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User Interface
**************
GDB has several user interfaces. Although the command-line interface
is the most common and most familiar, there are others.
Command Interpreter
===================
The command interpreter in GDB is fairly simple. It is designed to
allow for the set of commands to be augmented dynamically, and also has
a recursive subcommand capability, where the first argument to a
command may itself direct a lookup on a different command list.
For instance, the `set' command just starts a lookup on the
`setlist' command list, while `set thread' recurses to the
`set_thread_cmd_list'.
To add commands in general, use `add_cmd'. `add_com' adds to the
main command list, and should be used for those commands. The usual
place to add commands is in the `_initialize_XYZ' routines at the ends
of most source files.
Before removing commands from the command set it is a good idea to
deprecate them for some time. Use `deprecate_cmd' on commands or
aliases to set the deprecated flag. `deprecate_cmd' takes a `struct
cmd_list_element' as it's first argument. You can use the return value
from `add_com' or `add_cmd' to deprecate the command immediately after
it is created.
The first time a command is used the user will be warned and offered
a replacement (if one exists). Note that the replacement string passed
to `deprecate_cmd' should be the full name of the command, i.e. the
entire string the user should type at the command line.
UI-Independent Output--the `ui_out' Functions
=============================================
The `ui_out' functions present an abstraction level for the GDB
output code. They hide the specifics of different user interfaces
supported by GDB, and thus free the programmer from the need to write
several versions of the same code, one each for every UI, to produce
output.
Overview and Terminology
------------------------
In general, execution of each GDB command produces some sort of
output, and can even generate an input request.
Output can be generated for the following purposes:
* to display a _result_ of an operation;
* to convey _info_ or produce side-effects of a requested operation;
* to provide a _notification_ of an asynchronous event (including
progress indication of a prolonged asynchronous operation);
* to display _error messages_ (including warnings);
* to show _debug data_;
* to _query_ or prompt a user for input (a special case).
This section mainly concentrates on how to build result output,
although some of it also applies to other kinds of output.
Generation of output that displays the results of an operation
involves one or more of the following:
* output of the actual data
* formatting the output as appropriate for console output, to make it
easily readable by humans
* machine oriented formatting-a more terse formatting to allow for
easy parsing by programs which read GDB's output
* annotation, whose purpose is to help legacy GUIs to identify
interesting parts in the output
The `ui_out' routines take care of the first three aspects.
Annotations are provided by separate annotation routines. Note that use
of annotations for an interface between a GUI and GDB is deprecated.
Output can be in the form of a single item, which we call a "field";
a "list" consisting of identical fields; a "tuple" consisting of
non-identical fields; or a "table", which is a tuple consisting of a
header and a body. In a BNF-like form:
`<table> ==>'
`<header> <body>'
`<header> ==>'
`{ <column> }'
`<column> ==>'
`<width> <alignment> <title>'
`<body> ==>'
`{<row>}'
General Conventions
-------------------
Most `ui_out' routines are of type `void', the exceptions are
`ui_out_stream_new' (which returns a pointer to the newly created
object) and the `make_cleanup' routines.
The first parameter is always the `ui_out' vector object, a pointer
to a `struct ui_out'.
The FORMAT parameter is like in `printf' family of functions. When
it is present, there must also be a variable list of arguments
sufficient used to satisfy the `%' specifiers in the supplied format.
When a character string argument is not used in a `ui_out' function
call, a `NULL' pointer has to be supplied instead.
Table, Tuple and List Functions
-------------------------------
This section introduces `ui_out' routines for building lists, tuples
and tables. The routines to output the actual data items (fields) are
presented in the next section.
To recap: A "tuple" is a sequence of "fields", each field containing
information about an object; a "list" is a sequence of fields where
each field describes an identical object.
Use the "table" functions when your output consists of a list of
rows (tuples) and the console output should include a heading. Use this
even when you are listing just one object but you still want the header.
Tables can not be nested. Tuples and lists can be nested up to a
maximum of five levels.
The overall structure of the table output code is something like
this:
ui_out_table_begin
ui_out_table_header
...
ui_out_table_body
ui_out_tuple_begin
ui_out_field_*
...
ui_out_tuple_end
...
ui_out_table_end
Here is the description of table-, tuple- and list-related `ui_out'
functions:
- Function: void ui_out_table_begin (struct ui_out *UIOUT, int
NBROFCOLS, int NR_ROWS, const char *TBLID)
The function `ui_out_table_begin' marks the beginning of the output
of a table. It should always be called before any other `ui_out'
function for a given table. NBROFCOLS is the number of columns in
the table. NR_ROWS is the number of rows in the table. TBLID is
an optional string identifying the table. The string pointed to
by TBLID is copied by the implementation of `ui_out_table_begin',
so the application can free the string if it was `malloc'ed.
The companion function `ui_out_table_end', described below, marks
the end of the table's output.
- Function: void ui_out_table_header (struct ui_out *UIOUT, int WIDTH,
enum ui_align ALIGNMENT, const char *COLHDR)
`ui_out_table_header' provides the header information for a single
table column. You call this function several times, one each for
every column of the table, after `ui_out_table_begin', but before
`ui_out_table_body'.
The value of WIDTH gives the column width in characters. The
value of ALIGNMENT is one of `left', `center', and `right', and it
specifies how to align the header: left-justify, center, or
right-justify it. COLHDR points to a string that specifies the
column header; the implementation copies that string, so column
header strings in `malloc'ed storage can be freed after the call.
- Function: void ui_out_table_body (struct ui_out *UIOUT)
This function delimits the table header from the table body.
- Function: void ui_out_table_end (struct ui_out *UIOUT)
This function signals the end of a table's output. It should be
called after the table body has been produced by the list and
field output functions.
There should be exactly one call to `ui_out_table_end' for each
call to `ui_out_table_begin', otherwise the `ui_out' functions
will signal an internal error.
The output of the tuples that represent the table rows must follow
the call to `ui_out_table_body' and precede the call to
`ui_out_table_end'. You build a tuple by calling `ui_out_tuple_begin'
and `ui_out_tuple_end', with suitable calls to functions which actually
output fields between them.
- Function: void ui_out_tuple_begin (struct ui_out *UIOUT, const char
*ID)
This function marks the beginning of a tuple output. ID points to
an optional string that identifies the tuple; it is copied by the
implementation, and so strings in `malloc'ed storage can be freed
after the call.
- Function: void ui_out_tuple_end (struct ui_out *UIOUT)
This function signals an end of a tuple output. There should be
exactly one call to `ui_out_tuple_end' for each call to
`ui_out_tuple_begin', otherwise an internal GDB error will be
signaled.
- Function: struct cleanup *make_cleanup_ui_out_tuple_begin_end
(struct ui_out *UIOUT, const char *ID)
This function first opens the tuple and then establishes a cleanup
( Cleanups Coding.) to close the tuple. It provides a
convenient and correct implementation of the non-portable(1) code
sequence:
struct cleanup *old_cleanup;
ui_out_tuple_begin (uiout, "...");
old_cleanup = make_cleanup ((void(*)(void *)) ui_out_tuple_end,
uiout);
- Function: void ui_out_list_begin (struct ui_out *UIOUT, const char
*ID)
This function marks the beginning of a list output. ID points to
an optional string that identifies the list; it is copied by the
implementation, and so strings in `malloc'ed storage can be freed
after the call.
- Function: void ui_out_list_end (struct ui_out *UIOUT)
This function signals an end of a list output. There should be
exactly one call to `ui_out_list_end' for each call to
`ui_out_list_begin', otherwise an internal GDB error will be
signaled.
- Function: struct cleanup *make_cleanup_ui_out_list_begin_end (struct
ui_out *UIOUT, const char *ID)
Similar to `make_cleanup_ui_out_tuple_begin_end', this function
opens a list and then establishes cleanup ( Cleanups Coding.)
that will close the list.list.
Item Output Functions
---------------------
The functions described below produce output for the actual data
items, or fields, which contain information about the object.
Choose the appropriate function accordingly to your particular needs.
- Function: void ui_out_field_fmt (struct ui_out *UIOUT, char
*FLDNAME, char *FORMAT, ...)
This is the most general output function. It produces the
representation of the data in the variable-length argument list
according to formatting specifications in FORMAT, a `printf'-like
format string. The optional argument FLDNAME supplies the name of
the field. The data items themselves are supplied as additional
arguments after FORMAT.
This generic function should be used only when it is not possible
to use one of the specialized versions (see below).
- Function: void ui_out_field_int (struct ui_out *UIOUT, const char
*FLDNAME, int VALUE)
This function outputs a value of an `int' variable. It uses the
`"%d"' output conversion specification. FLDNAME specifies the
name of the field.
- Function: void ui_out_field_core_addr (struct ui_out *UIOUT, const
char *FLDNAME, CORE_ADDR ADDRESS)
This function outputs an address.
- Function: void ui_out_field_string (struct ui_out *UIOUT, const char
*FLDNAME, const char *STRING)
This function outputs a string using the `"%s"' conversion
specification.
Sometimes, there's a need to compose your output piece by piece using
functions that operate on a stream, such as `value_print' or
`fprintf_symbol_filtered'. These functions accept an argument of the
type `struct ui_file *', a pointer to a `ui_file' object used to store
the data stream used for the output. When you use one of these
functions, you need a way to pass their results stored in a `ui_file'
object to the `ui_out' functions. To this end, you first create a
`ui_stream' object by calling `ui_out_stream_new', pass the `stream'
member of that `ui_stream' object to `value_print' and similar
functions, and finally call `ui_out_field_stream' to output the field
you constructed. When the `ui_stream' object is no longer needed, you
should destroy it and free its memory by calling `ui_out_stream_delete'.
- Function: struct ui_stream *ui_out_stream_new (struct ui_out *UIOUT)
This function creates a new `ui_stream' object which uses the same
output methods as the `ui_out' object whose pointer is passed in
UIOUT. It returns a pointer to the newly created `ui_stream'
object.
- Function: void ui_out_stream_delete (struct ui_stream *STREAMBUF)
This functions destroys a `ui_stream' object specified by
STREAMBUF.
- Function: void ui_out_field_stream (struct ui_out *UIOUT, const char
*FIELDNAME, struct ui_stream *STREAMBUF)
This function consumes all the data accumulated in
`streambuf->stream' and outputs it like `ui_out_field_string'
does. After a call to `ui_out_field_stream', the accumulated data
no longer exists, but the stream is still valid and may be used
for producing more fields.
*Important:* If there is any chance that your code could bail out
before completing output generation and reaching the point where
`ui_out_stream_delete' is called, it is necessary to set up a cleanup,
to avoid leaking memory and other resources. Here's a skeleton code to
do that:
struct ui_stream *mybuf = ui_out_stream_new (uiout);
struct cleanup *old = make_cleanup (ui_out_stream_delete, mybuf);
...
do_cleanups (old);
If the function already has the old cleanup chain set (for other
kinds of cleanups), you just have to add your cleanup to it:
mybuf = ui_out_stream_new (uiout);
make_cleanup (ui_out_stream_delete, mybuf);
Note that with cleanups in place, you should not call
`ui_out_stream_delete' directly, or you would attempt to free the same
buffer twice.
Utility Output Functions
------------------------
- Function: void ui_out_field_skip (struct ui_out *UIOUT, const char
*FLDNAME)
This function skips a field in a table. Use it if you have to
leave an empty field without disrupting the table alignment. The
argument FLDNAME specifies a name for the (missing) filed.
- Function: void ui_out_text (struct ui_out *UIOUT, const char *STRING)
This function outputs the text in STRING in a way that makes it
easy to be read by humans. For example, the console
implementation of this method filters the text through a built-in
pager, to prevent it from scrolling off the visible portion of the
screen.
Use this function for printing relatively long chunks of text
around the actual field data: the text it produces is not aligned
according to the table's format. Use `ui_out_field_string' to
output a string field, and use `ui_out_message', described below,
to output short messages.
- Function: void ui_out_spaces (struct ui_out *UIOUT, int NSPACES)
This function outputs NSPACES spaces. It is handy to align the
text produced by `ui_out_text' with the rest of the table or list.
- Function: void ui_out_message (struct ui_out *UIOUT, int VERBOSITY,
const char *FORMAT, ...)
This function produces a formatted message, provided that the
current verbosity level is at least as large as given by
VERBOSITY. The current verbosity level is specified by the user
with the `set verbositylevel' command.(2)
- Function: void ui_out_wrap_hint (struct ui_out *UIOUT, char *INDENT)
This function gives the console output filter (a paging filter) a
hint of where to break lines which are too long. Ignored for all
other output consumers. INDENT, if non-`NULL', is the string to
be printed to indent the wrapped text on the next line; it must
remain accessible until the next call to `ui_out_wrap_hint', or
until an explicit newline is produced by one of the other
functions. If INDENT is `NULL', the wrapped text will not be
indented.
- Function: void ui_out_flush (struct ui_out *UIOUT)
This function flushes whatever output has been accumulated so far,
if the UI buffers output.
Examples of Use of `ui_out' functions
-------------------------------------
This section gives some practical examples of using the `ui_out'
functions to generalize the old console-oriented code in GDB. The
examples all come from functions defined on the `breakpoints.c' file.
This example, from the `breakpoint_1' function, shows how to produce
a table.
The original code was:
if (!found_a_breakpoint++)
{
annotate_breakpoints_headers ();
annotate_field (0);
printf_filtered ("Num ");
annotate_field (1);
printf_filtered ("Type ");
annotate_field (2);
printf_filtered ("Disp ");
annotate_field (3);
printf_filtered ("Enb ");
if (addressprint)
{
annotate_field (4);
printf_filtered ("Address ");
}
annotate_field (5);
printf_filtered ("What\n");
annotate_breakpoints_table ();
}
Here's the new version:
nr_printable_breakpoints = ...;
if (addressprint)
ui_out_table_begin (ui, 6, nr_printable_breakpoints, "BreakpointTable");
else
ui_out_table_begin (ui, 5, nr_printable_breakpoints, "BreakpointTable");
if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
annotate_breakpoints_headers ();
if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
annotate_field (0);
ui_out_table_header (uiout, 3, ui_left, "number", "Num"); /* 1 */
if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
annotate_field (1);
ui_out_table_header (uiout, 14, ui_left, "type", "Type"); /* 2 */
if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
annotate_field (2);
ui_out_table_header (uiout, 4, ui_left, "disp", "Disp"); /* 3 */
if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
annotate_field (3);
ui_out_table_header (uiout, 3, ui_left, "enabled", "Enb"); /* 4 */
if (addressprint)
{
if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
annotate_field (4);
if (TARGET_ADDR_BIT <= 32)
ui_out_table_header (uiout, 10, ui_left, "addr", "Address");/* 5 */
else
ui_out_table_header (uiout, 18, ui_left, "addr", "Address");/* 5 */
}
if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
annotate_field (5);
ui_out_table_header (uiout, 40, ui_noalign, "what", "What"); /* 6 */
ui_out_table_body (uiout);
if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
annotate_breakpoints_table ();
This example, from the `print_one_breakpoint' function, shows how to
produce the actual data for the table whose structure was defined in
the above example. The original code was:
annotate_record ();
annotate_field (0);
printf_filtered ("%-3d ", b->number);
annotate_field (1);
if ((int)b->type > (sizeof(bptypes)/sizeof(bptypes[0]))
|| ((int) b->type != bptypes[(int) b->type].type))
internal_error ("bptypes table does not describe type #%d.",
(int)b->type);
printf_filtered ("%-14s ", bptypes[(int)b->type].description);
annotate_field (2);
printf_filtered ("%-4s ", bpdisps[(int)b->disposition]);
annotate_field (3);
printf_filtered ("%-3c ", bpenables[(int)b->enable]);
...
This is the new version:
annotate_record ();
ui_out_tuple_begin (uiout, "bkpt");
annotate_field (0);
ui_out_field_int (uiout, "number", b->number);
annotate_field (1);
if (((int) b->type > (sizeof (bptypes) / sizeof (bptypes[0])))
|| ((int) b->type != bptypes[(int) b->type].type))
internal_error ("bptypes table does not describe type #%d.",
(int) b->type);
ui_out_field_string (uiout, "type", bptypes[(int)b->type].description);
annotate_field (2);
ui_out_field_string (uiout, "disp", bpdisps[(int)b->disposition]);
annotate_field (3);
ui_out_field_fmt (uiout, "enabled", "%c", bpenables[(int)b->enable]);
...
This example, also from `print_one_breakpoint', shows how to produce
a complicated output field using the `print_expression' functions which
requires a stream to be passed. It also shows how to automate stream
destruction with cleanups. The original code was:
annotate_field (5);
print_expression (b->exp, gdb_stdout);
The new version is:
struct ui_stream *stb = ui_out_stream_new (uiout);
struct cleanup *old_chain = make_cleanup_ui_out_stream_delete (stb);
...
annotate_field (5);
print_expression (b->exp, stb->stream);
ui_out_field_stream (uiout, "what", local_stream);
This example, also from `print_one_breakpoint', shows how to use
`ui_out_text' and `ui_out_field_string'. The original code was:
annotate_field (5);
if (b->dll_pathname == NULL)
printf_filtered ("<any library> ");
else
printf_filtered ("library \"%s\" ", b->dll_pathname);
It became:
annotate_field (5);
if (b->dll_pathname == NULL)
{
ui_out_field_string (uiout, "what", "<any library>");
ui_out_spaces (uiout, 1);
}
else
{
ui_out_text (uiout, "library \"");
ui_out_field_string (uiout, "what", b->dll_pathname);
ui_out_text (uiout, "\" ");
}
The following example from `print_one_breakpoint' shows how to use
`ui_out_field_int' and `ui_out_spaces'. The original code was:
annotate_field (5);
if (b->forked_inferior_pid != 0)
printf_filtered ("process %d ", b->forked_inferior_pid);
It became:
annotate_field (5);
if (b->forked_inferior_pid != 0)
{
ui_out_text (uiout, "process ");
ui_out_field_int (uiout, "what", b->forked_inferior_pid);
ui_out_spaces (uiout, 1);
}
Here's an example of using `ui_out_field_string'. The original code
was:
annotate_field (5);
if (b->exec_pathname != NULL)
printf_filtered ("program \"%s\" ", b->exec_pathname);
It became:
annotate_field (5);
if (b->exec_pathname != NULL)
{
ui_out_text (uiout, "program \"");
ui_out_field_string (uiout, "what", b->exec_pathname);
ui_out_text (uiout, "\" ");
}
Finally, here's an example of printing an address. The original
code:
annotate_field (4);
printf_filtered ("%s ",
local_hex_string_custom ((unsigned long) b->address, "08l"));
It became:
annotate_field (4);
ui_out_field_core_addr (uiout, "Address", b->address);
Console Printing
================
TUI
===
---------- Footnotes ----------
(1) The function cast is not portable ISO-C.
(2) As of this writing (April 2001), setting verbosity level is not
yet implemented, and is always returned as zero. So calling
`ui_out_message' with a VERBOSITY argument more than zero will cause
the message to never be printed.
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