[lldb-dev] LLDB for Android initiative

[Todd Fiala]

Thanks for all the pointers and suggestions, Greg!

More below.

On Tue, Nov 19, 2013 at 1:16 PM, Greg Clayton <gclayton at apple.com> wrote:

> ... stuff deleted...
> >
> > 2. Get the LLDB remote solution up and running against a remote Linux
> x86 process.
> >
> > Here we get to the first high-level question mark: do we continue to use
> gdbserver, use debugserver, or base something on lldb-platform?  I haven't
> dug into this yet.  I've heard some thoughts on this topic, such as (a)
> LLDB has extended the gdb remote protocol and offers some benefits over
> using gdbserver, (b) debugserver is currently very part-specific and might
> be a painful way to go in the short term (but I haven't heard comments on
> the longer-term potential benefits of toughing through that), and (c)
> lldb-platform is a reasonable starting point and has been used to get some
> traction bringing up LLDB on other chipsets.  Like in (1), I'll want to set
> up a build bot that builds and runs remote tests in this environment.
> >
> > Any thoughts on this?
>
> For the remote solution I would propose you do the following:
> - Modify the gdbserver binary to support the extended LLDB packets. All
> these packets are described here:
>
> svn cat
> http://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/lldb/trunk/docs/lldb-gdb-remote.txt
>
>
Ok - I'll have a look at that.  Thanks for the link!  How I approach this
area might depend on the mechanics of getting changes into gdbserver.


> - Compile the "lldb-platform" binary for x86. This is a binary that can
> get/put files, install executables, make directories and symlinks, list
> remote processes, attach and launch remote processes and much much more. It
> currently uses the GDB remote protocol and all you really need to do is to
> get it to build for linux. After this you can start the lldb-platform
> binary and then attach to it from a remote LLDB. I am currently working on
> a large patch that will be committed in the next few days which exposes the
> platform through the API as lldb::SBPlatform objects.
>
> If you get the gdbserver updated to handle the extra packets, this should
> get you debugging in no time on Android. The platform will get you the rest
> of the debugging experience (auto install, remote shell commands, and much
> much more.
>
>
Sounds promising! I'm not sure I totally understand the interplay of
lldb-platform and gdbserver in this case --- on the remote debug side, is
lldb attaching to two processes, an lldb-platform (for the get/put files,
install executables, etc. platform-type operations) and then also the
gdbserver (or similar) to do the remote target process control?  Do I have
that right?  If so - what's the basic idea behind having those be two
separate pieces?  Thanks!


>
> >
> > 3. Get the LLDB remote solution up and running against a remote Linux
> ARM system.
> >
> > The idea being that it will be easier for me to poke around on the Linux
> ARM system than it would be to go straight for the Android device or
> emulator, but gets me working against an ARM system, one step closer to a
> typical Nexus device.  And helps out ARM Linux remote support in the
> process (if there are any weak spots).  I don't know yet what the scope of
> work here might entail.  Similar to (2), I'll want to set up a build bot
> that builds and runs remote tests in this environment as well.
>
> My new upcoming platform patches will allow you to remotely run the test
> suite on there remote devices using the lldb-platform. Everything for ARM
> is the same as the x86 solution above: modify the gdbserver to support the
> LLDB packets and get the lldb-platform to compile for the remote ARM system.
>
>
I see, okay thanks!


> >
> > 4. Getting LLDB remote solution up and running against an Android ARM
> device.
>
> Same flow as linux ARM.
>
> > 5. Either directly implement or make it straightforward for Android
> vendors to fill in anything necessary to use our remote solution on other
> Android hardware.
>
> I think we can grow the SBPlatform and the internal lldb_private::Platform
> to do a lot of great stuff. As soon as my patch lands, please take a look
> and see what you think.
>
>
Sounds great, thanks.  Looking forward to seeing it, Greg :-)


> If you have any questions, ask away.
>
> Greg Clayton
>
>


-- 
Todd Fiala | Software Engineer |  tfiala at google.com |  650-397-1352
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