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The DWARF Version 5 Debugging
Format Standard
is based on the DWARF Version 4 Standard. It is an upward compatible
extension to the previous version of the standard.
The major enhancements in DWARF Version 5 are
- Description of the objectives and rationale for the design and evolution of the DWARF Standard.
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- Merge .debug_types into .debug_info section.
- Support collecting common debug information into a single supplementary object file.
- Replace the line number program header allowing better data compression and source validation.
- Support split object file and package representations to allow DWARF info to be kept separate from executable files.
- Replace .debug_macinfo with .debug_macro representation allowing much more compact representation of C/C++ macros.
- Replace .debug_pubnames and .debug_pubtypes with much more functional .debug_names section.
- Replace location list (.debug_loc) and range list (.debug_ranges) sections with new sections (.debug_loclists and
.debug_rnglists) allowing more compact representation and eliminating relocations.
- Add new TAG to describe call site information, including tail call and tail recursion.
- Improve support for FORTRAN assumend rank arrays, dynamic rank arrays, and co-arrays.
- Add new operators which support a DWARF expression stack containing typed values.
- Add support for C++ auto return type, deleted member functions, and defaulted constructors and destructors.
- Add new attribute to identify a subprogram which does not return to its caller.
- Add language codes for C 2011, C++ 2003, C++ 2011, C++ 2014, Dylan,
Fortran 2003, Fortran 2008, Go, Haskell, Julia, Modula 3, Ocaml, OpenCL,
Rust, Swift, and BLISS.
- Numerous minor additions to improve functionality and performance.
The DWARF Version 5 Standard is compatible with DWARF Version 4 except as follows:
- The compilation unit header (in the .debug_info section) has a new unit_type field.
- New operand forms for attribute values are defined (DW_FORM_addrx*,
DW_FORM_data16, DW_FORM_implicit_const, DW_FORM_line_strp,
DW_FORM_loclistx, DW_FORM_rnglistx, DW_FORM_ref_sup*,
DW_FORM_strp_sup and DW_FORM_strx*).
- The line number table header is substantially revised.
- A location list entry with the address range (0, maximum-address) is defined
as the new default location list entry.
- In a string type, the DW_AT_byte_size attribute is re-defined to always
describe the size of the string type. (Previously it described the size of the
optional string length data field if the DW_AT_string_length attribute was
also present.)
- New representations for macro definitions, symbol lookup, location lists and range lists.
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