Debugging optimized binaries is harder than debugging non-optimized ones, and requires more advanced debugging skills and gdb knowledge. There is a reason why

Debugging optimized binaries is harder than debugging non-optimized ones, and requires more advanced debugging skills and gdb knowledge. There is a reason why crash dumps on optimized builds used to be called "guru meditation". One useful skill to get started is learning how to get at data and print it through various levels of complex C++ data structures, which might require leaning on the python API to stay sane.