[comp.sys.sun] Help with -P option of Sun's dbx

rside@uvicctr.UUCP (Robert Side) (01/13/89)

I need some help on how dbx and dbxtool communicate.

I am writing a (research) distributed debugger that will (is) running on a
network on suns. I would like to use dbx as the underlying debugger to
handle single process breakpoints and to get the values of variables. I
could write my own routines to do this but why re-invent the wheel.

Dbxtool creates a dbx process with the -P fd option.  This option tells
dbx to create a pipe with which its output can be sent to dbxtool. I too
would like to set up a pipe between dbx and my distributed debugger using
this option.

I would like to know what form (protocol) the data is in when it is sent
down the pipe.  I cannot find any information in the manuals.  I talked
with Mark Linton, the maintainer (author???) of dbx but he did not know
how the -P option worked since it is a Sun extenstion.

Can somebody send me, or tell me where to find, the information on the
protocol between dbx and dbxtool.

Thank you very much in advance.

Rob Side
-- 
Robert Side <rside@uvunix.uvic.cdn>
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