Re: [Valgrind-developers] joint Valgrind + gdb devroom at FOSDEM 2018: proposal

[Mark Wielaard <mark at klomp dot org>]

Hi,

On Tue, 2017-09-19 at 06:43 +0200, Ivo Raisr wrote:
> Dear Valgrind and gdb hackers,
> 
> Please have a look at FOSDEM 2018 devroom proposal.
> Let me know your comments, suggestions, etc.
> The deadline is tomorrow (20th September).
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------
> Title: Valgrind, gdb, debugging tools
> Coordinator: Ivo Raisr
> Coordinator email: ivosh@ivosh.net
> Secondary contact: Mark Wielaard (if Mark has no strict objections)
> Secondary email: mark@klomp.org

I certainly have no objections :) But it would be good to also have one
of the gdb hackers as contact. If only to better judge the talk
proposals. Any volunteers?

> Description:
> The valgrind and gdb hackers would like to meet during FOSDEM 2018.
> 
> Several core developers said they would like to attend a hacker
> meeting to meet each other in person and to coordinate various
> topics. And we would like to invite other hackers of toolchain
> projects to discuss cross project ideas.

I would also mention we had a successful combined devroom in 2014:
https://archive.fosdem.org/2014/schedule/track/valgrind/

> Subjects for core hackers, new developers, users, packagers and cross
> project functionality, that we would like to discuss and give
> presentations on include:
> 
> - The recently added functional changes (for valgrind and gdb users).
> - Get feedback on what what kinds of new functionality would
>   be useful. Which tools and functionality users would like to see.
> (valgrind and gdb users).
> - How to add simple Valgrind features (adding syscalls for a platform
> or VEX
>   instructions for a architecture port). (new Valgrind core
> developers).
> - Infrastructure changes to the JIT framework. (core hackers).
> - Discuss release/bugfixing strategy/policy (core hackers,
> packagers).
> - Packaging Valgrind and gdb for distros, handling patches,
> suppressions, etc.
>   (packagers).

If we are talking combining the power of debugging tools I think there
should be some suggestions for talks about:

- Advances in gdbserver and the GDB remote serial protocol.
  Connecting debugging tools together.
- Latest DWARF extensions, going from binary back to source.
- Multi, multi, multi... threads, processes and targets.
  Debugging anything, everywhere. Dealing with complex systems.
- Dealing with the dynamic loader and the kernel.
  Intercepting and interposing functions and events.

> Coordinator's affinity to the topic of the devroom:
> core hacker, Solaris port maintainer
> 
> Why does it fit FOSDEM
> Valgrind is an instrumentation framework for building dynamic
> analysis
> tools. There are Valgrind tools that can automatically detect many
> memory management and threading bugs, and profile your programs in
> detail. You can also use Valgrind to build new tools.
> 
> GDB, the GNU Project debugger, allows you to see what is going on
> `inside' another program while it executes -- or what another program
> was doing at the moment it crashed.
> 
> Valgrind and GDB is Open Source / Free Software, and is freely
> available under the GNU General Public License, version 2.

are ... version 2 and 3 (or later).

> Relevant URLs:
> Valgrind website: http://www.valgrind.org
> GDB website: https://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/
> 
> Timeslot:
> Half day

If we make it a shared debugging tools devroom and both gdb and
valgrind hackers submit talks then I would request a whole day.

Cheers,

Mark