topic Re: IFX generates unwanted PDB files in Intel® Fortran Compiler

IFX generates unwanted PDB files

mecej4 — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 13:00:53 GMT

The Ifort and Ifx compiler drivers on Windows provide the /nopdbfile option. This option works correctly when Ifort is used as the driver, but fails with Ifx. To see this, create a two-line hello.f90 program source, and build:

S:\ALGO\ODEPACK\HYB\npol\Morn\pol\ifxbug>ifort hello.f90 Intel(R) Fortran Intel(R) 64 Compiler Classic for applications running on Intel(R) 64, Version 2021.7.1 Build 20221019_000000 Copyright (C) 1985-2022 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft (R) Incremental Linker Version 14.33.31629.0 Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. -out:hello.exe -subsystem:console -incremental:no hello.obj

With Ifx, this option does not work, because the driver gratuitously sends the MS linker the option -debug.

When I first noticed this behavior, after seeing a large number of files named "NONE" in various directories, I fretted that my computer had been conquered by a virus.

S:\ALGO\ODEPACK\HYB\npol\Morn\pol\ifxbug>ifx /nopdbfile hello.f90 Intel(R) Fortran Compiler for applications running on Intel(R) 64, Version 2022.2.1 Build 20221101 Copyright (C) 1985-2022 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft (R) Incremental Linker Version 14.33.31629.0 Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. -out:hello.exe -debug -pdb:NONE -subsystem:console -incremental:no hello.obj

All that the /nopdbfile option did was to cause the name of the generated PDB file to be changed from "hello.pdb" to "NONE".

Re: IFX generates unwanted PDB files

Barbara_P_Intel — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 18:56:24 GMT

According to the Fortran DGR (Developer Guide and Reference), /pdbfile is supported for ifort. I'm checking on the plan for implementing that in ifx.

Re:IFX generates unwanted PDB files

Barbara_P_Intel — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 21:34:28 GMT

Support for /[no]pdbfiles with ifx hasn't been determined yet. ifx should NOT be doing what it's doing. I filed CMPLRLLVM-42350 to get that fixed. I'll let you when a fix is available.

Re: IFX generates unwanted PDB files

Lorri_M_Intel — Fri, 02 Dec 2022 12:42:27 GMT

Hi mecej4 -

It's been a while; my fault, not yours, I haven't been on the forum as much of late.

Anyway, yes, I can reproduce this behavior with /pdb:NONE. Years ago that was the command to use with Microsoft Link, but I suspect it's a difference in newer versions that we hadn't noticed.

Please note though, if you add /nopdbfile to ifort, you'll see the same thing, so at least we're consistent.

As to why 'debug' is being set automatically, is there a chance that you have IFXCFG defined to be a configuration file? I was unable to make this happen spontaneously without doing that.

Thanks -

--Lorri

Re: IFX generates unwanted PDB files

mecej4 — Fri, 02 Dec 2022 13:59:31 GMT

Thanks for your comments, Lorri. I do have an IFX.CFG file, but its contents do not specify linker flags.

Ifort does not produce a PDB file even if /pdbfile:xyz is specified unless /debug or /Zi is also specified. In contrast, IFX's behavior (dumping PDB files everywhere without being asked or even when asked not to) is a mild nuisance.

Here are details about the contents of ifx.cfg and the environment:

S:\ALGO\ODEPACK\HYB\npol\Morn\pol\p2\tbed>type "c:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\oneAPI\compiler\latest\\windows\bin\ifx.cfg" /MD /traceback /Qxhost S:\ALGO\ODEPACK\HYB\npol\Morn\pol\p2\tbed>set ifx Environment variable ifx not defined

Re: IFX generates unwanted PDB files

Lorri_M_Intel — Fri, 02 Dec 2022 14:13:13 GMT

This gets curiouser and curiouser.

It's the /traceback in your ifx.cfg file.

For some reason, that's enabling debug with ifx, not with ifort.

Now, what I suspect is that traceback support with ifx requires minimal debug info to be output in the object file but that ifx is incorrectly interpreting that as link-time debug as well.

Thanks for the additional info; I'll add it to our internal problem report and squash both things.

Re: IFX generates unwanted PDB files

jimdempseyatthecove — Fri, 02 Dec 2022 16:56:09 GMT

>>I'll add it to our internal problem report and squash both things.

Until then, you could add a post-build (or post link event): del /S NONE.

Jim Dempsey

Re: IFX generates unwanted PDB files

mecej4 — Fri, 02 Dec 2022 17:09:11 GMT

Thanks, Jim.

I tried something similar, by using the option /pdbfile:nul, and was rewarded with having a file called nul.pdb. Should have worn a tinfoil hat first !

Re:IFX generates unwanted PDB files

Barbara_P_Intel — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 17:12:53 GMT

Those unwanted .pdb files created by ifx are gone with the latest release 2024.1.0. It was made available last week.

Please give it a try.