Dbx: Articles, news, notes on dbx, the Sun Studio debugger and other stuff.

My ~/.dbxrc

#############################
set -o emacs     # emacs-style editing; makes cursor keys usable in dbx

##### Aliases
alias n='next'          # next line, step over calls
alias ni='nexti'        # next instruction, step over calls
alias s='step'          # next line, step into calls
alias si='stepi'        # next instruction, step into calls
alias w='where -l -h'   # stack trace, show hidden frames and loadobject
alias p='print'
alias pp='print +p'     # rarely required "don't prettyprint" option
alias ph='print -f llx '# print number in hex; useful for registers
alias lw='list -w'      # list current line and several lines before/after
alias c='cont'          # continue execution
alias t='threads'       # show threads
alias l='list'
alias lo='loadobject'   # rarely used command, but with a very long name
alias b='stop in'       # stop in function; for example, `b main'
alias f='frame -h'      # switch to certain stack frame even if it's hidden
alias q='exit'          # exit dbx
alias start='stop in main -temp; run'
                        # convenient alias for gdb start command

##### dbxenv's
dbxenv follow_fork_mode child
            # child is I guess most useful in everyday life, 
            # but your experience may differ
dbxenv trace_speed 0.01
            # otherwise it takes ages to trace through a PLT entry;
            # useful with logging on (see function log() below)

##### functions
# Useful shortcut for saving your session to a file; acts like a trigger:
# log logfile - start logging everything (both your input and dbx output,
#               but not debuggee output)
# log         - stop logging    
log() {
   dbxenv session_log_file_name $1
   if [ "$1" != "" ]; then
        echo "Logging to: $1"
   else
        echo "Logging off"
   fi
}

# Somewhat useful undo function for "why did I just hit step again?"
# situations. It removes topmost stack frame and re-enters the function
# once again. Needless to say that global state remains the same; there's
# no undo for global state in dbx.
undo()
{
        pop
        step
}

##### environment variables
PS1='(dbx:$vfunc) '    # this prompt shows function you are currently in; 
                       # for example: (dbx:main)

Notes

• On where command: I have -l (dash-el) option always on because I work with a lot of unfamiliar code and sometimes it's not obvious from source tree organization in which loadobject particular function winds up; where -l leaves no questions like this.
  Also, I usually need to see raw stack trace with no frames hidden (-h option); this is probably not for every day use as I work on dbx itself where this feature is most useful.

You additions are welcomed. Please post comments and I'll add your entries to a new section in this post for easier use.

References

• Using the dbx Initialization File - from Debugging a Program With dbx manual
  
• help .dbxrc in dbx