Before You Begin

The dbx command-line debugger is an interactive, source-level debugging tool. Debugging a Program With dbx is intended for programmers who want to debug an application using dbx commands. Users of dbx need with a working knowledge of Fortran, C, or C++, and some understanding of the Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS), or the Linux operating system, and UNIX^® commands, .

How This Book Is Organized

Debugging a Program With dbx contains the following chapters and appendixes:

Chapter 1 gives you the basics of using dbx to debug an application.

Chapter 2 describes how to compile a program for debugging and how to start a debugging session.

Chapter 3 describes how to customize your debugging environment.

Chapter 4 tells you about visiting source files and functions; locating symbols; and looking up variables, members, types, and classes.

Chapter 5 describes how to run a program under dbx., including how to attach to a running program.

Chapter 6 describes how to set, clear, and list breakpoints and traces.

Chapter 7 tells you how to examine the call stack.

Chapter 8 shows you how to evaluate data; display the values of expressions, variables, and other data structures; and assign values to variables.

Chapter 9 describes how to use runtime checking to detect memory leak and memory access errors in your program automatically.

Chapter 10 describes the fix and continue feature of dbx .

Chapter 11 tells you how to find information about threads.

Chapter 13 describes how to use dbx to debug OpenMP code.

Chapter 12 describes several dbx facilities that help you debug child processes.

Chapter 14 tells you how to use dbx to work with signals.

Chapter 15 describes dbx support of C++ templates, and the commands available for handling C++ exceptions and how dbx handles these exceptions.

Chapter 16 introduces some of the dbx facilities you can use to debug a Fortran program.

Chapter 17 describes how you can use dbx to debug an application that is a mixture of Java code and C JNI (Java Native Interface) code or C++ JNI code.

Chapter 18 tells you how to use dbx at the machine-instruction level

Chapter 19 explains the differences between ksh-88 and dbx commands.

Chapter 20 describes dbx support for program that use dynamically linked, shared libraries.

Appendix A focuses on dbx commands that change your program or its behavior when you run it under dbx.

Appendix B tells you how to manage events in the program you are debugging.

Appendix C gives detailed syntax and functional descriptions of all of the dbx commands.

Typographic Conventions

TABLE P-1 Typeface Conventions
Typeface	Meaning	Examples
`AaBbCc123`	The names of commands, files, and directories; on-screen computer output	Edit your `.login` file. Use `ls` `-a` to list all files. `% You have mail.`
`AaBbCc123`	What you type, when contrasted with on-screen computer output	`%` `su` `Password:`
AaBbCc123	Book titles, new words or terms, words to be emphasized	Read Chapter 6 in the User's Guide. These are called class options. You must be superuser to do this.
AaBbCc123	Command-line placeholder text; replace with a real name or value	To delete a file, type `rm` filename.

TABLE P-2 Code Conventions
Code Symbol	Meaning	Notation	Code Example
[ ]	Brackets contain arguments that are optional.	`O[`n`]`	`O4, O`
{ }	Braces contain a set of choices for a required option.	`d{y\|n}`	`dy`
\|	The "pipe" or "bar" symbol separates arguments, only one of which may be chosen.	`B{dynamic\|static}`	`Bstatic`
:	The colon, like the comma, is sometimes used to separate arguments.	`R`dir`[:`dir`]`	`R/local/libs:/U/a`
...	The ellipsis indicates omission in a series.	`xinline=`f1`[`,...fn`]`	`xinline=alpha,dos`

Shell Prompts

Shell	Prompt
C shell	machine-name`%`
C shell superuser	machine-name`#`
Bourne shell, Korn shell, and GNU Bourne-Again shell	`$`
Superuser for Bourne shell, Korn shell, and GNU Bourne-Again shell	`#`

Supported Platforms

This Sun Studio release supports systems that use the SPARC^® and x86 families of processor architectures: UltraSPARC^®, SPARC64, AMD64, Pentium, and Xeon EM64T. The supported systems for the version of the Solaris Operating System you are running are available in the hardware compatibility lists at http://www.sun.com/bigadmin/hcl. These documents cite any implementation differences between the platform types.

In this document, these x86 related terms mean the following:

"x86" refers to the larger family of 64-bit and 32-bit x86 compatible products.

"x64' points out specific 64-bit information about AMD64 or EM64T systems.

"32-bit x86" points out specific 32-bit information about x86 based systems.

For supported systems, see the hardware compatibility lists.

Accessing Sun Studio Software and Man Pages

The Sun Studio software and its man pages are not installed into the standard /usr/bin/ and /usr/share/man directories. To access the software, you must have your PATH environment variable set correctly (see Accessing the Software). To access the man pages, you must have your MANPATH environment variable set correctly (see Accessing the Man Pages).

For more information about the PATH variable, see the csh(1), sh(1), ksh(1), and bash(1) man pages. For more information about the MANPATH variable, see the man(1) man page. For more information about setting your PATH variable and MANPATH variable to access this release, see the installation guide or your system administrator.

Note - The information in this section assumes that your Sun Studio software is installed in the /opt directory on Solaris platforms and in the /opt/sun directory on Linux platforms. If your software is not installed in the default directory, ask your system administrator for the equivalent path on your system.

Accessing the Software

Use the steps below to determine whether you need to change your PATH variable to access the software.

To Determine Whether You Need to Set Your `PATH` Environment Variable

1. Display the current value of the PATH variable by typing the following at a command prompt.

% echo $PATH

2. On Solaris platforms, review the output to find a string of paths that contain /opt/SUNWspro/bin. On Linux platforms, review the output to find a string of paths that contain /opt/sun/sunstudio11/bin.

If you find the path, your PATH variable is already set to access the software. If you do not find the path, set your PATH environment variable by following the instructions in the next procedure.

To Set Your `PATH` Environment Variable to Enable Access to the Software

On Solaris platforms, add the following path to your PATH environment variable. If you have previously installed Forte Developer software, Sun ONE Studio software, or another release of Sun Studio software, add the following path before the paths to those installations.

/opt/SUNWspro/bin

On Linux platforms, add the following path to your PATH environment variable.

/opt/sun/sunstudio11/bin

Accessing the Man Pages

Use the following steps to determine whether you need to change your MANPATH variable to access the man pages.

To Determine Whether You Need to Set Your `MANPATH` Environment Variable

1. Request the dbx man page by typing the following at a command prompt.

% man dbx

2. Review the output, if any.

If the dbx(1) man page cannot be found or if the man page displayed is not for the current version of the software, follow the instructions in the next procedure to set your MANPATH environment variable.

To Set Your `MANPATH` Environment Variable to Enable Access to the Man Pages

On Solaris platforms, add the following path to your MANPATH environment variable.

/opt/SUNWspro/man

On Linux platforms, add the following path to your MANPATH environment variable.

/opt/sun/sunstudio11/man

Accessing the Integrated Development Environment

The Sun Studio integrated development environment (IDE) provides modules for creating, editing, building, debugging, and analyzing the performance of a C, C++, or Fortran application.

The command to start the IDE is sunstudio. For details on this command, see the sunstudio(1) man page.

The correct operation of the IDE depends on the IDE being able to find the core platform. The sunstudio command looks for the core platform in two locations:

The command looks first in the default installation directory, /opt/netbeans/3.5V11 on Solaris platforms and /opt/sun/netbeans/3.5V11 on Linux platforms.

If the command does not find the core platform in the default directory, it assumes that the directory that contains the IDE and the directory that contains the core platform are both installed in or mounted to the same location. For example, on Solaris platforms, if the path to the directory that contains the IDE is /foo/SUNWspro, the command looks for the core platform in /foo/netbeans/3.5V11. On Linux platforms, if the path to the directory that contains the IDE is /foo/sunstudio11, the command looks for the core platform in /foo/netbeans/3.5V11.

If the core platform is not installed or mounted to either of the locations where the sunstudio command looks for it, then each user on a client system must set the environment variable SPRO_NETBEANS_HOME to the location where the core platform is installed or mounted (/installation_directory/netbeans/3.5V11).

On Solaris platforms, each user of the IDE also must add /installation_directory/SUNWspro/bin to their $PATH in front of the path to any other release of Forte Developer software, Sun ONE Studio software, or Sun Studio software. On Linux platforms, each user of the IDE also must add /installation_directory/sunstudio11/bin to their $PATH in front of the path to any other release of Sun Studio software.

The path /installation_directory/netbeans/3.5V11/bin should not be added to the user's $PATH.

Accessing Sun Studio Documentation

You can access the documentation at the following locations:

The documentation is available from the documentation index that is installed with the software on your local system or network at file:/opt/SUNWspro/docs/index.html on Solaris platforms and at file:/opt/sun/sunstudio11/docs/index.html on Linux platforms.

If your software is not installed in the /opt directory on a Solaris platform or the /opt/sun directory on a Linux platform, ask your system administrator for the equivalent path on your system.

Most manuals are available from the docs.sun.com^sm web site. The following titles are available through your installed software on Solaris platforms only:

Standard C++ Library Class Reference

Standard C++ Library User's Guide

Tools.h++ Class Library Reference

Tools.h++ User's Guide

The release notes for both Solaris platforms and Linux platforms are available from the docs.sun.com web site.

Online help for all components of the IDE is available through the Help menu, as well as through Help buttons on many windows and dialog boxes, in the IDE.

The docs.sun.com web site (http://docs.sun.com) enables you to read, print, and buy Sun Microsystems manuals through the Internet. If you cannot find a manual, see the documentation index that is installed with the software on your local system or network.

Note - Sun is not responsible for the availability of third-party Web sites mentioned in this document. Sun does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products, or other materials that are available on or through such sites or resources. Sun will not be responsible or liable for any actual or alleged damage or loss caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any such content, goods, or services that are available on or through such sites or resources.

Documentation in Accessible Formats

The documentation is provided in accessible formats that are readable by assistive technologies for users with disabilities. You can find accessible versions of documentation as described in the following table. If your software is not installed in the /opt directory, ask your system administrator for the equivalent path on your system.

Type of Documentation	Format and Location of Accessible Version
Manuals (except third-party manuals)	HTML at `http://docs.sun.com`
Third-party manuals: Standard C++ Library Class Reference Standard C++ Library User's Guide Tools.h++ Class Library Reference Tools.h++ User's Guide	HTML in the installed software on Solaris platforms through the documentation index at `file:/opt/SUNWspro/docs/index.html`
Readmes	HTML on the developer portal at `http://developers.sun.com/prodtech/cc/documentation/ss11/docs/mr/READMEs`
Man pages	HTML in the installed software through the documentation index at `file:/opt/SUNWspro/docs/index.html` on Solaris platforms, and at `file:/opt/sun/sunstudio11/docs/index.html` on Linux platforms,
Online help	HTML available through the Help menu and Help buttons in the IDE
Release notes	HTML at `http://docs.sun.com`

Document Title	Description
dbx Readme	Lists new features, known problems, limitations, and incompatibilities of `dbx`.
dbx(1) man page	Describes the `dbx` command.
C User's Guide	Describes the Sun Studio 11 C programming language compiler along with ANSI C compiler-specific information.
C++ User's Guide	Instructs you in the use of the Sun Studio 11 C++ compiler and provides detailed information on command-line compiler options.
Fortran User's Guide	Describes the compile-time environment and command-line options for the Sun Studio 11 Fortran compiler.
OpenMP API User's Guide	Summarizes the OpenMP Fortran 95, C, and C++ application program interface (API) for building multiprocessing applications. Sun Studio compilers support the OpenMP API.
Performance Analyzer	Describes the performance analysis tools that are available with Sun Studio 11

Document Title	Description
dbx Readme	Lists new features, known problems, limitations, and incompatibilities of `dbx`.
dbx(1) man page	Describes the `dbx` command.
Performance Analyzer	Describes the performance analysis tools that are available with Sun Studio 11.

Accessing Related Solaris Documentation

The following table describes related documentation that is available through the docs.sun.com web site.

Document Collection	Document Title	Description
Solaris Reference Manual Collection	See the titles of man page sections.	Provides information about the Solaris OS.
Solaris Software Developer Collection	Linker and Libraries Guide	Describes the operations of the Solaris link-editor and runtime linker.
Solaris Software Developer Collection	Multithreaded Programming Guide	Covers the POSIX and Solaris threads APIs, programming with synchronization objects, compiling multithreaded programs, and finding tools for multithreaded programs.
Solaris Software Developer Collection	SPARC Assembly Language Reference Manual	Describes the assembler that runs on the SPARC architecture and translates source files that are in assembly language format into object files in linking format.

Resources for Developers

Visit http://developers.sun.com/prodtech/cc to find these frequently updated resources:

Articles on programming techniques and best practices

A knowledge base of short programming tips

Documentation of the software, as well as corrections to the documentation that is installed with your software

Information on support levels

User forums

Downloadable code samples

New technology previews

You can find additional resources for developers at http://developers.sun.com.

Contacting Sun Technical Support

If you have technical questions about this product that are not answered in this document, go to:

http://www.sun.com/service/contacting

Sending Your Comments

Sun is interested in improving its documentation and welcomes your comments and suggestions. Submit your comments to Sun at this URL:

http://www.sun.com/hwdocs/feedback

Please include the part number of the document in the subject line of your email. For example, the part number for this document is 819-3683-10.