# Building GDB Server for ARM Linux (Static Linking)

> [!NOTE]
> This guide is generated by LLM. Please verify the correctness of the steps before using them.

This document outlines the process for cross-compiling GDB Server for ARM Linux (arm-linux-gnueabihf) with static linking.

## Prerequisites

- Linux development environment
- ARM cross-compiler toolchain (in this case at `/opt/gcc-arm-linux-guneabihf`)
- GDB source code (version 14.2 used in this example)
- zsh shell (recommended to avoid issues with PowerShell)

## Build Script

Here's a reproducible build script that automates the entire process:

```bash
#!/bin/zsh

# Exit on error
set -e

# Configuration variables
GDB_VERSION="14.2"
GDB_SOURCE_DIR="/home/crosstyan/third-party/gdb-${GDB_VERSION}"
TOOLCHAIN_PREFIX="/opt/gcc-arm-linux-guneabihf"
TARGET="arm-linux-gnueabihf"
INSTALL_PREFIX="/home/crosstyan/Image/rootfs"

# Ensure we're in zsh
if [ -z "$ZSH_VERSION" ]; then
    echo "This script must be run in zsh shell!"
    echo "Please run: zsh $0"
    exit 1
fi

# Navigate to GDB source directory
cd $GDB_SOURCE_DIR

# Clean any previous build artifacts
echo "Cleaning previous build artifacts..."
make distclean || true

# Configure GDB for cross-compilation with static linking
echo "Configuring GDB for cross-compilation..."
./configure \
    --target=$TARGET \
    --host=$TARGET \
    --build=x86_64-linux-gnu \
    --prefix=$INSTALL_PREFIX \
    --disable-werror \
    --enable-gdbserver=yes \
    --disable-gdb \
    --disable-binutils \
    --disable-gas \
    --disable-ld \
    --disable-gold \
    --disable-gprof \
    LDFLAGS='-static' \
    CC=$TOOLCHAIN_PREFIX/bin/$TARGET-gcc \
    CXX=$TOOLCHAIN_PREFIX/bin/$TARGET-g++ \
    AR=$TOOLCHAIN_PREFIX/bin/$TARGET-ar \
    RANLIB=$TOOLCHAIN_PREFIX/bin/$TARGET-ranlib \
    CFLAGS="-O2"

# Build only the gdbserver component
echo "Building gdbserver..."
make -j$(nproc) all-gdbserver

# Verify the built binary
echo "Verifying the built binary..."
file gdbserver/gdbserver
readelf -h gdbserver/gdbserver

# Install gdbserver (optional)
# make install-gdbserver

echo "Build completed successfully!"
echo "The statically linked gdbserver binary is located at: $GDB_SOURCE_DIR/gdbserver/gdbserver"
```

## Manual Build Process

If you prefer to build manually, follow these steps:

1. **Ensure you're using zsh shell**:
   ```bash
   zsh
   ```

2. **Navigate to the GDB source directory**:
   ```bash
   cd /home/crosstyan/third-party/gdb-14.2
   ```

3. **Clean any previous build artifacts**:
   ```bash
   make distclean
   ```

4. **Configure GDB for cross-compilation with static linking**:
   ```bash
   ./configure \
       --target=arm-linux-gnueabihf \
       --host=arm-linux-gnueabihf \
       --build=x86_64-linux-gnu \
       --prefix=/home/crosstyan/Image/rootfs \
       --disable-werror \
       --enable-gdbserver=yes \
       --disable-gdb \
       --disable-binutils \
       --disable-gas \
       --disable-ld \
       --disable-gold \
       --disable-gprof \
       LDFLAGS='-static' \
       CC=/opt/gcc-arm-linux-guneabihf/bin/arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc \
       CXX=/opt/gcc-arm-linux-guneabihf/bin/arm-linux-gnueabihf-g++ \
       AR=/opt/gcc-arm-linux-guneabihf/bin/arm-linux-gnueabihf-ar \
       RANLIB=/opt/gcc-arm-linux-guneabihf/bin/arm-linux-gnueabihf-ranlib \
       CFLAGS="-O2"
   ```

5. **Build only the gdbserver component**:
   ```bash
   make -j$(nproc) all-gdbserver
   ```

6. **Verify the built binary**:
   ```bash
   file gdbserver/gdbserver
   readelf -h gdbserver/gdbserver
   ```

## Configuration Options Explained

- `--target=arm-linux-gnueabihf`: Specifies the target architecture
- `--host=arm-linux-gnueabihf`: Specifies the host architecture (same as target for cross-compilation)
- `--build=x86_64-linux-gnu`: Specifies the build system architecture
- `--prefix=/home/crosstyan/Image/rootfs`: Installation directory
- `--disable-werror`: Prevents warnings from being treated as errors
- `--enable-gdbserver=yes`: Enables building gdbserver
- `--disable-gdb`, `--disable-binutils`, etc.: Disables building other components
- `LDFLAGS='-static'`: Forces static linking
- `CC=...`, `CXX=...`: Specifies the cross-compiler
- `AR=...`, `RANLIB=...`: Specifies the cross-toolchain utilities
- `CFLAGS="-O2"`: Optimization level

## Verification

After building, you can verify the binary with:

```bash
file gdbserver/gdbserver
```

Expected output:
```
gdbserver/gdbserver: ELF 32-bit LSB executable, ARM, EABI5 version 1 (GNU/Linux), statically linked, BuildID[sha1]=613dd203a0dff4326f6bd325222a6d882afd6168, for GNU/Linux 3.2.0, with debug_info, not stripped
```

And check the ELF header:
```bash
readelf -h gdbserver/gdbserver
```

Look for:
```
Machine: ARM
Flags: 0x5000400, Version5 EABI, hard-float ABI
```

## Notes

- The build process requires the dependencies to be built in the correct order (handled automatically by the Makefile)
- There may be warnings during the linking process about certain glibc functions in statically linked binaries
- The resulting binary is statically linked but some functions may still require shared libraries at runtime

## Troubleshooting

- If you encounter "file format not recognized" errors, ensure you're using the correct cross-toolchain
- If the build fails with missing dependencies, check that all required libraries are installed

## Strip

```bash
/opt/gcc-arm-linux-guneabihf/bin/arm-linux-gnueabihf-strip <your-binary>
```

## Notes

> [!NOTE]
> This part is a human artifact. No LLM involved.

You might need to add

```c
#ifndef __NR_sigreturn
#define __NR_SYSCALL_BASE	0
#define __NR_sigreturn			(__NR_SYSCALL_BASE+119)
#endif
```

to `gdbserver/linux-arm-low.cc` if you encounter the following error:

```text
In file included from ./../gdbsupport/array-view.h:24,
                 from ./../gdbsupport/common-utils.h:27,
                 from ./../gdbsupport/common-defs.h:208,
                 from server.h:22,
                 from linux-arm-low.cc:19:
linux-arm-low.cc: In function ‘CORE_ADDR arm_sigreturn_next_pc(regcache*, int, int*)’:
linux-arm-low.cc:890:29: error: ‘__NR_sigreturn’ was not declared in this scope; did you mean ‘sigreturn’?
  890 |   gdb_assert (svc_number == __NR_sigreturn || svc_number == __NR_rt_sigreturn);
      |                             ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~
./../gdbsupport/gdb_assert.h:35:13: note: in definition of macro ‘gdb_assert’
   35 |   ((void) ((expr) ? 0 :                                                       \
      |             ^~~~
linux-arm-low.cc: In function ‘CORE_ADDR get_next_pcs_syscall_next_pc(arm_get_next_pcs*)’:
linux-arm-low.cc:944:21: error: ‘__NR_sigreturn’ was not declared in this scope; did you mean ‘sigreturn’?
  944 |   if (svc_number == __NR_sigreturn || svc_number == __NR_rt_sigreturn)
      |                     ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      |                     sigreturn
make: *** [Makefile:546: linux-arm-low.o] Error 1
make: *** Waiting for unfinished jobs....
```

See also [asm/unistd.h](https://android.googlesource.com/kernel/msm/+/android-msm-flo-3.4-kitkat-mr0/arch/arm/include/asm/unistd.h#147) from Android source code.