Embedded Linux®: Hardware, Software, and Interfacing

Introducing gdb

The GNU tool chain debugger, gdb, allows you to control program execution, view and change program variables, examine program internals, and examine core files of crashed programs. You can use gdb to start an executable, debug an already running executable, or make a network connection to gdbserver. gdb and gdbserver handle and correct cross-processor issues such as big endian and little endian addressing and integer size. gdb runs as a console text application, without a GUI. Its open-source nature permits enhancements; you can get GUI tools that provide the integrated development environment (IDE) functionality that programmers have become accustomed to.

This chapter does not dive into a complete discussion of gdb's features, ...