Re: [PATCH] Revised display-linkage-name

Eli Zaretskii
2013-05-22T19:28:59Z

> Date: Wed, 22 May 2013 11:03:22 -0700
> From: Michael Eager <eager@eagerm.com>
> CC: Tom Tromey <tromey@redhat.com>
>
> Changes:
> Add NEWS and docs.
> Add linkage name to "info break" listing.
> Add MI annotations.
> Add command to set/show display length limit, remove define.
> Add test case.

Thanks.

> +set|show display-linkage-name-len
> +
> + Set the maximum number of characters to display in the linkage name,
> + if display-linkage-name is on. The default is 20.

Do we really need this? Why not display the whole name always?

> +@kindex set display-linkage-name @code{on}|@code{off}

Please remove the on|off part from the index entry. Just the command
is enough.

> +@cindex list linker symbol names

Is "linker symbol name" how users would expect this to be called? I
wouldn't. Index entries should use phrases that readers might have in
mind when they are looking for the stuff described in this section.

I think the correct terminology is "linkage name".

> +The default is @code{off}, which means that @value{GDBN} will only
> +display the function name used in the source. When @code{on}, @value{GDBN}
> +will also display the symbol name used by the linker within brackets if it is
> +different from the name in the source. This can be useful with compilers
> +which may prepend characters to a source name, for example, an underscore.
> +
> +This is different from "set print asm-demangle on" which only displays
> +the linkage name for C++ symbols and does not display the source name.

Isn't it confusing to have 2 subtly different settings that actually
achieve almost the same? How about a single setting, perhaps a
tristate, instead of 2 separate booleans?

> +@kindex set display-linkage-name-len
> +@kindex show display-linkage-name-len
> +@cindex list linker symbol names
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Copy/paste error? You already have an identical index entry a few
lines above.

> +@item set display-linkage-name-len @var{len}
> +@itemx show display-linkage-name-len @var{len}
> +Set the maximum number of characters of linkage name to display. The
> +@code{show} command displays the current setting. The default is @code{20}.

I think we don't need this setting. After all, we show source-level
function names in their full glory, right?