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authorUlises Mendez Martinez <umendez@google.com>2026-09-04 15:07:09 +0000
committerJosh Poimboeuf <jpoimboe@kernel.org>2026-09-13 18:15:43 -0700
commit7e61560628d17ea6b1d8ee370f6d42694cff8758 (patch)
treee6080164b2f4c4c419894bdb3ce4d956ca9a98c5 /Documentation/process/debugging/index.rst
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objtool: Validate disassembler headers in libopcodes probegrafted
commit 3f2de814c059 ("objtool: Fix libopcodes linking with static libraries") tested for libopcodes availability by linking a test snippet with a forward declaration of disassemble_init_for_target(). However, testing symbol linkage with an extern declaration only verifies the presence of the library (.so/.a) and bypasses checking for development headers (binutils-dev). On systems where libopcodes is present without development headers installed, the probe succeeds, enabling BUILD_DISAS. Subsequent compilation of objtool then fails: fatal error: 'bfd.h' file not found 113 | #include <bfd.h> Additionally, the probe invokes $(HOSTCC) without $(HOSTCFLAGS), ignoring any sysroot or include flags specified for the host compiler. Fix this by including <bfd.h> and <dis-asm.h> directly in the test snippet, passing $(HOSTCFLAGS) so host compiler options are respected, and defining PACKAGE="objtool" to satisfy the configuration check in <bfd.h>. Fixes: 3f2de814c059 ("objtool: Fix libopcodes linking with static libraries") Fixes: 436326bc525d ("objtool: fix build failure due to missing libopcodes check") Reported-by: Alice Ryhl <aliceryhl@google.com> Assisted-by: Antigravity:Gemini-Next Signed-off-by: Ulises Mendez Martinez <umendez@google.com> Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260904150710.2997558-1-umendez@google.com Signed-off-by: Josh Poimboeuf <jpoimboe@kernel.org>
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+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+============================================
+Debugging advice for Linux Kernel developers
+============================================
+
+general guides
+--------------
+
+.. toctree::
+ :maxdepth: 1
+
+ driver_development_debugging_guide
+ gdb-kernel-debugging
+ kgdb
+ userspace_debugging_guide
+
+subsystem specific guides
+-------------------------
+
+.. toctree::
+ :maxdepth: 1
+
+ media_specific_debugging_guide
+
+General debugging advice
+========================
+
+Depending on the issue, a different set of tools is available to track down the
+problem or even to realize whether there is one in the first place.
+
+As a first step you have to figure out what kind of issue you want to debug.
+Depending on the answer, your methodology and choice of tools may vary.
+
+Do I need to debug with limited access?
+---------------------------------------
+
+Do you have limited access to the machine or are you unable to stop the running
+execution?
+
+In this case your debugging capability depends on built-in debugging support of
+provided distribution kernel.
+The :doc:`/process/debugging/userspace_debugging_guide` provides a brief
+overview over a range of possible debugging tools in that situation. You can
+check the capability of your kernel, in most cases, by looking into config file
+within the /boot directory.
+
+Do I have root access to the system?
+------------------------------------
+
+Are you easily able to replace the module in question or to install a new
+kernel?
+
+In that case your range of available tools is a lot bigger, you can find the
+tools in the :doc:`/process/debugging/driver_development_debugging_guide`.
+
+Is timing a factor?
+-------------------
+
+It is important to understand if the problem you want to debug manifests itself
+consistently (i.e. given a set of inputs you always get the same, incorrect
+output), or inconsistently. If it manifests itself inconsistently, some timing
+factor might be at play. If inserting delays into the code does change the
+behavior, then quite likely timing is a factor.
+
+When timing does alter the outcome of the code execution using a simple
+printk() for debugging purposes may not work, a similar alternative is to use
+trace_printk() , which logs the debug messages to the trace file instead of the
+kernel log.
+
+**Copyright** ©2024 : Collabora