Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!ucsd!ames!amdahl!dlb!megatest!djones
From: djones@megatest.UUCP (Dave Jones)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: debuggers
Keywords: debugger
Message-ID: <275@goofy.megatest.UUCP>
Date: 22 Feb 88 00:20:51 GMT
Organization: Megatest Corporation, San Jose, Ca
Lines: 52


Hello C++ers,


I would like to see some more discussion on the topic of interactive debuggers
for C++.

Topic 1.

A while back, I asked what bad things would happen if I hacked cfront so
that it does not prefix automatic variables with au0_, etc.
Nobody said anything. You may have thought I was jesting.
I was serious.    Stop me if I'm going to break something. Really.  
Also cfront changes the field names in structs, prefixing
the name of the struct.  What if I change it so that it doesn't do that?

Topic 2.

Of course the reason I want to do that is to make dbx a little easier
to use with C++.  But dbx has its problems, even for straight C.
It's got some bugs.  But another problem is that it is a fairly closed 
program, controlled by the software vendors.  An OEM is at their mercy.
They *can* be merciful.  I recently got some good documentation on
the workings of dbx and the dbx-dbxtool interface directly from
the vendor.  But it came with that ominous warning, "Of course this
is subject to change."  Indeed some vendors have a history of pulling
the rugs out from under OEMs by changing software (and hardware) standards.  
One leading workstation manufacturer did a big hardware and software change two
or three years ago, going from "2's" to "3's". They promised that the 3's and
their compatible descendants would become the industry standard.  Last year
they announced another incompatible line, which they assure us
will become the industry standard. Sigh.

What I am getting around to is that I would like to see a system-independent
interactive debugger.  Then the vendors can have interoffice change-the-object-
format contests if they wish, and I'll be sitting here fat and happy.
To find the locations of things, the debugger would not use the symbol-table
of the executable file, but instead would use symbol-tables compiled
right into the program through static data-structures created by cfront.

Please comment.


		Dave Jones
		Megatest Corp.
		880 Fox Lane
		San Jose, CA.
		95131

		(408) 437-9700 Ext 3227
		UUCP: ucbvax!sun!megatest!djones
		ARPA: megatest!djones@riacs.ARPA