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author | Roland Pesch <pesch@cygnus> | 1991-05-23 00:14:26 +0000 |
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committer | Roland Pesch <pesch@cygnus> | 1991-05-23 00:14:26 +0000 |
commit | 9bcc06ef1645086025bd7a5ecbe423f7fc1d6fc8 (patch) | |
tree | e0110d4fdb8b91b4e49dbd9029e42a458ca02dfc /gdb/doc/gdb.stack-m4 | |
parent | 5ad1d8304204d3e81726319bf7262e571156f9da (diff) | |
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diff --git a/gdb/doc/gdb.stack-m4 b/gdb/doc/gdb.stack-m4 new file mode 100755 index 0000000..fa88c9e --- /dev/null +++ b/gdb/doc/gdb.stack-m4 @@ -0,0 +1,279 @@ +_dnl__ -*- Texinfo -*- +_dnl__ Copyright (c) 1988 1989 1990 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc. +_dnl__ This file is part of the source for the GDB manual. +_dnl__ $Id$ +@node Stack, Source, Stopping, Top +@chapter Examining the Stack + +When your program has stopped, the first thing you need to know is where it +stopped and how it got there. + +@cindex call stack +Each time your program performs a function call, the information about +where in the program the call was made from is saved in a block of data +called a @dfn{stack frame}. The frame also contains the arguments of the +call and the local variables of the function that was called. All the +stack frames are allocated in a region of memory called the @dfn{call +stack}. + +When your program stops, the _GDBN__ commands for examining the stack allow you +to see all of this information. + +@cindex selected frame +One of the stack frames is @dfn{selected} by _GDBN__ and many _GDBN__ commands +refer implicitly to the selected frame. In particular, whenever you ask +_GDBN__ for the value of a variable in the program, the value is found in the +selected frame. There are special _GDBN__ commands to select whichever frame +you are interested in. + +When the program stops, _GDBN__ automatically selects the currently executing +frame and describes it briefly as the @code{frame} command does +(@pxref{Frame Info, Info}). + +@menu +* Frames:: Stack Frames +* Backtrace:: Backtraces +* Selection:: Selecting a Frame +* Frame Info:: Information on a Frame +@end menu + +@node Frames, Backtrace, Stack, Stack +@section Stack Frames + +@cindex frame +@cindex stack frame +The call stack is divided up into contiguous pieces called @dfn{stack +frames}, or @dfn{frames} for short; each frame is the data associated +with one call to one function. The frame contains the arguments given +to the function, the function's local variables, and the address at +which the function is executing. + +@cindex initial frame +@cindex outermost frame +@cindex innermost frame +When your program is started, the stack has only one frame, that of the +function @code{main}. This is called the @dfn{initial} frame or the +@dfn{outermost} frame. Each time a function is called, a new frame is +made. Each time a function returns, the frame for that function invocation +is eliminated. If a function is recursive, there can be many frames for +the same function. The frame for the function in which execution is +actually occurring is called the @dfn{innermost} frame. This is the most +recently created of all the stack frames that still exist. + +@cindex frame pointer +Inside your program, stack frames are identified by their addresses. A +stack frame consists of many bytes, each of which has its own address; each +kind of computer has a convention for choosing one of those bytes whose +address serves as the address of the frame. Usually this address is kept +in a register called the @dfn{frame pointer register} while execution is +going on in that frame. + +@cindex frame number +_GDBN__ assigns numbers to all existing stack frames, starting with +zero for the innermost frame, one for the frame that called it, +and so on upward. These numbers do not really exist in your program; +they are assigned by _GDBN__ to give you a way of designating stack +frames in _GDBN__ commands. + +@cindex frameless execution +Some compilers allow functions to be compiled so that they operate +without stack frames. (For example, the @code{_GCC__} option +@samp{-fomit-frame-pointer} will generate functions without a frame.) +This is occasionally done with heavily used library functions to save +the frame setup time. _GDBN__ has limited facilities for dealing with +these function invocations. If the innermost function invocation has no +stack frame, _GDBN__ will nevertheless regard it as though it had a +separate frame, which is numbered zero as usual, allowing correct +tracing of the function call chain. However, _GDBN__ has no provision +for frameless functions elsewhere in the stack. + +@node Backtrace, Selection, Frames, Stack +@section Backtraces + +A backtrace is a summary of how the program got where it is. It shows one +line per frame, for many frames, starting with the currently executing +frame (frame zero), followed by its caller (frame one), and on up the +stack. + +@table @code +@item backtrace +@itemx bt +@kindex backtrace +@kindex bt +Print a backtrace of the entire stack: one line per frame for all +frames in the stack. + +You can stop the backtrace at any time by typing the system interrupt +character, normally @kbd{Control-C}. + +@item backtrace @var{n} +@itemx bt @var{n} +Similar, but print only the innermost @var{n} frames. + +@item backtrace -@var{n} +@itemx bt -@var{n} +Similar, but print only the outermost @var{n} frames. +@end table + +@kindex where +@kindex info stack +@kindex info s +The names @code{where} and @code{info stack} (abbreviated @code{info s}) +are additional aliases for @code{backtrace}. + +Each line in the backtrace shows the frame number and the function name. +The program counter value is also shown---unless you use @code{set +print address off}. The backtrace also shows the source file name and +line number, as well as the arguments to the function. The program +counter value is omitted if it is at the beginning of the code for that +line number. + +Here is an example of a backtrace. It was made with the command +@samp{bt 3}, so it shows the innermost three frames. + +@smallexample +@group +#0 m4_traceon (obs=0x24eb0, argc=1, argv=0x2b8c8) at builtin.c:993 +#1 0x6e38 in expand_macro (sym=0x2b600) at macro.c:242 +#2 0x6840 in expand_token (obs=0x0, t=177664, td=0xf7fffb08) + at macro.c:71 +(More stack frames follow...) +@end group +@end smallexample + +@noindent +The display for frame zero doesn't begin with a program counter +value, indicating that the program has stopped at the beginning of the +code for line @code{993} of @code{builtin.c}. + +@node Selection, Frame Info, Backtrace, Stack +@section Selecting a Frame + +Most commands for examining the stack and other data in the 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. + +@table @code +@item frame @var{n} +@itemx f @var{n} +@kindex frame +@kindex f +Select frame number @var{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 @code{main}'s +frame. + +@item frame @var{addr} +@itemx f @var{addr} +Select the frame at address @var{addr}. This is useful mainly if the +chaining of stack frames has been damaged by a bug, making it +impossible for _GDBN__ to assign numbers properly to all frames. In +addition, this can be useful when the program has multiple stacks and +switches between them. + +_if_(_SPARC__) +On the SPARC architecture, @code{frame} needs two addresses to +select an arbitrary frame: a frame pointer and a stack pointer. +@c note to future updaters: this is conditioned on a flag +@c FRAME_SPECIFICATION_DYADIC in the tm-*.h files, currently only used +@c by SPARC, hence the specific attribution. Generalize or list all +@c possibilities if more supported machines start doing this. +_fi_(_SPARC__) + +@item up @var{n} +@kindex up +Move @var{n} frames up the stack. For positive numbers @var{n}, this +advances toward the outermost frame, to higher frame numbers, to frames +that have existed longer. @var{n} defaults to one. + +@item down @var{n} +@kindex down +@kindex do +Move @var{n} frames down the stack. For positive numbers @var{n}, this +advances toward the innermost frame, to lower frame numbers, to frames +that were created more recently. @var{n} defaults to one. You may +abbreviate @code{down} as @code{do}. +@end table + +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: + +@smallexample +(_GDBP__) up +#1 0x22f0 in main (argc=1, argv=0xf7fffbf4, env=0xf7fffbfc) at env.c:10 +10 read_input_file (argv[i]); +@end smallexample + +After such a printout, the @code{list} command with no arguments will print +ten lines centered on the point of execution in the frame. @xref{List}. + +@table @code +@item up-silently @var{n} +@itemx down-silently @var{n} +@kindex down-silently +@kindex up-silently +These two commands are variants of @code{up} and @code{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 _GDBN__ command scripts, where the output might be unnecessary and +distracting. + +@end table + +@node Frame Info, , Selection, Stack +@section Information About a Frame + +There are several other commands to print information about the selected +stack frame. + +@table @code +@item frame +@itemx 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 @code{f}. With an +argument, this command is used to select a stack frame (@pxref{Selection}). + +@item info frame +@kindex info frame +@itemx info f +@kindex 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 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. + +@item info frame @var{addr} +@itemx info f @var{addr} +Print a verbose description of the frame at address @var{addr}, +without selecting that frame. The selected frame remains unchanged by +this command. + +@item info args +@kindex info args +Print the arguments of the selected frame, each on a separate line. + +@item info locals +@kindex info locals +Print the local variables of the selected frame, each on a separate +line. These are all variables declared static or automatic within all +program blocks that execution in this frame is currently inside of. + +@item info catch +@kindex info catch +@cindex catch exceptions +@cindex exception handlers +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 @code{up}, +@code{down}, or @code{frame} commands); then type @code{info catch}. +@xref{Exception Handling}. +@end table |