gdb can't access some symbols

[Ross Boylan <ross at biostat dot ucsf dot edu>]

gdb seems not to recognize some symbols (function names) even when it is
within the function.  There is some indication it might be using stale
data, but I don't know where it would get it.  Can anyone explain what's
going on or help me to diagnose the problem?

The function is a method on a C++ class.
gdb 6.3-5
gcc 3.3.5-12 (build flags include  -g -O0)
Linux kernel 2.4.27, Debian testing system
AMD AthlonMP chip

find reports only one Specification.o in the whole tree I use.
$ nm debugTest/Specification.o | grep evaluate | c++filt
00000312 t global constructors keyed to
_ZNK6mspath13Specification8evaluateERNS_11EnvironmentE
00000000 T mspath::Specification::evaluate(mspath::Environment&) const

However, when in gdb, if I type
b mspath::Specification::eval
and try for completions, I see
mspath::Specification::eval_expr
mspath::Specification::eval_expr_multdiv
mspath::Specification::eval_expr_val
mspath::Specification::eval_if
mspath::Specification::evaluateHistoryComputers
mspath::Specification::evaluateHistoryComputers()

even when I'm tracing inside the function:
(gdb) s
mspath::Specification::evaluate (this=0x80afb08, theEnv=@0xbfffefa0)
    at mspath.web:6226
(so in this context gdb does know the symbols; it doesn't when I try to
set a breakpoint).

Here are failures to find the symbol:
(gdb) b mspath::Specification::evaluate(mspath::Environment&)
Function "mspath::Specification::evaluate(mspath::Environment&)" not
defined.
(gdb) b mspath::Specification::evaluate(mspath::Environment&) const
Function "mspath::Specification::evaluate(mspath::Environment&)" not
defined.
(gdb) b const mspath::Double2D&
mspath::Specification::evaluate(mspath::Environment&) const
Function "const mspath::Double2D&
mspath::Specification::evaluate(mspath::Environment&)" not defined.
(sorry about the line breaks)

Some other possibly relevant info:

Suspiciously, there is no evaluateHistoryComputers() function (mentioned
in the completion list), though I think there used to be.

I mostly use gdb mode in emacs, but a spot check running in a terminal
produced the same behavior.

The function I'm looking for is public, declared
	const Double2D& evaluate(Environment& theEnv) const;
within the Specification class in the mspath namespace.

The .o file comes from a .cc file, which in turn is generated from the
mspath.web mentioned in the trace.  The .cc file uses extensive #line
directives to report lines in the original mspath.web file.

I use the dir directive to pick up various files; as noted, only one
directory (the same one as the executable) has the Specification.o file.

-- 
Ross Boylan                                      wk:  (415) 502-4031
530 Parnassus Avenue (Library) rm 115-4          ross@biostat.ucsf.edu
Dept of Epidemiology and Biostatistics           fax: (415) 476-9856
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA 94143-0840                     hm:  (415) 550-1062