Debugging with GDB

The GNU Source-Level Debugger

Eighth Edition, for GDB version 5.0

March 2000

This file describes GDB, the GNU symbolic debugger.

This is the Eighth Edition, March 2000, for GDB Version 5.0.

Copyright (C) 1988-2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

• Summary of GDB
  • Free software
  • Contributors to GDB
• 1 A Sample GDB Session
• 2 Getting In and Out of GDB
  • 2.1 Invoking GDB
    • 2.1.1 Choosing files
    • 2.1.2 Choosing modes
  • 2.2 Quitting GDB
  • 2.3 Shell commands
• 3 GDB Commands
  • 3.1 Command syntax
  • 3.2 Command completion
  • 3.3 Getting help
• 4 Running Programs Under GDB
  • 4.1 Compiling for debugging
  • 4.2 Starting your program
  • 4.3 Your program's arguments
  • 4.4 Your program's environment
  • 4.5 Your program's working directory
  • 4.6 Your program's input and output
  • 4.7 Debugging an already-running process
  • 4.8 Killing the child process
  • 4.9 Debugging programs with multiple threads
  • 4.10 Debugging programs with multiple processes
• 5 Stopping and Continuing
  • 5.1 Breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints
    • 5.1.1 Setting breakpoints
    • 5.1.2 Setting watchpoints
    • 5.1.3 Setting catchpoints
    • 5.1.4 Deleting breakpoints
    • 5.1.5 Disabling breakpoints
    • 5.1.6 Break conditions
    • 5.1.7 Breakpoint command lists
    • 5.1.8 Breakpoint menus
    • 5.1.9 "Cannot insert breakpoints"
  • 5.2 Continuing and stepping
  • 5.3 Signals
  • 5.4 Stopping and starting multi-thread programs
• 6 Examining the Stack
  • 6.1 Stack frames
  • 6.2 Backtraces
  • 6.3 Selecting a frame
  • 6.4 Information about a frame
• 7 Examining Source Files
  • 7.1 Printing source lines
  • 7.2 Searching source files
  • 7.3 Specifying source directories
  • 7.4 Source and machine code
• 8 Examining Data
  • 8.1 Expressions
  • 8.2 Program variables
  • 8.3 Artificial arrays
  • 8.4 Output formats
  • 8.5 Examining memory
  • 8.6 Automatic display
  • 8.7 Print settings
  • 8.8 Value history
  • 8.9 Convenience variables
  • 8.10 Registers
  • 8.11 Floating point hardware
• 9 Using GDB with Different Languages
  • 9.1 Switching between source languages
    • 9.1.1 List of filename extensions and languages
    • 9.1.2 Setting the working language
    • 9.1.3 Having GDB infer the source language
  • 9.2 Displaying the language
  • 9.3 Type and range checking
    • 9.3.1 An overview of type checking
    • 9.3.2 An overview of range checking
  • 9.4 Supported languages
    • 9.4.1 C and C++
      • 9.4.1.1 C and C++ operators
      • 9.4.1.2 C and C++ constants
      • 9.4.1.3 C++ expressions
      • 9.4.1.4 C and C++ defaults
      • 9.4.1.5 C and C++ type and range checks
      • 9.4.1.6 GDB and C
      • 9.4.1.7 GDB features for C++
    • 9.4.2 Modula-2
      • 9.4.2.1 Operators
      • 9.4.2.2 Built-in functions and procedures
      • 9.4.2.3 Constants
      • 9.4.2.4 Modula-2 defaults
      • 9.4.2.5 Deviations from standard Modula-2
      • 9.4.2.6 Modula-2 type and range checks
      • 9.4.2.7 The scope operators :: and .
      • 9.4.2.8 GDB and Modula-2
    • 9.4.3 Chill
      • 9.4.3.1 How modes are displayed
      • 9.4.3.2 Locations and their accesses
      • 9.4.3.3 Values and their Operations
      • 9.4.3.4 Chill type and range checks
      • 9.4.3.5 Chill defaults
• 10 Examining the Symbol Table
• 11 Altering Execution
  • 11.1 Assignment to variables
  • 11.2 Continuing at a different address
  • 11.3 Giving your program a signal
  • 11.4 Returning from a function
  • 11.5 Calling program functions
  • 11.6 Patching programs
• 12 GDB Files
  • 12.1 Commands to specify files
  • 12.2 Errors reading symbol files
• 13 Specifying a Debugging Target
  • 13.1 Active targets
  • 13.2 Commands for managing targets
  • 13.3 Choosing target byte order
  • 13.4 Remote debugging
    • 13.4.1 The GDB remote serial protocol
      • 13.4.1.1 What the stub can do for you
      • 13.4.1.2 What you must do for the stub
      • 13.4.1.3 Putting it all together
      • 13.4.1.4 Communication protocol
      • 13.4.1.5 Using the gdbserver program
      • 13.4.1.6 Using the gdbserve.nlm program
  • 13.5 Kernel Object Display
• 14 Configuration-Specific Information
  • 14.1 Native
    • 14.1.1 HP-UX
    • 14.1.2 SVR4 process information
  • 14.2 Embedded Operating Systems
    • 14.2.1 Using GDB with VxWorks
      • 14.2.1.1 Connecting to VxWorks
      • 14.2.1.2 VxWorks download
      • 14.2.1.3 Running tasks
  • 14.3 Embedded Processors
    • 14.3.1 AMD A29K Embedded
      • 14.3.1.1 A29K UDI
      • 14.3.1.2 EBMON protocol for AMD29K
      • 14.3.1.3 Communications setup
      • 14.3.1.4 EB29K cross-debugging
      • 14.3.1.5 Remote log
    • 14.3.2 ARM
    • 14.3.3 Hitachi H8/300
      • 14.3.3.1 Connecting to Hitachi boards
      • 14.3.3.2 Using the E7000 in-circuit emulator
      • 14.3.3.3 Special GDB commands for Hitachi micros
    • 14.3.4 H8/500
    • 14.3.5 Intel i960
      • 14.3.5.1 Startup with Nindy
      • 14.3.5.2 Options for Nindy
      • 14.3.5.3 Nindy reset command
    • 14.3.6 Mitsubishi M32R/D
    • 14.3.7 M68k
    • 14.3.8 M88K
    • 14.3.9 MIPS Embedded
    • 14.3.10 PowerPC
    • 14.3.11 HP PA Embedded
    • 14.3.12 Hitachi SH
    • 14.3.13 Tsqware Sparclet
      • 14.3.13.1 Setting file to debug
      • 14.3.13.2 Connecting to Sparclet
      • 14.3.13.3 Sparclet download
      • 14.3.13.4 Running and debugging
    • 14.3.14 Fujitsu Sparclite
    • 14.3.15 Tandem ST2000
    • 14.3.16 Zilog Z8000
  • 14.4 Architectures
    • 14.4.1 A29K
    • 14.4.2 Alpha
    • 14.4.3 MIPS
• 15 Controlling GDB
  • 15.1 Prompt
  • 15.2 Command editing
  • 15.3 Command history
  • 15.4 Screen size
  • 15.5 Numbers
  • 15.6 Optional warnings and messages
  • 15.7 Optional messages about internal happenings
• 16 Canned Sequences of Commands
  • 16.1 User-defined commands
  • 16.2 User-defined command hooks
  • 16.3 Command files
  • 16.4 Commands for controlled output
• 17 Using GDB under GNU Emacs
• 18 GDB Annotations
  • 18.1 What is an Annotation?
  • 18.2 The Server Prefix
  • 18.3 Values
  • 18.4 Frames
  • 18.5 Displays
  • 18.6 Annotation for GDB Input
  • 18.7 Errors
  • 18.8 Information on Breakpoints
  • 18.9 Invalidation Notices
  • 18.10 Running the Program
  • 18.11 Displaying Source
  • 18.12 Annotations We Might Want in the Future
• 19 The GDB/MI Interface
  • Function and Purpose
  • Notation and Terminology
  • 19.2 GDB/MI Command Syntax
    • 19.2.1 GDB/MI Input Syntax
    • 19.2.2 GDB/MI Output Syntax
    • 19.2.3 Simple Examples of GDB/MI Interaction
  • 19.3 GDB/MI Compatibility with CLI
  • 19.4 GDB/MI Output Records
    • 19.4.1 GDB/MI Result Records
    • 19.4.2 GDB/MI Stream Records
    • 19.4.3 GDB/MI Out-of-band Records
  • 19.5 GDB/MI Command Description Format
  • 19.6 GDB/MI Breakpoint table commands
  • 19.7 GDB/MI Data Manipulation
  • 19.8 GDB/MI Program control
  • 19.9 Miscellaneous GDB commands in GDB/MI
  • 19.10 Stack manipulation commands in GDB/MI
  • 19.11 GDB/MI Symbol Query Commands
  • 19.12 GDB/MI Target Manipulation Commands
  • 19.13 GDB/MI Thread Commands
  • 19.14 GDB/MI Tracepoint Commands
  • 19.15 GDB/MI Variable Objects
  • 19.16 GDB/MI Draft Changes to Output Syntax
• 20 Reporting Bugs in GDB
  • 20.1 Have you found a bug?
  • 20.2 How to report bugs
• 21 Command Line Editing
  • 21.1 Introduction to Line Editing
  • 21.2 Readline Interaction
    • 21.2.1 Readline Bare Essentials
    • 21.2.2 Readline Movement Commands
    • 21.2.3 Readline Killing Commands
    • 21.2.4 Readline Arguments
    • 21.2.5 Searching for Commands in the History
  • 21.3 Readline Init File
    • 21.3.1 Readline Init File Syntax
    • 21.3.2 Conditional Init Constructs
    • 21.3.3 Sample Init File
  • 21.4 Bindable Readline Commands
    • 21.4.1 Commands For Moving
    • 21.4.2 Commands For Manipulating The History
    • 21.4.3 Commands For Changing Text
    • 21.4.4 Killing And Yanking
    • 21.4.5 Specifying Numeric Arguments
    • 21.4.6 Letting Readline Type For You
    • 21.4.7 Keyboard Macros
    • 21.4.8 Some Miscellaneous Commands
  • 21.5 Readline vi Mode
• 22 Using History Interactively
  • 22.1 History Expansion
    • 22.1.1 Event Designators
    • 22.1.2 Word Designators
    • 22.1.3 Modifiers
• A Formatting Documentation
• B Installing GDB
  • 22.2 Compiling GDB in another directory
  • 22.3 Specifying names for hosts and targets
  • 22.4 configure options
• Index

This document was generated on 31 May 2000 using the texi2html translator version 1.51a.