VGDB(1) Release 3.9.0 VGDB(1)NAMEvgdb - intermediary between Valgrind and GDB or a shell
SYNOPSISvgdb [options]
DESCRIPTIONvgdb ("Valgrind to GDB") is used as an intermediary between Valgrind
and GDB or a shell. It has two usage modes:
1. As a standalone utility, it is used from a shell command line to
send monitor commands to a process running under Valgrind. For this
usage, the vgdbOPTION(s) must be followed by the monitor command
to send. To send more than one command, separate them with the -c
option.
2. In combination with GDB "target remote |" command, it is used as
the relay application between GDB and the Valgrind gdbserver. For
this usage, only OPTION(s) can be given, but no COMMAND can be
given.
OPTIONS
--pid=<number>
Specifies the PID of the process to which vgdb must connect to.
This option is useful in case more than one Valgrind gdbserver can
be connected to. If the --pid argument is not given and multiple
Valgrind gdbserver processes are running, vgdb will report the list
of such processes and then exit.
--vgdb-prefix
Must be given to both Valgrind and vgdb if you want to change the
default prefix for the FIFOs (named pipes) used for communication
between the Valgrind gdbserver and vgdb.
--wait=<number>
Instructs vgdb to search for available Valgrind gdbservers for the
specified number of seconds. This makes it possible start a vgdb
process before starting the Valgrind gdbserver with which you
intend the vgdb to communicate. This option is useful when used in
conjunction with a --vgdb-prefix that is unique to the process you
want to wait for. Also, if you use the --wait argument in the GDB
"target remote" command, you must set the GDB remotetimeout to a
value bigger than the --wait argument value. See option
--max-invoke-ms (just below) for an example of setting the
remotetimeout value.
--max-invoke-ms=<number>
Gives the number of milliseconds after which vgdb will force the
invocation of gdbserver embedded in Valgrind. The default value is
100 milliseconds. A value of 0 disables forced invocation. The
forced invocation is used when vgdb is connected to a Valgrind
gdbserver, and the Valgrind process has all its threads blocked in
a system call.
If you specify a large value, you might need to increase the GDB
"remotetimeout" value from its default value of 2 seconds. You
should ensure that the timeout (in seconds) is bigger than the
--max-invoke-ms value. For example, for --max-invoke-ms=5000, the
following GDB command is suitable:
(gdb) set remotetimeout 6
--cmd-time-out=<number>
Instructs a standalone vgdb to exit if the Valgrind gdbserver it is
connected to does not process a command in the specified number of
seconds. The default value is to never time out.
--port=<portnr>
Instructs vgdb to use tcp/ip and listen for GDB on the specified
port nr rather than to use a pipe to communicate with GDB. Using
tcp/ip allows to have GDB running on one computer and debugging a
Valgrind process running on another target computer. Example:
# On the target computer, start your program under valgrind using
valgrind --vgdb-error=0 prog
# and then in another shell, run:
vgdb --port=1234
On the computer which hosts GDB, execute the command:
gdb prog
(gdb) target remote targetip:1234
where targetip is the ip address or hostname of the target
computer.
-c
To give more than one command to a standalone vgdb, separate the
commands by an option -c. Example:
vgdb v.set log_output -c leak_check any
-l
Instructs a standalone vgdb to report the list of the Valgrind
gdbserver processes running and then exit.
-D
Instructs a standalone vgdb to show the state of the shared memory
used by the Valgrind gdbserver. vgdb will exit after having shown
the Valgrind gdbserver shared memory state.
-d
Instructs vgdb to produce debugging output. Give multiple -d args
to increase the verbosity. When giving -d to a relay vgdb, you
better redirect the standard error (stderr) of vgdb to a file to
avoid interaction between GDB and vgdb debugging output.
SEE ALSOvalgrind(1), $INSTALL/share/doc/valgrind/html/index.html or
http://www.valgrind.org/docs/manual/index.html, Debugging your program
using Valgrind's gdbserver and GDB[1]vgdb[2], Valgrind monitor
commands[3].
AUTHOR
Philippe Waroquiers.
NOTES
1. Debugging your program using Valgrind's gdbserver and GDB
http://www.valgrind.org/docs/manual/manual-core-adv.html#manual-core-adv.gdbserver
2. vgdb
http://www.valgrind.org/docs/manual/manual-core-adv.html#manual-core-adv.vgdb
3. Valgrind monitor commands
http://www.valgrind.org/docs/manual/manual-core-adv.html#manual-core-adv.valgrind-monitor-commands
Release 3.9.0 11/01/2013 VGDB(1)
