gdb equivalent commands on dbx

DBX debugger is found on the Solaris & AIX platforms . Since we have different commands for dbx & gdb , the other most popular debuger , this note is for people who want to see the gdb commands for/on dbx.

DBX dosen't support command completion and abbreviation like gdb . We have other ways to make it work a bit like gdb.dbx does have a gdb mode ( gdb on ),but it lacks some of the gdb commands.Below I try to give the most commonly used commands for the 2 debuggers.For all the commands , the dbx command is on the left of the ":" and the gdb equivalent command on the right of the ":".

Reading Core files

dbx - core : gdb -c core # Reading the core file.
dbx - pid : gdb -p pid # dbx can find the program automatically.

Logging

dbxenv session_log_file_name file : set logging # logging o/p to a file
dbxenv session_log_file_name : show logging

Debugging Information Support

stabs (SUN), dwarf2, -g -O : stabs (GNU), dwarf2, -g -O
Macro support (-g3) : Macro support (-g3) # Macro debugging support

Sun Studio compilers don't generate debug info for macros, though.

Debugging Programs with Multiple Processes

dbxenv follow_fork_mode parent : set follow-fork-mode parent
dbxenv follow_fork_mode child : set follow-fork-mode child
dbxenv follow_fork_mode ask : -

Breakpoints

stop in function : break function
stop at [filename:]linenum : break [filename:]linenum
stopi at address : break *address # Stop at a instruction address
status [n] : info breakpoints [n] # Show all breakpoints
delete [breakpoints] : delete [breakpoints] [range ...]# delete breakpoint
delete all : - # delete a breakpoint

Examining the Stack

where [n] : backtrace [n] # Shows the stack backtrace
frame [n] : frame [args] # goto a particular frame
dump : info locals # dump info about local variables

Examining Data

print -f expr : print /f expr
Array slicing (p array[2..5]) : Artifcial arrays (p *array@len)
display : display
x addr [/nf] : x/nfu addr
regs : info registers
regs -f | -F : info all-registers
print $regname : info registers regname ...

Memory access checking

check -access : set mem inaccessible-by-default [on|off]
check -memuse : set mem inaccessible-by-default [on|off]
check -leaks : set mem inaccessible-by-default [on|off]

Examining the Symbol Table

whereis -a addr : info symbol addr
whatis [-e] arg : whatis arg
whatis [-e] arg : ptype arg
whatis -t [typename] : info types [regexp]
modules -v / files : info sources

Also,its better to set up aliases to commonly used dbx commands, to their gdb quivalents.I am using the below ~/.dbxrc file :
--
dalias alias=dalias

alias b="stop in" # set breakpoint in a function
alias sa="stop at" # set breakpoint at a line number
alias st=status # show breakpoints, numbered
alias del=delete # delete a breakpoint

alias cka="check -access" # check for invalid memory access
alias ckl="check -leaks" # check for memory leaks

alias r="run " # start the program running at its beginning
alias q=quit

alias w=where # show frames in call stack
alias bt=where # show frames in call stack
alias u=up
alias d=down
alias f=frame

alias l=list # list some source lines
alias lw="list -w" # from 5 before current line to 5 after
alias p=print # print value of variable or expression
alias ptype=whatis -t # find declaration of variable or function
alias wi=whatis # find declaration of variable or function

alisa ni=nexti
alias si=stepi
alias n=next # cont to next stmt in same function
alias s=step # step INTO the function about to be called
alias su="step up" # cont to next stmt in parent function
alias c=cont # continue running

alias h=history