From eager@eagerm.com  Fri Oct 14 15:29:08 2016
From: eager@eagerm.com (Michael Eager)
Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2016 08:29:08 -0700
Subject: [Dwarf-Discuss] DWARF Version 5 Public Review Draft Released
Message-ID: <5800F9C4.3070709@eagerm.com>

DWARF Version 5 Public Review Draft Released
October 14, 2016

The DWARF Debugging Information Format Committee has released the public review draft of Version 5 
of the DWARF Debugging Information Format standard. The DWARF debugging format is used to 
communicate debugging information between a compiler and debugger to make it easier for programmers 
to develop, test, and debug programs.

DWARF is used by a wide range of compilers and debuggers, both proprietary and open source, to 
support debugging of Ada, C, C++, Cobol, FORTRAN, Java, and other programming languages. DWARF
V5 adds support for new languages like Rust, Swift, Ocaml, Go, and Haskell, as well as support for 
new features in the older languages.  DWARF can be used with many processor architectures, from 
8-bit to 64-bit.

DWARF is the standard debugging format for Linux and several versions of Unix and is widely used 
with embedded processors. DWARF is designed to be extended easily to support new languages and new 
architectures.

The DWARF Version 5 Standard has been in development for six years.  DWARF Committee members include 
representatives from over a dozen major companies with extensive experience in compiler and debugger 
development.  Version 5 incorporates improvements in many areas:  better data compression, 
separation of debugging data from executable files, improved description of macros and source files, 
faster searching for symbols, improved debugging optimized code, as well as numerous improvements in 
functionality and performance.

The public review draft of DWARF Version 5 standard can be downloaded without charge from the DWARF 
website (http://dwarfstd.org). The DWARF Committee will accept public comments on DWARF Version 5 
until November 30, after which a finalized version will be published.  Additional information about 
DWARF, including how to subscribe to the DWARF mailing list, can also be found on the website. 
Questions about the DWARF Debugging Information Format or the DWARF Committee can be directed to the 
DWARF Committee Chair, Michael Eager at info at dwarfstd.org.

-- 
Michael Eager, Chair, DWARF Debugging Format Standards Committee
info at dwarfstd.org  650-325-8077



