Path: utzoo!telly!ddsw1!lll-winken!killer!mit-eddie!bloom-beacon!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!WHEATIES.AI.MIT.EDU!tower
From: tower@WHEATIES.AI.MIT.EDU (Leonard H. Tower Jr.)
Newsgroups: gnu.g++.bug
Subject: (none)
Message-ID: <8812222046.AA20083@apple-gunkies.ai.mit.edu>
Date: 22 Dec 88 20:46:02 GMT
Sender: daemon@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu
Reply-To: randy@wheaties.ai.mit.edu
Distribution: gnu
Organization: GNUs Not Usenet
Lines: 95

Forwarded-For: randy@wheaties.ai.mit.edu 

This software will soon be available for anonymous uucp on osu-cis.

    The newest release of gdb is now availible on prep in the file
  gdb.tar-3.0.Z.  *This should be considered an alpha release* (there
  have been many changes to the code since the last release).  This
  release includes the following features:

	Gdb+ has been merged with gdb, so this version of gdb can
	handle GNU C++ programs.

	Lazy input of symbol table information has been incorporated,
	resulting in faster startup.

	"enable display" and "disable display" commands have been
	added to enable and disable auto display of expressions.

	Various modifications and cleanups to the commands syntax
	(Eg. All of the set-* commands are now subcommands of "set").

	An "until" command has been added.  This command executes
	until the pc is forward of the current line within the
	function, or (with an argument) until the given line is
	reached or the function is exited.

	Warning when an attempt is made to print the contents of a
	memory location out of the inferior's address space.

	Cleaner calling of inferior functions returning structure
	values from within gdb.

	Distinction between subroutine contexts that share the same
	frame pointer (ie. a backtrace out of a subroutine which
	shares a frame with it's superior will now show the
  	immediately superior routine).

	Addition of a shell escape command and some modifications to
	help gdb work on System V machines.

	Many bug fixes.

	New ports to the Sun 4 (sparc), and the Intel 386 machines.

  Coming soon (in the next release):

	Pretty printing of structures and unions.

	Command line editing, command history and symbol name
	completion via tab.

	Faster startup.

	Watchpoints (ie. step until certain locations change).

  Again, this should be considered an alpha-test release.  Also, I've
  made several modifications in machine dependent files without a
  machine to test them on.  So, could anyone who succeeds in getting
  this version of gdb up on any machines *except* the
  
	Sparc,
	Vax,
	M68k,		or
	Intel 386

  please send me a note directly?  Do not send this to the bug-gdb
  mailing list.  Any problems with this version on any machine
  should, of course, be sent to the bug-gdb mailing list.

    Due to bugs in the Sun 4 C compiler and conventions it follows
  which would require an unexceptable amount of special casing for
  that machine, those people using gdb with Sun 4 CC will have the
  following problems:

	1) A "backtrace" or "info frame" will show the incorrect
  	values for arguments to functions declared as register
  	variables and may occur in functions with structure
  	arguments.  Printing the values of these variables directly
  	will only work when the variable is the first argument to the
  	function.

	2) Occaisionally, gdb will be unable to understand a type
  	description output by the compiler.

    If anyone would like more information on these problems, please
  send me mail.  Problem #1 occur when using dbx as well.  None
  of these problems will occur if the program is compiled with GNU CC.
  

					-- Randy
					
					randy@wheaties.ai.mit.edu