Changes in dbx Since Release 2.0.1

A number of features have been added and changed in dbx since release 2.0.1. For lists of the changes from release to release, type help changes on the dbx command line or see the What's Changed in dbx section of the Sun WorkShop online help

Some of the differences between the current release and release 2.0.1 (or other vendors'variations of dbx) are described in the following sections.

Using the .dbxinit File

Long-time users of dbx might be using the .dbxinit file instead of the newer .dbxrc file. If you have a .dbxrc file, dbx reads it and ignores any .dbxinit file present. If necessary, you can get dbx to read both by adding the following lines to your .dbxrc file:

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kalias alias=dalias
source ~/.dbxinit
kalias alias=kalias

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If you don't have a .dbxrc file, but do have a .dbxinit file, you should see the warning message:

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Using .dbxinit compatibility mode. See `help .dbxrc' for more information.

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Currently, dbx still reads your .dbxinit file, although this feature may disappear in a future release.

If you still use a .dbxinit file, see Chapter 2, Customizing dbx" for information about using the .dbxrc file instead.

Alias Definition

The alias command is now a pre-defined alias for dalias or kalias.

The Symbols / and ?

With the introduction of a KornShell-based parser, the / (forward slash) command had to be renamed because it cannot be distinguished from a UNIX pathname. Use search instead.

This example

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(dbx) /abc

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now means to execute the file abc from the root directory.

Similarly, ? (question mark) had to be renamed because it is now a shell metacharacter. Use bsearch instead.

This example reads expand the pattern that matches all files in the current directory with a four-character filename having abc as the last three characters, then execute the resulting command.

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(dbx) ?abc

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If you use these commands frequently, you may wish to create aliases for them

alias ff=search	find forward
alias fb=bsearch	find backward

Embedded Slash Command

The embedded slash command was renamed. This is no longer valid:

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0x1234/5X

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Use the examine command or its alias, x:

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examine 0x1234/5X
x 0x1234/5X

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Using assign Instead of set

set is now the KornShell set command, and is no longer an alias for assign.