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Debugging VHDL programs using GDB
is possible only on GNU/Linux systems.
GDB
is a general purpose debugger for programs compiled by GCC
.
Currently, there is no VHDL support for GDB
. It may be difficult
to inspect variables or signals in GDB
, however, GDB
is
still able to display the stack frame in case of error or to set a breakpoint
at a specified line.
GDB
can be useful to precisely catch a runtime error, such as indexing
an array beyond its bounds. All error check subprograms call the
__ghdl_fatal
procedure. Therefore, to catch runtime error, set
a breakpoint like this:
(gdb) break __ghdl_fatal
When the breakpoint is hit, use the where
or bt
command to
display the stack frames.