Debugging with GDB

Node:Languages, Next:Symbols, Previous:Overlays, Up:Top

## Using GDB with Different Languages

Although programming languages generally have common aspects, they are rarely expressed in the same manner. For instance, in ANSI C, dereferencing a pointer `p` is accomplished by `*p`, but in Modula-2, it is accomplished by `p^`. Values can also be represented (and displayed) differently. Hex numbers in C appear as `0x1ae`, while in Modula-2 they appear as `1AEH`.

Language-specific information is built into GDB for some languages, allowing you to express operations like the above in your program's native language, and allowing GDB to output values in a manner consistent with the syntax of your program's native language. The language you use to build expressions is called the working language.