If the .symtab section is stripped from the binary it might be that
there's a .gnu_debugdata section which contains a smaller .symtab in
order to provide enough information to create a backtrace with function
names or to set and hit a breakpoint on a function name.
This change looks for a .gnu_debugdata section in the ELF object file.
The .gnu_debugdata section contains a xz-compressed ELF file with a
.symtab section inside. Symbols from that compressed .symtab section
are merged with the main object file's .dynsym symbols (if any).
In addition we always load the .dynsym even if there's a .symtab
section.
For example, the Fedora and RHEL operating systems strip their binaries
but keep a .gnu_debugdata section. While gdb already can read this
section, LLDB until this patch couldn't. To test this patch on a
Fedora or RHEL operating system, try to set a breakpoint on the "help"
symbol in the "zip" binary. Before this patch, only GDB can set this
breakpoint; now LLDB also can do so without installing extra debug
symbols:
lldb /usr/bin/zip -b -o "b help" -o "r" -o "bt" -- -h
The above line runs LLDB in batch mode and on the "/usr/bin/zip -h"
target:
(lldb) target create "/usr/bin/zip" Current executable set to '/usr/bin/zip' (x86_64). (lldb) settings set -- target.run-args "-h"
Before the program starts, we set a breakpoint on the "help" symbol:
(lldb) b help Breakpoint 1: where = zip`help, address = 0x00000000004093b0
Once the program is run and has hit the breakpoint we ask for a
backtrace:
(lldb) r Process 10073 stopped * thread #1, name = 'zip', stop reason = breakpoint 1.1 frame #0: 0x00000000004093b0 zip`help zip`help: -> 0x4093b0 <+0>: pushq %r12 0x4093b2 <+2>: movq 0x2af5f(%rip), %rsi ; + 4056 0x4093b9 <+9>: movl $0x1, %edi 0x4093be <+14>: xorl %eax, %eax Process 10073 launched: '/usr/bin/zip' (x86_64) (lldb) bt * thread #1, name = 'zip', stop reason = breakpoint 1.1 * frame #0: 0x00000000004093b0 zip`help frame #1: 0x0000000000403970 zip`main + 3248 frame #2: 0x00007ffff7d8bf33 libc.so.6`__libc_start_main + 243 frame #3: 0x0000000000408cee zip`_start + 46
In order to support the .gnu_debugdata section, one has to have LZMA
development headers installed. The CMake section, that controls this
part looks for the LZMA headers and enables .gnu_debugdata support by
default if they are found; otherwise or if explicitly requested, the
minidebuginfo support is disabled.
GDB supports the "mini debuginfo" section .gnu_debugdata since v7.6
(2013).
It looks like you're already adding these in lldb/lit/CMakeLists.txt. Does it need to be in both?