news

bash debugger. You can use this tool to debug bash shell script

Version 3.1 0.09
2007-10-27

 - Add set/show trace-commands to make the same as gdb 6.6

 - show commands now allows for a starting number and +, same as gdb

 - Reduce assumption that undefined means '' - initialize more variables.
   (working towards inserting "set -u".

-  variable and tilde expansion now occurs in cd command. Note gdb
   does tilde expansion but not variable expansion like $HOME. 

-  add linetrace delay

-  make FreeBSD tests work, cygwin signals are working so test are run there

-  documentation updates

-  emacs code improved

-  some installation bugs fixed

-  file name was sometimes incorrectly reported when debugged script set IFS

Version 3.1 0.08
2007-1-20

 - Files coming from function line-specifications should be read in.
   Debian Bug #40336

 - add a gdb-like "load" command to force reading in a file.

 - negative numbers allowed in "frame" (and "up" and "down") commands. 
   In particular "frame -1" refers to the oldest frame.  Some
   refactoring of this code.

 - Note setting $PS4 in doc.

 - Help, manual-page and documentation fixes.

Version 3.1 0.07
2006-12-10

- Add gdb-like "signal" command

- Add "kill" command for those cases where "quit" doesn't work.

- Add mechanism to set up signal handlers so debugger is entered,
  or we just print the signal. 

- document how to do call line tracing from within a program, i.e.
  like the above signal handling setup, the debugger is not entered
  first.

- Allow an optional line-spec on "continue" debugger command.

- Add --enable-getopt option to disable GNU getopt for systems that have 
  non-GNU getopt like NetBSD

- Fix bug in tracking parameters $1, $2, etc

- Emacs interface bug fixes

- readarray builtin internal changes

- Document updates

- Make sure we don't complain about bash 3.2. This debugger works on both.

Version 3.1 0.06
2006-07-21

- Add gdb 'commands' command: 
  runs debugger commands at a specified breakpoint

- Add gdb 'info program'. (Shows program status)

- Add ability to invoke from inside a running program rather than
  at the outset (set_trace)

- Add a better line tracing:
   * shows bash nesting, 
   * bash subshell nesting
   * function nesting
   * source line preserving initial indentation

- Add line tracing command-line option in bashdb: -X, and long option --trace

- add ability to turn on and off line tracing from inside a program

- Revise sample sessions in bashdb document

- Sourcing a debugger command file now prints the 
  command before executing it.

- Executing a string (option -c or --command) shows the command
  to be run in the call stack.

- Attempt to get documentation on GNU Emacs section in order. Describe
  bashdbtrack.

- Go over documentation yet again. When will I ever get this right? 

Version 3.1 0.05 
2006-03-24

- Add complete (command completion), 

- Add cd, pwd

- Add gdb-style set/show logging.

- Better checking to see if we have  bash 3.1 (as opposed to 3.0)

- GNU Emacs debugging improvements, including...

- Add shell prompt tracking in GNU Emacs (bashdbtrack - like 
  Python's pdbtrack)

- Patches to allow VPATH (or build outside of source tree)

- Numerous documentation changes

- Break out command files even more.

Version 3.1 0.04 (initial 3.1 release)
2006-01-16

- Showing which command on a line with multiple commmands works again.
  Reinstate regression tests which use that.

- Add a loadable routine to read a script into an array fast. This
  speeds up the startup on reading large scripts very much.

- Install compiled GNU emacs lisp

- We were reporting script line sizes as one larger than the actual size

- Bash location matches installation in bashdb documentation

Version 3.00 0.03 (bugfix and palindromic-version-number release)
2005-12-10

- Changes to make ddd work better 
  * "info args" works correctly 
  * "help run" works
  * Do all the directory removing/creating/symbolic linking so that bash
    finds the include file it needs. This was real ugly. I couldn't have
    undertaken to try to figure this out without my GNU Makefile debugger
    and the "write" command.

Version 3.00 0.02 (cleanup release)
2005-07-24

- if texi2html isn't installed, don't give an error on "make" 
- allow regression tests to be run using the Bourne shell's /bin/sh
- removing failed tests on bash 3.0
- "make distcheck" now works
- go over INSTALL instructions

Version 3.00 0.01
2004-11-11

- First release for bash 3.0

Version 0.44
- Show progress bar during reading target scripts.

Version 0.43
2004-05-15

- Add "file" command
- Expand bash.1 to include more rebash extensions, e.g. variable names
- Improve documentation
- Fix bug listing line numbers and restarting when debugged program has
  done a cd. Save initial cwd.
- don't install gud unless we have emacs version 21.0 to 21.3.
- reduce spurious warnings in bash and rebash regression tests.
- test for null filename in reading in source.
- Lots of gcc -Wall compiler warnings removed. There were some potential
  uses of uninitalized variables (if not one outright bug).
- fix mis-configuration for OSs that have both GNU gettext and one in libc

Version 0.42
2003-09-20

- Autostuff improvements
- fixes to make Cygwin, OS X and AIX builds
- configurable package and executable names
- Allow modification the philosophical parts the bashdb reference
  manual to placate Matthias Klose and presumably Debian folks
- Bug: a comment line in the history was taken as a timestamp and we 
  dumped core. Non-timestamp comment lines should appear in the history now.
- Bug: was not expanding source filename in debugger the correct way.
- Mention HISTTIMEFORMAT in bash.1
- Add bashdb manual page.
- Changes to allow building outside of source tree.
- Add Debian bash 2.05b patches provided by Matthias Klose.

Version 0.41
2003-08-08

- The line number in multi-line assignments had been the line number where
  the assignment ends, not the beginning. Thus assignments with
  back-ticked subshells gave the wrong line number.
- V (info variables) command working thanks to Mikael Andersson
- Add "help show <command>" and "help info <command>"
- More global variables start out _Dbg_ now (e.g. source_ -> _Dbg_source_)
- Add long overdue THANKS

Version 0.40
2003-6-13

- "make distcheck" from debugger directory works
- bashdb doc moved under debugger directory
- Make portability changes for cygwin and OS's that don't have wcwidth
- Install public bash 2.05b patches 005-007
- use diff -u if that's available on regression tests

Version 0.39
2003-5-27

- history now is timestamped. Use environment variable HISTTIMEFORMAT
  to customize using strftime specifiers. 
- tty detection made less more generic
+ The timestamp patch is was posted to [e-mail]; there is no 
  response.


Version 0.38 
2003-4-29

- Was not finding source file if we did a cd in the debugged script 
  and the source file name was relative. Expand source file names.

Version 0.37
April Fool's Day 2003

-  As a result of the below ddd's break/clear icon/buttons should work:
  *  Add "set annotate". 
  *  Make breakpoint output more like gdb's. make show output more like gdb's
  *  Canonicalize filenames on breakpoints, actions, lists.
  *  add gdb "show dir" and do lookup based on source name and $cdir:$cwd
-  _bashdb_ -> _Dbg_
-  Add ~ to filename translation characters

Version 0.36

-  Bug: if IFS set character in filename: the filename would be truncated.
   Handle IFS save/restore more pervasively by saving on DEBUG handler
   entry.

-  Bug/Feature fix: Restart now quits all subshells before issuing its
   restart (exec) command.

-  Mechanism for having variables set in a subshell persist in a parent
   shell worked out. Some of the global debugger settings (like
   listsize, history) use this. 

-  debugger "print" command now uses double quote expansion rules. 
   (So print *** will expand filenames). We were having evaluation problems
   in printing strings like "This won't work" (the single quote). 

-  Bug: setting shell variables with double/single quotes other
   meta characters now works. 

-  Bug: caller() returned mismatched functions for line numbers/filenames.
   Also now returns null string if no caller.

-  Add + to list of filename translation characters.

+  Patches for this version is posted to bash maintainer; word March 31st
   2003, that bash debugger patches have been integrated in a modified
   form into "mainline bash code".

Version 0.35
-  Bug: if IFS was not blank setting  _bashdb_old_set_opts might fail.
   Save and restore IFS before using "set"

-  Bug: (parse.y) line number was not updated properly when in a here
   documented with an unquoted delimiter and containing backslash newline.

-  Bug, sort of: now set BASH_COMMAND to for head (for i in x y z ...) 
   in case head (case x in ), and in select head (select s in).

-  Feature: "restart" now saves debugger environment. Environment variable
   BASHDB_RESTART give the state file to read.

-  Add environment variable BASHDB_INPUT to have a debugger command
   file get read. This can be a space-separated list of files. Allow
   -x many times in bashdb.

-  Patches: Install public bash 2.05b patches 001-004.

-  When reading large fileswhich takes a long time (e.g. "configure"
   scripts), print out status every 1000 lines.

Version 0.34
-  Bug: if no script we were running "set" to dump environment.

-  Bug: "H count" was broken due to typo.

-  We now keep track of the subshell level: dynamic variable