[PATCH next] doc: develop: Add a general section on gdb usage

Heinrich Schuchardt xypron.glpk at gmx.de
Fri Jun 28 06:30:51 CEST 2024


On 6/26/24 12:47, Alexander Dahl wrote:
> Mashed up from different sources linked below, including the now gone
> Wiki and doc/README.arm-relocation file.  Tested on a custom board with
> AT91 SAMA5D2 SoC and Segger J-Link Base adapter.  This is only generic
> advice here, the usage is not board specific.  Some board docs have more
> specific instructions on using gdb with a particular board.
>
> Link: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embedded-recipes-2019-introduction-to-jtag-debugging/177511981
> Link: https://boundarydevices.com/debugging-using-segger-j-link-jtag/
> Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20141224200032/http://www.denx.de/wiki/view/DULG/DebuggingUBoot
> Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20141206064148/http://www.denx.de/wiki/view/DULG/GDBScripts1
> Suggested-by: Marek Vasut <marex at denx.de>
> Signed-off-by: Alexander Dahl <ada at thorsis.com>
> ---
>   doc/develop/gdb.rst   | 154 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>   doc/develop/index.rst |   1 +
>   2 files changed, 155 insertions(+)
>   create mode 100644 doc/develop/gdb.rst
>
> diff --git a/doc/develop/gdb.rst b/doc/develop/gdb.rst
> new file mode 100644
> index 00000000000..18d97857ce1
> --- /dev/null
> +++ b/doc/develop/gdb.rst
> @@ -0,0 +1,154 @@
> +.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0+
> +.. Copyright (c) 2024 Alexander Dahl
> +
> +Debugging U-Boot with gdb
> +=========================
> +
> +Using a JTAG adapter it is possible to debug a running U-Boot with gdb.
> +A common way is to connect a debug adapter to the JTAG connector of your
> +board, run gdbserver, connect gdb to gdbserver, and use gdb as usual.
> +
> +Preparing build
> +---------------
> +
> +Building U-Boot with debug symbols and without optimizations is
> +recommended for easier debugging::
> +
> +    CONFIG_CC_OPTIMIZE_FOR_DEBUG=y
> +
> +Otherwise build, install, and run U-Boot as usual.
> +
> +Using OpenOCD as GDB server
> +---------------------------
> +
> +[OpenOCD]_ is a FOSS tool supporting hardware debug probes, and
> +providing a GDB interface.
> +It is readily available in major Linux distributions or you can build it
> +from source.
> +Example for starting OpenOCD from Debian with a J-Link adapter and a
> +board using an AT91 SAMA5D2 SoC:
> +
> +.. code-block:: console
> +
> +    % openocd -f interface/jlink.cfg -f target/at91sama5d2.cfg -c 'adapter speed 4000'
> +    Open On-Chip Debugger 0.12.0
> +    Licensed under GNU GPL v2
> +    For bug reports, read
> +            http://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html
> +    Info : auto-selecting first available session transport "jtag". To override use 'transport select <transport>'.
> +    adapter speed: 4000 kHz
> +
> +    Info : Listening on port 6666 for tcl connections
> +    Info : Listening on port 4444 for telnet connections
> +    Info : J-Link V10 compiled Jan 30 2023 11:28:07
> +    Info : Hardware version: 10.10
> +    Info : VTarget = 3.244 V
> +    Info : clock speed 4000 kHz
> +    Info : JTAG tap: at91sama5d2.cpu tap/device found: 0x5ba00477 (mfg: 0x23b (ARM Ltd), part: 0xba00, ver: 0x5)
> +    Info : at91sama5d2.cpu_a5.0: hardware has 3 breakpoints, 2 watchpoints
> +    Info : at91sama5d2.cpu_a5.0: MPIDR level2 0, cluster 0, core 0, mono core, no SMT
> +    Info : starting gdb server for at91sama5d2.cpu_a5.0 on 3333
> +    Info : Listening on port 3333 for gdb connections
> +
> +Notice the port 3333 the OpenOCD server is listening on for gdb
> +connections.
> +
> +Running a gdb session
> +----------------------
> +
> +You need a gdb suited for your target.
> +This can be gdb coming with your toolchain or *gdb-multiarch* available
> +in your Linux distribution.
> +
> +.. code-block:: console
> +
> +    % gdb-multiarch u-boot
> +    GNU gdb (Debian 13.1-3) 13.1
> +    Copyright (C) 2023 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
> +    License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>
> +    This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
> +    There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
> +    Type "show copying" and "show warranty" for details.
> +    This GDB was configured as "x86_64-linux-gnu".
> +    Type "show configuration" for configuration details.
> +    For bug reporting instructions, please see:
> +    <https://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/bugs/>.
> +    Find the GDB manual and other documentation resources online at:
> +        <http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/documentation/>.
> +
> +    For help, type "help".
> +    Type "apropos word" to search for commands related to "word"...
> +    Reading symbols from u-boot...
> +    (gdb)
> +
> +Notice in the above command-line *u-boot* is the binary file from your
> +build folder, for which you might need to adapt the path when calling
> +gdb.
> +
> +Connect to the gdb server then:

Thank you for this helpful document.

Please add:

.. code-block:: bash

     gdb-multiarch u-boot -ex 'target remote localhost:3333'

Please, mention that the same debug port can be exposed on QEMU with
parameter '-gdb tcp::3333', e.g.

     qemu-system-riscv64 -M virt -nographic -gdb tcp::3333 -kernel u-boot

> +
> +.. code-block:: console
> +
> +    (gdb) target extended-remote :3333
> +    Remote debugging using :3333
> +    0x27fa9ac6 in ?? ()
> +    (gdb)
> +
> +This is fine for running before U-Boot relocates itself.
> +For debugging U-Boot after relocation you need to tell gdb.
> +You can get the relocation address from U-Boot shell with the command
> +*bdinfo* like this:
Please, consider that often users want to debug drivers after relocation
but before reaching the command line.

On most architectures (not sandbox, x86) gd is stored in a fixed
register. See arch/*/include/asm/global_data.h.

arc: r25
arm: r9
arm64: x18
m68k: d7
microblaze: r31
mips: k0
nios2: gp
powerpc: r2
riscv: gp
sh: r13

You can use (on RISC-V)

.. code-block:: console

     (gdb) p/x (*(struct global_data*)$gp)->relocaddr
     $1 = 0x8771e000

to show the relocation address.

Best regards

Heinrich

> +
> +.. code-block:: console
> +
> +    U-Boot> bdinfo
> +    boot_params = 0x20000100
> +    DRAM bank   = 0x00000000
> +    -> start    = 0x20000000
> +    -> size     = 0x08000000
> +    flashstart  = 0x00000000
> +    flashsize   = 0x00000000
> +    flashoffset = 0x00000000
> +    baudrate    = 115200 bps
> +    relocaddr   = 0x27f7a000
> +    reloc off   = 0x0607a000
> +    Build       = 32-bit
> +    current eth = ethernet at f8008000
> +    ethaddr     = 00:50:c2:31:58:d4
> +    IP addr     = <NULL>
> +    fdt_blob    = 0x27b36060
> +    new_fdt     = 0x27b36060
> +    fdt_size    = 0x00003e40
> +    lmb_dump_all:
> +     memory.cnt = 0x1 / max = 0x10
> +     memory[0]      [0x20000000-0x27ffffff], 0x08000000 bytes flags: 0
> +     reserved.cnt = 0x1 / max = 0x10
> +     reserved[0]    [0x27b31d00-0x27ffffff], 0x004ce300 bytes flags: 0
> +    devicetree  = separate
> +    arch_number = 0x00000000
> +    TLB addr    = 0x27ff0000
> +    irq_sp      = 0x27b36050
> +    sp start    = 0x27b36040
> +    Early malloc usage: cd8 / 2000
> +
> +Look out for the line starting with *relocaddr* which has the address
> +you need, ``0x27f7a000`` in this case.
> +In gdb shell discard the previously loaded symbol file and add it once
> +again with that relocation address like this:
> +
> +.. code-block:: console
> +
> +    (gdb) symbol-file
> +    Discard symbol table from `/home/adahl/build/u-boot/v2024.04.x/u-boot'? (y or n) y
> +    No symbol file now.
> +    (gdb) add-symbol-file u-boot 0x27f7a000
> +    add symbol table from file "u-boot" at
> +            .text_addr = 0x27f7a000
> +    (y or n) y
> +    Reading symbols from u-boot...
> +    (gdb)
> +
> +You can now use gdb as usual, setting breakpoints, printing backtraces,
> +inspecting variables, stepping through the code, etc.
> +
> +.. [OpenOCD] https://openocd.org/
> diff --git a/doc/develop/index.rst b/doc/develop/index.rst
> index f82e148b101..f9c4bf839ee 100644
> --- a/doc/develop/index.rst
> +++ b/doc/develop/index.rst
> @@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ Debugging
>      :maxdepth: 1
>
>      crash_dumps
> +   gdb
>      trace
>
>   Packaging
>
> base-commit: a7eada24327a40f7ef6c55c220e119839c9d4227



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