freebsd-dev/gnu/usr.bin/gdb/doc/gdb.info-7
Paul Richards ea8c7ac7d0 GDB-4.12 from ports with support for shlibs but not the kernel.
This is a greatly pared down version of the full gdb-4.12, all the
config stuff has been removed and the supporting libraries have
been stripped to a minimum. This is a 1.1.5 only port, I'll do a
more complete port for 2.0 which will have all the config stuff
and will install the gnu support libraries as system libraries like
we do for readline.

There wasn't much point for 1.1.5 since only gdb would use them so I
went for saving space instead. For 2.0 I'll config all the
other gnu tools to use them as well.
1994-06-10 13:42:18 +00:00

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This is Info file ./gdb.info, produced by Makeinfo-1.52 from the input
file gdb.texinfo.
START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* Gdb:: The GNU debugger.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
This file documents the GNU debugger GDB.
This is Edition 4.09, August 1993, of `Debugging with GDB: the GNU
Source-Level Debugger' for GDB Version 4.11.
Copyright (C) 1988, '89, '90, '91, '92, '93 Free Software
Foundation, Inc.
Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
preserved on all copies.
Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of
this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also
that the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms
of a permission notice identical to this one.
Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified
versions.

File: gdb.info, Node: Bug Reporting, Prev: Bug Criteria, Up: GDB Bugs
How to report bugs
==================
A number of companies and individuals offer support for GNU products.
If you obtained GDB from a support organization, we recommend you
contact that organization first.
You can find contact information for many support companies and
individuals in the file `etc/SERVICE' in the GNU Emacs distribution.
In any event, we also recommend that you send bug reports for GDB to
one of these addresses:
bug-gdb@prep.ai.mit.edu
{ucbvax|mit-eddie|uunet}!prep.ai.mit.edu!bug-gdb
*Do not send bug reports to `info-gdb', or to `help-gdb', or to any
newsgroups.* Most users of GDB do not want to receive bug reports.
Those that do, have arranged to receive `bug-gdb'.
The mailing list `bug-gdb' has a newsgroup `gnu.gdb.bug' which
serves as a repeater. The mailing list and the newsgroup carry exactly
the same messages. Often people think of posting bug reports to the
newsgroup instead of mailing them. This appears to work, but it has one
problem which can be crucial: a newsgroup posting often lacks a mail
path back to the sender. Thus, if we need to ask for more information,
we may be unable to reach you. For this reason, it is better to send
bug reports to the mailing list.
As a last resort, send bug reports on paper to:
GNU Debugger Bugs
Free Software Foundation
545 Tech Square
Cambridge, MA 02139
The fundamental principle of reporting bugs usefully is this:
*report all the facts*. If you are not sure whether to state a fact or
leave it out, state it!
Often people omit facts because they think they know what causes the
problem and assume that some details do not matter. Thus, you might
assume that the name of the variable you use in an example does not
matter. Well, probably it does not, but one cannot be sure. Perhaps
the bug is a stray memory reference which happens to fetch from the
location where that name is stored in memory; perhaps, if the name were
different, the contents of that location would fool the debugger into
doing the right thing despite the bug. Play it safe and give a
specific, complete example. That is the easiest thing for you to do,
and the most helpful.
Keep in mind that the purpose of a bug report is to enable us to fix
the bug if it is new to us. It is not as important as what happens if
the bug is already known. Therefore, always write your bug reports on
the assumption that the bug has not been reported previously.
Sometimes people give a few sketchy facts and ask, "Does this ring a
bell?" Those bug reports are useless, and we urge everyone to *refuse
to respond to them* except to chide the sender to report bugs properly.
To enable us to fix the bug, you should include all these things:
* The version of GDB. GDB announces it if you start with no
arguments; you can also print it at any time using `show version'.
Without this, we will not know whether there is any point in
looking for the bug in the current version of GDB.
* The type of machine you are using, and the operating system name
and version number.
* What compiler (and its version) was used to compile GDB--e.g.
"gcc-2.0".
* What compiler (and its version) was used to compile the program you
are debugging--e.g. "gcc-2.0".
* The command arguments you gave the compiler to compile your
example and observe the bug. For example, did you use `-O'? To
guarantee you will not omit something important, list them all. A
copy of the Makefile (or the output from make) is sufficient.
If we were to try to guess the arguments, we would probably guess
wrong and then we might not encounter the bug.
* A complete input script, and all necessary source files, that will
reproduce the bug.
* A description of what behavior you observe that you believe is
incorrect. For example, "It gets a fatal signal."
Of course, if the bug is that GDB gets a fatal signal, then we will
certainly notice it. But if the bug is incorrect output, we might
not notice unless it is glaringly wrong. We are human, after all.
You might as well not give us a chance to make a mistake.
Even if the problem you experience is a fatal signal, you should
still say so explicitly. Suppose something strange is going on,
such as, your copy of GDB is out of synch, or you have encountered
a bug in the C library on your system. (This has happened!) Your
copy might crash and ours would not. If you told us to expect a
crash, then when ours fails to crash, we would know that the bug
was not happening for us. If you had not told us to expect a
crash, then we would not be able to draw any conclusion from our
observations.
* If you wish to suggest changes to the GDB source, send us context
diffs. If you even discuss something in the GDB source, refer to
it by context, not by line number.
The line numbers in our development sources will not match those
in your sources. Your line numbers would convey no useful
information to us.
Here are some things that are not necessary:
* A description of the envelope of the bug.
Often people who encounter a bug spend a lot of time investigating
which changes to the input file will make the bug go away and which
changes will not affect it.
This is often time consuming and not very useful, because the way
we will find the bug is by running a single example under the
debugger with breakpoints, not by pure deduction from a series of
examples. We recommend that you save your time for something else.
Of course, if you can find a simpler example to report *instead*
of the original one, that is a convenience for us. Errors in the
output will be easier to spot, running under the debugger will take
less time, etc.
However, simplification is not vital; if you do not want to do
this, report the bug anyway and send us the entire test case you
used.
* A patch for the bug.
A patch for the bug does help us if it is a good one. But do not
omit the necessary information, such as the test case, on the
assumption that a patch is all we need. We might see problems
with your patch and decide to fix the problem another way, or we
might not understand it at all.
Sometimes with a program as complicated as GDB it is very hard to
construct an example that will make the program follow a certain
path through the code. If you do not send us the example, we will
not be able to construct one, so we will not be able to verify
that the bug is fixed.
And if we cannot understand what bug you are trying to fix, or why
your patch should be an improvement, we will not install it. A
test case will help us to understand.
* A guess about what the bug is or what it depends on.
Such guesses are usually wrong. Even we cannot guess right about
such things without first using the debugger to find the facts.

File: gdb.info, Node: Command Line Editing, Next: Using History Interactively, Prev: GDB Bugs, Up: Top
Command Line Editing
********************
This text describes GNU's command line editing interface.
* Menu:
* Introduction and Notation:: Notation used in this text.
* Readline Interaction:: The minimum set of commands for editing a line.
* Readline Init File:: Customizing Readline from a user's view.

File: gdb.info, Node: Introduction and Notation, Next: Readline Interaction, Up: Command Line Editing
Introduction to Line Editing
============================
The following paragraphs describe the notation we use to represent
keystrokes.
The text C-k is read as `Control-K' and describes the character
produced when the Control key is depressed and the k key is struck.
The text M-k is read as `Meta-K' and describes the character
produced when the meta key (if you have one) is depressed, and the k
key is struck. If you do not have a meta key, the identical keystroke
can be generated by typing ESC first, and then typing k. Either
process is known as "metafying" the k key.
The text M-C-k is read as `Meta-Control-k' and describes the
character produced by "metafying" C-k.
In addition, several keys have their own names. Specifically, DEL,
ESC, LFD, SPC, RET, and TAB all stand for themselves when seen in this
text, or in an init file (*note Readline Init File::., for more info).

File: gdb.info, Node: Readline Interaction, Next: Readline Init File, Prev: Introduction and Notation, Up: Command Line Editing
Readline Interaction
====================
Often during an interactive session you type in a long line of text,
only to notice that the first word on the line is misspelled. The
Readline library gives you a set of commands for manipulating the text
as you type it in, allowing you to just fix your typo, and not forcing
you to retype the majority of the line. Using these editing commands,
you move the cursor to the place that needs correction, and delete or
insert the text of the corrections. Then, when you are satisfied with
the line, you simply press RETURN. You do not have to be at the end of
the line to press RETURN; the entire line is accepted regardless of the
location of the cursor within the line.
* Menu:
* Readline Bare Essentials:: The least you need to know about Readline.
* Readline Movement Commands:: Moving about the input line.
* Readline Killing Commands:: How to delete text, and how to get it back!
* Readline Arguments:: Giving numeric arguments to commands.

File: gdb.info, Node: Readline Bare Essentials, Next: Readline Movement Commands, Up: Readline Interaction
Readline Bare Essentials
------------------------
In order to enter characters into the line, simply type them. The
typed character appears where the cursor was, and then the cursor moves
one space to the right. If you mistype a character, you can use DEL to
back up, and delete the mistyped character.
Sometimes you may miss typing a character that you wanted to type,
and not notice your error until you have typed several other
characters. In that case, you can type C-b to move the cursor to the
left, and then correct your mistake. Aftwerwards, you can move the
cursor to the right with C-f.
When you add text in the middle of a line, you will notice that
characters to the right of the cursor get `pushed over' to make room
for the text that you have inserted. Likewise, when you delete text
behind the cursor, characters to the right of the cursor get `pulled
back' to fill in the blank space created by the removal of the text. A
list of the basic bare essentials for editing the text of an input line
follows.
C-b
Move back one character.
C-f
Move forward one character.
DEL
Delete the character to the left of the cursor.
C-d
Delete the character underneath the cursor.
Printing characters
Insert itself into the line at the cursor.
C-_
Undo the last thing that you did. You can undo all the way back
to an empty line.

File: gdb.info, Node: Readline Movement Commands, Next: Readline Killing Commands, Prev: Readline Bare Essentials, Up: Readline Interaction
Readline Movement Commands
--------------------------
The above table describes the most basic possible keystrokes that
you need in order to do editing of the input line. For your
convenience, many other commands have been added in addition to C-b,
C-f, C-d, and DEL. Here are some commands for moving more rapidly
about the line.
C-a
Move to the start of the line.
C-e
Move to the end of the line.
M-f
Move forward a word.
M-b
Move backward a word.
C-l
Clear the screen, reprinting the current line at the top.
Notice how C-f moves forward a character, while M-f moves forward a
word. It is a loose convention that control keystrokes operate on
characters while meta keystrokes operate on words.

File: gdb.info, Node: Readline Killing Commands, Next: Readline Arguments, Prev: Readline Movement Commands, Up: Readline Interaction
Readline Killing Commands
-------------------------
"Killing" text means to delete the text from the line, but to save
it away for later use, usually by "yanking" it back into the line. If
the description for a command says that it `kills' text, then you can
be sure that you can get the text back in a different (or the same)
place later.
Here is the list of commands for killing text.
C-k
Kill the text from the current cursor position to the end of the
line.
M-d
Kill from the cursor to the end of the current word, or if between
words, to the end of the next word.
M-DEL
Kill from the cursor to the start of the previous word, or if
between words, to the start of the previous word.
C-w
Kill from the cursor to the previous whitespace. This is
different than M-DEL because the word boundaries differ.
And, here is how to "yank" the text back into the line. Yanking is
C-y
Yank the most recently killed text back into the buffer at the
cursor.
M-y
Rotate the kill-ring, and yank the new top. You can only do this
if the prior command is C-y or M-y.
When you use a kill command, the text is saved in a "kill-ring".
Any number of consecutive kills save all of the killed text together, so
that when you yank it back, you get it in one clean sweep. The kill
ring is not line specific; the text that you killed on a previously
typed line is available to be yanked back later, when you are typing
another line.

File: gdb.info, Node: Readline Arguments, Prev: Readline Killing Commands, Up: Readline Interaction
Readline Arguments
------------------
You can pass numeric arguments to Readline commands. Sometimes the
argument acts as a repeat count, other times it is the sign of the
argument that is significant. If you pass a negative argument to a
command which normally acts in a forward direction, that command will
act in a backward direction. For example, to kill text back to the
start of the line, you might type M- C-k.
The general way to pass numeric arguments to a command is to type
meta digits before the command. If the first `digit' you type is a
minus sign (-), then the sign of the argument will be negative. Once
you have typed one meta digit to get the argument started, you can type
the remainder of the digits, and then the command. For example, to give
the C-d command an argument of 10, you could type M-1 0 C-d.

File: gdb.info, Node: Readline Init File, Prev: Readline Interaction, Up: Command Line Editing
Readline Init File
==================
Although the Readline library comes with a set of Emacs-like
keybindings, it is possible that you would like to use a different set
of keybindings. You can customize programs that use Readline by putting
commands in an "init" file in your home directory. The name of this
file is `~/.inputrc'.
When a program which uses the Readline library starts up, the
`~/.inputrc' file is read, and the keybindings are set.
In addition, the C-x C-r command re-reads this init file, thus
incorporating any changes that you might have made to it.
* Menu:
* Readline Init Syntax:: Syntax for the commands in `~/.inputrc'.
* Readline Vi Mode:: Switching to `vi' mode in Readline.

File: gdb.info, Node: Readline Init Syntax, Next: Readline Vi Mode, Up: Readline Init File
Readline Init Syntax
--------------------
There are only four constructs allowed in the `~/.inputrc' file:
Variable Settings
You can change the state of a few variables in Readline. You do
this by using the `set' command within the init file. Here is how
you would specify that you wish to use Vi line editing commands:
set editing-mode vi
Right now, there are only a few variables which can be set; so few
in fact, that we just iterate them here:
`editing-mode'
The `editing-mode' variable controls which editing mode you
are using. By default, GNU Readline starts up in Emacs
editing mode, where the keystrokes are most similar to Emacs.
This variable can either be set to `emacs' or `vi'.
`horizontal-scroll-mode'
This variable can either be set to `On' or `Off'. Setting it
to `On' means that the text of the lines that you edit will
scroll horizontally on a single screen line when they are
larger than the width of the screen, instead of wrapping onto
a new screen line. By default, this variable is set to `Off'.
`mark-modified-lines'
This variable when set to `On', says to display an asterisk
(`*') at the starts of history lines which have been modified.
This variable is off by default.
`prefer-visible-bell'
If this variable is set to `On' it means to use a visible
bell if one is available, rather than simply ringing the
terminal bell. By default, the value is `Off'.
Key Bindings
The syntax for controlling keybindings in the `~/.inputrc' file is
simple. First you have to know the name of the command that you
want to change. The following pages contain tables of the command
name, the default keybinding, and a short description of what the
command does.
Once you know the name of the command, simply place the name of
the key you wish to bind the command to, a colon, and then the
name of the command on a line in the `~/.inputrc' file. The name
of the key can be expressed in different ways, depending on which
is most comfortable for you.
KEYNAME: FUNCTION-NAME or MACRO
KEYNAME is the name of a key spelled out in English. For
example:
Control-u: universal-argument
Meta-Rubout: backward-kill-word
Control-o: ">&output"
In the above example, C-u is bound to the function
`universal-argument', and C-o is bound to run the macro
expressed on the right hand side (that is, to insert the text
`>&output' into the line).
"KEYSEQ": FUNCTION-NAME or MACRO
KEYSEQ differs from KEYNAME above in that strings denoting an
entire key sequence can be specified. Simply place the key
sequence in double quotes. GNU Emacs style key escapes can
be used, as in the following example:
"\C-u": universal-argument
"\C-x\C-r": re-read-init-file
"\e[11~": "Function Key 1"
In the above example, C-u is bound to the function
`universal-argument' (just as it was in the first example),
C-x C-r is bound to the function `re-read-init-file', and ESC
[ 1 1 ~ is bound to insert the text `Function Key 1'.
* Menu:
* Commands For Moving:: Moving about the line.
* Commands For History:: Getting at previous lines.
* Commands For Text:: Commands for changing text.
* Commands For Killing:: Commands for killing and yanking.
* Numeric Arguments:: Specifying numeric arguments, repeat counts.
* Commands For Completion:: Getting Readline to do the typing for you.
* Miscellaneous Commands:: Other miscillaneous commands.

File: gdb.info, Node: Commands For Moving, Next: Commands For History, Up: Readline Init Syntax
Commands For Moving
-------------------
`beginning-of-line (C-a)'
Move to the start of the current line.
`end-of-line (C-e)'
Move to the end of the line.
`forward-char (C-f)'
Move forward a character.
`backward-char (C-b)'
Move back a character.
`forward-word (M-f)'
Move forward to the end of the next word.
`backward-word (M-b)'
Move back to the start of this, or the previous, word.
`clear-screen (C-l)'
Clear the screen leaving the current line at the top of the screen.

File: gdb.info, Node: Commands For History, Next: Commands For Text, Prev: Commands For Moving, Up: Readline Init Syntax
Commands For Manipulating The History
-------------------------------------
`accept-line (Newline, Return)'
Accept the line regardless of where the cursor is. If this line is
non-empty, add it to the history list. If this line was a history
line, then restore the history line to its original state.
`previous-history (C-p)'
Move `up' through the history list.
`next-history (C-n)'
Move `down' through the history list.
`beginning-of-history (M-<)'
Move to the first line in the history.
`end-of-history (M->)'
Move to the end of the input history, i.e., the line you are
entering!
`reverse-search-history (C-r)'
Search backward starting at the current line and moving `up'
through the history as necessary. This is an incremental search.
`forward-search-history (C-s)'
Search forward starting at the current line and moving `down'
through the the history as neccessary.

File: gdb.info, Node: Commands For Text, Next: Commands For Killing, Prev: Commands For History, Up: Readline Init Syntax
Commands For Changing Text
--------------------------
`delete-char (C-d)'
Delete the character under the cursor. If the cursor is at the
beginning of the line, and there are no characters in the line, and
the last character typed was not C-d, then return EOF.
`backward-delete-char (Rubout)'
Delete the character behind the cursor. A numeric arg says to kill
the characters instead of deleting them.
`quoted-insert (C-q, C-v)'
Add the next character that you type to the line verbatim. This is
how to insert things like C-q for example.
`tab-insert (M-TAB)'
Insert a tab character.
`self-insert (a, b, A, 1, !, ...)'
Insert yourself.
`transpose-chars (C-t)'
Drag the character before point forward over the character at
point. Point moves forward as well. If point is at the end of
the line, then transpose the two characters before point.
Negative args don't work.
`transpose-words (M-t)'
Drag the word behind the cursor past the word in front of the
cursor moving the cursor over that word as well.
`upcase-word (M-u)'
Uppercase all letters in the current (or following) word. With a
negative argument, do the previous word, but do not move point.
`downcase-word (M-l)'
Lowercase all letters in the current (or following) word. With a
negative argument, do the previous word, but do not move point.
`capitalize-word (M-c)'
Uppercase the first letter in the current (or following) word.
With a negative argument, do the previous word, but do not move
point.

File: gdb.info, Node: Commands For Killing, Next: Numeric Arguments, Prev: Commands For Text, Up: Readline Init Syntax
Killing And Yanking
-------------------
`kill-line (C-k)'
Kill the text from the current cursor position to the end of the
line.
`backward-kill-line ()'
Kill backward to the beginning of the line. This is normally
unbound.
`kill-word (M-d)'
Kill from the cursor to the end of the current word, or if between
words, to the end of the next word.
`backward-kill-word (M-DEL)'
Kill the word behind the cursor.
`unix-line-discard (C-u)'
Do what C-u used to do in Unix line input. We save the killed
text on the kill-ring, though.
`unix-word-rubout (C-w)'
Do what C-w used to do in Unix line input. The killed text is
saved on the kill-ring. This is different than backward-kill-word
because the word boundaries differ.
`yank (C-y)'
Yank the top of the kill ring into the buffer at point.
`yank-pop (M-y)'
Rotate the kill-ring, and yank the new top. You can only do this
if the prior command is yank or yank-pop.

File: gdb.info, Node: Numeric Arguments, Next: Commands For Completion, Prev: Commands For Killing, Up: Readline Init Syntax
Specifying Numeric Arguments
----------------------------
`digit-argument (M-0, M-1, ... M--)'
Add this digit to the argument already accumulating, or start a new
argument. M- starts a negative argument.
`universal-argument ()'
Do what C-u does in emacs. By default, this is not bound.

File: gdb.info, Node: Commands For Completion, Next: Miscellaneous Commands, Prev: Numeric Arguments, Up: Readline Init Syntax
Letting Readline Type For You
-----------------------------
`complete (TAB)'
Attempt to do completion on the text before point. This is
implementation defined. Generally, if you are typing a filename
argument, you can do filename completion; if you are typing a
command, you can do command completion, if you are typing in a
symbol to GDB, you can do symbol name completion, if you are
typing in a variable to Bash, you can do variable name
completion...
`possible-completions (M-?)'
List the possible completions of the text before point.

File: gdb.info, Node: Miscellaneous Commands, Prev: Commands For Completion, Up: Readline Init Syntax
Some Miscellaneous Commands
---------------------------
`re-read-init-file (C-x C-r)'
Read in the contents of your `~/.inputrc' file, and incorporate
any bindings found there.
`abort (C-g)'
Stop running the current editing command.
`prefix-meta (ESC)'
Make the next character that you type be metafied. This is for
people without a meta key. Typing ESC f is equivalent to typing
M-f.
`undo (C-_)'
Incremental undo, separately remembered for each line.
`revert-line (M-r)'
Undo all changes made to this line. This is like typing the `undo'
command enough times to get back to the beginning.

File: gdb.info, Node: Readline Vi Mode, Prev: Readline Init Syntax, Up: Readline Init File
Readline Vi Mode
----------------
While the Readline library does not have a full set of Vi editing
functions, it does contain enough to allow simple editing of the line.
In order to switch interactively between Emacs and Vi editing modes,
use the command M-C-j (toggle-editing-mode).
When you enter a line in Vi mode, you are already placed in
`insertion' mode, as if you had typed an `i'. Pressing ESC switches
you into `edit' mode, where you can edit the text of the line with the
standard Vi movement keys, move to previous history lines with `k', and
following lines with `j', and so forth.

File: gdb.info, Node: Using History Interactively, Next: Renamed Commands, Prev: Command Line Editing, Up: Top
Using History Interactively
***************************
This chapter describes how to use the GNU History Library
interactively, from a user's standpoint.
* Menu:
* History Interaction:: What it feels like using History as a user.

File: gdb.info, Node: History Interaction, Up: Using History Interactively
History Interaction
===================
The History library provides a history expansion feature that is
similar to the history expansion in Csh. The following text describes
the sytax that you use to manipulate the history information.
History expansion takes place in two parts. The first is to
determine which line from the previous history should be used during
substitution. The second is to select portions of that line for
inclusion into the current one. The line selected from the previous
history is called the "event", and the portions of that line that are
acted upon are called "words". The line is broken into words in the
same fashion that the Bash shell does, so that several English (or
Unix) words surrounded by quotes are considered as one word.
* Menu:
* Event Designators:: How to specify which history line to use.
* Word Designators:: Specifying which words are of interest.
* Modifiers:: Modifying the results of susbstitution.

File: gdb.info, Node: Event Designators, Next: Word Designators, Up: History Interaction
Event Designators
-----------------
An event designator is a reference to a command line entry in the
history list.
`!'
Start a history subsititution, except when followed by a space,
tab, or the end of the line... = or (.
`!!'
Refer to the previous command. This is a synonym for `!-1'.
`!n'
Refer to command line N.
`!-n'
Refer to the command line N lines back.
`!string'
Refer to the most recent command starting with STRING.
`!?string'[`?']
Refer to the most recent command containing STRING.

File: gdb.info, Node: Word Designators, Next: Modifiers, Prev: Event Designators, Up: History Interaction
Word Designators
----------------
A : separates the event specification from the word designator. It
can be omitted if the word designator begins with a ^, $, * or %.
Words are numbered from the beginning of the line, with the first word
being denoted by a 0 (zero).
`0 (zero)'
The zero'th word. For many applications, this is the command word.
`n'
The N'th word.
`^'
The first argument. that is, word 1.
`$'
The last argument.
`%'
The word matched by the most recent `?string?' search.
`x-y'
A range of words; `-Y' Abbreviates `0-Y'.
`*'
All of the words, excepting the zero'th. This is a synonym for
`1-$'. It is not an error to use * if there is just one word in
the event. The empty string is returned in that case.

File: gdb.info, Node: Modifiers, Prev: Word Designators, Up: History Interaction
Modifiers
---------
After the optional word designator, you can add a sequence of one or
more of the following modifiers, each preceded by a :.
`#'
The entire command line typed so far. This means the current
command, not the previous command, so it really isn't a word
designator, and doesn't belong in this section.
`h'
Remove a trailing pathname component, leaving only the head.
`r'
Remove a trailing suffix of the form `.'SUFFIX, leaving the
basename.
`e'
Remove all but the suffix.
`t'
Remove all leading pathname components, leaving the tail.
`p'
Print the new command but do not execute it.

File: gdb.info, Node: Renamed Commands, Next: Formatting Documentation, Prev: Using History Interactively, Up: Top
Renamed Commands
****************
The following commands were renamed in GDB 4, in order to make the
command set as a whole more consistent and easier to use and remember:
OLD COMMAND NEW COMMAND
--------------- -------------------------------
add-syms add-symbol-file
delete environment unset environment
info convenience show convenience
info copying show copying
info directories show directories
info editing show commands
info history show values
info targets help target
info values show values
info version show version
info warranty show warranty
set/show addressprint set/show print address
set/show array-max set/show print elements
set/show arrayprint set/show print array
set/show asm-demangle set/show print asm-demangle
set/show caution set/show confirm
set/show demangle set/show print demangle
set/show history write set/show history save
set/show prettyprint set/show print pretty
set/show screen-height set/show height
set/show screen-width set/show width
set/show sevenbit-strings set/show print sevenbit-strings
set/show unionprint set/show print union
set/show vtblprint set/show print vtbl
unset [No longer an alias for delete]

File: gdb.info, Node: Formatting Documentation, Next: Installing GDB, Prev: Renamed Commands, Up: Top
Formatting Documentation
************************
The GDB 4 release includes an already-formatted reference card, ready
for printing with PostScript or GhostScript, in the `gdb' subdirectory
of the main source directory(1). If you can use PostScript or
GhostScript with your printer, you can print the reference card
immediately with `refcard.ps'.
The release also includes the source for the reference card. You
can format it, using TeX, by typing:
make refcard.dvi
The GDB reference card is designed to print in landscape mode on US
"letter" size paper; that is, on a sheet 11 inches wide by 8.5 inches
high. You will need to specify this form of printing as an option to
your DVI output program.
All the documentation for GDB comes as part of the machine-readable
distribution. The documentation is written in Texinfo format, which is
a documentation system that uses a single source file to produce both
on-line information and a printed manual. You can use one of the Info
formatting commands to create the on-line version of the documentation
and TeX (or `texi2roff') to typeset the printed version.
GDB includes an already formatted copy of the on-line Info version of
this manual in the `gdb' subdirectory. The main Info file is
`gdb-VERSION-NUMBER/gdb/gdb.info', and it refers to subordinate files
matching `gdb.info*' in the same directory. If necessary, you can
print out these files, or read them with any editor; but they are
easier to read using the `info' subsystem in GNU Emacs or the
standalone `info' program, available as part of the GNU Texinfo
distribution.
If you want to format these Info files yourself, you need one of the
Info formatting programs, such as `texinfo-format-buffer' or `makeinfo'.
If you have `makeinfo' installed, and are in the top level GDB
source directory (`gdb-4.11', in the case of version 4.11), you can
make the Info file by typing:
cd gdb
make gdb.info
If you want to typeset and print copies of this manual, you need TeX,
a program to print its DVI output files, and `texinfo.tex', the Texinfo
definitions file.
TeX is a typesetting program; it does not print files directly, but
produces output files called DVI files. To print a typeset document,
you need a program to print DVI files. If your system has TeX
installed, chances are it has such a program. The precise command to
use depends on your system; `lpr -d' is common; another (for PostScript
devices) is `dvips'. The DVI print command may require a file name
without any extension or a `.dvi' extension.
TeX also requires a macro definitions file called `texinfo.tex'.
This file tells TeX how to typeset a document written in Texinfo
format. On its own, TeX cannot read, much less typeset a Texinfo file.
`texinfo.tex' is distributed with GDB and is located in the
`gdb-VERSION-NUMBER/texinfo' directory.
If you have TeX and a DVI printer program installed, you can typeset
and print this manual. First switch to the the `gdb' subdirectory of
the main source directory (for example, to `gdb-4.11/gdb') and then
type:
make gdb.dvi
---------- Footnotes ----------
(1) In `gdb-4.11/gdb/refcard.ps' of the version 4.11 release.

File: gdb.info, Node: Installing GDB, Next: Index, Prev: Formatting Documentation, Up: Top
Installing GDB
**************
GDB comes with a `configure' script that automates the process of
preparing GDB for installation; you can then use `make' to build the
`gdb' program.
The GDB distribution includes all the source code you need for GDB in
a single directory, whose name is usually composed by appending the
version number to `gdb'.
For example, the GDB version 4.11 distribution is in the `gdb-4.11'
directory. That directory contains:
`gdb-4.11/configure (and supporting files)'
script for configuring GDB and all its supporting libraries.
`gdb-4.11/gdb'
the source specific to GDB itself
`gdb-4.11/bfd'
source for the Binary File Descriptor library
`gdb-4.11/include'
GNU include files
`gdb-4.11/libiberty'
source for the `-liberty' free software library
`gdb-4.11/opcodes'
source for the library of opcode tables and disassemblers
`gdb-4.11/readline'
source for the GNU command-line interface
`gdb-4.11/glob'
source for the GNU filename pattern-matching subroutine
`gdb-4.11/mmalloc'
source for the GNU memory-mapped malloc package
The simplest way to configure and build GDB is to run `configure'
from the `gdb-VERSION-NUMBER' source directory, which in this example
is the `gdb-4.11' directory.
First switch to the `gdb-VERSION-NUMBER' source directory if you are
not already in it; then run `configure'. Pass the identifier for the
platform on which GDB will run as an argument.
For example:
cd gdb-4.11
./configure HOST
make
where HOST is an identifier such as `sun4' or `decstation', that
identifies the platform where GDB will run. (You can often leave off
HOST; `configure' tries to guess the correct value by examining your
system.)
Running `configure HOST' and then running `make' builds the `bfd',
`readline', `mmalloc', and `libiberty' libraries, then `gdb' itself.
The configured source files, and the binaries, are left in the
corresponding source directories.
`configure' is a Bourne-shell (`/bin/sh') script; if your system
does not recognize this automatically when you run a different shell,
you may need to run `sh' on it explicitly:
sh configure HOST
If you run `configure' from a directory that contains source
directories for multiple libraries or programs, such as the `gdb-4.11'
source directory for version 4.11, `configure' creates configuration
files for every directory level underneath (unless you tell it not to,
with the `--norecursion' option).
You can run the `configure' script from any of the subordinate
directories in the GDB distribution if you only want to configure that
subdirectory, but be sure to specify a path to it.
For example, with version 4.11, type the following to configure only
the `bfd' subdirectory:
cd gdb-4.11/bfd
../configure HOST
You can install `gdb' anywhere; it has no hardwired paths. However,
you should make sure that the shell on your path (named by the `SHELL'
environment variable) is publicly readable. Remember that GDB uses the
shell to start your program--some systems refuse to let GDB debug child
processes whose programs are not readable.
* Menu:
* Separate Objdir:: Compiling GDB in another directory
* Config Names:: Specifying names for hosts and targets
* configure Options:: Summary of options for configure

File: gdb.info, Node: Separate Objdir, Next: Config Names, Up: Installing GDB
Compiling GDB in another directory
==================================
If you want to run GDB versions for several host or target machines,
you need a different `gdb' compiled for each combination of host and
target. `configure' is designed to make this easy by allowing you to
generate each configuration in a separate subdirectory, rather than in
the source directory. If your `make' program handles the `VPATH'
feature (GNU `make' does), running `make' in each of these directories
builds the `gdb' program specified there.
To build `gdb' in a separate directory, run `configure' with the
`--srcdir' option to specify where to find the source. (You also need
to specify a path to find `configure' itself from your working
directory. If the path to `configure' would be the same as the
argument to `--srcdir', you can leave out the `--srcdir' option; it
will be assumed.)
For example, with version 4.11, you can build GDB in a separate
directory for a Sun 4 like this:
cd gdb-4.11
mkdir ../gdb-sun4
cd ../gdb-sun4
../gdb-4.11/configure sun4
make
When `configure' builds a configuration using a remote source
directory, it creates a tree for the binaries with the same structure
(and using the same names) as the tree under the source directory. In
the example, you'd find the Sun 4 library `libiberty.a' in the
directory `gdb-sun4/libiberty', and GDB itself in `gdb-sun4/gdb'.
One popular reason to build several GDB configurations in separate
directories is to configure GDB for cross-compiling (where GDB runs on
one machine--the host--while debugging programs that run on another
machine--the target). You specify a cross-debugging target by giving
the `--target=TARGET' option to `configure'.
When you run `make' to build a program or library, you must run it
in a configured directory--whatever directory you were in when you
called `configure' (or one of its subdirectories).
The `Makefile' that `configure' generates in each source directory
also runs recursively. If you type `make' in a source directory such
as `gdb-4.11' (or in a separate configured directory configured with
`--srcdir=PATH/gdb-4.11'), you will build all the required libraries,
and then build GDB.
When you have multiple hosts or targets configured in separate
directories, you can run `make' on them in parallel (for example, if
they are NFS-mounted on each of the hosts); they will not interfere
with each other.

File: gdb.info, Node: Config Names, Next: configure Options, Prev: Separate Objdir, Up: Installing GDB
Specifying names for hosts and targets
======================================
The specifications used for hosts and targets in the `configure'
script are based on a three-part naming scheme, but some short
predefined aliases are also supported. The full naming scheme encodes
three pieces of information in the following pattern:
ARCHITECTURE-VENDOR-OS
For example, you can use the alias `sun4' as a HOST argument, or as
the value for TARGET in a `--target=TARGET' option. The equivalent
full name is `sparc-sun-sunos4'.
The `configure' script accompanying GDB does not provide any query
facility to list all supported host and target names or aliases.
`configure' calls the Bourne shell script `config.sub' to map
abbreviations to full names; you can read the script, if you wish, or
you can use it to test your guesses on abbreviations--for example:
% sh config.sub sun4
sparc-sun-sunos4.1.1
% sh config.sub sun3
m68k-sun-sunos4.1.1
% sh config.sub decstation
mips-dec-ultrix4.2
% sh config.sub hp300bsd
m68k-hp-bsd
% sh config.sub i386v
i386-unknown-sysv
% sh config.sub i786v
Invalid configuration `i786v': machine `i786v' not recognized
`config.sub' is also distributed in the GDB source directory
(`gdb-4.11', for version 4.11).

File: gdb.info, Node: configure Options, Prev: Config Names, Up: Installing GDB
`configure' options
===================
Here is a summary of the `configure' options and arguments that are
most often useful for building GDB. `configure' also has several other
options not listed here. *note : (configure.info)What Configure Does,
for a full explanation of `configure'.
configure [--help]
[--prefix=DIR]
[--srcdir=PATH]
[--norecursion] [--rm]
[--target=TARGET] HOST
You may introduce options with a single `-' rather than `--' if you
prefer; but you may abbreviate option names if you use `--'.
`--help'
Display a quick summary of how to invoke `configure'.
`-prefix=DIR'
Configure the source to install programs and files under directory
`DIR'.
`--srcdir=PATH'
*Warning: using this option requires GNU `make', or another `make'
that implements the `VPATH' feature.*
Use this option to make configurations in directories separate
from the GDB source directories. Among other things, you can use
this to build (or maintain) several configurations simultaneously,
in separate directories. `configure' writes configuration
specific files in the current directory, but arranges for them to
use the source in the directory PATH. `configure' will create
directories under the working directory in parallel to the source
directories below PATH.
`--norecursion'
Configure only the directory level where `configure' is executed;
do not propagate configuration to subdirectories.
`--rm'
*Remove* files otherwise built during configuration.
`--target=TARGET'
Configure GDB for cross-debugging programs running on the specified
TARGET. Without this option, GDB is configured to debug programs
that run on the same machine (HOST) as GDB itself.
There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available
targets.
`HOST ...'
Configure GDB to run on the specified HOST.
There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available
hosts.
`configure' accepts other options, for compatibility with configuring
other GNU tools recursively; but these are the only options that affect
GDB or its supporting libraries.