Newbie asks about .so libraries

[Jim Blandy]

renee517@yahoo.com writes:

> Here's a basic question.  Can gdb/insight debug code from .so files?
> 
> I have a library, compiled with debug information, and a main program, also with debug info.  If I start gdb with the main program, does gdb automatically dig up the debug info from any .so libraries used by the main program?  Can I set breakpoints on the source code in the .so file?
> 
> Or do I have to link statically for debugging purposes?

No, GDB doesn't know anything about the shared libraries until they're
loaded.  If you set a breakpoint on 'main', and run the program to it,
then GDB will know about the shared libraries, and you'll be able to
set breakpoints on them.