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Debug symbol
A debug symbol is a special kind of symbol that attaches additional information to the symbol table of an object file, such as a shared library or an executable. This information allows a symbolic debugger to gain access to information from the source code of the binary, such as the names of identifiers, including variables and routines.
The symbolic information may be compiled together with the module's binary file, or distributed in a separate file, or simply discarded during the compilation and/or linking.
This information can be helpful while trying to investigate and fix a crashing application or any other fault.
Debug symbols typically include not only the name of a function or global variable, but also the name of the source code file in which the symbol occurs, as well as the line number at which it is defined. Other information includes the type of the symbol (integer, float, function, exception, etc.), the scope (block scope or global scope), the size, and, for classes, the name of the class, and the methods and members in it.
Part of the debug information includes the line of code in the source file which defines that symbol (a function or global variable), as well as symbols associated with exception frames.
This information may be stored in the symbol table of an object file, executable file, or shared library, or may be in a separate file.
On some systems, e.g., z/OS, the debug information contains more than just the symbol tabled, e.g., the ADATA discussed in § OS/390 et al contains source code.
Debugging information can take up quite a bit of space, especially the filenames and line numbers. Thus, binaries with debug symbols can become quite large, often several times the stripped file size. To avoid this extra size, most operating system distributions ship binaries that are stripped, i.e. from which all of the debugging symbols have been removed. This is accomplished, for example, with the strip command in Unix. If the debugging information is in separate files, those files are usually not shipped with the distribution.
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Debug symbol AI simulator
(@Debug symbol_simulator)
Debug symbol
A debug symbol is a special kind of symbol that attaches additional information to the symbol table of an object file, such as a shared library or an executable. This information allows a symbolic debugger to gain access to information from the source code of the binary, such as the names of identifiers, including variables and routines.
The symbolic information may be compiled together with the module's binary file, or distributed in a separate file, or simply discarded during the compilation and/or linking.
This information can be helpful while trying to investigate and fix a crashing application or any other fault.
Debug symbols typically include not only the name of a function or global variable, but also the name of the source code file in which the symbol occurs, as well as the line number at which it is defined. Other information includes the type of the symbol (integer, float, function, exception, etc.), the scope (block scope or global scope), the size, and, for classes, the name of the class, and the methods and members in it.
Part of the debug information includes the line of code in the source file which defines that symbol (a function or global variable), as well as symbols associated with exception frames.
This information may be stored in the symbol table of an object file, executable file, or shared library, or may be in a separate file.
On some systems, e.g., z/OS, the debug information contains more than just the symbol tabled, e.g., the ADATA discussed in § OS/390 et al contains source code.
Debugging information can take up quite a bit of space, especially the filenames and line numbers. Thus, binaries with debug symbols can become quite large, often several times the stripped file size. To avoid this extra size, most operating system distributions ship binaries that are stripped, i.e. from which all of the debugging symbols have been removed. This is accomplished, for example, with the strip command in Unix. If the debugging information is in separate files, those files are usually not shipped with the distribution.