doc: Add "Installing Debugging Files".
* doc/guix.texi (Installing Debugging Files): New node. (Packages with Multiple Outputs): Add cross-reference.
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@ -707,10 +707,12 @@ output, whereas the GUIs are in a separate output. This allows users
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who do not need the GUIs to save space.
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There are several such multiple-output packages in the GNU distribution.
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Other conventional output names are @code{lib} for libraries and
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possibly header files, and @code{bin} for stand-alone programs. The
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outputs of a packages are listed in the third column of the output of
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@command{guix package --list-available} (@pxref{Invoking guix package}).
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Other conventional output names include @code{lib} for libraries and
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possibly header files, @code{bin} for stand-alone programs, and
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@code{debug} for debugging information (@pxref{Installing Debugging
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Files}). The outputs of a packages are listed in the third column of
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the output of @command{guix package --list-available} (@pxref{Invoking
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guix package}).
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@node Invoking guix gc
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@ -1481,6 +1483,7 @@ tools that help users exert that freedom.
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@menu
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* Packaging Guidelines:: What goes into the distribution.
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* Installing Debugging Files:: Feeding the debugger.
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* Package Modules:: Packages from the programmer's viewpoint.
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* Bootstrapping:: GNU/Linux built from scratch.
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* Porting:: Targeting another platform or kernel.
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@ -1509,6 +1512,64 @@ reject non-free firmware, recommendations of non-free software, and
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discuss ways to deal with trademarks and patents.
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@node Installing Debugging Files
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@section Installing Debugging Files
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Program binaries, as produced by the GCC compilers for instance, are
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typically written in the ELF format, with a section containing
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@dfn{debugging information}. Debugging information is what allows the
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debugger, GDB, to map binary code to source code; it is required to
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debug a compiled program in good conditions.
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The problem with debugging information is that is takes up a fair amount
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of disk space. For example, debugging information for the GNU C Library
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weighs in at more than 60 MiB. Thus, as a user, keeping all the
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debugging info of all the installed programs is usually not an option.
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Yet, space savings should not come at the cost of an impediment to
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debugging---especially in the GNU system, which should make it easier
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for users to exert their computing freedom (@pxref{GNU Distribution}).
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Thankfully, the GNU Binary Utilities (Binutils) and GDB provide a
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mechanism that allows users to get the best of both worlds: debugging
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information can be stripped from the binaries and stored in separate
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files. GDB is then able to load debugging information from those files,
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when they are available (@pxref{Separate Debug Files,,, gdb, Debugging
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with GDB}).
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The GNU distribution takes advantage of this by storing debugging
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information in the @code{lib/debug} sub-directory of a separate package
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output unimaginatively called @code{debug} (@pxref{Packages with
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Multiple Outputs}). Users can choose to install the @code{debug} output
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of a package when they need it. For instance, the following command
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installs the debugging information for the GNU C Library and for GNU
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Guile:
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@example
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guix package -i glibc:debug -i guile:debug
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@end example
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GDB must then be told to look for debug files in the user's profile, by
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setting the @code{debug-file-directory} variable (consider setting it
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from the @file{~/.gdbinit} file, @pxref{Startup,,, gdb, Debugging with
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GDB}):
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@example
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(gdb) set debug-file-directory ~/.guix-profile/lib/debug
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@end example
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From there on, GDB will pick up debugging information from the
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@code{.debug} files under @file{~/.guix-profile/lib/debug}.
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@c XXX: keep me up-to-date
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The @code{debug} output mechanism in Guix is implemented by the
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@code{gnu-build-system} (@pxref{Defining Packages}). Currently, it is
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opt-in---debugging information is available only for those packages
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whose definition explicitly declares a @code{debug} output. This may be
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changed to opt-out in the future, if our build farm servers can handle
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the load. To check whether a package has a @code{debug} output, use
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@command{guix package --list-available} (@pxref{Invoking guix package}).
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@node Package Modules
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@section Package Modules
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