tracing in gcc

[arvind_khadri]

how do i trace a program in gcc????

[Franklin52]

Hi,

You can use gdb, install it with your Synaptic Package Manager or with apt-get.
Here you can find documentation about it:

GDB: The GNU Project Debugger

Regards

[arvind_khadri]

hey franklin when i inserted the Ubuntu cd it showed new packages but its not showin again and i didnt install any new packages at tat time....and am not able to install GDB.....i tried apt-get install GDB it says no packages found....plz help....its urgent

[Franklin52]

Don't use capital letters, it's gdb not GDB.

Regards

[arvind_khadri]

hey thanks franklin i actually recognised tat mistake of mine...it was already installed....apt-cache policy gdb.....can u jus help me how to use it???please....

[Cabhan]

Googling for "gdb tutorial" brings up some good hits. I suggest you check them out.

The basic usage is that you compile your program with the '-g' flag to gcc, and then you run "gdb < EXECUTABLE NAME >". You can now set breakpoints, step through the code line by line, print out variables as you go, etc.

The other main usage is to run the command "ulimit -c unlimited". This will cause programs that crash to produce coredumps. So you run your program (again, compiled with '-g'), let it crash, then run "gdb < EXECUTABLE NAME > <COREDUMP>", and you can do a backtrace on the coredump, and check the status of the program at various points.

For the record, the '-g' flag to gcc causes gcc to put in "debugging symbols". These symbols help gdb integrate with the program a bit better, and give you more information on the status of the program.

[arvind_khadri]

thanks..will try out.....