wdb(1)wdb(1)NAMEwdb - invokes the HP WDB GUI, a WDB debugger Graphical User Interface
SYNOPSISwdb [wdb options] [other options] [-session filename] [executable
[core_file or process_id]]
DESCRIPTION
The wdb command invokes HP WDB GUI, a graphical user interface on top
of the HP WDB Source-Level Debugger, gdb. For complete information
about this debugger and its commands, consult Debugging with GDB, Get‐
ting Started with HP WDB, and the debugger's HTML-based online documen‐
tation. You can invoke the HP WDB GUI online help from the GUI's menu
bar or just load the documentation into your favorite Web Browser,
<file:/opt/langtools/wdb/doc/html/wdbgui/C/index.html>.
OPTIONSwdb options Options that display information about the HP WDB GUI:
-help or -? Display usage information for the wdb command and
exit.
-version Display the HP WDB GUI version and exit.
-session filename
Restore session automatically from the provided ses‐
sion file.
other options Options that control the initial state of the debugger
after the HP WDB GUI is started. These include:
gdb options Passes the GNU debugger options on to the HP WDB
debugger.
NOTE: The gdb options --nw and --tui are not sup‐
ported.
Xt options Executes any standard X Toolkit Intrinsics command
line options (for example, -display, -xrm). To see
a list of these options, refer to the "OPTIONS" sec‐
tion in the X(1) man page, or The X Window System
User's Guide, O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
NOTE: The Xt option -geometry is not supported
because of the window persistance feature in HP WDB
GUI (see file $HOME/.wdbguirc).
executable Sets the path and name of the executable program to be
debugged. This program will automatically be loaded on
startup.
When specifying a core file, executable is the path and
name of the program that aborted. When attaching to an
existing process, executable is the path and name of the
running program.
core_file Sets the path and name of a core file you want to
inspect. This core file will automatically be loaded on
startup.
process_id Sets the process ID (PID) of a program currently running
outside of the HP WDB GUI. To obtain a process ID, type:
ps -ef This process will automatically be attached by the
debugger on startup.
NOTES AND TIPS
* You must have owner permissions for a process in order to attach to
it.
* You cannot attach to an existing process if the executable you are
running resides on an NFS-mounted file system unless the mount was
made non-interruptible with the nointr flag. To work around this
problem, copy the executable onto your local machine's file systen
and run the debugger using the local executable.
* You cannot load a core file and attach to an existing process at the
same time.
* You cannot attach to a process already being debugged.
EXAMPLES
To invoke the debugger GUI, but not invoke a target program:
wdb
To debug the executable a.out:
wdb a.out
RUNNING THE DEBUGGER REMOTELY
You can run the debugger on one system while displaying the user inter‐
face on another.
To invoke the debugger remotely:
1. To provide display access, enter the following at a shell prompt on
the display_host machine that will run the user interface:
xhost debug_server_host
where debug_server_host is the hostname of the system that will run
the debugger. Hostnames are usually listed in
2. From the machine that will run the display, log into the machine
that will run the debugger.
Typically, you would enter:
rlogin debug_server_host
at a shell prompt, where debug_server_host is the name of the system
that will run the debugger.
3. From the shell where you logged into the debug_server_host, enter:
wdb-display display_host:0
where display_host is the name of the system that will display the
interface. If you get a message stating that the wdb command cannot
be found, add /opt/langtools/bin to your PATH variable.
EXTERNAL INFLUENCES
Native Language Support
This variable determines the language/locale in which messages are dis‐
played.
The default value for this variable is
This variable determines the interpretation of text as single-
and/or multi-byte characters and determines printability
when reading or writing character and string data. If
is not specified in the environment or is set to the
empty string, the value of is used as the default.
This variable determines where the WDB GUI history file will be cre‐
ated.
The history file stores the sequence of the commands
entered in the WDB GUI command line, across GUI ses‐
sions. If is not set, the GUI creates the default file
in the user's directory.
This variable determines where the file for storing dynamic buttons
should
be created. If is not set, the GUI creates the default
file, in the user's directory.
International Code Set Support
Single byte and multi-byte character code sets are supported.
FILES
/opt/langtools/bin/wdb
Executable for the WDB Graphical User Interface.
/opt/langtools/bin/gdb
GNU debugger executable invoked by wdb.
/opt/langtools/wdb/app-defaults/Wdb
Default X resources.
/opt/langtools/share/man/
Man page directory.
/opt/langtools/wdb/doc
All available online documentation for HP WDB GUI and HP WDB.
/opt/langtools/wdb/doc/html/wdbgui/$LANG/index.html
Main file for the on-line HTML documentation.
/opt/langtools/wdb/doc/html/wdbgui/$LANG/releasenotes.html
The HP WDB GUI 1.1 Release Notes.
$HOME/.wdbguirc
File in which the window layout and the debugger preferences
(modified through the 'Edit: Preferences...' menu dialog) are
automatically saved and restored for the HP WDB GUI. This file
is saved during normal exit through the exit dialog box. It is
restored during the initial startup of HP WDB GUI.
$HOME/.gdbinit
User's global initialization file to set the initial debugger
state no matter which directory the debugger is start in.
.gdbinit
User's local initialization file to set the initial debugger
state when the debugger is started in the directory containing
this file.
.wdbguihist
File in which the history of the commands, entered via WDB GUI
command line, are stored and made accessible across sessions.
The file name and its location can be altered by using the envi‐
ronment variable. If this file exists, it will be read and the
history will be restored during the next startup of HP WDB GUI.
.wdbguibuttons
File in which, the buttons created dynamically using the GUI
session are stored and made accessible across sessions. The file
name and its location can be altered by using the environment
variable. If this file exists, it will be read and the buttons
will be created during the next startup of HP WDB GUI.
SEE ALSOgdb(1), a.out(4), core(4), lang(5), signal(5)
Getting Started with HP WDB, Debugging with GDB.
wdb(1)
