Can't debug Alpha/DEC via gcc 2.95.1+gdb 4.18; back to gcc 2.8.1

[Chris Weber]

  I've finally given up and regressed to gcc 2.8.1.  I'd really like
to be running gcc 2.95.1 because of its EV6 code generation and the
DS20 we have running here, but I just can't.

  Egcs 1.1.1, egcs 1.1.2, gcc 2.95, and gcc 2.95.1 have all suffered
from the same debilitating problem on Alpha/Digital UNIX -- namely,
debugging is nearly impossible because of gdb's propensity to step
*into* instead of *over* function calls.  Even more frustrating is
that incorrect function parameters are frequently displayed after a
function is entered.

  This might be a problem with gdb 4.17 and gdb 4.18, under both of
which the problem manifests itself, but neither version exhibits the
difficulty with debugging information generated by gcc 2.8.1.

  There have been at least three postings to gcc-bugs about similar
behavior:

    Subject: Bad line number debug info on alpha-dec-osf
    From: <norbert@dune.gia.rwth-aachen.de>
    Date: 25 Mar 1999

    Subject: step-over problems with gdb/egcs on alpha
    From: <snyder@fnal.gov>
    Date: 30 Apr 1999

    Subject: Interaction of gcc-2.95 and gdb-4.18
    From: <larry@cs.wsc.ma.edu>
    Date: 23 Aug 99