C++ debug/print custom type with GDB : the case of nlohmann json library












11















I'm working on a project using nlohmann's json C++ implementation.



How can one easily explore nlohmann's JSON keys/vals in GDB ?



I tried to use this STL gdb wrapping since it provides helpers to explore STL structures that lohmann's JSON lib is using.
But I don't find it convenient.



Here is a simple use case:



json foo;
foo["flex"] = 0.2;
foo["awesome_str"] = "bleh";
foo["nested"] = {{"bar", "barz"}};


What I would like to have in GDB:



(gdb) p foo
{
"flex" : 0.2,
"awesome_str": "bleh",
"nested": etc.
}


Current behavior



(gdb) p foo
$1 = {
m_type = nlohmann::detail::value_t::object,
m_value = {
object = 0x129ccdd0,
array = 0x129ccdd0,
string = 0x129ccdd0,
boolean = 208,
number_integer = 312266192,
number_unsigned = 312266192,
number_float = 1.5427999782486669e-315
}
}
(gdb) p foo.at("flex")
Cannot evaluate function -- may be inlined // I suppose it depends on my compilation process. But I guess it does not invalidate the question.
(gdb) p *foo.m_value.object
$2 = {
_M_t = {
_M_impl = {
<std::allocator<std::_Rb_tree_node<std::pair<std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const, nlohmann::basic_json<std::map, std::vector, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >, bool, long long, unsigned long long, double, std::allocator, nlohmann::adl_serializer> > > >> = {
<__gnu_cxx::new_allocator<std::_Rb_tree_node<std::pair<std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const, nlohmann::basic_json<std::map, std::vector, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >, bool, long long, unsigned long long, double, std::allocator, nlohmann::adl_serializer> > > >> = {<No data fields>}, <No data fields>},
<std::_Rb_tree_key_compare<std::less<void> >> = {
_M_key_compare = {<No data fields>}
},
<std::_Rb_tree_header> = {
_M_header = {
_M_color = std::_S_red,
_M_parent = 0x4d72d0,
_M_left = 0x4d7210,
_M_right = 0x4d7270
},
_M_node_count = 5
}, <No data fields>}
}
}









share|improve this question




















  • 1





    You mean you don't find great joy manually digging through red/black trees to try and find something? ;)

    – Retired Ninja
    4 hours ago
















11















I'm working on a project using nlohmann's json C++ implementation.



How can one easily explore nlohmann's JSON keys/vals in GDB ?



I tried to use this STL gdb wrapping since it provides helpers to explore STL structures that lohmann's JSON lib is using.
But I don't find it convenient.



Here is a simple use case:



json foo;
foo["flex"] = 0.2;
foo["awesome_str"] = "bleh";
foo["nested"] = {{"bar", "barz"}};


What I would like to have in GDB:



(gdb) p foo
{
"flex" : 0.2,
"awesome_str": "bleh",
"nested": etc.
}


Current behavior



(gdb) p foo
$1 = {
m_type = nlohmann::detail::value_t::object,
m_value = {
object = 0x129ccdd0,
array = 0x129ccdd0,
string = 0x129ccdd0,
boolean = 208,
number_integer = 312266192,
number_unsigned = 312266192,
number_float = 1.5427999782486669e-315
}
}
(gdb) p foo.at("flex")
Cannot evaluate function -- may be inlined // I suppose it depends on my compilation process. But I guess it does not invalidate the question.
(gdb) p *foo.m_value.object
$2 = {
_M_t = {
_M_impl = {
<std::allocator<std::_Rb_tree_node<std::pair<std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const, nlohmann::basic_json<std::map, std::vector, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >, bool, long long, unsigned long long, double, std::allocator, nlohmann::adl_serializer> > > >> = {
<__gnu_cxx::new_allocator<std::_Rb_tree_node<std::pair<std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const, nlohmann::basic_json<std::map, std::vector, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >, bool, long long, unsigned long long, double, std::allocator, nlohmann::adl_serializer> > > >> = {<No data fields>}, <No data fields>},
<std::_Rb_tree_key_compare<std::less<void> >> = {
_M_key_compare = {<No data fields>}
},
<std::_Rb_tree_header> = {
_M_header = {
_M_color = std::_S_red,
_M_parent = 0x4d72d0,
_M_left = 0x4d7210,
_M_right = 0x4d7270
},
_M_node_count = 5
}, <No data fields>}
}
}









share|improve this question




















  • 1





    You mean you don't find great joy manually digging through red/black trees to try and find something? ;)

    – Retired Ninja
    4 hours ago














11












11








11








I'm working on a project using nlohmann's json C++ implementation.



How can one easily explore nlohmann's JSON keys/vals in GDB ?



I tried to use this STL gdb wrapping since it provides helpers to explore STL structures that lohmann's JSON lib is using.
But I don't find it convenient.



Here is a simple use case:



json foo;
foo["flex"] = 0.2;
foo["awesome_str"] = "bleh";
foo["nested"] = {{"bar", "barz"}};


What I would like to have in GDB:



(gdb) p foo
{
"flex" : 0.2,
"awesome_str": "bleh",
"nested": etc.
}


Current behavior



(gdb) p foo
$1 = {
m_type = nlohmann::detail::value_t::object,
m_value = {
object = 0x129ccdd0,
array = 0x129ccdd0,
string = 0x129ccdd0,
boolean = 208,
number_integer = 312266192,
number_unsigned = 312266192,
number_float = 1.5427999782486669e-315
}
}
(gdb) p foo.at("flex")
Cannot evaluate function -- may be inlined // I suppose it depends on my compilation process. But I guess it does not invalidate the question.
(gdb) p *foo.m_value.object
$2 = {
_M_t = {
_M_impl = {
<std::allocator<std::_Rb_tree_node<std::pair<std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const, nlohmann::basic_json<std::map, std::vector, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >, bool, long long, unsigned long long, double, std::allocator, nlohmann::adl_serializer> > > >> = {
<__gnu_cxx::new_allocator<std::_Rb_tree_node<std::pair<std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const, nlohmann::basic_json<std::map, std::vector, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >, bool, long long, unsigned long long, double, std::allocator, nlohmann::adl_serializer> > > >> = {<No data fields>}, <No data fields>},
<std::_Rb_tree_key_compare<std::less<void> >> = {
_M_key_compare = {<No data fields>}
},
<std::_Rb_tree_header> = {
_M_header = {
_M_color = std::_S_red,
_M_parent = 0x4d72d0,
_M_left = 0x4d7210,
_M_right = 0x4d7270
},
_M_node_count = 5
}, <No data fields>}
}
}









share|improve this question
















I'm working on a project using nlohmann's json C++ implementation.



How can one easily explore nlohmann's JSON keys/vals in GDB ?



I tried to use this STL gdb wrapping since it provides helpers to explore STL structures that lohmann's JSON lib is using.
But I don't find it convenient.



Here is a simple use case:



json foo;
foo["flex"] = 0.2;
foo["awesome_str"] = "bleh";
foo["nested"] = {{"bar", "barz"}};


What I would like to have in GDB:



(gdb) p foo
{
"flex" : 0.2,
"awesome_str": "bleh",
"nested": etc.
}


Current behavior



(gdb) p foo
$1 = {
m_type = nlohmann::detail::value_t::object,
m_value = {
object = 0x129ccdd0,
array = 0x129ccdd0,
string = 0x129ccdd0,
boolean = 208,
number_integer = 312266192,
number_unsigned = 312266192,
number_float = 1.5427999782486669e-315
}
}
(gdb) p foo.at("flex")
Cannot evaluate function -- may be inlined // I suppose it depends on my compilation process. But I guess it does not invalidate the question.
(gdb) p *foo.m_value.object
$2 = {
_M_t = {
_M_impl = {
<std::allocator<std::_Rb_tree_node<std::pair<std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const, nlohmann::basic_json<std::map, std::vector, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >, bool, long long, unsigned long long, double, std::allocator, nlohmann::adl_serializer> > > >> = {
<__gnu_cxx::new_allocator<std::_Rb_tree_node<std::pair<std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const, nlohmann::basic_json<std::map, std::vector, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >, bool, long long, unsigned long long, double, std::allocator, nlohmann::adl_serializer> > > >> = {<No data fields>}, <No data fields>},
<std::_Rb_tree_key_compare<std::less<void> >> = {
_M_key_compare = {<No data fields>}
},
<std::_Rb_tree_header> = {
_M_header = {
_M_color = std::_S_red,
_M_parent = 0x4d72d0,
_M_left = 0x4d7210,
_M_right = 0x4d7270
},
_M_node_count = 5
}, <No data fields>}
}
}






c++ json gdb pretty-print nlohmann-json






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edited 4 hours ago







LoneWanderer

















asked 10 hours ago









LoneWandererLoneWanderer

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  • 1





    You mean you don't find great joy manually digging through red/black trees to try and find something? ;)

    – Retired Ninja
    4 hours ago














  • 1





    You mean you don't find great joy manually digging through red/black trees to try and find something? ;)

    – Retired Ninja
    4 hours ago








1




1





You mean you don't find great joy manually digging through red/black trees to try and find something? ;)

– Retired Ninja
4 hours ago





You mean you don't find great joy manually digging through red/black trees to try and find something? ;)

– Retired Ninja
4 hours ago












1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes


















16














I found my own answer reading further the GDB capabilities and stack overflow questions concerning print of std::string.
The short path is the best option for now.



Short path



I simply defined a gdb command as follows:



# this is a gdb script
# can be loaded from gdb using
# source my_script.txt (or. gdb or whatever you like)
define pjson
# use the lohmann's builtin dump method, ident 4 and use space separator
printf "%sn", $arg0.dump(4, ' ', true).c_str()
end
# configure command helper (text displayed when typing 'help pjson' in gdb)
document pjson
Prints a lohmann's JSON C++ variable as a human-readable JSON string
end


Using it in gdb:



(gdb) source my_custom_script.gdb
(gdb) pjson foo
{
"flex" : 0.2,
"awesome_str": "bleh",
"nested": {
"bar": "barz"
}
}




Over the top (but not working for me)



The other way is to define a GDB pretty printer in python and make it tightly associated to your project (autoloading stuff activated). See this link for an in-depth approach.



Basically, when in gdb you would type:



(gdb) p foo


and GDB will automagically test for foo's type and invoke the associated pretty printer if any. That would end-up in the same result. The main difference is that it is done using the well-known print command. The person debugging would not have to learn a new command (like the pjson defined in the short answer).



Below, some GDB doc extract + a python code attempt that does not work.





Quoting:




A pretty-printer consists of two parts: a lookup function to detect if the type is supported, and the printer itself.



Here is an example showing how a std::string printer might be written. See Pretty Printing API, for details on the API this class must provide.




class StdStringPrinter(object):
"Print a std::string"

def __init__(self, val):
self.val = val

def to_string(self):
return self.val['_M_dataplus']['_M_p']

def display_hint(self):
return 'string'


Still quoting for the sake of completness:




And here is an example showing how a lookup function for the printer example above might be written.




def str_lookup_function(val):
lookup_tag = val.type.tag
if lookup_tag == None:
return None
regex = re.compile("^std::basic_string<char,.*>$")
if regex.match(lookup_tag):
return StdStringPrinter(val)
return None




I tried to implement it this way. However, I have a 100% failure rate with the following code, with cryptic GDB error messages (see below the code sample)



Nota: it relies on the trick provided here that is supposed to allow a C++ class method call within GDB, bypassing the Value.Type check (object methods can be found and their value.Type would be gdb.TYPE_CODE_METHOD, but gdb python won't consider them callable. Only gdb.TYPE_CODE_FUNC are callable. So, parse_and_evalacts as an hack to perform actual method call).



import gdb
import re

class StdStringPrinter(object):
"""Print a std::string"""
def __init__(self, val):
self.val = val
def to_string(self):
eval_string = "(*("+str(self.val.type)+"*)("+str(self.val.address)+")).c_str()" # works 50% of the time ...
return gdb.parse_and_eval(eval_string)
def display_hint(self):
return 'string'

class LohmannJSONPrinter(object):
"""Print a nlohmann::json"""
def __init__(self, val):
self.val = val
def to_string(self):

# workaround from here:
# https://stackoverflow.com/a/22798055/7237062
# "(*("+str(self.val.type)+"*)("+str(self.val.address)+")).method()"
eval_string = '(*('+str(self.val.type)+'*)('+str(self.val.address)+')).dump(4, " ", true)'
return gdb.parse_and_eval(eval_string) # fails 100% of the time
def display_hint(self):
return self.val.type

def build_pretty_printer():
pp = gdb.printing.RegexpCollectionPrettyPrinter("foo")
json = r"nlohmann::basic_json<std::map, std::vector, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >, bool, long long, unsigned long long, double, std::allocator, nlohmann::adl_serializer>"
pp.add_printer('nlohmann::json', json, LohmannJSONPrinter)
return pp

# executed at autoload gdb.printing.register_pretty_printer(gdb.current_objfile(),
build_pretty_printer())


Errors:



Cannot insert breakpoint -18. // or any negative value
Cannot access memory at address 0x111a2180 // appears to be a fixed value at each execution
Python Exception <class 'gdb.error'> Command aborted.


or



$2 = Python Exception <class 'gdb.error'> Attempt to take address of value not located in memory.:





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    16














    I found my own answer reading further the GDB capabilities and stack overflow questions concerning print of std::string.
    The short path is the best option for now.



    Short path



    I simply defined a gdb command as follows:



    # this is a gdb script
    # can be loaded from gdb using
    # source my_script.txt (or. gdb or whatever you like)
    define pjson
    # use the lohmann's builtin dump method, ident 4 and use space separator
    printf "%sn", $arg0.dump(4, ' ', true).c_str()
    end
    # configure command helper (text displayed when typing 'help pjson' in gdb)
    document pjson
    Prints a lohmann's JSON C++ variable as a human-readable JSON string
    end


    Using it in gdb:



    (gdb) source my_custom_script.gdb
    (gdb) pjson foo
    {
    "flex" : 0.2,
    "awesome_str": "bleh",
    "nested": {
    "bar": "barz"
    }
    }




    Over the top (but not working for me)



    The other way is to define a GDB pretty printer in python and make it tightly associated to your project (autoloading stuff activated). See this link for an in-depth approach.



    Basically, when in gdb you would type:



    (gdb) p foo


    and GDB will automagically test for foo's type and invoke the associated pretty printer if any. That would end-up in the same result. The main difference is that it is done using the well-known print command. The person debugging would not have to learn a new command (like the pjson defined in the short answer).



    Below, some GDB doc extract + a python code attempt that does not work.





    Quoting:




    A pretty-printer consists of two parts: a lookup function to detect if the type is supported, and the printer itself.



    Here is an example showing how a std::string printer might be written. See Pretty Printing API, for details on the API this class must provide.




    class StdStringPrinter(object):
    "Print a std::string"

    def __init__(self, val):
    self.val = val

    def to_string(self):
    return self.val['_M_dataplus']['_M_p']

    def display_hint(self):
    return 'string'


    Still quoting for the sake of completness:




    And here is an example showing how a lookup function for the printer example above might be written.




    def str_lookup_function(val):
    lookup_tag = val.type.tag
    if lookup_tag == None:
    return None
    regex = re.compile("^std::basic_string<char,.*>$")
    if regex.match(lookup_tag):
    return StdStringPrinter(val)
    return None




    I tried to implement it this way. However, I have a 100% failure rate with the following code, with cryptic GDB error messages (see below the code sample)



    Nota: it relies on the trick provided here that is supposed to allow a C++ class method call within GDB, bypassing the Value.Type check (object methods can be found and their value.Type would be gdb.TYPE_CODE_METHOD, but gdb python won't consider them callable. Only gdb.TYPE_CODE_FUNC are callable. So, parse_and_evalacts as an hack to perform actual method call).



    import gdb
    import re

    class StdStringPrinter(object):
    """Print a std::string"""
    def __init__(self, val):
    self.val = val
    def to_string(self):
    eval_string = "(*("+str(self.val.type)+"*)("+str(self.val.address)+")).c_str()" # works 50% of the time ...
    return gdb.parse_and_eval(eval_string)
    def display_hint(self):
    return 'string'

    class LohmannJSONPrinter(object):
    """Print a nlohmann::json"""
    def __init__(self, val):
    self.val = val
    def to_string(self):

    # workaround from here:
    # https://stackoverflow.com/a/22798055/7237062
    # "(*("+str(self.val.type)+"*)("+str(self.val.address)+")).method()"
    eval_string = '(*('+str(self.val.type)+'*)('+str(self.val.address)+')).dump(4, " ", true)'
    return gdb.parse_and_eval(eval_string) # fails 100% of the time
    def display_hint(self):
    return self.val.type

    def build_pretty_printer():
    pp = gdb.printing.RegexpCollectionPrettyPrinter("foo")
    json = r"nlohmann::basic_json<std::map, std::vector, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >, bool, long long, unsigned long long, double, std::allocator, nlohmann::adl_serializer>"
    pp.add_printer('nlohmann::json', json, LohmannJSONPrinter)
    return pp

    # executed at autoload gdb.printing.register_pretty_printer(gdb.current_objfile(),
    build_pretty_printer())


    Errors:



    Cannot insert breakpoint -18. // or any negative value
    Cannot access memory at address 0x111a2180 // appears to be a fixed value at each execution
    Python Exception <class 'gdb.error'> Command aborted.


    or



    $2 = Python Exception <class 'gdb.error'> Attempt to take address of value not located in memory.:





    share|improve this answer






























      16














      I found my own answer reading further the GDB capabilities and stack overflow questions concerning print of std::string.
      The short path is the best option for now.



      Short path



      I simply defined a gdb command as follows:



      # this is a gdb script
      # can be loaded from gdb using
      # source my_script.txt (or. gdb or whatever you like)
      define pjson
      # use the lohmann's builtin dump method, ident 4 and use space separator
      printf "%sn", $arg0.dump(4, ' ', true).c_str()
      end
      # configure command helper (text displayed when typing 'help pjson' in gdb)
      document pjson
      Prints a lohmann's JSON C++ variable as a human-readable JSON string
      end


      Using it in gdb:



      (gdb) source my_custom_script.gdb
      (gdb) pjson foo
      {
      "flex" : 0.2,
      "awesome_str": "bleh",
      "nested": {
      "bar": "barz"
      }
      }




      Over the top (but not working for me)



      The other way is to define a GDB pretty printer in python and make it tightly associated to your project (autoloading stuff activated). See this link for an in-depth approach.



      Basically, when in gdb you would type:



      (gdb) p foo


      and GDB will automagically test for foo's type and invoke the associated pretty printer if any. That would end-up in the same result. The main difference is that it is done using the well-known print command. The person debugging would not have to learn a new command (like the pjson defined in the short answer).



      Below, some GDB doc extract + a python code attempt that does not work.





      Quoting:




      A pretty-printer consists of two parts: a lookup function to detect if the type is supported, and the printer itself.



      Here is an example showing how a std::string printer might be written. See Pretty Printing API, for details on the API this class must provide.




      class StdStringPrinter(object):
      "Print a std::string"

      def __init__(self, val):
      self.val = val

      def to_string(self):
      return self.val['_M_dataplus']['_M_p']

      def display_hint(self):
      return 'string'


      Still quoting for the sake of completness:




      And here is an example showing how a lookup function for the printer example above might be written.




      def str_lookup_function(val):
      lookup_tag = val.type.tag
      if lookup_tag == None:
      return None
      regex = re.compile("^std::basic_string<char,.*>$")
      if regex.match(lookup_tag):
      return StdStringPrinter(val)
      return None




      I tried to implement it this way. However, I have a 100% failure rate with the following code, with cryptic GDB error messages (see below the code sample)



      Nota: it relies on the trick provided here that is supposed to allow a C++ class method call within GDB, bypassing the Value.Type check (object methods can be found and their value.Type would be gdb.TYPE_CODE_METHOD, but gdb python won't consider them callable. Only gdb.TYPE_CODE_FUNC are callable. So, parse_and_evalacts as an hack to perform actual method call).



      import gdb
      import re

      class StdStringPrinter(object):
      """Print a std::string"""
      def __init__(self, val):
      self.val = val
      def to_string(self):
      eval_string = "(*("+str(self.val.type)+"*)("+str(self.val.address)+")).c_str()" # works 50% of the time ...
      return gdb.parse_and_eval(eval_string)
      def display_hint(self):
      return 'string'

      class LohmannJSONPrinter(object):
      """Print a nlohmann::json"""
      def __init__(self, val):
      self.val = val
      def to_string(self):

      # workaround from here:
      # https://stackoverflow.com/a/22798055/7237062
      # "(*("+str(self.val.type)+"*)("+str(self.val.address)+")).method()"
      eval_string = '(*('+str(self.val.type)+'*)('+str(self.val.address)+')).dump(4, " ", true)'
      return gdb.parse_and_eval(eval_string) # fails 100% of the time
      def display_hint(self):
      return self.val.type

      def build_pretty_printer():
      pp = gdb.printing.RegexpCollectionPrettyPrinter("foo")
      json = r"nlohmann::basic_json<std::map, std::vector, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >, bool, long long, unsigned long long, double, std::allocator, nlohmann::adl_serializer>"
      pp.add_printer('nlohmann::json', json, LohmannJSONPrinter)
      return pp

      # executed at autoload gdb.printing.register_pretty_printer(gdb.current_objfile(),
      build_pretty_printer())


      Errors:



      Cannot insert breakpoint -18. // or any negative value
      Cannot access memory at address 0x111a2180 // appears to be a fixed value at each execution
      Python Exception <class 'gdb.error'> Command aborted.


      or



      $2 = Python Exception <class 'gdb.error'> Attempt to take address of value not located in memory.:





      share|improve this answer




























        16












        16








        16







        I found my own answer reading further the GDB capabilities and stack overflow questions concerning print of std::string.
        The short path is the best option for now.



        Short path



        I simply defined a gdb command as follows:



        # this is a gdb script
        # can be loaded from gdb using
        # source my_script.txt (or. gdb or whatever you like)
        define pjson
        # use the lohmann's builtin dump method, ident 4 and use space separator
        printf "%sn", $arg0.dump(4, ' ', true).c_str()
        end
        # configure command helper (text displayed when typing 'help pjson' in gdb)
        document pjson
        Prints a lohmann's JSON C++ variable as a human-readable JSON string
        end


        Using it in gdb:



        (gdb) source my_custom_script.gdb
        (gdb) pjson foo
        {
        "flex" : 0.2,
        "awesome_str": "bleh",
        "nested": {
        "bar": "barz"
        }
        }




        Over the top (but not working for me)



        The other way is to define a GDB pretty printer in python and make it tightly associated to your project (autoloading stuff activated). See this link for an in-depth approach.



        Basically, when in gdb you would type:



        (gdb) p foo


        and GDB will automagically test for foo's type and invoke the associated pretty printer if any. That would end-up in the same result. The main difference is that it is done using the well-known print command. The person debugging would not have to learn a new command (like the pjson defined in the short answer).



        Below, some GDB doc extract + a python code attempt that does not work.





        Quoting:




        A pretty-printer consists of two parts: a lookup function to detect if the type is supported, and the printer itself.



        Here is an example showing how a std::string printer might be written. See Pretty Printing API, for details on the API this class must provide.




        class StdStringPrinter(object):
        "Print a std::string"

        def __init__(self, val):
        self.val = val

        def to_string(self):
        return self.val['_M_dataplus']['_M_p']

        def display_hint(self):
        return 'string'


        Still quoting for the sake of completness:




        And here is an example showing how a lookup function for the printer example above might be written.




        def str_lookup_function(val):
        lookup_tag = val.type.tag
        if lookup_tag == None:
        return None
        regex = re.compile("^std::basic_string<char,.*>$")
        if regex.match(lookup_tag):
        return StdStringPrinter(val)
        return None




        I tried to implement it this way. However, I have a 100% failure rate with the following code, with cryptic GDB error messages (see below the code sample)



        Nota: it relies on the trick provided here that is supposed to allow a C++ class method call within GDB, bypassing the Value.Type check (object methods can be found and their value.Type would be gdb.TYPE_CODE_METHOD, but gdb python won't consider them callable. Only gdb.TYPE_CODE_FUNC are callable. So, parse_and_evalacts as an hack to perform actual method call).



        import gdb
        import re

        class StdStringPrinter(object):
        """Print a std::string"""
        def __init__(self, val):
        self.val = val
        def to_string(self):
        eval_string = "(*("+str(self.val.type)+"*)("+str(self.val.address)+")).c_str()" # works 50% of the time ...
        return gdb.parse_and_eval(eval_string)
        def display_hint(self):
        return 'string'

        class LohmannJSONPrinter(object):
        """Print a nlohmann::json"""
        def __init__(self, val):
        self.val = val
        def to_string(self):

        # workaround from here:
        # https://stackoverflow.com/a/22798055/7237062
        # "(*("+str(self.val.type)+"*)("+str(self.val.address)+")).method()"
        eval_string = '(*('+str(self.val.type)+'*)('+str(self.val.address)+')).dump(4, " ", true)'
        return gdb.parse_and_eval(eval_string) # fails 100% of the time
        def display_hint(self):
        return self.val.type

        def build_pretty_printer():
        pp = gdb.printing.RegexpCollectionPrettyPrinter("foo")
        json = r"nlohmann::basic_json<std::map, std::vector, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >, bool, long long, unsigned long long, double, std::allocator, nlohmann::adl_serializer>"
        pp.add_printer('nlohmann::json', json, LohmannJSONPrinter)
        return pp

        # executed at autoload gdb.printing.register_pretty_printer(gdb.current_objfile(),
        build_pretty_printer())


        Errors:



        Cannot insert breakpoint -18. // or any negative value
        Cannot access memory at address 0x111a2180 // appears to be a fixed value at each execution
        Python Exception <class 'gdb.error'> Command aborted.


        or



        $2 = Python Exception <class 'gdb.error'> Attempt to take address of value not located in memory.:





        share|improve this answer















        I found my own answer reading further the GDB capabilities and stack overflow questions concerning print of std::string.
        The short path is the best option for now.



        Short path



        I simply defined a gdb command as follows:



        # this is a gdb script
        # can be loaded from gdb using
        # source my_script.txt (or. gdb or whatever you like)
        define pjson
        # use the lohmann's builtin dump method, ident 4 and use space separator
        printf "%sn", $arg0.dump(4, ' ', true).c_str()
        end
        # configure command helper (text displayed when typing 'help pjson' in gdb)
        document pjson
        Prints a lohmann's JSON C++ variable as a human-readable JSON string
        end


        Using it in gdb:



        (gdb) source my_custom_script.gdb
        (gdb) pjson foo
        {
        "flex" : 0.2,
        "awesome_str": "bleh",
        "nested": {
        "bar": "barz"
        }
        }




        Over the top (but not working for me)



        The other way is to define a GDB pretty printer in python and make it tightly associated to your project (autoloading stuff activated). See this link for an in-depth approach.



        Basically, when in gdb you would type:



        (gdb) p foo


        and GDB will automagically test for foo's type and invoke the associated pretty printer if any. That would end-up in the same result. The main difference is that it is done using the well-known print command. The person debugging would not have to learn a new command (like the pjson defined in the short answer).



        Below, some GDB doc extract + a python code attempt that does not work.





        Quoting:




        A pretty-printer consists of two parts: a lookup function to detect if the type is supported, and the printer itself.



        Here is an example showing how a std::string printer might be written. See Pretty Printing API, for details on the API this class must provide.




        class StdStringPrinter(object):
        "Print a std::string"

        def __init__(self, val):
        self.val = val

        def to_string(self):
        return self.val['_M_dataplus']['_M_p']

        def display_hint(self):
        return 'string'


        Still quoting for the sake of completness:




        And here is an example showing how a lookup function for the printer example above might be written.




        def str_lookup_function(val):
        lookup_tag = val.type.tag
        if lookup_tag == None:
        return None
        regex = re.compile("^std::basic_string<char,.*>$")
        if regex.match(lookup_tag):
        return StdStringPrinter(val)
        return None




        I tried to implement it this way. However, I have a 100% failure rate with the following code, with cryptic GDB error messages (see below the code sample)



        Nota: it relies on the trick provided here that is supposed to allow a C++ class method call within GDB, bypassing the Value.Type check (object methods can be found and their value.Type would be gdb.TYPE_CODE_METHOD, but gdb python won't consider them callable. Only gdb.TYPE_CODE_FUNC are callable. So, parse_and_evalacts as an hack to perform actual method call).



        import gdb
        import re

        class StdStringPrinter(object):
        """Print a std::string"""
        def __init__(self, val):
        self.val = val
        def to_string(self):
        eval_string = "(*("+str(self.val.type)+"*)("+str(self.val.address)+")).c_str()" # works 50% of the time ...
        return gdb.parse_and_eval(eval_string)
        def display_hint(self):
        return 'string'

        class LohmannJSONPrinter(object):
        """Print a nlohmann::json"""
        def __init__(self, val):
        self.val = val
        def to_string(self):

        # workaround from here:
        # https://stackoverflow.com/a/22798055/7237062
        # "(*("+str(self.val.type)+"*)("+str(self.val.address)+")).method()"
        eval_string = '(*('+str(self.val.type)+'*)('+str(self.val.address)+')).dump(4, " ", true)'
        return gdb.parse_and_eval(eval_string) # fails 100% of the time
        def display_hint(self):
        return self.val.type

        def build_pretty_printer():
        pp = gdb.printing.RegexpCollectionPrettyPrinter("foo")
        json = r"nlohmann::basic_json<std::map, std::vector, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >, bool, long long, unsigned long long, double, std::allocator, nlohmann::adl_serializer>"
        pp.add_printer('nlohmann::json', json, LohmannJSONPrinter)
        return pp

        # executed at autoload gdb.printing.register_pretty_printer(gdb.current_objfile(),
        build_pretty_printer())


        Errors:



        Cannot insert breakpoint -18. // or any negative value
        Cannot access memory at address 0x111a2180 // appears to be a fixed value at each execution
        Python Exception <class 'gdb.error'> Command aborted.


        or



        $2 = Python Exception <class 'gdb.error'> Attempt to take address of value not located in memory.:






        share|improve this answer














        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer








        edited 7 mins ago

























        answered 10 hours ago









        LoneWandererLoneWanderer

        1,147825




        1,147825
































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