GDB with Diab 4.3

Wayne wayne at zk.com
Mon May 4 00:23:01 UTC 2009


We are currently using the Diab compiler with a proprietary (no longer 
supported) debugger. About a year ago I looked into using gdb and had it 
mostly working. At the time there were some support issues with the MCF 
5474. At about the same time that the 5474 issues were addressed support 
for older versions of Dwarf were removed from the gdb so that it would 
no longer support the dwarf output by our version of the diab compiler. 
I don't remember all the version numbers and I can't seem to find my 
notes. At the time I was looking into using gdb as a convenience and I 
ran out of time to look into this. For various reasons I would like to 
try and get this working again. A long term goal would be switching 
completely over to gcc and gdb but gcc does not seem to be a short term 
option because some of the code we use is written in assembly for Diab.

If I remember correctly Diab uses the Dwarf 2 standard and the Coldfire 
Gdb now uses Dwarf 3. Is there are way to use the current version of Gdb 
with binaries containing older version of the Dwarf format (either 1 or 
2)? Is ther some sort of utility available to convert the debug information?

Using GCC, at least for development work might be possible but we use a 
proprietary OS that is written in Diab assembly. Would it be possible to 
link in the object file compiled by Diab into a binary generated by GCC? 
Debugging the OS is rare and since it is written in assembly any way, 
source level debugging for it would not be a requirement.

If anyone could answer these questions or point me in the right 
direction it would be greatly appreciated. We are using P&E BDM's. I 
also have access to a Macraigor 'Wiggler'

Thanks,

Wayne




More information about the coldfire-gnu-discuss mailing list