566 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
566 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
README for gdb-4.13 release
|
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Updated 8-Aug-94 by Fred Fish
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This is GDB, the GNU source-level debugger, presently running under un*x.
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A summary of new features is in the file `NEWS'.
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Unpacking and Installation -- quick overview
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==========================
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In this release, the GDB debugger sources, the generic GNU include
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files, the BFD ("binary file description") library, the readline
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library, and other libraries all have directories of their own
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underneath the gdb-4.13 directory. The idea is that a variety of GNU
|
||
tools can share a common copy of these things. Be aware of variation
|
||
over time--for example don't try to build gdb with a copy of bfd from
|
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a release other than the gdb release (such as a binutils or gas
|
||
release), especially if the releases are more than a few weeks apart.
|
||
Configuration scripts and makefiles exist to cruise up and down this
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||
directory tree and automatically build all the pieces in the right
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||
order.
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When you unpack the gdb-4.13.tar.gz file, you'll find a directory
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called `gdb-4.13', which contains:
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Makefile.in config.sub* glob/ opcodes/
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README configure* include/ readline/
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bfd/ configure.in libiberty/ texinfo/
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config/ etc/ mmalloc/
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config.guess* gdb/ move-if-change*
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To build GDB, you can just do:
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cd gdb-4.13
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./configure
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make
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cp gdb/gdb /usr/local/bin/gdb (or wherever you want)
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This will configure and build all the libraries as well as GDB.
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If `configure' can't determine your system type, specify one as its
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argument, e.g. sun4 or decstation.
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||
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If you get compiler warnings during this stage, see the `Reporting Bugs'
|
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section below; there are a few known problems.
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GDB can be used as a cross-debugger, running on a machine of one type
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while debugging a program running on a machine of another type. See below.
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More Documentation
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******************
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||
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The GDB 4 release includes an already-formatted reference card,
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||
ready for printing with PostScript or Ghostscript, in the `gdb'
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||
subdirectory of the main source directory. (In `gdb-4.13/gdb/refcard.ps'.)
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If you can use PostScript or Ghostscript with your printer, you can
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print the reference card immediately with `refcard.ps'.
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||
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The release also includes the source for the reference card. You
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||
can format it, using TeX, by typing:
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||
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make refcard.dvi
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The GDB reference card is designed to print in landscape mode on US
|
||
"letter" size paper; that is, on a sheet 11 inches wide by 8.5 inches
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||
high. You will need to specify this form of printing as an option to
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||
your DVI output program.
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||
|
||
All the documentation for GDB comes as part of the machine-readable
|
||
distribution. The documentation is written in Texinfo format, which is
|
||
a documentation system that uses a single source file to produce both
|
||
on-line information and a printed manual. You can use one of the Info
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||
formatting commands to create the on-line version of the documentation
|
||
and TeX (or `texi2roff') to typeset the printed version.
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||
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||
GDB includes an already formatted copy of the on-line Info version of
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this manual in the `gdb' subdirectory. The main Info file is
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||
`gdb-VERSION-NUMBER/gdb/gdb.info', and it refers to subordinate files
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||
matching `gdb.info*' in the same directory. If necessary, you can
|
||
print out these files, or read them with any editor; but they are
|
||
easier to read using the `info' subsystem in GNU Emacs or the
|
||
standalone `info' program, available as part of the GNU Texinfo
|
||
distribution.
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||
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If you want to format these Info files yourself, you need one of the
|
||
Info formatting programs, such as `texinfo-format-buffer' or `makeinfo'.
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||
|
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If you have `makeinfo' installed, and are in the top level GDB
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||
source directory (`gdb-4.13', in the case of version 4.13), you can make
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the Info file by typing:
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cd gdb
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make gdb.info
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If you want to typeset and print copies of this manual, you need TeX,
|
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a program to print its DVI output files, and `texinfo.tex', the Texinfo
|
||
definitions file.
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||
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||
TeX is a typesetting program; it does not print files directly, but
|
||
produces output files called DVI files. To print a typeset document,
|
||
you need a program to print DVI files. If your system has TeX
|
||
installed, chances are it has such a program. The precise command to
|
||
use depends on your system; `lpr -d' is common; another (for PostScript
|
||
devices) is `dvips'. The DVI print command may require a file name
|
||
without any extension or a `.dvi' extension.
|
||
|
||
TeX also requires a macro definitions file called `texinfo.tex'.
|
||
This file tells TeX how to typeset a document written in Texinfo
|
||
format. On its own, TeX cannot read, much less typeset a Texinfo file.
|
||
`texinfo.tex' is distributed with GDB and is located in the
|
||
`gdb-VERSION-NUMBER/texinfo' directory.
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||
|
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If you have TeX and a DVI printer program installed, you can typeset
|
||
and print this manual. First switch to the the `gdb' subdirectory of
|
||
the main source directory (for example, to `gdb-4.13/gdb') and then type:
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make gdb.dvi
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||
|
||
|
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Installing GDB
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||
**************
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||
|
||
GDB comes with a `configure' script that automates the process of
|
||
preparing GDB for installation; you can then use `make' to build the
|
||
`gdb' program.
|
||
|
||
The GDB distribution includes all the source code you need for GDB in
|
||
a single directory, whose name is usually composed by appending the
|
||
version number to `gdb'.
|
||
|
||
For example, the GDB version 4.13 distribution is in the `gdb-4.13'
|
||
directory. That directory contains:
|
||
|
||
`gdb-4.13/configure (and supporting files)'
|
||
script for configuring GDB and all its supporting libraries.
|
||
|
||
`gdb-4.13/gdb'
|
||
the source specific to GDB itself
|
||
|
||
`gdb-4.13/bfd'
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||
source for the Binary File Descriptor library
|
||
|
||
`gdb-4.13/include'
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GNU include files
|
||
|
||
`gdb-4.13/libiberty'
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||
source for the `-liberty' free software library
|
||
|
||
`gdb-4.13/opcodes'
|
||
source for the library of opcode tables and disassemblers
|
||
|
||
`gdb-4.13/readline'
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||
source for the GNU command-line interface
|
||
|
||
`gdb-4.13/glob'
|
||
source for the GNU filename pattern-matching subroutine
|
||
|
||
`gdb-4.13/mmalloc'
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||
source for the GNU memory-mapped malloc package
|
||
|
||
'gdb-4.13/sim'
|
||
source for some simulators (z8000, H8/300, H8/500, etc)
|
||
|
||
The simplest way to configure and build GDB is to run `configure'
|
||
from the `gdb-VERSION-NUMBER' source directory, which in this example
|
||
is the `gdb-4.13' directory.
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||
|
||
First switch to the `gdb-VERSION-NUMBER' source directory if you are
|
||
not already in it; then run `configure'. Pass the identifier for the
|
||
platform on which GDB will run as an argument.
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||
|
||
For example:
|
||
|
||
cd gdb-4.13
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||
./configure HOST
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||
make
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||
|
||
where HOST is an identifier such as `sun4' or `decstation', that
|
||
identifies the platform where GDB will run.
|
||
|
||
Running `configure HOST' followed by `make' builds the `bfd',
|
||
`readline', `mmalloc', and `libiberty' libraries, then `gdb' itself.
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||
The configured source files, and the binaries, are left in the
|
||
corresponding source directories.
|
||
|
||
`configure' is a Bourne-shell (`/bin/sh') script; if your system
|
||
does not recognize this automatically when you run a different shell,
|
||
you may need to run `sh' on it explicitly:
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||
|
||
sh configure HOST
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||
|
||
If you run `configure' from a directory that contains source
|
||
directories for multiple libraries or programs, such as the `gdb-4.13'
|
||
source directory for version 4.13, `configure' creates configuration
|
||
files for every directory level underneath (unless you tell it not to,
|
||
with the `--norecursion' option).
|
||
|
||
You can run the `configure' script from any of the subordinate
|
||
directories in the GDB distribution, if you only want to configure that
|
||
subdirectory; but be sure to specify a path to it.
|
||
|
||
For example, with version 4.13, type the following to configure only
|
||
the `bfd' subdirectory:
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||
|
||
cd gdb-4.13/bfd
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../configure HOST
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||
|
||
You can install `gdb' anywhere; it has no hardwired paths. However,
|
||
you should make sure that the shell on your path (named by the `SHELL'
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||
environment variable) is publicly readable. Remember that GDB uses the
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||
shell to start your program--some systems refuse to let GDB debug child
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||
processes whose programs are not readable.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Compiling GDB in another directory
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==================================
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||
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||
If you want to run GDB versions for several host or target machines,
|
||
you need a different `gdb' compiled for each combination of host and
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||
target. `configure' is designed to make this easy by allowing you to
|
||
generate each configuration in a separate subdirectory, rather than in
|
||
the source directory. If your `make' program handles the `VPATH'
|
||
feature correctly (GNU `make' and SunOS 'make' are two that should),
|
||
running `make' in each of these directories builds the `gdb' program
|
||
specified there.
|
||
|
||
To build `gdb' in a separate directory, run `configure' with the
|
||
`--srcdir' option to specify where to find the source. (You also need
|
||
to specify a path to find `configure' itself from your working
|
||
directory. If the path to `configure' would be the same as the
|
||
argument to `--srcdir', you can leave out the `--srcdir' option; it
|
||
will be assumed.)
|
||
|
||
For example, with version 4.13, you can build GDB in a separate
|
||
directory for a Sun 4 like this:
|
||
|
||
cd gdb-4.13
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||
mkdir ../gdb-sun4
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||
cd ../gdb-sun4
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||
../gdb-4.13/configure sun4
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make
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||
|
||
When `configure' builds a configuration using a remote source
|
||
directory, it creates a tree for the binaries with the same structure
|
||
(and using the same names) as the tree under the source directory. In
|
||
the example, you'd find the Sun 4 library `libiberty.a' in the
|
||
directory `gdb-sun4/libiberty', and GDB itself in `gdb-sun4/gdb'.
|
||
|
||
One popular reason to build several GDB configurations in separate
|
||
directories is to configure GDB for cross-compiling (where GDB runs on
|
||
one machine--the host--while debugging programs that run on another
|
||
machine--the target). You specify a cross-debugging target by giving
|
||
the `--target=TARGET' option to `configure'.
|
||
|
||
When you run `make' to build a program or library, you must run it
|
||
in a configured directory--whatever directory you were in when you
|
||
called `configure' (or one of its subdirectories).
|
||
|
||
The `Makefile' that `configure' generates in each source directory
|
||
also runs recursively. If you type `make' in a source directory such
|
||
as `gdb-4.13' (or in a separate configured directory configured with
|
||
`--srcdir=PATH/gdb-4.13'), you will build all the required libraries,
|
||
and then build GDB.
|
||
|
||
When you have multiple hosts or targets configured in separate
|
||
directories, you can run `make' on them in parallel (for example, if
|
||
they are NFS-mounted on each of the hosts); they will not interfere
|
||
with each other.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Specifying names for hosts and targets
|
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======================================
|
||
|
||
The specifications used for hosts and targets in the `configure'
|
||
script are based on a three-part naming scheme, but some short
|
||
predefined aliases are also supported. The full naming scheme encodes
|
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three pieces of information in the following pattern:
|
||
|
||
ARCHITECTURE-VENDOR-OS
|
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|
||
For example, you can use the alias `sun4' as a HOST argument or in a
|
||
`--target=TARGET' option. The equivalent full name is
|
||
`sparc-sun-sunos4'.
|
||
|
||
The `configure' script accompanying GDB does not provide any query
|
||
facility to list all supported host and target names or aliases.
|
||
`configure' calls the Bourne shell script `config.sub' to map
|
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abbreviations to full names; you can read the script, if you wish, or
|
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you can use it to test your guesses on abbreviations--for example:
|
||
|
||
% sh config.sub sun4
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sparc-sun-sunos411
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% sh config.sub sun3
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m68k-sun-sunos411
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% sh config.sub decstation
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||
mips-dec-ultrix42
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||
% sh config.sub hp300bsd
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||
m68k-hp-bsd
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% sh config.sub i386v
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||
i386-unknown-sysv
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% sh config.sub i786v
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Invalid configuration `i786v': machine `i786v' not recognized
|
||
|
||
`config.sub' is also distributed in the GDB source directory
|
||
(`gdb-4.13', for version 4.13).
|
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`configure' options
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===================
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Here is a summary of the `configure' options and arguments that are
|
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most often useful for building GDB. `configure' also has several other
|
||
options not listed here. *note : (configure.info)What Configure Does,
|
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for a full explanation of `configure'.
|
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||
configure [--help]
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[--prefix=DIR]
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[--srcdir=PATH]
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[--norecursion] [--rm]
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||
[--target=TARGET] HOST
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||
|
||
You may introduce options with a single `-' rather than `--' if you
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||
prefer; but you may abbreviate option names if you use `--'.
|
||
|
||
`--help'
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Display a quick summary of how to invoke `configure'.
|
||
|
||
`-prefix=DIR'
|
||
Configure the source to install programs and files under directory
|
||
`DIR'.
|
||
|
||
`--srcdir=PATH'
|
||
*Warning: using this option requires GNU `make', or another `make'
|
||
that compatibly implements the `VPATH' feature.*
|
||
Use this option to make configurations in directories separate
|
||
from the GDB source directories. Among other things, you can use
|
||
this to build (or maintain) several configurations simultaneously,
|
||
in separate directories. `configure' writes configuration
|
||
specific files in the current directory, but arranges for them to
|
||
use the source in the directory PATH. `configure' will create
|
||
directories under the working directory in parallel to the source
|
||
directories below PATH.
|
||
|
||
`--norecursion'
|
||
Configure only the directory level where `configure' is executed;
|
||
do not propagate configuration to subdirectories.
|
||
|
||
`--rm'
|
||
Remove the configuration that the other arguments specify.
|
||
|
||
`--target=TARGET'
|
||
Configure GDB for cross-debugging programs running on the specified
|
||
TARGET. Without this option, GDB is configured to debug programs
|
||
that run on the same machine (HOST) as GDB itself.
|
||
|
||
There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available
|
||
targets.
|
||
|
||
`HOST ...'
|
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Configure GDB to run on the specified HOST.
|
||
|
||
There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available
|
||
hosts.
|
||
|
||
`configure' accepts other options, for compatibility with configuring
|
||
other GNU tools recursively; but these are the only options that affect
|
||
GDB or its supporting libraries.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Languages other than C
|
||
=======================
|
||
|
||
See the GDB manual (doc/gdb.texinfo) for information on this.
|
||
|
||
Kernel debugging
|
||
=================
|
||
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||
I have't done this myself so I can't really offer any advice.
|
||
Remote debugging over serial lines works fine, but the kernel debugging
|
||
code in here has not been tested in years. Van Jacobson has
|
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better kernel debugging, but the UC lawyers won't let FSF have it.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Remote debugging
|
||
=================
|
||
|
||
The files m68k-stub.c, i386-stub.c, and sparc-stub.c are examples of
|
||
remote stubs to be used with remote.c. They are designed to run
|
||
standalone on an m68k, i386, or SPARC cpu and communicate properly with
|
||
the remote.c stub over a serial line.
|
||
|
||
The file rem-multi.shar contains a general stub that can probably
|
||
run on various different flavors of unix to allow debugging over a
|
||
serial line from one machine to another.
|
||
|
||
Some working remote interfaces for talking to existing ROM monitors
|
||
are:
|
||
remote-adapt.c AMD 29000 "Adapt"
|
||
remote-eb.c AMD 29000 "EBMON"
|
||
remote-es1800.c Ericsson 1800 monitor
|
||
remote-hms.c Hitachi Micro Systems H8/300 monitor
|
||
remote-mips.c MIPS remote debugging protocol
|
||
remote-mm.c AMD 29000 "minimon"
|
||
remote-nindy.c Intel 960 "Nindy"
|
||
remote-sim.c Generalized simulator protocol
|
||
remote-st2000.c Tandem ST-2000 monitor
|
||
remote-udi.c AMD 29000 using the AMD "Universal Debug Interface"
|
||
remote-vx.c VxWorks realtime kernel
|
||
remote-z8k.c Zilog Z8000 simulator
|
||
|
||
Remote-vx.c and the vx-share subdirectory contain a remote interface for the
|
||
VxWorks realtime kernel, which communicates over TCP using the Sun
|
||
RPC library. This would be a useful starting point for other remote-
|
||
via-ethernet back ends.
|
||
|
||
Remote-udi.c and the 29k-share subdirectory contain a remote interface
|
||
for AMD 29000 programs, which uses the AMD "Universal Debug Interface".
|
||
This allows GDB to talk to software simulators, emulators, and/or bare
|
||
hardware boards, via network or serial interfaces. Note that GDB only
|
||
provides an interface that speaks UDI, not a complete solution. You
|
||
will need something on the other end that also speaks UDI.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Reporting Bugs
|
||
===============
|
||
|
||
The correct address for reporting bugs found in gdb is
|
||
"bug-gdb@prep.ai.mit.edu". Please email all bugs, and all requests for
|
||
help with GDB, to that address. Please include the GDB version number
|
||
(e.g. gdb-4.13), and how you configured it (e.g. "sun4" or "mach386
|
||
host, i586-intel-synopsys target"). If you include the banner that GDB
|
||
prints when it starts up, that will give us enough information.
|
||
|
||
For more information on how/whether to report bugs, see the GDB Bugs
|
||
section of the GDB manual (gdb/doc/gdb.texinfo).
|
||
|
||
Known bugs:
|
||
|
||
* Under Ultrix 4.2 (DECstation-3100) or Alphas under OSF/1, we have
|
||
seen problems with backtraces after interrupting the inferior out
|
||
of a read(). The problem is caused by ptrace() returning an
|
||
incorrect value for the frame pointer register (register 15 or
|
||
30). As far as we can tell, this is a kernel problem. Any help
|
||
with this would be greatly appreciated.
|
||
|
||
* On DECstations there are warnings about shift counts out of range in
|
||
various BFD modules. None of them is a cause for alarm, they are actually
|
||
a result of bugs in the DECstation compiler.
|
||
|
||
* Notes for the DEC Alpha using OSF/1:
|
||
The debugging output of native cc has two known problems; we view these
|
||
as compiler bugs.
|
||
The linker miscompacts symbol tables, which causes gdb to confuse the
|
||
type of variables or results in `struct <illegal>' type outputs.
|
||
dbx has the same problems with those executables. A workaround is to
|
||
specify -Wl,-b when linking, but that will increase the executable size
|
||
considerably.
|
||
If a structure has incomplete type in one file (e.g. "struct foo *"
|
||
without a definition for "struct foo"), gdb will be unable to find the
|
||
structure definition from another file.
|
||
It has been reported that the Ultrix 4.3A compiler on decstations has the
|
||
same problems.
|
||
|
||
Under some circumstances OSF/1 shared libraries do get relocated to a
|
||
different address, but gdb cannot handle these relocations yet. If you
|
||
encounter problems while debugging executables which use shared libraries,
|
||
try to relink your executable with the -non_shared option when using cc
|
||
or with the -static option when using gcc.
|
||
|
||
* Notes for Solaris 2.x, using the SPARCworks cc compiler:
|
||
You have to compile your program with the -xs option of the SPARCworks
|
||
compiler to be able to debug your program with gdb.
|
||
Under Solaris 2.3 you also need patch 101409-03 (Jumbo linker patch).
|
||
Under Solaris 2.2, if you have patch 101052 installed, make sure
|
||
that it is at least at revision 101052-06.
|
||
|
||
* Notes for BSD/386:
|
||
To compile gdb-4.13 on BSD/386, you must run the configure script and
|
||
its subscripts with bash. Here is an easy way to do this:
|
||
|
||
bash -c 'CONFIG_SHELL=/bin/bash ./configure'
|
||
|
||
(configure will report i386-unknown-bsd). Then, compile with the
|
||
standard "make" command.
|
||
|
||
GDB can produce warnings about symbols that it does not understand. By
|
||
default, these warnings are disabled. You can enable them by executing
|
||
`set complaint 10' (which you can put in your ~/.gdbinit if you like).
|
||
I recommend doing this if you are working on a compiler, assembler,
|
||
linker, or gdb, since it will point out problems that you may be able
|
||
to fix. Warnings produced during symbol reading indicate some mismatch
|
||
between the object file and GDB's symbol reading code. In many cases,
|
||
it's a mismatch between the specs for the object file format, and what
|
||
the compiler actually outputs or the debugger actually understands.
|
||
|
||
|
||
X Windows versus GDB
|
||
=====================
|
||
|
||
There is an "xxgdb", which seems to work for simple operations,
|
||
which was posted to comp.sources.x.
|
||
|
||
For those interested in auto display of source and the availability of
|
||
an editor while debugging I suggest trying gdb-mode in gnu-emacs
|
||
(Try typing M-x gdb RETURN). Comments on this mode are welcome.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Writing Code for GDB
|
||
=====================
|
||
|
||
There is a lot of information about writing code for GDB in the
|
||
internals manual, distributed with GDB in gdb/doc/gdbint.texinfo. You
|
||
can read it by hand, print it by using TeX and texinfo, or process it
|
||
into an `info' file for use with Emacs' info mode or the standalone
|
||
`info' program. In particular, see the nodes Getting Started,
|
||
Debugging GDB, New Architectures, Coding Style, Clean Design, and
|
||
Submitting Patches.
|
||
|
||
If you are pondering writing anything but a short patch, especially
|
||
take note of the information about copyrights in the node Submitting
|
||
Patches. It can take quite a while to get all the paperwork done, so
|
||
we encourage you to start that process as soon as you decide you are
|
||
planning to work on something, or at least well ahead of when you
|
||
think you will be ready to submit the patches.
|
||
|
||
|
||
GDB Testsuite
|
||
=============
|
||
|
||
There is a dejagnu based testsuite available for testing your newly
|
||
built GDB, or for regression testing GDBs with local modifications.
|
||
The testsuite is distributed separately from the base GDB distribution
|
||
for the convenience of people that wish to get either GDB or the testsuite
|
||
separately.
|
||
|
||
The name of the testsuite is gdb-4.13-testsuite.tar.gz. You unpack it in the
|
||
same directory in which you unpacked the base GDB distribution, and it
|
||
will create and populate the directory gdb-4.13/gdb/testsuite.
|
||
|
||
Running the testsuite requires the prior installation of dejagnu, which
|
||
should be available via ftp. Once dejagnu is installed, you can run
|
||
the tests in one of two ways:
|
||
|
||
(1) cd gdb-4.13/gdb (assuming you also unpacked gdb)
|
||
make check
|
||
|
||
or
|
||
|
||
(2) cd gdb-4.13/gdb/testsuite
|
||
make (builds the test executables)
|
||
make site.exp (builds the site specific file)
|
||
runtest -tool gdb GDB=../gdb (or GDB=<somepath> as appropriate)
|
||
|
||
The second method gives you slightly more control in case of problems with
|
||
building one or more test executables, in case you wish to remove some
|
||
test executables before running the tests, or if you are using the testsuite
|
||
'standalone', without it being part of the GDB source tree.
|
||
|
||
See the dejagnu documentation for further details.
|
||
|
||
|
||
(this is for editing this file with GNU emacs)
|
||
Local Variables:
|
||
mode: text
|
||
End:
|