-format options

[Andrew Cagney <cagney@redhat.com>]

Hi,

some questions, and ideas.

What should the -format qualifier do when applied to floating point?  
For instance:
  (fhpd) print 1.0 -format x
  0x1
i.e., convert the cooked value to decimal and then print in hex; or:
  (fhpd) print 1.0 -format x
  0x3ff0000000000000
i.e., print the raw value in hex.  I think the answer depends on the 
next question.

What possible format options are there and how should they interact? 
Here's a possible list:
  bi[t]s, [o]ctal, [d]ecimal, he[x]adecimal, [f]loat, [v]alue (i.e., 
default)
  [r]aw, [c]ooked
  [b]ig-endian, [l]ittle-endian, [n]ative (for default)
  [s]igned, [u]nsigned, [i]nteger (for default???)
  reset: -
are there others?  I've tried to make each set largely orthogonal; does 
this work?  Would other combinations be better?  For signed/unsigned is 
there a better "default" to integer.  Should [o][x][t] just imply unsigned?

How should these options be specified; Either:
    -format rx
or
    -format x -data r -order b
for dumping each field in big-endian raw hex.  I prefer the more terse 
former.