Re: [rfc] Annotation level THREE

[Andrew Cagney <ac131313 at redhat dot com>]

>  > > Perhaps I could turn that question round. Which annotations are you planning
>  > > to keep?
>  > 
>  > I think annotations can be split into two categores:
>  > 
>  > - events
>  > These let GDB notify the GUI of internal state changes.
>  > 
>  > - markups
>  > These try to make CLI output, intended solely for a human, machine parsable.
>  > 
>  > The events remain (target changed, breakpoint created, ....).  The 
>  > markups are removed (*-{begin,end})
>
> I would like to try this approach. Firstly for pragmatic reasons: this is
> what is being offered. Secondly, it will give me a chance to experiment with
> things like variable objects.
>
> I have just one question:
>
> How long do you expect level 3 annotations would remain in GDB?

How long is a piece of string?

Seriously.

Since the event notifications don't intrude into the CLI, and the new 
underlying event mechanism (observer.[hc]) is common to both annotations 
and the MI, I don't see there being a compelling reason to remove that 
mechanism (it's maintenance overhead is very low).

Contrast that to the markups that GDB is pushing hard to remove.  Their 
implementation intrudes badly into the CLI and hence, make it hard for 
GDB developers to consider even minor changes (for fear of breaking a 
GUI :-().

Andrew