> From: Tom Tromey <tom@tromey.com>
> Cc: Tom Tromey <tom@tromey.com>
> Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2018 22:29:46 -0600
>
> This also removes the PROBLEMS file, as it seems unused. It hasn't
> been updated since before the 7.3 release.
How about replacing PROBLEMS with a file that just points people to
the GDB Bugzilla, and perhaps tells how to search Bugzilla for GDB
problems that are still not solved in version X.Y.Z of GDB?
> The README file seems to have been generated from the Texinfo at some
> point in the past. I did not continue this, but instead edited it
> separately.
Ideally, README should include some details about optional build
features that allow the user to decide which options to request. The
help text provided by gdb/configure is too terse, and I'm not even
sure many people realize that they need to run "./gdb/configure --help"
rather than the top-level configure script. Perhaps README should at
least tell that. Bonus points for describing other optional build
features with enough information for users to understand whether each
option will be useful for them. For example, some features are only
relevant for ELF systems, others only for GNU/Linux, etc., but there's
no info on that in README or "configure --help".
> When submitting a bug, please include the GDB version number, and
> how you configured it (e.g., "sun4" or "mach386 host,
> -i586-intel-synopsys target"). Since GDB now supports so many
> +i586-intel-synopsys target"). Since GDB supports so many
> different configurations, it is important that you be precise about
> this. If at all possible, you should include the actual banner
> that GDB prints when it starts up, or failing that, the actual
Should this text mention the gdb --config option and the corresponding
"show configuration" command?
> +@item Guile
> +@value{GDBN} can be scripted using GNU Guile. @xref{Guile}. By
> +default, @value{GDBN} will be compiled if the Guile libraries are
> +available.
Something is missing in the last sentence. Also, I'm not sure "if the
Guile libraries are available" is explicit enough. How about
if the Guile libraries are installed and are found by the configure
script
> +On systems without @code{iconv}, you can install GNU Libiconv. If you
> +have previously installed Libiconv, you can use the
> +@option{--with-libiconv-prefix} option to configure.
I would suggest here to say explicitly that if libiconv is installed
in a standard place, then the configure script will find it and
compile GDB with it.
> +@value{GDBN}'s top-level @file{configure} and @file{Makefile} will
> +arrange to build Libiconv if a directory named @file{libiconv} appears
> +in the top-most source directory. If Libiconv is built this way, and
> +if the operating system does not provide a suitable @code{iconv}
> +implementation, then the just-built library will automatically be used
> +by @value{GDBN}. One easy way to set this up is to download GNU
> +Libiconv, unpack it, and then rename the directory holding the
> +Libiconv source code to @samp{libiconv}.
I think it is better to say explicitly "unpack it inside the top-level
directory of the GDB source tree", instead of just "unpack it".
> +@item lzma
> +@value{GDBN} can support debugging sections that are compressed with
> +the LZMA library. @xref{MiniDebugInfo}. If this library is not
> +included with your operating system, you can find it in the xz package
> +at @url{http://tukaani.org/xz/}. If it is installed in an unusual
> +path, you can use the @option{--with-lzma-prefix} option to specify
> +its location.
Again, before talking about lzma being installed in an unusual place,
I'd suggest to say something about its being installed in the usual
place, i.e. that the configure script will find it automatically.
> +@item Python
> +@value{GDBN} can be scripted using Python language. @xref{Python}.
> +By default, @value{GDBN} will be compiled if the Python libraries are
> +available.
Same problem in the last sentence here as in the Guile section above.
> +You can install @code{@value{GDBP}} anywhere. The best way to do this
I think this should be "GDBN", not "GDBP".
Thanks.
deleted file mode 100644
@@ -1,6 +0,0 @@
-
- Known problems in GDB 7.2.50
-
- See also: http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/bugs/
-
-None worth mentioning here.
@@ -7,10 +7,8 @@ A summary of new features is in the file `gdb/NEWS'.
Check the GDB home page at http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/ for up to
date release information, mailing list links and archives, etc.
-The file `gdb/PROBLEMS' contains information on problems identified
-late in the release cycle. GDB's bug tracking data base at
-http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/bugs/ contains a more complete list of
-bugs.
+GDB's bug tracking data base can be found at
+http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/bugs/
Unpacking and Installation -- quick overview
@@ -37,9 +35,8 @@ source directory called `gdb-VERSION'.
You can build GDB right in the source directory:
cd gdb-VERSION
- ./configure
- make
- cp gdb/gdb /usr/local/bin/gdb (or wherever you want)
+ ./configure --prefix=/usr/local (or wherever you want)
+ make all install
However, we recommend that an empty directory be used instead.
This way you do not clutter your source tree with binary files
@@ -50,9 +47,8 @@ You can build GDB in any empty build directory:
mkdir build
cd build
- <full path to your sources>/gdb-VERSION/configure
- make
- cp gdb/gdb /usr/local/bin/gdb (or wherever you want)
+ <full path to your sources>/gdb-VERSION/configure [etc...]
+ make all install
(Building GDB with DJGPP tools for MS-DOS/MS-Windows is slightly
different; see the file gdb-VERSION/gdb/config/djgpp/README for details.)
@@ -77,8 +73,8 @@ such as:
If you get other compiler errors during this stage, see the `Reporting
Bugs' section below; there are a few known problems.
- GDB requires an ISO C (ANSI C) compiler. If you do not have an ISO
-C compiler for your system, you may be able to download and install
+ GDB requires a C++ compiler. If you do not have a
+C++ compiler for your system, you may be able to download and install
the GNU CC compiler. It is available via anonymous FTP from the
directory `ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/gcc'. GDB also requires an ISO
C standard library. The GDB remote server, GDBserver, builds with some
@@ -348,14 +344,14 @@ you can use it to test your guesses on abbreviations--for example:
Here is a summary of the `configure' options and arguments that are
most often useful for building GDB. `configure' also has several other
-options not listed here. *note : (configure.info)What Configure Does,
-for a full explanation of `configure'.
+options not listed here. There are many options to gdb's `configure'
+script, some of which are only useful in special situation.
+*note : (autoconf.info)Running configure scripts, for a full
+explanation of `configure'.
configure [--help]
[--prefix=DIR]
[--srcdir=PATH]
- [--norecursion] [--rm]
- [--enable-build-warnings]
[--target=TARGET]
[--host=HOST]
[HOST]
@@ -392,25 +388,12 @@ prefer; but you may abbreviate option names if you use `--'.
Same as `--host=HOST'. If you omit this, GDB will guess; it's
quite accurate.
-`--norecursion'
- Configure only the directory level where `configure' is executed;
- do not propagate configuration to subdirectories.
-
-`--rm'
- Remove the configuration that the other arguments specify.
-
`--enable-build-warnings'
When building the GDB sources, ask the compiler to warn about any
code which looks even vaguely suspicious. You should only using
- this feature if you're compiling with GNU CC. It passes the
- following flags:
- -Wimplicit
- -Wreturn-type
- -Wcomment
- -Wtrigraphs
- -Wformat
- -Wparentheses
- -Wpointer-arith
+ this feature if you're compiling with the GNU C++ compiler. It
+ passes many different warning flags, depending on the exact
+ version of the compiler you are using.
`--enable-werror'
Treat compiler warnings as werrors. Use this only with GCC. It
@@ -450,10 +433,6 @@ prefer; but you may abbreviate option names if you use `--'.
Requires a curses library (ncurses and cursesX are also
supported).
-`--enable-gdbtk'
- Build GDB with the gdbtk GUI interface. Requires TCL/Tk to be
- installed.
-
`--with-libunwind-ia64'
Use the libunwind library for unwinding function call stack on ia64
target platforms.
@@ -463,7 +442,8 @@ prefer; but you may abbreviate option names if you use `--'.
Use the curses library instead of the termcap library, for
text-mode terminal operations.
-`--enable-profiling' Enable profiling of GDB itself. Necessary if you
+`--enable-profiling'
+ Enable profiling of GDB itself. Necessary if you
want to use the "maint set profile" command for profiling GDB.
Requires the functions `monstartup' and `_mcleanup' to be present
in the standard C library used to build GDB, and also requires a
@@ -541,18 +521,12 @@ with the remote.c stub over a serial line.
allows remote debugging for Unix applications. GDBserver is only
supported for some native configurations, including Sun 3, Sun 4, and
Linux.
-The file gdb/gdbserver/README includes further notes on GDBserver; in
+
+ The file gdb/gdbserver/README includes further notes on GDBserver; in
particular, it explains how to build GDBserver for cross-debugging
(where GDBserver runs on the target machine, which is of a different
architecture than the host machine running GDB).
- There are a number of remote interfaces for talking to existing ROM
-monitors and other hardware:
-
- remote-mips.c MIPS remote debugging protocol
- remote-sds.c PowerPC SDS monitor
- remote-sim.c Generalized simulator protocol
-
Reporting Bugs in GDB
=====================
@@ -567,7 +541,7 @@ address "bug-gdb@gnu.org".
When submitting a bug, please include the GDB version number, and
how you configured it (e.g., "sun4" or "mach386 host,
-i586-intel-synopsys target"). Since GDB now supports so many
+i586-intel-synopsys target"). Since GDB supports so many
different configurations, it is important that you be precise about
this. If at all possible, you should include the actual banner
that GDB prints when it starts up, or failing that, the actual
@@ -583,7 +557,7 @@ Graphical interface to GDB -- X Windows, MS Windows
Several graphical interfaces to GDB are available. You should
check:
- http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/links/
+ https://sourceware.org/gdb/wiki/GDB%20Front%20Ends
for an up-to-date list.
@@ -35131,10 +35131,13 @@ Other packages will be used only if they are found.
@heading Tools/Packages Necessary for Building @value{GDBN}
@table @asis
-@item ISO C90 compiler
-@value{GDBN} is written in ISO C90. It should be buildable with any
-working C90 compiler, e.g.@: GCC.
+@item C@t{++} compiler
+@value{GDBN} is written in C@t{++}11. It should be buildable with any
+recent C@t{++} compiler, e.g.@: GCC.
+@item GNU make
+@value{GDBN}'s build system relies on features only found in the GNU
+make program. Other variants of @code{make} will not work.
@end table
@heading Tools/Packages Optional for Building @value{GDBN}
@@ -35167,6 +35170,46 @@ Branch trace (@pxref{Branch Trace Format},
@pxref{Branch Trace Configuration Format})
@end itemize
+@item Guile
+@value{GDBN} can be scripted using GNU Guile. @xref{Guile}. By
+default, @value{GDBN} will be compiled if the Guile libraries are
+available. You can use the @code{--with-guile} option to request
+Guile, and pass either the Guile version number or the file name of
+the relevant @code{pkg-config} program to choose a particular version
+of Guile.
+
+@item iconv
+@value{GDBN}'s features related to character sets (@pxref{Character
+Sets}) require a functioning @code{iconv} implementation. If you are
+on a GNU system, then this is provided by the GNU C Library. Some
+other systems also provide a working @code{iconv}.
+
+If @value{GDBN} is using the @code{iconv} program which is installed
+in a non-standard place, you will need to tell @value{GDBN} where to find it.
+This is done with @option{--with-iconv-bin} which specifies the
+directory that contains the @code{iconv} program.
+
+On systems without @code{iconv}, you can install GNU Libiconv. If you
+have previously installed Libiconv, you can use the
+@option{--with-libiconv-prefix} option to configure.
+
+@value{GDBN}'s top-level @file{configure} and @file{Makefile} will
+arrange to build Libiconv if a directory named @file{libiconv} appears
+in the top-most source directory. If Libiconv is built this way, and
+if the operating system does not provide a suitable @code{iconv}
+implementation, then the just-built library will automatically be used
+by @value{GDBN}. One easy way to set this up is to download GNU
+Libiconv, unpack it, and then rename the directory holding the
+Libiconv source code to @samp{libiconv}.
+
+@item lzma
+@value{GDBN} can support debugging sections that are compressed with
+the LZMA library. @xref{MiniDebugInfo}. If this library is not
+included with your operating system, you can find it in the xz package
+at @url{http://tukaani.org/xz/}. If it is installed in an unusual
+path, you can use the @option{--with-lzma-prefix} option to specify
+its location.
+
@item MPFR
@anchor{MPFR}
@value{GDBN} can use the GNU MPFR multiple-precision floating-point
@@ -35182,6 +35225,13 @@ expression evaluation when the target uses different floating-point
formats than the host. If GNU MPFR it is not available, @value{GDBN}
will fall back to using host floating-point arithmetic.
+@item Python
+@value{GDBN} can be scripted using Python language. @xref{Python}.
+By default, @value{GDBN} will be compiled if the Python libraries are
+available. You can use the @code{--with-python} option to request
+Python, and pass the file name of the relevant @code{python}
+executable to choose a particular installation of Python.
+
@item zlib
@cindex compressed debug sections
@value{GDBN} will use the @samp{zlib} library, if available, to read
@@ -35193,30 +35243,6 @@ information in such binaries.
The @samp{zlib} library is likely included with your operating system
distribution; if it is not, you can get the latest version from
@url{http://zlib.net}.
-
-@item iconv
-@value{GDBN}'s features related to character sets (@pxref{Character
-Sets}) require a functioning @code{iconv} implementation. If you are
-on a GNU system, then this is provided by the GNU C Library. Some
-other systems also provide a working @code{iconv}.
-
-If @value{GDBN} is using the @code{iconv} program which is installed
-in a non-standard place, you will need to tell @value{GDBN} where to find it.
-This is done with @option{--with-iconv-bin} which specifies the
-directory that contains the @code{iconv} program.
-
-On systems without @code{iconv}, you can install GNU Libiconv. If you
-have previously installed Libiconv, you can use the
-@option{--with-libiconv-prefix} option to configure.
-
-@value{GDBN}'s top-level @file{configure} and @file{Makefile} will
-arrange to build Libiconv if a directory named @file{libiconv} appears
-in the top-most source directory. If Libiconv is built this way, and
-if the operating system does not provide a suitable @code{iconv}
-implementation, then the just-built library will automatically be used
-by @value{GDBN}. One easy way to set this up is to download GNU
-Libiconv, unpack it, and then rename the directory holding the
-Libiconv source code to @samp{libiconv}.
@end table
@node Running Configure
@@ -35260,14 +35286,10 @@ source for the library of opcode tables and disassemblers
@item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/readline
source for the @sc{gnu} command-line interface
-
-@item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/glob
-source for the @sc{gnu} filename pattern-matching subroutine
-
-@item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/mmalloc
-source for the @sc{gnu} memory-mapped malloc package
@end table
+There may be other subdirectories as well.
+
The simplest way to configure and build @value{GDBN} is to run @file{configure}
from the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} source directory, which in
this example is the @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} directory.
@@ -35281,20 +35303,14 @@ For example:
@smallexample
cd gdb-@value{GDBVN}
-./configure @var{host}
+./configure
make
@end smallexample
-@noindent
-where @var{host} is an identifier such as @samp{sun4} or
-@samp{decstation}, that identifies the platform where @value{GDBN} will run.
-(You can often leave off @var{host}; @file{configure} tries to guess the
-correct value by examining your system.)
-
-Running @samp{configure @var{host}} and then running @code{make} builds the
-@file{bfd}, @file{readline}, @file{mmalloc}, and @file{libiberty}
-libraries, then @code{gdb} itself. The configured source files, and the
-binaries, are left in the corresponding source directories.
+Running @samp{configure} and then running @code{make} builds the
+included supporting libraries, then @code{gdb} itself. The configured
+source files, and the binaries, are left in the corresponding source
+directories.
@need 750
@file{configure} is a Bourne-shell (@code{/bin/sh}) script; if your
@@ -35302,16 +35318,9 @@ system does not recognize this automatically when you run a different
shell, you may need to run @code{sh} on it explicitly:
@smallexample
-sh configure @var{host}
+sh configure
@end smallexample
-If you run @file{configure} from a directory that contains source
-directories for multiple libraries or programs, such as the
-@file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} source directory for version @value{GDBVN},
-@file{configure}
-creates configuration files for every directory level underneath (unless
-you tell it not to, with the @samp{--norecursion} option).
-
You should run the @file{configure} script from the top directory in the
source tree, the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} directory. If you run
@file{configure} from one of the subdirectories, you will configure only
@@ -35322,11 +35331,9 @@ configuration of @file{bfd}, @file{readline}, and other sibling
directories of the @file{gdb} subdirectory. This leads to build errors
about missing include files such as @file{bfd/bfd.h}.
-You can install @code{@value{GDBP}} anywhere; it has no hardwired paths.
-However, you should make sure that the shell on your path (named by
-the @samp{SHELL} environment variable) is publicly readable. Remember
-that @value{GDBN} uses the shell to start your program---some systems refuse to
-let @value{GDBN} debug child processes whose programs are not readable.
+You can install @code{@value{GDBP}} anywhere. The best way to do this
+is to pass the @code{--prefix} option to @code{configure}, and then
+install it with @code{make install}.
@node Separate Objdir
@section Compiling @value{GDBN} in Another Directory
@@ -35355,7 +35362,7 @@ separate directory for a Sun 4 like this:
cd gdb-@value{GDBVN}
mkdir ../gdb-sun4
cd ../gdb-sun4
-../gdb-@value{GDBVN}/configure sun4
+../gdb-@value{GDBVN}/configure
make
@end group
@end smallexample
@@ -35441,18 +35448,17 @@ directory (@file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}}, for version @value{GDBVN}).
@section @file{configure} Options
Here is a summary of the @file{configure} options and arguments that
-are most often useful for building @value{GDBN}. @file{configure} also has
-several other options not listed here. @inforef{What Configure
-Does,,configure.info}, for a full explanation of @file{configure}.
+are most often useful for building @value{GDBN}. @file{configure}
+also has several other options not listed here. @inforef{Running
+configure scripts,,autoconf.info}, for a full
+explanation of @file{configure}.
@smallexample
configure @r{[}--help@r{]}
@r{[}--prefix=@var{dir}@r{]}
@r{[}--exec-prefix=@var{dir}@r{]}
@r{[}--srcdir=@var{dirname}@r{]}
- @r{[}--norecursion@r{]} @r{[}--rm@r{]}
@r{[}--target=@var{target}@r{]}
- @var{host}
@end smallexample
@noindent
@@ -35475,8 +35481,6 @@ Configure the source to install programs under directory
@c avoid splitting the warning from the explanation:
@need 2000
@item --srcdir=@var{dirname}
-@strong{Warning: using this option requires @sc{gnu} @code{make}, or another
-@code{make} that implements the @code{VPATH} feature.}@*
Use this option to make configurations in directories separate from the
@value{GDBN} source directories. Among other things, you can use this to
build (or maintain) several configurations simultaneously, in separate
@@ -35486,21 +35490,12 @@ directory @var{dirname}. @file{configure} creates directories under
the working directory in parallel to the source directories below
@var{dirname}.
-@item --norecursion
-Configure only the directory level where @file{configure} is executed; do not
-propagate configuration to subdirectories.
-
@item --target=@var{target}
Configure @value{GDBN} for cross-debugging programs running on the specified
@var{target}. Without this option, @value{GDBN} is configured to debug
programs that run on the same machine (@var{host}) as @value{GDBN} itself.
There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available targets.
-
-@item @var{host} @dots{}
-Configure @value{GDBN} to run on the specified @var{host}.
-
-There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available hosts.
@end table
There are many other options available as well, but they are generally