Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!bu.edu!snorkelwacker!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!AI.MIT.EDU!rms
From: rms@AI.MIT.EDU
Newsgroups: gnu.gdb.bug
Subject: gdb 'bugs'  (enhancement requests?) and a patch...
Message-ID: <9002281958.AA07987@sugar-bombs.ai.mit.edu>
Date: 28 Feb 90 19:58:15 GMT
References: <1990Feb28.134503.17713@Jhereg.Minnetech.MN.ORG>
Sender: daemon@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu
Distribution: gnu
Organization: GNUs Not Usenet
Lines: 14

The BSD object file format has some deficiencies, so we're considering
switching to another format for the GNU system.  However, one aspect that
we are not considering changing is the debugger information.  That is not
where the problems are, and leaving it alone would save lots of work.
So ELF won't be a good candidate.

This being so, the question is whether we care enough about the
systems that do use ELF to spend any time on them.  Support for UNIX
systems is a secondary matter for us when it involves things that will
not be useful in the GNU system.  It really doesn't interest us much
what commercial companies are going to do.

But we will be willing to add support to GCC and GDB such as we now
have for COFF, provided other people write the code and maintain it.