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GDB Howto Breakpoints

Breakpoints allow a program to pause execution at designated points, such as specific lines or function calls. When a breakpoint is reached, the debugger (gdb) halts program execution and allows examination of variables and program state. Common gdb commands for breakpoints include break, delete, disable, enable, and info breakpoints. Step commands like next and step allow controlled execution after a breakpoint.

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41 views

GDB Howto Breakpoints

Breakpoints allow a program to pause execution at designated points, such as specific lines or function calls. When a breakpoint is reached, the debugger (gdb) halts program execution and allows examination of variables and program state. Common gdb commands for breakpoints include break, delete, disable, enable, and info breakpoints. Step commands like next and step allow controlled execution after a breakpoint.

Uploaded by

Ravi Teja
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The whole purpose of coming to gdb was to pause, observe and proceed.

There is no point in running a program without a breakpoint!

Breakpoints
=================

Breakpoints can be used to stop the program run in the middle, at a designated
point.

Whenever gdb gets to a breakpoint it halts execution of your program and allows you
to examine it

Simplest way of putting a breakpoint is using the function name or a line number.

(gdb) break factorial


Breakpoint 1 at 0x400538: file source_code.c, line 5.

(gdb) break 7
Breakpoint 2 at 0x400545: file source_code.c, line 7.

List of functions available


========================================

(gdb) info functions

List of breakpoints available


================================

(gdb) info breakpoints

Run the program and it will stop at the first breakpoint

(gdb) r

Delete Breakpoints
==========================

(gdb) delete <bpnumber>

Disable/Enable Breakpoints
===========================

(gdb) disable <bpnumber>

(gdb) enable <bpnumber>

Step by step
==============

Once you have hit a breakpoint, you can have fine control over the execution of the
program, using the following commands

(gdb) continue

Continue execution till the next break point or end of program

Typing 'run' again instead of 'continue' would restart the program from the
beginning.
(gdb) next

Proceed to the next line of execution (Doesn’t step into a function call in the
current line)

(gdb) step

The same as next, but with difference that if you are at a function call
next - the function will execute and return
step - step into the first line of the called function.

(gdb) finish
Finish executing the current function, then pause (also called step out).
Useful if you accidentally stepped into a function.

(gdb) print n

The print command prints the value of the variable specified

(gdb) print/x n
Prints the value in hexadecimal

Tip
========
Typing “step” or “next” a lot of times can be tedious. If you just press ENTER, gdb
will repeat the same command you just gave it.

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