genode/repos/ports/doc/gdb.txt

                ======================================
                User-level debugging on Genode via GDB
                ======================================


                             Norman Feske


Abstract
########

A convenient solution for debugging individual applications is a feature that
is repeatedly asked for by Genode developers. In the past, the answer to this
question was rather unsatisfying. There existed a multitude of approaches but
none was both simple to use and powerful. With GDB monitor, this has changed.
Using this component, debugging an individual Genode application over a
remote GDB connection has become possible. This way, most debugging facilities
valued and expected from user-level debuggers on commodity operating systems
become available to Genode developers.


Traditional approaches
######################

There are several ways of debugging user-level programs on Genode. Probably the
most prominent approach is spilling debug messages throughout the code of
interest. The colored 'printf' macros 'PDBG', 'PINF', 'PWRN', and 'PERR' become
handy in such situations. By default, those messages are targeting core's LOG
service. Hence, each debug message appears nicely tagged with the originating
process on the kernel debug console. Even though this approach looks like from
the stone age, it remains to be popular because it is so intuitive to use.

For debugging the interaction between different processes, however, the classical
'printf' methodology becomes inefficient. Here is where platform-specific
debugging facilities enter the picture. Most L4 kernels come with built-in
kernel debuggers that allow the inspection of kernel objects such as threads
and address spaces. This way, we get a global view on the system from the
kernel's perspective. For example, the mapping of virtual memory to
physical pages can be revealed, the communication relationships between
threads become visible, and the ready queue of the scheduler can be
observed. To a certain extent, kernel debuggers had been complemented with
useful facilities for debugging user-level programs. For example, the Fiasco
kernel debugger comes with a convenient backtrace function that parses the
call stack of a given thread. Using the addresses printed in the backtrace,
the corresponding code can be matched against the output of the 'objdump'
utility that comes with the GNU binutils. Among the kernel debuggers of
Genode's supported base platforms, the variants of L4/Fiasco and respectively
Fiasco.OC stand out. We often find ourself switching to one of these kernel
platforms when we hit a hard debugging problem for the sole reason that
the kernel debugger is so powerful.

However, with complex applications, the kernel debugger becomes awkward to
use. For example, if an application uses shared libraries, the kernel
has no interpretation of them. Addresses that appear as the backtrace of the
stack must be manually matched against the loading addresses of the individual
shared libraries, the 'objdump' must be used with the offset of the return
address from the shared-library's base address. Saying that this process
is inconvenient would be a blatant understatement. Of course, sophisticated
features like source-level debugging and single-stepping of applications is
completely out of the scope of a kernel debugger.

For problems that call for source-level debugging and single-stepping, however,
we have found Qemu's GDB stub extremely useful. This stub can be used to attach
GDB to a virtual machine emulated by Qemu. By manually loading symbols into
GDB, this approach can be used to perform source-level debugging to a certain
degree. However, there are a number of restrictions attached to this solution.
First, Qemu is not aware of any abstractions of the running operating system.
So if the kernel decides to preempt the current thread and switch to another,
the single-stepping session comes to a surprising end. Also, Qemu is not aware
of the different address spaces. Hence, a breakpoint triggers as soon as the
program counter reaches the breakpoint address regardless of the process. If
multiple applications use the same virtual addresses (which is usually the
case), we get an aliasing problem. This problem can be mitigated by linking
each application to a different virtual-address range. However, this effort is
hardly recommendable as a general solution. Still, Qemu's GDB stub can save
the soul of a developer who has to deal with problems in the category of
low-level C++ exception handling.

For debugging higher-level application code and protocols, using GDB on Linux
is a viable choice if the application scenario can executed on the 'base-linux'
platform. For many problems on Genode, this is apparently the case because most
higher-level code is platform-independent. On the Linux base platform, each
Genode process runs as an individual Linux process. Consequently, GDB can be
attached to such a process using the 'gdb -p' command. To synchronize the point
in time of attaching GDB, the utility function 'wait_for_continue' provided by
the Linux version of Genodes 'env' library can be utilized. In general, this
approach is viable for high-level code. There are even success stories with
debugging the program logic of a Genode device driver on Linux even though no
actual hardware has been present the Linux platform. However, also this
approach has severe limitations (besides being restricted to the 'base-linux'
platform). The most prevalent limitation is the lack of thread debugging. For
debugging normal Linux applications, GDB relies on certain glibc features
(e.g., the way of how threads are managed using the pthread library and the
handling of thread-local storage). Since, Genode programs are executed with no
glibc, GDB lacks this information.

To summarize, there are plentiful ways of debugging programs on Genode. The
fact that Genode supports a range of base platforms opens up a whole range of
possibilities of all base platforms combined. But none of those mechanisms is
ideal for debugging native Genode applications. GDB monitor tries to fill this
gap by enabling GDB to be attached to a Genode process. Once attached, GDB can
be used to debugged the process GDB's full power including source-level
debugging, breakpoints, single-stepping, backtraces, and call-frame inspection.


GDB monitor concept
###################

In the following, the term _target_ refers to the Genode program to debug. The
term _host_ refers to the system where GDB is executed. When using the
normal work flow of Genode's run tool, the host is typically a Linux
system that executes Genode using Qemu.

GDB monitor is a Genode process that sits in-between the _target_ and its
normal parent. As the parent of the target it has full control over all
interactions of the target with the rest of the system. I.e., all session
requests originating from the target including those that normally refer to
core's services are first seen by GDB monitor. GDB monitor, in turn, can decide
whether to forward such a session request to the original parent or to
virtualize the requested service using a local implementation. The latter is
done for all services that GDB monitor needs to inspect the target's address
space and thread state. In particular, GDB monitor provides local
implementations of the 'CPU' and 'RM' (and 'ROM') services. Those local
implementations use real core services as their respective backend and a
actually mere wrappers around the core service functions. However, by having
the target to interact with GDB monitor instead of core directly, GDB monitor
gains full control over all threads and memory objects (dataspace) and the
address space of the target. All session requests that are of no specific
interest to GDB monitor are just passed through to the original parent.
This way, the target can use services provided by other Genode programs
as normally. Furthermore, service announcements of the target are propagated
to the original parent as well. This way, the debugging of Genode services
becomes possible.

Besides providing a virtual execution environment for the target, the GDB
monitor contains the communication protocol code to interact with a remote GNU
debugger. This code is a slightly modified version of the so-called 'gdbserver'
and uses a Genode terminal session to interact with GDB running on the host.
From GDB monitor's point of view, the terminal session is just a bidirectional
line of communication with GDB. The actual communication mechanism depends on
the service that provides the terminal session on Genode. Currently, there are
two services that can be used for this purpose: TCP terminal provides terminal
sessions via TCP connections, and Genode's UART drivers provides one terminal
session per physical UART. Depending on which of those terminal services is
used, the GDB on the host must be attached either to a network port or
to a comport of the target, i.e. Qemu.


Building
########

The source code of GDB monitor builds upon the original 'gdbserver' that
comes as part of the GDB package. This 3rd-party source code is not included
in Genode's source tree. To download the code and integrate it with Genode,
issue the following command
! ./tool/ports/prepare_port gdb

This way, the 3rd-party source code will be downloaded, unpacked, and patched.

To build and use GDB monitor, you will need to enable the 'ports' source-code
repository on your '<build-dir>/etc/build.conf' file (in addition to the
default repositories):

If you intend to use the TCP terminal for connecting GDB, you will further
need to prepare the 'lwip' package and enable the following repositories in your
'build.conf':

:libports: providing the lwIP stack needed by TCP terminal
:gems: hosting the source code of TCP terminal

With those preparations made, GDB monitor can be built from within the build
directory via
! make app/gdb_monitor
The build targets for the TCP terminal and the UART drivers are
'server/tcp_terminal' and 'drivers/uart' respectively.


Integrating GDB monitor into an application scenario
####################################################

To integrate GDB monitor into an existing Genode configuration, the start
node of the target
must be replaced by an instance of GDB monitor. GDB monitor, in turn,
needs to know which binary to debug. So we have provide GDB monitor with
this information using a 'config/target' node.

For example, the original start node of the Nitpicker GUI server as found in
the 'os/run/demo.run' run script looks as follows:
! <start name="nitpicker">
!   <resource name="RAM" quantum="1M"/>
!   <provides><service name="Gui"/></provides>
! </start>

For debugging the Nitpicker service, it must be replaced with the following
snippet (see the 'debug_nitpicker.run' script at 'ports/run/' for reference):
! <start name="gdb_monitor">
!   <resource name="RAM" quantum="4M"/>
!   <provides> <service name="Gui"/> </provides>
!   <config><target name="nitpicker"/></config>
! </start>

Please note that the RAM quota has been increased to account for the needs
of both GDB monitor and Nitpicker. On startup, GDB monitor will ask its
parent for a 'Terminal' service. So we have to enhance the Genode scenario
with either an UART driver or the TCP terminal.

For using an UART, add the following start entry to the scenario:
! <start name="uart_drv">
!   <resource name="RAM" quantum="1M"/>
!   <provides> <service name="Terminal"/> </provides>
!   <config>
!     <policy label_prefix="gdb_monitor" uart="1"/>
!   </config>
! </start>
This entry will start the UART driver and defines the policy of which UART to
be used for which client. In the example above, the client with the label
"gdb_monitor" will receive the UART 1. UART 0 is typically used for the kernel
and core's LOG service. So the use of UART 1 is recommended.

For using the TCP terminal, you will need to start the 'tcp_terminal' and a NIC
driver ('nic_drv'). On PC hardware, the NIC driver will further need the PCI
driver ('pci_drv'). For an example of integrating TCP terminal into a Genode
scenario, please refer to the 'tcp_terminal.run' script proved at 'gems/run/'.

GDB monitor is built upon the libc and a few custom libc plugins, each coming
in the form of a separate shared library. Please make sure to integrate the
shared C library (libc.lib.so) along with the dynamic linker (ld.lib.so) in
your boot image. For using the TCP terminal, 'lwip.lib.so' (TCP/IP stack) is
needed as well.


Examples
########

The following examples are using the Fiasco.OC kernel on the x86_32
platform. This is the only platform where all debugging features are fully
supported at the time of this writing. Please refer to the Section
[Current limitations and technical remarks] for more platform-specific
information.

Working with shared libraries
=============================

To get acquainted with GDB monitor, the 'ports' repository comes with two
example run scripts. The 'gdb_monitor_interactive.run' script executes a
simple test program via GDB monitor. The test program can be found at
'ports/src/test/gdb_monitor/'. When looking behind the scenes, the simple
program is not simple at all. It uses shared libraries (the libc)
plugin and executes multiple threads. So it is a nice testbed for exercising
these aspects. The run script can be invoked right from the build directory
via 'make run/gdb_monitor_interactive'. It will execute the scenario on Qemu and
use the UART to communicate with GDB. Qemu is instructed to redirect the second
serial interface to a local socket (using the port 5555):
! -serial chardev:uart
! -chardev socket,id=uart,port=5555,host=localhost,server,nowait,ipv4

The used TCP port is then specified to the GDB as remote target:
! target remote localhost:5555

The 'gdb_monitor_interactive.run' script performs these steps for you and spawns
GDB in a new terminal window. From within your build directory, execute the
run script via:
! make run/gdb_monitor_interactive
On startup, GDB monitor halts the target program and waits for GDB to
connect. Once connected, GDB will greet you with a prompt like this:

! Breakpoint 2, main () at /.../ports/src/test/gdb_monitor/main.cc:67
! 67 {
! (gdb)

At this point, GDB has acquired symbol information from the loaded shared
libraries and stopped the program at the beginning of its 'main()' function.
Now let's set a breakpoint to the 'puts' function, which is called by the test
program, by using the 'breakpoint' command:
! (gdb) b puts
! Breakpoint 3 at 0x106e120: file /.../libc-8.2.0/libc/stdio/puts.c, line 53.
After continuing the execution via 'c' (continue), you will see that the
breakpoint will trigger with a message like this:
! (gdb) c
! Continuing.
! Breakpoint 3, puts (s=0x10039c0 "in func2()\n")
!     at /.../libc-8.2.0/libc/stdio/puts.c:53
! 53 {

_The following example applies to an older version of Genode and must_
_be revised for recent versions._

Now, you can inspect the source code of the function via the 'list' command,
inspect the function arguments ('info args' command) or start stepping
into the function using the 'next' command. For a test of printing a large
backtrace including several functions located in different shared libraries,
set another breakpoint at the 'stdout_write' function. This function is
used by the 'libc_log' backend and provided by the dynamic linker. The
backtrace will reveal all the intermediate steps throughout the libc when
'puts' is called.

! (gdb) b stdout_write
! Breakpoint 4 at 0x59d10: file /.../log_console.cc, line 108.
! (gdb) c
! Continuing.
! Breakpoint 4, stdout_write (s=0x1015860 "in func2()\n")
!     at /.../genode/base/src/base/console/log_console.cc:108
! 108	{
! (gdb) bt
! #0  stdout_write (s=0x1015860 "in func2()\n")
!     at /.../genode/base/src/base/console/log_console.cc:108
! #1  0x010c3701 in (anonymous namespace)::Plugin::write (this=0x10c4378, 
!     fd=0x10c0fa8, buf=0x6590, count=11)
!     at /.../genode/libports/src/lib/libc_log/plugin.cc:93
! #2  0x010937bf in _write (libc_fd=1, buf=0x6590, count=11)
!     at /.../genode/libports/src/lib/libc/file_operations.cc:406
! #3  0x0106ec4f in __swrite (cookie=0x10a1048, buf=0x6590 "in func2()\n", n=11)
!     at /.../genode/libports/contrib/libc-8.2.0/libc/stdio/stdio.c:71
! #4  0x0106ef5a in _swrite (fp=0x10a1048, buf=0x6590 "in func2()\n", n=11)
!     at /.../genode/libports/contrib/libc-8.2.0/libc/stdio/stdio.c:133
! #5  0x01067598 in __sflush (fp=0x10a1048)
!     at /.../genode/libports/contrib/libc-8.2.0/libc/stdio/fflush.c:123
! #6  0x010675f8 in __fflush (fp=0x10a1048)
!     at /.../genode/libports/contrib/libc-8.2.0/libc/stdio/fflush.c:96
! #7  0x0106a223 in __sfvwrite (fp=0x10a1048, uio=0x1015a44)
!     at /.../genode/libports/contrib/libc-8.2.0/libc/stdio/fvwrite.c:194
! #8  0x0106e1ad in puts (s=0x10039c0 "in func2()\n")
!     at /.../genode/libports/contrib/libc-8.2.0/libc/stdio/puts.c:68
! #9  0x0100041d in func2 ()
!     at /.../genode/ports/src/test/gdb_monitor/main.cc:51
! #10 0x01000444 in func1 ()
!     at /.../genode/ports/src/test/gdb_monitor/main.cc:60
! #11 0x01000496 in main ()
!     at /.../genode/ports/src/test/gdb_monitor/main.cc:70

To inspect a specific call frame, switch to a particular frame by using
the number printed in the backtrace. For example, to print the local
variables of the call frame 5:
! (gdb) f 5
! #5  0x01067598 in __sflush (fp=0x10a1048)
!     at /.../libc-8.2.0/libc/stdio/fflush.c:123
! 123   t = _swrite(fp, (char *)p, n);
! (gdb) info locals
! p = 0x6590 "in func2()\n"
! n = 11
! t = <optimized out>

The test program consists of multiple threads. To see which threads there are,
use the 'info thread' command. To switch another thread, use the 'thread'
command with the thread number as argument. Please make sure to issue the
'info threads' command prior using the 'thread' command for the first time.

Inspecting a Genode service
===========================

As a reference for debugging a native Genode service, the 'debug_nitpicker.run'
script provides a ready-to-use scenario. You can invoke it via
'make run/debug_nitpicker'.

Nitpicker is a statically linked program. Hence, no special precautions are
needed to obtain its symbol information. As a stress test for GDB monitor,
let us monitor the user input events supplied to the Nitpicker GUI server.

First, we need to set 'pagination' to off. Otherwise, we will be repeatedly
prompted by GDB after each page scrolled. We will then define a breakpoint
for the 'User_state::handle_event' function, which is called for each
input event received by Nitpicker:
! (gdb) set pagination off
! (gdb) b User_state::handle_event(Input::Event)
For each call of the function, we want to let GDB print the input event,
which is passed as function argument named 'ev'. We can use the 'commands'
facility to tell GDB what to do each time the breakpoint triggers:
! (gdb) commands
! Type commands for breakpoint(s) 1, one per line.
! End with a line saying just "end".
! >silent
! >print ev
! >c
! >end
Now, let's continue the execution of the program via the 'continue' command.
When moving the mouse over the Nitpicker GUI or when pressing/releasing
keys, you should see a message with the event information.


Current limitations and technical remarks
#########################################

Platform support
================

At the time of this writing the platform support is available on the following
base platforms:

:Fiasco.OC on x86_32: This is the primary platform fully supported by GDB
  monitor. To enable user-land debugging support for the Fiasco.OC kernel
  a kernel patch ('base-foc/patches/foc_single_step_x86.patch') is
  required, which is applied on './tool/ports/prepare_port foc'.

:Fiasco.OC on ARM: GDB Monitor works on this platform but it has not received
  the same amount of testing as the x86_32 version. Please use it with caution
  and report any bugs you discover. To enable Fiasco.OC to deliver the
  correct instruction pointer on the occurrence of an exception, a kernel
  patch ('base-foc/patches/fix_exception_ip.patch') is required.

:OKL4 on x86_32: Partially supported. Breaking into a running programs using
  Control-C, working with threads, printing backtraces, and inspecting
  target memory works. However, breakpoints and single-stepping are not
  supported. To use GDB monitor on OKL4, please make sure to have applied
  the kernel patches in the 'base-okl4/patched' directory.

All required patches are applied to the respective kernel by default when
issuing './tool/ports/prepare_port <platform>'.

The other base platforms are not yet covered. We will address them according to
the demanded by the Genode developer community.


No simulation of read-only memory
=================================

The current implementation of GDB monitor hands out only RAM dataspaces to the
target. If the target opens a ROM session, the ROM dataspace gets copied into a
RAM dataspace. This is needed to enable GDB monitor to patch the code of the
target. Normally, the code is provided via read-only ROM dataspace. So patching
won't work. The current solution is the creation of a RAM copy.

However, this circumstance may have subtle effects on the target. For example
a program that crashed because it tries to write to its own text segment will
behave differently when executed within GDB monitor.


CPU register state during system calls
======================================

When intercepting the execution of the target while the target performs a
system call, the CPU register state as seen by GDB may be incorrect or
incomplete. The reason is that GDB monitor has to retrieve the CPU state from
the kernel. Some kernels, in particular Fiasco.OC, report that state only when
the thread crosses the kernel/user boundary (at the entry and exit of system
calls or then the thread enters the kernel via an exception). For a thread that
has already entered the kernel at interception time, this condition does not
apply. However, when stepping through target code, triggering breakpoints, or
intercepting a busy thread, the observed register state is current.


No support for watchpoints
==========================

The use of watchpoints is currently not supported. This feature would require
special kernel support, which is not provided by most kernels used as base
platforms of Genode.


Memory consumption
==================

GDB monitor is known to be somehow lax with regard to consuming memory. Please
don't be shy with over-provisioning RAM quota to 'gdb_monitor'.