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<h3 class="section">B.1 Requirements for Building <span class="sc">gdb</span></h3>

<p><a name="index-building-_0040value_007bGDBN_007d_002c-requirements-for-2296"></a>
Building <span class="sc">gdb</span> requires various tools and packages to be available. 
Other packages will be used only if they are found.

<h3 class="heading">Tools/Packages Necessary for Building <span class="sc">gdb</span></h3>

     <dl>
<dt>ISO C90 compiler<dd><span class="sc">gdb</span> is written in ISO C90.  It should be buildable with any
working C90 compiler, e.g. GCC.

</dl>

<h3 class="heading">Tools/Packages Optional for Building <span class="sc">gdb</span></h3>

     <dl>
<dt>Expat<dd><a name="Expat"></a><span class="sc">gdb</span> can use the Expat XML parsing library.  This library may be
included with your operating system distribution; if it is not, you
can get the latest version from <a href="http://expat.sourceforge.net">http://expat.sourceforge.net</a>. 
The <samp><span class="file">configure</span></samp> script will search for this library in several
standard locations; if it is installed in an unusual path, you can
use the <samp><span class="option">--with-libexpat-prefix</span></samp> option to specify its location.

     <p>Expat is used for:

          <ul>
<li>Remote protocol memory maps (see <a href="Memory-Map-Format.html#Memory-Map-Format">Memory Map Format</a>)
<li>Target descriptions (see <a href="Target-Descriptions.html#Target-Descriptions">Target Descriptions</a>)
<li>Remote shared library lists (see <a href="Library-List-Format.html#Library-List-Format">Library List Format</a>)
<li>MS-Windows shared libraries (see <a href="Shared-Libraries.html#Shared-Libraries">Shared Libraries</a>)
</ul>

     <br><dt>zlib<dd><a name="index-compressed-debug-sections-2297"></a><span class="sc">gdb</span> will use the &lsquo;<samp><span class="samp">zlib</span></samp>&rsquo; library, if available, to read
compressed debug sections.  Some linkers, such as GNU gold, are capable
of producing binaries with compressed debug sections.  If <span class="sc">gdb</span>
is compiled with &lsquo;<samp><span class="samp">zlib</span></samp>&rsquo;, it will be able to read the debug
information in such binaries.

     <p>The &lsquo;<samp><span class="samp">zlib</span></samp>&rsquo; library is likely included with your operating system
distribution; if it is not, you can get the latest version from
<a href="http://zlib.net">http://zlib.net</a>.

     <br><dt>iconv<dd><span class="sc">gdb</span>'s features related to character sets (see <a href="Character-Sets.html#Character-Sets">Character Sets</a>) require a functioning <code>iconv</code> implementation.  If you are
on a GNU system, then this is provided by the GNU C Library.  Some
other systems also provide a working <code>iconv</code>.

     <p>On systems with <code>iconv</code>, you can install GNU Libiconv.  If you
have previously installed Libiconv, you can use the
<samp><span class="option">--with-libiconv-prefix</span></samp> option to configure.

     <p><span class="sc">gdb</span>'s top-level <samp><span class="file">configure</span></samp> and <samp><span class="file">Makefile</span></samp> will
arrange to build Libiconv if a directory named <samp><span class="file">libiconv</span></samp> appears
in the top-most source directory.  If Libiconv is built this way, and
if the operating system does not provide a suitable <code>iconv</code>
implementation, then the just-built library will automatically be used
by <span class="sc">gdb</span>.  One easy way to set this up is to download GNU
Libiconv, unpack it, and then rename the directory holding the
Libiconv source code to &lsquo;<samp><span class="samp">libiconv</span></samp>&rsquo;. 
</dl>

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