Debugging a Program With dbx HomeContentsPreviousNextIndex


Chapter 17

Debugging at the
Machine-Instruction Level

This chapter describes how to use event management and process control commands at the machine-instruction level, how to display the contents of memory at specified addresses, and how to display source lines along with their corresponding machine instructions. The next, step, stop and trace commands each support a machine-instruction level variant: nexti, stepi, stopi, and tracei. Use the regs command to print out the contents of machine registers or the print command to print out individual registers.

This chapter is organized into the following sections:

Examining the Contents of Memory

Using addresses and the examine or x command, you can examine the content of memory locations as well as print the assembly language instruction at each address. Using a command derived from adb(1), the assembly language debugger, you can query for:

You can print the assembly commands using the dis and listi commands. (See Using the dis Command and Using the listi Command.)

Using the examine or x Command

Use the examine command, or its alias x, to display memory contents or addresses.

Use the following syntax to display the contents of memory starting at address for count items in format fmt. The default addr is the next one after the last address previously displayed. The default count is 1. The default fmt is the same as was used in the previous examine command, or X if this is the first command given.

The syntax for the examine command is:

examine [address] [/ [count] [format]]

To display the contents of memory from address1 through address2 inclusive, in format fmt, type:

examine address1, address2 [/ [format]]

Display the address, instead of the contents of the address in the given format by typing:

examine address = [format]

To print the value stored at the next address after the one last displayed by examine, type:

examine +/ i

To print the value of an expression, enter the expression as an address:

examine address=format
examine address=

Addresses

The address is any expression resulting in or usable as an address. The address may be replaced with a + (plus sign), which displays the contents of the next address in the default format.

For example, the following are valid addresses.:

0xff99 An absolute address
main Address of a function
main+20 Offset from a function address
&errno Address of a variable
str A pointer-value variable pointing to a string


Symbolic addresses used to display memory are specified by preceding a name with an ampersand (&). Function names can be used without the ampersand; &main is equal to main. Registers are denoted by preceding a name with a dollar sign ($).

Formats

The format is the address display format in which dbx displays the results of a query. The output produced depends on the current display format. To change the display format, supply a different format code.

The default format set at the start of each dbx session is X, which displays an address or value as a 32-bit word in hexadecimal. The following memory display formats are legal.

i Display as an assembly instruction.
d Display as 16 bits (2 bytes) in decimal.
D Display as 32 bits (4 bytes) in decimal.
o Display as 16 bits (2 bytes) in octal.
O Display as 32 bits (4 bytes) in octal.
x Display as 16 bits (2 bytes) in hexadecimal.
X Display as 32 bits (4 bytes) in hexadecimal. (default format)
b Display as a byte in octal.
c Display as a character.
w Display as a wide character.
s Display as a string of characters terminated by a null byte.
W Display as a wide character.
f Display as a single-precision floating point number.
F, g Display as a double-precision floating point number.
E Display as an extended-precision floating point number.
ld, lD Display 32 bits (4 bytes) in decimal (same as D).
lo, lO Display 32 bits (4 bytes) in octal (same as O).
lx, LX Display 32 bits (4 bytes) in hexadecimal (same as X).
Ld, LD Display 64 bits (8 bytes) in decimal.
Lo, LO Display 64 bits (8 bytes) in octal .
Lx, LX Display 64 bits (8 bytes) in hexadecimal.


Count

The count is a repetition count in decimal. The increment size depends on the memory display format.

Examples of Using an Address

The following examples show how to use an address with count and format options to display five successive disassembled instructions starting from the current stopping point.

For SPARC:

(dbx) stepi
stopped in main at 0x108bc
0x000108bc: main+0x000c: st    %l0, [%fp - 0x14]
(dbx) x 0x108bc/5i
0x000108bc: main+0x000c: st    %l0, [%fp - 0x14]
0x000108c0: main+0x0010: mov   0x1,%l0
0x000108c4: main+0x0014: or    %l0,%g0, %o0
0x000108c8: main+0x0018: call  0x00020b90 [unresolved PLT 8: 
malloc]
0x000108cc: main+0x001c: nop

For Intel:

(dbx) x &main/5i
0x08048988: main       :  pushl  %ebp
0x08048989: main+0x0001:  movl   %esp,%ebp
0x0804898b: main+0x0003:  subl   $0x28,%esp
0x0804898e: main+0x0006:  movl   0x8048ac0,%eax
0x08048993: main+0x000b:  movl   %eax,-8(%ebp)

Using the dis Command

The dis command is equivalent to the examine command with i as the default display format.

Here is the syntax for the dis command.

dis [address] [address1, address2] [/count]

The dis command:

Using the listi Command

To display source lines with their corresponding assembly instructions, use the listi command, which is equivalent to the command list -i. See the discussion of list -i in Printing a Source Listing.

For SPARC:

(dbx) listi 13, 14
   13       i = atoi(argv[1]);
0x0001083c: main+0x0014:  ld      [%fp + 0x48], %l0
0x00010840: main+0x0018:  add     %l0, 0x4, %l0
0x00010844: main+0x001c:  ld      [%l0], %l0
0x00010848: main+0x0020:  or      %l0, %g0, %o0
0x0001084c: main+0x0024:  call    0x000209e8 [unresolved PLT 7: 
atoi]
0x00010850: main+0x0028:  nop     
0x00010854: main+0x002c:  or      %o0, %g0, %l0
0x00010858: main+0x0030:  st      %l0, [%fp - 0x8]
   14       j = foo(i);
0x0001085c: main+0x0034:  ld      [%fp - 0x8], %l0
0x00010860: main+0x0038:  or      %l0, %g0, %o0
0x00010864: main+0x003c:  call    foo
0x00010868: main+0x0040:  nop     
0x0001086c: main+0x0044:  or      %o0, %g0, %l0
0x00010870: main+0x0048:  st      %l0, [%fp - 0xc]

For Intel:

(dbx) listi 13, 14
   13       i = atoi(argv[1]);
0x080488fd: main+0x000d:  movl   12(%ebp),%eax
0x08048900: main+0x0010:  movl   4(%eax),%eax
0x08048903: main+0x0013:  pushl  %eax
0x08048904: main+0x0014:  call   atoi <0x8048798>
0x08048909: main+0x0019:  addl   $4,%esp
0x0804890c: main+0x001c:  movl   %eax,-8(%ebp)
   14       j = foo(i);
0x0804890f: main+0x001f:  movl   -8(%ebp),%eax
0x08048912: main+0x0022:  pushl  %eax
0x08048913: main+0x0023:  call   foo <0x80488c0>
0x08048918: main+0x0028:  addl   $4,%esp
0x0804891b: main+0x002b:  movl   %eax,-12(%ebp)

Stepping and Tracing at Machine-Instruction Level

Machine-instruction level commands behave the same as their source level counterparts except that they operate at the level of single instructions instead of source lines.

Single Stepping at the Machine-Instruction Level

To single step from one machine instruction to the next machine instruction, use the nexti command or the stepi command

The nexti command and the stepi command behave the same as their source-code level counterparts: the nexti command steps over functions, the stepi command steps into a function called by the next instruction (stopping at the first instruction in the called function). The command forms are also the same. See "next Command" and "step Command" in the Using dbx Commands section of the Sun WorkShop online help for a description.

The output from the nexti command and the stepi command differs from the corresponding source level commands in two ways:

For example:

(dbx) func
hand::ungrasp
(dbx) nexti
ungrasp +0x18:  call support
(dbx)

For more information, see "nexti Command" and "stepi Command" in the Using dbx Commands section of the Sun WorkShop online help.

Tracing at the Machine-Instruction Level

Tracing techniques at the machine-instruction level work the same as at the source code level, except you use the tracei command For the tracei command, dbx executes a single instruction only after each check of the address being executed or the value of the variable being traced. The tracei command produces automatic stepi-like behavior: the program advances one instruction at a time, stepping into function calls.

When you use the tracei command, it causes the program to stop for a moment after each instruction while dbx checks for the address execution or the value of the variable or expression being traced. Using the tracei command can slow execution considerably.

For more information on trace and its event specifications and modifiers, see Tracing Code and "trace Command" in the Using dbx Commands section of the Sun WorkShop online help.

Here is the general syntax for tracei:

tracei event-specification [modifier]

Commonly used forms of tracei are:

tracei step Trace each instruction.
tracei next Trace each instruction, but skip over calls.
tracei at address Trace the given code address.


For more information, see "tracei Command" in the Using dbx Commands section of the Sun WorkShop online help.

For SPARC:

(dbx) tracei next -in main 
(dbx) cont
0x00010814: main+0x0004:  clr     %l0
0x00010818: main+0x0008:  st      %l0, [%fp - 0x8]
0x0001081c: main+0x000c:  call    foo
0x00010820: main+0x0010:  nop     
0x00010824: main+0x0014:  clr     %l0
....
....
(dbx) (dbx) tracei step -in foo -if glob == 0
(dbx) cont              
0x000107dc: foo+0x0004:  mov     0x2, %l1
0x000107e0: foo+0x0008:  sethi   %hi(0x20800), %l0
0x000107e4: foo+0x000c:  or      %l0, 0x1f4, %l0     ! glob
0x000107e8: foo+0x0010:  st      %l1, [%l0]
0x000107ec: foo+0x0014:  ba      foo+0x1c
....
....

Setting Breakpoints at the Machine-Instruction Level

To set a breakpoint at the machine-instruction level, use the stopi command. The command accepts any event specification, using the syntax:

stopi event-specification [modifier]

Commonly used forms of the stopi command are:

stopi [at address] [-if cond]
stopi in function [-if cond]

For more infomation, see "stopi Command" in the Using dbx Commands section of the Sun WorkShop online help.

Setting a Breakpoint at an Address

To set a breakpoint at a specific address, type:

(dbx) stopi at address

For example:

(dbx) nexti
stopped in hand::ungrasp at 0x12638
(dbx) stopi at &hand::ungrasp
(3) stopi at &hand::ungrasp
(dbx)

Using the adb Command

The adb command lets you enter commands in an adb(1) syntax. You can also enter adb mode which interprets every command as adb syntax. Most adb commands are supported.

For more information, see "adb Command" in the Using dbx Commands section of the Sun WorkShop online help.

Using the regs Command

The regs command lets you print the value of all the registers.

Here is the syntax for the regs command:

regs [-f][-F]

-f includes floating point registers (single precision). -F includes floating point registers (double precision). These are SPARC-only options.

For more information, see "regs Command" in the Using dbx Commands section of the Sun WorkShop online help.

For SPARC:

dbx[13] regs -F
current thread: t@1
current frame:  [1]
g0-g3    0x00000000 0x0011d000 0x00000000 0x00000000
g4-g7    0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00020c38
o0-o3    0x00000003 0x00000014 0xef7562b4 0xeffff420
o4-o7    0xef752f80 0x00000003 0xeffff3d8 0x000109b8
l0-l3    0x00000014 0x0000000a 0x0000000a 0x00010a88
l4-l7    0xeffff438 0x00000001 0x00000007 0xef74df54
i0-i3    0x00000001 0xeffff4a4 0xeffff4ac 0x00020c00
i4-i7    0x00000001 0x00000000 0xeffff440 0x000108c4
y        0x00000000
psr      0x40400086
pc       0x000109c0:main+0x4    mov     0x5, %l0
npc      0x000109c4:main+0x8    st      %l0, [%fp - 0x8]
f0f1     +0.00000000000000e+00
f2f3     +0.00000000000000e+00
f4f5     +0.00000000000000e+00
f6f7     +0.00000000000000e+00
... 

Platform-Specific Registers

The following tables list platform-specific register names for SPARC and Intel that can be used in expressions.

SPARC Register Information

The following register information is for SPARC systems.

Register Description
$g0 through $g7 Global registers
$o0 through $o7 "out" registers
$l0 through $l7 "local" registers
$i0 through $i7 "in" registers
$fp Frame pointer, equivalent to register $i6
$sp Stack pointer, equivalent to register $o6
$y Y register
$psr Processor state register
$wim Window invalid mask register
$tbr Trap base register
$pc Program counter
$npc Next program counter
$f0 through $f31 FPU "f" registers
$fsr FPU status register
$fq FPU queue


The $f0f1 $f2f3 ... $f30f31 pairs of floating-point registers are treated as having C "double" type (normally $fN registers are treated as C "float" type). These pairs can also be referred to as $d0 ... $d30.

The following additional registers are available on SPARC V9 and V8+ hardware:

$g0g1 through $g6g7
$o0o1 through $o6o7
$xfsr $tstate $gsr
$f32f33 $f34f35 through $f62f63 ($d32 ... $$d62)

See the SPARC Architecture Reference Manual and the Sun-4 Assembly Language Reference Manual for more information on SPARC registers and addressing.

Intel Register Information

The following register information is for Intel systems.

Register Description
$gs Alternate data segment register
$fs Alternate data segment register
$es Alternate data segment register
$ds Data segment register
$edi Destination index register
$esi Source index register
$ebp Frame pointer
$esp Stack pointer
$ebx General register
$edx General register
$ecx General register
$eax General register
$trapno Exception vector number
$err Error code for exception
$eip Instruction pointer
$cs Code segment register
$eflags Flags
$es Alternate data segment register
$uesp User stack pointer
$ss Stack segment register


Commonly used registers are also aliased to their machine independent names.

Register Description
$sp Stack pointer; equivalent of $uesp
$pc Program counter; equivalent of $eip
$fp Frame pointer; equivalent of $ebp


Registers for the 80386 lower halves (16 bits) are:

Register Description
$ax General register
$cx General register
$dx General register
$bx General register
$si Source index register
$di Destination index register
$ip Instruction pointer, lower 16 bits
$flags Flags, lower 16 bits


The first four 80386 16-bit registers can be split into 8-bit parts:

Register Description
$al Lower (right) half of register $ax
$ah Higher (left) half of register $ax
$cl Lower (right) half of register $cx
$ch Higher (left) half of register $cx
$dl Lower (right) half of register $dx
$dh Higher (left) half of register $dx
$bl Lower (right) half of register $bx
$bh Higher (left) half of register $bx


Registers for the 80387 are:

register Description
$fctrl Control register
$fstat Status register
$ftag Tag register
$fip Instruction pointer offset
$fcs Code segment selector
$fopoff Operand pointer offset
$fopsel Operand pointer selector
$st0 through $st7 Data registers



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