term% cat index.txt ACID(1) General Commands Manual ACID(1)
NAME
acid, truss, trump - debugger
SYNOPSIS
acid [ -kqw ] [ -l library ] [ -m machine ] [ pid ] [ textfile ]
acid -l truss textfile
acid -l trump [ pid ] [ textfile ]
DESCRIPTION
Acid is a programmable symbolic debugger. It can inspect one or more
processes that share an address space. A program to be debugged may be
specified by the process id of a running or defunct process, or by the
name of the program's text file (8.out by default). At the prompt,
acid will store function definitions or print the value of expressions.
Options are
-w Allow the textfile to be modified.
-q Print variable renamings at startup.
-l library
Load from library at startup; see below.
-m machine
Assume instructions are for the given CPU type (one of alpha,
386, etc., as listed in 2c(1), or sunsparc or mipsco for the
manufacturer-defined instruction notation for those proces‐
sors) instead of using the magic number to select the CPU
type.
-k Debug the kernel state for the process, rather than the user
state.
At startup, acid obtains standard function definitions from the library
file /sys/lib/acid/port, architecture-dependent functions from
/sys/lib/acid/$objtype, user-specified functions from $home/lib/acid,
and further functions from -l files. Definitions in any file may over‐
ride previously defined functions. If the function acidinit() is de‐
fined, it will be invoked after all libraries have been loaded. See
2c(1) for information about creating acid functions for examining data
structures.
Language
Symbols of the program being debugged become integer variables whose
values are addresses. Contents of addresses are obtained by indirec‐
tion. Local variables are qualified by function name, for example
main:argv. When program symbols conflict with acid words, distinguish‐
ing $ signs are prefixed. Such renamings are reported at startup if
the option -q is enabled.
Variable types (integer, float, list, string) and formats are inferred
from assignments. Truth values false/true are attributed to zero/non‐
zero integers or floats and to empty/nonempty lists or strings. Lists
are sequences of expressions surrounded by {} and separated by commas.
Expressions are much as in C, but yield both a value and a format.
Casts to complex types are allowed. Lists admit the following opera‐
tors, with subscripts counted from 0.
head list
tail list
append list, element
delete list, subscript
Format codes are the same as in db(1). Formats may be attached to
(unary) expressions with \, e.g. (32*7)\D. There are two indirection
operators, * to address a core image, @ to address a text file. The
type and format of the result are determined by the format of the oper‐
and, whose type must be integer.
Statements are
if expr then statement [ else statement ]
while expr do statement
loop expr, expr do statement
defn name(args) { statement }
defn name
name(args)
builtin name(args)
local name
return expr
whatis [ name ]
The statement defn name clears the definition for name. A defn may
override a built-in function; prefixing a function call with builtin
ignores any overriding defn, forcing the use of the built-in function.
Here is a partial list of functions; see the manual for a complete
list.
stk() Print a stack trace for current process.
lstk() Print a stack trace with values of local variables.
gpr() Print general registers. Registers can also be accessed by
name, for example *R0.
spr() Print special registers such as program counter and stack
pointer.
fpr() Print floating-point registers.
regs() Same as spr();gpr().
fmt(expr,format)
Expression expr with format given by the character value of ex‐
pression format.
src(address)
Print 10 lines of source around the program address.
Bsrc(address)
Get the source line for the program address into a window of a
running sam(1) and select it.
line(address)
Print source line nearest to the program address.
source()
List current source directories.
addsrcdir(string)
Add a source directory to the list.
filepc(where)
Convert a string of the form sourcefile:linenumber to a machine
address.
pcfile(address)
Convert a machine address to a source file name.
pcline(address)
Convert a machine address to a source line number.
bptab()
List breakpoints set in the current process.
bpset(address)
Set a breakpoint in the current process at the given address.
bpdel(address)
Delete a breakpoint from the current process.
cont() Continue execution of current process and wait for it to stop.
step() Execute a single machine instruction in the current process.
func() Step repeatedly until after a function return.
stopped(pid)
This replaceable function is called automatically when the given
process stops. It normally prints the program counter and re‐
turns to the prompt.
asm(address)
Disassemble 30 machine instructions beginning at the given ad‐
dress.
mem(address,string)
Print a block of memory interpreted according to a string of
format codes.
dump(address,n,string)
Like mem(), repeated for n consecutive blocks.
print(expr,...)
Print the values of the expressions.
newproc(arguments)
Start a new process with arguments given as a string and halt at
the first instruction.
new() Like newproc(), but take arguments (except argv[0]) from string
variable progargs.
win() Like new(), but run the process in a separate window.
start(pid)
Start a stopped process.
kill(pid)
Kill the given process.
setproc(pid)
Make the given process current.
rc(string)
Escape to the shell, rc(1), to execute the command string.
Libraries
There are a number of acid `libraries' that provide higher-level debug‐
ging facilities. Two notable examples are truss and trump, which use
acid to trace system calls (truss) and memory allocation (trump). Both
require starting acid on the program, either by attaching to a running
process or by executing new() on a binary (perhaps after setting proga‐
rgs), stopping the process, and then running truss() or trump() to exe‐
cute the program under the scaffolding. The output will be a trace of
the system calls (truss) or memory allocation and free calls (trump)
executed by the program. When finished tracing, stop the process and
execute untruss() or untrump() followed by cont() to resume execution.
EXAMPLES
Start to debug /bin/ls; set some breakpoints; run up to the first one:
% acid /bin/ls
/bin/ls: mips plan 9 executable
/sys/lib/acid/port
/sys/lib/acid/mips
acid: new()
70094: system call _main ADD $-0x14,R29
70094: breakpoint main+0x4 MOVW R31,0x0(R29)
acid: pid
70094
acid: argv0 = **main:argv\s
acid: whatis argv0
integer variable format s
acid: *argv0
/bin/ls
acid: bpset(ls)
acid: cont()
70094: breakpoint ls ADD $-0x16c8,R29
acid:
Display elements of a linked list of structures:
complex Str { 'D' 0 val; 'X' 4 next; };
complex Str s;
s = *headstr;
while s != 0 do{
print(s.val, "\n");
s = s.next;
}
Note the use of the . operator instead of ->.
Display an array of bytes declared in C as char array[].
*(array\s)
This example gives array string format, then prints the string begin‐
ning at the address (in acid notation) *array.
Trace the system calls executed by ls(1):
% acid -l truss /bin/ls
/bin/ls:386 plan 9 executable
/sys/lib/acid/port
/sys/lib/acid/kernel
/sys/lib/acid/truss
/sys/lib/acid/386
acid: progargs = "-l lib/profile"
acid: new()
acid: truss()
open("#c/pid", 0)
return value: 3
pread(3, 0x7fffeeac, 20, -1)
return value: 12
data: " 166 "
...
stat("lib/profile", 0x0000f8cc, 113)
return value: 65
open("/env/timezone", 0)
return value: 3
pread(3, 0x7fffd7c4, 1680, -1)
return value: 1518
data: "EST -18000 EDT -14400
9943200 25664400 41392800 57718800 73447200 89168400
104896800 ..."
close(3)
return value: 0
pwrite(1, "--rw-rw-r-- M 9 rob rob 2519 Mar 22 10:29 lib/profile
", 54, -1)
--rw-rw-r-- M 9 rob rob 2519 Mar 22 10:29 lib/profile
return value: 54
...
166: breakpoint _exits+0x5 INTB $0x40
acid: cont()
FILES
/proc/*/text
/proc/*/mem
/proc/*/ctl
/proc/*/note
/sys/lib/acid/$objtype
/sys/lib/acid/port
/sys/lib/acid/kernel
/sys/lib/acid/trump
/sys/lib/acid/truss
$home/lib/acid
SOURCE
/sys/src/cmd/acid
SEE ALSO
2a(1), 2c(1), 2l(1), mk(1), db(1)
Phil Winterbottom, ``Acid Manual''.
DIAGNOSTICS
At termination, kill commands are proposed for processes that are still
active.
BUGS
There is no way to redirect the standard input and standard output of a
new process.
Source line selection near the beginning of a file may pick an adjacent
file.
With the extant stepping commands, one cannot step through instructions
outside the text segment and it is hard to debug across process forks.
ACID(1)