GDB needs a --cmdline option

GDB needs a --cmdline option

[Mo DeJong]

Hi all. I was just going through the pain of creating
--command files to run my program when it struck me (again)
that gdb should be able to handle this. Last year, I
posted a note about this, it generated some discussion
of how it could be implemented:

http://sources.redhat.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-05/msg00111.html

As far as I know, nothing has happened on this front so
I am back in an attempt to get it done or die trying.

I am willing to jump in the code and do some hacking
if folks could point me in the right direction and
tell me what bits to avoid. The features I need are:

1. The ability to pass program args on the command line.

Currently, I run `echo "set args arg1 arg2' > gdb.run ; gdb ... 
--command=gdb.run`

2. The ability to have GDB run in a pipeline, if the
   program does nothing wrong then gdb would do nothing
   and return the exit() code of the program.

Currently, I need to go in by hand and figure out what
the stdin and cmd line args are for the Nth command
in a pipeline, it is really quite painful.

Mo DeJong
Red Hat Inc

Re: GDB needs a --cmdline option

[John R. Moore]

For 1. below, would an expect script do ?

------ cut runGdb ----
#!/bin/sh
# the next line restarts using expect \
exec tclsh "$0" "$@"

package require Expect

log_user 0
set timeout 5

spawn gdb

if { [llength $argv] > 0} \
  {
    expect "(gdb) " \
      {
        send " [ lrange $argv 0 end ] \r"
      }
  }
interact

exit
------- end runGdb -----

A similar script could be written for 2.

John

On Sun, 11 Feb 2001, Mo DeJong wrote:

> Hi all. I was just going through the pain of creating
> --command files to run my program when it struck me (again)
> that gdb should be able to handle this. Last year, I
> posted a note about this, it generated some discussion
> of how it could be implemented:
>
> http://sources.redhat.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-05/msg00111.html
>
> As far as I know, nothing has happened on this front so
> I am back in an attempt to get it done or die trying.
>
> I am willing to jump in the code and do some hacking
> if folks could point me in the right direction and
> tell me what bits to avoid. The features I need are:
>
> 1. The ability to pass program args on the command line.
>
> Currently, I run `echo "set args arg1 arg2' > gdb.run ; gdb ...
> --command=gdb.run`
>
> 2. The ability to have GDB run in a pipeline, if the
>    program does nothing wrong then gdb would do nothing
>    and return the exit() code of the program.
>
> Currently, I need to go in by hand and figure out what
> the stdin and cmd line args are for the Nth command
> in a pipeline, it is really quite painful.
>
> Mo DeJong
> Red Hat Inc
>

Re: GDB needs a --cmdline option

[Mo DeJong]

On Mon, 12 Feb 2001, John R. Moore wrote:

> For 1. below, would an expect script do ?

Yes, one could always "work around" the
problem. I have been doing that for
some time. This is something gdb should
be able to do, without hacks and
workarounds.

Mo DeJong
Red Hat Inc