Intel XENIX 286 Programmers Guide (86) - Tenox.tc

CHAPTER 6
adb: PROGRAM DEBUGGER
adb is a debugging tool for C and assembly language programs. It controls program
execution and provides commands to examine and modify a program's data and text
areas.
This chapter explains how to use adb. In particular, it explains how to
• Start the debugger.
• Display program instructions and data.
• Run, set breakpoints, or single-step a program.
• Patch program files and memory.
It also illustrates techniques for debugging C programs and explains how to display
information in non-ASCII data files.
Starting and Stopping adb
adb provides a powerful set of commands to examine, debug, and repair executable
binary files as well as examine non-ASCII data files. To use these commands you must
invoke adb from a shell command line and specify the file or files you wish to debug.
The following sections explain how to start adb and describe the types of files available
for debugging.
Starting with a Program File
You can debug any executable C or assembly language program file by typing a
command line of the form
adb [filename 1
where filename is the name of the program file to be debugged. adb opens the file and
prepares its text (instructions) and data for subsequent debugging. For example, the
command
adb sample
prepares the program sample for examination and execution.
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