GDB MI : print or list code while execution - gdb

Is there a way to ask GDB interface to print or list the code currently executing.
How can I do this (list code currently executing) via GDB?

Not sure if MI has command to list source (actually I'd bet it does not). What it has is -stack-info-frame, which will return information about source file, line, etc..
Once you have that information it's just open file, read appropriate line, etc.

Related

Is it possible to register commands to a breakpoint from within an external file in GDB?

GDB allows registering a set of commands to a specific breakpoint via commands NUM syntax. I need to register the set of commands for a specific breakpoint via an external file, by using a syntax something like the following:
commands ./main.c:18
silent
print buffer[0]
cont
end
commands ./io.c:29
silent
printf "Hello world %i\n", myvar1
cont
end
The commands path/to/file:XX syntax is made up by me. Because the NUM in commands NUM syntax requires exactly the breakpoint's runtime ID number (assigned by GDB), I can not use a deterministic syntax for that purpose.
I'm currently registering breakpoints via a text file with such a content:
break ./main.c:18
break ./io.c:29
and then issuing source breakpoints.txt command inside GDB. It seems that there is no way to register commands at the same time while registering a breakpoint:
(gdb) help break
Set breakpoint at specified line or function.
break [PROBE_MODIFIER] [LOCATION] [thread THREADNUM] [if CONDITION]
PROBE_MODIFIER shall be present if the command is to be placed in a
probe point. Accepted values are -probe' (for a generic, automatically guessed probe type), -probe-stap' (for a SystemTap probe) or
`-probe-dtrace' (for a DTrace probe).
LOCATION may be a line number, function name, or "*" and an address.
If a line number is specified, break at start of code for that line.
If a function is specified, break at start of code for that function.
If an address is specified, break at that exact address.
With no LOCATION, uses current execution address of the selected
stack frame. This is useful for breaking on return to a stack frame.
THREADNUM is the number from "info threads".
CONDITION is a boolean expression.
Multiple breakpoints at one place are permitted, and useful if their
conditions are different.
Question
Is there any easy way to set some predetermined commands for a predetermined breakpoint from within a file?
If not, is there any equivalent way to pass the (gdb) info breakpoints output to a file or a program while pipe is not available in GDB (version 5.3)? Currently I'm trying a workaround by using logging feature for that purpose:
set logging file /tmp/breakpoints
set logging on
info breakpoints
set logging off
Is there any easy way to set some predetermined commands for a predetermined breakpoint from within a file?
Yes: if you use commands without NUM, the commands will apply to the last breakpoint set. So you want something like:
break main.c:18
commands
silent
print buffer[0]
cont
end

Is there a quick way to display the source code at a breakpoint in gdb?

I've set a breakpoint in gdb, and I'd like to see the exact line of source the breakpoint is on, just to confirm it's correct -- is there a quick way to do this?
The "info b" command gives me information about the breakpoints, but it doesn't display source:
(gdb) info b
Num Type Disp Enb Address What
1 breakpoint keep y 0x00000000006c3ba4 in MyClass::foo(bar*)
at /home/user1/src/MyClass.cpp:1021
I can type "list MyClass.cpp:1021" to see the lines around this breakpoint, but I'm wondering if there's a shorter way. Googling and reading the gdb manual didn't turn up anything.
I know that if I'm executing the program and have hit the breakpoint, I can just type "list", but I'm asking specifically about the case where I am not at the breakpoint (the program may not even be running).
You can use the list command to show sources. list takes a "linespec", which is gdb terminology for the kinds of arguments accepted by break. So, you can either pass it whatever argument you used to make the breakpoint in the first place (e.g., list function) or you can pass it the file and line shown by info b (e.g., list mysource.c:75).
I think the closest one can get to this is by turning the history on (set history save on) and then press CTRL-R to do a reverse search for the former list command.
More specifically, change your workflow when setting a breakpoint. After each command like b main GDB shows the source file like path/to/main.cpp, line 12. Immediately use this information in a quick list main.cpp:12. To show this location later press CTRL-R and type "main".
https://sourceware.org/gdb/onlinedocs/gdb/Command-History.html

How to do a specific action when ANY Unknown Breakpoint gets Hit in GDB

I have read the following SO question:
Do specific action when certain breakpoint hits in gdb
Here, we use 'command' to decide what to do when the SPECIFIED Breakboint Gets Hit.
My Question is:
Suppose I put Breakpoints on ALL the Functions matching a given pattern:
gdb$rbreak func_
=> 100 Breakpoints (say)
When I execute this Code, I want to do the SAME Action - on hitting Each of these functions.
Hence, I cannot define something like:
command break_point_number
// since I don't know how many breakpoints will be there
Can somebody please suggest me:
How can I do a specific action-set when ANY Breakpoint gets Hit in GDB?
Thanks.
With a new enough version of gdb you can use a range:
(gdb) rbreak whatever
... gdb creates breakpoints N, N+1, ..., M
(gdb) commands N-M
> stuff
> end
I forget exactly when this feature went in.
With an older version of gdb, I'm not sure it can easily be done.
It can be done with difficulty: use set logging to write output to a file, then "info break", then "shell" to run scripts to edit the file into gdb commands, then "source". This is very painful.

load breakpoint file error

I have previously saved list of breakpoints using
save breakpoints blist
now after compiling the program when I try to reload the same break points with the load command
load blist
I get this error
You can't do that when your target is `exec'
How to resolve this ?
load blist
Try source blist instead.
From "help save breakpoints":
Save current breakpoint definitions as a script.
The way to read a script is the source command. The load command means something different entirely.
I have breakpoints saved to file, say gdb.br, file content looks like:
br /project/src/file.c : 100
commands
silent
printf "\nbacktrace:\n"
bt
cont
end
This break just output backtrace and continue execution. You may also use simple breaks, like:
br /project/src/file.c : 100
br className::methodName
I have a lot of breaks there - gdb fails to add them via copy-past. Also I can't use load command on my multi-threading system.
To attach with gdb and load breakpoints I use this sequence:
gdb -p 1523 -x gdb.br
Where 1523 is process pid you want to attach to. -x is primarily
intedent to be used to load commands, set environment, but also could be used to load your breaks.
Hope this will help.

GDB question - how do I go through disassembled code line by line?

I'd like to go through a binary file my teacher gave me line by line to check addresses on the stack and the contents of different registers, but I'm not extremely familiar with using gdb. Although I have the C code, we're supposed to work entirely from a binary file. Here are the commands I've used so far:
(gdb) file SomeCode
Which gives me this message:
Reading symbols from ../overflow/SomeCode ...(no debugging symbols found)...done.
Then I use :
(gdb) disas main
which gives me all of the assembly. I wanted to set up a break point and use the "next" command, but none of the commands I tried work. Does anyone know the syntax I would use?
try using ni which is nexti. equivalent is si which is step instruction
nexti if you want to jump over function calls.
stepi if you want to enter a function call.
The following documentation is very helpful; it has a list of all the important commands you could use on gdb.
X86-64: http://csapp.cs.cmu.edu/public/docs/gdbnotes-x86-64.pdf
IA32: http://csapp.cs.cmu.edu/public/docs/gdbnotes-ia32.pdf