Date: Tue, 7 Jul 2009 15:05:49 -0400
From: Christopher Faylor <cgf-use-the-mailinglist-please AT cygwin DOT com>
To: cygwin AT cygwin DOT com
Subject: Re: Questions about setting the CYGWIN env. variable's  'error_start'
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On Tue, Jul 07, 2009 at 02:33:38PM -0400, Mark Harig wrote:
>
>> Thanks for the reminder.  Here is the documentation for the 
>> 'error_start' option:
>>
>>   http://cygwin.com/cygwin-ug-net/using-cygwinenv.html
>>
>> or,
>>
>>   http://cygwin.com/1.7/cygwin-ug-net/using-cygwinenv.html
>>
>>> |error_start:Win32filepath| - if set, runs |Win32filepath| when 
>>> cygwin encounters a fatal error, which is useful for debugging. 
>>> |Win32filepath| is usually set to the path to *gdb* or *dumper*, for 
>>> example |C:\cygwin\bin\gdb.exe|. There is no default set. 
>>
>> Is there a canonical or recommended, robust method that should be used
>> for setting 'error_start'?  It appears that your method assumes the value
>> of PATH is set appropriately.  Is it recommended that users define the
>> environment variable 'Win32filepath' to have the value of the Windows
>> location of the desired debugger and, if so, can this be changed 
>> dynamically?
>> (That is, if a user changes 'Win32filepath' at, say, a shell prompt, 
>> would this
>> be picked up by 'error_start'?)  And has the new 'insight' GUI included
>> with 'gdb' been tested to work as a value for 'error_start'?
>
>
>To follow up, the behavior of Cygwin (bash?) is different depending on
>whether cygwin 1.5 or cygwin 1.7 is used.  The environment variable
>'Win32filepath' is null for some reason in Cygwin 1.5 (the value has
>been set via the Environment Variables applet in the Control Panel's
>System applet).

You're misreading the documentation.  Cygwin doesn't do anything with an
environment variable called "Win32filepath".  That's a placeholder like
"Your Name Here".

I have the cygwin "bin" directory in my windows path so I really did
do what I said in the original post:

    set CYGWIN=error_start:gdb

If you want a more precise way of getting to gdb then:

    set CYGWIN=error_start:c:\cygwin\bin\gdb.exe

>1. Cygwin 1.5:
>    bash --norc --noprofile
>
>    bash-3.2$ echo $CYGWIN
>    tty error_start:Win32filepath
>
>    bash-3.2$ echo $Win32filepath
>    [no value printed]
>
>    bash-3.2$ /bin/cygcheck -c bash cygwin
>    Cygwin Package Information
>    Package                          Version               Status
>    bash                                3.2.49-22            OK
>    cygwin                            1.5.25-15           OK
>
>
>2. Cygwin 1.7:
>    bash --norc --noprofile
>
>    bash-3.2$ echo $CYGWIN
>    tty error_start:Win32filepath
>
>    bash-3.2$ echo $Win32filepath
>    c:\cygwin-1.7\bin\gdb.exe
>
>    bash-3.2$ /bin/cygcheck -c bash cygwin
>    Cygwin Package Information
>    Package                          Version               Status
>    bash                                3.2.49-23            OK
>    cygwin                            1.7.0-50              OK

I don't know why you'd see a Win32filepath environment variable but no version of
the Cygwin DLL does anything with this variable.

cgf

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