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NAME
     ptrace  -  process trace

SYNOPSIS
     (ptrace = 26.; not in assembler)
     (data in r0)
     sys     ptrace; pid; addr; request
     (value in r0)

     ptrace(request, pid, addr, data);

DESCRIPTION
     Ptrace provides a means by which a parent process may con-
     trol the execution of a child process, and examine and
     change its core image.  Its primary use is for the implemen-
     tation of breakpoint debugging, but it should be adaptable
     for simulation of non-UNIX environments.  There are four
     arguments whose interpretation depends on a request argu-
     ment.  Generally, pid is the process ID of the traced pro-
     cess, which must be a child (no more distant descendant) of
     the tracing process.  A process being traced behaves nor-
     mally until it encounters some signal whether internally
     generated like ``illegal instruction'' or externally gener-
     ated like ``interrupt.''  See signal (II) for the list.
     Then the traced process enters a stopped state and its par-
     ent is notified via wait (II).  When the child is in the
     stopped state, its core image can be examined and modified
     using ptrace.  If desired, another ptrace request can then
     cause the child either to terminate or to continue, possibly
     ignoring the signal.

     The value of the request argument determines the precise
     action of the call:

     0   This request is the only one used by the child process;
         it declares that the process is to be traced by its par-
         ent.  All the other arguments are ignored.  Peculiar
         results will ensue if the parent does not expect to
         trace the child.

     1,2 The word in the child process's address space at addr is
         returned (in r0).  Request 1 indicates the data space
         (normally used); 2 indicates the instruction space (when
         I and D space are separated).  addr must be even.  The
         child must be stopped.  The input data is ignored.

     3   The word of the system's per-process data area corre-
         sponding to addr is returned.  Addr must be even and
         less than 512.  This space contains the registers and
         other information about the process; its layout corre-
         sponds to the user structure in the system.

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     4,5 The given data is written at the word in the process's
         address space corresponding to addr, which must be even.
         No useful value is returned.  Request 4 specifies data
         space (normally used), 5 specifies instruction space.
         Attempts to write in pure procedure result in termina-
         tion of the child, instead of going through or causing
         an error for the parent.

     6   The process's system data is written, as it is read with
         request 3.  Only a few locations can be written in this
         way: the general registers, the floating point status
         and registers, and certain bits of the processor status
         word.

     7   The data argument is taken as a signal number and the
         child's execution continues as if it had incurred that
         signal.  Normally the signal number will be either 0 to
         indicate that the signal which caused the stop should be
         ignored, or that value fetched out of the process's
         image indicating which signal caused the stop.

     8   The traced process terminates.

     As indicated, these calls (except for request 0) can be used
     only when the subject process has stopped.  The wait call is
     used to determine when a process stops; in such a case the
     ``termination'' status returned by wait has the value 0177
     to indicate stoppage rather than genuine termination.

     To forestall possible fraud, ptrace inhibits the set-user-id
     facility on subsequent exec (II)
      calls.

SEE ALSO
     wait (II), signal (II), cdb (I)

DIAGNOSTICS
     From assembler, the c-bit (error bit) is set on errors; from
     C, -1 is returned and errno has the error code.

BUGS
     The request 0 call should be able to specify signals which
     are to be treated normally and not cause a stop.  In this
     way, for example, programs with simulated floating point
     (which use ``illegal instruction'' signals at a very high
     rate) could be efficiently debugged.

     Also, it should be possible to stop a process on occurrence
     of a system call; in this way a completely controlled envi-
     ronment could be provided.

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