Emacs and Gud

Emacs and Gud

[Chris Gordon-Smith]

I have recently started using Emacs for my C++ project, and have got ECB
working so that I can browse my code easily.

One thing that is not working properly is Gud. I gan start gdb, and I get
standard text debugging, but none of the graphical features (eg breakpoints
in the fringe).  I did a bit of Googling and on the basis of that setup the
following (via the 'options' menu):-

(gdb-many-windows t)
(gdb-show-main t)

However, graphical debugging is still not working. Can anyone help?

Chris Gordon-Smith
London
www.simsoup.info

Re: Emacs and Gud

[Nick Roberts]

 > I have recently started using Emacs for my C++ project, and have got ECB
 > working so that I can browse my code easily.

You don't say what system you are using (M-x emacs-version, or better still use
M-x report-emacs-bug)

 > One thing that is not working properly is Gud. I gan start gdb, and I get
 > standard text debugging, but none of the graphical features (eg breakpoints
 > in the fringe).  I did a bit of Googling

Before Googling, it would be a good idea to read the Emacs manual.  Assuming
that you have Emacs 22.1 there is a whole section for the GDB Graphical
Interface.

 >                                          and on the basis of that setup the
 > following (via the 'options' menu):-

I guess you mean customize.

 > (gdb-many-windows t)
 > (gdb-show-main t)

but if you have set these directly in you .emacs file you'll need:

(setq gdb-many-windows t)
(setq gdb-show-main t)

In any case you should still get breakpoints in the fringe.

 > However, graphical debugging is still not working. Can anyone help?

What does t say in the mini-buffer when you do "M-x gdb"?

-- 
Nick                                           http://www.inet.net.nz/~nickrob


PS GDB isn't very good for C++ but it's getting better.  It might be worth
getting 6.8 when it comes out early this year.

Re: Emacs and Gud

[Chris Gordon-Smith]

Nick Roberts wrote:

Thanks for your comments.

>  > I have recently started using Emacs for my C++ project, and have got
>  > ECB working so that I can browse my code easily.
> 
> You don't say what system you are using (M-x emacs-version, or better

GNU Emacs 22.1.1 (i586-suse-linux-gnu, GTK+ Version 2.12.0) of 2007-11-23 on
dede

> still use M-x report-emacs-bug)
> 
>  > One thing that is not working properly is Gud. I gan start gdb, and I
>  > get standard text debugging, but none of the graphical features (eg
>  > breakpoints
>  > in the fringe).  I did a bit of Googling
> 
> Before Googling, it would be a good idea to read the Emacs manual. 
> Assuming that you have Emacs 22.1 there is a whole section for the GDB
> Graphical Interface.

Yes - That's what Google found

> 
>  > and on the basis of that setup
>  > the
>  > following (via the 'options' menu):-
> 
> I guess you mean customize.

Yes - the menu selection is Options->Customize Emacs
> 
>  > (gdb-many-windows t)
>  > (gdb-show-main t)
> 
The above are what Emacs put in the .emacs file. I didn't edit it directly.

> but if you have set these directly in you .emacs file you'll need:
> 
> (setq gdb-many-windows t)
> (setq gdb-show-main t)
> 
> In any case you should still get breakpoints in the fringe.
> 
>  > However, graphical debugging is still not working. Can anyone help?
> 
> What does t say in the mini-buffer when you do "M-x gdb"?
> 
It says:-

Run gdb (like this):
gdb /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup 

simsoup is the name of my program. Hitting enter starts gdb, but only in
text mode.

Since my original posting I have found that if I don't load ECB, then
graphical debugging works. However, I would like to be able to use both ECB
and graphical debugging. Any thoughts?

Chris Gordon-Smith
London
www.simsoup.info

Re: Emacs and Gud

[Nick Roberts]

> > Before Googling, it would be a good idea to read the Emacs manual.
> > Assuming that you have Emacs 22.1 there is a whole section for the GDB
> > Graphical Interface.

> Yes - That's what Google found

You shouldn't have to use Google as the Emacs manual is included in the Emacs
tarball, so it should be on your system unless Suse package documentation
separately like Debian.

> ...
> It says:-

> Run gdb (like this):
> gdb /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup

That's odd because Emacs 21.x looked like this but Emacs 22.1 should look
like:

Run gdb (like this):
gdb --annotate=3 /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup

> simsoup is the name of my program. Hitting enter starts gdb, but only in
> text mode.

> Since my original posting I have found that if I don't load ECB, then
> graphical debugging works. However, I would like to be able to use both ECB
> and graphical debugging. Any thoughts?

I've not used ECB but I have read a comment in ecb-compatibility.el that says
that gdb-ui.el's use of dedicated windows might conflict with ECB's so it's
possible that they have configured Emacs to just use text mode.  However, even
in this case Emacs 22.1 should look like this:

Run gdb (like this):
gdb --fullname /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup

or this:

Run gdb (like this):
gdb --annotate=1 /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup

What value does gud-gdb-command-name have?

-- 
Nick                                           http://www.inet.net.nz/~nickrob

Re: Emacs and Gud

[Chris Gordon-Smith]

Nick Roberts wrote:

>> > Before Googling, it would be a good idea to read the Emacs manual.
>> > Assuming that you have Emacs 22.1 there is a whole section for the GDB
>> > Graphical Interface.
> 
>> Yes - That's what Google found
> 
> You shouldn't have to use Google as the Emacs manual is included in the
> Emacs tarball, so it should be on your system unless Suse package
> documentation separately like Debian.
> 
>> ...
>> It says:-
> 
>> Run gdb (like this):
>> gdb /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup
> 
> That's odd because Emacs 21.x looked like this but Emacs 22.1 should look
> like:
> 
> Run gdb (like this):
> gdb --annotate=3
> /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup
> 
>> simsoup is the name of my program. Hitting enter starts gdb, but only in
>> text mode.
> 
>> Since my original posting I have found that if I don't load ECB, then
>> graphical debugging works. However, I would like to be able to use both
>> ECB and graphical debugging. Any thoughts?
> 
> I've not used ECB but I have read a comment in ecb-compatibility.el that
> says that gdb-ui.el's use of dedicated windows might conflict with ECB's
> so it's
> possible that they have configured Emacs to just use text mode.  However,
> even in this case Emacs 22.1 should look like this:
> 
> Run gdb (like this):
> gdb --fullname
> /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup
> 
Interesting.  This gets me into a graphical mode where I have a source
window with a pointer in the fringe by the execution point. However, I
still don't have the other debugger windows (stack etc.), and I don't have
the little red dot in the fringe by breakpoints.

> or this:
> 
> Run gdb (like this):
> gdb --annotate=1
> /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup
> 
This gives the same as gdb --fullname


> What value does gud-gdb-command-name have?
> 
(gud-gdb-command-name "gdb /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup")

If I try --annotate=2 I get all the debug windows, but now the gdb command
line usually won't do anything (eg if I type "list" nothing happens)! I did
however get a working system the first time I tried --annotate=2, with the
little red dot etc., but no joy since then

Thanks for your help so far. Any further thoughts welcome.

Chris Gordon-Smith
London
www.simsoup.info

Re: Emacs and Gud

[Nick Roberts]

 > > possible that they have configured Emacs to just use text mode.  However,
 > > even in this case Emacs 22.1 should look like this:
 > > 
 > > Run gdb (like this):
 > > gdb --fullname
 > > /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup
 > > 
 > Interesting.  This gets me into a graphical mode where I have a source
 > window with a pointer in the fringe by the execution point. However, I
 > still don't have the other debugger windows (stack etc.), and I don't have
 > the little red dot in the fringe by breakpoints.

This is what we call text command mode in the Emacs manual.  Its "traditional"
GUD that has been part of Emacs 21 and earlier.  Its quite basic: there are
just two buffers, the GUD buffer for typing GDB commands and the source buffer.
I would guess from your surprise and description that you've not used gdb
in an earlier version of Emacs.

 > > or this:
 > > 
 > > Run gdb (like this):
 > > gdb --annotate=1
 > > /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup
 > > 
 > This gives the same as gdb --fullname

--fullname and --annotate=1 are equivalent options in GDB.

 > 
 > > What value does gud-gdb-command-name have?
 > > 
 > (gud-gdb-command-name "gdb /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup")

OK, now I understand.  The default option "--annotate=3" is necessary for the
operation of the GDB Graphical Interface ("--annotate=2" also works but there
are differences).  I'll will add a note in the doc string to that effect -
thanks.

It looks like you only ever debug one program. If that's the
case customise gud-gdb-command-name to:

"gdb --annotate=3 /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup"

 > If I try --annotate=2 I get all the debug windows, but now the gdb command
 > line usually won't do anything (eg if I type "list" nothing happens)! I did
 > however get a working system the first time I tried --annotate=2, with the
 > little red dot etc., but no joy since then

Emacs might be confused by the previous value.  What happens if you
customise gud-gdb-command-name to the above value and restart Emacs?

-- 
Nick                                           http://www.inet.net.nz/~nickrob

Re: Emacs and Gud

[Chris Gordon-Smith]

Nick Roberts wrote:

>  > > possible that they have configured Emacs to just use text mode. 
>  > > However, even in this case Emacs 22.1 should look like this:
>  > > 
>  > > Run gdb (like this):
>  > > gdb --fullname
>  > > /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup
>  > > 
>  > Interesting.  This gets me into a graphical mode where I have a source
>  > window with a pointer in the fringe by the execution point. However, I
>  > still don't have the other debugger windows (stack etc.), and I don't
>  > have the little red dot in the fringe by breakpoints.
> 
> This is what we call text command mode in the Emacs manual.  Its
> "traditional"
> GUD that has been part of Emacs 21 and earlier.  Its quite basic: there
> are just two buffers, the GUD buffer for typing GDB commands and the
> source buffer. I would guess from your surprise and description that
> you've not used gdb in an earlier version of Emacs.
> 
>  > > or this:
>  > > 
>  > > Run gdb (like this):
>  > > gdb --annotate=1
>  > > /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup
>  > > 
>  > This gives the same as gdb --fullname
> 
> --fullname and --annotate=1 are equivalent options in GDB.
> 
>  > 
>  > > What value does gud-gdb-command-name have?
>  > > 
>  > (gud-gdb-command-name "gdb
>  > /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup")
> 
> OK, now I understand.  The default option "--annotate=3" is necessary for
> the operation of the GDB Graphical Interface ("--annotate=2" also works
> but there
> are differences).  I'll will add a note in the doc string to that effect -
> thanks.
> 
> It looks like you only ever debug one program. If that's the
> case customise gud-gdb-command-name to:
> 
> "gdb --annotate=3
> /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup"
> 
>  > If I try --annotate=2 I get all the debug windows, but now the gdb
>  > command line usually won't do anything (eg if I type "list" nothing
>  > happens)! I did however get a working system the first time I tried
>  > --annotate=2, with the little red dot etc., but no joy since then
> 
> Emacs might be confused by the previous value.  What happens if you
> customise gud-gdb-command-name to the above value and restart Emacs?
> 

Thanks for your comments. It seems that the problem is a conflict between
ECB and GUD.

If I run GUD with --annotate=1 then I gat the basic two buffer debugging,
and this works OK within an ECB environment.

With --annotate=2  or --annotate=3, GUD doesn't work properly with ECB. I
get messages like:- 

"error in process filter; Window height 2 too small (after splitting)"

Sometimes it partly works, but usually the GUD menu disappears and so do
most of the debug windows. There seems to be no way to get them back.

If I deactivate ECB before I start GDB, then both --annotate=2 and
annotate=3 work fine.

Incidentally, I have set gud-gdb-command-name to
gdb --annotate=3 /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup

I mainly use ECB for programming, and I think that while it would be nice to
have it available while debugging, it is workable without.

Any thoughts on how to get ECB and GUD working together would however be
welcome.

Chris Gordon-Smith
London
www.simsoup.info

Re: Emacs and Gud

[Nick Roberts]

 > If I run GUD with --annotate=1 then I gat the basic two buffer debugging,
 > and this works OK within an ECB environment.
 > 
 > With --annotate=2  or --annotate=3, GUD doesn't work properly with ECB. I
 > get messages like:- 
 > 
 > "error in process filter; Window height 2 too small (after splitting)"

Both ECB and gdb-ui (the graphical part of GUD) use something called
dedicated windows.  This means that they're protective over their
window configuration and won't let other buffers display in their windows.

 > Sometimes it partly works, but usually the GUD menu disappears and so do
 > most of the debug windows. There seems to be no way to get them back.

Maybe 'C-x 5 2' (opens a new frame) followed by M-x gdb-many-windows in the
new frame will work

 > If I deactivate ECB before I start GDB, then both --annotate=2 and
 > annotate=3 work fine.
 > 
 > Incidentally, I have set gud-gdb-command-name to
 > gdb --annotate=3 /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup
 > 
 > I mainly use ECB for programming, and I think that while it would be nice to
 > have it available while debugging, it is workable without.
 > 
 > Any thoughts on how to get ECB and GUD working together would however be
 > welcome.

I think there will always be conflicts without a major redesign.  ECB isn't
part of Emacs and I've never really used it.  Ideally ECB would be integrated
into Emacs but that would be a lot of work and I don't think it's going to
happed anytime soon.

If simsoup is a large program and you really need a project based development
environment you may be better off using Eclipse with CDT.  I guess I shouldn't
really be saying that on help-gnu-emacs and you will have to recommend the use
of GDB in Emacs to others as a daily pennance!



-- 
Nick                                           http://www.inet.net.nz/~nickrob

Re: Emacs and Gud

[Chris Gordon-Smith]

Nick Roberts wrote:

>  > If I run GUD with --annotate=1 then I gat the basic two buffer
>  > debugging, and this works OK within an ECB environment.
>  > 
>  > With --annotate=2  or --annotate=3, GUD doesn't work properly with ECB.
>  > I get messages like:-
>  > 
>  > "error in process filter; Window height 2 too small (after splitting)"
> 
> Both ECB and gdb-ui (the graphical part of GUD) use something called
> dedicated windows.  This means that they're protective over their
> window configuration and won't let other buffers display in their windows.
> 
>  > Sometimes it partly works, but usually the GUD menu disappears and so
>  > do most of the debug windows. There seems to be no way to get them
>  > back.
> 
> Maybe 'C-x 5 2' (opens a new frame) followed by M-x gdb-many-windows in
> the new frame will work
> 
>  > If I deactivate ECB before I start GDB, then both --annotate=2 and
>  > annotate=3 work fine.
>  > 
>  > Incidentally, I have set gud-gdb-command-name to
>  > gdb --annotate=3
>  > /home/chris/mydata/Projects/SimSoup/simsoup-cpp/simsoup/simsoup
>  > 
>  > I mainly use ECB for programming, and I think that while it would be
>  > nice to have it available while debugging, it is workable without.
>  > 
>  > Any thoughts on how to get ECB and GUD working together would however
>  > be welcome.
> 
> I think there will always be conflicts without a major redesign.  ECB
> isn't
> part of Emacs and I've never really used it.  Ideally ECB would be
> integrated into Emacs but that would be a lot of work and I don't think
> it's going to happed anytime soon.
> 
> If simsoup is a large program and you really need a project based
> development
> environment you may be better off using Eclipse with CDT.  I guess I
> shouldn't really be saying that on help-gnu-emacs and you will have to
> recommend the use of GDB in Emacs to others as a daily pennance!
> 

Thanks for your comments. Regarding IDEs such as Eclipse, I have been using
KDevelop for several years. I have found it very good, but want to try
Emacs. Reasons for this include:-

*   I want to take control of the Build / Make process. IDEs like KDevelop
and Eclipse tend to do this for you. That is very useful, but I now need to
control it myself. (I am using Makefiles to enforce separation of
subsystems by using CFLAGS to determine which include files a subsystem has
access to.)

*   More generally I want to get closer to the Linux programming
environment. Again, an IDE tends to shield one from this

*   I want to understand why Emacs has such a legendary reputation!

So far I have been pleasantly surprised by Emacs. One thing I like is the
ability to switch easily between buffers. KDevelop opens up all of the
files for a project, which makes switching more difficult since so many
files are open. In practice you have to go via the code browser each time. 

I see a code browser as essential, and would not consider using Emacs
without something like ECB. Now that I also have GDB working (although with
the minor drawback that if I want its full functionality I have to
deactivate ECB), I have a good development environment based on Emacs.

Its taking a while to get used to the editing style, but there are a number
of aspects I like. I seem to be able to get more on a screen, and I like
the fact that everything is configurable. For example, I have configured
Emacs to disregard mouse wheel clicks within 0.5 seconds of scrolling. This
means that I don't accidentally paste (yank) text into a file while
scrolling. This is very annoying in KDevelop.

Perhaps I will go back to KDevelop one day, or perhaps not. For the moment I
am enjoying using Emacs and getting to know the powerful features that it
has.

I have also tried Eclipse / CDE. It looks good, but as mentioned above, I
want to get away (at least for a while) from an environment that tends to
shield one from the underlying operating system and programming
environment. I want to get 'close to the bare metal'.

One other thing about Emacs; by comparison with KDevelop and Eclipse its
more responsive.

One thing with Emacs I want to look at is syntax highlighting. Its working,
but I haven't yet figured out how to control all of the options.

Chris Gordon-Smith
London
www.simsoup.info

Re: Emacs and Gud

[Sebastian Tennant]

Quoth Chris Gordon-Smith <use.address@my.homepage>:
> [...]
> Thanks for your comments. Regarding IDEs such as Eclipse, I have been using
> KDevelop for several years. I have found it very good, but want to try
> Emacs. Reasons for this include:-
>
> *   I want to take control of the Build / Make process. IDEs like KDevelop
>     and Eclipse tend to do this for you. That is very useful, but I now
>     need to control it myself. (I am using Makefiles to enforce
>     separation of subsystems by using CFLAGS to determine which include
>     files a subsystem has access to.)
>
> *   More generally I want to get closer to the Linux programming
>     environment. Again, an IDE tends to shield one from this
>
> *   I want to understand why Emacs has such a legendary reputation!

Because it's simply the most universally useful program ever written.

> So far I have been pleasantly surprised by Emacs. One thing I like is the
> ability to switch easily between buffers.

Have you discovered iswitchb-mode yet?  You won't look back.

> KDevelop opens up all of the files for a project, which makes
> switching more difficult since so many files are open. In practice you
> have to go via the code browser each time.
>
> I see a code browser as essential, and would not consider using Emacs
> without something like ECB. Now that I also have GDB working (although with
> the minor drawback that if I want its full functionality I have to
> deactivate ECB), I have a good development environment based on Emacs.

Congratulations!

> Its taking a while to get used to the editing style, but there are a number
> of aspects I like. I seem to be able to get more on a screen, and I like
> the fact that everything is configurable.

Yup... that's Emacs for you.

> For example, I have configured Emacs to disregard mouse wheel clicks
> within 0.5 seconds of scrolling. This means that I don't accidentally
> paste (yank) text into a file while scrolling. This is very annoying
> in KDevelop.
>
> Perhaps I will go back to KDevelop one day, 

Na.... not once you've glimpsed the beauty of the unerlying simplicity
(and power) of Emacs :-)

> or perhaps not. For the moment I am enjoying using Emacs and getting
> to know the powerful features that it has.

Keep going.  Your investment _will_ mature in the most pleasing way
imaginable.

> I have also tried Eclipse / CDE. It looks good, but as mentioned above, I
> want to get away (at least for a while) from an environment that tends to
> shield one from the underlying operating system and programming
> environment. I want to get 'close to the bare metal'.
>
> One other thing about Emacs; by comparison with KDevelop and Eclipse its
> more responsive.

I'm not surprised to hear that.  I only ever use a mouse for browsing,
so I run emacs22-nox in gnome-terminal.  The emacs22-nox executable file
is just 4.9 Mb and the contents of /usr/share/emacs and
/usr/share/emacs22 combined is just 75.4 Mb, so we're talking ~80 Mb all
in.  I wonder how that compares with Eclipse and friends?

> One thing with Emacs I want to look at is syntax highlighting. Its
> working, but I haven't yet figured out how to control all of the
> options.

No one seems to have said it so I will... on behalf of the list, thanks
for what sounds to me like the beginnings of a ringing endorsement of
Emacs-as-IDE

Sebastian