* GDB's command qualifier character is `/'
@ 2003-10-19 16:50 Andrew Cagney
2003-10-20 0:32 ` Daniel Jacobowitz
2003-10-20 21:54 ` Jim Blandy
0 siblings, 2 replies; 6+ messages in thread
From: Andrew Cagney @ 2003-10-19 16:50 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: gdb
This seems to keep comming up, sigh!
GDB's CLI, long ago established `/' as its command qualifier character vis:
x/i
display/i
print/x
GDB's user base is very familar with this syntax(1) so adding new
qualfiers using this syntax would provide a consistent user experience
(if there is x/i, how come there isn't "info break/l"?).
In fact, in the case of all these specific commands (including "info
break/l") trying to switch to UNIX's option syntax vis:
x --i
would be a disaster!
What's unfortunate in all this is that the current CLI code doesn't
directly parse the qualifier convention. For instance:
(gdb) x<TAB>
x/i x/b x/8 x/4
and
(gdb) load/vma /lma
(load, using vma addresses, the file "/lma").
If the command doesn't involve files, though, I can't think of a reason
for not using the `/' qualifier. If it does involve files, then I guess
the work needed to add the qualifier will need to include modifing the
cli.
Note that this doesn't address "parameterized qualifiers" (tar/dump
convention?) and "qualified parameters" (not allowed?).
enjoy,
Andrew
(1) Personally, I'm always using the `/' qualifier, but I can't remember
when, if ever, I used one of the UNIX style command options.
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 6+ messages in thread
* Re: GDB's command qualifier character is `/'
2003-10-19 16:50 GDB's command qualifier character is `/' Andrew Cagney
@ 2003-10-20 0:32 ` Daniel Jacobowitz
2003-10-21 19:29 ` Andrew Cagney
2003-10-20 21:54 ` Jim Blandy
1 sibling, 1 reply; 6+ messages in thread
From: Daniel Jacobowitz @ 2003-10-20 0:32 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: gdb
On Sun, Oct 19, 2003 at 12:50:26PM -0400, Andrew Cagney wrote:
> This seems to keep comming up, sigh!
>
> GDB's CLI, long ago established `/' as its command qualifier character vis:
>
> x/i
> display/i
> print/x
>
> GDB's user base is very familar with this syntax(1) so adding new
> qualfiers using this syntax would provide a consistent user experience
> (if there is x/i, how come there isn't "info break/l"?).
>
> In fact, in the case of all these specific commands (including "info
> break/l") trying to switch to UNIX's option syntax vis:
>
> x --i
>
> would be a disaster!
I stand by my previous disagreement with this position.
All of the currently accepted / options that I can find are output
format qualifiers. I find nothing strange or inconsistent about using
a different syntax for options and for output qualifiers. GDB doesn't
have any examples of
break /shlib libc.so.6 round
or
break /shlib:libc.so.6 round
only
print/x round
I don't think x/i is prior art for break /shlib.
> What's unfortunate in all this is that the current CLI code doesn't
> directly parse the qualifier convention. For instance:
>
> (gdb) x<TAB>
> x/i x/b x/8 x/4
> and
> (gdb) load/vma /lma
> (load, using vma addresses, the file "/lma").
Yes, this is unfortunate - at least in the minor bit that it generates
some strange error messages. Almost nothing is centrally parsed in the
CLI and that's a shame.
> (1) Personally, I'm always using the `/' qualifier, but I can't remember
> when, if ever, I used one of the UNIX style command options.
That's because there are very few commands in all of GDB's CLI which
_take_ options. /, -, or otherwise.
--
Daniel Jacobowitz
MontaVista Software Debian GNU/Linux Developer
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 6+ messages in thread
* Re: GDB's command qualifier character is `/'
2003-10-19 16:50 GDB's command qualifier character is `/' Andrew Cagney
2003-10-20 0:32 ` Daniel Jacobowitz
@ 2003-10-20 21:54 ` Jim Blandy
1 sibling, 0 replies; 6+ messages in thread
From: Jim Blandy @ 2003-10-20 21:54 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: Andrew Cagney; +Cc: gdb
Andrew Cagney <cagney@gnu.org> writes:
> GDB's CLI, long ago established `/' as its command qualifier character vis:
>
> x/i
> display/i
> print/x
>
> GDB's user base is very familar with this syntax(1) so adding new
> qualfiers using this syntax would provide a consistent user experience
> (if there is x/i, how come there isn't "info break/l"?).
I think / is only for format specifiers, not a general-purpose command
qualifier thing.
It seems to me that GDB has tended to use words for command
qualifiers, like:
break foo if x == 10
break foo thread 4
`append [binary] memory FILENAME START_ADDR END_ADDR'
`append [binary] value FILENAME EXPR'
We do have some existing examples of Unix-like command options:
`symbol-file FILENAME [ -readnow ] [ -mapped ]'
`file FILENAME [ -readnow ] [ -mapped ]'
`add-symbol-file FILENAME ADDRESS'
`add-symbol-file FILENAME ADDRESS [ -readnow ] [ -mapped ]'
`add-symbol-file FILENAME -sSECTION ADDRESS ...'
I'd love to see discussion about how to pull these things together a
bit more, but I think it's difficult to argue that there is a
consistent rule in place already.
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 6+ messages in thread
* Re: GDB's command qualifier character is `/'
2003-10-20 0:32 ` Daniel Jacobowitz
@ 2003-10-21 19:29 ` Andrew Cagney
2003-10-22 9:56 ` Andreas Schwab
0 siblings, 1 reply; 6+ messages in thread
From: Andrew Cagney @ 2003-10-21 19:29 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: Daniel Jacobowitz; +Cc: gdb
> All of the currently accepted / options that I can find are output
> format qualifiers.
While:
/d /f /c
are certainly format qualfiers, I don't think repeat counts:
/2 /16 ...
or size:
/b /h /w /g
can be interpreted that way. For instance
(gdb) x/8 $pc
...
(gdb) print/8 main
Item count other than 1 is meaningless in "print" command.
(gdb) print/g main
Size letters are meaningless in "print" command.
Note that the current code doesn't separate single letter qualfiers with
a `/' ("x/8/f/g" isn't valid). But tweaking the code to do this is
easy, and I don't expect users to notice.
Also note that GDB's lack of a strong parser means that:
x /8 $pc
is interpreted as:
x/8 $pc
> I find nothing strange or inconsistent about using
> a different syntax for options and for output qualifiers. GDB doesn't
> have any examples of
> break /shlib libc.so.6 round
> or
> break /shlib:libc.so.6 round
``Note that this doesn't address "parameterized qualifiers" (tar/dump
convention?) and "qualified parameters" (not allowed?)''.
To expand on "tar/dump convention", tar/dump put the parameters after
the qualifiers vis:
break/shlib libc.so.6 round
(it could get confusing if multiple qualfiers required parameters as
occures with "tar xbf 1024 -"). So:
break/shlib=libc.so.6 round
might be better ("=" avoids the shift key needed by ":").
>> (1) Personally, I'm always using the `/' qualifier, but I can't remember
>> when, if ever, I used one of the UNIX style command options.
>
>
> That's because there are very few commands in all of GDB's CLI which
> _take_ options. /, -, or otherwise.
The question to ask isn't how many commands use each syntax, but rather
how many users use each syntax. As a user, I use `/..' every day. As
a user, I don't think I've ever used `-...' syntax and only know of it
because I've looked at the code.
Andrew
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 6+ messages in thread
* Re: GDB's command qualifier character is `/'
2003-10-21 19:29 ` Andrew Cagney
@ 2003-10-22 9:56 ` Andreas Schwab
2003-10-22 14:38 ` Andrew Cagney
0 siblings, 1 reply; 6+ messages in thread
From: Andreas Schwab @ 2003-10-22 9:56 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: Andrew Cagney; +Cc: Daniel Jacobowitz, gdb
Andrew Cagney <cagney@gnu.org> writes:
> break/shlib=libc.so.6 round
>
> might be better ("=" avoids the shift key needed by ":").
Don't argue with keyboard layouts, they are different everywhere. On a
German keyboard, for example, "=" is still shifted.
Andreas.
--
Andreas Schwab, SuSE Labs, schwab@suse.de
SuSE Linux AG, Deutschherrnstr. 15-19, D-90429 Nürnberg
Key fingerprint = 58CA 54C7 6D53 942B 1756 01D3 44D5 214B 8276 4ED5
"And now for something completely different."
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 6+ messages in thread
* Re: GDB's command qualifier character is `/'
2003-10-22 9:56 ` Andreas Schwab
@ 2003-10-22 14:38 ` Andrew Cagney
0 siblings, 0 replies; 6+ messages in thread
From: Andrew Cagney @ 2003-10-22 14:38 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: Andreas Schwab; +Cc: Daniel Jacobowitz, gdb
> Andrew Cagney <cagney@gnu.org> writes:
>
>
>> break/shlib=libc.so.6 round
>>
>> might be better ("=" avoids the shift key needed by ":").
>
>
> Don't argue with keyboard layouts, they are different everywhere. On a
> German keyboard, for example, "=" is still shifted.
Bah! I need to collect more keyboards.
Andrew
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 6+ messages in thread
end of thread, other threads:[~2003-10-22 14:38 UTC | newest]
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2003-10-19 16:50 GDB's command qualifier character is `/' Andrew Cagney
2003-10-20 0:32 ` Daniel Jacobowitz
2003-10-21 19:29 ` Andrew Cagney
2003-10-22 9:56 ` Andreas Schwab
2003-10-22 14:38 ` Andrew Cagney
2003-10-20 21:54 ` Jim Blandy
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