kernel prefers @samp{BREAK-g}, a.k.a Magic SysRq g.
20194 It is @code{BREAK} signal followed by character @code{g}.
20195
20196 @item show interrupt-sequence
20197 Show which of @samp{Ctrl-C}, @code{BREAK} or @code{BREAK-g}
20198 is sent by @value{GDBN} to interrupt the remote program.
20199 @code{BREAK-g} is BREAK signal followed by @code{g} and
20200 also known as Magic SysRq g.
20201
20202 @item set remote interrupt-on-connect
20203 @cindex send interrupt-sequence on start
20204 Specify whether interrupt-sequence is sent to remote target when
20205 @value{GDBN} connects to it. This is mostly needed when you debug
20206 Linux kernel. Linux kernel expects @code{BREAK} followed by @code{g}
20207 which is known as Magic SysRq g in order to connect @value{GDBN}.
20208
20209 @item show interrupt-on-connect
20210 Show whether interrupt-sequence is sent
20211 to remote target when @value{GDBN} connects to it.
20212
20213 @kindex set tcp
20214 @kindex show tcp
20215 @item set tcp auto-retry on
20216 @cindex auto-retry, for remote TCP target
20217 Enable auto-retry for remote TCP connections. This is useful if the remote
20218 debugging agent is launched in parallel with @value{GDBN}; there is a race
20219 condition because the agent may not become ready to accept the connection
20220 before @value{GDBN} attempts to connect. When auto-retry is
20221 enabled, if the initial attempt to connect fails, @value{GDBN} reattempts
20222 to establish the connection using the timeout specified by
20223 @code{set tcp connect-timeout}.
20224
20225 @item set tcp auto-retry off
20226 Do not auto-retry failed TCP connections.
20227
20228 @item show tcp auto-retry
20229 Show the current auto-retry setting.
20230
20231 @item set tcp connect-timeout @var{seconds}
20232 @itemx set tcp connect-timeout unlimited
20233 @cindex connection timeout, for remote TCP target
20234 @cindex timeout, for remote target connection
20235 Set the timeout for establishing a TCP connection to the remote target to
20236 @var{seconds}. The timeout affects both polling to retry failed connections
20237 (enabled by @code{set tcp auto-retry on}) and waiting for connections
20238 that are merely slow to complete, and represents an approximate cumulative
20239 value. If @var{seconds} is @code{unlimited}, there is no timeout and
20240 @value{GDBN} will keep attempting to establish a connection forever,
20241 unless interrupted with @kbd{Ctrl-c}. The default is 15 seconds.
20242
20243 @item show tcp connect-timeout
20244 Show the current connection timeout setting.
20245 @end table
20246
20247 @cindex remote packets, enabling and disabling
20248 The @value{GDBN} remote protocol autodetects the packets supported by
20249 your debugging stub. If you need to override the autodetection, you
20250 can use these commands to enable or disable individual packets. Each
20251 packet can be set to @samp{on} (the remote target supports this
20252 packet), @samp{off} (the remote target does not support this packet),
20253 or @samp{auto} (detect remote target support for this packet). They
20254 all default to @samp{auto}. For more information about each packet,
20255 see @ref{Remote Protocol}.
20256
20257 During normal use, you should not have to use any of these commands.
20258 If you do, that may be a bug in your remote debugging stub, or a bug
20259 in @value{GDBN}. You may want to report the problem to the
20260 @value{GDBN} developers.
20261
20262 For each packet @var{name}, the command to enable or disable the
20263 packet is @code{set remote @var{name}-packet}. The available settings
20264 are:
20265
20266 @multitable @columnfractions 0.28 0.32 0.25
20267 @item Command Name
20268 @tab Remote Packet
20269 @tab Related Features
20270
20271 @item @code{fetch-register}
20272 @tab @code{p}
20273 @tab @code{info registers}
20274
20275 @item @code{set-register}
20276 @tab @code{P}
20277 @tab @code{set}
20278
20279 @item @code{binary-download}
20280 @tab @code{X}
20281 @tab @code{load}, @code{set}
20282
20283 @item @code{read-aux-vector}
20284 @tab @code{qXfer:auxv:read}
20285 @tab @code{info auxv}
20286
20287 @item @code{symbol-lookup}
20288 @tab @code{qSymbol}
20289 @tab Detecting multiple threads
20290
20291 @item @code{attach}
20292 @tab @code{vAttach}
20293 @tab @code{attach}
20294
20295 @item @code{verbose-resume}
20296 @tab @code{vCont}
20297 @tab Stepping or resuming multiple threads
20298
20299 @item @code{run}
20300 @tab @code{vRun}
20301 @tab @code{run}
20302
20303 @item @code{software-breakpoint}
20304 @tab @code{Z0}
20305 @tab @code{break}
20306
20307 @item @code{hardware-breakpoint}
20308 @tab @code{Z1}
20309 @tab @code{hbreak}
20310
20311 @item @code{write-watchpoint}
20312 @tab @code{Z2}
20313 @tab @code{watch}
20314
20315 @item @code{read-watchpoint}
20316 @tab @code{Z3}
20317 @tab @code{rwatch}
20318
20319 @item @code{access-watchpoint}
20320 @tab @code{Z4}
20321 @tab @code{awatch}
20322
20323 @item @code{pid-to-exec-file}
20324 @tab @code{qXfer:exec-file:read}
20325 @tab @code{attach}, @code{run}
20326
20327 @item @code{target-features}
20328 @tab @code{qXfer:features:read}
20329 @tab @code{set architecture}
20330
20331 @item @code{library-info}
20332 @tab @code{qXfer:libraries:read}
20333 @tab @code{info sharedlibrary}
20334
20335 @item @code{memory-map}
20336 @tab @code{qXfer:memory-map:read}
20337 @tab @code{info mem}
20338
20339 @item @code{read-sdata-object}
20340 @tab @code{qXfer:sdata:read}
20341 @tab @code{print $_sdata}
20342
20343 @item @code{read-spu-object}
20344 @tab @code{qXfer:spu:read}
20345 @tab @code{info spu}
20346
20347 @item @code{write-spu-object}
20348 @tab @code{qXfer:spu:write}
20349 @tab @code{info spu}
20350
20351 @item @code{read-siginfo-object}
20352 @tab @code{qXfer:siginfo:read}
20353 @tab @code{print $_siginfo}
20354
20355 @item @code{write-siginfo-object}
20356 @tab @code{qXfer:siginfo:write}
20357 @tab @code{set $_siginfo}
20358
20359 @item @code{threads}
20360 @tab @code{qXfer:threads:read}
20361 @tab @code{info threads}
20362
20363 @item @code{get-thread-local-@*storage-address}
20364 @tab @code{qGetTLSAddr}
20365 @tab Displaying @code{__thread} variables
20366
20367 @item @code{get-thread-information-block-address}
20368 @tab @code{qGetTIBAddr}
20369 @tab Display MS-Windows Thread Information Block.
20370
20371 @item @code{search-memory}
20372 @tab @code{qSearch:memory}
20373 @tab @code{find}
20374
20375 @item @code{supported-packets}
20376 @tab @code{qSupported}
20377 @tab Remote communications parameters
20378
20379 @item @code{catch-syscalls}
20380 @tab @code{QCatchSyscalls}
20381 @tab @code{catch syscall}
20382
20383 @item @code{pass-signals}
20384 @tab @code{QPassSignals}
20385 @tab @code{handle @var{signal}}
20386
20387 @item @code{program-signals}
20388 @tab @code{QProgramSignals}
20389 @tab @code{handle @var{signal}}
20390
20391 @item @code{hostio-close-packet}
20392 @tab @code{vFile:close}
20393 @tab @code{remote get}, @code{remote put}
20394
20395 @item @code{hostio-open-packet}
20396 @tab @code{vFile:open}
20397 @tab @code{remote get}, @code{remote put}
20398
20399 @item @code{hostio-pread-packet}
20400 @tab @code{vFile:pread}
20401 @tab @code{remote get}, @code{remote put}
20402
20403 @item @code{hostio-pwrite-packet}
20404 @tab @code{vFile:pwrite}
20405 @tab @code{remote get}, @code{remote put}
20406
20407 @item @code{hostio-unlink-packet}
20408 @tab @code{vFile:unlink}
20409 @tab @code{remote delete}
20410
20411 @item @code{hostio-readlink-packet}
20412 @tab @code{vFile:readlink}
20413 @tab Host I/O
20414
20415 @item @code{hostio-fstat-packet}
20416 @tab @code{vFile:fstat}
20417 @tab Host I/O
20418
20419 @item @code{hostio-setfs-packet}
20420 @tab @code{vFile:setfs}
20421 @tab Host I/O
20422
20423 @item @code{noack-packet}
20424 @tab @code{QStartNoAckMode}
20425 @tab Packet acknowledgment
20426
20427 @item @code{osdata}
20428 @tab @code{qXfer:osdata:read}
20429 @tab @code{info os}
20430
20431 @item @code{query-attached}
20432 @tab @code{qAttached}
20433 @tab Querying remote process attach state.
20434
20435 @item @code{trace-buffer-size}
20436 @tab @code{QTBuffer:size}
20437 @tab @code{set trace-buffer-size}
20438
20439 @item @code{trace-status}
20440 @tab @code{qTStatus}
20441 @tab @code{tstatus}
20442
20443 @item @code{traceframe-info}
20444 @tab @code{qXfer:traceframe-info:read}
20445 @tab Traceframe info
20446
20447 @item @code{install-in-trace}
20448 @tab @code{InstallInTrace}
20449 @tab Install tracepoint in tracing
20450
20451 @item @code{disable-randomization}
20452 @tab @code{QDisableRandomization}
20453 @tab @code{set disable-randomization}
20454
20455 @item @code{conditional-breakpoints-packet}
20456 @tab @code{Z0 and Z1}
20457 @tab @code{Support for target-side breakpoint condition evaluation}
20458
20459 @item @code{multiprocess-extensions}
20460 @tab @code{multiprocess extensions}
20461 @tab Debug multiple processes and remote process PID awareness
20462
20463 @item @code{swbreak-feature}
20464 @tab @code{swbreak stop reason}
20465 @tab @code{break}
20466
20467 @item @code{hwbreak-feature}
20468 @tab @code{hwbreak stop reason}
20469 @tab @code{hbreak}
20470
20471 @item @code{fork-event-feature}
20472 @tab @code{fork stop reason}
20473 @tab @code{fork}
20474
20475 @item @code{vfork-event-feature}
20476 @tab @code{vfork stop reason}
20477 @tab @code{vfork}
20478
20479 @item @code{exec-event-feature}
20480 @tab @code{exec stop reason}
20481 @tab @code{exec}
20482
20483 @item @code{thread-events}
20484 @tab @code{QThreadEvents}
20485 @tab Tracking thread lifetime.
20486
20487 @item @code{no-resumed-stop-reply}
20488 @tab @code{no resumed thread left stop reply}
20489 @tab Tracking thread lifetime.
20490
20491 @end multitable
20492
20493 @node Remote Stub
20494 @section Implementing a Remote Stub
20495
20496 @cindex debugging stub, example
20497 @cindex remote stub, example
20498 @cindex stub example, remote debugging
20499 The stub files provided with @value{GDBN} implement the target side of the
20500 communication protocol, and the @value{GDBN} side is implemented in the
20501 @value{GDBN} source file @file{remote.c}. Normally, you can simply allow
20502 these subroutines to communicate, and ignore the details. (If you're
20503 implementing your own stub file, you can still ignore the details: start
20504 with one of the existing stub files. @file{sparc-stub.c} is the best
20505 organized, and therefore the easiest to read.)
20506
20507 @cindex remote serial debugging, overview
20508 To debug a program running on another machine (the debugging
20509 @dfn{target} machine), you must first arrange for all the usual
20510 prerequisites for the program to run by itself. For example, for a C
20511 program, you need:
20512
20513 @enumerate
20514 @item
20515 A startup routine to set up the C runtime environment; these usually
20516 have a name like @file{crt0}. The startup routine may be supplied by
20517 your hardware supplier, or you may have to write your own.
20518
20519 @item
20520 A C subroutine library to support your program's
20521 subroutine calls, notably managing input and output.
20522
20523 @item
20524 A way of getting your program to the other machine---for example, a
20525 download program. These are often supplied by the hardware
20526 manufacturer, but you may have to write your own from hardware
20527 documentation.
20528 @end enumerate
20529
20530 The next step is to arrange for your program to use a serial port to
20531 communicate with the machine where @value{GDBN} is running (the @dfn{host}
20532 machine). In general terms, the scheme looks like this:
20533
20534 @table @emph
20535 @item On the host,
20536 @value{GDBN} already understands how to use this protocol; when everything
20537 else is set up, you can simply use the @samp{target remote} command
20538 (@pxref{Targets,,Specifying a Debugging Target}).
20539
20540 @item On the target,
20541 you must link with your program a few special-purpose subroutines that
20542 implement the @value{GDBN} remote serial protocol. The file containing these
20543 subroutines is called a @dfn{debugging stub}.
20544
20545 On certain remote targets, you can use an auxiliary program
20546 @code{gdbserver} instead of linking a stub into your program.
20547 @xref{Server,,Using the @code{gdbserver} Program}, for details.
20548 @end table
20549
20550 The debugging stub is specific to the architecture of the remote
20551 machine; for example, use @file{sparc-stub.c} to debug programs on
20552 @sc{sparc} boards.
20553
20554 @cindex remote serial stub list
20555 These working remote stubs are distributed with @value{GDBN}:
20556
20557 @table @code
20558
20559 @item i386-stub.c
20560 @cindex @file{i386-stub.c}
20561 @cindex Intel
20562 @cindex i386
20563 For Intel 386 and compatible architectures.
20564
20565 @item m68k-stub.c
20566 @cindex @file{m68k-stub.c}
20567 @cindex Motorola 680x0
20568 @cindex m680x0
20569 For Motorola 680x0 architectures.
20570
20571 @item sh-stub.c
20572 @cindex @file{sh-stub.c}
20573 @cindex Renesas
20574 @cindex SH
20575 For Renesas SH architectures.
20576
20577 @item sparc-stub.c
20578 @cindex @file{sparc-stub.c}
20579 @cindex Sparc
20580 For @sc{sparc} architectures.
20581
20582 @item sparcl-stub.c
20583 @cindex @file{sparcl-stub.c}
20584 @cindex Fujitsu
20585 @cindex SparcLite
20586 For Fujitsu @sc{sparclite} architectures.
20587
20588 @end table
20589
20590 The @file{README} file in the @value{GDBN} distribution may list other
20591 recently added stubs.
20592
20593 @menu
20594 * Stub Contents:: What the stub can do for you
20595 * Bootstrapping:: What you must do for the stub
20596 * Debug Session:: Putting it all together
20597 @end menu
20598
20599 @node Stub Contents
20600 @subsection What the Stub Can Do for You
20601
20602 @cindex remote serial stub
20603 The debugging stub for your architecture supplies these three
20604 subroutines:
20605
20606 @table @code
20607 @item set_debug_traps
20608 @findex set_debug_traps
20609 @cindex remote serial stub, initialization
20610 This routine arranges for @code{handle_exception} to run when your
20611 program stops. You must call this subroutine explicitly in your
20612 program's startup code.
20613
20614 @item handle_exception
20615 @findex handle_exception
20616 @cindex remote serial stub, main routine
20617 This is the central workhorse, but your program never calls it
20618 explicitly---the setup code arranges for @code{handle_exception} to
20619 run when a trap is triggered.
20620
20621 @code{handle_exception} takes control when your program stops during
20622 execution (for example, on a breakpoint), and mediates communications
20623 with @value{GDBN} on the host machine. This is where the communications
20624 protocol is implemented; @code{handle_exception} acts as the @value{GDBN}
20625 representative on the target machine. It begins by sending summary
20626 information on the state of your program, then continues to execute,
20627 retrieving and transmitting any information @value{GDBN} needs, until you
20628 execute a @value{GDBN} command that makes your program resume; at that point,
20629 @code{handle_exception} returns control to your own code on the target
20630 machine.
20631
20632 @item breakpoint
20633 @cindex @code{breakpoint} subroutine, remote
20634 Use this auxiliary subroutine to make your program contain a
20635 breakpoint. Depending on the particular situation, this may be the only
20636 way for @value{GDBN} to get control. For instance, if your target
20637 machine has some sort of interrupt button, you won't need to call this;
20638 pressing the interrupt button transfers control to
20639 @code{handle_exception}---in effect, to @value{GDBN}. On some machines,
20640 simply receiving characters on the serial port may also trigger a trap;
20641 again, in that situation, you don't need to call @code{breakpoint} from
20642 your own program---simply running @samp{target remote} from the host
20643 @value{GDBN} session gets control.
20644
20645 Call @code{breakpoint} if none of these is true, or if you simply want
20646 to make certain your program stops at a predetermined point for the
20647 start of your debugging session.
20648 @end table
20649
20650 @node Bootstrapping
20651 @subsection What You Must Do for the Stub
20652
20653 @cindex remote stub, support routines
20654 The debugging stubs that come with @value{GDBN} are set up for a particular
20655 chip architecture, but they have no information about the rest of your
20656 debugging target machine.
20657
20658 First of all you need to tell the stub how to communicate with the
20659 serial port.
20660
20661 @table @code
20662 @item int getDebugChar()
20663 @findex getDebugChar
20664 Write this subroutine to read a single character from the serial port.
20665 It may be identical to @code{getchar} for your target system; a
20666 different name is used to allow you to distinguish the two if you wish.
20667
20668 @item void putDebugChar(int)
20669 @findex putDebugChar
20670 Write this subroutine to write a single character to the serial port.
20671 It may be identical to @code{putchar} for your target system; a
20672 different name is used to allow you to distinguish the two if you wish.
20673 @end table
20674
20675 @cindex control C, and remote debugging
20676 @cindex interrupting remote targets
20677 If you want @value{GDBN} to be able to stop your program while it is
20678 running, you need to use an interrupt-driven serial driver, and arrange
20679 for it to stop when it receives a @code{^C} (@samp{\003}, the control-C
20680 character). That is the character which @value{GDBN} uses to tell the
20681 remote system to stop.
20682
20683 Getting the debugging target to return the proper status to @value{GDBN}
20684 probably requires changes to the standard stub; one quick and dirty way
20685 is to just execute a breakpoint instruction (the ``dirty'' part is that
20686 @value{GDBN} reports a @code{SIGTRAP} instead of a @code{SIGINT}).
20687
20688 Other routines you need to supply are:
20689
20690 @table @code
20691 @item void exceptionHandler (int @var{exception_number}, void *@var{exception_address})
20692 @findex exceptionHandler
20693 Write this function to install @var{exception_address} in the exception
20694 handling tables. You need to do this because the stub does not have any
20695 way of knowing what the exception handling tables on your target system
20696 are like (for example, the processor's table might be in @sc{rom},
20697 containing entries which point to a table in @sc{ram}).
20698 The @var{exception_number} specifies the exception which should be changed;
20699 its meaning is architecture-dependent (for example, different numbers
20700 might represent divide by zero, misaligned access, etc). When this
20701 exception occurs, control should be transferred directly to
20702 @var{exception_address}, and the processor state (stack, registers,
20703 and so on) should be just as it is when a processor exception occurs. So if
20704 you want to use a jump instruction to reach @var{exception_address}, it
20705 should be a simple jump, not a jump to subroutine.
20706
20707 For the 386, @var{exception_address} should be installed as an interrupt
20708 gate so that interrupts are masked while the handler runs. The gate
20709 should be at privilege level 0 (the most privileged level). The
20710 @sc{sparc} and 68k stubs are able to mask interrupts themselves without
20711 help from @code{exceptionHandler}.
20712
20713 @item void flush_i_cache()
20714 @findex flush_i_cache
20715 On @sc{sparc} and @sc{sparclite} only, write this subroutine to flush the
20716 instruction cache, if any, on your target machine. If there is no
20717 instruction cache, this subroutine may be a no-op.
20718
20719 On target machines that have instruction caches, @value{GDBN} requires this
20720 function to make certain that the state of your program is stable.
20721 @end table
20722
20723 @noindent
20724 You must also make sure this library routine is available:
20725
20726 @table @code
20727 @item void *memset(void *, int, int)
20728 @findex memset
20729 This is the standard library function @code{memset} that sets an area of
20730 memory to a known value. If you have one of the free versions of
20731 @code{libc.a}, @code{memset} can be found there; otherwise, you must
20732 either obtain it from your hardware manufacturer, or write your own.
20733 @end table
20734
20735 If you do not use the GNU C compiler, you may need other standard
20736 library subroutines as well; this varies from one stub to another,
20737 but in general the stubs are likely to use any of the common library
20738 subroutines which @code{@value{NGCC}} generates as inline code.
20739
20740
20741 @node Debug Session
20742 @subsection Putting it All Together
20743
20744 @cindex remote serial debugging summary
20745 In summary, when your program is ready to debug, you must follow these
20746 steps.
20747
20748 @enumerate
20749 @item
20750 Make sure you have defined the supporting low-level routines
20751 (@pxref{Bootstrapping,,What You Must Do for the Stub}):
20752 @display
20753 @code{getDebugChar}, @code{putDebugChar},
20754 @code{flush_i_cache}, @code{memset}, @code{exceptionHandler}.
20755 @end display
20756
20757 @item
20758 Insert these lines in your program's startup code, before the main
20759 procedure is called:
20760
20761 @smallexample
20762 set_debug_traps();
20763 breakpoint();
20764 @end smallexample
20765
20766 On some machines, when a breakpoint trap is raised, the hardware
20767 automatically makes the PC point to the instruction after the
20768 breakpoint. If your machine doesn't do that, you may need to adjust
20769 @code{handle_exception} to arrange for it to return to the instruction
20770 after the breakpoint on this first invocation, so that your program
20771 doesn't keep hitting the initial breakpoint instead of making
20772 progress.
20773
20774 @item
20775 For the 680x0 stub only, you need to provide a variable called
20776 @code{exceptionHook}. Normally you just use:
20777
20778 @smallexample
20779 void (*exceptionHook)() = 0;
20780 @end smallexample
20781
20782 @noindent
20783 but if before calling @code{set_debug_traps}, you set it to point to a
20784 function in your program, that function is called when
20785 @code{@value{GDBN}} continues after stopping on a trap (for example, bus
20786 error). The function indicated by @code{exceptionHook} is called with
20787 one parameter: an @code{int} which is the exception number.
20788
20789 @item
20790 Compile and link together: your program, the @value{GDBN} debugging stub for
20791 your target architecture, and the supporting subroutines.
20792
20793 @item
20794 Make sure you have a serial connection between your target machine and
20795 the @value{GDBN} host, and identify the serial port on the host.
20796
20797 @item
20798 @c The "remote" target now provides a `load' command, so we should
20799 @c document that. FIXME.
20800 Download your program to your target machine (or get it there by
20801 whatever means the manufacturer provides), and start it.
20802
20803 @item
20804 Start @value{GDBN} on the host, and connect to the target
20805 (@pxref{Connecting,,Connecting to a Remote Target}).
20806
20807 @end enumerate
20808
20809 @node Configurations
20810 @chapter Configuration-Specific Information
20811
20812 While nearly all @value{GDBN} commands are available for all native and
20813 cross versions of the debugger, there are some exceptions. This chapter
20814 describes things that are only available in certain configurations.
20815
20816 There are three major categories of configurations: native
20817 configurations, where the host and target are the same, embedded
20818 operating system configurations, which are usually the same for several
20819 different processor architectures, and bare embedded processors, which
20820 are quite different from each other.
20821
20822 @menu
20823 * Native::
20824 * Embedded OS::
20825 * Embedded Processors::
20826 * Architectures::
20827 @end menu
20828
20829 @node Native
20830 @section Native
20831
20832 This section describes details specific to particular native
20833 configurations.
20834
20835 @menu
20836 * BSD libkvm Interface:: Debugging BSD kernel memory images
20837 * SVR4 Process Information:: SVR4 process information
20838 * DJGPP Native:: Features specific to the DJGPP port
20839 * Cygwin Native:: Features specific to the Cygwin port
20840 * Hurd Native:: Features specific to @sc{gnu} Hurd
20841 * Darwin:: Features specific to Darwin
20842 @end menu
20843
20844 @node BSD libkvm Interface
20845 @subsection BSD libkvm Interface
20846
20847 @cindex libkvm
20848 @cindex kernel memory image
20849 @cindex kernel crash dump
20850
20851 BSD-derived systems (FreeBSD/NetBSD/OpenBSD) have a kernel memory
20852 interface that provides a uniform interface for accessing kernel virtual
20853 memory images, including live systems and crash dumps. @value{GDBN}
20854 uses this interface to allow you to debug live kernels and kernel crash
20855 dumps on many native BSD configurations. This is implemented as a
20856 special @code{kvm} debugging target. For debugging a live system, load
20857 the currently running kernel into @value{GDBN} and connect to the
20858 @code{kvm} target:
20859
20860 @smallexample
20861 (@value{GDBP}) @b{target kvm}
20862 @end smallexample
20863
20864 For debugging crash dumps, provide the file name of the crash dump as an
20865 argument:
20866
20867 @smallexample
20868 (@value{GDBP}) @b{target kvm /var/crash/bsd.0}
20869 @end smallexample
20870
20871 Once connected to the @code{kvm} target, the following commands are
20872 available:
20873
20874 @table @code
20875 @kindex kvm
20876 @item kvm pcb
20877 Set current context from the @dfn{Process Control Block} (PCB) address.
20878
20879 @item kvm proc
20880 Set current context from proc address. This command isn't available on
20881 modern FreeBSD systems.
20882 @end table
20883
20884 @node SVR4 Process Information
20885 @subsection SVR4 Process Information
20886 @cindex /proc
20887 @cindex examine process image
20888 @cindex process info via @file{/proc}
20889
20890 Many versions of SVR4 and compatible systems provide a facility called
20891 @samp{/proc} that can be used to examine the image of a running
20892 process using file-system subroutines.
20893
20894 If @value{GDBN} is configured for an operating system with this
20895 facility, the command @code{info proc} is available to report
20896 information about the process running your program, or about any
20897 process running on your system. This includes, as of this writing,
20898 @sc{gnu}/Linux and Solaris, for example.
20899
20900 This command may also work on core files that were created on a system
20901 that has the @samp{/proc} facility.
20902
20903 @table @code
20904 @kindex info proc
20905 @cindex process ID
20906 @item info proc
20907 @itemx info proc @var{process-id}
20908 Summarize available information about any running process. If a
20909 process ID is specified by @var{process-id}, display information about
20910 that process; otherwise display information about the program being
20911 debugged. The summary includes the debugged process ID, the command
20912 line used to invoke it, its current working directory, and its
20913 executable file's absolute file name.
20914
20915 On some systems, @var{process-id} can be of the form
20916 @samp{[@var{pid}]/@var{tid}} which specifies a certain thread ID
20917 within a process. If the optional @var{pid} part is missing, it means
20918 a thread from the process being debugged (the leading @samp{/} still
20919 needs to be present, or else @value{GDBN} will interpret the number as
20920 a process ID rather than a thread ID).
20921
20922 @item info proc cmdline
20923 @cindex info proc cmdline
20924 Show the original command line of the process. This command is
20925 specific to @sc{gnu}/Linux.
20926
20927 @item info proc cwd
20928 @cindex info proc cwd
20929 Show the current working directory of the process. This command is
20930 specific to @sc{gnu}/Linux.
20931
20932 @item info proc exe
20933 @cindex info proc exe
20934 Show the name of executable of the process. This command is specific
20935 to @sc{gnu}/Linux.
20936
20937 @item info proc mappings
20938 @cindex memory address space mappings
20939 Report the memory address space ranges accessible in the program, with
20940 information on whether the process has read, write, or execute access
20941 rights to each range. On @sc{gnu}/Linux systems, each memory range
20942 includes the object file which is mapped to that range, instead of the
20943 memory access rights to that range.
20944
20945 @item info proc stat
20946 @itemx info proc status
20947 @cindex process detailed status information
20948 These subcommands are specific to @sc{gnu}/Linux systems. They show
20949 the process-related information, including the user ID and group ID;
20950 how many threads are there in the process; its virtual memory usage;
20951 the signals that are pending, blocked, and ignored; its TTY; its
20952 consumption of system and user time; its stack size; its @samp{nice}
20953 value; etc. For more information, see the @samp{proc} man page
20954 (type @kbd{man 5 proc} from your shell prompt).
20955
20956 @item info proc all
20957 Show all the information about the process described under all of the
20958 above @code{info proc} subcommands.
20959
20960 @ignore
20961 @comment These sub-options of 'info proc' were not included when
20962 @comment procfs.c was re-written. Keep their descriptions around
20963 @comment against the day when someone finds the time to put them back in.
20964 @kindex info proc times
20965 @item info proc times
20966 Starting time, user CPU time, and system CPU time for your program and
20967 its children.
20968
20969 @kindex info proc id
20970 @item info proc id
20971 Report on the process IDs related to your program: its own process ID,
20972 the ID of its parent, the process group ID, and the session ID.
20973 @end ignore
20974
20975 @item set procfs-trace
20976 @kindex set procfs-trace
20977 @cindex @code{procfs} API calls
20978 This command enables and disables tracing of @code{procfs} API calls.
20979
20980 @item show procfs-trace
20981 @kindex show procfs-trace
20982 Show the current state of @code{procfs} API call tracing.
20983
20984 @item set procfs-file @var{file}
20985 @kindex set procfs-file
20986 Tell @value{GDBN} to write @code{procfs} API trace to the named
20987 @var{file}. @value{GDBN} appends the trace info to the previous
20988 contents of the file. The default is to display the trace on the
20989 standard output.
20990
20991 @item show procfs-file
20992 @kindex show procfs-file
20993 Show the file to which @code{procfs} API trace is written.
20994
20995 @item proc-trace-entry
20996 @itemx proc-trace-exit
20997 @itemx proc-untrace-entry
20998 @itemx proc-untrace-exit
20999 @kindex proc-trace-entry
21000 @kindex proc-trace-exit
21001 @kindex proc-untrace-entry
21002 @kindex proc-untrace-exit
21003 These commands enable and disable tracing of entries into and exits
21004 from the @code{syscall} interface.
21005
21006 @item info pidlist
21007 @kindex info pidlist
21008 @cindex process list, QNX Neutrino
21009 For QNX Neutrino only, this command displays the list of all the
21010 processes and all the threads within each process.
21011
21012 @item info meminfo
21013 @kindex info meminfo
21014 @cindex mapinfo list, QNX Neutrino
21015 For QNX Neutrino only, this command displays the list of all mapinfos.
21016 @end table
21017
21018 @node DJGPP Native
21019 @subsection Features for Debugging @sc{djgpp} Programs
21020 @cindex @sc{djgpp} debugging
21021 @cindex native @sc{djgpp} debugging
21022 @cindex MS-DOS-specific commands
21023
21024 @cindex DPMI
21025 @sc{djgpp} is a port of the @sc{gnu} development tools to MS-DOS and
21026 MS-Windows. @sc{djgpp} programs are 32-bit protected-mode programs
21027 that use the @dfn{DPMI} (DOS Protected-Mode Interface) API to run on
21028 top of real-mode DOS systems and their emulations.
21029
21030 @value{GDBN} supports native debugging of @sc{djgpp} programs, and
21031 defines a few commands specific to the @sc{djgpp} port. This
21032 subsection describes those commands.
21033
21034 @table @code
21035 @kindex info dos
21036 @item info dos
21037 This is a prefix of @sc{djgpp}-specific commands which print
21038 information about the target system and important OS structures.
21039
21040 @kindex sysinfo
21041 @cindex MS-DOS system info
21042 @cindex free memory information (MS-DOS)
21043 @item info dos sysinfo
21044 This command displays assorted information about the underlying
21045 platform: the CPU type and features, the OS version and flavor, the
21046 DPMI version, and the available conventional and DPMI memory.
21047
21048 @cindex GDT
21049 @cindex LDT
21050 @cindex IDT
21051 @cindex segment descriptor tables
21052 @cindex descriptor tables display
21053 @item info dos gdt
21054 @itemx info dos ldt
21055 @itemx info dos idt
21056 These 3 commands display entries from, respectively, Global, Local,
21057 and Interrupt Descriptor Tables (GDT, LDT, and IDT). The descriptor
21058 tables are data structures which store a descriptor for each segment
21059 that is currently in use. The segment's selector is an index into a
21060 descriptor table; the table entry for that index holds the
21061 descriptor's base address and limit, and its attributes and access
21062 rights.
21063
21064 A typical @sc{djgpp} program uses 3 segments: a code segment, a data
21065 segment (used for both data and the stack), and a DOS segment (which
21066 allows access to DOS/BIOS data structures and absolute addresses in
21067 conventional memory). However, the DPMI host will usually define
21068 additional segments in order to support the DPMI environment.
21069
21070 @cindex garbled pointers
21071 These commands allow to display entries from the descriptor tables.
21072 Without an argument, all entries from the specified table are
21073 displayed. An argument, which should be an integer expression, means
21074 display a single entry whose index is given by the argument. For
21075 example, here's a convenient way to display information about the
21076 debugged program's data segment:
21077
21078 @smallexample
21079 @exdent @code{(@value{GDBP}) info dos ldt $ds}
21080 @exdent @code{0x13f: base=0x11970000 limit=0x0009ffff 32-Bit Data (Read/Write, Exp-up)}
21081 @end smallexample
21082
21083 @noindent
21084 This comes in handy when you want to see whether a pointer is outside
21085 the data segment's limit (i.e.@: @dfn{garbled}).
21086
21087 @cindex page tables display (MS-DOS)
21088 @item info dos pde
21089 @itemx info dos pte
21090 These two commands display entries from, respectively, the Page
21091 Directory and the Page Tables. Page Directories and Page Tables are
21092 data structures which control how virtual memory addresses are mapped
21093 into physical addresses. A Page Table includes an entry for every
21094 page of memory that is mapped into the program's address space; there
21095 may be several Page Tables, each one holding up to 4096 entries. A
21096 Page Directory has up to 4096 entries, one each for every Page Table
21097 that is currently in use.
21098
21099 Without an argument, @kbd{info dos pde} displays the entire Page
21100 Directory, and @kbd{info dos pte} displays all the entries in all of
21101 the Page Tables. An argument, an integer expression, given to the
21102 @kbd{info dos pde} command means display only that entry from the Page
21103 Directory table. An argument given to the @kbd{info dos pte} command
21104 means display entries from a single Page Table, the one pointed to by
21105 the specified entry in the Page Directory.
21106
21107 @cindex direct memory access (DMA) on MS-DOS
21108 These commands are useful when your program uses @dfn{DMA} (Direct
21109 Memory Access), which needs physical addresses to program the DMA
21110 controller.
21111
21112 These commands are supported only with some DPMI servers.
21113
21114 @cindex physical address from linear address
21115 @item info dos address-pte @var{addr}
21116 This command displays the Page Table entry for a specified linear
21117 address. The argument @var{addr} is a linear address which should
21118 already have the appropriate segment's base address added to it,
21119 because this command accepts addresses which may belong to @emph{any}
21120 segment. For example, here's how to display the Page Table entry for
21121 the page where a variable @code{i} is stored:
21122
21123 @smallexample
21124 @exdent @code{(@value{GDBP}) info dos address-pte __djgpp_base_address + (char *)&i}
21125 @exdent @code{Page Table entry for address 0x11a00d30:}
21126 @exdent @code{Base=0x02698000 Dirty Acc. Not-Cached Write-Back Usr Read-Write +0xd30}
21127 @end smallexample
21128
21129 @noindent
21130 This says that @code{i} is stored at offset @code{0xd30} from the page
21131 whose physical base address is @code{0x02698000}, and shows all the
21132 attributes of that page.
21133
21134 Note that you must cast the addresses of variables to a @code{char *},
21135 since otherwise the value of @code{__djgpp_base_address}, the base
21136 address of all variables and functions in a @sc{djgpp} program, will
21137 be added using the rules of C pointer arithmetics: if @code{i} is
21138 declared an @code{int}, @value{GDBN} will add 4 times the value of
21139 @code{__djgpp_base_address} to the address of @code{i}.
21140
21141 Here's another example, it displays the Page Table entry for the
21142 transfer buffer:
21143
21144 @smallexample
21145 @exdent @code{(@value{GDBP}) info dos address-pte *((unsigned *)&_go32_info_block + 3)}
21146 @exdent @code{Page Table entry for address 0x29110:}
21147 @exdent @code{Base=0x00029000 Dirty Acc. Not-Cached Write-Back Usr Read-Write +0x110}
21148 @end smallexample
21149
21150 @noindent
21151 (The @code{+ 3} offset is because the transfer buffer's address is the
21152 3rd member of the @code{_go32_info_block} structure.) The output
21153 clearly shows that this DPMI server maps the addresses in conventional
21154 memory 1:1, i.e.@: the physical (@code{0x00029000} + @code{0x110}) and
21155 linear (@code{0x29110}) addresses are identical.
21156
21157 This command is supported only with some DPMI servers.
21158 @end table
21159
21160 @cindex DOS serial data link, remote debugging
21161 In addition to native debugging, the DJGPP port supports remote
21162 debugging via a serial data link. The following commands are specific
21163 to remote serial debugging in the DJGPP port of @value{GDBN}.
21164
21165 @table @code
21166 @kindex set com1base
21167 @kindex set com1irq
21168 @kindex set com2base
21169 @kindex set com2irq
21170 @kindex set com3base
21171 @kindex set com3irq
21172 @kindex set com4base
21173 @kindex set com4irq
21174 @item set com1base @var{addr}
21175 This command sets the base I/O port address of the @file{COM1} serial
21176 port.
21177
21178 @item set com1irq @var{irq}
21179 This command sets the @dfn{Interrupt Request} (@code{IRQ}) line to use
21180 for the @file{COM1} serial port.
21181
21182 There are similar commands @samp{set com2base}, @samp{set com3irq},
21183 etc.@: for setting the port address and the @code{IRQ} lines for the
21184 other 3 COM ports.
21185
21186 @kindex show com1base
21187 @kindex show com1irq
21188 @kindex show com2base
21189 @kindex show com2irq
21190 @kindex show com3base
21191 @kindex show com3irq
21192 @kindex show com4base
21193 @kindex show com4irq
21194 The related commands @samp{show com1base}, @samp{show com1irq} etc.@:
21195 display the current settings of the base address and the @code{IRQ}
21196 lines used by the COM ports.
21197
21198 @item info serial
21199 @kindex info serial
21200 @cindex DOS serial port status
21201 This command prints the status of the 4 DOS serial ports. For each
21202 port, it prints whether it's active or not, its I/O base address and
21203 IRQ number, whether it uses a 16550-style FIFO, its baudrate, and the
21204 counts of various errors encountered so far.
21205 @end table
21206
21207
21208 @node Cygwin Native
21209 @subsection Features for Debugging MS Windows PE Executables
21210 @cindex MS Windows debugging
21211 @cindex native Cygwin debugging
21212 @cindex Cygwin-specific commands
21213
21214 @value{GDBN} supports native debugging of MS Windows programs, including
21215 DLLs with and without symbolic debugging information.
21216
21217 @cindex Ctrl-BREAK, MS-Windows
21218 @cindex interrupt debuggee on MS-Windows
21219 MS-Windows programs that call @code{SetConsoleMode} to switch off the
21220 special meaning of the @samp{Ctrl-C} keystroke cannot be interrupted
21221 by typing @kbd{C-c}. For this reason, @value{GDBN} on MS-Windows
21222 supports @kbd{C-@key{BREAK}} as an alternative interrupt key
21223 sequence, which can be used to interrupt the debuggee even if it
21224 ignores @kbd{C-c}.
21225
21226 There are various additional Cygwin-specific commands, described in
21227 this section. Working with DLLs that have no debugging symbols is
21228 described in @ref{Non-debug DLL Symbols}.
21229
21230 @table @code
21231 @kindex info w32
21232 @item info w32
21233 This is a prefix of MS Windows-specific commands which print
21234 information about the target system and important OS structures.
21235
21236 @item info w32 selector
21237 This command displays information returned by
21238 the Win32 API @code{GetThreadSelectorEntry} function.
21239 It takes an optional argument that is evaluated to
21240 a long value to give the information about this given selector.
21241 Without argument, this command displays information
21242 about the six segment registers.
21243
21244 @item info w32 thread-information-block
21245 This command displays thread specific information stored in the
21246 Thread Information Block (readable on the X86 CPU family using @code{$fs}
21247 selector for 32-bit programs and @code{$gs} for 64-bit programs).
21248
21249 @kindex set cygwin-exceptions
21250 @cindex debugging the Cygwin DLL
21251 @cindex Cygwin DLL, debugging
21252 @item set cygwin-exceptions @var{mode}
21253 If @var{mode} is @code{on}, @value{GDBN} will break on exceptions that
21254 happen inside the Cygwin DLL. If @var{mode} is @code{off},
21255 @value{GDBN} will delay recognition of exceptions, and may ignore some
21256 exceptions which seem to be caused by internal Cygwin DLL
21257 ``bookkeeping''. This option is meant primarily for debugging the
21258 Cygwin DLL itself; the default value is @code{off} to avoid annoying
21259 @value{GDBN} users with false @code{SIGSEGV} signals.
21260
21261 @kindex show cygwin-exceptions
21262 @item show cygwin-exceptions
21263 Displays whether @value{GDBN} will break on exceptions that happen
21264 inside the Cygwin DLL itself.
21265
21266 @kindex set new-console
21267 @item set new-console @var{mode}
21268 If @var{mode} is @code{on} the debuggee will
21269 be started in a new console on next start.
21270 If @var{mode} is @code{off}, the debuggee will
21271 be started in the same console as the debugger.
21272
21273 @kindex show new-console
21274 @item show new-console
21275 Displays whether a new console is used
21276 when the debuggee is started.
21277
21278 @kindex set new-group
21279 @item set new-group @var{mode}
21280 This boolean value controls whether the debuggee should
21281 start a new group or stay in the same group as the debugger.
21282 This affects the way the Windows OS handles
21283 @samp{Ctrl-C}.
21284
21285 @kindex show new-group
21286 @item show new-group
21287 Displays current value of new-group boolean.
21288
21289 @kindex set debugevents
21290 @item set debugevents
21291 This boolean value adds debug output concerning kernel events related
21292 to the debuggee seen by the debugger. This includes events that
21293 signal thread and process creation and exit, DLL loading and
21294 unloading, console interrupts, and debugging messages produced by the
21295 Windows @code{OutputDebugString} API call.
21296
21297 @kindex set debugexec
21298 @item set debugexec
21299 This boolean value adds debug output concerning execute events
21300 (such as resume thread) seen by the debugger.
21301
21302 @kindex set debugexceptions
21303 @item set debugexceptions
21304 This boolean value adds debug output concerning exceptions in the
21305 debuggee seen by the debugger.
21306
21307 @kindex set debugmemory
21308 @item set debugmemory
21309 This boolean value adds debug output concerning debuggee memory reads
21310 and writes by the debugger.
21311
21312 @kindex set shell
21313 @item set shell
21314 This boolean values specifies whether the debuggee is called
21315 via a shell or directly (default value is on).
21316
21317 @kindex show shell
21318 @item show shell
21319 Displays if the debuggee will be started with a shell.
21320
21321 @end table
21322
21323 @menu
21324 * Non-debug DLL Symbols:: Support for DLLs without debugging symbols
21325 @end menu
21326
21327 @node Non-debug DLL Symbols
21328 @subsubsection Support for DLLs without Debugging Symbols
21329 @cindex DLLs with no debugging symbols
21330 @cindex Minimal symbols and DLLs
21331
21332 Very often on windows, some of the DLLs that your program relies on do
21333 not include symbolic debugging information (for example,
21334 @file{kernel32.dll}). When @value{GDBN} doesn't recognize any debugging
21335 symbols in a DLL, it relies on the minimal amount of symbolic
21336 information contained in the DLL's export table. This section
21337 describes working with such symbols, known internally to @value{GDBN} as
21338 ``minimal symbols''.
21339
21340 Note that before the debugged program has started execution, no DLLs
21341 will have been loaded. The easiest way around this problem is simply to
21342 start the program --- either by setting a breakpoint or letting the
21343 program run once to completion.
21344
21345 @subsubsection DLL Name Prefixes
21346
21347 In keeping with the naming conventions used by the Microsoft debugging
21348 tools, DLL export symbols are made available with a prefix based on the
21349 DLL name, for instance @code{KERNEL32!CreateFileA}. The plain name is
21350 also entered into the symbol table, so @code{CreateFileA} is often
21351 sufficient. In some cases there will be name clashes within a program
21352 (particularly if the executable itself includes full debugging symbols)
21353 necessitating the use of the fully qualified name when referring to the
21354 contents of the DLL. Use single-quotes around the name to avoid the
21355 exclamation mark (``!'') being interpreted as a language operator.
21356
21357 Note that the internal name of the DLL may be all upper-case, even
21358 though the file name of the DLL is lower-case, or vice-versa. Since
21359 symbols within @value{GDBN} are @emph{case-sensitive} this may cause
21360 some confusion. If in doubt, try the @code{info functions} and
21361 @code{info variables} commands or even @code{maint print msymbols}
21362 (@pxref{Symbols}). Here's an example:
21363
21364 @smallexample
21365 (@value{GDBP}) info function CreateFileA
21366 All functions matching regular expression "CreateFileA":
21367
21368 Non-debugging symbols:
21369 0x77e885f4 CreateFileA
21370 0x77e885f4 KERNEL32!CreateFileA
21371 @end smallexample
21372
21373 @smallexample
21374 (@value{GDBP}) info function !
21375 All functions matching regular expression "!":
21376
21377 Non-debugging symbols:
21378 0x6100114c cygwin1!__assert
21379 0x61004034 cygwin1!_dll_crt0@@0
21380 0x61004240 cygwin1!dll_crt0(per_process *)
21381 [etc...]
21382 @end smallexample
21383
21384 @subsubsection Working with Minimal Symbols
21385
21386 Symbols extracted from a DLL's export table do not contain very much
21387 type information. All that @value{GDBN} can do is guess whether a symbol
21388 refers to a function or variable depending on the linker section that
21389 contains the symbol. Also note that the actual contents of the memory
21390 contained in a DLL are not available unless the program is running. This
21391 means that you cannot examine the contents of a variable or disassemble
21392 a function within a DLL without a running program.
21393
21394 Variables are generally treated as pointers and dereferenced
21395 automatically. For this reason, it is often necessary to prefix a
21396 variable name with the address-of operator (``&'') and provide explicit
21397 type information in the command. Here's an example of the type of
21398 problem:
21399
21400 @smallexample
21401 (@value{GDBP}) print 'cygwin1!__argv'
21402 $1 = 268572168
21403 @end smallexample
21404
21405 @smallexample
21406 (@value{GDBP}) x 'cygwin1!__argv'
21407 0x10021610: "\230y\""
21408 @end smallexample
21409
21410 And two possible solutions:
21411
21412 @smallexample
21413 (@value{GDBP}) print ((char **)'cygwin1!__argv')[0]
21414 $2 = 0x22fd98 "/cygdrive/c/mydirectory/myprogram"
21415 @end smallexample
21416
21417 @smallexample
21418 (@value{GDBP}) x/2x &'cygwin1!__argv'
21419 0x610c0aa8 <cygwin1!__argv>: 0x10021608 0x00000000
21420 (@value{GDBP}) x/x 0x10021608
21421 0x10021608: 0x0022fd98
21422 (@value{GDBP}) x/s 0x0022fd98
21423 0x22fd98: "/cygdrive/c/mydirectory/myprogram"
21424 @end smallexample
21425
21426 Setting a break point within a DLL is possible even before the program
21427 starts execution. However, under these circumstances, @value{GDBN} can't
21428 examine the initial instructions of the function in order to skip the
21429 function's frame set-up code. You can work around this by using ``*&''
21430 to set the breakpoint at a raw memory address:
21431
21432 @smallexample
21433 (@value{GDBP}) break *&'python22!PyOS_Readline'
21434 Breakpoint 1 at 0x1e04eff0
21435 @end smallexample
21436
21437 The author of these extensions is not entirely convinced that setting a
21438 break point within a shared DLL like @file{kernel32.dll} is completely
21439 safe.
21440
21441 @node Hurd Native
21442 @subsection Commands Specific to @sc{gnu} Hurd Systems
21443 @cindex @sc{gnu} Hurd debugging
21444
21445 This subsection describes @value{GDBN} commands specific to the
21446 @sc{gnu} Hurd native debugging.
21447
21448 @table @code
21449 @item set signals
21450 @itemx set sigs
21451 @kindex set signals@r{, Hurd command}
21452 @kindex set sigs@r{, Hurd command}
21453 This command toggles the state of inferior signal interception by
21454 @value{GDBN}. Mach exceptions, such as breakpoint traps, are not
21455 affected by this command. @code{sigs} is a shorthand alias for
21456 @code{signals}.
21457
21458 @item show signals
21459 @itemx show sigs
21460 @kindex show signals@r{, Hurd command}
21461 @kindex show sigs@r{, Hurd command}
21462 Show the current state of intercepting inferior's signals.
21463
21464 @item set signal-thread
21465 @itemx set sigthread
21466 @kindex set signal-thread
21467 @kindex set sigthread
21468 This command tells @value{GDBN} which thread is the @code{libc} signal
21469 thread. That thread is run when a signal is delivered to a running
21470 process. @code{set sigthread} is the shorthand alias of @code{set
21471 signal-thread}.
21472
21473 @item show signal-thread
21474 @itemx show sigthread
21475 @kindex show signal-thread
21476 @kindex show sigthread
21477 These two commands show which thread will run when the inferior is
21478 delivered a signal.
21479
21480 @item set stopped
21481 @kindex set stopped@r{, Hurd command}
21482 This commands tells @value{GDBN} that the inferior process is stopped,
21483 as with the @code{SIGSTOP} signal. The stopped process can be
21484 continued by delivering a signal to it.
21485
21486 @item show stopped
21487 @kindex show stopped@r{, Hurd command}
21488 This command shows whether @value{GDBN} thinks the debuggee is
21489 stopped.
21490
21491 @item set exceptions
21492 @kindex set exceptions@r{, Hurd command}
21493 Use this command to turn off trapping of exceptions in the inferior.
21494 When exception trapping is off, neither breakpoints nor
21495 single-stepping will work. To restore the default, set exception
21496 trapping on.
21497
21498 @item show exceptions
21499 @kindex show exceptions@r{, Hurd command}
21500 Show the current state of trapping exceptions in the inferior.
21501
21502 @item set task pause
21503 @kindex set task@r{, Hurd commands}
21504 @cindex task attributes (@sc{gnu} Hurd)
21505 @cindex pause current task (@sc{gnu} Hurd)
21506 This command toggles task suspension when @value{GDBN} has control.
21507 Setting it to on takes effect immediately, and the task is suspended
21508 whenever @value{GDBN} gets control. Setting it to off will take
21509 effect the next time the inferior is continued. If this option is set
21510 to off, you can use @code{set thread default pause on} or @code{set
21511 thread pause on} (see below) to pause individual threads.
21512
21513 @item show task pause
21514 @kindex show task@r{, Hurd commands}
21515 Show the current state of task suspension.
21516
21517 @item set task detach-suspend-count
21518 @cindex task suspend count
21519 @cindex detach from task, @sc{gnu} Hurd
21520 This command sets the suspend count the task will be left with when
21521 @value{GDBN} detaches from it.
21522
21523 @item show task detach-suspend-count
21524 Show the suspend count the task will be left with when detaching.
21525
21526 @item set task exception-port
21527 @itemx set task excp
21528 @cindex task exception port, @sc{gnu} Hurd
21529 This command sets the task exception port to which @value{GDBN} will
21530 forward exceptions. The argument should be the value of the @dfn{send
21531 rights} of the task. @code{set task excp} is a shorthand alias.
21532
21533 @item set noninvasive
21534 @cindex noninvasive task options
21535 This command switches @value{GDBN} to a mode that is the least
21536 invasive as far as interfering with the inferior is concerned. This
21537 is the same as using @code{set task pause}, @code{set exceptions}, and
21538 @code{set signals} to values opposite to the defaults.
21539
21540 @item info send-rights
21541 @itemx info receive-rights
21542 @itemx info port-rights
21543 @itemx info port-sets
21544 @itemx info dead-names
21545 @itemx info ports
21546 @itemx info psets
21547 @cindex send rights, @sc{gnu} Hurd
21548 @cindex receive rights, @sc{gnu} Hurd
21549 @cindex port rights, @sc{gnu} Hurd
21550 @cindex port sets, @sc{gnu} Hurd
21551 @cindex dead names, @sc{gnu} Hurd
21552 These commands display information about, respectively, send rights,
21553 receive rights, port rights, port sets, and dead names of a task.
21554 There are also shorthand aliases: @code{info ports} for @code{info
21555 port-rights} and @code{info psets} for @code{info port-sets}.
21556
21557 @item set thread pause
21558 @kindex set thread@r{, Hurd command}
21559 @cindex thread properties, @sc{gnu} Hurd
21560 @cindex pause current thread (@sc{gnu} Hurd)
21561 This command toggles current thread suspension when @value{GDBN} has
21562 control. Setting it to on takes effect immediately, and the current
21563 thread is suspended whenever @value{GDBN} gets control. Setting it to
21564 off will take effect the next time the inferior is continued.
21565 Normally, this command has no effect, since when @value{GDBN} has
21566 control, the whole task is suspended. However, if you used @code{set
21567 task pause off} (see above), this command comes in handy to suspend
21568 only the current thread.
21569
21570 @item show thread pause
21571 @kindex show thread@r{, Hurd command}
21572 This command shows the state of current thread suspension.
21573
21574 @item set thread run
21575 This command sets whether the current thread is allowed to run.
21576
21577 @item show thread run
21578 Show whether the current thread is allowed to run.
21579
21580 @item set thread detach-suspend-count
21581 @cindex thread suspend count, @sc{gnu} Hurd
21582 @cindex detach from thread, @sc{gnu} Hurd
21583 This command sets the suspend count @value{GDBN} will leave on a
21584 thread when detaching. This number is relative to the suspend count
21585 found by @value{GDBN} when it notices the thread; use @code{set thread
21586 takeover-suspend-count} to force it to an absolute value.
21587
21588 @item show thread detach-suspend-count
21589 Show the suspend count @value{GDBN} will leave on the thread when
21590 detaching.
21591
21592 @item set thread exception-port
21593 @itemx set thread excp
21594 Set the thread exception port to which to forward exceptions. This
21595 overrides the port set by @code{set task exception-port} (see above).
21596 @code{set thread excp} is the shorthand alias.
21597
21598 @item set thread takeover-suspend-count
21599 Normally, @value{GDBN}'s thread suspend counts are relative to the
21600 value @value{GDBN} finds when it notices each thread. This command
21601 changes the suspend counts to be absolute instead.
21602
21603 @item set thread default
21604 @itemx show thread default
21605 @cindex thread default settings, @sc{gnu} Hurd
21606 Each of the above @code{set thread} commands has a @code{set thread
21607 default} counterpart (e.g., @code{set thread default pause}, @code{set
21608 thread default exception-port}, etc.). The @code{thread default}
21609 variety of commands sets the default thread properties for all
21610 threads; you can then change the properties of individual threads with
21611 the non-default commands.
21612 @end table
21613
21614 @node Darwin
21615 @subsection Darwin
21616 @cindex Darwin
21617
21618 @value{GDBN} provides the following commands specific to the Darwin target:
21619
21620 @table @code
21621 @item set debug darwin @var{num}
21622 @kindex set debug darwin
21623 When set to a non zero value, enables debugging messages specific to
21624 the Darwin support. Higher values produce more verbose output.
21625
21626 @item show debug darwin
21627 @kindex show debug darwin
21628 Show the current state of Darwin messages.
21629
21630 @item set debug mach-o @var{num}
21631 @kindex set debug mach-o
21632 When set to a non zero value, enables debugging messages while
21633 @value{GDBN} is reading Darwin object files. (@dfn{Mach-O} is the
21634 file format used on Darwin for object and executable files.) Higher
21635 values produce more verbose output. This is a command to diagnose
21636 problems internal to @value{GDBN} and should not be needed in normal
21637 usage.
21638
21639 @item show debug mach-o
21640 @kindex show debug mach-o
21641 Show the current state of Mach-O file messages.
21642
21643 @item set mach-exceptions on
21644 @itemx set mach-exceptions off
21645 @kindex set mach-exceptions
21646 On Darwin, faults are first reported as a Mach exception and are then
21647 mapped to a Posix signal. Use this command to turn on trapping of
21648 Mach exceptions in the inferior. This might be sometimes useful to
21649 better understand the cause of a fault. The default is off.
21650
21651 @item show mach-exceptions
21652 @kindex show mach-exceptions
21653 Show the current state of exceptions trapping.
21654 @end table
21655
21656
21657 @node Embedded OS
21658 @section Embedded Operating Systems
21659
21660 This section describes configurations involving the debugging of
21661 embedded operating systems that are available for several different
21662 architectures.
21663
21664 @value{GDBN} includes the ability to debug programs running on
21665 various real-time operating systems.
21666
21667 @node Embedded Processors
21668 @section Embedded Processors
21669
21670 This section goes into details specific to particular embedded
21671 configurations.
21672
21673 @cindex send command to simulator
21674 Whenever a specific embedded processor has a simulator, @value{GDBN}
21675 allows to send an arbitrary command to the simulator.
21676
21677 @table @code
21678 @item sim @var{command}
21679 @kindex sim@r{, a command}
21680 Send an arbitrary @var{command} string to the simulator. Consult the
21681 documentation for the specific simulator in use for information about
21682 acceptable commands.
21683 @end table
21684
21685
21686 @menu
21687 * ARM:: ARM
21688 * M32R/SDI:: Renesas M32R/SDI
21689 * M68K:: Motorola M68K
21690 * MicroBlaze:: Xilinx MicroBlaze
21691 * MIPS Embedded:: MIPS Embedded
21692 * PowerPC Embedded:: PowerPC Embedded
21693 * AVR:: Atmel AVR
21694 * CRIS:: CRIS
21695 * Super-H:: Renesas Super-H
21696 @end menu
21697
21698 @node ARM
21699 @subsection ARM
21700
21701 @value{GDBN} provides the following ARM-specific commands:
21702
21703 @table @code
21704 @item set arm disassembler
21705 @kindex set arm
21706 This commands selects from a list of disassembly styles. The
21707 @code{"std"} style is the standard style.
21708
21709 @item show arm disassembler
21710 @kindex show arm
21711 Show the current disassembly style.
21712
21713 @item set arm apcs32
21714 @cindex ARM 32-bit mode
21715 This command toggles ARM operation mode between 32-bit and 26-bit.
21716
21717 @item show arm apcs32
21718 Display the current usage of the ARM 32-bit mode.
21719
21720 @item set arm fpu @var{fputype}
21721 This command sets the ARM floating-point unit (FPU) type. The
21722 argument @var{fputype} can be one of these:
21723
21724 @table @code
21725 @item auto
21726 Determine the FPU type by querying the OS ABI.
21727 @item softfpa
21728 Software FPU, with mixed-endian doubles on little-endian ARM
21729 processors.
21730 @item fpa
21731 GCC-compiled FPA co-processor.
21732 @item softvfp
21733 Software FPU with pure-endian doubles.
21734 @item vfp
21735 VFP co-processor.
21736 @end table
21737
21738 @item show arm fpu
21739 Show the current type of the FPU.
21740
21741 @item set arm abi
21742 This command forces @value{GDBN} to use the specified ABI.
21743
21744 @item show arm abi
21745 Show the currently used ABI.
21746
21747 @item set arm fallback-mode (arm|thumb|auto)
21748 @value{GDBN} uses the symbol table, when available, to determine
21749 whether instructions are ARM or Thumb. This command controls
21750 @value{GDBN}'s default behavior when the symbol table is not
21751 available. The default is @samp{auto}, which causes @value{GDBN} to
21752 use the current execution mode (from the @code{T} bit in the @code{CPSR}
21753 register).
21754
21755 @item show arm fallback-mode
21756 Show the current fallback instruction mode.
21757
21758 @item set arm force-mode (arm|thumb|auto)
21759 This command overrides use of the symbol table to determine whether
21760 instructions are ARM or Thumb. The default is @samp{auto}, which
21761 causes @value{GDBN} to use the symbol table and then the setting
21762 of @samp{set arm fallback-mode}.
21763
21764 @item show arm force-mode
21765 Show the current forced instruction mode.
21766
21767 @item set debug arm
21768 Toggle whether to display ARM-specific debugging messages from the ARM
21769 target support subsystem.
21770
21771 @item show debug arm
21772 Show whether ARM-specific debugging messages are enabled.
21773 @end table
21774
21775 @table @code
21776 @item target sim @r{[}@var{simargs}@r{]} @dots{}
21777 The @value{GDBN} ARM simulator accepts the following optional arguments.
21778
21779 @table @code
21780 @item --swi-support=@var{type}
21781 Tell the simulator which SWI interfaces to support. The argument
21782 @var{type} may be a comma separated list of the following values.
21783 The default value is @code{all}.
21784
21785 @table @code
21786 @item none
21787 @item demon
21788 @item angel
21789 @item redboot
21790 @item all
21791 @end table
21792 @end table
21793 @end table
21794
21795 @node M32R/SDI
21796 @subsection Renesas M32R/SDI
21797
21798 The following commands are available for M32R/SDI:
21799
21800 @table @code
21801 @item sdireset
21802 @kindex sdireset
21803 @cindex reset SDI connection, M32R
21804 This command resets the SDI connection.
21805
21806 @item sdistatus
21807 @kindex sdistatus
21808 This command shows the SDI connection status.
21809
21810 @item debug_chaos
21811 @kindex debug_chaos
21812 @cindex M32R/Chaos debugging
21813 Instructs the remote that M32R/Chaos debugging is to be used.
21814
21815 @item use_debug_dma
21816 @kindex use_debug_dma
21817 Instructs the remote to use the DEBUG_DMA method of accessing memory.
21818
21819 @item use_mon_code
21820 @kindex use_mon_code
21821 Instructs the remote to use the MON_CODE method of accessing memory.
21822
21823 @item use_ib_break
21824 @kindex use_ib_break
21825 Instructs the remote to set breakpoints by IB break.
21826
21827 @item use_dbt_break
21828 @kindex use_dbt_break
21829 Instructs the remote to set breakpoints by DBT.
21830 @end table
21831
21832 @node M68K
21833 @subsection M68k
21834
21835 The Motorola m68k configuration includes ColdFire support.
21836
21837 @node MicroBlaze
21838 @subsection MicroBlaze
21839 @cindex Xilinx MicroBlaze
21840 @cindex XMD, Xilinx Microprocessor Debugger
21841
21842 The MicroBlaze is a soft-core processor supported on various Xilinx
21843 FPGAs, such as Spartan or Virtex series. Boards with these processors
21844 usually have JTAG ports which connect to a host system running the Xilinx
21845 Embedded Development Kit (EDK) or Software Development Kit (SDK).
21846 This host system is used to download the configuration bitstream to
21847 the target FPGA. The Xilinx Microprocessor Debugger (XMD) program
21848 communicates with the target board using the JTAG interface and
21849 presents a @code{gdbserver} interface to the board. By default
21850 @code{xmd} uses port @code{1234}. (While it is possible to change
21851 this default port, it requires the use of undocumented @code{xmd}
21852 commands. Contact Xilinx support if you need to do this.)
21853
21854 Use these GDB commands to connect to the MicroBlaze target processor.
21855
21856 @table @code
21857 @item target remote :1234
21858 Use this command to connect to the target if you are running @value{GDBN}
21859 on the same system as @code{xmd}.
21860
21861 @item target remote @var{xmd-host}:1234
21862 Use this command to connect to the target if it is connected to @code{xmd}
21863 running on a different system named @var{xmd-host}.
21864
21865 @item load
21866 Use this command to download a program to the MicroBlaze target.
21867
21868 @item set debug microblaze @var{n}
21869 Enable MicroBlaze-specific debugging messages if non-zero.
21870
21871 @item show debug microblaze @var{n}
21872 Show MicroBlaze-specific debugging level.
21873 @end table
21874
21875 @node MIPS Embedded
21876 @subsection @acronym{MIPS} Embedded
21877
21878 @cindex @acronym{MIPS} boards
21879 @value{GDBN} can use the @acronym{MIPS} remote debugging protocol to talk to a
21880 @acronym{MIPS} board attached to a serial line. This is available when
21881 you configure @value{GDBN} with @samp{--target=mips-elf}.
21882
21883 @need 1000
21884 Use these @value{GDBN} commands to specify the connection to your target board:
21885
21886 @table @code
21887 @item target mips @var{port}
21888 @kindex target mips @var{port}
21889 To run a program on the board, start up @code{@value{GDBP}} with the
21890 name of your program as the argument. To connect to the board, use the
21891 command @samp{target mips @var{port}}, where @var{port} is the name of
21892 the serial port connected to the board. If the program has not already
21893 been downloaded to the board, you may use the @code{load} command to
21894 download it. You can then use all the usual @value{GDBN} commands.
21895
21896 For example, this sequence connects to the target board through a serial
21897 port, and loads and runs a program called @var{prog} through the
21898 debugger:
21899
21900 @smallexample
21901 host$ @value{GDBP} @var{prog}
21902 @value{GDBN} is free software and @dots{}
21903 (@value{GDBP}) target mips /dev/ttyb
21904 (@value{GDBP}) load @var{prog}
21905 (@value{GDBP}) run
21906 @end smallexample
21907
21908 @item target mips @var{hostname}:@var{portnumber}
21909 On some @value{GDBN} host configurations, you can specify a TCP
21910 connection (for instance, to a serial line managed by a terminal
21911 concentrator) instead of a serial port, using the syntax
21912 @samp{@var{hostname}:@var{portnumber}}.
21913
21914 @item target pmon @var{port}
21915 @kindex target pmon @var{port}
21916 PMON ROM monitor.
21917
21918 @item target ddb @var{port}
21919 @kindex target ddb @var{port}
21920 NEC's DDB variant of PMON for Vr4300.
21921
21922 @item target lsi @var{port}
21923 @kindex target lsi @var{port}
21924 LSI variant of PMON.
21925
21926 @end table
21927
21928
21929 @noindent
21930 @value{GDBN} also supports these special commands for @acronym{MIPS} targets:
21931
21932 @table @code
21933 @item set mipsfpu double
21934 @itemx set mipsfpu single
21935 @itemx set mipsfpu none
21936 @itemx set mipsfpu auto
21937 @itemx show mipsfpu
21938 @kindex set mipsfpu
21939 @kindex show mipsfpu
21940 @cindex @acronym{MIPS} remote floating point
21941 @cindex floating point, @acronym{MIPS} remote
21942 If your target board does not support the @acronym{MIPS} floating point
21943 coprocessor, you should use the command @samp{set mipsfpu none} (if you
21944 need this, you may wish to put the command in your @value{GDBN} init
21945 file). This tells @value{GDBN} how to find the return value of
21946 functions which return floating point values. It also allows
21947 @value{GDBN} to avoid saving the floating point registers when calling
21948 functions on the board. If you are using a floating point coprocessor
21949 with only single precision floating point support, as on the @sc{r4650}
21950 processor, use the command @samp{set mipsfpu single}. The default
21951 double precision floating point coprocessor may be selected using
21952 @samp{set mipsfpu double}.
21953
21954 In previous versions the only choices were double precision or no
21955 floating point, so @samp{set mipsfpu on} will select double precision
21956 and @samp{set mipsfpu off} will select no floating point.
21957
21958 As usual, you can inquire about the @code{mipsfpu} variable with
21959 @samp{show mipsfpu}.
21960
21961 @item set timeout @var{seconds}
21962 @itemx set retransmit-timeout @var{seconds}
21963 @itemx show timeout
21964 @itemx show retransmit-timeout
21965 @cindex @code{timeout}, @acronym{MIPS} protocol
21966 @cindex @code{retransmit-timeout}, @acronym{MIPS} protocol
21967 @kindex set timeout
21968 @kindex show timeout
21969 @kindex set retransmit-timeout
21970 @kindex show retransmit-timeout
21971 You can control the timeout used while waiting for a packet, in the @acronym{MIPS}
21972 remote protocol, with the @code{set timeout @var{seconds}} command. The
21973 default is 5 seconds. Similarly, you can control the timeout used while
21974 waiting for an acknowledgment of a packet with the @code{set
21975 retransmit-timeout @var{seconds}} command. The default is 3 seconds.
21976 You can inspect both values with @code{show timeout} and @code{show
21977 retransmit-timeout}. (These commands are @emph{only} available when
21978 @value{GDBN} is configured for @samp{--target=mips-elf}.)
21979
21980 The timeout set by @code{set timeout} does not apply when @value{GDBN}
21981 is waiting for your program to stop. In that case, @value{GDBN} waits
21982 forever because it has no way of knowing how long the program is going
21983 to run before stopping.
21984
21985 @item set syn-garbage-limit @var{num}
21986 @kindex set syn-garbage-limit@r{, @acronym{MIPS} remote}
21987 @cindex synchronize with remote @acronym{MIPS} target
21988 Limit the maximum number of characters @value{GDBN} should ignore when
21989 it tries to synchronize with the remote target. The default is 10
21990 characters. Setting the limit to -1 means there's no limit.
21991
21992 @item show syn-garbage-limit
21993 @kindex show syn-garbage-limit@r{, @acronym{MIPS} remote}
21994 Show the current limit on the number of characters to ignore when
21995 trying to synchronize with the remote system.
21996
21997 @item set monitor-prompt @var{prompt}
21998 @kindex set monitor-prompt@r{, @acronym{MIPS} remote}
21999 @cindex remote monitor prompt
22000 Tell @value{GDBN} to expect the specified @var{prompt} string from the
22001 remote monitor. The default depends on the target:
22002 @table @asis
22003 @item pmon target
22004 @samp{PMON}
22005 @item ddb target
22006 @samp{NEC010}
22007 @item lsi target
22008 @samp{PMON>}
22009 @end table
22010
22011 @item show monitor-prompt
22012 @kindex show monitor-prompt@r{, @acronym{MIPS} remote}
22013 Show the current strings @value{GDBN} expects as the prompt from the
22014 remote monitor.
22015
22016 @item set monitor-warnings
22017 @kindex set monitor-warnings@r{, @acronym{MIPS} remote}
22018 Enable or disable monitor warnings about hardware breakpoints. This
22019 has effect only for the @code{lsi} target. When on, @value{GDBN} will
22020 display warning messages whose codes are returned by the @code{lsi}
22021 PMON monitor for breakpoint commands.
22022
22023 @item show monitor-warnings
22024 @kindex show monitor-warnings@r{, @acronym{MIPS} remote}
22025 Show the current setting of printing monitor warnings.
22026
22027 @item pmon @var{command}
22028 @kindex pmon@r{, @acronym{MIPS} remote}
22029 @cindex send PMON command
22030 This command allows sending an arbitrary @var{command} string to the
22031 monitor. The monitor must be in debug mode for this to work.
22032 @end table
22033
22034 @node PowerPC Embedded
22035 @subsection PowerPC Embedded
22036
22037 @cindex DVC register
22038 @value{GDBN} supports using the DVC (Data Value Compare) register to
22039 implement in hardware simple hardware watchpoint conditions of the form:
22040
22041 @smallexample
22042 (@value{GDBP}) watch @var{ADDRESS|VARIABLE} \
22043 if @var{ADDRESS|VARIABLE} == @var{CONSTANT EXPRESSION}
22044 @end smallexample
22045
22046 The DVC register will be automatically used when @value{GDBN} detects
22047 such pattern in a condition expression, and the created watchpoint uses one
22048 debug register (either the @code{exact-watchpoints} option is on and the
22049 variable is scalar, or the variable has a length of one byte). This feature
22050 is available in native @value{GDBN} running on a Linux kernel version 2.6.34
22051 or newer.
22052
22053 When running on PowerPC embedded processors, @value{GDBN} automatically uses
22054 ranged hardware watchpoints, unless the @code{exact-watchpoints} option is on,
22055 in which case watchpoints using only one debug register are created when
22056 watching variables of scalar types.
22057
22058 You can create an artificial array to watch an arbitrary memory
22059 region using one of the following commands (@pxref{Expressions}):
22060
22061 @smallexample
22062 (@value{GDBP}) watch *((char *) @var{address})@@@var{length}
22063 (@value{GDBP}) watch @{char[@var{length}]@} @var{address}
22064 @end smallexample
22065
22066 PowerPC embedded processors support masked watchpoints. See the discussion
22067 about the @code{mask} argument in @ref{Set Watchpoints}.
22068
22069 @cindex ranged breakpoint
22070 PowerPC embedded processors support hardware accelerated
22071 @dfn{ranged breakpoints}. A ranged breakpoint stops execution of
22072 the inferior whenever it executes an instruction at any address within
22073 the range it specifies. To set a ranged breakpoint in @value{GDBN},
22074 use the @code{break-range} command.
22075
22076 @value{GDBN} provides the following PowerPC-specific commands:
22077
22078 @table @code
22079 @kindex break-range
22080 @item break-range @var{start-location}, @var{end-location}
22081 Set a breakpoint for an address range given by
22082 @var{start-location} and @var{end-location}, which can specify a function name,
22083 a line number, an offset of lines from the current line or from the start
22084 location, or an address of an instruction (see @ref{Specify Location},
22085 for a list of all the possible ways to specify a @var{location}.)
22086 The breakpoint will stop execution of the inferior whenever it
22087 executes an instruction at any address within the specified range,
22088 (including @var{start-location} and @var{end-location}.)
22089
22090 @kindex set powerpc
22091 @item set powerpc soft-float
22092 @itemx show powerpc soft-float
22093 Force @value{GDBN} to use (or not use) a software floating point calling
22094 convention. By default, @value{GDBN} selects the calling convention based
22095 on the selected architecture and the provided executable file.
22096
22097 @item set powerpc vector-abi
22098 @itemx show powerpc vector-abi
22099 Force @value{GDBN} to use the specified calling convention for vector
22100 arguments and return values. The valid options are @samp{auto};
22101 @samp{generic}, to avoid vector registers even if they are present;
22102 @samp{altivec}, to use AltiVec registers; and @samp{spe} to use SPE
22103 registers. By default, @value{GDBN} selects the calling convention
22104 based on the selected architecture and the provided executable file.
22105
22106 @item set powerpc exact-watchpoints
22107 @itemx show powerpc exact-watchpoints
22108 Allow @value{GDBN} to use only one debug register when watching a variable
22109 of scalar type, thus assuming that the variable is accessed through the
22110 address of its first byte.
22111
22112 @end table
22113
22114 @node AVR
22115 @subsection Atmel AVR
22116 @cindex AVR
22117
22118 When configured for debugging the Atmel AVR, @value{GDBN} supports the
22119 following AVR-specific commands:
22120
22121 @table @code
22122 @item info io_registers
22123 @kindex info io_registers@r{, AVR}
22124 @cindex I/O registers (Atmel AVR)
22125 This command displays information about the AVR I/O registers. For
22126 each register, @value{GDBN} prints its number and value.
22127 @end table
22128
22129 @node CRIS
22130 @subsection CRIS
22131 @cindex CRIS
22132
22133 When configured for debugging CRIS, @value{GDBN} provides the
22134 following CRIS-specific commands:
22135
22136 @table @code
22137 @item set cris-version @var{ver}
22138 @cindex CRIS version
22139 Set the current CRIS version to @var{ver}, either @samp{10} or @samp{32}.
22140 The CRIS version affects register names and sizes. This command is useful in
22141 case autodetection of the CRIS version fails.
22142
22143 @item show cris-version
22144 Show the current CRIS version.
22145
22146 @item set cris-dwarf2-cfi
22147 @cindex DWARF-2 CFI and CRIS
22148 Set the usage of DWARF-2 CFI for CRIS debugging. The default is @samp{on}.
22149 Change to @samp{off} when using @code{gcc-cris} whose version is below
22150 @code{R59}.
22151
22152 @item show cris-dwarf2-cfi
22153 Show the current state of using DWARF-2 CFI.
22154
22155 @item set cris-mode @var{mode}
22156 @cindex CRIS mode
22157 Set the current CRIS mode to @var{mode}. It should only be changed when
22158 debugging in guru mode, in which case it should be set to
22159 @samp{guru} (the default is @samp{normal}).
22160
22161 @item show cris-mode
22162 Show the current CRIS mode.
22163 @end table
22164
22165 @node Super-H
22166 @subsection Renesas Super-H
22167 @cindex Super-H
22168
22169 For the Renesas Super-H processor, @value{GDBN} provides these
22170 commands:
22171
22172 @table @code
22173 @item set sh calling-convention @var{convention}
22174 @kindex set sh calling-convention
22175 Set the calling-convention used when calling functions from @value{GDBN}.
22176 Allowed values are @samp{gcc}, which is the default setting, and @samp{renesas}.
22177 With the @samp{gcc} setting, functions are called using the @value{NGCC} calling
22178 convention. If the DWARF-2 information of the called function specifies
22179 that the function follows the Renesas calling convention, the function
22180 is called using the Renesas calling convention. If the calling convention
22181 is set to @samp{renesas}, the Renesas calling convention is always used,
22182 regardless of the DWARF-2 information. This can be used to override the
22183 default of @samp{gcc} if debug information is missing, or the compiler
22184 does not emit the DWARF-2 calling convention entry for a function.
22185
22186 @item show sh calling-convention
22187 @kindex show sh calling-convention
22188 Show the current calling convention setting.
22189
22190 @end table
22191
22192
22193 @node Architectures
22194 @section Architectures
22195
22196 This section describes characteristics of architectures that affect
22197 all uses of @value{GDBN} with the architecture, both native and cross.
22198
22199 @menu
22200 * AArch64::
22201 * i386::
22202 * Alpha::
22203 * MIPS::
22204 * HPPA:: HP PA architecture
22205 * SPU:: Cell Broadband Engine SPU architecture
22206 * PowerPC::
22207 * Nios II::
22208 @end menu
22209
22210 @node AArch64
22211 @subsection AArch64
22212 @cindex AArch64 support
22213
22214 When @value{GDBN} is debugging the AArch64 architecture, it provides the
22215 following special commands:
22216
22217 @table @code
22218 @item set debug aarch64
22219 @kindex set debug aarch64
22220 This command determines whether AArch64 architecture-specific debugging
22221 messages are to be displayed.
22222
22223 @item show debug aarch64
22224 Show whether AArch64 debugging messages are displayed.
22225
22226 @end table
22227
22228 @node i386
22229 @subsection x86 Architecture-specific Issues
22230
22231 @table @code
22232 @item set struct-convention @var{mode}
22233 @kindex set struct-convention
22234 @cindex struct return convention
22235 @cindex struct/union returned in registers
22236 Set the convention used by the inferior to return @code{struct}s and
22237 @code{union}s from functions to @var{mode}. Possible values of
22238 @var{mode} are @code{"pcc"}, @code{"reg"}, and @code{"default"} (the
22239 default). @code{"default"} or @code{"pcc"} means that @code{struct}s
22240 are returned on the stack, while @code{"reg"} means that a
22241 @code{struct} or a @code{union} whose size is 1, 2, 4, or 8 bytes will
22242 be returned in a register.
22243
22244 @item show struct-convention
22245 @kindex show struct-convention
22246 Show the current setting of the convention to return @code{struct}s
22247 from functions.
22248 @end table
22249
22250
22251 @subsubsection Intel @dfn{Memory Protection Extensions} (MPX).
22252 @cindex Intel Memory Protection Extensions (MPX).
22253
22254 Memory Protection Extension (MPX) adds the bound registers @samp{BND0}
22255 @footnote{The register named with capital letters represent the architecture
22256 registers.} through @samp{BND3}. Bound registers store a pair of 64-bit values
22257 which are the lower bound and upper bound. Bounds are effective addresses or
22258 memory locations. The upper bounds are architecturally represented in 1's
22259 complement form. A bound having lower bound = 0, and upper bound = 0
22260 (1's complement of all bits set) will allow access to the entire address space.
22261
22262 @samp{BND0} through @samp{BND3} are represented in @value{GDBN} as @samp{bnd0raw}
22263 through @samp{bnd3raw}. Pseudo registers @samp{bnd0} through @samp{bnd3}
22264 display the upper bound performing the complement of one operation on the
22265 upper bound value, i.e.@ when upper bound in @samp{bnd0raw} is 0 in the
22266 @value{GDBN} @samp{bnd0} it will be @code{0xfff@dots{}}. In this sense it
22267 can also be noted that the upper bounds are inclusive.
22268
22269 As an example, assume that the register BND0 holds bounds for a pointer having
22270 access allowed for the range between 0x32 and 0x71. The values present on
22271 bnd0raw and bnd registers are presented as follows:
22272
22273 @smallexample
22274 bnd0raw = @{0x32, 0xffffffff8e@}
22275 bnd0 = @{lbound = 0x32, ubound = 0x71@} : size 64
22276 @end smallexample
22277
22278 This way the raw value can be accessed via bnd0raw@dots{}bnd3raw. Any
22279 change on bnd0@dots{}bnd3 or bnd0raw@dots{}bnd3raw is reflect on its
22280 counterpart. When the bnd0@dots{}bnd3 registers are displayed via
22281 Python, the display includes the memory size, in bits, accessible to
22282 the pointer.
22283
22284 Bounds can also be stored in bounds tables, which are stored in
22285 application memory. These tables store bounds for pointers by specifying
22286 the bounds pointer's value along with its bounds. Evaluating and changing
22287 bounds located in bound tables is therefore interesting while investigating
22288 bugs on MPX context. @value{GDBN} provides commands for this purpose:
22289
22290 @table @code
22291 @item show mpx bound @var{pointer}
22292 @kindex show mpx bound
22293 Display bounds of the given @var{pointer}.
22294
22295 @item set mpx bound @var{pointer}, @var{lbound}, @var{ubound}
22296 @kindex set mpx bound
22297 Set the bounds of a pointer in the bound table.
22298 This command takes three parameters: @var{pointer} is the pointers
22299 whose bounds are to be changed, @var{lbound} and @var{ubound} are new values
22300 for lower and upper bounds respectively.
22301 @end table
22302
22303 @node Alpha
22304 @subsection Alpha
22305
22306 See the following section.
22307
22308 @node MIPS
22309 @subsection @acronym{MIPS}
22310
22311 @cindex stack on Alpha
22312 @cindex stack on @acronym{MIPS}
22313 @cindex Alpha stack
22314 @cindex @acronym{MIPS} stack
22315 Alpha- and @acronym{MIPS}-based computers use an unusual stack frame, which
22316 sometimes requires @value{GDBN} to search backward in the object code to
22317 find the beginning of a function.
22318
22319 @cindex response time, @acronym{MIPS} debugging
22320 To improve response time (especially for embedded applications, where
22321 @value{GDBN} may be restricted to a slow serial line for this search)
22322 you may want to limit the size of this search, using one of these
22323 commands:
22324
22325 @table @code
22326 @cindex @code{heuristic-fence-post} (Alpha, @acronym{MIPS})
22327 @item set heuristic-fence-post @var{limit}
22328 Restrict @value{GDBN} to examining at most @var{limit} bytes in its
22329 search for the beginning of a function. A value of @var{0} (the
22330 default) means there is no limit. However, except for @var{0}, the
22331 larger the limit the more bytes @code{heuristic-fence-post} must search
22332 and therefore the longer it takes to run. You should only need to use
22333 this command when debugging a stripped executable.
22334
22335 @item show heuristic-fence-post
22336 Display the current limit.
22337 @end table
22338
22339 @noindent
22340 These commands are available @emph{only} when @value{GDBN} is configured
22341 for debugging programs on Alpha or @acronym{MIPS} processors.
22342
22343 Several @acronym{MIPS}-specific commands are available when debugging @acronym{MIPS}
22344 programs:
22345
22346 @table @code
22347 @item set mips abi @var{arg}
22348 @kindex set mips abi
22349 @cindex set ABI for @acronym{MIPS}
22350 Tell @value{GDBN} which @acronym{MIPS} ABI is used by the inferior. Possible
22351 values of @var{arg} are:
22352
22353 @table @samp
22354 @item auto
22355 The default ABI associated with the current binary (this is the
22356 default).
22357 @item o32
22358 @item o64
22359 @item n32
22360 @item n64
22361 @item eabi32
22362 @item eabi64
22363 @end table
22364
22365 @item show mips abi
22366 @kindex show mips abi
22367 Show the @acronym{MIPS} ABI used by @value{GDBN} to debug the inferior.
22368
22369 @item set mips compression @var{arg}
22370 @kindex set mips compression
22371 @cindex code compression, @acronym{MIPS}
22372 Tell @value{GDBN} which @acronym{MIPS} compressed
22373 @acronym{ISA, Instruction Set Architecture} encoding is used by the
22374 inferior. @value{GDBN} uses this for code disassembly and other
22375 internal interpretation purposes. This setting is only referred to
22376 when no executable has been associated with the debugging session or
22377 the executable does not provide information about the encoding it uses.
22378 Otherwise this setting is automatically updated from information
22379 provided by the executable.
22380
22381 Possible values of @var{arg} are @samp{mips16} and @samp{micromips}.
22382 The default compressed @acronym{ISA} encoding is @samp{mips16}, as
22383 executables containing @acronym{MIPS16} code frequently are not
22384 identified as such.
22385
22386 This setting is ``sticky''; that is, it retains its value across
22387 debugging sessions until reset either explicitly with this command or
22388 implicitly from an executable.
22389
22390 The compiler and/or assembler typically add symbol table annotations to
22391 identify functions compiled for the @acronym{MIPS16} or
22392 @acronym{microMIPS} @acronym{ISA}s. If these function-scope annotations
22393 are present, @value{GDBN} uses them in preference to the global
22394 compressed @acronym{ISA} encoding setting.
22395
22396 @item show mips compression
22397 @kindex show mips compression
22398 Show the @acronym{MIPS} compressed @acronym{ISA} encoding used by
22399 @value{GDBN} to debug the inferior.
22400
22401 @item set mipsfpu
22402 @itemx show mipsfpu
22403 @xref{MIPS Embedded, set mipsfpu}.
22404
22405 @item set mips mask-address @var{arg}
22406 @kindex set mips mask-address
22407 @cindex @acronym{MIPS} addresses, masking
22408 This command determines whether the most-significant 32 bits of 64-bit
22409 @acronym{MIPS} addresses are masked off. The argument @var{arg} can be
22410 @samp{on}, @samp{off}, or @samp{auto}. The latter is the default
22411 setting, which lets @value{GDBN} determine the correct value.
22412
22413 @item show mips mask-address
22414 @kindex show mips mask-address
22415 Show whether the upper 32 bits of @acronym{MIPS} addresses are masked off or
22416 not.
22417
22418 @item set remote-mips64-transfers-32bit-regs
22419 @kindex set remote-mips64-transfers-32bit-regs
22420 This command controls compatibility with 64-bit @acronym{MIPS} targets that
22421 transfer data in 32-bit quantities. If you have an old @acronym{MIPS} 64 target
22422 that transfers 32 bits for some registers, like @sc{sr} and @sc{fsr},
22423 and 64 bits for other registers, set this option to @samp{on}.
22424
22425 @item show remote-mips64-transfers-32bit-regs
22426 @kindex show remote-mips64-transfers-32bit-regs
22427 Show the current setting of compatibility with older @acronym{MIPS} 64 targets.
22428
22429 @item set debug mips
22430 @kindex set debug mips
22431 This command turns on and off debugging messages for the @acronym{MIPS}-specific
22432 target code in @value{GDBN}.
22433
22434 @item show debug mips
22435 @kindex show debug mips
22436 Show the current setting of @acronym{MIPS} debugging messages.
22437 @end table
22438
22439
22440 @node HPPA
22441 @subsection HPPA
22442 @cindex HPPA support
22443
22444 When @value{GDBN} is debugging the HP PA architecture, it provides the
22445 following special commands:
22446
22447 @table @code
22448 @item set debug hppa
22449 @kindex set debug hppa
22450 This command determines whether HPPA architecture-specific debugging
22451 messages are to be displayed.
22452
22453 @item show debug hppa
22454 Show whether HPPA debugging messages are displayed.
22455
22456 @item maint print unwind @var{address}
22457 @kindex maint print unwind@r{, HPPA}
22458 This command displays the contents of the unwind table entry at the
22459 given @var{address}.
22460
22461 @end table
22462
22463
22464 @node SPU
22465 @subsection Cell Broadband Engine SPU architecture
22466 @cindex Cell Broadband Engine
22467 @cindex SPU
22468
22469 When @value{GDBN} is debugging the Cell Broadband Engine SPU architecture,
22470 it provides the following special commands:
22471
22472 @table @code
22473 @item info spu event
22474 @kindex info spu
22475 Display SPU event facility status. Shows current event mask
22476 and pending event status.
22477
22478 @item info spu signal
22479 Display SPU signal notification facility status. Shows pending
22480 signal-control word and signal notification mode of both signal
22481 notification channels.
22482
22483 @item info spu mailbox
22484 Display SPU mailbox facility status. Shows all pending entries,
22485 in order of processing, in each of the SPU Write Outbound,
22486 SPU Write Outbound Interrupt, and SPU Read Inbound mailboxes.
22487
22488 @item info spu dma
22489 Display MFC DMA status. Shows all pending commands in the MFC
22490 DMA queue. For each entry, opcode, tag, class IDs, effective
22491 and local store addresses and transfer size are shown.
22492
22493 @item info spu proxydma
22494 Display MFC Proxy-DMA status. Shows all pending commands in the MFC
22495 Proxy-DMA queue. For each entry, opcode, tag, class IDs, effective
22496 and local store addresses and transfer size are shown.
22497
22498 @end table
22499
22500 When @value{GDBN} is debugging a combined PowerPC/SPU application
22501 on the Cell Broadband Engine, it provides in addition the following
22502 special commands:
22503
22504 @table @code
22505 @item set spu stop-on-load @var{arg}
22506 @kindex set spu
22507 Set whether to stop for new SPE threads. When set to @code{on}, @value{GDBN}
22508 will give control to the user when a new SPE thread enters its @code{main}
22509 function. The default is @code{off}.
22510
22511 @item show spu stop-on-load
22512 @kindex show spu
22513 Show whether to stop for new SPE threads.
22514
22515 @item set spu auto-flush-cache @var{arg}
22516 Set whether to automatically flush the software-managed cache. When set to
22517 @code{on}, @value{GDBN} will automatically cause the SPE software-managed
22518 cache to be flushed whenever SPE execution stops. This provides a consistent
22519 view of PowerPC memory that is accessed via the cache. If an application
22520 does not use the software-managed cache, this option has no effect.
22521
22522 @item show spu auto-flush-cache
22523 Show whether to automatically flush the software-managed cache.
22524
22525 @end table
22526
22527 @node PowerPC
22528 @subsection PowerPC
22529 @cindex PowerPC architecture
22530
22531 When @value{GDBN} is debugging the PowerPC architecture, it provides a set of
22532 pseudo-registers to enable inspection of 128-bit wide Decimal Floating Point
22533 numbers stored in the floating point registers. These values must be stored
22534 in two consecutive registers, always starting at an even register like
22535 @code{f0} or @code{f2}.
22536
22537 The pseudo-registers go from @code{$dl0} through @code{$dl15}, and are formed
22538 by joining the even/odd register pairs @code{f0} and @code{f1} for @code{$dl0},
22539 @code{f2} and @code{f3} for @code{$dl1} and so on.
22540
22541 For POWER7 processors, @value{GDBN} provides a set of pseudo-registers, the 64-bit
22542 wide Extended Floating Point Registers (@samp{f32} through @samp{f63}).
22543
22544 @node Nios II
22545 @subsection Nios II
22546 @cindex Nios II architecture
22547
22548 When @value{GDBN} is debugging the Nios II architecture,
22549 it provides the following special commands:
22550
22551 @table @code
22552
22553 @item set debug nios2
22554 @kindex set debug nios2
22555 This command turns on and off debugging messages for the Nios II
22556 target code in @value{GDBN}.
22557
22558 @item show debug nios2
22559 @kindex show debug nios2
22560 Show the current setting of Nios II debugging messages.
22561 @end table
22562
22563 @node Controlling GDB
22564 @chapter Controlling @value{GDBN}
22565
22566 You can alter the way @value{GDBN} interacts with you by using the
22567 @code{set} command. For commands controlling how @value{GDBN} displays
22568 data, see @ref{Print Settings, ,Print Settings}. Other settings are
22569 described here.
22570
22571 @menu
22572 * Prompt:: Prompt
22573 * Editing:: Command editing
22574 * Command History:: Command history
22575 * Screen Size:: Screen size
22576 * Numbers:: Numbers
22577 * ABI:: Configuring the current ABI
22578 * Auto-loading:: Automatically loading associated files
22579 * Messages/Warnings:: Optional warnings and messages
22580 * Debugging Output:: Optional messages about internal happenings
22581 * Other Misc Settings:: Other Miscellaneous Settings
22582 @end menu
22583
22584 @node Prompt
22585 @section Prompt
22586
22587 @cindex prompt
22588
22589 @value{GDBN} indicates its readiness to read a command by printing a string
22590 called the @dfn{prompt}. This string is normally @samp{(@value{GDBP})}. You
22591 can change the prompt string with the @code{set prompt} command. For
22592 instance, when debugging @value{GDBN} with @value{GDBN}, it is useful to change
22593 the prompt in one of the @value{GDBN} sessions so that you can always tell
22594 which one you are talking to.
22595
22596 @emph{Note:} @code{set prompt} does not add a space for you after the
22597 prompt you set. This allows you to set a prompt which ends in a space
22598 or a prompt that does not.
22599
22600 @table @code
22601 @kindex set prompt
22602 @item set prompt @var{newprompt}
22603 Directs @value{GDBN} to use @var{newprompt} as its prompt string henceforth.
22604
22605 @kindex show prompt
22606 @item show prompt
22607 Prints a line of the form: @samp{Gdb's prompt is: @var{your-prompt}}
22608 @end table
22609
22610 Versions of @value{GDBN} that ship with Python scripting enabled have
22611 prompt extensions. The commands for interacting with these extensions
22612 are:
22613
22614 @table @code
22615 @kindex set extended-prompt
22616 @item set extended-prompt @var{prompt}
22617 Set an extended prompt that allows for substitutions.
22618 @xref{gdb.prompt}, for a list of escape sequences that can be used for
22619 substitution. Any escape sequences specified as part of the prompt
22620 string are replaced with the corresponding strings each time the prompt
22621 is displayed.
22622
22623 For example:
22624
22625 @smallexample
22626 set extended-prompt Current working directory: \w (gdb)
22627 @end smallexample
22628
22629 Note that when an extended-prompt is set, it takes control of the
22630 @var{prompt_hook} hook. @xref{prompt_hook}, for further information.
22631
22632 @kindex show extended-prompt
22633 @item show extended-prompt
22634 Prints the extended prompt. Any escape sequences specified as part of
22635 the prompt string with @code{set extended-prompt}, are replaced with the
22636 corresponding strings each time the prompt is displayed.
22637 @end table
22638
22639 @node Editing
22640 @section Command Editing
22641 @cindex readline
22642 @cindex command line editing
22643
22644 @value{GDBN} reads its input commands via the @dfn{Readline} interface. This
22645 @sc{gnu} library provides consistent behavior for programs which provide a
22646 command line interface to the user. Advantages are @sc{gnu} Emacs-style
22647 or @dfn{vi}-style inline editing of commands, @code{csh}-like history
22648 substitution, and a storage and recall of command history across
22649 debugging sessions.
22650
22651 You may control the behavior of command line editing in @value{GDBN} with the
22652 command @code{set}.
22653
22654 @table @code
22655 @kindex set editing
22656 @cindex editing
22657 @item set editing
22658 @itemx set editing on
22659 Enable command line editing (enabled by default).
22660
22661 @item set editing off
22662 Disable command line editing.
22663
22664 @kindex show editing
22665 @item show editing
22666 Show whether command line editing is enabled.
22667 @end table
22668
22669 @ifset SYSTEM_READLINE
22670 @xref{Command Line Editing, , , rluserman, GNU Readline Library},
22671 @end ifset
22672 @ifclear SYSTEM_READLINE
22673 @xref{Command Line Editing},
22674 @end ifclear
22675 for more details about the Readline
22676 interface. Users unfamiliar with @sc{gnu} Emacs or @code{vi} are
22677 encouraged to read that chapter.
22678
22679 @node Command History
22680 @section Command History
22681 @cindex command history
22682
22683 @value{GDBN} can keep track of the commands you type during your
22684 debugging sessions, so that you can be certain of precisely what
22685 happened. Use these commands to manage the @value{GDBN} command
22686 history facility.
22687
22688 @value{GDBN} uses the @sc{gnu} History library, a part of the Readline
22689 package, to provide the history facility.
22690 @ifset SYSTEM_READLINE
22691 @xref{Using History Interactively, , , history, GNU History Library},
22692 @end ifset
22693 @ifclear SYSTEM_READLINE
22694 @xref{Using History Interactively},
22695 @end ifclear
22696 for the detailed description of the History library.
22697
22698 To issue a command to @value{GDBN} without affecting certain aspects of
22699 the state which is seen by users, prefix it with @samp{server }
22700 (@pxref{Server Prefix}). This
22701 means that this command will not affect the command history, nor will it
22702 affect @value{GDBN}'s notion of which command to repeat if @key{RET} is
22703 pressed on a line by itself.
22704
22705 @cindex @code{server}, command prefix
22706 The server prefix does not affect the recording of values into the value
22707 history; to print a value without recording it into the value history,
22708 use the @code{output} command instead of the @code{print} command.
22709
22710 Here is the description of @value{GDBN} commands related to command
22711 history.
22712
22713 @table @code
22714 @cindex history substitution
22715 @cindex history file
22716 @kindex set history filename
22717 @cindex @env{GDBHISTFILE}, environment variable
22718 @item set history filename @var{fname}
22719 Set the name of the @value{GDBN} command history file to @var{fname}.
22720 This is the file where @value{GDBN} reads an initial command history
22721 list, and where it writes the command history from this session when it
22722 exits. You can access this list through history expansion or through
22723 the history command editing characters listed below. This file defaults
22724 to the value of the environment variable @code{GDBHISTFILE}, or to
22725 @file{./.gdb_history} (@file{./_gdb_history} on MS-DOS) if this variable
22726 is not set.
22727
22728 @cindex save command history
22729 @kindex set history save
22730 @item set history save
22731 @itemx set history save on
22732 Record command history in a file, whose name may be specified with the
22733 @code{set history filename} command. By default, this option is disabled.
22734
22735 @item set history save off
22736 Stop recording command history in a file.
22737
22738 @cindex history size
22739 @kindex set history size
22740 @cindex @env{GDBHISTSIZE}, environment variable
22741 @item set history size @var{size}
22742 @itemx set history size unlimited
22743 Set the number of commands which @value{GDBN} keeps in its history list.
22744 This defaults to the value of the environment variable @env{GDBHISTSIZE}, or
22745 to 256 if this variable is not set. Non-numeric values of @env{GDBHISTSIZE}
22746 are ignored. If @var{size} is @code{unlimited} or if @env{GDBHISTSIZE} is
22747 either a negative number or the empty string, then the number of commands
22748 @value{GDBN} keeps in the history list is unlimited.
22749
22750 @cindex remove duplicate history
22751 @kindex set history remove-duplicates
22752 @item set history remove-duplicates @var{count}
22753 @itemx set history remove-duplicates unlimited
22754 Control the removal of duplicate history entries in the command history list.
22755 If @var{count} is non-zero, @value{GDBN} will look back at the last @var{count}
22756 history entries and remove the first entry that is a duplicate of the current
22757 entry being added to the command history list. If @var{count} is
22758 @code{unlimited} then this lookbehind is unbounded. If @var{count} is 0, then
22759 removal of duplicate history entries is disabled.
22760
22761 Only history entries added during the current session are considered for
22762 removal. This option is set to 0 by default.
22763
22764 @end table
22765
22766 History expansion assigns special meaning to the character @kbd{!}.
22767 @ifset SYSTEM_READLINE
22768 @xref{Event Designators, , , history, GNU History Library},
22769 @end ifset
22770 @ifclear SYSTEM_READLINE
22771 @xref{Event Designators},
22772 @end ifclear
22773 for more details.
22774
22775 @cindex history expansion, turn on/off
22776 Since @kbd{!} is also the logical not operator in C, history expansion
22777 is off by default. If you decide to enable history expansion with the
22778 @code{set history expansion on} command, you may sometimes need to
22779 follow @kbd{!} (when it is used as logical not, in an expression) with
22780 a space or a tab to prevent it from being expanded. The readline
22781 history facilities do not attempt substitution on the strings
22782 @kbd{!=} and @kbd{!(}, even when history expansion is enabled.
22783
22784 The commands to control history expansion are:
22785
22786 @table @code
22787 @item set history expansion on
22788 @itemx set history expansion
22789 @kindex set history expansion
22790 Enable history expansion. History expansion is off by default.
22791
22792 @item set history expansion off
22793 Disable history expansion.
22794
22795 @c @group
22796 @kindex show history
22797 @item show history
22798 @itemx show history filename
22799 @itemx show history save
22800 @itemx show history size
22801 @itemx show history expansion
22802 These commands display the state of the @value{GDBN} history parameters.
22803 @code{show history} by itself displays all four states.
22804 @c @end group
22805 @end table
22806
22807 @table @code
22808 @kindex show commands
22809 @cindex show last commands
22810 @cindex display command history
22811 @item show commands
22812 Display the last ten commands in the command history.
22813
22814 @item show commands @var{n}
22815 Print ten commands centered on command number @var{n}.
22816
22817 @item show commands +
22818 Print ten commands just after the commands last printed.
22819 @end table
22820
22821 @node Screen Size
22822 @section Screen Size
22823 @cindex size of screen
22824 @cindex screen size
22825 @cindex pagination
22826 @cindex page size
22827 @cindex pauses in output
22828
22829 Certain commands to @value{GDBN} may produce large amounts of
22830 information output to the screen. To help you read all of it,
22831 @value{GDBN} pauses and asks you for input at the end of each page of
22832 output. Type @key{RET} when you want to continue the output, or @kbd{q}
22833 to discard the remaining output. Also, the screen width setting
22834 determines when to wrap lines of output. Depending on what is being
22835 printed, @value{GDBN} tries to break the line at a readable place,
22836 rather than simply letting it overflow onto the following line.
22837
22838 Normally @value{GDBN} knows the size of the screen from the terminal
22839 driver software. For example, on Unix @value{GDBN} uses the termcap data base
22840 together with the value of the @code{TERM} environment variable and the
22841 @code{stty rows} and @code{stty cols} settings. If this is not correct,
22842 you can override it with the @code{set height} and @code{set
22843 width} commands:
22844
22845 @table @code
22846 @kindex set height
22847 @kindex set width
22848 @kindex show width
22849 @kindex show height
22850 @item set height @var{lpp}
22851 @itemx set height unlimited
22852 @itemx show height
22853 @itemx set width @var{cpl}
22854 @itemx set width unlimited
22855 @itemx show width
22856 These @code{set} commands specify a screen height of @var{lpp} lines and
22857 a screen width of @var{cpl} characters. The associated @code{show}
22858 commands display the current settings.
22859
22860 If you specify a height of either @code{unlimited} or zero lines,
22861 @value{GDBN} does not pause during output no matter how long the
22862 output is. This is useful if output is to a file or to an editor
22863 buffer.
22864
22865 Likewise, you can specify @samp{set width unlimited} or @samp{set
22866 width 0} to prevent @value{GDBN} from wrapping its output.
22867
22868 @item set pagination on
22869 @itemx set pagination off
22870 @kindex set pagination
22871 Turn the output pagination on or off; the default is on. Turning
22872 pagination off is the alternative to @code{set height unlimited}. Note that
22873 running @value{GDBN} with the @option{--batch} option (@pxref{Mode
22874 Options, -batch}) also automatically disables pagination.
22875
22876 @item show pagination
22877 @kindex show pagination
22878 Show the current pagination mode.
22879 @end table
22880
22881 @node Numbers
22882 @section Numbers
22883 @cindex number representation
22884 @cindex entering numbers
22885
22886 You can always enter numbers in octal, decimal, or hexadecimal in
22887 @value{GDBN} by the usual conventions: octal numbers begin with
22888 @samp{0}, decimal numbers end with @samp{.}, and hexadecimal numbers
22889 begin with @samp{0x}. Numbers that neither begin with @samp{0} or
22890 @samp{0x}, nor end with a @samp{.} are, by default, entered in base
22891 10; likewise, the default display for numbers---when no particular
22892 format is specified---is base 10. You can change the default base for
22893 both input and output with the commands described below.
22894
22895 @table @code
22896 @kindex set input-radix
22897 @item set input-radix @var{base}
22898 Set the default base for numeric input. Supported choices
22899 for @var{base} are decimal 8, 10, or 16. The base must itself be
22900 specified either unambiguously or using the current input radix; for
22901 example, any of
22902
22903 @smallexample
22904 set input-radix 012
22905 set input-radix 10.
22906 set input-radix 0xa
22907 @end smallexample
22908
22909 @noindent
22910 sets the input base to decimal. On the other hand, @samp{set input-radix 10}
22911 leaves the input radix unchanged, no matter what it was, since
22912 @samp{10}, being without any leading or trailing signs of its base, is
22913 interpreted in the current radix. Thus, if the current radix is 16,
22914 @samp{10} is interpreted in hex, i.e.@: as 16 decimal, which doesn't
22915 change the radix.
22916
22917 @kindex set output-radix
22918 @item set output-radix @var{base}
22919 Set the default base for numeric display. Supported choices
22920 for @var{base} are decimal 8, 10, or 16. The base must itself be
22921 specified either unambiguously or using the current input radix.
22922
22923 @kindex show input-radix
22924 @item show input-radix
22925 Display the current default base for numeric input.
22926
22927 @kindex show output-radix
22928 @item show output-radix
22929 Display the current default base for numeric display.
22930
22931 @item set radix @r{[}@var{base}@r{]}
22932 @itemx show radix
22933 @kindex set radix
22934 @kindex show radix
22935 These commands set and show the default base for both input and output
22936 of numbers. @code{set radix} sets the radix of input and output to
22937 the same base; without an argument, it resets the radix back to its
22938 default value of 10.
22939
22940 @end table
22941
22942 @node ABI
22943 @section Configuring the Current ABI
22944
22945 @value{GDBN} can determine the @dfn{ABI} (Application Binary Interface) of your
22946 application automatically. However, sometimes you need to override its
22947 conclusions. Use these commands to manage @value{GDBN}'s view of the
22948 current ABI.
22949
22950 @cindex OS ABI
22951 @kindex set osabi
22952 @kindex show osabi
22953 @cindex Newlib OS ABI and its influence on the longjmp handling
22954
22955 One @value{GDBN} configuration can debug binaries for multiple operating
22956 system targets, either via remote debugging or native emulation.
22957 @value{GDBN} will autodetect the @dfn{OS ABI} (Operating System ABI) in use,
22958 but you can override its conclusion using the @code{set osabi} command.
22959 One example where this is useful is in debugging of binaries which use
22960 an alternate C library (e.g.@: @sc{uClibc} for @sc{gnu}/Linux) which does
22961 not have the same identifying marks that the standard C library for your
22962 platform provides.
22963
22964 When @value{GDBN} is debugging the AArch64 architecture, it provides a
22965 ``Newlib'' OS ABI. This is useful for handling @code{setjmp} and
22966 @code{longjmp} when debugging binaries that use the @sc{newlib} C library.
22967 The ``Newlib'' OS ABI can be selected by @code{set osabi Newlib}.
22968
22969 @table @code
22970 @item show osabi
22971 Show the OS ABI currently in use.
22972
22973 @item set osabi
22974 With no argument, show the list of registered available OS ABI's.
22975
22976 @item set osabi @var{abi}
22977 Set the current OS ABI to @var{abi}.
22978 @end table
22979
22980 @cindex float promotion
22981
22982 Generally, the way that an argument of type @code{float} is passed to a
22983 function depends on whether the function is prototyped. For a prototyped
22984 (i.e.@: ANSI/ISO style) function, @code{float} arguments are passed unchanged,
22985 according to the architecture's convention for @code{float}. For unprototyped
22986 (i.e.@: K&R style) functions, @code{float} arguments are first promoted to type
22987 @code{double} and then passed.
22988
22989 Unfortunately, some forms of debug information do not reliably indicate whether
22990 a function is prototyped. If @value{GDBN} calls a function that is not marked
22991 as prototyped, it consults @kbd{set coerce-float-to-double}.
22992
22993 @table @code
22994 @kindex set coerce-float-to-double
22995 @item set coerce-float-to-double
22996 @itemx set coerce-float-to-double on
22997 Arguments of type @code{float} will be promoted to @code{double} when passed
22998 to an unprototyped function. This is the default setting.
22999
23000 @item set coerce-float-to-double off
23001 Arguments of type @code{float} will be passed directly to unprototyped
23002 functions.
23003
23004 @kindex show coerce-float-to-double
23005 @item show coerce-float-to-double
23006 Show the current setting of promoting @code{float} to @code{double}.
23007 @end table
23008
23009 @kindex set cp-abi
23010 @kindex show cp-abi
23011 @value{GDBN} needs to know the ABI used for your program's C@t{++}
23012 objects. The correct C@t{++} ABI depends on which C@t{++} compiler was
23013 used to build your application. @value{GDBN} only fully supports
23014 programs with a single C@t{++} ABI; if your program contains code using
23015 multiple C@t{++} ABI's or if @value{GDBN} can not identify your
23016 program's ABI correctly, you can tell @value{GDBN} which ABI to use.
23017 Currently supported ABI's include ``gnu-v2'', for @code{g++} versions
23018 before 3.0, ``gnu-v3'', for @code{g++} versions 3.0 and later, and
23019 ``hpaCC'' for the HP ANSI C@t{++} compiler. Other C@t{++} compilers may
23020 use the ``gnu-v2'' or ``gnu-v3'' ABI's as well. The default setting is
23021 ``auto''.
23022
23023 @table @code
23024 @item show cp-abi
23025 Show the C@t{++} ABI currently in use.
23026
23027 @item set cp-abi
23028 With no argument, show the list of supported C@t{++} ABI's.
23029
23030 @item set cp-abi @var{abi}
23031 @itemx set cp-abi auto
23032 Set the current C@t{++} ABI to @var{abi}, or return to automatic detection.
23033 @end table
23034
23035 @node Auto-loading
23036 @section Automatically loading associated files
23037 @cindex auto-loading
23038
23039 @value{GDBN} sometimes reads files with commands and settings automatically,
23040 without being explicitly told so by the user. We call this feature
23041 @dfn{auto-loading}. While auto-loading is useful for automatically adapting
23042 @value{GDBN} to the needs of your project, it can sometimes produce unexpected
23043 results or introduce security risks (e.g., if the file comes from untrusted
23044 sources).
23045
23046 @menu
23047 * Init File in the Current Directory:: @samp{set/show/info auto-load local-gdbinit}
23048 * libthread_db.so.1 file:: @samp{set/show/info auto-load libthread-db}
23049
23050 * Auto-loading safe path:: @samp{set/show/info auto-load safe-path}
23051 * Auto-loading verbose mode:: @samp{set/show debug auto-load}
23052 @end menu
23053
23054 There are various kinds of files @value{GDBN} can automatically load.
23055 In addition to these files, @value{GDBN} supports auto-loading code written
23056 in various extension languages. @xref{Auto-loading extensions}.
23057
23058 Note that loading of these associated files (including the local @file{.gdbinit}
23059 file) requires accordingly configured @code{auto-load safe-path}
23060 (@pxref{Auto-loading safe path}).
23061
23062 For these reasons, @value{GDBN} includes commands and options to let you
23063 control when to auto-load files and which files should be auto-loaded.
23064
23065 @table @code
23066 @anchor{set auto-load off}
23067 @kindex set auto-load off
23068 @item set auto-load off
23069 Globally disable loading of all auto-loaded files.
23070 You may want to use this command with the @samp{-iex} option
23071 (@pxref{Option -init-eval-command}) such as:
23072 @smallexample
23073 $ @kbd{gdb -iex "set auto-load off" untrusted-executable corefile}
23074 @end smallexample
23075
23076 Be aware that system init file (@pxref{System-wide configuration})
23077 and init files from your home directory (@pxref{Home Directory Init File})
23078 still get read (as they come from generally trusted directories).
23079 To prevent @value{GDBN} from auto-loading even those init files, use the
23080 @option{-nx} option (@pxref{Mode Options}), in addition to
23081 @code{set auto-load no}.
23082
23083 @anchor{show auto-load}
23084 @kindex show auto-load
23085 @item show auto-load
23086 Show whether auto-loading of each specific @samp{auto-load} file(s) is enabled
23087 or disabled.
23088
23089 @smallexample
23090 (gdb) show auto-load
23091 gdb-scripts: Auto-loading of canned sequences of commands scripts is on.
23092 libthread-db: Auto-loading of inferior specific libthread_db is on.
23093 local-gdbinit: Auto-loading of .gdbinit script from current directory
23094 is on.
23095 python-scripts: Auto-loading of Python scripts is on.
23096 safe-path: List of directories from which it is safe to auto-load files
23097 is $debugdir:$datadir/auto-load.
23098 scripts-directory: List of directories from which to load auto-loaded scripts
23099 is $debugdir:$datadir/auto-load.
23100 @end smallexample
23101
23102 @anchor{info auto-load}
23103 @kindex info auto-load
23104 @item info auto-load
23105 Print whether each specific @samp{auto-load} file(s) have been auto-loaded or
23106 not.
23107
23108 @smallexample
23109 (gdb) info auto-load
23110 gdb-scripts:
23111 Loaded Script
23112 Yes /home/user/gdb/gdb-gdb.gdb
23113 libthread-db: No auto-loaded libthread-db.
23114 local-gdbinit: Local .gdbinit file "/home/user/gdb/.gdbinit" has been
23115 loaded.
23116 python-scripts:
23117 Loaded Script
23118 Yes /home/user/gdb/gdb-gdb.py
23119 @end smallexample
23120 @end table
23121
23122 These are @value{GDBN} control commands for the auto-loading:
23123
23124 @multitable @columnfractions .5 .5
23125 @item @xref{set auto-load off}.
23126 @tab Disable auto-loading globally.
23127 @item @xref{show auto-load}.
23128 @tab Show setting of all kinds of files.
23129 @item @xref{info auto-load}.
23130 @tab Show state of all kinds of files.
23131 @item @xref{set auto-load gdb-scripts}.
23132 @tab Control for @value{GDBN} command scripts.
23133 @item @xref{show auto-load gdb-scripts}.
23134 @tab Show setting of @value{GDBN} command scripts.
23135 @item @xref{info auto-load gdb-scripts}.
23136 @tab Show state of @value{GDBN} command scripts.
23137 @item @xref{set auto-load python-scripts}.
23138 @tab Control for @value{GDBN} Python scripts.
23139 @item @xref{show auto-load python-scripts}.
23140 @tab Show setting of @value{GDBN} Python scripts.
23141 @item @xref{info auto-load python-scripts}.
23142 @tab Show state of @value{GDBN} Python scripts.
23143 @item @xref{set auto-load guile-scripts}.
23144 @tab Control for @value{GDBN} Guile scripts.
23145 @item @xref{show auto-load guile-scripts}.
23146 @tab Show setting of @value{GDBN} Guile scripts.
23147 @item @xref{info auto-load guile-scripts}.
23148 @tab Show state of @value{GDBN} Guile scripts.
23149 @item @xref{set auto-load scripts-directory}.
23150 @tab Control for @value{GDBN} auto-loaded scripts location.
23151 @item @xref{show auto-load scripts-directory}.
23152 @tab Show @value{GDBN} auto-loaded scripts location.
23153 @item @xref{add-auto-load-scripts-directory}.
23154 @tab Add directory for auto-loaded scripts location list.
23155 @item @xref{set auto-load local-gdbinit}.
23156 @tab Control for init file in the current directory.
23157 @item @xref{show auto-load local-gdbinit}.
23158 @tab Show setting of init file in the current directory.
23159 @item @xref{info auto-load local-gdbinit}.
23160 @tab Show state of init file in the current directory.
23161 @item @xref{set auto-load libthread-db}.
23162 @tab Control for thread debugging library.
23163 @item @xref{show auto-load libthread-db}.
23164 @tab Show setting of thread debugging library.
23165 @item @xref{info auto-load libthread-db}.
23166 @tab Show state of thread debugging library.
23167 @item @xref{set auto-load safe-path}.
23168 @tab Control directories trusted for automatic loading.
23169 @item @xref{show auto-load safe-path}.
23170 @tab Show directories trusted for automatic loading.
23171 @item @xref{add-auto-load-safe-path}.
23172 @tab Add directory trusted for automatic loading.
23173 @end multitable
23174
23175 @node Init File in the Current Directory
23176 @subsection Automatically loading init file in the current directory
23177 @cindex auto-loading init file in the current directory
23178
23179 By default, @value{GDBN} reads and executes the canned sequences of commands
23180 from init file (if any) in the current working directory,
23181 see @ref{Init File in the Current Directory during Startup}.
23182
23183 Note that loading of this local @file{.gdbinit} file also requires accordingly
23184 configured @code{auto-load safe-path} (@pxref{Auto-loading safe path}).
23185
23186 @table @code
23187 @anchor{set auto-load local-gdbinit}
23188 @kindex set auto-load local-gdbinit
23189 @item set auto-load local-gdbinit [on|off]
23190 Enable or disable the auto-loading of canned sequences of commands
23191 (@pxref{Sequences}) found in init file in the current directory.
23192
23193 @anchor{show auto-load local-gdbinit}
23194 @kindex show auto-load local-gdbinit
23195 @item show auto-load local-gdbinit
23196 Show whether auto-loading of canned sequences of commands from init file in the
23197 current directory is enabled or disabled.
23198
23199 @anchor{info auto-load local-gdbinit}
23200 @kindex info auto-load local-gdbinit
23201 @item info auto-load local-gdbinit
23202 Print whether canned sequences of commands from init file in the
23203 current directory have been auto-loaded.
23204 @end table
23205
23206 @node libthread_db.so.1 file
23207 @subsection Automatically loading thread debugging library
23208 @cindex auto-loading libthread_db.so.1
23209
23210 This feature is currently present only on @sc{gnu}/Linux native hosts.
23211
23212 @value{GDBN} reads in some cases thread debugging library from places specific
23213 to the inferior (@pxref{set libthread-db-search-path}).
23214
23215 The special @samp{libthread-db-search-path} entry @samp{$sdir} is processed
23216 without checking this @samp{set auto-load libthread-db} switch as system
23217 libraries have to be trusted in general. In all other cases of
23218 @samp{libthread-db-search-path} entries @value{GDBN} checks first if @samp{set
23219 auto-load libthread-db} is enabled before trying to open such thread debugging
23220 library.
23221
23222 Note that loading of this debugging library also requires accordingly configured
23223 @code{auto-load safe-path} (@pxref{Auto-loading safe path}).
23224
23225 @table @code
23226 @anchor{set auto-load libthread-db}
23227 @kindex set auto-load libthread-db
23228 @item set auto-load libthread-db [on|off]
23229 Enable or disable the auto-loading of inferior specific thread debugging library.
23230
23231 @anchor{show auto-load libthread-db}
23232 @kindex show auto-load libthread-db
23233 @item show auto-load libthread-db
23234 Show whether auto-loading of inferior specific thread debugging library is
23235 enabled or disabled.
23236
23237 @anchor{info auto-load libthread-db}
23238 @kindex info auto-load libthread-db
23239 @item info auto-load libthread-db
23240 Print the list of all loaded inferior specific thread debugging libraries and
23241 for each such library print list of inferior @var{pid}s using it.
23242 @end table
23243
23244 @node Auto-loading safe path
23245 @subsection Security restriction for auto-loading
23246 @cindex auto-loading safe-path
23247
23248 As the files of inferior can come from untrusted source (such as submitted by
23249 an application user) @value{GDBN} does not always load any files automatically.
23250 @value{GDBN} provides the @samp{set auto-load safe-path} setting to list
23251 directories trusted for loading files not explicitly requested by user.
23252 Each directory can also be a shell wildcard pattern.
23253
23254 If the path is not set properly you will see a warning and the file will not
23255 get loaded:
23256
23257 @smallexample
23258 $ ./gdb -q ./gdb
23259 Reading symbols from /home/user/gdb/gdb...done.
23260 warning: File "/home/user/gdb/gdb-gdb.gdb" auto-loading has been
23261 declined by your `auto-load safe-path' set
23262 to "$debugdir:$datadir/auto-load".
23263 warning: File "/home/user/gdb/gdb-gdb.py" auto-loading has been
23264 declined by your `auto-load safe-path' set
23265 to "$debugdir:$datadir/auto-load".
23266 @end smallexample
23267
23268 @noindent
23269 To instruct @value{GDBN} to go ahead and use the init files anyway,
23270 invoke @value{GDBN} like this:
23271
23272 @smallexample
23273 $ gdb -q -iex "set auto-load safe-path /home/user/gdb" ./gdb
23274 @end smallexample
23275
23276 The list of trusted directories is controlled by the following commands:
23277
23278 @table @code
23279 @anchor{set auto-load safe-path}
23280 @kindex set auto-load safe-path
23281 @item set auto-load safe-path @r{[}@var{directories}@r{]}
23282 Set the list of directories (and their subdirectories) trusted for automatic
23283 loading and execution of scripts. You can also enter a specific trusted file.
23284 Each directory can also be a shell wildcard pattern; wildcards do not match
23285 directory separator - see @code{FNM_PATHNAME} for system function @code{fnmatch}
23286 (@pxref{Wildcard Matching, fnmatch, , libc, GNU C Library Reference Manual}).
23287 If you omit @var{directories}, @samp{auto-load safe-path} will be reset to
23288 its default value as specified during @value{GDBN} compilation.
23289
23290 The list of directories uses path separator (@samp{:} on GNU and Unix
23291 systems, @samp{;} on MS-Windows and MS-DOS) to separate directories, similarly
23292 to the @env{PATH} environment variable.
23293
23294 @anchor{show auto-load safe-path}
23295 @kindex show auto-load safe-path
23296 @item show auto-load safe-path
23297 Show the list of directories trusted for automatic loading and execution of
23298 scripts.
23299
23300 @anchor{add-auto-load-safe-path}
23301 @kindex add-auto-load-safe-path
23302 @item add-auto-load-safe-path
23303 Add an entry (or list of entries) to the list of directories trusted for
23304 automatic loading and execution of scripts. Multiple entries may be delimited
23305 by the host platform path separator in use.
23306 @end table
23307
23308 This variable defaults to what @code{--with-auto-load-dir} has been configured
23309 to (@pxref{with-auto-load-dir}). @file{$debugdir} and @file{$datadir}
23310 substitution applies the same as for @ref{set auto-load scripts-directory}.
23311 The default @code{set auto-load safe-path} value can be also overriden by
23312 @value{GDBN} configuration option @option{--with-auto-load-safe-path}.
23313
23314 Setting this variable to @file{/} disables this security protection,
23315 corresponding @value{GDBN} configuration option is
23316 @option{--without-auto-load-safe-path}.
23317 This variable is supposed to be set to the system directories writable by the
23318 system superuser only. Users can add their source directories in init files in
23319 their home directories (@pxref{Home Directory Init File}). See also deprecated
23320 init file in the current directory
23321 (@pxref{Init File in the Current Directory during Startup}).
23322
23323 To force @value{GDBN} to load the files it declined to load in the previous
23324 example, you could use one of the following ways:
23325
23326 @table @asis
23327 @item @file{~/.gdbinit}: @samp{add-auto-load-safe-path ~/src/gdb}
23328 Specify this trusted directory (or a file) as additional component of the list.
23329 You have to specify also any existing directories displayed by
23330 by @samp{show auto-load safe-path} (such as @samp{/usr:/bin} in this example).
23331
23332 @item @kbd{gdb -iex "set auto-load safe-path /usr:/bin:~/src/gdb" @dots{}}
23333 Specify this directory as in the previous case but just for a single
23334 @value{GDBN} session.
23335
23336 @item @kbd{gdb -iex "set auto-load safe-path /" @dots{}}
23337 Disable auto-loading safety for a single @value{GDBN} session.
23338 This assumes all the files you debug during this @value{GDBN} session will come
23339 from trusted sources.
23340
23341 @item @kbd{./configure --without-auto-load-safe-path}
23342 During compilation of @value{GDBN} you may disable any auto-loading safety.
23343 This assumes all the files you will ever debug with this @value{GDBN} come from
23344 trusted sources.
23345 @end table
23346
23347 On the other hand you can also explicitly forbid automatic files loading which
23348 also suppresses any such warning messages:
23349
23350 @table @asis
23351 @item @kbd{gdb -iex "set auto-load no" @dots{}}
23352 You can use @value{GDBN} command-line option for a single @value{GDBN} session.
23353
23354 @item @file{~/.gdbinit}: @samp{set auto-load no}
23355 Disable auto-loading globally for the user
23356 (@pxref{Home Directory Init File}). While it is improbable, you could also
23357 use system init file instead (@pxref{System-wide configuration}).
23358 @end table
23359
23360 This setting applies to the file names as entered by user. If no entry matches
23361 @value{GDBN} tries as a last resort to also resolve all the file names into
23362 their canonical form (typically resolving symbolic links) and compare the
23363 entries again. @value{GDBN} already canonicalizes most of the filenames on its
23364 own before starting the comparison so a canonical form of directories is
23365 recommended to be entered.
23366
23367 @node Auto-loading verbose mode
23368 @subsection Displaying files tried for auto-load
23369 @cindex auto-loading verbose mode
23370
23371 For better visibility of all the file locations where you can place scripts to
23372 be auto-loaded with inferior --- or to protect yourself against accidental
23373 execution of untrusted scripts --- @value{GDBN} provides a feature for printing
23374 all the files attempted to be loaded. Both existing and non-existing files may
23375 be printed.
23376
23377 For example the list of directories from which it is safe to auto-load files
23378 (@pxref{Auto-loading safe path}) applies also to canonicalized filenames which
23379 may not be too obvious while setting it up.
23380
23381 @smallexample
23382 (gdb) set debug auto-load on
23383 (gdb) file ~/src/t/true
23384 auto-load: Loading canned sequences of commands script "/tmp/true-gdb.gdb"
23385 for objfile "/tmp/true".
23386 auto-load: Updating directories of "/usr:/opt".
23387 auto-load: Using directory "/usr".
23388 auto-load: Using directory "/opt".
23389 warning: File "/tmp/true-gdb.gdb" auto-loading has been declined
23390 by your `auto-load safe-path' set to "/usr:/opt".
23391 @end smallexample
23392
23393 @table @code
23394 @anchor{set debug auto-load}
23395 @kindex set debug auto-load
23396 @item set debug auto-load [on|off]
23397 Set whether to print the filenames attempted to be auto-loaded.
23398
23399 @anchor{show debug auto-load}
23400 @kindex show debug auto-load
23401 @item show debug auto-load
23402 Show whether printing of the filenames attempted to be auto-loaded is turned
23403 on or off.
23404 @end table
23405
23406 @node Messages/Warnings
23407 @section Optional Warnings and Messages
23408
23409 @cindex verbose operation
23410 @cindex optional warnings
23411 By default, @value{GDBN} is silent about its inner workings. If you are
23412 running on a slow machine, you may want to use the @code{set verbose}
23413 command. This makes @value{GDBN} tell you when it does a lengthy
23414 internal operation, so you will not think it has crashed.
23415
23416 Currently, the messages controlled by @code{set verbose} are those
23417 which announce that the symbol table for a source file is being read;
23418 see @code{symbol-file} in @ref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}.
23419
23420 @table @code
23421 @kindex set verbose
23422 @item set verbose on
23423 Enables @value{GDBN} output of certain informational messages.
23424
23425 @item set verbose off
23426 Disables @value{GDBN} output of certain informational messages.
23427
23428 @kindex show verbose
23429 @item show verbose
23430 Displays whether @code{set verbose} is on or off.
23431 @end table
23432
23433 By default, if @value{GDBN} encounters bugs in the symbol table of an
23434 object file, it is silent; but if you are debugging a compiler, you may
23435 find this information useful (@pxref{Symbol Errors, ,Errors Reading
23436 Symbol Files}).
23437
23438 @table @code
23439
23440 @kindex set complaints
23441 @item set complaints @var{limit}
23442 Permits @value{GDBN} to output @var{limit} complaints about each type of
23443 unusual symbols before becoming silent about the problem. Set
23444 @var{limit} to zero to suppress all complaints; set it to a large number
23445 to prevent complaints from being suppressed.
23446
23447 @kindex show complaints
23448 @item show complaints
23449 Displays how many symbol complaints @value{GDBN} is permitted to produce.
23450
23451 @end table
23452
23453 @anchor{confirmation requests}
23454 By default, @value{GDBN} is cautious, and asks what sometimes seems to be a
23455 lot of stupid questions to confirm certain commands. For example, if
23456 you try to run a program which is already running:
23457
23458 @smallexample
23459 (@value{GDBP}) run
23460 The program being debugged has been started already.
23461 Start it from the beginning? (y or n)
23462 @end smallexample
23463
23464 If you are willing to unflinchingly face the consequences of your own
23465 commands, you can disable this ``feature'':
23466
23467 @table @code
23468
23469 @kindex set confirm
23470 @cindex flinching
23471 @cindex confirmation
23472 @cindex stupid questions
23473 @item set confirm off
23474 Disables confirmation requests. Note that running @value{GDBN} with
23475 the @option{--batch} option (@pxref{Mode Options, -batch}) also
23476 automatically disables confirmation requests.
23477
23478 @item set confirm on
23479 Enables confirmation requests (the default).
23480
23481 @kindex show confirm
23482 @item show confirm
23483 Displays state of confirmation requests.
23484
23485 @end table
23486
23487 @cindex command tracing
23488 If you need to debug user-defined commands or sourced files you may find it
23489 useful to enable @dfn{command tracing}. In this mode each command will be
23490 printed as it is executed, prefixed with one or more @samp{+} symbols, the
23491 quantity denoting the call depth of each command.
23492
23493 @table @code
23494 @kindex set trace-commands
23495 @cindex command scripts, debugging
23496 @item set trace-commands on
23497 Enable command tracing.
23498 @item set trace-commands off
23499 Disable command tracing.
23500 @item show trace-commands
23501 Display the current state of command tracing.
23502 @end table
23503
23504 @node Debugging Output
23505 @section Optional Messages about Internal Happenings
23506 @cindex optional debugging messages
23507
23508 @value{GDBN} has commands that enable optional debugging messages from
23509 various @value{GDBN} subsystems; normally these commands are of
23510 interest to @value{GDBN} maintainers, or when reporting a bug. This
23511 section documents those commands.
23512
23513 @table @code
23514 @kindex set exec-done-display
23515 @item set exec-done-display
23516 Turns on or off the notification of asynchronous commands'
23517 completion. When on, @value{GDBN} will print a message when an
23518 asynchronous command finishes its execution. The default is off.
23519 @kindex show exec-done-display
23520 @item show exec-done-display
23521 Displays the current setting of asynchronous command completion
23522 notification.
23523 @kindex set debug
23524 @cindex ARM AArch64
23525 @item set debug aarch64
23526 Turns on or off display of debugging messages related to ARM AArch64.
23527 The default is off.
23528 @kindex show debug
23529 @item show debug aarch64
23530 Displays the current state of displaying debugging messages related to
23531 ARM AArch64.
23532 @cindex gdbarch debugging info
23533 @cindex architecture debugging info
23534 @item set debug arch
23535 Turns on or off display of gdbarch debugging info. The default is off
23536 @item show debug arch
23537 Displays the current state of displaying gdbarch debugging info.
23538 @item set debug aix-solib
23539 @cindex AIX shared library debugging
23540 Control display of debugging messages from the AIX shared library
23541 support module. The default is off.
23542 @item show debug aix-thread
23543 Show the current state of displaying AIX shared library debugging messages.
23544 @item set debug aix-thread
23545 @cindex AIX threads
23546 Display debugging messages about inner workings of the AIX thread
23547 module.
23548 @item show debug aix-thread
23549 Show the current state of AIX thread debugging info display.
23550 @item set debug check-physname
23551 @cindex physname
23552 Check the results of the ``physname'' computation. When reading DWARF
23553 debugging information for C@t{++}, @value{GDBN} attempts to compute
23554 each entity's name. @value{GDBN} can do this computation in two
23555 different ways, depending on exactly what information is present.
23556 When enabled, this setting causes @value{GDBN} to compute the names
23557 both ways and display any discrepancies.
23558 @item show debug check-physname
23559 Show the current state of ``physname'' checking.
23560 @item set debug coff-pe-read
23561 @cindex COFF/PE exported symbols
23562 Control display of debugging messages related to reading of COFF/PE
23563 exported symbols. The default is off.
23564 @item show debug coff-pe-read
23565 Displays the current state of displaying debugging messages related to
23566 reading of COFF/PE exported symbols.
23567 @item set debug dwarf-die
23568 @cindex DWARF DIEs
23569 Dump DWARF DIEs after they are read in.
23570 The value is the number of nesting levels to print.
23571 A value of zero turns off the display.
23572 @item show debug dwarf-die
23573 Show the current state of DWARF DIE debugging.
23574 @item set debug dwarf-line
23575 @cindex DWARF Line Tables
23576 Turns on or off display of debugging messages related to reading
23577 DWARF line tables. The default is 0 (off).
23578 A value of 1 provides basic information.
23579 A value greater than 1 provides more verbose information.
23580 @item show debug dwarf-line
23581 Show the current state of DWARF line table debugging.
23582 @item set debug dwarf-read
23583 @cindex DWARF Reading
23584 Turns on or off display of debugging messages related to reading
23585 DWARF debug info. The default is 0 (off).
23586 A value of 1 provides basic information.
23587 A value greater than 1 provides more verbose information.
23588 @item show debug dwarf-read
23589 Show the current state of DWARF reader debugging.
23590 @item set debug displaced
23591 @cindex displaced stepping debugging info
23592 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} debugging info for the
23593 displaced stepping support. The default is off.
23594 @item show debug displaced
23595 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} debugging info
23596 related to displaced stepping.
23597 @item set debug event
23598 @cindex event debugging info
23599 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} event debugging info. The
23600 default is off.
23601 @item show debug event
23602 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} event debugging
23603 info.
23604 @item set debug expression
23605 @cindex expression debugging info
23606 Turns on or off display of debugging info about @value{GDBN}
23607 expression parsing. The default is off.
23608 @item show debug expression
23609 Displays the current state of displaying debugging info about
23610 @value{GDBN} expression parsing.
23611 @item set debug frame
23612 @cindex frame debugging info
23613 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} frame debugging info. The
23614 default is off.
23615 @item show debug frame
23616 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} frame debugging
23617 info.
23618 @item set debug gnu-nat
23619 @cindex @sc{gnu}/Hurd debug messages
23620 Turns on or off debugging messages from the @sc{gnu}/Hurd debug support.
23621 @item show debug gnu-nat
23622 Show the current state of @sc{gnu}/Hurd debugging messages.
23623 @item set debug infrun
23624 @cindex inferior debugging info
23625 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} debugging info for running the inferior.
23626 The default is off. @file{infrun.c} contains GDB's runtime state machine used
23627 for implementing operations such as single-stepping the inferior.
23628 @item show debug infrun
23629 Displays the current state of @value{GDBN} inferior debugging.
23630 @item set debug jit
23631 @cindex just-in-time compilation, debugging messages
23632 Turns on or off debugging messages from JIT debug support.
23633 @item show debug jit
23634 Displays the current state of @value{GDBN} JIT debugging.
23635 @item set debug lin-lwp
23636 @cindex @sc{gnu}/Linux LWP debug messages
23637 @cindex Linux lightweight processes
23638 Turns on or off debugging messages from the Linux LWP debug support.
23639 @item show debug lin-lwp
23640 Show the current state of Linux LWP debugging messages.
23641 @item set debug linux-namespaces
23642 @cindex @sc{gnu}/Linux namespaces debug messages
23643 Turns on or off debugging messages from the Linux namespaces debug support.
23644 @item show debug linux-namespaces
23645 Show the current state of Linux namespaces debugging messages.
23646 @item set debug mach-o
23647 @cindex Mach-O symbols processing
23648 Control display of debugging messages related to Mach-O symbols
23649 processing. The default is off.
23650 @item show debug mach-o
23651 Displays the current state of displaying debugging messages related to
23652 reading of COFF/PE exported symbols.
23653 @item set debug notification
23654 @cindex remote async notification debugging info
23655 Turns on or off debugging messages about remote async notification.
23656 The default is off.
23657 @item show debug notification
23658 Displays the current state of remote async notification debugging messages.
23659 @item set debug observer
23660 @cindex observer debugging info
23661 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} observer debugging. This
23662 includes info such as the notification of observable events.
23663 @item show debug observer
23664 Displays the current state of observer debugging.
23665 @item set debug overload
23666 @cindex C@t{++} overload debugging info
23667 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} C@t{++} overload debugging
23668 info. This includes info such as ranking of functions, etc. The default
23669 is off.
23670 @item show debug overload
23671 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} C@t{++} overload
23672 debugging info.
23673 @cindex expression parser, debugging info
23674 @cindex debug expression parser
23675 @item set debug parser
23676 Turns on or off the display of expression parser debugging output.
23677 Internally, this sets the @code{yydebug} variable in the expression
23678 parser. @xref{Tracing, , Tracing Your Parser, bison, Bison}, for
23679 details. The default is off.
23680 @item show debug parser
23681 Show the current state of expression parser debugging.
23682 @cindex packets, reporting on stdout
23683 @cindex serial connections, debugging
23684 @cindex debug remote protocol
23685 @cindex remote protocol debugging
23686 @cindex display remote packets
23687 @item set debug remote
23688 Turns on or off display of reports on all packets sent back and forth across
23689 the serial line to the remote machine. The info is printed on the
23690 @value{GDBN} standard output stream. The default is off.
23691 @item show debug remote
23692 Displays the state of display of remote packets.
23693 @item set debug serial
23694 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} serial debugging info. The
23695 default is off.
23696 @item show debug serial
23697 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} serial debugging
23698 info.
23699 @item set debug solib-frv
23700 @cindex FR-V shared-library debugging
23701 Turns on or off debugging messages for FR-V shared-library code.
23702 @item show debug solib-frv
23703 Display the current state of FR-V shared-library code debugging
23704 messages.
23705 @item set debug symbol-lookup
23706 @cindex symbol lookup
23707 Turns on or off display of debugging messages related to symbol lookup.
23708 The default is 0 (off).
23709 A value of 1 provides basic information.
23710 A value greater than 1 provides more verbose information.
23711 @item show debug symbol-lookup
23712 Show the current state of symbol lookup debugging messages.
23713 @item set debug symfile
23714 @cindex symbol file functions
23715 Turns on or off display of debugging messages related to symbol file functions.
23716 The default is off. @xref{Files}.
23717 @item show debug symfile
23718 Show the current state of symbol file debugging messages.
23719 @item set debug symtab-create
23720 @cindex symbol table creation
23721 Turns on or off display of debugging messages related to symbol table creation.
23722 The default is 0 (off).
23723 A value of 1 provides basic information.
23724 A value greater than 1 provides more verbose information.
23725 @item show debug symtab-create
23726 Show the current state of symbol table creation debugging.
23727 @item set debug target
23728 @cindex target debugging info
23729 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} target debugging info. This info
23730 includes what is going on at the target level of GDB, as it happens. The
23731 default is 0. Set it to 1 to track events, and to 2 to also track the
23732 value of large memory transfers.
23733 @item show debug target
23734 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} target debugging
23735 info.
23736 @item set debug timestamp
23737 @cindex timestampping debugging info
23738 Turns on or off display of timestamps with @value{GDBN} debugging info.
23739 When enabled, seconds and microseconds are displayed before each debugging
23740 message.
23741 @item show debug timestamp
23742 Displays the current state of displaying timestamps with @value{GDBN}
23743 debugging info.
23744 @item set debug varobj
23745 @cindex variable object debugging info
23746 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} variable object debugging
23747 info. The default is off.
23748 @item show debug varobj
23749 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} variable object
23750 debugging info.
23751 @item set debug xml
23752 @cindex XML parser debugging
23753 Turns on or off debugging messages for built-in XML parsers.
23754 @item show debug xml
23755 Displays the current state of XML debugging messages.
23756 @end table
23757
23758 @node Other Misc Settings
23759 @section Other Miscellaneous Settings
23760 @cindex miscellaneous settings
23761
23762 @table @code
23763 @kindex set interactive-mode
23764 @item set interactive-mode
23765 If @code{on}, forces @value{GDBN} to assume that GDB was started
23766 in a terminal. In practice, this means that @value{GDBN} should wait
23767 for the user to answer queries generated by commands entered at
23768 the command prompt. If @code{off}, forces @value{GDBN} to operate
23769 in the opposite mode, and it uses the default answers to all queries.
23770 If @code{auto} (the default), @value{GDBN} tries to determine whether
23771 its standard input is a terminal, and works in interactive-mode if it
23772 is, non-interactively otherwise.
23773
23774 In the vast majority of cases, the debugger should be able to guess
23775 correctly which mode should be used. But this setting can be useful
23776 in certain specific cases, such as running a MinGW @value{GDBN}
23777 inside a cygwin window.
23778
23779 @kindex show interactive-mode
23780 @item show interactive-mode
23781 Displays whether the debugger is operating in interactive mode or not.
23782 @end table
23783
23784 @node Extending GDB
23785 @chapter Extending @value{GDBN}
23786 @cindex extending GDB
23787
23788 @value{GDBN} provides several mechanisms for extension.
23789 @value{GDBN} also provides the ability to automatically load
23790 extensions when it reads a file for debugging. This allows the
23791 user to automatically customize @value{GDBN} for the program
23792 being debugged.
23793
23794 @menu
23795 * Sequences:: Canned Sequences of @value{GDBN} Commands
23796 * Python:: Extending @value{GDBN} using Python
23797 * Guile:: Extending @value{GDBN} using Guile
23798 * Auto-loading extensions:: Automatically loading extensions
23799 * Multiple Extension Languages:: Working with multiple extension languages
23800 * Aliases:: Creating new spellings of existing commands
23801 @end menu
23802
23803 To facilitate the use of extension languages, @value{GDBN} is capable
23804 of evaluating the contents of a file. When doing so, @value{GDBN}
23805 can recognize which extension language is being used by looking at
23806 the filename extension. Files with an unrecognized filename extension
23807 are always treated as a @value{GDBN} Command Files.
23808 @xref{Command Files,, Command files}.
23809
23810 You can control how @value{GDBN} evaluates these files with the following
23811 setting:
23812
23813 @table @code
23814 @kindex set script-extension
23815 @kindex show script-extension
23816 @item set script-extension off
23817 All scripts are always evaluated as @value{GDBN} Command Files.
23818
23819 @item set script-extension soft
23820 The debugger determines the scripting language based on filename
23821 extension. If this scripting language is supported, @value{GDBN}
23822 evaluates the script using that language. Otherwise, it evaluates
23823 the file as a @value{GDBN} Command File.
23824
23825 @item set script-extension strict
23826 The debugger determines the scripting language based on filename
23827 extension, and evaluates the script using that language. If the
23828 language is not supported, then the evaluation fails.
23829
23830 @item show script-extension
23831 Display the current value of the @code{script-extension} option.
23832
23833 @end table
23834
23835 @node Sequences
23836 @section Canned Sequences of Commands
23837
23838 Aside from breakpoint commands (@pxref{Break Commands, ,Breakpoint
23839 Command Lists}), @value{GDBN} provides two ways to store sequences of
23840 commands for execution as a unit: user-defined commands and command
23841 files.
23842
23843 @menu
23844 * Define:: How to define your own commands
23845 * Hooks:: Hooks for user-defined commands
23846 * Command Files:: How to write scripts of commands to be stored in a file
23847 * Output:: Commands for controlled output
23848 * Auto-loading sequences:: Controlling auto-loaded command files
23849 @end menu
23850
23851 @node Define
23852 @subsection User-defined Commands
23853
23854 @cindex user-defined command
23855 @cindex arguments, to user-defined commands
23856 A @dfn{user-defined command} is a sequence of @value{GDBN} commands to
23857 which you assign a new name as a command. This is done with the
23858 @code{define} command. User commands may accept up to 10 arguments
23859 separated by whitespace. Arguments are accessed within the user command
23860 via @code{$arg0@dots{}$arg9}. A trivial example:
23861
23862 @smallexample
23863 define adder
23864 print $arg0 + $arg1 + $arg2
23865 end
23866 @end smallexample
23867
23868 @noindent
23869 To execute the command use:
23870
23871 @smallexample
23872 adder 1 2 3
23873 @end smallexample
23874
23875 @noindent
23876 This defines the command @code{adder}, which prints the sum of
23877 its three arguments. Note the arguments are text substitutions, so they may
23878 reference variables, use complex expressions, or even perform inferior
23879 functions calls.
23880
23881 @cindex argument count in user-defined commands
23882 @cindex how many arguments (user-defined commands)
23883 In addition, @code{$argc} may be used to find out how many arguments have
23884 been passed. This expands to a number in the range 0@dots{}10.
23885
23886 @smallexample
23887 define adder
23888 if $argc == 2
23889 print $arg0 + $arg1
23890 end
23891 if $argc == 3
23892 print $arg0 + $arg1 + $arg2
23893 end
23894 end
23895 @end smallexample
23896
23897 @table @code
23898
23899 @kindex define
23900 @item define @var{commandname}
23901 Define a command named @var{commandname}. If there is already a command
23902 by that name, you are asked to confirm that you want to redefine it.
23903 The argument @var{commandname} may be a bare command name consisting of letters,
23904 numbers, dashes, and underscores. It may also start with any predefined
23905 prefix command. For example, @samp{define target my-target} creates
23906 a user-defined @samp{target my-target} command.
23907
23908 The definition of the command is made up of other @value{GDBN} command lines,
23909 which are given following the @code{define} command. The end of these
23910 commands is marked by a line containing @code{end}.
23911
23912 @kindex document
23913 @kindex end@r{ (user-defined commands)}
23914 @item document @var{commandname}
23915 Document the user-defined command @var{commandname}, so that it can be
23916 accessed by @code{help}. The command @var{commandname} must already be
23917 defined. This command reads lines of documentation just as @code{define}
23918 reads the lines of the command definition, ending with @code{end}.
23919 After the @code{document} command is finished, @code{help} on command
23920 @var{commandname} displays the documentation you have written.
23921
23922 You may use the @code{document} command again to change the
23923 documentation of a command. Redefining the command with @code{define}
23924 does not change the documentation.
23925
23926 @kindex dont-repeat
23927 @cindex don't repeat command
23928 @item dont-repeat
23929 Used inside a user-defined command, this tells @value{GDBN} that this
23930 command should not be repeated when the user hits @key{RET}
23931 (@pxref{Command Syntax, repeat last command}).
23932
23933 @kindex help user-defined
23934 @item help user-defined
23935 List all user-defined commands and all python commands defined in class
23936 COMAND_USER. The first line of the documentation or docstring is
23937 included (if any).
23938
23939 @kindex show user
23940 @item show user
23941 @itemx show user @var{commandname}
23942 Display the @value{GDBN} commands used to define @var{commandname} (but
23943 not its documentation). If no @var{commandname} is given, display the
23944 definitions for all user-defined commands.
23945 This does not work for user-defined python commands.
23946
23947 @cindex infinite recursion in user-defined commands
23948 @kindex show max-user-call-depth
23949 @kindex set max-user-call-depth
23950 @item show max-user-call-depth
23951 @itemx set max-user-call-depth
23952 The value of @code{max-user-call-depth} controls how many recursion
23953 levels are allowed in user-defined commands before @value{GDBN} suspects an
23954 infinite recursion and aborts the command.
23955 This does not apply to user-defined python commands.
23956 @end table
23957
23958 In addition to the above commands, user-defined commands frequently
23959 use control flow commands, described in @ref{Command Files}.
23960
23961 When user-defined commands are executed, the
23962 commands of the definition are not printed. An error in any command
23963 stops execution of the user-defined command.
23964
23965 If used interactively, commands that would ask for confirmation proceed
23966 without asking when used inside a user-defined command. Many @value{GDBN}
23967 commands that normally print messages to say what they are doing omit the
23968 messages when used in a user-defined command.
23969
23970 @node Hooks
23971 @subsection User-defined Command Hooks
23972 @cindex command hooks
23973 @cindex hooks, for commands
23974 @cindex hooks, pre-command
23975
23976 @kindex hook
23977 You may define @dfn{hooks}, which are a special kind of user-defined
23978 command. Whenever you run the command @samp{foo}, if the user-defined
23979 command @samp{hook-foo} exists, it is executed (with no arguments)
23980 before that command.
23981
23982 @cindex hooks, post-command
23983 @kindex hookpost
23984 A hook may also be defined which is run after the command you executed.
23985 Whenever you run the command @samp{foo}, if the user-defined command
23986 @samp{hookpost-foo} exists, it is executed (with no arguments) after
23987 that command. Post-execution hooks may exist simultaneously with
23988 pre-execution hooks, for the same command.
23989
23990 It is valid for a hook to call the command which it hooks. If this
23991 occurs, the hook is not re-executed, thereby avoiding infinite recursion.
23992
23993 @c It would be nice if hookpost could be passed a parameter indicating
23994 @c if the command it hooks executed properly or not. FIXME!
23995
23996 @kindex stop@r{, a pseudo-command}
23997 In addition, a pseudo-command, @samp{stop} exists. Defining
23998 (@samp{hook-stop}) makes the associated commands execute every time
23999 execution stops in your program: before breakpoint commands are run,
24000 displays are printed, or the stack frame is printed.
24001
24002 For example, to ignore @code{SIGALRM} signals while
24003 single-stepping, but treat them normally during normal execution,
24004 you could define:
24005
24006 @smallexample
24007 define hook-stop
24008 handle SIGALRM nopass
24009 end
24010
24011 define hook-run
24012 handle SIGALRM pass
24013 end
24014
24015 define hook-continue
24016 handle SIGALRM pass
24017 end
24018 @end smallexample
24019
24020 As a further example, to hook at the beginning and end of the @code{echo}
24021 command, and to add extra text to the beginning and end of the message,
24022 you could define:
24023
24024 @smallexample
24025 define hook-echo
24026 echo <<<---
24027 end
24028
24029 define hookpost-echo
24030 echo --->>>\n
24031 end
24032
24033 (@value{GDBP}) echo Hello World
24034 <<<---Hello World--->>>
24035 (@value{GDBP})
24036
24037 @end smallexample
24038
24039 You can define a hook for any single-word command in @value{GDBN}, but
24040 not for command aliases; you should define a hook for the basic command
24041 name, e.g.@: @code{backtrace} rather than @code{bt}.
24042 @c FIXME! So how does Joe User discover whether a command is an alias
24043 @c or not?
24044 You can hook a multi-word command by adding @code{hook-} or
24045 @code{hookpost-} to the last word of the command, e.g.@:
24046 @samp{define target hook-remote} to add a hook to @samp{target remote}.
24047
24048 If an error occurs during the execution of your hook, execution of
24049 @value{GDBN} commands stops and @value{GDBN} issues a prompt
24050 (before the command that you actually typed had a chance to run).
24051
24052 If you try to define a hook which does not match any known command, you
24053 get a warning from the @code{define} command.
24054
24055 @node Command Files
24056 @subsection Command Files
24057
24058 @cindex command files
24059 @cindex scripting commands
24060 A command file for @value{GDBN} is a text file made of lines that are
24061 @value{GDBN} commands. Comments (lines starting with @kbd{#}) may
24062 also be included. An empty line in a command file does nothing; it
24063 does not mean to repeat the last command, as it would from the
24064 terminal.
24065
24066 You can request the execution of a command file with the @code{source}
24067 command. Note that the @code{source} command is also used to evaluate
24068 scripts that are not Command Files. The exact behavior can be configured
24069 using the @code{script-extension} setting.
24070 @xref{Extending GDB,, Extending GDB}.
24071
24072 @table @code
24073 @kindex source
24074 @cindex execute commands from a file
24075 @item source [-s] [-v] @var{filename}
24076 Execute the command file @var{filename}.
24077 @end table
24078
24079 The lines in a command file are generally executed sequentially,
24080 unless the order of execution is changed by one of the
24081 @emph{flow-control commands} described below. The commands are not
24082 printed as they are executed. An error in any command terminates
24083 execution of the command file and control is returned to the console.
24084
24085 @value{GDBN} first searches for @var{filename} in the current directory.
24086 If the file is not found there, and @var{filename} does not specify a
24087 directory, then @value{GDBN} also looks for the file on the source search path
24088 (specified with the @samp{directory} command);
24089 except that @file{$cdir} is not searched because the compilation directory
24090 is not relevant to scripts.
24091
24092 If @code{-s} is specified, then @value{GDBN} searches for @var{filename}
24093 on the search path even if @var{filename} specifies a directory.
24094 The search is done by appending @var{filename} to each element of the
24095 search path. So, for example, if @var{filename} is @file{mylib/myscript}
24096 and the search path contains @file{/home/user} then @value{GDBN} will
24097 look for the script @file{/home/user/mylib/myscript}.
24098 The search is also done if @var{filename} is an absolute path.
24099 For example, if @var{filename} is @file{/tmp/myscript} and
24100 the search path contains @file{/home/user} then @value{GDBN} will
24101 look for the script @file{/home/user/tmp/myscript}.
24102 For DOS-like systems, if @var{filename} contains a drive specification,
24103 it is stripped before concatenation. For example, if @var{filename} is
24104 @file{d:myscript} and the search path contains @file{c:/tmp} then @value{GDBN}
24105 will look for the script @file{c:/tmp/myscript}.
24106
24107 If @code{-v}, for verbose mode, is given then @value{GDBN} displays
24108 each command as it is executed. The option must be given before
24109 @var{filename}, and is interpreted as part of the filename anywhere else.
24110
24111 Commands that would ask for confirmation if used interactively proceed
24112 without asking when used in a command file. Many @value{GDBN} commands that
24113 normally print messages to say what they are doing omit the messages
24114 when called from command files.
24115
24116 @value{GDBN} also accepts command input from standard input. In this
24117 mode, normal output goes to standard output and error output goes to
24118 standard error. Errors in a command file supplied on standard input do
24119 not terminate execution of the command file---execution continues with
24120 the next command.
24121
24122 @smallexample
24123 gdb < cmds > log 2>&1
24124 @end smallexample
24125
24126 (The syntax above will vary depending on the shell used.) This example
24127 will execute commands from the file @file{cmds}. All output and errors
24128 would be directed to @file{log}.
24129
24130 Since commands stored on command files tend to be more general than
24131 commands typed interactively, they frequently need to deal with
24132 complicated situations, such as different or unexpected values of
24133 variables and symbols, changes in how the program being debugged is
24134 built, etc. @value{GDBN} provides a set of flow-control commands to
24135 deal with these complexities. Using these commands, you can write
24136 complex scripts that loop over data structures, execute commands
24137 conditionally, etc.
24138
24139 @table @code
24140 @kindex if
24141 @kindex else
24142 @item if
24143 @itemx else
24144 This command allows to include in your script conditionally executed
24145 commands. The @code{if} command takes a single argument, which is an
24146 expression to evaluate. It is followed by a series of commands that
24147 are executed only if the expression is true (its value is nonzero).
24148 There can then optionally be an @code{else} line, followed by a series
24149 of commands that are only executed if the expression was false. The
24150 end of the list is marked by a line containing @code{end}.
24151
24152 @kindex while
24153 @item while
24154 This command allows to write loops. Its syntax is similar to
24155 @code{if}: the command takes a single argument, which is an expression
24156 to evaluate, and must be followed by the commands to execute, one per
24157 line, terminated by an @code{end}. These commands are called the
24158 @dfn{body} of the loop. The commands in the body of @code{while} are
24159 executed repeatedly as long as the expression evaluates to true.
24160
24161 @kindex loop_break
24162 @item loop_break
24163 This command exits the @code{while} loop in whose body it is included.
24164 Execution of the script continues after that @code{while}s @code{end}
24165 line.
24166
24167 @kindex loop_continue
24168 @item loop_continue
24169 This command skips the execution of the rest of the body of commands
24170 in the @code{while} loop in whose body it is included. Execution
24171 branches to the beginning of the @code{while} loop, where it evaluates
24172 the controlling expression.
24173
24174 @kindex end@r{ (if/else/while commands)}
24175 @item end
24176 Terminate the block of commands that are the body of @code{if},
24177 @code{else}, or @code{while} flow-control commands.
24178 @end table
24179
24180
24181 @node Output
24182 @subsection Commands for Controlled Output
24183
24184 During the execution of a command file or a user-defined command, normal
24185 @value{GDBN} output is suppressed; the only output that appears is what is
24186 explicitly printed by the commands in the definition. This section
24187 describes three commands useful for generating exactly the output you
24188 want.
24189
24190 @table @code
24191 @kindex echo
24192 @item echo @var{text}
24193 @c I do not consider backslash-space a standard C escape sequence
24194 @c because it is not in ANSI.
24195 Print @var{text}. Nonprinting characters can be included in
24196 @var{text} using C escape sequences, such as @samp{\n} to print a
24197 newline. @strong{No newline is printed unless you specify one.}
24198 In addition to the standard C escape sequences, a backslash followed
24199 by a space stands for a space. This is useful for displaying a
24200 string with spaces at the beginning or the end, since leading and
24201 trailing spaces are otherwise trimmed from all arguments.
24202 To print @samp{@w{ }and foo =@w{ }}, use the command
24203 @samp{echo \@w{ }and foo = \@w{ }}.
24204
24205 A backslash at the end of @var{text} can be used, as in C, to continue
24206 the command onto subsequent lines. For example,
24207
24208 @smallexample
24209 echo This is some text\n\
24210 which is continued\n\
24211 onto several lines.\n
24212 @end smallexample
24213
24214 produces the same output as
24215
24216 @smallexample
24217 echo This is some text\n
24218 echo which is continued\n
24219 echo onto several lines.\n
24220 @end smallexample
24221
24222 @kindex output
24223 @item output @var{expression}
24224 Print the value of @var{expression} and nothing but that value: no
24225 newlines, no @samp{$@var{nn} = }. The value is not entered in the
24226 value history either. @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}, for more information
24227 on expressions.
24228
24229 @item output/@var{fmt} @var{expression}
24230 Print the value of @var{expression} in format @var{fmt}. You can use
24231 the same formats as for @code{print}. @xref{Output Formats,,Output
24232 Formats}, for more information.
24233
24234 @kindex printf
24235 @item printf @var{template}, @var{expressions}@dots{}
24236 Print the values of one or more @var{expressions} under the control of
24237 the string @var{template}. To print several values, make
24238 @var{expressions} be a comma-separated list of individual expressions,
24239 which may be either numbers or pointers. Their values are printed as
24240 specified by @var{template}, exactly as a C program would do by
24241 executing the code below:
24242
24243 @smallexample
24244 printf (@var{template}, @var{expressions}@dots{});
24245 @end smallexample
24246
24247 As in @code{C} @code{printf}, ordinary characters in @var{template}
24248 are printed verbatim, while @dfn{conversion specification} introduced
24249 by the @samp{%} character cause subsequent @var{expressions} to be
24250 evaluated, their values converted and formatted according to type and
24251 style information encoded in the conversion specifications, and then
24252 printed.
24253
24254 For example, you can print two values in hex like this:
24255
24256 @smallexample
24257 printf "foo, bar-foo = 0x%x, 0x%x\n", foo, bar-foo
24258 @end smallexample
24259
24260 @code{printf} supports all the standard @code{C} conversion
24261 specifications, including the flags and modifiers between the @samp{%}
24262 character and the conversion letter, with the following exceptions:
24263
24264 @itemize @bullet
24265 @item
24266 The argument-ordering modifiers, such as @samp{2$}, are not supported.
24267
24268 @item
24269 The modifier @samp{*} is not supported for specifying precision or
24270 width.
24271
24272 @item
24273 The @samp{'} flag (for separation of digits into groups according to
24274 @code{LC_NUMERIC'}) is not supported.
24275
24276 @item
24277 The type modifiers @samp{hh}, @samp{j}, @samp{t}, and @samp{z} are not
24278 supported.
24279
24280 @item
24281 The conversion letter @samp{n} (as in @samp{%n}) is not supported.
24282
24283 @item
24284 The conversion letters @samp{a} and @samp{A} are not supported.
24285 @end itemize
24286
24287 @noindent
24288 Note that the @samp{ll} type modifier is supported only if the
24289 underlying @code{C} implementation used to build @value{GDBN} supports
24290 the @code{long long int} type, and the @samp{L} type modifier is
24291 supported only if @code{long double} type is available.
24292
24293 As in @code{C}, @code{printf} supports simple backslash-escape
24294 sequences, such as @code{\n}, @samp{\t}, @samp{\\}, @samp{\"},
24295 @samp{\a}, and @samp{\f}, that consist of backslash followed by a
24296 single character. Octal and hexadecimal escape sequences are not
24297 supported.
24298
24299 Additionally, @code{printf} supports conversion specifications for DFP
24300 (@dfn{Decimal Floating Point}) types using the following length modifiers
24301 together with a floating point specifier.
24302 letters:
24303
24304 @itemize @bullet
24305 @item
24306 @samp{H} for printing @code{Decimal32} types.
24307
24308 @item
24309 @samp{D} for printing @code{Decimal64} types.
24310
24311 @item
24312 @samp{DD} for printing @code{Decimal128} types.
24313 @end itemize
24314
24315 If the underlying @code{C} implementation used to build @value{GDBN} has
24316 support for the three length modifiers for DFP types, other modifiers
24317 such as width and precision will also be available for @value{GDBN} to use.
24318
24319 In case there is no such @code{C} support, no additional modifiers will be
24320 available and the value will be printed in the standard way.
24321
24322 Here's an example of printing DFP types using the above conversion letters:
24323 @smallexample
24324 printf "D32: %Hf - D64: %Df - D128: %DDf\n",1.2345df,1.2E10dd,1.2E1dl
24325 @end smallexample
24326
24327 @kindex eval
24328 @item eval @var{template}, @var{expressions}@dots{}
24329 Convert the values of one or more @var{expressions} under the control of
24330 the string @var{template} to a command line, and call it.
24331
24332 @end table
24333
24334 @node Auto-loading sequences
24335 @subsection Controlling auto-loading native @value{GDBN} scripts
24336 @cindex native script auto-loading
24337
24338 When a new object file is read (for example, due to the @code{file}
24339 command, or because the inferior has loaded a shared library),
24340 @value{GDBN} will look for the command file @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.gdb}.
24341 @xref{Auto-loading extensions}.
24342
24343 Auto-loading can be enabled or disabled,
24344 and the list of auto-loaded scripts can be printed.
24345
24346 @table @code
24347 @anchor{set auto-load gdb-scripts}
24348 @kindex set auto-load gdb-scripts
24349 @item set auto-load gdb-scripts [on|off]
24350 Enable or disable the auto-loading of canned sequences of commands scripts.
24351
24352 @anchor{show auto-load gdb-scripts}
24353 @kindex show auto-load gdb-scripts
24354 @item show auto-load gdb-scripts
24355 Show whether auto-loading of canned sequences of commands scripts is enabled or
24356 disabled.
24357
24358 @anchor{info auto-load gdb-scripts}
24359 @kindex info auto-load gdb-scripts
24360 @cindex print list of auto-loaded canned sequences of commands scripts
24361 @item info auto-load gdb-scripts [@var{regexp}]
24362 Print the list of all canned sequences of commands scripts that @value{GDBN}
24363 auto-loaded.
24364 @end table
24365
24366 If @var{regexp} is supplied only canned sequences of commands scripts with
24367 matching names are printed.
24368
24369 @c Python docs live in a separate file.
24370 @include python.texi
24371
24372 @c Guile docs live in a separate file.
24373 @include guile.texi
24374
24375 @node Auto-loading extensions
24376 @section Auto-loading extensions
24377 @cindex auto-loading extensions
24378
24379 @value{GDBN} provides two mechanisms for automatically loading extensions
24380 when a new object file is read (for example, due to the @code{file}
24381 command, or because the inferior has loaded a shared library):
24382 @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.@var{ext}} and the @code{.debug_gdb_scripts}
24383 section of modern file formats like ELF.
24384
24385 @menu
24386 * objfile-gdb.ext file: objfile-gdbdotext file. The @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.@var{ext}} file
24387 * .debug_gdb_scripts section: dotdebug_gdb_scripts section. The @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section
24388 * Which flavor to choose?::
24389 @end menu
24390
24391 The auto-loading feature is useful for supplying application-specific
24392 debugging commands and features.
24393
24394 Auto-loading can be enabled or disabled,
24395 and the list of auto-loaded scripts can be printed.
24396 See the @samp{auto-loading} section of each extension language
24397 for more information.
24398 For @value{GDBN} command files see @ref{Auto-loading sequences}.
24399 For Python files see @ref{Python Auto-loading}.
24400
24401 Note that loading of this script file also requires accordingly configured
24402 @code{auto-load safe-path} (@pxref{Auto-loading safe path}).
24403
24404 @node objfile-gdbdotext file
24405 @subsection The @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.@var{ext}} file
24406 @cindex @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.gdb}
24407 @cindex @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.py}
24408 @cindex @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.scm}
24409
24410 When a new object file is read, @value{GDBN} looks for a file named
24411 @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.@var{ext}} (we call it @var{script-name} below),
24412 where @var{objfile} is the object file's name and
24413 where @var{ext} is the file extension for the extension language:
24414
24415 @table @code
24416 @item @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.gdb}
24417 GDB's own command language
24418 @item @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.py}
24419 Python
24420 @item @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.scm}
24421 Guile
24422 @end table
24423
24424 @var{script-name} is formed by ensuring that the file name of @var{objfile}
24425 is absolute, following all symlinks, and resolving @code{.} and @code{..}
24426 components, and appending the @file{-gdb.@var{ext}} suffix.
24427 If this file exists and is readable, @value{GDBN} will evaluate it as a
24428 script in the specified extension language.
24429
24430 If this file does not exist, then @value{GDBN} will look for
24431 @var{script-name} file in all of the directories as specified below.
24432
24433 Note that loading of these files requires an accordingly configured
24434 @code{auto-load safe-path} (@pxref{Auto-loading safe path}).
24435
24436 For object files using @file{.exe} suffix @value{GDBN} tries to load first the
24437 scripts normally according to its @file{.exe} filename. But if no scripts are
24438 found @value{GDBN} also tries script filenames matching the object file without
24439 its @file{.exe} suffix. This @file{.exe} stripping is case insensitive and it
24440 is attempted on any platform. This makes the script filenames compatible
24441 between Unix and MS-Windows hosts.
24442
24443 @table @code
24444 @anchor{set auto-load scripts-directory}
24445 @kindex set auto-load scripts-directory
24446 @item set auto-load scripts-directory @r{[}@var{directories}@r{]}
24447 Control @value{GDBN} auto-loaded scripts location. Multiple directory entries
24448 may be delimited by the host platform path separator in use
24449 (@samp{:} on Unix, @samp{;} on MS-Windows and MS-DOS).
24450
24451 Each entry here needs to be covered also by the security setting
24452 @code{set auto-load safe-path} (@pxref{set auto-load safe-path}).
24453
24454 @anchor{with-auto-load-dir}
24455 This variable defaults to @file{$debugdir:$datadir/auto-load}. The default
24456 @code{set auto-load safe-path} value can be also overriden by @value{GDBN}
24457 configuration option @option{--with-auto-load-dir}.
24458
24459 Any reference to @file{$debugdir} will get replaced by
24460 @var{debug-file-directory} value (@pxref{Separate Debug Files}) and any
24461 reference to @file{$datadir} will get replaced by @var{data-directory} which is
24462 determined at @value{GDBN} startup (@pxref{Data Files}). @file{$debugdir} and
24463 @file{$datadir} must be placed as a directory component --- either alone or
24464 delimited by @file{/} or @file{\} directory separators, depending on the host
24465 platform.
24466
24467 The list of directories uses path separator (@samp{:} on GNU and Unix
24468 systems, @samp{;} on MS-Windows and MS-DOS) to separate directories, similarly
24469 to the @env{PATH} environment variable.
24470
24471 @anchor{show auto-load scripts-directory}
24472 @kindex show auto-load scripts-directory
24473 @item show auto-load scripts-directory
24474 Show @value{GDBN} auto-loaded scripts location.
24475
24476 @anchor{add-auto-load-scripts-directory}
24477 @kindex add-auto-load-scripts-directory
24478 @item add-auto-load-scripts-directory @r{[}@var{directories}@dots{}@r{]}
24479 Add an entry (or list of entries) to the list of auto-loaded scripts locations.
24480 Multiple entries may be delimited by the host platform path separator in use.
24481 @end table
24482
24483 @value{GDBN} does not track which files it has already auto-loaded this way.
24484 @value{GDBN} will load the associated script every time the corresponding
24485 @var{objfile} is opened.
24486 So your @file{-gdb.@var{ext}} file should be careful to avoid errors if it
24487 is evaluated more than once.
24488
24489 @node dotdebug_gdb_scripts section
24490 @subsection The @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section
24491 @cindex @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section
24492
24493 For systems using file formats like ELF and COFF,
24494 when @value{GDBN} loads a new object file
24495 it will look for a special section named @code{.debug_gdb_scripts}.
24496 If this section exists, its contents is a list of null-terminated entries
24497 specifying scripts to load. Each entry begins with a non-null prefix byte that
24498 specifies the kind of entry, typically the extension language and whether the
24499 script is in a file or inlined in @code{.debug_gdb_scripts}.
24500
24501 The following entries are supported:
24502
24503 @table @code
24504 @item SECTION_SCRIPT_ID_PYTHON_FILE = 1
24505 @item SECTION_SCRIPT_ID_SCHEME_FILE = 3
24506 @item SECTION_SCRIPT_ID_PYTHON_TEXT = 4
24507 @item SECTION_SCRIPT_ID_SCHEME_TEXT = 6
24508 @end table
24509
24510 @subsubsection Script File Entries
24511
24512 If the entry specifies a file, @value{GDBN} will look for the file first
24513 in the current directory and then along the source search path
24514 (@pxref{Source Path, ,Specifying Source Directories}),
24515 except that @file{$cdir} is not searched, since the compilation
24516 directory is not relevant to scripts.
24517
24518 File entries can be placed in section @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} with,
24519 for example, this GCC macro for Python scripts.
24520
24521 @example
24522 /* Note: The "MS" section flags are to remove duplicates. */
24523 #define DEFINE_GDB_PY_SCRIPT(script_name) \
24524 asm("\
24525 .pushsection \".debug_gdb_scripts\", \"MS\",@@progbits,1\n\
24526 .byte 1 /* Python */\n\
24527 .asciz \"" script_name "\"\n\
24528 .popsection \n\
24529 ");
24530 @end example
24531
24532 @noindent
24533 For Guile scripts, replace @code{.byte 1} with @code{.byte 3}.
24534 Then one can reference the macro in a header or source file like this:
24535
24536 @example
24537 DEFINE_GDB_PY_SCRIPT ("my-app-scripts.py")
24538 @end example
24539
24540 The script name may include directories if desired.
24541
24542 Note that loading of this script file also requires accordingly configured
24543 @code{auto-load safe-path} (@pxref{Auto-loading safe path}).
24544
24545 If the macro invocation is put in a header, any application or library
24546 using this header will get a reference to the specified script,
24547 and with the use of @code{"MS"} attributes on the section, the linker
24548 will remove duplicates.
24549
24550 @subsubsection Script Text Entries
24551
24552 Script text entries allow to put the executable script in the entry
24553 itself instead of loading it from a file.
24554 The first line of the entry, everything after the prefix byte and up to
24555 the first newline (@code{0xa}) character, is the script name, and must not
24556 contain any kind of space character, e.g., spaces or tabs.
24557 The rest of the entry, up to the trailing null byte, is the script to
24558 execute in the specified language. The name needs to be unique among
24559 all script names, as @value{GDBN} executes each script only once based
24560 on its name.
24561
24562 Here is an example from file @file{py-section-script.c} in the @value{GDBN}
24563 testsuite.
24564
24565 @example
24566 #include "symcat.h"
24567 #include "gdb/section-scripts.h"
24568 asm(
24569 ".pushsection \".debug_gdb_scripts\", \"MS\",@@progbits,1\n"
24570 ".byte " XSTRING (SECTION_SCRIPT_ID_PYTHON_TEXT) "\n"
24571 ".ascii \"gdb.inlined-script\\n\"\n"
24572 ".ascii \"class test_cmd (gdb.Command):\\n\"\n"
24573 ".ascii \" def __init__ (self):\\n\"\n"
24574 ".ascii \" super (test_cmd, self).__init__ ("
24575 "\\\"test-cmd\\\", gdb.COMMAND_OBSCURE)\\n\"\n"
24576 ".ascii \" def invoke (self, arg, from_tty):\\n\"\n"
24577 ".ascii \" print (\\\"test-cmd output, arg = %s\\\" % arg)\\n\"\n"
24578 ".ascii \"test_cmd ()\\n\"\n"
24579 ".byte 0\n"
24580 ".popsection\n"
24581 );
24582 @end example
24583
24584 Loading of inlined scripts requires a properly configured
24585 @code{auto-load safe-path} (@pxref{Auto-loading safe path}).
24586 The path to specify in @code{auto-load safe-path} is the path of the file
24587 containing the @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section.
24588
24589 @node Which flavor to choose?
24590 @subsection Which flavor to choose?
24591
24592 Given the multiple ways of auto-loading extensions, it might not always
24593 be clear which one to choose. This section provides some guidance.
24594
24595 @noindent
24596 Benefits of the @file{-gdb.@var{ext}} way:
24597
24598 @itemize @bullet
24599 @item
24600 Can be used with file formats that don't support multiple sections.
24601
24602 @item
24603 Ease of finding scripts for public libraries.
24604
24605 Scripts specified in the @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section are searched for
24606 in the source search path.
24607 For publicly installed libraries, e.g., @file{libstdc++}, there typically
24608 isn't a source directory in which to find the script.
24609
24610 @item
24611 Doesn't require source code additions.
24612 @end itemize
24613
24614 @noindent
24615 Benefits of the @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} way:
24616
24617 @itemize @bullet
24618 @item
24619 Works with static linking.
24620
24621 Scripts for libraries done the @file{-gdb.@var{ext}} way require an objfile to
24622 trigger their loading. When an application is statically linked the only
24623 objfile available is the executable, and it is cumbersome to attach all the
24624 scripts from all the input libraries to the executable's
24625 @file{-gdb.@var{ext}} script.
24626
24627 @item
24628 Works with classes that are entirely inlined.
24629
24630 Some classes can be entirely inlined, and thus there may not be an associated
24631 shared library to attach a @file{-gdb.@var{ext}} script to.
24632
24633 @item
24634 Scripts needn't be copied out of the source tree.
24635
24636 In some circumstances, apps can be built out of large collections of internal
24637 libraries, and the build infrastructure necessary to install the
24638 @file{-gdb.@var{ext}} scripts in a place where @value{GDBN} can find them is
24639 cumbersome. It may be easier to specify the scripts in the
24640 @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section as relative paths, and add a path to the
24641 top of the source tree to the source search path.
24642 @end itemize
24643
24644 @node Multiple Extension Languages
24645 @section Multiple Extension Languages
24646
24647 The Guile and Python extension languages do not share any state,
24648 and generally do not interfere with each other.
24649 There are some things to be aware of, however.
24650
24651 @subsection Python comes first
24652
24653 Python was @value{GDBN}'s first extension language, and to avoid breaking
24654 existing behaviour Python comes first. This is generally solved by the
24655 ``first one wins'' principle. @value{GDBN} maintains a list of enabled
24656 extension languages, and when it makes a call to an extension language,
24657 (say to pretty-print a value), it tries each in turn until an extension
24658 language indicates it has performed the request (e.g., has returned the
24659 pretty-printed form of a value).
24660 This extends to errors while performing such requests: If an error happens
24661 while, for example, trying to pretty-print an object then the error is
24662 reported and any following extension languages are not tried.
24663
24664 @node Aliases
24665 @section Creating new spellings of existing commands
24666 @cindex aliases for commands
24667
24668 It is often useful to define alternate spellings of existing commands.
24669 For example, if a new @value{GDBN} command defined in Python has
24670 a long name to type, it is handy to have an abbreviated version of it
24671 that involves less typing.
24672
24673 @value{GDBN} itself uses aliases. For example @samp{s} is an alias
24674 of the @samp{step} command even though it is otherwise an ambiguous
24675 abbreviation of other commands like @samp{set} and @samp{show}.
24676
24677 Aliases are also used to provide shortened or more common versions
24678 of multi-word commands. For example, @value{GDBN} provides the
24679 @samp{tty} alias of the @samp{set inferior-tty} command.
24680
24681 You can define a new alias with the @samp{alias} command.
24682
24683 @table @code
24684
24685 @kindex alias
24686 @item alias [-a] [--] @var{ALIAS} = @var{COMMAND}
24687
24688 @end table
24689
24690 @var{ALIAS} specifies the name of the new alias.
24691 Each word of @var{ALIAS} must consist of letters, numbers, dashes and
24692 underscores.
24693
24694 @var{COMMAND} specifies the name of an existing command
24695 that is being aliased.
24696
24697 The @samp{-a} option specifies that the new alias is an abbreviation
24698 of the command. Abbreviations are not shown in command
24699 lists displayed by the @samp{help} command.
24700
24701 The @samp{--} option specifies the end of options,
24702 and is useful when @var{ALIAS} begins with a dash.
24703
24704 Here is a simple example showing how to make an abbreviation
24705 of a command so that there is less to type.
24706 Suppose you were tired of typing @samp{disas}, the current
24707 shortest unambiguous abbreviation of the @samp{disassemble} command
24708 and you wanted an even shorter version named @samp{di}.
24709 The following will accomplish this.
24710
24711 @smallexample
24712 (gdb) alias -a di = disas
24713 @end smallexample
24714
24715 Note that aliases are different from user-defined commands.
24716 With a user-defined command, you also need to write documentation
24717 for it with the @samp{document} command.
24718 An alias automatically picks up the documentation of the existing command.
24719
24720 Here is an example where we make @samp{elms} an abbreviation of
24721 @samp{elements} in the @samp{set print elements} command.
24722 This is to show that you can make an abbreviation of any part
24723 of a command.
24724
24725 @smallexample
24726 (gdb) alias -a set print elms = set print elements
24727 (gdb) alias -a show print elms = show print elements
24728 (gdb) set p elms 20
24729 (gdb) show p elms
24730 Limit on string chars or array elements to print is 200.
24731 @end smallexample
24732
24733 Note that if you are defining an alias of a @samp{set} command,
24734 and you want to have an alias for the corresponding @samp{show}
24735 command, then you need to define the latter separately.
24736
24737 Unambiguously abbreviated commands are allowed in @var{COMMAND} and
24738 @var{ALIAS}, just as they are normally.
24739
24740 @smallexample
24741 (gdb) alias -a set pr elms = set p ele
24742 @end smallexample
24743
24744 Finally, here is an example showing the creation of a one word
24745 alias for a more complex command.
24746 This creates alias @samp{spe} of the command @samp{set print elements}.
24747
24748 @smallexample
24749 (gdb) alias spe = set print elements
24750 (gdb) spe 20
24751 @end smallexample
24752
24753 @node Interpreters
24754 @chapter Command Interpreters
24755 @cindex command interpreters
24756
24757 @value{GDBN} supports multiple command interpreters, and some command
24758 infrastructure to allow users or user interface writers to switch
24759 between interpreters or run commands in other interpreters.
24760
24761 @value{GDBN} currently supports two command interpreters, the console
24762 interpreter (sometimes called the command-line interpreter or @sc{cli})
24763 and the machine interface interpreter (or @sc{gdb/mi}). This manual
24764 describes both of these interfaces in great detail.
24765
24766 By default, @value{GDBN} will start with the console interpreter.
24767 However, the user may choose to start @value{GDBN} with another
24768 interpreter by specifying the @option{-i} or @option{--interpreter}
24769 startup options. Defined interpreters include:
24770
24771 @table @code
24772 @item console
24773 @cindex console interpreter
24774 The traditional console or command-line interpreter. This is the most often
24775 used interpreter with @value{GDBN}. With no interpreter specified at runtime,
24776 @value{GDBN} will use this interpreter.
24777
24778 @item mi
24779 @cindex mi interpreter
24780 The newest @sc{gdb/mi} interface (currently @code{mi2}). Used primarily
24781 by programs wishing to use @value{GDBN} as a backend for a debugger GUI
24782 or an IDE. For more information, see @ref{GDB/MI, ,The @sc{gdb/mi}
24783 Interface}.
24784
24785 @item mi2
24786 @cindex mi2 interpreter
24787 The current @sc{gdb/mi} interface.
24788
24789 @item mi1
24790 @cindex mi1 interpreter
24791 The @sc{gdb/mi} interface included in @value{GDBN} 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3.
24792
24793 @end table
24794
24795 @cindex invoke another interpreter
24796 The interpreter being used by @value{GDBN} may not be dynamically
24797 switched at runtime. Although possible, this could lead to a very
24798 precarious situation. Consider an IDE using @sc{gdb/mi}. If a user
24799 enters the command "interpreter-set console" in a console view,
24800 @value{GDBN} would switch to using the console interpreter, rendering
24801 the IDE inoperable!
24802
24803 @kindex interpreter-exec
24804 Although you may only choose a single interpreter at startup, you may execute
24805 commands in any interpreter from the current interpreter using the appropriate
24806 command. If you are running the console interpreter, simply use the
24807 @code{interpreter-exec} command:
24808
24809 @smallexample
24810 interpreter-exec mi "-data-list-register-names"
24811 @end smallexample
24812
24813 @sc{gdb/mi} has a similar command, although it is only available in versions of
24814 @value{GDBN} which support @sc{gdb/mi} version 2 (or greater).
24815
24816 @node TUI
24817 @chapter @value{GDBN} Text User Interface
24818 @cindex TUI
24819 @cindex Text User Interface
24820
24821 @menu
24822 * TUI Overview:: TUI overview
24823 * TUI Keys:: TUI key bindings
24824 * TUI Single Key Mode:: TUI single key mode
24825 * TUI Commands:: TUI-specific commands
24826 * TUI Configuration:: TUI configuration variables
24827 @end menu
24828
24829 The @value{GDBN} Text User Interface (TUI) is a terminal
24830 interface which uses the @code{curses} library to show the source
24831 file, the assembly output, the program registers and @value{GDBN}
24832 commands in separate text windows. The TUI mode is supported only
24833 on platforms where a suitable version of the @code{curses} library
24834 is available.
24835
24836 The TUI mode is enabled by default when you invoke @value{GDBN} as
24837 @samp{@value{GDBP} -tui}.
24838 You can also switch in and out of TUI mode while @value{GDBN} runs by
24839 using various TUI commands and key bindings, such as @command{tui
24840 enable} or @kbd{C-x C-a}. @xref{TUI Commands, ,TUI Commands}, and
24841 @ref{TUI Keys, ,TUI Key Bindings}.
24842
24843 @node TUI Overview
24844 @section TUI Overview
24845
24846 In TUI mode, @value{GDBN} can display several text windows:
24847
24848 @table @emph
24849 @item command
24850 This window is the @value{GDBN} command window with the @value{GDBN}
24851 prompt and the @value{GDBN} output. The @value{GDBN} input is still
24852 managed using readline.
24853
24854 @item source
24855 The source window shows the source file of the program. The current
24856 line and active breakpoints are displayed in this window.
24857
24858 @item assembly
24859 The assembly window shows the disassembly output of the program.
24860
24861 @item register
24862 This window shows the processor registers. Registers are highlighted
24863 when their values change.
24864 @end table
24865
24866 The source and assembly windows show the current program position
24867 by highlighting the current line and marking it with a @samp{>} marker.
24868 Breakpoints are indicated with two markers. The first marker
24869 indicates the breakpoint type:
24870
24871 @table @code
24872 @item B
24873 Breakpoint which was hit at least once.
24874
24875 @item b
24876 Breakpoint which was never hit.
24877
24878 @item H
24879 Hardware breakpoint which was hit at least once.
24880
24881 @item h
24882 Hardware breakpoint which was never hit.
24883 @end table
24884
24885 The second marker indicates whether the breakpoint is enabled or not:
24886
24887 @table @code
24888 @item +
24889 Breakpoint is enabled.
24890
24891 @item -
24892 Breakpoint is disabled.
24893 @end table
24894
24895 The source, assembly and register windows are updated when the current
24896 thread changes, when the frame changes, or when the program counter
24897 changes.
24898
24899 These windows are not all visible at the same time. The command
24900 window is always visible. The others can be arranged in several
24901 layouts:
24902
24903 @itemize @bullet
24904 @item
24905 source only,
24906
24907 @item
24908 assembly only,
24909
24910 @item
24911 source and assembly,
24912
24913 @item
24914 source and registers, or
24915
24916 @item
24917 assembly and registers.
24918 @end itemize
24919
24920 A status line above the command window shows the following information:
24921
24922 @table @emph
24923 @item target
24924 Indicates the current @value{GDBN} target.
24925 (@pxref{Targets, ,Specifying a Debugging Target}).
24926
24927 @item process
24928 Gives the current process or thread number.
24929 When no process is being debugged, this field is set to @code{No process}.
24930
24931 @item function
24932 Gives the current function name for the selected frame.
24933 The name is demangled if demangling is turned on (@pxref{Print Settings}).
24934 When there is no symbol corresponding to the current program counter,
24935 the string @code{??} is displayed.
24936
24937 @item line
24938 Indicates the current line number for the selected frame.
24939 When the current line number is not known, the string @code{??} is displayed.
24940
24941 @item pc
24942 Indicates the current program counter address.
24943 @end table
24944
24945 @node TUI Keys
24946 @section TUI Key Bindings
24947 @cindex TUI key bindings
24948
24949 The TUI installs several key bindings in the readline keymaps
24950 @ifset SYSTEM_READLINE
24951 (@pxref{Command Line Editing, , , rluserman, GNU Readline Library}).
24952 @end ifset
24953 @ifclear SYSTEM_READLINE
24954 (@pxref{Command Line Editing}).
24955 @end ifclear
24956 The following key bindings are installed for both TUI mode and the
24957 @value{GDBN} standard mode.
24958
24959 @table @kbd
24960 @kindex C-x C-a
24961 @item C-x C-a
24962 @kindex C-x a
24963 @itemx C-x a
24964 @kindex C-x A
24965 @itemx C-x A
24966 Enter or leave the TUI mode. When leaving the TUI mode,
24967 the curses window management stops and @value{GDBN} operates using
24968 its standard mode, writing on the terminal directly. When reentering
24969 the TUI mode, control is given back to the curses windows.
24970 The screen is then refreshed.
24971
24972 @kindex C-x 1
24973 @item C-x 1
24974 Use a TUI layout with only one window. The layout will
24975 either be @samp{source} or @samp{assembly}. When the TUI mode
24976 is not active, it will switch to the TUI mode.
24977
24978 Think of this key binding as the Emacs @kbd{C-x 1} binding.
24979
24980 @kindex C-x 2
24981 @item C-x 2
24982 Use a TUI layout with at least two windows. When the current
24983 layout already has two windows, the next layout with two windows is used.
24984 When a new layout is chosen, one window will always be common to the
24985 previous layout and the new one.
24986
24987 Think of it as the Emacs @kbd{C-x 2} binding.
24988
24989 @kindex C-x o
24990 @item C-x o
24991 Change the active window. The TUI associates several key bindings
24992 (like scrolling and arrow keys) with the active window. This command
24993 gives the focus to the next TUI window.
24994
24995 Think of it as the Emacs @kbd{C-x o} binding.
24996
24997 @kindex C-x s
24998 @item C-x s
24999 Switch in and out of the TUI SingleKey mode that binds single
25000 keys to @value{GDBN} commands (@pxref{TUI Single Key Mode}).
25001 @end table
25002
25003 The following key bindings only work in the TUI mode:
25004
25005 @table @asis
25006 @kindex PgUp
25007 @item @key{PgUp}
25008 Scroll the active window one page up.
25009
25010 @kindex PgDn
25011 @item @key{PgDn}
25012 Scroll the active window one page down.
25013
25014 @kindex Up
25015 @item @key{Up}
25016 Scroll the active window one line up.
25017
25018 @kindex Down
25019 @item @key{Down}
25020 Scroll the active window one line down.
25021
25022 @kindex Left
25023 @item @key{Left}
25024 Scroll the active window one column left.
25025
25026 @kindex Right
25027 @item @key{Right}
25028 Scroll the active window one column right.
25029
25030 @kindex C-L
25031 @item @kbd{C-L}
25032 Refresh the screen.
25033 @end table
25034
25035 Because the arrow keys scroll the active window in the TUI mode, they
25036 are not available for their normal use by readline unless the command
25037 window has the focus. When another window is active, you must use
25038 other readline key bindings such as @kbd{C-p}, @kbd{C-n}, @kbd{C-b}
25039 and @kbd{C-f} to control the command window.
25040
25041 @node TUI Single Key Mode
25042 @section TUI Single Key Mode
25043 @cindex TUI single key mode
25044
25045 The TUI also provides a @dfn{SingleKey} mode, which binds several
25046 frequently used @value{GDBN} commands to single keys. Type @kbd{C-x s} to
25047 switch into this mode, where the following key bindings are used:
25048
25049 @table @kbd
25050 @kindex c @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
25051 @item c
25052 continue
25053
25054 @kindex d @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
25055 @item d
25056 down
25057
25058 @kindex f @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
25059 @item f
25060 finish
25061
25062 @kindex n @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
25063 @item n
25064 next
25065
25066 @kindex q @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
25067 @item q
25068 exit the SingleKey mode.
25069
25070 @kindex r @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
25071 @item r
25072 run
25073
25074 @kindex s @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
25075 @item s
25076 step
25077
25078 @kindex u @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
25079 @item u
25080 up
25081
25082 @kindex v @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
25083 @item v
25084 info locals
25085
25086 @kindex w @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
25087 @item w
25088 where
25089 @end table
25090
25091 Other keys temporarily switch to the @value{GDBN} command prompt.
25092 The key that was pressed is inserted in the editing buffer so that
25093 it is possible to type most @value{GDBN} commands without interaction
25094 with the TUI SingleKey mode. Once the command is entered the TUI
25095 SingleKey mode is restored. The only way to permanently leave
25096 this mode is by typing @kbd{q} or @kbd{C-x s}.
25097
25098
25099 @node TUI Commands
25100 @section TUI-specific Commands
25101 @cindex TUI commands
25102
25103 The TUI has specific commands to control the text windows.
25104 These commands are always available, even when @value{GDBN} is not in
25105 the TUI mode. When @value{GDBN} is in the standard mode, most
25106 of these commands will automatically switch to the TUI mode.
25107
25108 Note that if @value{GDBN}'s @code{stdout} is not connected to a
25109 terminal, or @value{GDBN} has been started with the machine interface
25110 interpreter (@pxref{GDB/MI, ,The @sc{gdb/mi} Interface}), most of
25111 these commands will fail with an error, because it would not be
25112 possible or desirable to enable curses window management.
25113
25114 @table @code
25115 @item tui enable
25116 @kindex tui enable
25117 Activate TUI mode. The last active TUI window layout will be used if
25118 TUI mode has prevsiouly been used in the current debugging session,
25119 otherwise a default layout is used.
25120
25121 @item tui disable
25122 @kindex tui disable
25123 Disable TUI mode, returning to the console interpreter.
25124
25125 @item info win
25126 @kindex info win
25127 List and give the size of all displayed windows.
25128
25129 @item layout @var{name}
25130 @kindex layout
25131 Changes which TUI windows are displayed. In each layout the command
25132 window is always displayed, the @var{name} parameter controls which
25133 additional windows are displayed, and can be any of the following:
25134
25135 @table @code
25136 @item next
25137 Display the next layout.
25138
25139 @item prev
25140 Display the previous layout.
25141
25142 @item src
25143 Display the source and command windows.
25144
25145 @item asm
25146 Display the assembly and command windows.
25147
25148 @item split
25149 Display the source, assembly, and command windows.
25150
25151 @item regs
25152 When in @code{src} layout display the register, source, and command
25153 windows. When in @code{asm} or @code{split} layout display the
25154 register, assembler, and command windows.
25155 @end table
25156
25157 @item focus @var{name}
25158 @kindex focus
25159 Changes which TUI window is currently active for scrolling. The
25160 @var{name} parameter can be any of the following:
25161
25162 @table @code
25163 @item next
25164 Make the next window active for scrolling.
25165
25166 @item prev
25167 Make the previous window active for scrolling.
25168
25169 @item src
25170 Make the source window active for scrolling.
25171
25172 @item asm
25173 Make the assembly window active for scrolling.
25174
25175 @item regs
25176 Make the register window active for scrolling.
25177
25178 @item cmd
25179 Make the command window active for scrolling.
25180 @end table
25181
25182 @item refresh
25183 @kindex refresh
25184 Refresh the screen. This is similar to typing @kbd{C-L}.
25185
25186 @item tui reg @var{group}
25187 @kindex tui reg
25188 Changes the register group displayed in the tui register window to
25189 @var{group}. If the register window is not currently displayed this
25190 command will cause the register window to be displayed. The list of
25191 register groups, as well as their order is target specific. The
25192 following groups are available on most targets:
25193 @table @code
25194 @item next
25195 Repeatedly selecting this group will cause the display to cycle
25196 through all of the available register groups.
25197
25198 @item prev
25199 Repeatedly selecting this group will cause the display to cycle
25200 through all of the available register groups in the reverse order to
25201 @var{next}.
25202
25203 @item general
25204 Display the general registers.
25205 @item float
25206 Display the floating point registers.
25207 @item system
25208 Display the system registers.
25209 @item vector
25210 Display the vector registers.
25211 @item all
25212 Display all registers.
25213 @end table
25214
25215 @item update
25216 @kindex update
25217 Update the source window and the current execution point.
25218
25219 @item winheight @var{name} +@var{count}
25220 @itemx winheight @var{name} -@var{count}
25221 @kindex winheight
25222 Change the height of the window @var{name} by @var{count}
25223 lines. Positive counts increase the height, while negative counts
25224 decrease it. The @var{name} parameter can be one of @code{src} (the
25225 source window), @code{cmd} (the command window), @code{asm} (the
25226 disassembly window), or @code{regs} (the register display window).
25227
25228 @item tabset @var{nchars}
25229 @kindex tabset
25230 Set the width of tab stops to be @var{nchars} characters. This
25231 setting affects the display of TAB characters in the source and
25232 assembly windows.
25233 @end table
25234
25235 @node TUI Configuration
25236 @section TUI Configuration Variables
25237 @cindex TUI configuration variables
25238
25239 Several configuration variables control the appearance of TUI windows.
25240
25241 @table @code
25242 @item set tui border-kind @var{kind}
25243 @kindex set tui border-kind
25244 Select the border appearance for the source, assembly and register windows.
25245 The possible values are the following:
25246 @table @code
25247 @item space
25248 Use a space character to draw the border.
25249
25250 @item ascii
25251 Use @sc{ascii} characters @samp{+}, @samp{-} and @samp{|} to draw the border.
25252
25253 @item acs
25254 Use the Alternate Character Set to draw the border. The border is
25255 drawn using character line graphics if the terminal supports them.
25256 @end table
25257
25258 @item set tui border-mode @var{mode}
25259 @kindex set tui border-mode
25260 @itemx set tui active-border-mode @var{mode}
25261 @kindex set tui active-border-mode
25262 Select the display attributes for the borders of the inactive windows
25263 or the active window. The @var{mode} can be one of the following:
25264 @table @code
25265 @item normal
25266 Use normal attributes to display the border.
25267
25268 @item standout
25269 Use standout mode.
25270
25271 @item reverse
25272 Use reverse video mode.
25273
25274 @item half
25275 Use half bright mode.
25276
25277 @item half-standout
25278 Use half bright and standout mode.
25279
25280 @item bold
25281 Use extra bright or bold mode.
25282
25283 @item bold-standout
25284 Use extra bright or bold and standout mode.
25285 @end table
25286 @end table
25287
25288 @node Emacs
25289 @chapter Using @value{GDBN} under @sc{gnu} Emacs
25290
25291 @cindex Emacs
25292 @cindex @sc{gnu} Emacs
25293 A special interface allows you to use @sc{gnu} Emacs to view (and
25294 edit) the source files for the program you are debugging with
25295 @value{GDBN}.
25296
25297 To use this interface, use the command @kbd{M-x gdb} in Emacs. Give the
25298 executable file you want to debug as an argument. This command starts
25299 @value{GDBN} as a subprocess of Emacs, with input and output through a newly
25300 created Emacs buffer.
25301 @c (Do not use the @code{-tui} option to run @value{GDBN} from Emacs.)
25302
25303 Running @value{GDBN} under Emacs can be just like running @value{GDBN} normally except for two
25304 things:
25305
25306 @itemize @bullet
25307 @item
25308 All ``terminal'' input and output goes through an Emacs buffer, called
25309 the GUD buffer.
25310
25311 This applies both to @value{GDBN} commands and their output, and to the input
25312 and output done by the program you are debugging.
25313
25314 This is useful because it means that you can copy the text of previous
25315 commands and input them again; you can even use parts of the output
25316 in this way.
25317
25318 All the facilities of Emacs' Shell mode are available for interacting
25319 with your program. In particular, you can send signals the usual
25320 way---for example, @kbd{C-c C-c} for an interrupt, @kbd{C-c C-z} for a
25321 stop.
25322
25323 @item
25324 @value{GDBN} displays source code through Emacs.
25325
25326 Each time @value{GDBN} displays a stack frame, Emacs automatically finds the
25327 source file for that frame and puts an arrow (@samp{=>}) at the
25328 left margin of the current line. Emacs uses a separate buffer for
25329 source display, and splits the screen to show both your @value{GDBN} session
25330 and the source.
25331
25332 Explicit @value{GDBN} @code{list} or search commands still produce output as
25333 usual, but you probably have no reason to use them from Emacs.
25334 @end itemize
25335
25336 We call this @dfn{text command mode}. Emacs 22.1, and later, also uses
25337 a graphical mode, enabled by default, which provides further buffers
25338 that can control the execution and describe the state of your program.
25339 @xref{GDB Graphical Interface,,, Emacs, The @sc{gnu} Emacs Manual}.
25340
25341 If you specify an absolute file name when prompted for the @kbd{M-x
25342 gdb} argument, then Emacs sets your current working directory to where
25343 your program resides. If you only specify the file name, then Emacs
25344 sets your current working directory to the directory associated
25345 with the previous buffer. In this case, @value{GDBN} may find your
25346 program by searching your environment's @code{PATH} variable, but on
25347 some operating systems it might not find the source. So, although the
25348 @value{GDBN} input and output session proceeds normally, the auxiliary
25349 buffer does not display the current source and line of execution.
25350
25351 The initial working directory of @value{GDBN} is printed on the top
25352 line of the GUD buffer and this serves as a default for the commands
25353 that specify files for @value{GDBN} to operate on. @xref{Files,
25354 ,Commands to Specify Files}.
25355
25356 By default, @kbd{M-x gdb} calls the program called @file{gdb}. If you
25357 need to call @value{GDBN} by a different name (for example, if you
25358 keep several configurations around, with different names) you can
25359 customize the Emacs variable @code{gud-gdb-command-name} to run the
25360 one you want.
25361
25362 In the GUD buffer, you can use these special Emacs commands in
25363 addition to the standard Shell mode commands:
25364
25365 @table @kbd
25366 @item C-h m
25367 Describe the features of Emacs' GUD Mode.
25368
25369 @item C-c C-s
25370 Execute to another source line, like the @value{GDBN} @code{step} command; also
25371 update the display window to show the current file and location.
25372
25373 @item C-c C-n
25374 Execute to next source line in this function, skipping all function
25375 calls, like the @value{GDBN} @code{next} command. Then update the display window
25376 to show the current file and location.
25377
25378 @item C-c C-i
25379 Execute one instruction, like the @value{GDBN} @code{stepi} command; update
25380 display window accordingly.
25381
25382 @item C-c C-f
25383 Execute until exit from the selected stack frame, like the @value{GDBN}
25384 @code{finish} command.
25385
25386 @item C-c C-r
25387 Continue execution of your program, like the @value{GDBN} @code{continue}
25388 command.
25389
25390 @item C-c <
25391 Go up the number of frames indicated by the numeric argument
25392 (@pxref{Arguments, , Numeric Arguments, Emacs, The @sc{gnu} Emacs Manual}),
25393 like the @value{GDBN} @code{up} command.
25394
25395 @item C-c >
25396 Go down the number of frames indicated by the numeric argument, like the
25397 @value{GDBN} @code{down} command.
25398 @end table
25399
25400 In any source file, the Emacs command @kbd{C-x @key{SPC}} (@code{gud-break})
25401 tells @value{GDBN} to set a breakpoint on the source line point is on.
25402
25403 In text command mode, if you type @kbd{M-x speedbar}, Emacs displays a
25404 separate frame which shows a backtrace when the GUD buffer is current.
25405 Move point to any frame in the stack and type @key{RET} to make it
25406 become the current frame and display the associated source in the
25407 source buffer. Alternatively, click @kbd{Mouse-2} to make the
25408 selected frame become the current one. In graphical mode, the
25409 speedbar displays watch expressions.
25410
25411 If you accidentally delete the source-display buffer, an easy way to get
25412 it back is to type the command @code{f} in the @value{GDBN} buffer, to
25413 request a frame display; when you run under Emacs, this recreates
25414 the source buffer if necessary to show you the context of the current
25415 frame.
25416
25417 The source files displayed in Emacs are in ordinary Emacs buffers
25418 which are visiting the source files in the usual way. You can edit
25419 the files with these buffers if you wish; but keep in mind that @value{GDBN}
25420 communicates with Emacs in terms of line numbers. If you add or
25421 delete lines from the text, the line numbers that @value{GDBN} knows cease
25422 to correspond properly with the code.
25423
25424 A more detailed description of Emacs' interaction with @value{GDBN} is
25425 given in the Emacs manual (@pxref{Debuggers,,, Emacs, The @sc{gnu}
25426 Emacs Manual}).
25427
25428 @node GDB/MI
25429 @chapter The @sc{gdb/mi} Interface
25430
25431 @unnumberedsec Function and Purpose
25432
25433 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, its purpose
25434 @sc{gdb/mi} is a line based machine oriented text interface to
25435 @value{GDBN} and is activated by specifying using the
25436 @option{--interpreter} command line option (@pxref{Mode Options}). It
25437 is specifically intended to support the development of systems which
25438 use the debugger as just one small component of a larger system.
25439
25440 This chapter is a specification of the @sc{gdb/mi} interface. It is written
25441 in the form of a reference manual.
25442
25443 Note that @sc{gdb/mi} is still under construction, so some of the
25444 features described below are incomplete and subject to change
25445 (@pxref{GDB/MI Development and Front Ends, , @sc{gdb/mi} Development and Front Ends}).
25446
25447 @unnumberedsec Notation and Terminology
25448
25449 @cindex notational conventions, for @sc{gdb/mi}
25450 This chapter uses the following notation:
25451
25452 @itemize @bullet
25453 @item
25454 @code{|} separates two alternatives.
25455
25456 @item
25457 @code{[ @var{something} ]} indicates that @var{something} is optional:
25458 it may or may not be given.
25459
25460 @item
25461 @code{( @var{group} )*} means that @var{group} inside the parentheses
25462 may repeat zero or more times.
25463
25464 @item
25465 @code{( @var{group} )+} means that @var{group} inside the parentheses
25466 may repeat one or more times.
25467
25468 @item
25469 @code{"@var{string}"} means a literal @var{string}.
25470 @end itemize
25471
25472 @ignore
25473 @heading Dependencies
25474 @end ignore
25475
25476 @menu
25477 * GDB/MI General Design::
25478 * GDB/MI Command Syntax::
25479 * GDB/MI Compatibility with CLI::
25480 * GDB/MI Development and Front Ends::
25481 * GDB/MI Output Records::
25482 * GDB/MI Simple Examples::
25483 * GDB/MI Command Description Format::
25484 * GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands::
25485 * GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands::
25486 * GDB/MI Program Context::
25487 * GDB/MI Thread Commands::
25488 * GDB/MI Ada Tasking Commands::
25489 * GDB/MI Program Execution::
25490 * GDB/MI Stack Manipulation::
25491 * GDB/MI Variable Objects::
25492 * GDB/MI Data Manipulation::
25493 * GDB/MI Tracepoint Commands::
25494 * GDB/MI Symbol Query::
25495 * GDB/MI File Commands::
25496 @ignore
25497 * GDB/MI Kod Commands::
25498 * GDB/MI Memory Overlay Commands::
25499 * GDB/MI Signal Handling Commands::
25500 @end ignore
25501 * GDB/MI Target Manipulation::
25502 * GDB/MI File Transfer Commands::
25503 * GDB/MI Ada Exceptions Commands::
25504 * GDB/MI Support Commands::
25505 * GDB/MI Miscellaneous Commands::
25506 @end menu
25507
25508 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
25509 @node GDB/MI General Design
25510 @section @sc{gdb/mi} General Design
25511 @cindex GDB/MI General Design
25512
25513 Interaction of a @sc{GDB/MI} frontend with @value{GDBN} involves three
25514 parts---commands sent to @value{GDBN}, responses to those commands
25515 and notifications. Each command results in exactly one response,
25516 indicating either successful completion of the command, or an error.
25517 For the commands that do not resume the target, the response contains the
25518 requested information. For the commands that resume the target, the
25519 response only indicates whether the target was successfully resumed.
25520 Notifications is the mechanism for reporting changes in the state of the
25521 target, or in @value{GDBN} state, that cannot conveniently be associated with
25522 a command and reported as part of that command response.
25523
25524 The important examples of notifications are:
25525 @itemize @bullet
25526
25527 @item
25528 Exec notifications. These are used to report changes in
25529 target state---when a target is resumed, or stopped. It would not
25530 be feasible to include this information in response of resuming
25531 commands, because one resume commands can result in multiple events in
25532 different threads. Also, quite some time may pass before any event
25533 happens in the target, while a frontend needs to know whether the resuming
25534 command itself was successfully executed.
25535
25536 @item
25537 Console output, and status notifications. Console output
25538 notifications are used to report output of CLI commands, as well as
25539 diagnostics for other commands. Status notifications are used to
25540 report the progress of a long-running operation. Naturally, including
25541 this information in command response would mean no output is produced
25542 until the command is finished, which is undesirable.
25543
25544 @item
25545 General notifications. Commands may have various side effects on
25546 the @value{GDBN} or target state beyond their official purpose. For example,
25547 a command may change the selected thread. Although such changes can
25548 be included in command response, using notification allows for more
25549 orthogonal frontend design.
25550
25551 @end itemize
25552
25553 There's no guarantee that whenever an MI command reports an error,
25554 @value{GDBN} or the target are in any specific state, and especially,
25555 the state is not reverted to the state before the MI command was
25556 processed. Therefore, whenever an MI command results in an error,
25557 we recommend that the frontend refreshes all the information shown in
25558 the user interface.
25559
25560
25561 @menu
25562 * Context management::
25563 * Asynchronous and non-stop modes::
25564 * Thread groups::
25565 @end menu
25566
25567 @node Context management
25568 @subsection Context management
25569
25570 @subsubsection Threads and Frames
25571
25572 In most cases when @value{GDBN} accesses the target, this access is
25573 done in context of a specific thread and frame (@pxref{Frames}).
25574 Often, even when accessing global data, the target requires that a thread
25575 be specified. The CLI interface maintains the selected thread and frame,
25576 and supplies them to target on each command. This is convenient,
25577 because a command line user would not want to specify that information
25578 explicitly on each command, and because user interacts with
25579 @value{GDBN} via a single terminal, so no confusion is possible as
25580 to what thread and frame are the current ones.
25581
25582 In the case of MI, the concept of selected thread and frame is less
25583 useful. First, a frontend can easily remember this information
25584 itself. Second, a graphical frontend can have more than one window,
25585 each one used for debugging a different thread, and the frontend might
25586 want to access additional threads for internal purposes. This
25587 increases the risk that by relying on implicitly selected thread, the
25588 frontend may be operating on a wrong one. Therefore, each MI command
25589 should explicitly specify which thread and frame to operate on. To
25590 make it possible, each MI command accepts the @samp{--thread} and
25591 @samp{--frame} options, the value to each is @value{GDBN} global
25592 identifier for thread and frame to operate on.
25593
25594 Usually, each top-level window in a frontend allows the user to select
25595 a thread and a frame, and remembers the user selection for further
25596 operations. However, in some cases @value{GDBN} may suggest that the
25597 current thread be changed. For example, when stopping on a breakpoint
25598 it is reasonable to switch to the thread where breakpoint is hit. For
25599 another example, if the user issues the CLI @samp{thread} command via
25600 the frontend, it is desirable to change the frontend's selected thread to the
25601 one specified by user. @value{GDBN} communicates the suggestion to
25602 change current thread using the @samp{=thread-selected} notification.
25603 No such notification is available for the selected frame at the moment.
25604
25605 Note that historically, MI shares the selected thread with CLI, so
25606 frontends used the @code{-thread-select} to execute commands in the
25607 right context. However, getting this to work right is cumbersome. The
25608 simplest way is for frontend to emit @code{-thread-select} command
25609 before every command. This doubles the number of commands that need
25610 to be sent. The alternative approach is to suppress @code{-thread-select}
25611 if the selected thread in @value{GDBN} is supposed to be identical to the
25612 thread the frontend wants to operate on. However, getting this
25613 optimization right can be tricky. In particular, if the frontend
25614 sends several commands to @value{GDBN}, and one of the commands changes the
25615 selected thread, then the behaviour of subsequent commands will
25616 change. So, a frontend should either wait for response from such
25617 problematic commands, or explicitly add @code{-thread-select} for
25618 all subsequent commands. No frontend is known to do this exactly
25619 right, so it is suggested to just always pass the @samp{--thread} and
25620 @samp{--frame} options.
25621
25622 @subsubsection Language
25623
25624 The execution of several commands depends on which language is selected.
25625 By default, the current language (@pxref{show language}) is used.
25626 But for commands known to be language-sensitive, it is recommended
25627 to use the @samp{--language} option. This option takes one argument,
25628 which is the name of the language to use while executing the command.
25629 For instance:
25630
25631 @smallexample
25632 -data-evaluate-expression --language c "sizeof (void*)"
25633 ^done,value="4"
25634 (gdb)
25635 @end smallexample
25636
25637 The valid language names are the same names accepted by the
25638 @samp{set language} command (@pxref{Manually}), excluding @samp{auto},
25639 @samp{local} or @samp{unknown}.
25640
25641 @node Asynchronous and non-stop modes
25642 @subsection Asynchronous command execution and non-stop mode
25643
25644 On some targets, @value{GDBN} is capable of processing MI commands
25645 even while the target is running. This is called @dfn{asynchronous
25646 command execution} (@pxref{Background Execution}). The frontend may
25647 specify a preferrence for asynchronous execution using the
25648 @code{-gdb-set mi-async 1} command, which should be emitted before
25649 either running the executable or attaching to the target. After the
25650 frontend has started the executable or attached to the target, it can
25651 find if asynchronous execution is enabled using the
25652 @code{-list-target-features} command.
25653
25654 @table @code
25655 @item -gdb-set mi-async on
25656 @item -gdb-set mi-async off
25657 Set whether MI is in asynchronous mode.
25658
25659 When @code{off}, which is the default, MI execution commands (e.g.,
25660 @code{-exec-continue}) are foreground commands, and @value{GDBN} waits
25661 for the program to stop before processing further commands.
25662
25663 When @code{on}, MI execution commands are background execution
25664 commands (e.g., @code{-exec-continue} becomes the equivalent of the
25665 @code{c&} CLI command), and so @value{GDBN} is capable of processing
25666 MI commands even while the target is running.
25667
25668 @item -gdb-show mi-async
25669 Show whether MI asynchronous mode is enabled.
25670 @end table
25671
25672 Note: In @value{GDBN} version 7.7 and earlier, this option was called
25673 @code{target-async} instead of @code{mi-async}, and it had the effect
25674 of both putting MI in asynchronous mode and making CLI background
25675 commands possible. CLI background commands are now always possible
25676 ``out of the box'' if the target supports them. The old spelling is
25677 kept as a deprecated alias for backwards compatibility.
25678
25679 Even if @value{GDBN} can accept a command while target is running,
25680 many commands that access the target do not work when the target is
25681 running. Therefore, asynchronous command execution is most useful
25682 when combined with non-stop mode (@pxref{Non-Stop Mode}). Then,
25683 it is possible to examine the state of one thread, while other threads
25684 are running.
25685
25686 When a given thread is running, MI commands that try to access the
25687 target in the context of that thread may not work, or may work only on
25688 some targets. In particular, commands that try to operate on thread's
25689 stack will not work, on any target. Commands that read memory, or
25690 modify breakpoints, may work or not work, depending on the target. Note
25691 that even commands that operate on global state, such as @code{print},
25692 @code{set}, and breakpoint commands, still access the target in the
25693 context of a specific thread, so frontend should try to find a
25694 stopped thread and perform the operation on that thread (using the
25695 @samp{--thread} option).
25696
25697 Which commands will work in the context of a running thread is
25698 highly target dependent. However, the two commands
25699 @code{-exec-interrupt}, to stop a thread, and @code{-thread-info},
25700 to find the state of a thread, will always work.
25701
25702 @node Thread groups
25703 @subsection Thread groups
25704 @value{GDBN} may be used to debug several processes at the same time.
25705 On some platfroms, @value{GDBN} may support debugging of several
25706 hardware systems, each one having several cores with several different
25707 processes running on each core. This section describes the MI
25708 mechanism to support such debugging scenarios.
25709
25710 The key observation is that regardless of the structure of the
25711 target, MI can have a global list of threads, because most commands that
25712 accept the @samp{--thread} option do not need to know what process that
25713 thread belongs to. Therefore, it is not necessary to introduce
25714 neither additional @samp{--process} option, nor an notion of the
25715 current process in the MI interface. The only strictly new feature
25716 that is required is the ability to find how the threads are grouped
25717 into processes.
25718
25719 To allow the user to discover such grouping, and to support arbitrary
25720 hierarchy of machines/cores/processes, MI introduces the concept of a
25721 @dfn{thread group}. Thread group is a collection of threads and other
25722 thread groups. A thread group always has a string identifier, a type,
25723 and may have additional attributes specific to the type. A new
25724 command, @code{-list-thread-groups}, returns the list of top-level
25725 thread groups, which correspond to processes that @value{GDBN} is
25726 debugging at the moment. By passing an identifier of a thread group
25727 to the @code{-list-thread-groups} command, it is possible to obtain
25728 the members of specific thread group.
25729
25730 To allow the user to easily discover processes, and other objects, he
25731 wishes to debug, a concept of @dfn{available thread group} is
25732 introduced. Available thread group is an thread group that
25733 @value{GDBN} is not debugging, but that can be attached to, using the
25734 @code{-target-attach} command. The list of available top-level thread
25735 groups can be obtained using @samp{-list-thread-groups --available}.
25736 In general, the content of a thread group may be only retrieved only
25737 after attaching to that thread group.
25738
25739 Thread groups are related to inferiors (@pxref{Inferiors and
25740 Programs}). Each inferior corresponds to a thread group of a special
25741 type @samp{process}, and some additional operations are permitted on
25742 such thread groups.
25743
25744 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
25745 @node GDB/MI Command Syntax
25746 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Command Syntax
25747
25748 @menu
25749 * GDB/MI Input Syntax::
25750 * GDB/MI Output Syntax::
25751 @end menu
25752
25753 @node GDB/MI Input Syntax
25754 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Input Syntax
25755
25756 @cindex input syntax for @sc{gdb/mi}
25757 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, input syntax
25758 @table @code
25759 @item @var{command} @expansion{}
25760 @code{@var{cli-command} | @var{mi-command}}
25761
25762 @item @var{cli-command} @expansion{}
25763 @code{[ @var{token} ] @var{cli-command} @var{nl}}, where
25764 @var{cli-command} is any existing @value{GDBN} CLI command.
25765
25766 @item @var{mi-command} @expansion{}
25767 @code{[ @var{token} ] "-" @var{operation} ( " " @var{option} )*
25768 @code{[} " --" @code{]} ( " " @var{parameter} )* @var{nl}}
25769
25770 @item @var{token} @expansion{}
25771 "any sequence of digits"
25772
25773 @item @var{option} @expansion{}
25774 @code{"-" @var{parameter} [ " " @var{parameter} ]}
25775
25776 @item @var{parameter} @expansion{}
25777 @code{@var{non-blank-sequence} | @var{c-string}}
25778
25779 @item @var{operation} @expansion{}
25780 @emph{any of the operations described in this chapter}
25781
25782 @item @var{non-blank-sequence} @expansion{}
25783 @emph{anything, provided it doesn't contain special characters such as
25784 "-", @var{nl}, """ and of course " "}
25785
25786 @item @var{c-string} @expansion{}
25787 @code{""" @var{seven-bit-iso-c-string-content} """}
25788
25789 @item @var{nl} @expansion{}
25790 @code{CR | CR-LF}
25791 @end table
25792
25793 @noindent
25794 Notes:
25795
25796 @itemize @bullet
25797 @item
25798 The CLI commands are still handled by the @sc{mi} interpreter; their
25799 output is described below.
25800
25801 @item
25802 The @code{@var{token}}, when present, is passed back when the command
25803 finishes.
25804
25805 @item
25806 Some @sc{mi} commands accept optional arguments as part of the parameter
25807 list. Each option is identified by a leading @samp{-} (dash) and may be
25808 followed by an optional argument parameter. Options occur first in the
25809 parameter list and can be delimited from normal parameters using
25810 @samp{--} (this is useful when some parameters begin with a dash).
25811 @end itemize
25812
25813 Pragmatics:
25814
25815 @itemize @bullet
25816 @item
25817 We want easy access to the existing CLI syntax (for debugging).
25818
25819 @item
25820 We want it to be easy to spot a @sc{mi} operation.
25821 @end itemize
25822
25823 @node GDB/MI Output Syntax
25824 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Output Syntax
25825
25826 @cindex output syntax of @sc{gdb/mi}
25827 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, output syntax
25828 The output from @sc{gdb/mi} consists of zero or more out-of-band records
25829 followed, optionally, by a single result record. This result record
25830 is for the most recent command. The sequence of output records is
25831 terminated by @samp{(gdb)}.
25832
25833 If an input command was prefixed with a @code{@var{token}} then the
25834 corresponding output for that command will also be prefixed by that same
25835 @var{token}.
25836
25837 @table @code
25838 @item @var{output} @expansion{}
25839 @code{( @var{out-of-band-record} )* [ @var{result-record} ] "(gdb)" @var{nl}}
25840
25841 @item @var{result-record} @expansion{}
25842 @code{ [ @var{token} ] "^" @var{result-class} ( "," @var{result} )* @var{nl}}
25843
25844 @item @var{out-of-band-record} @expansion{}
25845 @code{@var{async-record} | @var{stream-record}}
25846
25847 @item @var{async-record} @expansion{}
25848 @code{@var{exec-async-output} | @var{status-async-output} | @var{notify-async-output}}
25849
25850 @item @var{exec-async-output} @expansion{}
25851 @code{[ @var{token} ] "*" @var{async-output nl}}
25852
25853 @item @var{status-async-output} @expansion{}
25854 @code{[ @var{token} ] "+" @var{async-output nl}}
25855
25856 @item @var{notify-async-output} @expansion{}
25857 @code{[ @var{token} ] "=" @var{async-output nl}}
25858
25859 @item @var{async-output} @expansion{}
25860 @code{@var{async-class} ( "," @var{result} )*}
25861
25862 @item @var{result-class} @expansion{}
25863 @code{"done" | "running" | "connected" | "error" | "exit"}
25864
25865 @item @var{async-class} @expansion{}
25866 @code{"stopped" | @var{others}} (where @var{others} will be added
25867 depending on the needs---this is still in development).
25868
25869 @item @var{result} @expansion{}
25870 @code{ @var{variable} "=" @var{value}}
25871
25872 @item @var{variable} @expansion{}
25873 @code{ @var{string} }
25874
25875 @item @var{value} @expansion{}
25876 @code{ @var{const} | @var{tuple} | @var{list} }
25877
25878 @item @var{const} @expansion{}
25879 @code{@var{c-string}}
25880
25881 @item @var{tuple} @expansion{}
25882 @code{ "@{@}" | "@{" @var{result} ( "," @var{result} )* "@}" }
25883
25884 @item @var{list} @expansion{}
25885 @code{ "[]" | "[" @var{value} ( "," @var{value} )* "]" | "["
25886 @var{result} ( "," @var{result} )* "]" }
25887
25888 @item @var{stream-record} @expansion{}
25889 @code{@var{console-stream-output} | @var{target-stream-output} | @var{log-stream-output}}
25890
25891 @item @var{console-stream-output} @expansion{}
25892 @code{"~" @var{c-string nl}}
25893
25894 @item @var{target-stream-output} @expansion{}
25895 @code{"@@" @var{c-string nl}}
25896
25897 @item @var{log-stream-output} @expansion{}
25898 @code{"&" @var{c-string nl}}
25899
25900 @item @var{nl} @expansion{}
25901 @code{CR | CR-LF}
25902
25903 @item @var{token} @expansion{}
25904 @emph{any sequence of digits}.
25905 @end table
25906
25907 @noindent
25908 Notes:
25909
25910 @itemize @bullet
25911 @item
25912 All output sequences end in a single line containing a period.
25913
25914 @item
25915 The @code{@var{token}} is from the corresponding request. Note that
25916 for all async output, while the token is allowed by the grammar and
25917 may be output by future versions of @value{GDBN} for select async
25918 output messages, it is generally omitted. Frontends should treat
25919 all async output as reporting general changes in the state of the
25920 target and there should be no need to associate async output to any
25921 prior command.
25922
25923 @item
25924 @cindex status output in @sc{gdb/mi}
25925 @var{status-async-output} contains on-going status information about the
25926 progress of a slow operation. It can be discarded. All status output is
25927 prefixed by @samp{+}.
25928
25929 @item
25930 @cindex async output in @sc{gdb/mi}
25931 @var{exec-async-output} contains asynchronous state change on the target
25932 (stopped, started, disappeared). All async output is prefixed by
25933 @samp{*}.
25934
25935 @item
25936 @cindex notify output in @sc{gdb/mi}
25937 @var{notify-async-output} contains supplementary information that the
25938 client should handle (e.g., a new breakpoint information). All notify
25939 output is prefixed by @samp{=}.
25940
25941 @item
25942 @cindex console output in @sc{gdb/mi}
25943 @var{console-stream-output} is output that should be displayed as is in the
25944 console. It is the textual response to a CLI command. All the console
25945 output is prefixed by @samp{~}.
25946
25947 @item
25948 @cindex target output in @sc{gdb/mi}
25949 @var{target-stream-output} is the output produced by the target program.
25950 All the target output is prefixed by @samp{@@}.
25951
25952 @item
25953 @cindex log output in @sc{gdb/mi}
25954 @var{log-stream-output} is output text coming from @value{GDBN}'s internals, for
25955 instance messages that should be displayed as part of an error log. All
25956 the log output is prefixed by @samp{&}.
25957
25958 @item
25959 @cindex list output in @sc{gdb/mi}
25960 New @sc{gdb/mi} commands should only output @var{lists} containing
25961 @var{values}.
25962
25963
25964 @end itemize
25965
25966 @xref{GDB/MI Stream Records, , @sc{gdb/mi} Stream Records}, for more
25967 details about the various output records.
25968
25969 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
25970 @node GDB/MI Compatibility with CLI
25971 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Compatibility with CLI
25972
25973 @cindex compatibility, @sc{gdb/mi} and CLI
25974 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, compatibility with CLI
25975
25976 For the developers convenience CLI commands can be entered directly,
25977 but there may be some unexpected behaviour. For example, commands
25978 that query the user will behave as if the user replied yes, breakpoint
25979 command lists are not executed and some CLI commands, such as
25980 @code{if}, @code{when} and @code{define}, prompt for further input with
25981 @samp{>}, which is not valid MI output.
25982
25983 This feature may be removed at some stage in the future and it is
25984 recommended that front ends use the @code{-interpreter-exec} command
25985 (@pxref{-interpreter-exec}).
25986
25987 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
25988 @node GDB/MI Development and Front Ends
25989 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Development and Front Ends
25990 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi} development
25991
25992 The application which takes the MI output and presents the state of the
25993 program being debugged to the user is called a @dfn{front end}.
25994
25995 Although @sc{gdb/mi} is still incomplete, it is currently being used
25996 by a variety of front ends to @value{GDBN}. This makes it difficult
25997 to introduce new functionality without breaking existing usage. This
25998 section tries to minimize the problems by describing how the protocol
25999 might change.
26000
26001 Some changes in MI need not break a carefully designed front end, and
26002 for these the MI version will remain unchanged. The following is a
26003 list of changes that may occur within one level, so front ends should
26004 parse MI output in a way that can handle them:
26005
26006 @itemize @bullet
26007 @item
26008 New MI commands may be added.
26009
26010 @item
26011 New fields may be added to the output of any MI command.
26012
26013 @item
26014 The range of values for fields with specified values, e.g.,
26015 @code{in_scope} (@pxref{-var-update}) may be extended.
26016
26017 @c The format of field's content e.g type prefix, may change so parse it
26018 @c at your own risk. Yes, in general?
26019
26020 @c The order of fields may change? Shouldn't really matter but it might
26021 @c resolve inconsistencies.
26022 @end itemize
26023
26024 If the changes are likely to break front ends, the MI version level
26025 will be increased by one. This will allow the front end to parse the
26026 output according to the MI version. Apart from mi0, new versions of
26027 @value{GDBN} will not support old versions of MI and it will be the
26028 responsibility of the front end to work with the new one.
26029
26030 @c Starting with mi3, add a new command -mi-version that prints the MI
26031 @c version?
26032
26033 The best way to avoid unexpected changes in MI that might break your front
26034 end is to make your project known to @value{GDBN} developers and
26035 follow development on @email{gdb@@sourceware.org} and
26036 @email{gdb-patches@@sourceware.org}.
26037 @cindex mailing lists
26038
26039 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
26040 @node GDB/MI Output Records
26041 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Output Records
26042
26043 @menu
26044 * GDB/MI Result Records::
26045 * GDB/MI Stream Records::
26046 * GDB/MI Async Records::
26047 * GDB/MI Breakpoint Information::
26048 * GDB/MI Frame Information::
26049 * GDB/MI Thread Information::
26050 * GDB/MI Ada Exception Information::
26051 @end menu
26052
26053 @node GDB/MI Result Records
26054 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Result Records
26055
26056 @cindex result records in @sc{gdb/mi}
26057 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, result records
26058 In addition to a number of out-of-band notifications, the response to a
26059 @sc{gdb/mi} command includes one of the following result indications:
26060
26061 @table @code
26062 @findex ^done
26063 @item "^done" [ "," @var{results} ]
26064 The synchronous operation was successful, @code{@var{results}} are the return
26065 values.
26066
26067 @item "^running"
26068 @findex ^running
26069 This result record is equivalent to @samp{^done}. Historically, it
26070 was output instead of @samp{^done} if the command has resumed the
26071 target. This behaviour is maintained for backward compatibility, but
26072 all frontends should treat @samp{^done} and @samp{^running}
26073 identically and rely on the @samp{*running} output record to determine
26074 which threads are resumed.
26075
26076 @item "^connected"
26077 @findex ^connected
26078 @value{GDBN} has connected to a remote target.
26079
26080 @item "^error" "," "msg=" @var{c-string} [ "," "code=" @var{c-string} ]
26081 @findex ^error
26082 The operation failed. The @code{msg=@var{c-string}} variable contains
26083 the corresponding error message.
26084
26085 If present, the @code{code=@var{c-string}} variable provides an error
26086 code on which consumers can rely on to detect the corresponding
26087 error condition. At present, only one error code is defined:
26088
26089 @table @samp
26090 @item "undefined-command"
26091 Indicates that the command causing the error does not exist.
26092 @end table
26093
26094 @item "^exit"
26095 @findex ^exit
26096 @value{GDBN} has terminated.
26097
26098 @end table
26099
26100 @node GDB/MI Stream Records
26101 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Stream Records
26102
26103 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, stream records
26104 @cindex stream records in @sc{gdb/mi}
26105 @value{GDBN} internally maintains a number of output streams: the console, the
26106 target, and the log. The output intended for each of these streams is
26107 funneled through the @sc{gdb/mi} interface using @dfn{stream records}.
26108
26109 Each stream record begins with a unique @dfn{prefix character} which
26110 identifies its stream (@pxref{GDB/MI Output Syntax, , @sc{gdb/mi} Output
26111 Syntax}). In addition to the prefix, each stream record contains a
26112 @code{@var{string-output}}. This is either raw text (with an implicit new
26113 line) or a quoted C string (which does not contain an implicit newline).
26114
26115 @table @code
26116 @item "~" @var{string-output}
26117 The console output stream contains text that should be displayed in the
26118 CLI console window. It contains the textual responses to CLI commands.
26119
26120 @item "@@" @var{string-output}
26121 The target output stream contains any textual output from the running
26122 target. This is only present when GDB's event loop is truly
26123 asynchronous, which is currently only the case for remote targets.
26124
26125 @item "&" @var{string-output}
26126 The log stream contains debugging messages being produced by @value{GDBN}'s
26127 internals.
26128 @end table
26129
26130 @node GDB/MI Async Records
26131 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Async Records
26132
26133 @cindex async records in @sc{gdb/mi}
26134 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, async records
26135 @dfn{Async} records are used to notify the @sc{gdb/mi} client of
26136 additional changes that have occurred. Those changes can either be a
26137 consequence of @sc{gdb/mi} commands (e.g., a breakpoint modified) or a result of
26138 target activity (e.g., target stopped).
26139
26140 The following is the list of possible async records:
26141
26142 @table @code
26143
26144 @item *running,thread-id="@var{thread}"
26145 The target is now running. The @var{thread} field can be the global
26146 thread ID of the the thread that is now running, and it can be
26147 @samp{all} if all threads are running. The frontend should assume
26148 that no interaction with a running thread is possible after this
26149 notification is produced. The frontend should not assume that this
26150 notification is output only once for any command. @value{GDBN} may
26151 emit this notification several times, either for different threads,
26152 because it cannot resume all threads together, or even for a single
26153 thread, if the thread must be stepped though some code before letting
26154 it run freely.
26155
26156 @item *stopped,reason="@var{reason}",thread-id="@var{id}",stopped-threads="@var{stopped}",core="@var{core}"
26157 The target has stopped. The @var{reason} field can have one of the
26158 following values:
26159
26160 @table @code
26161 @item breakpoint-hit
26162 A breakpoint was reached.
26163 @item watchpoint-trigger
26164 A watchpoint was triggered.
26165 @item read-watchpoint-trigger
26166 A read watchpoint was triggered.
26167 @item access-watchpoint-trigger
26168 An access watchpoint was triggered.
26169 @item function-finished
26170 An -exec-finish or similar CLI command was accomplished.
26171 @item location-reached
26172 An -exec-until or similar CLI command was accomplished.
26173 @item watchpoint-scope
26174 A watchpoint has gone out of scope.
26175 @item end-stepping-range
26176 An -exec-next, -exec-next-instruction, -exec-step, -exec-step-instruction or
26177 similar CLI command was accomplished.
26178 @item exited-signalled
26179 The inferior exited because of a signal.
26180 @item exited
26181 The inferior exited.
26182 @item exited-normally
26183 The inferior exited normally.
26184 @item signal-received
26185 A signal was received by the inferior.
26186 @item solib-event
26187 The inferior has stopped due to a library being loaded or unloaded.
26188 This can happen when @code{stop-on-solib-events} (@pxref{Files}) is
26189 set or when a @code{catch load} or @code{catch unload} catchpoint is
26190 in use (@pxref{Set Catchpoints}).
26191 @item fork
26192 The inferior has forked. This is reported when @code{catch fork}
26193 (@pxref{Set Catchpoints}) has been used.
26194 @item vfork
26195 The inferior has vforked. This is reported in when @code{catch vfork}
26196 (@pxref{Set Catchpoints}) has been used.
26197 @item syscall-entry
26198 The inferior entered a system call. This is reported when @code{catch
26199 syscall} (@pxref{Set Catchpoints}) has been used.
26200 @item syscall-return
26201 The inferior returned from a system call. This is reported when
26202 @code{catch syscall} (@pxref{Set Catchpoints}) has been used.
26203 @item exec
26204 The inferior called @code{exec}. This is reported when @code{catch exec}
26205 (@pxref{Set Catchpoints}) has been used.
26206 @end table
26207
26208 The @var{id} field identifies the global thread ID of the thread
26209 that directly caused the stop -- for example by hitting a breakpoint.
26210 Depending on whether all-stop
26211 mode is in effect (@pxref{All-Stop Mode}), @value{GDBN} may either
26212 stop all threads, or only the thread that directly triggered the stop.
26213 If all threads are stopped, the @var{stopped} field will have the
26214 value of @code{"all"}. Otherwise, the value of the @var{stopped}
26215 field will be a list of thread identifiers. Presently, this list will
26216 always include a single thread, but frontend should be prepared to see
26217 several threads in the list. The @var{core} field reports the
26218 processor core on which the stop event has happened. This field may be absent
26219 if such information is not available.
26220
26221 @item =thread-group-added,id="@var{id}"
26222 @itemx =thread-group-removed,id="@var{id}"
26223 A thread group was either added or removed. The @var{id} field
26224 contains the @value{GDBN} identifier of the thread group. When a thread
26225 group is added, it generally might not be associated with a running
26226 process. When a thread group is removed, its id becomes invalid and
26227 cannot be used in any way.
26228
26229 @item =thread-group-started,id="@var{id}",pid="@var{pid}"
26230 A thread group became associated with a running program,
26231 either because the program was just started or the thread group
26232 was attached to a program. The @var{id} field contains the
26233 @value{GDBN} identifier of the thread group. The @var{pid} field
26234 contains process identifier, specific to the operating system.
26235
26236 @item =thread-group-exited,id="@var{id}"[,exit-code="@var{code}"]
26237 A thread group is no longer associated with a running program,
26238 either because the program has exited, or because it was detached
26239 from. The @var{id} field contains the @value{GDBN} identifier of the
26240 thread group. The @var{code} field is the exit code of the inferior; it exists
26241 only when the inferior exited with some code.
26242
26243 @item =thread-created,id="@var{id}",group-id="@var{gid}"
26244 @itemx =thread-exited,id="@var{id}",group-id="@var{gid}"
26245 A thread either was created, or has exited. The @var{id} field
26246 contains the global @value{GDBN} identifier of the thread. The @var{gid}
26247 field identifies the thread group this thread belongs to.
26248
26249 @item =thread-selected,id="@var{id}"
26250 Informs that the selected thread was changed as result of the last
26251 command. This notification is not emitted as result of @code{-thread-select}
26252 command but is emitted whenever an MI command that is not documented
26253 to change the selected thread actually changes it. In particular,
26254 invoking, directly or indirectly (via user-defined command), the CLI
26255 @code{thread} command, will generate this notification.
26256
26257 We suggest that in response to this notification, front ends
26258 highlight the selected thread and cause subsequent commands to apply to
26259 that thread.
26260
26261 @item =library-loaded,...
26262 Reports that a new library file was loaded by the program. This
26263 notification has 4 fields---@var{id}, @var{target-name},
26264 @var{host-name}, and @var{symbols-loaded}. The @var{id} field is an
26265 opaque identifier of the library. For remote debugging case,
26266 @var{target-name} and @var{host-name} fields give the name of the
26267 library file on the target, and on the host respectively. For native
26268 debugging, both those fields have the same value. The
26269 @var{symbols-loaded} field is emitted only for backward compatibility
26270 and should not be relied on to convey any useful information. The
26271 @var{thread-group} field, if present, specifies the id of the thread
26272 group in whose context the library was loaded. If the field is
26273 absent, it means the library was loaded in the context of all present
26274 thread groups.
26275
26276 @item =library-unloaded,...
26277 Reports that a library was unloaded by the program. This notification
26278 has 3 fields---@var{id}, @var{target-name} and @var{host-name} with
26279 the same meaning as for the @code{=library-loaded} notification.
26280 The @var{thread-group} field, if present, specifies the id of the
26281 thread group in whose context the library was unloaded. If the field is
26282 absent, it means the library was unloaded in the context of all present
26283 thread groups.
26284
26285 @item =traceframe-changed,num=@var{tfnum},tracepoint=@var{tpnum}
26286 @itemx =traceframe-changed,end
26287 Reports that the trace frame was changed and its new number is
26288 @var{tfnum}. The number of the tracepoint associated with this trace
26289 frame is @var{tpnum}.
26290
26291 @item =tsv-created,name=@var{name},initial=@var{initial}
26292 Reports that the new trace state variable @var{name} is created with
26293 initial value @var{initial}.
26294
26295 @item =tsv-deleted,name=@var{name}
26296 @itemx =tsv-deleted
26297 Reports that the trace state variable @var{name} is deleted or all
26298 trace state variables are deleted.
26299
26300 @item =tsv-modified,name=@var{name},initial=@var{initial}[,current=@var{current}]
26301 Reports that the trace state variable @var{name} is modified with
26302 the initial value @var{initial}. The current value @var{current} of
26303 trace state variable is optional and is reported if the current
26304 value of trace state variable is known.
26305
26306 @item =breakpoint-created,bkpt=@{...@}
26307 @itemx =breakpoint-modified,bkpt=@{...@}
26308 @itemx =breakpoint-deleted,id=@var{number}
26309 Reports that a breakpoint was created, modified, or deleted,
26310 respectively. Only user-visible breakpoints are reported to the MI
26311 user.
26312
26313 The @var{bkpt} argument is of the same form as returned by the various
26314 breakpoint commands; @xref{GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands}. The
26315 @var{number} is the ordinal number of the breakpoint.
26316
26317 Note that if a breakpoint is emitted in the result record of a
26318 command, then it will not also be emitted in an async record.
26319
26320 @item =record-started,thread-group="@var{id}"
26321 @itemx =record-stopped,thread-group="@var{id}"
26322 Execution log recording was either started or stopped on an
26323 inferior. The @var{id} is the @value{GDBN} identifier of the thread
26324 group corresponding to the affected inferior.
26325
26326 @item =cmd-param-changed,param=@var{param},value=@var{value}
26327 Reports that a parameter of the command @code{set @var{param}} is
26328 changed to @var{value}. In the multi-word @code{set} command,
26329 the @var{param} is the whole parameter list to @code{set} command.
26330 For example, In command @code{set check type on}, @var{param}
26331 is @code{check type} and @var{value} is @code{on}.
26332
26333 @item =memory-changed,thread-group=@var{id},addr=@var{addr},len=@var{len}[,type="code"]
26334 Reports that bytes from @var{addr} to @var{data} + @var{len} were
26335 written in an inferior. The @var{id} is the identifier of the
26336 thread group corresponding to the affected inferior. The optional
26337 @code{type="code"} part is reported if the memory written to holds
26338 executable code.
26339 @end table
26340
26341 @node GDB/MI Breakpoint Information
26342 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Breakpoint Information
26343
26344 When @value{GDBN} reports information about a breakpoint, a
26345 tracepoint, a watchpoint, or a catchpoint, it uses a tuple with the
26346 following fields:
26347
26348 @table @code
26349 @item number
26350 The breakpoint number. For a breakpoint that represents one location
26351 of a multi-location breakpoint, this will be a dotted pair, like
26352 @samp{1.2}.
26353
26354 @item type
26355 The type of the breakpoint. For ordinary breakpoints this will be
26356 @samp{breakpoint}, but many values are possible.
26357
26358 @item catch-type
26359 If the type of the breakpoint is @samp{catchpoint}, then this
26360 indicates the exact type of catchpoint.
26361
26362 @item disp
26363 This is the breakpoint disposition---either @samp{del}, meaning that
26364 the breakpoint will be deleted at the next stop, or @samp{keep},
26365 meaning that the breakpoint will not be deleted.
26366
26367 @item enabled
26368 This indicates whether the breakpoint is enabled, in which case the
26369 value is @samp{y}, or disabled, in which case the value is @samp{n}.
26370 Note that this is not the same as the field @code{enable}.
26371
26372 @item addr
26373 The address of the breakpoint. This may be a hexidecimal number,
26374 giving the address; or the string @samp{<PENDING>}, for a pending
26375 breakpoint; or the string @samp{<MULTIPLE>}, for a breakpoint with
26376 multiple locations. This field will not be present if no address can
26377 be determined. For example, a watchpoint does not have an address.
26378
26379 @item func
26380 If known, the function in which the breakpoint appears.
26381 If not known, this field is not present.
26382
26383 @item filename
26384 The name of the source file which contains this function, if known.
26385 If not known, this field is not present.
26386
26387 @item fullname
26388 The full file name of the source file which contains this function, if
26389 known. If not known, this field is not present.
26390
26391 @item line
26392 The line number at which this breakpoint appears, if known.
26393 If not known, this field is not present.
26394
26395 @item at
26396 If the source file is not known, this field may be provided. If
26397 provided, this holds the address of the breakpoint, possibly followed
26398 by a symbol name.
26399
26400 @item pending
26401 If this breakpoint is pending, this field is present and holds the
26402 text used to set the breakpoint, as entered by the user.
26403
26404 @item evaluated-by
26405 Where this breakpoint's condition is evaluated, either @samp{host} or
26406 @samp{target}.
26407
26408 @item thread
26409 If this is a thread-specific breakpoint, then this identifies the
26410 thread in which the breakpoint can trigger.
26411
26412 @item task
26413 If this breakpoint is restricted to a particular Ada task, then this
26414 field will hold the task identifier.
26415
26416 @item cond
26417 If the breakpoint is conditional, this is the condition expression.
26418
26419 @item ignore
26420 The ignore count of the breakpoint.
26421
26422 @item enable
26423 The enable count of the breakpoint.
26424
26425 @item traceframe-usage
26426 FIXME.
26427
26428 @item static-tracepoint-marker-string-id
26429 For a static tracepoint, the name of the static tracepoint marker.
26430
26431 @item mask
26432 For a masked watchpoint, this is the mask.
26433
26434 @item pass
26435 A tracepoint's pass count.
26436
26437 @item original-location
26438 The location of the breakpoint as originally specified by the user.
26439 This field is optional.
26440
26441 @item times
26442 The number of times the breakpoint has been hit.
26443
26444 @item installed
26445 This field is only given for tracepoints. This is either @samp{y},
26446 meaning that the tracepoint is installed, or @samp{n}, meaning that it
26447 is not.
26448
26449 @item what
26450 Some extra data, the exact contents of which are type-dependent.
26451
26452 @end table
26453
26454 For example, here is what the output of @code{-break-insert}
26455 (@pxref{GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands}) might be:
26456
26457 @smallexample
26458 -> -break-insert main
26459 <- ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
26460 enabled="y",addr="0x08048564",func="main",file="myprog.c",
26461 fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="68",thread-groups=["i1"],
26462 times="0"@}
26463 <- (gdb)
26464 @end smallexample
26465
26466 @node GDB/MI Frame Information
26467 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Frame Information
26468
26469 Response from many MI commands includes an information about stack
26470 frame. This information is a tuple that may have the following
26471 fields:
26472
26473 @table @code
26474 @item level
26475 The level of the stack frame. The innermost frame has the level of
26476 zero. This field is always present.
26477
26478 @item func
26479 The name of the function corresponding to the frame. This field may
26480 be absent if @value{GDBN} is unable to determine the function name.
26481
26482 @item addr
26483 The code address for the frame. This field is always present.
26484
26485 @item file
26486 The name of the source files that correspond to the frame's code
26487 address. This field may be absent.
26488
26489 @item line
26490 The source line corresponding to the frames' code address. This field
26491 may be absent.
26492
26493 @item from
26494 The name of the binary file (either executable or shared library) the
26495 corresponds to the frame's code address. This field may be absent.
26496
26497 @end table
26498
26499 @node GDB/MI Thread Information
26500 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Thread Information
26501
26502 Whenever @value{GDBN} has to report an information about a thread, it
26503 uses a tuple with the following fields:
26504
26505 @table @code
26506 @item id
26507 The global numeric id assigned to the thread by @value{GDBN}. This field is
26508 always present.
26509
26510 @item target-id
26511 Target-specific string identifying the thread. This field is always present.
26512
26513 @item details
26514 Additional information about the thread provided by the target.
26515 It is supposed to be human-readable and not interpreted by the
26516 frontend. This field is optional.
26517
26518 @item state
26519 Either @samp{stopped} or @samp{running}, depending on whether the
26520 thread is presently running. This field is always present.
26521
26522 @item core
26523 The value of this field is an integer number of the processor core the
26524 thread was last seen on. This field is optional.
26525 @end table
26526
26527 @node GDB/MI Ada Exception Information
26528 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Ada Exception Information
26529
26530 Whenever a @code{*stopped} record is emitted because the program
26531 stopped after hitting an exception catchpoint (@pxref{Set Catchpoints}),
26532 @value{GDBN} provides the name of the exception that was raised via
26533 the @code{exception-name} field.
26534
26535 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
26536 @node GDB/MI Simple Examples
26537 @section Simple Examples of @sc{gdb/mi} Interaction
26538 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, simple examples
26539
26540 This subsection presents several simple examples of interaction using
26541 the @sc{gdb/mi} interface. In these examples, @samp{->} means that the
26542 following line is passed to @sc{gdb/mi} as input, while @samp{<-} means
26543 the output received from @sc{gdb/mi}.
26544
26545 Note the line breaks shown in the examples are here only for
26546 readability, they don't appear in the real output.
26547
26548 @subheading Setting a Breakpoint
26549
26550 Setting a breakpoint generates synchronous output which contains detailed
26551 information of the breakpoint.
26552
26553 @smallexample
26554 -> -break-insert main
26555 <- ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
26556 enabled="y",addr="0x08048564",func="main",file="myprog.c",
26557 fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="68",thread-groups=["i1"],
26558 times="0"@}
26559 <- (gdb)
26560 @end smallexample
26561
26562 @subheading Program Execution
26563
26564 Program execution generates asynchronous records and MI gives the
26565 reason that execution stopped.
26566
26567 @smallexample
26568 -> -exec-run
26569 <- ^running
26570 <- (gdb)
26571 <- *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",thread-id="0",
26572 frame=@{addr="0x08048564",func="main",
26573 args=[@{name="argc",value="1"@},@{name="argv",value="0xbfc4d4d4"@}],
26574 file="myprog.c",fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="68"@}
26575 <- (gdb)
26576 -> -exec-continue
26577 <- ^running
26578 <- (gdb)
26579 <- *stopped,reason="exited-normally"
26580 <- (gdb)
26581 @end smallexample
26582
26583 @subheading Quitting @value{GDBN}
26584
26585 Quitting @value{GDBN} just prints the result class @samp{^exit}.
26586
26587 @smallexample
26588 -> (gdb)
26589 <- -gdb-exit
26590 <- ^exit
26591 @end smallexample
26592
26593 Please note that @samp{^exit} is printed immediately, but it might
26594 take some time for @value{GDBN} to actually exit. During that time, @value{GDBN}
26595 performs necessary cleanups, including killing programs being debugged
26596 or disconnecting from debug hardware, so the frontend should wait till
26597 @value{GDBN} exits and should only forcibly kill @value{GDBN} if it
26598 fails to exit in reasonable time.
26599
26600 @subheading A Bad Command
26601
26602 Here's what happens if you pass a non-existent command:
26603
26604 @smallexample
26605 -> -rubbish
26606 <- ^error,msg="Undefined MI command: rubbish"
26607 <- (gdb)
26608 @end smallexample
26609
26610
26611 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
26612 @node GDB/MI Command Description Format
26613 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Command Description Format
26614
26615 The remaining sections describe blocks of commands. Each block of
26616 commands is laid out in a fashion similar to this section.
26617
26618 @subheading Motivation
26619
26620 The motivation for this collection of commands.
26621
26622 @subheading Introduction
26623
26624 A brief introduction to this collection of commands as a whole.
26625
26626 @subheading Commands
26627
26628 For each command in the block, the following is described:
26629
26630 @subsubheading Synopsis
26631
26632 @smallexample
26633 -command @var{args}@dots{}
26634 @end smallexample
26635
26636 @subsubheading Result
26637
26638 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26639
26640 The corresponding @value{GDBN} CLI command(s), if any.
26641
26642 @subsubheading Example
26643
26644 Example(s) formatted for readability. Some of the described commands have
26645 not been implemented yet and these are labeled N.A.@: (not available).
26646
26647
26648 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
26649 @node GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands
26650 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Breakpoint Commands
26651
26652 @cindex breakpoint commands for @sc{gdb/mi}
26653 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, breakpoint commands
26654 This section documents @sc{gdb/mi} commands for manipulating
26655 breakpoints.
26656
26657 @subheading The @code{-break-after} Command
26658 @findex -break-after
26659
26660 @subsubheading Synopsis
26661
26662 @smallexample
26663 -break-after @var{number} @var{count}
26664 @end smallexample
26665
26666 The breakpoint number @var{number} is not in effect until it has been
26667 hit @var{count} times. To see how this is reflected in the output of
26668 the @samp{-break-list} command, see the description of the
26669 @samp{-break-list} command below.
26670
26671 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26672
26673 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{ignore}.
26674
26675 @subsubheading Example
26676
26677 @smallexample
26678 (gdb)
26679 -break-insert main
26680 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
26681 enabled="y",addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",
26682 fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",line="5",thread-groups=["i1"],
26683 times="0"@}
26684 (gdb)
26685 -break-after 1 3
26686 ~
26687 ^done
26688 (gdb)
26689 -break-list
26690 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
26691 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
26692 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
26693 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
26694 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
26695 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
26696 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
26697 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
26698 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
26699 line="5",thread-groups=["i1"],times="0",ignore="3"@}]@}
26700 (gdb)
26701 @end smallexample
26702
26703 @ignore
26704 @subheading The @code{-break-catch} Command
26705 @findex -break-catch
26706 @end ignore
26707
26708 @subheading The @code{-break-commands} Command
26709 @findex -break-commands
26710
26711 @subsubheading Synopsis
26712
26713 @smallexample
26714 -break-commands @var{number} [ @var{command1} ... @var{commandN} ]
26715 @end smallexample
26716
26717 Specifies the CLI commands that should be executed when breakpoint
26718 @var{number} is hit. The parameters @var{command1} to @var{commandN}
26719 are the commands. If no command is specified, any previously-set
26720 commands are cleared. @xref{Break Commands}. Typical use of this
26721 functionality is tracing a program, that is, printing of values of
26722 some variables whenever breakpoint is hit and then continuing.
26723
26724 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26725
26726 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{commands}.
26727
26728 @subsubheading Example
26729
26730 @smallexample
26731 (gdb)
26732 -break-insert main
26733 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
26734 enabled="y",addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",
26735 fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",line="5",thread-groups=["i1"],
26736 times="0"@}
26737 (gdb)
26738 -break-commands 1 "print v" "continue"
26739 ^done
26740 (gdb)
26741 @end smallexample
26742
26743 @subheading The @code{-break-condition} Command
26744 @findex -break-condition
26745
26746 @subsubheading Synopsis
26747
26748 @smallexample
26749 -break-condition @var{number} @var{expr}
26750 @end smallexample
26751
26752 Breakpoint @var{number} will stop the program only if the condition in
26753 @var{expr} is true. The condition becomes part of the
26754 @samp{-break-list} output (see the description of the @samp{-break-list}
26755 command below).
26756
26757 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26758
26759 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{condition}.
26760
26761 @subsubheading Example
26762
26763 @smallexample
26764 (gdb)
26765 -break-condition 1 1
26766 ^done
26767 (gdb)
26768 -break-list
26769 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
26770 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
26771 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
26772 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
26773 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
26774 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
26775 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
26776 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
26777 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
26778 line="5",cond="1",thread-groups=["i1"],times="0",ignore="3"@}]@}
26779 (gdb)
26780 @end smallexample
26781
26782 @subheading The @code{-break-delete} Command
26783 @findex -break-delete
26784
26785 @subsubheading Synopsis
26786
26787 @smallexample
26788 -break-delete ( @var{breakpoint} )+
26789 @end smallexample
26790
26791 Delete the breakpoint(s) whose number(s) are specified in the argument
26792 list. This is obviously reflected in the breakpoint list.
26793
26794 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26795
26796 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{delete}.
26797
26798 @subsubheading Example
26799
26800 @smallexample
26801 (gdb)
26802 -break-delete 1
26803 ^done
26804 (gdb)
26805 -break-list
26806 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="0",nr_cols="6",
26807 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
26808 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
26809 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
26810 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
26811 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
26812 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
26813 body=[]@}
26814 (gdb)
26815 @end smallexample
26816
26817 @subheading The @code{-break-disable} Command
26818 @findex -break-disable
26819
26820 @subsubheading Synopsis
26821
26822 @smallexample
26823 -break-disable ( @var{breakpoint} )+
26824 @end smallexample
26825
26826 Disable the named @var{breakpoint}(s). The field @samp{enabled} in the
26827 break list is now set to @samp{n} for the named @var{breakpoint}(s).
26828
26829 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26830
26831 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{disable}.
26832
26833 @subsubheading Example
26834
26835 @smallexample
26836 (gdb)
26837 -break-disable 2
26838 ^done
26839 (gdb)
26840 -break-list
26841 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
26842 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
26843 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
26844 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
26845 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
26846 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
26847 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
26848 body=[bkpt=@{number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="n",
26849 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
26850 line="5",thread-groups=["i1"],times="0"@}]@}
26851 (gdb)
26852 @end smallexample
26853
26854 @subheading The @code{-break-enable} Command
26855 @findex -break-enable
26856
26857 @subsubheading Synopsis
26858
26859 @smallexample
26860 -break-enable ( @var{breakpoint} )+
26861 @end smallexample
26862
26863 Enable (previously disabled) @var{breakpoint}(s).
26864
26865 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26866
26867 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{enable}.
26868
26869 @subsubheading Example
26870
26871 @smallexample
26872 (gdb)
26873 -break-enable 2
26874 ^done
26875 (gdb)
26876 -break-list
26877 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
26878 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
26879 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
26880 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
26881 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
26882 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
26883 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
26884 body=[bkpt=@{number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
26885 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
26886 line="5",thread-groups=["i1"],times="0"@}]@}
26887 (gdb)
26888 @end smallexample
26889
26890 @subheading The @code{-break-info} Command
26891 @findex -break-info
26892
26893 @subsubheading Synopsis
26894
26895 @smallexample
26896 -break-info @var{breakpoint}
26897 @end smallexample
26898
26899 @c REDUNDANT???
26900 Get information about a single breakpoint.
26901
26902 The result is a table of breakpoints. @xref{GDB/MI Breakpoint
26903 Information}, for details on the format of each breakpoint in the
26904 table.
26905
26906 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26907
26908 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info break @var{breakpoint}}.
26909
26910 @subsubheading Example
26911 N.A.
26912
26913 @subheading The @code{-break-insert} Command
26914 @findex -break-insert
26915 @anchor{-break-insert}
26916
26917 @subsubheading Synopsis
26918
26919 @smallexample
26920 -break-insert [ -t ] [ -h ] [ -f ] [ -d ] [ -a ]
26921 [ -c @var{condition} ] [ -i @var{ignore-count} ]
26922 [ -p @var{thread-id} ] [ @var{location} ]
26923 @end smallexample
26924
26925 @noindent
26926 If specified, @var{location}, can be one of:
26927
26928 @table @var
26929 @item linespec location
26930 A linespec location. @xref{Linespec Locations}.
26931
26932 @item explicit location
26933 An explicit location. @sc{gdb/mi} explicit locations are
26934 analogous to the CLI's explicit locations using the option names
26935 listed below. @xref{Explicit Locations}.
26936
26937 @table @samp
26938 @item --source @var{filename}
26939 The source file name of the location. This option requires the use
26940 of either @samp{--function} or @samp{--line}.
26941
26942 @item --function @var{function}
26943 The name of a function or method.
26944
26945 @item --label @var{label}
26946 The name of a label.
26947
26948 @item --line @var{lineoffset}
26949 An absolute or relative line offset from the start of the location.
26950 @end table
26951
26952 @item address location
26953 An address location, *@var{address}. @xref{Address Locations}.
26954 @end table
26955
26956 @noindent
26957 The possible optional parameters of this command are:
26958
26959 @table @samp
26960 @item -t
26961 Insert a temporary breakpoint.
26962 @item -h
26963 Insert a hardware breakpoint.
26964 @item -f
26965 If @var{location} cannot be parsed (for example if it
26966 refers to unknown files or functions), create a pending
26967 breakpoint. Without this flag, @value{GDBN} will report
26968 an error, and won't create a breakpoint, if @var{location}
26969 cannot be parsed.
26970 @item -d
26971 Create a disabled breakpoint.
26972 @item -a
26973 Create a tracepoint. @xref{Tracepoints}. When this parameter
26974 is used together with @samp{-h}, a fast tracepoint is created.
26975 @item -c @var{condition}
26976 Make the breakpoint conditional on @var{condition}.
26977 @item -i @var{ignore-count}
26978 Initialize the @var{ignore-count}.
26979 @item -p @var{thread-id}
26980 Restrict the breakpoint to the thread with the specified global
26981 @var{thread-id}.
26982 @end table
26983
26984 @subsubheading Result
26985
26986 @xref{GDB/MI Breakpoint Information}, for details on the format of the
26987 resulting breakpoint.
26988
26989 Note: this format is open to change.
26990 @c An out-of-band breakpoint instead of part of the result?
26991
26992 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26993
26994 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{break}, @samp{tbreak},
26995 @samp{hbreak}, and @samp{thbreak}. @c and @samp{rbreak}.
26996
26997 @subsubheading Example
26998
26999 @smallexample
27000 (gdb)
27001 -break-insert main
27002 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",addr="0x0001072c",file="recursive2.c",
27003 fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c,line="4",thread-groups=["i1"],
27004 times="0"@}
27005 (gdb)
27006 -break-insert -t foo
27007 ^done,bkpt=@{number="2",addr="0x00010774",file="recursive2.c",
27008 fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c,line="11",thread-groups=["i1"],
27009 times="0"@}
27010 (gdb)
27011 -break-list
27012 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
27013 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
27014 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
27015 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
27016 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
27017 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
27018 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
27019 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
27020 addr="0x0001072c", func="main",file="recursive2.c",
27021 fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c,"line="4",thread-groups=["i1"],
27022 times="0"@},
27023 bkpt=@{number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="del",enabled="y",
27024 addr="0x00010774",func="foo",file="recursive2.c",
27025 fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c",line="11",thread-groups=["i1"],
27026 times="0"@}]@}
27027 (gdb)
27028 @c -break-insert -r foo.*
27029 @c ~int foo(int, int);
27030 @c ^done,bkpt=@{number="3",addr="0x00010774",file="recursive2.c,
27031 @c "fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c",line="11",thread-groups=["i1"],
27032 @c times="0"@}
27033 @c (gdb)
27034 @end smallexample
27035
27036 @subheading The @code{-dprintf-insert} Command
27037 @findex -dprintf-insert
27038
27039 @subsubheading Synopsis
27040
27041 @smallexample
27042 -dprintf-insert [ -t ] [ -f ] [ -d ]
27043 [ -c @var{condition} ] [ -i @var{ignore-count} ]
27044 [ -p @var{thread-id} ] [ @var{location} ] [ @var{format} ]
27045 [ @var{argument} ]
27046 @end smallexample
27047
27048 @noindent
27049 If supplied, @var{location} may be specified the same way as for
27050 the @code{-break-insert} command. @xref{-break-insert}.
27051
27052 The possible optional parameters of this command are:
27053
27054 @table @samp
27055 @item -t
27056 Insert a temporary breakpoint.
27057 @item -f
27058 If @var{location} cannot be parsed (for example, if it
27059 refers to unknown files or functions), create a pending
27060 breakpoint. Without this flag, @value{GDBN} will report
27061 an error, and won't create a breakpoint, if @var{location}
27062 cannot be parsed.
27063 @item -d
27064 Create a disabled breakpoint.
27065 @item -c @var{condition}
27066 Make the breakpoint conditional on @var{condition}.
27067 @item -i @var{ignore-count}
27068 Set the ignore count of the breakpoint (@pxref{Conditions, ignore count})
27069 to @var{ignore-count}.
27070 @item -p @var{thread-id}
27071 Restrict the breakpoint to the thread with the specified global
27072 @var{thread-id}.
27073 @end table
27074
27075 @subsubheading Result
27076
27077 @xref{GDB/MI Breakpoint Information}, for details on the format of the
27078 resulting breakpoint.
27079
27080 @c An out-of-band breakpoint instead of part of the result?
27081
27082 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27083
27084 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{dprintf}.
27085
27086 @subsubheading Example
27087
27088 @smallexample
27089 (gdb)
27090 4-dprintf-insert foo "At foo entry\n"
27091 4^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="dprintf",disp="keep",enabled="y",
27092 addr="0x000000000040061b",func="foo",file="mi-dprintf.c",
27093 fullname="mi-dprintf.c",line="25",thread-groups=["i1"],
27094 times="0",script=@{"printf \"At foo entry\\n\"","continue"@},
27095 original-location="foo"@}
27096 (gdb)
27097 5-dprintf-insert 26 "arg=%d, g=%d\n" arg g
27098 5^done,bkpt=@{number="2",type="dprintf",disp="keep",enabled="y",
27099 addr="0x000000000040062a",func="foo",file="mi-dprintf.c",
27100 fullname="mi-dprintf.c",line="26",thread-groups=["i1"],
27101 times="0",script=@{"printf \"arg=%d, g=%d\\n\", arg, g","continue"@},
27102 original-location="mi-dprintf.c:26"@}
27103 (gdb)
27104 @end smallexample
27105
27106 @subheading The @code{-break-list} Command
27107 @findex -break-list
27108
27109 @subsubheading Synopsis
27110
27111 @smallexample
27112 -break-list
27113 @end smallexample
27114
27115 Displays the list of inserted breakpoints, showing the following fields:
27116
27117 @table @samp
27118 @item Number
27119 number of the breakpoint
27120 @item Type
27121 type of the breakpoint: @samp{breakpoint} or @samp{watchpoint}
27122 @item Disposition
27123 should the breakpoint be deleted or disabled when it is hit: @samp{keep}
27124 or @samp{nokeep}
27125 @item Enabled
27126 is the breakpoint enabled or no: @samp{y} or @samp{n}
27127 @item Address
27128 memory location at which the breakpoint is set
27129 @item What
27130 logical location of the breakpoint, expressed by function name, file
27131 name, line number
27132 @item Thread-groups
27133 list of thread groups to which this breakpoint applies
27134 @item Times
27135 number of times the breakpoint has been hit
27136 @end table
27137
27138 If there are no breakpoints or watchpoints, the @code{BreakpointTable}
27139 @code{body} field is an empty list.
27140
27141 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27142
27143 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info break}.
27144
27145 @subsubheading Example
27146
27147 @smallexample
27148 (gdb)
27149 -break-list
27150 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
27151 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
27152 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
27153 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
27154 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
27155 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
27156 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
27157 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
27158 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",line="5",thread-groups=["i1"],
27159 times="0"@},
27160 bkpt=@{number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
27161 addr="0x00010114",func="foo",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
27162 line="13",thread-groups=["i1"],times="0"@}]@}
27163 (gdb)
27164 @end smallexample
27165
27166 Here's an example of the result when there are no breakpoints:
27167
27168 @smallexample
27169 (gdb)
27170 -break-list
27171 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="0",nr_cols="6",
27172 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
27173 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
27174 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
27175 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
27176 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
27177 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
27178 body=[]@}
27179 (gdb)
27180 @end smallexample
27181
27182 @subheading The @code{-break-passcount} Command
27183 @findex -break-passcount
27184
27185 @subsubheading Synopsis
27186
27187 @smallexample
27188 -break-passcount @var{tracepoint-number} @var{passcount}
27189 @end smallexample
27190
27191 Set the passcount for tracepoint @var{tracepoint-number} to
27192 @var{passcount}. If the breakpoint referred to by @var{tracepoint-number}
27193 is not a tracepoint, error is emitted. This corresponds to CLI
27194 command @samp{passcount}.
27195
27196 @subheading The @code{-break-watch} Command
27197 @findex -break-watch
27198
27199 @subsubheading Synopsis
27200
27201 @smallexample
27202 -break-watch [ -a | -r ]
27203 @end smallexample
27204
27205 Create a watchpoint. With the @samp{-a} option it will create an
27206 @dfn{access} watchpoint, i.e., a watchpoint that triggers either on a
27207 read from or on a write to the memory location. With the @samp{-r}
27208 option, the watchpoint created is a @dfn{read} watchpoint, i.e., it will
27209 trigger only when the memory location is accessed for reading. Without
27210 either of the options, the watchpoint created is a regular watchpoint,
27211 i.e., it will trigger when the memory location is accessed for writing.
27212 @xref{Set Watchpoints, , Setting Watchpoints}.
27213
27214 Note that @samp{-break-list} will report a single list of watchpoints and
27215 breakpoints inserted.
27216
27217 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27218
27219 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{watch}, @samp{awatch}, and
27220 @samp{rwatch}.
27221
27222 @subsubheading Example
27223
27224 Setting a watchpoint on a variable in the @code{main} function:
27225
27226 @smallexample
27227 (gdb)
27228 -break-watch x
27229 ^done,wpt=@{number="2",exp="x"@}
27230 (gdb)
27231 -exec-continue
27232 ^running
27233 (gdb)
27234 *stopped,reason="watchpoint-trigger",wpt=@{number="2",exp="x"@},
27235 value=@{old="-268439212",new="55"@},
27236 frame=@{func="main",args=[],file="recursive2.c",
27237 fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="5"@}
27238 (gdb)
27239 @end smallexample
27240
27241 Setting a watchpoint on a variable local to a function. @value{GDBN} will stop
27242 the program execution twice: first for the variable changing value, then
27243 for the watchpoint going out of scope.
27244
27245 @smallexample
27246 (gdb)
27247 -break-watch C
27248 ^done,wpt=@{number="5",exp="C"@}
27249 (gdb)
27250 -exec-continue
27251 ^running
27252 (gdb)
27253 *stopped,reason="watchpoint-trigger",
27254 wpt=@{number="5",exp="C"@},value=@{old="-276895068",new="3"@},
27255 frame=@{func="callee4",args=[],
27256 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
27257 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="13"@}
27258 (gdb)
27259 -exec-continue
27260 ^running
27261 (gdb)
27262 *stopped,reason="watchpoint-scope",wpnum="5",
27263 frame=@{func="callee3",args=[@{name="strarg",
27264 value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}],
27265 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
27266 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="18"@}
27267 (gdb)
27268 @end smallexample
27269
27270 Listing breakpoints and watchpoints, at different points in the program
27271 execution. Note that once the watchpoint goes out of scope, it is
27272 deleted.
27273
27274 @smallexample
27275 (gdb)
27276 -break-watch C
27277 ^done,wpt=@{number="2",exp="C"@}
27278 (gdb)
27279 -break-list
27280 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
27281 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
27282 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
27283 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
27284 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
27285 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
27286 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
27287 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
27288 addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
27289 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
27290 fullname="/home/foo/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c"line="8",thread-groups=["i1"],
27291 times="1"@},
27292 bkpt=@{number="2",type="watchpoint",disp="keep",
27293 enabled="y",addr="",what="C",thread-groups=["i1"],times="0"@}]@}
27294 (gdb)
27295 -exec-continue
27296 ^running
27297 (gdb)
27298 *stopped,reason="watchpoint-trigger",wpt=@{number="2",exp="C"@},
27299 value=@{old="-276895068",new="3"@},
27300 frame=@{func="callee4",args=[],
27301 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
27302 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="13"@}
27303 (gdb)
27304 -break-list
27305 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
27306 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
27307 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
27308 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
27309 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
27310 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
27311 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
27312 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
27313 addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
27314 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
27315 fullname="/home/foo/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8",thread-groups=["i1"],
27316 times="1"@},
27317 bkpt=@{number="2",type="watchpoint",disp="keep",
27318 enabled="y",addr="",what="C",thread-groups=["i1"],times="-5"@}]@}
27319 (gdb)
27320 -exec-continue
27321 ^running
27322 ^done,reason="watchpoint-scope",wpnum="2",
27323 frame=@{func="callee3",args=[@{name="strarg",
27324 value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}],
27325 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
27326 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="18"@}
27327 (gdb)
27328 -break-list
27329 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
27330 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
27331 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
27332 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
27333 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
27334 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
27335 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
27336 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
27337 addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
27338 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
27339 fullname="/home/foo/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8",
27340 thread-groups=["i1"],times="1"@}]@}
27341 (gdb)
27342 @end smallexample
27343
27344
27345 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
27346 @node GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands
27347 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Catchpoint Commands
27348
27349 This section documents @sc{gdb/mi} commands for manipulating
27350 catchpoints.
27351
27352 @menu
27353 * Shared Library GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands::
27354 * Ada Exception GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands::
27355 @end menu
27356
27357 @node Shared Library GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands
27358 @subsection Shared Library @sc{gdb/mi} Catchpoints
27359
27360 @subheading The @code{-catch-load} Command
27361 @findex -catch-load
27362
27363 @subsubheading Synopsis
27364
27365 @smallexample
27366 -catch-load [ -t ] [ -d ] @var{regexp}
27367 @end smallexample
27368
27369 Add a catchpoint for library load events. If the @samp{-t} option is used,
27370 the catchpoint is a temporary one (@pxref{Set Breaks, ,Setting
27371 Breakpoints}). If the @samp{-d} option is used, the catchpoint is created
27372 in a disabled state. The @samp{regexp} argument is a regular
27373 expression used to match the name of the loaded library.
27374
27375
27376 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27377
27378 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{catch load}.
27379
27380 @subsubheading Example
27381
27382 @smallexample
27383 -catch-load -t foo.so
27384 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="catchpoint",disp="del",enabled="y",
27385 what="load of library matching foo.so",catch-type="load",times="0"@}
27386 (gdb)
27387 @end smallexample
27388
27389
27390 @subheading The @code{-catch-unload} Command
27391 @findex -catch-unload
27392
27393 @subsubheading Synopsis
27394
27395 @smallexample
27396 -catch-unload [ -t ] [ -d ] @var{regexp}
27397 @end smallexample
27398
27399 Add a catchpoint for library unload events. If the @samp{-t} option is
27400 used, the catchpoint is a temporary one (@pxref{Set Breaks, ,Setting
27401 Breakpoints}). If the @samp{-d} option is used, the catchpoint is
27402 created in a disabled state. The @samp{regexp} argument is a regular
27403 expression used to match the name of the unloaded library.
27404
27405 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27406
27407 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{catch unload}.
27408
27409 @subsubheading Example
27410
27411 @smallexample
27412 -catch-unload -d bar.so
27413 ^done,bkpt=@{number="2",type="catchpoint",disp="keep",enabled="n",
27414 what="load of library matching bar.so",catch-type="unload",times="0"@}
27415 (gdb)
27416 @end smallexample
27417
27418 @node Ada Exception GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands
27419 @subsection Ada Exception @sc{gdb/mi} Catchpoints
27420
27421 The following @sc{gdb/mi} commands can be used to create catchpoints
27422 that stop the execution when Ada exceptions are being raised.
27423
27424 @subheading The @code{-catch-assert} Command
27425 @findex -catch-assert
27426
27427 @subsubheading Synopsis
27428
27429 @smallexample
27430 -catch-assert [ -c @var{condition}] [ -d ] [ -t ]
27431 @end smallexample
27432
27433 Add a catchpoint for failed Ada assertions.
27434
27435 The possible optional parameters for this command are:
27436
27437 @table @samp
27438 @item -c @var{condition}
27439 Make the catchpoint conditional on @var{condition}.
27440 @item -d
27441 Create a disabled catchpoint.
27442 @item -t
27443 Create a temporary catchpoint.
27444 @end table
27445
27446 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27447
27448 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{catch assert}.
27449
27450 @subsubheading Example
27451
27452 @smallexample
27453 -catch-assert
27454 ^done,bkptno="5",bkpt=@{number="5",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
27455 enabled="y",addr="0x0000000000404888",what="failed Ada assertions",
27456 thread-groups=["i1"],times="0",
27457 original-location="__gnat_debug_raise_assert_failure"@}
27458 (gdb)
27459 @end smallexample
27460
27461 @subheading The @code{-catch-exception} Command
27462 @findex -catch-exception
27463
27464 @subsubheading Synopsis
27465
27466 @smallexample
27467 -catch-exception [ -c @var{condition}] [ -d ] [ -e @var{exception-name} ]
27468 [ -t ] [ -u ]
27469 @end smallexample
27470
27471 Add a catchpoint stopping when Ada exceptions are raised.
27472 By default, the command stops the program when any Ada exception
27473 gets raised. But it is also possible, by using some of the
27474 optional parameters described below, to create more selective
27475 catchpoints.
27476
27477 The possible optional parameters for this command are:
27478
27479 @table @samp
27480 @item -c @var{condition}
27481 Make the catchpoint conditional on @var{condition}.
27482 @item -d
27483 Create a disabled catchpoint.
27484 @item -e @var{exception-name}
27485 Only stop when @var{exception-name} is raised. This option cannot
27486 be used combined with @samp{-u}.
27487 @item -t
27488 Create a temporary catchpoint.
27489 @item -u
27490 Stop only when an unhandled exception gets raised. This option
27491 cannot be used combined with @samp{-e}.
27492 @end table
27493
27494 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27495
27496 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{catch exception}
27497 and @samp{catch exception unhandled}.
27498
27499 @subsubheading Example
27500
27501 @smallexample
27502 -catch-exception -e Program_Error
27503 ^done,bkptno="4",bkpt=@{number="4",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
27504 enabled="y",addr="0x0000000000404874",
27505 what="`Program_Error' Ada exception", thread-groups=["i1"],
27506 times="0",original-location="__gnat_debug_raise_exception"@}
27507 (gdb)
27508 @end smallexample
27509
27510 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
27511 @node GDB/MI Program Context
27512 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Program Context
27513
27514 @subheading The @code{-exec-arguments} Command
27515 @findex -exec-arguments
27516
27517
27518 @subsubheading Synopsis
27519
27520 @smallexample
27521 -exec-arguments @var{args}
27522 @end smallexample
27523
27524 Set the inferior program arguments, to be used in the next
27525 @samp{-exec-run}.
27526
27527 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27528
27529 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{set args}.
27530
27531 @subsubheading Example
27532
27533 @smallexample
27534 (gdb)
27535 -exec-arguments -v word
27536 ^done
27537 (gdb)
27538 @end smallexample
27539
27540
27541 @ignore
27542 @subheading The @code{-exec-show-arguments} Command
27543 @findex -exec-show-arguments
27544
27545 @subsubheading Synopsis
27546
27547 @smallexample
27548 -exec-show-arguments
27549 @end smallexample
27550
27551 Print the arguments of the program.
27552
27553 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27554
27555 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{show args}.
27556
27557 @subsubheading Example
27558 N.A.
27559 @end ignore
27560
27561
27562 @subheading The @code{-environment-cd} Command
27563 @findex -environment-cd
27564
27565 @subsubheading Synopsis
27566
27567 @smallexample
27568 -environment-cd @var{pathdir}
27569 @end smallexample
27570
27571 Set @value{GDBN}'s working directory.
27572
27573 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27574
27575 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{cd}.
27576
27577 @subsubheading Example
27578
27579 @smallexample
27580 (gdb)
27581 -environment-cd /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb
27582 ^done
27583 (gdb)
27584 @end smallexample
27585
27586
27587 @subheading The @code{-environment-directory} Command
27588 @findex -environment-directory
27589
27590 @subsubheading Synopsis
27591
27592 @smallexample
27593 -environment-directory [ -r ] [ @var{pathdir} ]+
27594 @end smallexample
27595
27596 Add directories @var{pathdir} to beginning of search path for source files.
27597 If the @samp{-r} option is used, the search path is reset to the default
27598 search path. If directories @var{pathdir} are supplied in addition to the
27599 @samp{-r} option, the search path is first reset and then addition
27600 occurs as normal.
27601 Multiple directories may be specified, separated by blanks. Specifying
27602 multiple directories in a single command
27603 results in the directories added to the beginning of the
27604 search path in the same order they were presented in the command.
27605 If blanks are needed as
27606 part of a directory name, double-quotes should be used around
27607 the name. In the command output, the path will show up separated
27608 by the system directory-separator character. The directory-separator
27609 character must not be used
27610 in any directory name.
27611 If no directories are specified, the current search path is displayed.
27612
27613 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27614
27615 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{dir}.
27616
27617 @subsubheading Example
27618
27619 @smallexample
27620 (gdb)
27621 -environment-directory /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb
27622 ^done,source-path="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb:$cdir:$cwd"
27623 (gdb)
27624 -environment-directory ""
27625 ^done,source-path="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb:$cdir:$cwd"
27626 (gdb)
27627 -environment-directory -r /home/jjohnstn/src/gdb /usr/src
27628 ^done,source-path="/home/jjohnstn/src/gdb:/usr/src:$cdir:$cwd"
27629 (gdb)
27630 -environment-directory -r
27631 ^done,source-path="$cdir:$cwd"
27632 (gdb)
27633 @end smallexample
27634
27635
27636 @subheading The @code{-environment-path} Command
27637 @findex -environment-path
27638
27639 @subsubheading Synopsis
27640
27641 @smallexample
27642 -environment-path [ -r ] [ @var{pathdir} ]+
27643 @end smallexample
27644
27645 Add directories @var{pathdir} to beginning of search path for object files.
27646 If the @samp{-r} option is used, the search path is reset to the original
27647 search path that existed at gdb start-up. If directories @var{pathdir} are
27648 supplied in addition to the
27649 @samp{-r} option, the search path is first reset and then addition
27650 occurs as normal.
27651 Multiple directories may be specified, separated by blanks. Specifying
27652 multiple directories in a single command
27653 results in the directories added to the beginning of the
27654 search path in the same order they were presented in the command.
27655 If blanks are needed as
27656 part of a directory name, double-quotes should be used around
27657 the name. In the command output, the path will show up separated
27658 by the system directory-separator character. The directory-separator
27659 character must not be used
27660 in any directory name.
27661 If no directories are specified, the current path is displayed.
27662
27663
27664 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27665
27666 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{path}.
27667
27668 @subsubheading Example
27669
27670 @smallexample
27671 (gdb)
27672 -environment-path
27673 ^done,path="/usr/bin"
27674 (gdb)
27675 -environment-path /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/ppc-eabi/gdb /bin
27676 ^done,path="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/ppc-eabi/gdb:/bin:/usr/bin"
27677 (gdb)
27678 -environment-path -r /usr/local/bin
27679 ^done,path="/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin"
27680 (gdb)
27681 @end smallexample
27682
27683
27684 @subheading The @code{-environment-pwd} Command
27685 @findex -environment-pwd
27686
27687 @subsubheading Synopsis
27688
27689 @smallexample
27690 -environment-pwd
27691 @end smallexample
27692
27693 Show the current working directory.
27694
27695 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27696
27697 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{pwd}.
27698
27699 @subsubheading Example
27700
27701 @smallexample
27702 (gdb)
27703 -environment-pwd
27704 ^done,cwd="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb"
27705 (gdb)
27706 @end smallexample
27707
27708 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
27709 @node GDB/MI Thread Commands
27710 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Thread Commands
27711
27712
27713 @subheading The @code{-thread-info} Command
27714 @findex -thread-info
27715
27716 @subsubheading Synopsis
27717
27718 @smallexample
27719 -thread-info [ @var{thread-id} ]
27720 @end smallexample
27721
27722 Reports information about either a specific thread, if the
27723 @var{thread-id} parameter is present, or about all threads.
27724 @var{thread-id} is the thread's global thread ID. When printing
27725 information about all threads, also reports the global ID of the
27726 current thread.
27727
27728 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27729
27730 The @samp{info thread} command prints the same information
27731 about all threads.
27732
27733 @subsubheading Result
27734
27735 The result is a list of threads. The following attributes are
27736 defined for a given thread:
27737
27738 @table @samp
27739 @item current
27740 This field exists only for the current thread. It has the value @samp{*}.
27741
27742 @item id
27743 The global identifier that @value{GDBN} uses to refer to the thread.
27744
27745 @item target-id
27746 The identifier that the target uses to refer to the thread.
27747
27748 @item details
27749 Extra information about the thread, in a target-specific format. This
27750 field is optional.
27751
27752 @item name
27753 The name of the thread. If the user specified a name using the
27754 @code{thread name} command, then this name is given. Otherwise, if
27755 @value{GDBN} can extract the thread name from the target, then that
27756 name is given. If @value{GDBN} cannot find the thread name, then this
27757 field is omitted.
27758
27759 @item frame
27760 The stack frame currently executing in the thread.
27761
27762 @item state
27763 The thread's state. The @samp{state} field may have the following
27764 values:
27765
27766 @table @code
27767 @item stopped
27768 The thread is stopped. Frame information is available for stopped
27769 threads.
27770
27771 @item running
27772 The thread is running. There's no frame information for running
27773 threads.
27774
27775 @end table
27776
27777 @item core
27778 If @value{GDBN} can find the CPU core on which this thread is running,
27779 then this field is the core identifier. This field is optional.
27780
27781 @end table
27782
27783 @subsubheading Example
27784
27785 @smallexample
27786 -thread-info
27787 ^done,threads=[
27788 @{id="2",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90 (LWP 21257)",
27789 frame=@{level="0",addr="0xffffe410",func="__kernel_vsyscall",
27790 args=[]@},state="running"@},
27791 @{id="1",target-id="Thread 0xb7e156b0 (LWP 21254)",
27792 frame=@{level="0",addr="0x0804891f",func="foo",
27793 args=[@{name="i",value="10"@}],
27794 file="/tmp/a.c",fullname="/tmp/a.c",line="158"@},
27795 state="running"@}],
27796 current-thread-id="1"
27797 (gdb)
27798 @end smallexample
27799
27800 @subheading The @code{-thread-list-ids} Command
27801 @findex -thread-list-ids
27802
27803 @subsubheading Synopsis
27804
27805 @smallexample
27806 -thread-list-ids
27807 @end smallexample
27808
27809 Produces a list of the currently known global @value{GDBN} thread ids.
27810 At the end of the list it also prints the total number of such
27811 threads.
27812
27813 This command is retained for historical reasons, the
27814 @code{-thread-info} command should be used instead.
27815
27816 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27817
27818 Part of @samp{info threads} supplies the same information.
27819
27820 @subsubheading Example
27821
27822 @smallexample
27823 (gdb)
27824 -thread-list-ids
27825 ^done,thread-ids=@{thread-id="3",thread-id="2",thread-id="1"@},
27826 current-thread-id="1",number-of-threads="3"
27827 (gdb)
27828 @end smallexample
27829
27830
27831 @subheading The @code{-thread-select} Command
27832 @findex -thread-select
27833
27834 @subsubheading Synopsis
27835
27836 @smallexample
27837 -thread-select @var{thread-id}
27838 @end smallexample
27839
27840 Make thread with global thread number @var{thread-id} the current
27841 thread. It prints the number of the new current thread, and the
27842 topmost frame for that thread.
27843
27844 This command is deprecated in favor of explicitly using the
27845 @samp{--thread} option to each command.
27846
27847 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27848
27849 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{thread}.
27850
27851 @subsubheading Example
27852
27853 @smallexample
27854 (gdb)
27855 -exec-next
27856 ^running
27857 (gdb)
27858 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",thread-id="2",line="187",
27859 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.threads/linux-dp.c"
27860 (gdb)
27861 -thread-list-ids
27862 ^done,
27863 thread-ids=@{thread-id="3",thread-id="2",thread-id="1"@},
27864 number-of-threads="3"
27865 (gdb)
27866 -thread-select 3
27867 ^done,new-thread-id="3",
27868 frame=@{level="0",func="vprintf",
27869 args=[@{name="format",value="0x8048e9c \"%*s%c %d %c\\n\""@},
27870 @{name="arg",value="0x2"@}],file="vprintf.c",line="31"@}
27871 (gdb)
27872 @end smallexample
27873
27874 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
27875 @node GDB/MI Ada Tasking Commands
27876 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Ada Tasking Commands
27877
27878 @subheading The @code{-ada-task-info} Command
27879 @findex -ada-task-info
27880
27881 @subsubheading Synopsis
27882
27883 @smallexample
27884 -ada-task-info [ @var{task-id} ]
27885 @end smallexample
27886
27887 Reports information about either a specific Ada task, if the
27888 @var{task-id} parameter is present, or about all Ada tasks.
27889
27890 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27891
27892 The @samp{info tasks} command prints the same information
27893 about all Ada tasks (@pxref{Ada Tasks}).
27894
27895 @subsubheading Result
27896
27897 The result is a table of Ada tasks. The following columns are
27898 defined for each Ada task:
27899
27900 @table @samp
27901 @item current
27902 This field exists only for the current thread. It has the value @samp{*}.
27903
27904 @item id
27905 The identifier that @value{GDBN} uses to refer to the Ada task.
27906
27907 @item task-id
27908 The identifier that the target uses to refer to the Ada task.
27909
27910 @item thread-id
27911 The global thread identifier of the thread corresponding to the Ada
27912 task.
27913
27914 This field should always exist, as Ada tasks are always implemented
27915 on top of a thread. But if @value{GDBN} cannot find this corresponding
27916 thread for any reason, the field is omitted.
27917
27918 @item parent-id
27919 This field exists only when the task was created by another task.
27920 In this case, it provides the ID of the parent task.
27921
27922 @item priority
27923 The base priority of the task.
27924
27925 @item state
27926 The current state of the task. For a detailed description of the
27927 possible states, see @ref{Ada Tasks}.
27928
27929 @item name
27930 The name of the task.
27931
27932 @end table
27933
27934 @subsubheading Example
27935
27936 @smallexample
27937 -ada-task-info
27938 ^done,tasks=@{nr_rows="3",nr_cols="8",
27939 hdr=[@{width="1",alignment="-1",col_name="current",colhdr=""@},
27940 @{width="3",alignment="1",col_name="id",colhdr="ID"@},
27941 @{width="9",alignment="1",col_name="task-id",colhdr="TID"@},
27942 @{width="4",alignment="1",col_name="thread-id",colhdr=""@},
27943 @{width="4",alignment="1",col_name="parent-id",colhdr="P-ID"@},
27944 @{width="3",alignment="1",col_name="priority",colhdr="Pri"@},
27945 @{width="22",alignment="-1",col_name="state",colhdr="State"@},
27946 @{width="1",alignment="2",col_name="name",colhdr="Name"@}],
27947 body=[@{current="*",id="1",task-id=" 644010",thread-id="1",priority="48",
27948 state="Child Termination Wait",name="main_task"@}]@}
27949 (gdb)
27950 @end smallexample
27951
27952 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
27953 @node GDB/MI Program Execution
27954 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Program Execution
27955
27956 These are the asynchronous commands which generate the out-of-band
27957 record @samp{*stopped}. Currently @value{GDBN} only really executes
27958 asynchronously with remote targets and this interaction is mimicked in
27959 other cases.
27960
27961 @subheading The @code{-exec-continue} Command
27962 @findex -exec-continue
27963
27964 @subsubheading Synopsis
27965
27966 @smallexample
27967 -exec-continue [--reverse] [--all|--thread-group N]
27968 @end smallexample
27969
27970 Resumes the execution of the inferior program, which will continue
27971 to execute until it reaches a debugger stop event. If the
27972 @samp{--reverse} option is specified, execution resumes in reverse until
27973 it reaches a stop event. Stop events may include
27974 @itemize @bullet
27975 @item
27976 breakpoints or watchpoints
27977 @item
27978 signals or exceptions
27979 @item
27980 the end of the process (or its beginning under @samp{--reverse})
27981 @item
27982 the end or beginning of a replay log if one is being used.
27983 @end itemize
27984 In all-stop mode (@pxref{All-Stop
27985 Mode}), may resume only one thread, or all threads, depending on the
27986 value of the @samp{scheduler-locking} variable. If @samp{--all} is
27987 specified, all threads (in all inferiors) will be resumed. The @samp{--all} option is
27988 ignored in all-stop mode. If the @samp{--thread-group} options is
27989 specified, then all threads in that thread group are resumed.
27990
27991 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27992
27993 The corresponding @value{GDBN} corresponding is @samp{continue}.
27994
27995 @subsubheading Example
27996
27997 @smallexample
27998 -exec-continue
27999 ^running
28000 (gdb)
28001 @@Hello world
28002 *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="2",frame=@{
28003 func="foo",args=[],file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/hello.c",
28004 line="13"@}
28005 (gdb)
28006 @end smallexample
28007
28008
28009 @subheading The @code{-exec-finish} Command
28010 @findex -exec-finish
28011
28012 @subsubheading Synopsis
28013
28014 @smallexample
28015 -exec-finish [--reverse]
28016 @end smallexample
28017
28018 Resumes the execution of the inferior program until the current
28019 function is exited. Displays the results returned by the function.
28020 If the @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes the reverse
28021 execution of the inferior program until the point where current
28022 function was called.
28023
28024 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28025
28026 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{finish}.
28027
28028 @subsubheading Example
28029
28030 Function returning @code{void}.
28031
28032 @smallexample
28033 -exec-finish
28034 ^running
28035 (gdb)
28036 @@hello from foo
28037 *stopped,reason="function-finished",frame=@{func="main",args=[],
28038 file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/hello.c",line="7"@}
28039 (gdb)
28040 @end smallexample
28041
28042 Function returning other than @code{void}. The name of the internal
28043 @value{GDBN} variable storing the result is printed, together with the
28044 value itself.
28045
28046 @smallexample
28047 -exec-finish
28048 ^running
28049 (gdb)
28050 *stopped,reason="function-finished",frame=@{addr="0x000107b0",func="foo",
28051 args=[@{name="a",value="1"],@{name="b",value="9"@}@},
28052 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
28053 gdb-result-var="$1",return-value="0"
28054 (gdb)
28055 @end smallexample
28056
28057
28058 @subheading The @code{-exec-interrupt} Command
28059 @findex -exec-interrupt
28060
28061 @subsubheading Synopsis
28062
28063 @smallexample
28064 -exec-interrupt [--all|--thread-group N]
28065 @end smallexample
28066
28067 Interrupts the background execution of the target. Note how the token
28068 associated with the stop message is the one for the execution command
28069 that has been interrupted. The token for the interrupt itself only
28070 appears in the @samp{^done} output. If the user is trying to
28071 interrupt a non-running program, an error message will be printed.
28072
28073 Note that when asynchronous execution is enabled, this command is
28074 asynchronous just like other execution commands. That is, first the
28075 @samp{^done} response will be printed, and the target stop will be
28076 reported after that using the @samp{*stopped} notification.
28077
28078 In non-stop mode, only the context thread is interrupted by default.
28079 All threads (in all inferiors) will be interrupted if the
28080 @samp{--all} option is specified. If the @samp{--thread-group}
28081 option is specified, all threads in that group will be interrupted.
28082
28083 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28084
28085 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{interrupt}.
28086
28087 @subsubheading Example
28088
28089 @smallexample
28090 (gdb)
28091 111-exec-continue
28092 111^running
28093
28094 (gdb)
28095 222-exec-interrupt
28096 222^done
28097 (gdb)
28098 111*stopped,signal-name="SIGINT",signal-meaning="Interrupt",
28099 frame=@{addr="0x00010140",func="foo",args=[],file="try.c",
28100 fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",line="13"@}
28101 (gdb)
28102
28103 (gdb)
28104 -exec-interrupt
28105 ^error,msg="mi_cmd_exec_interrupt: Inferior not executing."
28106 (gdb)
28107 @end smallexample
28108
28109 @subheading The @code{-exec-jump} Command
28110 @findex -exec-jump
28111
28112 @subsubheading Synopsis
28113
28114 @smallexample
28115 -exec-jump @var{location}
28116 @end smallexample
28117
28118 Resumes execution of the inferior program at the location specified by
28119 parameter. @xref{Specify Location}, for a description of the
28120 different forms of @var{location}.
28121
28122 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28123
28124 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{jump}.
28125
28126 @subsubheading Example
28127
28128 @smallexample
28129 -exec-jump foo.c:10
28130 *running,thread-id="all"
28131 ^running
28132 @end smallexample
28133
28134
28135 @subheading The @code{-exec-next} Command
28136 @findex -exec-next
28137
28138 @subsubheading Synopsis
28139
28140 @smallexample
28141 -exec-next [--reverse]
28142 @end smallexample
28143
28144 Resumes execution of the inferior program, stopping when the beginning
28145 of the next source line is reached.
28146
28147 If the @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes reverse execution
28148 of the inferior program, stopping at the beginning of the previous
28149 source line. If you issue this command on the first line of a
28150 function, it will take you back to the caller of that function, to the
28151 source line where the function was called.
28152
28153
28154 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28155
28156 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{next}.
28157
28158 @subsubheading Example
28159
28160 @smallexample
28161 -exec-next
28162 ^running
28163 (gdb)
28164 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",line="8",file="hello.c"
28165 (gdb)
28166 @end smallexample
28167
28168
28169 @subheading The @code{-exec-next-instruction} Command
28170 @findex -exec-next-instruction
28171
28172 @subsubheading Synopsis
28173
28174 @smallexample
28175 -exec-next-instruction [--reverse]
28176 @end smallexample
28177
28178 Executes one machine instruction. If the instruction is a function
28179 call, continues until the function returns. If the program stops at an
28180 instruction in the middle of a source line, the address will be
28181 printed as well.
28182
28183 If the @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes reverse execution
28184 of the inferior program, stopping at the previous instruction. If the
28185 previously executed instruction was a return from another function,
28186 it will continue to execute in reverse until the call to that function
28187 (from the current stack frame) is reached.
28188
28189 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28190
28191 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{nexti}.
28192
28193 @subsubheading Example
28194
28195 @smallexample
28196 (gdb)
28197 -exec-next-instruction
28198 ^running
28199
28200 (gdb)
28201 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
28202 addr="0x000100d4",line="5",file="hello.c"
28203 (gdb)
28204 @end smallexample
28205
28206
28207 @subheading The @code{-exec-return} Command
28208 @findex -exec-return
28209
28210 @subsubheading Synopsis
28211
28212 @smallexample
28213 -exec-return
28214 @end smallexample
28215
28216 Makes current function return immediately. Doesn't execute the inferior.
28217 Displays the new current frame.
28218
28219 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28220
28221 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{return}.
28222
28223 @subsubheading Example
28224
28225 @smallexample
28226 (gdb)
28227 200-break-insert callee4
28228 200^done,bkpt=@{number="1",addr="0x00010734",
28229 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8"@}
28230 (gdb)
28231 000-exec-run
28232 000^running
28233 (gdb)
28234 000*stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",
28235 frame=@{func="callee4",args=[],
28236 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
28237 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8"@}
28238 (gdb)
28239 205-break-delete
28240 205^done
28241 (gdb)
28242 111-exec-return
28243 111^done,frame=@{level="0",func="callee3",
28244 args=[@{name="strarg",
28245 value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}],
28246 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
28247 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="18"@}
28248 (gdb)
28249 @end smallexample
28250
28251
28252 @subheading The @code{-exec-run} Command
28253 @findex -exec-run
28254
28255 @subsubheading Synopsis
28256
28257 @smallexample
28258 -exec-run [ --all | --thread-group N ] [ --start ]
28259 @end smallexample
28260
28261 Starts execution of the inferior from the beginning. The inferior
28262 executes until either a breakpoint is encountered or the program
28263 exits. In the latter case the output will include an exit code, if
28264 the program has exited exceptionally.
28265
28266 When neither the @samp{--all} nor the @samp{--thread-group} option
28267 is specified, the current inferior is started. If the
28268 @samp{--thread-group} option is specified, it should refer to a thread
28269 group of type @samp{process}, and that thread group will be started.
28270 If the @samp{--all} option is specified, then all inferiors will be started.
28271
28272 Using the @samp{--start} option instructs the debugger to stop
28273 the execution at the start of the inferior's main subprogram,
28274 following the same behavior as the @code{start} command
28275 (@pxref{Starting}).
28276
28277 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28278
28279 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{run}.
28280
28281 @subsubheading Examples
28282
28283 @smallexample
28284 (gdb)
28285 -break-insert main
28286 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",addr="0x0001072c",file="recursive2.c",line="4"@}
28287 (gdb)
28288 -exec-run
28289 ^running
28290 (gdb)
28291 *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",
28292 frame=@{func="main",args=[],file="recursive2.c",
28293 fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="4"@}
28294 (gdb)
28295 @end smallexample
28296
28297 @noindent
28298 Program exited normally:
28299
28300 @smallexample
28301 (gdb)
28302 -exec-run
28303 ^running
28304 (gdb)
28305 x = 55
28306 *stopped,reason="exited-normally"
28307 (gdb)
28308 @end smallexample
28309
28310 @noindent
28311 Program exited exceptionally:
28312
28313 @smallexample
28314 (gdb)
28315 -exec-run
28316 ^running
28317 (gdb)
28318 x = 55
28319 *stopped,reason="exited",exit-code="01"
28320 (gdb)
28321 @end smallexample
28322
28323 Another way the program can terminate is if it receives a signal such as
28324 @code{SIGINT}. In this case, @sc{gdb/mi} displays this:
28325
28326 @smallexample
28327 (gdb)
28328 *stopped,reason="exited-signalled",signal-name="SIGINT",
28329 signal-meaning="Interrupt"
28330 @end smallexample
28331
28332
28333 @c @subheading -exec-signal
28334
28335
28336 @subheading The @code{-exec-step} Command
28337 @findex -exec-step
28338
28339 @subsubheading Synopsis
28340
28341 @smallexample
28342 -exec-step [--reverse]
28343 @end smallexample
28344
28345 Resumes execution of the inferior program, stopping when the beginning
28346 of the next source line is reached, if the next source line is not a
28347 function call. If it is, stop at the first instruction of the called
28348 function. If the @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes reverse
28349 execution of the inferior program, stopping at the beginning of the
28350 previously executed source line.
28351
28352 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28353
28354 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{step}.
28355
28356 @subsubheading Example
28357
28358 Stepping into a function:
28359
28360 @smallexample
28361 -exec-step
28362 ^running
28363 (gdb)
28364 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
28365 frame=@{func="foo",args=[@{name="a",value="10"@},
28366 @{name="b",value="0"@}],file="recursive2.c",
28367 fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="11"@}
28368 (gdb)
28369 @end smallexample
28370
28371 Regular stepping:
28372
28373 @smallexample
28374 -exec-step
28375 ^running
28376 (gdb)
28377 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",line="14",file="recursive2.c"
28378 (gdb)
28379 @end smallexample
28380
28381
28382 @subheading The @code{-exec-step-instruction} Command
28383 @findex -exec-step-instruction
28384
28385 @subsubheading Synopsis
28386
28387 @smallexample
28388 -exec-step-instruction [--reverse]
28389 @end smallexample
28390
28391 Resumes the inferior which executes one machine instruction. If the
28392 @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes reverse execution of the
28393 inferior program, stopping at the previously executed instruction.
28394 The output, once @value{GDBN} has stopped, will vary depending on
28395 whether we have stopped in the middle of a source line or not. In the
28396 former case, the address at which the program stopped will be printed
28397 as well.
28398
28399 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28400
28401 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{stepi}.
28402
28403 @subsubheading Example
28404
28405 @smallexample
28406 (gdb)
28407 -exec-step-instruction
28408 ^running
28409
28410 (gdb)
28411 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
28412 frame=@{func="foo",args=[],file="try.c",
28413 fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",line="10"@}
28414 (gdb)
28415 -exec-step-instruction
28416 ^running
28417
28418 (gdb)
28419 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
28420 frame=@{addr="0x000100f4",func="foo",args=[],file="try.c",
28421 fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",line="10"@}
28422 (gdb)
28423 @end smallexample
28424
28425
28426 @subheading The @code{-exec-until} Command
28427 @findex -exec-until
28428
28429 @subsubheading Synopsis
28430
28431 @smallexample
28432 -exec-until [ @var{location} ]
28433 @end smallexample
28434
28435 Executes the inferior until the @var{location} specified in the
28436 argument is reached. If there is no argument, the inferior executes
28437 until a source line greater than the current one is reached. The
28438 reason for stopping in this case will be @samp{location-reached}.
28439
28440 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28441
28442 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{until}.
28443
28444 @subsubheading Example
28445
28446 @smallexample
28447 (gdb)
28448 -exec-until recursive2.c:6
28449 ^running
28450 (gdb)
28451 x = 55
28452 *stopped,reason="location-reached",frame=@{func="main",args=[],
28453 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="6"@}
28454 (gdb)
28455 @end smallexample
28456
28457 @ignore
28458 @subheading -file-clear
28459 Is this going away????
28460 @end ignore
28461
28462 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
28463 @node GDB/MI Stack Manipulation
28464 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Stack Manipulation Commands
28465
28466 @subheading The @code{-enable-frame-filters} Command
28467 @findex -enable-frame-filters
28468
28469 @smallexample
28470 -enable-frame-filters
28471 @end smallexample
28472
28473 @value{GDBN} allows Python-based frame filters to affect the output of
28474 the MI commands relating to stack traces. As there is no way to
28475 implement this in a fully backward-compatible way, a front end must
28476 request that this functionality be enabled.
28477
28478 Once enabled, this feature cannot be disabled.
28479
28480 Note that if Python support has not been compiled into @value{GDBN},
28481 this command will still succeed (and do nothing).
28482
28483 @subheading The @code{-stack-info-frame} Command
28484 @findex -stack-info-frame
28485
28486 @subsubheading Synopsis
28487
28488 @smallexample
28489 -stack-info-frame
28490 @end smallexample
28491
28492 Get info on the selected frame.
28493
28494 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28495
28496 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info frame} or @samp{frame}
28497 (without arguments).
28498
28499 @subsubheading Example
28500
28501 @smallexample
28502 (gdb)
28503 -stack-info-frame
28504 ^done,frame=@{level="1",addr="0x0001076c",func="callee3",
28505 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
28506 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="17"@}
28507 (gdb)
28508 @end smallexample
28509
28510 @subheading The @code{-stack-info-depth} Command
28511 @findex -stack-info-depth
28512
28513 @subsubheading Synopsis
28514
28515 @smallexample
28516 -stack-info-depth [ @var{max-depth} ]
28517 @end smallexample
28518
28519 Return the depth of the stack. If the integer argument @var{max-depth}
28520 is specified, do not count beyond @var{max-depth} frames.
28521
28522 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28523
28524 There's no equivalent @value{GDBN} command.
28525
28526 @subsubheading Example
28527
28528 For a stack with frame levels 0 through 11:
28529
28530 @smallexample
28531 (gdb)
28532 -stack-info-depth
28533 ^done,depth="12"
28534 (gdb)
28535 -stack-info-depth 4
28536 ^done,depth="4"
28537 (gdb)
28538 -stack-info-depth 12
28539 ^done,depth="12"
28540 (gdb)
28541 -stack-info-depth 11
28542 ^done,depth="11"
28543 (gdb)
28544 -stack-info-depth 13
28545 ^done,depth="12"
28546 (gdb)
28547 @end smallexample
28548
28549 @anchor{-stack-list-arguments}
28550 @subheading The @code{-stack-list-arguments} Command
28551 @findex -stack-list-arguments
28552
28553 @subsubheading Synopsis
28554
28555 @smallexample
28556 -stack-list-arguments [ --no-frame-filters ] [ --skip-unavailable ] @var{print-values}
28557 [ @var{low-frame} @var{high-frame} ]
28558 @end smallexample
28559
28560 Display a list of the arguments for the frames between @var{low-frame}
28561 and @var{high-frame} (inclusive). If @var{low-frame} and
28562 @var{high-frame} are not provided, list the arguments for the whole
28563 call stack. If the two arguments are equal, show the single frame
28564 at the corresponding level. It is an error if @var{low-frame} is
28565 larger than the actual number of frames. On the other hand,
28566 @var{high-frame} may be larger than the actual number of frames, in
28567 which case only existing frames will be returned.
28568
28569 If @var{print-values} is 0 or @code{--no-values}, print only the names of
28570 the variables; if it is 1 or @code{--all-values}, print also their
28571 values; and if it is 2 or @code{--simple-values}, print the name,
28572 type and value for simple data types, and the name and type for arrays,
28573 structures and unions. If the option @code{--no-frame-filters} is
28574 supplied, then Python frame filters will not be executed.
28575
28576 If the @code{--skip-unavailable} option is specified, arguments that
28577 are not available are not listed. Partially available arguments
28578 are still displayed, however.
28579
28580 Use of this command to obtain arguments in a single frame is
28581 deprecated in favor of the @samp{-stack-list-variables} command.
28582
28583 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28584
28585 @value{GDBN} does not have an equivalent command. @code{gdbtk} has a
28586 @samp{gdb_get_args} command which partially overlaps with the
28587 functionality of @samp{-stack-list-arguments}.
28588
28589 @subsubheading Example
28590
28591 @smallexample
28592 (gdb)
28593 -stack-list-frames
28594 ^done,
28595 stack=[
28596 frame=@{level="0",addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
28597 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
28598 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8"@},
28599 frame=@{level="1",addr="0x0001076c",func="callee3",
28600 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
28601 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="17"@},
28602 frame=@{level="2",addr="0x0001078c",func="callee2",
28603 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
28604 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="22"@},
28605 frame=@{level="3",addr="0x000107b4",func="callee1",
28606 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
28607 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="27"@},
28608 frame=@{level="4",addr="0x000107e0",func="main",
28609 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
28610 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="32"@}]
28611 (gdb)
28612 -stack-list-arguments 0
28613 ^done,
28614 stack-args=[
28615 frame=@{level="0",args=[]@},
28616 frame=@{level="1",args=[name="strarg"]@},
28617 frame=@{level="2",args=[name="intarg",name="strarg"]@},
28618 frame=@{level="3",args=[name="intarg",name="strarg",name="fltarg"]@},
28619 frame=@{level="4",args=[]@}]
28620 (gdb)
28621 -stack-list-arguments 1
28622 ^done,
28623 stack-args=[
28624 frame=@{level="0",args=[]@},
28625 frame=@{level="1",
28626 args=[@{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}]@},
28627 frame=@{level="2",args=[
28628 @{name="intarg",value="2"@},
28629 @{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}]@},
28630 @{frame=@{level="3",args=[
28631 @{name="intarg",value="2"@},
28632 @{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@},
28633 @{name="fltarg",value="3.5"@}]@},
28634 frame=@{level="4",args=[]@}]
28635 (gdb)
28636 -stack-list-arguments 0 2 2
28637 ^done,stack-args=[frame=@{level="2",args=[name="intarg",name="strarg"]@}]
28638 (gdb)
28639 -stack-list-arguments 1 2 2
28640 ^done,stack-args=[frame=@{level="2",
28641 args=[@{name="intarg",value="2"@},
28642 @{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}]@}]
28643 (gdb)
28644 @end smallexample
28645
28646 @c @subheading -stack-list-exception-handlers
28647
28648
28649 @anchor{-stack-list-frames}
28650 @subheading The @code{-stack-list-frames} Command
28651 @findex -stack-list-frames
28652
28653 @subsubheading Synopsis
28654
28655 @smallexample
28656 -stack-list-frames [ --no-frame-filters @var{low-frame} @var{high-frame} ]
28657 @end smallexample
28658
28659 List the frames currently on the stack. For each frame it displays the
28660 following info:
28661
28662 @table @samp
28663 @item @var{level}
28664 The frame number, 0 being the topmost frame, i.e., the innermost function.
28665 @item @var{addr}
28666 The @code{$pc} value for that frame.
28667 @item @var{func}
28668 Function name.
28669 @item @var{file}
28670 File name of the source file where the function lives.
28671 @item @var{fullname}
28672 The full file name of the source file where the function lives.
28673 @item @var{line}
28674 Line number corresponding to the @code{$pc}.
28675 @item @var{from}
28676 The shared library where this function is defined. This is only given
28677 if the frame's function is not known.
28678 @end table
28679
28680 If invoked without arguments, this command prints a backtrace for the
28681 whole stack. If given two integer arguments, it shows the frames whose
28682 levels are between the two arguments (inclusive). If the two arguments
28683 are equal, it shows the single frame at the corresponding level. It is
28684 an error if @var{low-frame} is larger than the actual number of
28685 frames. On the other hand, @var{high-frame} may be larger than the
28686 actual number of frames, in which case only existing frames will be
28687 returned. If the option @code{--no-frame-filters} is supplied, then
28688 Python frame filters will not be executed.
28689
28690 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28691
28692 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{backtrace} and @samp{where}.
28693
28694 @subsubheading Example
28695
28696 Full stack backtrace:
28697
28698 @smallexample
28699 (gdb)
28700 -stack-list-frames
28701 ^done,stack=
28702 [frame=@{level="0",addr="0x0001076c",func="foo",
28703 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="11"@},
28704 frame=@{level="1",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
28705 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
28706 frame=@{level="2",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
28707 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
28708 frame=@{level="3",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
28709 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
28710 frame=@{level="4",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
28711 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
28712 frame=@{level="5",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
28713 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
28714 frame=@{level="6",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
28715 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
28716 frame=@{level="7",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
28717 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
28718 frame=@{level="8",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
28719 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
28720 frame=@{level="9",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
28721 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
28722 frame=@{level="10",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
28723 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
28724 frame=@{level="11",addr="0x00010738",func="main",
28725 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="4"@}]
28726 (gdb)
28727 @end smallexample
28728
28729 Show frames between @var{low_frame} and @var{high_frame}:
28730
28731 @smallexample
28732 (gdb)
28733 -stack-list-frames 3 5
28734 ^done,stack=
28735 [frame=@{level="3",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
28736 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
28737 frame=@{level="4",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
28738 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
28739 frame=@{level="5",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
28740 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@}]
28741 (gdb)
28742 @end smallexample
28743
28744 Show a single frame:
28745
28746 @smallexample
28747 (gdb)
28748 -stack-list-frames 3 3
28749 ^done,stack=
28750 [frame=@{level="3",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
28751 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@}]
28752 (gdb)
28753 @end smallexample
28754
28755
28756 @subheading The @code{-stack-list-locals} Command
28757 @findex -stack-list-locals
28758 @anchor{-stack-list-locals}
28759
28760 @subsubheading Synopsis
28761
28762 @smallexample
28763 -stack-list-locals [ --no-frame-filters ] [ --skip-unavailable ] @var{print-values}
28764 @end smallexample
28765
28766 Display the local variable names for the selected frame. If
28767 @var{print-values} is 0 or @code{--no-values}, print only the names of
28768 the variables; if it is 1 or @code{--all-values}, print also their
28769 values; and if it is 2 or @code{--simple-values}, print the name,
28770 type and value for simple data types, and the name and type for arrays,
28771 structures and unions. In this last case, a frontend can immediately
28772 display the value of simple data types and create variable objects for
28773 other data types when the user wishes to explore their values in
28774 more detail. If the option @code{--no-frame-filters} is supplied, then
28775 Python frame filters will not be executed.
28776
28777 If the @code{--skip-unavailable} option is specified, local variables
28778 that are not available are not listed. Partially available local
28779 variables are still displayed, however.
28780
28781 This command is deprecated in favor of the
28782 @samp{-stack-list-variables} command.
28783
28784 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28785
28786 @samp{info locals} in @value{GDBN}, @samp{gdb_get_locals} in @code{gdbtk}.
28787
28788 @subsubheading Example
28789
28790 @smallexample
28791 (gdb)
28792 -stack-list-locals 0
28793 ^done,locals=[name="A",name="B",name="C"]
28794 (gdb)
28795 -stack-list-locals --all-values
28796 ^done,locals=[@{name="A",value="1"@},@{name="B",value="2"@},
28797 @{name="C",value="@{1, 2, 3@}"@}]
28798 -stack-list-locals --simple-values
28799 ^done,locals=[@{name="A",type="int",value="1"@},
28800 @{name="B",type="int",value="2"@},@{name="C",type="int [3]"@}]
28801 (gdb)
28802 @end smallexample
28803
28804 @anchor{-stack-list-variables}
28805 @subheading The @code{-stack-list-variables} Command
28806 @findex -stack-list-variables
28807
28808 @subsubheading Synopsis
28809
28810 @smallexample
28811 -stack-list-variables [ --no-frame-filters ] [ --skip-unavailable ] @var{print-values}
28812 @end smallexample
28813
28814 Display the names of local variables and function arguments for the selected frame. If
28815 @var{print-values} is 0 or @code{--no-values}, print only the names of
28816 the variables; if it is 1 or @code{--all-values}, print also their
28817 values; and if it is 2 or @code{--simple-values}, print the name,
28818 type and value for simple data types, and the name and type for arrays,
28819 structures and unions. If the option @code{--no-frame-filters} is
28820 supplied, then Python frame filters will not be executed.
28821
28822 If the @code{--skip-unavailable} option is specified, local variables
28823 and arguments that are not available are not listed. Partially
28824 available arguments and local variables are still displayed, however.
28825
28826 @subsubheading Example
28827
28828 @smallexample
28829 (gdb)
28830 -stack-list-variables --thread 1 --frame 0 --all-values
28831 ^done,variables=[@{name="x",value="11"@},@{name="s",value="@{a = 1, b = 2@}"@}]
28832 (gdb)
28833 @end smallexample
28834
28835
28836 @subheading The @code{-stack-select-frame} Command
28837 @findex -stack-select-frame
28838
28839 @subsubheading Synopsis
28840
28841 @smallexample
28842 -stack-select-frame @var{framenum}
28843 @end smallexample
28844
28845 Change the selected frame. Select a different frame @var{framenum} on
28846 the stack.
28847
28848 This command in deprecated in favor of passing the @samp{--frame}
28849 option to every command.
28850
28851 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28852
28853 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{frame}, @samp{up},
28854 @samp{down}, @samp{select-frame}, @samp{up-silent}, and @samp{down-silent}.
28855
28856 @subsubheading Example
28857
28858 @smallexample
28859 (gdb)
28860 -stack-select-frame 2
28861 ^done
28862 (gdb)
28863 @end smallexample
28864
28865 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
28866 @node GDB/MI Variable Objects
28867 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Variable Objects
28868
28869 @ignore
28870
28871 @subheading Motivation for Variable Objects in @sc{gdb/mi}
28872
28873 For the implementation of a variable debugger window (locals, watched
28874 expressions, etc.), we are proposing the adaptation of the existing code
28875 used by @code{Insight}.
28876
28877 The two main reasons for that are:
28878
28879 @enumerate 1
28880 @item
28881 It has been proven in practice (it is already on its second generation).
28882
28883 @item
28884 It will shorten development time (needless to say how important it is
28885 now).
28886 @end enumerate
28887
28888 The original interface was designed to be used by Tcl code, so it was
28889 slightly changed so it could be used through @sc{gdb/mi}. This section
28890 describes the @sc{gdb/mi} operations that will be available and gives some
28891 hints about their use.
28892
28893 @emph{Note}: In addition to the set of operations described here, we
28894 expect the @sc{gui} implementation of a variable window to require, at
28895 least, the following operations:
28896
28897 @itemize @bullet
28898 @item @code{-gdb-show} @code{output-radix}
28899 @item @code{-stack-list-arguments}
28900 @item @code{-stack-list-locals}
28901 @item @code{-stack-select-frame}
28902 @end itemize
28903
28904 @end ignore
28905
28906 @subheading Introduction to Variable Objects
28907
28908 @cindex variable objects in @sc{gdb/mi}
28909
28910 Variable objects are "object-oriented" MI interface for examining and
28911 changing values of expressions. Unlike some other MI interfaces that
28912 work with expressions, variable objects are specifically designed for
28913 simple and efficient presentation in the frontend. A variable object
28914 is identified by string name. When a variable object is created, the
28915 frontend specifies the expression for that variable object. The
28916 expression can be a simple variable, or it can be an arbitrary complex
28917 expression, and can even involve CPU registers. After creating a
28918 variable object, the frontend can invoke other variable object
28919 operations---for example to obtain or change the value of a variable
28920 object, or to change display format.
28921
28922 Variable objects have hierarchical tree structure. Any variable object
28923 that corresponds to a composite type, such as structure in C, has
28924 a number of child variable objects, for example corresponding to each
28925 element of a structure. A child variable object can itself have
28926 children, recursively. Recursion ends when we reach
28927 leaf variable objects, which always have built-in types. Child variable
28928 objects are created only by explicit request, so if a frontend
28929 is not interested in the children of a particular variable object, no
28930 child will be created.
28931
28932 For a leaf variable object it is possible to obtain its value as a
28933 string, or set the value from a string. String value can be also
28934 obtained for a non-leaf variable object, but it's generally a string
28935 that only indicates the type of the object, and does not list its
28936 contents. Assignment to a non-leaf variable object is not allowed.
28937
28938 A frontend does not need to read the values of all variable objects each time
28939 the program stops. Instead, MI provides an update command that lists all
28940 variable objects whose values has changed since the last update
28941 operation. This considerably reduces the amount of data that must
28942 be transferred to the frontend. As noted above, children variable
28943 objects are created on demand, and only leaf variable objects have a
28944 real value. As result, gdb will read target memory only for leaf
28945 variables that frontend has created.
28946
28947 The automatic update is not always desirable. For example, a frontend
28948 might want to keep a value of some expression for future reference,
28949 and never update it. For another example, fetching memory is
28950 relatively slow for embedded targets, so a frontend might want
28951 to disable automatic update for the variables that are either not
28952 visible on the screen, or ``closed''. This is possible using so
28953 called ``frozen variable objects''. Such variable objects are never
28954 implicitly updated.
28955
28956 Variable objects can be either @dfn{fixed} or @dfn{floating}. For the
28957 fixed variable object, the expression is parsed when the variable
28958 object is created, including associating identifiers to specific
28959 variables. The meaning of expression never changes. For a floating
28960 variable object the values of variables whose names appear in the
28961 expressions are re-evaluated every time in the context of the current
28962 frame. Consider this example:
28963
28964 @smallexample
28965 void do_work(...)
28966 @{
28967 struct work_state state;
28968
28969 if (...)
28970 do_work(...);
28971 @}
28972 @end smallexample
28973
28974 If a fixed variable object for the @code{state} variable is created in
28975 this function, and we enter the recursive call, the variable
28976 object will report the value of @code{state} in the top-level
28977 @code{do_work} invocation. On the other hand, a floating variable
28978 object will report the value of @code{state} in the current frame.
28979
28980 If an expression specified when creating a fixed variable object
28981 refers to a local variable, the variable object becomes bound to the
28982 thread and frame in which the variable object is created. When such
28983 variable object is updated, @value{GDBN} makes sure that the
28984 thread/frame combination the variable object is bound to still exists,
28985 and re-evaluates the variable object in context of that thread/frame.
28986
28987 The following is the complete set of @sc{gdb/mi} operations defined to
28988 access this functionality:
28989
28990 @multitable @columnfractions .4 .6
28991 @item @strong{Operation}
28992 @tab @strong{Description}
28993
28994 @item @code{-enable-pretty-printing}
28995 @tab enable Python-based pretty-printing
28996 @item @code{-var-create}
28997 @tab create a variable object
28998 @item @code{-var-delete}
28999 @tab delete the variable object and/or its children
29000 @item @code{-var-set-format}
29001 @tab set the display format of this variable
29002 @item @code{-var-show-format}
29003 @tab show the display format of this variable
29004 @item @code{-var-info-num-children}
29005 @tab tells how many children this object has
29006 @item @code{-var-list-children}
29007 @tab return a list of the object's children
29008 @item @code{-var-info-type}
29009 @tab show the type of this variable object
29010 @item @code{-var-info-expression}
29011 @tab print parent-relative expression that this variable object represents
29012 @item @code{-var-info-path-expression}
29013 @tab print full expression that this variable object represents
29014 @item @code{-var-show-attributes}
29015 @tab is this variable editable? does it exist here?
29016 @item @code{-var-evaluate-expression}
29017 @tab get the value of this variable
29018 @item @code{-var-assign}
29019 @tab set the value of this variable
29020 @item @code{-var-update}
29021 @tab update the variable and its children
29022 @item @code{-var-set-frozen}
29023 @tab set frozeness attribute
29024 @item @code{-var-set-update-range}
29025 @tab set range of children to display on update
29026 @end multitable
29027
29028 In the next subsection we describe each operation in detail and suggest
29029 how it can be used.
29030
29031 @subheading Description And Use of Operations on Variable Objects
29032
29033 @subheading The @code{-enable-pretty-printing} Command
29034 @findex -enable-pretty-printing
29035
29036 @smallexample
29037 -enable-pretty-printing
29038 @end smallexample
29039
29040 @value{GDBN} allows Python-based visualizers to affect the output of the
29041 MI variable object commands. However, because there was no way to
29042 implement this in a fully backward-compatible way, a front end must
29043 request that this functionality be enabled.
29044
29045 Once enabled, this feature cannot be disabled.
29046
29047 Note that if Python support has not been compiled into @value{GDBN},
29048 this command will still succeed (and do nothing).
29049
29050 This feature is currently (as of @value{GDBN} 7.0) experimental, and
29051 may work differently in future versions of @value{GDBN}.
29052
29053 @subheading The @code{-var-create} Command
29054 @findex -var-create
29055
29056 @subsubheading Synopsis
29057
29058 @smallexample
29059 -var-create @{@var{name} | "-"@}
29060 @{@var{frame-addr} | "*" | "@@"@} @var{expression}
29061 @end smallexample
29062
29063 This operation creates a variable object, which allows the monitoring of
29064 a variable, the result of an expression, a memory cell or a CPU
29065 register.
29066
29067 The @var{name} parameter is the string by which the object can be
29068 referenced. It must be unique. If @samp{-} is specified, the varobj
29069 system will generate a string ``varNNNNNN'' automatically. It will be
29070 unique provided that one does not specify @var{name} of that format.
29071 The command fails if a duplicate name is found.
29072
29073 The frame under which the expression should be evaluated can be
29074 specified by @var{frame-addr}. A @samp{*} indicates that the current
29075 frame should be used. A @samp{@@} indicates that a floating variable
29076 object must be created.
29077
29078 @var{expression} is any expression valid on the current language set (must not
29079 begin with a @samp{*}), or one of the following:
29080
29081 @itemize @bullet
29082 @item
29083 @samp{*@var{addr}}, where @var{addr} is the address of a memory cell
29084
29085 @item
29086 @samp{*@var{addr}-@var{addr}} --- a memory address range (TBD)
29087
29088 @item
29089 @samp{$@var{regname}} --- a CPU register name
29090 @end itemize
29091
29092 @cindex dynamic varobj
29093 A varobj's contents may be provided by a Python-based pretty-printer. In this
29094 case the varobj is known as a @dfn{dynamic varobj}. Dynamic varobjs
29095 have slightly different semantics in some cases. If the
29096 @code{-enable-pretty-printing} command is not sent, then @value{GDBN}
29097 will never create a dynamic varobj. This ensures backward
29098 compatibility for existing clients.
29099
29100 @subsubheading Result
29101
29102 This operation returns attributes of the newly-created varobj. These
29103 are:
29104
29105 @table @samp
29106 @item name
29107 The name of the varobj.
29108
29109 @item numchild
29110 The number of children of the varobj. This number is not necessarily
29111 reliable for a dynamic varobj. Instead, you must examine the
29112 @samp{has_more} attribute.
29113
29114 @item value
29115 The varobj's scalar value. For a varobj whose type is some sort of
29116 aggregate (e.g., a @code{struct}), or for a dynamic varobj, this value
29117 will not be interesting.
29118
29119 @item type
29120 The varobj's type. This is a string representation of the type, as
29121 would be printed by the @value{GDBN} CLI. If @samp{print object}
29122 (@pxref{Print Settings, set print object}) is set to @code{on}, the
29123 @emph{actual} (derived) type of the object is shown rather than the
29124 @emph{declared} one.
29125
29126 @item thread-id
29127 If a variable object is bound to a specific thread, then this is the
29128 thread's global identifier.
29129
29130 @item has_more
29131 For a dynamic varobj, this indicates whether there appear to be any
29132 children available. For a non-dynamic varobj, this will be 0.
29133
29134 @item dynamic
29135 This attribute will be present and have the value @samp{1} if the
29136 varobj is a dynamic varobj. If the varobj is not a dynamic varobj,
29137 then this attribute will not be present.
29138
29139 @item displayhint
29140 A dynamic varobj can supply a display hint to the front end. The
29141 value comes directly from the Python pretty-printer object's
29142 @code{display_hint} method. @xref{Pretty Printing API}.
29143 @end table
29144
29145 Typical output will look like this:
29146
29147 @smallexample
29148 name="@var{name}",numchild="@var{N}",type="@var{type}",thread-id="@var{M}",
29149 has_more="@var{has_more}"
29150 @end smallexample
29151
29152
29153 @subheading The @code{-var-delete} Command
29154 @findex -var-delete
29155
29156 @subsubheading Synopsis
29157
29158 @smallexample
29159 -var-delete [ -c ] @var{name}
29160 @end smallexample
29161
29162 Deletes a previously created variable object and all of its children.
29163 With the @samp{-c} option, just deletes the children.
29164
29165 Returns an error if the object @var{name} is not found.
29166
29167
29168 @subheading The @code{-var-set-format} Command
29169 @findex -var-set-format
29170
29171 @subsubheading Synopsis
29172
29173 @smallexample
29174 -var-set-format @var{name} @var{format-spec}
29175 @end smallexample
29176
29177 Sets the output format for the value of the object @var{name} to be
29178 @var{format-spec}.
29179
29180 @anchor{-var-set-format}
29181 The syntax for the @var{format-spec} is as follows:
29182
29183 @smallexample
29184 @var{format-spec} @expansion{}
29185 @{binary | decimal | hexadecimal | octal | natural | zero-hexadecimal@}
29186 @end smallexample
29187
29188 The natural format is the default format choosen automatically
29189 based on the variable type (like decimal for an @code{int}, hex
29190 for pointers, etc.).
29191
29192 The zero-hexadecimal format has a representation similar to hexadecimal
29193 but with padding zeroes to the left of the value. For example, a 32-bit
29194 hexadecimal value of 0x1234 would be represented as 0x00001234 in the
29195 zero-hexadecimal format.
29196
29197 For a variable with children, the format is set only on the
29198 variable itself, and the children are not affected.
29199
29200 @subheading The @code{-var-show-format} Command
29201 @findex -var-show-format
29202
29203 @subsubheading Synopsis
29204
29205 @smallexample
29206 -var-show-format @var{name}
29207 @end smallexample
29208
29209 Returns the format used to display the value of the object @var{name}.
29210
29211 @smallexample
29212 @var{format} @expansion{}
29213 @var{format-spec}
29214 @end smallexample
29215
29216
29217 @subheading The @code{-var-info-num-children} Command
29218 @findex -var-info-num-children
29219
29220 @subsubheading Synopsis
29221
29222 @smallexample
29223 -var-info-num-children @var{name}
29224 @end smallexample
29225
29226 Returns the number of children of a variable object @var{name}:
29227
29228 @smallexample
29229 numchild=@var{n}
29230 @end smallexample
29231
29232 Note that this number is not completely reliable for a dynamic varobj.
29233 It will return the current number of children, but more children may
29234 be available.
29235
29236
29237 @subheading The @code{-var-list-children} Command
29238 @findex -var-list-children
29239
29240 @subsubheading Synopsis
29241
29242 @smallexample
29243 -var-list-children [@var{print-values}] @var{name} [@var{from} @var{to}]
29244 @end smallexample
29245 @anchor{-var-list-children}
29246
29247 Return a list of the children of the specified variable object and
29248 create variable objects for them, if they do not already exist. With
29249 a single argument or if @var{print-values} has a value of 0 or
29250 @code{--no-values}, print only the names of the variables; if
29251 @var{print-values} is 1 or @code{--all-values}, also print their
29252 values; and if it is 2 or @code{--simple-values} print the name and
29253 value for simple data types and just the name for arrays, structures
29254 and unions.
29255
29256 @var{from} and @var{to}, if specified, indicate the range of children
29257 to report. If @var{from} or @var{to} is less than zero, the range is
29258 reset and all children will be reported. Otherwise, children starting
29259 at @var{from} (zero-based) and up to and excluding @var{to} will be
29260 reported.
29261
29262 If a child range is requested, it will only affect the current call to
29263 @code{-var-list-children}, but not future calls to @code{-var-update}.
29264 For this, you must instead use @code{-var-set-update-range}. The
29265 intent of this approach is to enable a front end to implement any
29266 update approach it likes; for example, scrolling a view may cause the
29267 front end to request more children with @code{-var-list-children}, and
29268 then the front end could call @code{-var-set-update-range} with a
29269 different range to ensure that future updates are restricted to just
29270 the visible items.
29271
29272 For each child the following results are returned:
29273
29274 @table @var
29275
29276 @item name
29277 Name of the variable object created for this child.
29278
29279 @item exp
29280 The expression to be shown to the user by the front end to designate this child.
29281 For example this may be the name of a structure member.
29282
29283 For a dynamic varobj, this value cannot be used to form an
29284 expression. There is no way to do this at all with a dynamic varobj.
29285
29286 For C/C@t{++} structures there are several pseudo children returned to
29287 designate access qualifiers. For these pseudo children @var{exp} is
29288 @samp{public}, @samp{private}, or @samp{protected}. In this case the
29289 type and value are not present.
29290
29291 A dynamic varobj will not report the access qualifying
29292 pseudo-children, regardless of the language. This information is not
29293 available at all with a dynamic varobj.
29294
29295 @item numchild
29296 Number of children this child has. For a dynamic varobj, this will be
29297 0.
29298
29299 @item type
29300 The type of the child. If @samp{print object}
29301 (@pxref{Print Settings, set print object}) is set to @code{on}, the
29302 @emph{actual} (derived) type of the object is shown rather than the
29303 @emph{declared} one.
29304
29305 @item value
29306 If values were requested, this is the value.
29307
29308 @item thread-id
29309 If this variable object is associated with a thread, this is the
29310 thread's global thread id. Otherwise this result is not present.
29311
29312 @item frozen
29313 If the variable object is frozen, this variable will be present with a value of 1.
29314
29315 @item displayhint
29316 A dynamic varobj can supply a display hint to the front end. The
29317 value comes directly from the Python pretty-printer object's
29318 @code{display_hint} method. @xref{Pretty Printing API}.
29319
29320 @item dynamic
29321 This attribute will be present and have the value @samp{1} if the
29322 varobj is a dynamic varobj. If the varobj is not a dynamic varobj,
29323 then this attribute will not be present.
29324
29325 @end table
29326
29327 The result may have its own attributes:
29328
29329 @table @samp
29330 @item displayhint
29331 A dynamic varobj can supply a display hint to the front end. The
29332 value comes directly from the Python pretty-printer object's
29333 @code{display_hint} method. @xref{Pretty Printing API}.
29334
29335 @item has_more
29336 This is an integer attribute which is nonzero if there are children
29337 remaining after the end of the selected range.
29338 @end table
29339
29340 @subsubheading Example
29341
29342 @smallexample
29343 (gdb)
29344 -var-list-children n
29345 ^done,numchild=@var{n},children=[child=@{name=@var{name},exp=@var{exp},
29346 numchild=@var{n},type=@var{type}@},@r{(repeats N times)}]
29347 (gdb)
29348 -var-list-children --all-values n
29349 ^done,numchild=@var{n},children=[child=@{name=@var{name},exp=@var{exp},
29350 numchild=@var{n},value=@var{value},type=@var{type}@},@r{(repeats N times)}]
29351 @end smallexample
29352
29353
29354 @subheading The @code{-var-info-type} Command
29355 @findex -var-info-type
29356
29357 @subsubheading Synopsis
29358
29359 @smallexample
29360 -var-info-type @var{name}
29361 @end smallexample
29362
29363 Returns the type of the specified variable @var{name}. The type is
29364 returned as a string in the same format as it is output by the
29365 @value{GDBN} CLI:
29366
29367 @smallexample
29368 type=@var{typename}
29369 @end smallexample
29370
29371
29372 @subheading The @code{-var-info-expression} Command
29373 @findex -var-info-expression
29374
29375 @subsubheading Synopsis
29376
29377 @smallexample
29378 -var-info-expression @var{name}
29379 @end smallexample
29380
29381 Returns a string that is suitable for presenting this
29382 variable object in user interface. The string is generally
29383 not valid expression in the current language, and cannot be evaluated.
29384
29385 For example, if @code{a} is an array, and variable object
29386 @code{A} was created for @code{a}, then we'll get this output:
29387
29388 @smallexample
29389 (gdb) -var-info-expression A.1
29390 ^done,lang="C",exp="1"
29391 @end smallexample
29392
29393 @noindent
29394 Here, the value of @code{lang} is the language name, which can be
29395 found in @ref{Supported Languages}.
29396
29397 Note that the output of the @code{-var-list-children} command also
29398 includes those expressions, so the @code{-var-info-expression} command
29399 is of limited use.
29400
29401 @subheading The @code{-var-info-path-expression} Command
29402 @findex -var-info-path-expression
29403
29404 @subsubheading Synopsis
29405
29406 @smallexample
29407 -var-info-path-expression @var{name}
29408 @end smallexample
29409
29410 Returns an expression that can be evaluated in the current
29411 context and will yield the same value that a variable object has.
29412 Compare this with the @code{-var-info-expression} command, which
29413 result can be used only for UI presentation. Typical use of
29414 the @code{-var-info-path-expression} command is creating a
29415 watchpoint from a variable object.
29416
29417 This command is currently not valid for children of a dynamic varobj,
29418 and will give an error when invoked on one.
29419
29420 For example, suppose @code{C} is a C@t{++} class, derived from class
29421 @code{Base}, and that the @code{Base} class has a member called
29422 @code{m_size}. Assume a variable @code{c} is has the type of
29423 @code{C} and a variable object @code{C} was created for variable
29424 @code{c}. Then, we'll get this output:
29425 @smallexample
29426 (gdb) -var-info-path-expression C.Base.public.m_size
29427 ^done,path_expr=((Base)c).m_size)
29428 @end smallexample
29429
29430 @subheading The @code{-var-show-attributes} Command
29431 @findex -var-show-attributes
29432
29433 @subsubheading Synopsis
29434
29435 @smallexample
29436 -var-show-attributes @var{name}
29437 @end smallexample
29438
29439 List attributes of the specified variable object @var{name}:
29440
29441 @smallexample
29442 status=@var{attr} [ ( ,@var{attr} )* ]
29443 @end smallexample
29444
29445 @noindent
29446 where @var{attr} is @code{@{ @{ editable | noneditable @} | TBD @}}.
29447
29448 @subheading The @code{-var-evaluate-expression} Command
29449 @findex -var-evaluate-expression
29450
29451 @subsubheading Synopsis
29452
29453 @smallexample
29454 -var-evaluate-expression [-f @var{format-spec}] @var{name}
29455 @end smallexample
29456
29457 Evaluates the expression that is represented by the specified variable
29458 object and returns its value as a string. The format of the string
29459 can be specified with the @samp{-f} option. The possible values of
29460 this option are the same as for @code{-var-set-format}
29461 (@pxref{-var-set-format}). If the @samp{-f} option is not specified,
29462 the current display format will be used. The current display format
29463 can be changed using the @code{-var-set-format} command.
29464
29465 @smallexample
29466 value=@var{value}
29467 @end smallexample
29468
29469 Note that one must invoke @code{-var-list-children} for a variable
29470 before the value of a child variable can be evaluated.
29471
29472 @subheading The @code{-var-assign} Command
29473 @findex -var-assign
29474
29475 @subsubheading Synopsis
29476
29477 @smallexample
29478 -var-assign @var{name} @var{expression}
29479 @end smallexample
29480
29481 Assigns the value of @var{expression} to the variable object specified
29482 by @var{name}. The object must be @samp{editable}. If the variable's
29483 value is altered by the assign, the variable will show up in any
29484 subsequent @code{-var-update} list.
29485
29486 @subsubheading Example
29487
29488 @smallexample
29489 (gdb)
29490 -var-assign var1 3
29491 ^done,value="3"
29492 (gdb)
29493 -var-update *
29494 ^done,changelist=[@{name="var1",in_scope="true",type_changed="false"@}]
29495 (gdb)
29496 @end smallexample
29497
29498 @subheading The @code{-var-update} Command
29499 @findex -var-update
29500
29501 @subsubheading Synopsis
29502
29503 @smallexample
29504 -var-update [@var{print-values}] @{@var{name} | "*"@}
29505 @end smallexample
29506
29507 Reevaluate the expressions corresponding to the variable object
29508 @var{name} and all its direct and indirect children, and return the
29509 list of variable objects whose values have changed; @var{name} must
29510 be a root variable object. Here, ``changed'' means that the result of
29511 @code{-var-evaluate-expression} before and after the
29512 @code{-var-update} is different. If @samp{*} is used as the variable
29513 object names, all existing variable objects are updated, except
29514 for frozen ones (@pxref{-var-set-frozen}). The option
29515 @var{print-values} determines whether both names and values, or just
29516 names are printed. The possible values of this option are the same
29517 as for @code{-var-list-children} (@pxref{-var-list-children}). It is
29518 recommended to use the @samp{--all-values} option, to reduce the
29519 number of MI commands needed on each program stop.
29520
29521 With the @samp{*} parameter, if a variable object is bound to a
29522 currently running thread, it will not be updated, without any
29523 diagnostic.
29524
29525 If @code{-var-set-update-range} was previously used on a varobj, then
29526 only the selected range of children will be reported.
29527
29528 @code{-var-update} reports all the changed varobjs in a tuple named
29529 @samp{changelist}.
29530
29531 Each item in the change list is itself a tuple holding:
29532
29533 @table @samp
29534 @item name
29535 The name of the varobj.
29536
29537 @item value
29538 If values were requested for this update, then this field will be
29539 present and will hold the value of the varobj.
29540
29541 @item in_scope
29542 @anchor{-var-update}
29543 This field is a string which may take one of three values:
29544
29545 @table @code
29546 @item "true"
29547 The variable object's current value is valid.
29548
29549 @item "false"
29550 The variable object does not currently hold a valid value but it may
29551 hold one in the future if its associated expression comes back into
29552 scope.
29553
29554 @item "invalid"
29555 The variable object no longer holds a valid value.
29556 This can occur when the executable file being debugged has changed,
29557 either through recompilation or by using the @value{GDBN} @code{file}
29558 command. The front end should normally choose to delete these variable
29559 objects.
29560 @end table
29561
29562 In the future new values may be added to this list so the front should
29563 be prepared for this possibility. @xref{GDB/MI Development and Front Ends, ,@sc{GDB/MI} Development and Front Ends}.
29564
29565 @item type_changed
29566 This is only present if the varobj is still valid. If the type
29567 changed, then this will be the string @samp{true}; otherwise it will
29568 be @samp{false}.
29569
29570 When a varobj's type changes, its children are also likely to have
29571 become incorrect. Therefore, the varobj's children are automatically
29572 deleted when this attribute is @samp{true}. Also, the varobj's update
29573 range, when set using the @code{-var-set-update-range} command, is
29574 unset.
29575
29576 @item new_type
29577 If the varobj's type changed, then this field will be present and will
29578 hold the new type.
29579
29580 @item new_num_children
29581 For a dynamic varobj, if the number of children changed, or if the
29582 type changed, this will be the new number of children.
29583
29584 The @samp{numchild} field in other varobj responses is generally not
29585 valid for a dynamic varobj -- it will show the number of children that
29586 @value{GDBN} knows about, but because dynamic varobjs lazily
29587 instantiate their children, this will not reflect the number of
29588 children which may be available.
29589
29590 The @samp{new_num_children} attribute only reports changes to the
29591 number of children known by @value{GDBN}. This is the only way to
29592 detect whether an update has removed children (which necessarily can
29593 only happen at the end of the update range).
29594
29595 @item displayhint
29596 The display hint, if any.
29597
29598 @item has_more
29599 This is an integer value, which will be 1 if there are more children
29600 available outside the varobj's update range.
29601
29602 @item dynamic
29603 This attribute will be present and have the value @samp{1} if the
29604 varobj is a dynamic varobj. If the varobj is not a dynamic varobj,
29605 then this attribute will not be present.
29606
29607 @item new_children
29608 If new children were added to a dynamic varobj within the selected
29609 update range (as set by @code{-var-set-update-range}), then they will
29610 be listed in this attribute.
29611 @end table
29612
29613 @subsubheading Example
29614
29615 @smallexample
29616 (gdb)
29617 -var-assign var1 3
29618 ^done,value="3"
29619 (gdb)
29620 -var-update --all-values var1
29621 ^done,changelist=[@{name="var1",value="3",in_scope="true",
29622 type_changed="false"@}]
29623 (gdb)
29624 @end smallexample
29625
29626 @subheading The @code{-var-set-frozen} Command
29627 @findex -var-set-frozen
29628 @anchor{-var-set-frozen}
29629
29630 @subsubheading Synopsis
29631
29632 @smallexample
29633 -var-set-frozen @var{name} @var{flag}
29634 @end smallexample
29635
29636 Set the frozenness flag on the variable object @var{name}. The
29637 @var{flag} parameter should be either @samp{1} to make the variable
29638 frozen or @samp{0} to make it unfrozen. If a variable object is
29639 frozen, then neither itself, nor any of its children, are
29640 implicitly updated by @code{-var-update} of
29641 a parent variable or by @code{-var-update *}. Only
29642 @code{-var-update} of the variable itself will update its value and
29643 values of its children. After a variable object is unfrozen, it is
29644 implicitly updated by all subsequent @code{-var-update} operations.
29645 Unfreezing a variable does not update it, only subsequent
29646 @code{-var-update} does.
29647
29648 @subsubheading Example
29649
29650 @smallexample
29651 (gdb)
29652 -var-set-frozen V 1
29653 ^done
29654 (gdb)
29655 @end smallexample
29656
29657 @subheading The @code{-var-set-update-range} command
29658 @findex -var-set-update-range
29659 @anchor{-var-set-update-range}
29660
29661 @subsubheading Synopsis
29662
29663 @smallexample
29664 -var-set-update-range @var{name} @var{from} @var{to}
29665 @end smallexample
29666
29667 Set the range of children to be returned by future invocations of
29668 @code{-var-update}.
29669
29670 @var{from} and @var{to} indicate the range of children to report. If
29671 @var{from} or @var{to} is less than zero, the range is reset and all
29672 children will be reported. Otherwise, children starting at @var{from}
29673 (zero-based) and up to and excluding @var{to} will be reported.
29674
29675 @subsubheading Example
29676
29677 @smallexample
29678 (gdb)
29679 -var-set-update-range V 1 2
29680 ^done
29681 @end smallexample
29682
29683 @subheading The @code{-var-set-visualizer} command
29684 @findex -var-set-visualizer
29685 @anchor{-var-set-visualizer}
29686
29687 @subsubheading Synopsis
29688
29689 @smallexample
29690 -var-set-visualizer @var{name} @var{visualizer}
29691 @end smallexample
29692
29693 Set a visualizer for the variable object @var{name}.
29694
29695 @var{visualizer} is the visualizer to use. The special value
29696 @samp{None} means to disable any visualizer in use.
29697
29698 If not @samp{None}, @var{visualizer} must be a Python expression.
29699 This expression must evaluate to a callable object which accepts a
29700 single argument. @value{GDBN} will call this object with the value of
29701 the varobj @var{name} as an argument (this is done so that the same
29702 Python pretty-printing code can be used for both the CLI and MI).
29703 When called, this object must return an object which conforms to the
29704 pretty-printing interface (@pxref{Pretty Printing API}).
29705
29706 The pre-defined function @code{gdb.default_visualizer} may be used to
29707 select a visualizer by following the built-in process
29708 (@pxref{Selecting Pretty-Printers}). This is done automatically when
29709 a varobj is created, and so ordinarily is not needed.
29710
29711 This feature is only available if Python support is enabled. The MI
29712 command @code{-list-features} (@pxref{GDB/MI Support Commands})
29713 can be used to check this.
29714
29715 @subsubheading Example
29716
29717 Resetting the visualizer:
29718
29719 @smallexample
29720 (gdb)
29721 -var-set-visualizer V None
29722 ^done
29723 @end smallexample
29724
29725 Reselecting the default (type-based) visualizer:
29726
29727 @smallexample
29728 (gdb)
29729 -var-set-visualizer V gdb.default_visualizer
29730 ^done
29731 @end smallexample
29732
29733 Suppose @code{SomeClass} is a visualizer class. A lambda expression
29734 can be used to instantiate this class for a varobj:
29735
29736 @smallexample
29737 (gdb)
29738 -var-set-visualizer V "lambda val: SomeClass()"
29739 ^done
29740 @end smallexample
29741
29742 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
29743 @node GDB/MI Data Manipulation
29744 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Data Manipulation
29745
29746 @cindex data manipulation, in @sc{gdb/mi}
29747 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, data manipulation
29748 This section describes the @sc{gdb/mi} commands that manipulate data:
29749 examine memory and registers, evaluate expressions, etc.
29750
29751 For details about what an addressable memory unit is,
29752 @pxref{addressable memory unit}.
29753
29754 @c REMOVED FROM THE INTERFACE.
29755 @c @subheading -data-assign
29756 @c Change the value of a program variable. Plenty of side effects.
29757 @c @subsubheading GDB Command
29758 @c set variable
29759 @c @subsubheading Example
29760 @c N.A.
29761
29762 @subheading The @code{-data-disassemble} Command
29763 @findex -data-disassemble
29764
29765 @subsubheading Synopsis
29766
29767 @smallexample
29768 -data-disassemble
29769 [ -s @var{start-addr} -e @var{end-addr} ]
29770 | [ -f @var{filename} -l @var{linenum} [ -n @var{lines} ] ]
29771 -- @var{mode}
29772 @end smallexample
29773
29774 @noindent
29775 Where:
29776
29777 @table @samp
29778 @item @var{start-addr}
29779 is the beginning address (or @code{$pc})
29780 @item @var{end-addr}
29781 is the end address
29782 @item @var{filename}
29783 is the name of the file to disassemble
29784 @item @var{linenum}
29785 is the line number to disassemble around
29786 @item @var{lines}
29787 is the number of disassembly lines to be produced. If it is -1,
29788 the whole function will be disassembled, in case no @var{end-addr} is
29789 specified. If @var{end-addr} is specified as a non-zero value, and
29790 @var{lines} is lower than the number of disassembly lines between
29791 @var{start-addr} and @var{end-addr}, only @var{lines} lines are
29792 displayed; if @var{lines} is higher than the number of lines between
29793 @var{start-addr} and @var{end-addr}, only the lines up to @var{end-addr}
29794 are displayed.
29795 @item @var{mode}
29796 is one of:
29797 @itemize @bullet
29798 @item 0 disassembly only
29799 @item 1 mixed source and disassembly (deprecated)
29800 @item 2 disassembly with raw opcodes
29801 @item 3 mixed source and disassembly with raw opcodes (deprecated)
29802 @item 4 mixed source and disassembly
29803 @item 5 mixed source and disassembly with raw opcodes
29804 @end itemize
29805
29806 Modes 1 and 3 are deprecated. The output is ``source centric''
29807 which hasn't proved useful in practice.
29808 @xref{Machine Code}, for a discussion of the difference between
29809 @code{/m} and @code{/s} output of the @code{disassemble} command.
29810 @end table
29811
29812 @subsubheading Result
29813
29814 The result of the @code{-data-disassemble} command will be a list named
29815 @samp{asm_insns}, the contents of this list depend on the @var{mode}
29816 used with the @code{-data-disassemble} command.
29817
29818 For modes 0 and 2 the @samp{asm_insns} list contains tuples with the
29819 following fields:
29820
29821 @table @code
29822 @item address
29823 The address at which this instruction was disassembled.
29824
29825 @item func-name
29826 The name of the function this instruction is within.
29827
29828 @item offset
29829 The decimal offset in bytes from the start of @samp{func-name}.
29830
29831 @item inst
29832 The text disassembly for this @samp{address}.
29833
29834 @item opcodes
29835 This field is only present for modes 2, 3 and 5. This contains the raw opcode
29836 bytes for the @samp{inst} field.
29837
29838 @end table
29839
29840 For modes 1, 3, 4 and 5 the @samp{asm_insns} list contains tuples named
29841 @samp{src_and_asm_line}, each of which has the following fields:
29842
29843 @table @code
29844 @item line
29845 The line number within @samp{file}.
29846
29847 @item file
29848 The file name from the compilation unit. This might be an absolute
29849 file name or a relative file name depending on the compile command
29850 used.
29851
29852 @item fullname
29853 Absolute file name of @samp{file}. It is converted to a canonical form
29854 using the source file search path
29855 (@pxref{Source Path, ,Specifying Source Directories})
29856 and after resolving all the symbolic links.
29857
29858 If the source file is not found this field will contain the path as
29859 present in the debug information.
29860
29861 @item line_asm_insn
29862 This is a list of tuples containing the disassembly for @samp{line} in
29863 @samp{file}. The fields of each tuple are the same as for
29864 @code{-data-disassemble} in @var{mode} 0 and 2, so @samp{address},
29865 @samp{func-name}, @samp{offset}, @samp{inst}, and optionally
29866 @samp{opcodes}.
29867
29868 @end table
29869
29870 Note that whatever included in the @samp{inst} field, is not
29871 manipulated directly by @sc{gdb/mi}, i.e., it is not possible to
29872 adjust its format.
29873
29874 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29875
29876 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{disassemble}.
29877
29878 @subsubheading Example
29879
29880 Disassemble from the current value of @code{$pc} to @code{$pc + 20}:
29881
29882 @smallexample
29883 (gdb)
29884 -data-disassemble -s $pc -e "$pc + 20" -- 0
29885 ^done,
29886 asm_insns=[
29887 @{address="0x000107c0",func-name="main",offset="4",
29888 inst="mov 2, %o0"@},
29889 @{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
29890 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@},
29891 @{address="0x000107c8",func-name="main",offset="12",
29892 inst="or %o2, 0x140, %o1\t! 0x11940 <_lib_version+8>"@},
29893 @{address="0x000107cc",func-name="main",offset="16",
29894 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@},
29895 @{address="0x000107d0",func-name="main",offset="20",
29896 inst="or %o2, 0x168, %o4\t! 0x11968 <_lib_version+48>"@}]
29897 (gdb)
29898 @end smallexample
29899
29900 Disassemble the whole @code{main} function. Line 32 is part of
29901 @code{main}.
29902
29903 @smallexample
29904 -data-disassemble -f basics.c -l 32 -- 0
29905 ^done,asm_insns=[
29906 @{address="0x000107bc",func-name="main",offset="0",
29907 inst="save %sp, -112, %sp"@},
29908 @{address="0x000107c0",func-name="main",offset="4",
29909 inst="mov 2, %o0"@},
29910 @{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
29911 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@},
29912 [@dots{}]
29913 @{address="0x0001081c",func-name="main",offset="96",inst="ret "@},
29914 @{address="0x00010820",func-name="main",offset="100",inst="restore "@}]
29915 (gdb)
29916 @end smallexample
29917
29918 Disassemble 3 instructions from the start of @code{main}:
29919
29920 @smallexample
29921 (gdb)
29922 -data-disassemble -f basics.c -l 32 -n 3 -- 0
29923 ^done,asm_insns=[
29924 @{address="0x000107bc",func-name="main",offset="0",
29925 inst="save %sp, -112, %sp"@},
29926 @{address="0x000107c0",func-name="main",offset="4",
29927 inst="mov 2, %o0"@},
29928 @{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
29929 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@}]
29930 (gdb)
29931 @end smallexample
29932
29933 Disassemble 3 instructions from the start of @code{main} in mixed mode:
29934
29935 @smallexample
29936 (gdb)
29937 -data-disassemble -f basics.c -l 32 -n 3 -- 1
29938 ^done,asm_insns=[
29939 src_and_asm_line=@{line="31",
29940 file="../../../src/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
29941 fullname="/absolute/path/to/src/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
29942 line_asm_insn=[@{address="0x000107bc",
29943 func-name="main",offset="0",inst="save %sp, -112, %sp"@}]@},
29944 src_and_asm_line=@{line="32",
29945 file="../../../src/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
29946 fullname="/absolute/path/to/src/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
29947 line_asm_insn=[@{address="0x000107c0",
29948 func-name="main",offset="4",inst="mov 2, %o0"@},
29949 @{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
29950 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@}]@}]
29951 (gdb)
29952 @end smallexample
29953
29954
29955 @subheading The @code{-data-evaluate-expression} Command
29956 @findex -data-evaluate-expression
29957
29958 @subsubheading Synopsis
29959
29960 @smallexample
29961 -data-evaluate-expression @var{expr}
29962 @end smallexample
29963
29964 Evaluate @var{expr} as an expression. The expression could contain an
29965 inferior function call. The function call will execute synchronously.
29966 If the expression contains spaces, it must be enclosed in double quotes.
29967
29968 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29969
29970 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{print}, @samp{output}, and
29971 @samp{call}. In @code{gdbtk} only, there's a corresponding
29972 @samp{gdb_eval} command.
29973
29974 @subsubheading Example
29975
29976 In the following example, the numbers that precede the commands are the
29977 @dfn{tokens} described in @ref{GDB/MI Command Syntax, ,@sc{gdb/mi}
29978 Command Syntax}. Notice how @sc{gdb/mi} returns the same tokens in its
29979 output.
29980
29981 @smallexample
29982 211-data-evaluate-expression A
29983 211^done,value="1"
29984 (gdb)
29985 311-data-evaluate-expression &A
29986 311^done,value="0xefffeb7c"
29987 (gdb)
29988 411-data-evaluate-expression A+3
29989 411^done,value="4"
29990 (gdb)
29991 511-data-evaluate-expression "A + 3"
29992 511^done,value="4"
29993 (gdb)
29994 @end smallexample
29995
29996
29997 @subheading The @code{-data-list-changed-registers} Command
29998 @findex -data-list-changed-registers
29999
30000 @subsubheading Synopsis
30001
30002 @smallexample
30003 -data-list-changed-registers
30004 @end smallexample
30005
30006 Display a list of the registers that have changed.
30007
30008 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30009
30010 @value{GDBN} doesn't have a direct analog for this command; @code{gdbtk}
30011 has the corresponding command @samp{gdb_changed_register_list}.
30012
30013 @subsubheading Example
30014
30015 On a PPC MBX board:
30016
30017 @smallexample
30018 (gdb)
30019 -exec-continue
30020 ^running
30021
30022 (gdb)
30023 *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",frame=@{
30024 func="main",args=[],file="try.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",
30025 line="5"@}
30026 (gdb)
30027 -data-list-changed-registers
30028 ^done,changed-registers=["0","1","2","4","5","6","7","8","9",
30029 "10","11","13","14","15","16","17","18","19","20","21","22","23",
30030 "24","25","26","27","28","30","31","64","65","66","67","69"]
30031 (gdb)
30032 @end smallexample
30033
30034
30035 @subheading The @code{-data-list-register-names} Command
30036 @findex -data-list-register-names
30037
30038 @subsubheading Synopsis
30039
30040 @smallexample
30041 -data-list-register-names [ ( @var{regno} )+ ]
30042 @end smallexample
30043
30044 Show a list of register names for the current target. If no arguments
30045 are given, it shows a list of the names of all the registers. If
30046 integer numbers are given as arguments, it will print a list of the
30047 names of the registers corresponding to the arguments. To ensure
30048 consistency between a register name and its number, the output list may
30049 include empty register names.
30050
30051 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30052
30053 @value{GDBN} does not have a command which corresponds to
30054 @samp{-data-list-register-names}. In @code{gdbtk} there is a
30055 corresponding command @samp{gdb_regnames}.
30056
30057 @subsubheading Example
30058
30059 For the PPC MBX board:
30060 @smallexample
30061 (gdb)
30062 -data-list-register-names
30063 ^done,register-names=["r0","r1","r2","r3","r4","r5","r6","r7",
30064 "r8","r9","r10","r11","r12","r13","r14","r15","r16","r17","r18",
30065 "r19","r20","r21","r22","r23","r24","r25","r26","r27","r28","r29",
30066 "r30","r31","f0","f1","f2","f3","f4","f5","f6","f7","f8","f9",
30067 "f10","f11","f12","f13","f14","f15","f16","f17","f18","f19","f20",
30068 "f21","f22","f23","f24","f25","f26","f27","f28","f29","f30","f31",
30069 "", "pc","ps","cr","lr","ctr","xer"]
30070 (gdb)
30071 -data-list-register-names 1 2 3
30072 ^done,register-names=["r1","r2","r3"]
30073 (gdb)
30074 @end smallexample
30075
30076 @subheading The @code{-data-list-register-values} Command
30077 @findex -data-list-register-values
30078
30079 @subsubheading Synopsis
30080
30081 @smallexample
30082 -data-list-register-values
30083 [ @code{--skip-unavailable} ] @var{fmt} [ ( @var{regno} )*]
30084 @end smallexample
30085
30086 Display the registers' contents. The format according to which the
30087 registers' contents are to be returned is given by @var{fmt}, followed
30088 by an optional list of numbers specifying the registers to display. A
30089 missing list of numbers indicates that the contents of all the
30090 registers must be returned. The @code{--skip-unavailable} option
30091 indicates that only the available registers are to be returned.
30092
30093 Allowed formats for @var{fmt} are:
30094
30095 @table @code
30096 @item x
30097 Hexadecimal
30098 @item o
30099 Octal
30100 @item t
30101 Binary
30102 @item d
30103 Decimal
30104 @item r
30105 Raw
30106 @item N
30107 Natural
30108 @end table
30109
30110 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30111
30112 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{info reg}, @samp{info
30113 all-reg}, and (in @code{gdbtk}) @samp{gdb_fetch_registers}.
30114
30115 @subsubheading Example
30116
30117 For a PPC MBX board (note: line breaks are for readability only, they
30118 don't appear in the actual output):
30119
30120 @smallexample
30121 (gdb)
30122 -data-list-register-values r 64 65
30123 ^done,register-values=[@{number="64",value="0xfe00a300"@},
30124 @{number="65",value="0x00029002"@}]
30125 (gdb)
30126 -data-list-register-values x
30127 ^done,register-values=[@{number="0",value="0xfe0043c8"@},
30128 @{number="1",value="0x3fff88"@},@{number="2",value="0xfffffffe"@},
30129 @{number="3",value="0x0"@},@{number="4",value="0xa"@},
30130 @{number="5",value="0x3fff68"@},@{number="6",value="0x3fff58"@},
30131 @{number="7",value="0xfe011e98"@},@{number="8",value="0x2"@},
30132 @{number="9",value="0xfa202820"@},@{number="10",value="0xfa202808"@},
30133 @{number="11",value="0x1"@},@{number="12",value="0x0"@},
30134 @{number="13",value="0x4544"@},@{number="14",value="0xffdfffff"@},
30135 @{number="15",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="16",value="0xfffffeff"@},
30136 @{number="17",value="0xefffffed"@},@{number="18",value="0xfffffffe"@},
30137 @{number="19",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="20",value="0xffffffff"@},
30138 @{number="21",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="22",value="0xfffffff7"@},
30139 @{number="23",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="24",value="0xffffffff"@},
30140 @{number="25",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="26",value="0xfffffffb"@},
30141 @{number="27",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="28",value="0xf7bfffff"@},
30142 @{number="29",value="0x0"@},@{number="30",value="0xfe010000"@},
30143 @{number="31",value="0x0"@},@{number="32",value="0x0"@},
30144 @{number="33",value="0x0"@},@{number="34",value="0x0"@},
30145 @{number="35",value="0x0"@},@{number="36",value="0x0"@},
30146 @{number="37",value="0x0"@},@{number="38",value="0x0"@},
30147 @{number="39",value="0x0"@},@{number="40",value="0x0"@},
30148 @{number="41",value="0x0"@},@{number="42",value="0x0"@},
30149 @{number="43",value="0x0"@},@{number="44",value="0x0"@},
30150 @{number="45",value="0x0"@},@{number="46",value="0x0"@},
30151 @{number="47",value="0x0"@},@{number="48",value="0x0"@},
30152 @{number="49",value="0x0"@},@{number="50",value="0x0"@},
30153 @{number="51",value="0x0"@},@{number="52",value="0x0"@},
30154 @{number="53",value="0x0"@},@{number="54",value="0x0"@},
30155 @{number="55",value="0x0"@},@{number="56",value="0x0"@},
30156 @{number="57",value="0x0"@},@{number="58",value="0x0"@},
30157 @{number="59",value="0x0"@},@{number="60",value="0x0"@},
30158 @{number="61",value="0x0"@},@{number="62",value="0x0"@},
30159 @{number="63",value="0x0"@},@{number="64",value="0xfe00a300"@},
30160 @{number="65",value="0x29002"@},@{number="66",value="0x202f04b5"@},
30161 @{number="67",value="0xfe0043b0"@},@{number="68",value="0xfe00b3e4"@},
30162 @{number="69",value="0x20002b03"@}]
30163 (gdb)
30164 @end smallexample
30165
30166
30167 @subheading The @code{-data-read-memory} Command
30168 @findex -data-read-memory
30169
30170 This command is deprecated, use @code{-data-read-memory-bytes} instead.
30171
30172 @subsubheading Synopsis
30173
30174 @smallexample
30175 -data-read-memory [ -o @var{byte-offset} ]
30176 @var{address} @var{word-format} @var{word-size}
30177 @var{nr-rows} @var{nr-cols} [ @var{aschar} ]
30178 @end smallexample
30179
30180 @noindent
30181 where:
30182
30183 @table @samp
30184 @item @var{address}
30185 An expression specifying the address of the first memory word to be
30186 read. Complex expressions containing embedded white space should be
30187 quoted using the C convention.
30188
30189 @item @var{word-format}
30190 The format to be used to print the memory words. The notation is the
30191 same as for @value{GDBN}'s @code{print} command (@pxref{Output Formats,
30192 ,Output Formats}).
30193
30194 @item @var{word-size}
30195 The size of each memory word in bytes.
30196
30197 @item @var{nr-rows}
30198 The number of rows in the output table.
30199
30200 @item @var{nr-cols}
30201 The number of columns in the output table.
30202
30203 @item @var{aschar}
30204 If present, indicates that each row should include an @sc{ascii} dump. The
30205 value of @var{aschar} is used as a padding character when a byte is not a
30206 member of the printable @sc{ascii} character set (printable @sc{ascii}
30207 characters are those whose code is between 32 and 126, inclusively).
30208
30209 @item @var{byte-offset}
30210 An offset to add to the @var{address} before fetching memory.
30211 @end table
30212
30213 This command displays memory contents as a table of @var{nr-rows} by
30214 @var{nr-cols} words, each word being @var{word-size} bytes. In total,
30215 @code{@var{nr-rows} * @var{nr-cols} * @var{word-size}} bytes are read
30216 (returned as @samp{total-bytes}). Should less than the requested number
30217 of bytes be returned by the target, the missing words are identified
30218 using @samp{N/A}. The number of bytes read from the target is returned
30219 in @samp{nr-bytes} and the starting address used to read memory in
30220 @samp{addr}.
30221
30222 The address of the next/previous row or page is available in
30223 @samp{next-row} and @samp{prev-row}, @samp{next-page} and
30224 @samp{prev-page}.
30225
30226 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30227
30228 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{x}. @code{gdbtk} has
30229 @samp{gdb_get_mem} memory read command.
30230
30231 @subsubheading Example
30232
30233 Read six bytes of memory starting at @code{bytes+6} but then offset by
30234 @code{-6} bytes. Format as three rows of two columns. One byte per
30235 word. Display each word in hex.
30236
30237 @smallexample
30238 (gdb)
30239 9-data-read-memory -o -6 -- bytes+6 x 1 3 2
30240 9^done,addr="0x00001390",nr-bytes="6",total-bytes="6",
30241 next-row="0x00001396",prev-row="0x0000138e",next-page="0x00001396",
30242 prev-page="0x0000138a",memory=[
30243 @{addr="0x00001390",data=["0x00","0x01"]@},
30244 @{addr="0x00001392",data=["0x02","0x03"]@},
30245 @{addr="0x00001394",data=["0x04","0x05"]@}]
30246 (gdb)
30247 @end smallexample
30248
30249 Read two bytes of memory starting at address @code{shorts + 64} and
30250 display as a single word formatted in decimal.
30251
30252 @smallexample
30253 (gdb)
30254 5-data-read-memory shorts+64 d 2 1 1
30255 5^done,addr="0x00001510",nr-bytes="2",total-bytes="2",
30256 next-row="0x00001512",prev-row="0x0000150e",
30257 next-page="0x00001512",prev-page="0x0000150e",memory=[
30258 @{addr="0x00001510",data=["128"]@}]
30259 (gdb)
30260 @end smallexample
30261
30262 Read thirty two bytes of memory starting at @code{bytes+16} and format
30263 as eight rows of four columns. Include a string encoding with @samp{x}
30264 used as the non-printable character.
30265
30266 @smallexample
30267 (gdb)
30268 4-data-read-memory bytes+16 x 1 8 4 x
30269 4^done,addr="0x000013a0",nr-bytes="32",total-bytes="32",
30270 next-row="0x000013c0",prev-row="0x0000139c",
30271 next-page="0x000013c0",prev-page="0x00001380",memory=[
30272 @{addr="0x000013a0",data=["0x10","0x11","0x12","0x13"],ascii="xxxx"@},
30273 @{addr="0x000013a4",data=["0x14","0x15","0x16","0x17"],ascii="xxxx"@},
30274 @{addr="0x000013a8",data=["0x18","0x19","0x1a","0x1b"],ascii="xxxx"@},
30275 @{addr="0x000013ac",data=["0x1c","0x1d","0x1e","0x1f"],ascii="xxxx"@},
30276 @{addr="0x000013b0",data=["0x20","0x21","0x22","0x23"],ascii=" !\"#"@},
30277 @{addr="0x000013b4",data=["0x24","0x25","0x26","0x27"],ascii="$%&'"@},
30278 @{addr="0x000013b8",data=["0x28","0x29","0x2a","0x2b"],ascii="()*+"@},
30279 @{addr="0x000013bc",data=["0x2c","0x2d","0x2e","0x2f"],ascii=",-./"@}]
30280 (gdb)
30281 @end smallexample
30282
30283 @subheading The @code{-data-read-memory-bytes} Command
30284 @findex -data-read-memory-bytes
30285
30286 @subsubheading Synopsis
30287
30288 @smallexample
30289 -data-read-memory-bytes [ -o @var{offset} ]
30290 @var{address} @var{count}
30291 @end smallexample
30292
30293 @noindent
30294 where:
30295
30296 @table @samp
30297 @item @var{address}
30298 An expression specifying the address of the first addressable memory unit
30299 to be read. Complex expressions containing embedded white space should be
30300 quoted using the C convention.
30301
30302 @item @var{count}
30303 The number of addressable memory units to read. This should be an integer
30304 literal.
30305
30306 @item @var{offset}
30307 The offset relative to @var{address} at which to start reading. This
30308 should be an integer literal. This option is provided so that a frontend
30309 is not required to first evaluate address and then perform address
30310 arithmetics itself.
30311
30312 @end table
30313
30314 This command attempts to read all accessible memory regions in the
30315 specified range. First, all regions marked as unreadable in the memory
30316 map (if one is defined) will be skipped. @xref{Memory Region
30317 Attributes}. Second, @value{GDBN} will attempt to read the remaining
30318 regions. For each one, if reading full region results in an errors,
30319 @value{GDBN} will try to read a subset of the region.
30320
30321 In general, every single memory unit in the region may be readable or not,
30322 and the only way to read every readable unit is to try a read at
30323 every address, which is not practical. Therefore, @value{GDBN} will
30324 attempt to read all accessible memory units at either beginning or the end
30325 of the region, using a binary division scheme. This heuristic works
30326 well for reading accross a memory map boundary. Note that if a region
30327 has a readable range that is neither at the beginning or the end,
30328 @value{GDBN} will not read it.
30329
30330 The result record (@pxref{GDB/MI Result Records}) that is output of
30331 the command includes a field named @samp{memory} whose content is a
30332 list of tuples. Each tuple represent a successfully read memory block
30333 and has the following fields:
30334
30335 @table @code
30336 @item begin
30337 The start address of the memory block, as hexadecimal literal.
30338
30339 @item end
30340 The end address of the memory block, as hexadecimal literal.
30341
30342 @item offset
30343 The offset of the memory block, as hexadecimal literal, relative to
30344 the start address passed to @code{-data-read-memory-bytes}.
30345
30346 @item contents
30347 The contents of the memory block, in hex.
30348
30349 @end table
30350
30351
30352
30353 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30354
30355 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{x}.
30356
30357 @subsubheading Example
30358
30359 @smallexample
30360 (gdb)
30361 -data-read-memory-bytes &a 10
30362 ^done,memory=[@{begin="0xbffff154",offset="0x00000000",
30363 end="0xbffff15e",
30364 contents="01000000020000000300"@}]
30365 (gdb)
30366 @end smallexample
30367
30368
30369 @subheading The @code{-data-write-memory-bytes} Command
30370 @findex -data-write-memory-bytes
30371
30372 @subsubheading Synopsis
30373
30374 @smallexample
30375 -data-write-memory-bytes @var{address} @var{contents}
30376 -data-write-memory-bytes @var{address} @var{contents} @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
30377 @end smallexample
30378
30379 @noindent
30380 where:
30381
30382 @table @samp
30383 @item @var{address}
30384 An expression specifying the address of the first addressable memory unit
30385 to be written. Complex expressions containing embedded white space should
30386 be quoted using the C convention.
30387
30388 @item @var{contents}
30389 The hex-encoded data to write. It is an error if @var{contents} does
30390 not represent an integral number of addressable memory units.
30391
30392 @item @var{count}
30393 Optional argument indicating the number of addressable memory units to be
30394 written. If @var{count} is greater than @var{contents}' length,
30395 @value{GDBN} will repeatedly write @var{contents} until it fills
30396 @var{count} memory units.
30397
30398 @end table
30399
30400 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30401
30402 There's no corresponding @value{GDBN} command.
30403
30404 @subsubheading Example
30405
30406 @smallexample
30407 (gdb)
30408 -data-write-memory-bytes &a "aabbccdd"
30409 ^done
30410 (gdb)
30411 @end smallexample
30412
30413 @smallexample
30414 (gdb)
30415 -data-write-memory-bytes &a "aabbccdd" 16e
30416 ^done
30417 (gdb)
30418 @end smallexample
30419
30420 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
30421 @node GDB/MI Tracepoint Commands
30422 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Tracepoint Commands
30423
30424 The commands defined in this section implement MI support for
30425 tracepoints. For detailed introduction, see @ref{Tracepoints}.
30426
30427 @subheading The @code{-trace-find} Command
30428 @findex -trace-find
30429
30430 @subsubheading Synopsis
30431
30432 @smallexample
30433 -trace-find @var{mode} [@var{parameters}@dots{}]
30434 @end smallexample
30435
30436 Find a trace frame using criteria defined by @var{mode} and
30437 @var{parameters}. The following table lists permissible
30438 modes and their parameters. For details of operation, see @ref{tfind}.
30439
30440 @table @samp
30441
30442 @item none
30443 No parameters are required. Stops examining trace frames.
30444
30445 @item frame-number
30446 An integer is required as parameter. Selects tracepoint frame with
30447 that index.
30448
30449 @item tracepoint-number
30450 An integer is required as parameter. Finds next
30451 trace frame that corresponds to tracepoint with the specified number.
30452
30453 @item pc
30454 An address is required as parameter. Finds
30455 next trace frame that corresponds to any tracepoint at the specified
30456 address.
30457
30458 @item pc-inside-range
30459 Two addresses are required as parameters. Finds next trace
30460 frame that corresponds to a tracepoint at an address inside the
30461 specified range. Both bounds are considered to be inside the range.
30462
30463 @item pc-outside-range
30464 Two addresses are required as parameters. Finds
30465 next trace frame that corresponds to a tracepoint at an address outside
30466 the specified range. Both bounds are considered to be inside the range.
30467
30468 @item line
30469 Line specification is required as parameter. @xref{Specify Location}.
30470 Finds next trace frame that corresponds to a tracepoint at
30471 the specified location.
30472
30473 @end table
30474
30475 If @samp{none} was passed as @var{mode}, the response does not
30476 have fields. Otherwise, the response may have the following fields:
30477
30478 @table @samp
30479 @item found
30480 This field has either @samp{0} or @samp{1} as the value, depending
30481 on whether a matching tracepoint was found.
30482
30483 @item traceframe
30484 The index of the found traceframe. This field is present iff
30485 the @samp{found} field has value of @samp{1}.
30486
30487 @item tracepoint
30488 The index of the found tracepoint. This field is present iff
30489 the @samp{found} field has value of @samp{1}.
30490
30491 @item frame
30492 The information about the frame corresponding to the found trace
30493 frame. This field is present only if a trace frame was found.
30494 @xref{GDB/MI Frame Information}, for description of this field.
30495
30496 @end table
30497
30498 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30499
30500 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tfind}.
30501
30502 @subheading -trace-define-variable
30503 @findex -trace-define-variable
30504
30505 @subsubheading Synopsis
30506
30507 @smallexample
30508 -trace-define-variable @var{name} [ @var{value} ]
30509 @end smallexample
30510
30511 Create trace variable @var{name} if it does not exist. If
30512 @var{value} is specified, sets the initial value of the specified
30513 trace variable to that value. Note that the @var{name} should start
30514 with the @samp{$} character.
30515
30516 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30517
30518 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tvariable}.
30519
30520 @subheading The @code{-trace-frame-collected} Command
30521 @findex -trace-frame-collected
30522
30523 @subsubheading Synopsis
30524
30525 @smallexample
30526 -trace-frame-collected
30527 [--var-print-values @var{var_pval}]
30528 [--comp-print-values @var{comp_pval}]
30529 [--registers-format @var{regformat}]
30530 [--memory-contents]
30531 @end smallexample
30532
30533 This command returns the set of collected objects, register names,
30534 trace state variable names, memory ranges and computed expressions
30535 that have been collected at a particular trace frame. The optional
30536 parameters to the command affect the output format in different ways.
30537 See the output description table below for more details.
30538
30539 The reported names can be used in the normal manner to create
30540 varobjs and inspect the objects themselves. The items returned by
30541 this command are categorized so that it is clear which is a variable,
30542 which is a register, which is a trace state variable, which is a
30543 memory range and which is a computed expression.
30544
30545 For instance, if the actions were
30546 @smallexample
30547 collect myVar, myArray[myIndex], myObj.field, myPtr->field, myCount + 2
30548 collect *(int*)0xaf02bef0@@40
30549 @end smallexample
30550
30551 @noindent
30552 the object collected in its entirety would be @code{myVar}. The
30553 object @code{myArray} would be partially collected, because only the
30554 element at index @code{myIndex} would be collected. The remaining
30555 objects would be computed expressions.
30556
30557 An example output would be:
30558
30559 @smallexample
30560 (gdb)
30561 -trace-frame-collected
30562 ^done,
30563 explicit-variables=[@{name="myVar",value="1"@}],
30564 computed-expressions=[@{name="myArray[myIndex]",value="0"@},
30565 @{name="myObj.field",value="0"@},
30566 @{name="myPtr->field",value="1"@},
30567 @{name="myCount + 2",value="3"@},
30568 @{name="$tvar1 + 1",value="43970027"@}],
30569 registers=[@{number="0",value="0x7fe2c6e79ec8"@},
30570 @{number="1",value="0x0"@},
30571 @{number="2",value="0x4"@},
30572 ...
30573 @{number="125",value="0x0"@}],
30574 tvars=[@{name="$tvar1",current="43970026"@}],
30575 memory=[@{address="0x0000000000602264",length="4"@},
30576 @{address="0x0000000000615bc0",length="4"@}]
30577 (gdb)
30578 @end smallexample
30579
30580 Where:
30581
30582 @table @code
30583 @item explicit-variables
30584 The set of objects that have been collected in their entirety (as
30585 opposed to collecting just a few elements of an array or a few struct
30586 members). For each object, its name and value are printed.
30587 The @code{--var-print-values} option affects how or whether the value
30588 field is output. If @var{var_pval} is 0, then print only the names;
30589 if it is 1, print also their values; and if it is 2, print the name,
30590 type and value for simple data types, and the name and type for
30591 arrays, structures and unions.
30592
30593 @item computed-expressions
30594 The set of computed expressions that have been collected at the
30595 current trace frame. The @code{--comp-print-values} option affects
30596 this set like the @code{--var-print-values} option affects the
30597 @code{explicit-variables} set. See above.
30598
30599 @item registers
30600 The registers that have been collected at the current trace frame.
30601 For each register collected, the name and current value are returned.
30602 The value is formatted according to the @code{--registers-format}
30603 option. See the @command{-data-list-register-values} command for a
30604 list of the allowed formats. The default is @samp{x}.
30605
30606 @item tvars
30607 The trace state variables that have been collected at the current
30608 trace frame. For each trace state variable collected, the name and
30609 current value are returned.
30610
30611 @item memory
30612 The set of memory ranges that have been collected at the current trace
30613 frame. Its content is a list of tuples. Each tuple represents a
30614 collected memory range and has the following fields:
30615
30616 @table @code
30617 @item address
30618 The start address of the memory range, as hexadecimal literal.
30619
30620 @item length
30621 The length of the memory range, as decimal literal.
30622
30623 @item contents
30624 The contents of the memory block, in hex. This field is only present
30625 if the @code{--memory-contents} option is specified.
30626
30627 @end table
30628
30629 @end table
30630
30631 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30632
30633 There is no corresponding @value{GDBN} command.
30634
30635 @subsubheading Example
30636
30637 @subheading -trace-list-variables
30638 @findex -trace-list-variables
30639
30640 @subsubheading Synopsis
30641
30642 @smallexample
30643 -trace-list-variables
30644 @end smallexample
30645
30646 Return a table of all defined trace variables. Each element of the
30647 table has the following fields:
30648
30649 @table @samp
30650 @item name
30651 The name of the trace variable. This field is always present.
30652
30653 @item initial
30654 The initial value. This is a 64-bit signed integer. This
30655 field is always present.
30656
30657 @item current
30658 The value the trace variable has at the moment. This is a 64-bit
30659 signed integer. This field is absent iff current value is
30660 not defined, for example if the trace was never run, or is
30661 presently running.
30662
30663 @end table
30664
30665 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30666
30667 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tvariables}.
30668
30669 @subsubheading Example
30670
30671 @smallexample
30672 (gdb)
30673 -trace-list-variables
30674 ^done,trace-variables=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="3",
30675 hdr=[@{width="15",alignment="-1",col_name="name",colhdr="Name"@},
30676 @{width="11",alignment="-1",col_name="initial",colhdr="Initial"@},
30677 @{width="11",alignment="-1",col_name="current",colhdr="Current"@}],
30678 body=[variable=@{name="$trace_timestamp",initial="0"@}
30679 variable=@{name="$foo",initial="10",current="15"@}]@}
30680 (gdb)
30681 @end smallexample
30682
30683 @subheading -trace-save
30684 @findex -trace-save
30685
30686 @subsubheading Synopsis
30687
30688 @smallexample
30689 -trace-save [-r ] @var{filename}
30690 @end smallexample
30691
30692 Saves the collected trace data to @var{filename}. Without the
30693 @samp{-r} option, the data is downloaded from the target and saved
30694 in a local file. With the @samp{-r} option the target is asked
30695 to perform the save.
30696
30697 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30698
30699 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tsave}.
30700
30701
30702 @subheading -trace-start
30703 @findex -trace-start
30704
30705 @subsubheading Synopsis
30706
30707 @smallexample
30708 -trace-start
30709 @end smallexample
30710
30711 Starts a tracing experiments. The result of this command does not
30712 have any fields.
30713
30714 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30715
30716 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tstart}.
30717
30718 @subheading -trace-status
30719 @findex -trace-status
30720
30721 @subsubheading Synopsis
30722
30723 @smallexample
30724 -trace-status
30725 @end smallexample
30726
30727 Obtains the status of a tracing experiment. The result may include
30728 the following fields:
30729
30730 @table @samp
30731
30732 @item supported
30733 May have a value of either @samp{0}, when no tracing operations are
30734 supported, @samp{1}, when all tracing operations are supported, or
30735 @samp{file} when examining trace file. In the latter case, examining
30736 of trace frame is possible but new tracing experiement cannot be
30737 started. This field is always present.
30738
30739 @item running
30740 May have a value of either @samp{0} or @samp{1} depending on whether
30741 tracing experiement is in progress on target. This field is present
30742 if @samp{supported} field is not @samp{0}.
30743
30744 @item stop-reason
30745 Report the reason why the tracing was stopped last time. This field
30746 may be absent iff tracing was never stopped on target yet. The
30747 value of @samp{request} means the tracing was stopped as result of
30748 the @code{-trace-stop} command. The value of @samp{overflow} means
30749 the tracing buffer is full. The value of @samp{disconnection} means
30750 tracing was automatically stopped when @value{GDBN} has disconnected.
30751 The value of @samp{passcount} means tracing was stopped when a
30752 tracepoint was passed a maximal number of times for that tracepoint.
30753 This field is present if @samp{supported} field is not @samp{0}.
30754
30755 @item stopping-tracepoint
30756 The number of tracepoint whose passcount as exceeded. This field is
30757 present iff the @samp{stop-reason} field has the value of
30758 @samp{passcount}.
30759
30760 @item frames
30761 @itemx frames-created
30762 The @samp{frames} field is a count of the total number of trace frames
30763 in the trace buffer, while @samp{frames-created} is the total created
30764 during the run, including ones that were discarded, such as when a
30765 circular trace buffer filled up. Both fields are optional.
30766
30767 @item buffer-size
30768 @itemx buffer-free
30769 These fields tell the current size of the tracing buffer and the
30770 remaining space. These fields are optional.
30771
30772 @item circular
30773 The value of the circular trace buffer flag. @code{1} means that the
30774 trace buffer is circular and old trace frames will be discarded if
30775 necessary to make room, @code{0} means that the trace buffer is linear
30776 and may fill up.
30777
30778 @item disconnected
30779 The value of the disconnected tracing flag. @code{1} means that
30780 tracing will continue after @value{GDBN} disconnects, @code{0} means
30781 that the trace run will stop.
30782
30783 @item trace-file
30784 The filename of the trace file being examined. This field is
30785 optional, and only present when examining a trace file.
30786
30787 @end table
30788
30789 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30790
30791 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tstatus}.
30792
30793 @subheading -trace-stop
30794 @findex -trace-stop
30795
30796 @subsubheading Synopsis
30797
30798 @smallexample
30799 -trace-stop
30800 @end smallexample
30801
30802 Stops a tracing experiment. The result of this command has the same
30803 fields as @code{-trace-status}, except that the @samp{supported} and
30804 @samp{running} fields are not output.
30805
30806 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30807
30808 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tstop}.
30809
30810
30811 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
30812 @node GDB/MI Symbol Query
30813 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Symbol Query Commands
30814
30815
30816 @ignore
30817 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-address} Command
30818 @findex -symbol-info-address
30819
30820 @subsubheading Synopsis
30821
30822 @smallexample
30823 -symbol-info-address @var{symbol}
30824 @end smallexample
30825
30826 Describe where @var{symbol} is stored.
30827
30828 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30829
30830 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info address}.
30831
30832 @subsubheading Example
30833 N.A.
30834
30835
30836 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-file} Command
30837 @findex -symbol-info-file
30838
30839 @subsubheading Synopsis
30840
30841 @smallexample
30842 -symbol-info-file
30843 @end smallexample
30844
30845 Show the file for the symbol.
30846
30847 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30848
30849 There's no equivalent @value{GDBN} command. @code{gdbtk} has
30850 @samp{gdb_find_file}.
30851
30852 @subsubheading Example
30853 N.A.
30854
30855
30856 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-function} Command
30857 @findex -symbol-info-function
30858
30859 @subsubheading Synopsis
30860
30861 @smallexample
30862 -symbol-info-function
30863 @end smallexample
30864
30865 Show which function the symbol lives in.
30866
30867 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30868
30869 @samp{gdb_get_function} in @code{gdbtk}.
30870
30871 @subsubheading Example
30872 N.A.
30873
30874
30875 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-line} Command
30876 @findex -symbol-info-line
30877
30878 @subsubheading Synopsis
30879
30880 @smallexample
30881 -symbol-info-line
30882 @end smallexample
30883
30884 Show the core addresses of the code for a source line.
30885
30886 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30887
30888 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info line}.
30889 @code{gdbtk} has the @samp{gdb_get_line} and @samp{gdb_get_file} commands.
30890
30891 @subsubheading Example
30892 N.A.
30893
30894
30895 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-symbol} Command
30896 @findex -symbol-info-symbol
30897
30898 @subsubheading Synopsis
30899
30900 @smallexample
30901 -symbol-info-symbol @var{addr}
30902 @end smallexample
30903
30904 Describe what symbol is at location @var{addr}.
30905
30906 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30907
30908 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info symbol}.
30909
30910 @subsubheading Example
30911 N.A.
30912
30913
30914 @subheading The @code{-symbol-list-functions} Command
30915 @findex -symbol-list-functions
30916
30917 @subsubheading Synopsis
30918
30919 @smallexample
30920 -symbol-list-functions
30921 @end smallexample
30922
30923 List the functions in the executable.
30924
30925 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30926
30927 @samp{info functions} in @value{GDBN}, @samp{gdb_listfunc} and
30928 @samp{gdb_search} in @code{gdbtk}.
30929
30930 @subsubheading Example
30931 N.A.
30932 @end ignore
30933
30934
30935 @subheading The @code{-symbol-list-lines} Command
30936 @findex -symbol-list-lines
30937
30938 @subsubheading Synopsis
30939
30940 @smallexample
30941 -symbol-list-lines @var{filename}
30942 @end smallexample
30943
30944 Print the list of lines that contain code and their associated program
30945 addresses for the given source filename. The entries are sorted in
30946 ascending PC order.
30947
30948 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30949
30950 There is no corresponding @value{GDBN} command.
30951
30952 @subsubheading Example
30953 @smallexample
30954 (gdb)
30955 -symbol-list-lines basics.c
30956 ^done,lines=[@{pc="0x08048554",line="7"@},@{pc="0x0804855a",line="8"@}]
30957 (gdb)
30958 @end smallexample
30959
30960
30961 @ignore
30962 @subheading The @code{-symbol-list-types} Command
30963 @findex -symbol-list-types
30964
30965 @subsubheading Synopsis
30966
30967 @smallexample
30968 -symbol-list-types
30969 @end smallexample
30970
30971 List all the type names.
30972
30973 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30974
30975 The corresponding commands are @samp{info types} in @value{GDBN},
30976 @samp{gdb_search} in @code{gdbtk}.
30977
30978 @subsubheading Example
30979 N.A.
30980
30981
30982 @subheading The @code{-symbol-list-variables} Command
30983 @findex -symbol-list-variables
30984
30985 @subsubheading Synopsis
30986
30987 @smallexample
30988 -symbol-list-variables
30989 @end smallexample
30990
30991 List all the global and static variable names.
30992
30993 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30994
30995 @samp{info variables} in @value{GDBN}, @samp{gdb_search} in @code{gdbtk}.
30996
30997 @subsubheading Example
30998 N.A.
30999
31000
31001 @subheading The @code{-symbol-locate} Command
31002 @findex -symbol-locate
31003
31004 @subsubheading Synopsis
31005
31006 @smallexample
31007 -symbol-locate
31008 @end smallexample
31009
31010 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31011
31012 @samp{gdb_loc} in @code{gdbtk}.
31013
31014 @subsubheading Example
31015 N.A.
31016
31017
31018 @subheading The @code{-symbol-type} Command
31019 @findex -symbol-type
31020
31021 @subsubheading Synopsis
31022
31023 @smallexample
31024 -symbol-type @var{variable}
31025 @end smallexample
31026
31027 Show type of @var{variable}.
31028
31029 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31030
31031 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{ptype}, @code{gdbtk} has
31032 @samp{gdb_obj_variable}.
31033
31034 @subsubheading Example
31035 N.A.
31036 @end ignore
31037
31038
31039 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
31040 @node GDB/MI File Commands
31041 @section @sc{gdb/mi} File Commands
31042
31043 This section describes the GDB/MI commands to specify executable file names
31044 and to read in and obtain symbol table information.
31045
31046 @subheading The @code{-file-exec-and-symbols} Command
31047 @findex -file-exec-and-symbols
31048
31049 @subsubheading Synopsis
31050
31051 @smallexample
31052 -file-exec-and-symbols @var{file}
31053 @end smallexample
31054
31055 Specify the executable file to be debugged. This file is the one from
31056 which the symbol table is also read. If no file is specified, the
31057 command clears the executable and symbol information. If breakpoints
31058 are set when using this command with no arguments, @value{GDBN} will produce
31059 error messages. Otherwise, no output is produced, except a completion
31060 notification.
31061
31062 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31063
31064 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{file}.
31065
31066 @subsubheading Example
31067
31068 @smallexample
31069 (gdb)
31070 -file-exec-and-symbols /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/TRUNK/mbx/hello.mbx
31071 ^done
31072 (gdb)
31073 @end smallexample
31074
31075
31076 @subheading The @code{-file-exec-file} Command
31077 @findex -file-exec-file
31078
31079 @subsubheading Synopsis
31080
31081 @smallexample
31082 -file-exec-file @var{file}
31083 @end smallexample
31084
31085 Specify the executable file to be debugged. Unlike
31086 @samp{-file-exec-and-symbols}, the symbol table is @emph{not} read
31087 from this file. If used without argument, @value{GDBN} clears the information
31088 about the executable file. No output is produced, except a completion
31089 notification.
31090
31091 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31092
31093 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{exec-file}.
31094
31095 @subsubheading Example
31096
31097 @smallexample
31098 (gdb)
31099 -file-exec-file /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/TRUNK/mbx/hello.mbx
31100 ^done
31101 (gdb)
31102 @end smallexample
31103
31104
31105 @ignore
31106 @subheading The @code{-file-list-exec-sections} Command
31107 @findex -file-list-exec-sections
31108
31109 @subsubheading Synopsis
31110
31111 @smallexample
31112 -file-list-exec-sections
31113 @end smallexample
31114
31115 List the sections of the current executable file.
31116
31117 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31118
31119 The @value{GDBN} command @samp{info file} shows, among the rest, the same
31120 information as this command. @code{gdbtk} has a corresponding command
31121 @samp{gdb_load_info}.
31122
31123 @subsubheading Example
31124 N.A.
31125 @end ignore
31126
31127
31128 @subheading The @code{-file-list-exec-source-file} Command
31129 @findex -file-list-exec-source-file
31130
31131 @subsubheading Synopsis
31132
31133 @smallexample
31134 -file-list-exec-source-file
31135 @end smallexample
31136
31137 List the line number, the current source file, and the absolute path
31138 to the current source file for the current executable. The macro
31139 information field has a value of @samp{1} or @samp{0} depending on
31140 whether or not the file includes preprocessor macro information.
31141
31142 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31143
31144 The @value{GDBN} equivalent is @samp{info source}
31145
31146 @subsubheading Example
31147
31148 @smallexample
31149 (gdb)
31150 123-file-list-exec-source-file
31151 123^done,line="1",file="foo.c",fullname="/home/bar/foo.c,macro-info="1"
31152 (gdb)
31153 @end smallexample
31154
31155
31156 @subheading The @code{-file-list-exec-source-files} Command
31157 @findex -file-list-exec-source-files
31158
31159 @subsubheading Synopsis
31160
31161 @smallexample
31162 -file-list-exec-source-files
31163 @end smallexample
31164
31165 List the source files for the current executable.
31166
31167 It will always output both the filename and fullname (absolute file
31168 name) of a source file.
31169
31170 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31171
31172 The @value{GDBN} equivalent is @samp{info sources}.
31173 @code{gdbtk} has an analogous command @samp{gdb_listfiles}.
31174
31175 @subsubheading Example
31176 @smallexample
31177 (gdb)
31178 -file-list-exec-source-files
31179 ^done,files=[
31180 @{file=foo.c,fullname=/home/foo.c@},
31181 @{file=/home/bar.c,fullname=/home/bar.c@},
31182 @{file=gdb_could_not_find_fullpath.c@}]
31183 (gdb)
31184 @end smallexample
31185
31186 @ignore
31187 @subheading The @code{-file-list-shared-libraries} Command
31188 @findex -file-list-shared-libraries
31189
31190 @subsubheading Synopsis
31191
31192 @smallexample
31193 -file-list-shared-libraries
31194 @end smallexample
31195
31196 List the shared libraries in the program.
31197
31198 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31199
31200 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info shared}.
31201
31202 @subsubheading Example
31203 N.A.
31204
31205
31206 @subheading The @code{-file-list-symbol-files} Command
31207 @findex -file-list-symbol-files
31208
31209 @subsubheading Synopsis
31210
31211 @smallexample
31212 -file-list-symbol-files
31213 @end smallexample
31214
31215 List symbol files.
31216
31217 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31218
31219 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info file} (part of it).
31220
31221 @subsubheading Example
31222 N.A.
31223 @end ignore
31224
31225
31226 @subheading The @code{-file-symbol-file} Command
31227 @findex -file-symbol-file
31228
31229 @subsubheading Synopsis
31230
31231 @smallexample
31232 -file-symbol-file @var{file}
31233 @end smallexample
31234
31235 Read symbol table info from the specified @var{file} argument. When
31236 used without arguments, clears @value{GDBN}'s symbol table info. No output is
31237 produced, except for a completion notification.
31238
31239 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31240
31241 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{symbol-file}.
31242
31243 @subsubheading Example
31244
31245 @smallexample
31246 (gdb)
31247 -file-symbol-file /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/TRUNK/mbx/hello.mbx
31248 ^done
31249 (gdb)
31250 @end smallexample
31251
31252 @ignore
31253 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
31254 @node GDB/MI Memory Overlay Commands
31255 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Memory Overlay Commands
31256
31257 The memory overlay commands are not implemented.
31258
31259 @c @subheading -overlay-auto
31260
31261 @c @subheading -overlay-list-mapping-state
31262
31263 @c @subheading -overlay-list-overlays
31264
31265 @c @subheading -overlay-map
31266
31267 @c @subheading -overlay-off
31268
31269 @c @subheading -overlay-on
31270
31271 @c @subheading -overlay-unmap
31272
31273 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
31274 @node GDB/MI Signal Handling Commands
31275 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Signal Handling Commands
31276
31277 Signal handling commands are not implemented.
31278
31279 @c @subheading -signal-handle
31280
31281 @c @subheading -signal-list-handle-actions
31282
31283 @c @subheading -signal-list-signal-types
31284 @end ignore
31285
31286
31287 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
31288 @node GDB/MI Target Manipulation
31289 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Target Manipulation Commands
31290
31291
31292 @subheading The @code{-target-attach} Command
31293 @findex -target-attach
31294
31295 @subsubheading Synopsis
31296
31297 @smallexample
31298 -target-attach @var{pid} | @var{gid} | @var{file}
31299 @end smallexample
31300
31301 Attach to a process @var{pid} or a file @var{file} outside of
31302 @value{GDBN}, or a thread group @var{gid}. If attaching to a thread
31303 group, the id previously returned by
31304 @samp{-list-thread-groups --available} must be used.
31305
31306 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31307
31308 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{attach}.
31309
31310 @subsubheading Example
31311 @smallexample
31312 (gdb)
31313 -target-attach 34
31314 =thread-created,id="1"
31315 *stopped,thread-id="1",frame=@{addr="0xb7f7e410",func="bar",args=[]@}
31316 ^done
31317 (gdb)
31318 @end smallexample
31319
31320 @ignore
31321 @subheading The @code{-target-compare-sections} Command
31322 @findex -target-compare-sections
31323
31324 @subsubheading Synopsis
31325
31326 @smallexample
31327 -target-compare-sections [ @var{section} ]
31328 @end smallexample
31329
31330 Compare data of section @var{section} on target to the exec file.
31331 Without the argument, all sections are compared.
31332
31333 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31334
31335 The @value{GDBN} equivalent is @samp{compare-sections}.
31336
31337 @subsubheading Example
31338 N.A.
31339 @end ignore
31340
31341
31342 @subheading The @code{-target-detach} Command
31343 @findex -target-detach
31344
31345 @subsubheading Synopsis
31346
31347 @smallexample
31348 -target-detach [ @var{pid} | @var{gid} ]
31349 @end smallexample
31350
31351 Detach from the remote target which normally resumes its execution.
31352 If either @var{pid} or @var{gid} is specified, detaches from either
31353 the specified process, or specified thread group. There's no output.
31354
31355 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31356
31357 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{detach}.
31358
31359 @subsubheading Example
31360
31361 @smallexample
31362 (gdb)
31363 -target-detach
31364 ^done
31365 (gdb)
31366 @end smallexample
31367
31368
31369 @subheading The @code{-target-disconnect} Command
31370 @findex -target-disconnect
31371
31372 @subsubheading Synopsis
31373
31374 @smallexample
31375 -target-disconnect
31376 @end smallexample
31377
31378 Disconnect from the remote target. There's no output and the target is
31379 generally not resumed.
31380
31381 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31382
31383 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{disconnect}.
31384
31385 @subsubheading Example
31386
31387 @smallexample
31388 (gdb)
31389 -target-disconnect
31390 ^done
31391 (gdb)
31392 @end smallexample
31393
31394
31395 @subheading The @code{-target-download} Command
31396 @findex -target-download
31397
31398 @subsubheading Synopsis
31399
31400 @smallexample
31401 -target-download
31402 @end smallexample
31403
31404 Loads the executable onto the remote target.
31405 It prints out an update message every half second, which includes the fields:
31406
31407 @table @samp
31408 @item section
31409 The name of the section.
31410 @item section-sent
31411 The size of what has been sent so far for that section.
31412 @item section-size
31413 The size of the section.
31414 @item total-sent
31415 The total size of what was sent so far (the current and the previous sections).
31416 @item total-size
31417 The size of the overall executable to download.
31418 @end table
31419
31420 @noindent
31421 Each message is sent as status record (@pxref{GDB/MI Output Syntax, ,
31422 @sc{gdb/mi} Output Syntax}).
31423
31424 In addition, it prints the name and size of the sections, as they are
31425 downloaded. These messages include the following fields:
31426
31427 @table @samp
31428 @item section
31429 The name of the section.
31430 @item section-size
31431 The size of the section.
31432 @item total-size
31433 The size of the overall executable to download.
31434 @end table
31435
31436 @noindent
31437 At the end, a summary is printed.
31438
31439 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31440
31441 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{load}.
31442
31443 @subsubheading Example
31444
31445 Note: each status message appears on a single line. Here the messages
31446 have been broken down so that they can fit onto a page.
31447
31448 @smallexample
31449 (gdb)
31450 -target-download
31451 +download,@{section=".text",section-size="6668",total-size="9880"@}
31452 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="512",section-size="6668",
31453 total-sent="512",total-size="9880"@}
31454 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="1024",section-size="6668",
31455 total-sent="1024",total-size="9880"@}
31456 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="1536",section-size="6668",
31457 total-sent="1536",total-size="9880"@}
31458 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="2048",section-size="6668",
31459 total-sent="2048",total-size="9880"@}
31460 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="2560",section-size="6668",
31461 total-sent="2560",total-size="9880"@}
31462 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="3072",section-size="6668",
31463 total-sent="3072",total-size="9880"@}
31464 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="3584",section-size="6668",
31465 total-sent="3584",total-size="9880"@}
31466 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="4096",section-size="6668",
31467 total-sent="4096",total-size="9880"@}
31468 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="4608",section-size="6668",
31469 total-sent="4608",total-size="9880"@}
31470 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="5120",section-size="6668",
31471 total-sent="5120",total-size="9880"@}
31472 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="5632",section-size="6668",
31473 total-sent="5632",total-size="9880"@}
31474 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="6144",section-size="6668",
31475 total-sent="6144",total-size="9880"@}
31476 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="6656",section-size="6668",
31477 total-sent="6656",total-size="9880"@}
31478 +download,@{section=".init",section-size="28",total-size="9880"@}
31479 +download,@{section=".fini",section-size="28",total-size="9880"@}
31480 +download,@{section=".data",section-size="3156",total-size="9880"@}
31481 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="512",section-size="3156",
31482 total-sent="7236",total-size="9880"@}
31483 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="1024",section-size="3156",
31484 total-sent="7748",total-size="9880"@}
31485 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="1536",section-size="3156",
31486 total-sent="8260",total-size="9880"@}
31487 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="2048",section-size="3156",
31488 total-sent="8772",total-size="9880"@}
31489 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="2560",section-size="3156",
31490 total-sent="9284",total-size="9880"@}
31491 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="3072",section-size="3156",
31492 total-sent="9796",total-size="9880"@}
31493 ^done,address="0x10004",load-size="9880",transfer-rate="6586",
31494 write-rate="429"
31495 (gdb)
31496 @end smallexample
31497
31498
31499 @ignore
31500 @subheading The @code{-target-exec-status} Command
31501 @findex -target-exec-status
31502
31503 @subsubheading Synopsis
31504
31505 @smallexample
31506 -target-exec-status
31507 @end smallexample
31508
31509 Provide information on the state of the target (whether it is running or
31510 not, for instance).
31511
31512 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31513
31514 There's no equivalent @value{GDBN} command.
31515
31516 @subsubheading Example
31517 N.A.
31518
31519
31520 @subheading The @code{-target-list-available-targets} Command
31521 @findex -target-list-available-targets
31522
31523 @subsubheading Synopsis
31524
31525 @smallexample
31526 -target-list-available-targets
31527 @end smallexample
31528
31529 List the possible targets to connect to.
31530
31531 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31532
31533 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{help target}.
31534
31535 @subsubheading Example
31536 N.A.
31537
31538
31539 @subheading The @code{-target-list-current-targets} Command
31540 @findex -target-list-current-targets
31541
31542 @subsubheading Synopsis
31543
31544 @smallexample
31545 -target-list-current-targets
31546 @end smallexample
31547
31548 Describe the current target.
31549
31550 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31551
31552 The corresponding information is printed by @samp{info file} (among
31553 other things).
31554
31555 @subsubheading Example
31556 N.A.
31557
31558
31559 @subheading The @code{-target-list-parameters} Command
31560 @findex -target-list-parameters
31561
31562 @subsubheading Synopsis
31563
31564 @smallexample
31565 -target-list-parameters
31566 @end smallexample
31567
31568 @c ????
31569 @end ignore
31570
31571 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31572
31573 No equivalent.
31574
31575 @subsubheading Example
31576 N.A.
31577
31578
31579 @subheading The @code{-target-select} Command
31580 @findex -target-select
31581
31582 @subsubheading Synopsis
31583
31584 @smallexample
31585 -target-select @var{type} @var{parameters @dots{}}
31586 @end smallexample
31587
31588 Connect @value{GDBN} to the remote target. This command takes two args:
31589
31590 @table @samp
31591 @item @var{type}
31592 The type of target, for instance @samp{remote}, etc.
31593 @item @var{parameters}
31594 Device names, host names and the like. @xref{Target Commands, ,
31595 Commands for Managing Targets}, for more details.
31596 @end table
31597
31598 The output is a connection notification, followed by the address at
31599 which the target program is, in the following form:
31600
31601 @smallexample
31602 ^connected,addr="@var{address}",func="@var{function name}",
31603 args=[@var{arg list}]
31604 @end smallexample
31605
31606 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31607
31608 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{target}.
31609
31610 @subsubheading Example
31611
31612 @smallexample
31613 (gdb)
31614 -target-select remote /dev/ttya
31615 ^connected,addr="0xfe00a300",func="??",args=[]
31616 (gdb)
31617 @end smallexample
31618
31619 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
31620 @node GDB/MI File Transfer Commands
31621 @section @sc{gdb/mi} File Transfer Commands
31622
31623
31624 @subheading The @code{-target-file-put} Command
31625 @findex -target-file-put
31626
31627 @subsubheading Synopsis
31628
31629 @smallexample
31630 -target-file-put @var{hostfile} @var{targetfile}
31631 @end smallexample
31632
31633 Copy file @var{hostfile} from the host system (the machine running
31634 @value{GDBN}) to @var{targetfile} on the target system.
31635
31636 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31637
31638 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{remote put}.
31639
31640 @subsubheading Example
31641
31642 @smallexample
31643 (gdb)
31644 -target-file-put localfile remotefile
31645 ^done
31646 (gdb)
31647 @end smallexample
31648
31649
31650 @subheading The @code{-target-file-get} Command
31651 @findex -target-file-get
31652
31653 @subsubheading Synopsis
31654
31655 @smallexample
31656 -target-file-get @var{targetfile} @var{hostfile}
31657 @end smallexample
31658
31659 Copy file @var{targetfile} from the target system to @var{hostfile}
31660 on the host system.
31661
31662 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31663
31664 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{remote get}.
31665
31666 @subsubheading Example
31667
31668 @smallexample
31669 (gdb)
31670 -target-file-get remotefile localfile
31671 ^done
31672 (gdb)
31673 @end smallexample
31674
31675
31676 @subheading The @code{-target-file-delete} Command
31677 @findex -target-file-delete
31678
31679 @subsubheading Synopsis
31680
31681 @smallexample
31682 -target-file-delete @var{targetfile}
31683 @end smallexample
31684
31685 Delete @var{targetfile} from the target system.
31686
31687 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31688
31689 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{remote delete}.
31690
31691 @subsubheading Example
31692
31693 @smallexample
31694 (gdb)
31695 -target-file-delete remotefile
31696 ^done
31697 (gdb)
31698 @end smallexample
31699
31700
31701 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
31702 @node GDB/MI Ada Exceptions Commands
31703 @section Ada Exceptions @sc{gdb/mi} Commands
31704
31705 @subheading The @code{-info-ada-exceptions} Command
31706 @findex -info-ada-exceptions
31707
31708 @subsubheading Synopsis
31709
31710 @smallexample
31711 -info-ada-exceptions [ @var{regexp}]
31712 @end smallexample
31713
31714 List all Ada exceptions defined within the program being debugged.
31715 With a regular expression @var{regexp}, only those exceptions whose
31716 names match @var{regexp} are listed.
31717
31718 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31719
31720 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info exceptions}.
31721
31722 @subsubheading Result
31723
31724 The result is a table of Ada exceptions. The following columns are
31725 defined for each exception:
31726
31727 @table @samp
31728 @item name
31729 The name of the exception.
31730
31731 @item address
31732 The address of the exception.
31733
31734 @end table
31735
31736 @subsubheading Example
31737
31738 @smallexample
31739 -info-ada-exceptions aint
31740 ^done,ada-exceptions=@{nr_rows="2",nr_cols="2",
31741 hdr=[@{width="1",alignment="-1",col_name="name",colhdr="Name"@},
31742 @{width="1",alignment="-1",col_name="address",colhdr="Address"@}],
31743 body=[@{name="constraint_error",address="0x0000000000613da0"@},
31744 @{name="const.aint_global_e",address="0x0000000000613b00"@}]@}
31745 @end smallexample
31746
31747 @subheading Catching Ada Exceptions
31748
31749 The commands describing how to ask @value{GDBN} to stop when a program
31750 raises an exception are described at @ref{Ada Exception GDB/MI
31751 Catchpoint Commands}.
31752
31753
31754 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
31755 @node GDB/MI Support Commands
31756 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Support Commands
31757
31758 Since new commands and features get regularly added to @sc{gdb/mi},
31759 some commands are available to help front-ends query the debugger
31760 about support for these capabilities. Similarly, it is also possible
31761 to query @value{GDBN} about target support of certain features.
31762
31763 @subheading The @code{-info-gdb-mi-command} Command
31764 @cindex @code{-info-gdb-mi-command}
31765 @findex -info-gdb-mi-command
31766
31767 @subsubheading Synopsis
31768
31769 @smallexample
31770 -info-gdb-mi-command @var{cmd_name}
31771 @end smallexample
31772
31773 Query support for the @sc{gdb/mi} command named @var{cmd_name}.
31774
31775 Note that the dash (@code{-}) starting all @sc{gdb/mi} commands
31776 is technically not part of the command name (@pxref{GDB/MI Input
31777 Syntax}), and thus should be omitted in @var{cmd_name}. However,
31778 for ease of use, this command also accepts the form with the leading
31779 dash.
31780
31781 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31782
31783 There is no corresponding @value{GDBN} command.
31784
31785 @subsubheading Result
31786
31787 The result is a tuple. There is currently only one field:
31788
31789 @table @samp
31790 @item exists
31791 This field is equal to @code{"true"} if the @sc{gdb/mi} command exists,
31792 @code{"false"} otherwise.
31793
31794 @end table
31795
31796 @subsubheading Example
31797
31798 Here is an example where the @sc{gdb/mi} command does not exist:
31799
31800 @smallexample
31801 -info-gdb-mi-command unsupported-command
31802 ^done,command=@{exists="false"@}
31803 @end smallexample
31804
31805 @noindent
31806 And here is an example where the @sc{gdb/mi} command is known
31807 to the debugger:
31808
31809 @smallexample
31810 -info-gdb-mi-command symbol-list-lines
31811 ^done,command=@{exists="true"@}
31812 @end smallexample
31813
31814 @subheading The @code{-list-features} Command
31815 @findex -list-features
31816 @cindex supported @sc{gdb/mi} features, list
31817
31818 Returns a list of particular features of the MI protocol that
31819 this version of gdb implements. A feature can be a command,
31820 or a new field in an output of some command, or even an
31821 important bugfix. While a frontend can sometimes detect presence
31822 of a feature at runtime, it is easier to perform detection at debugger
31823 startup.
31824
31825 The command returns a list of strings, with each string naming an
31826 available feature. Each returned string is just a name, it does not
31827 have any internal structure. The list of possible feature names
31828 is given below.
31829
31830 Example output:
31831
31832 @smallexample
31833 (gdb) -list-features
31834 ^done,result=["feature1","feature2"]
31835 @end smallexample
31836
31837 The current list of features is:
31838
31839 @ftable @samp
31840 @item frozen-varobjs
31841 Indicates support for the @code{-var-set-frozen} command, as well
31842 as possible presense of the @code{frozen} field in the output
31843 of @code{-varobj-create}.
31844 @item pending-breakpoints
31845 Indicates support for the @option{-f} option to the @code{-break-insert}
31846 command.
31847 @item python
31848 Indicates Python scripting support, Python-based
31849 pretty-printing commands, and possible presence of the
31850 @samp{display_hint} field in the output of @code{-var-list-children}
31851 @item thread-info
31852 Indicates support for the @code{-thread-info} command.
31853 @item data-read-memory-bytes
31854 Indicates support for the @code{-data-read-memory-bytes} and the
31855 @code{-data-write-memory-bytes} commands.
31856 @item breakpoint-notifications
31857 Indicates that changes to breakpoints and breakpoints created via the
31858 CLI will be announced via async records.
31859 @item ada-task-info
31860 Indicates support for the @code{-ada-task-info} command.
31861 @item language-option
31862 Indicates that all @sc{gdb/mi} commands accept the @option{--language}
31863 option (@pxref{Context management}).
31864 @item info-gdb-mi-command
31865 Indicates support for the @code{-info-gdb-mi-command} command.
31866 @item undefined-command-error-code
31867 Indicates support for the "undefined-command" error code in error result
31868 records, produced when trying to execute an undefined @sc{gdb/mi} command
31869 (@pxref{GDB/MI Result Records}).
31870 @item exec-run-start-option
31871 Indicates that the @code{-exec-run} command supports the @option{--start}
31872 option (@pxref{GDB/MI Program Execution}).
31873 @end ftable
31874
31875 @subheading The @code{-list-target-features} Command
31876 @findex -list-target-features
31877
31878 Returns a list of particular features that are supported by the
31879 target. Those features affect the permitted MI commands, but
31880 unlike the features reported by the @code{-list-features} command, the
31881 features depend on which target GDB is using at the moment. Whenever
31882 a target can change, due to commands such as @code{-target-select},
31883 @code{-target-attach} or @code{-exec-run}, the list of target features
31884 may change, and the frontend should obtain it again.
31885 Example output:
31886
31887 @smallexample
31888 (gdb) -list-target-features
31889 ^done,result=["async"]
31890 @end smallexample
31891
31892 The current list of features is:
31893
31894 @table @samp
31895 @item async
31896 Indicates that the target is capable of asynchronous command
31897 execution, which means that @value{GDBN} will accept further commands
31898 while the target is running.
31899
31900 @item reverse
31901 Indicates that the target is capable of reverse execution.
31902 @xref{Reverse Execution}, for more information.
31903
31904 @end table
31905
31906 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
31907 @node GDB/MI Miscellaneous Commands
31908 @section Miscellaneous @sc{gdb/mi} Commands
31909
31910 @c @subheading -gdb-complete
31911
31912 @subheading The @code{-gdb-exit} Command
31913 @findex -gdb-exit
31914
31915 @subsubheading Synopsis
31916
31917 @smallexample
31918 -gdb-exit
31919 @end smallexample
31920
31921 Exit @value{GDBN} immediately.
31922
31923 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31924
31925 Approximately corresponds to @samp{quit}.
31926
31927 @subsubheading Example
31928
31929 @smallexample
31930 (gdb)
31931 -gdb-exit
31932 ^exit
31933 @end smallexample
31934
31935
31936 @ignore
31937 @subheading The @code{-exec-abort} Command
31938 @findex -exec-abort
31939
31940 @subsubheading Synopsis
31941
31942 @smallexample
31943 -exec-abort
31944 @end smallexample
31945
31946 Kill the inferior running program.
31947
31948 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31949
31950 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{kill}.
31951
31952 @subsubheading Example
31953 N.A.
31954 @end ignore
31955
31956
31957 @subheading The @code{-gdb-set} Command
31958 @findex -gdb-set
31959
31960 @subsubheading Synopsis
31961
31962 @smallexample
31963 -gdb-set
31964 @end smallexample
31965
31966 Set an internal @value{GDBN} variable.
31967 @c IS THIS A DOLLAR VARIABLE? OR SOMETHING LIKE ANNOTATE ?????
31968
31969 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31970
31971 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{set}.
31972
31973 @subsubheading Example
31974
31975 @smallexample
31976 (gdb)
31977 -gdb-set $foo=3
31978 ^done
31979 (gdb)
31980 @end smallexample
31981
31982
31983 @subheading The @code{-gdb-show} Command
31984 @findex -gdb-show
31985
31986 @subsubheading Synopsis
31987
31988 @smallexample
31989 -gdb-show
31990 @end smallexample
31991
31992 Show the current value of a @value{GDBN} variable.
31993
31994 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31995
31996 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{show}.
31997
31998 @subsubheading Example
31999
32000 @smallexample
32001 (gdb)
32002 -gdb-show annotate
32003 ^done,value="0"
32004 (gdb)
32005 @end smallexample
32006
32007 @c @subheading -gdb-source
32008
32009
32010 @subheading The @code{-gdb-version} Command
32011 @findex -gdb-version
32012
32013 @subsubheading Synopsis
32014
32015 @smallexample
32016 -gdb-version
32017 @end smallexample
32018
32019 Show version information for @value{GDBN}. Used mostly in testing.
32020
32021 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32022
32023 The @value{GDBN} equivalent is @samp{show version}. @value{GDBN} by
32024 default shows this information when you start an interactive session.
32025
32026 @subsubheading Example
32027
32028 @c This example modifies the actual output from GDB to avoid overfull
32029 @c box in TeX.
32030 @smallexample
32031 (gdb)
32032 -gdb-version
32033 ~GNU gdb 5.2.1
32034 ~Copyright 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
32035 ~GDB is free software, covered by the GNU General Public License, and
32036 ~you are welcome to change it and/or distribute copies of it under
32037 ~ certain conditions.
32038 ~Type "show copying" to see the conditions.
32039 ~There is absolutely no warranty for GDB. Type "show warranty" for
32040 ~ details.
32041 ~This GDB was configured as
32042 "--host=sparc-sun-solaris2.5.1 --target=ppc-eabi".
32043 ^done
32044 (gdb)
32045 @end smallexample
32046
32047 @subheading The @code{-list-thread-groups} Command
32048 @findex -list-thread-groups
32049
32050 @subheading Synopsis
32051
32052 @smallexample
32053 -list-thread-groups [ --available ] [ --recurse 1 ] [ @var{group} ... ]
32054 @end smallexample
32055
32056 Lists thread groups (@pxref{Thread groups}). When a single thread
32057 group is passed as the argument, lists the children of that group.
32058 When several thread group are passed, lists information about those
32059 thread groups. Without any parameters, lists information about all
32060 top-level thread groups.
32061
32062 Normally, thread groups that are being debugged are reported.
32063 With the @samp{--available} option, @value{GDBN} reports thread groups
32064 available on the target.
32065
32066 The output of this command may have either a @samp{threads} result or
32067 a @samp{groups} result. The @samp{thread} result has a list of tuples
32068 as value, with each tuple describing a thread (@pxref{GDB/MI Thread
32069 Information}). The @samp{groups} result has a list of tuples as value,
32070 each tuple describing a thread group. If top-level groups are
32071 requested (that is, no parameter is passed), or when several groups
32072 are passed, the output always has a @samp{groups} result. The format
32073 of the @samp{group} result is described below.
32074
32075 To reduce the number of roundtrips it's possible to list thread groups
32076 together with their children, by passing the @samp{--recurse} option
32077 and the recursion depth. Presently, only recursion depth of 1 is
32078 permitted. If this option is present, then every reported thread group
32079 will also include its children, either as @samp{group} or
32080 @samp{threads} field.
32081
32082 In general, any combination of option and parameters is permitted, with
32083 the following caveats:
32084
32085 @itemize @bullet
32086 @item
32087 When a single thread group is passed, the output will typically
32088 be the @samp{threads} result. Because threads may not contain
32089 anything, the @samp{recurse} option will be ignored.
32090
32091 @item
32092 When the @samp{--available} option is passed, limited information may
32093 be available. In particular, the list of threads of a process might
32094 be inaccessible. Further, specifying specific thread groups might
32095 not give any performance advantage over listing all thread groups.
32096 The frontend should assume that @samp{-list-thread-groups --available}
32097 is always an expensive operation and cache the results.
32098
32099 @end itemize
32100
32101 The @samp{groups} result is a list of tuples, where each tuple may
32102 have the following fields:
32103
32104 @table @code
32105 @item id
32106 Identifier of the thread group. This field is always present.
32107 The identifier is an opaque string; frontends should not try to
32108 convert it to an integer, even though it might look like one.
32109
32110 @item type
32111 The type of the thread group. At present, only @samp{process} is a
32112 valid type.
32113
32114 @item pid
32115 The target-specific process identifier. This field is only present
32116 for thread groups of type @samp{process} and only if the process exists.
32117
32118 @item exit-code
32119 The exit code of this group's last exited thread, formatted in octal.
32120 This field is only present for thread groups of type @samp{process} and
32121 only if the process is not running.
32122
32123 @item num_children
32124 The number of children this thread group has. This field may be
32125 absent for an available thread group.
32126
32127 @item threads
32128 This field has a list of tuples as value, each tuple describing a
32129 thread. It may be present if the @samp{--recurse} option is
32130 specified, and it's actually possible to obtain the threads.
32131
32132 @item cores
32133 This field is a list of integers, each identifying a core that one
32134 thread of the group is running on. This field may be absent if
32135 such information is not available.
32136
32137 @item executable
32138 The name of the executable file that corresponds to this thread group.
32139 The field is only present for thread groups of type @samp{process},
32140 and only if there is a corresponding executable file.
32141
32142 @end table
32143
32144 @subheading Example
32145
32146 @smallexample
32147 @value{GDBP}
32148 -list-thread-groups
32149 ^done,groups=[@{id="17",type="process",pid="yyy",num_children="2"@}]
32150 -list-thread-groups 17
32151 ^done,threads=[@{id="2",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90 (LWP 21257)",
32152 frame=@{level="0",addr="0xffffe410",func="__kernel_vsyscall",args=[]@},state="running"@},
32153 @{id="1",target-id="Thread 0xb7e156b0 (LWP 21254)",
32154 frame=@{level="0",addr="0x0804891f",func="foo",args=[@{name="i",value="10"@}],
32155 file="/tmp/a.c",fullname="/tmp/a.c",line="158"@},state="running"@}]]
32156 -list-thread-groups --available
32157 ^done,groups=[@{id="17",type="process",pid="yyy",num_children="2",cores=[1,2]@}]
32158 -list-thread-groups --available --recurse 1
32159 ^done,groups=[@{id="17", types="process",pid="yyy",num_children="2",cores=[1,2],
32160 threads=[@{id="1",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90",cores=[1]@},
32161 @{id="2",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90",cores=[2]@}]@},..]
32162 -list-thread-groups --available --recurse 1 17 18
32163 ^done,groups=[@{id="17", types="process",pid="yyy",num_children="2",cores=[1,2],
32164 threads=[@{id="1",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90",cores=[1]@},
32165 @{id="2",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90",cores=[2]@}]@},...]
32166 @end smallexample
32167
32168 @subheading The @code{-info-os} Command
32169 @findex -info-os
32170
32171 @subsubheading Synopsis
32172
32173 @smallexample
32174 -info-os [ @var{type} ]
32175 @end smallexample
32176
32177 If no argument is supplied, the command returns a table of available
32178 operating-system-specific information types. If one of these types is
32179 supplied as an argument @var{type}, then the command returns a table
32180 of data of that type.
32181
32182 The types of information available depend on the target operating
32183 system.
32184
32185 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32186
32187 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info os}.
32188
32189 @subsubheading Example
32190
32191 When run on a @sc{gnu}/Linux system, the output will look something
32192 like this:
32193
32194 @smallexample
32195 @value{GDBP}
32196 -info-os
32197 ^done,OSDataTable=@{nr_rows="10",nr_cols="3",
32198 hdr=[@{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="col0",colhdr="Type"@},
32199 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="col1",colhdr="Description"@},
32200 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="col2",colhdr="Title"@}],
32201 body=[item=@{col0="cpus",col1="Listing of all cpus/cores on the system",
32202 col2="CPUs"@},
32203 item=@{col0="files",col1="Listing of all file descriptors",
32204 col2="File descriptors"@},
32205 item=@{col0="modules",col1="Listing of all loaded kernel modules",
32206 col2="Kernel modules"@},
32207 item=@{col0="msg",col1="Listing of all message queues",
32208 col2="Message queues"@},
32209 item=@{col0="processes",col1="Listing of all processes",
32210 col2="Processes"@},
32211 item=@{col0="procgroups",col1="Listing of all process groups",
32212 col2="Process groups"@},
32213 item=@{col0="semaphores",col1="Listing of all semaphores",
32214 col2="Semaphores"@},
32215 item=@{col0="shm",col1="Listing of all shared-memory regions",
32216 col2="Shared-memory regions"@},
32217 item=@{col0="sockets",col1="Listing of all internet-domain sockets",
32218 col2="Sockets"@},
32219 item=@{col0="threads",col1="Listing of all threads",
32220 col2="Threads"@}]
32221 @value{GDBP}
32222 -info-os processes
32223 ^done,OSDataTable=@{nr_rows="190",nr_cols="4",
32224 hdr=[@{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="col0",colhdr="pid"@},
32225 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="col1",colhdr="user"@},
32226 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="col2",colhdr="command"@},
32227 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="col3",colhdr="cores"@}],
32228 body=[item=@{col0="1",col1="root",col2="/sbin/init",col3="0"@},
32229 item=@{col0="2",col1="root",col2="[kthreadd]",col3="1"@},
32230 item=@{col0="3",col1="root",col2="[ksoftirqd/0]",col3="0"@},
32231 ...
32232 item=@{col0="26446",col1="stan",col2="bash",col3="0"@},
32233 item=@{col0="28152",col1="stan",col2="bash",col3="1"@}]@}
32234 (gdb)
32235 @end smallexample
32236
32237 (Note that the MI output here includes a @code{"Title"} column that
32238 does not appear in command-line @code{info os}; this column is useful
32239 for MI clients that want to enumerate the types of data, such as in a
32240 popup menu, but is needless clutter on the command line, and
32241 @code{info os} omits it.)
32242
32243 @subheading The @code{-add-inferior} Command
32244 @findex -add-inferior
32245
32246 @subheading Synopsis
32247
32248 @smallexample
32249 -add-inferior
32250 @end smallexample
32251
32252 Creates a new inferior (@pxref{Inferiors and Programs}). The created
32253 inferior is not associated with any executable. Such association may
32254 be established with the @samp{-file-exec-and-symbols} command
32255 (@pxref{GDB/MI File Commands}). The command response has a single
32256 field, @samp{inferior}, whose value is the identifier of the
32257 thread group corresponding to the new inferior.
32258
32259 @subheading Example
32260
32261 @smallexample
32262 @value{GDBP}
32263 -add-inferior
32264 ^done,inferior="i3"
32265 @end smallexample
32266
32267 @subheading The @code{-interpreter-exec} Command
32268 @findex -interpreter-exec
32269
32270 @subheading Synopsis
32271
32272 @smallexample
32273 -interpreter-exec @var{interpreter} @var{command}
32274 @end smallexample
32275 @anchor{-interpreter-exec}
32276
32277 Execute the specified @var{command} in the given @var{interpreter}.
32278
32279 @subheading @value{GDBN} Command
32280
32281 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{interpreter-exec}.
32282
32283 @subheading Example
32284
32285 @smallexample
32286 (gdb)
32287 -interpreter-exec console "break main"
32288 &"During symbol reading, couldn't parse type; debugger out of date?.\n"
32289 &"During symbol reading, bad structure-type format.\n"
32290 ~"Breakpoint 1 at 0x8074fc6: file ../../src/gdb/main.c, line 743.\n"
32291 ^done
32292 (gdb)
32293 @end smallexample
32294
32295 @subheading The @code{-inferior-tty-set} Command
32296 @findex -inferior-tty-set
32297
32298 @subheading Synopsis
32299
32300 @smallexample
32301 -inferior-tty-set /dev/pts/1
32302 @end smallexample
32303
32304 Set terminal for future runs of the program being debugged.
32305
32306 @subheading @value{GDBN} Command
32307
32308 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{set inferior-tty} /dev/pts/1.
32309
32310 @subheading Example
32311
32312 @smallexample
32313 (gdb)
32314 -inferior-tty-set /dev/pts/1
32315 ^done
32316 (gdb)
32317 @end smallexample
32318
32319 @subheading The @code{-inferior-tty-show} Command
32320 @findex -inferior-tty-show
32321
32322 @subheading Synopsis
32323
32324 @smallexample
32325 -inferior-tty-show
32326 @end smallexample
32327
32328 Show terminal for future runs of program being debugged.
32329
32330 @subheading @value{GDBN} Command
32331
32332 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{show inferior-tty}.
32333
32334 @subheading Example
32335
32336 @smallexample
32337 (gdb)
32338 -inferior-tty-set /dev/pts/1
32339 ^done
32340 (gdb)
32341 -inferior-tty-show
32342 ^done,inferior_tty_terminal="/dev/pts/1"
32343 (gdb)
32344 @end smallexample
32345
32346 @subheading The @code{-enable-timings} Command
32347 @findex -enable-timings
32348
32349 @subheading Synopsis
32350
32351 @smallexample
32352 -enable-timings [yes | no]
32353 @end smallexample
32354
32355 Toggle the printing of the wallclock, user and system times for an MI
32356 command as a field in its output. This command is to help frontend
32357 developers optimize the performance of their code. No argument is
32358 equivalent to @samp{yes}.
32359
32360 @subheading @value{GDBN} Command
32361
32362 No equivalent.
32363
32364 @subheading Example
32365
32366 @smallexample
32367 (gdb)
32368 -enable-timings
32369 ^done
32370 (gdb)
32371 -break-insert main
32372 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
32373 addr="0x080484ed",func="main",file="myprog.c",
32374 fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="73",thread-groups=["i1"],
32375 times="0"@},
32376 time=@{wallclock="0.05185",user="0.00800",system="0.00000"@}
32377 (gdb)
32378 -enable-timings no
32379 ^done
32380 (gdb)
32381 -exec-run
32382 ^running
32383 (gdb)
32384 *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",thread-id="0",
32385 frame=@{addr="0x080484ed",func="main",args=[@{name="argc",value="1"@},
32386 @{name="argv",value="0xbfb60364"@}],file="myprog.c",
32387 fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="73"@}
32388 (gdb)
32389 @end smallexample
32390
32391 @node Annotations
32392 @chapter @value{GDBN} Annotations
32393
32394 This chapter describes annotations in @value{GDBN}. Annotations were
32395 designed to interface @value{GDBN} to graphical user interfaces or other
32396 similar programs which want to interact with @value{GDBN} at a
32397 relatively high level.
32398
32399 The annotation mechanism has largely been superseded by @sc{gdb/mi}
32400 (@pxref{GDB/MI}).
32401
32402 @ignore
32403 This is Edition @value{EDITION}, @value{DATE}.
32404 @end ignore
32405
32406 @menu
32407 * Annotations Overview:: What annotations are; the general syntax.
32408 * Server Prefix:: Issuing a command without affecting user state.
32409 * Prompting:: Annotations marking @value{GDBN}'s need for input.
32410 * Errors:: Annotations for error messages.
32411 * Invalidation:: Some annotations describe things now invalid.
32412 * Annotations for Running::
32413 Whether the program is running, how it stopped, etc.
32414 * Source Annotations:: Annotations describing source code.
32415 @end menu
32416
32417 @node Annotations Overview
32418 @section What is an Annotation?
32419 @cindex annotations
32420
32421 Annotations start with a newline character, two @samp{control-z}
32422 characters, and the name of the annotation. If there is no additional
32423 information associated with this annotation, the name of the annotation
32424 is followed immediately by a newline. If there is additional
32425 information, the name of the annotation is followed by a space, the
32426 additional information, and a newline. The additional information
32427 cannot contain newline characters.
32428
32429 Any output not beginning with a newline and two @samp{control-z}
32430 characters denotes literal output from @value{GDBN}. Currently there is
32431 no need for @value{GDBN} to output a newline followed by two
32432 @samp{control-z} characters, but if there was such a need, the
32433 annotations could be extended with an @samp{escape} annotation which
32434 means those three characters as output.
32435
32436 The annotation @var{level}, which is specified using the
32437 @option{--annotate} command line option (@pxref{Mode Options}), controls
32438 how much information @value{GDBN} prints together with its prompt,
32439 values of expressions, source lines, and other types of output. Level 0
32440 is for no annotations, level 1 is for use when @value{GDBN} is run as a
32441 subprocess of @sc{gnu} Emacs, level 3 is the maximum annotation suitable
32442 for programs that control @value{GDBN}, and level 2 annotations have
32443 been made obsolete (@pxref{Limitations, , Limitations of the Annotation
32444 Interface, annotate, GDB's Obsolete Annotations}).
32445
32446 @table @code
32447 @kindex set annotate
32448 @item set annotate @var{level}
32449 The @value{GDBN} command @code{set annotate} sets the level of
32450 annotations to the specified @var{level}.
32451
32452 @item show annotate
32453 @kindex show annotate
32454 Show the current annotation level.
32455 @end table
32456
32457 This chapter describes level 3 annotations.
32458
32459 A simple example of starting up @value{GDBN} with annotations is:
32460
32461 @smallexample
32462 $ @kbd{gdb --annotate=3}
32463 GNU gdb 6.0
32464 Copyright 2003 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
32465 GDB is free software, covered by the GNU General Public License,
32466 and you are welcome to change it and/or distribute copies of it
32467 under certain conditions.
32468 Type "show copying" to see the conditions.
32469 There is absolutely no warranty for GDB. Type "show warranty"
32470 for details.
32471 This GDB was configured as "i386-pc-linux-gnu"
32472
32473 ^Z^Zpre-prompt
32474 (@value{GDBP})
32475 ^Z^Zprompt
32476 @kbd{quit}
32477
32478 ^Z^Zpost-prompt
32479 $
32480 @end smallexample
32481
32482 Here @samp{quit} is input to @value{GDBN}; the rest is output from
32483 @value{GDBN}. The three lines beginning @samp{^Z^Z} (where @samp{^Z}
32484 denotes a @samp{control-z} character) are annotations; the rest is
32485 output from @value{GDBN}.
32486
32487 @node Server Prefix
32488 @section The Server Prefix
32489 @cindex server prefix
32490
32491 If you prefix a command with @samp{server } then it will not affect
32492 the command history, nor will it affect @value{GDBN}'s notion of which
32493 command to repeat if @key{RET} is pressed on a line by itself. This
32494 means that commands can be run behind a user's back by a front-end in
32495 a transparent manner.
32496
32497 The @code{server } prefix does not affect the recording of values into
32498 the value history; to print a value without recording it into the
32499 value history, use the @code{output} command instead of the
32500 @code{print} command.
32501
32502 Using this prefix also disables confirmation requests
32503 (@pxref{confirmation requests}).
32504
32505 @node Prompting
32506 @section Annotation for @value{GDBN} Input
32507
32508 @cindex annotations for prompts
32509 When @value{GDBN} prompts for input, it annotates this fact so it is possible
32510 to know when to send output, when the output from a given command is
32511 over, etc.
32512
32513 Different kinds of input each have a different @dfn{input type}. Each
32514 input type has three annotations: a @code{pre-} annotation, which
32515 denotes the beginning of any prompt which is being output, a plain
32516 annotation, which denotes the end of the prompt, and then a @code{post-}
32517 annotation which denotes the end of any echo which may (or may not) be
32518 associated with the input. For example, the @code{prompt} input type
32519 features the following annotations:
32520
32521 @smallexample
32522 ^Z^Zpre-prompt
32523 ^Z^Zprompt
32524 ^Z^Zpost-prompt
32525 @end smallexample
32526
32527 The input types are
32528
32529 @table @code
32530 @findex pre-prompt annotation
32531 @findex prompt annotation
32532 @findex post-prompt annotation
32533 @item prompt
32534 When @value{GDBN} is prompting for a command (the main @value{GDBN} prompt).
32535
32536 @findex pre-commands annotation
32537 @findex commands annotation
32538 @findex post-commands annotation
32539 @item commands
32540 When @value{GDBN} prompts for a set of commands, like in the @code{commands}
32541 command. The annotations are repeated for each command which is input.
32542
32543 @findex pre-overload-choice annotation
32544 @findex overload-choice annotation
32545 @findex post-overload-choice annotation
32546 @item overload-choice
32547 When @value{GDBN} wants the user to select between various overloaded functions.
32548
32549 @findex pre-query annotation
32550 @findex query annotation
32551 @findex post-query annotation
32552 @item query
32553 When @value{GDBN} wants the user to confirm a potentially dangerous operation.
32554
32555 @findex pre-prompt-for-continue annotation
32556 @findex prompt-for-continue annotation
32557 @findex post-prompt-for-continue annotation
32558 @item prompt-for-continue
32559 When @value{GDBN} is asking the user to press return to continue. Note: Don't
32560 expect this to work well; instead use @code{set height 0} to disable
32561 prompting. This is because the counting of lines is buggy in the
32562 presence of annotations.
32563 @end table
32564
32565 @node Errors
32566 @section Errors
32567 @cindex annotations for errors, warnings and interrupts
32568
32569 @findex quit annotation
32570 @smallexample
32571 ^Z^Zquit
32572 @end smallexample
32573
32574 This annotation occurs right before @value{GDBN} responds to an interrupt.
32575
32576 @findex error annotation
32577 @smallexample
32578 ^Z^Zerror
32579 @end smallexample
32580
32581 This annotation occurs right before @value{GDBN} responds to an error.
32582
32583 Quit and error annotations indicate that any annotations which @value{GDBN} was
32584 in the middle of may end abruptly. For example, if a
32585 @code{value-history-begin} annotation is followed by a @code{error}, one
32586 cannot expect to receive the matching @code{value-history-end}. One
32587 cannot expect not to receive it either, however; an error annotation
32588 does not necessarily mean that @value{GDBN} is immediately returning all the way
32589 to the top level.
32590
32591 @findex error-begin annotation
32592 A quit or error annotation may be preceded by
32593
32594 @smallexample
32595 ^Z^Zerror-begin
32596 @end smallexample
32597
32598 Any output between that and the quit or error annotation is the error
32599 message.
32600
32601 Warning messages are not yet annotated.
32602 @c If we want to change that, need to fix warning(), type_error(),
32603 @c range_error(), and possibly other places.
32604
32605 @node Invalidation
32606 @section Invalidation Notices
32607
32608 @cindex annotations for invalidation messages
32609 The following annotations say that certain pieces of state may have
32610 changed.
32611
32612 @table @code
32613 @findex frames-invalid annotation
32614 @item ^Z^Zframes-invalid
32615
32616 The frames (for example, output from the @code{backtrace} command) may
32617 have changed.
32618
32619 @findex breakpoints-invalid annotation
32620 @item ^Z^Zbreakpoints-invalid
32621
32622 The breakpoints may have changed. For example, the user just added or
32623 deleted a breakpoint.
32624 @end table
32625
32626 @node Annotations for Running
32627 @section Running the Program
32628 @cindex annotations for running programs
32629
32630 @findex starting annotation
32631 @findex stopping annotation
32632 When the program starts executing due to a @value{GDBN} command such as
32633 @code{step} or @code{continue},
32634
32635 @smallexample
32636 ^Z^Zstarting
32637 @end smallexample
32638
32639 is output. When the program stops,
32640
32641 @smallexample
32642 ^Z^Zstopped
32643 @end smallexample
32644
32645 is output. Before the @code{stopped} annotation, a variety of
32646 annotations describe how the program stopped.
32647
32648 @table @code
32649 @findex exited annotation
32650 @item ^Z^Zexited @var{exit-status}
32651 The program exited, and @var{exit-status} is the exit status (zero for
32652 successful exit, otherwise nonzero).
32653
32654 @findex signalled annotation
32655 @findex signal-name annotation
32656 @findex signal-name-end annotation
32657 @findex signal-string annotation
32658 @findex signal-string-end annotation
32659 @item ^Z^Zsignalled
32660 The program exited with a signal. After the @code{^Z^Zsignalled}, the
32661 annotation continues:
32662
32663 @smallexample
32664 @var{intro-text}
32665 ^Z^Zsignal-name
32666 @var{name}
32667 ^Z^Zsignal-name-end
32668 @var{middle-text}
32669 ^Z^Zsignal-string
32670 @var{string}
32671 ^Z^Zsignal-string-end
32672 @var{end-text}
32673 @end smallexample
32674
32675 @noindent
32676 where @var{name} is the name of the signal, such as @code{SIGILL} or
32677 @code{SIGSEGV}, and @var{string} is the explanation of the signal, such
32678 as @code{Illegal Instruction} or @code{Segmentation fault}. The arguments
32679 @var{intro-text}, @var{middle-text}, and @var{end-text} are for the
32680 user's benefit and have no particular format.
32681
32682 @findex signal annotation
32683 @item ^Z^Zsignal
32684 The syntax of this annotation is just like @code{signalled}, but @value{GDBN} is
32685 just saying that the program received the signal, not that it was
32686 terminated with it.
32687
32688 @findex breakpoint annotation
32689 @item ^Z^Zbreakpoint @var{number}
32690 The program hit breakpoint number @var{number}.
32691
32692 @findex watchpoint annotation
32693 @item ^Z^Zwatchpoint @var{number}
32694 The program hit watchpoint number @var{number}.
32695 @end table
32696
32697 @node Source Annotations
32698 @section Displaying Source
32699 @cindex annotations for source display
32700
32701 @findex source annotation
32702 The following annotation is used instead of displaying source code:
32703
32704 @smallexample
32705 ^Z^Zsource @var{filename}:@var{line}:@var{character}:@var{middle}:@var{addr}
32706 @end smallexample
32707
32708 where @var{filename} is an absolute file name indicating which source
32709 file, @var{line} is the line number within that file (where 1 is the
32710 first line in the file), @var{character} is the character position
32711 within the file (where 0 is the first character in the file) (for most
32712 debug formats this will necessarily point to the beginning of a line),
32713 @var{middle} is @samp{middle} if @var{addr} is in the middle of the
32714 line, or @samp{beg} if @var{addr} is at the beginning of the line, and
32715 @var{addr} is the address in the target program associated with the
32716 source which is being displayed. The @var{addr} is in the form @samp{0x}
32717 followed by one or more lowercase hex digits (note that this does not
32718 depend on the language).
32719
32720 @node JIT Interface
32721 @chapter JIT Compilation Interface
32722 @cindex just-in-time compilation
32723 @cindex JIT compilation interface
32724
32725 This chapter documents @value{GDBN}'s @dfn{just-in-time} (JIT) compilation
32726 interface. A JIT compiler is a program or library that generates native
32727 executable code at runtime and executes it, usually in order to achieve good
32728 performance while maintaining platform independence.
32729
32730 Programs that use JIT compilation are normally difficult to debug because
32731 portions of their code are generated at runtime, instead of being loaded from
32732 object files, which is where @value{GDBN} normally finds the program's symbols
32733 and debug information. In order to debug programs that use JIT compilation,
32734 @value{GDBN} has an interface that allows the program to register in-memory
32735 symbol files with @value{GDBN} at runtime.
32736
32737 If you are using @value{GDBN} to debug a program that uses this interface, then
32738 it should work transparently so long as you have not stripped the binary. If
32739 you are developing a JIT compiler, then the interface is documented in the rest
32740 of this chapter. At this time, the only known client of this interface is the
32741 LLVM JIT.
32742
32743 Broadly speaking, the JIT interface mirrors the dynamic loader interface. The
32744 JIT compiler communicates with @value{GDBN} by writing data into a global
32745 variable and calling a fuction at a well-known symbol. When @value{GDBN}
32746 attaches, it reads a linked list of symbol files from the global variable to
32747 find existing code, and puts a breakpoint in the function so that it can find
32748 out about additional code.
32749
32750 @menu
32751 * Declarations:: Relevant C struct declarations
32752 * Registering Code:: Steps to register code
32753 * Unregistering Code:: Steps to unregister code
32754 * Custom Debug Info:: Emit debug information in a custom format
32755 @end menu
32756
32757 @node Declarations
32758 @section JIT Declarations
32759
32760 These are the relevant struct declarations that a C program should include to
32761 implement the interface:
32762
32763 @smallexample
32764 typedef enum
32765 @{
32766 JIT_NOACTION = 0,
32767 JIT_REGISTER_FN,
32768 JIT_UNREGISTER_FN
32769 @} jit_actions_t;
32770
32771 struct jit_code_entry
32772 @{
32773 struct jit_code_entry *next_entry;
32774 struct jit_code_entry *prev_entry;
32775 const char *symfile_addr;
32776 uint64_t symfile_size;
32777 @};
32778
32779 struct jit_descriptor
32780 @{
32781 uint32_t version;
32782 /* This type should be jit_actions_t, but we use uint32_t
32783 to be explicit about the bitwidth. */
32784 uint32_t action_flag;
32785 struct jit_code_entry *relevant_entry;
32786 struct jit_code_entry *first_entry;
32787 @};
32788
32789 /* GDB puts a breakpoint in this function. */
32790 void __attribute__((noinline)) __jit_debug_register_code() @{ @};
32791
32792 /* Make sure to specify the version statically, because the
32793 debugger may check the version before we can set it. */
32794 struct jit_descriptor __jit_debug_descriptor = @{ 1, 0, 0, 0 @};
32795 @end smallexample
32796
32797 If the JIT is multi-threaded, then it is important that the JIT synchronize any
32798 modifications to this global data properly, which can easily be done by putting
32799 a global mutex around modifications to these structures.
32800
32801 @node Registering Code
32802 @section Registering Code
32803
32804 To register code with @value{GDBN}, the JIT should follow this protocol:
32805
32806 @itemize @bullet
32807 @item
32808 Generate an object file in memory with symbols and other desired debug
32809 information. The file must include the virtual addresses of the sections.
32810
32811 @item
32812 Create a code entry for the file, which gives the start and size of the symbol
32813 file.
32814
32815 @item
32816 Add it to the linked list in the JIT descriptor.
32817
32818 @item
32819 Point the relevant_entry field of the descriptor at the entry.
32820
32821 @item
32822 Set @code{action_flag} to @code{JIT_REGISTER} and call
32823 @code{__jit_debug_register_code}.
32824 @end itemize
32825
32826 When @value{GDBN} is attached and the breakpoint fires, @value{GDBN} uses the
32827 @code{relevant_entry} pointer so it doesn't have to walk the list looking for
32828 new code. However, the linked list must still be maintained in order to allow
32829 @value{GDBN} to attach to a running process and still find the symbol files.
32830
32831 @node Unregistering Code
32832 @section Unregistering Code
32833
32834 If code is freed, then the JIT should use the following protocol:
32835
32836 @itemize @bullet
32837 @item
32838 Remove the code entry corresponding to the code from the linked list.
32839
32840 @item
32841 Point the @code{relevant_entry} field of the descriptor at the code entry.
32842
32843 @item
32844 Set @code{action_flag} to @code{JIT_UNREGISTER} and call
32845 @code{__jit_debug_register_code}.
32846 @end itemize
32847
32848 If the JIT frees or recompiles code without unregistering it, then @value{GDBN}
32849 and the JIT will leak the memory used for the associated symbol files.
32850
32851 @node Custom Debug Info
32852 @section Custom Debug Info
32853 @cindex custom JIT debug info
32854 @cindex JIT debug info reader
32855
32856 Generating debug information in platform-native file formats (like ELF
32857 or COFF) may be an overkill for JIT compilers; especially if all the
32858 debug info is used for is displaying a meaningful backtrace. The
32859 issue can be resolved by having the JIT writers decide on a debug info
32860 format and also provide a reader that parses the debug info generated
32861 by the JIT compiler. This section gives a brief overview on writing
32862 such a parser. More specific details can be found in the source file
32863 @file{gdb/jit-reader.in}, which is also installed as a header at
32864 @file{@var{includedir}/gdb/jit-reader.h} for easy inclusion.
32865
32866 The reader is implemented as a shared object (so this functionality is
32867 not available on platforms which don't allow loading shared objects at
32868 runtime). Two @value{GDBN} commands, @code{jit-reader-load} and
32869 @code{jit-reader-unload} are provided, to be used to load and unload
32870 the readers from a preconfigured directory. Once loaded, the shared
32871 object is used the parse the debug information emitted by the JIT
32872 compiler.
32873
32874 @menu
32875 * Using JIT Debug Info Readers:: How to use supplied readers correctly
32876 * Writing JIT Debug Info Readers:: Creating a debug-info reader
32877 @end menu
32878
32879 @node Using JIT Debug Info Readers
32880 @subsection Using JIT Debug Info Readers
32881 @kindex jit-reader-load
32882 @kindex jit-reader-unload
32883
32884 Readers can be loaded and unloaded using the @code{jit-reader-load}
32885 and @code{jit-reader-unload} commands.
32886
32887 @table @code
32888 @item jit-reader-load @var{reader}
32889 Load the JIT reader named @var{reader}, which is a shared
32890 object specified as either an absolute or a relative file name. In
32891 the latter case, @value{GDBN} will try to load the reader from a
32892 pre-configured directory, usually @file{@var{libdir}/gdb/} on a UNIX
32893 system (here @var{libdir} is the system library directory, often
32894 @file{/usr/local/lib}).
32895
32896 Only one reader can be active at a time; trying to load a second
32897 reader when one is already loaded will result in @value{GDBN}
32898 reporting an error. A new JIT reader can be loaded by first unloading
32899 the current one using @code{jit-reader-unload} and then invoking
32900 @code{jit-reader-load}.
32901
32902 @item jit-reader-unload
32903 Unload the currently loaded JIT reader.
32904
32905 @end table
32906
32907 @node Writing JIT Debug Info Readers
32908 @subsection Writing JIT Debug Info Readers
32909 @cindex writing JIT debug info readers
32910
32911 As mentioned, a reader is essentially a shared object conforming to a
32912 certain ABI. This ABI is described in @file{jit-reader.h}.
32913
32914 @file{jit-reader.h} defines the structures, macros and functions
32915 required to write a reader. It is installed (along with
32916 @value{GDBN}), in @file{@var{includedir}/gdb} where @var{includedir} is
32917 the system include directory.
32918
32919 Readers need to be released under a GPL compatible license. A reader
32920 can be declared as released under such a license by placing the macro
32921 @code{GDB_DECLARE_GPL_COMPATIBLE_READER} in a source file.
32922
32923 The entry point for readers is the symbol @code{gdb_init_reader},
32924 which is expected to be a function with the prototype
32925
32926 @findex gdb_init_reader
32927 @smallexample
32928 extern struct gdb_reader_funcs *gdb_init_reader (void);
32929 @end smallexample
32930
32931 @cindex @code{struct gdb_reader_funcs}
32932
32933 @code{struct gdb_reader_funcs} contains a set of pointers to callback
32934 functions. These functions are executed to read the debug info
32935 generated by the JIT compiler (@code{read}), to unwind stack frames
32936 (@code{unwind}) and to create canonical frame IDs
32937 (@code{get_Frame_id}). It also has a callback that is called when the
32938 reader is being unloaded (@code{destroy}). The struct looks like this
32939
32940 @smallexample
32941 struct gdb_reader_funcs
32942 @{
32943 /* Must be set to GDB_READER_INTERFACE_VERSION. */
32944 int reader_version;
32945
32946 /* For use by the reader. */
32947 void *priv_data;
32948
32949 gdb_read_debug_info *read;
32950 gdb_unwind_frame *unwind;
32951 gdb_get_frame_id *get_frame_id;
32952 gdb_destroy_reader *destroy;
32953 @};
32954 @end smallexample
32955
32956 @cindex @code{struct gdb_symbol_callbacks}
32957 @cindex @code{struct gdb_unwind_callbacks}
32958
32959 The callbacks are provided with another set of callbacks by
32960 @value{GDBN} to do their job. For @code{read}, these callbacks are
32961 passed in a @code{struct gdb_symbol_callbacks} and for @code{unwind}
32962 and @code{get_frame_id}, in a @code{struct gdb_unwind_callbacks}.
32963 @code{struct gdb_symbol_callbacks} has callbacks to create new object
32964 files and new symbol tables inside those object files. @code{struct
32965 gdb_unwind_callbacks} has callbacks to read registers off the current
32966 frame and to write out the values of the registers in the previous
32967 frame. Both have a callback (@code{target_read}) to read bytes off the
32968 target's address space.
32969
32970 @node In-Process Agent
32971 @chapter In-Process Agent
32972 @cindex debugging agent
32973 The traditional debugging model is conceptually low-speed, but works fine,
32974 because most bugs can be reproduced in debugging-mode execution. However,
32975 as multi-core or many-core processors are becoming mainstream, and
32976 multi-threaded programs become more and more popular, there should be more
32977 and more bugs that only manifest themselves at normal-mode execution, for
32978 example, thread races, because debugger's interference with the program's
32979 timing may conceal the bugs. On the other hand, in some applications,
32980 it is not feasible for the debugger to interrupt the program's execution
32981 long enough for the developer to learn anything helpful about its behavior.
32982 If the program's correctness depends on its real-time behavior, delays
32983 introduced by a debugger might cause the program to fail, even when the
32984 code itself is correct. It is useful to be able to observe the program's
32985 behavior without interrupting it.
32986
32987 Therefore, traditional debugging model is too intrusive to reproduce
32988 some bugs. In order to reduce the interference with the program, we can
32989 reduce the number of operations performed by debugger. The
32990 @dfn{In-Process Agent}, a shared library, is running within the same
32991 process with inferior, and is able to perform some debugging operations
32992 itself. As a result, debugger is only involved when necessary, and
32993 performance of debugging can be improved accordingly. Note that
32994 interference with program can be reduced but can't be removed completely,
32995 because the in-process agent will still stop or slow down the program.
32996
32997 The in-process agent can interpret and execute Agent Expressions
32998 (@pxref{Agent Expressions}) during performing debugging operations. The
32999 agent expressions can be used for different purposes, such as collecting
33000 data in tracepoints, and condition evaluation in breakpoints.
33001
33002 @anchor{Control Agent}
33003 You can control whether the in-process agent is used as an aid for
33004 debugging with the following commands:
33005
33006 @table @code
33007 @kindex set agent on
33008 @item set agent on
33009 Causes the in-process agent to perform some operations on behalf of the
33010 debugger. Just which operations requested by the user will be done
33011 by the in-process agent depends on the its capabilities. For example,
33012 if you request to evaluate breakpoint conditions in the in-process agent,
33013 and the in-process agent has such capability as well, then breakpoint
33014 conditions will be evaluated in the in-process agent.
33015
33016 @kindex set agent off
33017 @item set agent off
33018 Disables execution of debugging operations by the in-process agent. All
33019 of the operations will be performed by @value{GDBN}.
33020
33021 @kindex show agent
33022 @item show agent
33023 Display the current setting of execution of debugging operations by
33024 the in-process agent.
33025 @end table
33026
33027 @menu
33028 * In-Process Agent Protocol::
33029 @end menu
33030
33031 @node In-Process Agent Protocol
33032 @section In-Process Agent Protocol
33033 @cindex in-process agent protocol
33034
33035 The in-process agent is able to communicate with both @value{GDBN} and
33036 GDBserver (@pxref{In-Process Agent}). This section documents the protocol
33037 used for communications between @value{GDBN} or GDBserver and the IPA.
33038 In general, @value{GDBN} or GDBserver sends commands
33039 (@pxref{IPA Protocol Commands}) and data to in-process agent, and then
33040 in-process agent replies back with the return result of the command, or
33041 some other information. The data sent to in-process agent is composed
33042 of primitive data types, such as 4-byte or 8-byte type, and composite
33043 types, which are called objects (@pxref{IPA Protocol Objects}).
33044
33045 @menu
33046 * IPA Protocol Objects::
33047 * IPA Protocol Commands::
33048 @end menu
33049
33050 @node IPA Protocol Objects
33051 @subsection IPA Protocol Objects
33052 @cindex ipa protocol objects
33053
33054 The commands sent to and results received from agent may contain some
33055 complex data types called @dfn{objects}.
33056
33057 The in-process agent is running on the same machine with @value{GDBN}
33058 or GDBserver, so it doesn't have to handle as much differences between
33059 two ends as remote protocol (@pxref{Remote Protocol}) tries to handle.
33060 However, there are still some differences of two ends in two processes:
33061
33062 @enumerate
33063 @item
33064 word size. On some 64-bit machines, @value{GDBN} or GDBserver can be
33065 compiled as a 64-bit executable, while in-process agent is a 32-bit one.
33066 @item
33067 ABI. Some machines may have multiple types of ABI, @value{GDBN} or
33068 GDBserver is compiled with one, and in-process agent is compiled with
33069 the other one.
33070 @end enumerate
33071
33072 Here are the IPA Protocol Objects:
33073
33074 @enumerate
33075 @item
33076 agent expression object. It represents an agent expression
33077 (@pxref{Agent Expressions}).
33078 @anchor{agent expression object}
33079 @item
33080 tracepoint action object. It represents a tracepoint action
33081 (@pxref{Tracepoint Actions,,Tracepoint Action Lists}) to collect registers,
33082 memory, static trace data and to evaluate expression.
33083 @anchor{tracepoint action object}
33084 @item
33085 tracepoint object. It represents a tracepoint (@pxref{Tracepoints}).
33086 @anchor{tracepoint object}
33087
33088 @end enumerate
33089
33090 The following table describes important attributes of each IPA protocol
33091 object:
33092
33093 @multitable @columnfractions .30 .20 .50
33094 @headitem Name @tab Size @tab Description
33095 @item @emph{agent expression object} @tab @tab
33096 @item length @tab 4 @tab length of bytes code
33097 @item byte code @tab @var{length} @tab contents of byte code
33098 @item @emph{tracepoint action for collecting memory} @tab @tab
33099 @item 'M' @tab 1 @tab type of tracepoint action
33100 @item addr @tab 8 @tab if @var{basereg} is @samp{-1}, @var{addr} is the
33101 address of the lowest byte to collect, otherwise @var{addr} is the offset
33102 of @var{basereg} for memory collecting.
33103 @item len @tab 8 @tab length of memory for collecting
33104 @item basereg @tab 4 @tab the register number containing the starting
33105 memory address for collecting.
33106 @item @emph{tracepoint action for collecting registers} @tab @tab
33107 @item 'R' @tab 1 @tab type of tracepoint action
33108 @item @emph{tracepoint action for collecting static trace data} @tab @tab
33109 @item 'L' @tab 1 @tab type of tracepoint action
33110 @item @emph{tracepoint action for expression evaluation} @tab @tab
33111 @item 'X' @tab 1 @tab type of tracepoint action
33112 @item agent expression @tab length of @tab @ref{agent expression object}
33113 @item @emph{tracepoint object} @tab @tab
33114 @item number @tab 4 @tab number of tracepoint
33115 @item address @tab 8 @tab address of tracepoint inserted on
33116 @item type @tab 4 @tab type of tracepoint
33117 @item enabled @tab 1 @tab enable or disable of tracepoint
33118 @item step_count @tab 8 @tab step
33119 @item pass_count @tab 8 @tab pass
33120 @item numactions @tab 4 @tab number of tracepoint actions
33121 @item hit count @tab 8 @tab hit count
33122 @item trace frame usage @tab 8 @tab trace frame usage
33123 @item compiled_cond @tab 8 @tab compiled condition
33124 @item orig_size @tab 8 @tab orig size
33125 @item condition @tab 4 if condition is NULL otherwise length of
33126 @ref{agent expression object}
33127 @tab zero if condition is NULL, otherwise is
33128 @ref{agent expression object}
33129 @item actions @tab variable
33130 @tab numactions number of @ref{tracepoint action object}
33131 @end multitable
33132
33133 @node IPA Protocol Commands
33134 @subsection IPA Protocol Commands
33135 @cindex ipa protocol commands
33136
33137 The spaces in each command are delimiters to ease reading this commands
33138 specification. They don't exist in real commands.
33139
33140 @table @samp
33141
33142 @item FastTrace:@var{tracepoint_object} @var{gdb_jump_pad_head}
33143 Installs a new fast tracepoint described by @var{tracepoint_object}
33144 (@pxref{tracepoint object}). The @var{gdb_jump_pad_head}, 8-byte long, is the
33145 head of @dfn{jumppad}, which is used to jump to data collection routine
33146 in IPA finally.
33147
33148 Replies:
33149 @table @samp
33150 @item OK @var{target_address} @var{gdb_jump_pad_head} @var{fjump_size} @var{fjump}
33151 @var{target_address} is address of tracepoint in the inferior.
33152 The @var{gdb_jump_pad_head} is updated head of jumppad. Both of
33153 @var{target_address} and @var{gdb_jump_pad_head} are 8-byte long.
33154 The @var{fjump} contains a sequence of instructions jump to jumppad entry.
33155 The @var{fjump_size}, 4-byte long, is the size of @var{fjump}.
33156 @item E @var{NN}
33157 for an error
33158
33159 @end table
33160
33161 @item close
33162 Closes the in-process agent. This command is sent when @value{GDBN} or GDBserver
33163 is about to kill inferiors.
33164
33165 @item qTfSTM
33166 @xref{qTfSTM}.
33167 @item qTsSTM
33168 @xref{qTsSTM}.
33169 @item qTSTMat
33170 @xref{qTSTMat}.
33171 @item probe_marker_at:@var{address}
33172 Asks in-process agent to probe the marker at @var{address}.
33173
33174 Replies:
33175 @table @samp
33176 @item E @var{NN}
33177 for an error
33178 @end table
33179 @item unprobe_marker_at:@var{address}
33180 Asks in-process agent to unprobe the marker at @var{address}.
33181 @end table
33182
33183 @node GDB Bugs
33184 @chapter Reporting Bugs in @value{GDBN}
33185 @cindex bugs in @value{GDBN}
33186 @cindex reporting bugs in @value{GDBN}
33187
33188 Your bug reports play an essential role in making @value{GDBN} reliable.
33189
33190 Reporting a bug may help you by bringing a solution to your problem, or it
33191 may not. But in any case the principal function of a bug report is to help
33192 the entire community by making the next version of @value{GDBN} work better. Bug
33193 reports are your contribution to the maintenance of @value{GDBN}.
33194
33195 In order for a bug report to serve its purpose, you must include the
33196 information that enables us to fix the bug.
33197
33198 @menu
33199 * Bug Criteria:: Have you found a bug?
33200 * Bug Reporting:: How to report bugs
33201 @end menu
33202
33203 @node Bug Criteria
33204 @section Have You Found a Bug?
33205 @cindex bug criteria
33206
33207 If you are not sure whether you have found a bug, here are some guidelines:
33208
33209 @itemize @bullet
33210 @cindex fatal signal
33211 @cindex debugger crash
33212 @cindex crash of debugger
33213 @item
33214 If the debugger gets a fatal signal, for any input whatever, that is a
33215 @value{GDBN} bug. Reliable debuggers never crash.
33216
33217 @cindex error on valid input
33218 @item
33219 If @value{GDBN} produces an error message for valid input, that is a
33220 bug. (Note that if you're cross debugging, the problem may also be
33221 somewhere in the connection to the target.)
33222
33223 @cindex invalid input
33224 @item
33225 If @value{GDBN} does not produce an error message for invalid input,
33226 that is a bug. However, you should note that your idea of
33227 ``invalid input'' might be our idea of ``an extension'' or ``support
33228 for traditional practice''.
33229
33230 @item
33231 If you are an experienced user of debugging tools, your suggestions
33232 for improvement of @value{GDBN} are welcome in any case.
33233 @end itemize
33234
33235 @node Bug Reporting
33236 @section How to Report Bugs
33237 @cindex bug reports
33238 @cindex @value{GDBN} bugs, reporting
33239
33240 A number of companies and individuals offer support for @sc{gnu} products.
33241 If you obtained @value{GDBN} from a support organization, we recommend you
33242 contact that organization first.
33243
33244 You can find contact information for many support companies and
33245 individuals in the file @file{etc/SERVICE} in the @sc{gnu} Emacs
33246 distribution.
33247 @c should add a web page ref...
33248
33249 @ifset BUGURL
33250 @ifset BUGURL_DEFAULT
33251 In any event, we also recommend that you submit bug reports for
33252 @value{GDBN}. The preferred method is to submit them directly using
33253 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/bugs/, @value{GDBN}'s Bugs web
33254 page}. Alternatively, the @email{bug-gdb@@gnu.org, e-mail gateway} can
33255 be used.
33256
33257 @strong{Do not send bug reports to @samp{info-gdb}, or to
33258 @samp{help-gdb}, or to any newsgroups.} Most users of @value{GDBN} do
33259 not want to receive bug reports. Those that do have arranged to receive
33260 @samp{bug-gdb}.
33261
33262 The mailing list @samp{bug-gdb} has a newsgroup @samp{gnu.gdb.bug} which
33263 serves as a repeater. The mailing list and the newsgroup carry exactly
33264 the same messages. Often people think of posting bug reports to the
33265 newsgroup instead of mailing them. This appears to work, but it has one
33266 problem which can be crucial: a newsgroup posting often lacks a mail
33267 path back to the sender. Thus, if we need to ask for more information,
33268 we may be unable to reach you. For this reason, it is better to send
33269 bug reports to the mailing list.
33270 @end ifset
33271 @ifclear BUGURL_DEFAULT
33272 In any event, we also recommend that you submit bug reports for
33273 @value{GDBN} to @value{BUGURL}.
33274 @end ifclear
33275 @end ifset
33276
33277 The fundamental principle of reporting bugs usefully is this:
33278 @strong{report all the facts}. If you are not sure whether to state a
33279 fact or leave it out, state it!
33280
33281 Often people omit facts because they think they know what causes the
33282 problem and assume that some details do not matter. Thus, you might
33283 assume that the name of the variable you use in an example does not matter.
33284 Well, probably it does not, but one cannot be sure. Perhaps the bug is a
33285 stray memory reference which happens to fetch from the location where that
33286 name is stored in memory; perhaps, if the name were different, the contents
33287 of that location would fool the debugger into doing the right thing despite
33288 the bug. Play it safe and give a specific, complete example. That is the
33289 easiest thing for you to do, and the most helpful.
33290
33291 Keep in mind that the purpose of a bug report is to enable us to fix the
33292 bug. It may be that the bug has been reported previously, but neither
33293 you nor we can know that unless your bug report is complete and
33294 self-contained.
33295
33296 Sometimes people give a few sketchy facts and ask, ``Does this ring a
33297 bell?'' Those bug reports are useless, and we urge everyone to
33298 @emph{refuse to respond to them} except to chide the sender to report
33299 bugs properly.
33300
33301 To enable us to fix the bug, you should include all these things:
33302
33303 @itemize @bullet
33304 @item
33305 The version of @value{GDBN}. @value{GDBN} announces it if you start
33306 with no arguments; you can also print it at any time using @code{show
33307 version}.
33308
33309 Without this, we will not know whether there is any point in looking for
33310 the bug in the current version of @value{GDBN}.
33311
33312 @item
33313 The type of machine you are using, and the operating system name and
33314 version number.
33315
33316 @item
33317 The details of the @value{GDBN} build-time configuration.
33318 @value{GDBN} shows these details if you invoke it with the
33319 @option{--configuration} command-line option, or if you type
33320 @code{show configuration} at @value{GDBN}'s prompt.
33321
33322 @item
33323 What compiler (and its version) was used to compile @value{GDBN}---e.g.@:
33324 ``@value{GCC}--2.8.1''.
33325
33326 @item
33327 What compiler (and its version) was used to compile the program you are
33328 debugging---e.g.@: ``@value{GCC}--2.8.1'', or ``HP92453-01 A.10.32.03 HP
33329 C Compiler''. For @value{NGCC}, you can say @kbd{@value{GCC} --version}
33330 to get this information; for other compilers, see the documentation for
33331 those compilers.
33332
33333 @item
33334 The command arguments you gave the compiler to compile your example and
33335 observe the bug. For example, did you use @samp{-O}? To guarantee
33336 you will not omit something important, list them all. A copy of the
33337 Makefile (or the output from make) is sufficient.
33338
33339 If we were to try to guess the arguments, we would probably guess wrong
33340 and then we might not encounter the bug.
33341
33342 @item
33343 A complete input script, and all necessary source files, that will
33344 reproduce the bug.
33345
33346 @item
33347 A description of what behavior you observe that you believe is
33348 incorrect. For example, ``It gets a fatal signal.''
33349
33350 Of course, if the bug is that @value{GDBN} gets a fatal signal, then we
33351 will certainly notice it. But if the bug is incorrect output, we might
33352 not notice unless it is glaringly wrong. You might as well not give us
33353 a chance to make a mistake.
33354
33355 Even if the problem you experience is a fatal signal, you should still
33356 say so explicitly. Suppose something strange is going on, such as, your
33357 copy of @value{GDBN} is out of synch, or you have encountered a bug in
33358 the C library on your system. (This has happened!) Your copy might
33359 crash and ours would not. If you told us to expect a crash, then when
33360 ours fails to crash, we would know that the bug was not happening for
33361 us. If you had not told us to expect a crash, then we would not be able
33362 to draw any conclusion from our observations.
33363
33364 @pindex script
33365 @cindex recording a session script
33366 To collect all this information, you can use a session recording program
33367 such as @command{script}, which is available on many Unix systems.
33368 Just run your @value{GDBN} session inside @command{script} and then
33369 include the @file{typescript} file with your bug report.
33370
33371 Another way to record a @value{GDBN} session is to run @value{GDBN}
33372 inside Emacs and then save the entire buffer to a file.
33373
33374 @item
33375 If you wish to suggest changes to the @value{GDBN} source, send us context
33376 diffs. If you even discuss something in the @value{GDBN} source, refer to
33377 it by context, not by line number.
33378
33379 The line numbers in our development sources will not match those in your
33380 sources. Your line numbers would convey no useful information to us.
33381
33382 @end itemize
33383
33384 Here are some things that are not necessary:
33385
33386 @itemize @bullet
33387 @item
33388 A description of the envelope of the bug.
33389
33390 Often people who encounter a bug spend a lot of time investigating
33391 which changes to the input file will make the bug go away and which
33392 changes will not affect it.
33393
33394 This is often time consuming and not very useful, because the way we
33395 will find the bug is by running a single example under the debugger
33396 with breakpoints, not by pure deduction from a series of examples.
33397 We recommend that you save your time for something else.
33398
33399 Of course, if you can find a simpler example to report @emph{instead}
33400 of the original one, that is a convenience for us. Errors in the
33401 output will be easier to spot, running under the debugger will take
33402 less time, and so on.
33403
33404 However, simplification is not vital; if you do not want to do this,
33405 report the bug anyway and send us the entire test case you used.
33406
33407 @item
33408 A patch for the bug.
33409
33410 A patch for the bug does help us if it is a good one. But do not omit
33411 the necessary information, such as the test case, on the assumption that
33412 a patch is all we need. We might see problems with your patch and decide
33413 to fix the problem another way, or we might not understand it at all.
33414
33415 Sometimes with a program as complicated as @value{GDBN} it is very hard to
33416 construct an example that will make the program follow a certain path
33417 through the code. If you do not send us the example, we will not be able
33418 to construct one, so we will not be able to verify that the bug is fixed.
33419
33420 And if we cannot understand what bug you are trying to fix, or why your
33421 patch should be an improvement, we will not install it. A test case will
33422 help us to understand.
33423
33424 @item
33425 A guess about what the bug is or what it depends on.
33426
33427 Such guesses are usually wrong. Even we cannot guess right about such
33428 things without first using the debugger to find the facts.
33429 @end itemize
33430
33431 @c The readline documentation is distributed with the readline code
33432 @c and consists of the two following files:
33433 @c rluser.texi
33434 @c hsuser.texi
33435 @c Use -I with makeinfo to point to the appropriate directory,
33436 @c environment var TEXINPUTS with TeX.
33437 @ifclear SYSTEM_READLINE
33438 @include rluser.texi
33439 @include hsuser.texi
33440 @end ifclear
33441
33442 @node In Memoriam
33443 @appendix In Memoriam
33444
33445 The @value{GDBN} project mourns the loss of the following long-time
33446 contributors:
33447
33448 @table @code
33449 @item Fred Fish
33450 Fred was a long-standing contributor to @value{GDBN} (1991-2006), and
33451 to Free Software in general. Outside of @value{GDBN}, he was known in
33452 the Amiga world for his series of Fish Disks, and the GeekGadget project.
33453
33454 @item Michael Snyder
33455 Michael was one of the Global Maintainers of the @value{GDBN} project,
33456 with contributions recorded as early as 1996, until 2011. In addition
33457 to his day to day participation, he was a large driving force behind
33458 adding Reverse Debugging to @value{GDBN}.
33459 @end table
33460
33461 Beyond their technical contributions to the project, they were also
33462 enjoyable members of the Free Software Community. We will miss them.
33463
33464 @node Formatting Documentation
33465 @appendix Formatting Documentation
33466
33467 @cindex @value{GDBN} reference card
33468 @cindex reference card
33469 The @value{GDBN} 4 release includes an already-formatted reference card, ready
33470 for printing with PostScript or Ghostscript, in the @file{gdb}
33471 subdirectory of the main source directory@footnote{In
33472 @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb/refcard.ps} of the version @value{GDBVN}
33473 release.}. If you can use PostScript or Ghostscript with your printer,
33474 you can print the reference card immediately with @file{refcard.ps}.
33475
33476 The release also includes the source for the reference card. You
33477 can format it, using @TeX{}, by typing:
33478
33479 @smallexample
33480 make refcard.dvi
33481 @end smallexample
33482
33483 The @value{GDBN} reference card is designed to print in @dfn{landscape}
33484 mode on US ``letter'' size paper;
33485 that is, on a sheet 11 inches wide by 8.5 inches
33486 high. You will need to specify this form of printing as an option to
33487 your @sc{dvi} output program.
33488
33489 @cindex documentation
33490
33491 All the documentation for @value{GDBN} comes as part of the machine-readable
33492 distribution. The documentation is written in Texinfo format, which is
33493 a documentation system that uses a single source file to produce both
33494 on-line information and a printed manual. You can use one of the Info
33495 formatting commands to create the on-line version of the documentation
33496 and @TeX{} (or @code{texi2roff}) to typeset the printed version.
33497
33498 @value{GDBN} includes an already formatted copy of the on-line Info
33499 version of this manual in the @file{gdb} subdirectory. The main Info
33500 file is @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb/gdb.info}, and it refers to
33501 subordinate files matching @samp{gdb.info*} in the same directory. If
33502 necessary, you can print out these files, or read them with any editor;
33503 but they are easier to read using the @code{info} subsystem in @sc{gnu}
33504 Emacs or the standalone @code{info} program, available as part of the
33505 @sc{gnu} Texinfo distribution.
33506
33507 If you want to format these Info files yourself, you need one of the
33508 Info formatting programs, such as @code{texinfo-format-buffer} or
33509 @code{makeinfo}.
33510
33511 If you have @code{makeinfo} installed, and are in the top level
33512 @value{GDBN} source directory (@file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}}, in the case of
33513 version @value{GDBVN}), you can make the Info file by typing:
33514
33515 @smallexample
33516 cd gdb
33517 make gdb.info
33518 @end smallexample
33519
33520 If you want to typeset and print copies of this manual, you need @TeX{},
33521 a program to print its @sc{dvi} output files, and @file{texinfo.tex}, the
33522 Texinfo definitions file.
33523
33524 @TeX{} is a typesetting program; it does not print files directly, but
33525 produces output files called @sc{dvi} files. To print a typeset
33526 document, you need a program to print @sc{dvi} files. If your system
33527 has @TeX{} installed, chances are it has such a program. The precise
33528 command to use depends on your system; @kbd{lpr -d} is common; another
33529 (for PostScript devices) is @kbd{dvips}. The @sc{dvi} print command may
33530 require a file name without any extension or a @samp{.dvi} extension.
33531
33532 @TeX{} also requires a macro definitions file called
33533 @file{texinfo.tex}. This file tells @TeX{} how to typeset a document
33534 written in Texinfo format. On its own, @TeX{} cannot either read or
33535 typeset a Texinfo file. @file{texinfo.tex} is distributed with GDB
33536 and is located in the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}/texinfo}
33537 directory.
33538
33539 If you have @TeX{} and a @sc{dvi} printer program installed, you can
33540 typeset and print this manual. First switch to the @file{gdb}
33541 subdirectory of the main source directory (for example, to
33542 @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb}) and type:
33543
33544 @smallexample
33545 make gdb.dvi
33546 @end smallexample
33547
33548 Then give @file{gdb.dvi} to your @sc{dvi} printing program.
33549
33550 @node Installing GDB
33551 @appendix Installing @value{GDBN}
33552 @cindex installation
33553
33554 @menu
33555 * Requirements:: Requirements for building @value{GDBN}
33556 * Running Configure:: Invoking the @value{GDBN} @file{configure} script
33557 * Separate Objdir:: Compiling @value{GDBN} in another directory
33558 * Config Names:: Specifying names for hosts and targets
33559 * Configure Options:: Summary of options for configure
33560 * System-wide configuration:: Having a system-wide init file
33561 @end menu
33562
33563 @node Requirements
33564 @section Requirements for Building @value{GDBN}
33565 @cindex building @value{GDBN}, requirements for
33566
33567 Building @value{GDBN} requires various tools and packages to be available.
33568 Other packages will be used only if they are found.
33569
33570 @heading Tools/Packages Necessary for Building @value{GDBN}
33571 @table @asis
33572 @item ISO C90 compiler
33573 @value{GDBN} is written in ISO C90. It should be buildable with any
33574 working C90 compiler, e.g.@: GCC.
33575
33576 @end table
33577
33578 @heading Tools/Packages Optional for Building @value{GDBN}
33579 @table @asis
33580 @item Expat
33581 @anchor{Expat}
33582 @value{GDBN} can use the Expat XML parsing library. This library may be
33583 included with your operating system distribution; if it is not, you
33584 can get the latest version from @url{http://expat.sourceforge.net}.
33585 The @file{configure} script will search for this library in several
33586 standard locations; if it is installed in an unusual path, you can
33587 use the @option{--with-libexpat-prefix} option to specify its location.
33588
33589 Expat is used for:
33590
33591 @itemize @bullet
33592 @item
33593 Remote protocol memory maps (@pxref{Memory Map Format})
33594 @item
33595 Target descriptions (@pxref{Target Descriptions})
33596 @item
33597 Remote shared library lists (@xref{Library List Format},
33598 or alternatively @pxref{Library List Format for SVR4 Targets})
33599 @item
33600 MS-Windows shared libraries (@pxref{Shared Libraries})
33601 @item
33602 Traceframe info (@pxref{Traceframe Info Format})
33603 @item
33604 Branch trace (@pxref{Branch Trace Format},
33605 @pxref{Branch Trace Configuration Format})
33606 @end itemize
33607
33608 @item zlib
33609 @cindex compressed debug sections
33610 @value{GDBN} will use the @samp{zlib} library, if available, to read
33611 compressed debug sections. Some linkers, such as GNU gold, are capable
33612 of producing binaries with compressed debug sections. If @value{GDBN}
33613 is compiled with @samp{zlib}, it will be able to read the debug
33614 information in such binaries.
33615
33616 The @samp{zlib} library is likely included with your operating system
33617 distribution; if it is not, you can get the latest version from
33618 @url{http://zlib.net}.
33619
33620 @item iconv
33621 @value{GDBN}'s features related to character sets (@pxref{Character
33622 Sets}) require a functioning @code{iconv} implementation. If you are
33623 on a GNU system, then this is provided by the GNU C Library. Some
33624 other systems also provide a working @code{iconv}.
33625
33626 If @value{GDBN} is using the @code{iconv} program which is installed
33627 in a non-standard place, you will need to tell @value{GDBN} where to find it.
33628 This is done with @option{--with-iconv-bin} which specifies the
33629 directory that contains the @code{iconv} program.
33630
33631 On systems without @code{iconv}, you can install GNU Libiconv. If you
33632 have previously installed Libiconv, you can use the
33633 @option{--with-libiconv-prefix} option to configure.
33634
33635 @value{GDBN}'s top-level @file{configure} and @file{Makefile} will
33636 arrange to build Libiconv if a directory named @file{libiconv} appears
33637 in the top-most source directory. If Libiconv is built this way, and
33638 if the operating system does not provide a suitable @code{iconv}
33639 implementation, then the just-built library will automatically be used
33640 by @value{GDBN}. One easy way to set this up is to download GNU
33641 Libiconv, unpack it, and then rename the directory holding the
33642 Libiconv source code to @samp{libiconv}.
33643 @end table
33644
33645 @node Running Configure
33646 @section Invoking the @value{GDBN} @file{configure} Script
33647 @cindex configuring @value{GDBN}
33648 @value{GDBN} comes with a @file{configure} script that automates the process
33649 of preparing @value{GDBN} for installation; you can then use @code{make} to
33650 build the @code{gdb} program.
33651 @iftex
33652 @c irrelevant in info file; it's as current as the code it lives with.
33653 @footnote{If you have a more recent version of @value{GDBN} than @value{GDBVN},
33654 look at the @file{README} file in the sources; we may have improved the
33655 installation procedures since publishing this manual.}
33656 @end iftex
33657
33658 The @value{GDBN} distribution includes all the source code you need for
33659 @value{GDBN} in a single directory, whose name is usually composed by
33660 appending the version number to @samp{gdb}.
33661
33662 For example, the @value{GDBN} version @value{GDBVN} distribution is in the
33663 @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} directory. That directory contains:
33664
33665 @table @code
33666 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/configure @r{(and supporting files)}
33667 script for configuring @value{GDBN} and all its supporting libraries
33668
33669 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb
33670 the source specific to @value{GDBN} itself
33671
33672 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/bfd
33673 source for the Binary File Descriptor library
33674
33675 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/include
33676 @sc{gnu} include files
33677
33678 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/libiberty
33679 source for the @samp{-liberty} free software library
33680
33681 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/opcodes
33682 source for the library of opcode tables and disassemblers
33683
33684 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/readline
33685 source for the @sc{gnu} command-line interface
33686
33687 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/glob
33688 source for the @sc{gnu} filename pattern-matching subroutine
33689
33690 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/mmalloc
33691 source for the @sc{gnu} memory-mapped malloc package
33692 @end table
33693
33694 The simplest way to configure and build @value{GDBN} is to run @file{configure}
33695 from the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} source directory, which in
33696 this example is the @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} directory.
33697
33698 First switch to the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} source directory
33699 if you are not already in it; then run @file{configure}. Pass the
33700 identifier for the platform on which @value{GDBN} will run as an
33701 argument.
33702
33703 For example:
33704
33705 @smallexample
33706 cd gdb-@value{GDBVN}
33707 ./configure @var{host}
33708 make
33709 @end smallexample
33710
33711 @noindent
33712 where @var{host} is an identifier such as @samp{sun4} or
33713 @samp{decstation}, that identifies the platform where @value{GDBN} will run.
33714 (You can often leave off @var{host}; @file{configure} tries to guess the
33715 correct value by examining your system.)
33716
33717 Running @samp{configure @var{host}} and then running @code{make} builds the
33718 @file{bfd}, @file{readline}, @file{mmalloc}, and @file{libiberty}
33719 libraries, then @code{gdb} itself. The configured source files, and the
33720 binaries, are left in the corresponding source directories.
33721
33722 @need 750
33723 @file{configure} is a Bourne-shell (@code{/bin/sh}) script; if your
33724 system does not recognize this automatically when you run a different
33725 shell, you may need to run @code{sh} on it explicitly:
33726
33727 @smallexample
33728 sh configure @var{host}
33729 @end smallexample
33730
33731 If you run @file{configure} from a directory that contains source
33732 directories for multiple libraries or programs, such as the
33733 @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} source directory for version @value{GDBVN},
33734 @file{configure}
33735 creates configuration files for every directory level underneath (unless
33736 you tell it not to, with the @samp{--norecursion} option).
33737
33738 You should run the @file{configure} script from the top directory in the
33739 source tree, the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} directory. If you run
33740 @file{configure} from one of the subdirectories, you will configure only
33741 that subdirectory. That is usually not what you want. In particular,
33742 if you run the first @file{configure} from the @file{gdb} subdirectory
33743 of the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} directory, you will omit the
33744 configuration of @file{bfd}, @file{readline}, and other sibling
33745 directories of the @file{gdb} subdirectory. This leads to build errors
33746 about missing include files such as @file{bfd/bfd.h}.
33747
33748 You can install @code{@value{GDBP}} anywhere; it has no hardwired paths.
33749 However, you should make sure that the shell on your path (named by
33750 the @samp{SHELL} environment variable) is publicly readable. Remember
33751 that @value{GDBN} uses the shell to start your program---some systems refuse to
33752 let @value{GDBN} debug child processes whose programs are not readable.
33753
33754 @node Separate Objdir
33755 @section Compiling @value{GDBN} in Another Directory
33756
33757 If you want to run @value{GDBN} versions for several host or target machines,
33758 you need a different @code{gdb} compiled for each combination of
33759 host and target. @file{configure} is designed to make this easy by
33760 allowing you to generate each configuration in a separate subdirectory,
33761 rather than in the source directory. If your @code{make} program
33762 handles the @samp{VPATH} feature (@sc{gnu} @code{make} does), running
33763 @code{make} in each of these directories builds the @code{gdb}
33764 program specified there.
33765
33766 To build @code{gdb} in a separate directory, run @file{configure}
33767 with the @samp{--srcdir} option to specify where to find the source.
33768 (You also need to specify a path to find @file{configure}
33769 itself from your working directory. If the path to @file{configure}
33770 would be the same as the argument to @samp{--srcdir}, you can leave out
33771 the @samp{--srcdir} option; it is assumed.)
33772
33773 For example, with version @value{GDBVN}, you can build @value{GDBN} in a
33774 separate directory for a Sun 4 like this:
33775
33776 @smallexample
33777 @group
33778 cd gdb-@value{GDBVN}
33779 mkdir ../gdb-sun4
33780 cd ../gdb-sun4
33781 ../gdb-@value{GDBVN}/configure sun4
33782 make
33783 @end group
33784 @end smallexample
33785
33786 When @file{configure} builds a configuration using a remote source
33787 directory, it creates a tree for the binaries with the same structure
33788 (and using the same names) as the tree under the source directory. In
33789 the example, you'd find the Sun 4 library @file{libiberty.a} in the
33790 directory @file{gdb-sun4/libiberty}, and @value{GDBN} itself in
33791 @file{gdb-sun4/gdb}.
33792
33793 Make sure that your path to the @file{configure} script has just one
33794 instance of @file{gdb} in it. If your path to @file{configure} looks
33795 like @file{../gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb/configure}, you are configuring only
33796 one subdirectory of @value{GDBN}, not the whole package. This leads to
33797 build errors about missing include files such as @file{bfd/bfd.h}.
33798
33799 One popular reason to build several @value{GDBN} configurations in separate
33800 directories is to configure @value{GDBN} for cross-compiling (where
33801 @value{GDBN} runs on one machine---the @dfn{host}---while debugging
33802 programs that run on another machine---the @dfn{target}).
33803 You specify a cross-debugging target by
33804 giving the @samp{--target=@var{target}} option to @file{configure}.
33805
33806 When you run @code{make} to build a program or library, you must run
33807 it in a configured directory---whatever directory you were in when you
33808 called @file{configure} (or one of its subdirectories).
33809
33810 The @code{Makefile} that @file{configure} generates in each source
33811 directory also runs recursively. If you type @code{make} in a source
33812 directory such as @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} (or in a separate configured
33813 directory configured with @samp{--srcdir=@var{dirname}/gdb-@value{GDBVN}}), you
33814 will build all the required libraries, and then build GDB.
33815
33816 When you have multiple hosts or targets configured in separate
33817 directories, you can run @code{make} on them in parallel (for example,
33818 if they are NFS-mounted on each of the hosts); they will not interfere
33819 with each other.
33820
33821 @node Config Names
33822 @section Specifying Names for Hosts and Targets
33823
33824 The specifications used for hosts and targets in the @file{configure}
33825 script are based on a three-part naming scheme, but some short predefined
33826 aliases are also supported. The full naming scheme encodes three pieces
33827 of information in the following pattern:
33828
33829 @smallexample
33830 @var{architecture}-@var{vendor}-@var{os}
33831 @end smallexample
33832
33833 For example, you can use the alias @code{sun4} as a @var{host} argument,
33834 or as the value for @var{target} in a @code{--target=@var{target}}
33835 option. The equivalent full name is @samp{sparc-sun-sunos4}.
33836
33837 The @file{configure} script accompanying @value{GDBN} does not provide
33838 any query facility to list all supported host and target names or
33839 aliases. @file{configure} calls the Bourne shell script
33840 @code{config.sub} to map abbreviations to full names; you can read the
33841 script, if you wish, or you can use it to test your guesses on
33842 abbreviations---for example:
33843
33844 @smallexample
33845 % sh config.sub i386-linux
33846 i386-pc-linux-gnu
33847 % sh config.sub alpha-linux
33848 alpha-unknown-linux-gnu
33849 % sh config.sub hp9k700
33850 hppa1.1-hp-hpux
33851 % sh config.sub sun4
33852 sparc-sun-sunos4.1.1
33853 % sh config.sub sun3
33854 m68k-sun-sunos4.1.1
33855 % sh config.sub i986v
33856 Invalid configuration `i986v': machine `i986v' not recognized
33857 @end smallexample
33858
33859 @noindent
33860 @code{config.sub} is also distributed in the @value{GDBN} source
33861 directory (@file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}}, for version @value{GDBVN}).
33862
33863 @node Configure Options
33864 @section @file{configure} Options
33865
33866 Here is a summary of the @file{configure} options and arguments that
33867 are most often useful for building @value{GDBN}. @file{configure} also has
33868 several other options not listed here. @inforef{What Configure
33869 Does,,configure.info}, for a full explanation of @file{configure}.
33870
33871 @smallexample
33872 configure @r{[}--help@r{]}
33873 @r{[}--prefix=@var{dir}@r{]}
33874 @r{[}--exec-prefix=@var{dir}@r{]}
33875 @r{[}--srcdir=@var{dirname}@r{]}
33876 @r{[}--norecursion@r{]} @r{[}--rm@r{]}
33877 @r{[}--target=@var{target}@r{]}
33878 @var{host}
33879 @end smallexample
33880
33881 @noindent
33882 You may introduce options with a single @samp{-} rather than
33883 @samp{--} if you prefer; but you may abbreviate option names if you use
33884 @samp{--}.
33885
33886 @table @code
33887 @item --help
33888 Display a quick summary of how to invoke @file{configure}.
33889
33890 @item --prefix=@var{dir}
33891 Configure the source to install programs and files under directory
33892 @file{@var{dir}}.
33893
33894 @item --exec-prefix=@var{dir}
33895 Configure the source to install programs under directory
33896 @file{@var{dir}}.
33897
33898 @c avoid splitting the warning from the explanation:
33899 @need 2000
33900 @item --srcdir=@var{dirname}
33901 @strong{Warning: using this option requires @sc{gnu} @code{make}, or another
33902 @code{make} that implements the @code{VPATH} feature.}@*
33903 Use this option to make configurations in directories separate from the
33904 @value{GDBN} source directories. Among other things, you can use this to
33905 build (or maintain) several configurations simultaneously, in separate
33906 directories. @file{configure} writes configuration-specific files in
33907 the current directory, but arranges for them to use the source in the
33908 directory @var{dirname}. @file{configure} creates directories under
33909 the working directory in parallel to the source directories below
33910 @var{dirname}.
33911
33912 @item --norecursion
33913 Configure only the directory level where @file{configure} is executed; do not
33914 propagate configuration to subdirectories.
33915
33916 @item --target=@var{target}
33917 Configure @value{GDBN} for cross-debugging programs running on the specified
33918 @var{target}. Without this option, @value{GDBN} is configured to debug
33919 programs that run on the same machine (@var{host}) as @value{GDBN} itself.
33920
33921 There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available targets.
33922
33923 @item @var{host} @dots{}
33924 Configure @value{GDBN} to run on the specified @var{host}.
33925
33926 There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available hosts.
33927 @end table
33928
33929 There are many other options available as well, but they are generally
33930 needed for special purposes only.
33931
33932 @node System-wide configuration
33933 @section System-wide configuration and settings
33934 @cindex system-wide init file
33935
33936 @value{GDBN} can be configured to have a system-wide init file;
33937 this file will be read and executed at startup (@pxref{Startup, , What
33938 @value{GDBN} does during startup}).
33939
33940 Here is the corresponding configure option:
33941
33942 @table @code
33943 @item --with-system-gdbinit=@var{file}
33944 Specify that the default location of the system-wide init file is
33945 @var{file}.
33946 @end table
33947
33948 If @value{GDBN} has been configured with the option @option{--prefix=$prefix},
33949 it may be subject to relocation. Two possible cases:
33950
33951 @itemize @bullet
33952 @item
33953 If the default location of this init file contains @file{$prefix},
33954 it will be subject to relocation. Suppose that the configure options
33955 are @option{--prefix=$prefix --with-system-gdbinit=$prefix/etc/gdbinit};
33956 if @value{GDBN} is moved from @file{$prefix} to @file{$install}, the system
33957 init file is looked for as @file{$install/etc/gdbinit} instead of
33958 @file{$prefix/etc/gdbinit}.
33959
33960 @item
33961 By contrast, if the default location does not contain the prefix,
33962 it will not be relocated. E.g.@: if @value{GDBN} has been configured with
33963 @option{--prefix=/usr/local --with-system-gdbinit=/usr/share/gdb/gdbinit},
33964 then @value{GDBN} will always look for @file{/usr/share/gdb/gdbinit},
33965 wherever @value{GDBN} is installed.
33966 @end itemize
33967
33968 If the configured location of the system-wide init file (as given by the
33969 @option{--with-system-gdbinit} option at configure time) is in the
33970 data-directory (as specified by @option{--with-gdb-datadir} at configure
33971 time) or in one of its subdirectories, then @value{GDBN} will look for the
33972 system-wide init file in the directory specified by the
33973 @option{--data-directory} command-line option.
33974 Note that the system-wide init file is only read once, during @value{GDBN}
33975 initialization. If the data-directory is changed after @value{GDBN} has
33976 started with the @code{set data-directory} command, the file will not be
33977 reread.
33978
33979 @menu
33980 * System-wide Configuration Scripts:: Installed System-wide Configuration Scripts
33981 @end menu
33982
33983 @node System-wide Configuration Scripts
33984 @subsection Installed System-wide Configuration Scripts
33985 @cindex system-wide configuration scripts
33986
33987 The @file{system-gdbinit} directory, located inside the data-directory
33988 (as specified by @option{--with-gdb-datadir} at configure time) contains
33989 a number of scripts which can be used as system-wide init files. To
33990 automatically source those scripts at startup, @value{GDBN} should be
33991 configured with @option{--with-system-gdbinit}. Otherwise, any user
33992 should be able to source them by hand as needed.
33993
33994 The following scripts are currently available:
33995 @itemize @bullet
33996
33997 @item @file{elinos.py}
33998 @pindex elinos.py
33999 @cindex ELinOS system-wide configuration script
34000 This script is useful when debugging a program on an ELinOS target.
34001 It takes advantage of the environment variables defined in a standard
34002 ELinOS environment in order to determine the location of the system
34003 shared libraries, and then sets the @samp{solib-absolute-prefix}
34004 and @samp{solib-search-path} variables appropriately.
34005
34006 @item @file{wrs-linux.py}
34007 @pindex wrs-linux.py
34008 @cindex Wind River Linux system-wide configuration script
34009 This script is useful when debugging a program on a target running
34010 Wind River Linux. It expects the @env{ENV_PREFIX} to be set to
34011 the host-side sysroot used by the target system.
34012
34013 @end itemize
34014
34015 @node Maintenance Commands
34016 @appendix Maintenance Commands
34017 @cindex maintenance commands
34018 @cindex internal commands
34019
34020 In addition to commands intended for @value{GDBN} users, @value{GDBN}
34021 includes a number of commands intended for @value{GDBN} developers,
34022 that are not documented elsewhere in this manual. These commands are
34023 provided here for reference. (For commands that turn on debugging
34024 messages, see @ref{Debugging Output}.)
34025
34026 @table @code
34027 @kindex maint agent
34028 @kindex maint agent-eval
34029 @item maint agent @r{[}-at @var{location}@r{,}@r{]} @var{expression}
34030 @itemx maint agent-eval @r{[}-at @var{location}@r{,}@r{]} @var{expression}
34031 Translate the given @var{expression} into remote agent bytecodes.
34032 This command is useful for debugging the Agent Expression mechanism
34033 (@pxref{Agent Expressions}). The @samp{agent} version produces an
34034 expression useful for data collection, such as by tracepoints, while
34035 @samp{maint agent-eval} produces an expression that evaluates directly
34036 to a result. For instance, a collection expression for @code{globa +
34037 globb} will include bytecodes to record four bytes of memory at each
34038 of the addresses of @code{globa} and @code{globb}, while discarding
34039 the result of the addition, while an evaluation expression will do the
34040 addition and return the sum.
34041 If @code{-at} is given, generate remote agent bytecode for @var{location}.
34042 If not, generate remote agent bytecode for current frame PC address.
34043
34044 @kindex maint agent-printf
34045 @item maint agent-printf @var{format},@var{expr},...
34046 Translate the given format string and list of argument expressions
34047 into remote agent bytecodes and display them as a disassembled list.
34048 This command is useful for debugging the agent version of dynamic
34049 printf (@pxref{Dynamic Printf}).
34050
34051 @kindex maint info breakpoints
34052 @item @anchor{maint info breakpoints}maint info breakpoints
34053 Using the same format as @samp{info breakpoints}, display both the
34054 breakpoints you've set explicitly, and those @value{GDBN} is using for
34055 internal purposes. Internal breakpoints are shown with negative
34056 breakpoint numbers. The type column identifies what kind of breakpoint
34057 is shown:
34058
34059 @table @code
34060 @item breakpoint
34061 Normal, explicitly set breakpoint.
34062
34063 @item watchpoint
34064 Normal, explicitly set watchpoint.
34065
34066 @item longjmp
34067 Internal breakpoint, used to handle correctly stepping through
34068 @code{longjmp} calls.
34069
34070 @item longjmp resume
34071 Internal breakpoint at the target of a @code{longjmp}.
34072
34073 @item until
34074 Temporary internal breakpoint used by the @value{GDBN} @code{until} command.
34075
34076 @item finish
34077 Temporary internal breakpoint used by the @value{GDBN} @code{finish} command.
34078
34079 @item shlib events
34080 Shared library events.
34081
34082 @end table
34083
34084 @kindex maint info btrace
34085 @item maint info btrace
34086 Pint information about raw branch tracing data.
34087
34088 @kindex maint btrace packet-history
34089 @item maint btrace packet-history
34090 Print the raw branch trace packets that are used to compute the
34091 execution history for the @samp{record btrace} command. Both the
34092 information and the format in which it is printed depend on the btrace
34093 recording format.
34094
34095 @table @code
34096 @item bts
34097 For the BTS recording format, print a list of blocks of sequential
34098 code. For each block, the following information is printed:
34099
34100 @table @asis
34101 @item Block number
34102 Newer blocks have higher numbers. The oldest block has number zero.
34103 @item Lowest @samp{PC}
34104 @item Highest @samp{PC}
34105 @end table
34106
34107 @item pt
34108 For the Intel Processor Trace recording format, print a list of
34109 Intel Processor Trace packets. For each packet, the following
34110 information is printed:
34111
34112 @table @asis
34113 @item Packet number
34114 Newer packets have higher numbers. The oldest packet has number zero.
34115 @item Trace offset
34116 The packet's offset in the trace stream.
34117 @item Packet opcode and payload
34118 @end table
34119 @end table
34120
34121 @kindex maint btrace clear-packet-history
34122 @item maint btrace clear-packet-history
34123 Discards the cached packet history printed by the @samp{maint btrace
34124 packet-history} command. The history will be computed again when
34125 needed.
34126
34127 @kindex maint btrace clear
34128 @item maint btrace clear
34129 Discard the branch trace data. The data will be fetched anew and the
34130 branch trace will be recomputed when needed.
34131
34132 This implicitly truncates the branch trace to a single branch trace
34133 buffer. When updating branch trace incrementally, the branch trace
34134 available to @value{GDBN} may be bigger than a single branch trace
34135 buffer.
34136
34137 @kindex maint set btrace pt skip-pad
34138 @item maint set btrace pt skip-pad
34139 @kindex maint show btrace pt skip-pad
34140 @item maint show btrace pt skip-pad
34141 Control whether @value{GDBN} will skip PAD packets when computing the
34142 packet history.
34143
34144 @kindex set displaced-stepping
34145 @kindex show displaced-stepping
34146 @cindex displaced stepping support
34147 @cindex out-of-line single-stepping
34148 @item set displaced-stepping
34149 @itemx show displaced-stepping
34150 Control whether or not @value{GDBN} will do @dfn{displaced stepping}
34151 if the target supports it. Displaced stepping is a way to single-step
34152 over breakpoints without removing them from the inferior, by executing
34153 an out-of-line copy of the instruction that was originally at the
34154 breakpoint location. It is also known as out-of-line single-stepping.
34155
34156 @table @code
34157 @item set displaced-stepping on
34158 If the target architecture supports it, @value{GDBN} will use
34159 displaced stepping to step over breakpoints.
34160
34161 @item set displaced-stepping off
34162 @value{GDBN} will not use displaced stepping to step over breakpoints,
34163 even if such is supported by the target architecture.
34164
34165 @cindex non-stop mode, and @samp{set displaced-stepping}
34166 @item set displaced-stepping auto
34167 This is the default mode. @value{GDBN} will use displaced stepping
34168 only if non-stop mode is active (@pxref{Non-Stop Mode}) and the target
34169 architecture supports displaced stepping.
34170 @end table
34171
34172 @kindex maint check-psymtabs
34173 @item maint check-psymtabs
34174 Check the consistency of currently expanded psymtabs versus symtabs.
34175 Use this to check, for example, whether a symbol is in one but not the other.
34176
34177 @kindex maint check-symtabs
34178 @item maint check-symtabs
34179 Check the consistency of currently expanded symtabs.
34180
34181 @kindex maint expand-symtabs
34182 @item maint expand-symtabs [@var{regexp}]
34183 Expand symbol tables.
34184 If @var{regexp} is specified, only expand symbol tables for file
34185 names matching @var{regexp}.
34186
34187 @kindex maint set catch-demangler-crashes
34188 @kindex maint show catch-demangler-crashes
34189 @cindex demangler crashes
34190 @item maint set catch-demangler-crashes [on|off]
34191 @itemx maint show catch-demangler-crashes
34192 Control whether @value{GDBN} should attempt to catch crashes in the
34193 symbol name demangler. The default is to attempt to catch crashes.
34194 If enabled, the first time a crash is caught, a core file is created,
34195 the offending symbol is displayed and the user is presented with the
34196 option to terminate the current session.
34197
34198 @kindex maint cplus first_component
34199 @item maint cplus first_component @var{name}
34200 Print the first C@t{++} class/namespace component of @var{name}.
34201
34202 @kindex maint cplus namespace
34203 @item maint cplus namespace
34204 Print the list of possible C@t{++} namespaces.
34205
34206 @kindex maint deprecate
34207 @kindex maint undeprecate
34208 @cindex deprecated commands
34209 @item maint deprecate @var{command} @r{[}@var{replacement}@r{]}
34210 @itemx maint undeprecate @var{command}
34211 Deprecate or undeprecate the named @var{command}. Deprecated commands
34212 cause @value{GDBN} to issue a warning when you use them. The optional
34213 argument @var{replacement} says which newer command should be used in
34214 favor of the deprecated one; if it is given, @value{GDBN} will mention
34215 the replacement as part of the warning.
34216
34217 @kindex maint dump-me
34218 @item maint dump-me
34219 @cindex @code{SIGQUIT} signal, dump core of @value{GDBN}
34220 Cause a fatal signal in the debugger and force it to dump its core.
34221 This is supported only on systems which support aborting a program
34222 with the @code{SIGQUIT} signal.
34223
34224 @kindex maint internal-error
34225 @kindex maint internal-warning
34226 @kindex maint demangler-warning
34227 @cindex demangler crashes
34228 @item maint internal-error @r{[}@var{message-text}@r{]}
34229 @itemx maint internal-warning @r{[}@var{message-text}@r{]}
34230 @itemx maint demangler-warning @r{[}@var{message-text}@r{]}
34231
34232 Cause @value{GDBN} to call the internal function @code{internal_error},
34233 @code{internal_warning} or @code{demangler_warning} and hence behave
34234 as though an internal problem has been detected. In addition to
34235 reporting the internal problem, these functions give the user the
34236 opportunity to either quit @value{GDBN} or (for @code{internal_error}
34237 and @code{internal_warning}) create a core file of the current
34238 @value{GDBN} session.
34239
34240 These commands take an optional parameter @var{message-text} that is
34241 used as the text of the error or warning message.
34242
34243 Here's an example of using @code{internal-error}:
34244
34245 @smallexample
34246 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{maint internal-error testing, 1, 2}
34247 @dots{}/maint.c:121: internal-error: testing, 1, 2
34248 A problem internal to GDB has been detected. Further
34249 debugging may prove unreliable.
34250 Quit this debugging session? (y or n) @kbd{n}
34251 Create a core file? (y or n) @kbd{n}
34252 (@value{GDBP})
34253 @end smallexample
34254
34255 @cindex @value{GDBN} internal error
34256 @cindex internal errors, control of @value{GDBN} behavior
34257 @cindex demangler crashes
34258
34259 @kindex maint set internal-error
34260 @kindex maint show internal-error
34261 @kindex maint set internal-warning
34262 @kindex maint show internal-warning
34263 @kindex maint set demangler-warning
34264 @kindex maint show demangler-warning
34265 @item maint set internal-error @var{action} [ask|yes|no]
34266 @itemx maint show internal-error @var{action}
34267 @itemx maint set internal-warning @var{action} [ask|yes|no]
34268 @itemx maint show internal-warning @var{action}
34269 @itemx maint set demangler-warning @var{action} [ask|yes|no]
34270 @itemx maint show demangler-warning @var{action}
34271 When @value{GDBN} reports an internal problem (error or warning) it
34272 gives the user the opportunity to both quit @value{GDBN} and create a
34273 core file of the current @value{GDBN} session. These commands let you
34274 override the default behaviour for each particular @var{action},
34275 described in the table below.
34276
34277 @table @samp
34278 @item quit
34279 You can specify that @value{GDBN} should always (yes) or never (no)
34280 quit. The default is to ask the user what to do.
34281
34282 @item corefile
34283 You can specify that @value{GDBN} should always (yes) or never (no)
34284 create a core file. The default is to ask the user what to do. Note
34285 that there is no @code{corefile} option for @code{demangler-warning}:
34286 demangler warnings always create a core file and this cannot be
34287 disabled.
34288 @end table
34289
34290 @kindex maint packet
34291 @item maint packet @var{text}
34292 If @value{GDBN} is talking to an inferior via the serial protocol,
34293 then this command sends the string @var{text} to the inferior, and
34294 displays the response packet. @value{GDBN} supplies the initial
34295 @samp{$} character, the terminating @samp{#} character, and the
34296 checksum.
34297
34298 @kindex maint print architecture
34299 @item maint print architecture @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
34300 Print the entire architecture configuration. The optional argument
34301 @var{file} names the file where the output goes.
34302
34303 @kindex maint print c-tdesc
34304 @item maint print c-tdesc
34305 Print the current target description (@pxref{Target Descriptions}) as
34306 a C source file. The created source file can be used in @value{GDBN}
34307 when an XML parser is not available to parse the description.
34308
34309 @kindex maint print dummy-frames
34310 @item maint print dummy-frames
34311 Prints the contents of @value{GDBN}'s internal dummy-frame stack.
34312
34313 @smallexample
34314 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{b add}
34315 @dots{}
34316 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{print add(2,3)}
34317 Breakpoint 2, add (a=2, b=3) at @dots{}
34318 58 return (a + b);
34319 The program being debugged stopped while in a function called from GDB.
34320 @dots{}
34321 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{maint print dummy-frames}
34322 0xa8206d8: id=@{stack=0xbfffe734,code=0xbfffe73f,!special@}, ptid=process 9353
34323 (@value{GDBP})
34324 @end smallexample
34325
34326 Takes an optional file parameter.
34327
34328 @kindex maint print registers
34329 @kindex maint print raw-registers
34330 @kindex maint print cooked-registers
34331 @kindex maint print register-groups
34332 @kindex maint print remote-registers
34333 @item maint print registers @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
34334 @itemx maint print raw-registers @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
34335 @itemx maint print cooked-registers @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
34336 @itemx maint print register-groups @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
34337 @itemx maint print remote-registers @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
34338 Print @value{GDBN}'s internal register data structures.
34339
34340 The command @code{maint print raw-registers} includes the contents of
34341 the raw register cache; the command @code{maint print
34342 cooked-registers} includes the (cooked) value of all registers,
34343 including registers which aren't available on the target nor visible
34344 to user; the command @code{maint print register-groups} includes the
34345 groups that each register is a member of; and the command @code{maint
34346 print remote-registers} includes the remote target's register numbers
34347 and offsets in the `G' packets.
34348
34349 These commands take an optional parameter, a file name to which to
34350 write the information.
34351
34352 @kindex maint print reggroups
34353 @item maint print reggroups @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
34354 Print @value{GDBN}'s internal register group data structures. The
34355 optional argument @var{file} tells to what file to write the
34356 information.
34357
34358 The register groups info looks like this:
34359
34360 @smallexample
34361 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{maint print reggroups}
34362 Group Type
34363 general user
34364 float user
34365 all user
34366 vector user
34367 system user
34368 save internal
34369 restore internal
34370 @end smallexample
34371
34372 @kindex flushregs
34373 @item flushregs
34374 This command forces @value{GDBN} to flush its internal register cache.
34375
34376 @kindex maint print objfiles
34377 @cindex info for known object files
34378 @item maint print objfiles @r{[}@var{regexp}@r{]}
34379 Print a dump of all known object files.
34380 If @var{regexp} is specified, only print object files whose names
34381 match @var{regexp}. For each object file, this command prints its name,
34382 address in memory, and all of its psymtabs and symtabs.
34383
34384 @kindex maint print user-registers
34385 @cindex user registers
34386 @item maint print user-registers
34387 List all currently available @dfn{user registers}. User registers
34388 typically provide alternate names for actual hardware registers. They
34389 include the four ``standard'' registers @code{$fp}, @code{$pc},
34390 @code{$sp}, and @code{$ps}. @xref{standard registers}. User
34391 registers can be used in expressions in the same way as the canonical
34392 register names, but only the latter are listed by the @code{info
34393 registers} and @code{maint print registers} commands.
34394
34395 @kindex maint print section-scripts
34396 @cindex info for known .debug_gdb_scripts-loaded scripts
34397 @item maint print section-scripts [@var{regexp}]
34398 Print a dump of scripts specified in the @code{.debug_gdb_section} section.
34399 If @var{regexp} is specified, only print scripts loaded by object files
34400 matching @var{regexp}.
34401 For each script, this command prints its name as specified in the objfile,
34402 and the full path if known.
34403 @xref{dotdebug_gdb_scripts section}.
34404
34405 @kindex maint print statistics
34406 @cindex bcache statistics
34407 @item maint print statistics
34408 This command prints, for each object file in the program, various data
34409 about that object file followed by the byte cache (@dfn{bcache})
34410 statistics for the object file. The objfile data includes the number
34411 of minimal, partial, full, and stabs symbols, the number of types
34412 defined by the objfile, the number of as yet unexpanded psym tables,
34413 the number of line tables and string tables, and the amount of memory
34414 used by the various tables. The bcache statistics include the counts,
34415 sizes, and counts of duplicates of all and unique objects, max,
34416 average, and median entry size, total memory used and its overhead and
34417 savings, and various measures of the hash table size and chain
34418 lengths.
34419
34420 @kindex maint print target-stack
34421 @cindex target stack description
34422 @item maint print target-stack
34423 A @dfn{target} is an interface between the debugger and a particular
34424 kind of file or process. Targets can be stacked in @dfn{strata},
34425 so that more than one target can potentially respond to a request.
34426 In particular, memory accesses will walk down the stack of targets
34427 until they find a target that is interested in handling that particular
34428 address.
34429
34430 This command prints a short description of each layer that was pushed on
34431 the @dfn{target stack}, starting from the top layer down to the bottom one.
34432
34433 @kindex maint print type
34434 @cindex type chain of a data type
34435 @item maint print type @var{expr}
34436 Print the type chain for a type specified by @var{expr}. The argument
34437 can be either a type name or a symbol. If it is a symbol, the type of
34438 that symbol is described. The type chain produced by this command is
34439 a recursive definition of the data type as stored in @value{GDBN}'s
34440 data structures, including its flags and contained types.
34441
34442 @kindex maint set dwarf always-disassemble
34443 @kindex maint show dwarf always-disassemble
34444 @item maint set dwarf always-disassemble
34445 @item maint show dwarf always-disassemble
34446 Control the behavior of @code{info address} when using DWARF debugging
34447 information.
34448
34449 The default is @code{off}, which means that @value{GDBN} should try to
34450 describe a variable's location in an easily readable format. When
34451 @code{on}, @value{GDBN} will instead display the DWARF location
34452 expression in an assembly-like format. Note that some locations are
34453 too complex for @value{GDBN} to describe simply; in this case you will
34454 always see the disassembly form.
34455
34456 Here is an example of the resulting disassembly:
34457
34458 @smallexample
34459 (gdb) info addr argc
34460 Symbol "argc" is a complex DWARF expression:
34461 1: DW_OP_fbreg 0
34462 @end smallexample
34463
34464 For more information on these expressions, see
34465 @uref{http://www.dwarfstd.org/, the DWARF standard}.
34466
34467 @kindex maint set dwarf max-cache-age
34468 @kindex maint show dwarf max-cache-age
34469 @item maint set dwarf max-cache-age
34470 @itemx maint show dwarf max-cache-age
34471 Control the DWARF compilation unit cache.
34472
34473 @cindex DWARF compilation units cache
34474 In object files with inter-compilation-unit references, such as those
34475 produced by the GCC option @samp{-feliminate-dwarf2-dups}, the DWARF
34476 reader needs to frequently refer to previously read compilation units.
34477 This setting controls how long a compilation unit will remain in the
34478 cache if it is not referenced. A higher limit means that cached
34479 compilation units will be stored in memory longer, and more total
34480 memory will be used. Setting it to zero disables caching, which will
34481 slow down @value{GDBN} startup, but reduce memory consumption.
34482
34483 @kindex maint set profile
34484 @kindex maint show profile
34485 @cindex profiling GDB
34486 @item maint set profile
34487 @itemx maint show profile
34488 Control profiling of @value{GDBN}.
34489
34490 Profiling will be disabled until you use the @samp{maint set profile}
34491 command to enable it. When you enable profiling, the system will begin
34492 collecting timing and execution count data; when you disable profiling or
34493 exit @value{GDBN}, the results will be written to a log file. Remember that
34494 if you use profiling, @value{GDBN} will overwrite the profiling log file
34495 (often called @file{gmon.out}). If you have a record of important profiling
34496 data in a @file{gmon.out} file, be sure to move it to a safe location.
34497
34498 Configuring with @samp{--enable-profiling} arranges for @value{GDBN} to be
34499 compiled with the @samp{-pg} compiler option.
34500
34501 @kindex maint set show-debug-regs
34502 @kindex maint show show-debug-regs
34503 @cindex hardware debug registers
34504 @item maint set show-debug-regs
34505 @itemx maint show show-debug-regs
34506 Control whether to show variables that mirror the hardware debug
34507 registers. Use @code{on} to enable, @code{off} to disable. If
34508 enabled, the debug registers values are shown when @value{GDBN} inserts or
34509 removes a hardware breakpoint or watchpoint, and when the inferior
34510 triggers a hardware-assisted breakpoint or watchpoint.
34511
34512 @kindex maint set show-all-tib
34513 @kindex maint show show-all-tib
34514 @item maint set show-all-tib
34515 @itemx maint show show-all-tib
34516 Control whether to show all non zero areas within a 1k block starting
34517 at thread local base, when using the @samp{info w32 thread-information-block}
34518 command.
34519
34520 @kindex maint set target-async
34521 @kindex maint show target-async
34522 @item maint set target-async
34523 @itemx maint show target-async
34524 This controls whether @value{GDBN} targets operate in synchronous or
34525 asynchronous mode (@pxref{Background Execution}). Normally the
34526 default is asynchronous, if it is available; but this can be changed
34527 to more easily debug problems occurring only in synchronous mode.
34528
34529 @kindex maint set target-non-stop @var{mode} [on|off|auto]
34530 @kindex maint show target-non-stop
34531 @item maint set target-non-stop
34532 @itemx maint show target-non-stop
34533
34534 This controls whether @value{GDBN} targets always operate in non-stop
34535 mode even if @code{set non-stop} is @code{off} (@pxref{Non-Stop
34536 Mode}). The default is @code{auto}, meaning non-stop mode is enabled
34537 if supported by the target.
34538
34539 @table @code
34540 @item maint set target-non-stop auto
34541 This is the default mode. @value{GDBN} controls the target in
34542 non-stop mode if the target supports it.
34543
34544 @item maint set target-non-stop on
34545 @value{GDBN} controls the target in non-stop mode even if the target
34546 does not indicate support.
34547
34548 @item maint set target-non-stop off
34549 @value{GDBN} does not control the target in non-stop mode even if the
34550 target supports it.
34551 @end table
34552
34553 @kindex maint set per-command
34554 @kindex maint show per-command
34555 @item maint set per-command
34556 @itemx maint show per-command
34557 @cindex resources used by commands
34558
34559 @value{GDBN} can display the resources used by each command.
34560 This is useful in debugging performance problems.
34561
34562 @table @code
34563 @item maint set per-command space [on|off]
34564 @itemx maint show per-command space
34565 Enable or disable the printing of the memory used by GDB for each command.
34566 If enabled, @value{GDBN} will display how much memory each command
34567 took, following the command's own output.
34568 This can also be requested by invoking @value{GDBN} with the
34569 @option{--statistics} command-line switch (@pxref{Mode Options}).
34570
34571 @item maint set per-command time [on|off]
34572 @itemx maint show per-command time
34573 Enable or disable the printing of the execution time of @value{GDBN}
34574 for each command.
34575 If enabled, @value{GDBN} will display how much time it
34576 took to execute each command, following the command's own output.
34577 Both CPU time and wallclock time are printed.
34578 Printing both is useful when trying to determine whether the cost is
34579 CPU or, e.g., disk/network latency.
34580 Note that the CPU time printed is for @value{GDBN} only, it does not include
34581 the execution time of the inferior because there's no mechanism currently
34582 to compute how much time was spent by @value{GDBN} and how much time was
34583 spent by the program been debugged.
34584 This can also be requested by invoking @value{GDBN} with the
34585 @option{--statistics} command-line switch (@pxref{Mode Options}).
34586
34587 @item maint set per-command symtab [on|off]
34588 @itemx maint show per-command symtab
34589 Enable or disable the printing of basic symbol table statistics
34590 for each command.
34591 If enabled, @value{GDBN} will display the following information:
34592
34593 @enumerate a
34594 @item
34595 number of symbol tables
34596 @item
34597 number of primary symbol tables
34598 @item
34599 number of blocks in the blockvector
34600 @end enumerate
34601 @end table
34602
34603 @kindex maint space
34604 @cindex memory used by commands
34605 @item maint space @var{value}
34606 An alias for @code{maint set per-command space}.
34607 A non-zero value enables it, zero disables it.
34608
34609 @kindex maint time
34610 @cindex time of command execution
34611 @item maint time @var{value}
34612 An alias for @code{maint set per-command time}.
34613 A non-zero value enables it, zero disables it.
34614
34615 @kindex maint translate-address
34616 @item maint translate-address @r{[}@var{section}@r{]} @var{addr}
34617 Find the symbol stored at the location specified by the address
34618 @var{addr} and an optional section name @var{section}. If found,
34619 @value{GDBN} prints the name of the closest symbol and an offset from
34620 the symbol's location to the specified address. This is similar to
34621 the @code{info address} command (@pxref{Symbols}), except that this
34622 command also allows to find symbols in other sections.
34623
34624 If section was not specified, the section in which the symbol was found
34625 is also printed. For dynamically linked executables, the name of
34626 executable or shared library containing the symbol is printed as well.
34627
34628 @end table
34629
34630 The following command is useful for non-interactive invocations of
34631 @value{GDBN}, such as in the test suite.
34632
34633 @table @code
34634 @item set watchdog @var{nsec}
34635 @kindex set watchdog
34636 @cindex watchdog timer
34637 @cindex timeout for commands
34638 Set the maximum number of seconds @value{GDBN} will wait for the
34639 target operation to finish. If this time expires, @value{GDBN}
34640 reports and error and the command is aborted.
34641
34642 @item show watchdog
34643 Show the current setting of the target wait timeout.
34644 @end table
34645
34646 @node Remote Protocol
34647 @appendix @value{GDBN} Remote Serial Protocol
34648
34649 @menu
34650 * Overview::
34651 * Packets::
34652 * Stop Reply Packets::
34653 * General Query Packets::
34654 * Architecture-Specific Protocol Details::
34655 * Tracepoint Packets::
34656 * Host I/O Packets::
34657 * Interrupts::
34658 * Notification Packets::
34659 * Remote Non-Stop::
34660 * Packet Acknowledgment::
34661 * Examples::
34662 * File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension::
34663 * Library List Format::
34664 * Library List Format for SVR4 Targets::
34665 * Memory Map Format::
34666 * Thread List Format::
34667 * Traceframe Info Format::
34668 * Branch Trace Format::
34669 * Branch Trace Configuration Format::
34670 @end menu
34671
34672 @node Overview
34673 @section Overview
34674
34675 There may be occasions when you need to know something about the
34676 protocol---for example, if there is only one serial port to your target
34677 machine, you might want your program to do something special if it
34678 recognizes a packet meant for @value{GDBN}.
34679
34680 In the examples below, @samp{->} and @samp{<-} are used to indicate
34681 transmitted and received data, respectively.
34682
34683 @cindex protocol, @value{GDBN} remote serial
34684 @cindex serial protocol, @value{GDBN} remote
34685 @cindex remote serial protocol
34686 All @value{GDBN} commands and responses (other than acknowledgments
34687 and notifications, see @ref{Notification Packets}) are sent as a
34688 @var{packet}. A @var{packet} is introduced with the character
34689 @samp{$}, the actual @var{packet-data}, and the terminating character
34690 @samp{#} followed by a two-digit @var{checksum}:
34691
34692 @smallexample
34693 @code{$}@var{packet-data}@code{#}@var{checksum}
34694 @end smallexample
34695 @noindent
34696
34697 @cindex checksum, for @value{GDBN} remote
34698 @noindent
34699 The two-digit @var{checksum} is computed as the modulo 256 sum of all
34700 characters between the leading @samp{$} and the trailing @samp{#} (an
34701 eight bit unsigned checksum).
34702
34703 Implementors should note that prior to @value{GDBN} 5.0 the protocol
34704 specification also included an optional two-digit @var{sequence-id}:
34705
34706 @smallexample
34707 @code{$}@var{sequence-id}@code{:}@var{packet-data}@code{#}@var{checksum}
34708 @end smallexample
34709
34710 @cindex sequence-id, for @value{GDBN} remote
34711 @noindent
34712 That @var{sequence-id} was appended to the acknowledgment. @value{GDBN}
34713 has never output @var{sequence-id}s. Stubs that handle packets added
34714 since @value{GDBN} 5.0 must not accept @var{sequence-id}.
34715
34716 When either the host or the target machine receives a packet, the first
34717 response expected is an acknowledgment: either @samp{+} (to indicate
34718 the package was received correctly) or @samp{-} (to request
34719 retransmission):
34720
34721 @smallexample
34722 -> @code{$}@var{packet-data}@code{#}@var{checksum}
34723 <- @code{+}
34724 @end smallexample
34725 @noindent
34726
34727 The @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgments can be disabled
34728 once a connection is established.
34729 @xref{Packet Acknowledgment}, for details.
34730
34731 The host (@value{GDBN}) sends @var{command}s, and the target (the
34732 debugging stub incorporated in your program) sends a @var{response}. In
34733 the case of step and continue @var{command}s, the response is only sent
34734 when the operation has completed, and the target has again stopped all
34735 threads in all attached processes. This is the default all-stop mode
34736 behavior, but the remote protocol also supports @value{GDBN}'s non-stop
34737 execution mode; see @ref{Remote Non-Stop}, for details.
34738
34739 @var{packet-data} consists of a sequence of characters with the
34740 exception of @samp{#} and @samp{$} (see @samp{X} packet for additional
34741 exceptions).
34742
34743 @cindex remote protocol, field separator
34744 Fields within the packet should be separated using @samp{,} @samp{;} or
34745 @samp{:}. Except where otherwise noted all numbers are represented in
34746 @sc{hex} with leading zeros suppressed.
34747
34748 Implementors should note that prior to @value{GDBN} 5.0, the character
34749 @samp{:} could not appear as the third character in a packet (as it
34750 would potentially conflict with the @var{sequence-id}).
34751
34752 @cindex remote protocol, binary data
34753 @anchor{Binary Data}
34754 Binary data in most packets is encoded either as two hexadecimal
34755 digits per byte of binary data. This allowed the traditional remote
34756 protocol to work over connections which were only seven-bit clean.
34757 Some packets designed more recently assume an eight-bit clean
34758 connection, and use a more efficient encoding to send and receive
34759 binary data.
34760
34761 The binary data representation uses @code{7d} (@sc{ascii} @samp{@}})
34762 as an escape character. Any escaped byte is transmitted as the escape
34763 character followed by the original character XORed with @code{0x20}.
34764 For example, the byte @code{0x7d} would be transmitted as the two
34765 bytes @code{0x7d 0x5d}. The bytes @code{0x23} (@sc{ascii} @samp{#}),
34766 @code{0x24} (@sc{ascii} @samp{$}), and @code{0x7d} (@sc{ascii}
34767 @samp{@}}) must always be escaped. Responses sent by the stub
34768 must also escape @code{0x2a} (@sc{ascii} @samp{*}), so that it
34769 is not interpreted as the start of a run-length encoded sequence
34770 (described next).
34771
34772 Response @var{data} can be run-length encoded to save space.
34773 Run-length encoding replaces runs of identical characters with one
34774 instance of the repeated character, followed by a @samp{*} and a
34775 repeat count. The repeat count is itself sent encoded, to avoid
34776 binary characters in @var{data}: a value of @var{n} is sent as
34777 @code{@var{n}+29}. For a repeat count greater or equal to 3, this
34778 produces a printable @sc{ascii} character, e.g.@: a space (@sc{ascii}
34779 code 32) for a repeat count of 3. (This is because run-length
34780 encoding starts to win for counts 3 or more.) Thus, for example,
34781 @samp{0* } is a run-length encoding of ``0000'': the space character
34782 after @samp{*} means repeat the leading @code{0} @w{@code{32 - 29 =
34783 3}} more times.
34784
34785 The printable characters @samp{#} and @samp{$} or with a numeric value
34786 greater than 126 must not be used. Runs of six repeats (@samp{#}) or
34787 seven repeats (@samp{$}) can be expanded using a repeat count of only
34788 five (@samp{"}). For example, @samp{00000000} can be encoded as
34789 @samp{0*"00}.
34790
34791 The error response returned for some packets includes a two character
34792 error number. That number is not well defined.
34793
34794 @cindex empty response, for unsupported packets
34795 For any @var{command} not supported by the stub, an empty response
34796 (@samp{$#00}) should be returned. That way it is possible to extend the
34797 protocol. A newer @value{GDBN} can tell if a packet is supported based
34798 on that response.
34799
34800 At a minimum, a stub is required to support the @samp{g} and @samp{G}
34801 commands for register access, and the @samp{m} and @samp{M} commands
34802 for memory access. Stubs that only control single-threaded targets
34803 can implement run control with the @samp{c} (continue), and @samp{s}
34804 (step) commands. Stubs that support multi-threading targets should
34805 support the @samp{vCont} command. All other commands are optional.
34806
34807 @node Packets
34808 @section Packets
34809
34810 The following table provides a complete list of all currently defined
34811 @var{command}s and their corresponding response @var{data}.
34812 @xref{File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension}, for details about the File
34813 I/O extension of the remote protocol.
34814
34815 Each packet's description has a template showing the packet's overall
34816 syntax, followed by an explanation of the packet's meaning. We
34817 include spaces in some of the templates for clarity; these are not
34818 part of the packet's syntax. No @value{GDBN} packet uses spaces to
34819 separate its components. For example, a template like @samp{foo
34820 @var{bar} @var{baz}} describes a packet beginning with the three ASCII
34821 bytes @samp{foo}, followed by a @var{bar}, followed directly by a
34822 @var{baz}. @value{GDBN} does not transmit a space character between the
34823 @samp{foo} and the @var{bar}, or between the @var{bar} and the
34824 @var{baz}.
34825
34826 @cindex @var{thread-id}, in remote protocol
34827 @anchor{thread-id syntax}
34828 Several packets and replies include a @var{thread-id} field to identify
34829 a thread. Normally these are positive numbers with a target-specific
34830 interpretation, formatted as big-endian hex strings. A @var{thread-id}
34831 can also be a literal @samp{-1} to indicate all threads, or @samp{0} to
34832 pick any thread.
34833
34834 In addition, the remote protocol supports a multiprocess feature in
34835 which the @var{thread-id} syntax is extended to optionally include both
34836 process and thread ID fields, as @samp{p@var{pid}.@var{tid}}.
34837 The @var{pid} (process) and @var{tid} (thread) components each have the
34838 format described above: a positive number with target-specific
34839 interpretation formatted as a big-endian hex string, literal @samp{-1}
34840 to indicate all processes or threads (respectively), or @samp{0} to
34841 indicate an arbitrary process or thread. Specifying just a process, as
34842 @samp{p@var{pid}}, is equivalent to @samp{p@var{pid}.-1}. It is an
34843 error to specify all processes but a specific thread, such as
34844 @samp{p-1.@var{tid}}. Note that the @samp{p} prefix is @emph{not} used
34845 for those packets and replies explicitly documented to include a process
34846 ID, rather than a @var{thread-id}.
34847
34848 The multiprocess @var{thread-id} syntax extensions are only used if both
34849 @value{GDBN} and the stub report support for the @samp{multiprocess}
34850 feature using @samp{qSupported}. @xref{multiprocess extensions}, for
34851 more information.
34852
34853 Note that all packet forms beginning with an upper- or lower-case
34854 letter, other than those described here, are reserved for future use.
34855
34856 Here are the packet descriptions.
34857
34858 @table @samp
34859
34860 @item !
34861 @cindex @samp{!} packet
34862 @anchor{extended mode}
34863 Enable extended mode. In extended mode, the remote server is made
34864 persistent. The @samp{R} packet is used to restart the program being
34865 debugged.
34866
34867 Reply:
34868 @table @samp
34869 @item OK
34870 The remote target both supports and has enabled extended mode.
34871 @end table
34872
34873 @item ?
34874 @cindex @samp{?} packet
34875 @anchor{? packet}
34876 Indicate the reason the target halted. The reply is the same as for
34877 step and continue. This packet has a special interpretation when the
34878 target is in non-stop mode; see @ref{Remote Non-Stop}.
34879
34880 Reply:
34881 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
34882
34883 @item A @var{arglen},@var{argnum},@var{arg},@dots{}
34884 @cindex @samp{A} packet
34885 Initialized @code{argv[]} array passed into program. @var{arglen}
34886 specifies the number of bytes in the hex encoded byte stream
34887 @var{arg}. See @code{gdbserver} for more details.
34888
34889 Reply:
34890 @table @samp
34891 @item OK
34892 The arguments were set.
34893 @item E @var{NN}
34894 An error occurred.
34895 @end table
34896
34897 @item b @var{baud}
34898 @cindex @samp{b} packet
34899 (Don't use this packet; its behavior is not well-defined.)
34900 Change the serial line speed to @var{baud}.
34901
34902 JTC: @emph{When does the transport layer state change? When it's
34903 received, or after the ACK is transmitted. In either case, there are
34904 problems if the command or the acknowledgment packet is dropped.}
34905
34906 Stan: @emph{If people really wanted to add something like this, and get
34907 it working for the first time, they ought to modify ser-unix.c to send
34908 some kind of out-of-band message to a specially-setup stub and have the
34909 switch happen "in between" packets, so that from remote protocol's point
34910 of view, nothing actually happened.}
34911
34912 @item B @var{addr},@var{mode}
34913 @cindex @samp{B} packet
34914 Set (@var{mode} is @samp{S}) or clear (@var{mode} is @samp{C}) a
34915 breakpoint at @var{addr}.
34916
34917 Don't use this packet. Use the @samp{Z} and @samp{z} packets instead
34918 (@pxref{insert breakpoint or watchpoint packet}).
34919
34920 @cindex @samp{bc} packet
34921 @anchor{bc}
34922 @item bc
34923 Backward continue. Execute the target system in reverse. No parameter.
34924 @xref{Reverse Execution}, for more information.
34925
34926 Reply:
34927 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
34928
34929 @cindex @samp{bs} packet
34930 @anchor{bs}
34931 @item bs
34932 Backward single step. Execute one instruction in reverse. No parameter.
34933 @xref{Reverse Execution}, for more information.
34934
34935 Reply:
34936 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
34937
34938 @item c @r{[}@var{addr}@r{]}
34939 @cindex @samp{c} packet
34940 Continue at @var{addr}, which is the address to resume. If @var{addr}
34941 is omitted, resume at current address.
34942
34943 This packet is deprecated for multi-threading support. @xref{vCont
34944 packet}.
34945
34946 Reply:
34947 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
34948
34949 @item C @var{sig}@r{[};@var{addr}@r{]}
34950 @cindex @samp{C} packet
34951 Continue with signal @var{sig} (hex signal number). If
34952 @samp{;@var{addr}} is omitted, resume at same address.
34953
34954 This packet is deprecated for multi-threading support. @xref{vCont
34955 packet}.
34956
34957 Reply:
34958 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
34959
34960 @item d
34961 @cindex @samp{d} packet
34962 Toggle debug flag.
34963
34964 Don't use this packet; instead, define a general set packet
34965 (@pxref{General Query Packets}).
34966
34967 @item D
34968 @itemx D;@var{pid}
34969 @cindex @samp{D} packet
34970 The first form of the packet is used to detach @value{GDBN} from the
34971 remote system. It is sent to the remote target
34972 before @value{GDBN} disconnects via the @code{detach} command.
34973
34974 The second form, including a process ID, is used when multiprocess
34975 protocol extensions are enabled (@pxref{multiprocess extensions}), to
34976 detach only a specific process. The @var{pid} is specified as a
34977 big-endian hex string.
34978
34979 Reply:
34980 @table @samp
34981 @item OK
34982 for success
34983 @item E @var{NN}
34984 for an error
34985 @end table
34986
34987 @item F @var{RC},@var{EE},@var{CF};@var{XX}
34988 @cindex @samp{F} packet
34989 A reply from @value{GDBN} to an @samp{F} packet sent by the target.
34990 This is part of the File-I/O protocol extension. @xref{File-I/O
34991 Remote Protocol Extension}, for the specification.
34992
34993 @item g
34994 @anchor{read registers packet}
34995 @cindex @samp{g} packet
34996 Read general registers.
34997
34998 Reply:
34999 @table @samp
35000 @item @var{XX@dots{}}
35001 Each byte of register data is described by two hex digits. The bytes
35002 with the register are transmitted in target byte order. The size of
35003 each register and their position within the @samp{g} packet are
35004 determined by the @value{GDBN} internal gdbarch functions
35005 @code{DEPRECATED_REGISTER_RAW_SIZE} and @code{gdbarch_register_name}. The
35006 specification of several standard @samp{g} packets is specified below.
35007
35008 When reading registers from a trace frame (@pxref{Analyze Collected
35009 Data,,Using the Collected Data}), the stub may also return a string of
35010 literal @samp{x}'s in place of the register data digits, to indicate
35011 that the corresponding register has not been collected, thus its value
35012 is unavailable. For example, for an architecture with 4 registers of
35013 4 bytes each, the following reply indicates to @value{GDBN} that
35014 registers 0 and 2 have not been collected, while registers 1 and 3
35015 have been collected, and both have zero value:
35016
35017 @smallexample
35018 -> @code{g}
35019 <- @code{xxxxxxxx00000000xxxxxxxx00000000}
35020 @end smallexample
35021
35022 @item E @var{NN}
35023 for an error.
35024 @end table
35025
35026 @item G @var{XX@dots{}}
35027 @cindex @samp{G} packet
35028 Write general registers. @xref{read registers packet}, for a
35029 description of the @var{XX@dots{}} data.
35030
35031 Reply:
35032 @table @samp
35033 @item OK
35034 for success
35035 @item E @var{NN}
35036 for an error
35037 @end table
35038
35039 @item H @var{op} @var{thread-id}
35040 @cindex @samp{H} packet
35041 Set thread for subsequent operations (@samp{m}, @samp{M}, @samp{g},
35042 @samp{G}, et.al.). Depending on the operation to be performed, @var{op}
35043 should be @samp{c} for step and continue operations (note that this
35044 is deprecated, supporting the @samp{vCont} command is a better
35045 option), and @samp{g} for other operations. The thread designator
35046 @var{thread-id} has the format and interpretation described in
35047 @ref{thread-id syntax}.
35048
35049 Reply:
35050 @table @samp
35051 @item OK
35052 for success
35053 @item E @var{NN}
35054 for an error
35055 @end table
35056
35057 @c FIXME: JTC:
35058 @c 'H': How restrictive (or permissive) is the thread model. If a
35059 @c thread is selected and stopped, are other threads allowed
35060 @c to continue to execute? As I mentioned above, I think the
35061 @c semantics of each command when a thread is selected must be
35062 @c described. For example:
35063 @c
35064 @c 'g': If the stub supports threads and a specific thread is
35065 @c selected, returns the register block from that thread;
35066 @c otherwise returns current registers.
35067 @c
35068 @c 'G' If the stub supports threads and a specific thread is
35069 @c selected, sets the registers of the register block of
35070 @c that thread; otherwise sets current registers.
35071
35072 @item i @r{[}@var{addr}@r{[},@var{nnn}@r{]]}
35073 @anchor{cycle step packet}
35074 @cindex @samp{i} packet
35075 Step the remote target by a single clock cycle. If @samp{,@var{nnn}} is
35076 present, cycle step @var{nnn} cycles. If @var{addr} is present, cycle
35077 step starting at that address.
35078
35079 @item I
35080 @cindex @samp{I} packet
35081 Signal, then cycle step. @xref{step with signal packet}. @xref{cycle
35082 step packet}.
35083
35084 @item k
35085 @cindex @samp{k} packet
35086 Kill request.
35087
35088 The exact effect of this packet is not specified.
35089
35090 For a bare-metal target, it may power cycle or reset the target
35091 system. For that reason, the @samp{k} packet has no reply.
35092
35093 For a single-process target, it may kill that process if possible.
35094
35095 A multiple-process target may choose to kill just one process, or all
35096 that are under @value{GDBN}'s control. For more precise control, use
35097 the vKill packet (@pxref{vKill packet}).
35098
35099 If the target system immediately closes the connection in response to
35100 @samp{k}, @value{GDBN} does not consider the lack of packet
35101 acknowledgment to be an error, and assumes the kill was successful.
35102
35103 If connected using @kbd{target extended-remote}, and the target does
35104 not close the connection in response to a kill request, @value{GDBN}
35105 probes the target state as if a new connection was opened
35106 (@pxref{? packet}).
35107
35108 @item m @var{addr},@var{length}
35109 @cindex @samp{m} packet
35110 Read @var{length} addressable memory units starting at address @var{addr}
35111 (@pxref{addressable memory unit}). Note that @var{addr} may not be aligned to
35112 any particular boundary.
35113
35114 The stub need not use any particular size or alignment when gathering
35115 data from memory for the response; even if @var{addr} is word-aligned
35116 and @var{length} is a multiple of the word size, the stub is free to
35117 use byte accesses, or not. For this reason, this packet may not be
35118 suitable for accessing memory-mapped I/O devices.
35119 @cindex alignment of remote memory accesses
35120 @cindex size of remote memory accesses
35121 @cindex memory, alignment and size of remote accesses
35122
35123 Reply:
35124 @table @samp
35125 @item @var{XX@dots{}}
35126 Memory contents; each byte is transmitted as a two-digit hexadecimal number.
35127 The reply may contain fewer addressable memory units than requested if the
35128 server was able to read only part of the region of memory.
35129 @item E @var{NN}
35130 @var{NN} is errno
35131 @end table
35132
35133 @item M @var{addr},@var{length}:@var{XX@dots{}}
35134 @cindex @samp{M} packet
35135 Write @var{length} addressable memory units starting at address @var{addr}
35136 (@pxref{addressable memory unit}). The data is given by @var{XX@dots{}}; each
35137 byte is transmitted as a two-digit hexadecimal number.
35138
35139 Reply:
35140 @table @samp
35141 @item OK
35142 for success
35143 @item E @var{NN}
35144 for an error (this includes the case where only part of the data was
35145 written).
35146 @end table
35147
35148 @item p @var{n}
35149 @cindex @samp{p} packet
35150 Read the value of register @var{n}; @var{n} is in hex.
35151 @xref{read registers packet}, for a description of how the returned
35152 register value is encoded.
35153
35154 Reply:
35155 @table @samp
35156 @item @var{XX@dots{}}
35157 the register's value
35158 @item E @var{NN}
35159 for an error
35160 @item @w{}
35161 Indicating an unrecognized @var{query}.
35162 @end table
35163
35164 @item P @var{n@dots{}}=@var{r@dots{}}
35165 @anchor{write register packet}
35166 @cindex @samp{P} packet
35167 Write register @var{n@dots{}} with value @var{r@dots{}}. The register
35168 number @var{n} is in hexadecimal, and @var{r@dots{}} contains two hex
35169 digits for each byte in the register (target byte order).
35170
35171 Reply:
35172 @table @samp
35173 @item OK
35174 for success
35175 @item E @var{NN}
35176 for an error
35177 @end table
35178
35179 @item q @var{name} @var{params}@dots{}
35180 @itemx Q @var{name} @var{params}@dots{}
35181 @cindex @samp{q} packet
35182 @cindex @samp{Q} packet
35183 General query (@samp{q}) and set (@samp{Q}). These packets are
35184 described fully in @ref{General Query Packets}.
35185
35186 @item r
35187 @cindex @samp{r} packet
35188 Reset the entire system.
35189
35190 Don't use this packet; use the @samp{R} packet instead.
35191
35192 @item R @var{XX}
35193 @cindex @samp{R} packet
35194 Restart the program being debugged. The @var{XX}, while needed, is ignored.
35195 This packet is only available in extended mode (@pxref{extended mode}).
35196
35197 The @samp{R} packet has no reply.
35198
35199 @item s @r{[}@var{addr}@r{]}
35200 @cindex @samp{s} packet
35201 Single step, resuming at @var{addr}. If
35202 @var{addr} is omitted, resume at same address.
35203
35204 This packet is deprecated for multi-threading support. @xref{vCont
35205 packet}.
35206
35207 Reply:
35208 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
35209
35210 @item S @var{sig}@r{[};@var{addr}@r{]}
35211 @anchor{step with signal packet}
35212 @cindex @samp{S} packet
35213 Step with signal. This is analogous to the @samp{C} packet, but
35214 requests a single-step, rather than a normal resumption of execution.
35215
35216 This packet is deprecated for multi-threading support. @xref{vCont
35217 packet}.
35218
35219 Reply:
35220 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
35221
35222 @item t @var{addr}:@var{PP},@var{MM}
35223 @cindex @samp{t} packet
35224 Search backwards starting at address @var{addr} for a match with pattern
35225 @var{PP} and mask @var{MM}, both of which are are 4 byte long.
35226 There must be at least 3 digits in @var{addr}.
35227
35228 @item T @var{thread-id}
35229 @cindex @samp{T} packet
35230 Find out if the thread @var{thread-id} is alive. @xref{thread-id syntax}.
35231
35232 Reply:
35233 @table @samp
35234 @item OK
35235 thread is still alive
35236 @item E @var{NN}
35237 thread is dead
35238 @end table
35239
35240 @item v
35241 Packets starting with @samp{v} are identified by a multi-letter name,
35242 up to the first @samp{;} or @samp{?} (or the end of the packet).
35243
35244 @item vAttach;@var{pid}
35245 @cindex @samp{vAttach} packet
35246 Attach to a new process with the specified process ID @var{pid}.
35247 The process ID is a
35248 hexadecimal integer identifying the process. In all-stop mode, all
35249 threads in the attached process are stopped; in non-stop mode, it may be
35250 attached without being stopped if that is supported by the target.
35251
35252 @c In non-stop mode, on a successful vAttach, the stub should set the
35253 @c current thread to a thread of the newly-attached process. After
35254 @c attaching, GDB queries for the attached process's thread ID with qC.
35255 @c Also note that, from a user perspective, whether or not the
35256 @c target is stopped on attach in non-stop mode depends on whether you
35257 @c use the foreground or background version of the attach command, not
35258 @c on what vAttach does; GDB does the right thing with respect to either
35259 @c stopping or restarting threads.
35260
35261 This packet is only available in extended mode (@pxref{extended mode}).
35262
35263 Reply:
35264 @table @samp
35265 @item E @var{nn}
35266 for an error
35267 @item @r{Any stop packet}
35268 for success in all-stop mode (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets})
35269 @item OK
35270 for success in non-stop mode (@pxref{Remote Non-Stop})
35271 @end table
35272
35273 @item vCont@r{[};@var{action}@r{[}:@var{thread-id}@r{]]}@dots{}
35274 @cindex @samp{vCont} packet
35275 @anchor{vCont packet}
35276 Resume the inferior, specifying different actions for each thread.
35277 If an action is specified with no @var{thread-id}, then it is applied to any
35278 threads that don't have a specific action specified; if no default action is
35279 specified then other threads should remain stopped in all-stop mode and
35280 in their current state in non-stop mode.
35281 Specifying multiple
35282 default actions is an error; specifying no actions is also an error.
35283 Thread IDs are specified using the syntax described in @ref{thread-id syntax}.
35284
35285 Currently supported actions are:
35286
35287 @table @samp
35288 @item c
35289 Continue.
35290 @item C @var{sig}
35291 Continue with signal @var{sig}. The signal @var{sig} should be two hex digits.
35292 @item s
35293 Step.
35294 @item S @var{sig}
35295 Step with signal @var{sig}. The signal @var{sig} should be two hex digits.
35296 @item t
35297 Stop.
35298 @item r @var{start},@var{end}
35299 Step once, and then keep stepping as long as the thread stops at
35300 addresses between @var{start} (inclusive) and @var{end} (exclusive).
35301 The remote stub reports a stop reply when either the thread goes out
35302 of the range or is stopped due to an unrelated reason, such as hitting
35303 a breakpoint. @xref{range stepping}.
35304
35305 If the range is empty (@var{start} == @var{end}), then the action
35306 becomes equivalent to the @samp{s} action. In other words,
35307 single-step once, and report the stop (even if the stepped instruction
35308 jumps to @var{start}).
35309
35310 (A stop reply may be sent at any point even if the PC is still within
35311 the stepping range; for example, it is valid to implement this packet
35312 in a degenerate way as a single instruction step operation.)
35313
35314 @end table
35315
35316 The optional argument @var{addr} normally associated with the
35317 @samp{c}, @samp{C}, @samp{s}, and @samp{S} packets is
35318 not supported in @samp{vCont}.
35319
35320 The @samp{t} action is only relevant in non-stop mode
35321 (@pxref{Remote Non-Stop}) and may be ignored by the stub otherwise.
35322 A stop reply should be generated for any affected thread not already stopped.
35323 When a thread is stopped by means of a @samp{t} action,
35324 the corresponding stop reply should indicate that the thread has stopped with
35325 signal @samp{0}, regardless of whether the target uses some other signal
35326 as an implementation detail.
35327
35328 The stub must support @samp{vCont} if it reports support for
35329 multiprocess extensions (@pxref{multiprocess extensions}). Note that in
35330 this case @samp{vCont} actions can be specified to apply to all threads
35331 in a process by using the @samp{p@var{pid}.-1} form of the
35332 @var{thread-id}.
35333
35334 Reply:
35335 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
35336
35337 @item vCont?
35338 @cindex @samp{vCont?} packet
35339 Request a list of actions supported by the @samp{vCont} packet.
35340
35341 Reply:
35342 @table @samp
35343 @item vCont@r{[};@var{action}@dots{}@r{]}
35344 The @samp{vCont} packet is supported. Each @var{action} is a supported
35345 command in the @samp{vCont} packet.
35346 @item @w{}
35347 The @samp{vCont} packet is not supported.
35348 @end table
35349
35350 @anchor{vCtrlC packet}
35351 @item vCtrlC
35352 @cindex @samp{vCtrlC} packet
35353 Interrupt remote target as if a control-C was pressed on the remote
35354 terminal. This is the equivalent to reacting to the @code{^C}
35355 (@samp{\003}, the control-C character) character in all-stop mode
35356 while the target is running, except this works in non-stop mode.
35357 @xref{interrupting remote targets}, for more info on the all-stop
35358 variant.
35359
35360 Reply:
35361 @table @samp
35362 @item E @var{nn}
35363 for an error
35364 @item OK
35365 for success
35366 @end table
35367
35368 @item vFile:@var{operation}:@var{parameter}@dots{}
35369 @cindex @samp{vFile} packet
35370 Perform a file operation on the target system. For details,
35371 see @ref{Host I/O Packets}.
35372
35373 @item vFlashErase:@var{addr},@var{length}
35374 @cindex @samp{vFlashErase} packet
35375 Direct the stub to erase @var{length} bytes of flash starting at
35376 @var{addr}. The region may enclose any number of flash blocks, but
35377 its start and end must fall on block boundaries, as indicated by the
35378 flash block size appearing in the memory map (@pxref{Memory Map
35379 Format}). @value{GDBN} groups flash memory programming operations
35380 together, and sends a @samp{vFlashDone} request after each group; the
35381 stub is allowed to delay erase operation until the @samp{vFlashDone}
35382 packet is received.
35383
35384 Reply:
35385 @table @samp
35386 @item OK
35387 for success
35388 @item E @var{NN}
35389 for an error
35390 @end table
35391
35392 @item vFlashWrite:@var{addr}:@var{XX@dots{}}
35393 @cindex @samp{vFlashWrite} packet
35394 Direct the stub to write data to flash address @var{addr}. The data
35395 is passed in binary form using the same encoding as for the @samp{X}
35396 packet (@pxref{Binary Data}). The memory ranges specified by
35397 @samp{vFlashWrite} packets preceding a @samp{vFlashDone} packet must
35398 not overlap, and must appear in order of increasing addresses
35399 (although @samp{vFlashErase} packets for higher addresses may already
35400 have been received; the ordering is guaranteed only between
35401 @samp{vFlashWrite} packets). If a packet writes to an address that was
35402 neither erased by a preceding @samp{vFlashErase} packet nor by some other
35403 target-specific method, the results are unpredictable.
35404
35405
35406 Reply:
35407 @table @samp
35408 @item OK
35409 for success
35410 @item E.memtype
35411 for vFlashWrite addressing non-flash memory
35412 @item E @var{NN}
35413 for an error
35414 @end table
35415
35416 @item vFlashDone
35417 @cindex @samp{vFlashDone} packet
35418 Indicate to the stub that flash programming operation is finished.
35419 The stub is permitted to delay or batch the effects of a group of
35420 @samp{vFlashErase} and @samp{vFlashWrite} packets until a
35421 @samp{vFlashDone} packet is received. The contents of the affected
35422 regions of flash memory are unpredictable until the @samp{vFlashDone}
35423 request is completed.
35424
35425 @item vKill;@var{pid}
35426 @cindex @samp{vKill} packet
35427 @anchor{vKill packet}
35428 Kill the process with the specified process ID @var{pid}, which is a
35429 hexadecimal integer identifying the process. This packet is used in
35430 preference to @samp{k} when multiprocess protocol extensions are
35431 supported; see @ref{multiprocess extensions}.
35432
35433 Reply:
35434 @table @samp
35435 @item E @var{nn}
35436 for an error
35437 @item OK
35438 for success
35439 @end table
35440
35441 @item vRun;@var{filename}@r{[};@var{argument}@r{]}@dots{}
35442 @cindex @samp{vRun} packet
35443 Run the program @var{filename}, passing it each @var{argument} on its
35444 command line. The file and arguments are hex-encoded strings. If
35445 @var{filename} is an empty string, the stub may use a default program
35446 (e.g.@: the last program run). The program is created in the stopped
35447 state.
35448
35449 @c FIXME: What about non-stop mode?
35450
35451 This packet is only available in extended mode (@pxref{extended mode}).
35452
35453 Reply:
35454 @table @samp
35455 @item E @var{nn}
35456 for an error
35457 @item @r{Any stop packet}
35458 for success (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets})
35459 @end table
35460
35461 @item vStopped
35462 @cindex @samp{vStopped} packet
35463 @xref{Notification Packets}.
35464
35465 @item X @var{addr},@var{length}:@var{XX@dots{}}
35466 @anchor{X packet}
35467 @cindex @samp{X} packet
35468 Write data to memory, where the data is transmitted in binary.
35469 Memory is specified by its address @var{addr} and number of addressable memory
35470 units @var{length} (@pxref{addressable memory unit});
35471 @samp{@var{XX}@dots{}} is binary data (@pxref{Binary Data}).
35472
35473 Reply:
35474 @table @samp
35475 @item OK
35476 for success
35477 @item E @var{NN}
35478 for an error
35479 @end table
35480
35481 @item z @var{type},@var{addr},@var{kind}
35482 @itemx Z @var{type},@var{addr},@var{kind}
35483 @anchor{insert breakpoint or watchpoint packet}
35484 @cindex @samp{z} packet
35485 @cindex @samp{Z} packets
35486 Insert (@samp{Z}) or remove (@samp{z}) a @var{type} breakpoint or
35487 watchpoint starting at address @var{address} of kind @var{kind}.
35488
35489 Each breakpoint and watchpoint packet @var{type} is documented
35490 separately.
35491
35492 @emph{Implementation notes: A remote target shall return an empty string
35493 for an unrecognized breakpoint or watchpoint packet @var{type}. A
35494 remote target shall support either both or neither of a given
35495 @samp{Z@var{type}@dots{}} and @samp{z@var{type}@dots{}} packet pair. To
35496 avoid potential problems with duplicate packets, the operations should
35497 be implemented in an idempotent way.}
35498
35499 @item z0,@var{addr},@var{kind}
35500 @itemx Z0,@var{addr},@var{kind}@r{[};@var{cond_list}@dots{}@r{]}@r{[};cmds:@var{persist},@var{cmd_list}@dots{}@r{]}
35501 @cindex @samp{z0} packet
35502 @cindex @samp{Z0} packet
35503 Insert (@samp{Z0}) or remove (@samp{z0}) a memory breakpoint at address
35504 @var{addr} of type @var{kind}.
35505
35506 A memory breakpoint is implemented by replacing the instruction at
35507 @var{addr} with a software breakpoint or trap instruction. The
35508 @var{kind} is target-specific and typically indicates the size of
35509 the breakpoint in bytes that should be inserted. E.g., the @sc{arm}
35510 and @sc{mips} can insert either a 2 or 4 byte breakpoint. Some
35511 architectures have additional meanings for @var{kind};
35512 @var{cond_list} is an optional list of conditional expressions in bytecode
35513 form that should be evaluated on the target's side. These are the
35514 conditions that should be taken into consideration when deciding if
35515 the breakpoint trigger should be reported back to @var{GDBN}.
35516
35517 See also the @samp{swbreak} stop reason (@pxref{swbreak stop reason})
35518 for how to best report a memory breakpoint event to @value{GDBN}.
35519
35520 The @var{cond_list} parameter is comprised of a series of expressions,
35521 concatenated without separators. Each expression has the following form:
35522
35523 @table @samp
35524
35525 @item X @var{len},@var{expr}
35526 @var{len} is the length of the bytecode expression and @var{expr} is the
35527 actual conditional expression in bytecode form.
35528
35529 @end table
35530
35531 The optional @var{cmd_list} parameter introduces commands that may be
35532 run on the target, rather than being reported back to @value{GDBN}.
35533 The parameter starts with a numeric flag @var{persist}; if the flag is
35534 nonzero, then the breakpoint may remain active and the commands
35535 continue to be run even when @value{GDBN} disconnects from the target.
35536 Following this flag is a series of expressions concatenated with no
35537 separators. Each expression has the following form:
35538
35539 @table @samp
35540
35541 @item X @var{len},@var{expr}
35542 @var{len} is the length of the bytecode expression and @var{expr} is the
35543 actual conditional expression in bytecode form.
35544
35545 @end table
35546
35547 see @ref{Architecture-Specific Protocol Details}.
35548
35549 @emph{Implementation note: It is possible for a target to copy or move
35550 code that contains memory breakpoints (e.g., when implementing
35551 overlays). The behavior of this packet, in the presence of such a
35552 target, is not defined.}
35553
35554 Reply:
35555 @table @samp
35556 @item OK
35557 success
35558 @item @w{}
35559 not supported
35560 @item E @var{NN}
35561 for an error
35562 @end table
35563
35564 @item z1,@var{addr},@var{kind}
35565 @itemx Z1,@var{addr},@var{kind}@r{[};@var{cond_list}@dots{}@r{]}
35566 @cindex @samp{z1} packet
35567 @cindex @samp{Z1} packet
35568 Insert (@samp{Z1}) or remove (@samp{z1}) a hardware breakpoint at
35569 address @var{addr}.
35570
35571 A hardware breakpoint is implemented using a mechanism that is not
35572 dependant on being able to modify the target's memory. The @var{kind}
35573 and @var{cond_list} have the same meaning as in @samp{Z0} packets.
35574
35575 @emph{Implementation note: A hardware breakpoint is not affected by code
35576 movement.}
35577
35578 Reply:
35579 @table @samp
35580 @item OK
35581 success
35582 @item @w{}
35583 not supported
35584 @item E @var{NN}
35585 for an error
35586 @end table
35587
35588 @item z2,@var{addr},@var{kind}
35589 @itemx Z2,@var{addr},@var{kind}
35590 @cindex @samp{z2} packet
35591 @cindex @samp{Z2} packet
35592 Insert (@samp{Z2}) or remove (@samp{z2}) a write watchpoint at @var{addr}.
35593 The number of bytes to watch is specified by @var{kind}.
35594
35595 Reply:
35596 @table @samp
35597 @item OK
35598 success
35599 @item @w{}
35600 not supported
35601 @item E @var{NN}
35602 for an error
35603 @end table
35604
35605 @item z3,@var{addr},@var{kind}
35606 @itemx Z3,@var{addr},@var{kind}
35607 @cindex @samp{z3} packet
35608 @cindex @samp{Z3} packet
35609 Insert (@samp{Z3}) or remove (@samp{z3}) a read watchpoint at @var{addr}.
35610 The number of bytes to watch is specified by @var{kind}.
35611
35612 Reply:
35613 @table @samp
35614 @item OK
35615 success
35616 @item @w{}
35617 not supported
35618 @item E @var{NN}
35619 for an error
35620 @end table
35621
35622 @item z4,@var{addr},@var{kind}
35623 @itemx Z4,@var{addr},@var{kind}
35624 @cindex @samp{z4} packet
35625 @cindex @samp{Z4} packet
35626 Insert (@samp{Z4}) or remove (@samp{z4}) an access watchpoint at @var{addr}.
35627 The number of bytes to watch is specified by @var{kind}.
35628
35629 Reply:
35630 @table @samp
35631 @item OK
35632 success
35633 @item @w{}
35634 not supported
35635 @item E @var{NN}
35636 for an error
35637 @end table
35638
35639 @end table
35640
35641 @node Stop Reply Packets
35642 @section Stop Reply Packets
35643 @cindex stop reply packets
35644
35645 The @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S}, @samp{s}, @samp{vCont},
35646 @samp{vAttach}, @samp{vRun}, @samp{vStopped}, and @samp{?} packets can
35647 receive any of the below as a reply. Except for @samp{?}
35648 and @samp{vStopped}, that reply is only returned
35649 when the target halts. In the below the exact meaning of @dfn{signal
35650 number} is defined by the header @file{include/gdb/signals.h} in the
35651 @value{GDBN} source code.
35652
35653 As in the description of request packets, we include spaces in the
35654 reply templates for clarity; these are not part of the reply packet's
35655 syntax. No @value{GDBN} stop reply packet uses spaces to separate its
35656 components.
35657
35658 @table @samp
35659
35660 @item S @var{AA}
35661 The program received signal number @var{AA} (a two-digit hexadecimal
35662 number). This is equivalent to a @samp{T} response with no
35663 @var{n}:@var{r} pairs.
35664
35665 @item T @var{AA} @var{n1}:@var{r1};@var{n2}:@var{r2};@dots{}
35666 @cindex @samp{T} packet reply
35667 The program received signal number @var{AA} (a two-digit hexadecimal
35668 number). This is equivalent to an @samp{S} response, except that the
35669 @samp{@var{n}:@var{r}} pairs can carry values of important registers
35670 and other information directly in the stop reply packet, reducing
35671 round-trip latency. Single-step and breakpoint traps are reported
35672 this way. Each @samp{@var{n}:@var{r}} pair is interpreted as follows:
35673
35674 @itemize @bullet
35675 @item
35676 If @var{n} is a hexadecimal number, it is a register number, and the
35677 corresponding @var{r} gives that register's value. The data @var{r} is a
35678 series of bytes in target byte order, with each byte given by a
35679 two-digit hex number.
35680
35681 @item
35682 If @var{n} is @samp{thread}, then @var{r} is the @var{thread-id} of
35683 the stopped thread, as specified in @ref{thread-id syntax}.
35684
35685 @item
35686 If @var{n} is @samp{core}, then @var{r} is the hexadecimal number of
35687 the core on which the stop event was detected.
35688
35689 @item
35690 If @var{n} is a recognized @dfn{stop reason}, it describes a more
35691 specific event that stopped the target. The currently defined stop
35692 reasons are listed below. The @var{aa} should be @samp{05}, the trap
35693 signal. At most one stop reason should be present.
35694
35695 @item
35696 Otherwise, @value{GDBN} should ignore this @samp{@var{n}:@var{r}} pair
35697 and go on to the next; this allows us to extend the protocol in the
35698 future.
35699 @end itemize
35700
35701 The currently defined stop reasons are:
35702
35703 @table @samp
35704 @item watch
35705 @itemx rwatch
35706 @itemx awatch
35707 The packet indicates a watchpoint hit, and @var{r} is the data address, in
35708 hex.
35709
35710 @item syscall_entry
35711 @itemx syscall_return
35712 The packet indicates a syscall entry or return, and @var{r} is the
35713 syscall number, in hex.
35714
35715 @cindex shared library events, remote reply
35716 @item library
35717 The packet indicates that the loaded libraries have changed.
35718 @value{GDBN} should use @samp{qXfer:libraries:read} to fetch a new
35719 list of loaded libraries. The @var{r} part is ignored.
35720
35721 @cindex replay log events, remote reply
35722 @item replaylog
35723 The packet indicates that the target cannot continue replaying
35724 logged execution events, because it has reached the end (or the
35725 beginning when executing backward) of the log. The value of @var{r}
35726 will be either @samp{begin} or @samp{end}. @xref{Reverse Execution},
35727 for more information.
35728
35729 @item swbreak
35730 @anchor{swbreak stop reason}
35731 The packet indicates a memory breakpoint instruction was executed,
35732 irrespective of whether it was @value{GDBN} that planted the
35733 breakpoint or the breakpoint is hardcoded in the program. The @var{r}
35734 part must be left empty.
35735
35736 On some architectures, such as x86, at the architecture level, when a
35737 breakpoint instruction executes the program counter points at the
35738 breakpoint address plus an offset. On such targets, the stub is
35739 responsible for adjusting the PC to point back at the breakpoint
35740 address.
35741
35742 This packet should not be sent by default; older @value{GDBN} versions
35743 did not support it. @value{GDBN} requests it, by supplying an
35744 appropriate @samp{qSupported} feature (@pxref{qSupported}). The
35745 remote stub must also supply the appropriate @samp{qSupported} feature
35746 indicating support.
35747
35748 This packet is required for correct non-stop mode operation.
35749
35750 @item hwbreak
35751 The packet indicates the target stopped for a hardware breakpoint.
35752 The @var{r} part must be left empty.
35753
35754 The same remarks about @samp{qSupported} and non-stop mode above
35755 apply.
35756
35757 @cindex fork events, remote reply
35758 @item fork
35759 The packet indicates that @code{fork} was called, and @var{r}
35760 is the thread ID of the new child process. Refer to
35761 @ref{thread-id syntax} for the format of the @var{thread-id}
35762 field. This packet is only applicable to targets that support
35763 fork events.
35764
35765 This packet should not be sent by default; older @value{GDBN} versions
35766 did not support it. @value{GDBN} requests it, by supplying an
35767 appropriate @samp{qSupported} feature (@pxref{qSupported}). The
35768 remote stub must also supply the appropriate @samp{qSupported} feature
35769 indicating support.
35770
35771 @cindex vfork events, remote reply
35772 @item vfork
35773 The packet indicates that @code{vfork} was called, and @var{r}
35774 is the thread ID of the new child process. Refer to
35775 @ref{thread-id syntax} for the format of the @var{thread-id}
35776 field. This packet is only applicable to targets that support
35777 vfork events.
35778
35779 This packet should not be sent by default; older @value{GDBN} versions
35780 did not support it. @value{GDBN} requests it, by supplying an
35781 appropriate @samp{qSupported} feature (@pxref{qSupported}). The
35782 remote stub must also supply the appropriate @samp{qSupported} feature
35783 indicating support.
35784
35785 @cindex vforkdone events, remote reply
35786 @item vforkdone
35787 The packet indicates that a child process created by a vfork
35788 has either called @code{exec} or terminated, so that the
35789 address spaces of the parent and child process are no longer
35790 shared. The @var{r} part is ignored. This packet is only
35791 applicable to targets that support vforkdone events.
35792
35793 This packet should not be sent by default; older @value{GDBN} versions
35794 did not support it. @value{GDBN} requests it, by supplying an
35795 appropriate @samp{qSupported} feature (@pxref{qSupported}). The
35796 remote stub must also supply the appropriate @samp{qSupported} feature
35797 indicating support.
35798
35799 @cindex exec events, remote reply
35800 @item exec
35801 The packet indicates that @code{execve} was called, and @var{r}
35802 is the absolute pathname of the file that was executed, in hex.
35803 This packet is only applicable to targets that support exec events.
35804
35805 This packet should not be sent by default; older @value{GDBN} versions
35806 did not support it. @value{GDBN} requests it, by supplying an
35807 appropriate @samp{qSupported} feature (@pxref{qSupported}). The
35808 remote stub must also supply the appropriate @samp{qSupported} feature
35809 indicating support.
35810
35811 @cindex thread create event, remote reply
35812 @anchor{thread create event}
35813 @item create
35814 The packet indicates that the thread was just created. The new thread
35815 is stopped until @value{GDBN} sets it running with a resumption packet
35816 (@pxref{vCont packet}). This packet should not be sent by default;
35817 @value{GDBN} requests it with the @ref{QThreadEvents} packet. See
35818 also the @samp{w} (@ref{thread exit event}) remote reply below.
35819
35820 @end table
35821
35822 @item W @var{AA}
35823 @itemx W @var{AA} ; process:@var{pid}
35824 The process exited, and @var{AA} is the exit status. This is only
35825 applicable to certain targets.
35826
35827 The second form of the response, including the process ID of the exited
35828 process, can be used only when @value{GDBN} has reported support for
35829 multiprocess protocol extensions; see @ref{multiprocess extensions}.
35830 The @var{pid} is formatted as a big-endian hex string.
35831
35832 @item X @var{AA}
35833 @itemx X @var{AA} ; process:@var{pid}
35834 The process terminated with signal @var{AA}.
35835
35836 The second form of the response, including the process ID of the
35837 terminated process, can be used only when @value{GDBN} has reported
35838 support for multiprocess protocol extensions; see @ref{multiprocess
35839 extensions}. The @var{pid} is formatted as a big-endian hex string.
35840
35841 @anchor{thread exit event}
35842 @cindex thread exit event, remote reply
35843 @item w @var{AA} ; @var{tid}
35844
35845 The thread exited, and @var{AA} is the exit status. This response
35846 should not be sent by default; @value{GDBN} requests it with the
35847 @ref{QThreadEvents} packet. See also @ref{thread create event} above.
35848
35849 @item N
35850 There are no resumed threads left in the target. In other words, even
35851 though the process is alive, the last resumed thread has exited. For
35852 example, say the target process has two threads: thread 1 and thread
35853 2. The client leaves thread 1 stopped, and resumes thread 2, which
35854 subsequently exits. At this point, even though the process is still
35855 alive, and thus no @samp{W} stop reply is sent, no thread is actually
35856 executing either. The @samp{N} stop reply thus informs the client
35857 that it can stop waiting for stop replies. This packet should not be
35858 sent by default; older @value{GDBN} versions did not support it.
35859 @value{GDBN} requests it, by supplying an appropriate
35860 @samp{qSupported} feature (@pxref{qSupported}). The remote stub must
35861 also supply the appropriate @samp{qSupported} feature indicating
35862 support.
35863
35864 @item O @var{XX}@dots{}
35865 @samp{@var{XX}@dots{}} is hex encoding of @sc{ascii} data, to be
35866 written as the program's console output. This can happen at any time
35867 while the program is running and the debugger should continue to wait
35868 for @samp{W}, @samp{T}, etc. This reply is not permitted in non-stop mode.
35869
35870 @item F @var{call-id},@var{parameter}@dots{}
35871 @var{call-id} is the identifier which says which host system call should
35872 be called. This is just the name of the function. Translation into the
35873 correct system call is only applicable as it's defined in @value{GDBN}.
35874 @xref{File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension}, for a list of implemented
35875 system calls.
35876
35877 @samp{@var{parameter}@dots{}} is a list of parameters as defined for
35878 this very system call.
35879
35880 The target replies with this packet when it expects @value{GDBN} to
35881 call a host system call on behalf of the target. @value{GDBN} replies
35882 with an appropriate @samp{F} packet and keeps up waiting for the next
35883 reply packet from the target. The latest @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S}
35884 or @samp{s} action is expected to be continued. @xref{File-I/O Remote
35885 Protocol Extension}, for more details.
35886
35887 @end table
35888
35889 @node General Query Packets
35890 @section General Query Packets
35891 @cindex remote query requests
35892
35893 Packets starting with @samp{q} are @dfn{general query packets};
35894 packets starting with @samp{Q} are @dfn{general set packets}. General
35895 query and set packets are a semi-unified form for retrieving and
35896 sending information to and from the stub.
35897
35898 The initial letter of a query or set packet is followed by a name
35899 indicating what sort of thing the packet applies to. For example,
35900 @value{GDBN} may use a @samp{qSymbol} packet to exchange symbol
35901 definitions with the stub. These packet names follow some
35902 conventions:
35903
35904 @itemize @bullet
35905 @item
35906 The name must not contain commas, colons or semicolons.
35907 @item
35908 Most @value{GDBN} query and set packets have a leading upper case
35909 letter.
35910 @item
35911 The names of custom vendor packets should use a company prefix, in
35912 lower case, followed by a period. For example, packets designed at
35913 the Acme Corporation might begin with @samp{qacme.foo} (for querying
35914 foos) or @samp{Qacme.bar} (for setting bars).
35915 @end itemize
35916
35917 The name of a query or set packet should be separated from any
35918 parameters by a @samp{:}; the parameters themselves should be
35919 separated by @samp{,} or @samp{;}. Stubs must be careful to match the
35920 full packet name, and check for a separator or the end of the packet,
35921 in case two packet names share a common prefix. New packets should not begin
35922 with @samp{qC}, @samp{qP}, or @samp{qL}@footnote{The @samp{qP} and @samp{qL}
35923 packets predate these conventions, and have arguments without any terminator
35924 for the packet name; we suspect they are in widespread use in places that
35925 are difficult to upgrade. The @samp{qC} packet has no arguments, but some
35926 existing stubs (e.g.@: RedBoot) are known to not check for the end of the
35927 packet.}.
35928
35929 Like the descriptions of the other packets, each description here
35930 has a template showing the packet's overall syntax, followed by an
35931 explanation of the packet's meaning. We include spaces in some of the
35932 templates for clarity; these are not part of the packet's syntax. No
35933 @value{GDBN} packet uses spaces to separate its components.
35934
35935 Here are the currently defined query and set packets:
35936
35937 @table @samp
35938
35939 @item QAgent:1
35940 @itemx QAgent:0
35941 Turn on or off the agent as a helper to perform some debugging operations
35942 delegated from @value{GDBN} (@pxref{Control Agent}).
35943
35944 @item QAllow:@var{op}:@var{val}@dots{}
35945 @cindex @samp{QAllow} packet
35946 Specify which operations @value{GDBN} expects to request of the
35947 target, as a semicolon-separated list of operation name and value
35948 pairs. Possible values for @var{op} include @samp{WriteReg},
35949 @samp{WriteMem}, @samp{InsertBreak}, @samp{InsertTrace},
35950 @samp{InsertFastTrace}, and @samp{Stop}. @var{val} is either 0,
35951 indicating that @value{GDBN} will not request the operation, or 1,
35952 indicating that it may. (The target can then use this to set up its
35953 own internals optimally, for instance if the debugger never expects to
35954 insert breakpoints, it may not need to install its own trap handler.)
35955
35956 @item qC
35957 @cindex current thread, remote request
35958 @cindex @samp{qC} packet
35959 Return the current thread ID.
35960
35961 Reply:
35962 @table @samp
35963 @item QC @var{thread-id}
35964 Where @var{thread-id} is a thread ID as documented in
35965 @ref{thread-id syntax}.
35966 @item @r{(anything else)}
35967 Any other reply implies the old thread ID.
35968 @end table
35969
35970 @item qCRC:@var{addr},@var{length}
35971 @cindex CRC of memory block, remote request
35972 @cindex @samp{qCRC} packet
35973 @anchor{qCRC packet}
35974 Compute the CRC checksum of a block of memory using CRC-32 defined in
35975 IEEE 802.3. The CRC is computed byte at a time, taking the most
35976 significant bit of each byte first. The initial pattern code
35977 @code{0xffffffff} is used to ensure leading zeros affect the CRC.
35978
35979 @emph{Note:} This is the same CRC used in validating separate debug
35980 files (@pxref{Separate Debug Files, , Debugging Information in Separate
35981 Files}). However the algorithm is slightly different. When validating
35982 separate debug files, the CRC is computed taking the @emph{least}
35983 significant bit of each byte first, and the final result is inverted to
35984 detect trailing zeros.
35985
35986 Reply:
35987 @table @samp
35988 @item E @var{NN}
35989 An error (such as memory fault)
35990 @item C @var{crc32}
35991 The specified memory region's checksum is @var{crc32}.
35992 @end table
35993
35994 @item QDisableRandomization:@var{value}
35995 @cindex disable address space randomization, remote request
35996 @cindex @samp{QDisableRandomization} packet
35997 Some target operating systems will randomize the virtual address space
35998 of the inferior process as a security feature, but provide a feature
35999 to disable such randomization, e.g.@: to allow for a more deterministic
36000 debugging experience. On such systems, this packet with a @var{value}
36001 of 1 directs the target to disable address space randomization for
36002 processes subsequently started via @samp{vRun} packets, while a packet
36003 with a @var{value} of 0 tells the target to enable address space
36004 randomization.
36005
36006 This packet is only available in extended mode (@pxref{extended mode}).
36007
36008 Reply:
36009 @table @samp
36010 @item OK
36011 The request succeeded.
36012
36013 @item E @var{nn}
36014 An error occurred. The error number @var{nn} is given as hex digits.
36015
36016 @item @w{}
36017 An empty reply indicates that @samp{QDisableRandomization} is not supported
36018 by the stub.
36019 @end table
36020
36021 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
36022 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
36023 This should only be done on targets that actually support disabling
36024 address space randomization.
36025
36026 @item qfThreadInfo
36027 @itemx qsThreadInfo
36028 @cindex list active threads, remote request
36029 @cindex @samp{qfThreadInfo} packet
36030 @cindex @samp{qsThreadInfo} packet
36031 Obtain a list of all active thread IDs from the target (OS). Since there
36032 may be too many active threads to fit into one reply packet, this query
36033 works iteratively: it may require more than one query/reply sequence to
36034 obtain the entire list of threads. The first query of the sequence will
36035 be the @samp{qfThreadInfo} query; subsequent queries in the
36036 sequence will be the @samp{qsThreadInfo} query.
36037
36038 NOTE: This packet replaces the @samp{qL} query (see below).
36039
36040 Reply:
36041 @table @samp
36042 @item m @var{thread-id}
36043 A single thread ID
36044 @item m @var{thread-id},@var{thread-id}@dots{}
36045 a comma-separated list of thread IDs
36046 @item l
36047 (lower case letter @samp{L}) denotes end of list.
36048 @end table
36049
36050 In response to each query, the target will reply with a list of one or
36051 more thread IDs, separated by commas.
36052 @value{GDBN} will respond to each reply with a request for more thread
36053 ids (using the @samp{qs} form of the query), until the target responds
36054 with @samp{l} (lower-case ell, for @dfn{last}).
36055 Refer to @ref{thread-id syntax}, for the format of the @var{thread-id}
36056 fields.
36057
36058 @emph{Note: @value{GDBN} will send the @code{qfThreadInfo} query during the
36059 initial connection with the remote target, and the very first thread ID
36060 mentioned in the reply will be stopped by @value{GDBN} in a subsequent
36061 message. Therefore, the stub should ensure that the first thread ID in
36062 the @code{qfThreadInfo} reply is suitable for being stopped by @value{GDBN}.}
36063
36064 @item qGetTLSAddr:@var{thread-id},@var{offset},@var{lm}
36065 @cindex get thread-local storage address, remote request
36066 @cindex @samp{qGetTLSAddr} packet
36067 Fetch the address associated with thread local storage specified
36068 by @var{thread-id}, @var{offset}, and @var{lm}.
36069
36070 @var{thread-id} is the thread ID associated with the
36071 thread for which to fetch the TLS address. @xref{thread-id syntax}.
36072
36073 @var{offset} is the (big endian, hex encoded) offset associated with the
36074 thread local variable. (This offset is obtained from the debug
36075 information associated with the variable.)
36076
36077 @var{lm} is the (big endian, hex encoded) OS/ABI-specific encoding of the
36078 load module associated with the thread local storage. For example,
36079 a @sc{gnu}/Linux system will pass the link map address of the shared
36080 object associated with the thread local storage under consideration.
36081 Other operating environments may choose to represent the load module
36082 differently, so the precise meaning of this parameter will vary.
36083
36084 Reply:
36085 @table @samp
36086 @item @var{XX}@dots{}
36087 Hex encoded (big endian) bytes representing the address of the thread
36088 local storage requested.
36089
36090 @item E @var{nn}
36091 An error occurred. The error number @var{nn} is given as hex digits.
36092
36093 @item @w{}
36094 An empty reply indicates that @samp{qGetTLSAddr} is not supported by the stub.
36095 @end table
36096
36097 @item qGetTIBAddr:@var{thread-id}
36098 @cindex get thread information block address
36099 @cindex @samp{qGetTIBAddr} packet
36100 Fetch address of the Windows OS specific Thread Information Block.
36101
36102 @var{thread-id} is the thread ID associated with the thread.
36103
36104 Reply:
36105 @table @samp
36106 @item @var{XX}@dots{}
36107 Hex encoded (big endian) bytes representing the linear address of the
36108 thread information block.
36109
36110 @item E @var{nn}
36111 An error occured. This means that either the thread was not found, or the
36112 address could not be retrieved.
36113
36114 @item @w{}
36115 An empty reply indicates that @samp{qGetTIBAddr} is not supported by the stub.
36116 @end table
36117
36118 @item qL @var{startflag} @var{threadcount} @var{nextthread}
36119 Obtain thread information from RTOS. Where: @var{startflag} (one hex
36120 digit) is one to indicate the first query and zero to indicate a
36121 subsequent query; @var{threadcount} (two hex digits) is the maximum
36122 number of threads the response packet can contain; and @var{nextthread}
36123 (eight hex digits), for subsequent queries (@var{startflag} is zero), is
36124 returned in the response as @var{argthread}.
36125
36126 Don't use this packet; use the @samp{qfThreadInfo} query instead (see above).
36127
36128 Reply:
36129 @table @samp
36130 @item qM @var{count} @var{done} @var{argthread} @var{thread}@dots{}
36131 Where: @var{count} (two hex digits) is the number of threads being
36132 returned; @var{done} (one hex digit) is zero to indicate more threads
36133 and one indicates no further threads; @var{argthreadid} (eight hex
36134 digits) is @var{nextthread} from the request packet; @var{thread}@dots{}
36135 is a sequence of thread IDs, @var{threadid} (eight hex
36136 digits), from the target. See @code{remote.c:parse_threadlist_response()}.
36137 @end table
36138
36139 @item qOffsets
36140 @cindex section offsets, remote request
36141 @cindex @samp{qOffsets} packet
36142 Get section offsets that the target used when relocating the downloaded
36143 image.
36144
36145 Reply:
36146 @table @samp
36147 @item Text=@var{xxx};Data=@var{yyy}@r{[};Bss=@var{zzz}@r{]}
36148 Relocate the @code{Text} section by @var{xxx} from its original address.
36149 Relocate the @code{Data} section by @var{yyy} from its original address.
36150 If the object file format provides segment information (e.g.@: @sc{elf}
36151 @samp{PT_LOAD} program headers), @value{GDBN} will relocate entire
36152 segments by the supplied offsets.
36153
36154 @emph{Note: while a @code{Bss} offset may be included in the response,
36155 @value{GDBN} ignores this and instead applies the @code{Data} offset
36156 to the @code{Bss} section.}
36157
36158 @item TextSeg=@var{xxx}@r{[};DataSeg=@var{yyy}@r{]}
36159 Relocate the first segment of the object file, which conventionally
36160 contains program code, to a starting address of @var{xxx}. If
36161 @samp{DataSeg} is specified, relocate the second segment, which
36162 conventionally contains modifiable data, to a starting address of
36163 @var{yyy}. @value{GDBN} will report an error if the object file
36164 does not contain segment information, or does not contain at least
36165 as many segments as mentioned in the reply. Extra segments are
36166 kept at fixed offsets relative to the last relocated segment.
36167 @end table
36168
36169 @item qP @var{mode} @var{thread-id}
36170 @cindex thread information, remote request
36171 @cindex @samp{qP} packet
36172 Returns information on @var{thread-id}. Where: @var{mode} is a hex
36173 encoded 32 bit mode; @var{thread-id} is a thread ID
36174 (@pxref{thread-id syntax}).
36175
36176 Don't use this packet; use the @samp{qThreadExtraInfo} query instead
36177 (see below).
36178
36179 Reply: see @code{remote.c:remote_unpack_thread_info_response()}.
36180
36181 @item QNonStop:1
36182 @itemx QNonStop:0
36183 @cindex non-stop mode, remote request
36184 @cindex @samp{QNonStop} packet
36185 @anchor{QNonStop}
36186 Enter non-stop (@samp{QNonStop:1}) or all-stop (@samp{QNonStop:0}) mode.
36187 @xref{Remote Non-Stop}, for more information.
36188
36189 Reply:
36190 @table @samp
36191 @item OK
36192 The request succeeded.
36193
36194 @item E @var{nn}
36195 An error occurred. The error number @var{nn} is given as hex digits.
36196
36197 @item @w{}
36198 An empty reply indicates that @samp{QNonStop} is not supported by
36199 the stub.
36200 @end table
36201
36202 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
36203 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
36204 Use of this packet is controlled by the @code{set non-stop} command;
36205 @pxref{Non-Stop Mode}.
36206
36207 @item QCatchSyscalls:1 @r{[};@var{sysno}@r{]}@dots{}
36208 @itemx QCatchSyscalls:0
36209 @cindex catch syscalls from inferior, remote request
36210 @cindex @samp{QCatchSyscalls} packet
36211 @anchor{QCatchSyscalls}
36212 Enable (@samp{QCatchSyscalls:1}) or disable (@samp{QCatchSyscalls:0})
36213 catching syscalls from the inferior process.
36214
36215 For @samp{QCatchSyscalls:1}, each listed syscall @var{sysno} (encoded
36216 in hex) should be reported to @value{GDBN}. If no syscall @var{sysno}
36217 is listed, every system call should be reported.
36218
36219 Note that if a syscall not in the list is reported, @value{GDBN} will
36220 still filter the event according to its own list from all corresponding
36221 @code{catch syscall} commands. However, it is more efficient to only
36222 report the requested syscalls.
36223
36224 Multiple @samp{QCatchSyscalls:1} packets do not combine; any earlier
36225 @samp{QCatchSyscalls:1} list is completely replaced by the new list.
36226
36227 If the inferior process execs, the state of @samp{QCatchSyscalls} is
36228 kept for the new process too. On targets where exec may affect syscall
36229 numbers, for example with exec between 32 and 64-bit processes, the
36230 client should send a new packet with the new syscall list.
36231
36232 Reply:
36233 @table @samp
36234 @item OK
36235 The request succeeded.
36236
36237 @item E @var{nn}
36238 An error occurred. @var{nn} are hex digits.
36239
36240 @item @w{}
36241 An empty reply indicates that @samp{QCatchSyscalls} is not supported by
36242 the stub.
36243 @end table
36244
36245 Use of this packet is controlled by the @code{set remote catch-syscalls}
36246 command (@pxref{Remote Configuration, set remote catch-syscalls}).
36247 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
36248 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
36249
36250 @item QPassSignals: @var{signal} @r{[};@var{signal}@r{]}@dots{}
36251 @cindex pass signals to inferior, remote request
36252 @cindex @samp{QPassSignals} packet
36253 @anchor{QPassSignals}
36254 Each listed @var{signal} should be passed directly to the inferior process.
36255 Signals are numbered identically to continue packets and stop replies
36256 (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets}). Each @var{signal} list item should be
36257 strictly greater than the previous item. These signals do not need to stop
36258 the inferior, or be reported to @value{GDBN}. All other signals should be
36259 reported to @value{GDBN}. Multiple @samp{QPassSignals} packets do not
36260 combine; any earlier @samp{QPassSignals} list is completely replaced by the
36261 new list. This packet improves performance when using @samp{handle
36262 @var{signal} nostop noprint pass}.
36263
36264 Reply:
36265 @table @samp
36266 @item OK
36267 The request succeeded.
36268
36269 @item E @var{nn}
36270 An error occurred. The error number @var{nn} is given as hex digits.
36271
36272 @item @w{}
36273 An empty reply indicates that @samp{QPassSignals} is not supported by
36274 the stub.
36275 @end table
36276
36277 Use of this packet is controlled by the @code{set remote pass-signals}
36278 command (@pxref{Remote Configuration, set remote pass-signals}).
36279 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
36280 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
36281
36282 @item QProgramSignals: @var{signal} @r{[};@var{signal}@r{]}@dots{}
36283 @cindex signals the inferior may see, remote request
36284 @cindex @samp{QProgramSignals} packet
36285 @anchor{QProgramSignals}
36286 Each listed @var{signal} may be delivered to the inferior process.
36287 Others should be silently discarded.
36288
36289 In some cases, the remote stub may need to decide whether to deliver a
36290 signal to the program or not without @value{GDBN} involvement. One
36291 example of that is while detaching --- the program's threads may have
36292 stopped for signals that haven't yet had a chance of being reported to
36293 @value{GDBN}, and so the remote stub can use the signal list specified
36294 by this packet to know whether to deliver or ignore those pending
36295 signals.
36296
36297 This does not influence whether to deliver a signal as requested by a
36298 resumption packet (@pxref{vCont packet}).
36299
36300 Signals are numbered identically to continue packets and stop replies
36301 (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets}). Each @var{signal} list item should be
36302 strictly greater than the previous item. Multiple
36303 @samp{QProgramSignals} packets do not combine; any earlier
36304 @samp{QProgramSignals} list is completely replaced by the new list.
36305
36306 Reply:
36307 @table @samp
36308 @item OK
36309 The request succeeded.
36310
36311 @item E @var{nn}
36312 An error occurred. The error number @var{nn} is given as hex digits.
36313
36314 @item @w{}
36315 An empty reply indicates that @samp{QProgramSignals} is not supported
36316 by the stub.
36317 @end table
36318
36319 Use of this packet is controlled by the @code{set remote program-signals}
36320 command (@pxref{Remote Configuration, set remote program-signals}).
36321 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
36322 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
36323
36324 @anchor{QThreadEvents}
36325 @item QThreadEvents:1
36326 @itemx QThreadEvents:0
36327 @cindex thread create/exit events, remote request
36328 @cindex @samp{QThreadEvents} packet
36329
36330 Enable (@samp{QThreadEvents:1}) or disable (@samp{QThreadEvents:0})
36331 reporting of thread create and exit events. @xref{thread create
36332 event}, for the reply specifications. For example, this is used in
36333 non-stop mode when @value{GDBN} stops a set of threads and
36334 synchronously waits for the their corresponding stop replies. Without
36335 exit events, if one of the threads exits, @value{GDBN} would hang
36336 forever not knowing that it should no longer expect a stop for that
36337 same thread. @value{GDBN} does not enable this feature unless the
36338 stub reports that it supports it by including @samp{QThreadEvents+} in
36339 its @samp{qSupported} reply.
36340
36341 Reply:
36342 @table @samp
36343 @item OK
36344 The request succeeded.
36345
36346 @item E @var{nn}
36347 An error occurred. The error number @var{nn} is given as hex digits.
36348
36349 @item @w{}
36350 An empty reply indicates that @samp{QThreadEvents} is not supported by
36351 the stub.
36352 @end table
36353
36354 Use of this packet is controlled by the @code{set remote thread-events}
36355 command (@pxref{Remote Configuration, set remote thread-events}).
36356
36357 @item qRcmd,@var{command}
36358 @cindex execute remote command, remote request
36359 @cindex @samp{qRcmd} packet
36360 @var{command} (hex encoded) is passed to the local interpreter for
36361 execution. Invalid commands should be reported using the output
36362 string. Before the final result packet, the target may also respond
36363 with a number of intermediate @samp{O@var{output}} console output
36364 packets. @emph{Implementors should note that providing access to a
36365 stubs's interpreter may have security implications}.
36366
36367 Reply:
36368 @table @samp
36369 @item OK
36370 A command response with no output.
36371 @item @var{OUTPUT}
36372 A command response with the hex encoded output string @var{OUTPUT}.
36373 @item E @var{NN}
36374 Indicate a badly formed request.
36375 @item @w{}
36376 An empty reply indicates that @samp{qRcmd} is not recognized.
36377 @end table
36378
36379 (Note that the @code{qRcmd} packet's name is separated from the
36380 command by a @samp{,}, not a @samp{:}, contrary to the naming
36381 conventions above. Please don't use this packet as a model for new
36382 packets.)
36383
36384 @item qSearch:memory:@var{address};@var{length};@var{search-pattern}
36385 @cindex searching memory, in remote debugging
36386 @ifnotinfo
36387 @cindex @samp{qSearch:memory} packet
36388 @end ifnotinfo
36389 @cindex @samp{qSearch memory} packet
36390 @anchor{qSearch memory}
36391 Search @var{length} bytes at @var{address} for @var{search-pattern}.
36392 Both @var{address} and @var{length} are encoded in hex;
36393 @var{search-pattern} is a sequence of bytes, also hex encoded.
36394
36395 Reply:
36396 @table @samp
36397 @item 0
36398 The pattern was not found.
36399 @item 1,address
36400 The pattern was found at @var{address}.
36401 @item E @var{NN}
36402 A badly formed request or an error was encountered while searching memory.
36403 @item @w{}
36404 An empty reply indicates that @samp{qSearch:memory} is not recognized.
36405 @end table
36406
36407 @item QStartNoAckMode
36408 @cindex @samp{QStartNoAckMode} packet
36409 @anchor{QStartNoAckMode}
36410 Request that the remote stub disable the normal @samp{+}/@samp{-}
36411 protocol acknowledgments (@pxref{Packet Acknowledgment}).
36412
36413 Reply:
36414 @table @samp
36415 @item OK
36416 The stub has switched to no-acknowledgment mode.
36417 @value{GDBN} acknowledges this reponse,
36418 but neither the stub nor @value{GDBN} shall send or expect further
36419 @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgments in the current connection.
36420 @item @w{}
36421 An empty reply indicates that the stub does not support no-acknowledgment mode.
36422 @end table
36423
36424 @item qSupported @r{[}:@var{gdbfeature} @r{[};@var{gdbfeature}@r{]}@dots{} @r{]}
36425 @cindex supported packets, remote query
36426 @cindex features of the remote protocol
36427 @cindex @samp{qSupported} packet
36428 @anchor{qSupported}
36429 Tell the remote stub about features supported by @value{GDBN}, and
36430 query the stub for features it supports. This packet allows
36431 @value{GDBN} and the remote stub to take advantage of each others'
36432 features. @samp{qSupported} also consolidates multiple feature probes
36433 at startup, to improve @value{GDBN} performance---a single larger
36434 packet performs better than multiple smaller probe packets on
36435 high-latency links. Some features may enable behavior which must not
36436 be on by default, e.g.@: because it would confuse older clients or
36437 stubs. Other features may describe packets which could be
36438 automatically probed for, but are not. These features must be
36439 reported before @value{GDBN} will use them. This ``default
36440 unsupported'' behavior is not appropriate for all packets, but it
36441 helps to keep the initial connection time under control with new
36442 versions of @value{GDBN} which support increasing numbers of packets.
36443
36444 Reply:
36445 @table @samp
36446 @item @var{stubfeature} @r{[};@var{stubfeature}@r{]}@dots{}
36447 The stub supports or does not support each returned @var{stubfeature},
36448 depending on the form of each @var{stubfeature} (see below for the
36449 possible forms).
36450 @item @w{}
36451 An empty reply indicates that @samp{qSupported} is not recognized,
36452 or that no features needed to be reported to @value{GDBN}.
36453 @end table
36454
36455 The allowed forms for each feature (either a @var{gdbfeature} in the
36456 @samp{qSupported} packet, or a @var{stubfeature} in the response)
36457 are:
36458
36459 @table @samp
36460 @item @var{name}=@var{value}
36461 The remote protocol feature @var{name} is supported, and associated
36462 with the specified @var{value}. The format of @var{value} depends
36463 on the feature, but it must not include a semicolon.
36464 @item @var{name}+
36465 The remote protocol feature @var{name} is supported, and does not
36466 need an associated value.
36467 @item @var{name}-
36468 The remote protocol feature @var{name} is not supported.
36469 @item @var{name}?
36470 The remote protocol feature @var{name} may be supported, and
36471 @value{GDBN} should auto-detect support in some other way when it is
36472 needed. This form will not be used for @var{gdbfeature} notifications,
36473 but may be used for @var{stubfeature} responses.
36474 @end table
36475
36476 Whenever the stub receives a @samp{qSupported} request, the
36477 supplied set of @value{GDBN} features should override any previous
36478 request. This allows @value{GDBN} to put the stub in a known
36479 state, even if the stub had previously been communicating with
36480 a different version of @value{GDBN}.
36481
36482 The following values of @var{gdbfeature} (for the packet sent by @value{GDBN})
36483 are defined:
36484
36485 @table @samp
36486 @item multiprocess
36487 This feature indicates whether @value{GDBN} supports multiprocess
36488 extensions to the remote protocol. @value{GDBN} does not use such
36489 extensions unless the stub also reports that it supports them by
36490 including @samp{multiprocess+} in its @samp{qSupported} reply.
36491 @xref{multiprocess extensions}, for details.
36492
36493 @item xmlRegisters
36494 This feature indicates that @value{GDBN} supports the XML target
36495 description. If the stub sees @samp{xmlRegisters=} with target
36496 specific strings separated by a comma, it will report register
36497 description.
36498
36499 @item qRelocInsn
36500 This feature indicates whether @value{GDBN} supports the
36501 @samp{qRelocInsn} packet (@pxref{Tracepoint Packets,,Relocate
36502 instruction reply packet}).
36503
36504 @item swbreak
36505 This feature indicates whether @value{GDBN} supports the swbreak stop
36506 reason in stop replies. @xref{swbreak stop reason}, for details.
36507
36508 @item hwbreak
36509 This feature indicates whether @value{GDBN} supports the hwbreak stop
36510 reason in stop replies. @xref{swbreak stop reason}, for details.
36511
36512 @item fork-events
36513 This feature indicates whether @value{GDBN} supports fork event
36514 extensions to the remote protocol. @value{GDBN} does not use such
36515 extensions unless the stub also reports that it supports them by
36516 including @samp{fork-events+} in its @samp{qSupported} reply.
36517
36518 @item vfork-events
36519 This feature indicates whether @value{GDBN} supports vfork event
36520 extensions to the remote protocol. @value{GDBN} does not use such
36521 extensions unless the stub also reports that it supports them by
36522 including @samp{vfork-events+} in its @samp{qSupported} reply.
36523
36524 @item exec-events
36525 This feature indicates whether @value{GDBN} supports exec event
36526 extensions to the remote protocol. @value{GDBN} does not use such
36527 extensions unless the stub also reports that it supports them by
36528 including @samp{exec-events+} in its @samp{qSupported} reply.
36529
36530 @item vContSupported
36531 This feature indicates whether @value{GDBN} wants to know the
36532 supported actions in the reply to @samp{vCont?} packet.
36533 @end table
36534
36535 Stubs should ignore any unknown values for
36536 @var{gdbfeature}. Any @value{GDBN} which sends a @samp{qSupported}
36537 packet supports receiving packets of unlimited length (earlier
36538 versions of @value{GDBN} may reject overly long responses). Additional values
36539 for @var{gdbfeature} may be defined in the future to let the stub take
36540 advantage of new features in @value{GDBN}, e.g.@: incompatible
36541 improvements in the remote protocol---the @samp{multiprocess} feature is
36542 an example of such a feature. The stub's reply should be independent
36543 of the @var{gdbfeature} entries sent by @value{GDBN}; first @value{GDBN}
36544 describes all the features it supports, and then the stub replies with
36545 all the features it supports.
36546
36547 Similarly, @value{GDBN} will silently ignore unrecognized stub feature
36548 responses, as long as each response uses one of the standard forms.
36549
36550 Some features are flags. A stub which supports a flag feature
36551 should respond with a @samp{+} form response. Other features
36552 require values, and the stub should respond with an @samp{=}
36553 form response.
36554
36555 Each feature has a default value, which @value{GDBN} will use if
36556 @samp{qSupported} is not available or if the feature is not mentioned
36557 in the @samp{qSupported} response. The default values are fixed; a
36558 stub is free to omit any feature responses that match the defaults.
36559
36560 Not all features can be probed, but for those which can, the probing
36561 mechanism is useful: in some cases, a stub's internal
36562 architecture may not allow the protocol layer to know some information
36563 about the underlying target in advance. This is especially common in
36564 stubs which may be configured for multiple targets.
36565
36566 These are the currently defined stub features and their properties:
36567
36568 @multitable @columnfractions 0.35 0.2 0.12 0.2
36569 @c NOTE: The first row should be @headitem, but we do not yet require
36570 @c a new enough version of Texinfo (4.7) to use @headitem.
36571 @item Feature Name
36572 @tab Value Required
36573 @tab Default
36574 @tab Probe Allowed
36575
36576 @item @samp{PacketSize}
36577 @tab Yes
36578 @tab @samp{-}
36579 @tab No
36580
36581 @item @samp{qXfer:auxv:read}
36582 @tab No
36583 @tab @samp{-}
36584 @tab Yes
36585
36586 @item @samp{qXfer:btrace:read}
36587 @tab No
36588 @tab @samp{-}
36589 @tab Yes
36590
36591 @item @samp{qXfer:btrace-conf:read}
36592 @tab No
36593 @tab @samp{-}
36594 @tab Yes
36595
36596 @item @samp{qXfer:exec-file:read}
36597 @tab No
36598 @tab @samp{-}
36599 @tab Yes
36600
36601 @item @samp{qXfer:features:read}
36602 @tab No
36603 @tab @samp{-}
36604 @tab Yes
36605
36606 @item @samp{qXfer:libraries:read}
36607 @tab No
36608 @tab @samp{-}
36609 @tab Yes
36610
36611 @item @samp{qXfer:libraries-svr4:read}
36612 @tab No
36613 @tab @samp{-}
36614 @tab Yes
36615
36616 @item @samp{augmented-libraries-svr4-read}
36617 @tab No
36618 @tab @samp{-}
36619 @tab No
36620
36621 @item @samp{qXfer:memory-map:read}
36622 @tab No
36623 @tab @samp{-}
36624 @tab Yes
36625
36626 @item @samp{qXfer:sdata:read}
36627 @tab No
36628 @tab @samp{-}
36629 @tab Yes
36630
36631 @item @samp{qXfer:spu:read}
36632 @tab No
36633 @tab @samp{-}
36634 @tab Yes
36635
36636 @item @samp{qXfer:spu:write}
36637 @tab No
36638 @tab @samp{-}
36639 @tab Yes
36640
36641 @item @samp{qXfer:siginfo:read}
36642 @tab No
36643 @tab @samp{-}
36644 @tab Yes
36645
36646 @item @samp{qXfer:siginfo:write}
36647 @tab No
36648 @tab @samp{-}
36649 @tab Yes
36650
36651 @item @samp{qXfer:threads:read}
36652 @tab No
36653 @tab @samp{-}
36654 @tab Yes
36655
36656 @item @samp{qXfer:traceframe-info:read}
36657 @tab No
36658 @tab @samp{-}
36659 @tab Yes
36660
36661 @item @samp{qXfer:uib:read}
36662 @tab No
36663 @tab @samp{-}
36664 @tab Yes
36665
36666 @item @samp{qXfer:fdpic:read}
36667 @tab No
36668 @tab @samp{-}
36669 @tab Yes
36670
36671 @item @samp{Qbtrace:off}
36672 @tab Yes
36673 @tab @samp{-}
36674 @tab Yes
36675
36676 @item @samp{Qbtrace:bts}
36677 @tab Yes
36678 @tab @samp{-}
36679 @tab Yes
36680
36681 @item @samp{Qbtrace:pt}
36682 @tab Yes
36683 @tab @samp{-}
36684 @tab Yes
36685
36686 @item @samp{Qbtrace-conf:bts:size}
36687 @tab Yes
36688 @tab @samp{-}
36689 @tab Yes
36690
36691 @item @samp{Qbtrace-conf:pt:size}
36692 @tab Yes
36693 @tab @samp{-}
36694 @tab Yes
36695
36696 @item @samp{QNonStop}
36697 @tab No
36698 @tab @samp{-}
36699 @tab Yes
36700
36701 @item @samp{QCatchSyscalls}
36702 @tab No
36703 @tab @samp{-}
36704 @tab Yes
36705
36706 @item @samp{QPassSignals}
36707 @tab No
36708 @tab @samp{-}
36709 @tab Yes
36710
36711 @item @samp{QStartNoAckMode}
36712 @tab No
36713 @tab @samp{-}
36714 @tab Yes
36715
36716 @item @samp{multiprocess}
36717 @tab No
36718 @tab @samp{-}
36719 @tab No
36720
36721 @item @samp{ConditionalBreakpoints}
36722 @tab No
36723 @tab @samp{-}
36724 @tab No
36725
36726 @item @samp{ConditionalTracepoints}
36727 @tab No
36728 @tab @samp{-}
36729 @tab No
36730
36731 @item @samp{ReverseContinue}
36732 @tab No
36733 @tab @samp{-}
36734 @tab No
36735
36736 @item @samp{ReverseStep}
36737 @tab No
36738 @tab @samp{-}
36739 @tab No
36740
36741 @item @samp{TracepointSource}
36742 @tab No
36743 @tab @samp{-}
36744 @tab No
36745
36746 @item @samp{QAgent}
36747 @tab No
36748 @tab @samp{-}
36749 @tab No
36750
36751 @item @samp{QAllow}
36752 @tab No
36753 @tab @samp{-}
36754 @tab No
36755
36756 @item @samp{QDisableRandomization}
36757 @tab No
36758 @tab @samp{-}
36759 @tab No
36760
36761 @item @samp{EnableDisableTracepoints}
36762 @tab No
36763 @tab @samp{-}
36764 @tab No
36765
36766 @item @samp{QTBuffer:size}
36767 @tab No
36768 @tab @samp{-}
36769 @tab No
36770
36771 @item @samp{tracenz}
36772 @tab No
36773 @tab @samp{-}
36774 @tab No
36775
36776 @item @samp{BreakpointCommands}
36777 @tab No
36778 @tab @samp{-}
36779 @tab No
36780
36781 @item @samp{swbreak}
36782 @tab No
36783 @tab @samp{-}
36784 @tab No
36785
36786 @item @samp{hwbreak}
36787 @tab No
36788 @tab @samp{-}
36789 @tab No
36790
36791 @item @samp{fork-events}
36792 @tab No
36793 @tab @samp{-}
36794 @tab No
36795
36796 @item @samp{vfork-events}
36797 @tab No
36798 @tab @samp{-}
36799 @tab No
36800
36801 @item @samp{exec-events}
36802 @tab No
36803 @tab @samp{-}
36804 @tab No
36805
36806 @item @samp{QThreadEvents}
36807 @tab No
36808 @tab @samp{-}
36809 @tab No
36810
36811 @item @samp{no-resumed}
36812 @tab No
36813 @tab @samp{-}
36814 @tab No
36815
36816 @end multitable
36817
36818 These are the currently defined stub features, in more detail:
36819
36820 @table @samp
36821 @cindex packet size, remote protocol
36822 @item PacketSize=@var{bytes}
36823 The remote stub can accept packets up to at least @var{bytes} in
36824 length. @value{GDBN} will send packets up to this size for bulk
36825 transfers, and will never send larger packets. This is a limit on the
36826 data characters in the packet, including the frame and checksum.
36827 There is no trailing NUL byte in a remote protocol packet; if the stub
36828 stores packets in a NUL-terminated format, it should allow an extra
36829 byte in its buffer for the NUL. If this stub feature is not supported,
36830 @value{GDBN} guesses based on the size of the @samp{g} packet response.
36831
36832 @item qXfer:auxv:read
36833 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:auxv:read} packet
36834 (@pxref{qXfer auxiliary vector read}).
36835
36836 @item qXfer:btrace:read
36837 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:btrace:read}
36838 packet (@pxref{qXfer btrace read}).
36839
36840 @item qXfer:btrace-conf:read
36841 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:btrace-conf:read}
36842 packet (@pxref{qXfer btrace-conf read}).
36843
36844 @item qXfer:exec-file:read
36845 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:exec-file:read} packet
36846 (@pxref{qXfer executable filename read}).
36847
36848 @item qXfer:features:read
36849 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:features:read} packet
36850 (@pxref{qXfer target description read}).
36851
36852 @item qXfer:libraries:read
36853 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:libraries:read} packet
36854 (@pxref{qXfer library list read}).
36855
36856 @item qXfer:libraries-svr4:read
36857 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:libraries-svr4:read} packet
36858 (@pxref{qXfer svr4 library list read}).
36859
36860 @item augmented-libraries-svr4-read
36861 The remote stub understands the augmented form of the
36862 @samp{qXfer:libraries-svr4:read} packet
36863 (@pxref{qXfer svr4 library list read}).
36864
36865 @item qXfer:memory-map:read
36866 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:memory-map:read} packet
36867 (@pxref{qXfer memory map read}).
36868
36869 @item qXfer:sdata:read
36870 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:sdata:read} packet
36871 (@pxref{qXfer sdata read}).
36872
36873 @item qXfer:spu:read
36874 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:spu:read} packet
36875 (@pxref{qXfer spu read}).
36876
36877 @item qXfer:spu:write
36878 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:spu:write} packet
36879 (@pxref{qXfer spu write}).
36880
36881 @item qXfer:siginfo:read
36882 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:siginfo:read} packet
36883 (@pxref{qXfer siginfo read}).
36884
36885 @item qXfer:siginfo:write
36886 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:siginfo:write} packet
36887 (@pxref{qXfer siginfo write}).
36888
36889 @item qXfer:threads:read
36890 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:threads:read} packet
36891 (@pxref{qXfer threads read}).
36892
36893 @item qXfer:traceframe-info:read
36894 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:traceframe-info:read}
36895 packet (@pxref{qXfer traceframe info read}).
36896
36897 @item qXfer:uib:read
36898 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:uib:read}
36899 packet (@pxref{qXfer unwind info block}).
36900
36901 @item qXfer:fdpic:read
36902 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:fdpic:read}
36903 packet (@pxref{qXfer fdpic loadmap read}).
36904
36905 @item QNonStop
36906 The remote stub understands the @samp{QNonStop} packet
36907 (@pxref{QNonStop}).
36908
36909 @item QCatchSyscalls
36910 The remote stub understands the @samp{QCatchSyscalls} packet
36911 (@pxref{QCatchSyscalls}).
36912
36913 @item QPassSignals
36914 The remote stub understands the @samp{QPassSignals} packet
36915 (@pxref{QPassSignals}).
36916
36917 @item QStartNoAckMode
36918 The remote stub understands the @samp{QStartNoAckMode} packet and
36919 prefers to operate in no-acknowledgment mode. @xref{Packet Acknowledgment}.
36920
36921 @item multiprocess
36922 @anchor{multiprocess extensions}
36923 @cindex multiprocess extensions, in remote protocol
36924 The remote stub understands the multiprocess extensions to the remote
36925 protocol syntax. The multiprocess extensions affect the syntax of
36926 thread IDs in both packets and replies (@pxref{thread-id syntax}), and
36927 add process IDs to the @samp{D} packet and @samp{W} and @samp{X}
36928 replies. Note that reporting this feature indicates support for the
36929 syntactic extensions only, not that the stub necessarily supports
36930 debugging of more than one process at a time. The stub must not use
36931 multiprocess extensions in packet replies unless @value{GDBN} has also
36932 indicated it supports them in its @samp{qSupported} request.
36933
36934 @item qXfer:osdata:read
36935 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:osdata:read} packet
36936 ((@pxref{qXfer osdata read}).
36937
36938 @item ConditionalBreakpoints
36939 The target accepts and implements evaluation of conditional expressions
36940 defined for breakpoints. The target will only report breakpoint triggers
36941 when such conditions are true (@pxref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}).
36942
36943 @item ConditionalTracepoints
36944 The remote stub accepts and implements conditional expressions defined
36945 for tracepoints (@pxref{Tracepoint Conditions}).
36946
36947 @item ReverseContinue
36948 The remote stub accepts and implements the reverse continue packet
36949 (@pxref{bc}).
36950
36951 @item ReverseStep
36952 The remote stub accepts and implements the reverse step packet
36953 (@pxref{bs}).
36954
36955 @item TracepointSource
36956 The remote stub understands the @samp{QTDPsrc} packet that supplies
36957 the source form of tracepoint definitions.
36958
36959 @item QAgent
36960 The remote stub understands the @samp{QAgent} packet.
36961
36962 @item QAllow
36963 The remote stub understands the @samp{QAllow} packet.
36964
36965 @item QDisableRandomization
36966 The remote stub understands the @samp{QDisableRandomization} packet.
36967
36968 @item StaticTracepoint
36969 @cindex static tracepoints, in remote protocol
36970 The remote stub supports static tracepoints.
36971
36972 @item InstallInTrace
36973 @anchor{install tracepoint in tracing}
36974 The remote stub supports installing tracepoint in tracing.
36975
36976 @item EnableDisableTracepoints
36977 The remote stub supports the @samp{QTEnable} (@pxref{QTEnable}) and
36978 @samp{QTDisable} (@pxref{QTDisable}) packets that allow tracepoints
36979 to be enabled and disabled while a trace experiment is running.
36980
36981 @item QTBuffer:size
36982 The remote stub supports the @samp{QTBuffer:size} (@pxref{QTBuffer-size})
36983 packet that allows to change the size of the trace buffer.
36984
36985 @item tracenz
36986 @cindex string tracing, in remote protocol
36987 The remote stub supports the @samp{tracenz} bytecode for collecting strings.
36988 See @ref{Bytecode Descriptions} for details about the bytecode.
36989
36990 @item BreakpointCommands
36991 @cindex breakpoint commands, in remote protocol
36992 The remote stub supports running a breakpoint's command list itself,
36993 rather than reporting the hit to @value{GDBN}.
36994
36995 @item Qbtrace:off
36996 The remote stub understands the @samp{Qbtrace:off} packet.
36997
36998 @item Qbtrace:bts
36999 The remote stub understands the @samp{Qbtrace:bts} packet.
37000
37001 @item Qbtrace:pt
37002 The remote stub understands the @samp{Qbtrace:pt} packet.
37003
37004 @item Qbtrace-conf:bts:size
37005 The remote stub understands the @samp{Qbtrace-conf:bts:size} packet.
37006
37007 @item Qbtrace-conf:pt:size
37008 The remote stub understands the @samp{Qbtrace-conf:pt:size} packet.
37009
37010 @item swbreak
37011 The remote stub reports the @samp{swbreak} stop reason for memory
37012 breakpoints.
37013
37014 @item hwbreak
37015 The remote stub reports the @samp{hwbreak} stop reason for hardware
37016 breakpoints.
37017
37018 @item fork-events
37019 The remote stub reports the @samp{fork} stop reason for fork events.
37020
37021 @item vfork-events
37022 The remote stub reports the @samp{vfork} stop reason for vfork events
37023 and vforkdone events.
37024
37025 @item exec-events
37026 The remote stub reports the @samp{exec} stop reason for exec events.
37027
37028 @item vContSupported
37029 The remote stub reports the supported actions in the reply to
37030 @samp{vCont?} packet.
37031
37032 @item QThreadEvents
37033 The remote stub understands the @samp{QThreadEvents} packet.
37034
37035 @item no-resumed
37036 The remote stub reports the @samp{N} stop reply.
37037
37038 @end table
37039
37040 @item qSymbol::
37041 @cindex symbol lookup, remote request
37042 @cindex @samp{qSymbol} packet
37043 Notify the target that @value{GDBN} is prepared to serve symbol lookup
37044 requests. Accept requests from the target for the values of symbols.
37045
37046 Reply:
37047 @table @samp
37048 @item OK
37049 The target does not need to look up any (more) symbols.
37050 @item qSymbol:@var{sym_name}
37051 The target requests the value of symbol @var{sym_name} (hex encoded).
37052 @value{GDBN} may provide the value by using the
37053 @samp{qSymbol:@var{sym_value}:@var{sym_name}} message, described
37054 below.
37055 @end table
37056
37057 @item qSymbol:@var{sym_value}:@var{sym_name}
37058 Set the value of @var{sym_name} to @var{sym_value}.
37059
37060 @var{sym_name} (hex encoded) is the name of a symbol whose value the
37061 target has previously requested.
37062
37063 @var{sym_value} (hex) is the value for symbol @var{sym_name}. If
37064 @value{GDBN} cannot supply a value for @var{sym_name}, then this field
37065 will be empty.
37066
37067 Reply:
37068 @table @samp
37069 @item OK
37070 The target does not need to look up any (more) symbols.
37071 @item qSymbol:@var{sym_name}
37072 The target requests the value of a new symbol @var{sym_name} (hex
37073 encoded). @value{GDBN} will continue to supply the values of symbols
37074 (if available), until the target ceases to request them.
37075 @end table
37076
37077 @item qTBuffer
37078 @itemx QTBuffer
37079 @itemx QTDisconnected
37080 @itemx QTDP
37081 @itemx QTDPsrc
37082 @itemx QTDV
37083 @itemx qTfP
37084 @itemx qTfV
37085 @itemx QTFrame
37086 @itemx qTMinFTPILen
37087
37088 @xref{Tracepoint Packets}.
37089
37090 @item qThreadExtraInfo,@var{thread-id}
37091 @cindex thread attributes info, remote request
37092 @cindex @samp{qThreadExtraInfo} packet
37093 Obtain from the target OS a printable string description of thread
37094 attributes for the thread @var{thread-id}; see @ref{thread-id syntax},
37095 for the forms of @var{thread-id}. This
37096 string may contain anything that the target OS thinks is interesting
37097 for @value{GDBN} to tell the user about the thread. The string is
37098 displayed in @value{GDBN}'s @code{info threads} display. Some
37099 examples of possible thread extra info strings are @samp{Runnable}, or
37100 @samp{Blocked on Mutex}.
37101
37102 Reply:
37103 @table @samp
37104 @item @var{XX}@dots{}
37105 Where @samp{@var{XX}@dots{}} is a hex encoding of @sc{ascii} data,
37106 comprising the printable string containing the extra information about
37107 the thread's attributes.
37108 @end table
37109
37110 (Note that the @code{qThreadExtraInfo} packet's name is separated from
37111 the command by a @samp{,}, not a @samp{:}, contrary to the naming
37112 conventions above. Please don't use this packet as a model for new
37113 packets.)
37114
37115 @item QTNotes
37116 @itemx qTP
37117 @itemx QTSave
37118 @itemx qTsP
37119 @itemx qTsV
37120 @itemx QTStart
37121 @itemx QTStop
37122 @itemx QTEnable
37123 @itemx QTDisable
37124 @itemx QTinit
37125 @itemx QTro
37126 @itemx qTStatus
37127 @itemx qTV
37128 @itemx qTfSTM
37129 @itemx qTsSTM
37130 @itemx qTSTMat
37131 @xref{Tracepoint Packets}.
37132
37133 @item qXfer:@var{object}:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
37134 @cindex read special object, remote request
37135 @cindex @samp{qXfer} packet
37136 @anchor{qXfer read}
37137 Read uninterpreted bytes from the target's special data area
37138 identified by the keyword @var{object}. Request @var{length} bytes
37139 starting at @var{offset} bytes into the data. The content and
37140 encoding of @var{annex} is specific to @var{object}; it can supply
37141 additional details about what data to access.
37142
37143 Here are the specific requests of this form defined so far. All
37144 @samp{qXfer:@var{object}:read:@dots{}} requests use the same reply
37145 formats, listed below.
37146
37147 @table @samp
37148 @item qXfer:auxv:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
37149 @anchor{qXfer auxiliary vector read}
37150 Access the target's @dfn{auxiliary vector}. @xref{OS Information,
37151 auxiliary vector}. Note @var{annex} must be empty.
37152
37153 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37154 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37155
37156 @item qXfer:btrace:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
37157 @anchor{qXfer btrace read}
37158
37159 Return a description of the current branch trace.
37160 @xref{Branch Trace Format}. The annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer}
37161 packet may have one of the following values:
37162
37163 @table @code
37164 @item all
37165 Returns all available branch trace.
37166
37167 @item new
37168 Returns all available branch trace if the branch trace changed since
37169 the last read request.
37170
37171 @item delta
37172 Returns the new branch trace since the last read request. Adds a new
37173 block to the end of the trace that begins at zero and ends at the source
37174 location of the first branch in the trace buffer. This extra block is
37175 used to stitch traces together.
37176
37177 If the trace buffer overflowed, returns an error indicating the overflow.
37178 @end table
37179
37180 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it
37181 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37182
37183 @item qXfer:btrace-conf:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
37184 @anchor{qXfer btrace-conf read}
37185
37186 Return a description of the current branch trace configuration.
37187 @xref{Branch Trace Configuration Format}.
37188
37189 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it
37190 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37191
37192 @item qXfer:exec-file:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
37193 @anchor{qXfer executable filename read}
37194 Return the full absolute name of the file that was executed to create
37195 a process running on the remote system. The annex specifies the
37196 numeric process ID of the process to query, encoded as a hexadecimal
37197 number. If the annex part is empty the remote stub should return the
37198 filename corresponding to the currently executing process.
37199
37200 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37201 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37202
37203 @item qXfer:features:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
37204 @anchor{qXfer target description read}
37205 Access the @dfn{target description}. @xref{Target Descriptions}. The
37206 annex specifies which XML document to access. The main description is
37207 always loaded from the @samp{target.xml} annex.
37208
37209 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37210 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37211
37212 @item qXfer:libraries:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
37213 @anchor{qXfer library list read}
37214 Access the target's list of loaded libraries. @xref{Library List Format}.
37215 The annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be empty
37216 (@pxref{qXfer read}).
37217
37218 Targets which maintain a list of libraries in the program's memory do
37219 not need to implement this packet; it is designed for platforms where
37220 the operating system manages the list of loaded libraries.
37221
37222 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37223 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37224
37225 @item qXfer:libraries-svr4:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
37226 @anchor{qXfer svr4 library list read}
37227 Access the target's list of loaded libraries when the target is an SVR4
37228 platform. @xref{Library List Format for SVR4 Targets}. The annex part
37229 of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be empty unless the remote
37230 stub indicated it supports the augmented form of this packet
37231 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response
37232 (@pxref{qXfer read}, @ref{qSupported}).
37233
37234 This packet is optional for better performance on SVR4 targets.
37235 @value{GDBN} uses memory read packets to read the SVR4 library list otherwise.
37236
37237 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37238 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37239
37240 If the remote stub indicates it supports the augmented form of this
37241 packet then the annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet may
37242 contain a semicolon-separated list of @samp{@var{name}=@var{value}}
37243 arguments. The currently supported arguments are:
37244
37245 @table @code
37246 @item start=@var{address}
37247 A hexadecimal number specifying the address of the @samp{struct
37248 link_map} to start reading the library list from. If unset or zero
37249 then the first @samp{struct link_map} in the library list will be
37250 chosen as the starting point.
37251
37252 @item prev=@var{address}
37253 A hexadecimal number specifying the address of the @samp{struct
37254 link_map} immediately preceding the @samp{struct link_map}
37255 specified by the @samp{start} argument. If unset or zero then
37256 the remote stub will expect that no @samp{struct link_map}
37257 exists prior to the starting point.
37258
37259 @end table
37260
37261 Arguments that are not understood by the remote stub will be silently
37262 ignored.
37263
37264 @item qXfer:memory-map:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
37265 @anchor{qXfer memory map read}
37266 Access the target's @dfn{memory-map}. @xref{Memory Map Format}. The
37267 annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be empty
37268 (@pxref{qXfer read}).
37269
37270 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37271 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37272
37273 @item qXfer:sdata:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
37274 @anchor{qXfer sdata read}
37275
37276 Read contents of the extra collected static tracepoint marker
37277 information. The annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must
37278 be empty (@pxref{qXfer read}). @xref{Tracepoint Actions,,Tracepoint
37279 Action Lists}.
37280
37281 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37282 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response
37283 (@pxref{qSupported}).
37284
37285 @item qXfer:siginfo:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
37286 @anchor{qXfer siginfo read}
37287 Read contents of the extra signal information on the target
37288 system. The annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be
37289 empty (@pxref{qXfer read}).
37290
37291 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37292 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response
37293 (@pxref{qSupported}).
37294
37295 @item qXfer:spu:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
37296 @anchor{qXfer spu read}
37297 Read contents of an @code{spufs} file on the target system. The
37298 annex specifies which file to read; it must be of the form
37299 @file{@var{id}/@var{name}}, where @var{id} specifies an SPU context ID
37300 in the target process, and @var{name} identifes the @code{spufs} file
37301 in that context to be accessed.
37302
37303 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37304 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response
37305 (@pxref{qSupported}).
37306
37307 @item qXfer:threads:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
37308 @anchor{qXfer threads read}
37309 Access the list of threads on target. @xref{Thread List Format}. The
37310 annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be empty
37311 (@pxref{qXfer read}).
37312
37313 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37314 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37315
37316 @item qXfer:traceframe-info:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
37317 @anchor{qXfer traceframe info read}
37318
37319 Return a description of the current traceframe's contents.
37320 @xref{Traceframe Info Format}. The annex part of the generic
37321 @samp{qXfer} packet must be empty (@pxref{qXfer read}).
37322
37323 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37324 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37325
37326 @item qXfer:uib:read:@var{pc}:@var{offset},@var{length}
37327 @anchor{qXfer unwind info block}
37328
37329 Return the unwind information block for @var{pc}. This packet is used
37330 on OpenVMS/ia64 to ask the kernel unwind information.
37331
37332 This packet is not probed by default.
37333
37334 @item qXfer:fdpic:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
37335 @anchor{qXfer fdpic loadmap read}
37336 Read contents of @code{loadmap}s on the target system. The
37337 annex, either @samp{exec} or @samp{interp}, specifies which @code{loadmap},
37338 executable @code{loadmap} or interpreter @code{loadmap} to read.
37339
37340 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37341 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37342
37343 @item qXfer:osdata:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
37344 @anchor{qXfer osdata read}
37345 Access the target's @dfn{operating system information}.
37346 @xref{Operating System Information}.
37347
37348 @end table
37349
37350 Reply:
37351 @table @samp
37352 @item m @var{data}
37353 Data @var{data} (@pxref{Binary Data}) has been read from the
37354 target. There may be more data at a higher address (although
37355 it is permitted to return @samp{m} even for the last valid
37356 block of data, as long as at least one byte of data was read).
37357 It is possible for @var{data} to have fewer bytes than the @var{length} in the
37358 request.
37359
37360 @item l @var{data}
37361 Data @var{data} (@pxref{Binary Data}) has been read from the target.
37362 There is no more data to be read. It is possible for @var{data} to
37363 have fewer bytes than the @var{length} in the request.
37364
37365 @item l
37366 The @var{offset} in the request is at the end of the data.
37367 There is no more data to be read.
37368
37369 @item E00
37370 The request was malformed, or @var{annex} was invalid.
37371
37372 @item E @var{nn}
37373 The offset was invalid, or there was an error encountered reading the data.
37374 The @var{nn} part is a hex-encoded @code{errno} value.
37375
37376 @item @w{}
37377 An empty reply indicates the @var{object} string was not recognized by
37378 the stub, or that the object does not support reading.
37379 @end table
37380
37381 @item qXfer:@var{object}:write:@var{annex}:@var{offset}:@var{data}@dots{}
37382 @cindex write data into object, remote request
37383 @anchor{qXfer write}
37384 Write uninterpreted bytes into the target's special data area
37385 identified by the keyword @var{object}, starting at @var{offset} bytes
37386 into the data. The binary-encoded data (@pxref{Binary Data}) to be
37387 written is given by @var{data}@dots{}. The content and encoding of @var{annex}
37388 is specific to @var{object}; it can supply additional details about what data
37389 to access.
37390
37391 Here are the specific requests of this form defined so far. All
37392 @samp{qXfer:@var{object}:write:@dots{}} requests use the same reply
37393 formats, listed below.
37394
37395 @table @samp
37396 @item qXfer:siginfo:write::@var{offset}:@var{data}@dots{}
37397 @anchor{qXfer siginfo write}
37398 Write @var{data} to the extra signal information on the target system.
37399 The annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be
37400 empty (@pxref{qXfer write}).
37401
37402 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37403 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response
37404 (@pxref{qSupported}).
37405
37406 @item qXfer:spu:write:@var{annex}:@var{offset}:@var{data}@dots{}
37407 @anchor{qXfer spu write}
37408 Write @var{data} to an @code{spufs} file on the target system. The
37409 annex specifies which file to write; it must be of the form
37410 @file{@var{id}/@var{name}}, where @var{id} specifies an SPU context ID
37411 in the target process, and @var{name} identifes the @code{spufs} file
37412 in that context to be accessed.
37413
37414 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37415 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37416 @end table
37417
37418 Reply:
37419 @table @samp
37420 @item @var{nn}
37421 @var{nn} (hex encoded) is the number of bytes written.
37422 This may be fewer bytes than supplied in the request.
37423
37424 @item E00
37425 The request was malformed, or @var{annex} was invalid.
37426
37427 @item E @var{nn}
37428 The offset was invalid, or there was an error encountered writing the data.
37429 The @var{nn} part is a hex-encoded @code{errno} value.
37430
37431 @item @w{}
37432 An empty reply indicates the @var{object} string was not
37433 recognized by the stub, or that the object does not support writing.
37434 @end table
37435
37436 @item qXfer:@var{object}:@var{operation}:@dots{}
37437 Requests of this form may be added in the future. When a stub does
37438 not recognize the @var{object} keyword, or its support for
37439 @var{object} does not recognize the @var{operation} keyword, the stub
37440 must respond with an empty packet.
37441
37442 @item qAttached:@var{pid}
37443 @cindex query attached, remote request
37444 @cindex @samp{qAttached} packet
37445 Return an indication of whether the remote server attached to an
37446 existing process or created a new process. When the multiprocess
37447 protocol extensions are supported (@pxref{multiprocess extensions}),
37448 @var{pid} is an integer in hexadecimal format identifying the target
37449 process. Otherwise, @value{GDBN} will omit the @var{pid} field and
37450 the query packet will be simplified as @samp{qAttached}.
37451
37452 This query is used, for example, to know whether the remote process
37453 should be detached or killed when a @value{GDBN} session is ended with
37454 the @code{quit} command.
37455
37456 Reply:
37457 @table @samp
37458 @item 1
37459 The remote server attached to an existing process.
37460 @item 0
37461 The remote server created a new process.
37462 @item E @var{NN}
37463 A badly formed request or an error was encountered.
37464 @end table
37465
37466 @item Qbtrace:bts
37467 Enable branch tracing for the current thread using Branch Trace Store.
37468
37469 Reply:
37470 @table @samp
37471 @item OK
37472 Branch tracing has been enabled.
37473 @item E.errtext
37474 A badly formed request or an error was encountered.
37475 @end table
37476
37477 @item Qbtrace:pt
37478 Enable branch tracing for the current thread using Intel Processor Trace.
37479
37480 Reply:
37481 @table @samp
37482 @item OK
37483 Branch tracing has been enabled.
37484 @item E.errtext
37485 A badly formed request or an error was encountered.
37486 @end table
37487
37488 @item Qbtrace:off
37489 Disable branch tracing for the current thread.
37490
37491 Reply:
37492 @table @samp
37493 @item OK
37494 Branch tracing has been disabled.
37495 @item E.errtext
37496 A badly formed request or an error was encountered.
37497 @end table
37498
37499 @item Qbtrace-conf:bts:size=@var{value}
37500 Set the requested ring buffer size for new threads that use the
37501 btrace recording method in bts format.
37502
37503 Reply:
37504 @table @samp
37505 @item OK
37506 The ring buffer size has been set.
37507 @item E.errtext
37508 A badly formed request or an error was encountered.
37509 @end table
37510
37511 @item Qbtrace-conf:pt:size=@var{value}
37512 Set the requested ring buffer size for new threads that use the
37513 btrace recording method in pt format.
37514
37515 Reply:
37516 @table @samp
37517 @item OK
37518 The ring buffer size has been set.
37519 @item E.errtext
37520 A badly formed request or an error was encountered.
37521 @end table
37522
37523 @end table
37524
37525 @node Architecture-Specific Protocol Details
37526 @section Architecture-Specific Protocol Details
37527
37528 This section describes how the remote protocol is applied to specific
37529 target architectures. Also see @ref{Standard Target Features}, for
37530 details of XML target descriptions for each architecture.
37531
37532 @menu
37533 * ARM-Specific Protocol Details::
37534 * MIPS-Specific Protocol Details::
37535 @end menu
37536
37537 @node ARM-Specific Protocol Details
37538 @subsection @acronym{ARM}-specific Protocol Details
37539
37540 @menu
37541 * ARM Breakpoint Kinds::
37542 @end menu
37543
37544 @node ARM Breakpoint Kinds
37545 @subsubsection @acronym{ARM} Breakpoint Kinds
37546 @cindex breakpoint kinds, @acronym{ARM}
37547
37548 These breakpoint kinds are defined for the @samp{Z0} and @samp{Z1} packets.
37549
37550 @table @r
37551
37552 @item 2
37553 16-bit Thumb mode breakpoint.
37554
37555 @item 3
37556 32-bit Thumb mode (Thumb-2) breakpoint.
37557
37558 @item 4
37559 32-bit @acronym{ARM} mode breakpoint.
37560
37561 @end table
37562
37563 @node MIPS-Specific Protocol Details
37564 @subsection @acronym{MIPS}-specific Protocol Details
37565
37566 @menu
37567 * MIPS Register packet Format::
37568 * MIPS Breakpoint Kinds::
37569 @end menu
37570
37571 @node MIPS Register packet Format
37572 @subsubsection @acronym{MIPS} Register Packet Format
37573 @cindex register packet format, @acronym{MIPS}
37574
37575 The following @code{g}/@code{G} packets have previously been defined.
37576 In the below, some thirty-two bit registers are transferred as
37577 sixty-four bits. Those registers should be zero/sign extended (which?)
37578 to fill the space allocated. Register bytes are transferred in target
37579 byte order. The two nibbles within a register byte are transferred
37580 most-significant -- least-significant.
37581
37582 @table @r
37583
37584 @item MIPS32
37585 All registers are transferred as thirty-two bit quantities in the order:
37586 32 general-purpose; sr; lo; hi; bad; cause; pc; 32 floating-point
37587 registers; fsr; fir; fp.
37588
37589 @item MIPS64
37590 All registers are transferred as sixty-four bit quantities (including
37591 thirty-two bit registers such as @code{sr}). The ordering is the same
37592 as @code{MIPS32}.
37593
37594 @end table
37595
37596 @node MIPS Breakpoint Kinds
37597 @subsubsection @acronym{MIPS} Breakpoint Kinds
37598 @cindex breakpoint kinds, @acronym{MIPS}
37599
37600 These breakpoint kinds are defined for the @samp{Z0} and @samp{Z1} packets.
37601
37602 @table @r
37603
37604 @item 2
37605 16-bit @acronym{MIPS16} mode breakpoint.
37606
37607 @item 3
37608 16-bit @acronym{microMIPS} mode breakpoint.
37609
37610 @item 4
37611 32-bit standard @acronym{MIPS} mode breakpoint.
37612
37613 @item 5
37614 32-bit @acronym{microMIPS} mode breakpoint.
37615
37616 @end table
37617
37618 @node Tracepoint Packets
37619 @section Tracepoint Packets
37620 @cindex tracepoint packets
37621 @cindex packets, tracepoint
37622
37623 Here we describe the packets @value{GDBN} uses to implement
37624 tracepoints (@pxref{Tracepoints}).
37625
37626 @table @samp
37627
37628 @item QTDP:@var{n}:@var{addr}:@var{ena}:@var{step}:@var{pass}[:F@var{flen}][:X@var{len},@var{bytes}]@r{[}-@r{]}
37629 @cindex @samp{QTDP} packet
37630 Create a new tracepoint, number @var{n}, at @var{addr}. If @var{ena}
37631 is @samp{E}, then the tracepoint is enabled; if it is @samp{D}, then
37632 the tracepoint is disabled. The @var{step} gives the tracepoint's step
37633 count, and @var{pass} gives its pass count. If an @samp{F} is present,
37634 then the tracepoint is to be a fast tracepoint, and the @var{flen} is
37635 the number of bytes that the target should copy elsewhere to make room
37636 for the tracepoint. If an @samp{X} is present, it introduces a
37637 tracepoint condition, which consists of a hexadecimal length, followed
37638 by a comma and hex-encoded bytes, in a manner similar to action
37639 encodings as described below. If the trailing @samp{-} is present,
37640 further @samp{QTDP} packets will follow to specify this tracepoint's
37641 actions.
37642
37643 Replies:
37644 @table @samp
37645 @item OK
37646 The packet was understood and carried out.
37647 @item qRelocInsn
37648 @xref{Tracepoint Packets,,Relocate instruction reply packet}.
37649 @item @w{}
37650 The packet was not recognized.
37651 @end table
37652
37653 @item QTDP:-@var{n}:@var{addr}:@r{[}S@r{]}@var{action}@dots{}@r{[}-@r{]}
37654 Define actions to be taken when a tracepoint is hit. The @var{n} and
37655 @var{addr} must be the same as in the initial @samp{QTDP} packet for
37656 this tracepoint. This packet may only be sent immediately after
37657 another @samp{QTDP} packet that ended with a @samp{-}. If the
37658 trailing @samp{-} is present, further @samp{QTDP} packets will follow,
37659 specifying more actions for this tracepoint.
37660
37661 In the series of action packets for a given tracepoint, at most one
37662 can have an @samp{S} before its first @var{action}. If such a packet
37663 is sent, it and the following packets define ``while-stepping''
37664 actions. Any prior packets define ordinary actions --- that is, those
37665 taken when the tracepoint is first hit. If no action packet has an
37666 @samp{S}, then all the packets in the series specify ordinary
37667 tracepoint actions.
37668
37669 The @samp{@var{action}@dots{}} portion of the packet is a series of
37670 actions, concatenated without separators. Each action has one of the
37671 following forms:
37672
37673 @table @samp
37674
37675 @item R @var{mask}
37676 Collect the registers whose bits are set in @var{mask},
37677 a hexadecimal number whose @var{i}'th bit is set if register number
37678 @var{i} should be collected. (The least significant bit is numbered
37679 zero.) Note that @var{mask} may be any number of digits long; it may
37680 not fit in a 32-bit word.
37681
37682 @item M @var{basereg},@var{offset},@var{len}
37683 Collect @var{len} bytes of memory starting at the address in register
37684 number @var{basereg}, plus @var{offset}. If @var{basereg} is
37685 @samp{-1}, then the range has a fixed address: @var{offset} is the
37686 address of the lowest byte to collect. The @var{basereg},
37687 @var{offset}, and @var{len} parameters are all unsigned hexadecimal
37688 values (the @samp{-1} value for @var{basereg} is a special case).
37689
37690 @item X @var{len},@var{expr}
37691 Evaluate @var{expr}, whose length is @var{len}, and collect memory as
37692 it directs. The agent expression @var{expr} is as described in
37693 @ref{Agent Expressions}. Each byte of the expression is encoded as a
37694 two-digit hex number in the packet; @var{len} is the number of bytes
37695 in the expression (and thus one-half the number of hex digits in the
37696 packet).
37697
37698 @end table
37699
37700 Any number of actions may be packed together in a single @samp{QTDP}
37701 packet, as long as the packet does not exceed the maximum packet
37702 length (400 bytes, for many stubs). There may be only one @samp{R}
37703 action per tracepoint, and it must precede any @samp{M} or @samp{X}
37704 actions. Any registers referred to by @samp{M} and @samp{X} actions
37705 must be collected by a preceding @samp{R} action. (The
37706 ``while-stepping'' actions are treated as if they were attached to a
37707 separate tracepoint, as far as these restrictions are concerned.)
37708
37709 Replies:
37710 @table @samp
37711 @item OK
37712 The packet was understood and carried out.
37713 @item qRelocInsn
37714 @xref{Tracepoint Packets,,Relocate instruction reply packet}.
37715 @item @w{}
37716 The packet was not recognized.
37717 @end table
37718
37719 @item QTDPsrc:@var{n}:@var{addr}:@var{type}:@var{start}:@var{slen}:@var{bytes}
37720 @cindex @samp{QTDPsrc} packet
37721 Specify a source string of tracepoint @var{n} at address @var{addr}.
37722 This is useful to get accurate reproduction of the tracepoints
37723 originally downloaded at the beginning of the trace run. The @var{type}
37724 is the name of the tracepoint part, such as @samp{cond} for the
37725 tracepoint's conditional expression (see below for a list of types), while
37726 @var{bytes} is the string, encoded in hexadecimal.
37727
37728 @var{start} is the offset of the @var{bytes} within the overall source
37729 string, while @var{slen} is the total length of the source string.
37730 This is intended for handling source strings that are longer than will
37731 fit in a single packet.
37732 @c Add detailed example when this info is moved into a dedicated
37733 @c tracepoint descriptions section.
37734
37735 The available string types are @samp{at} for the location,
37736 @samp{cond} for the conditional, and @samp{cmd} for an action command.
37737 @value{GDBN} sends a separate packet for each command in the action
37738 list, in the same order in which the commands are stored in the list.
37739
37740 The target does not need to do anything with source strings except
37741 report them back as part of the replies to the @samp{qTfP}/@samp{qTsP}
37742 query packets.
37743
37744 Although this packet is optional, and @value{GDBN} will only send it
37745 if the target replies with @samp{TracepointSource} @xref{General
37746 Query Packets}, it makes both disconnected tracing and trace files
37747 much easier to use. Otherwise the user must be careful that the
37748 tracepoints in effect while looking at trace frames are identical to
37749 the ones in effect during the trace run; even a small discrepancy
37750 could cause @samp{tdump} not to work, or a particular trace frame not
37751 be found.
37752
37753 @item QTDV:@var{n}:@var{value}:@var{builtin}:@var{name}
37754 @cindex define trace state variable, remote request
37755 @cindex @samp{QTDV} packet
37756 Create a new trace state variable, number @var{n}, with an initial
37757 value of @var{value}, which is a 64-bit signed integer. Both @var{n}
37758 and @var{value} are encoded as hexadecimal values. @value{GDBN} has
37759 the option of not using this packet for initial values of zero; the
37760 target should simply create the trace state variables as they are
37761 mentioned in expressions. The value @var{builtin} should be 1 (one)
37762 if the trace state variable is builtin and 0 (zero) if it is not builtin.
37763 @value{GDBN} only sets @var{builtin} to 1 if a previous @samp{qTfV} or
37764 @samp{qTsV} packet had it set. The contents of @var{name} is the
37765 hex-encoded name (without the leading @samp{$}) of the trace state
37766 variable.
37767
37768 @item QTFrame:@var{n}
37769 @cindex @samp{QTFrame} packet
37770 Select the @var{n}'th tracepoint frame from the buffer, and use the
37771 register and memory contents recorded there to answer subsequent
37772 request packets from @value{GDBN}.
37773
37774 A successful reply from the stub indicates that the stub has found the
37775 requested frame. The response is a series of parts, concatenated
37776 without separators, describing the frame we selected. Each part has
37777 one of the following forms:
37778
37779 @table @samp
37780 @item F @var{f}
37781 The selected frame is number @var{n} in the trace frame buffer;
37782 @var{f} is a hexadecimal number. If @var{f} is @samp{-1}, then there
37783 was no frame matching the criteria in the request packet.
37784
37785 @item T @var{t}
37786 The selected trace frame records a hit of tracepoint number @var{t};
37787 @var{t} is a hexadecimal number.
37788
37789 @end table
37790
37791 @item QTFrame:pc:@var{addr}
37792 Like @samp{QTFrame:@var{n}}, but select the first tracepoint frame after the
37793 currently selected frame whose PC is @var{addr};
37794 @var{addr} is a hexadecimal number.
37795
37796 @item QTFrame:tdp:@var{t}
37797 Like @samp{QTFrame:@var{n}}, but select the first tracepoint frame after the
37798 currently selected frame that is a hit of tracepoint @var{t}; @var{t}
37799 is a hexadecimal number.
37800
37801 @item QTFrame:range:@var{start}:@var{end}
37802 Like @samp{QTFrame:@var{n}}, but select the first tracepoint frame after the
37803 currently selected frame whose PC is between @var{start} (inclusive)
37804 and @var{end} (inclusive); @var{start} and @var{end} are hexadecimal
37805 numbers.
37806
37807 @item QTFrame:outside:@var{start}:@var{end}
37808 Like @samp{QTFrame:range:@var{start}:@var{end}}, but select the first
37809 frame @emph{outside} the given range of addresses (exclusive).
37810
37811 @item qTMinFTPILen
37812 @cindex @samp{qTMinFTPILen} packet
37813 This packet requests the minimum length of instruction at which a fast
37814 tracepoint (@pxref{Set Tracepoints}) may be placed. For instance, on
37815 the 32-bit x86 architecture, it is possible to use a 4-byte jump, but
37816 it depends on the target system being able to create trampolines in
37817 the first 64K of memory, which might or might not be possible for that
37818 system. So the reply to this packet will be 4 if it is able to
37819 arrange for that.
37820
37821 Replies:
37822
37823 @table @samp
37824 @item 0
37825 The minimum instruction length is currently unknown.
37826 @item @var{length}
37827 The minimum instruction length is @var{length}, where @var{length}
37828 is a hexadecimal number greater or equal to 1. A reply
37829 of 1 means that a fast tracepoint may be placed on any instruction
37830 regardless of size.
37831 @item E
37832 An error has occurred.
37833 @item @w{}
37834 An empty reply indicates that the request is not supported by the stub.
37835 @end table
37836
37837 @item QTStart
37838 @cindex @samp{QTStart} packet
37839 Begin the tracepoint experiment. Begin collecting data from
37840 tracepoint hits in the trace frame buffer. This packet supports the
37841 @samp{qRelocInsn} reply (@pxref{Tracepoint Packets,,Relocate
37842 instruction reply packet}).
37843
37844 @item QTStop
37845 @cindex @samp{QTStop} packet
37846 End the tracepoint experiment. Stop collecting trace frames.
37847
37848 @item QTEnable:@var{n}:@var{addr}
37849 @anchor{QTEnable}
37850 @cindex @samp{QTEnable} packet
37851 Enable tracepoint @var{n} at address @var{addr} in a started tracepoint
37852 experiment. If the tracepoint was previously disabled, then collection
37853 of data from it will resume.
37854
37855 @item QTDisable:@var{n}:@var{addr}
37856 @anchor{QTDisable}
37857 @cindex @samp{QTDisable} packet
37858 Disable tracepoint @var{n} at address @var{addr} in a started tracepoint
37859 experiment. No more data will be collected from the tracepoint unless
37860 @samp{QTEnable:@var{n}:@var{addr}} is subsequently issued.
37861
37862 @item QTinit
37863 @cindex @samp{QTinit} packet
37864 Clear the table of tracepoints, and empty the trace frame buffer.
37865
37866 @item QTro:@var{start1},@var{end1}:@var{start2},@var{end2}:@dots{}
37867 @cindex @samp{QTro} packet
37868 Establish the given ranges of memory as ``transparent''. The stub
37869 will answer requests for these ranges from memory's current contents,
37870 if they were not collected as part of the tracepoint hit.
37871
37872 @value{GDBN} uses this to mark read-only regions of memory, like those
37873 containing program code. Since these areas never change, they should
37874 still have the same contents they did when the tracepoint was hit, so
37875 there's no reason for the stub to refuse to provide their contents.
37876
37877 @item QTDisconnected:@var{value}
37878 @cindex @samp{QTDisconnected} packet
37879 Set the choice to what to do with the tracing run when @value{GDBN}
37880 disconnects from the target. A @var{value} of 1 directs the target to
37881 continue the tracing run, while 0 tells the target to stop tracing if
37882 @value{GDBN} is no longer in the picture.
37883
37884 @item qTStatus
37885 @cindex @samp{qTStatus} packet
37886 Ask the stub if there is a trace experiment running right now.
37887
37888 The reply has the form:
37889
37890 @table @samp
37891
37892 @item T@var{running}@r{[};@var{field}@r{]}@dots{}
37893 @var{running} is a single digit @code{1} if the trace is presently
37894 running, or @code{0} if not. It is followed by semicolon-separated
37895 optional fields that an agent may use to report additional status.
37896
37897 @end table
37898
37899 If the trace is not running, the agent may report any of several
37900 explanations as one of the optional fields:
37901
37902 @table @samp
37903
37904 @item tnotrun:0
37905 No trace has been run yet.
37906
37907 @item tstop[:@var{text}]:0
37908 The trace was stopped by a user-originated stop command. The optional
37909 @var{text} field is a user-supplied string supplied as part of the
37910 stop command (for instance, an explanation of why the trace was
37911 stopped manually). It is hex-encoded.
37912
37913 @item tfull:0
37914 The trace stopped because the trace buffer filled up.
37915
37916 @item tdisconnected:0
37917 The trace stopped because @value{GDBN} disconnected from the target.
37918
37919 @item tpasscount:@var{tpnum}
37920 The trace stopped because tracepoint @var{tpnum} exceeded its pass count.
37921
37922 @item terror:@var{text}:@var{tpnum}
37923 The trace stopped because tracepoint @var{tpnum} had an error. The
37924 string @var{text} is available to describe the nature of the error
37925 (for instance, a divide by zero in the condition expression); it
37926 is hex encoded.
37927
37928 @item tunknown:0
37929 The trace stopped for some other reason.
37930
37931 @end table
37932
37933 Additional optional fields supply statistical and other information.
37934 Although not required, they are extremely useful for users monitoring
37935 the progress of a trace run. If a trace has stopped, and these
37936 numbers are reported, they must reflect the state of the just-stopped
37937 trace.
37938
37939 @table @samp
37940
37941 @item tframes:@var{n}
37942 The number of trace frames in the buffer.
37943
37944 @item tcreated:@var{n}
37945 The total number of trace frames created during the run. This may
37946 be larger than the trace frame count, if the buffer is circular.
37947
37948 @item tsize:@var{n}
37949 The total size of the trace buffer, in bytes.
37950
37951 @item tfree:@var{n}
37952 The number of bytes still unused in the buffer.
37953
37954 @item circular:@var{n}
37955 The value of the circular trace buffer flag. @code{1} means that the
37956 trace buffer is circular and old trace frames will be discarded if
37957 necessary to make room, @code{0} means that the trace buffer is linear
37958 and may fill up.
37959
37960 @item disconn:@var{n}
37961 The value of the disconnected tracing flag. @code{1} means that
37962 tracing will continue after @value{GDBN} disconnects, @code{0} means
37963 that the trace run will stop.
37964
37965 @end table
37966
37967 @item qTP:@var{tp}:@var{addr}
37968 @cindex tracepoint status, remote request
37969 @cindex @samp{qTP} packet
37970 Ask the stub for the current state of tracepoint number @var{tp} at
37971 address @var{addr}.
37972
37973 Replies:
37974 @table @samp
37975 @item V@var{hits}:@var{usage}
37976 The tracepoint has been hit @var{hits} times so far during the trace
37977 run, and accounts for @var{usage} in the trace buffer. Note that
37978 @code{while-stepping} steps are not counted as separate hits, but the
37979 steps' space consumption is added into the usage number.
37980
37981 @end table
37982
37983 @item qTV:@var{var}
37984 @cindex trace state variable value, remote request
37985 @cindex @samp{qTV} packet
37986 Ask the stub for the value of the trace state variable number @var{var}.
37987
37988 Replies:
37989 @table @samp
37990 @item V@var{value}
37991 The value of the variable is @var{value}. This will be the current
37992 value of the variable if the user is examining a running target, or a
37993 saved value if the variable was collected in the trace frame that the
37994 user is looking at. Note that multiple requests may result in
37995 different reply values, such as when requesting values while the
37996 program is running.
37997
37998 @item U
37999 The value of the variable is unknown. This would occur, for example,
38000 if the user is examining a trace frame in which the requested variable
38001 was not collected.
38002 @end table
38003
38004 @item qTfP
38005 @cindex @samp{qTfP} packet
38006 @itemx qTsP
38007 @cindex @samp{qTsP} packet
38008 These packets request data about tracepoints that are being used by
38009 the target. @value{GDBN} sends @code{qTfP} to get the first piece
38010 of data, and multiple @code{qTsP} to get additional pieces. Replies
38011 to these packets generally take the form of the @code{QTDP} packets
38012 that define tracepoints. (FIXME add detailed syntax)
38013
38014 @item qTfV
38015 @cindex @samp{qTfV} packet
38016 @itemx qTsV
38017 @cindex @samp{qTsV} packet
38018 These packets request data about trace state variables that are on the
38019 target. @value{GDBN} sends @code{qTfV} to get the first vari of data,
38020 and multiple @code{qTsV} to get additional variables. Replies to
38021 these packets follow the syntax of the @code{QTDV} packets that define
38022 trace state variables.
38023
38024 @item qTfSTM
38025 @itemx qTsSTM
38026 @anchor{qTfSTM}
38027 @anchor{qTsSTM}
38028 @cindex @samp{qTfSTM} packet
38029 @cindex @samp{qTsSTM} packet
38030 These packets request data about static tracepoint markers that exist
38031 in the target program. @value{GDBN} sends @code{qTfSTM} to get the
38032 first piece of data, and multiple @code{qTsSTM} to get additional
38033 pieces. Replies to these packets take the following form:
38034
38035 Reply:
38036 @table @samp
38037 @item m @var{address}:@var{id}:@var{extra}
38038 A single marker
38039 @item m @var{address}:@var{id}:@var{extra},@var{address}:@var{id}:@var{extra}@dots{}
38040 a comma-separated list of markers
38041 @item l
38042 (lower case letter @samp{L}) denotes end of list.
38043 @item E @var{nn}
38044 An error occurred. The error number @var{nn} is given as hex digits.
38045 @item @w{}
38046 An empty reply indicates that the request is not supported by the
38047 stub.
38048 @end table
38049
38050 The @var{address} is encoded in hex;
38051 @var{id} and @var{extra} are strings encoded in hex.
38052
38053 In response to each query, the target will reply with a list of one or
38054 more markers, separated by commas. @value{GDBN} will respond to each
38055 reply with a request for more markers (using the @samp{qs} form of the
38056 query), until the target responds with @samp{l} (lower-case ell, for
38057 @dfn{last}).
38058
38059 @item qTSTMat:@var{address}
38060 @anchor{qTSTMat}
38061 @cindex @samp{qTSTMat} packet
38062 This packets requests data about static tracepoint markers in the
38063 target program at @var{address}. Replies to this packet follow the
38064 syntax of the @samp{qTfSTM} and @code{qTsSTM} packets that list static
38065 tracepoint markers.
38066
38067 @item QTSave:@var{filename}
38068 @cindex @samp{QTSave} packet
38069 This packet directs the target to save trace data to the file name
38070 @var{filename} in the target's filesystem. The @var{filename} is encoded
38071 as a hex string; the interpretation of the file name (relative vs
38072 absolute, wild cards, etc) is up to the target.
38073
38074 @item qTBuffer:@var{offset},@var{len}
38075 @cindex @samp{qTBuffer} packet
38076 Return up to @var{len} bytes of the current contents of trace buffer,
38077 starting at @var{offset}. The trace buffer is treated as if it were
38078 a contiguous collection of traceframes, as per the trace file format.
38079 The reply consists as many hex-encoded bytes as the target can deliver
38080 in a packet; it is not an error to return fewer than were asked for.
38081 A reply consisting of just @code{l} indicates that no bytes are
38082 available.
38083
38084 @item QTBuffer:circular:@var{value}
38085 This packet directs the target to use a circular trace buffer if
38086 @var{value} is 1, or a linear buffer if the value is 0.
38087
38088 @item QTBuffer:size:@var{size}
38089 @anchor{QTBuffer-size}
38090 @cindex @samp{QTBuffer size} packet
38091 This packet directs the target to make the trace buffer be of size
38092 @var{size} if possible. A value of @code{-1} tells the target to
38093 use whatever size it prefers.
38094
38095 @item QTNotes:@r{[}@var{type}:@var{text}@r{]}@r{[};@var{type}:@var{text}@r{]}@dots{}
38096 @cindex @samp{QTNotes} packet
38097 This packet adds optional textual notes to the trace run. Allowable
38098 types include @code{user}, @code{notes}, and @code{tstop}, the
38099 @var{text} fields are arbitrary strings, hex-encoded.
38100
38101 @end table
38102
38103 @subsection Relocate instruction reply packet
38104 When installing fast tracepoints in memory, the target may need to
38105 relocate the instruction currently at the tracepoint address to a
38106 different address in memory. For most instructions, a simple copy is
38107 enough, but, for example, call instructions that implicitly push the
38108 return address on the stack, and relative branches or other
38109 PC-relative instructions require offset adjustment, so that the effect
38110 of executing the instruction at a different address is the same as if
38111 it had executed in the original location.
38112
38113 In response to several of the tracepoint packets, the target may also
38114 respond with a number of intermediate @samp{qRelocInsn} request
38115 packets before the final result packet, to have @value{GDBN} handle
38116 this relocation operation. If a packet supports this mechanism, its
38117 documentation will explicitly say so. See for example the above
38118 descriptions for the @samp{QTStart} and @samp{QTDP} packets. The
38119 format of the request is:
38120
38121 @table @samp
38122 @item qRelocInsn:@var{from};@var{to}
38123
38124 This requests @value{GDBN} to copy instruction at address @var{from}
38125 to address @var{to}, possibly adjusted so that executing the
38126 instruction at @var{to} has the same effect as executing it at
38127 @var{from}. @value{GDBN} writes the adjusted instruction to target
38128 memory starting at @var{to}.
38129 @end table
38130
38131 Replies:
38132 @table @samp
38133 @item qRelocInsn:@var{adjusted_size}
38134 Informs the stub the relocation is complete. The @var{adjusted_size} is
38135 the length in bytes of resulting relocated instruction sequence.
38136 @item E @var{NN}
38137 A badly formed request was detected, or an error was encountered while
38138 relocating the instruction.
38139 @end table
38140
38141 @node Host I/O Packets
38142 @section Host I/O Packets
38143 @cindex Host I/O, remote protocol
38144 @cindex file transfer, remote protocol
38145
38146 The @dfn{Host I/O} packets allow @value{GDBN} to perform I/O
38147 operations on the far side of a remote link. For example, Host I/O is
38148 used to upload and download files to a remote target with its own
38149 filesystem. Host I/O uses the same constant values and data structure
38150 layout as the target-initiated File-I/O protocol. However, the
38151 Host I/O packets are structured differently. The target-initiated
38152 protocol relies on target memory to store parameters and buffers.
38153 Host I/O requests are initiated by @value{GDBN}, and the
38154 target's memory is not involved. @xref{File-I/O Remote Protocol
38155 Extension}, for more details on the target-initiated protocol.
38156
38157 The Host I/O request packets all encode a single operation along with
38158 its arguments. They have this format:
38159
38160 @table @samp
38161
38162 @item vFile:@var{operation}: @var{parameter}@dots{}
38163 @var{operation} is the name of the particular request; the target
38164 should compare the entire packet name up to the second colon when checking
38165 for a supported operation. The format of @var{parameter} depends on
38166 the operation. Numbers are always passed in hexadecimal. Negative
38167 numbers have an explicit minus sign (i.e.@: two's complement is not
38168 used). Strings (e.g.@: filenames) are encoded as a series of
38169 hexadecimal bytes. The last argument to a system call may be a
38170 buffer of escaped binary data (@pxref{Binary Data}).
38171
38172 @end table
38173
38174 The valid responses to Host I/O packets are:
38175
38176 @table @samp
38177
38178 @item F @var{result} [, @var{errno}] [; @var{attachment}]
38179 @var{result} is the integer value returned by this operation, usually
38180 non-negative for success and -1 for errors. If an error has occured,
38181 @var{errno} will be included in the result specifying a
38182 value defined by the File-I/O protocol (@pxref{Errno Values}). For
38183 operations which return data, @var{attachment} supplies the data as a
38184 binary buffer. Binary buffers in response packets are escaped in the
38185 normal way (@pxref{Binary Data}). See the individual packet
38186 documentation for the interpretation of @var{result} and
38187 @var{attachment}.
38188
38189 @item @w{}
38190 An empty response indicates that this operation is not recognized.
38191
38192 @end table
38193
38194 These are the supported Host I/O operations:
38195
38196 @table @samp
38197 @item vFile:open: @var{filename}, @var{flags}, @var{mode}
38198 Open a file at @var{filename} and return a file descriptor for it, or
38199 return -1 if an error occurs. The @var{filename} is a string,
38200 @var{flags} is an integer indicating a mask of open flags
38201 (@pxref{Open Flags}), and @var{mode} is an integer indicating a mask
38202 of mode bits to use if the file is created (@pxref{mode_t Values}).
38203 @xref{open}, for details of the open flags and mode values.
38204
38205 @item vFile:close: @var{fd}
38206 Close the open file corresponding to @var{fd} and return 0, or
38207 -1 if an error occurs.
38208
38209 @item vFile:pread: @var{fd}, @var{count}, @var{offset}
38210 Read data from the open file corresponding to @var{fd}. Up to
38211 @var{count} bytes will be read from the file, starting at @var{offset}
38212 relative to the start of the file. The target may read fewer bytes;
38213 common reasons include packet size limits and an end-of-file
38214 condition. The number of bytes read is returned. Zero should only be
38215 returned for a successful read at the end of the file, or if
38216 @var{count} was zero.
38217
38218 The data read should be returned as a binary attachment on success.
38219 If zero bytes were read, the response should include an empty binary
38220 attachment (i.e.@: a trailing semicolon). The return value is the
38221 number of target bytes read; the binary attachment may be longer if
38222 some characters were escaped.
38223
38224 @item vFile:pwrite: @var{fd}, @var{offset}, @var{data}
38225 Write @var{data} (a binary buffer) to the open file corresponding
38226 to @var{fd}. Start the write at @var{offset} from the start of the
38227 file. Unlike many @code{write} system calls, there is no
38228 separate @var{count} argument; the length of @var{data} in the
38229 packet is used. @samp{vFile:write} returns the number of bytes written,
38230 which may be shorter than the length of @var{data}, or -1 if an
38231 error occurred.
38232
38233 @item vFile:fstat: @var{fd}
38234 Get information about the open file corresponding to @var{fd}.
38235 On success the information is returned as a binary attachment
38236 and the return value is the size of this attachment in bytes.
38237 If an error occurs the return value is -1. The format of the
38238 returned binary attachment is as described in @ref{struct stat}.
38239
38240 @item vFile:unlink: @var{filename}
38241 Delete the file at @var{filename} on the target. Return 0,
38242 or -1 if an error occurs. The @var{filename} is a string.
38243
38244 @item vFile:readlink: @var{filename}
38245 Read value of symbolic link @var{filename} on the target. Return
38246 the number of bytes read, or -1 if an error occurs.
38247
38248 The data read should be returned as a binary attachment on success.
38249 If zero bytes were read, the response should include an empty binary
38250 attachment (i.e.@: a trailing semicolon). The return value is the
38251 number of target bytes read; the binary attachment may be longer if
38252 some characters were escaped.
38253
38254 @item vFile:setfs: @var{pid}
38255 Select the filesystem on which @code{vFile} operations with
38256 @var{filename} arguments will operate. This is required for
38257 @value{GDBN} to be able to access files on remote targets where
38258 the remote stub does not share a common filesystem with the
38259 inferior(s).
38260
38261 If @var{pid} is nonzero, select the filesystem as seen by process
38262 @var{pid}. If @var{pid} is zero, select the filesystem as seen by
38263 the remote stub. Return 0 on success, or -1 if an error occurs.
38264 If @code{vFile:setfs:} indicates success, the selected filesystem
38265 remains selected until the next successful @code{vFile:setfs:}
38266 operation.
38267
38268 @end table
38269
38270 @node Interrupts
38271 @section Interrupts
38272 @cindex interrupts (remote protocol)
38273 @anchor{interrupting remote targets}
38274
38275 In all-stop mode, when a program on the remote target is running,
38276 @value{GDBN} may attempt to interrupt it by sending a @samp{Ctrl-C},
38277 @code{BREAK} or a @code{BREAK} followed by @code{g}, control of which
38278 is specified via @value{GDBN}'s @samp{interrupt-sequence}.
38279
38280 The precise meaning of @code{BREAK} is defined by the transport
38281 mechanism and may, in fact, be undefined. @value{GDBN} does not
38282 currently define a @code{BREAK} mechanism for any of the network
38283 interfaces except for TCP, in which case @value{GDBN} sends the
38284 @code{telnet} BREAK sequence.
38285
38286 @samp{Ctrl-C}, on the other hand, is defined and implemented for all
38287 transport mechanisms. It is represented by sending the single byte
38288 @code{0x03} without any of the usual packet overhead described in
38289 the Overview section (@pxref{Overview}). When a @code{0x03} byte is
38290 transmitted as part of a packet, it is considered to be packet data
38291 and does @emph{not} represent an interrupt. E.g., an @samp{X} packet
38292 (@pxref{X packet}), used for binary downloads, may include an unescaped
38293 @code{0x03} as part of its packet.
38294
38295 @code{BREAK} followed by @code{g} is also known as Magic SysRq g.
38296 When Linux kernel receives this sequence from serial port,
38297 it stops execution and connects to gdb.
38298
38299 In non-stop mode, because packet resumptions are asynchronous
38300 (@pxref{vCont packet}), @value{GDBN} is always free to send a remote
38301 command to the remote stub, even when the target is running. For that
38302 reason, @value{GDBN} instead sends a regular packet (@pxref{vCtrlC
38303 packet}) with the usual packet framing instead of the single byte
38304 @code{0x03}.
38305
38306 Stubs are not required to recognize these interrupt mechanisms and the
38307 precise meaning associated with receipt of the interrupt is
38308 implementation defined. If the target supports debugging of multiple
38309 threads and/or processes, it should attempt to interrupt all
38310 currently-executing threads and processes.
38311 If the stub is successful at interrupting the
38312 running program, it should send one of the stop
38313 reply packets (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets}) to @value{GDBN} as a result
38314 of successfully stopping the program in all-stop mode, and a stop reply
38315 for each stopped thread in non-stop mode.
38316 Interrupts received while the
38317 program is stopped are queued and the program will be interrupted when
38318 it is resumed next time.
38319
38320 @node Notification Packets
38321 @section Notification Packets
38322 @cindex notification packets
38323 @cindex packets, notification
38324
38325 The @value{GDBN} remote serial protocol includes @dfn{notifications},
38326 packets that require no acknowledgment. Both the GDB and the stub
38327 may send notifications (although the only notifications defined at
38328 present are sent by the stub). Notifications carry information
38329 without incurring the round-trip latency of an acknowledgment, and so
38330 are useful for low-impact communications where occasional packet loss
38331 is not a problem.
38332
38333 A notification packet has the form @samp{% @var{data} #
38334 @var{checksum}}, where @var{data} is the content of the notification,
38335 and @var{checksum} is a checksum of @var{data}, computed and formatted
38336 as for ordinary @value{GDBN} packets. A notification's @var{data}
38337 never contains @samp{$}, @samp{%} or @samp{#} characters. Upon
38338 receiving a notification, the recipient sends no @samp{+} or @samp{-}
38339 to acknowledge the notification's receipt or to report its corruption.
38340
38341 Every notification's @var{data} begins with a name, which contains no
38342 colon characters, followed by a colon character.
38343
38344 Recipients should silently ignore corrupted notifications and
38345 notifications they do not understand. Recipients should restart
38346 timeout periods on receipt of a well-formed notification, whether or
38347 not they understand it.
38348
38349 Senders should only send the notifications described here when this
38350 protocol description specifies that they are permitted. In the
38351 future, we may extend the protocol to permit existing notifications in
38352 new contexts; this rule helps older senders avoid confusing newer
38353 recipients.
38354
38355 (Older versions of @value{GDBN} ignore bytes received until they see
38356 the @samp{$} byte that begins an ordinary packet, so new stubs may
38357 transmit notifications without fear of confusing older clients. There
38358 are no notifications defined for @value{GDBN} to send at the moment, but we
38359 assume that most older stubs would ignore them, as well.)
38360
38361 Each notification is comprised of three parts:
38362 @table @samp
38363 @item @var{name}:@var{event}
38364 The notification packet is sent by the side that initiates the
38365 exchange (currently, only the stub does that), with @var{event}
38366 carrying the specific information about the notification, and
38367 @var{name} specifying the name of the notification.
38368 @item @var{ack}
38369 The acknowledge sent by the other side, usually @value{GDBN}, to
38370 acknowledge the exchange and request the event.
38371 @end table
38372
38373 The purpose of an asynchronous notification mechanism is to report to
38374 @value{GDBN} that something interesting happened in the remote stub.
38375
38376 The remote stub may send notification @var{name}:@var{event}
38377 at any time, but @value{GDBN} acknowledges the notification when
38378 appropriate. The notification event is pending before @value{GDBN}
38379 acknowledges. Only one notification at a time may be pending; if
38380 additional events occur before @value{GDBN} has acknowledged the
38381 previous notification, they must be queued by the stub for later
38382 synchronous transmission in response to @var{ack} packets from
38383 @value{GDBN}. Because the notification mechanism is unreliable,
38384 the stub is permitted to resend a notification if it believes
38385 @value{GDBN} may not have received it.
38386
38387 Specifically, notifications may appear when @value{GDBN} is not
38388 otherwise reading input from the stub, or when @value{GDBN} is
38389 expecting to read a normal synchronous response or a
38390 @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgment to a packet it has sent.
38391 Notification packets are distinct from any other communication from
38392 the stub so there is no ambiguity.
38393
38394 After receiving a notification, @value{GDBN} shall acknowledge it by
38395 sending a @var{ack} packet as a regular, synchronous request to the
38396 stub. Such acknowledgment is not required to happen immediately, as
38397 @value{GDBN} is permitted to send other, unrelated packets to the
38398 stub first, which the stub should process normally.
38399
38400 Upon receiving a @var{ack} packet, if the stub has other queued
38401 events to report to @value{GDBN}, it shall respond by sending a
38402 normal @var{event}. @value{GDBN} shall then send another @var{ack}
38403 packet to solicit further responses; again, it is permitted to send
38404 other, unrelated packets as well which the stub should process
38405 normally.
38406
38407 If the stub receives a @var{ack} packet and there are no additional
38408 @var{event} to report, the stub shall return an @samp{OK} response.
38409 At this point, @value{GDBN} has finished processing a notification
38410 and the stub has completed sending any queued events. @value{GDBN}
38411 won't accept any new notifications until the final @samp{OK} is
38412 received . If further notification events occur, the stub shall send
38413 a new notification, @value{GDBN} shall accept the notification, and
38414 the process shall be repeated.
38415
38416 The process of asynchronous notification can be illustrated by the
38417 following example:
38418 @smallexample
38419 <- @code{%%Stop:T0505:98e7ffbf;04:4ce6ffbf;08:b1b6e54c;thread:p7526.7526;core:0;}
38420 @code{...}
38421 -> @code{vStopped}
38422 <- @code{T0505:68f37db7;04:40f37db7;08:63850408;thread:p7526.7528;core:0;}
38423 -> @code{vStopped}
38424 <- @code{T0505:68e3fdb6;04:40e3fdb6;08:63850408;thread:p7526.7529;core:0;}
38425 -> @code{vStopped}
38426 <- @code{OK}
38427 @end smallexample
38428
38429 The following notifications are defined:
38430 @multitable @columnfractions 0.12 0.12 0.38 0.38
38431
38432 @item Notification
38433 @tab Ack
38434 @tab Event
38435 @tab Description
38436
38437 @item Stop
38438 @tab vStopped
38439 @tab @var{reply}. The @var{reply} has the form of a stop reply, as
38440 described in @ref{Stop Reply Packets}. Refer to @ref{Remote Non-Stop},
38441 for information on how these notifications are acknowledged by
38442 @value{GDBN}.
38443 @tab Report an asynchronous stop event in non-stop mode.
38444
38445 @end multitable
38446
38447 @node Remote Non-Stop
38448 @section Remote Protocol Support for Non-Stop Mode
38449
38450 @value{GDBN}'s remote protocol supports non-stop debugging of
38451 multi-threaded programs, as described in @ref{Non-Stop Mode}. If the stub
38452 supports non-stop mode, it should report that to @value{GDBN} by including
38453 @samp{QNonStop+} in its @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
38454
38455 @value{GDBN} typically sends a @samp{QNonStop} packet only when
38456 establishing a new connection with the stub. Entering non-stop mode
38457 does not alter the state of any currently-running threads, but targets
38458 must stop all threads in any already-attached processes when entering
38459 all-stop mode. @value{GDBN} uses the @samp{?} packet as necessary to
38460 probe the target state after a mode change.
38461
38462 In non-stop mode, when an attached process encounters an event that
38463 would otherwise be reported with a stop reply, it uses the
38464 asynchronous notification mechanism (@pxref{Notification Packets}) to
38465 inform @value{GDBN}. In contrast to all-stop mode, where all threads
38466 in all processes are stopped when a stop reply is sent, in non-stop
38467 mode only the thread reporting the stop event is stopped. That is,
38468 when reporting a @samp{S} or @samp{T} response to indicate completion
38469 of a step operation, hitting a breakpoint, or a fault, only the
38470 affected thread is stopped; any other still-running threads continue
38471 to run. When reporting a @samp{W} or @samp{X} response, all running
38472 threads belonging to other attached processes continue to run.
38473
38474 In non-stop mode, the target shall respond to the @samp{?} packet as
38475 follows. First, any incomplete stop reply notification/@samp{vStopped}
38476 sequence in progress is abandoned. The target must begin a new
38477 sequence reporting stop events for all stopped threads, whether or not
38478 it has previously reported those events to @value{GDBN}. The first
38479 stop reply is sent as a synchronous reply to the @samp{?} packet, and
38480 subsequent stop replies are sent as responses to @samp{vStopped} packets
38481 using the mechanism described above. The target must not send
38482 asynchronous stop reply notifications until the sequence is complete.
38483 If all threads are running when the target receives the @samp{?} packet,
38484 or if the target is not attached to any process, it shall respond
38485 @samp{OK}.
38486
38487 If the stub supports non-stop mode, it should also support the
38488 @samp{swbreak} stop reason if software breakpoints are supported, and
38489 the @samp{hwbreak} stop reason if hardware breakpoints are supported
38490 (@pxref{swbreak stop reason}). This is because given the asynchronous
38491 nature of non-stop mode, between the time a thread hits a breakpoint
38492 and the time the event is finally processed by @value{GDBN}, the
38493 breakpoint may have already been removed from the target. Due to
38494 this, @value{GDBN} needs to be able to tell whether a trap stop was
38495 caused by a delayed breakpoint event, which should be ignored, as
38496 opposed to a random trap signal, which should be reported to the user.
38497 Note the @samp{swbreak} feature implies that the target is responsible
38498 for adjusting the PC when a software breakpoint triggers, if
38499 necessary, such as on the x86 architecture.
38500
38501 @node Packet Acknowledgment
38502 @section Packet Acknowledgment
38503
38504 @cindex acknowledgment, for @value{GDBN} remote
38505 @cindex packet acknowledgment, for @value{GDBN} remote
38506 By default, when either the host or the target machine receives a packet,
38507 the first response expected is an acknowledgment: either @samp{+} (to indicate
38508 the package was received correctly) or @samp{-} (to request retransmission).
38509 This mechanism allows the @value{GDBN} remote protocol to operate over
38510 unreliable transport mechanisms, such as a serial line.
38511
38512 In cases where the transport mechanism is itself reliable (such as a pipe or
38513 TCP connection), the @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgments are redundant.
38514 It may be desirable to disable them in that case to reduce communication
38515 overhead, or for other reasons. This can be accomplished by means of the
38516 @samp{QStartNoAckMode} packet; @pxref{QStartNoAckMode}.
38517
38518 When in no-acknowledgment mode, neither the stub nor @value{GDBN} shall send or
38519 expect @samp{+}/@samp{-} protocol acknowledgments. The packet
38520 and response format still includes the normal checksum, as described in
38521 @ref{Overview}, but the checksum may be ignored by the receiver.
38522
38523 If the stub supports @samp{QStartNoAckMode} and prefers to operate in
38524 no-acknowledgment mode, it should report that to @value{GDBN}
38525 by including @samp{QStartNoAckMode+} in its response to @samp{qSupported};
38526 @pxref{qSupported}.
38527 If @value{GDBN} also supports @samp{QStartNoAckMode} and it has not been
38528 disabled via the @code{set remote noack-packet off} command
38529 (@pxref{Remote Configuration}),
38530 @value{GDBN} may then send a @samp{QStartNoAckMode} packet to the stub.
38531 Only then may the stub actually turn off packet acknowledgments.
38532 @value{GDBN} sends a final @samp{+} acknowledgment of the stub's @samp{OK}
38533 response, which can be safely ignored by the stub.
38534
38535 Note that @code{set remote noack-packet} command only affects negotiation
38536 between @value{GDBN} and the stub when subsequent connections are made;
38537 it does not affect the protocol acknowledgment state for any current
38538 connection.
38539 Since @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgments are enabled by default when a
38540 new connection is established,
38541 there is also no protocol request to re-enable the acknowledgments
38542 for the current connection, once disabled.
38543
38544 @node Examples
38545 @section Examples
38546
38547 Example sequence of a target being re-started. Notice how the restart
38548 does not get any direct output:
38549
38550 @smallexample
38551 -> @code{R00}
38552 <- @code{+}
38553 @emph{target restarts}
38554 -> @code{?}
38555 <- @code{+}
38556 <- @code{T001:1234123412341234}
38557 -> @code{+}
38558 @end smallexample
38559
38560 Example sequence of a target being stepped by a single instruction:
38561
38562 @smallexample
38563 -> @code{G1445@dots{}}
38564 <- @code{+}
38565 -> @code{s}
38566 <- @code{+}
38567 @emph{time passes}
38568 <- @code{T001:1234123412341234}
38569 -> @code{+}
38570 -> @code{g}
38571 <- @code{+}
38572 <- @code{1455@dots{}}
38573 -> @code{+}
38574 @end smallexample
38575
38576 @node File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension
38577 @section File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension
38578 @cindex File-I/O remote protocol extension
38579
38580 @menu
38581 * File-I/O Overview::
38582 * Protocol Basics::
38583 * The F Request Packet::
38584 * The F Reply Packet::
38585 * The Ctrl-C Message::
38586 * Console I/O::
38587 * List of Supported Calls::
38588 * Protocol-specific Representation of Datatypes::
38589 * Constants::
38590 * File-I/O Examples::
38591 @end menu
38592
38593 @node File-I/O Overview
38594 @subsection File-I/O Overview
38595 @cindex file-i/o overview
38596
38597 The @dfn{File I/O remote protocol extension} (short: File-I/O) allows the
38598 target to use the host's file system and console I/O to perform various
38599 system calls. System calls on the target system are translated into a
38600 remote protocol packet to the host system, which then performs the needed
38601 actions and returns a response packet to the target system.
38602 This simulates file system operations even on targets that lack file systems.
38603
38604 The protocol is defined to be independent of both the host and target systems.
38605 It uses its own internal representation of datatypes and values. Both
38606 @value{GDBN} and the target's @value{GDBN} stub are responsible for
38607 translating the system-dependent value representations into the internal
38608 protocol representations when data is transmitted.
38609
38610 The communication is synchronous. A system call is possible only when
38611 @value{GDBN} is waiting for a response from the @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S}
38612 or @samp{s} packets. While @value{GDBN} handles the request for a system call,
38613 the target is stopped to allow deterministic access to the target's
38614 memory. Therefore File-I/O is not interruptible by target signals. On
38615 the other hand, it is possible to interrupt File-I/O by a user interrupt
38616 (@samp{Ctrl-C}) within @value{GDBN}.
38617
38618 The target's request to perform a host system call does not finish
38619 the latest @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S} or @samp{s} action. That means,
38620 after finishing the system call, the target returns to continuing the
38621 previous activity (continue, step). No additional continue or step
38622 request from @value{GDBN} is required.
38623
38624 @smallexample
38625 (@value{GDBP}) continue
38626 <- target requests 'system call X'
38627 target is stopped, @value{GDBN} executes system call
38628 -> @value{GDBN} returns result
38629 ... target continues, @value{GDBN} returns to wait for the target
38630 <- target hits breakpoint and sends a Txx packet
38631 @end smallexample
38632
38633 The protocol only supports I/O on the console and to regular files on
38634 the host file system. Character or block special devices, pipes,
38635 named pipes, sockets or any other communication method on the host
38636 system are not supported by this protocol.
38637
38638 File I/O is not supported in non-stop mode.
38639
38640 @node Protocol Basics
38641 @subsection Protocol Basics
38642 @cindex protocol basics, file-i/o
38643
38644 The File-I/O protocol uses the @code{F} packet as the request as well
38645 as reply packet. Since a File-I/O system call can only occur when
38646 @value{GDBN} is waiting for a response from the continuing or stepping target,
38647 the File-I/O request is a reply that @value{GDBN} has to expect as a result
38648 of a previous @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S} or @samp{s} packet.
38649 This @code{F} packet contains all information needed to allow @value{GDBN}
38650 to call the appropriate host system call:
38651
38652 @itemize @bullet
38653 @item
38654 A unique identifier for the requested system call.
38655
38656 @item
38657 All parameters to the system call. Pointers are given as addresses
38658 in the target memory address space. Pointers to strings are given as
38659 pointer/length pair. Numerical values are given as they are.
38660 Numerical control flags are given in a protocol-specific representation.
38661
38662 @end itemize
38663
38664 At this point, @value{GDBN} has to perform the following actions.
38665
38666 @itemize @bullet
38667 @item
38668 If the parameters include pointer values to data needed as input to a
38669 system call, @value{GDBN} requests this data from the target with a
38670 standard @code{m} packet request. This additional communication has to be
38671 expected by the target implementation and is handled as any other @code{m}
38672 packet.
38673
38674 @item
38675 @value{GDBN} translates all value from protocol representation to host
38676 representation as needed. Datatypes are coerced into the host types.
38677
38678 @item
38679 @value{GDBN} calls the system call.
38680
38681 @item
38682 It then coerces datatypes back to protocol representation.
38683
38684 @item
38685 If the system call is expected to return data in buffer space specified
38686 by pointer parameters to the call, the data is transmitted to the
38687 target using a @code{M} or @code{X} packet. This packet has to be expected
38688 by the target implementation and is handled as any other @code{M} or @code{X}
38689 packet.
38690
38691 @end itemize
38692
38693 Eventually @value{GDBN} replies with another @code{F} packet which contains all
38694 necessary information for the target to continue. This at least contains
38695
38696 @itemize @bullet
38697 @item
38698 Return value.
38699
38700 @item
38701 @code{errno}, if has been changed by the system call.
38702
38703 @item
38704 ``Ctrl-C'' flag.
38705
38706 @end itemize
38707
38708 After having done the needed type and value coercion, the target continues
38709 the latest continue or step action.
38710
38711 @node The F Request Packet
38712 @subsection The @code{F} Request Packet
38713 @cindex file-i/o request packet
38714 @cindex @code{F} request packet
38715
38716 The @code{F} request packet has the following format:
38717
38718 @table @samp
38719 @item F@var{call-id},@var{parameter@dots{}}
38720
38721 @var{call-id} is the identifier to indicate the host system call to be called.
38722 This is just the name of the function.
38723
38724 @var{parameter@dots{}} are the parameters to the system call.
38725 Parameters are hexadecimal integer values, either the actual values in case
38726 of scalar datatypes, pointers to target buffer space in case of compound
38727 datatypes and unspecified memory areas, or pointer/length pairs in case
38728 of string parameters. These are appended to the @var{call-id} as a
38729 comma-delimited list. All values are transmitted in ASCII
38730 string representation, pointer/length pairs separated by a slash.
38731
38732 @end table
38733
38734
38735
38736 @node The F Reply Packet
38737 @subsection The @code{F} Reply Packet
38738 @cindex file-i/o reply packet
38739 @cindex @code{F} reply packet
38740
38741 The @code{F} reply packet has the following format:
38742
38743 @table @samp
38744
38745 @item F@var{retcode},@var{errno},@var{Ctrl-C flag};@var{call-specific attachment}
38746
38747 @var{retcode} is the return code of the system call as hexadecimal value.
38748
38749 @var{errno} is the @code{errno} set by the call, in protocol-specific
38750 representation.
38751 This parameter can be omitted if the call was successful.
38752
38753 @var{Ctrl-C flag} is only sent if the user requested a break. In this
38754 case, @var{errno} must be sent as well, even if the call was successful.
38755 The @var{Ctrl-C flag} itself consists of the character @samp{C}:
38756
38757 @smallexample
38758 F0,0,C
38759 @end smallexample
38760
38761 @noindent
38762 or, if the call was interrupted before the host call has been performed:
38763
38764 @smallexample
38765 F-1,4,C
38766 @end smallexample
38767
38768 @noindent
38769 assuming 4 is the protocol-specific representation of @code{EINTR}.
38770
38771 @end table
38772
38773
38774 @node The Ctrl-C Message
38775 @subsection The @samp{Ctrl-C} Message
38776 @cindex ctrl-c message, in file-i/o protocol
38777
38778 If the @samp{Ctrl-C} flag is set in the @value{GDBN}
38779 reply packet (@pxref{The F Reply Packet}),
38780 the target should behave as if it had
38781 gotten a break message. The meaning for the target is ``system call
38782 interrupted by @code{SIGINT}''. Consequentially, the target should actually stop
38783 (as with a break message) and return to @value{GDBN} with a @code{T02}
38784 packet.
38785
38786 It's important for the target to know in which
38787 state the system call was interrupted. There are two possible cases:
38788
38789 @itemize @bullet
38790 @item
38791 The system call hasn't been performed on the host yet.
38792
38793 @item
38794 The system call on the host has been finished.
38795
38796 @end itemize
38797
38798 These two states can be distinguished by the target by the value of the
38799 returned @code{errno}. If it's the protocol representation of @code{EINTR}, the system
38800 call hasn't been performed. This is equivalent to the @code{EINTR} handling
38801 on POSIX systems. In any other case, the target may presume that the
38802 system call has been finished --- successfully or not --- and should behave
38803 as if the break message arrived right after the system call.
38804
38805 @value{GDBN} must behave reliably. If the system call has not been called
38806 yet, @value{GDBN} may send the @code{F} reply immediately, setting @code{EINTR} as
38807 @code{errno} in the packet. If the system call on the host has been finished
38808 before the user requests a break, the full action must be finished by
38809 @value{GDBN}. This requires sending @code{M} or @code{X} packets as necessary.
38810 The @code{F} packet may only be sent when either nothing has happened
38811 or the full action has been completed.
38812
38813 @node Console I/O
38814 @subsection Console I/O
38815 @cindex console i/o as part of file-i/o
38816
38817 By default and if not explicitly closed by the target system, the file
38818 descriptors 0, 1 and 2 are connected to the @value{GDBN} console. Output
38819 on the @value{GDBN} console is handled as any other file output operation
38820 (@code{write(1, @dots{})} or @code{write(2, @dots{})}). Console input is handled
38821 by @value{GDBN} so that after the target read request from file descriptor
38822 0 all following typing is buffered until either one of the following
38823 conditions is met:
38824
38825 @itemize @bullet
38826 @item
38827 The user types @kbd{Ctrl-c}. The behaviour is as explained above, and the
38828 @code{read}
38829 system call is treated as finished.
38830
38831 @item
38832 The user presses @key{RET}. This is treated as end of input with a trailing
38833 newline.
38834
38835 @item
38836 The user types @kbd{Ctrl-d}. This is treated as end of input. No trailing
38837 character (neither newline nor @samp{Ctrl-D}) is appended to the input.
38838
38839 @end itemize
38840
38841 If the user has typed more characters than fit in the buffer given to
38842 the @code{read} call, the trailing characters are buffered in @value{GDBN} until
38843 either another @code{read(0, @dots{})} is requested by the target, or debugging
38844 is stopped at the user's request.
38845
38846
38847 @node List of Supported Calls
38848 @subsection List of Supported Calls
38849 @cindex list of supported file-i/o calls
38850
38851 @menu
38852 * open::
38853 * close::
38854 * read::
38855 * write::
38856 * lseek::
38857 * rename::
38858 * unlink::
38859 * stat/fstat::
38860 * gettimeofday::
38861 * isatty::
38862 * system::
38863 @end menu
38864
38865 @node open
38866 @unnumberedsubsubsec open
38867 @cindex open, file-i/o system call
38868
38869 @table @asis
38870 @item Synopsis:
38871 @smallexample
38872 int open(const char *pathname, int flags);
38873 int open(const char *pathname, int flags, mode_t mode);
38874 @end smallexample
38875
38876 @item Request:
38877 @samp{Fopen,@var{pathptr}/@var{len},@var{flags},@var{mode}}
38878
38879 @noindent
38880 @var{flags} is the bitwise @code{OR} of the following values:
38881
38882 @table @code
38883 @item O_CREAT
38884 If the file does not exist it will be created. The host
38885 rules apply as far as file ownership and time stamps
38886 are concerned.
38887
38888 @item O_EXCL
38889 When used with @code{O_CREAT}, if the file already exists it is
38890 an error and open() fails.
38891
38892 @item O_TRUNC
38893 If the file already exists and the open mode allows
38894 writing (@code{O_RDWR} or @code{O_WRONLY} is given) it will be
38895 truncated to zero length.
38896
38897 @item O_APPEND
38898 The file is opened in append mode.
38899
38900 @item O_RDONLY
38901 The file is opened for reading only.
38902
38903 @item O_WRONLY
38904 The file is opened for writing only.
38905
38906 @item O_RDWR
38907 The file is opened for reading and writing.
38908 @end table
38909
38910 @noindent
38911 Other bits are silently ignored.
38912
38913
38914 @noindent
38915 @var{mode} is the bitwise @code{OR} of the following values:
38916
38917 @table @code
38918 @item S_IRUSR
38919 User has read permission.
38920
38921 @item S_IWUSR
38922 User has write permission.
38923
38924 @item S_IRGRP
38925 Group has read permission.
38926
38927 @item S_IWGRP
38928 Group has write permission.
38929
38930 @item S_IROTH
38931 Others have read permission.
38932
38933 @item S_IWOTH
38934 Others have write permission.
38935 @end table
38936
38937 @noindent
38938 Other bits are silently ignored.
38939
38940
38941 @item Return value:
38942 @code{open} returns the new file descriptor or -1 if an error
38943 occurred.
38944
38945 @item Errors:
38946
38947 @table @code
38948 @item EEXIST
38949 @var{pathname} already exists and @code{O_CREAT} and @code{O_EXCL} were used.
38950
38951 @item EISDIR
38952 @var{pathname} refers to a directory.
38953
38954 @item EACCES
38955 The requested access is not allowed.
38956
38957 @item ENAMETOOLONG
38958 @var{pathname} was too long.
38959
38960 @item ENOENT
38961 A directory component in @var{pathname} does not exist.
38962
38963 @item ENODEV
38964 @var{pathname} refers to a device, pipe, named pipe or socket.
38965
38966 @item EROFS
38967 @var{pathname} refers to a file on a read-only filesystem and
38968 write access was requested.
38969
38970 @item EFAULT
38971 @var{pathname} is an invalid pointer value.
38972
38973 @item ENOSPC
38974 No space on device to create the file.
38975
38976 @item EMFILE
38977 The process already has the maximum number of files open.
38978
38979 @item ENFILE
38980 The limit on the total number of files open on the system
38981 has been reached.
38982
38983 @item EINTR
38984 The call was interrupted by the user.
38985 @end table
38986
38987 @end table
38988
38989 @node close
38990 @unnumberedsubsubsec close
38991 @cindex close, file-i/o system call
38992
38993 @table @asis
38994 @item Synopsis:
38995 @smallexample
38996 int close(int fd);
38997 @end smallexample
38998
38999 @item Request:
39000 @samp{Fclose,@var{fd}}
39001
39002 @item Return value:
39003 @code{close} returns zero on success, or -1 if an error occurred.
39004
39005 @item Errors:
39006
39007 @table @code
39008 @item EBADF
39009 @var{fd} isn't a valid open file descriptor.
39010
39011 @item EINTR
39012 The call was interrupted by the user.
39013 @end table
39014
39015 @end table
39016
39017 @node read
39018 @unnumberedsubsubsec read
39019 @cindex read, file-i/o system call
39020
39021 @table @asis
39022 @item Synopsis:
39023 @smallexample
39024 int read(int fd, void *buf, unsigned int count);
39025 @end smallexample
39026
39027 @item Request:
39028 @samp{Fread,@var{fd},@var{bufptr},@var{count}}
39029
39030 @item Return value:
39031 On success, the number of bytes read is returned.
39032 Zero indicates end of file. If count is zero, read
39033 returns zero as well. On error, -1 is returned.
39034
39035 @item Errors:
39036
39037 @table @code
39038 @item EBADF
39039 @var{fd} is not a valid file descriptor or is not open for
39040 reading.
39041
39042 @item EFAULT
39043 @var{bufptr} is an invalid pointer value.
39044
39045 @item EINTR
39046 The call was interrupted by the user.
39047 @end table
39048
39049 @end table
39050
39051 @node write
39052 @unnumberedsubsubsec write
39053 @cindex write, file-i/o system call
39054
39055 @table @asis
39056 @item Synopsis:
39057 @smallexample
39058 int write(int fd, const void *buf, unsigned int count);
39059 @end smallexample
39060
39061 @item Request:
39062 @samp{Fwrite,@var{fd},@var{bufptr},@var{count}}
39063
39064 @item Return value:
39065 On success, the number of bytes written are returned.
39066 Zero indicates nothing was written. On error, -1
39067 is returned.
39068
39069 @item Errors:
39070
39071 @table @code
39072 @item EBADF
39073 @var{fd} is not a valid file descriptor or is not open for
39074 writing.
39075
39076 @item EFAULT
39077 @var{bufptr} is an invalid pointer value.
39078
39079 @item EFBIG
39080 An attempt was made to write a file that exceeds the
39081 host-specific maximum file size allowed.
39082
39083 @item ENOSPC
39084 No space on device to write the data.
39085
39086 @item EINTR
39087 The call was interrupted by the user.
39088 @end table
39089
39090 @end table
39091
39092 @node lseek
39093 @unnumberedsubsubsec lseek
39094 @cindex lseek, file-i/o system call
39095
39096 @table @asis
39097 @item Synopsis:
39098 @smallexample
39099 long lseek (int fd, long offset, int flag);
39100 @end smallexample
39101
39102 @item Request:
39103 @samp{Flseek,@var{fd},@var{offset},@var{flag}}
39104
39105 @var{flag} is one of:
39106
39107 @table @code
39108 @item SEEK_SET
39109 The offset is set to @var{offset} bytes.
39110
39111 @item SEEK_CUR
39112 The offset is set to its current location plus @var{offset}
39113 bytes.
39114
39115 @item SEEK_END
39116 The offset is set to the size of the file plus @var{offset}
39117 bytes.
39118 @end table
39119
39120 @item Return value:
39121 On success, the resulting unsigned offset in bytes from
39122 the beginning of the file is returned. Otherwise, a
39123 value of -1 is returned.
39124
39125 @item Errors:
39126
39127 @table @code
39128 @item EBADF
39129 @var{fd} is not a valid open file descriptor.
39130
39131 @item ESPIPE
39132 @var{fd} is associated with the @value{GDBN} console.
39133
39134 @item EINVAL
39135 @var{flag} is not a proper value.
39136
39137 @item EINTR
39138 The call was interrupted by the user.
39139 @end table
39140
39141 @end table
39142
39143 @node rename
39144 @unnumberedsubsubsec rename
39145 @cindex rename, file-i/o system call
39146
39147 @table @asis
39148 @item Synopsis:
39149 @smallexample
39150 int rename(const char *oldpath, const char *newpath);
39151 @end smallexample
39152
39153 @item Request:
39154 @samp{Frename,@var{oldpathptr}/@var{len},@var{newpathptr}/@var{len}}
39155
39156 @item Return value:
39157 On success, zero is returned. On error, -1 is returned.
39158
39159 @item Errors:
39160
39161 @table @code
39162 @item EISDIR
39163 @var{newpath} is an existing directory, but @var{oldpath} is not a
39164 directory.
39165
39166 @item EEXIST
39167 @var{newpath} is a non-empty directory.
39168
39169 @item EBUSY
39170 @var{oldpath} or @var{newpath} is a directory that is in use by some
39171 process.
39172
39173 @item EINVAL
39174 An attempt was made to make a directory a subdirectory
39175 of itself.
39176
39177 @item ENOTDIR
39178 A component used as a directory in @var{oldpath} or new
39179 path is not a directory. Or @var{oldpath} is a directory
39180 and @var{newpath} exists but is not a directory.
39181
39182 @item EFAULT
39183 @var{oldpathptr} or @var{newpathptr} are invalid pointer values.
39184
39185 @item EACCES
39186 No access to the file or the path of the file.
39187
39188 @item ENAMETOOLONG
39189
39190 @var{oldpath} or @var{newpath} was too long.
39191
39192 @item ENOENT
39193 A directory component in @var{oldpath} or @var{newpath} does not exist.
39194
39195 @item EROFS
39196 The file is on a read-only filesystem.
39197
39198 @item ENOSPC
39199 The device containing the file has no room for the new
39200 directory entry.
39201
39202 @item EINTR
39203 The call was interrupted by the user.
39204 @end table
39205
39206 @end table
39207
39208 @node unlink
39209 @unnumberedsubsubsec unlink
39210 @cindex unlink, file-i/o system call
39211
39212 @table @asis
39213 @item Synopsis:
39214 @smallexample
39215 int unlink(const char *pathname);
39216 @end smallexample
39217
39218 @item Request:
39219 @samp{Funlink,@var{pathnameptr}/@var{len}}
39220
39221 @item Return value:
39222 On success, zero is returned. On error, -1 is returned.
39223
39224 @item Errors:
39225
39226 @table @code
39227 @item EACCES
39228 No access to the file or the path of the file.
39229
39230 @item EPERM
39231 The system does not allow unlinking of directories.
39232
39233 @item EBUSY
39234 The file @var{pathname} cannot be unlinked because it's
39235 being used by another process.
39236
39237 @item EFAULT
39238 @var{pathnameptr} is an invalid pointer value.
39239
39240 @item ENAMETOOLONG
39241 @var{pathname} was too long.
39242
39243 @item ENOENT
39244 A directory component in @var{pathname} does not exist.
39245
39246 @item ENOTDIR
39247 A component of the path is not a directory.
39248
39249 @item EROFS
39250 The file is on a read-only filesystem.
39251
39252 @item EINTR
39253 The call was interrupted by the user.
39254 @end table
39255
39256 @end table
39257
39258 @node stat/fstat
39259 @unnumberedsubsubsec stat/fstat
39260 @cindex fstat, file-i/o system call
39261 @cindex stat, file-i/o system call
39262
39263 @table @asis
39264 @item Synopsis:
39265 @smallexample
39266 int stat(const char *pathname, struct stat *buf);
39267 int fstat(int fd, struct stat *buf);
39268 @end smallexample
39269
39270 @item Request:
39271 @samp{Fstat,@var{pathnameptr}/@var{len},@var{bufptr}}@*
39272 @samp{Ffstat,@var{fd},@var{bufptr}}
39273
39274 @item Return value:
39275 On success, zero is returned. On error, -1 is returned.
39276
39277 @item Errors:
39278
39279 @table @code
39280 @item EBADF
39281 @var{fd} is not a valid open file.
39282
39283 @item ENOENT
39284 A directory component in @var{pathname} does not exist or the
39285 path is an empty string.
39286
39287 @item ENOTDIR
39288 A component of the path is not a directory.
39289
39290 @item EFAULT
39291 @var{pathnameptr} is an invalid pointer value.
39292
39293 @item EACCES
39294 No access to the file or the path of the file.
39295
39296 @item ENAMETOOLONG
39297 @var{pathname} was too long.
39298
39299 @item EINTR
39300 The call was interrupted by the user.
39301 @end table
39302
39303 @end table
39304
39305 @node gettimeofday
39306 @unnumberedsubsubsec gettimeofday
39307 @cindex gettimeofday, file-i/o system call
39308
39309 @table @asis
39310 @item Synopsis:
39311 @smallexample
39312 int gettimeofday(struct timeval *tv, void *tz);
39313 @end smallexample
39314
39315 @item Request:
39316 @samp{Fgettimeofday,@var{tvptr},@var{tzptr}}
39317
39318 @item Return value:
39319 On success, 0 is returned, -1 otherwise.
39320
39321 @item Errors:
39322
39323 @table @code
39324 @item EINVAL
39325 @var{tz} is a non-NULL pointer.
39326
39327 @item EFAULT
39328 @var{tvptr} and/or @var{tzptr} is an invalid pointer value.
39329 @end table
39330
39331 @end table
39332
39333 @node isatty
39334 @unnumberedsubsubsec isatty
39335 @cindex isatty, file-i/o system call
39336
39337 @table @asis
39338 @item Synopsis:
39339 @smallexample
39340 int isatty(int fd);
39341 @end smallexample
39342
39343 @item Request:
39344 @samp{Fisatty,@var{fd}}
39345
39346 @item Return value:
39347 Returns 1 if @var{fd} refers to the @value{GDBN} console, 0 otherwise.
39348
39349 @item Errors:
39350
39351 @table @code
39352 @item EINTR
39353 The call was interrupted by the user.
39354 @end table
39355
39356 @end table
39357
39358 Note that the @code{isatty} call is treated as a special case: it returns
39359 1 to the target if the file descriptor is attached
39360 to the @value{GDBN} console, 0 otherwise. Implementing through system calls
39361 would require implementing @code{ioctl} and would be more complex than
39362 needed.
39363
39364
39365 @node system
39366 @unnumberedsubsubsec system
39367 @cindex system, file-i/o system call
39368
39369 @table @asis
39370 @item Synopsis:
39371 @smallexample
39372 int system(const char *command);
39373 @end smallexample
39374
39375 @item Request:
39376 @samp{Fsystem,@var{commandptr}/@var{len}}
39377
39378 @item Return value:
39379 If @var{len} is zero, the return value indicates whether a shell is
39380 available. A zero return value indicates a shell is not available.
39381 For non-zero @var{len}, the value returned is -1 on error and the
39382 return status of the command otherwise. Only the exit status of the
39383 command is returned, which is extracted from the host's @code{system}
39384 return value by calling @code{WEXITSTATUS(retval)}. In case
39385 @file{/bin/sh} could not be executed, 127 is returned.
39386
39387 @item Errors:
39388
39389 @table @code
39390 @item EINTR
39391 The call was interrupted by the user.
39392 @end table
39393
39394 @end table
39395
39396 @value{GDBN} takes over the full task of calling the necessary host calls
39397 to perform the @code{system} call. The return value of @code{system} on
39398 the host is simplified before it's returned
39399 to the target. Any termination signal information from the child process
39400 is discarded, and the return value consists
39401 entirely of the exit status of the called command.
39402
39403 Due to security concerns, the @code{system} call is by default refused
39404 by @value{GDBN}. The user has to allow this call explicitly with the
39405 @code{set remote system-call-allowed 1} command.
39406
39407 @table @code
39408 @item set remote system-call-allowed
39409 @kindex set remote system-call-allowed
39410 Control whether to allow the @code{system} calls in the File I/O
39411 protocol for the remote target. The default is zero (disabled).
39412
39413 @item show remote system-call-allowed
39414 @kindex show remote system-call-allowed
39415 Show whether the @code{system} calls are allowed in the File I/O
39416 protocol.
39417 @end table
39418
39419 @node Protocol-specific Representation of Datatypes
39420 @subsection Protocol-specific Representation of Datatypes
39421 @cindex protocol-specific representation of datatypes, in file-i/o protocol
39422
39423 @menu
39424 * Integral Datatypes::
39425 * Pointer Values::
39426 * Memory Transfer::
39427 * struct stat::
39428 * struct timeval::
39429 @end menu
39430
39431 @node Integral Datatypes
39432 @unnumberedsubsubsec Integral Datatypes
39433 @cindex integral datatypes, in file-i/o protocol
39434
39435 The integral datatypes used in the system calls are @code{int},
39436 @code{unsigned int}, @code{long}, @code{unsigned long},
39437 @code{mode_t}, and @code{time_t}.
39438
39439 @code{int}, @code{unsigned int}, @code{mode_t} and @code{time_t} are
39440 implemented as 32 bit values in this protocol.
39441
39442 @code{long} and @code{unsigned long} are implemented as 64 bit types.
39443
39444 @xref{Limits}, for corresponding MIN and MAX values (similar to those
39445 in @file{limits.h}) to allow range checking on host and target.
39446
39447 @code{time_t} datatypes are defined as seconds since the Epoch.
39448
39449 All integral datatypes transferred as part of a memory read or write of a
39450 structured datatype e.g.@: a @code{struct stat} have to be given in big endian
39451 byte order.
39452
39453 @node Pointer Values
39454 @unnumberedsubsubsec Pointer Values
39455 @cindex pointer values, in file-i/o protocol
39456
39457 Pointers to target data are transmitted as they are. An exception
39458 is made for pointers to buffers for which the length isn't
39459 transmitted as part of the function call, namely strings. Strings
39460 are transmitted as a pointer/length pair, both as hex values, e.g.@:
39461
39462 @smallexample
39463 @code{1aaf/12}
39464 @end smallexample
39465
39466 @noindent
39467 which is a pointer to data of length 18 bytes at position 0x1aaf.
39468 The length is defined as the full string length in bytes, including
39469 the trailing null byte. For example, the string @code{"hello world"}
39470 at address 0x123456 is transmitted as
39471
39472 @smallexample
39473 @code{123456/d}
39474 @end smallexample
39475
39476 @node Memory Transfer
39477 @unnumberedsubsubsec Memory Transfer
39478 @cindex memory transfer, in file-i/o protocol
39479
39480 Structured data which is transferred using a memory read or write (for
39481 example, a @code{struct stat}) is expected to be in a protocol-specific format
39482 with all scalar multibyte datatypes being big endian. Translation to
39483 this representation needs to be done both by the target before the @code{F}
39484 packet is sent, and by @value{GDBN} before
39485 it transfers memory to the target. Transferred pointers to structured
39486 data should point to the already-coerced data at any time.
39487
39488
39489 @node struct stat
39490 @unnumberedsubsubsec struct stat
39491 @cindex struct stat, in file-i/o protocol
39492
39493 The buffer of type @code{struct stat} used by the target and @value{GDBN}
39494 is defined as follows:
39495
39496 @smallexample
39497 struct stat @{
39498 unsigned int st_dev; /* device */
39499 unsigned int st_ino; /* inode */
39500 mode_t st_mode; /* protection */
39501 unsigned int st_nlink; /* number of hard links */
39502 unsigned int st_uid; /* user ID of owner */
39503 unsigned int st_gid; /* group ID of owner */
39504 unsigned int st_rdev; /* device type (if inode device) */
39505 unsigned long st_size; /* total size, in bytes */
39506 unsigned long st_blksize; /* blocksize for filesystem I/O */
39507 unsigned long st_blocks; /* number of blocks allocated */
39508 time_t st_atime; /* time of last access */
39509 time_t st_mtime; /* time of last modification */
39510 time_t st_ctime; /* time of last change */
39511 @};
39512 @end smallexample
39513
39514 The integral datatypes conform to the definitions given in the
39515 appropriate section (see @ref{Integral Datatypes}, for details) so this
39516 structure is of size 64 bytes.
39517
39518 The values of several fields have a restricted meaning and/or
39519 range of values.
39520
39521 @table @code
39522
39523 @item st_dev
39524 A value of 0 represents a file, 1 the console.
39525
39526 @item st_ino
39527 No valid meaning for the target. Transmitted unchanged.
39528
39529 @item st_mode
39530 Valid mode bits are described in @ref{Constants}. Any other
39531 bits have currently no meaning for the target.
39532
39533 @item st_uid
39534 @itemx st_gid
39535 @itemx st_rdev
39536 No valid meaning for the target. Transmitted unchanged.
39537
39538 @item st_atime
39539 @itemx st_mtime
39540 @itemx st_ctime
39541 These values have a host and file system dependent
39542 accuracy. Especially on Windows hosts, the file system may not
39543 support exact timing values.
39544 @end table
39545
39546 The target gets a @code{struct stat} of the above representation and is
39547 responsible for coercing it to the target representation before
39548 continuing.
39549
39550 Note that due to size differences between the host, target, and protocol
39551 representations of @code{struct stat} members, these members could eventually
39552 get truncated on the target.
39553
39554 @node struct timeval
39555 @unnumberedsubsubsec struct timeval
39556 @cindex struct timeval, in file-i/o protocol
39557
39558 The buffer of type @code{struct timeval} used by the File-I/O protocol
39559 is defined as follows:
39560
39561 @smallexample
39562 struct timeval @{
39563 time_t tv_sec; /* second */
39564 long tv_usec; /* microsecond */
39565 @};
39566 @end smallexample
39567
39568 The integral datatypes conform to the definitions given in the
39569 appropriate section (see @ref{Integral Datatypes}, for details) so this
39570 structure is of size 8 bytes.
39571
39572 @node Constants
39573 @subsection Constants
39574 @cindex constants, in file-i/o protocol
39575
39576 The following values are used for the constants inside of the
39577 protocol. @value{GDBN} and target are responsible for translating these
39578 values before and after the call as needed.
39579
39580 @menu
39581 * Open Flags::
39582 * mode_t Values::
39583 * Errno Values::
39584 * Lseek Flags::
39585 * Limits::
39586 @end menu
39587
39588 @node Open Flags
39589 @unnumberedsubsubsec Open Flags
39590 @cindex open flags, in file-i/o protocol
39591
39592 All values are given in hexadecimal representation.
39593
39594 @smallexample
39595 O_RDONLY 0x0
39596 O_WRONLY 0x1
39597 O_RDWR 0x2
39598 O_APPEND 0x8
39599 O_CREAT 0x200
39600 O_TRUNC 0x400
39601 O_EXCL 0x800
39602 @end smallexample
39603
39604 @node mode_t Values
39605 @unnumberedsubsubsec mode_t Values
39606 @cindex mode_t values, in file-i/o protocol
39607
39608 All values are given in octal representation.
39609
39610 @smallexample
39611 S_IFREG 0100000
39612 S_IFDIR 040000
39613 S_IRUSR 0400
39614 S_IWUSR 0200
39615 S_IXUSR 0100
39616 S_IRGRP 040
39617 S_IWGRP 020
39618 S_IXGRP 010
39619 S_IROTH 04
39620 S_IWOTH 02
39621 S_IXOTH 01
39622 @end smallexample
39623
39624 @node Errno Values
39625 @unnumberedsubsubsec Errno Values
39626 @cindex errno values, in file-i/o protocol
39627
39628 All values are given in decimal representation.
39629
39630 @smallexample
39631 EPERM 1
39632 ENOENT 2
39633 EINTR 4
39634 EBADF 9
39635 EACCES 13
39636 EFAULT 14
39637 EBUSY 16
39638 EEXIST 17
39639 ENODEV 19
39640 ENOTDIR 20
39641 EISDIR 21
39642 EINVAL 22
39643 ENFILE 23
39644 EMFILE 24
39645 EFBIG 27
39646 ENOSPC 28
39647 ESPIPE 29
39648 EROFS 30
39649 ENAMETOOLONG 91
39650 EUNKNOWN 9999
39651 @end smallexample
39652
39653 @code{EUNKNOWN} is used as a fallback error value if a host system returns
39654 any error value not in the list of supported error numbers.
39655
39656 @node Lseek Flags
39657 @unnumberedsubsubsec Lseek Flags
39658 @cindex lseek flags, in file-i/o protocol
39659
39660 @smallexample
39661 SEEK_SET 0
39662 SEEK_CUR 1
39663 SEEK_END 2
39664 @end smallexample
39665
39666 @node Limits
39667 @unnumberedsubsubsec Limits
39668 @cindex limits, in file-i/o protocol
39669
39670 All values are given in decimal representation.
39671
39672 @smallexample
39673 INT_MIN -2147483648
39674 INT_MAX 2147483647
39675 UINT_MAX 4294967295
39676 LONG_MIN -9223372036854775808
39677 LONG_MAX 9223372036854775807
39678 ULONG_MAX 18446744073709551615
39679 @end smallexample
39680
39681 @node File-I/O Examples
39682 @subsection File-I/O Examples
39683 @cindex file-i/o examples
39684
39685 Example sequence of a write call, file descriptor 3, buffer is at target
39686 address 0x1234, 6 bytes should be written:
39687
39688 @smallexample
39689 <- @code{Fwrite,3,1234,6}
39690 @emph{request memory read from target}
39691 -> @code{m1234,6}
39692 <- XXXXXX
39693 @emph{return "6 bytes written"}
39694 -> @code{F6}
39695 @end smallexample
39696
39697 Example sequence of a read call, file descriptor 3, buffer is at target
39698 address 0x1234, 6 bytes should be read:
39699
39700 @smallexample
39701 <- @code{Fread,3,1234,6}
39702 @emph{request memory write to target}
39703 -> @code{X1234,6:XXXXXX}
39704 @emph{return "6 bytes read"}
39705 -> @code{F6}
39706 @end smallexample
39707
39708 Example sequence of a read call, call fails on the host due to invalid
39709 file descriptor (@code{EBADF}):
39710
39711 @smallexample
39712 <- @code{Fread,3,1234,6}
39713 -> @code{F-1,9}
39714 @end smallexample
39715
39716 Example sequence of a read call, user presses @kbd{Ctrl-c} before syscall on
39717 host is called:
39718
39719 @smallexample
39720 <- @code{Fread,3,1234,6}
39721 -> @code{F-1,4,C}
39722 <- @code{T02}
39723 @end smallexample
39724
39725 Example sequence of a read call, user presses @kbd{Ctrl-c} after syscall on
39726 host is called:
39727
39728 @smallexample
39729 <- @code{Fread,3,1234,6}
39730 -> @code{X1234,6:XXXXXX}
39731 <- @code{T02}
39732 @end smallexample
39733
39734 @node Library List Format
39735 @section Library List Format
39736 @cindex library list format, remote protocol
39737
39738 On some platforms, a dynamic loader (e.g.@: @file{ld.so}) runs in the
39739 same process as your application to manage libraries. In this case,
39740 @value{GDBN} can use the loader's symbol table and normal memory
39741 operations to maintain a list of shared libraries. On other
39742 platforms, the operating system manages loaded libraries.
39743 @value{GDBN} can not retrieve the list of currently loaded libraries
39744 through memory operations, so it uses the @samp{qXfer:libraries:read}
39745 packet (@pxref{qXfer library list read}) instead. The remote stub
39746 queries the target's operating system and reports which libraries
39747 are loaded.
39748
39749 The @samp{qXfer:libraries:read} packet returns an XML document which
39750 lists loaded libraries and their offsets. Each library has an
39751 associated name and one or more segment or section base addresses,
39752 which report where the library was loaded in memory.
39753
39754 For the common case of libraries that are fully linked binaries, the
39755 library should have a list of segments. If the target supports
39756 dynamic linking of a relocatable object file, its library XML element
39757 should instead include a list of allocated sections. The segment or
39758 section bases are start addresses, not relocation offsets; they do not
39759 depend on the library's link-time base addresses.
39760
39761 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
39762 library lists. @xref{Expat}.
39763
39764 A simple memory map, with one loaded library relocated by a single
39765 offset, looks like this:
39766
39767 @smallexample
39768 <library-list>
39769 <library name="/lib/libc.so.6">
39770 <segment address="0x10000000"/>
39771 </library>
39772 </library-list>
39773 @end smallexample
39774
39775 Another simple memory map, with one loaded library with three
39776 allocated sections (.text, .data, .bss), looks like this:
39777
39778 @smallexample
39779 <library-list>
39780 <library name="sharedlib.o">
39781 <section address="0x10000000"/>
39782 <section address="0x20000000"/>
39783 <section address="0x30000000"/>
39784 </library>
39785 </library-list>
39786 @end smallexample
39787
39788 The format of a library list is described by this DTD:
39789
39790 @smallexample
39791 <!-- library-list: Root element with versioning -->
39792 <!ELEMENT library-list (library)*>
39793 <!ATTLIST library-list version CDATA #FIXED "1.0">
39794 <!ELEMENT library (segment*, section*)>
39795 <!ATTLIST library name CDATA #REQUIRED>
39796 <!ELEMENT segment EMPTY>
39797 <!ATTLIST segment address CDATA #REQUIRED>
39798 <!ELEMENT section EMPTY>
39799 <!ATTLIST section address CDATA #REQUIRED>
39800 @end smallexample
39801
39802 In addition, segments and section descriptors cannot be mixed within a
39803 single library element, and you must supply at least one segment or
39804 section for each library.
39805
39806 @node Library List Format for SVR4 Targets
39807 @section Library List Format for SVR4 Targets
39808 @cindex library list format, remote protocol
39809
39810 On SVR4 platforms @value{GDBN} can use the symbol table of a dynamic loader
39811 (e.g.@: @file{ld.so}) and normal memory operations to maintain a list of
39812 shared libraries. Still a special library list provided by this packet is
39813 more efficient for the @value{GDBN} remote protocol.
39814
39815 The @samp{qXfer:libraries-svr4:read} packet returns an XML document which lists
39816 loaded libraries and their SVR4 linker parameters. For each library on SVR4
39817 target, the following parameters are reported:
39818
39819 @itemize @minus
39820 @item
39821 @code{name}, the absolute file name from the @code{l_name} field of
39822 @code{struct link_map}.
39823 @item
39824 @code{lm} with address of @code{struct link_map} used for TLS
39825 (Thread Local Storage) access.
39826 @item
39827 @code{l_addr}, the displacement as read from the field @code{l_addr} of
39828 @code{struct link_map}. For prelinked libraries this is not an absolute
39829 memory address. It is a displacement of absolute memory address against
39830 address the file was prelinked to during the library load.
39831 @item
39832 @code{l_ld}, which is memory address of the @code{PT_DYNAMIC} segment
39833 @end itemize
39834
39835 Additionally the single @code{main-lm} attribute specifies address of
39836 @code{struct link_map} used for the main executable. This parameter is used
39837 for TLS access and its presence is optional.
39838
39839 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
39840 SVR4 library lists. @xref{Expat}.
39841
39842 A simple memory map, with two loaded libraries (which do not use prelink),
39843 looks like this:
39844
39845 @smallexample
39846 <library-list-svr4 version="1.0" main-lm="0xe4f8f8">
39847 <library name="/lib/ld-linux.so.2" lm="0xe4f51c" l_addr="0xe2d000"
39848 l_ld="0xe4eefc"/>
39849 <library name="/lib/libc.so.6" lm="0xe4fbe8" l_addr="0x154000"
39850 l_ld="0x152350"/>
39851 </library-list-svr>
39852 @end smallexample
39853
39854 The format of an SVR4 library list is described by this DTD:
39855
39856 @smallexample
39857 <!-- library-list-svr4: Root element with versioning -->
39858 <!ELEMENT library-list-svr4 (library)*>
39859 <!ATTLIST library-list-svr4 version CDATA #FIXED "1.0">
39860 <!ATTLIST library-list-svr4 main-lm CDATA #IMPLIED>
39861 <!ELEMENT library EMPTY>
39862 <!ATTLIST library name CDATA #REQUIRED>
39863 <!ATTLIST library lm CDATA #REQUIRED>
39864 <!ATTLIST library l_addr CDATA #REQUIRED>
39865 <!ATTLIST library l_ld CDATA #REQUIRED>
39866 @end smallexample
39867
39868 @node Memory Map Format
39869 @section Memory Map Format
39870 @cindex memory map format
39871
39872 To be able to write into flash memory, @value{GDBN} needs to obtain a
39873 memory map from the target. This section describes the format of the
39874 memory map.
39875
39876 The memory map is obtained using the @samp{qXfer:memory-map:read}
39877 (@pxref{qXfer memory map read}) packet and is an XML document that
39878 lists memory regions.
39879
39880 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
39881 memory maps. @xref{Expat}.
39882
39883 The top-level structure of the document is shown below:
39884
39885 @smallexample
39886 <?xml version="1.0"?>
39887 <!DOCTYPE memory-map
39888 PUBLIC "+//IDN gnu.org//DTD GDB Memory Map V1.0//EN"
39889 "http://sourceware.org/gdb/gdb-memory-map.dtd">
39890 <memory-map>
39891 region...
39892 </memory-map>
39893 @end smallexample
39894
39895 Each region can be either:
39896
39897 @itemize
39898
39899 @item
39900 A region of RAM starting at @var{addr} and extending for @var{length}
39901 bytes from there:
39902
39903 @smallexample
39904 <memory type="ram" start="@var{addr}" length="@var{length}"/>
39905 @end smallexample
39906
39907
39908 @item
39909 A region of read-only memory:
39910
39911 @smallexample
39912 <memory type="rom" start="@var{addr}" length="@var{length}"/>
39913 @end smallexample
39914
39915
39916 @item
39917 A region of flash memory, with erasure blocks @var{blocksize}
39918 bytes in length:
39919
39920 @smallexample
39921 <memory type="flash" start="@var{addr}" length="@var{length}">
39922 <property name="blocksize">@var{blocksize}</property>
39923 </memory>
39924 @end smallexample
39925
39926 @end itemize
39927
39928 Regions must not overlap. @value{GDBN} assumes that areas of memory not covered
39929 by the memory map are RAM, and uses the ordinary @samp{M} and @samp{X}
39930 packets to write to addresses in such ranges.
39931
39932 The formal DTD for memory map format is given below:
39933
39934 @smallexample
39935 <!-- ................................................... -->
39936 <!-- Memory Map XML DTD ................................ -->
39937 <!-- File: memory-map.dtd .............................. -->
39938 <!-- .................................... .............. -->
39939 <!-- memory-map.dtd -->
39940 <!-- memory-map: Root element with versioning -->
39941 <!ELEMENT memory-map (memory | property)>
39942 <!ATTLIST memory-map version CDATA #FIXED "1.0.0">
39943 <!ELEMENT memory (property)>
39944 <!-- memory: Specifies a memory region,
39945 and its type, or device. -->
39946 <!ATTLIST memory type CDATA #REQUIRED
39947 start CDATA #REQUIRED
39948 length CDATA #REQUIRED
39949 device CDATA #IMPLIED>
39950 <!-- property: Generic attribute tag -->
39951 <!ELEMENT property (#PCDATA | property)*>
39952 <!ATTLIST property name CDATA #REQUIRED>
39953 @end smallexample
39954
39955 @node Thread List Format
39956 @section Thread List Format
39957 @cindex thread list format
39958
39959 To efficiently update the list of threads and their attributes,
39960 @value{GDBN} issues the @samp{qXfer:threads:read} packet
39961 (@pxref{qXfer threads read}) and obtains the XML document with
39962 the following structure:
39963
39964 @smallexample
39965 <?xml version="1.0"?>
39966 <threads>
39967 <thread id="id" core="0" name="name">
39968 ... description ...
39969 </thread>
39970 </threads>
39971 @end smallexample
39972
39973 Each @samp{thread} element must have the @samp{id} attribute that
39974 identifies the thread (@pxref{thread-id syntax}). The
39975 @samp{core} attribute, if present, specifies which processor core
39976 the thread was last executing on. The @samp{name} attribute, if
39977 present, specifies the human-readable name of the thread. The content
39978 of the of @samp{thread} element is interpreted as human-readable
39979 auxiliary information.
39980
39981 @node Traceframe Info Format
39982 @section Traceframe Info Format
39983 @cindex traceframe info format
39984
39985 To be able to know which objects in the inferior can be examined when
39986 inspecting a tracepoint hit, @value{GDBN} needs to obtain the list of
39987 memory ranges, registers and trace state variables that have been
39988 collected in a traceframe.
39989
39990 This list is obtained using the @samp{qXfer:traceframe-info:read}
39991 (@pxref{qXfer traceframe info read}) packet and is an XML document.
39992
39993 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
39994 traceframe info discovery. @xref{Expat}.
39995
39996 The top-level structure of the document is shown below:
39997
39998 @smallexample
39999 <?xml version="1.0"?>
40000 <!DOCTYPE traceframe-info
40001 PUBLIC "+//IDN gnu.org//DTD GDB Memory Map V1.0//EN"
40002 "http://sourceware.org/gdb/gdb-traceframe-info.dtd">
40003 <traceframe-info>
40004 block...
40005 </traceframe-info>
40006 @end smallexample
40007
40008 Each traceframe block can be either:
40009
40010 @itemize
40011
40012 @item
40013 A region of collected memory starting at @var{addr} and extending for
40014 @var{length} bytes from there:
40015
40016 @smallexample
40017 <memory start="@var{addr}" length="@var{length}"/>
40018 @end smallexample
40019
40020 @item
40021 A block indicating trace state variable numbered @var{number} has been
40022 collected:
40023
40024 @smallexample
40025 <tvar id="@var{number}"/>
40026 @end smallexample
40027
40028 @end itemize
40029
40030 The formal DTD for the traceframe info format is given below:
40031
40032 @smallexample
40033 <!ELEMENT traceframe-info (memory | tvar)* >
40034 <!ATTLIST traceframe-info version CDATA #FIXED "1.0">
40035
40036 <!ELEMENT memory EMPTY>
40037 <!ATTLIST memory start CDATA #REQUIRED
40038 length CDATA #REQUIRED>
40039 <!ELEMENT tvar>
40040 <!ATTLIST tvar id CDATA #REQUIRED>
40041 @end smallexample
40042
40043 @node Branch Trace Format
40044 @section Branch Trace Format
40045 @cindex branch trace format
40046
40047 In order to display the branch trace of an inferior thread,
40048 @value{GDBN} needs to obtain the list of branches. This list is
40049 represented as list of sequential code blocks that are connected via
40050 branches. The code in each block has been executed sequentially.
40051
40052 This list is obtained using the @samp{qXfer:btrace:read}
40053 (@pxref{qXfer btrace read}) packet and is an XML document.
40054
40055 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
40056 traceframe info discovery. @xref{Expat}.
40057
40058 The top-level structure of the document is shown below:
40059
40060 @smallexample
40061 <?xml version="1.0"?>
40062 <!DOCTYPE btrace
40063 PUBLIC "+//IDN gnu.org//DTD GDB Branch Trace V1.0//EN"
40064 "http://sourceware.org/gdb/gdb-btrace.dtd">
40065 <btrace>
40066 block...
40067 </btrace>
40068 @end smallexample
40069
40070 @itemize
40071
40072 @item
40073 A block of sequentially executed instructions starting at @var{begin}
40074 and ending at @var{end}:
40075
40076 @smallexample
40077 <block begin="@var{begin}" end="@var{end}"/>
40078 @end smallexample
40079
40080 @end itemize
40081
40082 The formal DTD for the branch trace format is given below:
40083
40084 @smallexample
40085 <!ELEMENT btrace (block* | pt) >
40086 <!ATTLIST btrace version CDATA #FIXED "1.0">
40087
40088 <!ELEMENT block EMPTY>
40089 <!ATTLIST block begin CDATA #REQUIRED
40090 end CDATA #REQUIRED>
40091
40092 <!ELEMENT pt (pt-config?, raw?)>
40093
40094 <!ELEMENT pt-config (cpu?)>
40095
40096 <!ELEMENT cpu EMPTY>
40097 <!ATTLIST cpu vendor CDATA #REQUIRED
40098 family CDATA #REQUIRED
40099 model CDATA #REQUIRED
40100 stepping CDATA #REQUIRED>
40101
40102 <!ELEMENT raw (#PCDATA)>
40103 @end smallexample
40104
40105 @node Branch Trace Configuration Format
40106 @section Branch Trace Configuration Format
40107 @cindex branch trace configuration format
40108
40109 For each inferior thread, @value{GDBN} can obtain the branch trace
40110 configuration using the @samp{qXfer:btrace-conf:read}
40111 (@pxref{qXfer btrace-conf read}) packet.
40112
40113 The configuration describes the branch trace format and configuration
40114 settings for that format. The following information is described:
40115
40116 @table @code
40117 @item bts
40118 This thread uses the @dfn{Branch Trace Store} (@acronym{BTS}) format.
40119 @table @code
40120 @item size
40121 The size of the @acronym{BTS} ring buffer in bytes.
40122 @end table
40123 @item pt
40124 This thread uses the @dfn{Intel Processor Trace} (@acronym{Intel
40125 PT}) format.
40126 @table @code
40127 @item size
40128 The size of the @acronym{Intel PT} ring buffer in bytes.
40129 @end table
40130 @end table
40131
40132 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
40133 branch trace configuration discovery. @xref{Expat}.
40134
40135 The formal DTD for the branch trace configuration format is given below:
40136
40137 @smallexample
40138 <!ELEMENT btrace-conf (bts?, pt?)>
40139 <!ATTLIST btrace-conf version CDATA #FIXED "1.0">
40140
40141 <!ELEMENT bts EMPTY>
40142 <!ATTLIST bts size CDATA #IMPLIED>
40143
40144 <!ELEMENT pt EMPTY>
40145 <!ATTLIST pt size CDATA #IMPLIED>
40146 @end smallexample
40147
40148 @include agentexpr.texi
40149
40150 @node Target Descriptions
40151 @appendix Target Descriptions
40152 @cindex target descriptions
40153
40154 One of the challenges of using @value{GDBN} to debug embedded systems
40155 is that there are so many minor variants of each processor
40156 architecture in use. It is common practice for vendors to start with
40157 a standard processor core --- ARM, PowerPC, or @acronym{MIPS}, for example ---
40158 and then make changes to adapt it to a particular market niche. Some
40159 architectures have hundreds of variants, available from dozens of
40160 vendors. This leads to a number of problems:
40161
40162 @itemize @bullet
40163 @item
40164 With so many different customized processors, it is difficult for
40165 the @value{GDBN} maintainers to keep up with the changes.
40166 @item
40167 Since individual variants may have short lifetimes or limited
40168 audiences, it may not be worthwhile to carry information about every
40169 variant in the @value{GDBN} source tree.
40170 @item
40171 When @value{GDBN} does support the architecture of the embedded system
40172 at hand, the task of finding the correct architecture name to give the
40173 @command{set architecture} command can be error-prone.
40174 @end itemize
40175
40176 To address these problems, the @value{GDBN} remote protocol allows a
40177 target system to not only identify itself to @value{GDBN}, but to
40178 actually describe its own features. This lets @value{GDBN} support
40179 processor variants it has never seen before --- to the extent that the
40180 descriptions are accurate, and that @value{GDBN} understands them.
40181
40182 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
40183 target descriptions. @xref{Expat}.
40184
40185 @menu
40186 * Retrieving Descriptions:: How descriptions are fetched from a target.
40187 * Target Description Format:: The contents of a target description.
40188 * Predefined Target Types:: Standard types available for target
40189 descriptions.
40190 * Standard Target Features:: Features @value{GDBN} knows about.
40191 @end menu
40192
40193 @node Retrieving Descriptions
40194 @section Retrieving Descriptions
40195
40196 Target descriptions can be read from the target automatically, or
40197 specified by the user manually. The default behavior is to read the
40198 description from the target. @value{GDBN} retrieves it via the remote
40199 protocol using @samp{qXfer} requests (@pxref{General Query Packets,
40200 qXfer}). The @var{annex} in the @samp{qXfer} packet will be
40201 @samp{target.xml}. The contents of the @samp{target.xml} annex are an
40202 XML document, of the form described in @ref{Target Description
40203 Format}.
40204
40205 Alternatively, you can specify a file to read for the target description.
40206 If a file is set, the target will not be queried. The commands to
40207 specify a file are:
40208
40209 @table @code
40210 @cindex set tdesc filename
40211 @item set tdesc filename @var{path}
40212 Read the target description from @var{path}.
40213
40214 @cindex unset tdesc filename
40215 @item unset tdesc filename
40216 Do not read the XML target description from a file. @value{GDBN}
40217 will use the description supplied by the current target.
40218
40219 @cindex show tdesc filename
40220 @item show tdesc filename
40221 Show the filename to read for a target description, if any.
40222 @end table
40223
40224
40225 @node Target Description Format
40226 @section Target Description Format
40227 @cindex target descriptions, XML format
40228
40229 A target description annex is an @uref{http://www.w3.org/XML/, XML}
40230 document which complies with the Document Type Definition provided in
40231 the @value{GDBN} sources in @file{gdb/features/gdb-target.dtd}. This
40232 means you can use generally available tools like @command{xmllint} to
40233 check that your feature descriptions are well-formed and valid.
40234 However, to help people unfamiliar with XML write descriptions for
40235 their targets, we also describe the grammar here.
40236
40237 Target descriptions can identify the architecture of the remote target
40238 and (for some architectures) provide information about custom register
40239 sets. They can also identify the OS ABI of the remote target.
40240 @value{GDBN} can use this information to autoconfigure for your
40241 target, or to warn you if you connect to an unsupported target.
40242
40243 Here is a simple target description:
40244
40245 @smallexample
40246 <target version="1.0">
40247 <architecture>i386:x86-64</architecture>
40248 </target>
40249 @end smallexample
40250
40251 @noindent
40252 This minimal description only says that the target uses
40253 the x86-64 architecture.
40254
40255 A target description has the following overall form, with [ ] marking
40256 optional elements and @dots{} marking repeatable elements. The elements
40257 are explained further below.
40258
40259 @smallexample
40260 <?xml version="1.0"?>
40261 <!DOCTYPE target SYSTEM "gdb-target.dtd">
40262 <target version="1.0">
40263 @r{[}@var{architecture}@r{]}
40264 @r{[}@var{osabi}@r{]}
40265 @r{[}@var{compatible}@r{]}
40266 @r{[}@var{feature}@dots{}@r{]}
40267 </target>
40268 @end smallexample
40269
40270 @noindent
40271 The description is generally insensitive to whitespace and line
40272 breaks, under the usual common-sense rules. The XML version
40273 declaration and document type declaration can generally be omitted
40274 (@value{GDBN} does not require them), but specifying them may be
40275 useful for XML validation tools. The @samp{version} attribute for
40276 @samp{<target>} may also be omitted, but we recommend
40277 including it; if future versions of @value{GDBN} use an incompatible
40278 revision of @file{gdb-target.dtd}, they will detect and report
40279 the version mismatch.
40280
40281 @subsection Inclusion
40282 @cindex target descriptions, inclusion
40283 @cindex XInclude
40284 @ifnotinfo
40285 @cindex <xi:include>
40286 @end ifnotinfo
40287
40288 It can sometimes be valuable to split a target description up into
40289 several different annexes, either for organizational purposes, or to
40290 share files between different possible target descriptions. You can
40291 divide a description into multiple files by replacing any element of
40292 the target description with an inclusion directive of the form:
40293
40294 @smallexample
40295 <xi:include href="@var{document}"/>
40296 @end smallexample
40297
40298 @noindent
40299 When @value{GDBN} encounters an element of this form, it will retrieve
40300 the named XML @var{document}, and replace the inclusion directive with
40301 the contents of that document. If the current description was read
40302 using @samp{qXfer}, then so will be the included document;
40303 @var{document} will be interpreted as the name of an annex. If the
40304 current description was read from a file, @value{GDBN} will look for
40305 @var{document} as a file in the same directory where it found the
40306 original description.
40307
40308 @subsection Architecture
40309 @cindex <architecture>
40310
40311 An @samp{<architecture>} element has this form:
40312
40313 @smallexample
40314 <architecture>@var{arch}</architecture>
40315 @end smallexample
40316
40317 @var{arch} is one of the architectures from the set accepted by
40318 @code{set architecture} (@pxref{Targets, ,Specifying a Debugging Target}).
40319
40320 @subsection OS ABI
40321 @cindex @code{<osabi>}
40322
40323 This optional field was introduced in @value{GDBN} version 7.0.
40324 Previous versions of @value{GDBN} ignore it.
40325
40326 An @samp{<osabi>} element has this form:
40327
40328 @smallexample
40329 <osabi>@var{abi-name}</osabi>
40330 @end smallexample
40331
40332 @var{abi-name} is an OS ABI name from the same selection accepted by
40333 @w{@code{set osabi}} (@pxref{ABI, ,Configuring the Current ABI}).
40334
40335 @subsection Compatible Architecture
40336 @cindex @code{<compatible>}
40337
40338 This optional field was introduced in @value{GDBN} version 7.0.
40339 Previous versions of @value{GDBN} ignore it.
40340
40341 A @samp{<compatible>} element has this form:
40342
40343 @smallexample
40344 <compatible>@var{arch}</compatible>
40345 @end smallexample
40346
40347 @var{arch} is one of the architectures from the set accepted by
40348 @code{set architecture} (@pxref{Targets, ,Specifying a Debugging Target}).
40349
40350 A @samp{<compatible>} element is used to specify that the target
40351 is able to run binaries in some other than the main target architecture
40352 given by the @samp{<architecture>} element. For example, on the
40353 Cell Broadband Engine, the main architecture is @code{powerpc:common}
40354 or @code{powerpc:common64}, but the system is able to run binaries
40355 in the @code{spu} architecture as well. The way to describe this
40356 capability with @samp{<compatible>} is as follows:
40357
40358 @smallexample
40359 <architecture>powerpc:common</architecture>
40360 <compatible>spu</compatible>
40361 @end smallexample
40362
40363 @subsection Features
40364 @cindex <feature>
40365
40366 Each @samp{<feature>} describes some logical portion of the target
40367 system. Features are currently used to describe available CPU
40368 registers and the types of their contents. A @samp{<feature>} element
40369 has this form:
40370
40371 @smallexample
40372 <feature name="@var{name}">
40373 @r{[}@var{type}@dots{}@r{]}
40374 @var{reg}@dots{}
40375 </feature>
40376 @end smallexample
40377
40378 @noindent
40379 Each feature's name should be unique within the description. The name
40380 of a feature does not matter unless @value{GDBN} has some special
40381 knowledge of the contents of that feature; if it does, the feature
40382 should have its standard name. @xref{Standard Target Features}.
40383
40384 @subsection Types
40385
40386 Any register's value is a collection of bits which @value{GDBN} must
40387 interpret. The default interpretation is a two's complement integer,
40388 but other types can be requested by name in the register description.
40389 Some predefined types are provided by @value{GDBN} (@pxref{Predefined
40390 Target Types}), and the description can define additional composite types.
40391
40392 Each type element must have an @samp{id} attribute, which gives
40393 a unique (within the containing @samp{<feature>}) name to the type.
40394 Types must be defined before they are used.
40395
40396 @cindex <vector>
40397 Some targets offer vector registers, which can be treated as arrays
40398 of scalar elements. These types are written as @samp{<vector>} elements,
40399 specifying the array element type, @var{type}, and the number of elements,
40400 @var{count}:
40401
40402 @smallexample
40403 <vector id="@var{id}" type="@var{type}" count="@var{count}"/>
40404 @end smallexample
40405
40406 @cindex <union>
40407 If a register's value is usefully viewed in multiple ways, define it
40408 with a union type containing the useful representations. The
40409 @samp{<union>} element contains one or more @samp{<field>} elements,
40410 each of which has a @var{name} and a @var{type}:
40411
40412 @smallexample
40413 <union id="@var{id}">
40414 <field name="@var{name}" type="@var{type}"/>
40415 @dots{}
40416 </union>
40417 @end smallexample
40418
40419 @cindex <struct>
40420 If a register's value is composed from several separate values, define
40421 it with a structure type. There are two forms of the @samp{<struct>}
40422 element; a @samp{<struct>} element must either contain only bitfields
40423 or contain no bitfields. If the structure contains only bitfields,
40424 its total size in bytes must be specified, each bitfield must have an
40425 explicit start and end, and bitfields are automatically assigned an
40426 integer type. The field's @var{start} should be less than or
40427 equal to its @var{end}, and zero represents the least significant bit.
40428
40429 @smallexample
40430 <struct id="@var{id}" size="@var{size}">
40431 <field name="@var{name}" start="@var{start}" end="@var{end}"/>
40432 @dots{}
40433 </struct>
40434 @end smallexample
40435
40436 If the structure contains no bitfields, then each field has an
40437 explicit type, and no implicit padding is added.
40438
40439 @smallexample
40440 <struct id="@var{id}">
40441 <field name="@var{name}" type="@var{type}"/>
40442 @dots{}
40443 </struct>
40444 @end smallexample
40445
40446 @cindex <flags>
40447 If a register's value is a series of single-bit flags, define it with
40448 a flags type. The @samp{<flags>} element has an explicit @var{size}
40449 and contains one or more @samp{<field>} elements. Each field has a
40450 @var{name}, a @var{start}, and an @var{end}. Only single-bit flags
40451 are supported.
40452
40453 @smallexample
40454 <flags id="@var{id}" size="@var{size}">
40455 <field name="@var{name}" start="@var{start}" end="@var{end}"/>
40456 @dots{}
40457 </flags>
40458 @end smallexample
40459
40460 @subsection Registers
40461 @cindex <reg>
40462
40463 Each register is represented as an element with this form:
40464
40465 @smallexample
40466 <reg name="@var{name}"
40467 bitsize="@var{size}"
40468 @r{[}regnum="@var{num}"@r{]}
40469 @r{[}save-restore="@var{save-restore}"@r{]}
40470 @r{[}type="@var{type}"@r{]}
40471 @r{[}group="@var{group}"@r{]}/>
40472 @end smallexample
40473
40474 @noindent
40475 The components are as follows:
40476
40477 @table @var
40478
40479 @item name
40480 The register's name; it must be unique within the target description.
40481
40482 @item bitsize
40483 The register's size, in bits.
40484
40485 @item regnum
40486 The register's number. If omitted, a register's number is one greater
40487 than that of the previous register (either in the current feature or in
40488 a preceding feature); the first register in the target description
40489 defaults to zero. This register number is used to read or write
40490 the register; e.g.@: it is used in the remote @code{p} and @code{P}
40491 packets, and registers appear in the @code{g} and @code{G} packets
40492 in order of increasing register number.
40493
40494 @item save-restore
40495 Whether the register should be preserved across inferior function
40496 calls; this must be either @code{yes} or @code{no}. The default is
40497 @code{yes}, which is appropriate for most registers except for
40498 some system control registers; this is not related to the target's
40499 ABI.
40500
40501 @item type
40502 The type of the register. It may be a predefined type, a type
40503 defined in the current feature, or one of the special types @code{int}
40504 and @code{float}. @code{int} is an integer type of the correct size
40505 for @var{bitsize}, and @code{float} is a floating point type (in the
40506 architecture's normal floating point format) of the correct size for
40507 @var{bitsize}. The default is @code{int}.
40508
40509 @item group
40510 The register group to which this register belongs. It must
40511 be either @code{general}, @code{float}, or @code{vector}. If no
40512 @var{group} is specified, @value{GDBN} will not display the register
40513 in @code{info registers}.
40514
40515 @end table
40516
40517 @node Predefined Target Types
40518 @section Predefined Target Types
40519 @cindex target descriptions, predefined types
40520
40521 Type definitions in the self-description can build up composite types
40522 from basic building blocks, but can not define fundamental types. Instead,
40523 standard identifiers are provided by @value{GDBN} for the fundamental
40524 types. The currently supported types are:
40525
40526 @table @code
40527
40528 @item int8
40529 @itemx int16
40530 @itemx int32
40531 @itemx int64
40532 @itemx int128
40533 Signed integer types holding the specified number of bits.
40534
40535 @item uint8
40536 @itemx uint16
40537 @itemx uint32
40538 @itemx uint64
40539 @itemx uint128
40540 Unsigned integer types holding the specified number of bits.
40541
40542 @item code_ptr
40543 @itemx data_ptr
40544 Pointers to unspecified code and data. The program counter and
40545 any dedicated return address register may be marked as code
40546 pointers; printing a code pointer converts it into a symbolic
40547 address. The stack pointer and any dedicated address registers
40548 may be marked as data pointers.
40549
40550 @item ieee_single
40551 Single precision IEEE floating point.
40552
40553 @item ieee_double
40554 Double precision IEEE floating point.
40555
40556 @item arm_fpa_ext
40557 The 12-byte extended precision format used by ARM FPA registers.
40558
40559 @item i387_ext
40560 The 10-byte extended precision format used by x87 registers.
40561
40562 @item i386_eflags
40563 32bit @sc{eflags} register used by x86.
40564
40565 @item i386_mxcsr
40566 32bit @sc{mxcsr} register used by x86.
40567
40568 @end table
40569
40570 @node Standard Target Features
40571 @section Standard Target Features
40572 @cindex target descriptions, standard features
40573
40574 A target description must contain either no registers or all the
40575 target's registers. If the description contains no registers, then
40576 @value{GDBN} will assume a default register layout, selected based on
40577 the architecture. If the description contains any registers, the
40578 default layout will not be used; the standard registers must be
40579 described in the target description, in such a way that @value{GDBN}
40580 can recognize them.
40581
40582 This is accomplished by giving specific names to feature elements
40583 which contain standard registers. @value{GDBN} will look for features
40584 with those names and verify that they contain the expected registers;
40585 if any known feature is missing required registers, or if any required
40586 feature is missing, @value{GDBN} will reject the target
40587 description. You can add additional registers to any of the
40588 standard features --- @value{GDBN} will display them just as if
40589 they were added to an unrecognized feature.
40590
40591 This section lists the known features and their expected contents.
40592 Sample XML documents for these features are included in the
40593 @value{GDBN} source tree, in the directory @file{gdb/features}.
40594
40595 Names recognized by @value{GDBN} should include the name of the
40596 company or organization which selected the name, and the overall
40597 architecture to which the feature applies; so e.g.@: the feature
40598 containing ARM core registers is named @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.core}.
40599
40600 The names of registers are not case sensitive for the purpose
40601 of recognizing standard features, but @value{GDBN} will only display
40602 registers using the capitalization used in the description.
40603
40604 @menu
40605 * AArch64 Features::
40606 * ARM Features::
40607 * i386 Features::
40608 * MicroBlaze Features::
40609 * MIPS Features::
40610 * M68K Features::
40611 * Nios II Features::
40612 * PowerPC Features::
40613 * S/390 and System z Features::
40614 * TIC6x Features::
40615 @end menu
40616
40617
40618 @node AArch64 Features
40619 @subsection AArch64 Features
40620 @cindex target descriptions, AArch64 features
40621
40622 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.aarch64.core} feature is required for AArch64
40623 targets. It should contain registers @samp{x0} through @samp{x30},
40624 @samp{sp}, @samp{pc}, and @samp{cpsr}.
40625
40626 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.aarch64.fpu} feature is optional. If present,
40627 it should contain registers @samp{v0} through @samp{v31}, @samp{fpsr},
40628 and @samp{fpcr}.
40629
40630 @node ARM Features
40631 @subsection ARM Features
40632 @cindex target descriptions, ARM features
40633
40634 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.core} feature is required for non-M-profile
40635 ARM targets.
40636 It should contain registers @samp{r0} through @samp{r13}, @samp{sp},
40637 @samp{lr}, @samp{pc}, and @samp{cpsr}.
40638
40639 For M-profile targets (e.g. Cortex-M3), the @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.core}
40640 feature is replaced by @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.m-profile}. It should contain
40641 registers @samp{r0} through @samp{r13}, @samp{sp}, @samp{lr}, @samp{pc},
40642 and @samp{xpsr}.
40643
40644 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.fpa} feature is optional. If present, it
40645 should contain registers @samp{f0} through @samp{f7} and @samp{fps}.
40646
40647 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.xscale.iwmmxt} feature is optional. If present,
40648 it should contain at least registers @samp{wR0} through @samp{wR15} and
40649 @samp{wCGR0} through @samp{wCGR3}. The @samp{wCID}, @samp{wCon},
40650 @samp{wCSSF}, and @samp{wCASF} registers are optional.
40651
40652 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.vfp} feature is optional. If present, it
40653 should contain at least registers @samp{d0} through @samp{d15}. If
40654 they are present, @samp{d16} through @samp{d31} should also be included.
40655 @value{GDBN} will synthesize the single-precision registers from
40656 halves of the double-precision registers.
40657
40658 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.neon} feature is optional. It does not
40659 need to contain registers; it instructs @value{GDBN} to display the
40660 VFP double-precision registers as vectors and to synthesize the
40661 quad-precision registers from pairs of double-precision registers.
40662 If this feature is present, @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.vfp} must also
40663 be present and include 32 double-precision registers.
40664
40665 @node i386 Features
40666 @subsection i386 Features
40667 @cindex target descriptions, i386 features
40668
40669 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.core} feature is required for i386/amd64
40670 targets. It should describe the following registers:
40671
40672 @itemize @minus
40673 @item
40674 @samp{eax} through @samp{edi} plus @samp{eip} for i386
40675 @item
40676 @samp{rax} through @samp{r15} plus @samp{rip} for amd64
40677 @item
40678 @samp{eflags}, @samp{cs}, @samp{ss}, @samp{ds}, @samp{es},
40679 @samp{fs}, @samp{gs}
40680 @item
40681 @samp{st0} through @samp{st7}
40682 @item
40683 @samp{fctrl}, @samp{fstat}, @samp{ftag}, @samp{fiseg}, @samp{fioff},
40684 @samp{foseg}, @samp{fooff} and @samp{fop}
40685 @end itemize
40686
40687 The register sets may be different, depending on the target.
40688
40689 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.sse} feature is optional. It should
40690 describe registers:
40691
40692 @itemize @minus
40693 @item
40694 @samp{xmm0} through @samp{xmm7} for i386
40695 @item
40696 @samp{xmm0} through @samp{xmm15} for amd64
40697 @item
40698 @samp{mxcsr}
40699 @end itemize
40700
40701 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.avx} feature is optional and requires the
40702 @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.sse} feature. It should
40703 describe the upper 128 bits of @sc{ymm} registers:
40704
40705 @itemize @minus
40706 @item
40707 @samp{ymm0h} through @samp{ymm7h} for i386
40708 @item
40709 @samp{ymm0h} through @samp{ymm15h} for amd64
40710 @end itemize
40711
40712 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.mpx} is an optional feature representing Intel
40713 Memory Protection Extension (MPX). It should describe the following registers:
40714
40715 @itemize @minus
40716 @item
40717 @samp{bnd0raw} through @samp{bnd3raw} for i386 and amd64.
40718 @item
40719 @samp{bndcfgu} and @samp{bndstatus} for i386 and amd64.
40720 @end itemize
40721
40722 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.linux} feature is optional. It should
40723 describe a single register, @samp{orig_eax}.
40724
40725 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.avx512} feature is optional and requires the
40726 @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.avx} feature. It should
40727 describe additional @sc{xmm} registers:
40728
40729 @itemize @minus
40730 @item
40731 @samp{xmm16h} through @samp{xmm31h}, only valid for amd64.
40732 @end itemize
40733
40734 It should describe the upper 128 bits of additional @sc{ymm} registers:
40735
40736 @itemize @minus
40737 @item
40738 @samp{ymm16h} through @samp{ymm31h}, only valid for amd64.
40739 @end itemize
40740
40741 It should
40742 describe the upper 256 bits of @sc{zmm} registers:
40743
40744 @itemize @minus
40745 @item
40746 @samp{zmm0h} through @samp{zmm7h} for i386.
40747 @item
40748 @samp{zmm0h} through @samp{zmm15h} for amd64.
40749 @end itemize
40750
40751 It should
40752 describe the additional @sc{zmm} registers:
40753
40754 @itemize @minus
40755 @item
40756 @samp{zmm16h} through @samp{zmm31h}, only valid for amd64.
40757 @end itemize
40758
40759 @node MicroBlaze Features
40760 @subsection MicroBlaze Features
40761 @cindex target descriptions, MicroBlaze features
40762
40763 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.microblaze.core} feature is required for MicroBlaze
40764 targets. It should contain registers @samp{r0} through @samp{r31},
40765 @samp{rpc}, @samp{rmsr}, @samp{rear}, @samp{resr}, @samp{rfsr}, @samp{rbtr},
40766 @samp{rpvr}, @samp{rpvr1} through @samp{rpvr11}, @samp{redr}, @samp{rpid},
40767 @samp{rzpr}, @samp{rtlbx}, @samp{rtlbsx}, @samp{rtlblo}, and @samp{rtlbhi}.
40768
40769 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.microblaze.stack-protect} feature is optional.
40770 If present, it should contain registers @samp{rshr} and @samp{rslr}
40771
40772 @node MIPS Features
40773 @subsection @acronym{MIPS} Features
40774 @cindex target descriptions, @acronym{MIPS} features
40775
40776 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.mips.cpu} feature is required for @acronym{MIPS} targets.
40777 It should contain registers @samp{r0} through @samp{r31}, @samp{lo},
40778 @samp{hi}, and @samp{pc}. They may be 32-bit or 64-bit depending
40779 on the target.
40780
40781 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.mips.cp0} feature is also required. It should
40782 contain at least the @samp{status}, @samp{badvaddr}, and @samp{cause}
40783 registers. They may be 32-bit or 64-bit depending on the target.
40784
40785 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.mips.fpu} feature is currently required, though
40786 it may be optional in a future version of @value{GDBN}. It should
40787 contain registers @samp{f0} through @samp{f31}, @samp{fcsr}, and
40788 @samp{fir}. They may be 32-bit or 64-bit depending on the target.
40789
40790 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.mips.dsp} feature is optional. It should
40791 contain registers @samp{hi1} through @samp{hi3}, @samp{lo1} through
40792 @samp{lo3}, and @samp{dspctl}. The @samp{dspctl} register should
40793 be 32-bit and the rest may be 32-bit or 64-bit depending on the target.
40794
40795 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.mips.linux} feature is optional. It should
40796 contain a single register, @samp{restart}, which is used by the
40797 Linux kernel to control restartable syscalls.
40798
40799 @node M68K Features
40800 @subsection M68K Features
40801 @cindex target descriptions, M68K features
40802
40803 @table @code
40804 @item @samp{org.gnu.gdb.m68k.core}
40805 @itemx @samp{org.gnu.gdb.coldfire.core}
40806 @itemx @samp{org.gnu.gdb.fido.core}
40807 One of those features must be always present.
40808 The feature that is present determines which flavor of m68k is
40809 used. The feature that is present should contain registers
40810 @samp{d0} through @samp{d7}, @samp{a0} through @samp{a5}, @samp{fp},
40811 @samp{sp}, @samp{ps} and @samp{pc}.
40812
40813 @item @samp{org.gnu.gdb.coldfire.fp}
40814 This feature is optional. If present, it should contain registers
40815 @samp{fp0} through @samp{fp7}, @samp{fpcontrol}, @samp{fpstatus} and
40816 @samp{fpiaddr}.
40817 @end table
40818
40819 @node Nios II Features
40820 @subsection Nios II Features
40821 @cindex target descriptions, Nios II features
40822
40823 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.nios2.cpu} feature is required for Nios II
40824 targets. It should contain the 32 core registers (@samp{zero},
40825 @samp{at}, @samp{r2} through @samp{r23}, @samp{et} through @samp{ra}),
40826 @samp{pc}, and the 16 control registers (@samp{status} through
40827 @samp{mpuacc}).
40828
40829 @node PowerPC Features
40830 @subsection PowerPC Features
40831 @cindex target descriptions, PowerPC features
40832
40833 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.core} feature is required for PowerPC
40834 targets. It should contain registers @samp{r0} through @samp{r31},
40835 @samp{pc}, @samp{msr}, @samp{cr}, @samp{lr}, @samp{ctr}, and
40836 @samp{xer}. They may be 32-bit or 64-bit depending on the target.
40837
40838 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.fpu} feature is optional. It should
40839 contain registers @samp{f0} through @samp{f31} and @samp{fpscr}.
40840
40841 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.altivec} feature is optional. It should
40842 contain registers @samp{vr0} through @samp{vr31}, @samp{vscr},
40843 and @samp{vrsave}.
40844
40845 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.vsx} feature is optional. It should
40846 contain registers @samp{vs0h} through @samp{vs31h}. @value{GDBN}
40847 will combine these registers with the floating point registers
40848 (@samp{f0} through @samp{f31}) and the altivec registers (@samp{vr0}
40849 through @samp{vr31}) to present the 128-bit wide registers @samp{vs0}
40850 through @samp{vs63}, the set of vector registers for POWER7.
40851
40852 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.spe} feature is optional. It should
40853 contain registers @samp{ev0h} through @samp{ev31h}, @samp{acc}, and
40854 @samp{spefscr}. SPE targets should provide 32-bit registers in
40855 @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.core} and provide the upper halves in
40856 @samp{ev0h} through @samp{ev31h}. @value{GDBN} will combine
40857 these to present registers @samp{ev0} through @samp{ev31} to the
40858 user.
40859
40860 @node S/390 and System z Features
40861 @subsection S/390 and System z Features
40862 @cindex target descriptions, S/390 features
40863 @cindex target descriptions, System z features
40864
40865 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.s390.core} feature is required for S/390 and
40866 System z targets. It should contain the PSW and the 16 general
40867 registers. In particular, System z targets should provide the 64-bit
40868 registers @samp{pswm}, @samp{pswa}, and @samp{r0} through @samp{r15}.
40869 S/390 targets should provide the 32-bit versions of these registers.
40870 A System z target that runs in 31-bit addressing mode should provide
40871 32-bit versions of @samp{pswm} and @samp{pswa}, as well as the general
40872 register's upper halves @samp{r0h} through @samp{r15h}, and their
40873 lower halves @samp{r0l} through @samp{r15l}.
40874
40875 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.s390.fpr} feature is required. It should
40876 contain the 64-bit registers @samp{f0} through @samp{f15}, and
40877 @samp{fpc}.
40878
40879 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.s390.acr} feature is required. It should
40880 contain the 32-bit registers @samp{acr0} through @samp{acr15}.
40881
40882 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.s390.linux} feature is optional. It should
40883 contain the register @samp{orig_r2}, which is 64-bit wide on System z
40884 targets and 32-bit otherwise. In addition, the feature may contain
40885 the @samp{last_break} register, whose width depends on the addressing
40886 mode, as well as the @samp{system_call} register, which is always
40887 32-bit wide.
40888
40889 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.s390.tdb} feature is optional. It should
40890 contain the 64-bit registers @samp{tdb0}, @samp{tac}, @samp{tct},
40891 @samp{atia}, and @samp{tr0} through @samp{tr15}.
40892
40893 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.s390.vx} feature is optional. It should contain
40894 64-bit wide registers @samp{v0l} through @samp{v15l}, which will be
40895 combined by @value{GDBN} with the floating point registers @samp{f0}
40896 through @samp{f15} to present the 128-bit wide vector registers
40897 @samp{v0} through @samp{v15}. In addition, this feature should
40898 contain the 128-bit wide vector registers @samp{v16} through
40899 @samp{v31}.
40900
40901 @node TIC6x Features
40902 @subsection TMS320C6x Features
40903 @cindex target descriptions, TIC6x features
40904 @cindex target descriptions, TMS320C6x features
40905 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.tic6x.core} feature is required for TMS320C6x
40906 targets. It should contain registers @samp{A0} through @samp{A15},
40907 registers @samp{B0} through @samp{B15}, @samp{CSR} and @samp{PC}.
40908
40909 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.tic6x.gp} feature is optional. It should
40910 contain registers @samp{A16} through @samp{A31} and @samp{B16}
40911 through @samp{B31}.
40912
40913 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.tic6x.c6xp} feature is optional. It should
40914 contain registers @samp{TSR}, @samp{ILC} and @samp{RILC}.
40915
40916 @node Operating System Information
40917 @appendix Operating System Information
40918 @cindex operating system information
40919
40920 @menu
40921 * Process list::
40922 @end menu
40923
40924 Users of @value{GDBN} often wish to obtain information about the state of
40925 the operating system running on the target---for example the list of
40926 processes, or the list of open files. This section describes the
40927 mechanism that makes it possible. This mechanism is similar to the
40928 target features mechanism (@pxref{Target Descriptions}), but focuses
40929 on a different aspect of target.
40930
40931 Operating system information is retrived from the target via the
40932 remote protocol, using @samp{qXfer} requests (@pxref{qXfer osdata
40933 read}). The object name in the request should be @samp{osdata}, and
40934 the @var{annex} identifies the data to be fetched.
40935
40936 @node Process list
40937 @appendixsection Process list
40938 @cindex operating system information, process list
40939
40940 When requesting the process list, the @var{annex} field in the
40941 @samp{qXfer} request should be @samp{processes}. The returned data is
40942 an XML document. The formal syntax of this document is defined in
40943 @file{gdb/features/osdata.dtd}.
40944
40945 An example document is:
40946
40947 @smallexample
40948 <?xml version="1.0"?>
40949 <!DOCTYPE target SYSTEM "osdata.dtd">
40950 <osdata type="processes">
40951 <item>
40952 <column name="pid">1</column>
40953 <column name="user">root</column>
40954 <column name="command">/sbin/init</column>
40955 <column name="cores">1,2,3</column>
40956 </item>
40957 </osdata>
40958 @end smallexample
40959
40960 Each item should include a column whose name is @samp{pid}. The value
40961 of that column should identify the process on the target. The
40962 @samp{user} and @samp{command} columns are optional, and will be
40963 displayed by @value{GDBN}. The @samp{cores} column, if present,
40964 should contain a comma-separated list of cores that this process
40965 is running on. Target may provide additional columns,
40966 which @value{GDBN} currently ignores.
40967
40968 @node Trace File Format
40969 @appendix Trace File Format
40970 @cindex trace file format
40971
40972 The trace file comes in three parts: a header, a textual description
40973 section, and a trace frame section with binary data.
40974
40975 The header has the form @code{\x7fTRACE0\n}. The first byte is
40976 @code{0x7f} so as to indicate that the file contains binary data,
40977 while the @code{0} is a version number that may have different values
40978 in the future.
40979
40980 The description section consists of multiple lines of @sc{ascii} text
40981 separated by newline characters (@code{0xa}). The lines may include a
40982 variety of optional descriptive or context-setting information, such
40983 as tracepoint definitions or register set size. @value{GDBN} will
40984 ignore any line that it does not recognize. An empty line marks the end
40985 of this section.
40986
40987 @c FIXME add some specific types of data
40988
40989 The trace frame section consists of a number of consecutive frames.
40990 Each frame begins with a two-byte tracepoint number, followed by a
40991 four-byte size giving the amount of data in the frame. The data in
40992 the frame consists of a number of blocks, each introduced by a
40993 character indicating its type (at least register, memory, and trace
40994 state variable). The data in this section is raw binary, not a
40995 hexadecimal or other encoding; its endianness matches the target's
40996 endianness.
40997
40998 @c FIXME bi-arch may require endianness/arch info in description section
40999
41000 @table @code
41001 @item R @var{bytes}
41002 Register block. The number and ordering of bytes matches that of a
41003 @code{g} packet in the remote protocol. Note that these are the
41004 actual bytes, in target order and @value{GDBN} register order, not a
41005 hexadecimal encoding.
41006
41007 @item M @var{address} @var{length} @var{bytes}...
41008 Memory block. This is a contiguous block of memory, at the 8-byte
41009 address @var{address}, with a 2-byte length @var{length}, followed by
41010 @var{length} bytes.
41011
41012 @item V @var{number} @var{value}
41013 Trace state variable block. This records the 8-byte signed value
41014 @var{value} of trace state variable numbered @var{number}.
41015
41016 @end table
41017
41018 Future enhancements of the trace file format may include additional types
41019 of blocks.
41020
41021 @node Index Section Format
41022 @appendix @code{.gdb_index} section format
41023 @cindex .gdb_index section format
41024 @cindex index section format
41025
41026 This section documents the index section that is created by @code{save
41027 gdb-index} (@pxref{Index Files}). The index section is
41028 DWARF-specific; some knowledge of DWARF is assumed in this
41029 description.
41030
41031 The mapped index file format is designed to be directly
41032 @code{mmap}able on any architecture. In most cases, a datum is
41033 represented using a little-endian 32-bit integer value, called an
41034 @code{offset_type}. Big endian machines must byte-swap the values
41035 before using them. Exceptions to this rule are noted. The data is
41036 laid out such that alignment is always respected.
41037
41038 A mapped index consists of several areas, laid out in order.
41039
41040 @enumerate
41041 @item
41042 The file header. This is a sequence of values, of @code{offset_type}
41043 unless otherwise noted:
41044
41045 @enumerate
41046 @item
41047 The version number, currently 8. Versions 1, 2 and 3 are obsolete.
41048 Version 4 uses a different hashing function from versions 5 and 6.
41049 Version 6 includes symbols for inlined functions, whereas versions 4
41050 and 5 do not. Version 7 adds attributes to the CU indices in the
41051 symbol table. Version 8 specifies that symbols from DWARF type units
41052 (@samp{DW_TAG_type_unit}) refer to the type unit's symbol table and not the
41053 compilation unit (@samp{DW_TAG_comp_unit}) using the type.
41054
41055 @value{GDBN} will only read version 4, 5, or 6 indices
41056 by specifying @code{set use-deprecated-index-sections on}.
41057 GDB has a workaround for potentially broken version 7 indices so it is
41058 currently not flagged as deprecated.
41059
41060 @item
41061 The offset, from the start of the file, of the CU list.
41062
41063 @item
41064 The offset, from the start of the file, of the types CU list. Note
41065 that this area can be empty, in which case this offset will be equal
41066 to the next offset.
41067
41068 @item
41069 The offset, from the start of the file, of the address area.
41070
41071 @item
41072 The offset, from the start of the file, of the symbol table.
41073
41074 @item
41075 The offset, from the start of the file, of the constant pool.
41076 @end enumerate
41077
41078 @item
41079 The CU list. This is a sequence of pairs of 64-bit little-endian
41080 values, sorted by the CU offset. The first element in each pair is
41081 the offset of a CU in the @code{.debug_info} section. The second
41082 element in each pair is the length of that CU. References to a CU
41083 elsewhere in the map are done using a CU index, which is just the
41084 0-based index into this table. Note that if there are type CUs, then
41085 conceptually CUs and type CUs form a single list for the purposes of
41086 CU indices.
41087
41088 @item
41089 The types CU list. This is a sequence of triplets of 64-bit
41090 little-endian values. In a triplet, the first value is the CU offset,
41091 the second value is the type offset in the CU, and the third value is
41092 the type signature. The types CU list is not sorted.
41093
41094 @item
41095 The address area. The address area consists of a sequence of address
41096 entries. Each address entry has three elements:
41097
41098 @enumerate
41099 @item
41100 The low address. This is a 64-bit little-endian value.
41101
41102 @item
41103 The high address. This is a 64-bit little-endian value. Like
41104 @code{DW_AT_high_pc}, the value is one byte beyond the end.
41105
41106 @item
41107 The CU index. This is an @code{offset_type} value.
41108 @end enumerate
41109
41110 @item
41111 The symbol table. This is an open-addressed hash table. The size of
41112 the hash table is always a power of 2.
41113
41114 Each slot in the hash table consists of a pair of @code{offset_type}
41115 values. The first value is the offset of the symbol's name in the
41116 constant pool. The second value is the offset of the CU vector in the
41117 constant pool.
41118
41119 If both values are 0, then this slot in the hash table is empty. This
41120 is ok because while 0 is a valid constant pool index, it cannot be a
41121 valid index for both a string and a CU vector.
41122
41123 The hash value for a table entry is computed by applying an
41124 iterative hash function to the symbol's name. Starting with an
41125 initial value of @code{r = 0}, each (unsigned) character @samp{c} in
41126 the string is incorporated into the hash using the formula depending on the
41127 index version:
41128
41129 @table @asis
41130 @item Version 4
41131 The formula is @code{r = r * 67 + c - 113}.
41132
41133 @item Versions 5 to 7
41134 The formula is @code{r = r * 67 + tolower (c) - 113}.
41135 @end table
41136
41137 The terminating @samp{\0} is not incorporated into the hash.
41138
41139 The step size used in the hash table is computed via
41140 @code{((hash * 17) & (size - 1)) | 1}, where @samp{hash} is the hash
41141 value, and @samp{size} is the size of the hash table. The step size
41142 is used to find the next candidate slot when handling a hash
41143 collision.
41144
41145 The names of C@t{++} symbols in the hash table are canonicalized. We
41146 don't currently have a simple description of the canonicalization
41147 algorithm; if you intend to create new index sections, you must read
41148 the code.
41149
41150 @item
41151 The constant pool. This is simply a bunch of bytes. It is organized
41152 so that alignment is correct: CU vectors are stored first, followed by
41153 strings.
41154
41155 A CU vector in the constant pool is a sequence of @code{offset_type}
41156 values. The first value is the number of CU indices in the vector.
41157 Each subsequent value is the index and symbol attributes of a CU in
41158 the CU list. This element in the hash table is used to indicate which
41159 CUs define the symbol and how the symbol is used.
41160 See below for the format of each CU index+attributes entry.
41161
41162 A string in the constant pool is zero-terminated.
41163 @end enumerate
41164
41165 Attributes were added to CU index values in @code{.gdb_index} version 7.
41166 If a symbol has multiple uses within a CU then there is one
41167 CU index+attributes value for each use.
41168
41169 The format of each CU index+attributes entry is as follows
41170 (bit 0 = LSB):
41171
41172 @table @asis
41173
41174 @item Bits 0-23
41175 This is the index of the CU in the CU list.
41176 @item Bits 24-27
41177 These bits are reserved for future purposes and must be zero.
41178 @item Bits 28-30
41179 The kind of the symbol in the CU.
41180
41181 @table @asis
41182 @item 0
41183 This value is reserved and should not be used.
41184 By reserving zero the full @code{offset_type} value is backwards compatible
41185 with previous versions of the index.
41186 @item 1
41187 The symbol is a type.
41188 @item 2
41189 The symbol is a variable or an enum value.
41190 @item 3
41191 The symbol is a function.
41192 @item 4
41193 Any other kind of symbol.
41194 @item 5,6,7
41195 These values are reserved.
41196 @end table
41197
41198 @item Bit 31
41199 This bit is zero if the value is global and one if it is static.
41200
41201 The determination of whether a symbol is global or static is complicated.
41202 The authorative reference is the file @file{dwarf2read.c} in
41203 @value{GDBN} sources.
41204
41205 @end table
41206
41207 This pseudo-code describes the computation of a symbol's kind and
41208 global/static attributes in the index.
41209
41210 @smallexample
41211 is_external = get_attribute (die, DW_AT_external);
41212 language = get_attribute (cu_die, DW_AT_language);
41213 switch (die->tag)
41214 @{
41215 case DW_TAG_typedef:
41216 case DW_TAG_base_type:
41217 case DW_TAG_subrange_type:
41218 kind = TYPE;
41219 is_static = 1;
41220 break;
41221 case DW_TAG_enumerator:
41222 kind = VARIABLE;
41223 is_static = (language != CPLUS && language != JAVA);
41224 break;
41225 case DW_TAG_subprogram:
41226 kind = FUNCTION;
41227 is_static = ! (is_external || language == ADA);
41228 break;
41229 case DW_TAG_constant:
41230 kind = VARIABLE;
41231 is_static = ! is_external;
41232 break;
41233 case DW_TAG_variable:
41234 kind = VARIABLE;
41235 is_static = ! is_external;
41236 break;
41237 case DW_TAG_namespace:
41238 kind = TYPE;
41239 is_static = 0;
41240 break;
41241 case DW_TAG_class_type:
41242 case DW_TAG_interface_type:
41243 case DW_TAG_structure_type:
41244 case DW_TAG_union_type:
41245 case DW_TAG_enumeration_type:
41246 kind = TYPE;
41247 is_static = (language != CPLUS && language != JAVA);
41248 break;
41249 default:
41250 assert (0);
41251 @}
41252 @end smallexample
41253
41254 @node Man Pages
41255 @appendix Manual pages
41256 @cindex Man pages
41257
41258 @menu
41259 * gdb man:: The GNU Debugger man page
41260 * gdbserver man:: Remote Server for the GNU Debugger man page
41261 * gcore man:: Generate a core file of a running program
41262 * gdbinit man:: gdbinit scripts
41263 @end menu
41264
41265 @node gdb man
41266 @heading gdb man
41267
41268 @c man title gdb The GNU Debugger
41269
41270 @c man begin SYNOPSIS gdb
41271 gdb [@option{-help}] [@option{-nh}] [@option{-nx}] [@option{-q}]
41272 [@option{-batch}] [@option{-cd=}@var{dir}] [@option{-f}]
41273 [@option{-b}@w{ }@var{bps}]
41274 [@option{-tty=}@var{dev}] [@option{-s} @var{symfile}]
41275 [@option{-e}@w{ }@var{prog}] [@option{-se}@w{ }@var{prog}]
41276 [@option{-c}@w{ }@var{core}] [@option{-p}@w{ }@var{procID}]
41277 [@option{-x}@w{ }@var{cmds}] [@option{-d}@w{ }@var{dir}]
41278 [@var{prog}|@var{prog} @var{procID}|@var{prog} @var{core}]
41279 @c man end
41280
41281 @c man begin DESCRIPTION gdb
41282 The purpose of a debugger such as @value{GDBN} is to allow you to see what is
41283 going on ``inside'' another program while it executes -- or what another
41284 program was doing at the moment it crashed.
41285
41286 @value{GDBN} can do four main kinds of things (plus other things in support of
41287 these) to help you catch bugs in the act:
41288
41289 @itemize @bullet
41290 @item
41291 Start your program, specifying anything that might affect its behavior.
41292
41293 @item
41294 Make your program stop on specified conditions.
41295
41296 @item
41297 Examine what has happened, when your program has stopped.
41298
41299 @item
41300 Change things in your program, so you can experiment with correcting the
41301 effects of one bug and go on to learn about another.
41302 @end itemize
41303
41304 You can use @value{GDBN} to debug programs written in C, C@t{++}, Fortran and
41305 Modula-2.
41306
41307 @value{GDBN} is invoked with the shell command @code{gdb}. Once started, it reads
41308 commands from the terminal until you tell it to exit with the @value{GDBN}
41309 command @code{quit}. You can get online help from @value{GDBN} itself
41310 by using the command @code{help}.
41311
41312 You can run @code{gdb} with no arguments or options; but the most
41313 usual way to start @value{GDBN} is with one argument or two, specifying an
41314 executable program as the argument:
41315
41316 @smallexample
41317 gdb program
41318 @end smallexample
41319
41320 You can also start with both an executable program and a core file specified:
41321
41322 @smallexample
41323 gdb program core
41324 @end smallexample
41325
41326 You can, instead, specify a process ID as a second argument, if you want
41327 to debug a running process:
41328
41329 @smallexample
41330 gdb program 1234
41331 gdb -p 1234
41332 @end smallexample
41333
41334 @noindent
41335 would attach @value{GDBN} to process @code{1234} (unless you also have a file
41336 named @file{1234}; @value{GDBN} does check for a core file first).
41337 With option @option{-p} you can omit the @var{program} filename.
41338
41339 Here are some of the most frequently needed @value{GDBN} commands:
41340
41341 @c pod2man highlights the right hand side of the @item lines.
41342 @table @env
41343 @item break [@var{file}:]@var{functiop}
41344 Set a breakpoint at @var{function} (in @var{file}).
41345
41346 @item run [@var{arglist}]
41347 Start your program (with @var{arglist}, if specified).
41348
41349 @item bt
41350 Backtrace: display the program stack.
41351
41352 @item print @var{expr}
41353 Display the value of an expression.
41354
41355 @item c
41356 Continue running your program (after stopping, e.g. at a breakpoint).
41357
41358 @item next
41359 Execute next program line (after stopping); step @emph{over} any
41360 function calls in the line.
41361
41362 @item edit [@var{file}:]@var{function}
41363 look at the program line where it is presently stopped.
41364
41365 @item list [@var{file}:]@var{function}
41366 type the text of the program in the vicinity of where it is presently stopped.
41367
41368 @item step
41369 Execute next program line (after stopping); step @emph{into} any
41370 function calls in the line.
41371
41372 @item help [@var{name}]
41373 Show information about @value{GDBN} command @var{name}, or general information
41374 about using @value{GDBN}.
41375
41376 @item quit
41377 Exit from @value{GDBN}.
41378 @end table
41379
41380 @ifset man
41381 For full details on @value{GDBN},
41382 see @cite{Using GDB: A Guide to the GNU Source-Level Debugger},
41383 by Richard M. Stallman and Roland H. Pesch. The same text is available online
41384 as the @code{gdb} entry in the @code{info} program.
41385 @end ifset
41386 @c man end
41387
41388 @c man begin OPTIONS gdb
41389 Any arguments other than options specify an executable
41390 file and core file (or process ID); that is, the first argument
41391 encountered with no
41392 associated option flag is equivalent to a @option{-se} option, and the second,
41393 if any, is equivalent to a @option{-c} option if it's the name of a file.
41394 Many options have
41395 both long and short forms; both are shown here. The long forms are also
41396 recognized if you truncate them, so long as enough of the option is
41397 present to be unambiguous. (If you prefer, you can flag option
41398 arguments with @option{+} rather than @option{-}, though we illustrate the
41399 more usual convention.)
41400
41401 All the options and command line arguments you give are processed
41402 in sequential order. The order makes a difference when the @option{-x}
41403 option is used.
41404
41405 @table @env
41406 @item -help
41407 @itemx -h
41408 List all options, with brief explanations.
41409
41410 @item -symbols=@var{file}
41411 @itemx -s @var{file}
41412 Read symbol table from file @var{file}.
41413
41414 @item -write
41415 Enable writing into executable and core files.
41416
41417 @item -exec=@var{file}
41418 @itemx -e @var{file}
41419 Use file @var{file} as the executable file to execute when
41420 appropriate, and for examining pure data in conjunction with a core
41421 dump.
41422
41423 @item -se=@var{file}
41424 Read symbol table from file @var{file} and use it as the executable
41425 file.
41426
41427 @item -core=@var{file}
41428 @itemx -c @var{file}
41429 Use file @var{file} as a core dump to examine.
41430
41431 @item -command=@var{file}
41432 @itemx -x @var{file}
41433 Execute @value{GDBN} commands from file @var{file}.
41434
41435 @item -ex @var{command}
41436 Execute given @value{GDBN} @var{command}.
41437
41438 @item -directory=@var{directory}
41439 @itemx -d @var{directory}
41440 Add @var{directory} to the path to search for source files.
41441
41442 @item -nh
41443 Do not execute commands from @file{~/.gdbinit}.
41444
41445 @item -nx
41446 @itemx -n
41447 Do not execute commands from any @file{.gdbinit} initialization files.
41448
41449 @item -quiet
41450 @itemx -q
41451 ``Quiet''. Do not print the introductory and copyright messages. These
41452 messages are also suppressed in batch mode.
41453
41454 @item -batch
41455 Run in batch mode. Exit with status @code{0} after processing all the command
41456 files specified with @option{-x} (and @file{.gdbinit}, if not inhibited).
41457 Exit with nonzero status if an error occurs in executing the @value{GDBN}
41458 commands in the command files.
41459
41460 Batch mode may be useful for running @value{GDBN} as a filter, for example to
41461 download and run a program on another computer; in order to make this
41462 more useful, the message
41463
41464 @smallexample
41465 Program exited normally.
41466 @end smallexample
41467
41468 @noindent
41469 (which is ordinarily issued whenever a program running under @value{GDBN} control
41470 terminates) is not issued when running in batch mode.
41471
41472 @item -cd=@var{directory}
41473 Run @value{GDBN} using @var{directory} as its working directory,
41474 instead of the current directory.
41475
41476 @item -fullname
41477 @itemx -f
41478 Emacs sets this option when it runs @value{GDBN} as a subprocess. It tells
41479 @value{GDBN} to output the full file name and line number in a standard,
41480 recognizable fashion each time a stack frame is displayed (which
41481 includes each time the program stops). This recognizable format looks
41482 like two @samp{\032} characters, followed by the file name, line number
41483 and character position separated by colons, and a newline. The
41484 Emacs-to-@value{GDBN} interface program uses the two @samp{\032}
41485 characters as a signal to display the source code for the frame.
41486
41487 @item -b @var{bps}
41488 Set the line speed (baud rate or bits per second) of any serial
41489 interface used by @value{GDBN} for remote debugging.
41490
41491 @item -tty=@var{device}
41492 Run using @var{device} for your program's standard input and output.
41493 @end table
41494 @c man end
41495
41496 @c man begin SEEALSO gdb
41497 @ifset man
41498 The full documentation for @value{GDBN} is maintained as a Texinfo manual.
41499 If the @code{info} and @code{gdb} programs and @value{GDBN}'s Texinfo
41500 documentation are properly installed at your site, the command
41501
41502 @smallexample
41503 info gdb
41504 @end smallexample
41505
41506 @noindent
41507 should give you access to the complete manual.
41508
41509 @cite{Using GDB: A Guide to the GNU Source-Level Debugger},
41510 Richard M. Stallman and Roland H. Pesch, July 1991.
41511 @end ifset
41512 @c man end
41513
41514 @node gdbserver man
41515 @heading gdbserver man
41516
41517 @c man title gdbserver Remote Server for the GNU Debugger
41518 @format
41519 @c man begin SYNOPSIS gdbserver
41520 gdbserver @var{comm} @var{prog} [@var{args}@dots{}]
41521
41522 gdbserver --attach @var{comm} @var{pid}
41523
41524 gdbserver --multi @var{comm}
41525 @c man end
41526 @end format
41527
41528 @c man begin DESCRIPTION gdbserver
41529 @command{gdbserver} is a program that allows you to run @value{GDBN} on a different machine
41530 than the one which is running the program being debugged.
41531
41532 @ifclear man
41533 @subheading Usage (server (target) side)
41534 @end ifclear
41535 @ifset man
41536 Usage (server (target) side):
41537 @end ifset
41538
41539 First, you need to have a copy of the program you want to debug put onto
41540 the target system. The program can be stripped to save space if needed, as
41541 @command{gdbserver} doesn't care about symbols. All symbol handling is taken care of by
41542 the @value{GDBN} running on the host system.
41543
41544 To use the server, you log on to the target system, and run the @command{gdbserver}
41545 program. You must tell it (a) how to communicate with @value{GDBN}, (b) the name of
41546 your program, and (c) its arguments. The general syntax is:
41547
41548 @smallexample
41549 target> gdbserver @var{comm} @var{program} [@var{args} ...]
41550 @end smallexample
41551
41552 For example, using a serial port, you might say:
41553
41554 @smallexample
41555 @ifset man
41556 @c @file would wrap it as F</dev/com1>.
41557 target> gdbserver /dev/com1 emacs foo.txt
41558 @end ifset
41559 @ifclear man
41560 target> gdbserver @file{/dev/com1} emacs foo.txt
41561 @end ifclear
41562 @end smallexample
41563
41564 This tells @command{gdbserver} to debug emacs with an argument of foo.txt, and
41565 to communicate with @value{GDBN} via @file{/dev/com1}. @command{gdbserver} now
41566 waits patiently for the host @value{GDBN} to communicate with it.
41567
41568 To use a TCP connection, you could say:
41569
41570 @smallexample
41571 target> gdbserver host:2345 emacs foo.txt
41572 @end smallexample
41573
41574 This says pretty much the same thing as the last example, except that we are
41575 going to communicate with the @code{host} @value{GDBN} via TCP. The @code{host:2345} argument means
41576 that we are expecting to see a TCP connection from @code{host} to local TCP port
41577 2345. (Currently, the @code{host} part is ignored.) You can choose any number you
41578 want for the port number as long as it does not conflict with any existing TCP
41579 ports on the target system. This same port number must be used in the host
41580 @value{GDBN}s @code{target remote} command, which will be described shortly. Note that if
41581 you chose a port number that conflicts with another service, @command{gdbserver} will
41582 print an error message and exit.
41583
41584 @command{gdbserver} can also attach to running programs.
41585 This is accomplished via the @option{--attach} argument. The syntax is:
41586
41587 @smallexample
41588 target> gdbserver --attach @var{comm} @var{pid}
41589 @end smallexample
41590
41591 @var{pid} is the process ID of a currently running process. It isn't
41592 necessary to point @command{gdbserver} at a binary for the running process.
41593
41594 To start @code{gdbserver} without supplying an initial command to run
41595 or process ID to attach, use the @option{--multi} command line option.
41596 In such case you should connect using @kbd{target extended-remote} to start
41597 the program you want to debug.
41598
41599 @smallexample
41600 target> gdbserver --multi @var{comm}
41601 @end smallexample
41602
41603 @ifclear man
41604 @subheading Usage (host side)
41605 @end ifclear
41606 @ifset man
41607 Usage (host side):
41608 @end ifset
41609
41610 You need an unstripped copy of the target program on your host system, since
41611 @value{GDBN} needs to examine it's symbol tables and such. Start up @value{GDBN} as you normally
41612 would, with the target program as the first argument. (You may need to use the
41613 @option{--baud} option if the serial line is running at anything except 9600 baud.)
41614 That is @code{gdb TARGET-PROG}, or @code{gdb --baud BAUD TARGET-PROG}. After that, the only
41615 new command you need to know about is @code{target remote}
41616 (or @code{target extended-remote}). Its argument is either
41617 a device name (usually a serial device, like @file{/dev/ttyb}), or a @code{HOST:PORT}
41618 descriptor. For example:
41619
41620 @smallexample
41621 @ifset man
41622 @c @file would wrap it as F</dev/ttyb>.
41623 (gdb) target remote /dev/ttyb
41624 @end ifset
41625 @ifclear man
41626 (gdb) target remote @file{/dev/ttyb}
41627 @end ifclear
41628 @end smallexample
41629
41630 @noindent
41631 communicates with the server via serial line @file{/dev/ttyb}, and:
41632
41633 @smallexample
41634 (gdb) target remote the-target:2345
41635 @end smallexample
41636
41637 @noindent
41638 communicates via a TCP connection to port 2345 on host `the-target', where
41639 you previously started up @command{gdbserver} with the same port number. Note that for
41640 TCP connections, you must start up @command{gdbserver} prior to using the `target remote'
41641 command, otherwise you may get an error that looks something like
41642 `Connection refused'.
41643
41644 @command{gdbserver} can also debug multiple inferiors at once,
41645 described in
41646 @ifset man
41647 the @value{GDBN} manual in node @code{Inferiors and Programs}
41648 -- shell command @code{info -f gdb -n 'Inferiors and Programs'}.
41649 @end ifset
41650 @ifclear man
41651 @ref{Inferiors and Programs}.
41652 @end ifclear
41653 In such case use the @code{extended-remote} @value{GDBN} command variant:
41654
41655 @smallexample
41656 (gdb) target extended-remote the-target:2345
41657 @end smallexample
41658
41659 The @command{gdbserver} option @option{--multi} may or may not be used in such
41660 case.
41661 @c man end
41662
41663 @c man begin OPTIONS gdbserver
41664 There are three different modes for invoking @command{gdbserver}:
41665
41666 @itemize @bullet
41667
41668 @item
41669 Debug a specific program specified by its program name:
41670
41671 @smallexample
41672 gdbserver @var{comm} @var{prog} [@var{args}@dots{}]
41673 @end smallexample
41674
41675 The @var{comm} parameter specifies how should the server communicate
41676 with @value{GDBN}; it is either a device name (to use a serial line),
41677 a TCP port number (@code{:1234}), or @code{-} or @code{stdio} to use
41678 stdin/stdout of @code{gdbserver}. Specify the name of the program to
41679 debug in @var{prog}. Any remaining arguments will be passed to the
41680 program verbatim. When the program exits, @value{GDBN} will close the
41681 connection, and @code{gdbserver} will exit.
41682
41683 @item
41684 Debug a specific program by specifying the process ID of a running
41685 program:
41686
41687 @smallexample
41688 gdbserver --attach @var{comm} @var{pid}
41689 @end smallexample
41690
41691 The @var{comm} parameter is as described above. Supply the process ID
41692 of a running program in @var{pid}; @value{GDBN} will do everything
41693 else. Like with the previous mode, when the process @var{pid} exits,
41694 @value{GDBN} will close the connection, and @code{gdbserver} will exit.
41695
41696 @item
41697 Multi-process mode -- debug more than one program/process:
41698
41699 @smallexample
41700 gdbserver --multi @var{comm}
41701 @end smallexample
41702
41703 In this mode, @value{GDBN} can instruct @command{gdbserver} which
41704 command(s) to run. Unlike the other 2 modes, @value{GDBN} will not
41705 close the connection when a process being debugged exits, so you can
41706 debug several processes in the same session.
41707 @end itemize
41708
41709 In each of the modes you may specify these options:
41710
41711 @table @env
41712
41713 @item --help
41714 List all options, with brief explanations.
41715
41716 @item --version
41717 This option causes @command{gdbserver} to print its version number and exit.
41718
41719 @item --attach
41720 @command{gdbserver} will attach to a running program. The syntax is:
41721
41722 @smallexample
41723 target> gdbserver --attach @var{comm} @var{pid}
41724 @end smallexample
41725
41726 @var{pid} is the process ID of a currently running process. It isn't
41727 necessary to point @command{gdbserver} at a binary for the running process.
41728
41729 @item --multi
41730 To start @code{gdbserver} without supplying an initial command to run
41731 or process ID to attach, use this command line option.
41732 Then you can connect using @kbd{target extended-remote} and start
41733 the program you want to debug. The syntax is:
41734
41735 @smallexample
41736 target> gdbserver --multi @var{comm}
41737 @end smallexample
41738
41739 @item --debug
41740 Instruct @code{gdbserver} to display extra status information about the debugging
41741 process.
41742 This option is intended for @code{gdbserver} development and for bug reports to
41743 the developers.
41744
41745 @item --remote-debug
41746 Instruct @code{gdbserver} to display remote protocol debug output.
41747 This option is intended for @code{gdbserver} development and for bug reports to
41748 the developers.
41749
41750 @item --debug-format=option1@r{[},option2,...@r{]}
41751 Instruct @code{gdbserver} to include extra information in each line
41752 of debugging output.
41753 @xref{Other Command-Line Arguments for gdbserver}.
41754
41755 @item --wrapper
41756 Specify a wrapper to launch programs
41757 for debugging. The option should be followed by the name of the
41758 wrapper, then any command-line arguments to pass to the wrapper, then
41759 @kbd{--} indicating the end of the wrapper arguments.
41760
41761 @item --once
41762 By default, @command{gdbserver} keeps the listening TCP port open, so that
41763 additional connections are possible. However, if you start @code{gdbserver}
41764 with the @option{--once} option, it will stop listening for any further
41765 connection attempts after connecting to the first @value{GDBN} session.
41766
41767 @c --disable-packet is not documented for users.
41768
41769 @c --disable-randomization and --no-disable-randomization are superseded by
41770 @c QDisableRandomization.
41771
41772 @end table
41773 @c man end
41774
41775 @c man begin SEEALSO gdbserver
41776 @ifset man
41777 The full documentation for @value{GDBN} is maintained as a Texinfo manual.
41778 If the @code{info} and @code{gdb} programs and @value{GDBN}'s Texinfo
41779 documentation are properly installed at your site, the command
41780
41781 @smallexample
41782 info gdb
41783 @end smallexample
41784
41785 should give you access to the complete manual.
41786
41787 @cite{Using GDB: A Guide to the GNU Source-Level Debugger},
41788 Richard M. Stallman and Roland H. Pesch, July 1991.
41789 @end ifset
41790 @c man end
41791
41792 @node gcore man
41793 @heading gcore
41794
41795 @c man title gcore Generate a core file of a running program
41796
41797 @format
41798 @c man begin SYNOPSIS gcore
41799 gcore [-o @var{filename}] @var{pid}
41800 @c man end
41801 @end format
41802
41803 @c man begin DESCRIPTION gcore
41804 Generate a core dump of a running program with process ID @var{pid}.
41805 Produced file is equivalent to a kernel produced core file as if the process
41806 crashed (and if @kbd{ulimit -c} were used to set up an appropriate core dump
41807 limit). Unlike after a crash, after @command{gcore} the program remains
41808 running without any change.
41809 @c man end
41810
41811 @c man begin OPTIONS gcore
41812 @table @env
41813 @item -o @var{filename}
41814 The optional argument
41815 @var{filename} specifies the file name where to put the core dump.
41816 If not specified, the file name defaults to @file{core.@var{pid}},
41817 where @var{pid} is the running program process ID.
41818 @end table
41819 @c man end
41820
41821 @c man begin SEEALSO gcore
41822 @ifset man
41823 The full documentation for @value{GDBN} is maintained as a Texinfo manual.
41824 If the @code{info} and @code{gdb} programs and @value{GDBN}'s Texinfo
41825 documentation are properly installed at your site, the command
41826
41827 @smallexample
41828 info gdb
41829 @end smallexample
41830
41831 @noindent
41832 should give you access to the complete manual.
41833
41834 @cite{Using GDB: A Guide to the GNU Source-Level Debugger},
41835 Richard M. Stallman and Roland H. Pesch, July 1991.
41836 @end ifset
41837 @c man end
41838
41839 @node gdbinit man
41840 @heading gdbinit
41841
41842 @c man title gdbinit GDB initialization scripts
41843
41844 @format
41845 @c man begin SYNOPSIS gdbinit
41846 @ifset SYSTEM_GDBINIT
41847 @value{SYSTEM_GDBINIT}
41848 @end ifset
41849
41850 ~/.gdbinit
41851
41852 ./.gdbinit
41853 @c man end
41854 @end format
41855
41856 @c man begin DESCRIPTION gdbinit
41857 These files contain @value{GDBN} commands to automatically execute during
41858 @value{GDBN} startup. The lines of contents are canned sequences of commands,
41859 described in
41860 @ifset man
41861 the @value{GDBN} manual in node @code{Sequences}
41862 -- shell command @code{info -f gdb -n Sequences}.
41863 @end ifset
41864 @ifclear man
41865 @ref{Sequences}.
41866 @end ifclear
41867
41868 Please read more in
41869 @ifset man
41870 the @value{GDBN} manual in node @code{Startup}
41871 -- shell command @code{info -f gdb -n Startup}.
41872 @end ifset
41873 @ifclear man
41874 @ref{Startup}.
41875 @end ifclear
41876
41877 @table @env
41878 @ifset SYSTEM_GDBINIT
41879 @item @value{SYSTEM_GDBINIT}
41880 @end ifset
41881 @ifclear SYSTEM_GDBINIT
41882 @item (not enabled with @code{--with-system-gdbinit} during compilation)
41883 @end ifclear
41884 System-wide initialization file. It is executed unless user specified
41885 @value{GDBN} option @code{-nx} or @code{-n}.
41886 See more in
41887 @ifset man
41888 the @value{GDBN} manual in node @code{System-wide configuration}
41889 -- shell command @code{info -f gdb -n 'System-wide configuration'}.
41890 @end ifset
41891 @ifclear man
41892 @ref{System-wide configuration}.
41893 @end ifclear
41894
41895 @item ~/.gdbinit
41896 User initialization file. It is executed unless user specified
41897 @value{GDBN} options @code{-nx}, @code{-n} or @code{-nh}.
41898
41899 @item ./.gdbinit
41900 Initialization file for current directory. It may need to be enabled with
41901 @value{GDBN} security command @code{set auto-load local-gdbinit}.
41902 See more in
41903 @ifset man
41904 the @value{GDBN} manual in node @code{Init File in the Current Directory}
41905 -- shell command @code{info -f gdb -n 'Init File in the Current Directory'}.
41906 @end ifset
41907 @ifclear man
41908 @ref{Init File in the Current Directory}.
41909 @end ifclear
41910 @end table
41911 @c man end
41912
41913 @c man begin SEEALSO gdbinit
41914 @ifset man
41915 gdb(1), @code{info -f gdb -n Startup}
41916
41917 The full documentation for @value{GDBN} is maintained as a Texinfo manual.
41918 If the @code{info} and @code{gdb} programs and @value{GDBN}'s Texinfo
41919 documentation are properly installed at your site, the command
41920
41921 @smallexample
41922 info gdb
41923 @end smallexample
41924
41925 should give you access to the complete manual.
41926
41927 @cite{Using GDB: A Guide to the GNU Source-Level Debugger},
41928 Richard M. Stallman and Roland H. Pesch, July 1991.
41929 @end ifset
41930 @c man end
41931
41932 @include gpl.texi
41933
41934 @node GNU Free Documentation License
41935 @appendix GNU Free Documentation License
41936 @include fdl.texi
41937
41938 @node Concept Index
41939 @unnumbered Concept Index
41940
41941 @printindex cp
41942
41943 @node Command and Variable Index
41944 @unnumbered Command, Variable, and Function Index
41945
41946 @printindex fn
41947
41948 @tex
41949 % I think something like @@colophon should be in texinfo. In the
41950 % meantime:
41951 \long\def\colophon{\hbox to0pt{}\vfill
41952 \centerline{The body of this manual is set in}
41953 \centerline{\fontname\tenrm,}
41954 \centerline{with headings in {\bf\fontname\tenbf}}
41955 \centerline{and examples in {\tt\fontname\tentt}.}
41956 \centerline{{\it\fontname\tenit\/},}
41957 \centerline{{\bf\fontname\tenbf}, and}
41958 \centerline{{\sl\fontname\tensl\/}}
41959 \centerline{are used for emphasis.}\vfill}
41960 \page\colophon
41961 % Blame: doc@@cygnus.com, 1991.
41962 @end tex
41963
41964 @bye