[fpc-devel] Status and ideas about debug info (stabs, dwarf / dwar3)

[Graeme Geldenhuys]

On 11/09/2011 23:40, Jonas Maebe wrote:
> extensions. I don't see the advantage of allocating one of those and
> communicating it to other compiler writers (to avoid them using that
> same extension for something else) instead of submitting it for
> inclusion in the official DWARF standard though.

I understand that, but waiting for the DWARF specification to accept it,
then only get somebody to implement it in GDB, then get somebody to
implement it in FPC, then get somebody to add support in Lazarus IDE,
MSEide etc could all take a lifetime - I might be retired by then. :-)

PS:
Is there any reason why you or somebody else in the FPC team, that knows
DWARF, haven't submitted such a a proposal yet? What's the hold-up?


Like I said before, FPC's really big downside, is that it has VERY BAD
debugging support. A compiler and debugger should not be separate
entities, but rather developed together. That is why I took it upon
myself (even though I knew near zero about the topic when I started) to
try and implement a Object Pascal based debugger using FPC. At least
then at some point we will have a much faster time-to-market (when the
FPC users/developers can actually benefit from new debugger support and
features). Currently nobody here or in the Lazarus group (with maybe one
or two exceptions) know GDB internals or compile their own GDB versions.
So the delay between FPC improving it's DWARF output, GDB supporting
that information, and distros updated their GDB versions so developers
can benefit from it, is HUGE.

Just the other day I had to use Delphi 7 again to do some maintenance on
one of our older products. That's when I again came to the realization
what dismal state FPC's debugging support is at - it's like travelling
back in time to the early 80's where using writeln() was the normal
debugging process. I'll happily pay the $800 licensing fee to
Embarcadero if I could get at the same time much better debugging
support under Linux.


Regards,
  - Graeme -

-- 
fpGUI Toolkit - a cross-platform GUI toolkit using Free Pascal
http://fpgui.sourceforge.net/