NAME

       gdb-add-index - Add index files to speed up GDB

SYNOPSIS

       gdb-add-index filename

DESCRIPTION

       When GDB finds a symbol file, it scans the symbols in the file in order to construct an
       internal symbol table.  This lets most GDB operations work quickly--at the cost of a delay
       early on.  For large programs, this delay can be quite lengthy, so GDB provides a way to
       build an index, which speeds up startup.

       To determine whether a file contains such an index, use the command "readelf -S filename":
       the index is stored in a section named ".gdb_index".  The index file can only be produced
       on systems which use ELF binaries and DWARF debug information (i.e., sections named
       ".debug_*").

       gdb-add-index uses GDB and objdump found in the PATH environment variable.  If you want to
       use different versions of these programs, you can specify them through the GDB and OBJDUMP
       environment variables.

       See more in the GDB manual in node "Index Files" -- shell command "info -f gdb -n "Index
       Files"".

OPTIONS

SEE ALSO

       The full documentation for GDB is maintained as a Texinfo manual.  If the "info" and "gdb"
       programs and GDB's Texinfo documentation are properly installed at your site, the command

               info gdb

       should give you access to the complete manual.

       Using GDB: A Guide to the GNU Source-Level Debugger, Richard M. Stallman and Roland H.
       Pesch, July 1991.

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright (c) 1988-2024 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

       Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of
       the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free
       Software Foundation; with the Invariant Sections being "Free Software" and "Free Software
       Needs Free Documentation", with the Front-Cover Texts being "A GNU Manual," and with the
       Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below.

       (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: "You are free to copy and modify this GNU Manual.
       Buying copies from GNU Press supports the FSF in developing GNU and promoting software
       freedom."