Re: [PATCH v2] gdb: add tutorial command

[Guinevere Larsen <guinevere@redhat.com>]

On 1/26/26 11:54 AM, Andrew Burgess wrote:
> 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
>
Seeing as everyone seems to be in agreement with using set, I'll update 
the text when I send a v3.

-- 
Cheers,
Guinevere Larsen
It/she