GNU Project Debugger

GNU Project Debugger

The GNU Project Debugger (GDB) is a portable debugger that runs on many Unix-like systems and works for many programming languages, including C, C++, Objective-C, Fortran, Ada, Go, and Rust. It allows stepping through code, setting breakpoints, and examining variables.
Development Debugging Tools
GNU Project Debugger image
debugger c c objectivec fortran ada go rust
GNU Project Debugger alternatives ➤

GNU Project Debugger: Portable debugger for Unix-like systems and multiple programming languages

The GNU Project Debugger (GDB) is a portable debugger that runs on many Unix-like systems and works for many programming languages, including C, C++, Objective-C, Fortran, Ada, Go, and Rust. It allows stepping through code, setting breakpoints, and examining variables.

What is GNU Project Debugger?

The GNU Project Debugger (GDB) is a free and open source debugger that can be used to debug programs written in languages like C, C++, Objective-C, Fortran, Ada, Go, and Rust across many platforms including Linux, Unix, and Windows.

Some key features of GDB include:

  • Step through program execution line by line
  • Set breakpoints to pause execution at particular lines or functions
  • Inspect variables and data structures to understand current program state
  • Change variable values dynamically during debug sessions
  • Integrated disassembly view for analyzing machine code
  • Attach to and debug already running processes
  • Debug multiple threads and processes

GDB provides a command line interface for interactive debugging. It can also be used with various IDEs and debug GUIs that provide graphical frontends. GDB is highly extensible and customizable via Python scripts.

Key advantages of GDB include that it is free, open source software and works across many platforms and languages. It has a an active development community contributing new features and fixes over its 30+ year history.

GNU Project Debugger Features

Features

  1. Debugging at source-level
  2. Support for multiple programming languages like C, C++, Objective-C, Fortran, Ada etc
  3. Can set breakpoints and examine variables
  4. Step through code line by line
  5. Inspect stack traces
  6. Attach to running processes
  7. Command line interface
  8. Scriptable using Python

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Free and open source

Portable - runs on many Unix/Linux systems

Feature rich debugging capabilities

Supports multiple languages

Can debug optimized code

Active development and support

Cons

Steep learning curve

Command line interface may not be ideal for some

Limited support for Windows

Not as user friendly as some IDE debuggers

Official Links

Official Website
https://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/

The Best GNU Project Debugger Alternatives

Top Development and Debugging Tools and other similar apps like GNU Project Debugger

Here are some alternatives to GNU Project Debugger:

DnSpy icon
dnSpy
Ghidra icon
Ghidra
OllyDbg icon
OllyDbg
Binary Ninja icon
Binary Ninja
Radare2 icon
radare2
Suggest an alternative ❐

DnSpy icon

DnSpy

dnSpy is an open-source .NET assembly editor, decompiler, and debugger that allows you to edit and debug managed assemblies in .NET applications. Some of the key features of dnSpy include:Assembly editing - dnSpy allows you to add, remove, and modify elements like types, methods, fields, properties, and events in a...
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Ghidra

Ghidra is a software reverse engineering (SRE) suite of tools developed by the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States. It was first released at the RSA Conference in March 2019 as an open-source project.Ghidra provides a graphical user interface and a set of analysis tools that allow security...
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OllyDbg

OllyDbg is a 32-bit assembler level analyzing debugger for Microsoft Windows. It is a very popular tool among reverse engineers and malware analysts due to its versatility and wide range of features useful for analyzing executable files.Some key features of OllyDbg include:Disassembler - allows disassembling code from executable files and...
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Binary Ninja

Binary Ninja is a versatile reverse engineering platform used for software analysis, vulnerability research, and reverse code engineering. It provides disassembly, decompilation, graphing, scripting, and other functionality to examine and modify binary programs.Some key features of Binary Ninja include:Supports a wide range of architectures including x86, ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, and...
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Radare2

radare2 is an advanced, modular, portable reverse engineering framework. It provides a rich set of tools for analyzing binary files, disassembling code, debugging programs, analyzing malware, and more.Some of the key features of radare2 include:Multi-architecture disassembler supporting many Instruction Set Architectures like x86, ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, and moreNative debugger that...
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