Re: [PATCH] Warn about data-directory when failing to import Python "gdb" module

Khoo Yit Phang
2012-09-18T20:40:11Z

Hi,

On Sep 17, 2012, at 5:04 PM, Khoo Yit Phang wrote:

> Hi,
>
> On Sep 17, 2012, at 4:58 PM, Joel Brobecker wrote:
>
>>> If you are running GDB from the build directory, please run gdb with
>>> the -data-directory flag set as appropriate, e.g., "builddir/gdb
>>> -data-directory builddir/data-directory".
>>
>> I expect that the majority of users will *not* be running GDB out
>> of the build directory. If they encounter the same issue with a
>> poorly installed GDB (Eg: They copied the GDB binary from one location
>> to another without copying the remaining support files), the error
>> message is not going to help them.
>>
>> I think that people who do run GDB from the build directory (a power
>> user setup) should be sufficiently knowledgeable, and we should try
>> to tailor the hints towards regular users.
>
> Perhaps:
>
> GDB is unable to find its support files. You may need to provide the -data-directory flag to GDB (refer to the man pages for more details).

I'd still like to add this warning: even with the data-directory patch I just posted, it is still possible for this issue to occur, e.g., due to a bad install. Some minor fixes:

GDB is unable to find its auxiliary files. You may need to provide the -data-directory flag to GDB (please refer to the manual for details).

Yit
September 18, 2012