What is a Debugger?

A debugger is a program which runs other programs in such a way as to let you see every step of program execution. A debugger will let you stop the program while it is running, change the program or program variables, and start the program running again.

Debuggers

Debugger License Platform(s)

GDB - The GNU DeBugger GPL Unix, Windows

Soft-Ice Commercial Windows

D86: Eric Isaacson's Shareware Debugger Shareware DOS, Windows

OllyDbg Shareware Windows

Debuggy Freeware Windows

MacsBug Freeware Mac OS

Debugger	License	Platform(s)
GDB - The GNU DeBugger	GPL	Unix, Windows
Soft-Ice	Commercial	Windows
D86: Eric Isaacson's Shareware Debugger	Shareware	DOS, Windows
OllyDbg	Shareware	Windows
Debuggy	Freeware	Windows
MacsBug	Freeware	Mac OS

Books on Debuggers

How Debuggers Work: Algorithms, Data Structures, and Architecture

A total guide to debuggers: what they do, how they work, and how to use them to produce better programs

"Debuggers are the magnifying glass, the microscope, the logic analyzer, the profiler, and the browser with which a program can be examined."-Jonathan B. Rosenberg

Debuggers are an indispensable tool in the development process. In fact, during the course of the average software project, more hours are spent debugging software than in compiling code. Yet, not many programmers really know how to constructively interpret the results they get back from debuggers. And even fewer know what makes these complex suites of algorithms and data structures tick. Now in this extremely accessible guide, Jonathan B. Rosenberg demystifies debuggers for programmers and shows them how to make better use of debuggers in their next projects.

Taking a hands-on, problem-solving approach to a complex subject, Rosenberg explains how debuggers work and why programmers use them. Most importantly, he provides practical discussions of debugger algorithms and procedures for their use, accompanied by many practical examples. The author also discusses a wide variety of systems applications, from Microsoft's Win32 debug API to a large parallel architecture.

Debugging with GDB: The GNU Source-Level Debugger

The GNU Debugger allows you to see what is going on "inside" a program while it executes - or what a program was doing at the moment it crashed. GDB supports C, C++, Java, Fortran and Assembly among other languages; it is also designed to work closely with the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC).

The GNU Debugger Program has four special features that helps you catch bugs in the act:

It starts your program for you, specifying anything that might affect it's behavior.
Makes your program stop under specified conditions.
Examines what happened when the program stopped.
Allows you to experiment with changes to see what effect they have on the program.

This book will show you:

setting and clearing breakpoints
examining the stack, source files and data
examining the symbol table
altering program execution
specifying a target for debugging
how to control the debugger
how to use canned command sequences
how to install GDB
and much more!

This manual is written for programmers. It is designed so someone can begin utilizing GDB after just reading the first chapter, or read the whole manual and master the program. Synopsis of ideas and extensive examples are given.