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<h3 class="section">10.18 How to Produce a Core File from Your Program</h3>

<p><a name="index-dump-core-from-inferior-637"></a>
A <dfn>core file</dfn> or <dfn>core dump</dfn> is a file that records the memory
image of a running process and its process status (register values
etc.).  Its primary use is post-mortem debugging of a program that
crashed while it ran outside a debugger.  A program that crashes
automatically produces a core file, unless this feature is disabled by
the user.  See <a href="Files.html#Files">Files</a>, for information on invoking <span class="sc">gdb</span> in
the post-mortem debugging mode.

   <p>Occasionally, you may wish to produce a core file of the program you
are debugging in order to preserve a snapshot of its state. 
<span class="sc">gdb</span> has a special command for that.

     
<a name="index-gcore-638"></a>
<a name="index-generate_002dcore_002dfile-639"></a>
<dl><dt><code>generate-core-file [</code><var>file</var><code>]</code><dt><code>gcore [</code><var>file</var><code>]</code><dd>Produce a core dump of the inferior process.  The optional argument
<var>file</var> specifies the file name where to put the core dump.  If not
specified, the file name defaults to <samp><span class="file">core.</span><var>pid</var></samp>, where
<var>pid</var> is the inferior process ID.

     <p>Note that this command is implemented only for some systems (as of
this writing, <span class="sc">gnu</span>/Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, Unixware, and S390). 
</dl>

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