A debug version of the ALSA lib?

A debug version of the ALSA lib?

[Olivier Guillion - Myriad]

Hi,

I have a problem with the ALSA library. Calling snd_device_name_hint() crashes 
sometimes, and I can't understand why.

It might be due to a previous memory corruption in my program, a problem with 
my sound card driver, or a bug in the library, I don't know.

I tried to debug it in assembler, and found that the library is browsing a list 
of devices, gets the pointer to each device name, and in the 2nd device, I get 
the four letters "Play" instead of a valid pointer.

To be able to go further, I'd need a debug version of the ALSA library, 
including variable names and source lines, which could let me find more easily 
what goes wrong and when.

Is it possible to build such a library from the alsa-lib-1.0.24.1 sources? 
Or should I download and install another specific package?

Thank you,
Olivier

Re: A debug version of the ALSA lib?

[Daniel Mack]

On Thu, Sep 1, 2011 at 10:37 AM, Olivier Guillion - Myriad
<olivier@myriad-online.com> wrote:
> To be able to go further, I'd need a debug version of the ALSA library,
> including variable names and source lines, which could let me find more easily
> what goes wrong and when.
>
> Is it possible to build such a library from the alsa-lib-1.0.24.1 sources?
> Or should I download and install another specific package?

The sources are the same. Whether you'll get a library with debug
symbols depends on the compile time options when building the lib. And
depending on your distribution, you might also be able to install the
debug-enabled version by choosing the -dbg package derivat.


Daniel

Re: A debug version of the ALSA lib?

[Pavel Hofman]

Dne 1.9.2011 10:50, Daniel Mack napsal(a):
> On Thu, Sep 1, 2011 at 10:37 AM, Olivier Guillion - Myriad
> <olivier@myriad-online.com> wrote:
>> To be able to go further, I'd need a debug version of the ALSA library,
>> including variable names and source lines, which could let me find more easily
>> what goes wrong and when.
>>
>> Is it possible to build such a library from the alsa-lib-1.0.24.1 sources?
>> Or should I download and install another specific package?
> 
> The sources are the same. Whether you'll get a library with debug
> symbols depends on the compile time options when building the lib. And
> depending on your distribution, you might also be able to install the
> debug-enabled version by choosing the -dbg package derivat.


E.g. in debian/ubuntu I use dpkg-buildpackage with debug enabled, for
details see e.g.
http://jameswestby.net/tips/tips/compiling-debian-package-for-debug.html
, just libasound2 instead of mutt.

Regards,

Pavel.

Re: [Mult]Re: A debug version of the ALSA lib?

[Olivier Guillion - Myriad]

Thank you!

Unfortunately, it didn't work for me.
It started to install about 700 MB of miscellaneous packages, and failed on the 
making of the final package.
By precaustion I reverted to a previous snapshot of my system.
Isn't it a simpler way to get debug info?
Is it possible for instance to install libasound-dbg on Ubuntu 11.04?

Maybe my problem comes from run-time link with the library?
Does anyone use Code:Blocks to compile C applications that use ALSA?

If yes could you please tell  me the compiler/linker settings to properly use 
the ALSA shared libs? I added "/usr/lib/libasound.so.2" to the "Link library" 
section of the Linker settings, and it worked, but I still get crashes on the 
"snd_device_name_hints", especially within a small Mozilla plug-in in Firefox.

I can send the whole project, with a very easy test that shows the problem if 
needed.

Regards,
Olivier



Pavel Hofman <pavel.hofman@ivitera.com> wrote :
:

> >> To be able to go further, I'd need a debug version of the ALSA library,
> >> including variable names and source lines, which could let me find more
> >> easily what goes wrong and when.
> >>
> >> Is it possible to build such a library from the alsa-lib-1.0.24.1 sources? Or
> >> should I download and install another specific package?
> > 
> > The sources are the same. Whether you'll get a library with debug
> > symbols depends on the compile time options when building the lib. And
> > depending on your distribution, you might also be able to install the
> > debug-enabled version by choosing the -dbg package derivat.
> 
> 
> E.g. in debian/ubuntu I use dpkg-buildpackage with debug enabled, for
> details see e.g.
> http://jameswestby.net/tips/tips/compiling-debian-package-for-debug.html
> , just libasound2 instead of mutt.

Re: [Mult]Re: A debug version of the ALSA lib?

[Daniel Mack]

On Thu, Sep 1, 2011 at 4:19 PM, Olivier Guillion - Myriad
<olivier@myriad-online.com> wrote:
> Unfortunately, it didn't work for me.
> It started to install about 700 MB of miscellaneous packages, and failed on the
> making of the final package.

How did you download them? And which distro are you using.

> By precaustion I reverted to a previous snapshot of my system.
> Isn't it a simpler way to get debug info?
> Is it possible for instance to install libasound-dbg on Ubuntu 11.04?

That should be possible, yes. Or just build the library yourself and
redirect your linker to take the self-compiled library rather than the
system-wide instance.

> Maybe my problem comes from run-time link with the library?
> Does anyone use Code:Blocks to compile C applications that use ALSA?
>
> If yes could you please tell  me the compiler/linker settings to properly use
> the ALSA shared libs? I added "/usr/lib/libasound.so.2" to the "Link library"
> section of the Linker settings, and it worked, but I still get crashes on the
> "snd_device_name_hints", especially within a small Mozilla plug-in in Firefox.

I've never done such a thing myself, but maybe someone else has.

> I can send the whole project, with a very easy test that shows the problem if
> needed.

People on this list are usually really busy and I'm not sure whether
anybody would offer such specifc support unless it points out a
specific problem in the ALSA code. But I can't speak for everyone
here, of course :)


Daniel

Re: A debug version of the ALSA lib?

[Olivier Guillion - Myriad]

Hi,

Daniel Mack <zonque@gmail.com> wrote :
> > Is it possible for instance to install libasound-dbg on Ubuntu 11.04?
> 
> That should be possible, yes. Or just build the library yourself and
> redirect your linker to take the self-compiled library rather than the
> system-wide instance.

Thank you very much for your answer. Would you be kind enough to tell me how to 
build this debug version?
Is it possible through configure / make, or does it need modifying the 
generated makefiles by hand?


> > I can send the whole project, with a very easy test that shows the problem 
> > if needed.
> 
> People on this list are usually really busy and I'm not sure whether
> anybody would offer such specifc support unless it points out a
> specific problem in the ALSA code. But I can't speak for everyone
> here, of course :)

I understand perfectly. If it's not due to a problem in my project's option or 
my ALSA settings, then it's definitely a bug either in the ALSA code, or in the 
Firefox plugin management. As soon as I can follow the calls with a debugger, 
I'll be able to answer this question that bothers me for one full week now .

Regards,

Olivier
Olivier Guillion
Myriad
26 rue Michel de Montaigne
31200 Toulouse 
FRANCE
--------      WebSite    -----------
http://www.myriad-online.com
Download here the latest version of our shareware programs, view the online 
tutorials or get info about Myriad and its activities.
---------------------------------

Re: A debug version of the ALSA lib?

[Daniel Mack]

On Thu, Sep 1, 2011 at 6:37 PM, Olivier Guillion - Myriad
<olivier@myriad-online.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Daniel Mack <zonque@gmail.com> wrote :
>> > Is it possible for instance to install libasound-dbg on Ubuntu 11.04?
>>
>> That should be possible, yes. Or just build the library yourself and
>> redirect your linker to take the self-compiled library rather than the
>> system-wide instance.
>
> Thank you very much for your answer. Would you be kind enough to tell me how to
> build this debug version?
> Is it possible through configure / make, or does it need modifying the
> generated makefiles by hand?

call

$ ./configure --prefix=/usr/local --enable-debug && make

This should do the installation - depending on your prefix location,
you might to run this as root:

$ make install

Then let your LD_LIBRARY_PATH point to your modified lib and read
http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Program-Library-HOWTO/shared-libraries.html for
more information.
Or just use the binary Ubuntu packages and be done.


> I understand perfectly. If it's not due to a problem in my project's option or
> my ALSA settings, then it's definitely a bug either in the ALSA code, or in the
> Firefox plugin management. As soon as I can follow the calls with a debugger,
> I'll be able to answer this question that bothers me for one full week now .

I'd rather put it that way: If it was a bug in the alsa lib that is so
easy to trigger, you wouldn't be the first one to discover it :)


Daniel

Re: A debug version of the ALSA lib?

[Olivier Guillion - Myriad]

Hi,

> Daniel Mack <zonque@gmail.com> wrote :
> > Thank you very much for your answer. Would you be kind enough to tell me how
> > to build this debug version? Is it possible through configure / make, or does
> > it need modifying the generated makefiles by hand?
> 
> call
> 
> $ ./configure --prefix=/usr/local --enable-debug && make
> 
> This should do the installation - depending on your prefix location,
> you might to run this as root:
> 
> $ make install
> 
> Then let your LD_LIBRARY_PATH point to your modified lib and read
> http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Program-Library-HOWTO/shared-libraries.html for
> more information.

Thank you!

I tried it.
The --enable-debug switch doesn't seem to be recognized by "configure". It 
writes :
configure: WARNING: unrecognized options: --enable-debug
at the beginning of the process.
(Alsa lib sources got from alsa-lib-1.0.24.1.tar.bz2, downloaded from ftp.alsa-
project.org/pub/lib/)

By examining configure, it seems that the option name is now 
--enable-debug-assert (not listed as such in the --usage)

However, according to the documentation, this option seems to include asserts 
calls to check the parameters, but does not compile the whole library with full 
symbolic information. I couldn't get an ALSA lib with debug info this way.

> Or just use the binary Ubuntu packages and be done.

Sorry, but what does it mean?

Regards,


Olivier Guillion
Myriad
26 rue Michel de Montaigne
31200 Toulouse 
FRANCE
--------      WebSite    -----------
http://www.myriad-online.com
Download here the latest version of our shareware programs, view the online 
tutorials or get info about Myriad and its activities.
---------------------------------

Re: A debug version of the ALSA lib?

[Daniel Mack]

On Fri, Sep 2, 2011 at 10:44 AM, Olivier Guillion - Myriad
<olivier@myriad-online.com> wrote:
>> Or just use the binary Ubuntu packages and be done.
>
> Sorry, but what does it mean?

That means that Ubuntu (as many other distros) offers you a
ready-made, debug symbols enabled version of the library which you can
just install and use. As you're struggeling with compiling the library
youself, I'd suggest you go for this solution. In Ubuntu, the package
you're looking for is called libasound2-dev.


Daniel

Re: A debug version of the ALSA lib?

[Paul Menzel]

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Am Freitag, den 02.09.2011, 12:43 +0200 schrieb Daniel Mack:
> On Fri, Sep 2, 2011 at 10:44 AM, Olivier Guillion - Myriad wrote:
> >> Or just use the binary Ubuntu packages and be done.
> >
> > Sorry, but what does it mean?
> 
> That means that Ubuntu (as many other distros) offers you a
> ready-made, debug symbols enabled version of the library which you can
> just install and use. As you're struggeling with compiling the library
> youself, I'd suggest you go for this solution. In Ubuntu, the package
> you're looking for is called libasound2-dev.

I have not followed the thread, but if you want debugging symbol you
need `libasound2-dbg`. (`aptitude search libasound*`)


Thanks,

Paul

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Re: A debug version of the ALSA lib?

[Olivier Guillion - Myriad]

Hi,

Daniel Mack, then Paul Menzel wrote:
> > >> Or just use the binary Ubuntu packages and be done.
> > >
> > > Sorry, but what does it mean?
> > 
> > That means that Ubuntu (as many other distros) offers you a
> > ready-made, debug symbols enabled version of the library which you can
> > just install and use. As you're struggeling with compiling the library
> > youself, I'd suggest you go for this solution. In Ubuntu, the package
> > you're looking for is called libasound2-dev.
> 
> I have not followed the thread, but if you want debugging symbol you
> need `libasound2-dbg`. (`aptitude search libasound*`)

I installed the libasound2-dev package. 
I got mainly :
- a bunch of C header files in /usr/include
- libasound.a, libasound.la and libasound.so in /usr/lib
(none of these libraries include the debugging symbols)

I tried "aptitude search libasound*"
and got:
libasound-dev
libasound2
libasound2-dev
libasound2-doc
libasound2-plugin-equal
libasound2-plugins

but no libasound2-dbg.
Any idea about where (and how) I can get it? (using Ubuntu 11.04)

Regards,
Olivier

Re: A debug version of the ALSA lib?

[Pavel Hofman]

Dne 2.9.2011 14:10, Olivier Guillion - Myriad napsal(a):
> Hi,
> 
> Daniel Mack, then Paul Menzel wrote:
>>>>> Or just use the binary Ubuntu packages and be done.
>>>>
>>>> Sorry, but what does it mean?
>>>
>>> That means that Ubuntu (as many other distros) offers you a
>>> ready-made, debug symbols enabled version of the library which you can
>>> just install and use. As you're struggeling with compiling the library
>>> youself, I'd suggest you go for this solution. In Ubuntu, the package
>>> you're looking for is called libasound2-dev.
>>
>> I have not followed the thread, but if you want debugging symbol you
>> need `libasound2-dbg`. (`aptitude search libasound*`)
> 
> I installed the libasound2-dev package. 
> I got mainly :
> - a bunch of C header files in /usr/include
> - libasound.a, libasound.la and libasound.so in /usr/lib
> (none of these libraries include the debugging symbols)
> 
> I tried "aptitude search libasound*"
> and got:
> libasound-dev
> libasound2
> libasound2-dev
> libasound2-doc
> libasound2-plugin-equal
> libasound2-plugins
> 
> but no libasound2-dbg.
> Any idea about where (and how) I can get it? (using Ubuntu 11.04)
> 

Yes, use the procedure I gave you in
http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.linux.alsa.devel/88753 . I used it a
few weeks ago to debug alsa-lib in gdb.

Just tested now, ubuntu 10.04:

sudo apt-get build-dep libasound2
apt-get source libasound2
cd alsa-lib-1.0.22/
export DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS=nostrip,noopt
dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot -uc -us

Simple check while the compilation runs shows the gcc compiler is called
with -g -O0 params.

In a few minutes fresh .debs were waiting for me in the parent
directory, to be installed with dpkg -i libasound*deb and stepped with gdb.

With regards,


Pavel.

Re: A debug version of the ALSA lib?

[Paul Menzel]

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Am Freitag, den 02.09.2011, 14:10 +0200 schrieb Olivier Guillion - Myriad:
> Daniel Mack, then Paul Menzel wrote:
> > > >> Or just use the binary Ubuntu packages and be done.
> > > >
> > > > Sorry, but what does it mean?
> > > 
> > > That means that Ubuntu (as many other distros) offers you a
> > > ready-made, debug symbols enabled version of the library which you can
> > > just install and use. As you're struggeling with compiling the library
> > > youself, I'd suggest you go for this solution. In Ubuntu, the package
> > > you're looking for is called libasound2-dev.
> > 
> > I have not followed the thread, but if you want debugging symbol you
> > need `libasound2-dbg`. (`aptitude search libasound*`)
> 
> I installed the libasound2-dev package. 
> I got mainly :
> - a bunch of C header files in /usr/include
> - libasound.a, libasound.la and libasound.so in /usr/lib
> (none of these libraries include the debugging symbols)
> 
> I tried "aptitude search libasound*"
> and got:
> libasound-dev
> libasound2
> libasound2-dev
> libasound2-doc
> libasound2-plugin-equal
> libasound2-plugins
> 
> but no libasound2-dbg.
> Any idea about where (and how) I can get it? (using Ubuntu 11.04)

I am using Debian Sid/unstable. Maybe David (put in CC) can say how to
do that in Ubuntu.


Thanks,

Paul

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Re: A debug version of the ALSA lib?

[David Henningsson]

On 09/02/2011 05:43 PM, Paul Menzel wrote:
> Am Freitag, den 02.09.2011, 14:10 +0200 schrieb Olivier Guillion - Myriad:
>> Daniel Mack, then Paul Menzel wrote:
>>>>>> Or just use the binary Ubuntu packages and be done.
>>>>>
>>>>> Sorry, but what does it mean?
>>>>
>>>> That means that Ubuntu (as many other distros) offers you a
>>>> ready-made, debug symbols enabled version of the library which you can
>>>> just install and use. As you're struggeling with compiling the library
>>>> youself, I'd suggest you go for this solution. In Ubuntu, the package
>>>> you're looking for is called libasound2-dev.
>>>
>>> I have not followed the thread, but if you want debugging symbol you
>>> need `libasound2-dbg`. (`aptitude search libasound*`)
>>
>> I installed the libasound2-dev package.
>> I got mainly :
>> - a bunch of C header files in /usr/include
>> - libasound.a, libasound.la and libasound.so in /usr/lib
>> (none of these libraries include the debugging symbols)
>>
>> I tried "aptitude search libasound*"
>> and got:
>> libasound-dev
>> libasound2
>> libasound2-dev
>> libasound2-doc
>> libasound2-plugin-equal
>> libasound2-plugins
>>
>> but no libasound2-dbg.
>> Any idea about where (and how) I can get it? (using Ubuntu 11.04)
>
> I am using Debian Sid/unstable. Maybe David (put in CC) can say how to
> do that in Ubuntu.

We build debug symbols for every package and keep them at a separate 
repository at ddebs.ubuntu.com. For more information about how to find 
and install them see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingProgramCrash

-- 
David Henningsson, Canonical Ltd.
http://launchpad.net/~diwic

Re: A debug version of the ALSA lib?

[Daniel Mack]

On Fri, Sep 2, 2011 at 12:55 PM, Paul Menzel
<paulepanter@users.sourceforge.net> wrote:
> Am Freitag, den 02.09.2011, 12:43 +0200 schrieb Daniel Mack:
>> On Fri, Sep 2, 2011 at 10:44 AM, Olivier Guillion - Myriad wrote:
>> >> Or just use the binary Ubuntu packages and be done.
>> >
>> > Sorry, but what does it mean?
>>
>> That means that Ubuntu (as many other distros) offers you a
>> ready-made, debug symbols enabled version of the library which you can
>> just install and use. As you're struggeling with compiling the library
>> youself, I'd suggest you go for this solution. In Ubuntu, the package
>> you're looking for is called libasound2-dev.
>
> I have not followed the thread, but if you want debugging symbol you
> need `libasound2-dbg`. (`aptitude search libasound*`)

That doesn't seem to exist, but according to [1], the -dev variant
contains the library itself again. Hence I assumed that this is the
debug-enabled, non-stripped version of the .so that ships with this
package. Admittedly though, I didn't check as I didn't have an Ubuntu
box around.

Anyway - if this doesn't work, go the "apt-get build-dep" way that was
mentioned by Pavel.


Daniel

[1] http://packages.ubuntu.com/natty/amd64/libasound2-dev/filelist

Re: A debug version of the ALSA lib?

[Pavel Hofman]

Dne 2.9.2011 14:46, Daniel Mack napsal(a):
> On Fri, Sep 2, 2011 at 12:55 PM, Paul Menzel
> <paulepanter@users.sourceforge.net> wrote:
>> Am Freitag, den 02.09.2011, 12:43 +0200 schrieb Daniel Mack:
>>> On Fri, Sep 2, 2011 at 10:44 AM, Olivier Guillion - Myriad wrote:
>>>>> Or just use the binary Ubuntu packages and be done.
>>>>
>>>> Sorry, but what does it mean?
>>>
>>> That means that Ubuntu (as many other distros) offers you a
>>> ready-made, debug symbols enabled version of the library which you can
>>> just install and use. As you're struggeling with compiling the library
>>> youself, I'd suggest you go for this solution. In Ubuntu, the package
>>> you're looking for is called libasound2-dev.
>>
>> I have not followed the thread, but if you want debugging symbol you
>> need `libasound2-dbg`. (`aptitude search libasound*`)
> 
> That doesn't seem to exist, but according to [1], the -dev variant
> contains the library itself again. Hence I assumed that this is the
> debug-enabled, non-stripped version of the .so that ships with this
> package. Admittedly though, I didn't check as I didn't have an Ubuntu
> box around.
> 

The -dev packages in debian/ubuntu contain headers required for includes
in other builds.

Pavel.