GDB update bounty?

Yet another bounty thread...

I understand that the OS4 port of GDB is somewhat out of date, and also somewhat buggy. What are the complaints about the current version, and what needs done to bring it up to snuff with the rest of the world?

@billt

For me current version of GDB, just freeze all the OS just after some steps. I.e. you load binary into it, do "disas", step, step , maybe one breakpoint, and then - freeze.

@kas1e

Whats gdb?

@Antique

The public one, from latest SDK. Or you ask what is GDB itself ? (debugger+tracer, etc. Very common in unix world for debugging, finding the bugs, disassembling (making assembler outputs) and jump deep into details). That is one of important programms which we "Almost have" on os4, and which will help a lot many programmers to develop their apps (can't say for everyone, but i am personally will be in interest to have normal version of it on os4).

@billt

Personally, I'd love to see some graphical front end to it. I believe there's something called DDD? Anybody have any idea whether it could be ported, or something similar written?

Yes, I know, I'm probably just spoiled

Best regards,

Niels

@nbache

a GUI would surely be good to have. Would DDD be a reasonable inclusion in a GDB bounty, or would it make more sense to have a followup bounty for the GUI?

@all

Hum, I really really would like to see a tool like muforce/muguardianangel on AOS4.1.

Mainly because grim reaper not open his window often on AOS4.1 (even verry rarely) and just the pointer freeze that mean nothing to send to the programmers for debugging/improving his program...

@Mrodfr

In such eventuality you can try to see if C:DumpDebugBuffer might give some information. The problem when the system freeze is that it's generally due to a problem related to Reaction (a fault in the program not necessarily in Reaction) and as such any other GUI operations are frozen hence GrimReaper can't popup its window (nor MuGardianAngel or MuForce would, and BTW many functions from those software are builtin AOS4.1...).

@abalaban

hum, this file (C:DumpDebugBuffer ) exist after an AOS4.1 program freeze ???? Surely a readable file....

never know this fact untill now. Hope have enough informations inside and allways created (each freeze).

will see if I have this kind of files on my SAM after the job

BTW, some additionnal tools for AOS4.1 in case of crash is surely interesting for developpers.... this is why this kind of bounty interest me..

@billt

What exactly does GDB do. Is there any documentation for it anywhere?

I have seen mention of it but so far do not know if it would be worth updating or not.

@BillE

GDB do many-many thinks. Tons of docs about GDB are avail in the net (just in google: gdb documentation). There is one of them. And there is wikipedia description. To easy understand - GDB is the best and widely usable debugger in unix world (so, it's mainly for programmers/coders/hackers/etc).

We already have port of it on OS4, and, it can starts, it can load the ELF files, and process some disassembly outputs, works a bit, but, have many bugs, which cause frezes of OS, hatls, gurus and reboots. And the main goal of topicstart, make a bounty for "normal port" of GDB, which will works fine, will up2date, and we all will enjoy by it usage.

That must be done by Hyperion of course (if they use it, and have it in SDK), but by some reassons is not, and version which we have from they buggy like hell.

@Mrodfr

See your SYS:Documentation drawer for instruction how to use this program.

@Mrodfr
DumpDebugBuffer are very usable utility when you have freeze of os. You just reboot, run that tool, and can see what and why cause the problems and that crash (i.e. it "save" GR output for you).

@abalaban

this drawer is simply a mass of different kind of files with no logical orders and a lots of informations packed together. Verry hard to drink IMHO....

@abalaban


Where is it then ?

I even tried using the FIND application looking in Sys: for "gdb" and nothing comes up within the sys:documentation folder.

@all

Already got a front end for gdb ;)

From my experience the main issue with gdb is the same as any AmigaOS debugger in that they will place breakpoints in shared code, which can lead to a hang.

You have to be really careful when placing breakpoints or stepping through code. Do not step into system areas and do not place breakpoints in code run under other processes especially input device.

Yes gdb is bloated, arcane and not Amiga OS specific but it does work.

@BillE

GDB is in the SDK, it's a develeoper tool and has no use for users, so is not in the normal distribution.

To use it you need compile your code with -g options ot -gstabs for larger executables.

Any developer updating it would have to have avery good knoweldge of OS4 at the kernal level I would suspect,

@BillE

I was speaking about DumpDebugBuffer not GDB.
GDB's documentation is located in SDK:Documentation/Debugger/gdb.pdf

@abalaban

And DumpDebugBuffer's is in the Documentation/kernel directory.

BTW, Mrodfr, it's a command, not a text file. It produces text as output.

Best regards,

Niels

@billt

Quote:
I'm not sure. Glancing at some web pages describing DDD, it looks quite comprehensible, and it is (as usual) built using a GUI tool from the *N*X world (Tk, I think it was), so maybe a direct port is a big job. Maybe it would be wiser to suggest drawing inspiration from it for a simpler native frontend.

For me personally, I just want something which will let me see the source code in a "navigatable" way like in an editor (i.e. not line-oriented), set breakpoints and watches using the mouse, inspect variable contents by clicking and/or hovering over names in the code, and single-step, step into, trace out, run to breakpoint etc. by button clicks and/or shortcut keys (make that *and*, actually; it's useful to be able to single-step by keypress sometimes, and mouse click other times).

I suddenly remember using a fairly primitive debugger which nevertheless did all of this (AFAIR) on AIX about 10 years ago; it was called XDB, I believe.

Today I mainly use Toad for Oracle (for PL/SQL developing and debugging) and Visual Studio (for C# .NET), both good examples of the kind of user interface I find productive.

Best regards,

Niels