On 09/07/2011 06:59 PM, Kevin Polulak wrote:
I'd like to know at what stage during compilation is debug data collected and subsequently stored in the object file? Is it a multi-stage process? Perhaps the parser collects some high-level information which passes it to the code generator for further analysis which passes it again to the linker/loader for even further low-level analysis? Or is there a single stage dedicated to collecting debug data; perhaps after linking? I envisioned it as a multi-stage process but I don't want to make any assumptions.
Debug information is collected at various times, although it isn't always identified specifically as such. For example, variable and type info is collected as symbol data as the program is parsed and is used in code generation as well as generating debug data. Information about generated code is collected during as the code is created, in several places. This is translated into debug data after code generation. There are external references in the data which are resolved by the linker. So, yes, it is a multi-stage process which is distributed throughout the compilation process. Although the generation of debug data in the object files is localized in format-specific routines, actual collection of the data is more implicit than explicit. -- Michael Eager ea...@eagercon.com 1960 Park Blvd., Palo Alto, CA 94306 650-325-8077
