[PATCH 6/6] Documentation.

Sanjoy Das
2011-08-20T06:33:01Z

Add some basic documentation to gdb.texinfo about the new JIT reader
functionality. Most of the actual documentation is still in
jit-reader.h.

gdb/ChangeLog

* doc/gdb.texinfo (JIT Interface): Added node `Custom Debug Info'.
(Custom Debug Info, Using Readers, Writing Readers): New nodes.
---
gdb/ChangeLog | 5 ++
gdb/doc/gdb.texinfo | 119 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2 files changed, 124 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)

diff --git a/gdb/ChangeLog b/gdb/ChangeLog
index 92d645b..a2f6794 100644
--- a/gdb/ChangeLog
+++ b/gdb/ChangeLog
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
2011-08-20 Sanjoy Das <sdas@igalia.com>

+ * doc/gdb.texinfo (JIT Interface): Added node `Custom Debug Info'.
+ (Custom Debug Info, Using Readers, Writing Readers): New nodes.
+
+2011-08-20 Sanjoy Das <sdas@igalia.com>
+
* jit.c (jut_unwind_reg_set_impl, free_reg_value_impl)
(jit_unwind_reg_get_impl, jit_frame_sniffer)
(jit_frame_unwind_stop_reason, jit_frame_this_id)
diff --git a/gdb/doc/gdb.texinfo b/gdb/doc/gdb.texinfo
index 6e7bf52..f6103aa 100644
--- a/gdb/doc/gdb.texinfo
+++ b/gdb/doc/gdb.texinfo
@@ -30950,6 +30950,7 @@ out about additional code.
* Declarations:: Relevant C struct declarations
* Registering Code:: Steps to register code
* Unregistering Code:: Steps to unregister code
+* Custom Debug Info:: Emit debug information in a custom format
@end menu

@node Declarations
@@ -31046,6 +31047,124 @@ Set @code{action_flag} to @code{JIT_UNREGISTER} and call
If the JIT frees or recompiles code without unregistering it, then @value{GDBN}
and the JIT will leak the memory used for the associated symbol files.

+@node Custom Debug Info
+@section Custom Debug Info
+@cindex custom JIT debug info
+@cindex JIT debug info reader
+
+Generating debug information in platform-native file formats (like ELF
+or COFF) may be an overkill for JIT compilers; especially if all the
+debug info is used for is displaying a meaningful backtrace. The
+issue can be resolved by having the JIT writers decide on a debug info
+format and also provide a reader that parses the debug info generated
+by the JIT compiler. This section gives a brief overview on writing
+such a parser. More specific details can be found in the file
+@file{gdb/jit-reader.h.in}.
+
+The reader is implemented as a shared object. Two new @value{GDBN}
+commands, @code{load-jit-reader} and @code{unload-jit-reader} are
+added, to be used to load and unload the readers from a preconfigured
+directory. Once loaded, the shared object is used the parse the debug
+information emitted by the JIT compiler.
+
+@menu
+* Using Readers:: How to use supplied readers correctly
+* Writing Readers:: Creating a debug-info reader
+@end menu
+
+@node Using Readers
+@subsection Using Readers
+@kindex load-jit-reader
+@kindex unload-jit-reader
+
+Readers can be loaded and unloaded using the @code{load-jit-reader}
+and @code{unload-jit-reader} commands.
+
+@table @code
+@kindex load-jit-reader
+@item load-jit-reader @var{reader-name}
+
+Load the JIT reader named @var{reader-name}. On a UNIX system, this
+will usually result load @file{@var{libdir}/gdb/@var{reader-name}},
+where @var{libdir} is the system library directory, usually
+@file{/usr/local/lib}. Only one reader can be active at a time;
+trying to load a second reader when one is already loaded will result
+in @value{GDBN} reporting an error. A new JIT reader can be loaded by
+first unloading the current one using @code{unload-jit-reader} and
+then running @code{load-jit-reader}.
+
+@kindex unload-jit-reader
+@item unload-jit-reader
+
+Unload the currently loaded JIT reader.
+
+@end table
+
+@node Writing Readers
+@subsection Writing Readers
+
+As mentioned, a reader is essentially a shared object conforming to a
+certain ABI. This ABI is described in @file{jit-reader.h}.
+
+@file{jit-reader.h} defines the structures, macros and functions
+required to write a reader. It is installed (along with
+@value{GDBN}), in @file{@var{includedir}/gdb} where @var{includedir} is
+the system include directory.
+
+Readers need to be released under a GPL compatible license. A reader
+can be declared as released under such a license by placing the macro
+@code{GDB_DECLARE_GPL_COMPATIBLE_READER} in a source file.
+
+The entry point for readers is the symbol @code{gdb_init_reader},
+which is expected to be a function with the prototype
+
+@findex gdb_init_reader
+
+@smallexample
+extern struct gdb_reader_funcs *gdb_init_reader (void);
+@end smallexample
+
+@cindex @code{struct gdb_reader_funcs}
+
+@code{struct gdb_reader_funcs} contains a set of pointers to callback
+functions. These functions are executed to read the debug info
+generated by the JIT compiler (@code{read}), to unwind stack frames
+(@code{unwind}) and to create canonical frame IDs
+(@code{get_Frame_id}). It also has a callback that is called when the
+reader is being unloaded (@code{destroy}). The struct looks like this
+
+@smallexample
+struct gdb_reader_funcs
+@{
+ /* Must be set to GDB_READER_INTERFACE_VERSION */
+
+ int reader_version;
+
+ /* For use by the reader. */
+
+ void *priv_data;
+
+ gdb_read_debug_info *read;
+ gdb_unwind_frame *unwind;
+ gdb_get_frame_id *get_frame_id;
+ gdb_destroy_reader *destroy;
+@};
+@end smallexample
+
+@cindex @code{struct gdb_symbol_callbacks}
+@cindex @code{struct gdb_unwind_callbacks}
+
+The callbacks are provided with another set of callbacks by
+@value{GDBN} to do their job. For @code{read}, these callbacks are
+passed in a @code{struct gdb_symbol_callbacks} and for @code{unwind}
+and @code{get_frame_id}, in a @code{struct gdb_unwind_callbacks}.
+@code{struct gdb_symbol_callbacks} has callbacks to create new object
+files and new symbol tables inside those object files. @code{struct
+gdb_unwind_callbacks} has callbacks to read registers off the current
+frame and to write out the values of the registers in the previous
+frame. Both have a callback (@code{target_read}) to read bytes off the
+target's address space.
+
@node GDB Bugs
@chapter Reporting Bugs in @value{GDBN}
@cindex bugs in @value{GDBN}
--
1.7.5.4