The fact that GDB defaults to assuming that functions return int, when
it has no debug info for the function has been a recurring source of
user confusion. Recently this came up on the errno pretty printer
discussions. Shortly after, it came up again on IRC, with someone
wondering why does getenv() in GDB return a negative int:
(gdb) p getenv("PATH")
$1 = -6185
This question (with s/getenv/random-other-C-runtime-function) is a FAQ
on IRC.
The reason for the above is:
(gdb) p getenv
$2 = {<text variable, no debug info>} 0x7ffff7751d80 <getenv>
(gdb) ptype getenv
type = int ()
... which means that GDB truncated the 64-bit pointer that is actually
returned from getent to 32-bit, and then sign-extended it:
(gdb) p /x -6185
$6 = 0xffffe7d7
The workaround is to cast the function to the right type, like:
(gdb) p ((char *(*) (const char *)) getenv) ("PATH")
$3 = 0x7fffffffe7d7 "/usr/local/bin:/"...
IMO, we should do better than this.
I see the "assume-int" issue the same way I see printing bogus values
for optimized-out variables instead of "<optimized out>" -- I'd much
rather that the debugger tells me "I don't know" and tells me how to
fix it than showing me bogus misleading results, making me go around
tilting at windmills.
If GDB prints a signed integer when you're expecting a pointer or
aggregate, you at least have some sense that something is off, but
consider the case of the function actually returning a 64-bit integer.
For example, compile this without debug info:
unsigned long long
function ()
{
return 0x7fffffffffffffff;
}
Currently, with pristine GDB, you get:
(gdb) p function ()
$1 = -1 # incorrect
(gdb) p /x function ()
$2 = 0xffffffff # incorrect
maybe after spending a few hours debugging you suspect something is
wrong with that -1, and do:
(gdb) ptype function
type = int ()
and maybe, just maybe, you realize that the function actually returns
unsigned long long. And you try to fix it with:
(gdb) p /x (unsigned long long) function ()
$3 = 0xffffffffffffffff # incorrect
... which still produces the wrong result, because GDB simply applied
int to unsigned long long conversion. Meaning, it sign-extended the
integer that it extracted from the return of the function, to 64-bits.
and then maybe, after asking around on IRC, you realize you have to
cast the function to a pointer of the right type, and call that. It
won't be easy, but after a few missteps, you'll get to it:
..... (gdb) p /x ((unsigned long long(*) ()) function) ()
$666 = 0x7fffffffffffffff # finally! :-)
So to improve on the user experience, this patch does the following
(interrelated) things:
- makes no-debug-info functions no longer default to "int" as return
type. Instead, they're left with NULL/"<unknown return type>"
return type.
(gdb) ptype getenv
type = <unknown return type> ()
- makes calling a function with unknown return type an error.
(gdb) p getenv ("PATH")
'getenv' has unknown return type; cast the call to its declared return type
- and then to make it easier to call the function, makes it possible
to _only_ cast the return of the function to the right type,
instead of having to cast the function to a function pointer:
(gdb) p (char *) getenv ("PATH") # now Just Works
$3 = 0x7fffffffe7d7 "/usr/local/bin:/"...
(gdb) p ((char *(*) (const char *)) getenv) ("PATH") # continues working
$4 = 0x7fffffffe7d7 "/usr/local/bin:/"...
I.e., it makes GDB default the function's return type to the type
of the cast, and the function's parameters to the type of the
arguments passed down.
After this patch, here's what you'll get for the "unsigned long long"
example above:
(gdb) p function ()
'function' has unknown return type; cast the call to its declared return type
(gdb) p /x (unsigned long long) function ()
$4 = 0x7fffffffffffffff # correct!
Note that while with "print" GDB shows the name of the function that
has the problem:
(gdb) p getenv ("PATH")
'getenv' has unknown return type; cast the call to its declared return type
which can by handy in more complicated expressions, "ptype" does not:
(gdb) ptype getenv ("PATH")
function has unknown return type; cast the call to its declared return type
This will be fixed in the next patch.
gdb/ChangeLog:
2017-09-04 Pedro Alves <palves@redhat.com>
* ada-lang.c (ada_evaluate_subexp) <TYPE_CODE_FUNC>: Don't handle
TYPE_GNU_IFUNC specially here. Throw error if return type is
unknown.
* ada-typeprint.c (print_func_type): Handle functions with unknown
return type.
* c-typeprint.c (c_type_print_base): Handle functions and methods
with unknown return type.
* compile/compile-c-symbols.c (convert_symbol_bmsym)
<mst_text_gnu_ifunc>: Use nodebug_text_gnu_ifunc_symbol.
* compile/compile-c-types.c: Include "objfiles.h".
(convert_func): For functions with unknown return type, warn and
default to int.
* compile/compile-object-run.c (compile_object_run): Adjust call
to call_function_by_hand_dummy.
* elfread.c (elf_gnu_ifunc_resolve_addr): Adjust call to
call_function_by_hand.
* eval.c (evaluate_subexp_standard): Adjust calls to
call_function_by_hand. Handle functions and methods with unknown
return type. Pass expect_type to call_function_by_hand.
* f-typeprint.c (f_type_print_base): Handle functions with unknown
return type.
* gcore.c (call_target_sbrk): Adjust call to
call_function_by_hand.
* gdbtypes.c (objfile_type): Leave nodebug text symbol with NULL
return type instead of int. Make nodebug_text_gnu_ifunc_symbol be
an integer address type instead of nodebug.
* guile/scm-value.c (gdbscm_value_call): Adjust call to
call_function_by_hand.
* infcall.c (error_call_unknown_return_type): New function.
(call_function_by_hand): New "default_return_type" parameter.
Pass it down.
(call_function_by_hand_dummy): New "default_return_type"
parameter. Use it instead of defaulting to int. If there's no
default and the return type is unknown, throw an error. If
there's a default return type, and the called function has no
debug info, then assume the function is prototyped.
* infcall.h (call_function_by_hand, call_function_by_hand_dummy):
New "default_return_type" parameter.
(error_call_unknown_return_type): New declaration.
* linux-fork.c (call_lseek): Cast return type of lseek.
(inferior_call_waitpid, checkpoint_command): Adjust calls to
call_function_by_hand.
* linux-tdep.c (linux_infcall_mmap, linux_infcall_munmap): Adjust
calls to call_function_by_hand.
* m2-typeprint.c (m2_procedure): Handle functions with unknown
return type.
* objc-lang.c (lookup_objc_class, lookup_child_selector)
(value_nsstring, print_object_command): Adjust calls to
call_function_by_hand.
* p-typeprint.c (pascal_type_print_varspec_prefix): Handle
functions with unknown return type.
(pascal_type_print_func_varspec_suffix): New function.
(pascal_type_print_varspec_suffix) <TYPE_CODE_FUNC,
TYPE_CODE_METHOD>: Use it.
* python/py-value.c (valpy_call): Adjust call to
call_function_by_hand.
* rust-lang.c (rust_evaluate_funcall): Adjust call to
call_function_by_hand.
* valarith.c (value_x_binop, value_x_unop): Adjust calls to
call_function_by_hand.
* valops.c (value_allocate_space_in_inferior): Adjust call to
call_function_by_hand.
* typeprint.c (type_print_unknown_return_type): New function.
* typeprint.h (type_print_unknown_return_type): New declaration.
gdb/testsuite/ChangeLog:
2017-09-04 Pedro Alves <palves@redhat.com>
* gdb.base/break-main-file-remove-fail.exp (test_remove_bp): Cast
return type of munmap in infcall.
* gdb.base/break-probes.exp: Cast return type of foo in infcall.
* gdb.base/checkpoint.exp: Simplify using for loop. Cast return
type of ftell in infcall.
* gdb.base/dprintf-detach.exp (dprintf_detach_test): Cast return
type of getpid in infcall.
* gdb.base/infcall-exec.exp: Cast return type of execlp in
infcall.
* gdb.base/info-os.exp: Cast return type of getpid in infcall.
Bail on failure to extract the pid.
* gdb.base/nodebug.c: #include <stdint.h>.
(multf, multf_noproto, mult, mult_noproto, add8, add8_noproto):
New functions.
* gdb.base/nodebug.exp (test_call_promotion): New procedure.
Change expected output of print/whatis/ptype with functions with
no debug info. Test all supported languages. Call
test_call_promotion.
* gdb.compile/compile.exp: Adjust expected output to expect
warning.
* gdb.threads/siginfo-threads.exp: Likewise.
This applies the second part of GDB's End of Year Procedure, which
updates the copyright year range in all of GDB's files.
gdb/ChangeLog:
Update copyright year range in all GDB files.
Turns out there's a difference between loading the program with "gdb
PROGRAM", vs loading it with "(gdb) file PROGRAM". The latter results
in the objfile ending up with OBJF_USERLOADED set, while not with the
former. (That difference seems bogus, but still that's not the point
of this patch. We can revisit that afterwards.)
The new code that suppresses breakpoint removal errors for
add-symbol-file objects ends up being too greedy:
/* In some cases, we might not be able to remove a breakpoint in
a shared library that has already been removed, but we have
not yet processed the shlib unload event. Similarly for an
unloaded add-symbol-file object - the user might not yet have
had the chance to remove-symbol-file it. shlib_disabled will
be set if the library/object has already been removed, but
the breakpoint hasn't been uninserted yet, e.g., after
"nosharedlibrary" or "remove-symbol-file" with breakpoints
always-inserted mode. */
if (val
&& (bl->loc_type == bp_loc_software_breakpoint
&& (bl->shlib_disabled
|| solib_name_from_address (bl->pspace, bl->address)
|| userloaded_objfile_contains_address_p (bl->pspace,
bl->address))))
val = 0;
as it turns out that OBJF_USERLOADED can be set for objfiles loaded by
some other means not add-symbol-file. In this case, symbol-file (or
"file", which is really just "exec-file"+"symbol-file").
Recall that add-symbol-file is documented as:
(gdb) help add-symbol-file
Load symbols from FILE, assuming FILE has been dynamically loaded.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
And it's the "dynamically loaded" aspect that the breakpoint.c code
cares about. So make add-symbol-file set OBJF_SHARED on its objfiles
too, and tweak the breakpoint.c code to look for OBJF_SHARED instead
of OBJF_USERLOADED.
This restores back the missing breakpoint removal warning when we let
sss-bp-on-user-bp-2.exp run on native GNU/Linux
(https://sourceware.org/ml/gdb-patches/2014-06/msg00335.html):
(gdb) PASS: gdb.base/sss-bp-on-user-bp-2.exp: define stepi_del_break
stepi_del_break
warning: Error removing breakpoint 3
(gdb) FAIL: gdb.base/sss-bp-on-user-bp-2.exp: stepi_del_break
I say "restores" because this was GDB's behavior in 7.7 and earlier.
And, likewise, "file" with no arguments only started turning
breakpoints set in the main executable to "<pending>" with the
remote-symbol-file patch (63644780). The old behavior is now
restored, and we break-unload-file.exp test now exercizes both "gdb;
file PROGRAM" and "gdb PROGRAM".
gdb/
2014-06-16 Pedro Alves <palves@redhat.com>
* breakpoint.c (insert_bp_location, remove_breakpoint_1): Adjust.
(disable_breakpoints_in_freed_objfile): Skip objfiles that don't
have OBJF_SHARED set.
* objfiles.c (userloaded_objfile_contains_address_p): Rename to...
(shared_objfile_contains_address_p): ... this. Check OBJF_SHARED
instead of OBJF_USERLOADED.
* objfiles.h (OBJF_SHARED): Update comment.
(userloaded_objfile_contains_address_p): Rename to ...
(shared_objfile_contains_address_p): ... this, and update
comments.
* symfile.c (add_symbol_file_command): Also set OBJF_SHARED in the
new objfile.
(remove_symbol_file_command): Skip objfiles that don't have
OBJF_SHARED set.
gdb/testsuite/
2014-06-16 Pedro Alves <palves@redhat.com>
* gdb.base/break-main-file-remove-fail.c: New file.
* gdb.base/break-main-file-remove-fail.exp: New file.
* gdb.base/break-unload-file.exp: Use build_executable instead of
prepare_for_testing.
(test_break): New parameter "initial_load". Handle it.
(top level): Add initial_load cmdline/file axis.
Joel Brobecker
Pedro Alves
Luis Machado