Attaching gdb with running process
Attach gdb to running process: This article is all about knowing the concepts to debug a running application.
Many times when we work with any application, we need to debug a running application by attaching debugger with process during runtime.
So, the command used to attach the gdb with a running process is
gdb <PROCESS NAME> <PROCESS ID>
And the command used to search the process information like Process ID is
ps -elf | grep <Process Name>
Let’s see an example how to attach gdb debugger to a running process :
gdb attach to running process: Suppose we have a running process named “authenticator”
To get the process information first
ps -elf | grep sample authenticator
As a result we will get process information including Process ID and others as below
0 S active 2009 1989 86 80 ... 00:00:14 ./authenticator
So here the process id we got 2009. Now by using the below command we will attach the gdb debugger with process.
gdb authenticator 2009
Note: If root permission is required then use below command
sudo gdb authenticator 2009
Which will give gdb command prompt