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Re: Move GDB to C++ ?


Paul Koning wrote:
"Stan" == Stan Shebs <stanshebs@earthlink.net> writes:

Stan> Mark Kettenis wrote:
>> I think this is an absolutely retarded idea. C++ is a horrible
>> programming language.
>> Stan> Okay... so, uh, since C++ is basically a superset of C,
Stan> presumably the horribleness you are thinking of relates to
Stan> specific extensions.


Maybe not. C is horrible, too. But I'm afraid it's unlikely that GDB
will get ported to, say, Modula-2.

True, on the other hand we do now have an example of what a true object oriented debugging and monitoring tool (written in Java) can look like. While C and C++ have serious limitations (I'm being polite :-), I think, for GDB, C++ does offer a way forward for modernising its architecture.


The one question I would pose though, is bashing up the current GDB code base until it compiles with C++ a reasonable approach? Each time C++ has been suggested previously, that has been the proposed path forward, and each time it has not moved (I've even tried it my self). Perhaps, instead, we should approach this more on a component basis - stack, expr, type, proc, debug-info, ..., and convert each chunk in turn. And also make use of newer technology such as some of the technology that accompanied GOLD. This would suggest working in parallel, in a src/gdbxx (gdb++) directory; while this is of course longer and harder, I believe we'll see better results.

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