Re: Mandatory -dbg packages for libraries?

[Kurt Roeckx <kurt@roeckx.be>]

On Sun, Apr 22, 2007 at 04:40:45PM -0500, Steve Greenland wrote:
> On 22-Apr-07, 16:22 (CDT), Robert Collins <robertc@robertcollins.net> wrote: 
> > 
> > Because segfaults are often not easily reproduced. Having the ability to
> > analyse a crash that occured when the user did not have the -dbg
> > packages installed is not possible unless you have the original symbols
> > the compiler created.
> 
> That's an argument in favor of making the base library package built
> with debug symbols and then stripped[1], not of requiring -dbg packages.

Maybe you should take a look at what dh_strip and -dbg packages do.  It
strips the debug symbols and puts it in a seperate file that's put in
/usr/lib/debug.  You put those files with debug symbols only in the -dbg
package.

This means that you can just install the -dbg package and gdb will
automaticly pick up the debug symbols, without needing to rebuild
anything.


See objcopy's --only-keep-debug and --add-gnu-debuglink options.
(It's also in strip's manpage)


Kurt