File Caching (Debugging with GDB)

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### 18.2 File Caching

To speed up file loading, and reduce memory usage, GDB will reuse the `bfd` objects used to track open files. See BFD in The Binary File Descriptor Library. The following commands allow visibility and control of the caching behavior.

`maint info bfds`

  This prints information about each `bfd` object that is known to GDB.

`maint set bfd-sharing`
`maint show bfd-sharing`

  Control whether `bfd` objects can be shared. When sharing is enabled GDB reuses already open `bfd` objects rather than reopening the same file. Turning sharing off does not cause already shared `bfd` objects to be unshared, but all future files that are opened will create a new `bfd` object. Similarly, re-enabling sharing does not cause multiple existing `bfd` objects to be collapsed into a single shared `bfd` object.

`set debug bfd-cache level`

  Turns on debugging of the bfd cache, setting the level to level.

`show debug bfd-cache`

  Show the current debugging level of the bfd cache.