Summary of Features

Support for the -mapshared option: WDB GUI 5.2 supports the -mapshared functionality. This option suppresses the mapping of all shared libraries in a process private. The -mapshared option can be given as a command-line option while invoking WDB GUI as:

$ wdb -mapshared

or in the gdb command prompt as:

(gdb) set mapshared on

To allow shared libraries to be loaded after the current point to be mapped private:

(gdb) set mapshared off

Enhanced Threadview : The threadview support has been enhanced to mark the last-event thread. This feature does the bookkeeping for the thread that was running before a ttrace event, which stopped the process being debugged. In cases when both the current thread and last-event thread are the same, only the current thread is flagged.

Save To File option:

The Save to File option is used to save the contents of debugger stateview to the file specified. Right click on the debugger stateview, to save the view contents, to a file.

Enhanced Registers View : WDB GUI register view has been enhanced to show double precision floating-point register values. For example :

Single precision registers  - fr7L = 26.1749401 fr7R  = 0

Double precision register  - fr7 = 1.5000000000000016

Enhanced support for debugging terminal user interface based applications : WDB GUI supports a new command-line option -tui to support debugging terminal user interface based applications (for example vim).

Customized display of Program Console: WDB-GUI supports a command line option -d to customize WDB GUI Program Console display.

Enhanced Dwell feature to show large data: The Dwell feature has been enhanced to display large data.

Enhanced Source View: WDB GUI will be consistent in displaying source files in the Source View for FORTRAN applications.

No dwelling on Code comments: WDB GUI is now able to distinguish Code comments and will not show the value when dwelled on it.

Support for WDB’s Pathmap functionality: WDB GUI supports HP WDB debugger’s Pathmap functionality. The Pathmap ’From’ and ’To’ dialog box lets you define a list of substitution rules to be applied to path names to identify object files and the corresponding source files. In this dialog box, you can add, delete, and change the priority order of pathmap. You can access the Pathmap dialog box from the Edit menu by clicking Pathmap. Alternately, you may also set the pathmap from WDB GUI’s command view.

Setting Object File Paths: This feature allows the user to set object file paths so that WDB GUI may locate object files for the current program. The user may enter object file paths either via WDB GUI’s command view or via the Object File Paths Dialog box. The Object File Paths dialog box may be accessed on the Edit menu by clicking Object File Paths.

Support for Alternate Root Functionality: WDB GUI supports HP WDB debugger’s Alternate root path functionality. The Alternate Root Path functionality enables the user to install HP WDB debugger and its components on an alternate root rather than the system default root. HP WDB provides an environment variable, GDB_ROOT for this purpose. WDB GUI facilitates the setting of this environment variable. If GDB_ROOT is not set and the environment variable WDB_ROOT is set, WDB GUI would set GDB_ROOT to the WDB_ROOT value. If GDB_ROOT is set, the value is left as such.

Support for Debugging PA-RISC Applications on Itanium-based Systems: This feature allows the user to transparently debug PA-RISC applications and core files on Itanium-based systems in compatibility mode under Aries. When a executable is loaded and if the debug target is a PA-RISC binary then WDB GUI automatically changes the debugger flavor to PA-RISC version of HP WDB.

Enhanced Array Browsing: Allows you to view the entire contents of an expandable expression with a single click on the expression’s name, in the Name field of the Local Variables /Watch views. The expandable expression can be an array, structure, union or a class. To view the contents of the expandable data structure, click on the plus sign (+) available on the left side of the data structure’s name, or by double clicking the Name field on the line. To collapse the whole expansion, click on the minus sign (-) or double click on the line again. If the Enhanced Array Browsing option is set, the Quick Watch view will show the entire contents of the expandable data structure by default. To set this option, check the Enhanced Array Browsing check box in the Edit > Preferences dialog box. If this option is not set, you can click an expression’s name to expand that expression to the next level.

Memory Log: The Memory Log feature enables you to save the reports that the Memory Usage view creates about the data that the debugger collects on your program’s memory leaks and heap use.

Enable/Disable Thread: While debugging a multithreaded application, if you suspect that a specific thread is causing a problem, suspend other threads in the debugger and debug the thread that causes the problem. The Enable/Disable Thread feature in WDB GUI enables you to disable and enable specific threads.

Steplast support for C and C++: This feature, steplast, will step into a function, but not into the calls for evaluating arguments.In general, if a function call has arguments,which makes further function calls, the step command will step into argument evaluation call.

WDB GUI allows you to configure the number of string characters or array elements to be displayed in the LocalVariables/Watch/ QuickWatch views. Lower values can mean less memory is consumed while displaying large data structures. The default value is 200. You can set the value to a number between 0 and 1700 in the "Maximum Array Elements to be printed" text box using Edit > Preferences menu. However, to optimize memory consumption of WDB GUI, it is recommended that you keep this number as small as needed for your debugging session.

Shell commands: WDB GUI provides a separate popup terminal window for the user to execute shell commands. Type exit in the popup window to close the popup window and return the prompt to WDB GUI. If no TERM value is specified, xterm is taken for popup by default.

Hexadecimal display in Dwell: This feature allows you to view the hexadecimal values of the variables. When you dwell on a variable, the value of the variable is displayed in decimal and hexadecimal formats as a tooltip in the Source view of the WDB GUI. To view only decimal values, disable the hexadecimal display by setting the preference in "Display in decimal & hexadecimal format with dwell feature" checkbox in the Debugger Preferences dialog box.

WDB GUI loads large data structures faster than before in the Local Variables/Watch/Quick Watch views. The load time of large size arrays, structures, and classes is much shorter than before.

The Print debugger command: This command has been added to the source popup menu. You can mask any variable and right click (click M2) on this source popup menu item to print the value of the highlighted variable in the Command view.

Saving Commandline History: Allows you to save commandline history across WDB GUI sessions. You can also save and restore the sequence of commands in the GUI commandline, along with the other session contents, using Save/Restore Session.

Creating Buttons Dynamically: Allows you to create buttons dynamically from within the WDB GUI. You can associate all operations that are valid at the debugger prompt (gdb) with a button. You can save and restore the list of dynamically created buttons across GUI sessions.

Automatic update of source search path when breakpoint is set: WDB GUI automatically updates the source search path when a breakpoint is set in a file that is not in the search path. You can set this by checking the "Automatically Update Search Path when breakpoints set" check box in the Debugger Preferences dialog box.

Fix and continue: Allows you to edit sources and make the debugger compile and patch in the changes without restarting the debugged program.

Memory checking: Allows you to configure the debugger to check and report heap use, memory leaks, and memory use errors.

Function browsing: Allows you to visit the source for a function by clicking on the function name. You can choose from a list of functions that match a given regular expression.

Point and click breakpoints and breakpoint editing. Allows you to set or delete a breakpoint by clicking M1 on the left of the Source view or Disassembly view. Click M2 on a breakpoint symbol to bring up a dialog that lets you modify that breakpoint’s attributes.

Program consoles: xterm, dtterm, hpterm are supported as program consoles

Debugging an executable file or a core file produced by an aborted program

Attaching to a process that is already running

Debugging 32-bit programs

Debugging 64-bit programs (HP-UX 11.x only)

Viewing a source file and the corresponding assembly code

Searching for specific text and regular expressions in several views

Setting breakpoints and stepping through your program

Viewing and modifying the values of local and global variables

Viewing hardware registers

Traversing the call stack

Viewing and controlling signal handling

Traversing threads

Sending commands directly to WDB using a command line

Accessing a history of commands you have executed during the current debug session

Customizing the appearance and behavior of the debugger GUI

Saving and restoring debugger sessions