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186 lines
7.0 KiB
186 lines
7.0 KiB
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
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<html>
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<head>
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<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
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<meta name="Author" content="Johannes Sixt">
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<title>KDbg - User's Manual</title>
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</head>
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<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
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<h1>
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KDbg - User's Manual</h1>
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<h2>
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Contents</h2>
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<ul>
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<li>
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<a href="#Introduction">Introduction</a></li>
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<li>
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<a href="#UsingKDbg">Using KDbg</a></li>
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<li>
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<a href="#InfoWindows">KDbg's information windows</a></li>
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<li>
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<a href="#Tips">Tips and such</a></li>
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<li>
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Advanced topic: <a href="types.html">Type tables</a></li>
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<li>
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<a href="invocation.html">How to invoke KDbg from the command line</a></li>
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<li>
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<a href="#Author">Author</a></li>
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</ul>
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<hr>
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<h2>
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<a name="Introduction"></a>Introduction</h2>
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<p>KDbg is a front-end for <tt>gdb</tt>, the GNU debugger.</p>
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<p>This means that KDbg itself is not the debugger. Rather, it communicates
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with <tt>gdb</tt>, a command line debugger, by sending commands to it and
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receiving the output, such as variable values. The menu commands and mouse
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clicks are translated into <tt>gdb</tt> commands, and the output of <tt>gdb</tt>
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is translated into (more or less) visible information, such as structured
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variable contents.</p>
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<p>The upshot of all this is that KDbg completely relies on the capabilities
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of the underlying command line debugger, <tt>gdb</tt>. KDbg can do no more
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than <tt>gdb</tt> can. For example, if you have a <tt>gdb</tt> that does
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not supports debugging of threaded programs, KDbg cannot, either (even
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though it offers a threads window).</p>
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<h2>
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<a name="UsingKDbg"></a>Using KDbg</h2>
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<p>Before you start using KDbg, you may want to review the options in the
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<a href="globaloptions.html">Global Options</a> dialog that you invoke
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with <i>Settings|Global Options</i>.</p>
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<h4>
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Specifying a debugging target</h4>
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<p>To debug a program, choose <i>File|Executable</i> from the menu. If you
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have debugged the program earlier, you can choose it from <i>File|Recent
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Executables</i>. The program is loaded.</p>
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<p>If you want to debug a core dump, you must first load the executable
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that produced the core dump, then choose
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<i>File|Core Dump</i> from the
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menu. Now KDbg goes to the point in the program that caused the core dump.</p>
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<p>You can now set breakpoints, using the <i>Breakpoint</i> menu, the right
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mouse button menu, or the <a href="breakptlist.html">breakpoint window</a>.</p>
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<p>You can also choose program specific settings that apply only to the
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currently loaded executable using <i>Settings|This Program</i>, in the
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<a href="pgmsettings.html">Program Settings</a> dialog.</p>
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<p>Furthermore, it is possible to <a href="xslt.html">debug XSLT scripts</a>.</p>
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<h4>
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Running the program</h4>
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<p>Now run the program by selecting <i>Execution|Run</i>. The program now
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executes as usual until it either exits, hits a breakpoint or watchpoint,
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or receives a signal.</p>
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<p>You can run the program with arguments, set a working directory, or
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set environment variables. To do this, choose <i>Execution|Arguments</i>
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and specify your options in the <a href="argspwdenv.html">Program Arguments</a>
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dialog (before you start the program).</p>
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<p>You can also attach to a program that is currently running. To do this,
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first load the executable file like above. Then choose <i>Execution|Attach</i>.
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From the list processes specify the one you want to attach to
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and click <i>OK</i>. The running program is
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halted (not terminated), and the current point of execution is displayed
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in the source window.</p>
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<p><font size="-1">On some systems the list of processes may not be available.
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In this case a simple edit box is available where the process number can be
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specified.</font></p>
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<h4>
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The program stopped - now what?</h4>
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<p>When the program stops at a breakpoint, watchpoint, or due to a signal,
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the <a href="sourcecode.html">source code window</a> displays the line
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where the program stopped. It is very common that the program stops due
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to a signal (usually a <tt>SIGSEGV</tt>, segmentation violation) in a function
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that is not part of the program, that you have written. In this case you
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investigate the <a href="stack.html">stack window</a> and look for a function
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that you have written (start at the top of the list) and click on it. This
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will bring you to a location that you can start your search for the real
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bug.</p>
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<p>In the menu <i>Execution</i> you find the commands that you need to
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run
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the program, step through code, and to interrupt the program (<i>Break</i>)
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while it is running. The important commands (<i>Run</i> and all kinds of
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<i>Step</i>) are bound to function keys. For efficient debugging it is
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strongly recommend that you get used to using them. You can use
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<i>Settings|Configure Shortcuts</i> if you want to bind the functions
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to different keys.</p>
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<p>In the menu <i>Breakpoint</i> you find commands to set, clear, disable,
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and enable permanent and temporary breakpoints. You can display a list
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of breakpoints in the <a href="breakptlist.html">breakpoints window</a>.
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You can also set a breakpoint by clicking at the left end of the source
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line (using the left mouse button), and you can enable and disable a breakpoint
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by clicking it using the middle mouse button.</p>
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<p>The animation in the toolbar indicates whether the program
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is running. It stops when the program stopped in a breakpoint or for
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some other reason or when the program exited. This animated button is a shortcut
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for <i>Execution|Break</i>.</p>
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<h2>
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<a name="InfoWindows"></a>KDbg's information windows</h2>
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<p>KDbg displays information and accepts commands in number of different windows.
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In the menu <i>View</i> you find commands to show and hide these windows.
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They are docking windows, which means that you can drag them around and
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arrange them in any manner you like.</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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<a href="sourcecode.html">The source code window</a></li>
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<li>
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<a href="localvars.html">The local variables window</a></li>
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<li>
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<a href="stack.html">The stack window</a></li>
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<li>
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<a href="watches.html">The watched expressions window</a></li>
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<li>
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<a href="breakptlist.html">The breakpoint list</a></li>
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<li>
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<a href="pgmoutput.html">The output window</a></li>
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<li>
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<a href="registers.html">The register dump window</a></li>
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<li>
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<a href="memory.html">The memory dump window</a></li>
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<li>
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<a href="threads.html">The threads window</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h2>
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<a name="Tips"></a>Tips and such</h2>
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<p>The following topics give some useful hints on using KDbg.</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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<a href="tips.html">Tips and Tricks</a></li>
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<li>
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<a href="howdoi.html">How do I...?</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h2>
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<a name="Author"></a>Author</h2>
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<p>KDbg is written by <a href="mailto:j6t@kdbg.org">Johannes Sixt</a>
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with contributions from these people (in no particular order):</p>
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<ul>
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<li>Keith Isdale</li>
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<li>Ben Burton</li>
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<li>Daniel Thor Kristjansson</li>
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<li>Matthew Allen</li>
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<li>Ron Lerech</li>
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<li>Neil Butterworth</li>
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<li>Thomas Sparr</li>
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<li>Max Judin</li>
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<li>Johnny Chan</li>
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<li>Ilmar S. Habibulin</li>
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</ul>
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<p>KDbg homepage is at <a href="http://www.kdbg.org/">http://www.kdbg.org/</a>.</p>
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</body>
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</html>
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