I want to run GDB on my ARM embedded board...
I have referred online that we can set up GDB server and can do remote debugging but still i am missing proper steps to set up whole environment for GDB Debugging..
Can anyone please provide me a proper guidance from cross compiling GDB to running my gdb for debugging on embedded board ??
I appreciate any inputs
I assume you have a toolchain that lets you build applications for your embedded linux platform. This should include gdb (named something like arm-linux-gdb).
Next check if linux for your board already includes gdb/gdbserver. If it does, you don't have to build anything. If it does not, configure gdb like this:
./path/to/gdb/source/configure --host=arm-linux --target=arm-linux --prefix=/path/to/installation/directory
Then make and make install.
Note that --host and --target will probably match your toolchains prefix.
As part of this installation you will get gdbserver. Install it on your board.
Then use it, as explained here. It depends on your connection type (TCP, serial), but you need to run program under gdbserver on board (gdbserver binary), then run you toolchain's gdb on PC and connect to board using "target remote" command.
Have you already looked at Buildroot? It will take care of cross-compiler and root file system. You can choose to compile host and target gdb/gdbserver, so that you'll have everything from one hand. See BR's documentation.
Remote debugging of embedded systems:
GDB, as a server, must be compiled into the debugging target build in order to support connected GDB clients. When running on the client side, there must exist a copy of the target source as well as an unstripped (of symbols) version of the executable.
GCC compilation should be done with the -g flag.
On the target/server side, run with
gdbserver <port> --attach <pid> or gdbserver host:<port> <program>
On the client side, run gdb and then
(gdb) target remote IP:PORT
What gdb client to run? Must be built with the right target processor in mind, for example
.../toolchain/bin/powerpc-linux-gdb core/mydaemon/src/mydaemon -x gdb-command-script
-x is a filename option
Hope this helps!
Remote debugging of embedded systems: GDB, as a server, must be compiled into the debugging target build in order to support connected GDB clients. When running on the client side, there must exist a copy of the target source as well as an unstripped (of symbols) version of the executable.
GCC compilation should be done with the -g flag.
On the target/server side, run with
gdbserver --attach or gdbserver host:
On the client side, run gdb and then
(gdb) target remote IP:PORT
What gdb client to run? Must be built with the right target processor in mind, for example
.../toolchain/bin/powerpc-linux-gdb core/mydaemon/src/mydaemon -x gdb-command-script
-x is a filename option
Hope this helps!
Related
Let us say I am on a Windows machine and I goto its command line terminal and type 'gdb' there. I get gdb prompt (gdb) as shown in the following image. It means gdb.exe is installed on the machine.
My understanding is that the GDB is client-server application. I want to know is this gdb.exe the gdbserver or gdbclient? If its the former then where would be the later and if its the later then where would be the former in this case?
GDB can be a client server application, but it doesn't have to be.
What you started is gdb itself, so, the client side. The server is actually called, gdbserver.
Usually, you'd make use of gdbserver when you want to debug something running on a different machine over a network (though there's nothing to stop you running gdbserver on the same machine as gdb itself).
You can also use gdb to directly start an application to debug, so at the (gdb) prompt you might do:
(gdb) file /path/to/some/executable
(gdb) break main
(gdb) run
For further reading the manual has lots of details, there's a simple example session and more details on remote debug.
I have built the openwrt firmware and installed it to a device.
Now I want to compile my source code in C in the device (I can ssh into it).
However, openwrt firmware is quite basic and does not include make.
How can I install make/ equivalent to compile my C source code inside the device running openwrt firmware?
OpenWrt is not intended to work as a build server, so you won't find compiler, linker etc. in its root file system. As you mentioned before, you've successfully compiled the firmware. That means you have cross compiler at hand, so you can cross compile your software and then copy it to your system via scp.
Another approach would be to create your own feed, add your software to this feed, so that at the end you'll get an ordinary ipkg package, that you can download and install via web interface. See OpenWrt documentation for more details.
Lots of Cross Compiler are available for host system i.e PC running any Linux OS.
Just install compiler corresponding to Architecture in which Openwrt is running,
e.g If OpenWRT running on ARM architecture,
sudo apt-get install gcc-arm-linux-gnueabi
then compile source code as:
arm-linux-gcc -o yourprogram yourprogram.c
How to add source code of some_shared_library.so into gdb.
I've tried to use dir command but it has not helped.
In order for GDB to know what sources match your some_shared_library.so, you must build it with debugging info (usually -g flag).
Once you've done that (and it sounds like you haven't), on many platforms (e.g. Linux) GDB will find the sources automatically. On other platforms, dir is the right command to tell GDB where the sources are.
I'm trying to remote debug an application running on arm9
So far I've been able to cross compile and execute gdbserver on my device.
get gdb (7.2) sources and extract them
./configure --target=arm-none-linux-gnueabi --with-expat=/usr/local/lib/
make
cd gdb/gdbserver
./configure --host=arm-none-linux-gnueabi
make
tftp gdbserver to my device
run and connect via gdb to the device
gdbserver "seems" to start correctly and attach itself to my helloworld application
When I try to gdb to the remote server, I get
"warning: Can not parse XML target description; XML support was disabled at compile time"
Obviously, the compilation didn't take into account expat. I'm really unsure about how to specify the expat library path to the configuration script.
(old question but I stumbled into it via googling the same problem)
The problem is the missing "expat" lib. This is hard to guess because :
this lib is optional for compiling gdb
the "expat" name has no clear connection to XML...
So install "expat-dev" (with your packet manager or anything) and then relaunch ./configure. Be careful to install the "dev" version since we are doing recompilation and need the include files.
To be extra-sure, it's possible to add the "--with-expat" to the ./configure call so that it will stop with an error if expat is not found.
Somehow it worked anyway
Also, create a file ~/.gdbinit with
file /home/username/path/to/exec/exec_name
set sysroot /path/to/libraries/running/on/target/device
target remote HOST:PORT
b main
I have a XCode which builds and runs under XCode.
I would like to know if it is possible to debug it using a gdb I build under Mac OSX (gdb 7 to be specified). If yes, can you please tell me how can I do that?
Thank you.
gdb-7.0 reverse debugging currently can only work with two classes of targets:
1) a remote simulator/emulator/virtual-machine that supports going backwards, or
2) the built in "process record" target, which at present has only been ported to x86-linux, x86-64 linux, and moxie linux.
Well, now -- I take that back. I recently discovered that process record can work with any remote x86 target, so if you're connecting with your macintosh target via "target remote", you might just be able to do it!
There is an online tutorial for process record here:
http://www.sourceware.org/gdb/wiki/ProcessRecord/Tutorial
More info about process record here:
http://www.sourceware.org/gdb/wiki/ProcessRecord
And about gdb reverse debugging here:
http://www.sourceware.org/gdb/wiki/ReverseDebug
So you want to use your own version of gdb to debug your executable? Easy!
Open Terminal, and do something like this:
$ cd <directory where Xcode project lives>
$ cd build/Debug (for example - depends on project configuration)
$ /usr/local/bin/my-gdb ./MyExecutable
Of course, specifying the actual path to your custom gdb version.
XCode's debugger is gdb (likely with Apple-specific modifications.) When you debug an application you can get to the gdb command line by opening the Console from the Run menu.
What requirements are imposed on your application that would require you to debug with your own version of gdb?