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This is gdb.info, produced by makeinfo version 6.5 from gdb.texinfo.
Copyright (C) 1988-2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
Invariant Sections being "Free Software" and "Free Software Needs Free
Documentation", with the Front-Cover Texts being "A GNU Manual," and
with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below.
(a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: "You are free to copy and modify
this GNU Manual. Buying copies from GNU Press supports the FSF in
developing GNU and promoting software freedom."
INFO-DIR-SECTION Software development
START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* Gdb: (gdb). The GNU debugger.
* gdbserver: (gdb) Server. The GNU debugging server.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
This file documents the GNU debugger GDB.
This is the Tenth Edition, of 'Debugging with GDB: the GNU
Source-Level Debugger' for GDB (GDB) Version 9.1.
Copyright (C) 1988-2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
Invariant Sections being "Free Software" and "Free Software Needs Free
Documentation", with the Front-Cover Texts being "A GNU Manual," and
with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below.
(a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: "You are free to copy and modify
this GNU Manual. Buying copies from GNU Press supports the FSF in
developing GNU and promoting software freedom."

File: gdb.info, Node: Arithmetic In Guile, Next: Types In Guile, Prev: Values From Inferior In Guile, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.6 Arithmetic In Guile
............................
The '(gdb)' module provides several functions for performing arithmetic
on '<gdb:value>' objects. The arithmetic is performed as if it were
done by the target, and therefore has target semantics which are not
necessarily those of Scheme. For example operations work with a fixed
precision, not the arbitrary precision of Scheme.
Wherever a function takes an integer or pointer as an operand, GDB
will convert appropriate Scheme values to perform the operation.
-- Scheme Procedure: value-add a b
-- Scheme Procedure: value-sub a b
-- Scheme Procedure: value-mul a b
-- Scheme Procedure: value-div a b
-- Scheme Procedure: value-rem a b
-- Scheme Procedure: value-mod a b
-- Scheme Procedure: value-pow a b
-- Scheme Procedure: value-not a
-- Scheme Procedure: value-neg a
-- Scheme Procedure: value-pos a
-- Scheme Procedure: value-abs a
-- Scheme Procedure: value-lsh a b
-- Scheme Procedure: value-rsh a b
-- Scheme Procedure: value-min a b
-- Scheme Procedure: value-max a b
-- Scheme Procedure: value-lognot a
-- Scheme Procedure: value-logand a b
-- Scheme Procedure: value-logior a b
-- Scheme Procedure: value-logxor a b
-- Scheme Procedure: value=? a b
-- Scheme Procedure: value<? a b
-- Scheme Procedure: value<=? a b
-- Scheme Procedure: value>? a b
-- Scheme Procedure: value>=? a b
Scheme does not provide a 'not-equal' function, and thus Guile
support in GDB does not either.

File: gdb.info, Node: Types In Guile, Next: Guile Pretty Printing API, Prev: Arithmetic In Guile, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.7 Types In Guile
.......................
GDB represents types from the inferior in objects of type '<gdb:type>'.
The following type-related procedures are provided by the '(gdb)'
module.
-- Scheme Procedure: type? object
Return '#t' if OBJECT is an object of type '<gdb:type>'. Otherwise
return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: lookup-type name [#:block block]
This function looks up a type by its NAME, which must be a string.
If BLOCK is given, it is an object of type '<gdb:block>', and NAME
is looked up in that scope. Otherwise, it is searched for
globally.
Ordinarily, this function will return an instance of '<gdb:type>'.
If the named type cannot be found, it will throw an exception.
-- Scheme Procedure: type-code type
Return the type code of TYPE. The type code will be one of the
'TYPE_CODE_' constants defined below.
-- Scheme Procedure: type-tag type
Return the tag name of TYPE. The tag name is the name after
'struct', 'union', or 'enum' in C and C++; not all languages have
this concept. If this type has no tag name, then '#f' is returned.
-- Scheme Procedure: type-name type
Return the name of TYPE. If this type has no name, then '#f' is
returned.
-- Scheme Procedure: type-print-name type
Return the print name of TYPE. This returns something even for
anonymous types. For example, for an anonymous C struct '"struct
{...}"' is returned.
-- Scheme Procedure: type-sizeof type
Return the size of this type, in target 'char' units. Usually, a
target's 'char' type will be an 8-bit byte. However, on some
unusual platforms, this type may have a different size.
-- Scheme Procedure: type-strip-typedefs type
Return a new '<gdb:type>' that represents the real type of TYPE,
after removing all layers of typedefs.
-- Scheme Procedure: type-array type n1 [n2]
Return a new '<gdb:type>' object which represents an array of this
type. If one argument is given, it is the inclusive upper bound of
the array; in this case the lower bound is zero. If two arguments
are given, the first argument is the lower bound of the array, and
the second argument is the upper bound of the array. An array's
length must not be negative, but the bounds can be.
-- Scheme Procedure: type-vector type n1 [n2]
Return a new '<gdb:type>' object which represents a vector of this
type. If one argument is given, it is the inclusive upper bound of
the vector; in this case the lower bound is zero. If two arguments
are given, the first argument is the lower bound of the vector, and
the second argument is the upper bound of the vector. A vector's
length must not be negative, but the bounds can be.
The difference between an 'array' and a 'vector' is that arrays
behave like in C: when used in expressions they decay to a pointer
to the first element whereas vectors are treated as first class
values.
-- Scheme Procedure: type-pointer type
Return a new '<gdb:type>' object which represents a pointer to
TYPE.
-- Scheme Procedure: type-range type
Return a list of two elements: the low bound and high bound of
TYPE. If TYPE does not have a range, an exception is thrown.
-- Scheme Procedure: type-reference type
Return a new '<gdb:type>' object which represents a reference to
TYPE.
-- Scheme Procedure: type-target type
Return a new '<gdb:type>' object which represents the target type
of TYPE.
For a pointer type, the target type is the type of the pointed-to
object. For an array type (meaning C-like arrays), the target type
is the type of the elements of the array. For a function or method
type, the target type is the type of the return value. For a
complex type, the target type is the type of the elements. For a
typedef, the target type is the aliased type.
If the type does not have a target, this method will throw an
exception.
-- Scheme Procedure: type-const type
Return a new '<gdb:type>' object which represents a
'const'-qualified variant of TYPE.
-- Scheme Procedure: type-volatile type
Return a new '<gdb:type>' object which represents a
'volatile'-qualified variant of TYPE.
-- Scheme Procedure: type-unqualified type
Return a new '<gdb:type>' object which represents an unqualified
variant of TYPE. That is, the result is neither 'const' nor
'volatile'.
-- Scheme Procedure: type-num-fields
Return the number of fields of '<gdb:type>' TYPE.
-- Scheme Procedure: type-fields type
Return the fields of TYPE as a list. For structure and union
types, 'fields' has the usual meaning. Range types have two
fields, the minimum and maximum values. Enum types have one field
per enum constant. Function and method types have one field per
parameter. The base types of C++ classes are also represented as
fields. If the type has no fields, or does not fit into one of
these categories, an empty list will be returned. *Note Fields of
a type in Guile::.
-- Scheme Procedure: make-field-iterator type
Return the fields of TYPE as a <gdb:iterator> object. *Note
Iterators In Guile::.
-- Scheme Procedure: type-field type field-name
Return field named FIELD-NAME in TYPE. The result is an object of
type '<gdb:field>'. *Note Fields of a type in Guile::. If the
type does not have fields, or FIELD-NAME is not a field of TYPE, an
exception is thrown.
For example, if 'some-type' is a '<gdb:type>' instance holding a
structure type, you can access its 'foo' field with:
(define bar (type-field some-type "foo"))
'bar' will be a '<gdb:field>' object.
-- Scheme Procedure: type-has-field? type name
Return '#t' if '<gdb:type>' TYPE has field named NAME. Otherwise
return '#f'.
Each type has a code, which indicates what category this type falls
into. The available type categories are represented by constants
defined in the '(gdb)' module:
'TYPE_CODE_PTR'
The type is a pointer.
'TYPE_CODE_ARRAY'
The type is an array.
'TYPE_CODE_STRUCT'
The type is a structure.
'TYPE_CODE_UNION'
The type is a union.
'TYPE_CODE_ENUM'
The type is an enum.
'TYPE_CODE_FLAGS'
A bit flags type, used for things such as status registers.
'TYPE_CODE_FUNC'
The type is a function.
'TYPE_CODE_INT'
The type is an integer type.
'TYPE_CODE_FLT'
A floating point type.
'TYPE_CODE_VOID'
The special type 'void'.
'TYPE_CODE_SET'
A Pascal set type.
'TYPE_CODE_RANGE'
A range type, that is, an integer type with bounds.
'TYPE_CODE_STRING'
A string type. Note that this is only used for certain languages
with language-defined string types; C strings are not represented
this way.
'TYPE_CODE_BITSTRING'
A string of bits. It is deprecated.
'TYPE_CODE_ERROR'
An unknown or erroneous type.
'TYPE_CODE_METHOD'
A method type, as found in C++.
'TYPE_CODE_METHODPTR'
A pointer-to-member-function.
'TYPE_CODE_MEMBERPTR'
A pointer-to-member.
'TYPE_CODE_REF'
A reference type.
'TYPE_CODE_CHAR'
A character type.
'TYPE_CODE_BOOL'
A boolean type.
'TYPE_CODE_COMPLEX'
A complex float type.
'TYPE_CODE_TYPEDEF'
A typedef to some other type.
'TYPE_CODE_NAMESPACE'
A C++ namespace.
'TYPE_CODE_DECFLOAT'
A decimal floating point type.
'TYPE_CODE_INTERNAL_FUNCTION'
A function internal to GDB. This is the type used to represent
convenience functions (*note Convenience Funs::).
Further support for types is provided in the '(gdb types)' Guile
module (*note Guile Types Module::).
Each field is represented as an object of type '<gdb:field>'.
The following field-related procedures are provided by the '(gdb)'
module:
-- Scheme Procedure: field? object
Return '#t' if OBJECT is an object of type '<gdb:field>'.
Otherwise return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: field-name field
Return the name of the field, or '#f' for anonymous fields.
-- Scheme Procedure: field-type field
Return the type of the field. This is usually an instance of
'<gdb:type>', but it can be '#f' in some situations.
-- Scheme Procedure: field-enumval field
Return the enum value represented by '<gdb:field>' FIELD.
-- Scheme Procedure: field-bitpos field
Return the bit position of '<gdb:field>' FIELD. This attribute is
not available for 'static' fields (as in C++).
-- Scheme Procedure: field-bitsize field
If the field is packed, or is a bitfield, return the size of
'<gdb:field>' FIELD in bits. Otherwise, zero is returned; in which
case the field's size is given by its type.
-- Scheme Procedure: field-artificial? field
Return '#t' if the field is artificial, usually meaning that it was
provided by the compiler and not the user. Otherwise return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: field-base-class? field
Return '#t' if the field represents a base class of a C++
structure. Otherwise return '#f'.

File: gdb.info, Node: Guile Pretty Printing API, Next: Selecting Guile Pretty-Printers, Prev: Types In Guile, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.8 Guile Pretty Printing API
..................................
An example output is provided (*note Pretty Printing::).
A pretty-printer is represented by an object of type
<gdb:pretty-printer>. Pretty-printer objects are created with
'make-pretty-printer'.
The following pretty-printer-related procedures are provided by the
'(gdb)' module:
-- Scheme Procedure: make-pretty-printer name lookup-function
Return a '<gdb:pretty-printer>' object named NAME.
LOOKUP-FUNCTION is a function of one parameter: the value to be
printed. If the value is handled by this pretty-printer, then
LOOKUP-FUNCTION returns an object of type
<gdb:pretty-printer-worker> to perform the actual pretty-printing.
Otherwise LOOKUP-FUNCTION returns '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: pretty-printer? object
Return '#t' if OBJECT is a '<gdb:pretty-printer>' object.
Otherwise return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: pretty-printer-enabled? pretty-printer
Return '#t' if PRETTY-PRINTER is enabled. Otherwise return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: set-pretty-printer-enabled! pretty-printer flag
Set the enabled flag of PRETTY-PRINTER to FLAG. The value returned
is unspecified.
-- Scheme Procedure: pretty-printers
Return the list of global pretty-printers.
-- Scheme Procedure: set-pretty-printers! pretty-printers
Set the list of global pretty-printers to PRETTY-PRINTERS. The
value returned is unspecified.
-- Scheme Procedure: make-pretty-printer-worker display-hint to-string
children
Return an object of type '<gdb:pretty-printer-worker>'.
This function takes three parameters:
'display-hint'
DISPLAY-HINT provides a hint to GDB or GDB front end via MI to
change the formatting of the value being printed. The value
must be a string or '#f' (meaning there is no hint). Several
values for DISPLAY-HINT are predefined by GDB:
'array'
Indicate that the object being printed is "array-like".
The CLI uses this to respect parameters such as 'set
print elements' and 'set print array'.
'map'
Indicate that the object being printed is "map-like", and
that the children of this value can be assumed to
alternate between keys and values.
'string'
Indicate that the object being printed is "string-like".
If the printer's 'to-string' function returns a Guile
string of some kind, then GDB will call its internal
language-specific string-printing function to format the
string. For the CLI this means adding quotation marks,
possibly escaping some characters, respecting 'set print
elements', and the like.
'to-string'
TO-STRING is either a function of one parameter, the
'<gdb:pretty-printer-worker>' object, or '#f'.
When printing from the CLI, if the 'to-string' method exists,
then GDB will prepend its result to the values returned by
'children'. Exactly how this formatting is done is dependent
on the display hint, and may change as more hints are added.
Also, depending on the print settings (*note Print
Settings::), the CLI may print just the result of 'to-string'
in a stack trace, omitting the result of 'children'.
If this method returns a string, it is printed verbatim.
Otherwise, if this method returns an instance of
'<gdb:value>', then GDB prints this value. This may result in
a call to another pretty-printer.
If instead the method returns a Guile value which is
convertible to a '<gdb:value>', then GDB performs the
conversion and prints the resulting value. Again, this may
result in a call to another pretty-printer. Guile scalars
(integers, floats, and booleans) and strings are convertible
to '<gdb:value>'; other types are not.
Finally, if this method returns '#f' then no further
operations are peformed in this method and nothing is printed.
If the result is not one of these types, an exception is
raised.
TO-STRING may also be '#f' in which case it is left to
CHILDREN to print the value.
'children'
CHILDREN is either a function of one parameter, the
'<gdb:pretty-printer-worker>' object, or '#f'.
GDB will call this function on a pretty-printer to compute the
children of the pretty-printer's value.
This function must return a <gdb:iterator> object. Each item
returned by the iterator must be a tuple holding two elements.
The first element is the "name" of the child; the second
element is the child's value. The value can be any Guile
object which is convertible to a GDB value.
If CHILDREN is '#f', GDB will act as though the value has no
children.
Children may be hidden from display based on the value of 'set
print max-depth' (*note Print Settings::).
GDB provides a function which can be used to look up the default
pretty-printer for a '<gdb:value>':
-- Scheme Procedure: default-visualizer value
This function takes a '<gdb:value>' object as an argument. If a
pretty-printer for this value exists, then it is returned. If no
such printer exists, then this returns '#f'.

File: gdb.info, Node: Selecting Guile Pretty-Printers, Next: Writing a Guile Pretty-Printer, Prev: Guile Pretty Printing API, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.9 Selecting Guile Pretty-Printers
........................................
There are three sets of pretty-printers that GDB searches:
* Per-objfile list of pretty-printers (*note Objfiles In Guile::).
* Per-progspace list of pretty-printers (*note Progspaces In
Guile::).
* The global list of pretty-printers (*note Guile Pretty Printing
API::). These printers are available when debugging any inferior.
Pretty-printer lookup is done by passing the value to be printed to
the lookup function of each enabled object in turn. Lookup stops when a
lookup function returns a non-'#f' value or when the list is exhausted.
Lookup functions must return either a '<gdb:pretty-printer-worker>'
object or '#f'. Otherwise an exception is thrown.
GDB first checks the result of 'objfile-pretty-printers' of each
'<gdb:objfile>' in the current program space and iteratively calls each
enabled lookup function in the list for that '<gdb:objfile>' until a
non-'#f' object is returned. If no pretty-printer is found in the
objfile lists, GDB then searches the result of
'progspace-pretty-printers' of the current program space, calling each
enabled function until a non-'#f' object is returned. After these lists
have been exhausted, it tries the global pretty-printers list, obtained
with 'pretty-printers', again calling each enabled function until a
non-'#f' object is returned.
The order in which the objfiles are searched is not specified. For a
given list, functions are always invoked from the head of the list, and
iterated over sequentially until the end of the list, or a
'<gdb:pretty-printer-worker>' object is returned.
For various reasons a pretty-printer may not work. For example, the
underlying data structure may have changed and the pretty-printer is out
of date.
The consequences of a broken pretty-printer are severe enough that
GDB provides support for enabling and disabling individual printers.
For example, if 'print frame-arguments' is on, a backtrace can become
highly illegible if any argument is printed with a broken printer.
Pretty-printers are enabled and disabled from Scheme by calling
'set-pretty-printer-enabled!'. *Note Guile Pretty Printing API::.

File: gdb.info, Node: Writing a Guile Pretty-Printer, Next: Commands In Guile, Prev: Selecting Guile Pretty-Printers, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.10 Writing a Guile Pretty-Printer
........................................
A pretty-printer consists of two basic parts: a lookup function to
determine if the type is supported, and the printer itself.
Here is an example showing how a 'std::string' printer might be
written. *Note Guile Pretty Printing API::, for details.
(define (make-my-string-printer value)
"Print a my::string string"
(make-pretty-printer-worker
"string"
(lambda (printer)
(value-field value "_data"))
#f))
And here is an example showing how a lookup function for the printer
example above might be written.
(define (str-lookup-function pretty-printer value)
(let ((tag (type-tag (value-type value))))
(and tag
(string-prefix? "std::string<" tag)
(make-my-string-printer value))))
Then to register this printer in the global printer list:
(append-pretty-printer!
(make-pretty-printer "my-string" str-lookup-function))
The example lookup function extracts the value's type, and attempts
to match it to a type that it can pretty-print. If it is a type the
printer can pretty-print, it will return a <gdb:pretty-printer-worker>
object. If not, it returns '#f'.
We recommend that you put your core pretty-printers into a Guile
package. If your pretty-printers are for use with a library, we further
recommend embedding a version number into the package name. This
practice will enable GDB to load multiple versions of your
pretty-printers at the same time, because they will have different
names.
You should write auto-loaded code (*note Guile Auto-loading::) such
that it can be evaluated multiple times without changing its meaning.
An ideal auto-load file will consist solely of 'import's of your printer
modules, followed by a call to a register pretty-printers with the
current objfile.
Taken as a whole, this approach will scale nicely to multiple
inferiors, each potentially using a different library version.
Embedding a version number in the Guile package name will ensure that
GDB is able to load both sets of printers simultaneously. Then, because
the search for pretty-printers is done by objfile, and because your
auto-loaded code took care to register your library's printers with a
specific objfile, GDB will find the correct printers for the specific
version of the library used by each inferior.
To continue the 'my::string' example, this code might appear in
'(my-project my-library v1)':
(use-modules (gdb))
(define (register-printers objfile)
(append-objfile-pretty-printer!
(make-pretty-printer "my-string" str-lookup-function)))
And then the corresponding contents of the auto-load file would be:
(use-modules (gdb) (my-project my-library v1))
(register-printers (current-objfile))
The previous example illustrates a basic pretty-printer. There are a
few things that can be improved on. The printer only handles one type,
whereas a library typically has several types. One could install a
lookup function for each desired type in the library, but one could also
have a single lookup function recognize several types. The latter is
the conventional way this is handled. If a pretty-printer can handle
multiple data types, then its "subprinters" are the printers for the
individual data types.
The '(gdb printing)' module provides a formal way of solving this
problem (*note Guile Printing Module::). Here is another example that
handles multiple types.
These are the types we are going to pretty-print:
struct foo { int a, b; };
struct bar { struct foo x, y; };
Here are the printers:
(define (make-foo-printer value)
"Print a foo object"
(make-pretty-printer-worker
"foo"
(lambda (printer)
(format #f "a=<~a> b=<~a>"
(value-field value "a") (value-field value "a")))
#f))
(define (make-bar-printer value)
"Print a bar object"
(make-pretty-printer-worker
"foo"
(lambda (printer)
(format #f "x=<~a> y=<~a>"
(value-field value "x") (value-field value "y")))
#f))
This example doesn't need a lookup function, that is handled by the
'(gdb printing)' module. Instead a function is provided to build up the
object that handles the lookup.
(use-modules (gdb printing))
(define (build-pretty-printer)
(let ((pp (make-pretty-printer-collection "my-library")))
(pp-collection-add-tag-printer "foo" make-foo-printer)
(pp-collection-add-tag-printer "bar" make-bar-printer)
pp))
And here is the autoload support:
(use-modules (gdb) (my-library))
(append-objfile-pretty-printer! (current-objfile) (build-pretty-printer))
Finally, when this printer is loaded into GDB, here is the
corresponding output of 'info pretty-printer':
(gdb) info pretty-printer
my_library.so:
my-library
foo
bar

File: gdb.info, Node: Commands In Guile, Next: Parameters In Guile, Prev: Writing a Guile Pretty-Printer, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.11 Commands In Guile
...........................
You can implement new GDB CLI commands in Guile. A CLI command object
is created with the 'make-command' Guile function, and added to GDB with
the 'register-command!' Guile function. This two-step approach is taken
to separate out the side-effect of adding the command to GDB from
'make-command'.
There is no support for multi-line commands, that is commands that
consist of multiple lines and are terminated with 'end'.
-- Scheme Procedure: (make-command name [#:invoke invoke]
[#:command-class command-class] [#:completer-class completer]
[#:prefix? prefix] [#:doc doc-string])
The argument NAME is the name of the command. If NAME consists of
multiple words, then the initial words are looked for as prefix
commands. In this case, if one of the prefix commands does not
exist, an exception is raised.
The result is the '<gdb:command>' object representing the command.
The command is not usable until it has been registered with GDB
with 'register-command!'.
The rest of the arguments are optional.
The argument INVOKE is a procedure of three arguments: SELF, ARGS
and FROM-TTY. The argument SELF is the '<gdb:command>' object
representing the command. The argument ARGS is a string
representing the arguments passed to the command, after leading and
trailing whitespace has been stripped. The argument FROM-TTY is a
boolean flag and specifies whether the command should consider
itself to have been originated from the user invoking it
interactively. If this function throws an exception, it is turned
into a GDB 'error' call. Otherwise, the return value is ignored.
The argument COMMAND-CLASS is one of the 'COMMAND_' constants
defined below. This argument tells GDB how to categorize the new
command in the help system. The default is 'COMMAND_NONE'.
The argument COMPLETER is either '#f', one of the 'COMPLETE_'
constants defined below, or a procedure, also defined below. This
argument tells GDB how to perform completion for this command. If
not provided or if the value is '#f', then no completion is
performed on the command.
The argument PREFIX is a boolean flag indicating whether the new
command is a prefix command; sub-commands of this command may be
registered.
The argument DOC-STRING is help text for the new command. If no
documentation string is provided, the default value "This command
is not documented." is used.
-- Scheme Procedure: register-command! command
Add COMMAND, a '<gdb:command>' object, to GDB's list of commands.
It is an error to register a command more than once. The result is
unspecified.
-- Scheme Procedure: command? object
Return '#t' if OBJECT is a '<gdb:command>' object. Otherwise
return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: dont-repeat
By default, a GDB command is repeated when the user enters a blank
line at the command prompt. A command can suppress this behavior
by invoking the 'dont-repeat' function. This is similar to the
user command 'dont-repeat', see *note dont-repeat: Define.
-- Scheme Procedure: string->argv string
Convert a string to a list of strings split up according to GDB's
argv parsing rules. It is recommended to use this for consistency.
Arguments are separated by spaces and may be quoted. Example:
scheme@(guile-user)> (string->argv "1 2\\ \\\"3 '4 \"5' \"6 '7\"")
$1 = ("1" "2 \"3" "4 \"5" "6 '7")
-- Scheme Procedure: throw-user-error message . args
Throw a 'gdb:user-error' exception. The argument MESSAGE is the
error message as a format string, like the FMT argument to the
'format' Scheme function. *Note (guile)Formatted Output::. The
argument ARGS is a list of the optional arguments of MESSAGE.
This is used when the command detects a user error of some kind,
say a bad command argument.
(gdb) guile (use-modules (gdb))
(gdb) guile
(register-command! (make-command "test-user-error"
#:command-class COMMAND_OBSCURE
#:invoke (lambda (self arg from-tty)
(throw-user-error "Bad argument ~a" arg))))
end
(gdb) test-user-error ugh
ERROR: Bad argument ugh
-- completer: self text word
If the COMPLETER option to 'make-command' is a procedure, it takes
three arguments: SELF which is the '<gdb:command>' object, and TEXT
and WORD which are both strings. The argument TEXT holds the
complete command line up to the cursor's location. The argument
WORD holds the last word of the command line; this is computed
using a word-breaking heuristic.
All forms of completion are handled by this function, that is, the
<TAB> and <M-?> key bindings (*note Completion::), and the
'complete' command (*note complete: Help.).
This procedure can return several kinds of values:
* If the return value is a list, the contents of the list are
used as the completions. It is up to COMPLETER to ensure that
the contents actually do complete the word. An empty list is
allowed, it means that there were no completions available.
Only string elements of the list are used; other elements in
the list are ignored.
* If the return value is a '<gdb:iterator>' object, it is
iterated over to obtain the completions. It is up to
'completer-procedure' to ensure that the results actually do
complete the word. Only string elements of the result are
used; other elements in the sequence are ignored.
* All other results are treated as though there were no
available completions.
When a new command is registered, it will have been declared as a
member of some general class of commands. This is used to classify
top-level commands in the on-line help system; note that prefix commands
are not listed under their own category but rather that of their
top-level command. The available classifications are represented by
constants defined in the 'gdb' module:
'COMMAND_NONE'
The command does not belong to any particular class. A command in
this category will not be displayed in any of the help categories.
This is the default.
'COMMAND_RUNNING'
The command is related to running the inferior. For example,
'start', 'step', and 'continue' are in this category. Type 'help
running' at the GDB prompt to see a list of commands in this
category.
'COMMAND_DATA'
The command is related to data or variables. For example, 'call',
'find', and 'print' are in this category. Type 'help data' at the
GDB prompt to see a list of commands in this category.
'COMMAND_STACK'
The command has to do with manipulation of the stack. For example,
'backtrace', 'frame', and 'return' are in this category. Type
'help stack' at the GDB prompt to see a list of commands in this
category.
'COMMAND_FILES'
This class is used for file-related commands. For example, 'file',
'list' and 'section' are in this category. Type 'help files' at
the GDB prompt to see a list of commands in this category.
'COMMAND_SUPPORT'
This should be used for "support facilities", generally meaning
things that are useful to the user when interacting with GDB, but
not related to the state of the inferior. For example, 'help',
'make', and 'shell' are in this category. Type 'help support' at
the GDB prompt to see a list of commands in this category.
'COMMAND_STATUS'
The command is an 'info'-related command, that is, related to the
state of GDB itself. For example, 'info', 'macro', and 'show' are
in this category. Type 'help status' at the GDB prompt to see a
list of commands in this category.
'COMMAND_BREAKPOINTS'
The command has to do with breakpoints. For example, 'break',
'clear', and 'delete' are in this category. Type 'help
breakpoints' at the GDB prompt to see a list of commands in this
category.
'COMMAND_TRACEPOINTS'
The command has to do with tracepoints. For example, 'trace',
'actions', and 'tfind' are in this category. Type 'help
tracepoints' at the GDB prompt to see a list of commands in this
category.
'COMMAND_USER'
The command is a general purpose command for the user, and
typically does not fit in one of the other categories. Type 'help
user-defined' at the GDB prompt to see a list of commands in this
category, as well as the list of gdb macros (*note Sequences::).
'COMMAND_OBSCURE'
The command is only used in unusual circumstances, or is not of
general interest to users. For example, 'checkpoint', 'fork', and
'stop' are in this category. Type 'help obscure' at the GDB prompt
to see a list of commands in this category.
'COMMAND_MAINTENANCE'
The command is only useful to GDB maintainers. The 'maintenance'
and 'flushregs' commands are in this category. Type 'help
internals' at the GDB prompt to see a list of commands in this
category.
A new command can use a predefined completion function, either by
specifying it via an argument at initialization, or by returning it from
the 'completer' procedure. These predefined completion constants are
all defined in the 'gdb' module:
'COMPLETE_NONE'
This constant means that no completion should be done.
'COMPLETE_FILENAME'
This constant means that filename completion should be performed.
'COMPLETE_LOCATION'
This constant means that location completion should be done. *Note
Specify Location::.
'COMPLETE_COMMAND'
This constant means that completion should examine GDB command
names.
'COMPLETE_SYMBOL'
This constant means that completion should be done using symbol
names as the source.
'COMPLETE_EXPRESSION'
This constant means that completion should be done on expressions.
Often this means completing on symbol names, but some language
parsers also have support for completing on field names.
The following code snippet shows how a trivial CLI command can be
implemented in Guile:
(gdb) guile
(register-command! (make-command "hello-world"
#:command-class COMMAND_USER
#:doc "Greet the whole world."
#:invoke (lambda (self args from-tty) (display "Hello, World!\n"))))
end
(gdb) hello-world
Hello, World!

File: gdb.info, Node: Parameters In Guile, Next: Progspaces In Guile, Prev: Commands In Guile, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.12 Parameters In Guile
.............................
You can implement new GDB "parameters" using Guile (1).
There are many parameters that already exist and can be set in GDB.
Two examples are: 'set follow-fork' and 'set charset'. Setting these
parameters influences certain behavior in GDB. Similarly, you can
define parameters that can be used to influence behavior in custom Guile
scripts and commands.
A new parameter is defined with the 'make-parameter' Guile function,
and added to GDB with the 'register-parameter!' Guile function. This
two-step approach is taken to separate out the side-effect of adding the
parameter to GDB from 'make-parameter'.
Parameters are exposed to the user via the 'set' and 'show' commands.
*Note Help::.
-- Scheme Procedure: (make-parameter name [#:command-class
command-class] [#:parameter-type parameter-type] [#:enum-list
enum-list] [#:set-func set-func] [#:show-func show-func]
[#:doc doc] [#:set-doc set-doc] [#:show-doc show-doc]
[#:initial-value initial-value])
The argument NAME is the name of the new parameter. If NAME
consists of multiple words, then the initial words are looked for
as prefix parameters. An example of this can be illustrated with
the 'set print' set of parameters. If NAME is 'print foo', then
'print' will be searched as the prefix parameter. In this case the
parameter can subsequently be accessed in GDB as 'set print foo'.
If NAME consists of multiple words, and no prefix parameter group
can be found, an exception is raised.
The result is the '<gdb:parameter>' object representing the
parameter. The parameter is not usable until it has been
registered with GDB with 'register-parameter!'.
The rest of the arguments are optional.
The argument COMMAND-CLASS should be one of the 'COMMAND_'
constants (*note Commands In Guile::). This argument tells GDB how
to categorize the new parameter in the help system. The default is
'COMMAND_NONE'.
The argument PARAMETER-TYPE should be one of the 'PARAM_' constants
defined below. This argument tells GDB the type of the new
parameter; this information is used for input validation and
completion. The default is 'PARAM_BOOLEAN'.
If PARAMETER-TYPE is 'PARAM_ENUM', then ENUM-LIST must be a list of
strings. These strings represent the possible values for the
parameter.
If PARAMETER-TYPE is not 'PARAM_ENUM', then the presence of
ENUM-LIST will cause an exception to be thrown.
The argument SET-FUNC is a function of one argument: SELF which is
the '<gdb:parameter>' object representing the parameter. GDB will
call this function when a PARAMETER's value has been changed via
the 'set' API (for example, 'set foo off'). The value of the
parameter has already been set to the new value. This function
must return a string to be displayed to the user. GDB will add a
trailing newline if the string is non-empty. GDB generally doesn't
print anything when a parameter is set, thus typically this
function should return '""'. A non-empty string result should
typically be used for displaying warnings and errors.
The argument SHOW-FUNC is a function of two arguments: SELF which
is the '<gdb:parameter>' object representing the parameter, and
SVALUE which is the string representation of the current value.
GDB will call this function when a PARAMETER's 'show' API has been
invoked (for example, 'show foo'). This function must return a
string, and will be displayed to the user. GDB will add a trailing
newline.
The argument DOC is the help text for the new parameter. If there
is no documentation string, a default value is used.
The argument SET-DOC is the help text for this parameter's 'set'
command.
The argument SHOW-DOC is the help text for this parameter's 'show'
command.
The argument INITIAL-VALUE specifies the initial value of the
parameter. If it is a function, it takes one parameter, the
'<gdb:parameter>' object and its result is used as the initial
value of the parameter. The initial value must be valid for the
parameter type, otherwise an exception is thrown.
-- Scheme Procedure: register-parameter! parameter
Add PARAMETER, a '<gdb:parameter>' object, to GDB's list of
parameters. It is an error to register a parameter more than once.
The result is unspecified.
-- Scheme Procedure: parameter? object
Return '#t' if OBJECT is a '<gdb:parameter>' object. Otherwise
return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: parameter-value parameter
Return the value of PARAMETER which may either be a
'<gdb:parameter>' object or a string naming the parameter.
-- Scheme Procedure: set-parameter-value! parameter new-value
Assign PARAMETER the value of NEW-VALUE. The argument PARAMETER
must be an object of type '<gdb:parameter>'. GDB does validation
when assignments are made.
When a new parameter is defined, its type must be specified. The
available types are represented by constants defined in the 'gdb'
module:
'PARAM_BOOLEAN'
The value is a plain boolean. The Guile boolean values, '#t' and
'#f' are the only valid values.
'PARAM_AUTO_BOOLEAN'
The value has three possible states: true, false, and 'auto'. In
Guile, true and false are represented using boolean constants, and
'auto' is represented using '#:auto'.
'PARAM_UINTEGER'
The value is an unsigned integer. The value of 0 should be
interpreted to mean "unlimited".
'PARAM_ZINTEGER'
The value is an integer.
'PARAM_ZUINTEGER'
The value is an unsigned integer.
'PARAM_ZUINTEGER_UNLIMITED'
The value is an integer in the range '[0, INT_MAX]'. A value of
'-1' means "unlimited", and other negative numbers are not allowed.
'PARAM_STRING'
The value is a string. When the user modifies the string, any
escape sequences, such as '\t', '\f', and octal escapes, are
translated into corresponding characters and encoded into the
current host charset.
'PARAM_STRING_NOESCAPE'
The value is a string. When the user modifies the string, escapes
are passed through untranslated.
'PARAM_OPTIONAL_FILENAME'
The value is a either a filename (a string), or '#f'.
'PARAM_FILENAME'
The value is a filename. This is just like
'PARAM_STRING_NOESCAPE', but uses file names for completion.
'PARAM_ENUM'
The value is a string, which must be one of a collection of string
constants provided when the parameter is created.
---------- Footnotes ----------
(1) Note that GDB parameters must not be confused with Guile’s
parameter objects (*note (guile)Parameters::).

File: gdb.info, Node: Progspaces In Guile, Next: Objfiles In Guile, Prev: Parameters In Guile, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.13 Program Spaces In Guile
.................................
A program space, or "progspace", represents a symbolic view of an
address space. It consists of all of the objfiles of the program.
*Note Objfiles In Guile::. *Note program spaces: Inferiors and
Programs, for more details about program spaces.
Each progspace is represented by an instance of the '<gdb:progspace>'
smob. *Note GDB Scheme Data Types::.
The following progspace-related functions are available in the
'(gdb)' module:
-- Scheme Procedure: progspace? object
Return '#t' if OBJECT is a '<gdb:progspace>' object. Otherwise
return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: progspace-valid? progspace
Return '#t' if PROGSPACE is valid, '#f' if not. A
'<gdb:progspace>' object can become invalid if the program it
refers to is not loaded in GDB any longer.
-- Scheme Procedure: current-progspace
This function returns the program space of the currently selected
inferior. There is always a current progspace, this never returns
'#f'. *Note Inferiors and Programs::.
-- Scheme Procedure: progspaces
Return a list of all the progspaces currently known to GDB.
-- Scheme Procedure: progspace-filename progspace
Return the absolute file name of PROGSPACE as a string. This is
the name of the file passed as the argument to the 'file' or
'symbol-file' commands. If the program space does not have an
associated file name, then '#f' is returned. This occurs, for
example, when GDB is started without a program to debug.
A 'gdb:invalid-object-error' exception is thrown if PROGSPACE is
invalid.
-- Scheme Procedure: progspace-objfiles progspace
Return the list of objfiles of PROGSPACE. The order of objfiles in
the result is arbitrary. Each element is an object of type
'<gdb:objfile>'. *Note Objfiles In Guile::.
A 'gdb:invalid-object-error' exception is thrown if PROGSPACE is
invalid.
-- Scheme Procedure: progspace-pretty-printers progspace
Return the list of pretty-printers of PROGSPACE. Each element is
an object of type '<gdb:pretty-printer>'. *Note Guile Pretty
Printing API::, for more information.
-- Scheme Procedure: set-progspace-pretty-printers! progspace
printer-list
Set the list of registered '<gdb:pretty-printer>' objects for
PROGSPACE to PRINTER-LIST. *Note Guile Pretty Printing API::, for
more information.

File: gdb.info, Node: Objfiles In Guile, Next: Frames In Guile, Prev: Progspaces In Guile, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.14 Objfiles In Guile
...........................
GDB loads symbols for an inferior from various symbol-containing files
(*note Files::). These include the primary executable file, any shared
libraries used by the inferior, and any separate debug info files (*note
Separate Debug Files::). GDB calls these symbol-containing files
"objfiles".
Each objfile is represented as an object of type '<gdb:objfile>'.
The following objfile-related procedures are provided by the '(gdb)'
module:
-- Scheme Procedure: objfile? object
Return '#t' if OBJECT is a '<gdb:objfile>' object. Otherwise
return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: objfile-valid? objfile
Return '#t' if OBJFILE is valid, '#f' if not. A '<gdb:objfile>'
object can become invalid if the object file it refers to is not
loaded in GDB any longer. All other '<gdb:objfile>' procedures
will throw an exception if it is invalid at the time the procedure
is called.
-- Scheme Procedure: objfile-filename objfile
Return the file name of OBJFILE as a string, with symbolic links
resolved.
-- Scheme Procedure: objfile-progspace objfile
Return the '<gdb:progspace>' that this object file lives in. *Note
Progspaces In Guile::, for more on progspaces.
-- Scheme Procedure: objfile-pretty-printers objfile
Return the list of registered '<gdb:pretty-printer>' objects for
OBJFILE. *Note Guile Pretty Printing API::, for more information.
-- Scheme Procedure: set-objfile-pretty-printers! objfile printer-list
Set the list of registered '<gdb:pretty-printer>' objects for
OBJFILE to PRINTER-LIST. The PRINTER-LIST must be a list of
'<gdb:pretty-printer>' objects. *Note Guile Pretty Printing API::,
for more information.
-- Scheme Procedure: current-objfile
When auto-loading a Guile script (*note Guile Auto-loading::), GDB
sets the "current objfile" to the corresponding objfile. This
function returns the current objfile. If there is no current
objfile, this function returns '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: objfiles
Return a list of all the objfiles in the current program space.

File: gdb.info, Node: Frames In Guile, Next: Blocks In Guile, Prev: Objfiles In Guile, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.15 Accessing inferior stack frames from Guile.
.....................................................
When the debugged program stops, GDB is able to analyze its call stack
(*note Stack frames: Frames.). The '<gdb:frame>' class represents a
frame in the stack. A '<gdb:frame>' object is only valid while its
corresponding frame exists in the inferior's stack. If you try to use
an invalid frame object, GDB will throw a 'gdb:invalid-object' exception
(*note Guile Exception Handling::).
Two '<gdb:frame>' objects can be compared for equality with the
'equal?' function, like:
(gdb) guile (equal? (newest-frame) (selected-frame))
#t
The following frame-related procedures are provided by the '(gdb)'
module:
-- Scheme Procedure: frame? object
Return '#t' if OBJECT is a '<gdb:frame>' object. Otherwise return
'#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: frame-valid? frame
Returns '#t' if FRAME is valid, '#f' if not. A frame object can
become invalid if the frame it refers to doesn't exist anymore in
the inferior. All '<gdb:frame>' procedures will throw an exception
if the frame is invalid at the time the procedure is called.
-- Scheme Procedure: frame-name frame
Return the function name of FRAME, or '#f' if it can't be obtained.
-- Scheme Procedure: frame-arch frame
Return the '<gdb:architecture>' object corresponding to FRAME's
architecture. *Note Architectures In Guile::.
-- Scheme Procedure: frame-type frame
Return the type of FRAME. The value can be one of:
'NORMAL_FRAME'
An ordinary stack frame.
'DUMMY_FRAME'
A fake stack frame that was created by GDB when performing an
inferior function call.
'INLINE_FRAME'
A frame representing an inlined function. The function was
inlined into a 'NORMAL_FRAME' that is older than this one.
'TAILCALL_FRAME'
A frame representing a tail call. *Note Tail Call Frames::.
'SIGTRAMP_FRAME'
A signal trampoline frame. This is the frame created by the
OS when it calls into a signal handler.
'ARCH_FRAME'
A fake stack frame representing a cross-architecture call.
'SENTINEL_FRAME'
This is like 'NORMAL_FRAME', but it is only used for the
newest frame.
-- Scheme Procedure: frame-unwind-stop-reason frame
Return an integer representing the reason why it's not possible to
find more frames toward the outermost frame. Use
'unwind-stop-reason-string' to convert the value returned by this
function to a string. The value can be one of:
'FRAME_UNWIND_NO_REASON'
No particular reason (older frames should be available).
'FRAME_UNWIND_NULL_ID'
The previous frame's analyzer returns an invalid result.
'FRAME_UNWIND_OUTERMOST'
This frame is the outermost.
'FRAME_UNWIND_UNAVAILABLE'
Cannot unwind further, because that would require knowing the
values of registers or memory that have not been collected.
'FRAME_UNWIND_INNER_ID'
This frame ID looks like it ought to belong to a NEXT frame,
but we got it for a PREV frame. Normally, this is a sign of
unwinder failure. It could also indicate stack corruption.
'FRAME_UNWIND_SAME_ID'
This frame has the same ID as the previous one. That means
that unwinding further would almost certainly give us another
frame with exactly the same ID, so break the chain. Normally,
this is a sign of unwinder failure. It could also indicate
stack corruption.
'FRAME_UNWIND_NO_SAVED_PC'
The frame unwinder did not find any saved PC, but we needed
one to unwind further.
'FRAME_UNWIND_MEMORY_ERROR'
The frame unwinder caused an error while trying to access
memory.
'FRAME_UNWIND_FIRST_ERROR'
Any stop reason greater or equal to this value indicates some
kind of error. This special value facilitates writing code
that tests for errors in unwinding in a way that will work
correctly even if the list of the other values is modified in
future GDB versions. Using it, you could write:
(define reason (frame-unwind-stop-readon (selected-frame)))
(define reason-str (unwind-stop-reason-string reason))
(if (>= reason FRAME_UNWIND_FIRST_ERROR)
(format #t "An error occured: ~s\n" reason-str))
-- Scheme Procedure: frame-pc frame
Return the frame's resume address.
-- Scheme Procedure: frame-block frame
Return the frame's code block as a '<gdb:block>' object. *Note
Blocks In Guile::.
-- Scheme Procedure: frame-function frame
Return the symbol for the function corresponding to this frame as a
'<gdb:symbol>' object, or '#f' if there isn't one. *Note Symbols
In Guile::.
-- Scheme Procedure: frame-older frame
Return the frame that called FRAME.
-- Scheme Procedure: frame-newer frame
Return the frame called by FRAME.
-- Scheme Procedure: frame-sal frame
Return the frame's '<gdb:sal>' (symtab and line) object. *Note
Symbol Tables In Guile::.
-- Scheme Procedure: frame-read-register frame register
Return the value of REGISTER in FRAME. REGISTER should be a
string, like 'pc'.
-- Scheme Procedure: frame-read-var frame variable [#:block block]
Return the value of VARIABLE in FRAME. If the optional argument
BLOCK is provided, search for the variable from that block;
otherwise start at the frame's current block (which is determined
by the frame's current program counter). The VARIABLE must be
given as a string or a '<gdb:symbol>' object, and BLOCK must be a
'<gdb:block>' object.
-- Scheme Procedure: frame-select frame
Set FRAME to be the selected frame. *Note Examining the Stack:
Stack.
-- Scheme Procedure: selected-frame
Return the selected frame object. *Note Selecting a Frame:
Selection.
-- Scheme Procedure: newest-frame
Return the newest frame object for the selected thread.
-- Scheme Procedure: unwind-stop-reason-string reason
Return a string explaining the reason why GDB stopped unwinding
frames, as expressed by the given REASON code (an integer, see the
'frame-unwind-stop-reason' procedure above in this section).

File: gdb.info, Node: Blocks In Guile, Next: Symbols In Guile, Prev: Frames In Guile, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.16 Accessing blocks from Guile.
......................................
In GDB, symbols are stored in blocks. A block corresponds roughly to a
scope in the source code. Blocks are organized hierarchically, and are
represented individually in Guile as an object of type '<gdb:block>'.
Blocks rely on debugging information being available.
A frame has a block. Please see *note Frames In Guile::, for a more
in-depth discussion of frames.
The outermost block is known as the "global block". The global block
typically holds public global variables and functions.
The block nested just inside the global block is the "static block".
The static block typically holds file-scoped variables and functions.
GDB provides a method to get a block's superblock, but there is
currently no way to examine the sub-blocks of a block, or to iterate
over all the blocks in a symbol table (*note Symbol Tables In Guile::).
Here is a short example that should help explain blocks:
/* This is in the global block. */
int global;
/* This is in the static block. */
static int file_scope;
/* 'function' is in the global block, and 'argument' is
in a block nested inside of 'function'. */
int function (int argument)
{
/* 'local' is in a block inside 'function'. It may or may
not be in the same block as 'argument'. */
int local;
{
/* 'inner' is in a block whose superblock is the one holding
'local'. */
int inner;
/* If this call is expanded by the compiler, you may see
a nested block here whose function is 'inline_function'
and whose superblock is the one holding 'inner'. */
inline_function ();
}
}
The following block-related procedures are provided by the '(gdb)'
module:
-- Scheme Procedure: block? object
Return '#t' if OBJECT is a '<gdb:block>' object. Otherwise return
'#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: block-valid? block
Returns '#t' if '<gdb:block>' BLOCK is valid, '#f' if not. A block
object can become invalid if the block it refers to doesn't exist
anymore in the inferior. All other '<gdb:block>' methods will
throw an exception if it is invalid at the time the procedure is
called. The block's validity is also checked during iteration over
symbols of the block.
-- Scheme Procedure: block-start block
Return the start address of '<gdb:block>' BLOCK.
-- Scheme Procedure: block-end block
Return the end address of '<gdb:block>' BLOCK.
-- Scheme Procedure: block-function block
Return the name of '<gdb:block>' BLOCK represented as a
'<gdb:symbol>' object. If the block is not named, then '#f' is
returned.
For ordinary function blocks, the superblock is the static block.
However, you should note that it is possible for a function block
to have a superblock that is not the static block - for instance
this happens for an inlined function.
-- Scheme Procedure: block-superblock block
Return the block containing '<gdb:block>' BLOCK. If the parent
block does not exist, then '#f' is returned.
-- Scheme Procedure: block-global-block block
Return the global block associated with '<gdb:block>' BLOCK.
-- Scheme Procedure: block-static-block block
Return the static block associated with '<gdb:block>' BLOCK.
-- Scheme Procedure: block-global? block
Return '#t' if '<gdb:block>' BLOCK is a global block. Otherwise
return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: block-static? block
Return '#t' if '<gdb:block>' BLOCK is a static block. Otherwise
return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: block-symbols
Return a list of all symbols (as <gdb:symbol> objects) in
'<gdb:block>' BLOCK.
-- Scheme Procedure: make-block-symbols-iterator block
Return an object of type '<gdb:iterator>' that will iterate over
all symbols of the block. Guile programs should not assume that a
specific block object will always contain a given symbol, since
changes in GDB features and infrastructure may cause symbols move
across blocks in a symbol table. *Note Iterators In Guile::.
-- Scheme Procedure: block-symbols-progress?
Return #t if the object is a <gdb:block-symbols-progress> object.
This object would be obtained from the 'progress' element of the
'<gdb:iterator>' object returned by 'make-block-symbols-iterator'.
-- Scheme Procedure: lookup-block pc
Return the innermost '<gdb:block>' containing the given PC value.
If the block cannot be found for the PC value specified, the
function will return '#f'.

File: gdb.info, Node: Symbols In Guile, Next: Symbol Tables In Guile, Prev: Blocks In Guile, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.17 Guile representation of Symbols.
..........................................
GDB represents every variable, function and type as an entry in a symbol
table. *Note Examining the Symbol Table: Symbols. Guile represents
these symbols in GDB with the '<gdb:symbol>' object.
The following symbol-related procedures are provided by the '(gdb)'
module:
-- Scheme Procedure: symbol? object
Return '#t' if OBJECT is an object of type '<gdb:symbol>'.
Otherwise return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: symbol-valid? symbol
Return '#t' if the '<gdb:symbol>' object is valid, '#f' if not. A
'<gdb:symbol>' object can become invalid if the symbol it refers to
does not exist in GDB any longer. All other '<gdb:symbol>'
procedures will throw an exception if it is invalid at the time the
procedure is called.
-- Scheme Procedure: symbol-type symbol
Return the type of SYMBOL or '#f' if no type is recorded. The
result is an object of type '<gdb:type>'. *Note Types In Guile::.
-- Scheme Procedure: symbol-symtab symbol
Return the symbol table in which SYMBOL appears. The result is an
object of type '<gdb:symtab>'. *Note Symbol Tables In Guile::.
-- Scheme Procedure: symbol-line symbol
Return the line number in the source code at which SYMBOL was
defined. This is an integer.
-- Scheme Procedure: symbol-name symbol
Return the name of SYMBOL as a string.
-- Scheme Procedure: symbol-linkage-name symbol
Return the name of SYMBOL, as used by the linker (i.e., may be
mangled).
-- Scheme Procedure: symbol-print-name symbol
Return the name of SYMBOL in a form suitable for output. This is
either 'name' or 'linkage_name', depending on whether the user
asked GDB to display demangled or mangled names.
-- Scheme Procedure: symbol-addr-class symbol
Return the address class of the symbol. This classifies how to
find the value of a symbol. Each address class is a constant
defined in the '(gdb)' module and described later in this chapter.
-- Scheme Procedure: symbol-needs-frame? symbol
Return '#t' if evaluating SYMBOL's value requires a frame (*note
Frames In Guile::) and '#f' otherwise. Typically, local variables
will require a frame, but other symbols will not.
-- Scheme Procedure: symbol-argument? symbol
Return '#t' if SYMBOL is an argument of a function. Otherwise
return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: symbol-constant? symbol
Return '#t' if SYMBOL is a constant. Otherwise return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: symbol-function? symbol
Return '#t' if SYMBOL is a function or a method. Otherwise return
'#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: symbol-variable? symbol
Return '#t' if SYMBOL is a variable. Otherwise return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: symbol-value symbol [#:frame frame]
Compute the value of SYMBOL, as a '<gdb:value>'. For functions,
this computes the address of the function, cast to the appropriate
type. If the symbol requires a frame in order to compute its
value, then FRAME must be given. If FRAME is not given, or if
FRAME is invalid, then an exception is thrown.
-- Scheme Procedure: lookup-symbol name [#:block block] [#:domain
domain]
This function searches for a symbol by name. The search scope can
be restricted to the parameters defined in the optional domain and
block arguments.
NAME is the name of the symbol. It must be a string. The optional
BLOCK argument restricts the search to symbols visible in that
BLOCK. The BLOCK argument must be a '<gdb:block>' object. If
omitted, the block for the current frame is used. The optional
DOMAIN argument restricts the search to the domain type. The
DOMAIN argument must be a domain constant defined in the '(gdb)'
module and described later in this chapter.
The result is a list of two elements. The first element is a
'<gdb:symbol>' object or '#f' if the symbol is not found. If the
symbol is found, the second element is '#t' if the symbol is a
field of a method's object (e.g., 'this' in C++), otherwise it is
'#f'. If the symbol is not found, the second element is '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: lookup-global-symbol name [#:domain domain]
This function searches for a global symbol by name. The search
scope can be restricted by the domain argument.
NAME is the name of the symbol. It must be a string. The optional
DOMAIN argument restricts the search to the domain type. The
DOMAIN argument must be a domain constant defined in the '(gdb)'
module and described later in this chapter.
The result is a '<gdb:symbol>' object or '#f' if the symbol is not
found.
The available domain categories in '<gdb:symbol>' are represented as
constants in the '(gdb)' module:
'SYMBOL_UNDEF_DOMAIN'
This is used when a domain has not been discovered or none of the
following domains apply. This usually indicates an error either in
the symbol information or in GDB's handling of symbols.
'SYMBOL_VAR_DOMAIN'
This domain contains variables, function names, typedef names and
enum type values.
'SYMBOL_STRUCT_DOMAIN'
This domain holds struct, union and enum type names.
'SYMBOL_LABEL_DOMAIN'
This domain contains names of labels (for gotos).
'SYMBOL_VARIABLES_DOMAIN'
This domain holds a subset of the 'SYMBOLS_VAR_DOMAIN'; it contains
everything minus functions and types.
'SYMBOL_FUNCTIONS_DOMAIN'
This domain contains all functions.
'SYMBOL_TYPES_DOMAIN'
This domain contains all types.
The available address class categories in '<gdb:symbol>' are
represented as constants in the 'gdb' module:
'SYMBOL_LOC_UNDEF'
If this is returned by address class, it indicates an error either
in the symbol information or in GDB's handling of symbols.
'SYMBOL_LOC_CONST'
Value is constant int.
'SYMBOL_LOC_STATIC'
Value is at a fixed address.
'SYMBOL_LOC_REGISTER'
Value is in a register.
'SYMBOL_LOC_ARG'
Value is an argument. This value is at the offset stored within
the symbol inside the frame's argument list.
'SYMBOL_LOC_REF_ARG'
Value address is stored in the frame's argument list. Just like
'LOC_ARG' except that the value's address is stored at the offset,
not the value itself.
'SYMBOL_LOC_REGPARM_ADDR'
Value is a specified register. Just like 'LOC_REGISTER' except the
register holds the address of the argument instead of the argument
itself.
'SYMBOL_LOC_LOCAL'
Value is a local variable.
'SYMBOL_LOC_TYPEDEF'
Value not used. Symbols in the domain 'SYMBOL_STRUCT_DOMAIN' all
have this class.
'SYMBOL_LOC_BLOCK'
Value is a block.
'SYMBOL_LOC_CONST_BYTES'
Value is a byte-sequence.
'SYMBOL_LOC_UNRESOLVED'
Value is at a fixed address, but the address of the variable has to
be determined from the minimal symbol table whenever the variable
is referenced.
'SYMBOL_LOC_OPTIMIZED_OUT'
The value does not actually exist in the program.
'SYMBOL_LOC_COMPUTED'
The value's address is a computed location.

File: gdb.info, Node: Symbol Tables In Guile, Next: Breakpoints In Guile, Prev: Symbols In Guile, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.18 Symbol table representation in Guile.
...............................................
Access to symbol table data maintained by GDB on the inferior is exposed
to Guile via two objects: '<gdb:sal>' (symtab-and-line) and
'<gdb:symtab>'. Symbol table and line data for a frame is returned from
the 'frame-find-sal' '<gdb:frame>' procedure. *Note Frames In Guile::.
For more information on GDB's symbol table management, see *note
Examining the Symbol Table: Symbols.
The following symtab-related procedures are provided by the '(gdb)'
module:
-- Scheme Procedure: symtab? object
Return '#t' if OBJECT is an object of type '<gdb:symtab>'.
Otherwise return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: symtab-valid? symtab
Return '#t' if the '<gdb:symtab>' object is valid, '#f' if not. A
'<gdb:symtab>' object becomes invalid when the symbol table it
refers to no longer exists in GDB. All other '<gdb:symtab>'
procedures will throw an exception if it is invalid at the time the
procedure is called.
-- Scheme Procedure: symtab-filename symtab
Return the symbol table's source filename.
-- Scheme Procedure: symtab-fullname symtab
Return the symbol table's source absolute file name.
-- Scheme Procedure: symtab-objfile symtab
Return the symbol table's backing object file. *Note Objfiles In
Guile::.
-- Scheme Procedure: symtab-global-block symtab
Return the global block of the underlying symbol table. *Note
Blocks In Guile::.
-- Scheme Procedure: symtab-static-block symtab
Return the static block of the underlying symbol table. *Note
Blocks In Guile::.
The following symtab-and-line-related procedures are provided by the
'(gdb)' module:
-- Scheme Procedure: sal? object
Return '#t' if OBJECT is an object of type '<gdb:sal>'. Otherwise
return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: sal-valid? sal
Return '#t' if SAL is valid, '#f' if not. A '<gdb:sal>' object
becomes invalid when the Symbol table object it refers to no longer
exists in GDB. All other '<gdb:sal>' procedures will throw an
exception if it is invalid at the time the procedure is called.
-- Scheme Procedure: sal-symtab sal
Return the symbol table object ('<gdb:symtab>') for SAL.
-- Scheme Procedure: sal-line sal
Return the line number for SAL.
-- Scheme Procedure: sal-pc sal
Return the start of the address range occupied by code for SAL.
-- Scheme Procedure: sal-last sal
Return the end of the address range occupied by code for SAL.
-- Scheme Procedure: find-pc-line pc
Return the '<gdb:sal>' object corresponding to the PC value. If an
invalid value of PC is passed as an argument, then the 'symtab' and
'line' attributes of the returned '<gdb:sal>' object will be '#f'
and 0 respectively.

File: gdb.info, Node: Breakpoints In Guile, Next: Lazy Strings In Guile, Prev: Symbol Tables In Guile, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.19 Manipulating breakpoints using Guile
..............................................
Breakpoints in Guile are represented by objects of type
'<gdb:breakpoint>'. New breakpoints can be created with the
'make-breakpoint' Guile function, and then added to GDB with the
'register-breakpoint!' Guile function. This two-step approach is taken
to separate out the side-effect of adding the breakpoint to GDB from
'make-breakpoint'.
Support is also provided to view and manipulate breakpoints created
outside of Guile.
The following breakpoint-related procedures are provided by the
'(gdb)' module:
-- Scheme Procedure: make-breakpoint location [#:type type] [#:wp-class
wp-class] [#:internal internal]
Create a new breakpoint at LOCATION, a string naming the location
of the breakpoint, or an expression that defines a watchpoint. The
contents can be any location recognized by the 'break' command, or
in the case of a watchpoint, by the 'watch' command.
The breakpoint is initially marked as 'invalid'. The breakpoint is
not usable until it has been registered with GDB with
'register-breakpoint!', at which point it becomes 'valid'. The
result is the '<gdb:breakpoint>' object representing the
breakpoint.
The optional TYPE denotes the breakpoint to create. This argument
can be either 'BP_BREAKPOINT' or 'BP_WATCHPOINT', and defaults to
'BP_BREAKPOINT'.
The optional WP-CLASS argument defines the class of watchpoint to
create, if TYPE is 'BP_WATCHPOINT'. If a watchpoint class is not
provided, it is assumed to be a 'WP_WRITE' class.
The optional INTERNAL argument allows the breakpoint to become
invisible to the user. The breakpoint will neither be reported
when registered, nor will it be listed in the output from 'info
breakpoints' (but will be listed with the 'maint info breakpoints'
command). If an internal flag is not provided, the breakpoint is
visible (non-internal).
When a watchpoint is created, GDB will try to create a hardware
assisted watchpoint. If successful, the type of the watchpoint is
changed from 'BP_WATCHPOINT' to 'BP_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINT' for
'WP_WRITE', 'BP_READ_WATCHPOINT' for 'WP_READ', and
'BP_ACCESS_WATCHPOINT' for 'WP_ACCESS'. If not successful, the
type of the watchpoint is left as 'WP_WATCHPOINT'.
The available types are represented by constants defined in the
'gdb' module:
'BP_BREAKPOINT'
Normal code breakpoint.
'BP_WATCHPOINT'
Watchpoint breakpoint.
'BP_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINT'
Hardware assisted watchpoint. This value cannot be specified
when creating the breakpoint.
'BP_READ_WATCHPOINT'
Hardware assisted read watchpoint. This value cannot be
specified when creating the breakpoint.
'BP_ACCESS_WATCHPOINT'
Hardware assisted access watchpoint. This value cannot be
specified when creating the breakpoint.
The available watchpoint types represented by constants are defined
in the '(gdb)' module:
'WP_READ'
Read only watchpoint.
'WP_WRITE'
Write only watchpoint.
'WP_ACCESS'
Read/Write watchpoint.
-- Scheme Procedure: register-breakpoint! breakpoint
Add BREAKPOINT, a '<gdb:breakpoint>' object, to GDB's list of
breakpoints. The breakpoint must have been created with
'make-breakpoint'. One cannot register breakpoints that have been
created outside of Guile. Once a breakpoint is registered it
becomes 'valid'. It is an error to register an already registered
breakpoint. The result is unspecified.
-- Scheme Procedure: delete-breakpoint! breakpoint
Remove BREAKPOINT from GDB's list of breakpoints. This also
invalidates the Guile BREAKPOINT object. Any further attempt to
access the object will throw an exception.
If BREAKPOINT was created from Guile with 'make-breakpoint' it may
be re-registered with GDB, in which case the breakpoint becomes
valid again.
-- Scheme Procedure: breakpoints
Return a list of all breakpoints. Each element of the list is a
'<gdb:breakpoint>' object.
-- Scheme Procedure: breakpoint? object
Return '#t' if OBJECT is a '<gdb:breakpoint>' object, and '#f'
otherwise.
-- Scheme Procedure: breakpoint-valid? breakpoint
Return '#t' if BREAKPOINT is valid, '#f' otherwise. Breakpoints
created with 'make-breakpoint' are marked as invalid until they are
registered with GDB with 'register-breakpoint!'. A
'<gdb:breakpoint>' object can become invalid if the user deletes
the breakpoint. In this case, the object still exists, but the
underlying breakpoint does not. In the cases of watchpoint scope,
the watchpoint remains valid even if execution of the inferior
leaves the scope of that watchpoint.
-- Scheme Procedure: breakpoint-number breakpoint
Return the breakpoint's number -- the identifier used by the user
to manipulate the breakpoint.
-- Scheme Procedure: breakpoint-type breakpoint
Return the breakpoint's type -- the identifier used to determine
the actual breakpoint type or use-case.
-- Scheme Procedure: breakpoint-visible? breakpoint
Return '#t' if the breakpoint is visible to the user when hit, or
when the 'info breakpoints' command is run. Otherwise return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: breakpoint-location breakpoint
Return the location of the breakpoint, as specified by the user.
It is a string. If the breakpoint does not have a location (that
is, it is a watchpoint) return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: breakpoint-expression breakpoint
Return the breakpoint expression, as specified by the user. It is
a string. If the breakpoint does not have an expression (the
breakpoint is not a watchpoint) return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: breakpoint-enabled? breakpoint
Return '#t' if the breakpoint is enabled, and '#f' otherwise.
-- Scheme Procedure: set-breakpoint-enabled! breakpoint flag
Set the enabled state of BREAKPOINT to FLAG. If flag is '#f' it is
disabled, otherwise it is enabled.
-- Scheme Procedure: breakpoint-silent? breakpoint
Return '#t' if the breakpoint is silent, and '#f' otherwise.
Note that a breakpoint can also be silent if it has commands and
the first command is 'silent'. This is not reported by the
'silent' attribute.
-- Scheme Procedure: set-breakpoint-silent! breakpoint flag
Set the silent state of BREAKPOINT to FLAG. If flag is '#f' the
breakpoint is made silent, otherwise it is made non-silent (or
noisy).
-- Scheme Procedure: breakpoint-ignore-count breakpoint
Return the ignore count for BREAKPOINT.
-- Scheme Procedure: set-breakpoint-ignore-count! breakpoint count
Set the ignore count for BREAKPOINT to COUNT.
-- Scheme Procedure: breakpoint-hit-count breakpoint
Return hit count of BREAKPOINT.
-- Scheme Procedure: set-breakpoint-hit-count! breakpoint count
Set the hit count of BREAKPOINT to COUNT. At present, COUNT must
be zero.
-- Scheme Procedure: breakpoint-thread breakpoint
Return the global-thread-id for thread-specific breakpoint
BREAKPOINT. Return #f if BREAKPOINT is not thread-specific.
-- Scheme Procedure: set-breakpoint-thread! breakpoint
global-thread-id|#f
Set the thread-id for BREAKPOINT to GLOBAL-THREAD-ID If set to
'#f', the breakpoint is no longer thread-specific.
-- Scheme Procedure: breakpoint-task breakpoint
If the breakpoint is Ada task-specific, return the Ada task id. If
the breakpoint is not task-specific (or the underlying language is
not Ada), return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: set-breakpoint-task! breakpoint task
Set the Ada task of BREAKPOINT to TASK. If set to '#f', the
breakpoint is no longer task-specific.
-- Scheme Procedure: breakpoint-condition breakpoint
Return the condition of BREAKPOINT, as specified by the user. It
is a string. If there is no condition, return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: set-breakpoint-condition! breakpoint condition
Set the condition of BREAKPOINT to CONDITION, which must be a
string. If set to '#f' then the breakpoint becomes unconditional.
-- Scheme Procedure: breakpoint-stop breakpoint
Return the stop predicate of BREAKPOINT. See
'set-breakpoint-stop!' below in this section.
-- Scheme Procedure: set-breakpoint-stop! breakpoint procedure|#f
Set the stop predicate of BREAKPOINT. The predicate PROCEDURE
takes one argument: the <gdb:breakpoint> object. If this predicate
is set to a procedure then it is invoked whenever the inferior
reaches this breakpoint. If it returns '#t', or any non-'#f'
value, then the inferior is stopped, otherwise the inferior will
continue.
If there are multiple breakpoints at the same location with a
'stop' predicate, each one will be called regardless of the return
status of the previous. This ensures that all 'stop' predicates
have a chance to execute at that location. In this scenario if one
of the methods returns '#t' but the others return '#f', the
inferior will still be stopped.
You should not alter the execution state of the inferior (i.e.,
step, next, etc.), alter the current frame context (i.e., change
the current active frame), or alter, add or delete any breakpoint.
As a general rule, you should not alter any data within GDB or the
inferior at this time.
Example 'stop' implementation:
(define (my-stop? bkpt)
(let ((int-val (parse-and-eval "foo")))
(value=? int-val 3)))
(define bkpt (make-breakpoint "main.c:42"))
(register-breakpoint! bkpt)
(set-breakpoint-stop! bkpt my-stop?)
-- Scheme Procedure: breakpoint-commands breakpoint
Return the commands attached to BREAKPOINT as a string, or '#f' if
there are none.

File: gdb.info, Node: Lazy Strings In Guile, Next: Architectures In Guile, Prev: Breakpoints In Guile, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.20 Guile representation of lazy strings.
...............................................
A "lazy string" is a string whose contents is not retrieved or encoded
until it is needed.
A '<gdb:lazy-string>' is represented in GDB as an 'address' that
points to a region of memory, an 'encoding' that will be used to encode
that region of memory, and a 'length' to delimit the region of memory
that represents the string. The difference between a
'<gdb:lazy-string>' and a string wrapped within a '<gdb:value>' is that
a '<gdb:lazy-string>' will be treated differently by GDB when printing.
A '<gdb:lazy-string>' is retrieved and encoded during printing, while a
'<gdb:value>' wrapping a string is immediately retrieved and encoded on
creation.
The following lazy-string-related procedures are provided by the
'(gdb)' module:
-- Scheme Procedure: lazy-string? object
Return '#t' if OBJECT is an object of type '<gdb:lazy-string>'.
Otherwise return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: lazy-string-address lazy-sring
Return the address of LAZY-STRING.
-- Scheme Procedure: lazy-string-length lazy-string
Return the length of LAZY-STRING in characters. If the length is
-1, then the string will be fetched and encoded up to the first
null of appropriate width.
-- Scheme Procedure: lazy-string-encoding lazy-string
Return the encoding that will be applied to LAZY-STRING when the
string is printed by GDB. If the encoding is not set, or contains
an empty string, then GDB will select the most appropriate encoding
when the string is printed.
-- Scheme Procedure: lazy-string-type lazy-string
Return the type that is represented by LAZY-STRING's type. For a
lazy string this is a pointer or array type. To resolve this to
the lazy string's character type, use 'type-target-type'. *Note
Types In Guile::.
-- Scheme Procedure: lazy-string->value lazy-string
Convert the '<gdb:lazy-string>' to a '<gdb:value>'. This value
will point to the string in memory, but will lose all the delayed
retrieval, encoding and handling that GDB applies to a
'<gdb:lazy-string>'.

File: gdb.info, Node: Architectures In Guile, Next: Disassembly In Guile, Prev: Lazy Strings In Guile, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.21 Guile representation of architectures
...............................................
GDB uses architecture specific parameters and artifacts in a number of
its various computations. An architecture is represented by an instance
of the '<gdb:arch>' class.
The following architecture-related procedures are provided by the
'(gdb)' module:
-- Scheme Procedure: arch? object
Return '#t' if OBJECT is an object of type '<gdb:arch>'. Otherwise
return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: current-arch
Return the current architecture as a '<gdb:arch>' object.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-name arch
Return the name (string value) of '<gdb:arch>' ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-charset arch
Return name of target character set of '<gdb:arch>' ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-wide-charset
Return name of target wide character set of '<gdb:arch>' ARCH.
Each architecture provides a set of predefined types, obtained by the
following functions.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-void-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for a 'void' type of architecture
ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-char-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for a 'char' type of architecture
ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-short-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for a 'short' type of architecture
ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-int-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for an 'int' type of architecture
ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-long-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for a 'long' type of architecture
ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-schar-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for a 'signed char' type of
architecture ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-uchar-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for an 'unsigned char' type of
architecture ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-ushort-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for an 'unsigned short' type of
architecture ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-uint-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for an 'unsigned int' type of
architecture ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-ulong-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for an 'unsigned long' type of
architecture ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-float-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for a 'float' type of architecture
ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-double-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for a 'double' type of architecture
ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-longdouble-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for a 'long double' type of
architecture ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-bool-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for a 'bool' type of architecture
ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-longlong-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for a 'long long' type of
architecture ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-ulonglong-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for an 'unsigned long long' type of
architecture ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-int8-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for an 'int8' type of architecture
ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-uint8-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for a 'uint8' type of architecture
ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-int16-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for an 'int16' type of architecture
ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-uint16-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for a 'uint16' type of architecture
ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-int32-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for an 'int32' type of architecture
ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-uint32-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for a 'uint32' type of architecture
ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-int64-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for an 'int64' type of architecture
ARCH.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-uint64-type arch
Return the '<gdb:type>' object for a 'uint64' type of architecture
ARCH.
Example:
(gdb) guile (type-name (arch-uchar-type (current-arch)))
"unsigned char"

File: gdb.info, Node: Disassembly In Guile, Next: I/O Ports in Guile, Prev: Architectures In Guile, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.22 Disassembly In Guile
..............................
The disassembler can be invoked from Scheme code. Furthermore, the
disassembler can take a Guile port as input, allowing one to disassemble
from any source, and not just target memory.
-- Scheme Procedure: arch-disassemble arch start-pc [#:port port]
[#:offset offset] [#:size size] [#:count count]
Return a list of disassembled instructions starting from the memory
address START-PC.
The optional argument PORT specifies the input port to read bytes
from. If PORT is '#f' then bytes are read from target memory.
The optional argument OFFSET specifies the address offset of the
first byte in PORT. This is useful, for example, when PORT
specifies a 'bytevector' and you want the bytevector to be
disassembled as if it came from that address. The START-PC passed
to the reader for PORT is offset by the same amount.
Example:
(gdb) guile (use-modules (rnrs io ports))
(gdb) guile (define pc (value->integer (parse-and-eval "$pc")))
(gdb) guile (define mem (open-memory #:start pc))
(gdb) guile (define bv (get-bytevector-n mem 10))
(gdb) guile (define bv-port (open-bytevector-input-port bv))
(gdb) guile (define arch (current-arch))
(gdb) guile (arch-disassemble arch pc #:port bv-port #:offset pc)
(((address . 4195516) (asm . "mov $0x4005c8,%edi") (length . 5)))
The optional arguments SIZE and COUNT determine the number of
instructions in the returned list. If either SIZE or COUNT is
specified as zero, then no instructions are disassembled and an
empty list is returned. If both the optional arguments SIZE and
COUNT are specified, then a list of at most COUNT disassembled
instructions whose start address falls in the closed memory address
interval from START-PC to (START-PC + SIZE - 1) are returned. If
SIZE is not specified, but COUNT is specified, then COUNT number of
instructions starting from the address START-PC are returned. If
COUNT is not specified but SIZE is specified, then all instructions
whose start address falls in the closed memory address interval
from START-PC to (START-PC + SIZE - 1) are returned. If neither
SIZE nor COUNT are specified, then a single instruction at START-PC
is returned.
Each element of the returned list is an alist (associative list)
with the following keys:
'address'
The value corresponding to this key is a Guile integer of the
memory address of the instruction.
'asm'
The value corresponding to this key is a string value which
represents the instruction with assembly language mnemonics.
The assembly language flavor used is the same as that
specified by the current CLI variable 'disassembly-flavor'.
*Note Machine Code::.
'length'
The value corresponding to this key is the length of the
instruction in bytes.

File: gdb.info, Node: I/O Ports in Guile, Next: Memory Ports in Guile, Prev: Disassembly In Guile, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.23 I/O Ports in Guile
............................
-- Scheme Procedure: input-port
Return GDB's input port as a Guile port object.
-- Scheme Procedure: output-port
Return GDB's output port as a Guile port object.
-- Scheme Procedure: error-port
Return GDB's error port as a Guile port object.
-- Scheme Procedure: stdio-port? object
Return '#t' if OBJECT is a GDB stdio port. Otherwise return '#f'.

File: gdb.info, Node: Memory Ports in Guile, Next: Iterators In Guile, Prev: I/O Ports in Guile, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.24 Memory Ports in Guile
...............................
GDB provides a 'port' interface to target memory. This allows Guile
code to read/write target memory using Guile's port and bytevector
functionality. The main routine is 'open-memory' which returns a port
object. One can then read/write memory using that object.
-- Scheme Procedure: open-memory [#:mode mode] [#:start address]
[#:size size]
Return a port object that can be used for reading and writing
memory. The port will be open according to MODE, which is the
standard mode argument to Guile port open routines, except that the
'"a"' and '"l"' modes are not supported. *Note (guile)File
Ports::. The '"b"' (binary) character may be present, but is
ignored: memory ports are binary only. If '"0"' is appended then
the port is marked as unbuffered. The default is '"r"', read-only
and buffered.
The chunk of memory that can be accessed can be bounded. If both
START and SIZE are unspecified, all of memory can be accessed. If
only START is specified, all of memory from that point on can be
accessed. If only SIZE if specified, all memory in the range
[0,SIZE) can be accessed. If both are specified, all memory in the
rane [START,START+SIZE) can be accessed.
-- Scheme Procedure: memory-port?
Return '#t' if OBJECT is an object of type '<gdb:memory-port>'.
Otherwise return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: memory-port-range memory-port
Return the range of '<gdb:memory-port>' MEMORY-PORT as a list of
two elements: '(start end)'. The range is START to END inclusive.
-- Scheme Procedure: memory-port-read-buffer-size memory-port
Return the size of the read buffer of '<gdb:memory-port>'
MEMORY-PORT.
-- Scheme Procedure: set-memory-port-read-buffer-size! memory-port size
Set the size of the read buffer of '<gdb:memory-port>' MEMORY-PORT
to SIZE. The result is unspecified.
-- Scheme Procedure: memory-port-write-buffer-size memory-port
Return the size of the write buffer of '<gdb:memory-port>'
MEMORY-PORT.
-- Scheme Procedure: set-memory-port-write-buffer-size! memory-port
size
Set the size of the write buffer of '<gdb:memory-port>' MEMORY-PORT
to SIZE. The result is unspecified.
A memory port is closed like any other port, with 'close-port'.
Combined with Guile's 'bytevectors', memory ports provide a lot of
utility. For example, to fill a buffer of 10 integers in memory, one
can do something like the following.
;; In the program: int buffer[10];
(use-modules (rnrs bytevectors))
(use-modules (rnrs io ports))
(define addr (parse-and-eval "buffer"))
(define n 10)
(define byte-size (* n 4))
(define mem-port (open-memory #:mode "r+" #:start
(value->integer addr) #:size byte-size))
(define byte-vec (make-bytevector byte-size))
(do ((i 0 (+ i 1)))
((>= i n))
(bytevector-s32-native-set! byte-vec (* i 4) (* i 42)))
(put-bytevector mem-port byte-vec)
(close-port mem-port)

File: gdb.info, Node: Iterators In Guile, Prev: Memory Ports in Guile, Up: Guile API
23.3.3.25 Iterators In Guile
............................
A simple iterator facility is provided to allow, for example, iterating
over the set of program symbols without having to first construct a list
of all of them. A useful contribution would be to add support for SRFI
41 and SRFI 45.
-- Scheme Procedure: make-iterator object progress next!
A '<gdb:iterator>' object is constructed with the 'make-iterator'
procedure. It takes three arguments: the object to be iterated
over, an object to record the progress of the iteration, and a
procedure to return the next element in the iteration, or an
implementation chosen value to denote the end of iteration.
By convention, end of iteration is marked with
'(end-of-iteration)', and may be tested with the
'end-of-iteration?' predicate. The result of '(end-of-iteration)'
is chosen so that it is not otherwise used by the '(gdb)' module.
If you are using '<gdb:iterator>' in your own code it is your
responsibility to maintain this invariant.
A trivial example for illustration's sake:
(use-modules (gdb iterator))
(define my-list (list 1 2 3))
(define iter
(make-iterator my-list my-list
(lambda (iter)
(let ((l (iterator-progress iter)))
(if (eq? l '())
(end-of-iteration)
(begin
(set-iterator-progress! iter (cdr l))
(car l)))))))
Here is a slightly more realistic example, which computes a list of
all the functions in 'my-global-block'.
(use-modules (gdb iterator))
(define this-sal (find-pc-line (frame-pc (selected-frame))))
(define this-symtab (sal-symtab this-sal))
(define this-global-block (symtab-global-block this-symtab))
(define syms-iter (make-block-symbols-iterator this-global-block))
(define functions (iterator-filter symbol-function? syms-iter))
-- Scheme Procedure: iterator? object
Return '#t' if OBJECT is a '<gdb:iterator>' object. Otherwise
return '#f'.
-- Scheme Procedure: iterator-object iterator
Return the first argument that was passed to 'make-iterator'. This
is the object being iterated over.
-- Scheme Procedure: iterator-progress iterator
Return the object tracking iteration progress.
-- Scheme Procedure: set-iterator-progress! iterator new-value
Set the object tracking iteration progress.
-- Scheme Procedure: iterator-next! iterator
Invoke the procedure that was the third argument to
'make-iterator', passing it one argument, the '<gdb:iterator>'
object. The result is either the next element in the iteration, or
an end marker as implemented by the 'next!' procedure. By
convention the end marker is the result of '(end-of-iteration)'.
-- Scheme Procedure: end-of-iteration
Return the Scheme object that denotes end of iteration.
-- Scheme Procedure: end-of-iteration? object
Return '#t' if OBJECT is the end of iteration marker. Otherwise
return '#f'.
These functions are provided by the '(gdb iterator)' module to assist
in using iterators.
-- Scheme Procedure: make-list-iterator list
Return a '<gdb:iterator>' object that will iterate over LIST.
-- Scheme Procedure: iterator->list iterator
Return the elements pointed to by ITERATOR as a list.
-- Scheme Procedure: iterator-map proc iterator
Return the list of objects obtained by applying PROC to the object
pointed to by ITERATOR and to each subsequent object.
-- Scheme Procedure: iterator-for-each proc iterator
Apply PROC to each element pointed to by ITERATOR. The result is
unspecified.
-- Scheme Procedure: iterator-filter pred iterator
Return the list of elements pointed to by ITERATOR that satisfy
PRED.
-- Scheme Procedure: iterator-until pred iterator
Run ITERATOR until the result of '(pred element)' is true and
return that as the result. Otherwise return '#f'.

File: gdb.info, Node: Guile Auto-loading, Next: Guile Modules, Prev: Guile API, Up: Guile
23.3.4 Guile Auto-loading
-------------------------
When a new object file is read (for example, due to the 'file' command,
or because the inferior has loaded a shared library), GDB will look for
Guile support scripts in two ways: 'OBJFILE-gdb.scm' and the
'.debug_gdb_scripts' section. *Note Auto-loading extensions::.
The auto-loading feature is useful for supplying application-specific
debugging commands and scripts.
Auto-loading can be enabled or disabled, and the list of auto-loaded
scripts can be printed.
'set auto-load guile-scripts [on|off]'
Enable or disable the auto-loading of Guile scripts.
'show auto-load guile-scripts'
Show whether auto-loading of Guile scripts is enabled or disabled.
'info auto-load guile-scripts [REGEXP]'
Print the list of all Guile scripts that GDB auto-loaded.
Also printed is the list of Guile scripts that were mentioned in
the '.debug_gdb_scripts' section and were not found. This is
useful because their names are not printed when GDB tries to load
them and fails. There may be many of them, and printing an error
message for each one is problematic.
If REGEXP is supplied only Guile scripts with matching names are
printed.
Example:
(gdb) info auto-load guile-scripts
Loaded Script
Yes scm-section-script.scm
full name: /tmp/scm-section-script.scm
No my-foo-pretty-printers.scm
When reading an auto-loaded file, GDB sets the "current objfile".
This is available via the 'current-objfile' procedure (*note Objfiles In
Guile::). This can be useful for registering objfile-specific
pretty-printers.

File: gdb.info, Node: Guile Modules, Prev: Guile Auto-loading, Up: Guile
23.3.5 Guile Modules
--------------------
GDB comes with several modules to assist writing Guile code.
* Menu:
* Guile Printing Module:: Building and registering pretty-printers
* Guile Types Module:: Utilities for working with types

File: gdb.info, Node: Guile Printing Module, Next: Guile Types Module, Up: Guile Modules
23.3.5.1 Guile Printing Module
..............................
This module provides a collection of utilities for working with
pretty-printers.
Usage:
(use-modules (gdb printing))
-- Scheme Procedure: prepend-pretty-printer! object printer
Add PRINTER to the front of the list of pretty-printers for OBJECT.
The OBJECT must either be a '<gdb:objfile>' object, or '#f' in
which case PRINTER is added to the global list of printers.
-- Scheme Procecure: append-pretty-printer! object printer
Add PRINTER to the end of the list of pretty-printers for OBJECT.
The OBJECT must either be a '<gdb:objfile>' object, or '#f' in
which case PRINTER is added to the global list of printers.

File: gdb.info, Node: Guile Types Module, Prev: Guile Printing Module, Up: Guile Modules
23.3.5.2 Guile Types Module
...........................
This module provides a collection of utilities for working with
'<gdb:type>' objects.
Usage:
(use-modules (gdb types))
-- Scheme Procedure: get-basic-type type
Return TYPE with const and volatile qualifiers stripped, and with
typedefs and C++ references converted to the underlying type.
C++ example:
typedef const int const_int;
const_int foo (3);
const_int& foo_ref (foo);
int main () { return 0; }
Then in gdb:
(gdb) start
(gdb) guile (use-modules (gdb) (gdb types))
(gdb) guile (define foo-ref (parse-and-eval "foo_ref"))
(gdb) guile (get-basic-type (value-type foo-ref))
int
-- Scheme Procedure: type-has-field-deep? type field
Return '#t' if TYPE, assumed to be a type with fields (e.g., a
structure or union), has field FIELD. Otherwise return '#f'. This
searches baseclasses, whereas 'type-has-field?' does not.
-- Scheme Procedure: make-enum-hashtable enum-type
Return a Guile hash table produced from ENUM-TYPE. Elements in the
hash table are referenced with 'hashq-ref'.

File: gdb.info, Node: Auto-loading extensions, Next: Multiple Extension Languages, Prev: Guile, Up: Extending GDB
23.4 Auto-loading extensions
============================
GDB provides two mechanisms for automatically loading extensions when a
new object file is read (for example, due to the 'file' command, or
because the inferior has loaded a shared library): 'OBJFILE-gdb.EXT' and
the '.debug_gdb_scripts' section of modern file formats like ELF.
* Menu:
* objfile-gdb.ext file: objfile-gdbdotext file. The 'OBJFILE-gdb.EXT' file
* .debug_gdb_scripts section: dotdebug_gdb_scripts section. The '.debug_gdb_scripts' section
* Which flavor to choose?::
The auto-loading feature is useful for supplying application-specific
debugging commands and features.
Auto-loading can be enabled or disabled, and the list of auto-loaded
scripts can be printed. See the 'auto-loading' section of each
extension language for more information. For GDB command files see
*note Auto-loading sequences::. For Python files see *note Python
Auto-loading::.
Note that loading of this script file also requires accordingly
configured 'auto-load safe-path' (*note Auto-loading safe path::).

File: gdb.info, Node: objfile-gdbdotext file, Next: dotdebug_gdb_scripts section, Up: Auto-loading extensions
23.4.1 The 'OBJFILE-gdb.EXT' file
---------------------------------
When a new object file is read, GDB looks for a file named
'OBJFILE-gdb.EXT' (we call it SCRIPT-NAME below), where OBJFILE is the
object file's name and where EXT is the file extension for the extension
language:
'OBJFILE-gdb.gdb'
GDB's own command language
'OBJFILE-gdb.py'
Python
'OBJFILE-gdb.scm'
Guile
SCRIPT-NAME is formed by ensuring that the file name of OBJFILE is
absolute, following all symlinks, and resolving '.' and '..' components,
and appending the '-gdb.EXT' suffix. If this file exists and is
readable, GDB will evaluate it as a script in the specified extension
language.
If this file does not exist, then GDB will look for SCRIPT-NAME file
in all of the directories as specified below.
Note that loading of these files requires an accordingly configured
'auto-load safe-path' (*note Auto-loading safe path::).
For object files using '.exe' suffix GDB tries to load first the
scripts normally according to its '.exe' filename. But if no scripts
are found GDB also tries script filenames matching the object file
without its '.exe' suffix. This '.exe' stripping is case insensitive
and it is attempted on any platform. This makes the script filenames
compatible between Unix and MS-Windows hosts.
'set auto-load scripts-directory [DIRECTORIES]'
Control GDB auto-loaded scripts location. Multiple directory
entries may be delimited by the host platform path separator in use
(':' on Unix, ';' on MS-Windows and MS-DOS).
Each entry here needs to be covered also by the security setting
'set auto-load safe-path' (*note set auto-load safe-path::).
This variable defaults to '$debugdir:$datadir/auto-load'. The
default 'set auto-load safe-path' value can be also overriden by
GDB configuration option '--with-auto-load-dir'.
Any reference to '$debugdir' will get replaced by
DEBUG-FILE-DIRECTORY value (*note Separate Debug Files::) and any
reference to '$datadir' will get replaced by DATA-DIRECTORY which
is determined at GDB startup (*note Data Files::). '$debugdir' and
'$datadir' must be placed as a directory component -- either alone
or delimited by '/' or '\' directory separators, depending on the
host platform.
The list of directories uses path separator (':' on GNU and Unix
systems, ';' on MS-Windows and MS-DOS) to separate directories,
similarly to the 'PATH' environment variable.
'show auto-load scripts-directory'
Show GDB auto-loaded scripts location.
'add-auto-load-scripts-directory [DIRECTORIES...]'
Add an entry (or list of entries) to the list of auto-loaded
scripts locations. Multiple entries may be delimited by the host
platform path separator in use.
GDB does not track which files it has already auto-loaded this way.
GDB will load the associated script every time the corresponding OBJFILE
is opened. So your '-gdb.EXT' file should be careful to avoid errors if
it is evaluated more than once.

File: gdb.info, Node: dotdebug_gdb_scripts section, Next: Which flavor to choose?, Prev: objfile-gdbdotext file, Up: Auto-loading extensions
23.4.2 The '.debug_gdb_scripts' section
---------------------------------------
For systems using file formats like ELF and COFF, when GDB loads a new
object file it will look for a special section named
'.debug_gdb_scripts'. If this section exists, its contents is a list of
null-terminated entries specifying scripts to load. Each entry begins
with a non-null prefix byte that specifies the kind of entry, typically
the extension language and whether the script is in a file or inlined in
'.debug_gdb_scripts'.
The following entries are supported:
'SECTION_SCRIPT_ID_PYTHON_FILE = 1'
'SECTION_SCRIPT_ID_SCHEME_FILE = 3'
'SECTION_SCRIPT_ID_PYTHON_TEXT = 4'
'SECTION_SCRIPT_ID_SCHEME_TEXT = 6'
23.4.2.1 Script File Entries
............................
If the entry specifies a file, GDB will look for the file first in the
current directory and then along the source search path (*note
Specifying Source Directories: Source Path.), except that '$cdir' is not
searched, since the compilation directory is not relevant to scripts.
File entries can be placed in section '.debug_gdb_scripts' with, for
example, this GCC macro for Python scripts.
/* Note: The "MS" section flags are to remove duplicates. */
#define DEFINE_GDB_PY_SCRIPT(script_name) \
asm("\
.pushsection \".debug_gdb_scripts\", \"MS\",@progbits,1\n\
.byte 1 /* Python */\n\
.asciz \"" script_name "\"\n\
.popsection \n\
");
For Guile scripts, replace '.byte 1' with '.byte 3'. Then one can
reference the macro in a header or source file like this:
DEFINE_GDB_PY_SCRIPT ("my-app-scripts.py")
The script name may include directories if desired.
Note that loading of this script file also requires accordingly
configured 'auto-load safe-path' (*note Auto-loading safe path::).
If the macro invocation is put in a header, any application or
library using this header will get a reference to the specified script,
and with the use of '"MS"' attributes on the section, the linker will
remove duplicates.
23.4.2.2 Script Text Entries
............................
Script text entries allow to put the executable script in the entry
itself instead of loading it from a file. The first line of the entry,
everything after the prefix byte and up to the first newline ('0xa')
character, is the script name, and must not contain any kind of space
character, e.g., spaces or tabs. The rest of the entry, up to the
trailing null byte, is the script to execute in the specified language.
The name needs to be unique among all script names, as GDB executes each
script only once based on its name.
Here is an example from file 'py-section-script.c' in the GDB
testsuite.
#include "symcat.h"
#include "gdb/section-scripts.h"
asm(
".pushsection \".debug_gdb_scripts\", \"MS\",@progbits,1\n"
".byte " XSTRING (SECTION_SCRIPT_ID_PYTHON_TEXT) "\n"
".ascii \"gdb.inlined-script\\n\"\n"
".ascii \"class test_cmd (gdb.Command):\\n\"\n"
".ascii \" def __init__ (self):\\n\"\n"
".ascii \" super (test_cmd, self).__init__ ("
"\\\"test-cmd\\\", gdb.COMMAND_OBSCURE)\\n\"\n"
".ascii \" def invoke (self, arg, from_tty):\\n\"\n"
".ascii \" print (\\\"test-cmd output, arg = %s\\\" % arg)\\n\"\n"
".ascii \"test_cmd ()\\n\"\n"
".byte 0\n"
".popsection\n"
);
Loading of inlined scripts requires a properly configured 'auto-load
safe-path' (*note Auto-loading safe path::). The path to specify in
'auto-load safe-path' is the path of the file containing the
'.debug_gdb_scripts' section.

File: gdb.info, Node: Which flavor to choose?, Prev: dotdebug_gdb_scripts section, Up: Auto-loading extensions
23.4.3 Which flavor to choose?
------------------------------
Given the multiple ways of auto-loading extensions, it might not always
be clear which one to choose. This section provides some guidance.
Benefits of the '-gdb.EXT' way:
* Can be used with file formats that don't support multiple sections.
* Ease of finding scripts for public libraries.
Scripts specified in the '.debug_gdb_scripts' section are searched
for in the source search path. For publicly installed libraries,
e.g., 'libstdc++', there typically isn't a source directory in
which to find the script.
* Doesn't require source code additions.
Benefits of the '.debug_gdb_scripts' way:
* Works with static linking.
Scripts for libraries done the '-gdb.EXT' way require an objfile to
trigger their loading. When an application is statically linked
the only objfile available is the executable, and it is cumbersome
to attach all the scripts from all the input libraries to the
executable's '-gdb.EXT' script.
* Works with classes that are entirely inlined.
Some classes can be entirely inlined, and thus there may not be an
associated shared library to attach a '-gdb.EXT' script to.
* Scripts needn't be copied out of the source tree.
In some circumstances, apps can be built out of large collections
of internal libraries, and the build infrastructure necessary to
install the '-gdb.EXT' scripts in a place where GDB can find them
is cumbersome. It may be easier to specify the scripts in the
'.debug_gdb_scripts' section as relative paths, and add a path to
the top of the source tree to the source search path.

File: gdb.info, Node: Multiple Extension Languages, Next: Aliases, Prev: Auto-loading extensions, Up: Extending GDB
23.5 Multiple Extension Languages
=================================
The Guile and Python extension languages do not share any state, and
generally do not interfere with each other. There are some things to be
aware of, however.
23.5.1 Python comes first
-------------------------
Python was GDB's first extension language, and to avoid breaking
existing behaviour Python comes first. This is generally solved by the
"first one wins" principle. GDB maintains a list of enabled extension
languages, and when it makes a call to an extension language, (say to
pretty-print a value), it tries each in turn until an extension language
indicates it has performed the request (e.g., has returned the
pretty-printed form of a value). This extends to errors while
performing such requests: If an error happens while, for example, trying
to pretty-print an object then the error is reported and any following
extension languages are not tried.

File: gdb.info, Node: Aliases, Prev: Multiple Extension Languages, Up: Extending GDB
23.6 Creating new spellings of existing commands
================================================
It is often useful to define alternate spellings of existing commands.
For example, if a new GDB command defined in Python has a long name to
type, it is handy to have an abbreviated version of it that involves
less typing.
GDB itself uses aliases. For example 's' is an alias of the 'step'
command even though it is otherwise an ambiguous abbreviation of other
commands like 'set' and 'show'.
Aliases are also used to provide shortened or more common versions of
multi-word commands. For example, GDB provides the 'tty' alias of the
'set inferior-tty' command.
You can define a new alias with the 'alias' command.
'alias [-a] [--] ALIAS = COMMAND'
ALIAS specifies the name of the new alias. Each word of ALIAS must
consist of letters, numbers, dashes and underscores.
COMMAND specifies the name of an existing command that is being
aliased.
The '-a' option specifies that the new alias is an abbreviation of
the command. Abbreviations are not shown in command lists displayed by
the 'help' command.
The '--' option specifies the end of options, and is useful when
ALIAS begins with a dash.
Here is a simple example showing how to make an abbreviation of a
command so that there is less to type. Suppose you were tired of typing
'disas', the current shortest unambiguous abbreviation of the
'disassemble' command and you wanted an even shorter version named 'di'.
The following will accomplish this.
(gdb) alias -a di = disas
Note that aliases are different from user-defined commands. With a
user-defined command, you also need to write documentation for it with
the 'document' command. An alias automatically picks up the
documentation of the existing command.
Here is an example where we make 'elms' an abbreviation of 'elements'
in the 'set print elements' command. This is to show that you can make
an abbreviation of any part of a command.
(gdb) alias -a set print elms = set print elements
(gdb) alias -a show print elms = show print elements
(gdb) set p elms 20
(gdb) show p elms
Limit on string chars or array elements to print is 200.
Note that if you are defining an alias of a 'set' command, and you
want to have an alias for the corresponding 'show' command, then you
need to define the latter separately.
Unambiguously abbreviated commands are allowed in COMMAND and ALIAS,
just as they are normally.
(gdb) alias -a set pr elms = set p ele
Finally, here is an example showing the creation of a one word alias
for a more complex command. This creates alias 'spe' of the command
'set print elements'.
(gdb) alias spe = set print elements
(gdb) spe 20

File: gdb.info, Node: Interpreters, Next: TUI, Prev: Extending GDB, Up: Top
24 Command Interpreters
***********************
GDB supports multiple command interpreters, and some command
infrastructure to allow users or user interface writers to switch
between interpreters or run commands in other interpreters.
GDB currently supports two command interpreters, the console
interpreter (sometimes called the command-line interpreter or CLI) and
the machine interface interpreter (or GDB/MI). This manual describes
both of these interfaces in great detail.
By default, GDB will start with the console interpreter. However,
the user may choose to start GDB with another interpreter by specifying
the '-i' or '--interpreter' startup options. Defined interpreters
include:
'console'
The traditional console or command-line interpreter. This is the
most often used interpreter with GDB. With no interpreter
specified at runtime, GDB will use this interpreter.
'mi'
The newest GDB/MI interface (currently 'mi3'). Used primarily by
programs wishing to use GDB as a backend for a debugger GUI or an
IDE. For more information, see *note The GDB/MI Interface: GDB/MI.
'mi3'
The GDB/MI interface introduced in GDB 9.1.
'mi2'
The GDB/MI interface introduced in GDB 6.0.
'mi1'
The GDB/MI interface introduced in GDB 5.1.
You may execute commands in any interpreter from the current
interpreter using the appropriate command. If you are running the
console interpreter, simply use the 'interpreter-exec' command:
interpreter-exec mi "-data-list-register-names"
GDB/MI has a similar command, although it is only available in
versions of GDB which support GDB/MI version 2 (or greater).
Note that 'interpreter-exec' only changes the interpreter for the
duration of the specified command. It does not change the interpreter
permanently.
Although you may only choose a single interpreter at startup, it is
possible to run an independent interpreter on a specified input/output
device (usually a tty).
For example, consider a debugger GUI or IDE that wants to provide a
GDB console view. It may do so by embedding a terminal emulator widget
in its GUI, starting GDB in the traditional command-line mode with
stdin/stdout/stderr redirected to that terminal, and then creating an MI
interpreter running on a specified input/output device. The console
interpreter created by GDB at startup handles commands the user types in
the terminal widget, while the GUI controls and synchronizes state with
GDB using the separate MI interpreter.
To start a new secondary "user interface" running MI, use the
'new-ui' command:
new-ui INTERPRETER TTY
The INTERPRETER parameter specifies the interpreter to run. This
accepts the same values as the 'interpreter-exec' command. For example,
'console', 'mi', 'mi2', etc. The TTY parameter specifies the name of
the bidirectional file the interpreter uses for input/output, usually
the name of a pseudoterminal slave on Unix systems. For example:
(gdb) new-ui mi /dev/pts/9
runs an MI interpreter on '/dev/pts/9'.

File: gdb.info, Node: TUI, Next: Emacs, Prev: Interpreters, Up: Top
25 GDB Text User Interface
**************************
* Menu:
* TUI Overview:: TUI overview
* TUI Keys:: TUI key bindings
* TUI Single Key Mode:: TUI single key mode
* TUI Commands:: TUI-specific commands
* TUI Configuration:: TUI configuration variables
The GDB Text User Interface (TUI) is a terminal interface which uses the
'curses' library to show the source file, the assembly output, the
program registers and GDB commands in separate text windows. The TUI
mode is supported only on platforms where a suitable version of the
'curses' library is available.
The TUI mode is enabled by default when you invoke GDB as 'gdb -tui'.
You can also switch in and out of TUI mode while GDB runs by using
various TUI commands and key bindings, such as 'tui enable' or 'C-x
C-a'. *Note TUI Commands: TUI Commands, and *note TUI Key Bindings: TUI
Keys.

File: gdb.info, Node: TUI Overview, Next: TUI Keys, Up: TUI
25.1 TUI Overview
=================
In TUI mode, GDB can display several text windows:
_command_
This window is the GDB command window with the GDB prompt and the
GDB output. The GDB input is still managed using readline.
_source_
The source window shows the source file of the program. The
current line and active breakpoints are displayed in this window.
_assembly_
The assembly window shows the disassembly output of the program.
_register_
This window shows the processor registers. Registers are
highlighted when their values change.
The source and assembly windows show the current program position by
highlighting the current line and marking it with a '>' marker.
Breakpoints are indicated with two markers. The first marker indicates
the breakpoint type:
'B'
Breakpoint which was hit at least once.
'b'
Breakpoint which was never hit.
'H'
Hardware breakpoint which was hit at least once.
'h'
Hardware breakpoint which was never hit.
The second marker indicates whether the breakpoint is enabled or not:
'+'
Breakpoint is enabled.
'-'
Breakpoint is disabled.
The source, assembly and register windows are updated when the
current thread changes, when the frame changes, or when the program
counter changes.
These windows are not all visible at the same time. The command
window is always visible. The others can be arranged in several
layouts:
* source only,
* assembly only,
* source and assembly,
* source and registers, or
* assembly and registers.
A status line above the command window shows the following
information:
_target_
Indicates the current GDB target. (*note Specifying a Debugging
Target: Targets.).
_process_
Gives the current process or thread number. When no process is
being debugged, this field is set to 'No process'.
_function_
Gives the current function name for the selected frame. The name
is demangled if demangling is turned on (*note Print Settings::).
When there is no symbol corresponding to the current program
counter, the string '??' is displayed.
_line_
Indicates the current line number for the selected frame. When the
current line number is not known, the string '??' is displayed.
_pc_
Indicates the current program counter address.

File: gdb.info, Node: TUI Keys, Next: TUI Single Key Mode, Prev: TUI Overview, Up: TUI
25.2 TUI Key Bindings
=====================
The TUI installs several key bindings in the readline keymaps (*note
Command Line Editing::). The following key bindings are installed for
both TUI mode and the GDB standard mode.
'C-x C-a'
'C-x a'
'C-x A'
Enter or leave the TUI mode. When leaving the TUI mode, the curses
window management stops and GDB operates using its standard mode,
writing on the terminal directly. When reentering the TUI mode,
control is given back to the curses windows. The screen is then
refreshed.
This key binding uses the bindable Readline function
'tui-switch-mode'.
'C-x 1'
Use a TUI layout with only one window. The layout will either be
'source' or 'assembly'. When the TUI mode is not active, it will
switch to the TUI mode.
Think of this key binding as the Emacs 'C-x 1' binding.
This key binding uses the bindable Readline function
'tui-delete-other-windows'.
'C-x 2'
Use a TUI layout with at least two windows. When the current
layout already has two windows, the next layout with two windows is
used. When a new layout is chosen, one window will always be
common to the previous layout and the new one.
Think of it as the Emacs 'C-x 2' binding.
This key binding uses the bindable Readline function
'tui-change-windows'.
'C-x o'
Change the active window. The TUI associates several key bindings
(like scrolling and arrow keys) with the active window. This
command gives the focus to the next TUI window.
Think of it as the Emacs 'C-x o' binding.
This key binding uses the bindable Readline function
'tui-other-window'.
'C-x s'
Switch in and out of the TUI SingleKey mode that binds single keys
to GDB commands (*note TUI Single Key Mode::).
This key binding uses the bindable Readline function 'next-keymap'.
The following key bindings only work in the TUI mode:
<PgUp>
Scroll the active window one page up.
<PgDn>
Scroll the active window one page down.
<Up>
Scroll the active window one line up.
<Down>
Scroll the active window one line down.
<Left>
Scroll the active window one column left.
<Right>
Scroll the active window one column right.
'C-L'
Refresh the screen.
Because the arrow keys scroll the active window in the TUI mode, they
are not available for their normal use by readline unless the command
window has the focus. When another window is active, you must use other
readline key bindings such as 'C-p', 'C-n', 'C-b' and 'C-f' to control
the command window.

File: gdb.info, Node: TUI Single Key Mode, Next: TUI Commands, Prev: TUI Keys, Up: TUI
25.3 TUI Single Key Mode
========================
The TUI also provides a "SingleKey" mode, which binds several frequently
used GDB commands to single keys. Type 'C-x s' to switch into this
mode, where the following key bindings are used:
'c'
continue
'd'
down
'f'
finish
'n'
next
'o'
nexti. The shortcut letter 'o' stands for "step Over".
'q'
exit the SingleKey mode.
'r'
run
's'
step
'i'
stepi. The shortcut letter 'i' stands for "step Into".
'u'
up
'v'
info locals
'w'
where
Other keys temporarily switch to the GDB command prompt. The key
that was pressed is inserted in the editing buffer so that it is
possible to type most GDB commands without interaction with the TUI
SingleKey mode. Once the command is entered the TUI SingleKey mode is
restored. The only way to permanently leave this mode is by typing 'q'
or 'C-x s'.
If GDB was built with Readline 8.0 or later, the TUI SingleKey keymap
will be named 'SingleKey'. This can be used in '.inputrc' to add
additional bindings to this keymap.

File: gdb.info, Node: TUI Commands, Next: TUI Configuration, Prev: TUI Single Key Mode, Up: TUI
25.4 TUI-specific Commands
==========================
The TUI has specific commands to control the text windows. These
commands are always available, even when GDB is not in the TUI mode.
When GDB is in the standard mode, most of these commands will
automatically switch to the TUI mode.
Note that if GDB's 'stdout' is not connected to a terminal, or GDB
has been started with the machine interface interpreter (*note The
GDB/MI Interface: GDB/MI.), most of these commands will fail with an
error, because it would not be possible or desirable to enable curses
window management.
'tui enable'
Activate TUI mode. The last active TUI window layout will be used
if TUI mode has previously been used in the current debugging
session, otherwise a default layout is used.
'tui disable'
Disable TUI mode, returning to the console interpreter.
'info win'
List and give the size of all displayed windows.
'layout NAME'
Changes which TUI windows are displayed. In each layout the
command window is always displayed, the NAME parameter controls
which additional windows are displayed, and can be any of the
following:
'next'
Display the next layout.
'prev'
Display the previous layout.
'src'
Display the source and command windows.
'asm'
Display the assembly and command windows.
'split'
Display the source, assembly, and command windows.
'regs'
When in 'src' layout display the register, source, and command
windows. When in 'asm' or 'split' layout display the
register, assembler, and command windows.
'focus NAME'
Changes which TUI window is currently active for scrolling. The
NAME parameter can be any of the following:
'next'
Make the next window active for scrolling.
'prev'
Make the previous window active for scrolling.
'src'
Make the source window active for scrolling.
'asm'
Make the assembly window active for scrolling.
'regs'
Make the register window active for scrolling.
'cmd'
Make the command window active for scrolling.
'refresh'
Refresh the screen. This is similar to typing 'C-L'.
'tui reg GROUP'
Changes the register group displayed in the tui register window to
GROUP. If the register window is not currently displayed this
command will cause the register window to be displayed. The list
of register groups, as well as their order is target specific. The
following groups are available on most targets:
'next'
Repeatedly selecting this group will cause the display to
cycle through all of the available register groups.
'prev'
Repeatedly selecting this group will cause the display to
cycle through all of the available register groups in the
reverse order to NEXT.
'general'
Display the general registers.
'float'
Display the floating point registers.
'system'
Display the system registers.
'vector'
Display the vector registers.
'all'
Display all registers.
'update'
Update the source window and the current execution point.
'winheight NAME +COUNT'
'winheight NAME -COUNT'
Change the height of the window NAME by COUNT lines. Positive
counts increase the height, while negative counts decrease it. The
NAME parameter can be one of 'src' (the source window), 'cmd' (the
command window), 'asm' (the disassembly window), or 'regs' (the
register display window).

File: gdb.info, Node: TUI Configuration, Prev: TUI Commands, Up: TUI
25.5 TUI Configuration Variables
================================
Several configuration variables control the appearance of TUI windows.
'set tui border-kind KIND'
Select the border appearance for the source, assembly and register
windows. The possible values are the following:
'space'
Use a space character to draw the border.
'ascii'
Use ASCII characters '+', '-' and '|' to draw the border.
'acs'
Use the Alternate Character Set to draw the border. The
border is drawn using character line graphics if the terminal
supports them.
'set tui border-mode MODE'
'set tui active-border-mode MODE'
Select the display attributes for the borders of the inactive
windows or the active window. The MODE can be one of the
following:
'normal'
Use normal attributes to display the border.
'standout'
Use standout mode.
'reverse'
Use reverse video mode.
'half'
Use half bright mode.
'half-standout'
Use half bright and standout mode.
'bold'
Use extra bright or bold mode.
'bold-standout'
Use extra bright or bold and standout mode.
'set tui tab-width NCHARS'
Set the width of tab stops to be NCHARS characters. This setting
affects the display of TAB characters in the source and assembly
windows.
'set tui compact-source [on|off]'
Set whether the TUI source window is displayed in "compact" form.
The default display uses more space for line numbers and starts the
source text at the next tab stop; the compact display uses only as
much space as is needed for the line numbers in the current file,
and only a single space to separate the line numbers from the
source.
Note that the colors of the TUI borders can be controlled using the
appropriate 'set style' commands. *Note Output Styling::.

File: gdb.info, Node: Emacs, Next: GDB/MI, Prev: TUI, Up: Top
26 Using GDB under GNU Emacs
****************************
A special interface allows you to use GNU Emacs to view (and edit) the
source files for the program you are debugging with GDB.
To use this interface, use the command 'M-x gdb' in Emacs. Give the
executable file you want to debug as an argument. This command starts
GDB as a subprocess of Emacs, with input and output through a newly
created Emacs buffer.
Running GDB under Emacs can be just like running GDB normally except
for two things:
* All "terminal" input and output goes through an Emacs buffer,
called the GUD buffer.
This applies both to GDB commands and their output, and to the
input and output done by the program you are debugging.
This is useful because it means that you can copy the text of
previous commands and input them again; you can even use parts of
the output in this way.
All the facilities of Emacs' Shell mode are available for
interacting with your program. In particular, you can send signals
the usual way--for example, 'C-c C-c' for an interrupt, 'C-c C-z'
for a stop.
* GDB displays source code through Emacs.
Each time GDB displays a stack frame, Emacs automatically finds the
source file for that frame and puts an arrow ('=>') at the left
margin of the current line. Emacs uses a separate buffer for
source display, and splits the screen to show both your GDB session
and the source.
Explicit GDB 'list' or search commands still produce output as
usual, but you probably have no reason to use them from Emacs.
We call this "text command mode". Emacs 22.1, and later, also uses a
graphical mode, enabled by default, which provides further buffers that
can control the execution and describe the state of your program. *Note
(Emacs)GDB Graphical Interface::.
If you specify an absolute file name when prompted for the 'M-x gdb'
argument, then Emacs sets your current working directory to where your
program resides. If you only specify the file name, then Emacs sets
your current working directory to the directory associated with the
previous buffer. In this case, GDB may find your program by searching
your environment's 'PATH' variable, but on some operating systems it
might not find the source. So, although the GDB input and output
session proceeds normally, the auxiliary buffer does not display the
current source and line of execution.
The initial working directory of GDB is printed on the top line of
the GUD buffer and this serves as a default for the commands that
specify files for GDB to operate on. *Note Commands to Specify Files:
Files.
By default, 'M-x gdb' calls the program called 'gdb'. If you need to
call GDB by a different name (for example, if you keep several
configurations around, with different names) you can customize the Emacs
variable 'gud-gdb-command-name' to run the one you want.
In the GUD buffer, you can use these special Emacs commands in
addition to the standard Shell mode commands:
'C-h m'
Describe the features of Emacs' GUD Mode.
'C-c C-s'
Execute to another source line, like the GDB 'step' command; also
update the display window to show the current file and location.
'C-c C-n'
Execute to next source line in this function, skipping all function
calls, like the GDB 'next' command. Then update the display window
to show the current file and location.
'C-c C-i'
Execute one instruction, like the GDB 'stepi' command; update
display window accordingly.
'C-c C-f'
Execute until exit from the selected stack frame, like the GDB
'finish' command.
'C-c C-r'
Continue execution of your program, like the GDB 'continue'
command.
'C-c <'
Go up the number of frames indicated by the numeric argument (*note
Numeric Arguments: (Emacs)Arguments.), like the GDB 'up' command.
'C-c >'
Go down the number of frames indicated by the numeric argument,
like the GDB 'down' command.
In any source file, the Emacs command 'C-x <SPC>' ('gud-break') tells
GDB to set a breakpoint on the source line point is on.
In text command mode, if you type 'M-x speedbar', Emacs displays a
separate frame which shows a backtrace when the GUD buffer is current.
Move point to any frame in the stack and type <RET> to make it become
the current frame and display the associated source in the source
buffer. Alternatively, click 'Mouse-2' to make the selected frame
become the current one. In graphical mode, the speedbar displays watch
expressions.
If you accidentally delete the source-display buffer, an easy way to
get it back is to type the command 'f' in the GDB buffer, to request a
frame display; when you run under Emacs, this recreates the source
buffer if necessary to show you the context of the current frame.
The source files displayed in Emacs are in ordinary Emacs buffers
which are visiting the source files in the usual way. You can edit the
files with these buffers if you wish; but keep in mind that GDB
communicates with Emacs in terms of line numbers. If you add or delete
lines from the text, the line numbers that GDB knows cease to correspond
properly with the code.
A more detailed description of Emacs' interaction with GDB is given
in the Emacs manual (*note (Emacs)Debuggers::).

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI, Next: Annotations, Prev: Emacs, Up: Top
27 The GDB/MI Interface
***********************
* Menu:
* GDB/MI General Design::
* GDB/MI Command Syntax::
* GDB/MI Compatibility with CLI::
* GDB/MI Development and Front Ends::
* GDB/MI Output Records::
* GDB/MI Simple Examples::
* GDB/MI Command Description Format::
* GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands::
* GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands::
* GDB/MI Program Context::
* GDB/MI Thread Commands::
* GDB/MI Ada Tasking Commands::
* GDB/MI Program Execution::
* GDB/MI Stack Manipulation::
* GDB/MI Variable Objects::
* GDB/MI Data Manipulation::
* GDB/MI Tracepoint Commands::
* GDB/MI Symbol Query::
* GDB/MI File Commands::
* GDB/MI Target Manipulation::
* GDB/MI File Transfer Commands::
* GDB/MI Ada Exceptions Commands::
* GDB/MI Support Commands::
* GDB/MI Miscellaneous Commands::
Function and Purpose
====================
GDB/MI is a line based machine oriented text interface to GDB and is
activated by specifying using the '--interpreter' command line option
(*note Mode Options::). It is specifically intended to support the
development of systems which use the debugger as just one small
component of a larger system.
This chapter is a specification of the GDB/MI interface. It is
written in the form of a reference manual.
Note that GDB/MI is still under construction, so some of the features
described below are incomplete and subject to change (*note GDB/MI
Development and Front Ends: GDB/MI Development and Front Ends.).
Notation and Terminology
========================
This chapter uses the following notation:
* '|' separates two alternatives.
* '[ SOMETHING ]' indicates that SOMETHING is optional: it may or may
not be given.
* '( GROUP )*' means that GROUP inside the parentheses may repeat
zero or more times.
* '( GROUP )+' means that GROUP inside the parentheses may repeat one
or more times.
* '"STRING"' means a literal STRING.
* Menu:
* GDB/MI General Design::
* GDB/MI Command Syntax::
* GDB/MI Compatibility with CLI::
* GDB/MI Development and Front Ends::
* GDB/MI Output Records::
* GDB/MI Simple Examples::
* GDB/MI Command Description Format::
* GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands::
* GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands::
* GDB/MI Program Context::
* GDB/MI Thread Commands::
* GDB/MI Ada Tasking Commands::
* GDB/MI Program Execution::
* GDB/MI Stack Manipulation::
* GDB/MI Variable Objects::
* GDB/MI Data Manipulation::
* GDB/MI Tracepoint Commands::
* GDB/MI Symbol Query::
* GDB/MI File Commands::
* GDB/MI Target Manipulation::
* GDB/MI File Transfer Commands::
* GDB/MI Ada Exceptions Commands::
* GDB/MI Support Commands::
* GDB/MI Miscellaneous Commands::

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI General Design, Next: GDB/MI Command Syntax, Up: GDB/MI
27.1 GDB/MI General Design
==========================
Interaction of a GDB/MI frontend with GDB involves three parts--commands
sent to GDB, responses to those commands and notifications. Each
command results in exactly one response, indicating either successful
completion of the command, or an error. For the commands that do not
resume the target, the response contains the requested information. For
the commands that resume the target, the response only indicates whether
the target was successfully resumed. Notifications is the mechanism for
reporting changes in the state of the target, or in GDB state, that
cannot conveniently be associated with a command and reported as part of
that command response.
The important examples of notifications are:
* Exec notifications. These are used to report changes in target
state--when a target is resumed, or stopped. It would not be
feasible to include this information in response of resuming
commands, because one resume commands can result in multiple events
in different threads. Also, quite some time may pass before any
event happens in the target, while a frontend needs to know whether
the resuming command itself was successfully executed.
* Console output, and status notifications. Console output
notifications are used to report output of CLI commands, as well as
diagnostics for other commands. Status notifications are used to
report the progress of a long-running operation. Naturally,
including this information in command response would mean no output
is produced until the command is finished, which is undesirable.
* General notifications. Commands may have various side effects on
the GDB or target state beyond their official purpose. For
example, a command may change the selected thread. Although such
changes can be included in command response, using notification
allows for more orthogonal frontend design.
There's no guarantee that whenever an MI command reports an error,
GDB or the target are in any specific state, and especially, the state
is not reverted to the state before the MI command was processed.
Therefore, whenever an MI command results in an error, we recommend that
the frontend refreshes all the information shown in the user interface.
* Menu:
* Context management::
* Asynchronous and non-stop modes::
* Thread groups::

File: gdb.info, Node: Context management, Next: Asynchronous and non-stop modes, Up: GDB/MI General Design
27.1.1 Context management
-------------------------
27.1.1.1 Threads and Frames
...........................
In most cases when GDB accesses the target, this access is done in
context of a specific thread and frame (*note Frames::). Often, even
when accessing global data, the target requires that a thread be
specified. The CLI interface maintains the selected thread and frame,
and supplies them to target on each command. This is convenient,
because a command line user would not want to specify that information
explicitly on each command, and because user interacts with GDB via a
single terminal, so no confusion is possible as to what thread and frame
are the current ones.
In the case of MI, the concept of selected thread and frame is less
useful. First, a frontend can easily remember this information itself.
Second, a graphical frontend can have more than one window, each one
used for debugging a different thread, and the frontend might want to
access additional threads for internal purposes. This increases the
risk that by relying on implicitly selected thread, the frontend may be
operating on a wrong one. Therefore, each MI command should explicitly
specify which thread and frame to operate on. To make it possible, each
MI command accepts the '--thread' and '--frame' options, the value to
each is GDB global identifier for thread and frame to operate on.
Usually, each top-level window in a frontend allows the user to
select a thread and a frame, and remembers the user selection for
further operations. However, in some cases GDB may suggest that the
current thread or frame be changed. For example, when stopping on a
breakpoint it is reasonable to switch to the thread where breakpoint is
hit. For another example, if the user issues the CLI 'thread' or
'frame' commands via the frontend, it is desirable to change the
frontend's selection to the one specified by user. GDB communicates the
suggestion to change current thread and frame using the
'=thread-selected' notification.
Note that historically, MI shares the selected thread with CLI, so
frontends used the '-thread-select' to execute commands in the right
context. However, getting this to work right is cumbersome. The
simplest way is for frontend to emit '-thread-select' command before
every command. This doubles the number of commands that need to be
sent. The alternative approach is to suppress '-thread-select' if the
selected thread in GDB is supposed to be identical to the thread the
frontend wants to operate on. However, getting this optimization right
can be tricky. In particular, if the frontend sends several commands to
GDB, and one of the commands changes the selected thread, then the
behaviour of subsequent commands will change. So, a frontend should
either wait for response from such problematic commands, or explicitly
add '-thread-select' for all subsequent commands. No frontend is known
to do this exactly right, so it is suggested to just always pass the
'--thread' and '--frame' options.
27.1.1.2 Language
.................
The execution of several commands depends on which language is selected.
By default, the current language (*note show language::) is used. But
for commands known to be language-sensitive, it is recommended to use
the '--language' option. This option takes one argument, which is the
name of the language to use while executing the command. For instance:
-data-evaluate-expression --language c "sizeof (void*)"
^done,value="4"
(gdb)
The valid language names are the same names accepted by the 'set
language' command (*note Manually::), excluding 'auto', 'local' or
'unknown'.

File: gdb.info, Node: Asynchronous and non-stop modes, Next: Thread groups, Prev: Context management, Up: GDB/MI General Design
27.1.2 Asynchronous command execution and non-stop mode
-------------------------------------------------------
On some targets, GDB is capable of processing MI commands even while the
target is running. This is called "asynchronous command execution"
(*note Background Execution::). The frontend may specify a preference
for asynchronous execution using the '-gdb-set mi-async 1' command,
which should be emitted before either running the executable or
attaching to the target. After the frontend has started the executable
or attached to the target, it can find if asynchronous execution is
enabled using the '-list-target-features' command.
'-gdb-set mi-async on'
'-gdb-set mi-async off'
Set whether MI is in asynchronous mode.
When 'off', which is the default, MI execution commands (e.g.,
'-exec-continue') are foreground commands, and GDB waits for the
program to stop before processing further commands.
When 'on', MI execution commands are background execution commands
(e.g., '-exec-continue' becomes the equivalent of the 'c&' CLI
command), and so GDB is capable of processing MI commands even
while the target is running.
'-gdb-show mi-async'
Show whether MI asynchronous mode is enabled.
Note: In GDB version 7.7 and earlier, this option was called
'target-async' instead of 'mi-async', and it had the effect of both
putting MI in asynchronous mode and making CLI background commands
possible. CLI background commands are now always possible "out of the
box" if the target supports them. The old spelling is kept as a
deprecated alias for backwards compatibility.
Even if GDB can accept a command while target is running, many
commands that access the target do not work when the target is running.
Therefore, asynchronous command execution is most useful when combined
with non-stop mode (*note Non-Stop Mode::). Then, it is possible to
examine the state of one thread, while other threads are running.
When a given thread is running, MI commands that try to access the
target in the context of that thread may not work, or may work only on
some targets. In particular, commands that try to operate on thread's
stack will not work, on any target. Commands that read memory, or
modify breakpoints, may work or not work, depending on the target. Note
that even commands that operate on global state, such as 'print', 'set',
and breakpoint commands, still access the target in the context of a
specific thread, so frontend should try to find a stopped thread and
perform the operation on that thread (using the '--thread' option).
Which commands will work in the context of a running thread is highly
target dependent. However, the two commands '-exec-interrupt', to stop
a thread, and '-thread-info', to find the state of a thread, will always
work.

File: gdb.info, Node: Thread groups, Prev: Asynchronous and non-stop modes, Up: GDB/MI General Design
27.1.3 Thread groups
--------------------
GDB may be used to debug several processes at the same time. On some
platforms, GDB may support debugging of several hardware systems, each
one having several cores with several different processes running on
each core. This section describes the MI mechanism to support such
debugging scenarios.
The key observation is that regardless of the structure of the
target, MI can have a global list of threads, because most commands that
accept the '--thread' option do not need to know what process that
thread belongs to. Therefore, it is not necessary to introduce neither
additional '--process' option, nor an notion of the current process in
the MI interface. The only strictly new feature that is required is the
ability to find how the threads are grouped into processes.
To allow the user to discover such grouping, and to support arbitrary
hierarchy of machines/cores/processes, MI introduces the concept of a
"thread group". Thread group is a collection of threads and other
thread groups. A thread group always has a string identifier, a type,
and may have additional attributes specific to the type. A new command,
'-list-thread-groups', returns the list of top-level thread groups,
which correspond to processes that GDB is debugging at the moment. By
passing an identifier of a thread group to the '-list-thread-groups'
command, it is possible to obtain the members of specific thread group.
To allow the user to easily discover processes, and other objects, he
wishes to debug, a concept of "available thread group" is introduced.
Available thread group is an thread group that GDB is not debugging, but
that can be attached to, using the '-target-attach' command. The list
of available top-level thread groups can be obtained using
'-list-thread-groups --available'. In general, the content of a thread
group may be only retrieved only after attaching to that thread group.
Thread groups are related to inferiors (*note Inferiors and
Programs::). Each inferior corresponds to a thread group of a special
type 'process', and some additional operations are permitted on such
thread groups.

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Command Syntax, Next: GDB/MI Compatibility with CLI, Prev: GDB/MI General Design, Up: GDB/MI
27.2 GDB/MI Command Syntax
==========================
* Menu:
* GDB/MI Input Syntax::
* GDB/MI Output Syntax::

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Input Syntax, Next: GDB/MI Output Syntax, Up: GDB/MI Command Syntax
27.2.1 GDB/MI Input Syntax
--------------------------
'COMMAND ==>'
'CLI-COMMAND | MI-COMMAND'
'CLI-COMMAND ==>'
'[ TOKEN ] CLI-COMMAND NL', where CLI-COMMAND is any existing GDB
CLI command.
'MI-COMMAND ==>'
'[ TOKEN ] "-" OPERATION ( " " OPTION )* [ " --" ] ( " " PARAMETER
)* NL'
'TOKEN ==>'
"any sequence of digits"
'OPTION ==>'
'"-" PARAMETER [ " " PARAMETER ]'
'PARAMETER ==>'
'NON-BLANK-SEQUENCE | C-STRING'
'OPERATION ==>'
_any of the operations described in this chapter_
'NON-BLANK-SEQUENCE ==>'
_anything, provided it doesn't contain special characters such as
"-", NL, """ and of course " "_
'C-STRING ==>'
'""" SEVEN-BIT-ISO-C-STRING-CONTENT """'
'NL ==>'
'CR | CR-LF'
Notes:
* The CLI commands are still handled by the MI interpreter; their
output is described below.
* The 'TOKEN', when present, is passed back when the command
finishes.
* Some MI commands accept optional arguments as part of the parameter
list. Each option is identified by a leading '-' (dash) and may be
followed by an optional argument parameter. Options occur first in
the parameter list and can be delimited from normal parameters
using '--' (this is useful when some parameters begin with a dash).
Pragmatics:
* We want easy access to the existing CLI syntax (for debugging).
* We want it to be easy to spot a MI operation.

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Output Syntax, Prev: GDB/MI Input Syntax, Up: GDB/MI Command Syntax
27.2.2 GDB/MI Output Syntax
---------------------------
The output from GDB/MI consists of zero or more out-of-band records
followed, optionally, by a single result record. This result record is
for the most recent command. The sequence of output records is
terminated by '(gdb)'.
If an input command was prefixed with a 'TOKEN' then the
corresponding output for that command will also be prefixed by that same
TOKEN.
'OUTPUT ==>'
'( OUT-OF-BAND-RECORD )* [ RESULT-RECORD ] "(gdb)" NL'
'RESULT-RECORD ==>'
' [ TOKEN ] "^" RESULT-CLASS ( "," RESULT )* NL'
'OUT-OF-BAND-RECORD ==>'
'ASYNC-RECORD | STREAM-RECORD'
'ASYNC-RECORD ==>'
'EXEC-ASYNC-OUTPUT | STATUS-ASYNC-OUTPUT | NOTIFY-ASYNC-OUTPUT'
'EXEC-ASYNC-OUTPUT ==>'
'[ TOKEN ] "*" ASYNC-OUTPUT NL'
'STATUS-ASYNC-OUTPUT ==>'
'[ TOKEN ] "+" ASYNC-OUTPUT NL'
'NOTIFY-ASYNC-OUTPUT ==>'
'[ TOKEN ] "=" ASYNC-OUTPUT NL'
'ASYNC-OUTPUT ==>'
'ASYNC-CLASS ( "," RESULT )*'
'RESULT-CLASS ==>'
'"done" | "running" | "connected" | "error" | "exit"'
'ASYNC-CLASS ==>'
'"stopped" | OTHERS' (where OTHERS will be added depending on the
needs--this is still in development).
'RESULT ==>'
' VARIABLE "=" VALUE'
'VARIABLE ==>'
' STRING '
'VALUE ==>'
' CONST | TUPLE | LIST '
'CONST ==>'
'C-STRING'
'TUPLE ==>'
' "{}" | "{" RESULT ( "," RESULT )* "}" '
'LIST ==>'
' "[]" | "[" VALUE ( "," VALUE )* "]" | "[" RESULT ( "," RESULT )*
"]" '
'STREAM-RECORD ==>'
'CONSOLE-STREAM-OUTPUT | TARGET-STREAM-OUTPUT | LOG-STREAM-OUTPUT'
'CONSOLE-STREAM-OUTPUT ==>'
'"~" C-STRING NL'
'TARGET-STREAM-OUTPUT ==>'
'"@" C-STRING NL'
'LOG-STREAM-OUTPUT ==>'
'"&" C-STRING NL'
'NL ==>'
'CR | CR-LF'
'TOKEN ==>'
_any sequence of digits_.
Notes:
* All output sequences end in a single line containing a period.
* The 'TOKEN' is from the corresponding request. Note that for all
async output, while the token is allowed by the grammar and may be
output by future versions of GDB for select async output messages,
it is generally omitted. Frontends should treat all async output
as reporting general changes in the state of the target and there
should be no need to associate async output to any prior command.
* STATUS-ASYNC-OUTPUT contains on-going status information about the
progress of a slow operation. It can be discarded. All status
output is prefixed by '+'.
* EXEC-ASYNC-OUTPUT contains asynchronous state change on the target
(stopped, started, disappeared). All async output is prefixed by
'*'.
* NOTIFY-ASYNC-OUTPUT contains supplementary information that the
client should handle (e.g., a new breakpoint information). All
notify output is prefixed by '='.
* CONSOLE-STREAM-OUTPUT is output that should be displayed as is in
the console. It is the textual response to a CLI command. All the
console output is prefixed by '~'.
* TARGET-STREAM-OUTPUT is the output produced by the target program.
All the target output is prefixed by '@'.
* LOG-STREAM-OUTPUT is output text coming from GDB's internals, for
instance messages that should be displayed as part of an error log.
All the log output is prefixed by '&'.
* New GDB/MI commands should only output LISTS containing VALUES.
*Note GDB/MI Stream Records: GDB/MI Stream Records, for more details
about the various output records.

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Compatibility with CLI, Next: GDB/MI Development and Front Ends, Prev: GDB/MI Command Syntax, Up: GDB/MI
27.3 GDB/MI Compatibility with CLI
==================================
For the developers convenience CLI commands can be entered directly, but
there may be some unexpected behaviour. For example, commands that
query the user will behave as if the user replied yes, breakpoint
command lists are not executed and some CLI commands, such as 'if',
'when' and 'define', prompt for further input with '>', which is not
valid MI output.
This feature may be removed at some stage in the future and it is
recommended that front ends use the '-interpreter-exec' command (*note
-interpreter-exec::).

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Development and Front Ends, Next: GDB/MI Output Records, Prev: GDB/MI Compatibility with CLI, Up: GDB/MI
27.4 GDB/MI Development and Front Ends
======================================
The application which takes the MI output and presents the state of the
program being debugged to the user is called a "front end".
Since GDB/MI is used by a variety of front ends to GDB, changes to
the MI interface may break existing usage. This section describes how
the protocol changes and how to request previous version of the protocol
when it does.
Some changes in MI need not break a carefully designed front end, and
for these the MI version will remain unchanged. The following is a list
of changes that may occur within one level, so front ends should parse
MI output in a way that can handle them:
* New MI commands may be added.
* New fields may be added to the output of any MI command.
* The range of values for fields with specified values, e.g.,
'in_scope' (*note -var-update::) may be extended.
If the changes are likely to break front ends, the MI version level
will be increased by one. The new versions of the MI protocol are not
compatible with the old versions. Old versions of MI remain available,
allowing front ends to keep using them until they are modified to use
the latest MI version.
Since '--interpreter=mi' always points to the latest MI version, it
is recommended that front ends request a specific version of MI when
launching GDB (e.g. '--interpreter=mi2') to make sure they get an
interpreter with the MI version they expect.
The following table gives a summary of the the released versions of
the MI interface: the version number, the version of GDB in which it
first appeared and the breaking changes compared to the previous
version.
MI GDB Breaking changes
versionversion
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 5.1 None
2 6.0
* The '-environment-pwd', '-environment-directory' and
'-environment-path' commands now returns values using the
MI output syntax, rather than CLI output syntax.
* '-var-list-children''s 'children' result field is now a
list, rather than a tuple.
* '-var-update''s 'changelist' result field is now a list,
rather than a tuple.
3 9.1
* The output of information about multi-location breakpoints
has changed in the responses to the '-break-insert' and
'-break-info' commands, as well as in the
'=breakpoint-created' and '=breakpoint-modified' events.
The multiple locations are now placed in a 'locations'
field, whose value is a list.
If your front end cannot yet migrate to a more recent version of the
MI protocol, you can nevertheless selectively enable specific features
available in those recent MI versions, using the following commands:
'-fix-multi-location-breakpoint-output'
Use the output for multi-location breakpoints which was introduced
by MI 3, even when using MI versions 2 or 1. This command has no
effect when using MI version 3 or later.
The best way to avoid unexpected changes in MI that might break your
front end is to make your project known to GDB developers and follow
development on <gdb@sourceware.org> and <gdb-patches@sourceware.org>.

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Output Records, Next: GDB/MI Simple Examples, Prev: GDB/MI Development and Front Ends, Up: GDB/MI
27.5 GDB/MI Output Records
==========================
* Menu:
* GDB/MI Result Records::
* GDB/MI Stream Records::
* GDB/MI Async Records::
* GDB/MI Breakpoint Information::
* GDB/MI Frame Information::
* GDB/MI Thread Information::
* GDB/MI Ada Exception Information::

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Result Records, Next: GDB/MI Stream Records, Up: GDB/MI Output Records
27.5.1 GDB/MI Result Records
----------------------------
In addition to a number of out-of-band notifications, the response to a
GDB/MI command includes one of the following result indications:
'"^done" [ "," RESULTS ]'
The synchronous operation was successful, 'RESULTS' are the return
values.
'"^running"'
This result record is equivalent to '^done'. Historically, it was
output instead of '^done' if the command has resumed the target.
This behaviour is maintained for backward compatibility, but all
frontends should treat '^done' and '^running' identically and rely
on the '*running' output record to determine which threads are
resumed.
'"^connected"'
GDB has connected to a remote target.
'"^error" "," "msg=" C-STRING [ "," "code=" C-STRING ]'
The operation failed. The 'msg=C-STRING' variable contains the
corresponding error message.
If present, the 'code=C-STRING' variable provides an error code on
which consumers can rely on to detect the corresponding error
condition. At present, only one error code is defined:
'"undefined-command"'
Indicates that the command causing the error does not exist.
'"^exit"'
GDB has terminated.

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Stream Records, Next: GDB/MI Async Records, Prev: GDB/MI Result Records, Up: GDB/MI Output Records
27.5.2 GDB/MI Stream Records
----------------------------
GDB internally maintains a number of output streams: the console, the
target, and the log. The output intended for each of these streams is
funneled through the GDB/MI interface using "stream records".
Each stream record begins with a unique "prefix character" which
identifies its stream (*note GDB/MI Output Syntax: GDB/MI Output
Syntax.). In addition to the prefix, each stream record contains a
'STRING-OUTPUT'. This is either raw text (with an implicit new line) or
a quoted C string (which does not contain an implicit newline).
'"~" STRING-OUTPUT'
The console output stream contains text that should be displayed in
the CLI console window. It contains the textual responses to CLI
commands.
'"@" STRING-OUTPUT'
The target output stream contains any textual output from the
running target. This is only present when GDB's event loop is
truly asynchronous, which is currently only the case for remote
targets.
'"&" STRING-OUTPUT'
The log stream contains debugging messages being produced by GDB's
internals.

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Async Records, Next: GDB/MI Breakpoint Information, Prev: GDB/MI Stream Records, Up: GDB/MI Output Records
27.5.3 GDB/MI Async Records
---------------------------
"Async" records are used to notify the GDB/MI client of additional
changes that have occurred. Those changes can either be a consequence
of GDB/MI commands (e.g., a breakpoint modified) or a result of target
activity (e.g., target stopped).
The following is the list of possible async records:
'*running,thread-id="THREAD"'
The target is now running. The THREAD field can be the global
thread ID of the the thread that is now running, and it can be
'all' if all threads are running. The frontend should assume that
no interaction with a running thread is possible after this
notification is produced. The frontend should not assume that this
notification is output only once for any command. GDB may emit
this notification several times, either for different threads,
because it cannot resume all threads together, or even for a single
thread, if the thread must be stepped though some code before
letting it run freely.
'*stopped,reason="REASON",thread-id="ID",stopped-threads="STOPPED",core="CORE"'
The target has stopped. The REASON field can have one of the
following values:
'breakpoint-hit'
A breakpoint was reached.
'watchpoint-trigger'
A watchpoint was triggered.
'read-watchpoint-trigger'
A read watchpoint was triggered.
'access-watchpoint-trigger'
An access watchpoint was triggered.
'function-finished'
An -exec-finish or similar CLI command was accomplished.
'location-reached'
An -exec-until or similar CLI command was accomplished.
'watchpoint-scope'
A watchpoint has gone out of scope.
'end-stepping-range'
An -exec-next, -exec-next-instruction, -exec-step,
-exec-step-instruction or similar CLI command was
accomplished.
'exited-signalled'
The inferior exited because of a signal.
'exited'
The inferior exited.
'exited-normally'
The inferior exited normally.
'signal-received'
A signal was received by the inferior.
'solib-event'
The inferior has stopped due to a library being loaded or
unloaded. This can happen when 'stop-on-solib-events' (*note
Files::) is set or when a 'catch load' or 'catch unload'
catchpoint is in use (*note Set Catchpoints::).
'fork'
The inferior has forked. This is reported when 'catch fork'
(*note Set Catchpoints::) has been used.
'vfork'
The inferior has vforked. This is reported in when 'catch
vfork' (*note Set Catchpoints::) has been used.
'syscall-entry'
The inferior entered a system call. This is reported when
'catch syscall' (*note Set Catchpoints::) has been used.
'syscall-return'
The inferior returned from a system call. This is reported
when 'catch syscall' (*note Set Catchpoints::) has been used.
'exec'
The inferior called 'exec'. This is reported when 'catch
exec' (*note Set Catchpoints::) has been used.
The ID field identifies the global thread ID of the thread that
directly caused the stop - for example by hitting a breakpoint.
Depending on whether all-stop mode is in effect (*note All-Stop
Mode::), GDB may either stop all threads, or only the thread that
directly triggered the stop. If all threads are stopped, the
STOPPED field will have the value of '"all"'. Otherwise, the value
of the STOPPED field will be a list of thread identifiers.
Presently, this list will always include a single thread, but
frontend should be prepared to see several threads in the list.
The CORE field reports the processor core on which the stop event
has happened. This field may be absent if such information is not
available.
'=thread-group-added,id="ID"'
'=thread-group-removed,id="ID"'
A thread group was either added or removed. The ID field contains
the GDB identifier of the thread group. When a thread group is
added, it generally might not be associated with a running process.
When a thread group is removed, its id becomes invalid and cannot
be used in any way.
'=thread-group-started,id="ID",pid="PID"'
A thread group became associated with a running program, either
because the program was just started or the thread group was
attached to a program. The ID field contains the GDB identifier of
the thread group. The PID field contains process identifier,
specific to the operating system.
'=thread-group-exited,id="ID"[,exit-code="CODE"]'
A thread group is no longer associated with a running program,
either because the program has exited, or because it was detached
from. The ID field contains the GDB identifier of the thread
group. The CODE field is the exit code of the inferior; it exists
only when the inferior exited with some code.
'=thread-created,id="ID",group-id="GID"'
'=thread-exited,id="ID",group-id="GID"'
A thread either was created, or has exited. The ID field contains
the global GDB identifier of the thread. The GID field identifies
the thread group this thread belongs to.
'=thread-selected,id="ID"[,frame="FRAME"]'
Informs that the selected thread or frame were changed. This
notification is not emitted as result of the '-thread-select' or
'-stack-select-frame' commands, but is emitted whenever an MI
command that is not documented to change the selected thread and
frame actually changes them. In particular, invoking, directly or
indirectly (via user-defined command), the CLI 'thread' or 'frame'
commands, will generate this notification. Changing the thread or
frame from another user interface (see *note Interpreters::) will
also generate this notification.
The FRAME field is only present if the newly selected thread is
stopped. See *note GDB/MI Frame Information:: for the format of
its value.
We suggest that in response to this notification, front ends
highlight the selected thread and cause subsequent commands to
apply to that thread.
'=library-loaded,...'
Reports that a new library file was loaded by the program. This
notification has 5 fields--ID, TARGET-NAME, HOST-NAME,
SYMBOLS-LOADED and RANGES. The ID field is an opaque identifier of
the library. For remote debugging case, TARGET-NAME and HOST-NAME
fields give the name of the library file on the target, and on the
host respectively. For native debugging, both those fields have
the same value. The SYMBOLS-LOADED field is emitted only for
backward compatibility and should not be relied on to convey any
useful information. The THREAD-GROUP field, if present, specifies
the id of the thread group in whose context the library was loaded.
If the field is absent, it means the library was loaded in the
context of all present thread groups. The RANGES field specifies
the ranges of addresses belonging to this library.
'=library-unloaded,...'
Reports that a library was unloaded by the program. This
notification has 3 fields--ID, TARGET-NAME and HOST-NAME with the
same meaning as for the '=library-loaded' notification. The
THREAD-GROUP field, if present, specifies the id of the thread
group in whose context the library was unloaded. If the field is
absent, it means the library was unloaded in the context of all
present thread groups.
'=traceframe-changed,num=TFNUM,tracepoint=TPNUM'
'=traceframe-changed,end'
Reports that the trace frame was changed and its new number is
TFNUM. The number of the tracepoint associated with this trace
frame is TPNUM.
'=tsv-created,name=NAME,initial=INITIAL'
Reports that the new trace state variable NAME is created with
initial value INITIAL.
'=tsv-deleted,name=NAME'
'=tsv-deleted'
Reports that the trace state variable NAME is deleted or all trace
state variables are deleted.
'=tsv-modified,name=NAME,initial=INITIAL[,current=CURRENT]'
Reports that the trace state variable NAME is modified with the
initial value INITIAL. The current value CURRENT of trace state
variable is optional and is reported if the current value of trace
state variable is known.
'=breakpoint-created,bkpt={...}'
'=breakpoint-modified,bkpt={...}'
'=breakpoint-deleted,id=NUMBER'
Reports that a breakpoint was created, modified, or deleted,
respectively. Only user-visible breakpoints are reported to the MI
user.
The BKPT argument is of the same form as returned by the various
breakpoint commands; *Note GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands::. The
NUMBER is the ordinal number of the breakpoint.
Note that if a breakpoint is emitted in the result record of a
command, then it will not also be emitted in an async record.
'=record-started,thread-group="ID",method="METHOD"[,format="FORMAT"]'
'=record-stopped,thread-group="ID"'
Execution log recording was either started or stopped on an
inferior. The ID is the GDB identifier of the thread group
corresponding to the affected inferior.
The METHOD field indicates the method used to record execution. If
the method in use supports multiple recording formats, FORMAT will
be present and contain the currently used format. *Note Process
Record and Replay::, for existing method and format values.
'=cmd-param-changed,param=PARAM,value=VALUE'
Reports that a parameter of the command 'set PARAM' is changed to
VALUE. In the multi-word 'set' command, the PARAM is the whole
parameter list to 'set' command. For example, In command 'set
check type on', PARAM is 'check type' and VALUE is 'on'.
'=memory-changed,thread-group=ID,addr=ADDR,len=LEN[,type="code"]'
Reports that bytes from ADDR to DATA + LEN were written in an
inferior. The ID is the identifier of the thread group
corresponding to the affected inferior. The optional 'type="code"'
part is reported if the memory written to holds executable code.

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Breakpoint Information, Next: GDB/MI Frame Information, Prev: GDB/MI Async Records, Up: GDB/MI Output Records
27.5.4 GDB/MI Breakpoint Information
------------------------------------
When GDB reports information about a breakpoint, a tracepoint, a
watchpoint, or a catchpoint, it uses a tuple with the following fields:
'number'
The breakpoint number.
'type'
The type of the breakpoint. For ordinary breakpoints this will be
'breakpoint', but many values are possible.
'catch-type'
If the type of the breakpoint is 'catchpoint', then this indicates
the exact type of catchpoint.
'disp'
This is the breakpoint disposition--either 'del', meaning that the
breakpoint will be deleted at the next stop, or 'keep', meaning
that the breakpoint will not be deleted.
'enabled'
This indicates whether the breakpoint is enabled, in which case the
value is 'y', or disabled, in which case the value is 'n'. Note
that this is not the same as the field 'enable'.
'addr'
The address of the breakpoint. This may be a hexidecimal number,
giving the address; or the string '<PENDING>', for a pending
breakpoint; or the string '<MULTIPLE>', for a breakpoint with
multiple locations. This field will not be present if no address
can be determined. For example, a watchpoint does not have an
address.
'addr_flags'
Optional field containing any flags related to the address. These
flags are architecture-dependent; see *note Architectures:: for
their meaning for a particular CPU.
'func'
If known, the function in which the breakpoint appears. If not
known, this field is not present.
'filename'
The name of the source file which contains this function, if known.
If not known, this field is not present.
'fullname'
The full file name of the source file which contains this function,
if known. If not known, this field is not present.
'line'
The line number at which this breakpoint appears, if known. If not
known, this field is not present.
'at'
If the source file is not known, this field may be provided. If
provided, this holds the address of the breakpoint, possibly
followed by a symbol name.
'pending'
If this breakpoint is pending, this field is present and holds the
text used to set the breakpoint, as entered by the user.
'evaluated-by'
Where this breakpoint's condition is evaluated, either 'host' or
'target'.
'thread'
If this is a thread-specific breakpoint, then this identifies the
thread in which the breakpoint can trigger.
'task'
If this breakpoint is restricted to a particular Ada task, then
this field will hold the task identifier.
'cond'
If the breakpoint is conditional, this is the condition expression.
'ignore'
The ignore count of the breakpoint.
'enable'
The enable count of the breakpoint.
'traceframe-usage'
FIXME.
'static-tracepoint-marker-string-id'
For a static tracepoint, the name of the static tracepoint marker.
'mask'
For a masked watchpoint, this is the mask.
'pass'
A tracepoint's pass count.
'original-location'
The location of the breakpoint as originally specified by the user.
This field is optional.
'times'
The number of times the breakpoint has been hit.
'installed'
This field is only given for tracepoints. This is either 'y',
meaning that the tracepoint is installed, or 'n', meaning that it
is not.
'what'
Some extra data, the exact contents of which are type-dependent.
'locations'
This field is present if the breakpoint has multiple locations. It
is also exceptionally present if the breakpoint is enabled and has
a single, disabled location.
The value is a list of locations. The format of a location is
described below.
A location in a multi-location breakpoint is represented as a tuple
with the following fields:
'number'
The location number as a dotted pair, like '1.2'. The first digit
is the number of the parent breakpoint. The second digit is the
number of the location within that breakpoint.
'enabled'
This indicates whether the location is enabled, in which case the
value is 'y', or disabled, in which case the value is 'n'. Note
that this is not the same as the field 'enable'.
'addr'
The address of this location as an hexidecimal number.
'addr_flags'
Optional field containing any flags related to the address. These
flags are architecture-dependent; see *note Architectures:: for
their meaning for a particular CPU.
'func'
If known, the function in which the location appears. If not
known, this field is not present.
'file'
The name of the source file which contains this location, if known.
If not known, this field is not present.
'fullname'
The full file name of the source file which contains this location,
if known. If not known, this field is not present.
'line'
The line number at which this location appears, if known. If not
known, this field is not present.
'thread-groups'
The thread groups this location is in.
For example, here is what the output of '-break-insert' (*note GDB/MI
Breakpoint Commands::) might be:
-> -break-insert main
<- ^done,bkpt={number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
enabled="y",addr="0x08048564",func="main",file="myprog.c",
fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="68",thread-groups=["i1"],
times="0"}
<- (gdb)

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Frame Information, Next: GDB/MI Thread Information, Prev: GDB/MI Breakpoint Information, Up: GDB/MI Output Records
27.5.5 GDB/MI Frame Information
-------------------------------
Response from many MI commands includes an information about stack
frame. This information is a tuple that may have the following fields:
'level'
The level of the stack frame. The innermost frame has the level of
zero. This field is always present.
'func'
The name of the function corresponding to the frame. This field
may be absent if GDB is unable to determine the function name.
'addr'
The code address for the frame. This field is always present.
'addr_flags'
Optional field containing any flags related to the address. These
flags are architecture-dependent; see *note Architectures:: for
their meaning for a particular CPU.
'file'
The name of the source files that correspond to the frame's code
address. This field may be absent.
'line'
The source line corresponding to the frames' code address. This
field may be absent.
'from'
The name of the binary file (either executable or shared library)
the corresponds to the frame's code address. This field may be
absent.

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Thread Information, Next: GDB/MI Ada Exception Information, Prev: GDB/MI Frame Information, Up: GDB/MI Output Records
27.5.6 GDB/MI Thread Information
--------------------------------
Whenever GDB has to report an information about a thread, it uses a
tuple with the following fields. The fields are always present unless
stated otherwise.
'id'
The global numeric id assigned to the thread by GDB.
'target-id'
The target-specific string identifying the thread.
'details'
Additional information about the thread provided by the target. It
is supposed to be human-readable and not interpreted by the
frontend. This field is optional.
'name'
The name of the thread. If the user specified a name using the
'thread name' command, then this name is given. Otherwise, if GDB
can extract the thread name from the target, then that name is
given. If GDB cannot find the thread name, then this field is
omitted.
'state'
The execution state of the thread, either 'stopped' or 'running',
depending on whether the thread is presently running.
'frame'
The stack frame currently executing in the thread. This field is
only present if the thread is stopped. Its format is documented in
*note GDB/MI Frame Information::.
'core'
The value of this field is an integer number of the processor core
the thread was last seen on. This field is optional.

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Ada Exception Information, Prev: GDB/MI Thread Information, Up: GDB/MI Output Records
27.5.7 GDB/MI Ada Exception Information
---------------------------------------
Whenever a '*stopped' record is emitted because the program stopped
after hitting an exception catchpoint (*note Set Catchpoints::), GDB
provides the name of the exception that was raised via the
'exception-name' field. Also, for exceptions that were raised with an
exception message, GDB provides that message via the 'exception-message'
field.

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Simple Examples, Next: GDB/MI Command Description Format, Prev: GDB/MI Output Records, Up: GDB/MI
27.6 Simple Examples of GDB/MI Interaction
==========================================
This subsection presents several simple examples of interaction using
the GDB/MI interface. In these examples, '->' means that the following
line is passed to GDB/MI as input, while '<-' means the output received
from GDB/MI.
Note the line breaks shown in the examples are here only for
readability, they don't appear in the real output.
Setting a Breakpoint
--------------------
Setting a breakpoint generates synchronous output which contains
detailed information of the breakpoint.
-> -break-insert main
<- ^done,bkpt={number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
enabled="y",addr="0x08048564",func="main",file="myprog.c",
fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="68",thread-groups=["i1"],
times="0"}
<- (gdb)
Program Execution
-----------------
Program execution generates asynchronous records and MI gives the reason
that execution stopped.
-> -exec-run
<- ^running
<- (gdb)
<- *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",thread-id="0",
frame={addr="0x08048564",func="main",
args=[{name="argc",value="1"},{name="argv",value="0xbfc4d4d4"}],
file="myprog.c",fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="68",
arch="i386:x86_64"}
<- (gdb)
-> -exec-continue
<- ^running
<- (gdb)
<- *stopped,reason="exited-normally"
<- (gdb)
Quitting GDB
------------
Quitting GDB just prints the result class '^exit'.
-> (gdb)
<- -gdb-exit
<- ^exit
Please note that '^exit' is printed immediately, but it might take
some time for GDB to actually exit. During that time, GDB performs
necessary cleanups, including killing programs being debugged or
disconnecting from debug hardware, so the frontend should wait till GDB
exits and should only forcibly kill GDB if it fails to exit in
reasonable time.
A Bad Command
-------------
Here's what happens if you pass a non-existent command:
-> -rubbish
<- ^error,msg="Undefined MI command: rubbish"
<- (gdb)

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Command Description Format, Next: GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands, Prev: GDB/MI Simple Examples, Up: GDB/MI
27.7 GDB/MI Command Description Format
======================================
The remaining sections describe blocks of commands. Each block of
commands is laid out in a fashion similar to this section.
Motivation
----------
The motivation for this collection of commands.
Introduction
------------
A brief introduction to this collection of commands as a whole.
Commands
--------
For each command in the block, the following is described:
Synopsis
........
-command ARGS...
Result
......
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB CLI command(s), if any.
Example
.......
Example(s) formatted for readability. Some of the described commands
have not been implemented yet and these are labeled N.A. (not
available).

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands, Next: GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands, Prev: GDB/MI Command Description Format, Up: GDB/MI
27.8 GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands
===============================
This section documents GDB/MI commands for manipulating breakpoints.
The '-break-after' Command
--------------------------
Synopsis
........
-break-after NUMBER COUNT
The breakpoint number NUMBER is not in effect until it has been hit
COUNT times. To see how this is reflected in the output of the
'-break-list' command, see the description of the '-break-list' command
below.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'ignore'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-break-insert main
^done,bkpt={number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
enabled="y",addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",
fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",line="5",thread-groups=["i1"],
times="0"}
(gdb)
-break-after 1 3
~
^done
(gdb)
-break-list
^done,BreakpointTable={nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
hdr=[{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"},
{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"},
{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"},
{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"},
{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"},
{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"}],
body=[bkpt={number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
line="5",thread-groups=["i1"],times="0",ignore="3"}]}
(gdb)
The '-break-commands' Command
-----------------------------
Synopsis
........
-break-commands NUMBER [ COMMAND1 ... COMMANDN ]
Specifies the CLI commands that should be executed when breakpoint
NUMBER is hit. The parameters COMMAND1 to COMMANDN are the commands.
If no command is specified, any previously-set commands are cleared.
*Note Break Commands::. Typical use of this functionality is tracing a
program, that is, printing of values of some variables whenever
breakpoint is hit and then continuing.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'commands'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-break-insert main
^done,bkpt={number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
enabled="y",addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",
fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",line="5",thread-groups=["i1"],
times="0"}
(gdb)
-break-commands 1 "print v" "continue"
^done
(gdb)
The '-break-condition' Command
------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-break-condition NUMBER EXPR
Breakpoint NUMBER will stop the program only if the condition in EXPR
is true. The condition becomes part of the '-break-list' output (see
the description of the '-break-list' command below).
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'condition'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-break-condition 1 1
^done
(gdb)
-break-list
^done,BreakpointTable={nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
hdr=[{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"},
{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"},
{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"},
{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"},
{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"},
{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"}],
body=[bkpt={number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
line="5",cond="1",thread-groups=["i1"],times="0",ignore="3"}]}
(gdb)
The '-break-delete' Command
---------------------------
Synopsis
........
-break-delete ( BREAKPOINT )+
Delete the breakpoint(s) whose number(s) are specified in the
argument list. This is obviously reflected in the breakpoint list.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'delete'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-break-delete 1
^done
(gdb)
-break-list
^done,BreakpointTable={nr_rows="0",nr_cols="6",
hdr=[{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"},
{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"},
{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"},
{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"},
{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"},
{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"}],
body=[]}
(gdb)
The '-break-disable' Command
----------------------------
Synopsis
........
-break-disable ( BREAKPOINT )+
Disable the named BREAKPOINT(s). The field 'enabled' in the break
list is now set to 'n' for the named BREAKPOINT(s).
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'disable'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-break-disable 2
^done
(gdb)
-break-list
^done,BreakpointTable={nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
hdr=[{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"},
{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"},
{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"},
{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"},
{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"},
{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"}],
body=[bkpt={number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="n",
addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
line="5",thread-groups=["i1"],times="0"}]}
(gdb)
The '-break-enable' Command
---------------------------
Synopsis
........
-break-enable ( BREAKPOINT )+
Enable (previously disabled) BREAKPOINT(s).
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'enable'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-break-enable 2
^done
(gdb)
-break-list
^done,BreakpointTable={nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
hdr=[{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"},
{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"},
{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"},
{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"},
{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"},
{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"}],
body=[bkpt={number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
line="5",thread-groups=["i1"],times="0"}]}
(gdb)
The '-break-info' Command
-------------------------
Synopsis
........
-break-info BREAKPOINT
Get information about a single breakpoint.
The result is a table of breakpoints. *Note GDB/MI Breakpoint
Information::, for details on the format of each breakpoint in the
table.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'info break BREAKPOINT'.
Example
.......
N.A.
The '-break-insert' Command
---------------------------
Synopsis
........
-break-insert [ -t ] [ -h ] [ -f ] [ -d ] [ -a ]
[ -c CONDITION ] [ -i IGNORE-COUNT ]
[ -p THREAD-ID ] [ LOCATION ]
If specified, LOCATION, can be one of:
LINESPEC LOCATION
A linespec location. *Note Linespec Locations::.
EXPLICIT LOCATION
An explicit location. GDB/MI explicit locations are analogous to
the CLI's explicit locations using the option names listed below.
*Note Explicit Locations::.
'--source FILENAME'
The source file name of the location. This option requires
the use of either '--function' or '--line'.
'--function FUNCTION'
The name of a function or method.
'--label LABEL'
The name of a label.
'--line LINEOFFSET'
An absolute or relative line offset from the start of the
location.
ADDRESS LOCATION
An address location, *ADDRESS. *Note Address Locations::.
The possible optional parameters of this command are:
'-t'
Insert a temporary breakpoint.
'-h'
Insert a hardware breakpoint.
'-f'
If LOCATION cannot be parsed (for example if it refers to unknown
files or functions), create a pending breakpoint. Without this
flag, GDB will report an error, and won't create a breakpoint, if
LOCATION cannot be parsed.
'-d'
Create a disabled breakpoint.
'-a'
Create a tracepoint. *Note Tracepoints::. When this parameter is
used together with '-h', a fast tracepoint is created.
'-c CONDITION'
Make the breakpoint conditional on CONDITION.
'-i IGNORE-COUNT'
Initialize the IGNORE-COUNT.
'-p THREAD-ID'
Restrict the breakpoint to the thread with the specified global
THREAD-ID.
Result
......
*Note GDB/MI Breakpoint Information::, for details on the format of the
resulting breakpoint.
Note: this format is open to change.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB commands are 'break', 'tbreak', 'hbreak', and
'thbreak'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-break-insert main
^done,bkpt={number="1",addr="0x0001072c",file="recursive2.c",
fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c,line="4",thread-groups=["i1"],
times="0"}
(gdb)
-break-insert -t foo
^done,bkpt={number="2",addr="0x00010774",file="recursive2.c",
fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c,line="11",thread-groups=["i1"],
times="0"}
(gdb)
-break-list
^done,BreakpointTable={nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
hdr=[{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"},
{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"},
{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"},
{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"},
{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"},
{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"}],
body=[bkpt={number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
addr="0x0001072c", func="main",file="recursive2.c",
fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c,"line="4",thread-groups=["i1"],
times="0"},
bkpt={number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="del",enabled="y",
addr="0x00010774",func="foo",file="recursive2.c",
fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c",line="11",thread-groups=["i1"],
times="0"}]}
(gdb)
The '-dprintf-insert' Command
-----------------------------
Synopsis
........
-dprintf-insert [ -t ] [ -f ] [ -d ]
[ -c CONDITION ] [ -i IGNORE-COUNT ]
[ -p THREAD-ID ] [ LOCATION ] [ FORMAT ]
[ ARGUMENT ]
If supplied, LOCATION may be specified the same way as for the
'-break-insert' command. *Note -break-insert::.
The possible optional parameters of this command are:
'-t'
Insert a temporary breakpoint.
'-f'
If LOCATION cannot be parsed (for example, if it refers to unknown
files or functions), create a pending breakpoint. Without this
flag, GDB will report an error, and won't create a breakpoint, if
LOCATION cannot be parsed.
'-d'
Create a disabled breakpoint.
'-c CONDITION'
Make the breakpoint conditional on CONDITION.
'-i IGNORE-COUNT'
Set the ignore count of the breakpoint (*note ignore count:
Conditions.) to IGNORE-COUNT.
'-p THREAD-ID'
Restrict the breakpoint to the thread with the specified global
THREAD-ID.
Result
......
*Note GDB/MI Breakpoint Information::, for details on the format of the
resulting breakpoint.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'dprintf'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
4-dprintf-insert foo "At foo entry\n"
4^done,bkpt={number="1",type="dprintf",disp="keep",enabled="y",
addr="0x000000000040061b",func="foo",file="mi-dprintf.c",
fullname="mi-dprintf.c",line="25",thread-groups=["i1"],
times="0",script={"printf \"At foo entry\\n\"","continue"},
original-location="foo"}
(gdb)
5-dprintf-insert 26 "arg=%d, g=%d\n" arg g
5^done,bkpt={number="2",type="dprintf",disp="keep",enabled="y",
addr="0x000000000040062a",func="foo",file="mi-dprintf.c",
fullname="mi-dprintf.c",line="26",thread-groups=["i1"],
times="0",script={"printf \"arg=%d, g=%d\\n\", arg, g","continue"},
original-location="mi-dprintf.c:26"}
(gdb)
The '-break-list' Command
-------------------------
Synopsis
........
-break-list
Displays the list of inserted breakpoints, showing the following
fields:
'Number'
number of the breakpoint
'Type'
type of the breakpoint: 'breakpoint' or 'watchpoint'
'Disposition'
should the breakpoint be deleted or disabled when it is hit: 'keep'
or 'nokeep'
'Enabled'
is the breakpoint enabled or no: 'y' or 'n'
'Address'
memory location at which the breakpoint is set
'What'
logical location of the breakpoint, expressed by function name,
file name, line number
'Thread-groups'
list of thread groups to which this breakpoint applies
'Times'
number of times the breakpoint has been hit
If there are no breakpoints or watchpoints, the 'BreakpointTable'
'body' field is an empty list.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'info break'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-break-list
^done,BreakpointTable={nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
hdr=[{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"},
{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"},
{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"},
{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"},
{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"},
{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"}],
body=[bkpt={number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",line="5",thread-groups=["i1"],
times="0"},
bkpt={number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
addr="0x00010114",func="foo",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
line="13",thread-groups=["i1"],times="0"}]}
(gdb)
Here's an example of the result when there are no breakpoints:
(gdb)
-break-list
^done,BreakpointTable={nr_rows="0",nr_cols="6",
hdr=[{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"},
{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"},
{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"},
{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"},
{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"},
{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"}],
body=[]}
(gdb)
The '-break-passcount' Command
------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-break-passcount TRACEPOINT-NUMBER PASSCOUNT
Set the passcount for tracepoint TRACEPOINT-NUMBER to PASSCOUNT. If
the breakpoint referred to by TRACEPOINT-NUMBER is not a tracepoint,
error is emitted. This corresponds to CLI command 'passcount'.
The '-break-watch' Command
--------------------------
Synopsis
........
-break-watch [ -a | -r ]
Create a watchpoint. With the '-a' option it will create an "access"
watchpoint, i.e., a watchpoint that triggers either on a read from or on
a write to the memory location. With the '-r' option, the watchpoint
created is a "read" watchpoint, i.e., it will trigger only when the
memory location is accessed for reading. Without either of the options,
the watchpoint created is a regular watchpoint, i.e., it will trigger
when the memory location is accessed for writing. *Note Setting
Watchpoints: Set Watchpoints.
Note that '-break-list' will report a single list of watchpoints and
breakpoints inserted.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB commands are 'watch', 'awatch', and 'rwatch'.
Example
.......
Setting a watchpoint on a variable in the 'main' function:
(gdb)
-break-watch x
^done,wpt={number="2",exp="x"}
(gdb)
-exec-continue
^running
(gdb)
*stopped,reason="watchpoint-trigger",wpt={number="2",exp="x"},
value={old="-268439212",new="55"},
frame={func="main",args=[],file="recursive2.c",
fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="5",arch="i386:x86_64"}
(gdb)
Setting a watchpoint on a variable local to a function. GDB will
stop the program execution twice: first for the variable changing value,
then for the watchpoint going out of scope.
(gdb)
-break-watch C
^done,wpt={number="5",exp="C"}
(gdb)
-exec-continue
^running
(gdb)
*stopped,reason="watchpoint-trigger",
wpt={number="5",exp="C"},value={old="-276895068",new="3"},
frame={func="callee4",args=[],
file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="13",
arch="i386:x86_64"}
(gdb)
-exec-continue
^running
(gdb)
*stopped,reason="watchpoint-scope",wpnum="5",
frame={func="callee3",args=[{name="strarg",
value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""}],
file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="18",
arch="i386:x86_64"}
(gdb)
Listing breakpoints and watchpoints, at different points in the
program execution. Note that once the watchpoint goes out of scope, it
is deleted.
(gdb)
-break-watch C
^done,wpt={number="2",exp="C"}
(gdb)
-break-list
^done,BreakpointTable={nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
hdr=[{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"},
{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"},
{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"},
{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"},
{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"},
{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"}],
body=[bkpt={number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
fullname="/home/foo/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c"line="8",thread-groups=["i1"],
times="1"},
bkpt={number="2",type="watchpoint",disp="keep",
enabled="y",addr="",what="C",thread-groups=["i1"],times="0"}]}
(gdb)
-exec-continue
^running
(gdb)
*stopped,reason="watchpoint-trigger",wpt={number="2",exp="C"},
value={old="-276895068",new="3"},
frame={func="callee4",args=[],
file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="13",
arch="i386:x86_64"}
(gdb)
-break-list
^done,BreakpointTable={nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
hdr=[{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"},
{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"},
{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"},
{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"},
{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"},
{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"}],
body=[bkpt={number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
fullname="/home/foo/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8",thread-groups=["i1"],
times="1"},
bkpt={number="2",type="watchpoint",disp="keep",
enabled="y",addr="",what="C",thread-groups=["i1"],times="-5"}]}
(gdb)
-exec-continue
^running
^done,reason="watchpoint-scope",wpnum="2",
frame={func="callee3",args=[{name="strarg",
value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""}],
file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="18",
arch="i386:x86_64"}
(gdb)
-break-list
^done,BreakpointTable={nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
hdr=[{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"},
{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"},
{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"},
{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"},
{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"},
{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"}],
body=[bkpt={number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
fullname="/home/foo/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8",
thread-groups=["i1"],times="1"}]}
(gdb)

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands, Next: GDB/MI Program Context, Prev: GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands, Up: GDB/MI
27.9 GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands
===============================
This section documents GDB/MI commands for manipulating catchpoints.
* Menu:
* Shared Library GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands::
* Ada Exception GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands::
* C++ Exception GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands::

File: gdb.info, Node: Shared Library GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands, Next: Ada Exception GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands, Up: GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands
27.9.1 Shared Library GDB/MI Catchpoints
----------------------------------------
The '-catch-load' Command
-------------------------
Synopsis
........
-catch-load [ -t ] [ -d ] REGEXP
Add a catchpoint for library load events. If the '-t' option is
used, the catchpoint is a temporary one (*note Setting Breakpoints: Set
Breaks.). If the '-d' option is used, the catchpoint is created in a
disabled state. The 'regexp' argument is a regular expression used to
match the name of the loaded library.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'catch load'.
Example
.......
-catch-load -t foo.so
^done,bkpt={number="1",type="catchpoint",disp="del",enabled="y",
what="load of library matching foo.so",catch-type="load",times="0"}
(gdb)
The '-catch-unload' Command
---------------------------
Synopsis
........
-catch-unload [ -t ] [ -d ] REGEXP
Add a catchpoint for library unload events. If the '-t' option is
used, the catchpoint is a temporary one (*note Setting Breakpoints: Set
Breaks.). If the '-d' option is used, the catchpoint is created in a
disabled state. The 'regexp' argument is a regular expression used to
match the name of the unloaded library.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'catch unload'.
Example
.......
-catch-unload -d bar.so
^done,bkpt={number="2",type="catchpoint",disp="keep",enabled="n",
what="load of library matching bar.so",catch-type="unload",times="0"}
(gdb)

File: gdb.info, Node: Ada Exception GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands, Next: C++ Exception GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands, Prev: Shared Library GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands, Up: GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands
27.9.2 Ada Exception GDB/MI Catchpoints
---------------------------------------
The following GDB/MI commands can be used to create catchpoints that
stop the execution when Ada exceptions are being raised.
The '-catch-assert' Command
---------------------------
Synopsis
........
-catch-assert [ -c CONDITION] [ -d ] [ -t ]
Add a catchpoint for failed Ada assertions.
The possible optional parameters for this command are:
'-c CONDITION'
Make the catchpoint conditional on CONDITION.
'-d'
Create a disabled catchpoint.
'-t'
Create a temporary catchpoint.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'catch assert'.
Example
.......
-catch-assert
^done,bkptno="5",bkpt={number="5",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
enabled="y",addr="0x0000000000404888",what="failed Ada assertions",
thread-groups=["i1"],times="0",
original-location="__gnat_debug_raise_assert_failure"}
(gdb)
The '-catch-exception' Command
------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-catch-exception [ -c CONDITION] [ -d ] [ -e EXCEPTION-NAME ]
[ -t ] [ -u ]
Add a catchpoint stopping when Ada exceptions are raised. By
default, the command stops the program when any Ada exception gets
raised. But it is also possible, by using some of the optional
parameters described below, to create more selective catchpoints.
The possible optional parameters for this command are:
'-c CONDITION'
Make the catchpoint conditional on CONDITION.
'-d'
Create a disabled catchpoint.
'-e EXCEPTION-NAME'
Only stop when EXCEPTION-NAME is raised. This option cannot be
used combined with '-u'.
'-t'
Create a temporary catchpoint.
'-u'
Stop only when an unhandled exception gets raised. This option
cannot be used combined with '-e'.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB commands are 'catch exception' and 'catch
exception unhandled'.
Example
.......
-catch-exception -e Program_Error
^done,bkptno="4",bkpt={number="4",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
enabled="y",addr="0x0000000000404874",
what="`Program_Error' Ada exception", thread-groups=["i1"],
times="0",original-location="__gnat_debug_raise_exception"}
(gdb)
The '-catch-handlers' Command
-----------------------------
Synopsis
........
-catch-handlers [ -c CONDITION] [ -d ] [ -e EXCEPTION-NAME ]
[ -t ]
Add a catchpoint stopping when Ada exceptions are handled. By
default, the command stops the program when any Ada exception gets
handled. But it is also possible, by using some of the optional
parameters described below, to create more selective catchpoints.
The possible optional parameters for this command are:
'-c CONDITION'
Make the catchpoint conditional on CONDITION.
'-d'
Create a disabled catchpoint.
'-e EXCEPTION-NAME'
Only stop when EXCEPTION-NAME is handled.
'-t'
Create a temporary catchpoint.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'catch handlers'.
Example
.......
-catch-handlers -e Constraint_Error
^done,bkptno="4",bkpt={number="4",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
enabled="y",addr="0x0000000000402f68",
what="`Constraint_Error' Ada exception handlers",thread-groups=["i1"],
times="0",original-location="__gnat_begin_handler"}
(gdb)

File: gdb.info, Node: C++ Exception GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands, Prev: Ada Exception GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands, Up: GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands
27.9.3 C++ Exception GDB/MI Catchpoints
---------------------------------------
The following GDB/MI commands can be used to create catchpoints that
stop the execution when C++ exceptions are being throw, rethrown, or
caught.
The '-catch-throw' Command
--------------------------
Synopsis
........
-catch-throw [ -t ] [ -r REGEXP]
Stop when the debuggee throws a C++ exception. If REGEXP is given,
then only exceptions whose type matches the regular expression will be
caught.
If '-t' is given, then the catchpoint is enabled only for one stop,
the catchpoint is automatically deleted after stopping once for the
event.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB commands are 'catch throw' and 'tcatch throw'
(*note Set Catchpoints::).
Example
.......
-catch-throw -r exception_type
^done,bkpt={number="1",type="catchpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
what="exception throw",catch-type="throw",
thread-groups=["i1"],
regexp="exception_type",times="0"}
(gdb)
-exec-run
^running
(gdb)
~"\n"
~"Catchpoint 1 (exception thrown), 0x00007ffff7ae00ed
in __cxa_throw () from /lib64/libstdc++.so.6\n"
*stopped,bkptno="1",reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",
frame={addr="0x00007ffff7ae00ed",func="__cxa_throw",
args=[],from="/lib64/libstdc++.so.6",arch="i386:x86-64"},
thread-id="1",stopped-threads="all",core="6"
(gdb)
The '-catch-rethrow' Command
----------------------------
Synopsis
........
-catch-rethrow [ -t ] [ -r REGEXP]
Stop when a C++ exception is re-thrown. If REGEXP is given, then
only exceptions whose type matches the regular expression will be
caught.
If '-t' is given, then the catchpoint is enabled only for one stop,
the catchpoint is automatically deleted after the first event is caught.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB commands are 'catch rethrow' and 'tcatch rethrow'
(*note Set Catchpoints::).
Example
.......
-catch-rethrow -r exception_type
^done,bkpt={number="1",type="catchpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
what="exception rethrow",catch-type="rethrow",
thread-groups=["i1"],
regexp="exception_type",times="0"}
(gdb)
-exec-run
^running
(gdb)
~"\n"
~"Catchpoint 1 (exception rethrown), 0x00007ffff7ae00ed
in __cxa_rethrow () from /lib64/libstdc++.so.6\n"
*stopped,bkptno="1",reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",
frame={addr="0x00007ffff7ae00ed",func="__cxa_rethrow",
args=[],from="/lib64/libstdc++.so.6",arch="i386:x86-64"},
thread-id="1",stopped-threads="all",core="6"
(gdb)
The '-catch-catch' Command
--------------------------
Synopsis
........
-catch-catch [ -t ] [ -r REGEXP]
Stop when the debuggee catches a C++ exception. If REGEXP is given,
then only exceptions whose type matches the regular expression will be
caught.
If '-t' is given, then the catchpoint is enabled only for one stop,
the catchpoint is automatically deleted after the first event is caught.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB commands are 'catch catch' and 'tcatch catch'
(*note Set Catchpoints::).
Example
.......
-catch-catch -r exception_type
^done,bkpt={number="1",type="catchpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
what="exception catch",catch-type="catch",
thread-groups=["i1"],
regexp="exception_type",times="0"}
(gdb)
-exec-run
^running
(gdb)
~"\n"
~"Catchpoint 1 (exception caught), 0x00007ffff7ae00ed
in __cxa_begin_catch () from /lib64/libstdc++.so.6\n"
*stopped,bkptno="1",reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",
frame={addr="0x00007ffff7ae00ed",func="__cxa_begin_catch",
args=[],from="/lib64/libstdc++.so.6",arch="i386:x86-64"},
thread-id="1",stopped-threads="all",core="6"
(gdb)

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Program Context, Next: GDB/MI Thread Commands, Prev: GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands, Up: GDB/MI
27.10 GDB/MI Program Context
============================
The '-exec-arguments' Command
-----------------------------
Synopsis
........
-exec-arguments ARGS
Set the inferior program arguments, to be used in the next
'-exec-run'.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'set args'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-exec-arguments -v word
^done
(gdb)
The '-environment-cd' Command
-----------------------------
Synopsis
........
-environment-cd PATHDIR
Set GDB's working directory.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'cd'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-environment-cd /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb
^done
(gdb)
The '-environment-directory' Command
------------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-environment-directory [ -r ] [ PATHDIR ]+
Add directories PATHDIR to beginning of search path for source files.
If the '-r' option is used, the search path is reset to the default
search path. If directories PATHDIR are supplied in addition to the
'-r' option, the search path is first reset and then addition occurs as
normal. Multiple directories may be specified, separated by blanks.
Specifying multiple directories in a single command results in the
directories added to the beginning of the search path in the same order
they were presented in the command. If blanks are needed as part of a
directory name, double-quotes should be used around the name. In the
command output, the path will show up separated by the system
directory-separator character. The directory-separator character must
not be used in any directory name. If no directories are specified, the
current search path is displayed.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'dir'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-environment-directory /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb
^done,source-path="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb:$cdir:$cwd"
(gdb)
-environment-directory ""
^done,source-path="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb:$cdir:$cwd"
(gdb)
-environment-directory -r /home/jjohnstn/src/gdb /usr/src
^done,source-path="/home/jjohnstn/src/gdb:/usr/src:$cdir:$cwd"
(gdb)
-environment-directory -r
^done,source-path="$cdir:$cwd"
(gdb)
The '-environment-path' Command
-------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-environment-path [ -r ] [ PATHDIR ]+
Add directories PATHDIR to beginning of search path for object files.
If the '-r' option is used, the search path is reset to the original
search path that existed at gdb start-up. If directories PATHDIR are
supplied in addition to the '-r' option, the search path is first reset
and then addition occurs as normal. Multiple directories may be
specified, separated by blanks. Specifying multiple directories in a
single command results in the directories added to the beginning of the
search path in the same order they were presented in the command. If
blanks are needed as part of a directory name, double-quotes should be
used around the name. In the command output, the path will show up
separated by the system directory-separator character. The
directory-separator character must not be used in any directory name.
If no directories are specified, the current path is displayed.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'path'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-environment-path
^done,path="/usr/bin"
(gdb)
-environment-path /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/ppc-eabi/gdb /bin
^done,path="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/ppc-eabi/gdb:/bin:/usr/bin"
(gdb)
-environment-path -r /usr/local/bin
^done,path="/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin"
(gdb)
The '-environment-pwd' Command
------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-environment-pwd
Show the current working directory.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'pwd'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-environment-pwd
^done,cwd="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb"
(gdb)

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Thread Commands, Next: GDB/MI Ada Tasking Commands, Prev: GDB/MI Program Context, Up: GDB/MI
27.11 GDB/MI Thread Commands
============================
The '-thread-info' Command
--------------------------
Synopsis
........
-thread-info [ THREAD-ID ]
Reports information about either a specific thread, if the THREAD-ID
parameter is present, or about all threads. THREAD-ID is the thread's
global thread ID. When printing information about all threads, also
reports the global ID of the current thread.
GDB Command
...........
The 'info thread' command prints the same information about all threads.
Result
......
The result contains the following attributes:
'threads'
A list of threads. The format of the elements of the list is
described in *note GDB/MI Thread Information::.
'current-thread-id'
The global id of the currently selected thread. This field is
omitted if there is no selected thread (for example, when the
selected inferior is not running, and therefore has no threads) or
if a THREAD-ID argument was passed to the command.
Example
.......
-thread-info
^done,threads=[
{id="2",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90 (LWP 21257)",
frame={level="0",addr="0xffffe410",func="__kernel_vsyscall",
args=[]},state="running"},
{id="1",target-id="Thread 0xb7e156b0 (LWP 21254)",
frame={level="0",addr="0x0804891f",func="foo",
args=[{name="i",value="10"}],
file="/tmp/a.c",fullname="/tmp/a.c",line="158",arch="i386:x86_64"},
state="running"}],
current-thread-id="1"
(gdb)
The '-thread-list-ids' Command
------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-thread-list-ids
Produces a list of the currently known global GDB thread ids. At the
end of the list it also prints the total number of such threads.
This command is retained for historical reasons, the '-thread-info'
command should be used instead.
GDB Command
...........
Part of 'info threads' supplies the same information.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-thread-list-ids
^done,thread-ids={thread-id="3",thread-id="2",thread-id="1"},
current-thread-id="1",number-of-threads="3"
(gdb)
The '-thread-select' Command
----------------------------
Synopsis
........
-thread-select THREAD-ID
Make thread with global thread number THREAD-ID the current thread.
It prints the number of the new current thread, and the topmost frame
for that thread.
This command is deprecated in favor of explicitly using the
'--thread' option to each command.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'thread'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-exec-next
^running
(gdb)
*stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",thread-id="2",line="187",
file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.threads/linux-dp.c"
(gdb)
-thread-list-ids
^done,
thread-ids={thread-id="3",thread-id="2",thread-id="1"},
number-of-threads="3"
(gdb)
-thread-select 3
^done,new-thread-id="3",
frame={level="0",func="vprintf",
args=[{name="format",value="0x8048e9c \"%*s%c %d %c\\n\""},
{name="arg",value="0x2"}],file="vprintf.c",line="31",arch="i386:x86_64"}
(gdb)

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Ada Tasking Commands, Next: GDB/MI Program Execution, Prev: GDB/MI Thread Commands, Up: GDB/MI
27.12 GDB/MI Ada Tasking Commands
=================================
The '-ada-task-info' Command
----------------------------
Synopsis
........
-ada-task-info [ TASK-ID ]
Reports information about either a specific Ada task, if the TASK-ID
parameter is present, or about all Ada tasks.
GDB Command
...........
The 'info tasks' command prints the same information about all Ada tasks
(*note Ada Tasks::).
Result
......
The result is a table of Ada tasks. The following columns are defined
for each Ada task:
'current'
This field exists only for the current thread. It has the value
'*'.
'id'
The identifier that GDB uses to refer to the Ada task.
'task-id'
The identifier that the target uses to refer to the Ada task.
'thread-id'
The global thread identifier of the thread corresponding to the Ada
task.
This field should always exist, as Ada tasks are always implemented
on top of a thread. But if GDB cannot find this corresponding
thread for any reason, the field is omitted.
'parent-id'
This field exists only when the task was created by another task.
In this case, it provides the ID of the parent task.
'priority'
The base priority of the task.
'state'
The current state of the task. For a detailed description of the
possible states, see *note Ada Tasks::.
'name'
The name of the task.
Example
.......
-ada-task-info
^done,tasks={nr_rows="3",nr_cols="8",
hdr=[{width="1",alignment="-1",col_name="current",colhdr=""},
{width="3",alignment="1",col_name="id",colhdr="ID"},
{width="9",alignment="1",col_name="task-id",colhdr="TID"},
{width="4",alignment="1",col_name="thread-id",colhdr=""},
{width="4",alignment="1",col_name="parent-id",colhdr="P-ID"},
{width="3",alignment="1",col_name="priority",colhdr="Pri"},
{width="22",alignment="-1",col_name="state",colhdr="State"},
{width="1",alignment="2",col_name="name",colhdr="Name"}],
body=[{current="*",id="1",task-id=" 644010",thread-id="1",priority="48",
state="Child Termination Wait",name="main_task"}]}
(gdb)

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Program Execution, Next: GDB/MI Stack Manipulation, Prev: GDB/MI Ada Tasking Commands, Up: GDB/MI
27.13 GDB/MI Program Execution
==============================
These are the asynchronous commands which generate the out-of-band
record '*stopped'. Currently GDB only really executes asynchronously
with remote targets and this interaction is mimicked in other cases.
The '-exec-continue' Command
----------------------------
Synopsis
........
-exec-continue [--reverse] [--all|--thread-group N]
Resumes the execution of the inferior program, which will continue to
execute until it reaches a debugger stop event. If the '--reverse'
option is specified, execution resumes in reverse until it reaches a
stop event. Stop events may include
* breakpoints or watchpoints
* signals or exceptions
* the end of the process (or its beginning under '--reverse')
* the end or beginning of a replay log if one is being used.
In all-stop mode (*note All-Stop Mode::), may resume only one thread,
or all threads, depending on the value of the 'scheduler-locking'
variable. If '--all' is specified, all threads (in all inferiors) will
be resumed. The '--all' option is ignored in all-stop mode. If the
'--thread-group' options is specified, then all threads in that thread
group are resumed.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB corresponding is 'continue'.
Example
.......
-exec-continue
^running
(gdb)
@Hello world
*stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="2",frame={
func="foo",args=[],file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/hello.c",
line="13",arch="i386:x86_64"}
(gdb)
The '-exec-finish' Command
--------------------------
Synopsis
........
-exec-finish [--reverse]
Resumes the execution of the inferior program until the current
function is exited. Displays the results returned by the function. If
the '--reverse' option is specified, resumes the reverse execution of
the inferior program until the point where current function was called.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'finish'.
Example
.......
Function returning 'void'.
-exec-finish
^running
(gdb)
@hello from foo
*stopped,reason="function-finished",frame={func="main",args=[],
file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/hello.c",line="7",arch="i386:x86_64"}
(gdb)
Function returning other than 'void'. The name of the internal GDB
variable storing the result is printed, together with the value itself.
-exec-finish
^running
(gdb)
*stopped,reason="function-finished",frame={addr="0x000107b0",func="foo",
args=[{name="a",value="1"],{name="b",value="9"}},
file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14",
arch="i386:x86_64"},
gdb-result-var="$1",return-value="0"
(gdb)
The '-exec-interrupt' Command
-----------------------------
Synopsis
........
-exec-interrupt [--all|--thread-group N]
Interrupts the background execution of the target. Note how the
token associated with the stop message is the one for the execution
command that has been interrupted. The token for the interrupt itself
only appears in the '^done' output. If the user is trying to interrupt
a non-running program, an error message will be printed.
Note that when asynchronous execution is enabled, this command is
asynchronous just like other execution commands. That is, first the
'^done' response will be printed, and the target stop will be reported
after that using the '*stopped' notification.
In non-stop mode, only the context thread is interrupted by default.
All threads (in all inferiors) will be interrupted if the '--all' option
is specified. If the '--thread-group' option is specified, all threads
in that group will be interrupted.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'interrupt'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
111-exec-continue
111^running
(gdb)
222-exec-interrupt
222^done
(gdb)
111*stopped,signal-name="SIGINT",signal-meaning="Interrupt",
frame={addr="0x00010140",func="foo",args=[],file="try.c",
fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",line="13",arch="i386:x86_64"}
(gdb)
(gdb)
-exec-interrupt
^error,msg="mi_cmd_exec_interrupt: Inferior not executing."
(gdb)
The '-exec-jump' Command
------------------------
Synopsis
........
-exec-jump LOCATION
Resumes execution of the inferior program at the location specified
by parameter. *Note Specify Location::, for a description of the
different forms of LOCATION.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'jump'.
Example
.......
-exec-jump foo.c:10
*running,thread-id="all"
^running
The '-exec-next' Command
------------------------
Synopsis
........
-exec-next [--reverse]
Resumes execution of the inferior program, stopping when the
beginning of the next source line is reached.
If the '--reverse' option is specified, resumes reverse execution of
the inferior program, stopping at the beginning of the previous source
line. If you issue this command on the first line of a function, it
will take you back to the caller of that function, to the source line
where the function was called.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'next'.
Example
.......
-exec-next
^running
(gdb)
*stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",line="8",file="hello.c"
(gdb)
The '-exec-next-instruction' Command
------------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-exec-next-instruction [--reverse]
Executes one machine instruction. If the instruction is a function
call, continues until the function returns. If the program stops at an
instruction in the middle of a source line, the address will be printed
as well.
If the '--reverse' option is specified, resumes reverse execution of
the inferior program, stopping at the previous instruction. If the
previously executed instruction was a return from another function, it
will continue to execute in reverse until the call to that function
(from the current stack frame) is reached.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'nexti'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-exec-next-instruction
^running
(gdb)
*stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
addr="0x000100d4",line="5",file="hello.c"
(gdb)
The '-exec-return' Command
--------------------------
Synopsis
........
-exec-return
Makes current function return immediately. Doesn't execute the
inferior. Displays the new current frame.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'return'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
200-break-insert callee4
200^done,bkpt={number="1",addr="0x00010734",
file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8"}
(gdb)
000-exec-run
000^running
(gdb)
000*stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",
frame={func="callee4",args=[],
file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8",
arch="i386:x86_64"}
(gdb)
205-break-delete
205^done
(gdb)
111-exec-return
111^done,frame={level="0",func="callee3",
args=[{name="strarg",
value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""}],
file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="18",
arch="i386:x86_64"}
(gdb)
The '-exec-run' Command
-----------------------
Synopsis
........
-exec-run [ --all | --thread-group N ] [ --start ]
Starts execution of the inferior from the beginning. The inferior
executes until either a breakpoint is encountered or the program exits.
In the latter case the output will include an exit code, if the program
has exited exceptionally.
When neither the '--all' nor the '--thread-group' option is
specified, the current inferior is started. If the '--thread-group'
option is specified, it should refer to a thread group of type
'process', and that thread group will be started. If the '--all' option
is specified, then all inferiors will be started.
Using the '--start' option instructs the debugger to stop the
execution at the start of the inferior's main subprogram, following the
same behavior as the 'start' command (*note Starting::).
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'run'.
Examples
........
(gdb)
-break-insert main
^done,bkpt={number="1",addr="0x0001072c",file="recursive2.c",line="4"}
(gdb)
-exec-run
^running
(gdb)
*stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",
frame={func="main",args=[],file="recursive2.c",
fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="4",arch="i386:x86_64"}
(gdb)
Program exited normally:
(gdb)
-exec-run
^running
(gdb)
x = 55
*stopped,reason="exited-normally"
(gdb)
Program exited exceptionally:
(gdb)
-exec-run
^running
(gdb)
x = 55
*stopped,reason="exited",exit-code="01"
(gdb)
Another way the program can terminate is if it receives a signal such
as 'SIGINT'. In this case, GDB/MI displays this:
(gdb)
*stopped,reason="exited-signalled",signal-name="SIGINT",
signal-meaning="Interrupt"
The '-exec-step' Command
------------------------
Synopsis
........
-exec-step [--reverse]
Resumes execution of the inferior program, stopping when the
beginning of the next source line is reached, if the next source line is
not a function call. If it is, stop at the first instruction of the
called function. If the '--reverse' option is specified, resumes
reverse execution of the inferior program, stopping at the beginning of
the previously executed source line.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'step'.
Example
.......
Stepping into a function:
-exec-step
^running
(gdb)
*stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
frame={func="foo",args=[{name="a",value="10"},
{name="b",value="0"}],file="recursive2.c",
fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="11",arch="i386:x86_64"}
(gdb)
Regular stepping:
-exec-step
^running
(gdb)
*stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",line="14",file="recursive2.c"
(gdb)
The '-exec-step-instruction' Command
------------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-exec-step-instruction [--reverse]
Resumes the inferior which executes one machine instruction. If the
'--reverse' option is specified, resumes reverse execution of the
inferior program, stopping at the previously executed instruction. The
output, once GDB has stopped, will vary depending on whether we have
stopped in the middle of a source line or not. In the former case, the
address at which the program stopped will be printed as well.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'stepi'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-exec-step-instruction
^running
(gdb)
*stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
frame={func="foo",args=[],file="try.c",
fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",line="10",arch="i386:x86_64"}
(gdb)
-exec-step-instruction
^running
(gdb)
*stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
frame={addr="0x000100f4",func="foo",args=[],file="try.c",
fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",line="10",arch="i386:x86_64"}
(gdb)
The '-exec-until' Command
-------------------------
Synopsis
........
-exec-until [ LOCATION ]
Executes the inferior until the LOCATION specified in the argument is
reached. If there is no argument, the inferior executes until a source
line greater than the current one is reached. The reason for stopping
in this case will be 'location-reached'.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'until'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-exec-until recursive2.c:6
^running
(gdb)
x = 55
*stopped,reason="location-reached",frame={func="main",args=[],
file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="6",
arch="i386:x86_64"}
(gdb)

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Stack Manipulation, Next: GDB/MI Variable Objects, Prev: GDB/MI Program Execution, Up: GDB/MI
27.14 GDB/MI Stack Manipulation Commands
========================================
The '-enable-frame-filters' Command
-----------------------------------
-enable-frame-filters
GDB allows Python-based frame filters to affect the output of the MI
commands relating to stack traces. As there is no way to implement this
in a fully backward-compatible way, a front end must request that this
functionality be enabled.
Once enabled, this feature cannot be disabled.
Note that if Python support has not been compiled into GDB, this
command will still succeed (and do nothing).
The '-stack-info-frame' Command
-------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-stack-info-frame
Get info on the selected frame.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'info frame' or 'frame' (without
arguments).
Example
.......
(gdb)
-stack-info-frame
^done,frame={level="1",addr="0x0001076c",func="callee3",
file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="17",
arch="i386:x86_64"}
(gdb)
The '-stack-info-depth' Command
-------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-stack-info-depth [ MAX-DEPTH ]
Return the depth of the stack. If the integer argument MAX-DEPTH is
specified, do not count beyond MAX-DEPTH frames.
GDB Command
...........
There's no equivalent GDB command.
Example
.......
For a stack with frame levels 0 through 11:
(gdb)
-stack-info-depth
^done,depth="12"
(gdb)
-stack-info-depth 4
^done,depth="4"
(gdb)
-stack-info-depth 12
^done,depth="12"
(gdb)
-stack-info-depth 11
^done,depth="11"
(gdb)
-stack-info-depth 13
^done,depth="12"
(gdb)
The '-stack-list-arguments' Command
-----------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-stack-list-arguments [ --no-frame-filters ] [ --skip-unavailable ] PRINT-VALUES
[ LOW-FRAME HIGH-FRAME ]
Display a list of the arguments for the frames between LOW-FRAME and
HIGH-FRAME (inclusive). If LOW-FRAME and HIGH-FRAME are not provided,
list the arguments for the whole call stack. If the two arguments are
equal, show the single frame at the corresponding level. It is an error
if LOW-FRAME is larger than the actual number of frames. On the other
hand, HIGH-FRAME may be larger than the actual number of frames, in
which case only existing frames will be returned.
If PRINT-VALUES is 0 or '--no-values', print only the names of the
variables; if it is 1 or '--all-values', print also their values; and if
it is 2 or '--simple-values', print the name, type and value for simple
data types, and the name and type for arrays, structures and unions. If
the option '--no-frame-filters' is supplied, then Python frame filters
will not be executed.
If the '--skip-unavailable' option is specified, arguments that are
not available are not listed. Partially available arguments are still
displayed, however.
Use of this command to obtain arguments in a single frame is
deprecated in favor of the '-stack-list-variables' command.
GDB Command
...........
GDB does not have an equivalent command. 'gdbtk' has a 'gdb_get_args'
command which partially overlaps with the functionality of
'-stack-list-arguments'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-stack-list-frames
^done,
stack=[
frame={level="0",addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8",
arch="i386:x86_64"},
frame={level="1",addr="0x0001076c",func="callee3",
file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="17",
arch="i386:x86_64"},
frame={level="2",addr="0x0001078c",func="callee2",
file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="22",
arch="i386:x86_64"},
frame={level="3",addr="0x000107b4",func="callee1",
file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="27",
arch="i386:x86_64"},
frame={level="4",addr="0x000107e0",func="main",
file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="32",
arch="i386:x86_64"}]
(gdb)
-stack-list-arguments 0
^done,
stack-args=[
frame={level="0",args=[]},
frame={level="1",args=[name="strarg"]},
frame={level="2",args=[name="intarg",name="strarg"]},
frame={level="3",args=[name="intarg",name="strarg",name="fltarg"]},
frame={level="4",args=[]}]
(gdb)
-stack-list-arguments 1
^done,
stack-args=[
frame={level="0",args=[]},
frame={level="1",
args=[{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""}]},
frame={level="2",args=[
{name="intarg",value="2"},
{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""}]},
{frame={level="3",args=[
{name="intarg",value="2"},
{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""},
{name="fltarg",value="3.5"}]},
frame={level="4",args=[]}]
(gdb)
-stack-list-arguments 0 2 2
^done,stack-args=[frame={level="2",args=[name="intarg",name="strarg"]}]
(gdb)
-stack-list-arguments 1 2 2
^done,stack-args=[frame={level="2",
args=[{name="intarg",value="2"},
{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""}]}]
(gdb)
The '-stack-list-frames' Command
--------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-stack-list-frames [ --no-frame-filters LOW-FRAME HIGH-FRAME ]
List the frames currently on the stack. For each frame it displays
the following info:
'LEVEL'
The frame number, 0 being the topmost frame, i.e., the innermost
function.
'ADDR'
The '$pc' value for that frame.
'FUNC'
Function name.
'FILE'
File name of the source file where the function lives.
'FULLNAME'
The full file name of the source file where the function lives.
'LINE'
Line number corresponding to the '$pc'.
'FROM'
The shared library where this function is defined. This is only
given if the frame's function is not known.
'ARCH'
Frame's architecture.
If invoked without arguments, this command prints a backtrace for the
whole stack. If given two integer arguments, it shows the frames whose
levels are between the two arguments (inclusive). If the two arguments
are equal, it shows the single frame at the corresponding level. It is
an error if LOW-FRAME is larger than the actual number of frames. On
the other hand, HIGH-FRAME may be larger than the actual number of
frames, in which case only existing frames will be returned. If the
option '--no-frame-filters' is supplied, then Python frame filters will
not be executed.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB commands are 'backtrace' and 'where'.
Example
.......
Full stack backtrace:
(gdb)
-stack-list-frames
^done,stack=
[frame={level="0",addr="0x0001076c",func="foo",
file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="11",
arch="i386:x86_64"},
frame={level="1",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14",
arch="i386:x86_64"},
frame={level="2",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14",
arch="i386:x86_64"},
frame={level="3",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14",
arch="i386:x86_64"},
frame={level="4",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14",
arch="i386:x86_64"},
frame={level="5",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14",
arch="i386:x86_64"},
frame={level="6",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14",
arch="i386:x86_64"},
frame={level="7",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14",
arch="i386:x86_64"},
frame={level="8",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14",
arch="i386:x86_64"},
frame={level="9",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14",
arch="i386:x86_64"},
frame={level="10",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14",
arch="i386:x86_64"},
frame={level="11",addr="0x00010738",func="main",
file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="4",
arch="i386:x86_64"}]
(gdb)
Show frames between LOW_FRAME and HIGH_FRAME:
(gdb)
-stack-list-frames 3 5
^done,stack=
[frame={level="3",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14",
arch="i386:x86_64"},
frame={level="4",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14",
arch="i386:x86_64"},
frame={level="5",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14",
arch="i386:x86_64"}]
(gdb)
Show a single frame:
(gdb)
-stack-list-frames 3 3
^done,stack=
[frame={level="3",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14",
arch="i386:x86_64"}]
(gdb)
The '-stack-list-locals' Command
--------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-stack-list-locals [ --no-frame-filters ] [ --skip-unavailable ] PRINT-VALUES
Display the local variable names for the selected frame. If
PRINT-VALUES is 0 or '--no-values', print only the names of the
variables; if it is 1 or '--all-values', print also their values; and if
it is 2 or '--simple-values', print the name, type and value for simple
data types, and the name and type for arrays, structures and unions. In
this last case, a frontend can immediately display the value of simple
data types and create variable objects for other data types when the
user wishes to explore their values in more detail. If the option
'--no-frame-filters' is supplied, then Python frame filters will not be
executed.
If the '--skip-unavailable' option is specified, local variables that
are not available are not listed. Partially available local variables
are still displayed, however.
This command is deprecated in favor of the '-stack-list-variables'
command.
GDB Command
...........
'info locals' in GDB, 'gdb_get_locals' in 'gdbtk'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-stack-list-locals 0
^done,locals=[name="A",name="B",name="C"]
(gdb)
-stack-list-locals --all-values
^done,locals=[{name="A",value="1"},{name="B",value="2"},
{name="C",value="{1, 2, 3}"}]
-stack-list-locals --simple-values
^done,locals=[{name="A",type="int",value="1"},
{name="B",type="int",value="2"},{name="C",type="int [3]"}]
(gdb)
The '-stack-list-variables' Command
-----------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-stack-list-variables [ --no-frame-filters ] [ --skip-unavailable ] PRINT-VALUES
Display the names of local variables and function arguments for the
selected frame. If PRINT-VALUES is 0 or '--no-values', print only the
names of the variables; if it is 1 or '--all-values', print also their
values; and if it is 2 or '--simple-values', print the name, type and
value for simple data types, and the name and type for arrays,
structures and unions. If the option '--no-frame-filters' is supplied,
then Python frame filters will not be executed.
If the '--skip-unavailable' option is specified, local variables and
arguments that are not available are not listed. Partially available
arguments and local variables are still displayed, however.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-stack-list-variables --thread 1 --frame 0 --all-values
^done,variables=[{name="x",value="11"},{name="s",value="{a = 1, b = 2}"}]
(gdb)
The '-stack-select-frame' Command
---------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-stack-select-frame FRAMENUM
Change the selected frame. Select a different frame FRAMENUM on the
stack.
This command in deprecated in favor of passing the '--frame' option
to every command.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB commands are 'frame', 'up', 'down',
'select-frame', 'up-silent', and 'down-silent'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-stack-select-frame 2
^done
(gdb)

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Variable Objects, Next: GDB/MI Data Manipulation, Prev: GDB/MI Stack Manipulation, Up: GDB/MI
27.15 GDB/MI Variable Objects
=============================
Introduction to Variable Objects
--------------------------------
Variable objects are "object-oriented" MI interface for examining and
changing values of expressions. Unlike some other MI interfaces that
work with expressions, variable objects are specifically designed for
simple and efficient presentation in the frontend. A variable object is
identified by string name. When a variable object is created, the
frontend specifies the expression for that variable object. The
expression can be a simple variable, or it can be an arbitrary complex
expression, and can even involve CPU registers. After creating a
variable object, the frontend can invoke other variable object
operations--for example to obtain or change the value of a variable
object, or to change display format.
Variable objects have hierarchical tree structure. Any variable
object that corresponds to a composite type, such as structure in C, has
a number of child variable objects, for example corresponding to each
element of a structure. A child variable object can itself have
children, recursively. Recursion ends when we reach leaf variable
objects, which always have built-in types. Child variable objects are
created only by explicit request, so if a frontend is not interested in
the children of a particular variable object, no child will be created.
For a leaf variable object it is possible to obtain its value as a
string, or set the value from a string. String value can be also
obtained for a non-leaf variable object, but it's generally a string
that only indicates the type of the object, and does not list its
contents. Assignment to a non-leaf variable object is not allowed.
A frontend does not need to read the values of all variable objects
each time the program stops. Instead, MI provides an update command
that lists all variable objects whose values has changed since the last
update operation. This considerably reduces the amount of data that
must be transferred to the frontend. As noted above, children variable
objects are created on demand, and only leaf variable objects have a
real value. As result, gdb will read target memory only for leaf
variables that frontend has created.
The automatic update is not always desirable. For example, a
frontend might want to keep a value of some expression for future
reference, and never update it. For another example, fetching memory is
relatively slow for embedded targets, so a frontend might want to
disable automatic update for the variables that are either not visible
on the screen, or "closed". This is possible using so called "frozen
variable objects". Such variable objects are never implicitly updated.
Variable objects can be either "fixed" or "floating". For the fixed
variable object, the expression is parsed when the variable object is
created, including associating identifiers to specific variables. The
meaning of expression never changes. For a floating variable object the
values of variables whose names appear in the expressions are
re-evaluated every time in the context of the current frame. Consider
this example:
void do_work(...)
{
struct work_state state;
if (...)
do_work(...);
}
If a fixed variable object for the 'state' variable is created in
this function, and we enter the recursive call, the variable object will
report the value of 'state' in the top-level 'do_work' invocation. On
the other hand, a floating variable object will report the value of
'state' in the current frame.
If an expression specified when creating a fixed variable object
refers to a local variable, the variable object becomes bound to the
thread and frame in which the variable object is created. When such
variable object is updated, GDB makes sure that the thread/frame
combination the variable object is bound to still exists, and
re-evaluates the variable object in context of that thread/frame.
The following is the complete set of GDB/MI operations defined to
access this functionality:
*Operation* *Description*
'-enable-pretty-printing' enable Python-based pretty-printing
'-var-create' create a variable object
'-var-delete' delete the variable object and/or its
children
'-var-set-format' set the display format of this variable
'-var-show-format' show the display format of this variable
'-var-info-num-children' tells how many children this object has
'-var-list-children' return a list of the object's children
'-var-info-type' show the type of this variable object
'-var-info-expression' print parent-relative expression that
this variable object represents
'-var-info-path-expression' print full expression that this variable
object represents
'-var-show-attributes' is this variable editable? does it exist
here?
'-var-evaluate-expression' get the value of this variable
'-var-assign' set the value of this variable
'-var-update' update the variable and its children
'-var-set-frozen' set frozenness attribute
'-var-set-update-range' set range of children to display on
update
In the next subsection we describe each operation in detail and
suggest how it can be used.
Description And Use of Operations on Variable Objects
-----------------------------------------------------
The '-enable-pretty-printing' Command
-------------------------------------
-enable-pretty-printing
GDB allows Python-based visualizers to affect the output of the MI
variable object commands. However, because there was no way to
implement this in a fully backward-compatible way, a front end must
request that this functionality be enabled.
Once enabled, this feature cannot be disabled.
Note that if Python support has not been compiled into GDB, this
command will still succeed (and do nothing).
This feature is currently (as of GDB 7.0) experimental, and may work
differently in future versions of GDB.
The '-var-create' Command
-------------------------
Synopsis
........
-var-create {NAME | "-"}
{FRAME-ADDR | "*" | "@"} EXPRESSION
This operation creates a variable object, which allows the monitoring
of a variable, the result of an expression, a memory cell or a CPU
register.
The NAME parameter is the string by which the object can be
referenced. It must be unique. If '-' is specified, the varobj system
will generate a string "varNNNNNN" automatically. It will be unique
provided that one does not specify NAME of that format. The command
fails if a duplicate name is found.
The frame under which the expression should be evaluated can be
specified by FRAME-ADDR. A '*' indicates that the current frame should
be used. A '@' indicates that a floating variable object must be
created.
EXPRESSION is any expression valid on the current language set (must
not begin with a '*'), or one of the following:
* '*ADDR', where ADDR is the address of a memory cell
* '*ADDR-ADDR' -- a memory address range (TBD)
* '$REGNAME' -- a CPU register name
A varobj's contents may be provided by a Python-based pretty-printer.
In this case the varobj is known as a "dynamic varobj". Dynamic varobjs
have slightly different semantics in some cases. If the
'-enable-pretty-printing' command is not sent, then GDB will never
create a dynamic varobj. This ensures backward compatibility for
existing clients.
Result
......
This operation returns attributes of the newly-created varobj. These
are:
'name'
The name of the varobj.
'numchild'
The number of children of the varobj. This number is not
necessarily reliable for a dynamic varobj. Instead, you must
examine the 'has_more' attribute.
'value'
The varobj's scalar value. For a varobj whose type is some sort of
aggregate (e.g., a 'struct'), or for a dynamic varobj, this value
will not be interesting.
'type'
The varobj's type. This is a string representation of the type, as
would be printed by the GDB CLI. If 'print object' (*note set print
object: Print Settings.) is set to 'on', the _actual_ (derived)
type of the object is shown rather than the _declared_ one.
'thread-id'
If a variable object is bound to a specific thread, then this is
the thread's global identifier.
'has_more'
For a dynamic varobj, this indicates whether there appear to be any
children available. For a non-dynamic varobj, this will be 0.
'dynamic'
This attribute will be present and have the value '1' if the varobj
is a dynamic varobj. If the varobj is not a dynamic varobj, then
this attribute will not be present.
'displayhint'
A dynamic varobj can supply a display hint to the front end. The
value comes directly from the Python pretty-printer object's
'display_hint' method. *Note Pretty Printing API::.
Typical output will look like this:
name="NAME",numchild="N",type="TYPE",thread-id="M",
has_more="HAS_MORE"
The '-var-delete' Command
-------------------------
Synopsis
........
-var-delete [ -c ] NAME
Deletes a previously created variable object and all of its children.
With the '-c' option, just deletes the children.
Returns an error if the object NAME is not found.
The '-var-set-format' Command
-----------------------------
Synopsis
........
-var-set-format NAME FORMAT-SPEC
Sets the output format for the value of the object NAME to be
FORMAT-SPEC.
The syntax for the FORMAT-SPEC is as follows:
FORMAT-SPEC ==>
{binary | decimal | hexadecimal | octal | natural | zero-hexadecimal}
The natural format is the default format choosen automatically based
on the variable type (like decimal for an 'int', hex for pointers,
etc.).
The zero-hexadecimal format has a representation similar to
hexadecimal but with padding zeroes to the left of the value. For
example, a 32-bit hexadecimal value of 0x1234 would be represented as
0x00001234 in the zero-hexadecimal format.
For a variable with children, the format is set only on the variable
itself, and the children are not affected.
The '-var-show-format' Command
------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-var-show-format NAME
Returns the format used to display the value of the object NAME.
FORMAT ==>
FORMAT-SPEC
The '-var-info-num-children' Command
------------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-var-info-num-children NAME
Returns the number of children of a variable object NAME:
numchild=N
Note that this number is not completely reliable for a dynamic
varobj. It will return the current number of children, but more
children may be available.
The '-var-list-children' Command
--------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-var-list-children [PRINT-VALUES] NAME [FROM TO]
Return a list of the children of the specified variable object and
create variable objects for them, if they do not already exist. With a
single argument or if PRINT-VALUES has a value of 0 or '--no-values',
print only the names of the variables; if PRINT-VALUES is 1 or
'--all-values', also print their values; and if it is 2 or
'--simple-values' print the name and value for simple data types and
just the name for arrays, structures and unions.
FROM and TO, if specified, indicate the range of children to report.
If FROM or TO is less than zero, the range is reset and all children
will be reported. Otherwise, children starting at FROM (zero-based) and
up to and excluding TO will be reported.
If a child range is requested, it will only affect the current call
to '-var-list-children', but not future calls to '-var-update'. For
this, you must instead use '-var-set-update-range'. The intent of this
approach is to enable a front end to implement any update approach it
likes; for example, scrolling a view may cause the front end to request
more children with '-var-list-children', and then the front end could
call '-var-set-update-range' with a different range to ensure that
future updates are restricted to just the visible items.
For each child the following results are returned:
NAME
Name of the variable object created for this child.
EXP
The expression to be shown to the user by the front end to
designate this child. For example this may be the name of a
structure member.
For a dynamic varobj, this value cannot be used to form an
expression. There is no way to do this at all with a dynamic
varobj.
For C/C++ structures there are several pseudo children returned to
designate access qualifiers. For these pseudo children EXP is
'public', 'private', or 'protected'. In this case the type and
value are not present.
A dynamic varobj will not report the access qualifying
pseudo-children, regardless of the language. This information is
not available at all with a dynamic varobj.
NUMCHILD
Number of children this child has. For a dynamic varobj, this will
be 0.
TYPE
The type of the child. If 'print object' (*note set print object:
Print Settings.) is set to 'on', the _actual_ (derived) type of the
object is shown rather than the _declared_ one.
VALUE
If values were requested, this is the value.
THREAD-ID
If this variable object is associated with a thread, this is the
thread's global thread id. Otherwise this result is not present.
FROZEN
If the variable object is frozen, this variable will be present
with a value of 1.
DISPLAYHINT
A dynamic varobj can supply a display hint to the front end. The
value comes directly from the Python pretty-printer object's
'display_hint' method. *Note Pretty Printing API::.
DYNAMIC
This attribute will be present and have the value '1' if the varobj
is a dynamic varobj. If the varobj is not a dynamic varobj, then
this attribute will not be present.
The result may have its own attributes:
'displayhint'
A dynamic varobj can supply a display hint to the front end. The
value comes directly from the Python pretty-printer object's
'display_hint' method. *Note Pretty Printing API::.
'has_more'
This is an integer attribute which is nonzero if there are children
remaining after the end of the selected range.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-var-list-children n
^done,numchild=N,children=[child={name=NAME,exp=EXP,
numchild=N,type=TYPE},(repeats N times)]
(gdb)
-var-list-children --all-values n
^done,numchild=N,children=[child={name=NAME,exp=EXP,
numchild=N,value=VALUE,type=TYPE},(repeats N times)]
The '-var-info-type' Command
----------------------------
Synopsis
........
-var-info-type NAME
Returns the type of the specified variable NAME. The type is
returned as a string in the same format as it is output by the GDB CLI:
type=TYPENAME
The '-var-info-expression' Command
----------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-var-info-expression NAME
Returns a string that is suitable for presenting this variable object
in user interface. The string is generally not valid expression in the
current language, and cannot be evaluated.
For example, if 'a' is an array, and variable object 'A' was created
for 'a', then we'll get this output:
(gdb) -var-info-expression A.1
^done,lang="C",exp="1"
Here, the value of 'lang' is the language name, which can be found in
*note Supported Languages::.
Note that the output of the '-var-list-children' command also
includes those expressions, so the '-var-info-expression' command is of
limited use.
The '-var-info-path-expression' Command
---------------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-var-info-path-expression NAME
Returns an expression that can be evaluated in the current context
and will yield the same value that a variable object has. Compare this
with the '-var-info-expression' command, which result can be used only
for UI presentation. Typical use of the '-var-info-path-expression'
command is creating a watchpoint from a variable object.
This command is currently not valid for children of a dynamic varobj,
and will give an error when invoked on one.
For example, suppose 'C' is a C++ class, derived from class 'Base',
and that the 'Base' class has a member called 'm_size'. Assume a
variable 'c' is has the type of 'C' and a variable object 'C' was
created for variable 'c'. Then, we'll get this output:
(gdb) -var-info-path-expression C.Base.public.m_size
^done,path_expr=((Base)c).m_size)
The '-var-show-attributes' Command
----------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-var-show-attributes NAME
List attributes of the specified variable object NAME:
status=ATTR [ ( ,ATTR )* ]
where ATTR is '{ { editable | noneditable } | TBD }'.
The '-var-evaluate-expression' Command
--------------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-var-evaluate-expression [-f FORMAT-SPEC] NAME
Evaluates the expression that is represented by the specified
variable object and returns its value as a string. The format of the
string can be specified with the '-f' option. The possible values of
this option are the same as for '-var-set-format' (*note
-var-set-format::). If the '-f' option is not specified, the current
display format will be used. The current display format can be changed
using the '-var-set-format' command.
value=VALUE
Note that one must invoke '-var-list-children' for a variable before
the value of a child variable can be evaluated.
The '-var-assign' Command
-------------------------
Synopsis
........
-var-assign NAME EXPRESSION
Assigns the value of EXPRESSION to the variable object specified by
NAME. The object must be 'editable'. If the variable's value is
altered by the assign, the variable will show up in any subsequent
'-var-update' list.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-var-assign var1 3
^done,value="3"
(gdb)
-var-update *
^done,changelist=[{name="var1",in_scope="true",type_changed="false"}]
(gdb)
The '-var-update' Command
-------------------------
Synopsis
........
-var-update [PRINT-VALUES] {NAME | "*"}
Reevaluate the expressions corresponding to the variable object NAME
and all its direct and indirect children, and return the list of
variable objects whose values have changed; NAME must be a root variable
object. Here, "changed" means that the result of
'-var-evaluate-expression' before and after the '-var-update' is
different. If '*' is used as the variable object names, all existing
variable objects are updated, except for frozen ones (*note
-var-set-frozen::). The option PRINT-VALUES determines whether both
names and values, or just names are printed. The possible values of
this option are the same as for '-var-list-children' (*note
-var-list-children::). It is recommended to use the '--all-values'
option, to reduce the number of MI commands needed on each program stop.
With the '*' parameter, if a variable object is bound to a currently
running thread, it will not be updated, without any diagnostic.
If '-var-set-update-range' was previously used on a varobj, then only
the selected range of children will be reported.
'-var-update' reports all the changed varobjs in a tuple named
'changelist'.
Each item in the change list is itself a tuple holding:
'name'
The name of the varobj.
'value'
If values were requested for this update, then this field will be
present and will hold the value of the varobj.
'in_scope'
This field is a string which may take one of three values:
'"true"'
The variable object's current value is valid.
'"false"'
The variable object does not currently hold a valid value but
it may hold one in the future if its associated expression
comes back into scope.
'"invalid"'
The variable object no longer holds a valid value. This can
occur when the executable file being debugged has changed,
either through recompilation or by using the GDB 'file'
command. The front end should normally choose to delete these
variable objects.
In the future new values may be added to this list so the front
should be prepared for this possibility. *Note GDB/MI Development
and Front Ends: GDB/MI Development and Front Ends.
'type_changed'
This is only present if the varobj is still valid. If the type
changed, then this will be the string 'true'; otherwise it will be
'false'.
When a varobj's type changes, its children are also likely to have
become incorrect. Therefore, the varobj's children are
automatically deleted when this attribute is 'true'. Also, the
varobj's update range, when set using the '-var-set-update-range'
command, is unset.
'new_type'
If the varobj's type changed, then this field will be present and
will hold the new type.
'new_num_children'
For a dynamic varobj, if the number of children changed, or if the
type changed, this will be the new number of children.
The 'numchild' field in other varobj responses is generally not
valid for a dynamic varobj - it will show the number of children
that GDB knows about, but because dynamic varobjs lazily
instantiate their children, this will not reflect the number of
children which may be available.
The 'new_num_children' attribute only reports changes to the number
of children known by GDB. This is the only way to detect whether
an update has removed children (which necessarily can only happen
at the end of the update range).
'displayhint'
The display hint, if any.
'has_more'
This is an integer value, which will be 1 if there are more
children available outside the varobj's update range.
'dynamic'
This attribute will be present and have the value '1' if the varobj
is a dynamic varobj. If the varobj is not a dynamic varobj, then
this attribute will not be present.
'new_children'
If new children were added to a dynamic varobj within the selected
update range (as set by '-var-set-update-range'), then they will be
listed in this attribute.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-var-assign var1 3
^done,value="3"
(gdb)
-var-update --all-values var1
^done,changelist=[{name="var1",value="3",in_scope="true",
type_changed="false"}]
(gdb)
The '-var-set-frozen' Command
-----------------------------
Synopsis
........
-var-set-frozen NAME FLAG
Set the frozenness flag on the variable object NAME. The FLAG
parameter should be either '1' to make the variable frozen or '0' to
make it unfrozen. If a variable object is frozen, then neither itself,
nor any of its children, are implicitly updated by '-var-update' of a
parent variable or by '-var-update *'. Only '-var-update' of the
variable itself will update its value and values of its children. After
a variable object is unfrozen, it is implicitly updated by all
subsequent '-var-update' operations. Unfreezing a variable does not
update it, only subsequent '-var-update' does.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-var-set-frozen V 1
^done
(gdb)
The '-var-set-update-range' command
-----------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-var-set-update-range NAME FROM TO
Set the range of children to be returned by future invocations of
'-var-update'.
FROM and TO indicate the range of children to report. If FROM or TO
is less than zero, the range is reset and all children will be reported.
Otherwise, children starting at FROM (zero-based) and up to and
excluding TO will be reported.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-var-set-update-range V 1 2
^done
The '-var-set-visualizer' command
---------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-var-set-visualizer NAME VISUALIZER
Set a visualizer for the variable object NAME.
VISUALIZER is the visualizer to use. The special value 'None' means
to disable any visualizer in use.
If not 'None', VISUALIZER must be a Python expression. This
expression must evaluate to a callable object which accepts a single
argument. GDB will call this object with the value of the varobj NAME
as an argument (this is done so that the same Python pretty-printing
code can be used for both the CLI and MI). When called, this object must
return an object which conforms to the pretty-printing interface (*note
Pretty Printing API::).
The pre-defined function 'gdb.default_visualizer' may be used to
select a visualizer by following the built-in process (*note Selecting
Pretty-Printers::). This is done automatically when a varobj is
created, and so ordinarily is not needed.
This feature is only available if Python support is enabled. The MI
command '-list-features' (*note GDB/MI Support Commands::) can be used
to check this.
Example
.......
Resetting the visualizer:
(gdb)
-var-set-visualizer V None
^done
Reselecting the default (type-based) visualizer:
(gdb)
-var-set-visualizer V gdb.default_visualizer
^done
Suppose 'SomeClass' is a visualizer class. A lambda expression can
be used to instantiate this class for a varobj:
(gdb)
-var-set-visualizer V "lambda val: SomeClass()"
^done

File: gdb.info, Node: GDB/MI Data Manipulation, Next: GDB/MI Tracepoint Commands, Prev: GDB/MI Variable Objects, Up: GDB/MI
27.16 GDB/MI Data Manipulation
==============================
This section describes the GDB/MI commands that manipulate data: examine
memory and registers, evaluate expressions, etc.
For details about what an addressable memory unit is, *note
addressable memory unit::.
The '-data-disassemble' Command
-------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-data-disassemble
[ -s START-ADDR -e END-ADDR ]
| [ -a ADDR ]
| [ -f FILENAME -l LINENUM [ -n LINES ] ]
-- MODE
Where:
'START-ADDR'
is the beginning address (or '$pc')
'END-ADDR'
is the end address
'ADDR'
is an address anywhere within (or the name of) the function to
disassemble. If an address is specified, the whole function
surrounding that address will be disassembled. If a name is
specified, the whole function with that name will be disassembled.
'FILENAME'
is the name of the file to disassemble
'LINENUM'
is the line number to disassemble around
'LINES'
is the number of disassembly lines to be produced. If it is -1,
the whole function will be disassembled, in case no END-ADDR is
specified. If END-ADDR is specified as a non-zero value, and LINES
is lower than the number of disassembly lines between START-ADDR
and END-ADDR, only LINES lines are displayed; if LINES is higher
than the number of lines between START-ADDR and END-ADDR, only the
lines up to END-ADDR are displayed.
'MODE'
is one of:
* 0 disassembly only
* 1 mixed source and disassembly (deprecated)
* 2 disassembly with raw opcodes
* 3 mixed source and disassembly with raw opcodes (deprecated)
* 4 mixed source and disassembly
* 5 mixed source and disassembly with raw opcodes
Modes 1 and 3 are deprecated. The output is "source centric" which
hasn't proved useful in practice. *Note Machine Code::, for a
discussion of the difference between '/m' and '/s' output of the
'disassemble' command.
Result
......
The result of the '-data-disassemble' command will be a list named
'asm_insns', the contents of this list depend on the MODE used with the
'-data-disassemble' command.
For modes 0 and 2 the 'asm_insns' list contains tuples with the
following fields:
'address'
The address at which this instruction was disassembled.
'func-name'
The name of the function this instruction is within.
'offset'
The decimal offset in bytes from the start of 'func-name'.
'inst'
The text disassembly for this 'address'.
'opcodes'
This field is only present for modes 2, 3 and 5. This contains the
raw opcode bytes for the 'inst' field.
For modes 1, 3, 4 and 5 the 'asm_insns' list contains tuples named
'src_and_asm_line', each of which has the following fields:
'line'
The line number within 'file'.
'file'
The file name from the compilation unit. This might be an absolute
file name or a relative file name depending on the compile command
used.
'fullname'
Absolute file name of 'file'. It is converted to a canonical form
using the source file search path (*note Specifying Source
Directories: Source Path.) and after resolving all the symbolic
links.
If the source file is not found this field will contain the path as
present in the debug information.
'line_asm_insn'
This is a list of tuples containing the disassembly for 'line' in
'file'. The fields of each tuple are the same as for
'-data-disassemble' in MODE 0 and 2, so 'address', 'func-name',
'offset', 'inst', and optionally 'opcodes'.
Note that whatever included in the 'inst' field, is not manipulated
directly by GDB/MI, i.e., it is not possible to adjust its format.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'disassemble'.
Example
.......
Disassemble from the current value of '$pc' to '$pc + 20':
(gdb)
-data-disassemble -s $pc -e "$pc + 20" -- 0
^done,
asm_insns=[
{address="0x000107c0",func-name="main",offset="4",
inst="mov 2, %o0"},
{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"},
{address="0x000107c8",func-name="main",offset="12",
inst="or %o2, 0x140, %o1\t! 0x11940 <_lib_version+8>"},
{address="0x000107cc",func-name="main",offset="16",
inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"},
{address="0x000107d0",func-name="main",offset="20",
inst="or %o2, 0x168, %o4\t! 0x11968 <_lib_version+48>"}]
(gdb)
Disassemble the whole 'main' function. Line 32 is part of 'main'.
-data-disassemble -f basics.c -l 32 -- 0
^done,asm_insns=[
{address="0x000107bc",func-name="main",offset="0",
inst="save %sp, -112, %sp"},
{address="0x000107c0",func-name="main",offset="4",
inst="mov 2, %o0"},
{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"},
[...]
{address="0x0001081c",func-name="main",offset="96",inst="ret "},
{address="0x00010820",func-name="main",offset="100",inst="restore "}]
(gdb)
Disassemble 3 instructions from the start of 'main':
(gdb)
-data-disassemble -f basics.c -l 32 -n 3 -- 0
^done,asm_insns=[
{address="0x000107bc",func-name="main",offset="0",
inst="save %sp, -112, %sp"},
{address="0x000107c0",func-name="main",offset="4",
inst="mov 2, %o0"},
{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"}]
(gdb)
Disassemble 3 instructions from the start of 'main' in mixed mode:
(gdb)
-data-disassemble -f basics.c -l 32 -n 3 -- 1
^done,asm_insns=[
src_and_asm_line={line="31",
file="../../../src/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
fullname="/absolute/path/to/src/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
line_asm_insn=[{address="0x000107bc",
func-name="main",offset="0",inst="save %sp, -112, %sp"}]},
src_and_asm_line={line="32",
file="../../../src/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
fullname="/absolute/path/to/src/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
line_asm_insn=[{address="0x000107c0",
func-name="main",offset="4",inst="mov 2, %o0"},
{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"}]}]
(gdb)
The '-data-evaluate-expression' Command
---------------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-data-evaluate-expression EXPR
Evaluate EXPR as an expression. The expression could contain an
inferior function call. The function call will execute synchronously.
If the expression contains spaces, it must be enclosed in double quotes.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB commands are 'print', 'output', and 'call'. In
'gdbtk' only, there's a corresponding 'gdb_eval' command.
Example
.......
In the following example, the numbers that precede the commands are the
"tokens" described in *note GDB/MI Command Syntax: GDB/MI Command
Syntax. Notice how GDB/MI returns the same tokens in its output.
211-data-evaluate-expression A
211^done,value="1"
(gdb)
311-data-evaluate-expression &A
311^done,value="0xefffeb7c"
(gdb)
411-data-evaluate-expression A+3
411^done,value="4"
(gdb)
511-data-evaluate-expression "A + 3"
511^done,value="4"
(gdb)
The '-data-list-changed-registers' Command
------------------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-data-list-changed-registers
Display a list of the registers that have changed.
GDB Command
...........
GDB doesn't have a direct analog for this command; 'gdbtk' has the
corresponding command 'gdb_changed_register_list'.
Example
.......
On a PPC MBX board:
(gdb)
-exec-continue
^running
(gdb)
*stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",frame={
func="main",args=[],file="try.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",
line="5",arch="powerpc"}
(gdb)
-data-list-changed-registers
^done,changed-registers=["0","1","2","4","5","6","7","8","9",
"10","11","13","14","15","16","17","18","19","20","21","22","23",
"24","25","26","27","28","30","31","64","65","66","67","69"]
(gdb)
The '-data-list-register-names' Command
---------------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-data-list-register-names [ ( REGNO )+ ]
Show a list of register names for the current target. If no
arguments are given, it shows a list of the names of all the registers.
If integer numbers are given as arguments, it will print a list of the
names of the registers corresponding to the arguments. To ensure
consistency between a register name and its number, the output list may
include empty register names.
GDB Command
...........
GDB does not have a command which corresponds to
'-data-list-register-names'. In 'gdbtk' there is a corresponding
command 'gdb_regnames'.
Example
.......
For the PPC MBX board:
(gdb)
-data-list-register-names
^done,register-names=["r0","r1","r2","r3","r4","r5","r6","r7",
"r8","r9","r10","r11","r12","r13","r14","r15","r16","r17","r18",
"r19","r20","r21","r22","r23","r24","r25","r26","r27","r28","r29",
"r30","r31","f0","f1","f2","f3","f4","f5","f6","f7","f8","f9",
"f10","f11","f12","f13","f14","f15","f16","f17","f18","f19","f20",
"f21","f22","f23","f24","f25","f26","f27","f28","f29","f30","f31",
"", "pc","ps","cr","lr","ctr","xer"]
(gdb)
-data-list-register-names 1 2 3
^done,register-names=["r1","r2","r3"]
(gdb)
The '-data-list-register-values' Command
----------------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-data-list-register-values
[ --skip-unavailable ] FMT [ ( REGNO )*]
Display the registers' contents. The format according to which the
registers' contents are to be returned is given by FMT, followed by an
optional list of numbers specifying the registers to display. A missing
list of numbers indicates that the contents of all the registers must be
returned. The '--skip-unavailable' option indicates that only the
available registers are to be returned.
Allowed formats for FMT are:
'x'
Hexadecimal
'o'
Octal
't'
Binary
'd'
Decimal
'r'
Raw
'N'
Natural
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB commands are 'info reg', 'info all-reg', and (in
'gdbtk') 'gdb_fetch_registers'.
Example
.......
For a PPC MBX board (note: line breaks are for readability only, they
don't appear in the actual output):
(gdb)
-data-list-register-values r 64 65
^done,register-values=[{number="64",value="0xfe00a300"},
{number="65",value="0x00029002"}]
(gdb)
-data-list-register-values x
^done,register-values=[{number="0",value="0xfe0043c8"},
{number="1",value="0x3fff88"},{number="2",value="0xfffffffe"},
{number="3",value="0x0"},{number="4",value="0xa"},
{number="5",value="0x3fff68"},{number="6",value="0x3fff58"},
{number="7",value="0xfe011e98"},{number="8",value="0x2"},
{number="9",value="0xfa202820"},{number="10",value="0xfa202808"},
{number="11",value="0x1"},{number="12",value="0x0"},
{number="13",value="0x4544"},{number="14",value="0xffdfffff"},
{number="15",value="0xffffffff"},{number="16",value="0xfffffeff"},
{number="17",value="0xefffffed"},{number="18",value="0xfffffffe"},
{number="19",value="0xffffffff"},{number="20",value="0xffffffff"},
{number="21",value="0xffffffff"},{number="22",value="0xfffffff7"},
{number="23",value="0xffffffff"},{number="24",value="0xffffffff"},
{number="25",value="0xffffffff"},{number="26",value="0xfffffffb"},
{number="27",value="0xffffffff"},{number="28",value="0xf7bfffff"},
{number="29",value="0x0"},{number="30",value="0xfe010000"},
{number="31",value="0x0"},{number="32",value="0x0"},
{number="33",value="0x0"},{number="34",value="0x0"},
{number="35",value="0x0"},{number="36",value="0x0"},
{number="37",value="0x0"},{number="38",value="0x0"},
{number="39",value="0x0"},{number="40",value="0x0"},
{number="41",value="0x0"},{number="42",value="0x0"},
{number="43",value="0x0"},{number="44",value="0x0"},
{number="45",value="0x0"},{number="46",value="0x0"},
{number="47",value="0x0"},{number="48",value="0x0"},
{number="49",value="0x0"},{number="50",value="0x0"},
{number="51",value="0x0"},{number="52",value="0x0"},
{number="53",value="0x0"},{number="54",value="0x0"},
{number="55",value="0x0"},{number="56",value="0x0"},
{number="57",value="0x0"},{number="58",value="0x0"},
{number="59",value="0x0"},{number="60",value="0x0"},
{number="61",value="0x0"},{number="62",value="0x0"},
{number="63",value="0x0"},{number="64",value="0xfe00a300"},
{number="65",value="0x29002"},{number="66",value="0x202f04b5"},
{number="67",value="0xfe0043b0"},{number="68",value="0xfe00b3e4"},
{number="69",value="0x20002b03"}]
(gdb)
The '-data-read-memory' Command
-------------------------------
This command is deprecated, use '-data-read-memory-bytes' instead.
Synopsis
........
-data-read-memory [ -o BYTE-OFFSET ]
ADDRESS WORD-FORMAT WORD-SIZE
NR-ROWS NR-COLS [ ASCHAR ]
where:
'ADDRESS'
An expression specifying the address of the first memory word to be
read. Complex expressions containing embedded white space should
be quoted using the C convention.
'WORD-FORMAT'
The format to be used to print the memory words. The notation is
the same as for GDB's 'print' command (*note Output Formats: Output
Formats.).
'WORD-SIZE'
The size of each memory word in bytes.
'NR-ROWS'
The number of rows in the output table.
'NR-COLS'
The number of columns in the output table.
'ASCHAR'
If present, indicates that each row should include an ASCII dump.
The value of ASCHAR is used as a padding character when a byte is
not a member of the printable ASCII character set (printable ASCII
characters are those whose code is between 32 and 126,
inclusively).
'BYTE-OFFSET'
An offset to add to the ADDRESS before fetching memory.
This command displays memory contents as a table of NR-ROWS by
NR-COLS words, each word being WORD-SIZE bytes. In total, 'NR-ROWS *
NR-COLS * WORD-SIZE' bytes are read (returned as 'total-bytes'). Should
less than the requested number of bytes be returned by the target, the
missing words are identified using 'N/A'. The number of bytes read from
the target is returned in 'nr-bytes' and the starting address used to
read memory in 'addr'.
The address of the next/previous row or page is available in
'next-row' and 'prev-row', 'next-page' and 'prev-page'.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'x'. 'gdbtk' has 'gdb_get_mem' memory
read command.
Example
.......
Read six bytes of memory starting at 'bytes+6' but then offset by '-6'
bytes. Format as three rows of two columns. One byte per word.
Display each word in hex.
(gdb)
9-data-read-memory -o -6 -- bytes+6 x 1 3 2
9^done,addr="0x00001390",nr-bytes="6",total-bytes="6",
next-row="0x00001396",prev-row="0x0000138e",next-page="0x00001396",
prev-page="0x0000138a",memory=[
{addr="0x00001390",data=["0x00","0x01"]},
{addr="0x00001392",data=["0x02","0x03"]},
{addr="0x00001394",data=["0x04","0x05"]}]
(gdb)
Read two bytes of memory starting at address 'shorts + 64' and
display as a single word formatted in decimal.
(gdb)
5-data-read-memory shorts+64 d 2 1 1
5^done,addr="0x00001510",nr-bytes="2",total-bytes="2",
next-row="0x00001512",prev-row="0x0000150e",
next-page="0x00001512",prev-page="0x0000150e",memory=[
{addr="0x00001510",data=["128"]}]
(gdb)
Read thirty two bytes of memory starting at 'bytes+16' and format as
eight rows of four columns. Include a string encoding with 'x' used as
the non-printable character.
(gdb)
4-data-read-memory bytes+16 x 1 8 4 x
4^done,addr="0x000013a0",nr-bytes="32",total-bytes="32",
next-row="0x000013c0",prev-row="0x0000139c",
next-page="0x000013c0",prev-page="0x00001380",memory=[
{addr="0x000013a0",data=["0x10","0x11","0x12","0x13"],ascii="xxxx"},
{addr="0x000013a4",data=["0x14","0x15","0x16","0x17"],ascii="xxxx"},
{addr="0x000013a8",data=["0x18","0x19","0x1a","0x1b"],ascii="xxxx"},
{addr="0x000013ac",data=["0x1c","0x1d","0x1e","0x1f"],ascii="xxxx"},
{addr="0x000013b0",data=["0x20","0x21","0x22","0x23"],ascii=" !\"#"},
{addr="0x000013b4",data=["0x24","0x25","0x26","0x27"],ascii="$%&'"},
{addr="0x000013b8",data=["0x28","0x29","0x2a","0x2b"],ascii="()*+"},
{addr="0x000013bc",data=["0x2c","0x2d","0x2e","0x2f"],ascii=",-./"}]
(gdb)
The '-data-read-memory-bytes' Command
-------------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-data-read-memory-bytes [ -o OFFSET ]
ADDRESS COUNT
where:
'ADDRESS'
An expression specifying the address of the first addressable
memory unit to be read. Complex expressions containing embedded
white space should be quoted using the C convention.
'COUNT'
The number of addressable memory units to read. This should be an
integer literal.
'OFFSET'
The offset relative to ADDRESS at which to start reading. This
should be an integer literal. This option is provided so that a
frontend is not required to first evaluate address and then perform
address arithmetics itself.
This command attempts to read all accessible memory regions in the
specified range. First, all regions marked as unreadable in the memory
map (if one is defined) will be skipped. *Note Memory Region
Attributes::. Second, GDB will attempt to read the remaining regions.
For each one, if reading full region results in an errors, GDB will try
to read a subset of the region.
In general, every single memory unit in the region may be readable or
not, and the only way to read every readable unit is to try a read at
every address, which is not practical. Therefore, GDB will attempt to
read all accessible memory units at either beginning or the end of the
region, using a binary division scheme. This heuristic works well for
reading across a memory map boundary. Note that if a region has a
readable range that is neither at the beginning or the end, GDB will not
read it.
The result record (*note GDB/MI Result Records::) that is output of
the command includes a field named 'memory' whose content is a list of
tuples. Each tuple represent a successfully read memory block and has
the following fields:
'begin'
The start address of the memory block, as hexadecimal literal.
'end'
The end address of the memory block, as hexadecimal literal.
'offset'
The offset of the memory block, as hexadecimal literal, relative to
the start address passed to '-data-read-memory-bytes'.
'contents'
The contents of the memory block, in hex.
GDB Command
...........
The corresponding GDB command is 'x'.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-data-read-memory-bytes &a 10
^done,memory=[{begin="0xbffff154",offset="0x00000000",
end="0xbffff15e",
contents="01000000020000000300"}]
(gdb)
The '-data-write-memory-bytes' Command
--------------------------------------
Synopsis
........
-data-write-memory-bytes ADDRESS CONTENTS
-data-write-memory-bytes ADDRESS CONTENTS [COUNT]
where:
'ADDRESS'
An expression specifying the address of the first addressable
memory unit to be written. Complex expressions containing embedded
white space should be quoted using the C convention.
'CONTENTS'
The hex-encoded data to write. It is an error if CONTENTS does not
represent an integral number of addressable memory units.
'COUNT'
Optional argument indicating the number of addressable memory units
to be written. If COUNT is greater than CONTENTS' length, GDB will
repeatedly write CONTENTS until it fills COUNT memory units.
GDB Command
...........
There's no corresponding GDB command.
Example
.......
(gdb)
-data-write-memory-bytes &a "aabbccdd"
^done
(gdb)
(gdb)
-data-write-memory-bytes &a "aabbccdd" 16e
^done
(gdb)