debuggercdi/com.nokia.carbide.cpp.debug.crashdebugger/html/DebuggingInformation/CrashDebuggerCallStack.guide02.html
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<title>Examining the call stack in Debugging information</title>
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<h2>General Points</h2>
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<p>Tracing the call stack is an advanced use of the
<a href="CrashDebugger_cmd_m.guide.html" title="The debug monitor and command syntax / m - do a memory dump">m</a> command that
allows you to <a href="CrashDebuggerExaminingMemory.guide.html" title="Examining memory">examine memory</a>.</p>
<p>Every time a function is called, the return address is
automatically saved into register R14 (Link Register). In addition
to this the return address is generally pushed onto the call stack; it is
always pushed in debug builds but the push operation is sometimes optimised out
in release builds. This allows you to trace back through the value of
R14 and these saved addresses to see the sequence of function
calls. Unfortunately this is quite tedious to do because the stack is also used
for automatic variables and other data. You need to work out which values on
the stack refer to return addresses. </p>
<p>When you are debugging only ROM-based code, it is relatively easy
to identify the pushed return addresses because all code addresses will be in
the ROM range: 0xF800000 to 0xFFEFFFFF for the
<a href="CrashDebuggerMemoryMap.guide.html" title="Symbian OS memory map / Moving model">moving model</a>. However,
there is also data in the ROM, which means that an address on the stack which
is in the ROM range could point to data instead of code. If you want to trace
applications loaded into RAM, i.e. anything not run from drive Z:, then stack
tracing is more difficult because the code can move about and RAM-loaded code
is given an address assigned at load time.</p>
<p>Note that <a href="CrashDebuggerUsingMAKSYM-Ref.guide.html">using the MAKSYM tool</a> is essential for tracing back through the stack.</p>
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<h5>Related tasks</h5>
<ul>
<li><a href="CrashDebuggerCallStack.guide03.html">Finding the Stack</a></li>
<li><a href="CrashDebuggerCallStack.guide04.html">Tracing through the Call Stack Heuristically</a></li>
<li><a href="CrashDebuggerCallStack.guide05.html">Walking through the Call Stack</a></li>
</ul>
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