GDB Debugging Guide

give me a complete guide to gdp for debugging C programs

Here's a complete guide to using GDP (GNU Debugger for C programs) to debug C code, covering
everything from installation to advanced features. GDP is essentially GDB (GNU Debugger) but
sometimes customized for embedded development — this guide focuses on GDB, which is what most
people mean when they talk about debugging C with GDP.

🧰 1. Installation
On most systems, GDB is available via package managers.

Linux

bash

sudo apt update && sudo apt install gdb

macOS

bash

brew install gdb

⚠️ macOS requires code-signing GDB. Instructions here.

Windows

Use MSYS2 or install via MinGW:

bash

pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-gdb

🏗️ 2. Compiling Your C Program with Debug Symbols

To debug properly, compile with the `-g` flag:

bash

gcc -g -o myprog myprog.c

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Do not use `-O2` or higher optimization during debugging, as it can inline/remove variables.

🧭 3. Starting GDP/GDB
bash

gdb ./myprog

You’ll see a prompt like:

scss

(gdb)

🚦 4. Basic Commands
Command Description
`run` Start the program

`break main` Set a breakpoint at `main()`

`break filename:line` Break at a specific line

`next` Step over to the next line

`step` Step into the function
`continue` Resume program execution

`print var` Print the value of `var`

`list` Show source code around current line

`backtrace` or `bt` Show the call stack

`quit` Exit GDB

🧪 5. Debugging a Crash (e.g., Segmentation Fault)

1. Compile with `-g`

2. Run:

bash

gdb ./myprog
(gdb) run

3. After crash, GDB halts and shows the signal:

nginx

Program received signal SIGSEGV...

4. Use:

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 bash

(gdb) backtrace

To see the call stack and where the crash occurred.

🧠 6. Inspecting Variables and Memory

bash

(gdb) print var

(gdb) print *ptr
(gdb) x/4xw &var # Examine memory
(gdb) display var # Show var value at every stop

📍 7. Breakpoints (Advanced)
bash

(gdb) break function_name

(gdb) break file.c:25
(gdb) break file.c:25 if x > 10
(gdb) info breakpoints
(gdb) delete 1 # Delete breakpoint 1

🔄 8. Changing Values at Runtime

bash

(gdb) set var x = 99

(gdb) set *ptr = 0xDEADBEEF

⏱️ 9. Watchpoints
Watch for changes in variables:

bash

(gdb) watch var

(gdb) watch *ptr

🧳 10. Running with Arguments

bash

(gdb) set args arg1 arg2

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 (gdb) run

Or start with:

bash

gdb --args ./myprog arg1 arg2

🧵 11. Multi-threaded Debugging

Use:

bash

info threads
thread 2 # Switch to thread 2

🧪 12. Testing Memory Leaks with Valgrind (Bonus)

For memory issues:

bash

valgrind ./myprog

Or debug with:

bash

valgrind --vgdb=yes --vgdb-error=0 ./myprog

And connect with GDB.

📜 13. Using GDB Scripts

Automate with `.gdbinit`:

bash

# .gdbinit
break main
run

🧩 14. Visual GDB Frontends (Optional)

DDD – classic GUI for GDB

GDB Dashboard – better CLI interface

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 VS Code – use the C/C++ extension

Eclipse CDT – good for large projects

🔧 15. Common Tips

Use `info locals` to see all local variables.
Use `frame n` to move in the call stack.
Use `break abort` to catch abnormal exits.

Use `finish` to run until current function returns.

🧹 16. Exit GDB

bash

(gdb) quit

🧩 Optional: Embedded GDP (GDB for Embedded)

If you're using GDP for embedded (not standard Linux), it often involves:

Remote targets (`target remote`)

OpenOCD or ST-Link servers

Scripts like `.gdbinit` to connect to hardware

Let me know if you're using GDP for bare-metal embedded debugging or just regular C programs on
your computer, and I can tailor the guide further.

Would you like a PDF or cheat sheet version of this?

what does this do: gdb: rimuovere le informazioni di debug

• strip rimuove tutte le info di debug da un file oggetto/eseguibile
strip miosorgente.o

La riga che hai indicato:

nginx

strip miosorgente.o

significa che stai rimuovendo tutte le informazioni di debug dal file oggetto (o eseguibile)
`miosorgente.o`.

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🔍 Dettaglio: Che cos'è `strip`?

`strip` è un comando Unix/Linux usato per rimuovere simboli non essenziali, in particolare:

Simboli di debug (`-g` flag in compilazione)

Tabelle dei simboli

Altre informazioni usate dal debugger (come GDB)

📦 Esempio pratico
1. Compili il tuo programma con il debug:

bash

gcc -g -o miofile miofile.c

2. Il file `miofile` contiene simboli di debug:

GDB può mostrare variabili, funzioni, righe di codice.

3. Poi usi `strip`:

bash

strip miofile

Ora:

Il file è più leggero

Ma GDB non può più mostrarti nomi di variabili o codice sorgente

È molto più difficile da debuggare

🧠 Quando usare `strip`?

✅ Utile quando:
Vuoi distribuire un eseguibile più piccolo
Vuoi nascondere i dettagli interni del tuo programma

Vuoi evitare reverse engineering facile

❌ Non usarlo se:

Hai ancora bisogno di fare debugging

Vuoi analizzare crash o problemi con GDB

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🛠️ Alternativa: `strip --strip-debug`

Se vuoi solo rimuovere le informazioni di debug, ma mantenere alcuni simboli (per esempio per stack
trace), puoi usare:

bash

strip --strip-debug miofile

🔒 Pro tip
Puoi anche tenere due versioni:

bash

# Versione per debug

gcc -g -o miofile-debug miofile.c

# Versione per distribuzione

cp miofile-debug miofile-release
strip miofile-release

Fammi sapere se vuoi un esempio passo-passo con GDB e `strip` per vedere la differenza.

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