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:typeunitentries}),
7 these entries may be thought of as
8 ranges of text addresses within the program.
10 \section{Unit Entries}
11 \label{chap:unitentries}
12 A DWARF object file is an object file that contains one or more
13 DWARF compilation units, of which there are these kinds:
14 \addtoindexx{unit|see {compilation unit}}
15 \addtoindexx{compilation unit}
17 \item A \definition{full compilation unit} describes
18 a complete compilation, possibly in combination with
19 related partial compilation units and/or type units.
21 \item A \definition{partial compilation unit} describes
22 a part of a compilation (generally corresponding to an
23 imported module) which is imported into one or more
24 related full compilation units.
26 \item A \definition{type unit} is a specialized unit
27 (similar to a compilation unit) that represents a type
28 whose description may be usefully shared by multiple
32 \index{conventional compilation unit|see{
33 full compilation unit, partial compilation unit, type unit}}
35 \textit{These first three kinds of compilation unit are
36 sometimes called \doublequote{conventional} compilation
37 units--they are kinds of compilation units that were
38 defined prior to \DWARFVersionV. Conventional compilation units
39 are part of the same object file as the compiled code and
40 data (whether relocatable, executable, shared and so on).
41 The word \doublequote{conventional} is usually
42 omitted in these names, unless needed to distinguish them
43 from the similar split compilation units below.}
47 \item A \definition{skeleton compilation unit} represents
48 the DWARF debugging information for a compilation using a
49 minimal description that identifies a separate split
50 compilation unit that provides the remainder (and most)
54 \textit{A skeleton compilation acts as a minimal conventional full
55 compilation (see above) that identifies and is paired with a
56 corresponding split full compilation (as described below). Like
57 the conventional compilation units, a skeleton compilation unit
58 is part of the same object file as the compiled code and data.}
62 \definition{split compilation unit} describes
63 a complete compilation, possibly in combination with
64 related type compilation units. It corresponds
65 to a specific skeleton compilation unit.
67 \item A \definition{split type unit} is a specialized
68 compilation unit that represents a type whose description may
69 be usefully shared by multiple other units.
73 \textit{Split compilation units and split type units may be
74 contained in object files separate from those containing the
75 program code and data.
76 These object files are not processed by a linker; thus,
77 split units do not depend on underlying object file relocations.}
79 \textit{Either a full compilation unit or a partial compilation
80 unit may be logically incorporated into another compilation unit
81 using an \addtoindex{imported unit entry}
82 (see Section \refersec{chap:importedunitentries}).}
85 \textit{A partial compilation unit is not defined for use
86 within a split object file.}
89 \textit{In the remainder of this document, the word
90 \doublequote{compilation} in the phrase \doublequote{compilation unit}
91 is generally omitted, unless it is deemed needed for clarity
94 \subsection{Full and Partial Compilation Unit Entries}
95 \label{chap:fullandpartialcompilationunitentries}
96 A \addtoindex{full compilation unit}\addtoindexx{compilation unit!full}
97 is represented by a debugging information entry with the tag
98 \DWTAGcompileunitTARG.
99 A \addtoindex{partial compilation unit}\addtoindexx{compilation unit!partial}
100 is represented by a debugging information entry with the tag
101 \DWTAGpartialunitTARG.
104 In a simple compilation, a single compilation unit with
106 \DWTAGcompileunit{} represents a complete object file
108 \DWTAGpartialunit{} (as well as tag \DWTAGtypeunit) is not used.
110 employing the DWARF space compression and duplicate elimination
112 Appendix \refersec{app:usingcompilationunits},
113 multiple compilation units using
116 \DWTAGpartialunit{} and/or
118 are used to represent portions of an object file.
121 \textit{A full compilation unit typically represents the text and
122 data contributed to an executable by a single relocatable
123 object file. It may be derived from several source files,
124 including pre-processed header files.
125 A \addtoindex{partial compilation unit} typically represents a part
126 of the text and data of a relocatable object file, in a manner that
127 can potentially be shared with the results of other compilations
128 to save space. It may be derived from an \doublequote{include file,}
129 template instantiation, or other implementation-dependent
130 portion of a compilation. A full compilation unit can also
131 function in a manner similar to a partial compilation unit
133 See Appendix \refersec{app:dwarfcompressionandduplicateeliminationinformative}
134 for discussion of related compression techniques.}
139 compilation unit entry owns debugging information
140 entries that represent all or part of the declarations
141 made in the corresponding compilation. In the case of a
142 partial compilation unit, the containing scope of its owned
143 declarations is indicated by imported unit entries in one
144 or more other compilation unit entries that refer to that
145 partial compilation unit (see
146 Section \refersec{chap:importedunitentries}).
149 A full or partial compilation unit entry
151 may have the following attributes:
152 \begin{enumerate}[1. ]
153 \item Either a \DWATlowpc{} and
154 \DWAThighpc{} pair of
155 \addtoindexx{high PC attribute}
157 \addtoindexx{low PC attribute}
159 \addtoindexx{ranges attribute}
161 \DWATranges{} attribute
162 \addtoindexx{ranges attribute}
164 \addtoindexx{discontiguous address ranges|see{non-contiguous address ranges}}
166 non-contiguous address ranges, respectively,
167 of the machine instructions generated for the compilation
168 unit (see Section \refersec{chap:codeaddressesandranges}).
170 A \DWATlowpc{} attribute
171 may also be specified in combination
172 \addtoindexx{ranges attribute}
174 \DWATranges{} to specify the
175 \addtoindexx{ranges attribute}
176 default base address for use in
177 \addtoindexx{location list}
178 location lists (see Section
179 \refersec{chap:locationlists}) and range lists
180 \addtoindexx{range list}
181 (see Section \refersec{chap:noncontiguousaddressranges}).
183 \item \hypertarget{chap:DWATnamepathnameofcompilationsource}{}
184 A \DWATnameDEFN{} attribute \addtoindexx{name attribute}
185 whose value is a null-terminated string
186 containing the full or relative path name
187 (relative to the value of the \DWATcompdir{} attribute,
188 see below) of the primary
189 source file from which the compilation unit was derived.
191 \item \hypertarget{chap:DWATlanguageprogramminglanguage}{}
192 A \DWATlanguageDEFN{} attribute\addtoindexx{language attribute}
193 whose constant value is an integer code
194 indicating the source language of the compilation
195 unit. The set of language names and their meanings are given
196 in Table \refersec{tab:languagenames}.
201 \setlength{\extrarowheight}{0.1cm}
202 \begin{longtable}{l|l}
203 \caption{Language names} \label{tab:languagenames} \\
204 \hline \bfseries Language name & \bfseries Meaning \\ \hline
206 \bfseries Language name & \bfseries Meaning \\ \hline
208 \hline \emph{Continued on next page}
211 \addtoindexx{ISO-defined language names}
212 \DWLANGAdaeightythreeTARG{} \dag & ISO Ada:1983 \addtoindexx{Ada:1983 (ISO)} \\
213 \DWLANGAdaninetyfiveTARG{} \dag & ISO Ada:1995 \addtoindexx{Ada:1995 (ISO)} \\
215 \DWLANGBLISSTARG & BLISS \addtoindexx{BLISS}
218 \DWLANGCTARG & Non-standardized C, such as K\&R \addtoindexx{C!non-standard} \\*
219 \DWLANGCeightynineTARG & ISO C:1989 \addtoindexx{C:1989 (ISO)} \\*
220 \DWLANGCninetynineTARG & ISO C:1999 \addtoindexx{C:1999 (ISO)} \\*
221 \DWLANGCelevenTARG & ISO C:2011 \addtoindexx{C:2011 (ISO)} \\*
222 \DWLANGCplusplusTARG & ISO C++98 \addtoindexx{C++98 (ISO)} \\
223 \DWLANGCpluspluszerothreeTARG & ISO C++03 \addtoindexx{C++03 (ISO)} \\
224 \DWLANGCpluspluselevenTARG & ISO C++11 \addtoindexx{C++11 (ISO)} \\
225 \DWLANGCplusplusfourteenTARG & ISO C++14 \addtoindexx{C++14 (ISO)}
227 \DWLANGCobolseventyfourTARG & ISO COBOL:1974 \addtoindexx{COBOL:1974 (ISO)} \\
228 \DWLANGCoboleightyfiveTARG & ISO COBOL:1985 \addtoindexx{COBOL:1985 (ISO)} \\
229 \DWLANGDTARG{}~\dag & D \addtoindexx{D language} \\
230 \DWLANGDylanTARG~\dag & Dylan \addtoindexx{Dylan} \\
231 \DWLANGFortranseventysevenTARG & ISO FORTRAN:1977 \addtoindexx{FORTRAN:1977 (ISO)} \\
232 \DWLANGFortranninetyTARG & ISO Fortran:1990 \addtoindexx{Fortran:1990 (ISO)} \\
233 \DWLANGFortranninetyfiveTARG & ISO Fortran:1995 \addtoindexx{Fortran:1995 (ISO)} \\
234 \DWLANGFortranzerothreeTARG & ISO Fortran:2004 \addtoindexx{Fortran:2004 (ISO)} \\
235 \DWLANGFortranzeroeightTARG & ISO Fortran:2010 \addtoindexx{Fortran:2010 (ISO)} \\
236 \DWLANGGoTARG{}~\dag & \addtoindex{Go} \\
237 \DWLANGHaskellTARG{} \dag & \addtoindex{Haskell} \\
238 \DWLANGJavaTARG{} & \addtoindex{Java}\\
239 \DWLANGJuliaTARG{}~\dag & \addtoindex{Julia} \\
240 \DWLANGModulatwoTARG & ISO Modula\dash 2:1996 \addtoindexx{Modula-2:1996 (ISO)} \\
241 \DWLANGModulathreeTARG & \addtoindex{Modula-3} \\
242 \DWLANGObjCTARG{} & \addtoindex{Objective C} \\
243 \DWLANGObjCplusplusTARG{} & \addtoindex{Objective C++} \\
244 \DWLANGOCamlTARG{}~\dag & \addtoindex{OCaml}\index{Objective Caml|see{OCaml}} \\
245 \DWLANGOpenCLTARG{}~\dag & \addtoindex{OpenCL} \\
246 \DWLANGPascaleightythreeTARG & ISO Pascal:1983 \addtoindexx{Pascal:1983 (ISO)} \\
247 \DWLANGPLITARG{}~\dag & ANSI PL/I:1976 \addtoindexx{PL/I:1976 (ANSI)} \\
248 \DWLANGPythonTARG{}~\dag & \addtoindex{Python} \\
249 \DWLANGRenderScriptTARG~\dag &
251 \addtoindex{RenderScript Kernel Language}
254 \DWLANGRustTARG{}~\dag & \addtoindex{Rust} \\
256 & \addtoindex{Swift} \\
257 \DWLANGUPCTARG{} & UPC (Unified Parallel C) \addtoindexx{UPC}
258 \index{Unified Parallel C|see{UPC}} \\
260 \dag \ \ \textit{Support for these languages is limited}& \\
265 \item \hypertarget{chap:DWATstmtlistlinenumberinformationforunit}{}
266 A \DWATstmtlistDEFN{}\addtoindexx{statement list attribute}
267 attribute whose value is a
268 \addtoindexx{section offset!in statement list attribute}
269 section offset to the line number information for this compilation
272 This information is placed in a separate object file
273 section from the debugging information entries themselves. The
274 value of the statement list attribute is the offset in the
275 \dotdebugline{} section of the first byte of the line number
276 information for this compilation unit
277 (see Section \refersec{chap:linenumberinformation}).
279 \item A \DWATmacrosDEFN{}\hypertarget{chap:DWATmacrosmacroinformation}{}
281 \addtoindexx{macro information attribute}
283 \addtoindexx{section offset!in macro information attribute}
284 section offset to the macro information for this compilation unit.
286 This information is placed in a separate object file section
287 from the debugging information entries themselves. The
288 value of the macro information attribute is the offset in
289 the \dotdebugmacro{} section of the first byte of the macro
290 information for this compilation unit
291 (see Section \refersec{chap:macroinformation}).
293 \textit{The \DWATmacrosNAME{} attribute is new in \DWARFVersionV,
295 \DWATmacroinfoDEFN{} attribute of earlier DWARF versions.
296 \livetarg{chap:DWATmacroinfomacroinformation}{}
297 While \DWATmacrosNAME{} and \DWATmacroinfoNAME{} attributes cannot both occur in the same
298 compilation unit, both may be found in the set of units that make up an executable
299 or shared object file. The two attributes have distinct encodings to facilitate such
303 \item \hypertarget{chap:DWATcompdircompilationdirectory}{}
304 A \DWATcompdirDEFN{} attribute\addtoindexx{compilation directory attribute}
306 null-terminated string containing the current working directory
307 of the compilation command that produced this compilation
308 unit in whatever form makes sense for the host system.
310 \item \hypertarget{chap:DWATproducercompileridentification}{}
311 A \DWATproducerDEFN{} attribute\addtoindexx{producer attribute}
312 whose value is a null-terminated string containing
313 information about the compiler that produced the compilation unit.
315 \textit{The actual contents of
316 the string will be specific to each producer, but should
317 begin with the name of the compiler vendor or some other
318 identifying character sequence that will avoid confusion
319 with other producer values.}
322 \item \hypertarget{chap:DWATidentifiercaseidentifiercaserule}{}
323 A \DWATidentifiercaseDEFN{} attribute
324 \addtoindexx{identifier case attribute} whose integer
325 constant value is a code describing the treatment
326 of identifiers within this compilation unit. The
327 set of identifier case codes is given in
328 Table \refersec{tab:identifiercasecodes}.
330 \begin{simplenametable}{Identifier case codes}{tab:identifiercasecodes}
331 \DWIDcasesensitive{} \\
334 \DWIDcaseinsensitive{} \\
335 \end{simplenametable}
337 \DWIDcasesensitiveTARG{} is the default for all compilation units
338 that do not have this attribute. It indicates that names given
339 as the values of \DWATname{} attributes
340 \addtoindexx{name attribute}
341 in debugging information
342 entries for the compilation unit reflect the names as they
343 appear in the source program.
345 \textit{A debugger should be sensitive
346 to the case of \addtoindex{identifier names} when doing identifier
350 \DWIDupcaseTARG{} means that the
351 producer of the debugging
352 information for this compilation unit converted all source
353 names to upper case. The values of the name attributes may not
354 reflect the names as they appear in the source program.
356 \textit{A debugger should convert all names to upper case
359 \DWIDdowncaseTARG{} means that the producer of the debugging
360 information for this compilation unit converted all source
361 names to lower case. The values of the name attributes may not
362 reflect the names as they appear in the source program.
364 \textit{A debugger should convert all names to lower case
368 \DWIDcaseinsensitiveTARG{} means that the values of the name
369 attributes reflect the names as they appear in the source
370 program but that case is not significant.
372 \textit{A debugger should ignore case when doing lookups.}
375 \item \hypertarget{chap:DWATbasetypesprimitivedatatypesofcompilationunit}{}
376 A \DWATbasetypesDEFN{} attribute\addtoindexx{base types attribute}
377 whose value is a \livelink{chap:classreference}{reference}.
378 This attribute points to a debugging information entry
379 representing another compilation unit. It may be used
380 to specify the compilation unit containing the base type
381 entries used by entries in the current compilation unit
382 (see Section \refersec{chap:basetypeentries}).
385 \textit{This attribute provides a consumer a way to find the definition
386 of base types for a compilation unit that does not itself
387 contain such definitions. This allows a consumer, for example,
388 to interpret a type conversion to a base type correctly.}
390 \item \hypertarget{chap:DWATuseUTF8compilationunitusesutf8strings}{}
391 A \DWATuseUTFeightDEFN{} attribute,
392 \addtoindexx{use UTF8 attribute}\addtoindexx{UTF-8}
393 which is a \livelink{chap:classflag}{flag} whose
394 presence indicates that all strings (such as the names of
395 declared entities in the source program, or filenames in the line number table)
396 are represented using the UTF-8 representation.
400 \hypertarget{chap:DWATmainsubprogramunitcontainingmainorstartingsubprogram}{}
401 A \DWATmainsubprogramDEFN{} attribute,\addtoindexx{main subprogram attribute}
402 which is a \livelink{chap:classflag}{flag},
403 whose presence indicates that the compilation unit contains a
404 subprogram that has been identified as the starting
405 subprogram of the program. If more than one compilation unit contains
406 this \nolink{flag}, any one of them may contain the starting
409 \textit{\addtoindex{Fortran} has a \addtoindex{PROGRAM statement}
411 to specify and provide a user-specified name for the main
412 subroutine of a program.
413 \addtoindex{C} uses the name \doublequote{main} to identify
414 the main subprogram of a program. Some other languages provide
415 similar or other means to identify the main subprogram of
416 a program. The \DWATmainsubprogram{} attribute may also be used to
417 identify such subprograms (see
418 Section \refersec{chap:generalsubroutineandentrypointinformation}).}
421 \hypertarget{chap:DWATentrypcofcompileunit}{}
422 \hypertarget{chap:DWATentrypcofpartialunit}{}
423 A \DWATentrypc{} attribute whose value is the address of the first
424 \addtoindexx{entry pc attribute}
425 executable instruction of the unit (see
426 Section \refersec{chap:entryaddress}).
429 \item \hypertarget{chap:DWATstroffsetbaseforindirectstringtable}{}
430 A \DWATstroffsetsbaseDEFN\addtoindexx{string offset base attribute}
431 attribute, whose value is of class \CLASSstroffsetsptr.
432 This attribute points to the first string
433 offset of the compilation unit's contribution to the
434 \dotdebugstroffsets{} (or \dotdebugstroffsetsdwo{}) section.
435 Indirect string references
436 (using \DWFORMstrx) within the compilation unit are
437 interpreted as indices relative to this base.
440 \item \hypertarget{chap:DWATaddrbaseforaddresstable}{}
441 A \DWATaddrbaseDEFN\addtoindexx{address table base attribute}
442 attribute, whose value is of class \CLASSaddrptr.
443 This attribute points to the beginning of the compilation
444 unit's contribution to the \dotdebugaddr{} section.
445 Indirect references (using \DWFORMaddrx, \DWOPaddrx,
448 \DWLLEbaseaddressx{}, \DWLLEstartxendx{}, \DWLLEstartxlength{},
449 \DWRLEbaseaddressx{}, \DWRLEstartxendx{} or \DWRLEstartxlength)
451 within the compilation unit are interpreted as indices
452 relative to this base.
455 \item \hypertarget{chap:DWATrnglistsbaseforrnglists}{}
456 A \DWATrnglistsbaseDEFN\addtoindexx{ranges table base attribute}
457 attribute, whose value is of class \CLASSrnglistsptr.
458 This attribute points to the
460 beginning of the offsets table (immediately following the header)
463 unit's contribution to the \dotdebugrnglists{} section.
464 References to range lists (using \DWFORMrnglistx)
465 within the compilation unit are
466 interpreted relative to this base.
468 \item \hypertarget{chap:DWATloclistsbaseinlocationlist}{}
469 A \DWATloclistsbaseDEFN{}\addtoindexx{location table base attribute}
470 attribute, whose value is of class \CLASSloclistsptr.
471 This attribute points to the
473 beginning of the offsets table (immediately following the header)
476 unit's contribution to the \dotdebugloclists{} section. References
477 to location lists (using \DWFORMloclistx) within the compilation
478 unit are interpreted relative to this base.
481 The base address of a compilation unit is defined as the
482 value of the \DWATlowpc{} attribute, if present; otherwise,
483 it is undefined. If the base address is undefined, then any
484 DWARF entry or structure defined in terms of the base address
485 of that compilation unit is not valid.
488 \subsection{Skeleton Compilation Unit Entries}
489 \label{chap:skeletoncompilationunitentries}
490 \addtoindexx{compilation unit!skeleton}
491 \addtoindexx{skeleton compilation unit}
492 When generating a \splitDWARFobjectfile{} (see
493 Section \refersec{datarep:splitdwarfobjectfiles}), the
494 compilation unit in the \dotdebuginfo{} section is a "skeleton"
495 compilation unit with the tag
496 \DWTAGskeletonunitTARG, which contains a
497 \DWATdwoname{} attribute as well as a subset of the
498 attributes of a full or partial compilation unit. In general,
499 it contains those attributes that are necessary for the consumer
500 to locate the object file where the split full compilation unit
501 can be found, and for the consumer to interpret references to
502 addresses in the program.
505 A skeleton compilation unit has no children.
507 A skeleton compilation unit has a \DWATdwoname{} attribute:
509 \begin{enumerate}[1. ]
511 \item \livetarg{chap:DWATdwonameforunit}{}
512 A \DWATdwonameDEFN{} attribute
513 \addtoindexx{split DWARF object file name attribute}
515 null-terminated string containing the full or relative
516 path name (relative to the value of the \DWATcompdir{} attribute,
517 see below) of the object file that contains the full
520 The value in the \HFNdwoid{} field of the unit header for
521 this unit is the same as the value in the \HFNdwoid{} field
522 of the unit header of the corresponding full compilation
523 unit (see Section \refersec{datarep:unitheaders}).
525 \textit{The means of determining a compilation unit ID does
526 not need to be similar or related to the means of
527 determining a \TUsignature. However, it should
528 be suitable for detecting file version skew or other
529 kinds of mismatched files and for looking up a full
530 split unit in a DWARF package file
531 (see Section \refersec{datarep:dwarfpackagefiles}).}
535 A skeleton compilation unit may have additional attributes,
536 which are the same as for conventional compilation unit entries
537 except as noted, from among the following:
538 \begin{enumerate}[1. ]
539 \addtocounter{enumi}{1}
540 \item Either a \DWATlowpc{} and \DWAThighpc{} pair of attributes
541 or a \DWATranges{} attribute.
542 \item A \DWATstmtlist{} attribute.
543 \item A \DWATcompdir{} attribute.
546 \item A \DWATuseUTFeight{} attribute.
548 \textit{This attribute applies to strings referred to by the skeleton
549 compilation unit entry itself, and strings in the associated line
551 The representation for strings in the object file referenced
552 by the \DWATdwoname{} attribute is determined by the presence
553 of a \DWATuseUTFeight{} attribute in the full compilation unit
554 (see Section \refersec{chap:splitfullcompilationunitentries}).}
556 \item A \DWATstroffsetsbase{} attribute, for indirect strings references
557 from the skeleton compilation unit.
558 \item A \DWATaddrbase{} attribute.
562 All other attributes of a compilation unit entry (described
563 in Section \refersec{chap:fullandpartialcompilationunitentries})
564 are placed in the split full compilation unit
565 (see \refersec{chap:splitfullcompilationunitentries}).
566 The attributes provided by the skeleton compilation
567 unit entry do not need to be repeated in the full compilation
570 \textit{The \DWATaddrbase{}
571 and \DWATstroffsetsbase{} attributes provide context that may be
572 necessary to interpret the contents
573 of the corresponding \splitDWARFobjectfile.}
575 \textit{The \DWATbasetypes{} attribute is not defined for a
576 skeleton compilation unit.}
579 \subsection{Split Full Compilation Unit Entries}
580 \label{chap:splitfullcompilationunitentries}
581 A \definition{split full compilation unit} is represented by a
582 debugging information entry with tag \DWTAGcompileunit.
583 It is very similar to a conventional full compilation unit but
584 is logically paired with a specific skeleton compilation unit while
585 being physically separate.
587 A split full compilation unit
588 may have the following attributes,
589 which are the same as for conventional compilation unit entries
591 \begin{enumerate}[1. ]
592 \item A \DWATname{} attribute.
593 \item A \DWATlanguage{} attribute.
594 \item A \DWATmacros{} attribute.
595 The value of this attribute is of class \CLASSmacptr{}, which is
596 an offset relative to the \dotdebugmacrodwo{} section.
598 \item A \DWATproducer{} attribute.
599 \item A \DWATidentifiercase{} attribute.
600 \item A \DWATmainsubprogram{} attribute.
601 \item A \DWATentrypc{} attribute.
602 \item A \DWATuseUTFeight{} attribute.
606 \textit{The following attributes are not part of a
607 split full compilation unit entry but instead are inherited
608 (if present) from the corresponding skeleton compilation unit:
609 \DWATlowpc, \DWAThighpc, \DWATranges, \DWATstmtlist, \DWATcompdir,
610 \DWATstroffsetsbase, \DWATaddrbase{} and
613 \textit{The \DWATbasetypes{} attribute is not defined for a
614 split full compilation unit.}
618 \subsection{Type Unit Entries}
619 \label{chap:typeunitentries}
620 \addtoindexx{type unit}
621 \addtoindexx{type unit|see{\textit{also} compilation unit}}
622 \addtoindexx{compilation unit!\textit{see also} type unit}
623 An object file may contain any number of separate type
624 unit entries, each representing a single complete type
626 Each \addtoindex{type unit} must be uniquely identified by
627 an 8-byte signature, stored as part of the type unit, which
628 can be used to reference the type definition from debugging
629 information entries in other compilation units and type units.
631 Conventional and split type units are identical except for
632 the sections in which they are represented
633 (see \refersec{datarep:splitdwarfobjectfiles} for details).
634 \addtoindexx{conventional type unit}
635 \addtoindexx{split type unit}
636 Moreover, the \DWATstroffsetsbase{} attribute (see below) is not
637 used in a split type unit.
639 A type unit is represented by a debugging information entry
640 with the tag \DWTAGtypeunitTARG.
641 A \addtoindex{type unit entry} owns debugging
642 information entries that represent the definition of a single
643 type, plus additional debugging information entries that may
644 be necessary to include as part of the definition of the type.
647 A type unit entry may have the following attributes:
648 \begin{enumerate}[1. ]
651 \DWATlanguage{} attribute,
653 \addtoindexx{language attribute}
654 constant value is an integer code indicating the source
655 language used to define the type. The set of language names
656 and their meanings are given in Table \refersec{tab:languagenames}.
659 \item A \DWATstmtlist{} attribute\addtoindexx{statement list attribute}
660 whose value of class \CLASSlineptr{} points to the line number
661 information for this type unit.
663 \textit{Because type units do not describe any code, they
664 do not actually need a line number table, but the line number
665 headers contain a list of directories and file names that
666 may be referenced by the \DWATdeclfile{} attribute of the
667 type or part of its description.}
669 \textit{In an object file with a conventional compilation
670 unit entry, the type unit entries may refer to (share) the
671 line number table used by the compilation unit. In a type
672 unit located in a split compilation unit, the
673 \DWATstmtlistNAME{} attribute refers to a \doublequote{specialized}
674 line number table in the \dotdebuglinedwo{} section, which
675 contains only the list of directories and file names.}
677 \textit{All type unit entries in a \splitDWARFobjectfile{} may
678 (but are not required to) refer to the same
679 \addtoindex{specialized line number table}.}
681 \item A \DWATuseUTFeight{} attribute, which is a flag
682 whose presence indicates that all strings referred to by this type
683 unit entry, its children, and its associated
684 \addtoindex{specialized line number table},
685 are represented using the UTF-8 representation.
688 \item A \DWATstroffsetsbase\addtoindexx{string offsets base attribute}
689 attribute, whose value is of class \CLASSstroffsetsptr.
690 This attribute points
691 to the first string offset of the type unit's contribution to
692 the \dotdebugstroffsets{} section. Indirect string references
693 (using \DWFORMstrx) within the type unit are interpreted
694 as indices relative to this base.
698 A \addtoindex{type unit} entry for a given type T owns a debugging
699 information entry that represents a defining declaration
700 of type T. If the type is nested within enclosing types or
701 namespaces, the debugging information entry for T is nested
702 within debugging information entries describing its containers;
703 otherwise, T is a direct child of the type unit entry.
705 A type unit entry may also own additional debugging information
706 entries that represent declarations of additional types that
707 are referenced by type T and have not themselves been placed in
708 separate type units. Like T, if an additional type U is nested
709 within enclosing types or namespaces, the debugging information
710 entry for U is nested within entries describing its containers;
711 otherwise, U is a direct child of the type unit entry.
713 The containing entries for types T and U are declarations,
714 and the outermost containing entry for any given type T or
715 U is a direct child of the type unit entry. The containing
716 entries may be shared among the additional types and between
717 T and the additional types.
719 \textit{Examples of these kinds of relationships are found in
720 Section \refersec{app:signaturecomputationexample} and
721 Section \refersec{app:declarationscompletingnondefiningdeclarations}.}
724 \textit{Types are not required to be placed in type units. In general,
725 only large types such as structure, class, enumeration, and
726 union types included from header files should be considered
727 for separate type units. Base types and other small types
728 are not usually worth the overhead of placement in separate
729 type units. Types that are unlikely to be replicated, such
730 as those defined in the main source file, are also better
731 left in the main compilation unit.}
733 \section{Module, Namespace and Importing Entries}
734 \textit{Modules and namespaces provide a means to collect related
735 entities into a single entity and to manage the names of
739 \subsection{Module Entries}
740 \label{chap:moduleentries}
741 \textit{Several languages have the concept of a \doublequote{module.}
742 \addtoindexx{Modula-2}
743 A Modula\dash 2 definition module
744 \addtoindexx{Modula-2!definition module}
745 may be represented by a module
747 \addtoindex{declaration attribute}
748 (\DWATdeclaration). A
749 \addtoindex{Fortran 90} module
750 \addtoindexx{Fortran!module (Fortran 90)}
751 may also be represented by a module entry
752 (but no declaration attribute is warranted because \addtoindex{Fortran}
753 has no concept of a corresponding module body).}
755 A module is represented by a debugging information entry
757 tag \DWTAGmoduleTARG.
758 Module entries may own other
759 debugging information entries describing program entities
760 whose declaration scopes end at the end of the module itself.
762 If the module has a name, the module entry has a
763 \DWATname{} attribute
764 \addtoindexx{name attribute}
765 whose value is a null\dash terminated string containing
768 The \addtoindex{module entry} may have either a
772 \addtoindexx{high PC attribute}
774 \addtoindexx{low PC attribute}
776 \DWATranges{} attribute
777 \addtoindexx{ranges attribute}
778 whose values encode the contiguous or non-contiguous address
779 ranges, respectively, of the machine instructions generated for
780 the module initialization
781 code\hypertarget{chap:DWATentrypcentryaddressofmoduleinitialization}{}
782 (see Section \refersec{chap:codeaddressesandranges}).
784 \addtoindexx{entry PC attribute!for module initialization}
785 \DWATentrypc{} attribute whose value is the address of
786 the first executable instruction of that initialization code
787 (see Section \refersec{chap:entryaddress}).
790 If\hypertarget{chap:DWATprioritymodulepriority}{}
791 the module has been assigned a priority, it may have a
792 \addtoindexx{priority attribute}
793 \DWATpriorityDEFN{} attribute.
794 The value of this attribute is a
795 reference to another debugging information entry describing
796 a variable with a constant value. The value of this variable
797 is the actual constant value of the module\textquoteright s priority,
798 represented as it would be on the target architecture.
800 \subsection{Namespace Entries}
801 \label{chap:namespaceentries}
802 \textit{\addtoindex{C++} has the notion of a namespace, which provides a way to
803 \addtoindexx{namespace (C++)}
804 implement name hiding, so that names of unrelated things
805 do not accidentally clash in the
806 \addtoindex{global namespace} when an
807 application is linked together.}
809 A namespace is represented by a debugging information entry
810 with the tag \DWTAGnamespaceTARG. A namespace extension
811 is\hypertarget{chap:DWATextensionpreviousnamespaceextensionororiginalnamespace}{}
812 represented by a \DWTAGnamespaceNAME{} entry with a
813 \DWATextensionDEFN{}\addtoindexx{extension attribute}
814 attribute referring to the previous extension, or if there
815 is no previous extension, to the original
816 \DWTAGnamespaceNAME{}
817 entry. A namespace extension entry does not need to duplicate
818 information in a previous extension entry of the namespace
819 nor need it duplicate information in the original namespace
820 entry. (Thus, for a namespace with a name,
821 a \DWATname{} attribute
822 \addtoindexx{name attribute}
823 need only be attached directly to the original
824 \DWTAGnamespaceNAME{} entry.)
827 Namespace and namespace extension entries may own
828 \addtoindexx{namespace extension entry}
830 \addtoindexx{namespace declaration entry}
831 debugging information entries describing program entities
832 whose declarations occur in the namespace.
834 A namespace may have a
835 \DWATexportsymbolsDEFN{}\livetarg{chap:DWATexportsymbolsofnamespace}{}
836 attribute\addtoindexx{export symbols attribute}
837 \addtoindexx{inline namespace|see{\textit{also} export symbols attribute}}
838 which is a \CLASSflag{} which
839 indicates that all member names defined within the
840 namespace may be referenced as if they were defined within
841 the containing namespace.
843 \textit{This may be used to describe an \addtoindex{inline namespace} in \addtoindex{C++}}.
845 If a type, variable, or function declared in a namespace is
846 defined outside of the body of the namespace declaration,
847 that type, variable, or function definition entry has a
848 \DWATspecification{} attribute
849 \addtoindexx{specification attribute}
850 whose value is a \livelink{chap:classreference}{reference} to the
851 debugging information entry representing the declaration of
852 the type, variable or function. Type, variable, or function
854 \DWATspecification{} attribute
855 \addtoindexx{specification attribute}
857 to duplicate information provided by the declaration entry
858 referenced by the specification attribute.
860 \textit{The \addtoindex{C++} \addtoindex{global namespace}
862 \addtoindexx{global namespace|see{namespace (C++), global}}
864 \addtoindexx{namespace (C++)!global}
866 \texttt{::f}, for example) is not explicitly represented in
867 DWARF with a namespace entry (thus mirroring the situation
868 in \addtoindex{C++} source).
869 Global items may be simply declared with no
870 reference to a namespace.}
872 \textit{The \addtoindex{C++}
873 compilation unit specific \doublequote{unnamed namespace} may
874 \addtoindexx{namespace (C++)!unnamed}
875 \addtoindexx{unnamed namespace|see {namespace (C++), unnamed}}
876 be represented by a namespace entry with no name attribute in
877 the original namespace declaration entry (and therefore no name
878 attribute in any namespace extension entry of this namespace).
879 C++ states that declarations in the unnamed namespace are
880 implicitly available in the containing scope; a producer
881 should make this effect explicit with the \DWATexportsymbols{}
882 attribute, or by using a \DWTAGimportedmodule{} that is a
883 sibling of the namespace entry and references it.}
885 \textit{A compiler emitting namespace information may choose to
886 explicitly represent namespace extensions, or to represent the
887 final namespace declaration of a compilation unit; this is a
888 quality-of-implementation issue and no specific requirements
889 are given here. If only the final namespace is represented,
890 \addtoindexx{namespace (C++)!using declaration}
891 it is impossible for a debugger to interpret using declaration
892 references in exactly the manner defined by the
893 \addtoindex{C++} language.}
895 \textit{For \addtoindex{C++} namespace examples,
896 see Appendix \refersec{app:namespaceexamples}.}
900 \subsection{Imported (or Renamed) Declaration Entries}
901 \label{chap:importedorrenameddeclarationentries}
903 \textit{Some languages support the concept of importing into or
904 making accessible in a given unit certain declarations that occur
905 in a different module or scope. An imported declaration may
906 sometimes be given another name.}
909 An imported declaration is represented by one or
910 \addtoindexx{imported declaration entry}
911 more debugging information entries with the
912 tag \DWTAGimporteddeclarationTARG.
913 When\hypertarget{chap:DWATimportimporteddeclaration}{}
914 an overloaded entity is imported, there is one imported
915 declaration entry for each overloading.
916 Each imported declaration entry has a
917 \DWATimportDEFN{} attribute,\addtoindexx{import attribute}
918 whose value is a \livelink{chap:classreference}{reference} to the
919 debugging information entry representing the declaration that
922 An imported declaration may also have a \DWATname{}
923 attribute\addtoindexx{name attribute}
924 whose value is a null-terminated string containing the
926 imported entity is to be known in the context of the imported
927 declaration entry (which may be different than the name of
928 the entity being imported). If no name is present, then the
929 name by which the entity is to be known is the same as the
930 name of the entity being imported.
932 An imported declaration entry with a name attribute may be
933 used as a general means to rename or provide an alias for
934 \addtoindexx{alias declaration|see{imported declaration entry}}
935 an entity, regardless of the context in which the importing
936 declaration or the imported entity occurs.
938 \textit{A \addtoindex{C++}
939 namespace alias\hypertarget{chap:DWATimportnamespacealias}{}
940 may be represented by an imported declaration entry
941 \addtoindexx{namespace (C++)!alias}
942 with a name attribute whose value is
943 a null-terminated string containing the alias name
944 and a \DWATimportDEFN{} attribute
945 whose value is a \livelink{chap:classreference}{reference} to the
946 applicable original namespace or namespace extension entry.}
948 \textit{A \addtoindex{C++} using declaration may be represented
950 imported\hypertarget{chap:DWATimportnamespaceusingdeclaration}{}
951 \addtoindexx{namespace (C++)!using declaration}
952 declaration entries. When the using declaration
953 refers to an overloaded function, there is one imported
954 declaration entry corresponding to each overloading. Each
955 imported declaration entry has no name attribute but it does
956 have a \DWATimportDEFN{} attribute that refers to the entry for the
957 entity being imported. (\addtoindex{C++}
958 provides no means to \doublequote{rename}
959 an imported entity, other than a namespace).}
962 \textit{A \addtoindex{Fortran} use statement
963 \addtoindexx{Fortran!use statement}
964 \addtoindexx{use statement|see {Fortran, use statement}}
965 with an \doublequote{only list} may be
966 represented by a series of imported declaration entries,
967 one (or more) for each entity that is imported. An entity
968 \addtoindexx{renamed declaration|see{imported declaration entry}}
969 that is renamed in the importing context may be represented
970 by an imported declaration entry with a name attribute that
971 specifies the new local name.
974 \subsection{Imported Module Entries}
975 \label{chap:importedmoduleentries}
977 \textit{Some languages support the concept of importing into or making
978 accessible in a given unit all of the declarations contained
979 within a separate module or namespace.
982 An imported module declaration is represented by a debugging
983 information entry with
984 \addtoindexx{imported module attribute}
986 \addtoindexx{imported module entry}
987 tag \DWTAGimportedmoduleTARG.
989 imported module entry contains a
990 \DWATimport{} attribute
991 \addtoindexx{import attribute}
992 whose value is a \livelink{chap:classreference}{reference}
993 to the module or namespace entry
994 containing the definition and/or declaration entries for
995 the entities that are to be imported into the context of the
996 imported module entry.
998 An imported module declaration may own a set of imported
999 declaration entries, each of which refers to an entry in the
1000 module whose corresponding entity is to be known in the context
1001 of the imported module declaration by a name other than its
1002 name in that module. Any entity in the module that is not
1003 renamed in this way is known in the context of the imported
1004 module entry by the same name as it is declared in the module.
1006 \textit{A \addtoindex{C++} using directive
1007 \addtoindexx{namespace (C++)!using directive}
1008 \addtoindexx{using directive|see {namespace (C++), using directive}}
1009 may be represented by an imported
1010 module\hypertarget{chap:DWATimportnamespaceusingdirective}{}
1011 entry, with a \DWATimportDEFN{} attribute referring to the namespace
1012 entry of the appropriate extension of the namespace (which
1013 might be the original namespace entry) and no owned entries.
1016 \textit{A \addtoindex{Fortran} use statement
1017 \addtoindexx{Fortran!use statement}
1018 with a \doublequote{rename list} may be
1019 represented by an imported module entry with an import
1020 attribute referring to the module and owned entries
1021 corresponding to those entities that are renamed as part of
1025 \textit{A \addtoindex{Fortran} use statement
1026 \addtoindexx{Fortran!use statement}
1027 with neither a \doublequote{rename list} nor
1028 an \doublequote{only list} may be represented by an imported module
1029 entry with an import attribute referring to the module and
1030 no owned child entries.
1033 \textit{A use statement with an \doublequote{only list} is represented by a
1034 series of individual imported declaration entries as described
1035 in Section \refersec{chap:importedorrenameddeclarationentries}.
1039 \textit{A \addtoindex{Fortran} use statement for an entity in a module that is
1040 \addtoindexx{Fortran!use statement}
1041 itself imported by a use statement without an explicit mention
1042 may be represented by an imported declaration entry that refers
1043 to the original debugging information entry. For example, given}
1044 \par % Needed to end paragraph before listing so that it gets a line number
1060 \textit{the imported declaration entry for Q within module C refers
1061 directly to the variable declaration entry for X in module A
1062 because there is no explicit representation for X in module B.
1065 \textit{A similar situation arises for a \addtoindex{C++} using declaration
1066 \addtoindexx{namespace (C++)!using declaration}
1067 \addtoindexx{using declaration|see {namespace (C++), using declaration}}
1068 that imports an entity in terms of a namespace alias. See
1069 Appendix \refersec{app:namespaceexamples}
1073 \subsection{Imported Unit Entries}
1074 \label{chap:importedunitentries}
1075 \hypertarget{chap:DWATimportimportedunit}{}
1076 The place where a normal or partial compilation unit is imported is
1077 represented by a debugging information entry with the
1078 \addtoindexx{imported unit entry}
1079 tag \DWTAGimportedunitTARG.
1080 An imported unit entry contains a
1081 \DWATimportDEFN{} attribute\addtoindexx{import attribute}
1082 whose value is a \livelink{chap:classreference}{reference} to the
1083 normal or partial compilation unit whose declarations logically
1084 belong at the place of the imported unit entry.
1086 \textit{An imported unit entry does not necessarily correspond to
1087 any entity or construct in the source program. It is merely
1088 \doublequote{glue} used to relate a partial unit, or a compilation
1089 unit used as a partial unit, to a place in some other
1092 \section{Subroutine and Entry Point Entries}
1093 \label{chap:subroutineandentrypointentries}
1095 The following tags exist to describe
1096 debugging information entries
1097 \addtoindexx{function entry|see{subroutine entry}}
1099 \addtoindexx{subroutine entry}
1101 \addtoindexx{subprogram entry}
1103 % FIXME: is entry point entry the right index 'entry'?
1104 \addtoindexx{entry point entry}
1108 \begin{tabular}{lp{9.0cm}}
1109 \DWTAGsubprogramTARG{} & A subroutine or function \\
1110 \DWTAGinlinedsubroutine{} & A particular inlined
1111 \addtoindexx{inlined subprogram entry}
1112 instance of a subroutine or function \\
1113 \DWTAGentrypointTARG{} & An alternate entry point \\
1115 \par\condlinenumbers
1118 \subsection{General Subroutine and Entry Point Information}
1119 \label{chap:generalsubroutineandentrypointinformation}
1120 The subroutine or entry point entry has a \DWATname{}
1121 attribute whose value is a null-terminated string containing the
1122 subroutine or entry point name.
1123 It may also have a \DWATlinkagename{} attribute as
1124 described in Section \refersec{chap:linkagenames}.
1126 If the name of the subroutine described by an entry with the
1127 \addtoindexx{subprogram entry}
1128 tag \DWTAGsubprogram{}\hypertarget{chap:DWATexternalexternalsubroutine}{}
1129 is visible outside of its containing
1130 compilation unit, that entry has a
1131 \DWATexternalDEFN{} attribute,\addtoindexx{external attribute}
1132 which is a \livelink{chap:classflag}{flag}.
1134 \textit{Additional attributes for functions that are members of a
1135 class or structure are described in
1136 Section \refersec{chap:memberfunctionentries}.
1139 A\hypertarget{chap:DWATmainsubprogrammainorstartingsubprogram}{}
1140 subroutine entry may contain a
1141 \DWATmainsubprogramDEFN{} attribute
1142 \addtoindexx{main subprogram attribute}
1144 a \CLASSflag{} whose presence indicates that the
1145 subroutine has been identified as the starting function of
1146 the program. If more than one subprogram contains this
1148 any one of them may be the starting subroutine of the program.
1150 \textit{See also Section \refersec{chap:unitentries}) regarding the
1151 related use of this attribute to indicate that a compilation
1152 unit contains the main subroutine of a program.}
1154 \subsubsection{Calling Convention Information}
1155 \hypertarget{chap:DWATcallingconventionforsubprograms}{}
1156 A subroutine entry may contain a
1157 \DWATcallingconventionDEFN{}
1158 \addtoindexx{calling convention attribute!for subprogram}
1159 attribute, whose value is an
1160 \livelink{chap:classconstant}{integer constant}. The set of
1161 \addtoindexi{calling convention codes for subroutines}{calling convention codes!for subroutines}
1162 is given in Table \refersec{tab:callingconventioncodesforsubroutines}.
1164 \begin{simplenametable}[1.4in]{Calling convention codes for subroutines}{tab:callingconventioncodesforsubroutines}
1168 \end{simplenametable}
1170 If this attribute is not present, or its value is the constant
1171 \DWCCnormalTARG, then the subroutine may be safely called by
1172 obeying the \doublequote{standard} calling conventions of the target
1173 architecture. If the value of the calling convention attribute
1174 is the constant \DWCCnocallTARG, the subroutine does not obey
1175 standard calling conventions, and it may not be safe for the
1176 debugger to call this subroutine.
1178 \textit{Note that \DWCCnormal{} is also used as a calling convention
1179 code for certain types
1180 (see Table \refersec{tab:callingconventioncodesfortypes}).}
1182 If the semantics of the language of the compilation unit
1183 containing the subroutine entry distinguishes between ordinary
1184 subroutines and subroutines that can serve as the \doublequote{main
1185 program,} that is, subroutines that cannot be called
1186 directly according to the ordinary calling conventions,
1187 then the debugging information entry for such a subroutine
1188 may have a calling convention attribute whose value is the
1189 constant \DWCCprogramTARG.
1191 \textit{A common debugger feature is to allow the debugger user to call
1192 a subroutine within the subject program. In certain cases,
1193 however, the generated code for a subroutine will not obey
1194 the standard calling conventions for the target architecture
1195 and will therefore not be safe to call from within a debugger.}
1197 \textit{The \DWCCprogram{}
1198 value is intended to support \addtoindex{Fortran} main
1199 \addtoindexx{Fortran!main program}
1200 programs which in some implementations may not be callable
1201 or which must be invoked in a special way. It is not intended
1202 as a way of finding the entry address for the program.}
1205 \subsubsection{Miscellaneous Subprogram Properties}
1206 \textit{In \addtoindex{C}
1207 there is a difference between the types of functions
1208 declared using function prototype style declarations and
1209 those declared using non-prototype declarations.}
1211 A subroutine entry declared with a function prototype style
1212 declaration may have a
1213 \addtoindexx{prototyped attribute}
1214 \DWATprototypedDEFN{} attribute, which is
1216 The attribute indicates whether a subroutine entry point corresponds
1217 to a function declaration that includes parameter prototype information.
1219 A subprogram entry may have
1220 a\hypertarget{chap:DWATelementalelementalpropertyofasubroutine}{}
1221 \DWATelementalDEFN{} attribute,\addtoindexx{elemental attribute}
1222 which is a \livelink{chap:classflag}{flag}.
1223 The attribute indicates whether the subroutine
1224 or entry point was declared with the \doublequote{elemental} keyword
1227 A\hypertarget{chap:DWATpurepurepropertyofasubroutine}{}
1228 subprogram entry may have a
1229 \addtoindexx{pure attribute}
1230 \DWATpureDEFN{} attribute, which is
1231 a \livelink{chap:classflag}{flag}.
1232 The attribute indicates whether the subroutine was
1233 declared with the \doublequote{pure} keyword or property.
1235 A\hypertarget{chap:DWATrecursiverecursivepropertyofasubroutine}{}
1236 subprogram entry may have a
1237 \addtoindexx{recursive attribute}
1238 \DWATrecursiveDEFN{} attribute, which
1239 is a \livelink{chap:classflag}{flag}.
1240 The attribute indicates whether the subroutine
1241 or entry point was declared with the \doublequote{recursive} keyword
1244 A subprogram entry may have a
1246 \livetargi{chap:DWATnoreturnofsubprogram}{attribute}{noreturn attribute},
1247 which is a \CLASSflag. The attribute
1248 indicates whether the subprogram was declared with the \doublequote{noreturn} keyword or property
1249 indicating that the subprogram can be called, but will never return to its caller.
1252 \textit{The \addtoindex{Fortran}
1253 language allows the keywords \texttt{elemental}, \texttt{pure}
1254 and \texttt{recursive} to be included as part of the declaration of
1255 a subroutine; these attributes reflect that usage. These
1256 attributes are not relevant for languages that do not support
1257 similar keywords or syntax. In particular, the \DWATrecursiveNAME{}
1258 attribute is neither needed nor appropriate in languages such
1259 as \addtoindex{C} where functions support recursion by default.}
1262 \subsubsection{Call Site-Related Attributes}
1263 \textit{While subprogram attributes in the previous section provide
1264 information about the subprogram and its entry point(s) as a whole,
1265 the following attributes provide summary information about the calls
1266 that occur within a subprogram.}
1268 A subroutine entry may have \DWATcallalltailcalls,
1269 \DWATcallallcalls{} and/or \DWATcallallsourcecalls{}
1270 attributes, each of which is a \CLASSflag.
1271 \addtoindexx{call site summary information}
1272 \addtoindexx{subroutine call site summary attributes}
1273 These flags indicate the completeness of the call site
1274 information provided by call site entries (see
1275 Section \refersec{chap:callsiteentries}) within the subprogram.
1277 The \DWATcallalltailcallsDEFN{}
1278 \livetargi{chap:DWATcallalltailcallsofasubprogram}{attribute}{all tail calls summary attribute}
1279 indicates that every tail call
1280 that occurs in the code for the subprogram is described by a
1281 \DWTAGcallsite{} entry.
1282 (There may or may not be other non-tail calls to some of the same
1283 target subprograms.)
1285 The \DWATcallallcallsDEFN{}
1286 \livetargi{chap:DWATcallallcallsofasubprogram}{attribute}{all calls summary attribute}
1287 indicates that every non-inlined call
1288 (either a tail call or a normal call) that occurs in the code for the subprogram
1289 is described by a \DWTAGcallsite{} entry.
1291 The \DWATcallallsourcecallsDEFN{}
1292 \livetargi{chap:DWATcallallsourcecallsofasubprogram}{attribute}{all source calls summary attribute}
1293 indicates that every call that occurs in the
1294 code for the subprogram, including every call inlined into it, is described by either a
1295 \DWTAGcallsite{} entry or a \DWTAGinlinedsubroutine{} entry; further, any call
1296 that is optimized out is nonetheless also described using a \DWTAGcallsite{} entry
1297 that has neither a \DWATcallpc{} nor \DWATcallreturnpc{} attribute.
1299 \textit{The \DWATcallallsourcecallsNAME{} attribute is intended for debugging
1300 information format consumers that analyze call graphs.}
1302 If the the \DWATcallallsourcecalls{} attribute is present then the
1303 \DWATcallallcalls{} and \DWATcallalltailcalls{} attributes are
1304 also implicitly present. Similarly, if the
1305 \DWATcallallcalls{} attribute is present then the \DWATcallalltailcalls{}
1306 attribute is implicitly present.
1309 \subsection{Subroutine and Entry Point Return Types}
1310 \label{chap:subroutineandentrypointreturntypes}
1312 If\hypertarget{chap:DWATtypetypeofsubroutinereturn}{}
1313 the subroutine or entry point
1314 \addtoindexx{return type of subroutine}
1315 is a function that returns a
1316 value, then its debugging information entry has
1317 \addtoindexx{type attribute}
1318 a \DWATtypeDEFN{} attribute
1319 to denote the type returned by that function.
1321 \textit{Debugging information entries for
1322 \addtoindex{C} void functions should
1323 not have an attribute for the return type. }
1325 \textit{Debugging information entries for declarations of \addtoindex{C++}
1326 member functions with an
1327 \autoreturntype{} specifier should use an unspecified type entry (see
1328 Section \refersec{chap:unspecifiedtypeentries}).
1329 The debugging information entry for the corresponding definition
1330 should provide the deduced return type. This practice causes the description of
1331 the containing class to be consistent across compilation units, allowing the class
1332 declaration to be placed into a separate type unit if desired.}
1335 \subsection{Subroutine and Entry Point Locations}
1336 \label{chap:subroutineandentrypointlocations}
1338 A subroutine entry may have either a \DWATlowpc{} and
1339 \DWAThighpc{} pair of attributes or a \DWATranges{} attribute
1340 \addtoindexx{ranges attribute}
1342 \addtoindexx{high PC attribute}
1344 \addtoindexx{low PC attribute}
1345 encode the contiguous or non-contiguous address
1346 ranges, respectively, of the machine instructions generated
1347 for the subroutine (see
1348 Section \refersec{chap:codeaddressesandranges}).
1350 A\hypertarget{chap:DWATentrypcentryaddressofsubprogram}{}
1351 subroutine entry may also have a
1352 \addtoindexx{entry PC attribute!for subroutine}
1353 \DWATentrypc{} attribute
1354 whose value is the address of the first executable instruction
1355 of the subroutine (see
1356 Section \refersec{chap:entryaddress}).
1358 An entry point has a \DWATlowpc{} attribute whose value is the
1359 relocated address of the first machine instruction generated
1360 for the entry point.
1363 %\textit{While the \DWATentrypc{} attribute
1364 %\addtoindexx{entry pc attribute!for subroutine}
1365 %might also seem appropriate for this purpose, historically the
1366 %\DWATlowpc{} attribute was used before the
1367 %\DWATentrypc{} was introduced (in
1368 %\addtoindex{DWARF Version 3}).
1369 %There is insufficient reason to change this.}
1371 Subroutines and entry points may also have
1372 \DWATsegment{}\hypertarget{chap:DWATaddressclasssubroutineorsubroutinetype}{}
1373 \addtoindexx{segment attribute} and
1374 \DWATaddressclassDEFN{}\addtoindexx{address class attribute}
1375 attributes, as appropriate, to specify
1376 which segments the code for the subroutine resides in and
1377 the addressing mode to be used in calling that subroutine.
1379 A subroutine entry representing a subroutine declaration
1380 that is not also a definition does not have code address or
1384 \subsection{Declarations Owned by Subroutines and Entry Points}
1385 \label{chap:declarationsownedbysubroutinesandentrypoints}
1386 \addtoindexx{subroutine formal parameters}
1387 The declarations enclosed by a subroutine or entry point are
1388 represented by debugging information entries that are owned
1389 by the subroutine or entry point entry. Entries representing
1390 \addtoindexx{formal parameter}
1391 the formal parameters of the subroutine or entry point appear
1392 in the same order as the corresponding declarations in the
1396 \textit{There is no ordering requirement for entries for declarations
1397 other than formal parameters. The formal parameter
1398 entries may be interspersed with other entries used by formal
1399 parameter entries, such as type entries.}
1401 The unspecified (sometimes called \doublequote{varying})
1402 parameters of a subroutine parameter list are
1403 represented by a debugging information
1404 entry\addtoindexx{unspecified parameters entry}
1405 with the tag \DWTAGunspecifiedparametersTARG.
1408 The entry for a subroutine that includes a
1409 \addtoindex{Fortran}
1410 \addtoindexx{Fortran!common block}
1411 \livelink{chap:fortrancommonblock}{common}
1412 \livelink{chap:commonblockentry}{block}
1413 \addtoindexx{common block|see{Fortran common block}}
1414 has a child entry with the
1415 tag \DWTAGcommoninclusionTARG.
1416 The\hypertarget{chap:commonreferencecommonblockusage}{}
1417 common inclusion entry has a
1418 \DWATcommonreferenceDEFN{} attribute
1419 \addtoindexx{common block reference attribute}
1420 whose value is a \livelink{chap:classreference}{reference}
1421 to the debugging information entry
1422 for the common \nolink{block} being included
1423 (see Section \refersec{chap:commonblockentries}).
1425 \subsection{Low-Level Information}
1426 \label{chap:lowlevelinformation}
1428 A\hypertarget{chap:DWATreturnaddrsubroutinereturnaddresssavelocation}{}
1429 subroutine or entry point entry may have a
1430 \addtoindexx{return address attribute}
1431 \DWATreturnaddrDEFN{}
1432 attribute, whose value is a location description. The location
1433 specified is the place where the return address for the
1434 subroutine or entry point is stored.
1436 A\hypertarget{chap:DWATframebasesubroutineframebaseaddress}{}
1437 subroutine or entry point entry may also have a
1438 \addtoindexx{frame base attribute}
1439 \DWATframebaseDEFN{} attribute, whose value is a location
1440 description that describes the \doublequote{frame base} for the
1441 subroutine or entry point. If the location description is
1442 a simple register location description, the given register
1443 contains the frame base address. If the location description is
1444 a DWARF expression, the result of evaluating that expression
1445 is the frame base address. Finally, for a
1446 \addtoindex{location list},
1447 this interpretation applies to each location description
1448 contained in the list of \addtoindex{location list} entries.
1450 \textit{The use of one of the \DWOPregn{}
1451 operations in this context is equivalent to using
1452 \DWOPbregn(0) but more
1453 compact. However, these are not equivalent in general.}
1456 \textit{The frame base for a subprogram is typically an address
1457 relative to the first unit of storage allocated for the
1458 subprogram\textquoteright s stack frame. The \DWATframebase{} attribute
1459 can be used in several ways:}
1460 \begin{enumerate}[1. ]
1461 \item \textit{In subprograms that need
1462 \addtoindexx{location list}
1463 location lists to locate local
1464 variables, the \DWATframebase{} can hold the needed location
1465 list, while all variables\textquoteright\ location descriptions can be
1466 simpler ones involving the frame base.}
1468 \item \textit{It can be used in resolving \doublequote{up\dash level} addressing
1469 within nested routines.
1470 (See also \DWATstaticlink, below)}
1474 \textit{Some languages support nested subroutines. In such languages,
1475 it is possible to reference the local variables of an
1476 outer subroutine from within an inner subroutine. The
1477 \DWATstaticlink{} and \DWATframebase{} attributes allow
1478 debuggers to support this same kind of referencing.}
1480 If\hypertarget{chap:DWATstaticlinklocationofuplevelframe}{}
1481 a subroutine or entry point is nested, it may have a
1482 \addtoindexx{address!uplevel|see {static link attribute}}
1483 \addtoindexx{uplevel address|see {static link attribute}}
1484 \DWATstaticlinkDEFN{} attribute, whose value is a location
1485 description that computes the frame base of the relevant
1486 instance of the subroutine that immediately encloses the
1487 subroutine or entry point.
1489 In the context of supporting nested subroutines, the
1490 \DWATframebase{} attribute value obeys the following constraints:
1492 \begin{enumerate}[1. ]
1494 It computes a value that does not change during the
1495 life of the subprogram, and
1497 \item The computed value is unique among instances of
1498 the same subroutine.
1500 \textit{For typical \DWATframebase{} use, this
1501 means that a recursive subroutine\textquoteright s stack frame must have
1506 \textit{If a debugger is attempting to resolve an up\dash level reference
1507 to a variable, it uses the nesting structure of DWARF to
1508 determine which subroutine is the lexical parent and the
1509 \DWATstaticlink{} value to identify the appropriate active
1510 frame of the parent. It can then attempt to find the reference
1511 within the context of the parent.}
1515 \subsection{Types Thrown by Exceptions}
1516 \label{chap:typesthrownbyexceptions}
1518 \textit{In \addtoindex{C++} a subroutine may declare a set of types which
1519 it may validly throw.}
1521 If a subroutine explicitly declares that it may throw
1522 \addtoindexx{exception thrown|see{thrown type entry}}
1524 \addtoindexx{thrown exception|see{thrown type entry}}
1525 exception of one or more types, each such type is
1526 represented by a debugging information entry with
1527 \addtoindexx{thrown type entry}
1529 \DWTAGthrowntypeTARG.
1530 Each such entry is a child of the entry
1531 representing the subroutine that may throw this type. Each
1532 thrown type entry contains
1533 \addtoindexx{type attribute}
1534 a \DWATtype{} attribute, whose
1535 value is a \livelink{chap:classreference}{reference}
1536 to an entry describing the type of the
1537 exception that may be thrown.
1539 \subsection{Function Template Instantiations}
1540 \label{chap:functiontemplateinstantiations}
1542 \textit{In \addtoindex{C++}, a function template is a generic definition of
1543 a function that is instantiated differently for calls with
1544 values of different types. DWARF does not represent the generic
1545 template definition, but does represent each instantiation.}
1548 A \addtoindex{function template instantiation}\addtoindexx{template instantiation!function}
1549 is represented by a debugging information entry with the
1550 \addtoindexx{subprogram entry!use for template instantiation}
1551 tag \DWTAGsubprogram.
1553 exceptions, such an entry will contain the same attributes and
1554 will have the same types of child entries as would an entry
1555 for a subroutine defined explicitly using the instantiation
1556 types and values. The exceptions are:
1558 \begin{enumerate}[1. ]
1559 \item Template parameters are described and referenced as specified in
1560 Section \refersec{chap:templateparameters}.
1563 \item If the compiler has generated a separate compilation unit
1564 to hold the template instantiation and that compilation unit
1565 has a different name from the compilation unit containing
1566 the template definition, the name attribute for the debugging
1567 information entry representing that compilation unit is empty
1570 \item If the subprogram entry representing the template
1571 instantiation or any of its child entries contain declaration
1572 coordinate attributes, those attributes refer to the source
1573 for the template definition, not to any source generated
1574 artificially by the compiler for this instantiation.
1579 \subsection{Inlinable and Inlined Subroutines}
1580 \label{chap:inlinedsubroutines}
1581 A declaration or a definition of an inlinable subroutine
1582 is represented by a debugging information entry with the
1583 tag \DWTAGsubprogram.
1584 The entry for a subroutine
1585 \addtoindexx{subprogram entry!use in inlined subprogram}
1586 that is\hypertarget{chap:DWATinlineinlinedsubroutine}{}
1587 explicitly declared to be available for inline expansion or
1588 that was expanded inline implicitly by the compiler has a
1589 \addtoindexx{inline attribute}
1590 \DWATinlineDEFN{} attribute whose value is an
1591 \livelink{chap:classconstant}{integer constant}. The
1592 set of values for the \DWATinline{} attribute is given in
1593 Table \refersec{tab:inlinecodes}.
1597 \caption{Inline codes}
1598 \label{tab:inlinecodes}
1599 \begin{tabular}{l|P{8cm}}
1601 Name&Meaning\\ \hline
1602 \DWINLnotinlinedTARG{} & Not declared inline nor inlined by the
1603 \mbox{compiler} (equivalent to the absence of the
1604 containing \DWATinline{} attribute) \\
1605 \DWINLinlinedTARG{} & Not declared inline but inlined by the \mbox{compiler} \\
1606 \DWINLdeclarednotinlinedTARG{} & Declared inline but
1607 not inlined by the \mbox{compiler} \\
1608 \DWINLdeclaredinlinedTARG{} & Declared inline and inlined by the
1614 \textit{In \addtoindex{C++}, a function or a constructor declared with
1615 \addttindex{constexpr} is implicitly declared inline. The abstract
1616 instance (see Section \refersec{chap:abstractinstances})
1617 is represented by a debugging information
1618 entry with the tag \DWTAGsubprogram. Such an entry has a
1619 \DWATinline{} attribute whose value is \DWINLinlined.}
1622 \subsubsection{Abstract Instances}
1623 \label{chap:abstractinstances}
1624 Any subroutine entry that contains a
1625 \DWATinlineDEFN{} attribute\addtoindexx{inline attribute}
1626 whose value is other than
1628 is known as an \definition{abstract instance root}.
1629 \addtoindexx{abstract instance!root}
1630 \hypertarget{chap:DWATinlineabstracttinstance}{}
1631 Any debugging information entry that is owned (either
1632 directly or indirectly) by an abstract instance root
1634 \definition{abstract instance entry.}\addtoindexx{abstract instance!entry}
1635 Any set of abstract instance entries that are all
1636 children (either directly or indirectly) of some abstract
1637 instance root, together with the root itself, is known as an
1638 \definition{abstract instance tree.}\addtoindexx{abstract instance!tree}
1639 However, in the case where an abstract instance tree is
1640 nested within another abstract instance tree, the entries in the
1641 \addtoindex{nested abstract instance}
1642 tree are not considered to be entries in the outer abstract
1646 Each abstract instance root is either part of a larger
1647 \addtoindexx{abstract instance!root}
1648 tree (which gives a context for the root) or
1649 \addtoindexx{specification attribute}
1651 \DWATspecification{}
1652 to refer to the declaration in context.
1654 \textit{For example, in \addtoindex{C++} the context might be a namespace
1655 declaration or a class declaration.}
1657 \textit{Abstract instance trees are defined so that no entry is part
1658 of more than one abstract instance tree.}
1660 Attributes and children in an abstract instance are shared
1661 by all concrete instances (see Section \refersec{chap:concreteinstances}).
1663 A debugging information entry that is a member of an abstract
1664 instance tree may not contain any attributes which describe
1665 aspects of the subroutine which vary between distinct inlined
1666 expansions or distinct out-of-line expansions.
1668 \textit{For example,
1669 \addtoindexx{entry pc attribute!and abstract instance}
1670 the \DWATlowpc,\addtoindexx{low PC attribute!and abstract instance}
1671 \DWAThighpc,\addtoindexx{high PC attribute!and abstract instance}
1672 \DWATranges,\addtoindexx{ranges attribute!and abstract instance}
1673 \DWATentrypc,\addtoindexx{entry PC attribute!and abstract instance}
1674 \DWATlocation,\addtoindexx{location attribute!and abstract instance}
1675 \DWATreturnaddr,\addtoindexx{return address attribute!and abstract instance}
1676 \DWATstartscope,\addtoindexx{start scope attribute!and abstract instance}
1678 \DWATsegment{}\addtoindexx{segment attribute!and abstract instance}
1679 attributes typically should be omitted; however, this list is not
1683 \textit{It would not make sense normally to put these attributes into
1684 abstract instance entries since such entries do not represent
1685 actual (concrete) instances and thus do not actually exist at
1686 run\dash time. However,
1687 see Appendix \refersec{app:inlineouteronenormalinner}
1688 for a contrary example.}
1690 The rules for the relative location of entries belonging to
1691 abstract instance trees are exactly the same as for other
1692 similar types of entries that are not abstract. Specifically,
1693 the rule that requires that an entry representing a declaration
1694 be a direct child of the entry representing the scope of the
1695 declaration applies equally to both abstract and non-abstract
1696 entries. Also, the ordering rules for formal parameter entries,
1697 member entries, and so on, all apply regardless of whether
1698 or not a given entry is abstract.
1701 \subsubsection{Concrete Instances}
1702 \label{chap:concreteinstances}
1704 Each inline expansion of a subroutine is represented
1705 by a debugging information entry with the
1706 tag \DWTAGinlinedsubroutineTARG. Each such entry is a direct
1707 child of the entry that represents the scope within which
1708 the inlining occurs.
1711 Each inlined subroutine entry may have either a
1713 and \DWAThighpc{} pair of attributes
1714 \addtoindexx{high PC attribute}
1715 \addtoindexx{low PC attribute}
1716 or a \DWATranges{}\addtoindexx{ranges attribute}
1717 attribute whose values encode the contiguous or non-contiguous
1718 address ranges, respectively, of the machine instructions
1719 generated for the inlined subroutine (see
1720 Section \referfol{chap:codeaddressesandranges}).
1721 An\hypertarget{chap:DWATentrypcentryaddressofinlinedsubprogram}{}
1722 inlined subroutine entry may
1723 \addtoindexx{inlined subprogram entry!in concrete instance}
1725 \addtoindexx{inlined subprogram entry}
1727 \addtoindexx{entry PC attribute!for inlined subprogram}
1730 attribute, representing the first executable instruction of
1731 the inline expansion (see
1732 Section \refersec{chap:entryaddress}).
1734 % Positions of the 3 targets here is a bit arbitrary.
1735 An inlined\hypertarget{chap:DWATcalllinelinenumberofinlinedsubroutinecall}{}
1736 subroutine\hypertarget{chap:DWATcallcolumncolumnpositionofinlinedsubroutinecall}{}
1737 entry\hypertarget{chap:DWATcallfilefilecontaininginlinedsubroutinecall}{}
1738 may also have \DWATcallfileDEFN,
1739 \DWATcalllineDEFN{} and \DWATcallcolumnDEFN{} attributes,
1740 \addtoindexx{inlined call location attributes}
1742 value is an \livelink{chap:classconstant}{integer constant}.
1743 These attributes represent the
1744 source file, source line number, and source column number,
1745 respectively, of the first character of the statement or
1746 expression that caused the inline expansion. The call file,
1747 call line, and call column attributes are interpreted in
1748 the same way as the declaration file, declaration line, and
1749 declaration column attributes, respectively (see
1750 Section \refersec{chap:declarationcoordinates}).
1752 \textit{The call file, call line and call column coordinates do not
1753 describe the coordinates of the subroutine declaration that
1754 was inlined, rather they describe the coordinates of the call.
1757 An inlined subroutine entry may have
1758 a\hypertarget{chap:DWATconstexprcompiletimeconstantfunction}{}
1759 \DWATconstexprDEFN{} attribute,\addtoindexx{constant expression attribute}
1760 which is a \livelink{chap:classflag}{flag}
1761 whose presence indicates that the
1762 subroutine has been evaluated as a compile\dash time constant. Such
1763 an entry may also have a \DWATconstvalue{} attribute,
1764 whose value may be of any form that is appropriate for the
1765 representation of the subroutine's return value. The value of
1766 this attribute is the actual return value of the subroutine,
1767 represented as it would be on the target architecture.
1769 \textit{In \addtoindex{C++}, if a function or a constructor declared with
1770 \addttindex{constexpr}
1771 is called with constant expressions, then the corresponding
1772 concrete inlined instance has a
1773 \DWATconstexpr{} attribute,
1774 as well as a \DWATconstvalue{} attribute whose value represents
1775 the actual return value of the concrete inlined instance.}
1778 Any debugging information entry that is owned (either
1779 directly or indirectly) by a debugging information entry
1780 with the tag \DWTAGinlinedsubroutine{} is referred to as a
1781 \doublequote{concrete inlined instance entry.} Any entry that has
1783 \DWTAGinlinedsubroutine{}
1784 is known as a \doublequote{concrete inlined instance root.}
1785 Any set of concrete inlined instance
1786 entries that are all children (either directly or indirectly)
1787 of some concrete inlined instance root, together with the root
1788 itself, is known as a \doublequote{concrete inlined instance tree.}
1789 However, in the case where a concrete inlined instance tree
1790 is nested within another concrete instance tree, the entries
1791 in the \addtoindex{nested concrete inline instance} tree
1792 are not considered to
1793 be entries in the outer concrete instance tree.
1796 \textit{Concrete inlined instance trees are defined so that no entry
1797 is part of more than one concrete inlined instance tree. This
1798 simplifies later descriptions.}
1800 Each concrete inlined instance tree is uniquely associated
1801 with one (and only one) abstract instance tree.
1803 \textit{Note, however, that the reverse is not true. Any given abstract
1804 instance tree may be associated with several different concrete
1805 inlined instance trees, or may even be associated with zero
1806 concrete inlined instance trees.}
1808 Concrete inlined instance entries may omit attributes that
1809 are not specific to the concrete instance (but present in
1810 the abstract instance) and need include only attributes that
1811 are specific to the concrete instance (but omitted in the
1812 abstract instance). In place of these omitted attributes,
1813 each\hypertarget{chap:DWATabstractorigininlineinstance}{}
1814 concrete inlined instance entry has a
1815 \addtoindexx{abstract origin attribute}
1816 \DWATabstractoriginDEFN{}
1817 attribute that may be used to obtain the missing information
1818 (indirectly) from the associated abstract instance entry. The
1819 value of the abstract origin attribute is a reference to the
1820 associated abstract instance entry.
1822 If an entry within a concrete inlined instance tree contains
1823 attributes describing the
1824 \addtoindexx{declaration coordinates!in concrete instance}
1825 \livelink{chap:declarationcoordinates}{declaration coordinates}
1826 of that entry, then those attributes refer to the file, line
1827 and column of the original declaration of the subroutine,
1828 not to the point at which it was inlined. As a consequence,
1829 they may usually be omitted from any entry that has an abstract
1833 For each pair of entries that are associated via a
1834 \addtoindexx{abstract origin attribute}
1835 \DWATabstractorigin{} attribute, both members of the pair
1836 have the same tag. So, for example, an entry with the tag
1837 \DWTAGvariable{} can only be associated with another entry
1838 that also has the tag \DWTAGvariable. The only exception
1839 to this rule is that the root of a concrete instance tree
1840 (which must always have the tag \DWTAGinlinedsubroutine)
1841 can only be associated with the root of its associated abstract
1842 instance tree (which must have the tag \DWTAGsubprogram).
1845 In general, the structure and content of any given concrete
1846 inlined instance tree will be closely analogous to the
1847 structure and content of its associated abstract instance
1848 tree. There are a few exceptions:
1850 \begin{enumerate}[1. ]
1851 \item An entry in the concrete instance tree may be omitted if
1853 \addtoindexx{abstract origin attribute}
1854 \DWATabstractorigin{} attribute and either
1855 has no children, or its children are omitted. Such entries
1856 would provide no useful information. In C\dash like languages,
1857 such entries frequently include types, including structure,
1858 union, class, and interface types; and members of types. If any
1859 entry within a concrete inlined instance tree needs to refer
1860 to an entity declared within the scope of the relevant inlined
1861 subroutine and for which no concrete instance entry exists,
1862 the reference refers to the abstract instance entry.
1865 \item Entries in the concrete instance tree which are associated
1866 with entries in the abstract instance tree such that neither
1867 has a \DWATname{} attribute,
1868 \addtoindexx{name attribute}
1869 and neither is referenced by
1870 any other debugging information entry, may be omitted. This
1871 may happen for debugging information entries in the abstract
1872 instance trees that became unnecessary in the concrete instance
1873 tree because of additional information available there. For
1874 example, an anonymous variable might have been created and
1875 described in the abstract instance tree, but because of
1876 the actual parameters for a particular inlined expansion,
1877 it could be described as a constant value without the need
1878 for that separate debugging information entry.
1881 \item A concrete instance tree may contain entries which do
1882 not correspond to entries in the abstract instance tree
1883 to describe new entities that are specific to a particular
1884 inlined expansion. In that case, they will not have associated
1885 entries in the abstract instance tree, do not contain
1886 \addtoindexx{abstract origin attribute}
1887 \DWATabstractorigin{} attributes, and must contain all their
1888 own attributes directly. This allows an abstract instance tree
1889 to omit debugging information entries for anonymous entities
1890 that are unlikely to be needed in most inlined expansions. In
1891 any expansion which deviates from that expectation, the
1892 entries can be described in its concrete inlined instance tree.
1896 \subsubsection{Out-of-Line Instances of Inlined Subroutines}
1897 \label{chap:outoflineinstancesofinlinedsubroutines}
1898 Under some conditions, compilers may need to generate concrete
1899 executable instances of inlined subroutines other than at
1900 points where those subroutines are actually called. Such
1901 concrete instances of inlined subroutines are referred to as
1902 \doublequote{concrete out\dash of\dash line instances.}
1904 \textit{In \addtoindex{C++}, for example,
1905 taking the address of a function declared
1906 to be inline can necessitate the generation of a concrete
1907 out\dash of\dash line instance of the given function.}
1909 The DWARF representation of a concrete out-of-line instance
1910 of an inlined subroutine is essentially the same as for a
1911 concrete inlined instance of that subroutine (as described in
1912 the preceding section). The representation of such a concrete
1913 % It is critical that the hypertarget and livelink be
1914 % separated to avoid problems with latex.
1916 \addtoindexx{abstract origin attribute}
1918 \hypertarget{chap:DWATabstractoriginoutoflineinstance}{}
1920 \DWATabstractoriginDEFN{}
1921 attributes in exactly the same way as they are used for
1922 a concrete inlined instance (that is, as references to
1923 corresponding entries within the associated abstract instance
1926 The differences between the DWARF representation of a
1927 concrete out\dash of\dash line instance of a given subroutine and the
1928 representation of a concrete inlined instance of that same
1929 subroutine are as follows:
1930 \begin{enumerate}[1. ]
1931 \item The root entry for a concrete out\dash of\dash line instance
1932 of a given inlined subroutine has the same tag as does its
1933 associated (abstract) inlined subroutine entry (that is, tag
1934 \DWTAGsubprogram{} rather than \DWTAGinlinedsubroutine).
1936 \item The root entry for a concrete out\dash of\dash line instance tree
1937 is normally owned by the same parent entry that also owns
1938 the root entry of the associated abstract instance. However,
1939 it is not required that the abstract and out\dash of\dash line instance
1940 trees be owned by the same parent entry.
1944 \subsubsection{Nested Inlined Subroutines}
1945 \label{nestedinlinedsubroutines}
1946 Some languages and compilers may permit the logical nesting of
1947 a subroutine within another subroutine, and may permit either
1948 the outer or the nested subroutine, or both, to be inlined.
1950 For a non-inlined subroutine nested within an inlined
1951 subroutine, the nested subroutine is described normally in
1952 both the abstract and concrete inlined instance trees for
1953 the outer subroutine. All rules pertaining to the abstract
1954 and concrete instance trees for the outer subroutine apply
1955 also to the abstract and concrete instance entries for the
1959 For an inlined subroutine nested within another inlined
1960 subroutine, the following rules apply to their abstract and
1961 \addtoindexx{abstract instance!nested}
1962 \addtoindexx{concrete instance!nested}
1963 concrete instance trees:
1965 \begin{enumerate}[1. ]
1966 \item The abstract instance tree for the nested subroutine is
1967 described within the abstract instance tree for the outer
1968 subroutine according to the rules in
1969 Section \refersec{chap:abstractinstances}, and
1970 without regard to the fact that it is within an outer abstract
1973 \item Any abstract instance tree for a nested subroutine is
1974 always omitted within the concrete instance tree for an
1977 \item A concrete instance tree for a nested subroutine is
1978 always omitted within the abstract instance tree for an
1981 \item The concrete instance tree for any inlined or
1982 \addtoindexx{out-of-line instance}
1984 \addtoindexx{out-of-line instance|see{\textit{also} concrete out-of-line instance}}
1985 expansion of the nested subroutine is described within a
1986 concrete instance tree for the outer subroutine according
1988 Sections \refersec{chap:concreteinstances} or
1989 \referfol{chap:outoflineinstancesofinlinedsubroutines}
1991 and without regard to the fact that it is within an outer
1992 concrete instance tree.
1995 \textit{See Appendix \refersec{app:inliningexamples}
1996 for discussion and examples.}
1998 \subsection{Trampolines}
1999 \label{chap:trampolines}
2001 \textit{A trampoline is a compiler\dash generated subroutine that serves
2002 as\hypertarget{chap:DWATtrampolinetargetsubroutine}{}
2003 an intermediary in making a call to another subroutine. It may
2004 adjust parameters and/or the result (if any) as appropriate
2005 to the combined calling and called execution contexts.}
2007 A trampoline is represented by a debugging information entry
2008 \addtoindexx{trampoline (subprogram) entry}
2009 with the tag \DWTAGsubprogram{} or \DWTAGinlinedsubroutine{}
2011 \addtoindexx{trampoline attribute}
2012 a \DWATtrampolineDEFN{} attribute.
2014 attribute indicates the target subroutine of the trampoline,
2015 that is, the subroutine to which the trampoline passes
2016 control. (A trampoline entry may but need not also have a
2017 \DWATartificial{} attribute.)
2020 The value of the trampoline attribute may be represented
2021 using any of the following forms:
2024 \item If the value is of class \CLASSreference{}, then the value
2025 specifies the debugging information entry of the target
2028 \item If the value is of class \CLASSaddress{}, then the value is
2029 the relocated address of the target subprogram.
2032 \item If the value is of class \CLASSstring{}, then the value is the
2033 (possibly mangled) \addtoindexx{mangled names}
2034 name of the target subprogram.
2036 \item If the value is of class \CLASSflag, then the value true
2037 indicates that the containing subroutine is a trampoline but
2038 that the target subroutine is not known.
2042 The target subprogram may itself be a trampoline. (A sequence
2043 of trampolines necessarily ends with a non-trampoline
2046 \textit{In \addtoindex{C++}, trampolines may be used to implement
2047 derived virtual member functions; such trampolines typically
2049 \texttt{this} parameter\index{this parameter@\texttt{this} parameter}
2050 in the course of passing control.
2051 Other languages and environments may use trampolines in a manner
2052 sometimes known as transfer functions or transfer vectors.}
2054 \textit{Trampolines may sometimes pass control to the target
2055 subprogram using a branch or jump instruction instead of a
2056 call instruction, thereby leaving no trace of their existence
2057 in the subsequent execution context. }
2059 \textit{This attribute helps make it feasible for a debugger to arrange
2060 that stepping into a trampoline or setting a breakpoint in
2061 a trampoline will result in stepping into or setting the
2062 breakpoint in the target subroutine instead. This helps to
2063 hide the compiler generated subprogram from the user. }
2065 \section{Call Site Entries and Parameters}
2066 \label{chap:callsiteentriesandparameters}
2068 A call site entry describes a call from one subprogram to another in the
2069 source program. It provides information about the actual parameters of
2070 the call so that they may be more easily accessed by a debugger. When
2071 used together with call frame information
2072 (see Section \refersec{chap:callframeinformation}),
2073 call site entries can be useful for computing the value of an actual parameter
2074 passed by a caller, even when the location description for the callee's
2075 corresponding formal parameter does not provide a current location for
2076 the formal parameter.}
2078 \textit{The DWARF expression for computing the value of an actual parameter at
2079 a call site may refer to registers or memory locations. The expression
2080 assumes these contain the values they would have at the point where the
2081 call is executed. After the called subprogram has been entered, these
2082 registers and memory locations might have been modified. In order to
2083 recover the values that existed at the point of the call (to allow
2084 evaluation of the DWARF expression for the actual parameter), a debugger
2085 may virtually unwind the subprogram activation
2086 (see Section \refersec{chap:callframeinformation}). Any
2087 register or memory location that cannot be recovered is referred to as
2088 "clobbered by the call."}
2090 A source call can be compiled into different types of machine code:
2093 A \textit{normal call} uses a call-like instruction which transfers
2094 control to the start of some subprogram and preserves the call site
2095 location for use by the callee.
2098 A \textit{tail call} uses a jump-like instruction which
2099 transfers control to the start of some subprogram, but
2100 there is no call site location address to preserve
2101 (and thus none is available using the
2102 virtual unwind information).
2105 A \textit{tail recursion call} is a call
2106 to the current subroutine which is compiled as a jump
2107 to the current subroutine.
2111 An \textit{inline (or inlined) call} is a call to an inlined subprogram,
2112 where at least one instruction has the location of the inlined subprogram
2113 or any of its blocks or inlined subprograms.
2117 There are also different types of \doublequote{optimized out} calls:
2120 An \textit{optimized out (normal) call} is a call that is in unreachable code that
2121 has not been emitted (such as, for example, the call to \texttt{foo} in
2122 \texttt{if (0) foo();}).
2124 An \textit{optimized out inline call}
2125 is a call to an inlined subprogram which either did not expand to any instructions
2126 or only parts of instructions belong to it and for debug information purposes those
2127 instructions are given a location in the caller.
2130 \DWTAGcallsite{} entries describe normal and tail calls but not tail recursion calls,
2131 while \DWTAGinlinedsubroutine{} entries describe inlined calls
2132 (see Section \refersec{chap:inlinedsubroutines}).
2133 Call site entries cannot describe tail recursion or optimized out calls.
2135 \subsection{Call Site Entries}
2136 \label{chap:callsiteentries}
2137 A call site is represented by a debugging information entry with the tag
2138 \DWTAGcallsiteTARG{}\addtoindexx{call site entry}.
2139 The entry for a call site is owned by the innermost
2140 debugging information entry representing the scope within which the
2141 call is present in the source program.
2144 \textit{A scope entry (for example, a lexical block) that would not
2145 otherwise be present in the debugging information of a subroutine
2146 need not be introduced solely to represent the immediately containing scope
2149 The call site entry may have a
2150 \DWATcallreturnpcDEFN{}\addtoindexx{call site return pc attribute}
2151 \livetargi{chap:DWATcallreturnpcofcallsite}{attribute}{call return pc attribute}
2152 which is the return address after the call.
2153 The value of this attribute corresponds to the return address
2154 computed by call frame information in the called subprogram
2155 (see Section \refersec{datarep:callframeinformation}).
2157 \textit{On many architectures the return address is the
2158 address immediately following the call instruction, but
2159 on architectures with delay slots it might
2160 be an address after the delay slot of the call.}
2162 The call site entry may have a
2163 \DWATcallpcDEFN{}\addtoindexx{call pc attribute}
2164 \livetargi{chap:DWATcallpcofcallsite}{attribute}{call pc attribute}
2165 which is the address of the
2166 call-like instruction for a normal call or the jump-like
2167 instruction for a tail call.
2169 If the call site entry corresponds to a tail call, it has the
2170 \DWATcalltailcallDEFN{}\addtoindexx{call tail call attribute}
2171 \livetargi{chap:DWATcalltailcallofcallsite}{attribute}{call tail call attribute},
2172 which is a \CLASSflag.
2174 The call site entry may have a
2175 \DWATcalloriginDEFN{}\addtoindexx{call origin attribute}
2176 \livetargi{chap:DWATcalloriginofcallsite}{attribute}{call origin attribute}
2177 which is a \CLASSreference. For direct calls or jumps where the called
2178 subprogram is known it is a reference to the called subprogram's debugging
2179 information entry. For indirect calls it may be a reference to a
2180 \DWTAGvariable{}, \DWTAGformalparameter{} or \DWTAGmember{} entry representing
2181 the subroutine pointer that is called.
2184 The call site may have a
2185 \DWATcalltargetDEFN{}\addtoindexx{call target attribute}
2186 \livetargi{chap:DWATcalltargetofcallsite}{attribute}{call target attribute} which is
2187 a DWARF expression. For indirect calls or jumps where it is unknown at
2188 compile time which subprogram will be called the expression computes the
2189 address of the subprogram that will be called.
2191 \textit{The DWARF expression should
2192 not use register or memory locations that might be clobbered by the call.}
2195 The call site entry may have a
2196 \DWATcalltargetclobberedDEFN{}\addtoindexx{call target clobbered attribute}
2197 \livetargi{chap:DWATcalltargetclobberedofcallsite}{attribute}{call target clobbered attribute}
2198 which is a DWARF expression. For indirect calls or jumps where the
2199 address is not computable without use of registers or memory locations that
2200 might be clobbered by the call the \DWATcalltargetclobberedNAME{}
2201 attribute is used instead of the \DWATcalltarget{} attribute.
2203 \textit{The expression of a call target clobbered attribute may only be
2204 valid at the time the call or call-like transfer of control is executed.}
2206 The call site entry may have a \DWATtypeDEFN{}\addtoindexx{call type attribute}
2207 \livetargi{chap:DWATtypeofcallsite}{attribute}{type attribute!of call site entry}
2208 referencing a debugging information entry for the type of the called function.
2210 \textit{When \DWATcallorigin{} is present, \DWATtypeNAME{} is usually omitted.}
2212 The call site entry may have
2213 \DWATcallfileDEFN{}\addtoindexx{call file attribute},
2214 \DWATcalllineDEFN{}\addtoindexx{call line attribute} and
2215 \DWATcallcolumnDEFN{}\addtoindexx{call column attribute}
2216 \livetargi{chap:DWATcallfileofcallsite}{attributes,}{call file attribute!of call site entry}
2217 \livetargi{chap:DWATcalllineofcallsite}{}{call line attribute!of call site entry}
2218 \livetargi{chap:DWATcallcolumnofcallsite}{}{call column attribute!of call site entry}
2219 each of whose value is an integer constant.
2220 These attributes represent the source file, source line number, and source
2221 column number, respectively, of the first character of the call statement or
2222 expression. The call file, call line, and call column attributes are
2223 interpreted in the same way as the declaration file, declaration
2224 line, and declaration column attributes, respectively
2225 (see Section \refersec{chap:declarationcoordinates}).
2227 \textit{The call file, call line and call column coordinates do
2228 not describe the coordinates of the subroutine declaration that
2229 was called, rather they describe the coordinates of the call.}
2232 \subsection{Call Site Parameters}
2233 \label{chap:callsiteparameters}
2234 The call site entry may own
2235 \DWTAGcallsiteparameterTARG{}\index{call site parameter entry}
2236 debugging information entries representing the parameters passed
2238 Call site parameter entries occur in the same order as the
2239 corresponding parameters in the source.
2240 Each such entry has a \DWATlocation{} attribute which is a location
2241 description. This location description
2242 describes where the parameter is passed
2243 (usually either some register, or a memory location expressible as
2244 the contents of the stack register plus some offset).
2247 Each \DWTAGcallsiteparameter{} entry may have a
2248 \DWATcallvalueDEFN{}\addtoindexx{call value attribute}
2249 \livetargi{chap:DWATcallvalueofcallparameter}{attribute}{call value attribute}
2250 which is a DWARF expression
2251 which when evaluated yields the value of the parameter at the time of the call.
2253 \textit{If it is not
2254 possible to avoid registers or memory locations that might be clobbered by
2255 the call in the expression, then the \DWATcallvalueNAME{} attribute should
2256 not be provided. The reason for the restriction is that the value of the parameter may be
2257 needed in the midst of the callee, where the call clobbered registers or
2258 memory might be already clobbered, and if the consumer is not assured by
2259 the producer it can safely use those values, the consumer can not safely
2260 use the values at all.}
2262 For parameters passed by reference, where the code passes a pointer to
2263 a location which contains the parameter, or for reference type parameters,
2264 the \DWTAGcallsiteparameter{} entry may also have a
2265 \DWATcalldatalocationDEFN{}\addtoindexx{call data location attribute}
2266 \livetargi{chap:DWATcalldatalocationofcallparameter}{attribute}{call data location attribute}
2267 whose value is a location description and a
2268 \DWATcalldatavalueDEFN{}\addtoindexx{call data value attribute}
2269 \livetargi{chap:DWATcalldatavalueofcallparameter}{attribute}{call data value attribute}
2270 whose value is a DWARF expression. The \DWATcalldatalocationNAME{} attribute
2271 \addtoindexx{call data location attribute}
2272 describes where the referenced value lives during the call. If it is just
2273 \DWOPpushobjectaddress{}, it may be left out. The
2274 \DWATcalldatavalueNAME{} attribute describes the value in that location.
2275 The expression should not use registers or memory
2276 locations that might be clobbered by the call, as it might be evaluated after
2277 virtually unwinding from the called function back to the caller.
2280 Each call site parameter entry may also have a
2281 \DWATcallparameterDEFN{}\addtoindexx{call parameter attribute}
2282 \livetargi{chap:DWATcallparameterofcallparameter}{attribute}{call parameter attribute}
2283 which contains a reference to a \DWTAGformalparameter{} entry,
2284 \DWATtype{} attribute referencing the type of the parameter or
2285 \DWATname{} attribute describing the parameter's name.
2287 \textit{Examples using call site entries and related attributes are
2288 found in Appendix \refersec{app:callsiteexamples}.}
2291 \section{Lexical Block Entries}
2292 \label{chap:lexicalblockentries}
2295 lexical \livetargi{chap:lexicalblock}{block}{lexical block}
2297 \addtoindexx{lexical block}
2298 a bracketed sequence of source statements
2299 that may contain any number of declarations. In some languages
2300 (including \addtoindex{C} and \addtoindex{C++}),
2301 \nolink{blocks} can be nested within other
2302 \nolink{blocks} to any depth.}
2304 % We do not need to link to the preceding paragraph.
2305 A lexical \nolink{block} is represented by a debugging information
2307 tag \DWTAGlexicalblockTARG.
2309 The lexical \livetargi{chap:lexicalblockentry}{block}{lexical block entry}
2311 either a \DWATlowpc{} and
2312 \DWAThighpc{} pair of
2314 \addtoindexx{high PC attribute}
2316 \addtoindexx{low PC attribute}
2318 \DWATranges{} attribute
2319 \addtoindexx{ranges attribute}
2320 whose values encode the contiguous or non-contiguous address
2321 ranges, respectively, of the machine instructions generated
2322 for the lexical \nolink{block}
2323 (see Section \refersec{chap:codeaddressesandranges}).
2325 A\hypertarget{chap:DWATentrypcoflexicalblock}{}
2326 lexical block entry may also have a
2327 \addtoindexx{entry PC attribute!for lexical block}
2328 \DWATentrypc{} attribute
2329 whose value is the address of the first executable instruction
2330 of the lexical block (see
2331 Section \refersec{chap:entryaddress}).
2333 If a name has been given to the lexical \nolink{block}
2334 in the source program, then the corresponding
2335 lexical \nolink{block} entry has a
2336 \DWATname{} attribute whose
2337 \addtoindexx{name attribute}
2338 value is a null-terminated string
2339 containing the name of the lexical \nolink{block}.
2341 \textit{This is not the same as a \addtoindex{C} or
2342 \addtoindex{C++} label (see Section \refersec{chap:labelentries}).}
2344 The lexical \nolink{block} entry owns debugging
2345 information entries that describe the declarations
2346 within that lexical \nolink{block}. There is
2347 one such debugging information entry for each local declaration
2348 of an identifier or inner lexical \nolink{block}.
2351 \section{Label Entries}
2352 \label{chap:labelentries}
2353 \textit{A label is a way of identifying a source location.
2354 A labeled statement is usually the target of one or more
2355 \doublequote{go to} statements.}
2358 A label is represented by a debugging information entry with
2359 \addtoindexx{label entry} the tag \DWTAGlabelTARG.
2360 The entry for a label is owned by
2361 the debugging information entry representing the scope within
2362 which the name of the label could be legally referenced within
2365 The label entry has a \DWATlowpc{} attribute whose value
2366 is the address of the first executable instruction for the
2367 location identified by the label in
2368 the source program. The label entry also has a
2369 \DWATname{} attribute
2370 \addtoindexx{name attribute}
2371 whose value is a null-terminated string containing
2372 the name of the label.
2375 \section{With Statement Entries}
2376 \label{chap:withstatemententries}
2378 \textit{Both \addtoindex{Pascal} and
2379 \addtoindexx{Modula-2}
2380 Modula-2 support the concept of a \doublequote{with}
2381 statement. The with statement specifies a sequence of
2382 executable statements within which the fields of a record
2383 variable may be referenced, unqualified by the name of the
2386 A with statement is represented by a
2387 \addtoindexi{debugging information entry}{with statement entry}
2388 with the tag \DWTAGwithstmtTARG.
2390 A with statement entry may have either a
2392 \DWAThighpc{} pair of attributes
2393 \addtoindexx{low PC attribute}
2394 \addtoindexx{high PC attribute}
2396 \DWATranges{} attribute
2397 \addtoindexx{ranges attribute}
2398 whose values encode the contiguous or non-contiguous address
2399 ranges, respectively, of the machine instructions generated
2400 for the with statement
2401 (see Section \refersec{chap:codeaddressesandranges}).
2403 A\hypertarget{chap:DWATentrypcofwithstmt}{}
2404 with statement entry may also have a
2405 \addtoindexx{entry PC attribute!for with statement}
2406 \DWATentrypc{} attribute
2407 whose value is the address of the first executable instruction
2408 of the with statement (see
2409 Section \refersec{chap:entryaddress}).
2412 The with statement entry has a
2413 \addtoindexx{type attribute}
2414 \DWATtype{} attribute, denoting
2415 the type of record whose fields may be referenced without full
2416 qualification within the body of the statement. It also has
2417 \addtoindexx{location attribute}
2418 a \DWATlocation{} attribute, describing how to find the base
2419 address of the record object referenced within the body of
2423 \section{Try and Catch Block Entries}
2424 \label{chap:tryandcatchblockentries}
2425 \livetarg{chap:tryandcatchblockentries}{}
2426 \textit{In \addtoindex{C++}, a \livelink{chap:lexicalblock}{lexical block} may be
2427 designated as a \doublequote{catch \nolink{block}.}
2428 A catch \nolink{block} is an exception handler that
2429 handles exceptions thrown by an immediately preceding
2430 \doublequote{try \nolink{block}.}
2431 A catch \nolink{block}
2432 designates the type of the exception that it can handle.}
2434 A \livetarg{chap:tryblock}{try block} is represented
2435 by a debugging information entry
2436 \addtoindexx{try block entry}
2437 with the tag \DWTAGtryblockTARG.
2438 A \livetarg{chap:catchblock}{catch block} is represented by
2439 a debugging information entry
2440 \addtoindexx{catch block entry}
2441 with the tag \DWTAGcatchblockTARG.
2443 Both try and catch \nolink{block} entries may have either a
2445 \DWAThighpc{} pair of attributes
2446 \addtoindexx{low PC attribute}
2447 \addtoindexx{high PC attribute}
2449 \DWATranges{} attribute
2450 \addtoindexx{ranges attribute}
2451 whose values encode the contiguous
2452 or non-contiguous address ranges, respectively, of the
2453 machine instructions generated for the \nolink{block}
2454 (see Section \refersec{chap:codeaddressesandranges}).
2456 A\hypertarget{chap:DWATentrypcoftryblock}{}
2457 try or catch\hypertarget{chap:DWATentrypcofcatchblock}{}
2458 block entry may also have a
2459 \addtoindexx{entry PC attribute!for try block}
2460 \addtoindexx{entry PC attribute!for catch block}
2461 \DWATentrypc{} attribute
2462 whose value is the address of the first executable instruction
2463 of the try or catch block
2464 (see Section \refersec{chap:entryaddress}).
2467 Catch \nolink{block} entries have at least one child entry,
2468 an entry representing the type of exception accepted by
2469 that catch \nolink{block}.
2470 This child entry has one of the tags
2471 \DWTAGformalparameter{}\addtoindexx{formal parameter entry!in catch block}
2473 \DWTAGunspecifiedparameters{},
2474 \addtoindexx{unspecified parameters entry!in catch block}
2475 and will have the same form as other parameter entries.
2477 The siblings immediately following a try \nolink{block}
2478 entry are its corresponding catch \nolink{block} entries.
2481 \section{Declarations with Reduced Scope}
2482 \label{declarationswithreducedscope}
2483 \hypertarget{chap:DWATstartscopeofdeclaration}{}
2484 Any debugging information entry for a declaration
2485 (including objects, subprograms, types and modules) whose scope
2486 has an address range that is a subset of the address range for
2487 the lexical scope most closely enclosing the declared entity
2489 \DWATstartscopeDEFN{}\addtoindexx{start scope attribute}
2490 attribute to specify that reduced range of addresses.
2492 There are two cases:
2493 \begin{enumerate}[1. ]
2494 \item If the address range for the scope of the entry
2495 includes all of addresses for the containing scope except
2496 for a contiguous sequence of bytes at the beginning of the
2497 address range for the containing scope, then the address is
2498 specified using a value of class \CLASSconstant.
2500 \begin{enumerate}[a) ]
2501 \item If the address
2502 range of the containing scope is contiguous, the value of
2503 this attribute is the offset in bytes of the beginning of
2504 the address range for the scope of the object from the low
2505 PC value of the debugging information entry that defines
2506 that containing scope.
2507 \item If the address range of the containing
2508 scope is non-contiguous
2509 (see \refersec{chap:noncontiguousaddressranges})
2510 the value of this attribute is the offset in bytes of the
2511 beginning of the address range for the scope of the entity
2512 from the beginning of the first \addtoindex{range list} entry
2513 for the containing scope that is not a base
2514 address entry, a default location
2515 entry or an end-of-list entry.
2519 \item Otherwise, the set of addresses for the scope of the
2520 entity is specified using a value of class \CLASSrnglistsptr{}.
2521 This value indicates the beginning of a \addtoindex{range list}
2522 (see Section \refersec{chap:noncontiguousaddressranges}).
2525 \textit{For example, the scope of a variable may begin somewhere
2526 in the midst of a lexical \livelink{chap:lexicalblock}{block} in a
2527 language that allows executable code in a
2528 \nolink{block} before a variable declaration, or where one declaration
2529 containing initialization code may change the scope of a
2530 subsequent declaration.}
2533 \textit{Consider the following example \addtoindex{C} code:}
2534 \par % Needed to end paragraph before listing so that it gets a line number
2545 \textit{\addtoindex{C} scoping rules require that the value of the
2546 variable \texttt{x} assigned to the variable \texttt{f} in the
2547 initialization sequence is the value of the global variable \texttt{x},
2548 rather than the local \texttt{x}, because the scope of the local variable
2549 \texttt{x} only starts after the full declarator for the local \texttt{x}.}
2551 \textit{Due to optimization, the scope of an object may be
2552 non-contiguous and require use of a \addtoindex{range list} even when
2553 the containing scope is contiguous. Conversely, the scope of
2554 an object may not require its own \addtoindex{range list} even when the
2555 containing scope is non-contiguous.}