gdb.info: Types In Python

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23.2.2.4 Types In Python
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GDB represents types from the inferior using the class 'gdb.Type'.

   The following type-related functions are available in the 'gdb'
module:

 -- Function: gdb.lookup_type (name [, block])
     This function looks up a type by its NAME, which must be a string.

     If BLOCK is given, then NAME is looked up in that scope.
     Otherwise, it is searched for globally.

     Ordinarily, this function will return an instance of 'gdb.Type'.
     If the named type cannot be found, it will throw an exception.

   If the type is a structure or class type, or an enum type, the fields
of that type can be accessed using the Python "dictionary syntax".  For
example, if 'some_type' is a 'gdb.Type' instance holding a structure
type, you can access its 'foo' field with:

     bar = some_type['foo']

   'bar' will be a 'gdb.Field' object; see below under the description
of the 'Type.fields' method for a description of the 'gdb.Field' class.

   An instance of 'Type' has the following attributes:

 -- Variable: Type.code
     The type code for this type.  The type code will be one of the
     'TYPE_CODE_' constants defined below.

 -- Variable: Type.name
     The name of this type.  If this type has no name, then 'None' is
     returned.

 -- Variable: Type.sizeof
     The size of this type, in target 'char' units.  Usually, a target's
     'char' type will be an 8-bit byte.  However, on some unusual
     platforms, this type may have a different size.

 -- Variable: Type.tag
     The tag name for this type.  The tag name is the name after
     'struct', 'union', or 'enum' in C and C++; not all languages have
     this concept.  If this type has no tag name, then 'None' is
     returned.

   The following methods are provided:

 -- Function: Type.fields ()
     For structure and union types, this method returns the fields.
     Range types have two fields, the minimum and maximum values.  Enum
     types have one field per enum constant.  Function and method types
     have one field per parameter.  The base types of C++ classes are
     also represented as fields.  If the type has no fields, or does not
     fit into one of these categories, an empty sequence will be
     returned.

     Each field is a 'gdb.Field' object, with some pre-defined
     attributes:
     'bitpos'
          This attribute is not available for 'enum' or 'static' (as in
          C++ or Java) fields.  The value is the position, counting in
          bits, from the start of the containing type.

     'enumval'
          This attribute is only available for 'enum' fields, and its
          value is the enumeration member's integer representation.

     'name'
          The name of the field, or 'None' for anonymous fields.

     'artificial'
          This is 'True' if the field is artificial, usually meaning
          that it was provided by the compiler and not the user.  This
          attribute is always provided, and is 'False' if the field is
          not artificial.

     'is_base_class'
          This is 'True' if the field represents a base class of a C++
          structure.  This attribute is always provided, and is 'False'
          if the field is not a base class of the type that is the
          argument of 'fields', or if that type was not a C++ class.

     'bitsize'
          If the field is packed, or is a bitfield, then this will have
          a non-zero value, which is the size of the field in bits.
          Otherwise, this will be zero; in this case the field's size is
          given by its type.

     'type'
          The type of the field.  This is usually an instance of 'Type',
          but it can be 'None' in some situations.

     'parent_type'
          The type which contains this field.  This is an instance of
          'gdb.Type'.

 -- Function: Type.array (N1 [, N2])
     Return a new 'gdb.Type' object which represents an array of this
     type.  If one argument is given, it is the inclusive upper bound of
     the array; in this case the lower bound is zero.  If two arguments
     are given, the first argument is the lower bound of the array, and
     the second argument is the upper bound of the array.  An array's
     length must not be negative, but the bounds can be.

 -- Function: Type.vector (N1 [, N2])
     Return a new 'gdb.Type' object which represents a vector of this
     type.  If one argument is given, it is the inclusive upper bound of
     the vector; in this case the lower bound is zero.  If two arguments
     are given, the first argument is the lower bound of the vector, and
     the second argument is the upper bound of the vector.  A vector's
     length must not be negative, but the bounds can be.

     The difference between an 'array' and a 'vector' is that arrays
     behave like in C: when used in expressions they decay to a pointer
     to the first element whereas vectors are treated as first class
     values.

 -- Function: Type.const ()
     Return a new 'gdb.Type' object which represents a 'const'-qualified
     variant of this type.

 -- Function: Type.volatile ()
     Return a new 'gdb.Type' object which represents a
     'volatile'-qualified variant of this type.

 -- Function: Type.unqualified ()
     Return a new 'gdb.Type' object which represents an unqualified
     variant of this type.  That is, the result is neither 'const' nor
     'volatile'.

 -- Function: Type.range ()
     Return a Python 'Tuple' object that contains two elements: the low
     bound of the argument type and the high bound of that type.  If the
     type does not have a range, GDB will raise a 'gdb.error' exception
     (Note: Exception Handling).

 -- Function: Type.reference ()
     Return a new 'gdb.Type' object which represents a reference to this
     type.

 -- Function: Type.pointer ()
     Return a new 'gdb.Type' object which represents a pointer to this
     type.

 -- Function: Type.strip_typedefs ()
     Return a new 'gdb.Type' that represents the real type, after
     removing all layers of typedefs.

 -- Function: Type.target ()
     Return a new 'gdb.Type' object which represents the target type of
     this type.

     For a pointer type, the target type is the type of the pointed-to
     object.  For an array type (meaning C-like arrays), the target type
     is the type of the elements of the array.  For a function or method
     type, the target type is the type of the return value.  For a
     complex type, the target type is the type of the elements.  For a
     typedef, the target type is the aliased type.

     If the type does not have a target, this method will throw an
     exception.

 -- Function: Type.template_argument (n [, block])
     If this 'gdb.Type' is an instantiation of a template, this will
     return a new 'gdb.Type' which represents the type of the Nth
     template argument.

     If this 'gdb.Type' is not a template type, this will throw an
     exception.  Ordinarily, only C++ code will have template types.

     If BLOCK is given, then NAME is looked up in that scope.
     Otherwise, it is searched for globally.

   Each type has a code, which indicates what category this type falls
into.  The available type categories are represented by constants
defined in the 'gdb' module:

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_PTR'
     The type is a pointer.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_ARRAY'
     The type is an array.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_STRUCT'
     The type is a structure.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_UNION'
     The type is a union.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_ENUM'
     The type is an enum.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_FLAGS'
     A bit flags type, used for things such as status registers.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_FUNC'
     The type is a function.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_INT'
     The type is an integer type.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_FLT'
     A floating point type.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_VOID'
     The special type 'void'.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_SET'
     A Pascal set type.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_RANGE'
     A range type, that is, an integer type with bounds.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_STRING'
     A string type.  Note that this is only used for certain languages
     with language-defined string types; C strings are not represented
     this way.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_BITSTRING'
     A string of bits.  It is deprecated.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_ERROR'
     An unknown or erroneous type.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_METHOD'
     A method type, as found in C++ or Java.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_METHODPTR'
     A pointer-to-member-function.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_MEMBERPTR'
     A pointer-to-member.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_REF'
     A reference type.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_CHAR'
     A character type.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_BOOL'
     A boolean type.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_COMPLEX'
     A complex float type.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_TYPEDEF'
     A typedef to some other type.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_NAMESPACE'
     A C++ namespace.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_DECFLOAT'
     A decimal floating point type.

'gdb.TYPE_CODE_INTERNAL_FUNCTION'
     A function internal to GDB.  This is the type used to represent
     convenience functions.

   Further support for types is provided in the 'gdb.types' Python
module (*note gdb.types::).