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Evaluating and printing expressions in zxdb

Zxdb can evaluates simple C, C++, and Rust expressions. The most common place to evaluate an expression in Zxdb is with the print command. Expressions can also be used for most commands that take a memory location as an argument such as stack or mem-read.

Evaluating an expression requires a stack frame, which in turn requires a process with a paused thread. If the process is currently running, use the pause command.

The most basic print command shows the current value of a variable in the current stack frame:

[zxdb] print i
34

More complex expressions are also supported:

[zxdb] print &foo->bar[baz]
(const MyStruct*) 0x59f4e1268f70

Expressions can be evaluated in the context of other stack frames without switching to them by specifying the desired stack frame as a prefix (see Interaction model):

[zxdb] frame 2 print argv[0]
"/bin/cowsay"

Languages

Note: C++ and Rust are supported.

Expression evaluation takes the expression programming language from the current stack frame. If the current frame's language is different, Zxdb defaults to C++.

The default language can be overridden with the lauguage setting, which can take the values auto (use the current frame's language), rust, and c++:

[zxdb] set language rust

Switches

The print command accepts these switches. To write an expression beginning with a hyphen, use -- to mark the end of switches. Following hyphens are treated as part of the expression:

[zxdb] print -- -i

  • --max-array=<number>: Specifies the maximum array size to print. By default this is 256. Specifying large values slows down expression evaluation and makes the output harder to read, but the default is sometimes insufficient. This also applies to strings.

  • --raw or -r: Bypass pretty-printers and show the raw type information.

  • --types or -t: Force type printing on. The type of every value printed is explicitly shown. Implies -v.

  • --verbose or -v: Don't omit type names. Show reference addresses and pointer types.

Special variables

CPU registers can be referred to with the $reg(register name) syntax. For example, to display the ARM register v3:

[zxdb] print $reg(v3)
0x573a420f128

CPU registers can also be used unescaped as long as no variable in the current scope has the same name. Registers can also be used like any other variable in more complex expressions:

[zxdb] print rax + rbx

Vector registers can be treated as arrays according to the vector-format setting.

[zxdb] print ymm1
{3.141593, 1.0, 0, 0}

[zxdb] print ymm[0] * 2
6.28319

Sometimes an identifier may have a name that is not parseable in the current language. This is often the case for compiler-generated symbols. Enclose such strings in "$(...)". Parentheses inside the escaped contents can be literal as long as they are balanced, otherwise, escape them by preceeding with a backslash. Include a literal backslash with two blackslashes:

  • $(something with spaces)
  • {% verbatim %}$({{impl}}){% endverbatim %} {# note: the verbatim block is to avoid issues with the fuchsia.dev template engine #}
  • $(some_closure(data))
  • $(line\)noise\\)

Setting variables

The print command can also mutate data, allowing variables to be set from expressions. For example:

[zxdb] print done_flag = true
true
[zddb] print i = 56
56

Other data display commands

  • Memory display commands are covered in the memory section.
  • Register display commands are covered in the assembly section.

The locals command

The locals command shows all local variables in the current stack frame. It accepts the same switches as print:

[zxdb] locals
argc = 1
argv = (const char* const*) 0x59999ec02dc0

The display command

When stepping through a function, it can be useful to automatically print one or more expressions each time the program stops. The display command adds a given expression to this list:

[zxdb] display status
Added to display for every stop: status

[zxdb] next
🛑 main(…) • main.cc:48

    [code dump]

status = 5;