1 \chapter{Program Scope Entries}
2 \label{chap:programscopeentries}
3 This section describes debugging information entries that
4 relate to different levels of program scope: compilation,
5 module, subprogram, and so on. Except for separate type
6 entries (see Section \refersec{chap:separatetypeunitentries}),
7 these entries may be thought of
8 as bounded by ranges of text addresses within the program.
10 \section{Unit Entries}
11 An object file may contain one or more compilation units,
12 of which there are three kinds: normal compilation units,
13 partial compilation units and type units. A partial compilation
14 unit is related to one or more other compilation units that
15 import it. A type unit represents a single complete type in a
16 separate unit. Either a normal compilation unit or a partial
17 compilation unit may be logically incorporated into another
18 compilation unit using an imported unit entry.
20 \subsection[Normal and Partial CU Entries]{Normal and Partial Compilation Unit Entries}
21 \label{chap:normalandpartialcompilationunitentries}
23 A normal compilation unit is represented by a debugging
24 information entry with the
25 tag \livetarg{chap:DWTAGcompileunit}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_compile\-\_unit}. A partial
26 compilation unit is represented by a debugging information
28 tag \livetarg{chap:DWTAGpartialunit}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_partial\-\_unit}.
30 In a simple normal compilation, a single compilation unit with
32 \livelink{chap:DWTAGcompileunit}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_compile\-\_unit} represents a complete object file
34 \livelink{chap:DWTAGpartialunit}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_partial\-\_unit} is not used.
36 employing the DWARF space compression and duplicate elimination
38 Appendix \refersec{app:usingcompilationunits},
39 multiple compilation units using
41 \livelink{chap:DWTAGcompileunit}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_compile\-\_unit} and/or
42 \livelink{chap:DWTAGpartialunit}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_partial\-\_unit} are
43 used to represent portions of an object file.
45 \textit{A normal compilation unit typically represents the text and
46 data contributed to an executable by a single relocatable
47 object file. It may be derived from several source files,
48 including pre\dash processed ``include files.'' A partial
49 compilation unit typically represents a part of the text
50 and data of a relocatable object file, in a manner that can
51 potentially be shared with the results of other compilations
52 to save space. It may be derived from an ``include file'',
53 template instantiation, or other implementation\dash dependent
54 portion of a compilation. A normal compilation unit can also
55 function in a manner similar to a partial compilation unit
58 A compilation unit entry owns debugging information
59 entries that represent all or part of the declarations
60 made in the corresponding compilation. In the case of a
61 partial compilation unit, the containing scope of its owned
62 declarations is indicated by imported unit entries in one
63 or more other compilation unit entries that refer to that
64 partial compilation unit (see
65 Section \refersec{chap:importedunitentries}).
68 Compilation unit entries may have the following
72 \item Either a \livelink{chap:DWATlowpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_low\-\_pc} and \livelink{chap:DWAThighpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_high\-\_pc} pair of
74 \livelink{chap:DWATranges}{DW\-\_AT\-\_ranges} attribute
76 \addtoindexx{discontiguous address ranges|see{non-contiguous address ranges}}
79 non\dash contiguous address ranges, respectively,
80 of the machine instructions generated for the compilation
81 unit (see Section {chap:codeaddressesandranges}).
82 A \livelink{chap:DWATlowpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_low\-\_pc} attribute may also
83 be specified in combination with \livelink{chap:DWATranges}{DW\-\_AT\-\_ranges} to specify the
84 default base address for use in location lists (see Section
85 \refersec{chap:locationlists}) and range lists
86 (see Section \refersec{chap:noncontiguousaddressranges}).
88 \item A \livelink{chap:DWATname}{DW\-\_AT\-\_name} attribute whose value is a null\dash terminated
90 \hypertarget{chap:DWATnamepathnameofcompilationsource}
91 containing the full or relative path name of the primary
92 source file from which the compilation unit was derived.
94 \item A \livelink{chap:DWATlanguage}{DW\-\_AT\-\_language} attribute whose constant value is an
95 \hypertarget{chap:DWATlanguageprogramminglanguage}
96 integer code indicating the source language of the compilation
97 unit. The set of language names and their meanings are given
99 Figure \refersec{fig:languagenames}.
103 \caption{Language names}
104 \label{fig:languagenames}
106 Language name & Meaning\\ \hline
107 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGAda83}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_Ada83} \dag&ISO Ada:1983 \addtoindexx{Ada} \\
108 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGAda95}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_Ada95} \dag&ISO Ada:1995 \addtoindexx{Ada} \\
109 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGC}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_C}&Non-standardized C, such as K\&R \\
110 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGC89}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_C89}&ISO C:1989 \\
111 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGC99}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_C99} & ISO C:1999 \\
112 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGCplusplus}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_C\-\_plus\-\_plus}&ISO C++:1998 \\
113 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGCobol74}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_Cobol74}& ISO Cobol:1974 \\
114 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGCobol85}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_Cobol85} & ISO Cobol:1985 \\
115 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGD}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_D} \dag & D \\
116 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGFortran77}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_Fortran77} &ISO FORTRAN 77\\
117 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGFortran90}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_Fortran90} & ISO Fortran 90\\
118 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGFortran95}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_Fortran95} & ISO Fortran 95\\
119 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGJava}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_Java} & Java\\
120 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGModula2}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_Modula2} & ISO Modula\dash 2:1996\\
121 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGObjC}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_ObjC} & Objective C\\
122 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGObjCplusplus}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_ObjC\-\_plus\-\_plus} & Objective C++\\
123 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGPascal83}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_Pascal83} & ISO Pascal:1983\\
124 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGPLI}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_PLI} \dag & ANSI PL/I:1976\\
125 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGPython}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_Python} \dag & Python\\
126 \livetarg{chap:DWLANGUPC}{DW\-\_LANG\-\_UPC} &Unified Parallel C\\ \hline
127 \dag \ \ Support for these languages is limited.& \\
131 \item A \livelink{chap:DWATstmtlist}{DW\-\_AT\-\_stmt\-\_list} attribute whose value is a section
132 \hypertarget{chap:DWATstmtlistlinenumberinformationforunit}
133 offset to the line number information for this compilation
134 unit. This information is placed in a separate object file
135 section from the debugging information entries themselves. The
136 value of the statement list attribute is the offset in the
137 \addtoindex{.debug\_line} section of the first byte of the line number
138 information for this compilation unit
139 (see Section \refersec{chap:linenumberinformation}).
141 \item A \livelink{chap:DWATmacroinfo}{DW\-\_AT\-\_macro\-\_info} attribute whose value is a section
142 \hypertarget{chap:DWATmacroinfomacroinformation}
143 offset to the macro information for this compilation unit.
144 This information is placed in a separate object file section
145 from the debugging information entries themselves. The
146 value of the macro information attribute is the offset in
147 the \addtoindex{.debug\_macinfo} section of the first byte of the macro
148 information for this compilation unit
149 (see Section \refersec{chap:macroinformation}).
152 \livelink{chap:DWATcompdir}{DW\-\_AT\-\_comp\-\_dir}
154 \hypertarget{chap:DWATcompdircompilationdirectory}
156 null\dash terminated string containing the current working directory
157 of the compilation command that produced this compilation
158 unit in whatever form makes sense for the host system.
160 \item A \livelink{chap:DWATproducer}{DW\-\_AT\-\_producer} attribute whose value is a null\dash
161 terminated string containing information about the compiler
162 \hypertarget{chap:DWATproducercompileridentification}
163 that produced the compilation unit. The actual contents of
164 the string will be specific to each producer, but should
165 begin with the name of the compiler vendor or some other
166 identifying character sequence that should avoid confusion
167 with other producer values.
170 \item A \livelink{chap:DWATidentifiercase}{DW\-\_AT\-\_identifier\-\_case}
171 attribute whose integer
172 \hypertarget{chap:DWATidentifiercaseidentifiercaserule}
173 constant value is a code describing the treatment
174 of identifiers within this compilation unit. The
175 set of identifier case codes is given in Figure
176 \refersec{fig:identifiercasecodes}.
179 \autorows[0pt]{c}{1}{l}{
180 \livelink{chap:DWIDcasesensitive}{DW\-\_ID\-\_case\-\_sensitive},
181 \livelink{chap:DWIDupcase}{DW\-\_ID\-\_up\-\_case},
182 \livelink{chap:DWIDdowncase}{DW\-\_ID\-\_down\-\_case},
183 \livelink{chap:DWIDcaseinsensitive}{DW\-\_ID\-\_case\-\_insensitive}
185 \caption{Identifier case codes}\label{fig:identifiercasecodes}
188 \livetarg{chap:DWIDcasesensitive}{DW\-\_ID\-\_case\-\_sensitive} is the default for all compilation units
189 that do not have this attribute. It indicates that names given
190 as the values of \livelink{chap:DWATname}{DW\-\_AT\-\_name} attributes in debugging information
191 entries for the compilation unit reflect the names as they
192 appear in the source program. The debugger should be sensitive
193 to the case of identifier names when doing identifier lookups.
195 \livetarg{chap:DWIDupcase}{DW\-\_ID\-\_up\-\_case} means that the producer of the debugging
196 information for this compilation unit converted all source
197 names to upper case. The values of the name attributes may not
198 reflect the names as they appear in the source program. The
199 debugger should convert all names to upper case when doing
202 \livetarg{chap:DWIDdowncase}{DW\-\_ID\-\_down\-\_case} means that the producer of the debugging
203 information for this compilation unit converted all source
204 names to lower case. The values of the name attributes may not
205 reflect the names as they appear in the source program. The
206 debugger should convert all names to lower case when doing
209 \livetarg{chap:DWIDcaseinsensitive}{DW\-\_ID\-\_case\-\_insensitive} means that the values of the name
210 attributes reflect the names as they appear in the source
211 program but that a case insensitive lookup should be used to
214 \item A \livelink{chap:DWATbasetypes}{DW\-\_AT\-\_base\-\_types} attribute whose value is a reference.
218 \hypertarget{chap:DWATbasetypesprimitivedatatypesofcompilationunit}
220 \addtoindexx{base types attribute}
221 points to a debugging information entry
222 representing another compilation unit. It may be used
223 to specify the compilation unit containing the base type
224 entries used by entries in the current compilation unit
225 (see Section \refersec{chap:basetypeentries}).
227 This attribute provides a consumer a way to find the definition
228 of base types for a compilation unit that does not itself
229 contain such definitions. This allows a consumer, for example,
230 to interpret a type conversion to a base type
231 % getting this link target at the right spot is tricky.
232 \hypertarget{chap:DWATuseUTF8compilationunitusesutf8strings}
235 \item A \livelink{chap:DWATuseUTF8}{DW\-\_AT\-\_use\-\_UTF8} attribute,
236 which is a \livelink{chap:flag}{flag} whose
237 presence indicates that all strings (such as the names of
238 declared entities in the source program) are represented
239 using the UTF\dash 8 representation
240 (see Section \refersec{datarep:attributeencodings}).
243 \item A \livelink{chap:DWATmainsubprogram}{DW\-\_AT\-\_main\-\_subprogram} attribute, which is a \livelink{chap:flag}{flag}
244 whose presence indicates
245 \hypertarget{chap:DWATmainsubprogramunitcontainingmainorstartingsubprogram}
246 that the compilation unit contains a
247 subprogram that has been identified as the starting function
248 of the program. If more than one compilation unit contains
249 this \nolink{flag}, any one of them may contain the starting function.
251 \textit{\addtoindex{Fortran} has a PROGRAM statement which is used
252 to specify and provide a user\dash specified name for the main
253 subroutine of a program.
254 \addtoindex{C} uses the name “main” to identify
255 the main subprogram of a program. Some other languages provide
256 similar or other means to identify the main subprogram of
261 The base address of a compilation unit is defined as the
262 value of the \livelink{chap:DWATlowpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_low\-\_pc} attribute, if present; otherwise,
263 it is undefined. If the base address is undefined, then any
264 DWARF entry or structure defined in terms of the base address
265 of that compilation unit is not valid.
268 \subsection{Imported Unit Entries}
269 \label{chap:importedunitentries}
271 \hypertarget{chap:DWATimportimportedunit}
272 place where a normal or partial unit is imported is
273 represented by a debugging information entry with the
274 tag \livetarg{chap:DWTAGimportedunit}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_imported\-\_unit}.
275 An imported unit entry contains a
276 \livelink{chap:DWATimport}{DW\-\_AT\-\_import} attribute whose value is a reference to the
277 normal or partial compilation unit whose declarations logically
278 belong at the place of the imported unit entry.
280 An imported unit entry does not necessarily correspond to
281 any entity or construct in the source program. It is merely
282 “glue” used to relate a partial unit, or a compilation
283 unit used as a partial unit, to a place in some other
286 \subsection{Separate Type Unit Entries}
287 \label{chap:separatetypeunitentries}
288 An object file may contain any number of separate type
289 unit entries, each representing a single complete type
290 definition. Each type unit must be uniquely identified by
291 a 64\dash bit signature, stored as part of the type unit, which
292 can be used to reference the type definition from debugging
293 information entries in other compilation units and type units.
295 A type unit is represented by a debugging information entry
296 with the tag \livetarg{chap:DWTAGtypeunit}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_type\-\_unit}.
297 A type unit entry owns debugging
298 information entries that represent the definition of a single
299 type, plus additional debugging information entries that may
300 be necessary to include as part of the definition of the type.
302 A type unit entry may have a \livelink{chap:DWATlanguage}{DW\-\_AT\-\_language} attribute, whose
303 constant value is an integer code indicating the source
304 language used to define the type. The set of language names
305 and their meanings are given in Figure \refersec{fig:languagenames}.
307 A type unit entry for a given type T owns a debugging
308 information entry that represents a defining declaration
309 of type T. If the type is nested within enclosing types or
310 namespaces, the debugging information entry for T is nested
311 within debugging information entries describing its containers;
312 otherwise, T is a direct child of the type unit entry.
314 A type unit entry may also own additional debugging information
315 entries that represent declarations of additional types that
316 are referenced by type T and have not themselves been placed in
317 separate type units. Like T, if an additional type U is nested
318 within enclosing types or namespaces, the debugging information
319 entry for U is nested within entries describing its containers;
320 otherwise, U is a direct child of the type unit entry.
322 The containing entries for types T and U are declarations,
323 and the outermost containing entry for any given type T or
324 U is a direct child of the type unit entry. The containing
325 entries may be shared among the additional types and between
326 T and the additional types.
328 Types are not required to be placed in type units. In general,
329 only large types such as structure, class, enumeration, and
330 union types included from header files should be considered
331 for separate type units. Base types and other small types
332 are not usually worth the overhead of placement in separate
333 type units. Types that are unlikely to be replicated, such
334 as those defined in the main source file, are also better
335 left in the main compilation unit.
337 \section{Module, Namespace and Importing Entries}
338 \textit{Modules and namespaces provide a means to collect related
339 entities into a single entity and to manage the names of
342 \subsection{Module Entries}
343 \label{chap:moduleentries}
344 \textit{Several languages have the concept of a ``module.''
345 \addtoindexx{Modula-2}
346 A Modula\dash 2 definition module may be represented by a module
348 \addtoindex{declaration attribute}
349 (\livelink{chap:DWATdeclaration}{DW\-\_AT\-\_declaration}). A
350 \addtoindex{Fortran 90} module may also be represented by a module entry
351 (but no declaration attribute is warranted because \addtoindex{Fortran}
352 has no concept of a corresponding module body).}
354 A module is represented by a debugging information entry
356 tag \livetarg{chap:DWTAGmodule}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_module}.
357 Module entries may own other
358 debugging information entries describing program entities
359 whose declaration scopes end at the end of the module itself.
361 If the module has a name, the module entry has a \livelink{chap:DWATname}{DW\-\_AT\-\_name}
362 attribute whose value is a null\dash terminated string containing
363 the module name as it appears in the source program.
365 The module entry may have either a \livelink{chap:DWATlowpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_low\-\_pc} and
366 \livelink{chap:DWAThighpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_high\-\_pc} pair of attributes or a \livelink{chap:DWATranges}{DW\-\_AT\-\_ranges} attribute
367 whose values encode the contiguous or non\dash contiguous address
368 ranges, respectively, of the machine instructions generated for
369 the module initialization code
370 (see Section \refersec{chap:codeaddressesandranges}).
371 \hypertarget{chap:DWATentrypcentryaddressofmoduleinitialization}
373 have a \livelink{chap:DWATentrypc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_entry\-\_pc} attribute whose value is the address of
374 the first executable instruction of that initialization code
375 (see Section \refersec{chap:entryaddress}).
378 \hypertarget{chap:DWATprioritymodulepriority}
379 the module has been assigned a priority, it may have a
380 \livelink{chap:DWATpriority}{DW\-\_AT\-\_priority} attribute. The value of this attribute is a
381 reference to another debugging information entry describing
382 a variable with a constant value. The value of this variable
383 is the actual constant value of the module’s priority,
384 represented as it would be on the target architecture.
386 \subsection{Namespace Entries}
387 \label{chap:namespaceentries}
388 \textit{\addtoindex{C++} has the notion of a namespace, which provides a way to
389 implement name hiding, so that names of unrelated things
390 do not accidentally clash in the global namespace when an
391 application is linked together.}
393 A namespace is represented by a debugging information entry
395 tag \livetarg{chap:DWTAGnamespace}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_namespace}.
396 A namespace extension is
397 \hypertarget{chap:DWATextensionpreviousnamespaceextensionororiginalnamespace}
399 \livelink{chap:DWTAGnamespace}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_namespace} entry
401 \livelink{chap:DWATextension}{DW\-\_AT\-\_extension}
402 attribute referring to the previous extension, or if there
403 is no previous extension, to the original
404 \livelink{chap:DWTAGnamespace}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_namespace}
405 entry. A namespace extension entry does not need to duplicate
406 information in a previous extension entry of the namespace
407 nor need it duplicate information in the original namespace
408 entry. (Thus, for a namespace with a name,
409 a \livelink{chap:DWATname}{DW\-\_AT\-\_name}
410 attribute need only be attached directly to the original
411 \livelink{chap:DWTAGnamespace}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_namespace} entry.)
413 Namespace and namespace extension entries may own other
414 debugging information entries describing program entities
415 whose declarations occur in the namespace.
417 \textit{For \addtoindex{C++}, such
418 owned program entities may be declarations,
419 including certain declarations that are also object or
420 function definitions.}
422 If a type, variable, or function declared in a namespace is
423 defined outside of the body of the namespace declaration,
424 that type, variable, or function definition entry has a
425 \livelink{chap:DWATspecification}{DW\-\_AT\-\_specification} attribute whose value is a reference to the
426 debugging information entry representing the declaration of
427 the type, variable or function. Type, variable, or function
428 entries with a \livelink{chap:DWATspecification}{DW\-\_AT\-\_specification} attribute do not need
429 to duplicate information provided by the declaration entry
430 referenced by the specification attribute.
432 \textit{The \addtoindex{C++} global namespace
433 (the namespace referred to by
434 ``::f'', for example) is not explicitly represented in
435 DWARF with a namespace entry (thus mirroring the situation
436 in \addtoindex{C++} source).
437 Global items may be simply declared with no
438 reference to a namespace.}
440 \textit{The \addtoindex{C++}
441 compilation unit specific ``unnamed namespace'' may
442 be represented by a namespace entry with no name attribute in
443 the original namespace declaration entry (and therefore no name
444 attribute in any namespace extension entry of this namespace).
447 \textit{A compiler emitting namespace information may choose to
448 explicitly represent namespace extensions, or to represent the
449 final namespace declaration of a compilation unit; this is a
450 quality\dash of\dash implementation issue and no specific requirements
451 are given here. If only the final namespace is represented,
452 it is impossible for a debugger to interpret using declaration
453 references in exactly the manner defined by the
454 \addtoindex{C++} language.
457 \textit{Emitting all namespace declaration information in all
458 compilation units can result in a significant increase in the
459 size of the debug information and significant duplication of
460 information across compilation units.
461 The \addtoindex{C++} namespace std,
462 for example, is large and will probably be referenced in
463 every \addtoindex{C++} compilation unit.
466 \textit{For a \addtoindex{C++} namespace example,
467 see Appendix \refersec{app:namespaceexample}.
472 \subsection{Imported (or Renamed) Declaration Entries}
473 \label{chap:importedorrenameddeclarationentries}
474 \textit{Some languages support the concept of importing into or making
475 accessible in a given unit declarations made in a different
476 module or scope. An imported declaration may sometimes be
481 imported declaration is represented by one or
482 \addtoindex{imported declaration entry}
483 more debugging information entries with the
484 tag \livetarg{chap:DWTAGimporteddeclaration}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_imported\-\_declaration}.
486 \hypertarget{chap:DWATimportimporteddeclaration}
488 is imported, there is one imported declaration entry for
489 each overloading. Each imported declaration entry has a
490 \livelink{chap:DWATimport}{DW\-\_AT\-\_import} attribute, whose value is a reference to the
491 debugging information entry representing the declaration that
494 An imported declaration may also have a
495 \livelink{chap:DWATname}{DW\-\_AT\-\_name}
497 whose value is a null\dash terminated string containing the
498 name, as it appears in the source program, by which the
499 imported entity is to be known in the context of the imported
500 declaration entry (which may be different than the name of
501 the entity being imported). If no name is present, then the
502 name by which the entity is to be known is the same as the
503 name of the entity being imported.
505 An imported declaration entry with a name attribute may be
506 used as a general means to rename or provide an alias for
507 \addtoindexx{alias declaration|see{imported declaration entry}}
508 an entity, regardless of the context in which the importing
509 declaration or the imported entity occurs.
511 \textit{A \addtoindex{C++} namespace alias may be represented by an imported
512 \hypertarget{chap:DWATimportnamespacealias}
513 declaration entry with a name attribute whose value is
514 a null\dash terminated string containing the alias name as it
515 appears in the source program and an import attribute whose
516 value is a reference to the applicable original namespace or
517 namespace extension entry.
520 \textit{A \addtoindex{C++} using declaration may be represented by one or more
521 \hypertarget{chap:DWATimportnamespaceusingdeclaration}
522 imported declaration entries. When the using declaration
523 refers to an overloaded function, there is one imported
524 declaration entry corresponding to each overloading. Each
525 imported declaration entry has no name attribute but it does
526 have an import attribute that refers to the entry for the
527 entity being imported. (\addtoindex{C++}
528 provides no means to ``rename''
529 an imported entity, other than a namespace).
532 \textit{A \addtoindex{Fortran} use statement with an ``only list'' may be
533 represented by a series of imported declaration entries,
534 one (or more) for each entity that is imported. An entity
535 that is renamed in the importing context may be represented
536 by an imported declaration entry with a name attribute that
537 specifies the new local name.
540 \subsection{Imported Module Entries}
541 \label{chap:importedmoduleentries}
543 \textit{Some languages support the concept of importing into or making
544 accessible in a given unit all of the declarations contained
545 within a separate module or namespace.
548 An imported module declaration is represented by a debugging
549 information entry with the
550 tag \livetarg{chap:DWTAGimportedmodule}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_imported\-\_module}.
552 imported module entry contains a \livelink{chap:DWATimport}{DW\-\_AT\-\_import} attribute
553 whose value is a reference to the module or namespace entry
554 containing the definition and/or declaration entries for
555 the entities that are to be imported into the context of the
556 imported module entry.
558 An imported module declaration may own a set of imported
559 declaration entries, each of which refers to an entry in the
560 module whose corresponding entity is to be known in the context
561 of the imported module declaration by a name other than its
562 name in that module. Any entity in the module that is not
563 renamed in this way is known in the context of the imported
564 module entry by the same name as it is declared in the module.
566 \textit{A \addtoindex{C++} using directive
567 may be represented by an imported module
568 \hypertarget{chap:DWATimportnamespaceusingdirective}
569 entry, with an import attribute referring to the namespace
570 entry of the appropriate extension of the namespace (which
571 might be the original namespace entry) and no owned entries.
574 \textit{A \addtoindex{Fortran} use statement with a “rename list” may be
575 represented by an imported module entry with an import
576 attribute referring to the module and owned entries
577 corresponding to those entities that are renamed as part of
581 \textit{A \addtoindex{Fortran} use statement
582 with neither a “rename list” nor
583 an “only list” may be represented by an imported module
584 entry with an import attribute referring to the module and
585 no owned child entries.
588 \textit{A use statement with an “only list” is represented by a
589 series of individual imported declaration entries as described
590 in Section \refersec{chap:importedorrenameddeclarationentries}.
593 \textit{A \addtoindex{Fortran} use statement for an entity in a module that is
594 itself imported by a use statement without an explicit mention
595 may be represented by an imported declaration entry that refers
596 to the original debugging information entry. For example, given
612 the imported declaration entry for Q within module C refers
613 directly to the variable declaration entry for A in module A
614 because there is no explicit representation for X in module B.
616 A similar situation arises for a \addtoindex{C++} using declaration that
617 imports an entity in terms of a namespace alias. See
618 Appendix \refersec{app:namespaceexample}
622 \section{Subroutine and Entry Point Entries}
623 \label{chap:subroutineandentrypointentries}
625 The following tags exist to describe debugging information entries for subroutines and entry
628 \begin{tabular}{lp{9.0cm}}
629 \livetarg{chap:DWTAGsubprogram}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_subprogram} & A subroutine or function. \\
630 \livelink{chap:DWTAGinlinedsubroutine}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_inlined\-\_subroutine} & A particular inlined
631 instance of a subroutine or function. \\
632 \livetarg{chap:DWTAGentrypoint}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_entry\-\_point} & An alternate entry point. \\
635 \subsection{General Subroutine and Entry Point Information}
636 \label{chap:generalsubroutineandentrypointinformation}
638 It may also have a \livelink{chap:DWATlinkagename}{DW\-\_AT\-\_linkage\-\_name} attribute as
639 described in Section \refersec{chap:linkagenames}.
641 If the name of the subroutine described by an entry with the
642 tag \livelink{chap:DWTAGsubprogram}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_subprogram}
643 is visible outside of its containing
644 \hypertarget{chap:DWATexternalexternalsubroutine}
645 compilation unit, that entry has a
646 \livelink{chap:DWATexternal}{DW\-\_AT\-\_external} attribute,
647 which is a \livelink{chap:flag}{flag}.
649 \textit{Additional attributes for functions that are members of a
650 class or structure are described in
651 Section \refersec{chap:memberfunctionentries}.
655 \hypertarget{chap:DWATmainsubprogrammainorstartingsubprogram}
656 subroutine entry may contain a \livelink{chap:DWATmainsubprogram}{DW\-\_AT\-\_main\-\_subprogram}
658 a \livelink{chap:flag}{flag} whose presence indicates that the
659 subroutine has been identified as the starting function of
660 the program. If more than one subprogram contains this
662 any one of them may be the starting subroutine of the program.
664 \textit{\addtoindex{Fortran} has a PROGRAM statement which is used to specify
665 and provide a user\dash supplied name for the main subroutine of
669 \textit{A common debugger feature is to allow the debugger user to call
670 a subroutine within the subject program. In certain cases,
671 however, the generated code for a subroutine will not obey
672 the standard calling conventions for the target architecture
673 and will therefore not be safe to call from within a debugger.
676 A subroutine entry may
677 \hypertarget{chap:DWATcallingconventionsubprogramcallingconvention}
679 \livelink{chap:DWATcallingconvention}{DW\-\_AT\-\_calling\-\_convention}
680 attribute, whose value is an integer constant. The set of
681 calling convention codes is given in
682 Figure \refersec{fig:callingconventioncodes}.
685 \autorows[0pt]{c}{1}{l}{
686 \addtoindex{DW\-\_CC\-\_normal},
687 \addtoindex{DW\-\_CC\-\_program},
688 \addtoindex{DW\-\_CC\-\_nocall},
690 \caption{Calling convention codes}\label{fig:callingconventioncodes}
693 If this attribute is not present, or its value is the constant
694 \livetarg{chap:DWCCnormal}{DW\-\_CC\-\_normal}, then the subroutine may be safely called by
695 obeying the ``standard'' calling conventions of the target
696 architecture. If the value of the calling convention attribute
697 is the constant \livetarg{chap:DWCCnocall}{DW\-\_CC\-\_nocall}, the subroutine does not obey
698 standard calling conventions, and it may not be safe for the
699 debugger to call this subroutine.
701 If the semantics of the language of the compilation unit
702 containing the subroutine entry distinguishes between ordinary
703 subroutines and subroutines that can serve as the ``main
704 program,'' that is, subroutines that cannot be called
705 directly according to the ordinary calling conventions,
706 then the debugging information entry for such a subroutine
707 may have a calling convention attribute whose value is the
708 constant \livetarg{chap:DWCCprogram}{DW\-\_CC\-\_program}.
710 \textit{The \livelink{chap:DWCCprogram}{DW\-\_CC\-\_program} value is intended to support \addtoindex{Fortran} main
711 programs which in some implementations may not be callable
712 or which must be invoked in a special way. It is not intended
713 as a way of finding the entry address for the program.
716 \textit{In \addtoindex{C}
717 there is a difference between the types of functions
718 declared using function prototype style declarations and
719 those declared using non\dash prototype declarations.
722 A subroutine entry declared with a function prototype style
723 declaration may have a
724 \livelink{chap:DWATprototyped}{DW\-\_AT\-\_prototyped} attribute, which is
725 a \livelink{chap:flag}{flag}.
727 \textit{The \addtoindex{Fortran}
728 language allows the keywords elemental, pure
729 and recursive to be included as part of the declaration of
730 a subroutine; these attributes reflect that usage. These
731 attributes are not relevant for languages that do not support
732 similar keywords or syntax. In particular, the \livelink{chap:DWATrecursive}{DW\-\_AT\-\_recursive}
733 attribute is neither needed nor appropriate in languages such
735 where functions support recursion by default.
739 \hypertarget{chap:DWATelementalelementalpropertyofasubroutine}
741 \livelink{chap:DWATelemental}{DW\-\_AT\-\_elemental} attribute, which
742 is a \livelink{chap:flag}{flag}.
743 The attribute indicates whether the subroutine
744 or entry point was declared with the ``elemental'' keyword
748 \hypertarget{chap:DWATpurepurepropertyofasubroutine}
749 subprogram entry may have a
750 \livelink{chap:DWATpure}{DW\-\_AT\-\_pure} attribute, which is
751 a \livelink{chap:flag}{flag}.
752 The attribute indicates whether the subroutine was
753 declared with the ``pure'' keyword or property.
756 \hypertarget{chap:DWATrecursiverecursivepropertyofasubroutine}
757 subprogram entry may have a
758 \livelink{chap:DWATrecursive}{DW\-\_AT\-\_recursive} attribute, which
759 is a \livelink{chap:flag}{flag}.
760 The attribute indicates whether the subroutine
761 or entry point was declared with the ``recursive'' keyword
766 \subsection{Subroutine and Entry Point Return Types}
767 \label{chap:subroutineandentrypointreturntypes}
770 \hypertarget{chap:DWATtypetypeofsubroutinereturn}
771 the subroutine or entry point is a function that returns a
772 value, then its debugging information entry has a \livelink{chap:DWATtype}{DW\-\_AT\-\_type}
773 attribute to denote the type returned by that function.
775 \textit{Debugging information entries for
776 \addtoindex{C} void functions should
777 not have an attribute for the return type. }
780 \subsection{Subroutine and Entry Point Locations}
781 \label{chap:subroutineandentrypointlocations}
783 A subroutine entry may have either a \livelink{chap:DWATlowpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_low\-\_pc} and
784 \livelink{chap:DWAThighpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_high\-\_pc} pair of attributes or a \livelink{chap:DWATranges}{DW\-\_AT\-\_ranges} attribute
785 whose values encode the contiguous or non\dash contiguous address
786 ranges, respectively, of the machine instructions generated
787 for the subroutine (see
788 Section \refersec{chap:codeaddressesandranges}).
791 \hypertarget{chap:DWATentrypcentryaddressofsubprogram}
792 subroutine entry may also have a
793 \livelink{chap:DWATentrypc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_entry\-\_pc} attribute
794 whose value is the address of the first executable instruction
795 of the subroutine (see
796 Section \refersec{chap:entryaddress}).
798 An entry point has a \livelink{chap:DWATlowpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_low\-\_pc} attribute whose value is the
799 relocated address of the first machine instruction generated
802 \textit{While the \livelink{chap:DWATentrypc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_entry\-\_pc} attribute might also seem appropriate
803 for this purpose, historically the \livelink{chap:DWATlowpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_low\-\_pc} attribute
804 was used before the \livelink{chap:DWATentrypc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_entry\-\_pc} was introduced (in DWARF
805 Version 3). There is insufficient reason to change this.}
811 \addtoindexx{address class!attribute}
813 \hypertarget{chap:DWATaddressclasssubroutineorsubroutinetype}
815 \livelink{chap:DWATsegment}{DW\-\_AT\-\_segment}
817 \livelink{chap:DWATaddressclass}{DW\-\_AT\-\_address\-\_class} attributes,
818 as appropriate, to specify
819 which segments the code for the subroutine resides in and
820 the addressing mode to be used in calling that subroutine.
822 A subroutine entry representing a subroutine declaration
823 that is not also a definition does not have code address or
827 \subsection{Declarations Owned by Subroutines and Entry Points}
828 \label{chap:declarationsownedbysubroutinesandentrypoints}
830 The declarations enclosed by a subroutine or entry point are
831 represented by debugging information entries that are owned
832 by the subroutine or entry point entry. Entries representing
833 the formal parameters of the subroutine or entry point appear
834 in the same order as the corresponding declarations in the
837 \textit{There is no ordering requirement for entries for declarations
838 that are children of subroutine or entry point entries but
839 that do not represent formal parameters. The formal parameter
840 entries may be interspersed with other entries used by formal
841 parameter entries, such as type entries.}
843 The unspecified parameters of a variable parameter list are
844 represented by a debugging information entry\addtoindexx{unspecified parameters entry}
846 \livetarg{chap:DWTAGunspecifiedparameters}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_unspecified\-\_parameters}.
848 The entry for a subroutine that includes a
850 \livelink{chap:fortrancommonblock}{common}
851 \livelink{chap:commonblockentry}{block}
852 \addtoindexx{common block|see{Fortran common block}}
853 has a child entry with the
854 tag \livetarg{chap:DWTAGcommoninclusion}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_common\-\_inclusion}.
856 \hypertarget{chap:commonreferencecommonblockusage}
857 common inclusion entry has a
858 \livelink{chap:DWATcommonreference}{DW\-\_AT\-\_common\-\_reference} attribute
859 whose value is a reference to the debugging information entry
860 for the common \nolink{block} being included
861 (see Section \refersec{chap:commonblockentries}).
863 \subsection{Low-Level Information}
864 \label{chap:lowlevelinformation}
867 \hypertarget{chap:DWATreturnaddrsubroutinereturnaddresssavelocation}
868 subroutine or entry point entry may have a
869 \livelink{chap:DWATreturnaddr}{DW\-\_AT\-\_return\-\_addr}
870 attribute, whose value is a location description. The location
871 calculated is the place where the return address for the
872 subroutine or entry point is stored.
875 \hypertarget{chap:DWATframebasesubroutineframebaseaddress}
876 subroutine or entry point entry may also have a
877 \livelink{chap:DWATframebase}{DW\-\_AT\-\_frame\-\_base} attribute, whose value is a location
878 description that computes the “frame base” for the
879 subroutine or entry point. If the location description is
880 a simple register location description, the given register
881 contains the frame base address. If the location description is
882 a DWARF expression, the result of evaluating that expression
883 is the frame base address. Finally, for a location list,
884 this interpretation applies to each location description
885 contained in the list of location list entries.
887 \textit{The use of one of the \livelink{chap:DWOPreg}{DW\-\_OP\-\_reg}~\textless~n~\textgreater
889 context is equivalent to using
890 \livelink{chap:DWOPbreg}{DW\-\_OP\-\_breg}~\textless~n~\textgreater(0)
892 compact. However, these are not equivalent in general.}
894 \textit{The frame base for a procedure is typically an address fixed
895 relative to the first unit of storage allocated for the
896 procedure’s stack frame. The \livelink{chap:DWATframebase}{DW\-\_AT\-\_frame\-\_base} attribute
897 can be used in several ways:}
899 \begin{enumerate}[1.]
900 \item \textit{In procedures that need location lists to locate local
901 variables, the \livelink{chap:DWATframebase}{DW\-\_AT\-\_frame\-\_base} can hold the needed location
902 list, while all variables’ location descriptions can be
903 simpler ones involving the frame base.}
905 \item \textit{It can be used in resolving ``up\dash level'' addressing
906 within nested routines.
907 (See also \livelink{chap:DWATstaticlink}{DW\-\_AT\-\_static\-\_link}, below)}
908 %The -See also- here is ok, the DW\-\_AT should be
909 %a hyperref to the def itself, which is earlier in this document.
912 \textit{Some languages support nested subroutines. In such languages,
913 it is possible to reference the local variables of an
914 outer subroutine from within an inner subroutine. The
915 \livelink{chap:DWATstaticlink}{DW\-\_AT\-\_static\-\_link} and \livelink{chap:DWATframebase}{DW\-\_AT\-\_frame\-\_base} attributes allow
916 debuggers to support this same kind of referencing.}
919 \hypertarget{chap:DWATstaticlinklocationofuplevelframe}
921 \addtoindexx{address!uplevel|see{static link attribute}}
922 subroutine or entry point is nested, it may have a
923 \livelink{chap:DWATstaticlink}{DW\-\_AT\-\_static\-\_link}
924 attribute, whose value is a location
925 description that computes the frame base of the relevant
926 instance of the subroutine that immediately encloses the
927 subroutine or entry point.
929 In the context of supporting nested subroutines, the
930 \livelink{chap:DWATframebase}{DW\-\_AT\-\_frame\-\_base} attribute value should obey the following
933 \begin{enumerate}[1.]
934 \item It should compute a value that does not change during the
935 life of the procedure, and
937 \item The computed value should be unique among instances of
938 the same subroutine. (For typical \livelink{chap:DWATframebase}{DW\-\_AT\-\_frame\-\_base} use, this
939 means that a recursive subroutine’s stack frame must have
943 \textit{If a debugger is attempting to resolve an up\dash level reference
944 to a variable, it uses the nesting structure of DWARF to
945 determine which subroutine is the lexical parent and the
946 \livelink{chap:DWATstaticlink}{DW\-\_AT\-\_static\-\_link} value to identify the appropriate active
947 frame of the parent. It can then attempt to find the reference
948 within the context of the parent.}
952 \subsection{Types Thrown by Exceptions}
953 \label{chap:typesthrownbyexceptions}
955 \textit{In \addtoindex{C++} a subroutine may declare a set of types which
956 it may validly throw.}
958 If a subroutine explicitly declares that it may throw
959 an exception for one or more types, each such type is
960 represented by a debugging information entry with the tag
961 \livetarg{chap:DWTAGthrowntype}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_thrown\-\_type}.
962 Each such entry is a child of the entry
963 representing the subroutine that may throw this type. Each
964 thrown type entry contains a \livelink{chap:DWATtype}{DW\-\_AT\-\_type} attribute, whose
965 value is a reference to an entry describing the type of the
966 exception that may be thrown.
968 \subsection{Function Template Instantiations}
969 \label{chap:functiontemplateinstantiations}
971 \textit{In \addtoindex{C++}, a function template is a generic definition of
972 a function that is instantiated differently when called with
973 values of different types. DWARF does not represent the generic
974 template definition, but does represent each instantiation.}
976 A template instantiation is represented by a debugging
977 information entry with the tag \livelink{chap:DWTAGsubprogram}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_subprogram}. With four
978 exceptions, such an entry will contain the same attributes and
979 will have the same types of child entries as would an entry
980 for a subroutine defined explicitly using the instantiation
981 types. The exceptions are:
983 \begin{enumerate}[1.]
984 \item Each formal parameterized type declaration appearing in the
985 template definition is represented by a debugging information
987 tag \livetarg{chap:DWTAGtemplatetypeparameter}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_template\-\_type\-\_parameter}.
989 such entry has a \livelink{chap:DWATname}{DW\-\_AT\-\_name} attribute, whose value is a
990 null\dash terminated string containing the name of the formal
991 type parameter as it appears in the source program. The
992 template type parameter entry also has a \livelink{chap:DWATtype}{DW\-\_AT\-\_type} attribute
993 describing the actual type by which the formal is replaced
994 for this instantiation.
996 \item The subprogram entry and each of its child entries reference
997 a template type parameter entry in any circumstance where
998 the template definition referenced a formal parameterized type.
1000 \item If the compiler has generated a special compilation unit
1001 to hold the template instantiation and that compilation unit
1002 has a different name from the compilation unit containing
1003 the template definition, the name attribute for the debugging
1004 information entry representing that compilation unit is empty
1007 \item If the subprogram entry representing the template
1008 instantiation or any of its child entries contain declaration
1009 coordinate attributes, those attributes refer to the source
1010 for the template definition, not to any source generated
1011 artificially by the compiler for this instantiation.
1016 \subsection{Inlinable and Inlined Subroutines}
1017 A declaration or a definition of an inlinable subroutine
1018 is represented by a debugging information entry with the
1020 \livelink{chap:DWTAGsubprogram}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_subprogram}.
1021 The entry for a subroutine that is
1022 \hypertarget{chap:DWATinlineinlinedsubroutine}
1023 explicitly declared to be available for inline expansion or
1024 that was expanded inline implicitly by the compiler has a
1025 \livelink{chap:DWATinline}{DW\-\_AT\-\_inline} attribute whose value is an integer constant. The
1026 set of values for the \livelink{chap:DWATinline}{DW\-\_AT\-\_inline} attribute is given in
1027 Figure \refersec{fig:inlinecodes}.
1029 \begin{figure}[here]
1031 \caption{Inline codes}
1032 \label{fig:inlinecodes}
1033 \begin{tabular}{lp{9cm}}
1034 Name&Meaning\\ \hline
1035 \livetarg{chap:DWINLnotinlined}{DW\-\_INL\-\_not\-\_inlined} & Not delared inline nor inlined by the
1036 compiler(equivalent to the absense of the containing
1037 \livelink{chap:DWATinline}{DW\-\_AT\-\_inline} attribute) \\
1038 \livetarg{chap:DWINLinlined}{DW\-\_INL\-\_inlined} & Not declared inline but inlined by the compiler \\
1039 \livetarg{chap:DWINLdeclarednotinlined}{DW\-\_INL\-\_declared\-\_not\-\_inlined} & Declared inline but
1040 not inlined by the compiler \\
1041 \livetarg{chap:DWINLdeclaredinlined}{DW\-\_INL\-\_declared\-\_inlined} & Declared inline and inlined by the compiler \\
1045 \textit{In \addtoindex{C++}, a function or a constructor declared with
1046 constexpr is implicitly declared inline. The abstract inline
1047 instance (see below) is represented by a debugging information
1048 entry with the tag \livelink{chap:DWTAGsubprogram}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_subprogram}. Such an entry has a
1049 \livelink{chap:DWATinline}{DW\-\_AT\-\_inline} attribute whose value is \livelink{chap:DWINLinlined}{DW\-\_INL\-\_inlined}.}
1052 \paragraph{Abstract Instances}
1053 \label{chap:abstractinstances}
1054 Any debugging information entry that is owned (either
1055 \hypertarget{chap:DWATinlineabstracttinstance}
1056 directly or indirectly) by a debugging information entry
1058 \livelink{chap:DWATinline}{DW\-\_AT\-\_inline} attribute is referred to
1059 \addtoindexx{abstract instance!entry}
1060 as an ``abstract instance entry.''
1061 Any subroutine entry
1062 that contains a \livelink{chap:DWATinline}{DW\-\_AT\-\_inline} attribute whose value is other
1063 than \livelink{chap:DWINLnotinlined}{DW\-\_INL\-\_not\-\_inlined}
1065 \addtoindexx{abstract instance!root}
1066 an ``abstract instance root.''
1067 Any set of abstract instance entries that are all
1068 children (either directly or indirectly) of some abstract
1069 instance root, together with the root itself, is known as
1070 \addtoindexx{abstract instance!tree}
1071 an ``abstract instance tree.'' However, in the case where
1072 an abstract instance tree is nested within another abstract
1073 instance tree, the entries in the nested abstract instance
1074 tree are not considered to be entries in the outer abstract
1077 Each abstract instance root is either part of a larger
1078 \addtoindexx{abstract instance!root}
1079 tree (which gives a context for the root) or uses
1080 \livelink{chap:DWATspecification}{DW\-\_AT\-\_specification} to refer to the declaration in context.
1082 \textit{For example, in \addtoindex{C++} the context might be a namespace
1083 declaration or a class declaration.}
1085 \textit{Abstract instance trees are defined so that no entry is part
1086 of more than one abstract instance tree. This simplifies the
1087 following descriptions.}
1089 A debugging information entry that is a member of an abstract
1090 instance tree should not contain any attributes which describe
1091 aspects of the subroutine which vary between distinct inlined
1092 expansions or distinct out\dash of\dash line expansions. For example,
1093 the \livelink{chap:DWATlowpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_low\-\_pc},
1094 \livelink{chap:DWAThighpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_high\-\_pc}, \livelink{chap:DWATranges}{DW\-\_AT\-\_ranges},
1095 \livelink{chap:DWATentrypc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_entry\-\_pc}, \livelink{chap:DWATlocation}{DW\-\_AT\-\_location},
1096 \livelink{chap:DWATreturnaddr}{DW\-\_AT\-\_return\-\_addr}, \livelink{chap:DWATstartscope}{DW\-\_AT\-\_start\-\_scope}, and
1097 \livelink{chap:DWATsegment}{DW\-\_AT\-\_segment}
1098 attributes typically should be omitted; however, this list
1101 \textit{It would not make sense normally to put these attributes into
1102 abstract instance entries since such entries do not represent
1103 actual (concrete) instances and thus do not actually exist at
1104 run\dash time. However,
1105 see Appendix \refersec{app:inlineouteronenormalinner}
1106 for a contrary example.}
1108 The rules for the relative location of entries belonging to
1109 abstract instance trees are exactly the same as for other
1110 similar types of entries that are not abstract. Specifically,
1111 the rule that requires that an entry representing a declaration
1112 be a direct child of the entry representing the scope of the
1113 declaration applies equally to both abstract and non\dash abstract
1114 entries. Also, the ordering rules for formal parameter entries,
1115 member entries, and so on, all apply regardless of whether
1116 or not a given entry is abstract.
1118 \paragraph{Concrete Inlined Instances}
1119 \label{chap:concreteinlinedinstances}
1121 Each inline expansion of a subroutine is represented
1122 by a debugging information entry with the
1123 tag \livetarg{chap:DWTAGinlinedsubroutine}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_inlined\-\_subroutine}.
1124 Each such entry should be a direct
1125 child of the entry that represents the scope within which
1126 the inlining occurs.
1128 Each inlined subroutine entry may have either a
1129 \livelink{chap:DWATlowpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_low\-\_pc}
1130 and \livelink{chap:DWAThighpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_high\-\_pc} pair of attributes or a \livelink{chap:DWATranges}{DW\-\_AT\-\_ranges}
1131 attribute whose values encode the contiguous or non\dash contiguous
1132 address ranges, respectively, of the machine instructions
1133 generated for the inlined subroutine (see
1134 Section \refersec{chap:codeaddressesandranges}).
1136 \hypertarget{chap:DWATentrypcentryaddressofinlinedsubprogram}
1137 inlined subroutine entry may also contain a
1138 \livelink{chap:DWATentrypc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_entry\-\_pc}
1139 attribute, representing the first executable instruction of
1140 the inline expansion (see
1141 Section \refersec{chap:entryaddress}).
1143 % Positions of the 3 targets here is a bit arbitrary.
1145 \hypertarget{chap:DWATcalllinelinenumberofinlinedsubroutinecall}
1147 \hypertarget{chap:DWATcallcolumncolumnpositionofinlinedsubroutinecall}
1149 \hypertarget{chap:DWATcallfilefilecontaininginlinedsubroutinecall}
1150 may also have \livelink{chap:DWATcallfile}{DW\-\_AT\-\_call\-\_file},
1151 \livelink{chap:DWATcallline}{DW\-\_AT\-\_call\-\_line} and \livelink{chap:DWATcallcolumn}{DW\-\_AT\-\_call\-\_column} attributes,
1153 value is an integer constant. These attributes represent the
1154 source file, source line number, and source column number,
1155 respectively, of the first character of the statement or
1156 expression that caused the inline expansion. The call file,
1157 call line, and call column attributes are interpreted in
1158 the same way as the declaration file, declaration line, and
1159 declaration column attributes, respectively (see
1160 Section \refersec{chap:declarationcoordinates}).
1162 The call file, call line and call column coordinates do not
1163 describe the coordinates of the subroutine declaration that
1164 was inlined, rather they describe the coordinates of the call.
1166 An inlined subroutine entry
1167 \hypertarget{chap:DWATconstexprcompiletimeconstantfunction}
1169 \livelink{chap:DWATconstexpr}{DW\-\_AT\-\_const\-\_expr}
1170 attribute, which is a \livelink{chap:flag}{flag}
1171 whose presence indicates that the
1172 subroutine has been evaluated as a compile\dash time constant. Such
1173 an entry may also have a \livelink{chap:DWATconstvalue}{DW\-\_AT\-\_const\-\_value} attribute,
1174 whose value may be of any form that is appropriate for the
1175 representation of the subroutine's return value. The value of
1176 this attribute is the actual return value of the subroutine,
1177 represented as it would be on the target architecture.
1179 \textit{In \addtoindex{C++}, if a function or a constructor declared with constexpr
1180 is called with constant expressions, then the corresponding
1181 concrete inlined instance has a
1182 \livelink{chap:DWATconstexpr}{DW\-\_AT\-\_const\-\_expr} attribute,
1183 as well as a \livelink{chap:DWATconstvalue}{DW\-\_AT\-\_const\-\_value} attribute whose value represents
1184 the actual return value of the concrete inlined instance.}
1186 Any debugging information entry that is owned (either
1187 directly or indirectly) by a debugging information entry
1188 with the tag \livelink{chap:DWTAGinlinedsubroutine}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_inlined\-\_subroutine} is referred to as a
1189 ``concrete inlined instance entry.'' Any entry that has
1190 the tag \livelink{chap:DWTAGinlinedsubroutine}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_inlined\-\_subroutine}
1191 is known as a ``concrete inlined instance root.'' Any set of concrete inlined instance
1192 entries that are all children (either directly or indirectly)
1193 of some concrete inlined instance root, together with the root
1194 itself, is known as a ``concrete inlined instance tree.''
1195 However, in the case where a concrete inlined instance tree
1196 is nested within another concrete instance tree, the entries
1197 in the nested concrete instance tree are not considered to
1198 be entries in the outer concrete instance tree.
1200 \textit{Concrete inlined instance trees are defined so that no entry
1201 is part of more than one concrete inlined instance tree. This
1202 simplifies later descriptions.}
1204 Each concrete inlined instance tree is uniquely associated
1205 with one (and only one) abstract instance tree.
1207 \textit{Note, however, that the reverse is not true. Any given abstract
1208 instance tree may be associated with several different concrete
1209 inlined instance trees, or may even be associated with zero
1210 concrete inlined instance trees.}
1212 Concrete inlined instance entries may omit attributes that
1213 are not specific to the concrete instance (but present in
1214 the abstract instance) and need include only attributes that
1215 are specific to the concrete instance (but omitted in the
1216 abstract instance). In place of these omitted attributes, each
1217 \hypertarget{chap:DWATabstractorigininlineinstance}
1218 concrete inlined instance entry
1219 \addtoindexx{abstract origin attribute}
1221 \livelink{chap:DWATabstractorigin}{DW\-\_AT\-\_abstract\-\_origin}
1222 attribute that may be used to obtain the missing information
1223 (indirectly) from the associated abstract instance entry. The
1224 value of the abstract origin attribute is a reference to the
1225 associated abstract instance entry.
1227 If an entry within a concrete inlined instance tree contains
1228 attributes describing the
1229 \addtoindexx{declaration coordinates!in concrete instance}
1230 declaration coordinates
1232 entry, then those attributes should refer to the file, line
1233 and column of the original declaration of the subroutine,
1234 not to the point at which it was inlined. As a consequence,
1235 they may usually be omitted from any entry that has an abstract
1238 For each pair of entries that are associated via a
1239 \addtoindexx{abstract origin attribute}
1240 \livelink{chap:DWATabstractorigin}{DW\-\_AT\-\_abstract\-\_origin} attribute, both members of the pair
1241 have the same tag. So, for example, an entry with the tag
1242 \livelink{chap:DWTAGvariable}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_variable} can only be associated with another entry
1243 that also has the tag \livelink{chap:DWTAGvariable}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_variable}. The only exception
1244 to this rule is that the root of a concrete instance tree
1245 (which must always have the tag \livelink{chap:DWTAGinlinedsubroutine}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_inlined\-\_subroutine})
1246 can only be associated with the root of its associated abstract
1247 instance tree (which must have the tag \livelink{chap:DWTAGsubprogram}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_subprogram}).
1249 In general, the structure and content of any given concrete
1250 inlined instance tree will be closely analogous to the
1251 structure and content of its associated abstract instance
1252 tree. There are a few exceptions:
1254 \begin{enumerate}[1.]
1255 \item An entry in the concrete instance tree may be omitted if
1257 \addtoindexx{abstract origin attribute}
1258 \livelink{chap:DWATabstractorigin}{DW\-\_AT\-\_abstract\-\_origin} attribute and either
1259 has no children, or its children are omitted. Such entries
1260 would provide no useful information. In C\dash like languages,
1261 such entries frequently include types, including structure,
1262 union, class, and interface types; and members of types. If any
1263 entry within a concrete inlined instance tree needs to refer
1264 to an entity declared within the scope of the relevant inlined
1265 subroutine and for which no concrete instance entry exists,
1266 the reference should refer to the abstract instance entry.
1268 \item Entries in the concrete instance tree which are associated
1269 with entries in the abstract instance tree such that neither
1270 has a \livelink{chap:DWATname}{DW\-\_AT\-\_name} attribute, and neither is referenced by
1271 any other debugging information entry, may be omitted. This
1272 may happen for debugging information entries in the abstract
1273 instance trees that became unnecessary in the concrete instance
1274 tree because of additional information available there. For
1275 example, an anonymous variable might have been created and
1276 described in the abstract instance tree, but because of
1277 the actual parameters for a particular inlined expansion,
1278 it could be described as a constant value without the need
1279 for that separate debugging information entry.
1281 \item A concrete instance tree may contain entries which do
1282 not correspond to entries in the abstract instance tree
1283 to describe new entities that are specific to a particular
1284 inlined expansion. In that case, they will not have associated
1285 entries in the abstract instance tree, should not contain
1286 \addtoindexx{abstract origin attribute}
1287 \livelink{chap:DWATabstractorigin}{DW\-\_AT\-\_abstract\-\_origin} attributes, and must contain all their
1288 own attributes directly. This allows an abstract instance tree
1289 to omit debugging information entries for anonymous entities
1290 that are unlikely to be needed in most inlined expansions. In
1291 any expansion which deviates from that expectation, the
1292 entries can be described in its concrete inlined instance tree.
1296 \paragraph{Out-of-Line Instances of Inlined Subroutines}
1297 \label{chap:outoflineinstancesofinlinedsubroutines}
1298 Under some conditions, compilers may need to generate concrete
1299 executable instances of inlined subroutines other than at
1300 points where those subroutines are actually called. Such
1301 concrete instances of inlined subroutines are referred to as
1302 ``concrete out\dash of\dash line instances.''
1304 \textit{In \addtoindex{C++}, for example,
1305 taking the address of a function declared
1306 to be inline can necessitate the generation of a concrete
1307 out\dash of\dash line instance of the given function.}
1309 The DWARF representation of a concrete out\dash of\dash line instance
1310 of an inlined subroutine is essentially the same as for a
1311 concrete inlined instance of that subroutine (as described in
1312 the preceding section). The representation of such a concrete
1313 % It is critical that the hypertarget and livelink be
1314 % separated to avoid problems with latex.
1315 out\dash of\dash line
1316 \addtoindexx{abstract origin attribute}
1318 \hypertarget{chap:DWATabstractoriginoutoflineinstance}
1320 \livelink{chap:DWATabstractorigin}{DW\-\_AT\-\_abstract\-\_origin}
1321 attributes in exactly the same way as they are used for
1322 a concrete inlined instance (that is, as references to
1323 corresponding entries within the associated abstract instance
1326 The differences between the DWARF representation of a
1327 concrete out\dash of\dash line instance of a given subroutine and the
1328 representation of a concrete inlined instance of that same
1329 subroutine are as follows:
1331 \begin{enumerate}[1.]
1332 \item The root entry for a concrete out\dash of\dash line instance
1333 of a given inlined subroutine has the same tag as does its
1334 associated (abstract) inlined subroutine entry (that is, tag
1335 \livelink{chap:DWTAGsubprogram}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_subprogram} rather than \livelink{chap:DWTAGinlinedsubroutine}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_inlined\-\_subroutine}).
1337 \item The root entry for a concrete out\dash of\dash line instance tree
1338 is normally owned by the same parent entry that also owns
1339 the root entry of the associated abstract instance. However,
1340 it is not required that the abstract and out\dash of\dash line instance
1341 trees be owned by the same parent entry.
1345 \paragraph{Nested Inlined Subroutines}
1346 \label{nestedinlinedsubroutines}
1347 Some languages and compilers may permit the logical nesting of
1348 a subroutine within another subroutine, and may permit either
1349 the outer or the nested subroutine, or both, to be inlined.
1351 For a non\dash inlined subroutine nested within an inlined
1352 subroutine, the nested subroutine is described normally in
1353 both the abstract and concrete inlined instance trees for
1354 the outer subroutine. All rules pertaining to the abstract
1355 and concrete instance trees for the outer subroutine apply
1356 also to the abstract and concrete instance entries for the
1359 For an inlined subroutine nested within another inlined
1360 subroutine, the following rules apply to their abstract and
1361 \addtoindexx{abstract instance!nested}
1362 \addtoindexx{concrete instance!nested}
1363 concrete instance trees:
1365 \begin{enumerate}[1.]
1366 \item The abstract instance tree for the nested subroutine is
1367 described within the abstract instance tree for the outer
1368 subroutine according to the rules in
1369 Section \refersec{chap:abstractinstances}, and
1370 without regard to the fact that it is within an outer abstract
1373 \item Any abstract instance tree for a nested subroutine is
1374 always omitted within the concrete instance tree for an
1377 \item A concrete instance tree for a nested subroutine is
1378 always omitted within the abstract instance tree for an
1381 \item The concrete instance tree for any inlined or out-of-line
1382 expansion of the nested subroutine is described within a
1383 concrete instance tree for the outer subroutine according
1385 Sections \refersec{chap:concreteinlinedinstances} or
1386 \refersec{chap:outoflineinstancesofinlinedsubroutines}
1388 and without regard to the fact that it is within an outer
1389 concrete instance tree.
1392 See Appendix \refersec{app:inliningexamples}
1393 for discussion and examples.
1395 \subsection{Trampolines}
1396 \label{chap:trampolines}
1398 \textit{A trampoline is a compiler\dash generated subroutine that serves as
1399 \hypertarget{chap:DWATtrampolinetargetsubroutine}
1400 an intermediary in making a call to another subroutine. It may
1401 adjust parameters and/or the result (if any) as appropriate
1402 to the combined calling and called execution contexts.}
1404 A trampoline is represented by a debugging information entry
1405 with the tag \livelink{chap:DWTAGsubprogram}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_subprogram} or \livelink{chap:DWTAGinlinedsubroutine}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_inlined\-\_subroutine}
1406 that has a \livelink{chap:DWATtrampoline}{DW\-\_AT\-\_trampoline} attribute. The value of that
1407 attribute indicates the target subroutine of the trampoline,
1408 that is, the subroutine to which the trampoline passes
1409 control. (A trampoline entry may but need not also have a
1410 \livelink{chap:DWATartificial}{DW\-\_AT\-\_artificial} attribute.)
1412 The value of the trampoline attribute may be represented
1413 using any of the following forms, which are listed in order
1417 \item If the value is of class reference, then the value
1418 specifies the debugging information entry of the target
1421 \item If the value is of class address, then the value is
1422 the relocated address of the target subprogram.
1424 \item If the value is of class string, then the value is the
1425 (possibly mangled) name of the target subprogram.
1427 \item If the value is of class \livelink{chap:flag}{flag}, then the value true
1428 indicates that the containing subroutine is a trampoline but
1429 that the target subroutine is not known.
1433 The target subprogram may itself be a trampoline. (A sequence
1434 of trampolines necessarily ends with a non\dash trampoline
1437 \textit{In \addtoindex{C++}, trampolines may be used
1438 to implement derived virtual
1439 member functions; such trampolines typically adjust the
1440 implicit this pointer parameter in the course of passing
1441 control. Other languages and environments may use trampolines
1442 in a manner sometimes known as transfer functions or transfer
1445 \textit{Trampolines may sometimes pass control to the target
1446 subprogram using a branch or jump instruction instead of a
1447 call instruction, thereby leaving no trace of their existence
1448 in the subsequent execution context. }
1450 \textit{This attribute helps make it feasible for a debugger to arrange
1451 that stepping into a trampoline or setting a breakpoint in
1452 a trampoline will result in stepping into or setting the
1453 breakpoint in the target subroutine instead. This helps to
1454 hide the compiler generated subprogram from the user. }
1456 \textit{If the target subroutine is not known, a debugger may choose
1457 to repeatedly step until control arrives in a new subroutine
1458 which can be assumed to be the target subroutine. }
1462 \section{Lexical Block Entries}
1463 \label{chap:lexicalblockentries}
1465 \textit{A lexical \livetargi{chap:lexicalblock}{block}{lexical block} is a bracketed sequence of source statements
1466 that may contain any number of declarations. In some languages
1467 (including \addtoindex{C} and \addtoindex{C++}),
1468 \nolink{blocks} can be nested within other
1469 \nolink{blocks} to any depth.}
1471 % We do not need to link to the preceeding paragraph.
1472 A lexical \nolink{block} is represented by a debugging information
1474 tag \livetarg{chap:DWTAGlexicalblock}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_lexical\-\_block}.
1476 The lexical \livetargi{chap:lexicalblockentry}{block}{lexical block entry} entry
1478 either a \livelink{chap:DWATlowpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_low\-\_pc} and
1479 \livelink{chap:DWAThighpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_high\-\_pc} pair of
1480 attributes or a \livelink{chap:DWATranges}{DW\-\_AT\-\_ranges} attribute
1481 whose values encode the contiguous or non-contiguous address
1482 ranges, respectively, of the machine instructions generated
1483 for the lexical \livelink{chap:lexicalblock}{block}
1484 (see Section \refersec{chap:codeaddressesandranges}).
1486 If a name has been given to the
1487 lexical \livelink{chap:lexicalblock}{block}
1489 program, then the corresponding
1490 lexical \livelink{chap:lexicalblockentry}{block} entry has a
1491 \livelink{chap:DWATname}{DW\-\_AT\-\_name} attribute whose
1492 value is a null\dash terminated string
1493 containing the name of the lexical \livelink{chap:lexicalblock}{block}
1497 \textit{This is not the same as a \addtoindex{C} or
1498 \addtoindex{C++} label (see below).}
1500 The lexical \livelink{chap:lexicalblockentry}{block} entry owns
1501 debugging information entries that
1502 describe the declarations within that lexical \livelink{chap:lexicalblock}{block}.
1504 one such debugging information entry for each local declaration
1505 of an identifier or inner lexical \livelink{chap:lexicalblock}{block}.
1507 \section{Label Entries}
1508 \label{chap:labelentries}
1510 A label is a way of identifying a source statement. A labeled
1511 statement is usually the target of one or more ``go to''
1514 A label is represented by a debugging information entry with
1516 tag \livetarg{chap:DWTAGlabel}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_label}.
1517 The entry for a label should be owned by
1518 the debugging information entry representing the scope within
1519 which the name of the label could be legally referenced within
1522 The label entry has a \livelink{chap:DWATlowpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_low\-\_pc} attribute whose value
1523 is the relocated address of the first machine instruction
1524 generated for the statement identified by the label in
1525 the source program. The label entry also has a \livelink{chap:DWATname}{DW\-\_AT\-\_name}
1526 attribute whose value is a null-terminated string containing
1527 the name of the label as it appears in the source program.
1530 \section{With Statement Entries}
1531 \label{chap:withstatemententries}
1533 \textit{Both \addtoindex{Pascal} and
1534 \addtoindexx{Modula-2}
1535 Modula\dash 2 support the concept of a ``with''
1536 statement. The with statement specifies a sequence of
1537 executable statements within which the fields of a record
1538 variable may be referenced, unqualified by the name of the
1541 A with statement is represented by a
1542 \addtoindexi{debugging information entry}{with statement entry}
1543 with the tag \livetarg{chap:DWTAGwithstmt}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_with\-\_stmt}.
1545 A with statement entry may have either a \livelink{chap:DWATlowpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_low\-\_pc} and
1546 \livelink{chap:DWAThighpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_high\-\_pc} pair of attributes or a \livelink{chap:DWATranges}{DW\-\_AT\-\_ranges} attribute
1547 whose values encode the contiguous or non\dash contiguous address
1548 ranges, respectively, of the machine instructions generated
1549 for the with statement
1550 (see Section \refersec{chap:codeaddressesandranges}).
1552 The with statement entry has a \livelink{chap:DWATtype}{DW\-\_AT\-\_type} attribute, denoting
1553 the type of record whose fields may be referenced without full
1554 qualification within the body of the statement. It also has
1555 a \livelink{chap:DWATlocation}{DW\-\_AT\-\_location} attribute, describing how to find the base
1556 address of the record object referenced within the body of
1559 \section{Try and Catch Block Entries}
1560 \label{chap:tryandcatchblockentries}
1562 \textit{In \addtoindex{C++} a lexical \livelink{chap:lexicalblock}{block} may be
1563 designated as a ``catch \nolink{block}.''
1564 A catch \livetargi{chap:catchblock}{block}{catch block} is an
1565 exception handler that handles
1566 exceptions thrown by an immediately
1567 preceding ``try \livelink{chap:tryblock}{block}.''
1568 A catch \livelink{chap:catchblock}{block}
1569 designates the type of the exception that it
1572 A try \livetargi{chap:tryblock}{block}{try block} is represented
1573 by a debugging information entry
1574 with the tag \livetarg{chap:DWTAGtryblock}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_try\-\_block}.
1575 A catch \livelink{chap:catchblock}{block} is represented by
1576 a debugging information entry with
1577 the tag \livetarg{chap:DWTAGcatchblock}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_catch\-\_block}.
1579 % nolink as we have links just above and do not have a combo link for both
1580 Both try and catch \nolink{block} entries may have either a
1581 \livelink{chap:DWATlowpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_low\-\_pc} and \livelink{chap:DWAThighpc}{DW\-\_AT\-\_high\-\_pc} pair of attributes or a
1582 \livelink{chap:DWATranges}{DW\-\_AT\-\_ranges} attribute whose values encode the contiguous
1583 or non\dash contiguous address ranges, respectively, of the
1584 machine instructions generated for the \livelink{chap:lexicalblock}{block}
1586 \refersec{chap:codeaddressesandranges}).
1588 Catch \livelink{chap:catchblock}{block} entries have at
1589 least one child entry, an
1590 entry representing the type of exception accepted by
1591 that catch \livelink{chap:catchblock}{block}.
1593 This child entry has one of the
1594 \addtoindexx{unspecified parameters entry!in catch block}
1596 \livelink{chap:DWTAGformalparameter}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_formal\-\_parameter} or
1597 \livelink{chap:DWTAGunspecifiedparameters}{DW\-\_TAG\-\_unspecified\-\_parameters},
1598 and will have the same form as other parameter entries.
1600 The siblings immediately following
1601 a try \livelink{chap:tryblock}{block} entry are its
1602 corresponding catch \livelink{chap:catchblock}{block} entries.