Writing a Linux Debugger (2017) (opens in new tab)

Nice, I really like that it describes the DWARF format instead of just handwaving around it. I've been considering adding DWARF support to my compiler so that I can use mainstream debuggers with it and this article has just destroyed my last excuse to procrastinate.

I must admit, the title got me very excited (it's still a cool article regardless) - something I've always wanted is a system-wide debugger for Linux. Something that can put breakpoints in arbitrary executables or shell scripts (via custom /bin/sh wrapper?) system wide, not just within a debugging session. I'd love to be able to put conditional breakpoints on, say, any process that opens a named pipe matching some regex. I find that when dealing with complex systems involving systemd services, cron jobs, udev and 30 different daemons running in background, gdb and strace simply aren't enough.

As someone who does debugger development as part of their day job, I can attest that this is a very good introduction to the details of basic debugger operation and implementation. If you are unfamiliar with the topic, I recommend you give it a try as it immediately starts giving useful nuggets of knowledge that are applicable in other circumstances if you are ever interested in doing low level or embedded development.

Appreciated the How is Babby Formed reference in chapter two:)

How does one debug the Linux kernel ? I want to step through some portions.

Even with UML it sounds arduous