Instructs both the compiler and the linker to prepare the file or program for debugging.
The tasks include:
Producing detailed information, known as stabs, in the symbol table of the object files and the executable
Producing some "helper functions," which the debugger can call to implement some of its features
Disabling the inline generation of functions
Disabling certain levels of optimization
You can use this option with -xO to get the optimization level that you desire.
If you use this option with -xO, you will get limited debugging information.
When you specify this option, the +d option is specified automatically.
This option makes -xildon the default incremental linker option in order to speed up the compile-edit-debug cycle.
This option invokes ild in place of ld unless any of the following are true:
The -G option is present
The -xildoff option is present
Any source files are named on the command line
+d, -g0, -xildoff, -xildon, -xs, ld(1) man page, Debugging a Program With dbx (for details about stabs)