Re: [PATCH v2] gdb: add tutorial command

[Andrew Burgess <aburgess@redhat.com>]

Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> writes:

>> Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2026 11:14:20 -0300
>> Cc: gdb-patches@sourceware.org
>> From: Guinevere Larsen <guinevere@redhat.com>
>> 
>> > Isn't it strange to teach newbies that to assign a value to a
>> > variable, one must use the 'print' command?  Why not "set variable"?
>> 
>> It is a bit strange, I suppose, but "set" (like "call") are not things I use personally, when print can do the same
>> and is one fewer command to remember
>> 
>> And this doubles as a warning that if the user calls a function that has side-effects, those will also happen,
>> and they aren't necessarily always desired by the user...
>> 
>> I can change it if you feel strongly that we should use "set" instead, but I find the side-effect explanation to
>> be worth the unintuitiveness
>
> I think the tutorial should teach the commands intended for their
> purposes.  Some commands have side effects, but that's not newbie
> stuff, IMO.
>
> What do others think about this?

I agree Eli.  I have always find it strange that some folk use print to
set variable.  At least Guinevere did offer some explanation, which is
nice to know, but I do think that for beginner, using the intended
command would be a good idea.

That doesn't mean there's not room for some kind of:

  Advanced hint: Some users use 'print' instead of 'set' for
    setting inferior variables, this works because ... etc.

within the tutorial text.

Thanks,
Andrew