Next: Mode Options, Up: Invoking GDB [Contents][Index]
When GDB starts, it reads any arguments other than options as specifying an executable file and core file (or process ID). This is the same as if the arguments were specified by the -se and -c (or -p) options respectively. (GDB reads the first argument that does not have an associated option flag as equivalent to the -se option followed by that argument; and the second argument that does not have an associated option flag, if any, as equivalent to the -c/-p option followed by that argument.) If the second argument begins with a decimal digit, GDB will first attempt to attach to it as a process, and if that fails, attempt to open it as a corefile. If you have a corefile whose name begins with a digit, you can prevent GDB from treating it as a pid by prefixing it with ./, e.g. ./12345.
If GDB has not been configured to included core file support, such as for most embedded targets, then it will complain about a second argument and ignore it.
For the -s, -e, and -se options, and their long
form equivalents, the method used to search the file system for the
symbol and/or executable file is the same as that used by the
file command. See file.
Many options have both long and short forms; both are shown in the following list. GDB also recognizes the long forms if you truncate them, so long as enough of the option is present to be unambiguous. (If you prefer, you can flag option arguments with ‘--’ rather than ‘-’, though we illustrate the more usual convention.)
Read symbol table from file file.
Use file file as the executable file to execute when appropriate, and for examining pure data in conjunction with a core dump.
Read symbol table from file file and use it as the executable file.
Use file file as a core dump to examine.
Connect to process ID number, as with the attach command.
Execute commands from file file. The contents of this file is
evaluated exactly as the source command would.
See Command files.
Execute a single GDB command.
This option may be used multiple times to call multiple commands. It may also be interleaved with -command as required.
gdb -ex 'target sim' -ex 'load' \ -x setbreakpoints -ex 'run' a.out
Execute commands from file file before loading the inferior (but after loading gdbinit files). See Startup.
Execute a single GDB command before loading the inferior (but after loading gdbinit files). See Startup.
Execute commands from file very early in the initialization process, before any output is produced. See Startup.
Execute a single GDB command very early in the initialization process, before any output is produced.
Add directory to the path to search for source and script files.
Read each symbol file’s entire symbol table immediately, rather than the default, which is to read it incrementally as it is needed. This makes startup slower, but makes future operations faster.
Do not read each symbol file’s symbolic debug information. This makes startup faster but at the expense of not being able to perform symbolic debugging. DWARF unwind information is also not read, meaning backtraces may become incomplete or inaccurate. One use of this is when a user simply wants to do the following sequence: attach, dump core, detach. Loading the debugging information in this case is an unnecessary cause of delay.
Next: Mode Options, Up: Invoking GDB [Contents][Index]