What is a core file? How do I get a core file?
A core file is an image of the memory when your application crashed. Using the core file, you can know which variables were set and where your application crashed. Some distributions disable the generation of core files. To re-enable them, use “ulimit -c unlimited”. Once you have a core file for a crash, you can examine it with gdb appname core . This will open gdb on the core file for the given application. Once at the gdb prompt, the most useful command is “bt” which generates a backtrace of the crash.
A core file is an image of the memory when your application crashed. Using the core file, you can now which variables were set and where your application crashed. Some distributions disable the generation of core files. To re-enable them, use “ulimit -c unlimited”. Once you have a core file for a crash, you can examine it with gdb appname core . This will open gdb on the core file for the given application. Once at the gdb prompt, the most useful command is “bt” which generates a backtrace of the crash. For more information about how to use gdb, see this page.
