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<h3 class="section">14.2 Overlay Commands</h3>
<p>To use <span class="sc">gdb</span>'s overlay support, each overlay in your program must
correspond to a separate section of the executable file. The section's
virtual memory address and load memory address must be the overlay's
mapped and load addresses. Identifying overlays with sections allows
<span class="sc">gdb</span> to determine the appropriate address of a function or
variable, depending on whether the overlay is mapped or not.
<p><span class="sc">gdb</span>'s overlay commands all start with the word <code>overlay</code>;
you can abbreviate this as <code>ov</code> or <code>ovly</code>. The commands are:
<dl>
<dt><code>overlay off</code><dd><a name="index-overlay-955"></a>Disable <span class="sc">gdb</span>'s overlay support. When overlay support is
disabled, <span class="sc">gdb</span> assumes that all functions and variables are
always present at their mapped addresses. By default, <span class="sc">gdb</span>'s
overlay support is disabled.
<br><dt><code>overlay manual</code><dd><a name="index-manual-overlay-debugging-956"></a>Enable <dfn>manual</dfn> overlay debugging. In this mode, <span class="sc">gdb</span>
relies on you to tell it which overlays are mapped, and which are not,
using the <code>overlay map-overlay</code> and <code>overlay unmap-overlay</code>
commands described below.
<br><dt><code>overlay map-overlay </code><var>overlay</var><dt><code>overlay map </code><var>overlay</var><dd><a name="index-map-an-overlay-957"></a>Tell <span class="sc">gdb</span> that <var>overlay</var> is now mapped; <var>overlay</var> must
be the name of the object file section containing the overlay. When an
overlay is mapped, <span class="sc">gdb</span> assumes it can find the overlay's
functions and variables at their mapped addresses. <span class="sc">gdb</span> assumes
that any other overlays whose mapped ranges overlap that of
<var>overlay</var> are now unmapped.
<br><dt><code>overlay unmap-overlay </code><var>overlay</var><dt><code>overlay unmap </code><var>overlay</var><dd><a name="index-unmap-an-overlay-958"></a>Tell <span class="sc">gdb</span> that <var>overlay</var> is no longer mapped; <var>overlay</var>
must be the name of the object file section containing the overlay.
When an overlay is unmapped, <span class="sc">gdb</span> assumes it can find the
overlay's functions and variables at their load addresses.
<br><dt><code>overlay auto</code><dd>Enable <dfn>automatic</dfn> overlay debugging. In this mode, <span class="sc">gdb</span>
consults a data structure the overlay manager maintains in the inferior
to see which overlays are mapped. For details, see <a href="Automatic-Overlay-Debugging.html#Automatic-Overlay-Debugging">Automatic Overlay Debugging</a>.
<br><dt><code>overlay load-target</code><dt><code>overlay load</code><dd><a name="index-reloading-the-overlay-table-959"></a>Re-read the overlay table from the inferior. Normally, <span class="sc">gdb</span>
re-reads the table <span class="sc">gdb</span> automatically each time the inferior
stops, so this command should only be necessary if you have changed the
overlay mapping yourself using <span class="sc">gdb</span>. This command is only
useful when using automatic overlay debugging.
<br><dt><code>overlay list-overlays</code><dt><code>overlay list</code><dd><a name="index-listing-mapped-overlays-960"></a>Display a list of the overlays currently mapped, along with their mapped
addresses, load addresses, and sizes.
</dl>
<p>Normally, when <span class="sc">gdb</span> prints a code address, it includes the name
of the function the address falls in:
<pre class="smallexample"> (gdb) print main
$3 = {int ()} 0x11a0 &lt;main&gt;
</pre>
<p class="noindent">When overlay debugging is enabled, <span class="sc">gdb</span> recognizes code in
unmapped overlays, and prints the names of unmapped functions with
asterisks around them. For example, if <code>foo</code> is a function in an
unmapped overlay, <span class="sc">gdb</span> prints it this way:
<pre class="smallexample"> (gdb) overlay list
No sections are mapped.
(gdb) print foo
$5 = {int (int)} 0x100000 &lt;*foo*&gt;
</pre>
<p class="noindent">When <code>foo</code>'s overlay is mapped, <span class="sc">gdb</span> prints the function's
name normally:
<pre class="smallexample"> (gdb) overlay list
Section .ov.foo.text, loaded at 0x100000 - 0x100034,
mapped at 0x1016 - 0x104a
(gdb) print foo
$6 = {int (int)} 0x1016 &lt;foo&gt;
</pre>
<p>When overlay debugging is enabled, <span class="sc">gdb</span> can find the correct
address for functions and variables in an overlay, whether or not the
overlay is mapped. This allows most <span class="sc">gdb</span> commands, like
<code>break</code> and <code>disassemble</code>, to work normally, even on unmapped
code. However, <span class="sc">gdb</span>'s breakpoint support has some limitations:
<ul>
<li><a name="index-breakpoints-in-overlays-961"></a><a name="index-overlays_002c-setting-breakpoints-in-962"></a>You can set breakpoints in functions in unmapped overlays, as long as
<span class="sc">gdb</span> can write to the overlay at its load address.
<li><span class="sc">gdb</span> can not set hardware or simulator-based breakpoints in
unmapped overlays. However, if you set a breakpoint at the end of your
overlay manager (and tell <span class="sc">gdb</span> which overlays are now mapped, if
you are using manual overlay management), <span class="sc">gdb</span> will re-set its
breakpoints properly.
</ul>
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