Seeing debug symbols for libraries

For any shared libraries used by your application, you can usually see their debug symbols (i.e., function names and line numbers) in the Debug view without having to modify the launch configuration. This is because the IDE knows where these libraries and their debug symbol files are stored in the workspace. If your application uses DLLs (which are handled differently by the IDE), or if you don't see debug symbols for some shared libraries, you must manually specify the host paths where these libraries (and their symbols) are stored.
Note: Debug symbols for libraries are needed when using not only the debugger but also many integrated tools such as Memory Analysis and Application Profiler. When the symbols can't be found on the host, the stack backtraces for the library code contain only binary addresses.
To see debug symbols for shared libraries or DLLs:
  1. Open a debug launch configuration.
    This launch configuration can have enabled any integrated tool that you plan to use in parallel with the debugger, such as Memory Analysis.
  2. In the Create, manage, and run configurations dialog, click the Tools tab.
  3. Click Add/Delete Tool.
  4. In the Tools Selection dialog, check the Shared Libraries box, then click OK.
  5. In the Shared Libraries tab that now appears in the launch configuration, click Add… to open a popup window from which you can specify a host path for a library.

    You can manually enter the folder or file of a shared library or DLL, or use a file selector to pick a path from your workspace or host filesystem. The library must match the version on the target, or the backtrace will show random locations.

    You can repeat this action for each library whose search path you want to add to the list. The search order is from top to bottom. The Shared Libraries tab also has buttons for editing or removing existing entries, and for moving them up or down the list.

  6. Click Apply to save your changes.
  7. If you want to start debugging right away, click Debug; otherwise, you can close the launch configuration dialog.
When you start debugging, the IDE switches to the Debug perspective. For each breakpoint encountered, the stack backtrace contains the function names and line numbers for code in the libraries whose host paths you've added to the launch configuration. Depending on what other tools you've enabled (e.g., Memory Analysis, Application Profiler), the IDE may switch to another perspective initially, but if you examine the Debug view, you can see the backtrace information for the libraries.