DWARF(4)							      DWARF(4)

NAME    [Toc]    [Back]

     dwarf - dwarf version 2 debugging information format

SYNOPSIS    [Toc]    [Back]

     #include <dwarf.h>

DESCRIPTION    [Toc]    [Back]

     DWARF is a	format for the information generated by	compilers, assemblers,
     and linkage editors that is necessary for source-level debugging.	It
     allows a compact representation of	programs in many languages and is
     easily extended to	handle additional languages and	individual
     compiler/debugger requirements.  Consumers	reading	DWARF information they
     do	not understand are able	to easily skip past that information, meaning
     that older	consumers are not broken by the	addition of new	features.

     DWARF itself does not specify how to generate or use the information.
     Instead, it defines the 'bits on the disc'.  See the libdwarf(4) man page
     for information on	reading	and writing DWARF information.

     This format was designed by a multi-company committee called the PLSIG
     working under the auspices	of Unix	International.	The format is based on
     the SVR4 debugging	information format, (which might be called version 0)
     and a codification	of that	format developed by the	committee (which was
     called version 1).	 Version 2 was designed	by the committee to reduce the
     disk space	used and to add	descriptive power (as compared to versions 0
     and 1).  The Version 2.0.0	Industry Review	Draft was made available July,
     1993.  The	document provided below	is that	Draft.

     For details of the	format see the document	DWARF Debugging	Information
     Format, which is the file dwarf.v2.mm in the IDO/dev option subsystem
     compiler_dev.opt.dwarf.  The file index.v2.mm is an index to that
     document.	The .ps	files are PostScript versions of the same files.

     The DWARF debugging information is	present	only in	programs compiled -n32
     or	-64.  This information is put, as needed, into sections	of an ELF
     object file named .debug_info, .debug_frame, .debug_line, .debug_aranges,
     .debug_loc, .debug_frame, .debug_str, .debug_abbrev, .debug_pubnames,
     .debug_weaknames, .debug_funcnames, .debug_typenames, and
     .debug_varnames.

     With programs compiled -32, the compiler puts debugging information into
     the .mdebug section of the	ELF file (the section format is	identical to
     the IRIX 4	COFF symbol table, so the .mdebug section is sometimes
     referred to as 'the symbol	table',	though this is incorrect terminology
     now).

FILES    [Toc]    [Back]

     /usr/share/src/compiler/dwarf/dwarf.v2.mm
     /usr/share/src/compiler/dwarf/dwarf.v2.ps
     /usr/share/src/compiler/dwarf/index.v2.mm
     /usr/share/src/compiler/dwarf/index.v2.ps




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DWARF(4)							      DWARF(4)

SEE ALSO    [Toc]    [Back]

     libdwarf(4) dwarfdump(1)


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