Tutorial: Debugging with Intel® Distribution for GDB*
Debug a SYCL* Application on a GPU¶
This section describes a basic scenario of debugging a SYCL* program with the kernel offloaded to the GPU.
Before you proceed, make sure you have completed all necessary setup steps described in the Get Started Guide.
Basic Debugging¶
Note
For your convenience, all common Intel® Distribution for GDB* commands used in examples below are provided in the reference sheet.
Consider the array-transform.cpp example again:
54 h.parallel_for(data_range, [=](id<1> index) {
55 size_t id0 = GetDim(index, 0);
56 int element = in[index]; // breakpoint-here
57 int result = element + 50;
58 if (id0 % 2 == 0) {
59 result = result + 50; // then-branch
60 } else {
61 result = -1; // else-branch
62 }
63 out[index] = result;
64 });
If you have not already done so, start the debugger:
gdb-oneapi array-transform
Start the debugger, set two breakpoints inside the kernel (one for each conditional branch) as follows:
break 59
Expected output:
Breakpoint 1 at 0x40583c: file /path/to/array-transform.cpp, line 59.
break 61
Expected output:
Breakpoint 2 at 0x40584a: file /path/to/array-transform.cpp, line 61.
Note
Do not expect the output you receive will match exactly the one provided in the tutorial. The output may vary due to the nature of parallelism and different machine properties. The ellipsis […] denotes output omitted for brevity.
To start the program, execute:
run gpu
You should see the following output:
Starting program: /path/to/array-transform gpu
[Thread debugging using libthread_db enabled]
Using host libthread_db library "/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libthread_db.so.1".
[New Thread 0x7ffff37dc700 (LWP 9479)]
intelgt: gdbserver-gt started for process 28837.
Will listen for an attached process
[New Thread 0x7fffe21e9700 (LWP 9599)]
[SYCL] Using device: [Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 650 [0x5927]] from [Intel® Level-Zero]
intelgt: attached to device 1 of 1; id 0x5927 (Gen9)
[New inferior 2]
[New Thread 1.1073741824]
[New Thread 1.1073741888]
[New Thread 1.1073742080]
[New Thread 1.1073742144]
[New Thread 1.1073742336]
[New Thread 1.1073745920]
[New Thread 1.1073746176]
[New Thread 1.1073746432]
[Switching to Thread 1.1073741824 lane 1]
Thread 2.1 hit Breakpoint 2, with SIMD lanes [1 3 5 7], main::$_1::operator()[...]
at array-transform.cpp:61
61 result = -1; // else-branch
The debugger has a mechanism called
“auto-attach”
that spawns an instance of gdbserver-gt to listen to and control the
GPU for debug. In the example above, the auto-attach mechanism is
triggered and the gdbserver-gt is added to the debugger as an
inferior.
Check the presence of gdbserver-gt as follows:
info inferiors
Expected output:
Num Description Connection Executable
1 process 9463 1 (native) <path_to_array-transform>
* 2 device 1 2 (extended-remote gdbserver-gt --multi --hostpid=9463 -)
Note
The auto-attach feature sets schedule-multiple to on, which
allows all threads of all processes to run during the same session.
For example, when you run the continue command, all inferiors
will continue.
The breakpoint event is received from the gdbserver-gt process. The
thread ID 2.1:1 points to the thread 1 of the inferior 2 and indicates
that the first active SIMD lane is now in focus.
The breakpoint at line 61 is hit first. The order of branch execution is defined by the Intel® Graphics Compiler.
Check which SIMD lanes are currently active with the following command:
info threads
In the example, thread 2.1 has 4 active SIMD lanes: 1, 3, 5, and 7. The asterisk * marks the current SIMD lane. See the expected output below.
Note
SIMD lane enumeration starts from 0.
Id Target Id Frame
1.1 Thread [...] [...]
1.2 Thread [...] [...]
2.1:1 Thread 1.1073741824 <frame> at array-transform.cpp:61
2.1:[3 5 7] Thread 1.1073741824 <frame> at array-transform.cpp:61
2.2:[1 3 5 7] Thread 1.1073741888 <frame> at array-transform.cpp:61
2.4:[1 3 5 7] Thread 1.1073742080 <frame> at array-transform.cpp:61
2.5:[1 3 5 7] Thread 1.1073742144 <frame> at array-transform.cpp:61
2.6:[1 3 5 7] Thread 1.1073742336 <frame> at array-transform.cpp:61
2.7:[1 3 5 7] Thread 1.1073745920 <frame> at array-transform.cpp:61
2.8:[1 3 5 7] Thread 1.1073746176 <frame> at array-transform.cpp:61
2.9:[1 3 5 7] Thread 1.1073746432 <frame> at array-transform.cpp:61
To switch the focus to a different SIMD lane, use the
thread <thread_ID> command. Thread ID is specified by a
triple: inferior.thread:lane. See examples of working with
particular lanes:
thread 2.1:3
Example output:
[Switching to thread 2.1:3 (Thread 1.1073741824 lane 3)] #0 main::$_1::operator()[...] at array-transform.cpp:61 61 result = -1; // else-branch
print element
Example output:
$1 = 103
thread 2.1:5
Example output:
[Switching to thread 2.1:5 (Thread 1.1073741824 lane 5)] #0 main::$_1::operator()[...] at array-transform.cpp:61 61 result = -1; // else-branch
print element
Example output:
$2 = 105
Note
In the thread ID, the inferior number can be skipped. In this case, the current inferior ID is used. The thread number can also be skipped in case of switching to a lane in the current thread. Thus, the command below can be used to switch to the desired thread:
thread :5
Expected output:
[Switching to thread 2.1:5 (Thread 1.1073741824 lane 5)]
#0 main::$_1::operator()[...] at array-transform.cpp:61
61 result = -1; // else-branch
As you are now inside the kernel running on the GPU, you can look into the assembly code and GPU registers, for example, to understand the cause of unexpected application behavior. Get the GPU assembly code to inspect generated instructions by executing the following command:
disassemble
See an example output below:
Dump of assembler code for function _ZTSN2cl4sycl6kernelE(...):
0x00000000fffad000 <+0>: mov (1|M0) null<1>:ud 0xC72C169A:ud
0x00000000fffad010 <+16>: (W) mov (8|M0) r22.0<1>:ud r0.0<1;1,0>:ud
0x00000000fffad020 <+32>: (W) or (1|M0) cr0.0<1>:ud cr0.0<0;1,0>:ud 0x4C0:uw {Switch}
0x00000000fffad030 <+48>: (W) mov (8|M0) r9.0<1>:w 0x76543210:v
0x00000000fffad040 <+64>: (W) and (1|M0) r8.1<1>:d r22.5<0;1,0>:d 511:w
0x00000000fffad050 <+80>: (W) mul (1|M0) r8.1<1>:d r8.1<0;1,0>:d 0xC440:uw
0x00000000fffad060 <+96>: (W) add (1|M0) r8.2<1>:d r8.1<0;1,0>:d 0x8440:uw
0x00000000fffad070 <+112>: mov (8|M0) r9.0<1>:d r9.0<8;8,1>:uw
0x00000000fffad080 <+128>: mul (8|M0) r10.0<1>:d r9.0<8;8,1>:d 8:w
To learn more about GEN assembly and registers, refer to the “Introduction to GEN assembly” article.
To display a list of GPU registers, run the following command:
info reg
You can use registers to see the state of the application or inspect arithmetic instructions: which operands are used and where the result is located.
Additionally, you can inspect the execution mask ($emask register),
which shows active lanes. To print the result in binary format, use the
/t format flag as follows:
print/t $emask
Example output:
$3 = 10101010
Recall that you have stopped at line 61: the else-branch of the
condition that checks evenness of the work item index. Hence, every
other SIMD lane is inactive, as indicated by the $emask bit pattern.
To move forward and stop at the then-branch, set the scheduler-locking
mode to step and execute the next command. The
set scheduler-locking step command keeps the other threads stopped
while the current thread is stepping:
set scheduler-locking step
next
You should see the following output:
[Switching to SIMD lane 0]
Thread 2.1 hit Breakpoint 1, with SIMD lanes [0 2 4 6], main::$_1::operator()[...]
at array-transform.cpp:59
59 result = result + 50; // then-branch
Due to the breakpoint event, the SIMD lane focus switches to the first active lane in the then-branch, which is SIMD lane 0. Other threads of inferior 2 stayed at the line 61:
info threads 2.*
Example output:
Id Target Id Frame
*2.1:0 Thread 1.1073741824 <frame> at array-transform.cpp:59
2.1:[2 4 6] Thread 1.1073741824 <frame> at array-transform.cpp:59
2.2:[1 3 5 7] Thread 1.1073741888 <frame> at array-transform.cpp:61
2.3:[1 3 5 7] Thread 1.1073742080 <frame> at array-transform.cpp:61
2.4:[1 3 5 7] Thread 1.1073742144 <frame> at array-transform.cpp:61
2.5:[1 3 5 7] Thread 1.1073742336 <frame> at array-transform.cpp:61
2.6:[1 3 5 7] Thread 1.1073745920 <frame> at array-transform.cpp:61
2.7:[1 3 5 7] Thread 1.1073746176 <frame> at array-transform.cpp:61
2.8:[1 3 5 7] Thread 1.1073746432 <frame> at array-transform.cpp:61
Since the thread is vectorized, you can also inspect the vector of a local variable:
x /8dw &result
Example output:
0x7fffe3f972c0: 150 -1 152 -1
0x7fffe3f972d0: 154 -1 156 -1
SIMD Lanes¶
To investigate all active SIMD lanes at once, use the thread apply
command:
thread apply 2.1 print element
Example output:
Thread 2.1:0 (Thread 1.1073741824 lane 0):
$4 = 100
You can specify a SIMD lane as a number:
thread apply 2.1:2 print element
Example output:
Thread 2.1:2 (Thread 1.1073741824 lane 2):
$5 = 102
You can also specify a SIMD lane as a range. In this case, only active SIMD lanes from the range are considered:
thread apply 2.1:2-5 print element
Example output:
Thread 2.1:2 (Thread 1.1073741824 lane 2):
$6 = 102
warning: SIMD lane 3 is inactive in thread 1.2
Thread 2.1:4 (Thread 1.1073741824 lane 4):
$7 = 104
warning: SIMD lane 5 is inactive in thread 1.2
To denote all active SIMD lanes, use the wildcard:
thread apply 2.1:* print element
Example output:
Thread 2.1:0 (Thread 1.1073741824 lane 0):
$8 = 100
Thread 2.1:2 (Thread 1.1073741824 lane 2):
$9 = 102
Thread 2.1:4 (Thread 1.1073741824 lane 4):
$10 = 104
Thread 2.1:6 (Thread 1.1073741824 lane 6):
$11 = 106
To apply the command to all active SIMD lanes of all threads, use
all-lanes parameter:
thread apply all-lanes print element
Example output:
Thread 2.8:7 (Thread 1.1073741888 lane 7):
$12 = 155
Thread 2.8:5 (Thread 1.1073741888 lane 5):
$13 = 153
[...]
Thread 2.1:2 (Thread 1.1073741824 lane 2):
$42 = 102
Thread 2.1:0 (Thread 1.1073741824 lane 0):
$43 = 100
Thread 1.2 (Thread 0x7ffff26dc700 (LWP 30173) "array-transform"):
No symbol "element" in current context.
You can mix SIMD lane ranges with thread ranges and the thread wildcard. For example, to apply the command to all active lanes of all threads of inferior 2, you can use any of the following commands:
thread apply 2.1-8:*
thread apply 2.*:*
If the current inferior is 2, the inferior number can be skipped:
thread apply 1-8:*
thread apply *:*
Breakpoint Actions¶
You can define a set of actions for a breakpoint to be executed when the breakpoint is hit. By default, the actions are executed in the context of the SIMD lane selected after the hit.
Quit the current debugging session and start a new one:
quitgdb-oneapi array-transform
Define two temporary breakpoints with actions for if and else branches:
Set a temporary breakpoint:
tbreak 61
Example output:
Temporary breakpoint 1 at 0x40584a: file /path/to/array-transform.cpp, line 61.
Define an action:
commandsWhen you are asked to type commands, enter the following:
print element end
Set another temporary breakpoint:
tbreak 59
Example output:
Temporary breakpoint 2 at 0x40583c: file /path/to/array-transform.cpp, line 59.
Define an action to be executed for all SIMD lines by adding
/amodifier:commands /a
When you are asked to type commands, enter the following:
print element end
Start the program:
run gpu
Example output:
[...]
Thread 2.1 hit Temporary breakpoint 1, with SIMD lanes [1 3 5 7],
main::$_1::operator()[...] at array-transform.cpp:61
61 result = -1; // else-branch
$1 = 101
Continue to hit both breakpoints:
continue
Example output:
Continuing.
[Switching to SIMD lane 0]
Thread 2.1 hit Temporary breakpoint 2, with SIMD lanes [0 2 4 6],
main::$_1::operator()[...] at array-transform.cpp:59
59 result = result + 50; // then-branch
$2 = 100
$3 = 102
$4 = 104
$5 = 106
The action for the breakpoint at the else branch was executed for a single SIMD lane 1, while the action at the then branch was executed for all active SIMD lanes.
Note
For conditional breakpoints, the actions are executed only for SIMD lanes that meet the condition.
Conditional Breakpoints¶
Quit the debugging session and start the program from the beginning:
quit
gdb-oneapi array-transform
This time set a breakpoint at line 59 with the condition
element==106:
break 59 if element == 106
Example output:
Breakpoint 1 at 0x40583c: file /path/to/array-transform.cpp, line 59.
Run the program (execute the run gpu command) and check if the
output looks as follows:
Starting program: <path_to_array-transform> gpu
[...]
[Switching to Thread 1.1073741824 lane 6]
Thread 2.1 hit Breakpoint 1, with SIMD lane 6, main::$_1::operator()[...]
at array-transform.cpp:59
59 result = result + 50; // then-branch
The condition is true for the lane 6 in thread 2.1.
Note
A breakpoint condition is evaluated only for active SIMD lanes,
meaning that (gdb) break 59 if element == 107 does not cause a
stop, since element == 107 is true for the lane 7 in thread 2.1,
and it is inactive at line 59.