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(gdbint.info)Language Support

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Language Support
****************

   GDB's language support is mainly driven by the symbol reader,
although it is possible for the user to set the source language
manually.

   GDB chooses the source language by looking at the extension of the
file recorded in the debug info; `.c' means C, `.f' means Fortran, etc.
It may also use a special-purpose language identifier if the debug
format supports it, like with DWARF.

Adding a Source Language to GDB
===============================

   To add other languages to GDB's expression parser, follow the
following steps:

_Create the expression parser._
     This should reside in a file `LANG-exp.y'.  Routines for building
     parsed expressions into a `union exp_element' list are in
     `parse.c'.

     Since we can't depend upon everyone having Bison, and YACC produces
     parsers that define a bunch of global names, the following lines
     *must* be included at the top of the YACC parser, to prevent the
     various parsers from defining the same global names:

          #define yyparse         LANG_parse
          #define yylex           LANG_lex
          #define yyerror         LANG_error
          #define yylval          LANG_lval
          #define yychar          LANG_char
          #define yydebug         LANG_debug
          #define yypact          LANG_pact
          #define yyr1            LANG_r1
          #define yyr2            LANG_r2
          #define yydef           LANG_def
          #define yychk           LANG_chk
          #define yypgo           LANG_pgo
          #define yyact           LANG_act
          #define yyexca          LANG_exca
          #define yyerrflag       LANG_errflag
          #define yynerrs         LANG_nerrs

     At the bottom of your parser, define a `struct language_defn' and
     initialize it with the right values for your language.  Define an
     `initialize_LANG' routine and have it call
     `add_language(LANG_language_defn)' to tell the rest of GDB that
     your language exists.  You'll need some other supporting variables
     and functions, which will be used via pointers from your
     `LANG_language_defn'.  See the declaration of `struct
     language_defn' in `language.h', and the other `*-exp.y' files, for
     more information.

_Add any evaluation routines, if necessary_
     If you need new opcodes (that represent the operations of the
     language), add them to the enumerated type in `expression.h'.  Add
     support code for these operations in the `evaluate_subexp' function
     defined in the file `eval.c'.  Add cases for new opcodes in two
     functions from `parse.c': `prefixify_subexp' and
     `length_of_subexp'.  These compute the number of `exp_element's
     that a given operation takes up.

_Update some existing code_
     Add an enumerated identifier for your language to the enumerated
     type `enum language' in `defs.h'.

     Update the routines in `language.c' so your language is included.
     These routines include type predicates and such, which (in some
     cases) are language dependent.  If your language does not appear
     in the switch statement, an error is reported.

     Also included in `language.c' is the code that updates the variable
     `current_language', and the routines that translate the
     `language_LANG' enumerated identifier into a printable string.

     Update the function `_initialize_language' to include your
     language.  This function picks the default language upon startup,
     so is dependent upon which languages that GDB is built for.

     Update `allocate_symtab' in `symfile.c' and/or symbol-reading code
     so that the language of each symtab (source file) is set properly.
     This is used to determine the language to use at each stack frame
     level.  Currently, the language is set based upon the extension of
     the source file.  If the language can be better inferred from the
     symbol information, please set the language of the symtab in the
     symbol-reading code.

     Add helper code to `print_subexp' (in `expprint.c') to handle any
     new expression opcodes you have added to `expression.h'.  Also,
     add the printed representations of your operators to
     `op_print_tab'.

_Add a place of call_
     Add a call to `LANG_parse()' and `LANG_error' in `parse_exp_1'
     (defined in `parse.c').

_Use macros to trim code_
     The user has the option of building GDB for some or all of the
     languages.  If the user decides to build GDB for the language
     LANG, then every file dependent on `language.h' will have the
     macro `_LANG_LANG' defined in it.  Use `#ifdef's to leave out
     large routines that the user won't need if he or she is not using
     your language.

     Note that you do not need to do this in your YACC parser, since if
     GDB is not build for LANG, then `LANG-exp.tab.o' (the compiled
     form of your parser) is not linked into GDB at all.

     See the file `configure.in' for how GDB is configured for
     different languages.

_Edit `Makefile.in'_
     Add dependencies in `Makefile.in'.  Make sure you update the macro
     variables such as `HFILES' and `OBJS', otherwise your code may not
     get linked in, or, worse yet, it may not get `tar'red into the
     distribution!