[GSoC weekly report#6]How gdb get inferior's signal?

This week I have found out how gdb get inferior's signal.

The magic is the TRACED flags!

The first instruction a inferior will execute after  the first GDB run command is at 0x24f0 where is in /lib/ld.so _start() (macro RTLD_START defined in [glibc]/sysdeps/i386/dl_machine.h). Which will load the dynamic library and finally call init1()->_hurd_init()->_hurd_new_proc_init()->_hurdsig_init(). It will initialize the signal thread and let it listening on the inferior's msgport. The ptrace_me call will set the _hurdsig_traced variable (BTW, the gdb also will explicit set the _hurdsig_traced by msg_set_init_int() in if_set_traced()).

If _hurdsig_traced is set, whenever the inferior get any signal it will stop itself  (by call proc_dostop) and call proc_mark_stop to notify its father task by send_sigal(SIGCHLD) or by pthread_cond_broadcast() (ps: I am not clear about this function). [glibc/hurd/hurdsig.c  post_signal(): line754]  When the inferior stop himself, the S_proc_wait() will returned[1](GDB has called this before),  and send a reply message with msgID 24120 to GDB's event port. When GDB come back from the mach_msg(), it has known all things happened on inferior contains the signal of course. 

These is exist an exception, GDB can post a signal to the inferior by command signal. This command will use a so called msg_sig_post_untraced() RPC, then the signal thread will not pass the untraced signal to GDB back.

[1]the manual page of wait
wait, waitpid, waitid - wait for process to change state.  All of these system calls are used to wait for state changes in a child of the calling process, and obtain information about the child whose state has changed. A state change is considered to be: the child terminated; the child was stopped by a signal; or the child was resumed by a signal.

4 thoughts on “[GSoC weekly report#6]How gdb get inferior's signal?

  1. Also, I have do some prepare work of build gdbserver for GNU/HURD this week. such like change the Makefile.in, add Hurd-dep file etc. But haven't done. It exist some compiler error.

      • 不是在做协议分析么,怎没开始搞python了???
        在玩爬虫?爬什么网页啊
        你这英文太捉急了。。

  2. The signal recive by inferior is notified by the proc_server, not the send_signal. Because the send_singal send a SIGCHLD to gdb's msgport not gdbself.

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