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freebsd-dev/gnu/usr.bin/gdb/doc/gdb.info-3
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: Selection, Next: Frame Info, Prev: Backtrace, Up: Stack
Selecting a frame
=================
Most commands for examining the stack and other data in your program
work on whichever stack frame is selected at the moment. Here are the
commands for selecting a stack frame; all of them finish by printing a
brief description of the stack frame just selected.
`frame N'
`f N'
Select frame number N. Recall that frame zero is the innermost
(currently executing) frame, frame one is the frame that called the
innermost one, and so on. The highest-numbered frame is the one
for `main'.
`frame ADDR'
`f ADDR'
Select the frame at address ADDR. This is useful mainly if the
chaining of stack frames has been damaged by a bug, making it
impossible for GDB to assign numbers properly to all frames. In
addition, this can be useful when your program has multiple stacks
and switches between them.
On the SPARC architecture, `frame' needs two addresses to select
an arbitrary frame: a frame pointer and a stack pointer.
`up N'
Move N frames up the stack. For positive numbers N, this advances
toward the outermost frame, to higher frame numbers, to frames
that have existed longer. N defaults to one.
`down N'
Move N frames down the stack. For positive numbers N, this
advances toward the innermost frame, to lower frame numbers, to
frames that were created more recently. N defaults to one. You
may abbreviate `down' as `do'.
All of these commands end by printing two lines of output describing
the frame. The first line shows the frame number, the function name,
the arguments, and the source file and line number of execution in that
frame. The second line shows the text of that source line.
For example:
(gdb) up
#1 0x22f0 in main (argc=1, argv=0xf7fffbf4, env=0xf7fffbfc)
at env.c:10
10 read_input_file (argv[i]);
After such a printout, the `list' command with no arguments will
print ten lines centered on the point of execution in the frame. *Note
Printing source lines: List.
`up-silently N'
`down-silently N'
These two commands are variants of `up' and `down', respectively;
they differ in that they do their work silently, without causing
display of the new frame. They are intended primarily for use in
GDB command scripts, where the output might be unnecessary and
distracting.

File: gdb.info, Node: Frame Info, Next: MIPS Stack, Prev: Selection, Up: Stack
Information about a frame
=========================
There are several other commands to print information about the
selected stack frame.
`frame'
`f'
When used without any argument, this command does not change which
frame is selected, but prints a brief description of the currently
selected stack frame. It can be abbreviated `f'. With an
argument, this command is used to select a stack frame. *Note
Selecting a frame: Selection.
`info frame'
`info f'
This command prints a verbose description of the selected stack
frame, including the address of the frame, the addresses of the
next frame down (called by this frame) and the next frame up
(caller of this frame), the language that the source code
corresponding to this frame was written in, the address of the
frame's arguments, the program counter saved in it (the address of
execution in the caller frame), and which registers were saved in
the frame. The verbose description is useful when something has
gone wrong that has made the stack format fail to fit the usual
conventions.
`info frame ADDR'
`info f ADDR'
Print a verbose description of the frame at address ADDR, without
selecting that frame. The selected frame remains unchanged by
this command.
`info args'
Print the arguments of the selected frame, each on a separate line.
`info locals'
Print the local variables of the selected frame, each on a separate
line. These are all variables (declared either static or
automatic) accessible at the point of execution of the selected
frame.
`info catch'
Print a list of all the exception handlers that are active in the
current stack frame at the current point of execution. To see
other exception handlers, visit the associated frame (using the
`up', `down', or `frame' commands); then type `info catch'. *Note
Breakpoints and exceptions: Exception Handling.

File: gdb.info, Node: MIPS Stack, Prev: Frame Info, Up: Stack
MIPS machines and the function stack
====================================
MIPS based computers use an unusual stack frame, which sometimes
requires GDB to search backward in the object code to find the
beginning of a function.
To improve response time (especially for embedded applications, where
GDB may be restricted to a slow serial line for this search) you may
want to limit the size of this search, using one of these commands:
`set heuristic-fence-post LIMIT'
Restrict GDBN to examining at most LIMIT bytes in its search for
the beginning of a function. A value of `0' (the default) means
there is no limit.
`show heuristic-fence-post'
Display the current limit.
These commands are available *only* when GDB is configured for
debugging programs on MIPS processors.

File: gdb.info, Node: Source, Next: Data, Prev: Stack, Up: Top
Examining Source Files
**********************
GDB can print parts of your program's source, since the debugging
information recorded in the program tells GDB what source files were
used to build it. When your program stops, GDB spontaneously prints
the line where it stopped. Likewise, when you select a stack frame
(*note Selecting a frame: Selection.), GDB prints the line where
execution in that frame has stopped. You can print other portions of
source files by explicit command.
If you use GDB through its GNU Emacs interface, you may prefer to use
Emacs facilities to view source; *note Using GDB under GNU Emacs:
Emacs..
* Menu:
* List:: Printing source lines
* Search:: Searching source files
* Source Path:: Specifying source directories
* Machine Code:: Source and machine code

File: gdb.info, Node: List, Next: Search, Up: Source
Printing source lines
=====================
To print lines from a source file, use the `list' command
(abbreviated `l'). There are several ways to specify what part of the
file you want to print.
Here are the forms of the `list' command most commonly used:
`list LINENUM'
Print lines centered around line number LINENUM in the current
source file.
`list FUNCTION'
Print lines centered around the beginning of function FUNCTION.
`list'
Print more lines. If the last lines printed were printed with a
`list' command, this prints lines following the last lines
printed; however, if the last line printed was a solitary line
printed as part of displaying a stack frame (*note Examining the
Stack: Stack.), this prints lines centered around that line.
`list -'
Print lines just before the lines last printed.
By default, GDB prints ten source lines with any of these forms of
the `list' command. You can change this using `set listsize':
`set listsize COUNT'
Make the `list' command display COUNT source lines (unless the
`list' argument explicitly specifies some other number).
`show listsize'
Display the number of lines that `list' will currently display by
default.
Repeating a `list' command with RET discards the argument, so it is
equivalent to typing just `list'. This is more useful than listing the
same lines again. An exception is made for an argument of `-'; that
argument is preserved in repetition so that each repetition moves up in
the source file.
In general, the `list' command expects you to supply zero, one or two
"linespecs". Linespecs specify source lines; there are several ways of
writing them but the effect is always to specify some source line.
Here is a complete description of the possible arguments for `list':
`list LINESPEC'
Print lines centered around the line specified by LINESPEC.
`list FIRST,LAST'
Print lines from FIRST to LAST. Both arguments are linespecs.
`list ,LAST'
Print lines ending with LAST.
`list FIRST,'
Print lines starting with FIRST.
`list +'
Print lines just after the lines last printed.
`list -'
Print lines just before the lines last printed.
`list'
As described in the preceding table.
Here are the ways of specifying a single source line--all the kinds
of linespec.
`NUMBER'
Specifies line NUMBER of the current source file. When a `list'
command has two linespecs, this refers to the same source file as
the first linespec.
`+OFFSET'
Specifies the line OFFSET lines after the last line printed. When
used as the second linespec in a `list' command that has two, this
specifies the line OFFSET lines down from the first linespec.
`-OFFSET'
Specifies the line OFFSET lines before the last line printed.
`FILENAME:NUMBER'
Specifies line NUMBER in the source file FILENAME.
`FUNCTION'
Specifies the line of the open-brace that begins the body of the
function FUNCTION.
`FILENAME:FUNCTION'
Specifies the line of the open-brace that begins the body of the
function FUNCTION in the file FILENAME. You only need the file
name with a function name to avoid ambiguity when there are
identically named functions in different source files.
`*ADDRESS'
Specifies the line containing the program address ADDRESS.
ADDRESS may be any expression.

File: gdb.info, Node: Search, Next: Source Path, Prev: List, Up: Source
Searching source files
======================
There are two commands for searching through the current source file
for a regular expression.
`forward-search REGEXP'
`search REGEXP'
The command `forward-search REGEXP' checks each line, starting
with the one following the last line listed, for a match for
REGEXP. It lists the line that is found. You can use synonym
`search REGEXP' or abbreviate the command name as `fo'.
`reverse-search REGEXP'
The command `reverse-search REGEXP' checks each line, starting
with the one before the last line listed and going backward, for a
match for REGEXP. It lists the line that is found. You can
abbreviate this command as `rev'.

File: gdb.info, Node: Source Path, Next: Machine Code, Prev: Search, Up: Source
Specifying source directories
=============================
Executable programs sometimes do not record the directories of the
source files from which they were compiled, just the names. Even when
they do, the directories could be moved between the compilation and
your debugging session. GDB has a list of directories to search for
source files; this is called the "source path". Each time GDB wants a
source file, it tries all the directories in the list, in the order
they are present in the list, until it finds a file with the desired
name. Note that the executable search path is *not* used for this
purpose. Neither is the current working directory, unless it happens
to be in the source path.
If GDB cannot find a source file in the source path, and the object
program records a directory, GDB tries that directory too. If the
source path is empty, and there is no record of the compilation
directory, GDB will, as a last resort, look in the current directory.
Whenever you reset or rearrange the source path, GDB will clear out
any information it has cached about where source files are found, where
each line is in the file, etc.
When you start GDB, its source path is empty. To add other
directories, use the `directory' command.
`directory DIRNAME ...'
Add directory DIRNAME to the front of the source path. Several
directory names may be given to this command, separated by `:' or
whitespace. You may specify a directory that is already in the
source path; this moves it forward, so it will be searched sooner.
You can use the string `$cdir' to refer to the compilation
directory (if one is recorded), and `$cwd' to refer to the current
working directory. `$cwd' is not the same as `.'--the former
tracks the current working directory as it changes during your GDB
session, while the latter is immediately expanded to the current
directory at the time you add an entry to the source path.
`directory'
Reset the source path to empty again. This requires confirmation.
`show directories'
Print the source path: show which directories it contains.
If your source path is cluttered with directories that are no longer
of interest, GDB may sometimes cause confusion by finding the wrong
versions of source. You can correct the situation as follows:
1. Use `directory' with no argument to reset the source path to empty.
2. Use `directory' with suitable arguments to reinstall the
directories you want in the source path. You can add all the
directories in one command.

File: gdb.info, Node: Machine Code, Prev: Source Path, Up: Source
Source and machine code
=======================
You can use the command `info line' to map source lines to program
addresses (and vice versa), and the command `disassemble' to display a
range of addresses as machine instructions.
`info line LINESPEC'
Print the starting and ending addresses of the compiled code for
source line LINESPEC. You can specify source lines in any of the
ways understood by the `list' command (*note Printing source
lines: List.).
For example, we can use `info line' to discover the location of the
object code for the first line of function `m4_changequote':
(gdb) info line m4_changecom
Line 895 of "builtin.c" starts at pc 0x634c and ends at 0x6350.
We can also inquire (using `*ADDR' as the form for LINESPEC) what
source line covers a particular address:
(gdb) info line *0x63ff
Line 926 of "builtin.c" starts at pc 0x63e4 and ends at 0x6404.
After `info line', the default address for the `x' command is
changed to the starting address of the line, so that `x/i' is
sufficient to begin examining the machine code (*note Examining memory:
Memory.). Also, this address is saved as the value of the convenience
variable `$_' (*note Convenience variables: Convenience Vars.).
`disassemble'
This specialized command dumps a range of memory as machine
instructions. The default memory range is the function
surrounding the program counter of the selected frame. A single
argument to this command is a program counter value; the function
surrounding this value will be dumped. Two arguments specify a
range of addresses (first inclusive, second exclusive) to dump.
We can use `disassemble' to inspect the object code range shown in
the last `info line' example (the example shows SPARC machine
instructions):
(gdb) disas 0x63e4 0x6404
Dump of assembler code from 0x63e4 to 0x6404:
0x63e4 <builtin_init+5340>: ble 0x63f8 <builtin_init+5360>
0x63e8 <builtin_init+5344>: sethi %hi(0x4c00), %o0
0x63ec <builtin_init+5348>: ld [%i1+4], %o0
0x63f0 <builtin_init+5352>: b 0x63fc <builtin_init+5364>
0x63f4 <builtin_init+5356>: ld [%o0+4], %o0
0x63f8 <builtin_init+5360>: or %o0, 0x1a4, %o0
0x63fc <builtin_init+5364>: call 0x9288 <path_search>
0x6400 <builtin_init+5368>: nop
End of assembler dump.

File: gdb.info, Node: Data, Next: Languages, Prev: Source, Up: Top
Examining Data
**************
The usual way to examine data in your program is with the `print'
command (abbreviated `p'), or its synonym `inspect'. It evaluates and
prints the value of an expression of the language your program is
written in (*note Using GDB with Different Languages: Languages.).
`print EXP'
`print /F EXP'
EXP is an expression (in the source language). By default the
value of EXP is printed in a format appropriate to its data type;
you can choose a different format by specifying `/F', where F is a
letter specifying the format; *note Output formats: Output
Formats..
`print'
`print /F'
If you omit EXP, GDB displays the last value again (from the
"value history"; *note Value history: Value History.). This
allows you to conveniently inspect the same value in an
alternative format.
A more low-level way of examining data is with the `x' command. It
examines data in memory at a specified address and prints it in a
specified format. *Note Examining memory: Memory.
If you are interested in information about types, or about how the
fields of a struct or class are declared, use the `ptype EXP' command
rather than `print'. *Note Examining the Symbol Table: Symbols.
* Menu:
* Expressions:: Expressions
* Variables:: Program variables
* Arrays:: Artificial arrays
* Output Formats:: Output formats
* Memory:: Examining memory
* Auto Display:: Automatic display
* Print Settings:: Print settings
* Value History:: Value history
* Convenience Vars:: Convenience variables
* Registers:: Registers
* Floating Point Hardware:: Floating point hardware

File: gdb.info, Node: Expressions, Next: Variables, Up: Data
Expressions
===========
`print' and many other GDB commands accept an expression and compute
its value. Any kind of constant, variable or operator defined by the
programming language you are using is valid in an expression in GDB.
This includes conditional expressions, function calls, casts and string
constants. It unfortunately does not include symbols defined by
preprocessor `#define' commands.
Because C is so widespread, most of the expressions shown in
examples in this manual are in C. *Note Using GDB with Different
Languages: Languages, for information on how to use expressions in other
languages.
In this section, we discuss operators that you can use in GDB
expressions regardless of your programming language.
Casts are supported in all languages, not just in C, because it is so
useful to cast a number into a pointer so as to examine a structure at
that address in memory.
GDB supports these operators in addition to those of programming
languages:
`@'
`@' is a binary operator for treating parts of memory as arrays.
*Note Artificial arrays: Arrays, for more information.
`::'
`::' allows you to specify a variable in terms of the file or
function where it is defined. *Note Program variables: Variables.
`{TYPE} ADDR'
Refers to an object of type TYPE stored at address ADDR in memory.
ADDR may be any expression whose value is an integer or pointer
(but parentheses are required around binary operators, just as in
a cast). This construct is allowed regardless of what kind of
data is normally supposed to reside at ADDR.

File: gdb.info, Node: Variables, Next: Arrays, Prev: Expressions, Up: Data
Program variables
=================
The most common kind of expression to use is the name of a variable
in your program.
Variables in expressions are understood in the selected stack frame
(*note Selecting a frame: Selection.); they must either be global (or
static) or be visible according to the scope rules of the programming
language from the point of execution in that frame. This means that in
the function
foo (a)
int a;
{
bar (a);
{
int b = test ();
bar (b);
}
}
you can examine and use the variable `a' whenever your program is
executing within the function `foo', but you can only use or examine
the variable `b' while your program is executing inside the block where
`b' is declared.
There is an exception: you can refer to a variable or function whose
scope is a single source file even if the current execution point is not
in this file. But it is possible to have more than one such variable or
function with the same name (in different source files). If that
happens, referring to that name has unpredictable effects. If you wish,
you can specify a static variable in a particular function or file,
using the colon-colon notation:
FILE::VARIABLE
FUNCTION::VARIABLE
Here FILE or FUNCTION is the name of the context for the static
VARIABLE. In the case of file names, you can use quotes to make sure
GDB parses the file name as a single word--for example, to print a
global value of `x' defined in `f2.c':
(gdb) p 'f2.c'::x
This use of `::' is very rarely in conflict with the very similar
use of the same notation in C++. GDB also supports use of the C++
scope resolution operator in GDB expressions.
*Warning:* Occasionally, a local variable may appear to have the
wrong value at certain points in a function--just after entry to a
new scope, and just before exit.
You may see this problem when you are stepping by machine
instructions. This is because on most machines, it takes more than one
instruction to set up a stack frame (including local variable
definitions); if you are stepping by machine instructions, variables
may appear to have the wrong values until the stack frame is completely
built. On exit, it usually also takes more than one machine
instruction to destroy a stack frame; after you begin stepping through
that group of instructions, local variable definitions may be gone.

File: gdb.info, Node: Arrays, Next: Output Formats, Prev: Variables, Up: Data
Artificial arrays
=================
It is often useful to print out several successive objects of the
same type in memory; a section of an array, or an array of dynamically
determined size for which only a pointer exists in the program.
You can do this by referring to a contiguous span of memory as an
"artificial array", using the binary operator `@'. The left operand of
`@' should be the first element of the desired array, as an individual
object. The right operand should be the desired length of the array.
The result is an array value whose elements are all of the type of the
left argument. The first element is actually the left argument; the
second element comes from bytes of memory immediately following those
that hold the first element, and so on. Here is an example. If a
program says
int *array = (int *) malloc (len * sizeof (int));
you can print the contents of `array' with
p *array@len
The left operand of `@' must reside in memory. Array values made
with `@' in this way behave just like other arrays in terms of
subscripting, and are coerced to pointers when used in expressions.
Artificial arrays most often appear in expressions via the value history
(*note Value history: Value History.), after printing one out.
Sometimes the artificial array mechanism is not quite enough; in
moderately complex data structures, the elements of interest may not
actually be adjacent--for example, if you are interested in the values
of pointers in an array. One useful work-around in this situation is
to use a convenience variable (*note Convenience variables: Convenience
Vars.) as a counter in an expression that prints the first interesting
value, and then repeat that expression via RET. For instance, suppose
you have an array `dtab' of pointers to structures, and you are
interested in the values of a field `fv' in each structure. Here is an
example of what you might type:
set $i = 0
p dtab[$i++]->fv
RET
RET
...

File: gdb.info, Node: Output Formats, Next: Memory, Prev: Arrays, Up: Data
Output formats
==============
By default, GDB prints a value according to its data type. Sometimes
this is not what you want. For example, you might want to print a
number in hex, or a pointer in decimal. Or you might want to view data
in memory at a certain address as a character string or as an
instruction. To do these things, specify an "output format" when you
print a value.
The simplest use of output formats is to say how to print a value
already computed. This is done by starting the arguments of the
`print' command with a slash and a format letter. The format letters
supported are:
`x'
Regard the bits of the value as an integer, and print the integer
in hexadecimal.
`d'
Print as integer in signed decimal.
`u'
Print as integer in unsigned decimal.
`o'
Print as integer in octal.
`t'
Print as integer in binary. The letter `t' stands for "two". (1)
`a'
Print as an address, both absolute in hex and as an offset from the
nearest preceding symbol. This format can be used to discover
where (in what function) an unknown address is located:
(gdb) p/a 0x54320
$3 = 0x54320 <_initialize_vx+396>
`c'
Regard as an integer and print it as a character constant.
`f'
Regard the bits of the value as a floating point number and print
using typical floating point syntax.
For example, to print the program counter in hex (*note
Registers::.), type
p/x $pc
Note that no space is required before the slash; this is because command
names in GDB cannot contain a slash.
To reprint the last value in the value history with a different
format, you can use the `print' command with just a format and no
expression. For example, `p/x' reprints the last value in hex.
---------- Footnotes ----------
(1) `b' cannot be used because these format letters are also used
with the `x' command, where `b' stands for "byte"; *note Examining
memory: Memory..

File: gdb.info, Node: Memory, Next: Auto Display, Prev: Output Formats, Up: Data
Examining memory
================
You can use the command `x' (for "examine") to examine memory in any
of several formats, independently of your program's data types.
`x/NFU ADDR'
`x ADDR'
`x'
Use the `x' command to examine memory.
N, F, and U are all optional parameters that specify how much memory
to display and how to format it; ADDR is an expression giving the
address where you want to start displaying memory. If you use defaults
for NFU, you need not type the slash `/'. Several commands set
convenient defaults for ADDR.
N, the repeat count
The repeat count is a decimal integer; the default is 1. It
specifies how much memory (counting by units U) to display.
F, the display format
The display format is one of the formats used by `print', or `s'
(null-terminated string) or `i' (machine instruction). The
default is `x' (hexadecimal) initially, or the format from the
last time you used either `x' or `print'.
U, the unit size
The unit size is any of
`b'
Bytes.
`h'
Halfwords (two bytes).
`w'
Words (four bytes). This is the initial default.
`g'
Giant words (eight bytes).
Each time you specify a unit size with `x', that size becomes the
default unit the next time you use `x'. (For the `s' and `i'
formats, the unit size is ignored and is normally not written.)
ADDR, starting display address
ADDR is the address where you want GDB to begin displaying memory.
The expression need not have a pointer value (though it may); it
is always interpreted as an integer address of a byte of memory.
*Note Expressions: Expressions, for more information on
expressions. The default for ADDR is usually just after the last
address examined--but several other commands also set the default
address: `info breakpoints' (to the address of the last breakpoint
listed), `info line' (to the starting address of a line), and
`print' (if you use it to display a value from memory).
For example, `x/3uh 0x54320' is a request to display three halfwords
(`h') of memory, formatted as unsigned decimal integers (`u'), starting
at address `0x54320'. `x/4xw $sp' prints the four words (`w') of
memory above the stack pointer (here, `$sp'; *note Registers::.) in
hexadecimal (`x').
Since the letters indicating unit sizes are all distinct from the
letters specifying output formats, you do not have to remember whether
unit size or format comes first; either order will work. The output
specifications `4xw' and `4wx' mean exactly the same thing. (However,
the count N must come first; `wx4' will not work.)
Even though the unit size U is ignored for the formats `s' and `i',
you might still want to use a count N; for example, `3i' specifies that
you want to see three machine instructions, including any operands.
The command `disassemble' gives an alternative way of inspecting
machine instructions; *note Source and machine code: Machine Code..
All the defaults for the arguments to `x' are designed to make it
easy to continue scanning memory with minimal specifications each time
you use `x'. For example, after you have inspected three machine
instructions with `x/3i ADDR', you can inspect the next seven with just
`x/7'. If you use RET to repeat the `x' command, the repeat count N is
used again; the other arguments default as for successive uses of `x'.
The addresses and contents printed by the `x' command are not saved
in the value history because there is often too much of them and they
would get in the way. Instead, GDB makes these values available for
subsequent use in expressions as values of the convenience variables
`$_' and `$__'. After an `x' command, the last address examined is
available for use in expressions in the convenience variable `$_'. The
contents of that address, as examined, are available in the convenience
variable `$__'.
If the `x' command has a repeat count, the address and contents saved
are from the last memory unit printed; this is not the same as the last
address printed if several units were printed on the last line of
output.

File: gdb.info, Node: Auto Display, Next: Print Settings, Prev: Memory, Up: Data
Automatic display
=================
If you find that you want to print the value of an expression
frequently (to see how it changes), you might want to add it to the
"automatic display list" so that GDB will print its value each time
your program stops. Each expression added to the list is given a
number to identify it; to remove an expression from the list, you
specify that number. The automatic display looks like this:
2: foo = 38
3: bar[5] = (struct hack *) 0x3804
This display shows item numbers, expressions and their current values.
As with displays you request manually using `x' or `print', you can
specify the output format you prefer; in fact, `display' decides
whether to use `print' or `x' depending on how elaborate your format
specification is--it uses `x' if you specify a unit size, or one of the
two formats (`i' and `s') that are only supported by `x'; otherwise it
uses `print'.
`display EXP'
Add the expression EXP to the list of expressions to display each
time your program stops. *Note Expressions: Expressions.
`display' will not repeat if you press RET again after using it.
`display/FMT EXP'
For FMT specifying only a display format and not a size or count,
add the expression EXP to the auto-display list but arrange to
display it each time in the specified format FMT. *Note Output
formats: Output Formats.
`display/FMT ADDR'
For FMT `i' or `s', or including a unit-size or a number of units,
add the expression ADDR as a memory address to be examined each
time your program stops. Examining means in effect doing `x/FMT
ADDR'. *Note Examining memory: Memory.
For example, `display/i $pc' can be helpful, to see the machine
instruction about to be executed each time execution stops (`$pc' is a
common name for the program counter; *note Registers::.).
`undisplay DNUMS...'
`delete display DNUMS...'
Remove item numbers DNUMS from the list of expressions to display.
`undisplay' will not repeat if you press RET after using it.
(Otherwise you would just get the error `No display number ...'.)
`disable display DNUMS...'
Disable the display of item numbers DNUMS. A disabled display
item is not printed automatically, but is not forgotten. It may be
enabled again later.
`enable display DNUMS...'
Enable display of item numbers DNUMS. It becomes effective once
again in auto display of its expression, until you specify
otherwise.
`display'
Display the current values of the expressions on the list, just as
is done when your program stops.
`info display'
Print the list of expressions previously set up to display
automatically, each one with its item number, but without showing
the values. This includes disabled expressions, which are marked
as such. It also includes expressions which would not be
displayed right now because they refer to automatic variables not
currently available.
If a display expression refers to local variables, then it does not
make sense outside the lexical context for which it was set up. Such an
expression is disabled when execution enters a context where one of its
variables is not defined. For example, if you give the command
`display last_char' while inside a function with an argument
`last_char', then this argument will be displayed while your program
continues to stop inside that function. When it stops elsewhere--where
there is no variable `last_char'--display is disabled. The next time
your program stops where `last_char' is meaningful, you can enable the
display expression once again.

File: gdb.info, Node: Print Settings, Next: Value History, Prev: Auto Display, Up: Data
Print settings
==============
GDB provides the following ways to control how arrays, structures,
and symbols are printed.
These settings are useful for debugging programs in any language:
`set print address'
`set print address on'
GDB will print memory addresses showing the location of stack
traces, structure values, pointer values, breakpoints, and so
forth, even when it also displays the contents of those addresses.
The default is on. For example, this is what a stack frame
display looks like, with `set print address on':
(gdb) f
#0 set_quotes (lq=0x34c78 "<<", rq=0x34c88 ">>")
at input.c:530
530 if (lquote != def_lquote)
`set print address off'
Do not print addresses when displaying their contents. For
example, this is the same stack frame displayed with `set print
address off':
(gdb) set print addr off
(gdb) f
#0 set_quotes (lq="<<", rq=">>") at input.c:530
530 if (lquote != def_lquote)
You can use `set print address off' to eliminate all machine
dependent displays from the GDB interface. For example, with
`print address off', you should get the same text for backtraces on
all machines--whether or not they involve pointer arguments.
`show print address'
Show whether or not addresses are to be printed.
When GDB prints a symbolic address, it normally prints the closest
earlier symbol plus an offset. If that symbol does not uniquely
identify the address (for example, it is a name whose scope is a single
source file), you may need to disambiguate. One way to do this is with
`info line', for example `info line *0x4537'. Alternately, you can set
GDB to print the source file and line number when it prints a symbolic
address:
`set print symbol-filename on'
Tell GDB to print the source file name and line number of a symbol
in the symbolic form of an address.
`set print symbol-filename off'
Do not print source file name and line number of a symbol. This
is the default.
`show print symbol-filename'
Show whether or not GDB will print the source file name and line
number of a symbol in the symbolic form of an address.
Also, you may wish to see the symbolic form only if the address being
printed is reasonably close to the closest earlier symbol:
`set print max-symbolic-offset MAX-OFFSET'
Tell GDB to only display the symbolic form of an address if the
offset between the closest earlier symbol and the address is less
than MAX-OFFSET. The default is 0, which means to always print the
symbolic form of an address, if any symbol precedes it.
`show print max-symbolic-offset'
Ask how large the maximum offset is that GDB will print in a
symbolic address.
`set print array'
`set print array on'
GDB will pretty-print arrays. This format is more convenient to
read, but uses more space. The default is off.
`set print array off'
Return to compressed format for arrays.
`show print array'
Show whether compressed or pretty format is selected for displaying
arrays.
`set print elements NUMBER-OF-ELEMENTS'
If GDB is printing a large array, it will stop printing after it
has printed the number of elements set by the `set print elements'
command. This limit also applies to the display of strings.
Setting the number of elements to zero means that the printing is
unlimited.
`show print elements'
Display the number of elements of a large array that GDB will print
before losing patience.
`set print pretty on'
Cause GDB to print structures in an indented format with one
member per line, like this:
$1 = {
next = 0x0,
flags = {
sweet = 1,
sour = 1
},
meat = 0x54 "Pork"
}
`set print pretty off'
Cause GDB to print structures in a compact format, like this:
$1 = {next = 0x0, flags = {sweet = 1, sour = 1}, \
meat = 0x54 "Pork"}
This is the default format.
`show print pretty'
Show which format GDB will use to print structures.
`set print sevenbit-strings on'
Print using only seven-bit characters; if this option is set, GDB
will display any eight-bit characters (in strings or character
values) using the notation `\'NNN. For example, `M-a' is
displayed as `\341'.
`set print sevenbit-strings off'
Print using either seven-bit or eight-bit characters, as required.
This is the default.
`show print sevenbit-strings'
Show whether or not GDB will print only seven-bit characters.
`set print union on'
Tell GDB to print unions which are contained in structures. This
is the default setting.
`set print union off'
Tell GDB not to print unions which are contained in structures.
`show print union'
Ask GDB whether or not it will print unions which are contained in
structures.
For example, given the declarations
typedef enum {Tree, Bug} Species;
typedef enum {Big_tree, Acorn, Seedling} Tree_forms;
typedef enum {Caterpillar, Cocoon, Butterfly}
Bug_forms;
struct thing {
Species it;
union {
Tree_forms tree;
Bug_forms bug;
} form;
};
struct thing foo = {Tree, {Acorn}};
with `set print union on' in effect `p foo' would print
$1 = {it = Tree, form = {tree = Acorn, bug = Cocoon}}
and with `set print union off' in effect it would print
$1 = {it = Tree, form = {...}}
These settings are of interest when debugging C++ programs:
`set print demangle'
`set print demangle on'
Print C++ names in their source form rather than in the encoded
("mangled") form passed to the assembler and linker for type-safe
linkage. The default is `on'.
`show print demangle'
Show whether C++ names will be printed in mangled or demangled
form.
`set print asm-demangle'
`set print asm-demangle on'
Print C++ names in their source form rather than their mangled
form, even in assembler code printouts such as instruction
disassemblies. The default is off.
`show print asm-demangle'
Show whether C++ names in assembly listings will be printed in
mangled or demangled form.
`set demangle-style STYLE'
Choose among several encoding schemes used by different compilers
to represent C++ names. The choices for STYLE are currently:
`auto'
Allow GDB to choose a decoding style by inspecting your
program.
`gnu'
Decode based on the GNU C++ compiler (`g++') encoding
algorithm.
`lucid'
Decode based on the Lucid C++ compiler (`lcc') encoding
algorithm.
`arm'
Decode using the algorithm in the `C++ Annotated Reference
Manual'. *Warning:* this setting alone is not sufficient to
allow debugging `cfront'-generated executables. GDB would
require further enhancement to permit that.
`show demangle-style'
Display the encoding style currently in use for decoding C++
symbols.
`set print object'
`set print object on'
When displaying a pointer to an object, identify the *actual*
(derived) type of the object rather than the *declared* type, using
the virtual function table.
`set print object off'
Display only the declared type of objects, without reference to the
virtual function table. This is the default setting.
`show print object'
Show whether actual, or declared, object types will be displayed.
`set print vtbl'
`set print vtbl on'
Pretty print C++ virtual function tables. The default is off.
`set print vtbl off'
Do not pretty print C++ virtual function tables.
`show print vtbl'
Show whether C++ virtual function tables are pretty printed, or
not.

File: gdb.info, Node: Value History, Next: Convenience Vars, Prev: Print Settings, Up: Data
Value history
=============
Values printed by the `print' command are saved in the GDB "value
history" so that you can refer to them in other expressions. Values are
kept until the symbol table is re-read or discarded (for example with
the `file' or `symbol-file' commands). When the symbol table changes,
the value history is discarded, since the values may contain pointers
back to the types defined in the symbol table.
The values printed are given "history numbers" by which you can
refer to them. These are successive integers starting with one.
`print' shows you the history number assigned to a value by printing
`$NUM = ' before the value; here NUM is the history number.
To refer to any previous value, use `$' followed by the value's
history number. The way `print' labels its output is designed to
remind you of this. Just `$' refers to the most recent value in the
history, and `$$' refers to the value before that. `$$N' refers to the
Nth value from the end; `$$2' is the value just prior to `$$', `$$1' is
equivalent to `$$', and `$$0' is equivalent to `$'.
For example, suppose you have just printed a pointer to a structure
and want to see the contents of the structure. It suffices to type
p *$
If you have a chain of structures where the component `next' points
to the next one, you can print the contents of the next one with this:
p *$.next
You can print successive links in the chain by repeating this
command--which you can do by just typing RET.
Note that the history records values, not expressions. If the value
of `x' is 4 and you type these commands:
print x
set x=5
then the value recorded in the value history by the `print' command
remains 4 even though the value of `x' has changed.
`show values'
Print the last ten values in the value history, with their item
numbers. This is like `p $$9' repeated ten times, except that
`show values' does not change the history.
`show values N'
Print ten history values centered on history item number N.
`show values +'
Print ten history values just after the values last printed. If
no more values are available, produces no display.
Pressing RET to repeat `show values N' has exactly the same effect
as `show values +'.

File: gdb.info, Node: Convenience Vars, Next: Registers, Prev: Value History, Up: Data
Convenience variables
=====================
GDB provides "convenience variables" that you can use within GDB to
hold on to a value and refer to it later. These variables exist
entirely within GDB; they are not part of your program, and setting a
convenience variable has no direct effect on further execution of your
program. That is why you can use them freely.
Convenience variables are prefixed with `$'. Any name preceded by
`$' can be used for a convenience variable, unless it is one of the
predefined machine-specific register names (*note Registers::.).
(Value history references, in contrast, are *numbers* preceded by `$'.
*Note Value history: Value History.)
You can save a value in a convenience variable with an assignment
expression, just as you would set a variable in your program. For
example:
set $foo = *object_ptr
would save in `$foo' the value contained in the object pointed to by
`object_ptr'.
Using a convenience variable for the first time creates it, but its
value is `void' until you assign a new value. You can alter the value
with another assignment at any time.
Convenience variables have no fixed types. You can assign a
convenience variable any type of value, including structures and
arrays, even if that variable already has a value of a different type.
The convenience variable, when used as an expression, has the type of
its current value.
`show convenience'
Print a list of convenience variables used so far, and their
values. Abbreviated `show con'.
One of the ways to use a convenience variable is as a counter to be
incremented or a pointer to be advanced. For example, to print a field
from successive elements of an array of structures:
set $i = 0
print bar[$i++]->contents
... repeat that command by typing RET.
Some convenience variables are created automatically by GDB and given
values likely to be useful.
`$_'
The variable `$_' is automatically set by the `x' command to the
last address examined (*note Examining memory: Memory.). Other
commands which provide a default address for `x' to examine also
set `$_' to that address; these commands include `info line' and
`info breakpoint'. The type of `$_' is `void *' except when set
by the `x' command, in which case it is a pointer to the type of
`$__'.
`$__'
The variable `$__' is automatically set by the `x' command to the
value found in the last address examined. Its type is chosen to
match the format in which the data was printed.
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