adb(1) adb(1)
NAME [Toc] [Back]
adb - absolute debugger
SYNOPSIS [Toc] [Back]
adb [-h]
adb [-n|-o] [-w] [-I path] kernelfile memfile
adb [-n|-o] [-w] [-I path] kernelfile crashdir
adb [-n|-o] [-w] [-I path] crashdir
adb [-n|-o] [-w] [-I path] [objfile] [corefile]
adb [-n|-o] [-w] [-I path] -P pid [execfile]
DESCRIPTION [Toc] [Back]
The adb command executes a general-purpose debugging program that is
sensitive to the underlying architecture of the processor and
operating system on which it is run It can be used to examine files
and provide a controlled environment for executing HP-UX programs.
adb inspects exactly one object file, referred to as the current
object file, and one memory file, referred to as the current memory
file. Either of these files can be the NULL file, specified by the -
argument, which is a file with no contents. The object file and the
memory file are specified using the following arguments:
kernelfile An HP-UX kernel, usually vmunix.
memfile /dev/mem or /dev/kmem. memfile is assumed to be on an
HP-UX system running kernelfile if kernelfile is
specified. /dev/mem is supported only on PA-RISC
platforms.
crashdir A directory containing an HP-UX system crash dump, which
is assumed to be produced from kernelfile if kernelfile is
specified.
objfile Normally an executable program file. It can also be a
relocatable object file, shared library file or a DLKM
module. The default for objfile is a.out.
corefile A core image file produced after executing objfile. The
default for corefile is core.
execfile The executable file corresponding to pid, the process ID
of the process to be adopted for debugging by adb.
The current object file may be any one of kernelfile, the vmunix file
in crashdir, objfile, or execfile. The current object file preferably
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should contain a symbol table; if it does not, the symbolic features
of adb cannot be used, although the file can still be examined. The
current memory file may be any one of memfile, the system memory dump
in crashdir, corefile, or the memory of process pid.
Requests to adb are read from standard input and adb responds on
standard output. If the -w flag is present, objfile is created (if
necessary) and opened for reading and writing, to be modified using
adb. adb ignores QUIT; INTERRUPT causes return to the next adb
command.
There are two modes of operation for adb: backward compatibility mode
and normal mode. Backward compatibility mode is the default on PARISC
systems. Normal mode is the default on Itanium systems.
On startup adb executes adb commands from the file $HOME/.adbrc.
To debug a MxN process or the core, adb requires the MxN debug
library, libmxndbg. Depending on the application type, it loads
/usr/lib/libmxndbg.sl (for 32 bit PA-RISC systems) or
/usr/lib/libmxndbg64.sl (for 64 bit PA-RISC systems) or
/usr/lib/hpux32/libmxndbg.so (for Itanium(R)-based systems). If the
relevant library is not found in the specified path, you should set
the shell variable ADB_PATHMXNDBG to the path where the correct
library can be found.
Options [Toc] [Back]
adb recognizes the following command-line options, which can appear in
any order but must appear before any file arguments:
-h Print a usage summary and exit. If this option is used, all
other options and arguments are ignored.
-i Ignores $HOME/.adbrc.
-I path path specifies a list of directories where files read with <
or << (see below) are sought. This list has the same syntax
as, and similar semantics to, the PATH shell variable; the
default is .:/usr/lib/adb.
-n Specify the normal mode. This is the default on Itanium
systems. This option is mutually exclusive with the -o
option. The last one specified takes effect.
-o Specify backward compatibility mode. This is the default on
PA-RISC systems. This option is mutually exclusive with the
-n option. The last one specified takes effect.
-P pid Adopt process with process ID pid as a ``traced'' process;
see ttrace(2). This option is helpful for debugging
processes that were not originally run under the control of
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adb.
-w This option must be specified to enable the file write
commands of adb. Objfile is opened for reading and writing.
It also enables writes to memfile if it is a kernel memory
file.
The following command-line options to adb are obsolete and are no
longer required. (If used they generate a warning.)
-k Previously adb required this option to recognize HP-UX crash
dumps or /dev/mem.
-m Previously adb required this option to recognize multiple file
HP-UX crash dumps.
Requests to adb follow either the traditional form:
[address] [ ,count ] [command-char] [command-arguments] [;]
or the new form:
keyword [command-arguments] [;]
Only the traditional form is available in backward compatibility mode.
If address is present, dot is set to address. dot is the adb state
variable which keeps track of the current address. dotincr is another
state variable which keeps track of increments to dot as adb steps
through a format string; see Format String below. Initially dot and
dotincr are set to 0. For most commands, count specifies the number
of times the command is to be executed. The default count is 1.
address and count are expressions.
The interpretation of an address depends on the context in which it is
used. If a subprocess is being debugged, addresses are interpreted in
the address space of the subprocess. (For further details see Address
Mapping below.)
The command-char and command-arguments specify the command to run.
See Commands below.
Expressions [Toc] [Back]
All adb expression primaries are treated as 64-bit unsigned integers
and the expression also evaluates to a 64-bit unsigned integer. The
following primaries are supported:
integer A number. The prefixes 0 (zero), 0o and 0O force
interpretation in octal radix; the prefixes 0t, OT,
0d, and 0D force interpretation in decimal radix; the
prefixes 0x and 0X force interpretation in
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hexadecimal radix; the prefixes 0b and 0B force
interpretation in binary radix. Thus 020 = 0d16 =
0x10 = 0b1000 = sixteen. If no prefix appears, the
default radix is used; see the d command. The radix
is initialized to hexadecimal. Note that a
hexadecimal number whose most significant digit would
otherwise be an alphabetic character must have a 0x
(or 0X) prefix.
'cccccccc' The ASCII value of up to 8 characters. If more than
8 characters are specified, the value is undefined.
A backslash (\) can be used to escape a single quote
(').
$register Register. The value of the register is obtained from
the register set corresponding to the current memory
file. Register names are implementation dependent;
see the r command.
symbol A symbol is a sequence of uppercase or lowercase
letters, underscores, or digits, not starting with a
digit. A backslash (\) can be used to escape other
characters. The value of the symbol is taken from
the symbol table in the current object file.
variable A variable name consists of alphabets and numerals
and always starts with $. Names of registers in the
target processor are reserved as variable names and
can be used to access registers in expressions.
In backward compatibility mode, a variable is a
single numeral or alphabet except for registers and
the prefix letter is >.
Here is a list of variables supported in both modes.
9 The count on the last $< command.
b The base address of the data segment.
d The data segment size.
t The text segment size.
e The entry point.
s The stack segment size.
m The ``magic'' number as defined in <magic.h>
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On entry, b, d, and t are set from the headers in the
current memory file. If the current memory file does
not appear to be valid these values are set from the
current object file. e is set from the current
object file.
Note: These are set only from core files and object
files.
The following primaries are supported only in the normal mode:
$. The value of dot.
$+ The value of dot increased by the value of dotincr.
$- The value of dot decreased by the value of dotincr.
$~ The last address typed.
The following primaries are supported only in backward compatibility
mode:
. The value of dot.
+ The value of dot increased by the value of dotincr.
^ The value of dot decreased by the value of dotincr.
" The last address typed.
The following C arithmetic, relational and logical operators are
supported and have the same precedence as in C:
?: || && | ^ & == != < > <= >= >> << + - * / % ~ !
The C unary sign operators + and - and the () operator are also
supported.
In addition to the above operators the following adb specific unary
operators are supported and have the same precedence as the other
unary operators:
*exp The contents of the location addressed by exp in the
current memory file.
@exp The contents of the location addressed by exp in the
current object file.
The following adb specific binary operator has the same precedence as
the % operator:
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exp1#exp2 exp1 rounded up to the next multiple of exp2.
In backward compatibility mode, the % operator has the same semantics
as the / operator. The unary + operator is not available in this
mode.
Sub-expressions containing any of the following operators should be
protected by () if used in address or count expressions:
?: / $ !
In addition to the above, in backward compatibility mode the >
operator also should be protected.
Commands [Toc] [Back]
As mentioned above, adb commands may be specified in the traditional
form or the keyword form. In backward compatibility mode, only the
traditional form is supported.
Traditional Form Commands [Toc] [Back]
The following categories of commands are specified in the traditional
command form:
+ File commands
+ Keyword commands
+ Process commands
+ Thread commands
+ Shell commands
In backward compatibility mode:
+ Variable commands
File commands [Toc] [Back]
These commands operate on the current object file or the current
memory file and are used to read, write, etc.
file_selector[ modifier] [ ,size | index] [arglist]
The file_selector can be one of these:
? The selected file is the current object file.
/ The selected file is the current memory file.
= This special symbol is only used for printing the
value of dot.
The modifier specifies the operation on the file; modifier can be:
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(no modifier)
It takes a single optional argument list which is a
format string. adb prints data from the selected
file according to the format string. If a format
string is not present and the file selector is ? or
/ then adb uses the format string used by either of
these earlier. If the file selector is = and a
format string is not present, then adb uses the
format string used by the previous = command.
/ [ , size ] value [ mask ]
Search the selected file. Words of size, size
starting at dot are masked with mask and compared
with value until a match is found. If found, dot is
set to that address of masked object. If mask is
omitted, no mask is used. dotincr is set to 0.
Valid values of size are 1, 2, 4, 8. If no size is
specified then sizeof(int) is assumed. value and
mask are unsigned integers of size size bytes.
For example: expr?/,4 6 5. Search for 4 byte value,
4 ( 6 & 5 ) in the current object file, starting at
expr.
= [ , size ] value1 value2 ...
Write a size sized value at the addressed location.
dot is incremented by size after each write. dotincr
is set to 0. Values of size and values are same as
for / modifier. For this operation, the file should
be opened with -w option.
For example: expr?=,4 6 5. Write 6 & 5 in the
current object file at addresses expr and expr+4
respectively, starting at expr.
> [ , index ] b e f
Set the indexth mapping triple parameters of the
selected file to the corresponding argument values in
order. Refer to Address Maps. If fewer than three
arguments are given, remaining maps remain unchanged.
The arguments are expressions. If not specified,
index is assumed to be 0. For example: ?>,0 1 2 3
Set b, e, f (index 0) of the current object file to
1, 2, 3 respectively.
In backward compatibility mode the following modifiers are also
present.
* It has same behavior as that when no modifier is
present. However, it uses the second mapping triple
to locate the file address of data to be printed.
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l It has same behavior as modifier / with an implicit
size of 2. It sets dotincr to 2.
L It has same behavior as modifier / with an implicit
size of 4. It sets dotincr to 4.
w It has same behavior as modifier = with an implicit
size of 2. It sets dotincr to 2. It increments dot
by the total size of all the values written minus
dotincr.
W It has same behavior as modifier / with an implicit
size of 4. It sets dotincr to 4. dot is set as for
w.
m It has same behavior as modifier > with an implicit
index of 0.
*m It has same behavior as modifier > with an implicit
index of 1.
For these modifiers, no explicit size or index can be mentioned.
These modifiers are deprecated.
Keyword Commands [Toc] [Back]
Run the Keyword Command Form using the traditional command form by
prefixing the command with $. Please refer to Keyword Form Commands
for the complete list of keyword commands.
Process Commands [Toc] [Back]
These commands deal with managing subprocesses. adb can run an object
file as a subprocess. Also, it can adopt a subprocess given its pid.
adb can debug multi-threaded and/or forked subprocesses. It can also
debug multiple subprocesses at the same time. However, at any time it
focuses on a one subprocess and one of its threads called the current
subprocess and current thread respectively.
The command consists of : followed by the modifier and an optional
list of arguments. They are:
r [ objfile ]
Run objfile as a subprocess. If address is given
explicitly, the program is entered at this point;
otherwise the program is entered at its standard
entry point. The value count specifies how many
breakpoints are ignored before stopping. arguments
to the subprocess may be supplied on the same line as
the command. Semicolon is not used as a command
separator. An argument starting with < or > causes
the standard input or output to be established for
the command. All signals are turned on when entering
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the subprocess. Such a subprocess is referred to as
a created subprocess.
If there are other created subprocesses running, all
are killed. It does not kill any attached
subprocesses. This becomes the current subprocess.
e [ objfile ]
Set up a subprocess as in :r; no instructions are
executed.
a [ objfile ]
Causes adb to adopt process with pid as a traced
subprocess. If the objfile is specified, adb uses it
to lookup symbol information. Count has same meaning
as in :r. Such a subprocess is referred to as an
attached subprocess. This subprocess becomes the
current subprocess.
k [ pid | * ]
Kills a created subprocess. If no argument is
specified it kills the current subprocess. If a pid
is given, it kills the subprocess with that pid. If
* is given, it kills all created subprocesses.
The current subprocess is chosen from the remaining
subprocesses.
de [ pid | * ]
The arguments can be a pid or a *. Same as :k,
however it applies to attached subprocesses. adb
detaches from them.
c [ signal ]
Continues the current subprocess with signal signal.
It continues all the threads of the subprocess. If
no signal is specified, the signal that caused it to
stop is sent. If address is specified, the current
thread continues at this address. Breakpoint
skipping is the same as for :r.
s [ signal | arg1 arg2 ... ]
Step the current thread count times. If address is
given, then the thread continues at that address,
else from the address where it had stopped. If no
signal is specified, the signal that caused it to
stop is sent. If there is no current subprocess,
object file is run as a subprocess as for :r. In
this case no signal can be sent; the remainder of the
line is treated as arguments to the subprocess.
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b [ command ]
Sets breakpoint at address in the current subprocess
The breakpoint is executed count-1 times before
causing a stop. Each time the breakpoint is
encountered, the command is executed. This
breakpoint is a subprocess breakpoint. If any of the
thread executes the instruction at this address, it
will stop. Multiple breakpoints can be set at the
same address.
d [ num | * ]
Deletes all breakpoints at address in the current
subprocess, if it is specified. If * is specified,
it deletes all the current subprocess breakpoints.
If num is specified, breakpoint with number num is
deleted.
en [ num | * ]
Enables all breakpoints at address in the current
subprocess, if it is specified. If * is specified,
it enables all the current subprocess breakpoints.
If num is specified, breakpoint with number num is
enabled.
di [ num | * ]
Disables all breakpoints at address in the current
subprocess, if it is specified. If * is specified,
it disables all the current subprocess breakpoints.
If num is specified, breakpoint with number num is
disabled.
z signum [ +s | -s | +r | -r | +d | -d ]
Changes signal handling for a specified signum for
all the threads of the current subprocess.
Disposition can be specified as:
+s Stop subprocess when signum is received.
-s Do not stop subprocess when signum is
received.
+r Report when signum is received.
-r Do not report when signum is received.
+d Deliver signum to the target subprocess.
-d Do not deliver signal to the target
subprocess.
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w [ pid ] Switches from the current subprocess to the
subprocess with process ID pid. This process becomes
the current subprocess. This subprocess must be an
already attached or created subprocess. Both
subprocesses are in stopped state after this command.
wc [ pid ] Same as w however the previous current subprocess is
not stopped.
Thread Commands [Toc] [Back]
These commands manage the threads in the current subprocess. The
command consists of a ] followed by a modifier and an optional
argument list.
s [ signum ] Same as :s. However it is strictly for the current
thread only.
c [ signum ] Same as :c. However it continues only the current
thread. And count refers to the breakpoint to skip for
the current thread.
b [ command ] Same as :b. However it applies to the current thread
only.
d [ num | * ] Same as :d. However it applies to current thread only.
en [ num | * ] Same as :en. However it applies to the current thread
only.
di [ num | * ] Same as :di. However it applies to the current thread
only.
z signum [ +s | -s | +r | -r | +d | -d ]
Same as :z. However it is meant for the current thread
only. If a signum occurs in the context of this thread
this disposition value is used instead of that of the
subprocess.
es [ signum ] Sets the flag for this signum for the current thread.
It means that if this signal signum occurs in the
context of this thread's signal disposition value is
used instead of that of the subprocess.
w [ pid ] Switch from the current thread to some other thread.
Both the threads are in stopped state after this, and
the thread with threadid becomes the current thread.
This command is also applicable to core file debugging.
It switches from present thread to given thread and
makes the given thread as the current thread.
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Shell Commands [Toc] [Back]
This action consists of a ! character followed by a string. The
string is passed unchanged to the shell defined by the SHELL
environment variable or to /bin/sh.
Variable Commands [Toc] [Back]
This is supported in backward compatibility mode only. It consists of
a > followed by a variable, var and an optional value. This action
assigns value to the variable or register named by var.
If not specified, value is assumed to be the value of dot. This
behavior is deprecated.
Keyword Form Commands [Toc] [Back]
All commands in this form consist of a keyword followed by a variable
number of arguments.
In backward compatibility mode, a $ must precede these keyword form
commands.
< filename Reads commands from filename. If this command is
executed in a file, further commands in the file are
not seen.
In backward compatibility mode, if a count is given,
it is placed in variable 9 before the first command
in the file is executed. This behavior is
deprecated.
<< filename Similar to < except it can be used in a file of
commands without causing the file to be closed.
In backward compatibility mode, variable 9 is saved
when the command executes and is restored when it
completes. This behavior is deprecated.
> filename It sends output to filename, which is created if it
does not already exist.
In backward compatibility mode, the output is
appended to filename.
>> filename Similar to > except that the output is appended to
filename.
rp Print the process ID and register values.
r Print the general registers and the instruction
addressed by the process counter.
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ra Print all the registers.
f Print the floating-point registers.
fd Print the double precision floating-point registers.
b Print all breakpoints, their number, associated
counts, state and commands of the current subprocess.
ps Print information about all the subprocesses being
traced by adb- that is, their process IDs, their
types (created or attached), counts, and threadids.
pc Print information about the current debuggee. If the
current debuggee is a subprocess, then it prints
subprocess information (process ID, type, count) and
prints information about each thread (thread ID,
count, signal) of the subprocess. If the current
debuggee is a core then it prints information about
each thread present in the core (thread no, utid,
lwpid, PC value and PC Symbol).
pt Print information about the current thread (thread
ID, count, signal). If the current debuggee is a
core then it prints information about the current
thread of the core. (utid, lwpid and register
information).
c The arguments can be address and count. Print C
stack backtrace. If address is given, it is taken as
the address of the current frame (instead of the
normal stack frame pointer). If count is given, only
the first count frames are printed.
In backward compatibility mode, this command has a
non-standard deprecated behavior. If arguments are
not mentioned, it uses address and count.
w [ width ] Set the page width for output to width. (The default
is 80.)
In backward compatibility mode, this command has a
non-standard deprecated behavior. If width is not
mentioned, address is taken as width.
s [ offset ]
Set maxoffset to offset.
In backward compatibility mode, this command has a
non-standard deprecated behavior. If offset is not
mentioned, address is taken as offset.
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o The default radix for all integers input is set to
octal.
d [ radix ] Set the default radix to radix.
In backward compatibility mode, this command has a
non-standard deprecated behavior. If radix is not
mentioned, address is taken as radix.
x The default radix for all integers input is set to
hexadecimal.
q Quit adb.
v Print the value of all variables.
m Print the address map. This includes both the
initial and default maps for a valid corefile with an
indication of which is currently active.
z Print a list of signals and how they are handled for
the current subprocess.
zt Print a list of signals, their associated flags, and
how they are handled for the current thread.
k Print all DLKM modules or shared libraries.
n [ nodenumber ]
Without arguments print node information on a CCNUMA
machine. With a nodenumber argument, change to that
node.
p traditional_cmd
This keyword command takes a traditional command as
argument and interprets it.
a var value Assign value to adb variable var.
pa Virtual_Offset
Prints the physical address for a given Virtual
Offset in HEX format. Space ID is taken from the adb
variable space. You can set the adb variable space
using the keyword command a explained earlier.
The following commands can run only in backward compatibility mode.
newline Print the process ID and register values.
M Toggle the address mapping of memfile between the
initial map set up or a valid memory file and the
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default mapping pair which the user can modify with
the file action modifier >. If the memory file was
invalid, only the default mapping is available.
N [ nodenumber ]
Print the number of nodes on V-class multinode
machines and the current node number. To switch to
another node, enter $N nodenumber.
F Print double precision floating point registers.
R Print all registers.
U Print unwind tables.
Format String [Toc] [Back]
A format string is used to specify the formatting to be done before
data is printed by adb. There are two types of format strings
supported by adb: traditional style and printf style. A traditional
style format string is a sequence of format specifiers. A printf-
style format string is always preceded by a comma (,) and enclosed
within double quotes (""), and is a sequence of format specifiers and
other characters. Each format specifier should be preceded by a %
character. Characters other than format specifiers are printed as is.
If needed, % should be escaped by %. It supports C language style \
character escape sequences.
While processing a format string, adb scans the format string from
left to right and applies each conversion specifier encountered to the
object addressed by the sum of dot and dotincr. After each conversion
specifier is processed, dotincr is incremented by count times size
(implicit or explicit) of that conversion specifier. If the format
string is used to print the value of dot (using action =), dot and
dotincr remain unchanged. For dotincr operator, dotincr is updated
appropriately.
In backward compatibility mode, only the traditional style format
string is supported.
Format Specifier [Toc] [Back]
A format specifier can be a conversion specifier or a dot operator.
1. Conversion Specifier
Each conversion specifier consists of an optional count or pspec
followed by an optional size specifier character, followed by a
conversion specifier character.
count This is available only for the traditional style format string.
The count specifies the number of times this conversion
specifier is to be repeated. If not specified, count is assumed
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to be 1.
pspec This is available only for the printf-style format string. It
is a sequence of flags, fieldwidth and precision as in the
printf(3S) library function.
size specifier character
This specifies the size of object to which this is applied.
Size can be specified in two ways. One is using absolute size
specifier and other is relative size specifier. Absolute size
specifiers are as follows.
b The size of the object is 1 byte.
e The size of the object is 2 bytes.
g The size of the object is 4 bytes.
j The size of the object is 8 bytes.
k The size of the object is 16 bytes.
Relative size specifiers are as follows
w The size of the object is the size of a machine word of the
target processor.
h The size of the object is half the size of a machine word
of the target processor.
l The size of the object is double the size of a machine word
of the target processor.
n The size of the object is the size of a pointer on the
target processor. This will be different for wide files
and narrow files.
m The size of the object is the size of an instruction of the
target processor. This will be supported only on
processors where this is constant.
Conversion Specifier Character
The following characters are supported
a The value of dot is printed in symbolic form.
c The object is printed as a character.
o The object is printed as an unsigned octal number.
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d The object is printed as a signed decimal number.
u The object is printed as an unsigned decimal number.
i The object is disassembled as an instruction and printed.
f The object is printed in a floating point format according
to its size.
p The object is printed in symbolic form.
s The object is assumed to be a null terminated string and
printed. This cannot be used to print dot.
y The object is cast to type time_t and printed in the
ctime(3C) format.
Here the printf-style format strings support only c, o, d, u, x,
f, and s. If the size specifier character is not specified, it
is assumed to be b for conversion character c; w for conversion
characters d, u, x, o, and f; m for i; sizeof(time_t) for y; and
w for everything else.
For example. 10=2bo, 'abc'=,"%s", main?4i
2. Dot Operator
A dot operator consists of an optional count, optional size specifier
character, and a dot operator character.
count count specifies the number of times this dot operator is to
be repeated. If not specified, count is assumed to be 1.
The count is always 1 for printf-style format strings.
Size Specifier Character
Same as size specifier character of conversion specifier.
Dot operator character
This can be one of these
v Increment dotincr by count times size.
z Decrement dotincr by count times size.
For example: =5bv, =5bv5bz
Backward Compatibility Mode [Toc] [Back]
In backward compatibility mode, the traditional style can be a
conversion specifier, dot operator, spacing specifier, or a literal
string.
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adb(1) adb(1)
1. Conversion Specifier
A conversion specifier consists of an optional count followed by a
conversion specifier character.
count Specify the number of times this conversion specifier is to
be repeated. If not specified, count is assumed to be 1.
Conversion Specifier Character
These have an implicit size. No explicit size is
recognized. The following format characters are available:
(Their implicit sizes are mentioned next to them.)
o 2 The object is printed as an unsigned octal number.
O 4 The object is printed as an unsigned octal number.
q 2 The object is printed as a signed octal number.
Q 4 The object is printed as a signed octal number.
d 2 The object is printed as a signed decimal number.
D 4 The object is printed as a signed decimal number.
x 2 The object is printed as a unsigned hexadecimal
number.
X 4 The object is printed as a unsigned hexadecimal
number.
A 8 The object is printed as a unsigned hexadecimal
number.
u 2 The object is printed as a unsigned decimal number.
U 4 The object is printed as a unsigned decimal number.
f 4 The object is printed as a floating point number.
F 8 The object is printed as a double precision
floating point number.
b 1 The object is printed as a hexadecimal number.
B 1 The object is printed as an octal number.
c 1 The object is printed as a character (the sign bit
is ignored).
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adb(1) adb(1)
C 1 The object is printed as a character using the
following escape convention. First, the sign bit
is discarded, then character values 000 to 040 are
printed as @ followed by the corresponding
character in the range 0100 to 0140. The character
@ is represented as @@.
s n The object is assumed to be a sequence of bytes
terminated with a n as an instruction and printed.
The value of n is the number of bytes occupied by
the instruction. This cannot be used to print dot.
S n The object is assumed to be a sequence of bytes
terminated with a null byte. These bytes of the
object are printed as a sequence of characters
using the @ escape convention. The value of n is
the number of bytes in the object including the
null byte. This cannot be used to print dot.
Y 4 The object is printed in the date format (see
ctime(3C)).
i n The object is disassembled as an instruction and
printed. The value of n is the number of bytes
occupied by the instruction.
a 0 The value of dot is printed in symbolic form.
p n The object is printed in symbolic form. The value
of n s machine-dependent.
For example: main=ba, 'a'=c, main?10box
2. Dot Operator
A dot operator consists of an optional count followed by a dot
operator character.
count Same as that of count of conversion specifier.
Dot operator character
A dot operator character is one of these:
^ dotincr is decreased by count times size corresponding
to the previous conversion specifier character.
+ dotincr is increased by count.
- dotincr is decreased by count.
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adb(1) adb(1)
For example: 10=-, 10=2-, 10=5o4^
3. Spacing specifier
A spacing specifier consists of an optional count or an optional
tabstop followed by a spacing specifier character.
count Same as that of count of conversion specifier.
tabstop
Same as that of count of conversion specifier. However, it
is used only with the t spacing specifier. If no value is
mentioned, it is assumed to be 1.
spacing specifier character
A spacing specifier character can be one of these:
t Move to the next tab stop appropriate for tabstop.
For example, 8t moves to the next 8-space tab stop.
r Print a space.
n Print a newline character.
For example: 10=2o2t2o, 10=2o2r2o, 10=2o2n2o
4. Literal String
A literal string is any number of characters enclosed within double
quotes ("").
For example: 10="in octal "ot"in hex "x
Address Maps [Toc] [Back]
In files like object files and application core files, the virtual
memory address is the not the same as the file offset. So adb keeps
an array of address maps for these files to map a given virtual memory
address to a file offset. Each address map is a triple: start virtual
address (b), end virtual address (e) and start file offset (f). The
triple specifies that all addresses from b to e - 1 occupy a
contiguous region in the file starting at f. Given a virtual address
a such that b_ a< e, the file offset of a can be computed as f+ a- b.
State variables [Toc] [Back]
There are several variables which define the state of adb at any
instant in time. They are:
dot Current address. Initial value is 0.
dotincr Current address increment. Initial value is 0.
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adb(1) adb(1)
prompt Prompt string used by adb. Initial value is ``adb> ''.
radix The current input radix. Initial value is as in the
assembly language of the target processor.
maxwidth The maximum width of the display. Initial value is 80.
maxoffset If an address is within this limit from a known symbol,
adb prints the address as symbol_name+offset, else the
address is printed. Initial value is 0xffffffff.
macropath List of directories to be searched for adb macros.
Initial value is .:/usr/lib/adb.
pager Pager command used by adb. Initial value is more -c.
backcompat Set to 1 if adb is in backward compatibility mode.
Initial value depends on the host processor.
Note [Toc] [Back]
adb64 is a symbolic link to adb. This symbolic link is maintained for
backward compatibility with some old scripts which may be using adb64.
EXTERNAL INFLUENCES [Toc] [Back]
International Code Set Support
Single- and multi-byte character code sets are supported.
RETURN VALUE [Toc] [Back]
adb comments about inaccessible files, syntax errors, abnormal
termination of commands, etc. Exit status is 0 unless the last
command failed or returned non-zero status.
AUTHOR [Toc] [Back]
adb was developed by HP.
FILES [Toc] [Back]
a.out
core
/dev/mem
/dev/kmem
SEE ALSO [Toc] [Back]
ttrace(2), crt0(3), ctime(3C), end(3C), a.out(4), core(4), signal(5).
ADB Tutorial
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