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From: mark@Jhereg.Minnetech.MN.ORG (Mark H. Colburn)
Newsgroups: gnu.gdb.bug
Subject: Re: gdb 'bugs'  (enhancement requests?) and a patch...
Message-ID: <1990Feb28.134503.17713@Jhereg.Minnetech.MN.ORG>
Date: 28 Feb 90 13:45:03 GMT
References: <9002222313.AA11440@curley.osf.org.osf.org> <9002240839.AA21345@pogo>
Distribution: gnu
Organization: Open Systems Architects, Inc., Mpls, MN
Lines: 32

In article <9002240839.AA21345@pogo> kingdon@AI.MIT.EDU (Jim Kingdon) writes:
>Well, let me point out that GNU has a standardized debug format: BSD
>a.out executables with dbx symbols.  While we have agreed in some
>cases (e.g. GDB) to merge COFF support into GNU software, COFF support
>isn't important to us and we put little effort into maintaining it.
>On systems with COFF kernels, you can use BSD executables with COFF
>encapsulation.
>
>Object file and debug formats have both political and technical
>aspects.  I think GNU/BSD format beats COFF on both.

I wonder if anyone at FSF has seen the specification for ELF, the new
loader format that is going to be used by AT&T and others.  This new
format seems to cure a number of the problems associate with COFF.

The problem is that BSD is becoming a rarer beast, what with CSRG
slowly backing out of the arena and the formation of UI and OSF.

The problem that I see with using the ecapsulation method is that
soon, a majority of the machines will have to encapsulate their object
files.  This would be unwieldy, inefficient and moderately annoying.

For the time being the solution is fine, however as time marches on it
may become more and more of a pain.



-- 
Mark H. Colburn                     If you don't make money off of it,
Open Systems Architects, Inc.	    it had better be either a religious
mark@Minnetech.MN.ORG		    experience or a hobby. 
							- Lance Cooper