* ldlang.c (print_output_section_statement): If the output section
[deliverable/binutils-gdb.git] / binutils / doc / binutils.texi
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1\input texinfo @c -*- Texinfo -*-
2@setfilename binutils.info
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3@settitle @sc{gnu} Binary Utilities
4@finalout
5@synindex ky cp
8c2bc687 6
dff70155 7@c man begin INCLUDE
c428fa83 8@include bfdver.texi
dff70155 9@c man end
252b5132 10
0e9517a9 11@copying
0285c67d 12@c man begin COPYRIGHT
2423fbe6 13Copyright @copyright{} 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999,
98ec6e72 142000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
252b5132 15
0285c67d 16Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
fff279a7 17under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
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18or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
19with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no
20Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the
947ed062 21section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''.
252b5132 22
0285c67d 23@c man end
0e9517a9 24@end copying
252b5132 25
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26@dircategory Software development
27@direntry
28* Binutils: (binutils). The GNU binary utilities.
29@end direntry
30
31@dircategory Individual utilities
32@direntry
33* addr2line: (binutils)addr2line. Convert addresses to file and line.
34* ar: (binutils)ar. Create, modify, and extract from archives.
35* c++filt: (binutils)c++filt. Filter to demangle encoded C++ symbols.
36* cxxfilt: (binutils)c++filt. MS-DOS name for c++filt.
37* dlltool: (binutils)dlltool. Create files needed to build and use DLLs.
38* nlmconv: (binutils)nlmconv. Converts object code into an NLM.
39* nm: (binutils)nm. List symbols from object files.
40* objcopy: (binutils)objcopy. Copy and translate object files.
41* objdump: (binutils)objdump. Display information from object files.
42* ranlib: (binutils)ranlib. Generate index to archive contents.
43* readelf: (binutils)readelf. Display the contents of ELF format files.
44* size: (binutils)size. List section sizes and total size.
45* strings: (binutils)strings. List printable strings from files.
46* strip: (binutils)strip. Discard symbols.
47* windmc: (binutils)windmc. Generator for Windows message resources.
48* windres: (binutils)windres. Manipulate Windows resources.
49@end direntry
50
252b5132 51@titlepage
252b5132 52@title The @sc{gnu} Binary Utilities
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53@ifset VERSION_PACKAGE
54@subtitle @value{VERSION_PACKAGE}
55@end ifset
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56@subtitle Version @value{VERSION}
57@sp 1
36607f99 58@subtitle @value{UPDATED}
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59@author Roland H. Pesch
60@author Jeffrey M. Osier
61@author Cygnus Support
62@page
63
64@tex
65{\parskip=0pt \hfill Cygnus Support\par \hfill
e016ec1f 66Texinfo \texinfoversion\par }
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67@end tex
68
69@vskip 0pt plus 1filll
e016ec1f 70@insertcopying
252b5132 71@end titlepage
4ecceb71 72@contents
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73
74@node Top
75@top Introduction
76
77@cindex version
947ed062 78This brief manual contains documentation for the @sc{gnu} binary
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79utilities
80@ifset VERSION_PACKAGE
81@value{VERSION_PACKAGE}
82@end ifset
83version @value{VERSION}:
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84
85@iftex
86@table @code
87@item ar
88Create, modify, and extract from archives
89
90@item nm
91List symbols from object files
92
93@item objcopy
94Copy and translate object files
95
96@item objdump
97Display information from object files
98
99@item ranlib
100Generate index to archive contents
101
102@item readelf
103Display the contents of ELF format files.
104
105@item size
106List file section sizes and total size
107
108@item strings
109List printable strings from files
110
111@item strip
112Discard symbols
113
114@item c++filt
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115Demangle encoded C++ symbols (on MS-DOS, this program is named
116@code{cxxfilt})
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117
118@item addr2line
119Convert addresses into file names and line numbers
120
121@item nlmconv
122Convert object code into a Netware Loadable Module
123
124@item windres
125Manipulate Windows resources
126
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127@item windmc
128Genertor for Windows message resources
129
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130@item dlltool
131Create the files needed to build and use Dynamic Link Libraries
132@end table
133@end iftex
134
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135This document is distributed under the terms of the GNU Free
136Documentation License. A copy of the license is included in the
e016ec1f 137section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''.
cf055d54 138
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139@menu
140* ar:: Create, modify, and extract from archives
141* nm:: List symbols from object files
142* objcopy:: Copy and translate object files
143* objdump:: Display information from object files
144* ranlib:: Generate index to archive contents
fff279a7 145* readelf:: Display the contents of ELF format files
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146* size:: List section sizes and total size
147* strings:: List printable strings from files
148* strip:: Discard symbols
149* c++filt:: Filter to demangle encoded C++ symbols
9d51cc66 150* cxxfilt: c++filt. MS-DOS name for c++filt
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151* addr2line:: Convert addresses to file and line
152* nlmconv:: Converts object code into an NLM
153* windres:: Manipulate Windows resources
692ed3e7 154* windmc:: Generator for Windows message resources
252b5132 155* dlltool:: Create files needed to build and use DLLs
07012eee 156* Common Options:: Command-line options for all utilities
fff279a7 157* Selecting the Target System:: How these utilities determine the target
252b5132 158* Reporting Bugs:: Reporting Bugs
cf055d54 159* GNU Free Documentation License:: GNU Free Documentation License
fa0d8a3e 160* Binutils Index:: Binutils Index
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161@end menu
162
163@node ar
164@chapter ar
165
166@kindex ar
167@cindex archives
168@cindex collections of files
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169
170@c man title ar create, modify, and extract from archives
171
252b5132 172@smallexample
3de39064 173ar [-]@var{p}[@var{mod} [@var{relpos}] [@var{count}]] @var{archive} [@var{member}@dots{}]
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174ar -M [ <mri-script ]
175@end smallexample
176
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177@c man begin DESCRIPTION ar
178
c7c55b78 179The @sc{gnu} @command{ar} program creates, modifies, and extracts from
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180archives. An @dfn{archive} is a single file holding a collection of
181other files in a structure that makes it possible to retrieve
182the original individual files (called @dfn{members} of the archive).
183
184The original files' contents, mode (permissions), timestamp, owner, and
185group are preserved in the archive, and can be restored on
c1c0eb9e 186extraction.
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187
188@cindex name length
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189@sc{gnu} @command{ar} can maintain archives whose members have names of any
190length; however, depending on how @command{ar} is configured on your
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191system, a limit on member-name length may be imposed for compatibility
192with archive formats maintained with other tools. If it exists, the
193limit is often 15 characters (typical of formats related to a.out) or 16
194characters (typical of formats related to coff).
195
196@cindex libraries
c7c55b78 197@command{ar} is considered a binary utility because archives of this sort
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198are most often used as @dfn{libraries} holding commonly needed
199subroutines.
200
201@cindex symbol index
c7c55b78 202@command{ar} creates an index to the symbols defined in relocatable
252b5132 203object modules in the archive when you specify the modifier @samp{s}.
c7c55b78 204Once created, this index is updated in the archive whenever @command{ar}
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205makes a change to its contents (save for the @samp{q} update operation).
206An archive with such an index speeds up linking to the library, and
207allows routines in the library to call each other without regard to
208their placement in the archive.
209
210You may use @samp{nm -s} or @samp{nm --print-armap} to list this index
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211table. If an archive lacks the table, another form of @command{ar} called
212@command{ranlib} can be used to add just the table.
252b5132 213
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214@cindex thin archives
215@sc{gnu} @command{ar} can optionally create a @emph{thin} archive,
216which contains a symbol index and references to the original copies
217of the member files of the archives. Such an archive is useful
218for building libraries for use within a local build, where the
219relocatable objects are expected to remain available, and copying the
220contents of each object would only waste time and space. Thin archives
221are also @emph{flattened}, so that adding one or more archives to a
222thin archive will add the elements of the nested archive individually.
223The paths to the elements of the archive are stored relative to the
224archive itself.
225
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226@cindex compatibility, @command{ar}
227@cindex @command{ar} compatibility
228@sc{gnu} @command{ar} is designed to be compatible with two different
252b5132 229facilities. You can control its activity using command-line options,
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230like the different varieties of @command{ar} on Unix systems; or, if you
231specify the single command-line option @option{-M}, you can control it
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232with a script supplied via standard input, like the MRI ``librarian''
233program.
234
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235@c man end
236
252b5132 237@menu
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238* ar cmdline:: Controlling @command{ar} on the command line
239* ar scripts:: Controlling @command{ar} with a script
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240@end menu
241
242@page
243@node ar cmdline
947ed062 244@section Controlling @command{ar} on the Command Line
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245
246@smallexample
0285c67d 247@c man begin SYNOPSIS ar
c7c55b78 248ar [@option{-X32_64}] [@option{-}]@var{p}[@var{mod} [@var{relpos}] [@var{count}]] @var{archive} [@var{member}@dots{}]
0285c67d 249@c man end
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250@end smallexample
251
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252@cindex Unix compatibility, @command{ar}
253When you use @command{ar} in the Unix style, @command{ar} insists on at least two
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254arguments to execute: one keyletter specifying the @emph{operation}
255(optionally accompanied by other keyletters specifying
256@emph{modifiers}), and the archive name to act on.
257
258Most operations can also accept further @var{member} arguments,
259specifying particular files to operate on.
260
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261@c man begin OPTIONS ar
262
c7c55b78 263@sc{gnu} @command{ar} allows you to mix the operation code @var{p} and modifier
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264flags @var{mod} in any order, within the first command-line argument.
265
266If you wish, you may begin the first command-line argument with a
267dash.
268
269@cindex operations on archive
270The @var{p} keyletter specifies what operation to execute; it may be
271any of the following, but you must specify only one of them:
272
c7c55b78 273@table @samp
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274@item d
275@cindex deleting from archive
276@emph{Delete} modules from the archive. Specify the names of modules to
277be deleted as @var{member}@dots{}; the archive is untouched if you
278specify no files to delete.
279
c7c55b78 280If you specify the @samp{v} modifier, @command{ar} lists each module
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281as it is deleted.
282
283@item m
284@cindex moving in archive
285Use this operation to @emph{move} members in an archive.
286
287The ordering of members in an archive can make a difference in how
288programs are linked using the library, if a symbol is defined in more
c1c0eb9e 289than one member.
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290
291If no modifiers are used with @code{m}, any members you name in the
292@var{member} arguments are moved to the @emph{end} of the archive;
293you can use the @samp{a}, @samp{b}, or @samp{i} modifiers to move them to a
294specified place instead.
295
296@item p
297@cindex printing from archive
298@emph{Print} the specified members of the archive, to the standard
299output file. If the @samp{v} modifier is specified, show the member
300name before copying its contents to standard output.
301
302If you specify no @var{member} arguments, all the files in the archive are
303printed.
304
305@item q
306@cindex quick append to archive
307@emph{Quick append}; Historically, add the files @var{member}@dots{} to the end of
308@var{archive}, without checking for replacement.
309
310The modifiers @samp{a}, @samp{b}, and @samp{i} do @emph{not} affect this
311operation; new members are always placed at the end of the archive.
312
c7c55b78 313The modifier @samp{v} makes @command{ar} list each file as it is appended.
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314
315Since the point of this operation is speed, the archive's symbol table
316index is not updated, even if it already existed; you can use @samp{ar s} or
c7c55b78 317@command{ranlib} explicitly to update the symbol table index.
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318
319However, too many different systems assume quick append rebuilds the
947ed062 320index, so @sc{gnu} @command{ar} implements @samp{q} as a synonym for @samp{r}.
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321
322@item r
323@cindex replacement in archive
324Insert the files @var{member}@dots{} into @var{archive} (with
325@emph{replacement}). This operation differs from @samp{q} in that any
326previously existing members are deleted if their names match those being
327added.
328
c7c55b78 329If one of the files named in @var{member}@dots{} does not exist, @command{ar}
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330displays an error message, and leaves undisturbed any existing members
331of the archive matching that name.
332
333By default, new members are added at the end of the file; but you may
334use one of the modifiers @samp{a}, @samp{b}, or @samp{i} to request
335placement relative to some existing member.
336
337The modifier @samp{v} used with this operation elicits a line of
338output for each file inserted, along with one of the letters @samp{a} or
339@samp{r} to indicate whether the file was appended (no old member
340deleted) or replaced.
341
342@item t
343@cindex contents of archive
344Display a @emph{table} listing the contents of @var{archive}, or those
345of the files listed in @var{member}@dots{} that are present in the
346archive. Normally only the member name is shown; if you also want to
347see the modes (permissions), timestamp, owner, group, and size, you can
348request that by also specifying the @samp{v} modifier.
349
350If you do not specify a @var{member}, all files in the archive
351are listed.
352
353@cindex repeated names in archive
354@cindex name duplication in archive
355If there is more than one file with the same name (say, @samp{fie}) in
356an archive (say @samp{b.a}), @samp{ar t b.a fie} lists only the
357first instance; to see them all, you must ask for a complete
358listing---in our example, @samp{ar t b.a}.
359@c WRS only; per Gumby, this is implementation-dependent, and in a more
360@c recent case in fact works the other way.
361
362@item x
363@cindex extract from archive
364@emph{Extract} members (named @var{member}) from the archive. You can
365use the @samp{v} modifier with this operation, to request that
c7c55b78 366@command{ar} list each name as it extracts it.
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367
368If you do not specify a @var{member}, all files in the archive
369are extracted.
370
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371Files cannot be extracted from a thin archive.
372
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373@end table
374
375A number of modifiers (@var{mod}) may immediately follow the @var{p}
376keyletter, to specify variations on an operation's behavior:
377
c7c55b78 378@table @samp
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379@item a
380@cindex relative placement in archive
381Add new files @emph{after} an existing member of the
382archive. If you use the modifier @samp{a}, the name of an existing archive
383member must be present as the @var{relpos} argument, before the
384@var{archive} specification.
385
386@item b
387Add new files @emph{before} an existing member of the
388archive. If you use the modifier @samp{b}, the name of an existing archive
389member must be present as the @var{relpos} argument, before the
390@var{archive} specification. (same as @samp{i}).
391
392@item c
393@cindex creating archives
394@emph{Create} the archive. The specified @var{archive} is always
395created if it did not exist, when you request an update. But a warning is
396issued unless you specify in advance that you expect to create it, by
397using this modifier.
398
399@item f
c7c55b78 400Truncate names in the archive. @sc{gnu} @command{ar} will normally permit file
252b5132 401names of any length. This will cause it to create archives which are
c7c55b78 402not compatible with the native @command{ar} program on some systems. If
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403this is a concern, the @samp{f} modifier may be used to truncate file
404names when putting them in the archive.
405
406@item i
407Insert new files @emph{before} an existing member of the
408archive. If you use the modifier @samp{i}, the name of an existing archive
409member must be present as the @var{relpos} argument, before the
410@var{archive} specification. (same as @samp{b}).
411
412@item l
413This modifier is accepted but not used.
414@c whaffor ar l modifier??? presumably compat; with
c1c0eb9e 415@c what???---doc@@cygnus.com, 25jan91
252b5132 416
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417@item N
418Uses the @var{count} parameter. This is used if there are multiple
419entries in the archive with the same name. Extract or delete instance
420@var{count} of the given name from the archive.
421
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422@item o
423@cindex dates in archive
424Preserve the @emph{original} dates of members when extracting them. If
425you do not specify this modifier, files extracted from the archive
426are stamped with the time of extraction.
427
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428@item P
429Use the full path name when matching names in the archive. @sc{gnu}
c7c55b78 430@command{ar} can not create an archive with a full path name (such archives
3de39064 431are not POSIX complaint), but other archive creators can. This option
c7c55b78 432will cause @sc{gnu} @command{ar} to match file names using a complete path
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433name, which can be convenient when extracting a single file from an
434archive created by another tool.
435
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436@item s
437@cindex writing archive index
438Write an object-file index into the archive, or update an existing one,
439even if no other change is made to the archive. You may use this modifier
440flag either with any operation, or alone. Running @samp{ar s} on an
441archive is equivalent to running @samp{ranlib} on it.
442
443@item S
444@cindex not writing archive index
445Do not generate an archive symbol table. This can speed up building a
446large library in several steps. The resulting archive can not be used
447with the linker. In order to build a symbol table, you must omit the
448@samp{S} modifier on the last execution of @samp{ar}, or you must run
449@samp{ranlib} on the archive.
450
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451@item T
452@cindex creating thin archive
453Make the specified @var{archive} a @emph{thin} archive. If it already
454exists and is a regular archive, the existing members must be present
455in the same directory as @var{archive}.
456
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457@item u
458@cindex updating an archive
459Normally, @samp{ar r}@dots{} inserts all files
460listed into the archive. If you would like to insert @emph{only} those
461of the files you list that are newer than existing members of the same
462names, use this modifier. The @samp{u} modifier is allowed only for the
463operation @samp{r} (replace). In particular, the combination @samp{qu} is
464not allowed, since checking the timestamps would lose any speed
465advantage from the operation @samp{q}.
466
467@item v
468This modifier requests the @emph{verbose} version of an operation. Many
469operations display additional information, such as filenames processed,
470when the modifier @samp{v} is appended.
471
472@item V
c7c55b78 473This modifier shows the version number of @command{ar}.
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474@end table
475
c7c55b78 476@command{ar} ignores an initial option spelt @samp{-X32_64}, for
6e800839 477compatibility with AIX. The behaviour produced by this option is the
947ed062 478default for @sc{gnu} @command{ar}. @command{ar} does not support any of the other
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479@samp{-X} options; in particular, it does not support @option{-X32}
480which is the default for AIX @command{ar}.
6e800839 481
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482@c man end
483
484@ignore
485@c man begin SEEALSO ar
486nm(1), ranlib(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
487@c man end
488@end ignore
489
252b5132 490@node ar scripts
947ed062 491@section Controlling @command{ar} with a Script
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492
493@smallexample
494ar -M [ <@var{script} ]
495@end smallexample
496
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497@cindex MRI compatibility, @command{ar}
498@cindex scripts, @command{ar}
499If you use the single command-line option @samp{-M} with @command{ar}, you
252b5132 500can control its operation with a rudimentary command language. This
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501form of @command{ar} operates interactively if standard input is coming
502directly from a terminal. During interactive use, @command{ar} prompts for
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503input (the prompt is @samp{AR >}), and continues executing even after
504errors. If you redirect standard input to a script file, no prompts are
c7c55b78 505issued, and @command{ar} abandons execution (with a nonzero exit code)
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506on any error.
507
c7c55b78 508The @command{ar} command language is @emph{not} designed to be equivalent
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509to the command-line options; in fact, it provides somewhat less control
510over archives. The only purpose of the command language is to ease the
c7c55b78 511transition to @sc{gnu} @command{ar} for developers who already have scripts
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512written for the MRI ``librarian'' program.
513
c7c55b78 514The syntax for the @command{ar} command language is straightforward:
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515@itemize @bullet
516@item
517commands are recognized in upper or lower case; for example, @code{LIST}
518is the same as @code{list}. In the following descriptions, commands are
519shown in upper case for clarity.
520
521@item
522a single command may appear on each line; it is the first word on the
523line.
524
525@item
526empty lines are allowed, and have no effect.
527
528@item
529comments are allowed; text after either of the characters @samp{*}
530or @samp{;} is ignored.
531
532@item
c7c55b78 533Whenever you use a list of names as part of the argument to an @command{ar}
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534command, you can separate the individual names with either commas or
535blanks. Commas are shown in the explanations below, for clarity.
536
537@item
538@samp{+} is used as a line continuation character; if @samp{+} appears
539at the end of a line, the text on the following line is considered part
540of the current command.
541@end itemize
542
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543Here are the commands you can use in @command{ar} scripts, or when using
544@command{ar} interactively. Three of them have special significance:
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545
546@code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE} specify a @dfn{current archive}, which is
547a temporary file required for most of the other commands.
548
549@code{SAVE} commits the changes so far specified by the script. Prior
550to @code{SAVE}, commands affect only the temporary copy of the current
551archive.
552
553@table @code
c1c0eb9e 554@item ADDLIB @var{archive}
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555@itemx ADDLIB @var{archive} (@var{module}, @var{module}, @dots{} @var{module})
556Add all the contents of @var{archive} (or, if specified, each named
557@var{module} from @var{archive}) to the current archive.
558
559Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
560
561@item ADDMOD @var{member}, @var{member}, @dots{} @var{member}
562@c FIXME! w/Replacement?? If so, like "ar r @var{archive} @var{names}"
563@c else like "ar q..."
564Add each named @var{member} as a module in the current archive.
565
566Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
567
568@item CLEAR
569Discard the contents of the current archive, canceling the effect of
570any operations since the last @code{SAVE}. May be executed (with no
571effect) even if no current archive is specified.
572
573@item CREATE @var{archive}
574Creates an archive, and makes it the current archive (required for many
575other commands). The new archive is created with a temporary name; it
576is not actually saved as @var{archive} until you use @code{SAVE}.
577You can overwrite existing archives; similarly, the contents of any
578existing file named @var{archive} will not be destroyed until @code{SAVE}.
579
580@item DELETE @var{module}, @var{module}, @dots{} @var{module}
581Delete each listed @var{module} from the current archive; equivalent to
582@samp{ar -d @var{archive} @var{module} @dots{} @var{module}}.
583
584Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
585
586@item DIRECTORY @var{archive} (@var{module}, @dots{} @var{module})
587@itemx DIRECTORY @var{archive} (@var{module}, @dots{} @var{module}) @var{outputfile}
588List each named @var{module} present in @var{archive}. The separate
589command @code{VERBOSE} specifies the form of the output: when verbose
590output is off, output is like that of @samp{ar -t @var{archive}
591@var{module}@dots{}}. When verbose output is on, the listing is like
592@samp{ar -tv @var{archive} @var{module}@dots{}}.
593
594Output normally goes to the standard output stream; however, if you
c7c55b78 595specify @var{outputfile} as a final argument, @command{ar} directs the
252b5132
RH
596output to that file.
597
598@item END
c7c55b78 599Exit from @command{ar}, with a @code{0} exit code to indicate successful
252b5132
RH
600completion. This command does not save the output file; if you have
601changed the current archive since the last @code{SAVE} command, those
602changes are lost.
603
604@item EXTRACT @var{module}, @var{module}, @dots{} @var{module}
605Extract each named @var{module} from the current archive, writing them
606into the current directory as separate files. Equivalent to @samp{ar -x
607@var{archive} @var{module}@dots{}}.
608
609Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
610
611@ignore
612@c FIXME Tokens but no commands???
613@item FULLDIR
614
615@item HELP
616@end ignore
617
618@item LIST
619Display full contents of the current archive, in ``verbose'' style
620regardless of the state of @code{VERBOSE}. The effect is like @samp{ar
c7c55b78 621tv @var{archive}}. (This single command is a @sc{gnu} @command{ar}
252b5132
RH
622enhancement, rather than present for MRI compatibility.)
623
624Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
625
626@item OPEN @var{archive}
627Opens an existing archive for use as the current archive (required for
628many other commands). Any changes as the result of subsequent commands
629will not actually affect @var{archive} until you next use @code{SAVE}.
630
631@item REPLACE @var{module}, @var{module}, @dots{} @var{module}
632In the current archive, replace each existing @var{module} (named in
633the @code{REPLACE} arguments) from files in the current working directory.
634To execute this command without errors, both the file, and the module in
c1c0eb9e 635the current archive, must exist.
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RH
636
637Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
638
639@item VERBOSE
640Toggle an internal flag governing the output from @code{DIRECTORY}.
641When the flag is on, @code{DIRECTORY} output matches output from
642@samp{ar -tv }@dots{}.
643
644@item SAVE
645Commit your changes to the current archive, and actually save it as a
646file with the name specified in the last @code{CREATE} or @code{OPEN}
c1c0eb9e 647command.
252b5132
RH
648
649Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
650
651@end table
652
653@iftex
654@node ld
655@chapter ld
656@cindex linker
657@kindex ld
c7c55b78 658The @sc{gnu} linker @command{ld} is now described in a separate manual.
252b5132
RH
659@xref{Top,, Overview,, Using LD: the @sc{gnu} linker}.
660@end iftex
661
662@node nm
663@chapter nm
664@cindex symbols
665@kindex nm
666
0285c67d
NC
667@c man title nm list symbols from object files
668
252b5132 669@smallexample
0285c67d 670@c man begin SYNOPSIS nm
c7c55b78
NC
671nm [@option{-a}|@option{--debug-syms}] [@option{-g}|@option{--extern-only}]
672 [@option{-B}] [@option{-C}|@option{--demangle}[=@var{style}]] [@option{-D}|@option{--dynamic}]
72797995 673 [@option{-S}|@option{--print-size}] [@option{-s}|@option{--print-armap}]
3c9458e9 674 [@option{-A}|@option{-o}|@option{--print-file-name}][@option{--special-syms}]
c7c55b78
NC
675 [@option{-n}|@option{-v}|@option{--numeric-sort}] [@option{-p}|@option{--no-sort}]
676 [@option{-r}|@option{--reverse-sort}] [@option{--size-sort}] [@option{-u}|@option{--undefined-only}]
677 [@option{-t} @var{radix}|@option{--radix=}@var{radix}] [@option{-P}|@option{--portability}]
678 [@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}] [@option{-f}@var{format}|@option{--format=}@var{format}]
679 [@option{--defined-only}] [@option{-l}|@option{--line-numbers}] [@option{--no-demangle}]
680 [@option{-V}|@option{--version}] [@option{-X 32_64}] [@option{--help}] [@var{objfile}@dots{}]
0285c67d 681@c man end
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RH
682@end smallexample
683
0285c67d 684@c man begin DESCRIPTION nm
c7c55b78
NC
685@sc{gnu} @command{nm} lists the symbols from object files @var{objfile}@dots{}.
686If no object files are listed as arguments, @command{nm} assumes the file
252b5132
RH
687@file{a.out}.
688
c7c55b78 689For each symbol, @command{nm} shows:
252b5132
RH
690
691@itemize @bullet
692@item
693The symbol value, in the radix selected by options (see below), or
694hexadecimal by default.
695
696@item
697The symbol type. At least the following types are used; others are, as
698well, depending on the object file format. If lowercase, the symbol is
699local; if uppercase, the symbol is global (external).
700
701@c Some more detail on exactly what these symbol types are used for
702@c would be nice.
703@table @code
704@item A
705The symbol's value is absolute, and will not be changed by further
706linking.
707
708@item B
a1039809 709@itemx b
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RH
710The symbol is in the uninitialized data section (known as BSS).
711
712@item C
713The symbol is common. Common symbols are uninitialized data. When
714linking, multiple common symbols may appear with the same name. If the
715symbol is defined anywhere, the common symbols are treated as undefined
0285c67d
NC
716references.
717@ifclear man
718For more details on common symbols, see the discussion of
252b5132 719--warn-common in @ref{Options,,Linker options,ld.info,The GNU linker}.
0879a67a 720@end ifclear
252b5132
RH
721
722@item D
a1039809 723@itemx d
252b5132
RH
724The symbol is in the initialized data section.
725
726@item G
a1039809 727@itemx g
252b5132
RH
728The symbol is in an initialized data section for small objects. Some
729object file formats permit more efficient access to small data objects,
730such as a global int variable as opposed to a large global array.
731
732@item I
947ed062 733The symbol is an indirect reference to another symbol. This is a @sc{gnu}
252b5132
RH
734extension to the a.out object file format which is rarely used.
735
a1039809
NC
736@item i
737The symbol is in a section specific to the implementation of DLLs.
738
252b5132
RH
739@item N
740The symbol is a debugging symbol.
741
a1039809
NC
742@item p
743The symbols is in a stack unwind section.
744
252b5132 745@item R
a1039809 746@itemx r
252b5132
RH
747The symbol is in a read only data section.
748
749@item S
a1039809 750@itemx s
252b5132
RH
751The symbol is in an uninitialized data section for small objects.
752
753@item T
a1039809 754@itemx t
252b5132
RH
755The symbol is in the text (code) section.
756
757@item U
758The symbol is undefined.
759
fad6fcbb 760@item V
a1039809 761@itemx v
fad6fcbb
NC
762The symbol is a weak object. When a weak defined symbol is linked with
763a normal defined symbol, the normal defined symbol is used with no error.
764When a weak undefined symbol is linked and the symbol is not defined,
a1039809
NC
765the value of the weak symbol becomes zero with no error. On some
766systems, uppercase indicates that a default value has been specified.
fad6fcbb 767
252b5132 768@item W
a1039809 769@itemx w
fad6fcbb
NC
770The symbol is a weak symbol that has not been specifically tagged as a
771weak object symbol. When a weak defined symbol is linked with a normal
772defined symbol, the normal defined symbol is used with no error.
773When a weak undefined symbol is linked and the symbol is not defined,
c87db184 774the value of the symbol is determined in a system-specific manner without
c1c0eb9e 775error. On some systems, uppercase indicates that a default value has been
977cdf5a
NC
776specified.
777
252b5132
RH
778@item -
779The symbol is a stabs symbol in an a.out object file. In this case, the
780next values printed are the stabs other field, the stabs desc field, and
c7c55b78
NC
781the stab type. Stabs symbols are used to hold debugging information.
782@ifclear man
783For more information, see @ref{Top,Stabs,Stabs Overview,stabs.info, The
252b5132 784``stabs'' debug format}.
c7c55b78 785@end ifclear
252b5132
RH
786
787@item ?
788The symbol type is unknown, or object file format specific.
789@end table
790
791@item
792The symbol name.
793@end itemize
794
0285c67d
NC
795@c man end
796
797@c man begin OPTIONS nm
252b5132
RH
798The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
799equivalent.
800
c7c55b78 801@table @env
252b5132
RH
802@item -A
803@itemx -o
c1c0eb9e 804@itemx --print-file-name
252b5132
RH
805@cindex input file name
806@cindex file name
807@cindex source file name
f20a759a 808Precede each symbol by the name of the input file (or archive member)
252b5132
RH
809in which it was found, rather than identifying the input file once only,
810before all of its symbols.
811
812@item -a
c1c0eb9e 813@itemx --debug-syms
252b5132
RH
814@cindex debugging symbols
815Display all symbols, even debugger-only symbols; normally these are not
816listed.
817
818@item -B
c7c55b78
NC
819@cindex @command{nm} format
820@cindex @command{nm} compatibility
821The same as @option{--format=bsd} (for compatibility with the MIPS @command{nm}).
252b5132
RH
822
823@item -C
28c309a2 824@itemx --demangle[=@var{style}]
252b5132
RH
825@cindex demangling in nm
826Decode (@dfn{demangle}) low-level symbol names into user-level names.
827Besides removing any initial underscore prepended by the system, this
28c309a2 828makes C++ function names readable. Different compilers have different
c1c0eb9e
RM
829mangling styles. The optional demangling style argument can be used to
830choose an appropriate demangling style for your compiler. @xref{c++filt},
28c309a2 831for more information on demangling.
252b5132
RH
832
833@item --no-demangle
834Do not demangle low-level symbol names. This is the default.
835
836@item -D
837@itemx --dynamic
838@cindex dynamic symbols
839Display the dynamic symbols rather than the normal symbols. This is
840only meaningful for dynamic objects, such as certain types of shared
841libraries.
842
843@item -f @var{format}
844@itemx --format=@var{format}
c7c55b78
NC
845@cindex @command{nm} format
846@cindex @command{nm} compatibility
252b5132
RH
847Use the output format @var{format}, which can be @code{bsd},
848@code{sysv}, or @code{posix}. The default is @code{bsd}.
849Only the first character of @var{format} is significant; it can be
850either upper or lower case.
851
852@item -g
c1c0eb9e 853@itemx --extern-only
252b5132
RH
854@cindex external symbols
855Display only external symbols.
856
857@item -l
858@itemx --line-numbers
859@cindex symbol line numbers
860For each symbol, use debugging information to try to find a filename and
861line number. For a defined symbol, look for the line number of the
862address of the symbol. For an undefined symbol, look for the line
863number of a relocation entry which refers to the symbol. If line number
864information can be found, print it after the other symbol information.
865
866@item -n
867@itemx -v
c1c0eb9e 868@itemx --numeric-sort
252b5132 869Sort symbols numerically by their addresses, rather than alphabetically
c1c0eb9e 870by their names.
252b5132
RH
871
872@item -p
c1c0eb9e 873@itemx --no-sort
252b5132
RH
874@cindex sorting symbols
875Do not bother to sort the symbols in any order; print them in the order
876encountered.
877
878@item -P
879@itemx --portability
880Use the POSIX.2 standard output format instead of the default format.
881Equivalent to @samp{-f posix}.
882
72797995
L
883@item -S
884@itemx --print-size
06a30c77 885Print size, not the value, of defined symbols for the @code{bsd} output format.
72797995 886
252b5132
RH
887@item -s
888@itemx --print-armap
889@cindex symbol index, listing
890When listing symbols from archive members, include the index: a mapping
c7c55b78 891(stored in the archive by @command{ar} or @command{ranlib}) of which modules
252b5132
RH
892contain definitions for which names.
893
894@item -r
c1c0eb9e 895@itemx --reverse-sort
252b5132
RH
896Reverse the order of the sort (whether numeric or alphabetic); let the
897last come first.
898
899@item --size-sort
900Sort symbols by size. The size is computed as the difference between
901the value of the symbol and the value of the symbol with the next higher
c1c0eb9e
RM
902value. If the @code{bsd} output format is used the size of the symbol
903is printed, rather than the value, and @samp{-S} must be used in order
76ed1927 904both size and value to be printed.
252b5132 905
3c9458e9
NC
906@item --special-syms
907Display symbols which have a target-specific special meaning. These
908symbols are usually used by the target for some special processing and
909are not normally helpful when included included in the normal symbol
910lists. For example for ARM targets this option would skip the mapping
b45619c0 911symbols used to mark transitions between ARM code, THUMB code and
3c9458e9
NC
912data.
913
252b5132
RH
914@item -t @var{radix}
915@itemx --radix=@var{radix}
916Use @var{radix} as the radix for printing the symbol values. It must be
917@samp{d} for decimal, @samp{o} for octal, or @samp{x} for hexadecimal.
918
919@item --target=@var{bfdname}
920@cindex object code format
921Specify an object code format other than your system's default format.
922@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
923
924@item -u
c1c0eb9e 925@itemx --undefined-only
252b5132
RH
926@cindex external symbols
927@cindex undefined symbols
928Display only undefined symbols (those external to each object file).
929
930@item --defined-only
931@cindex external symbols
932@cindex undefined symbols
933Display only defined symbols for each object file.
934
935@item -V
936@itemx --version
c7c55b78 937Show the version number of @command{nm} and exit.
252b5132 938
6e800839
GK
939@item -X
940This option is ignored for compatibility with the AIX version of
c7c55b78
NC
941@command{nm}. It takes one parameter which must be the string
942@option{32_64}. The default mode of AIX @command{nm} corresponds
943to @option{-X 32}, which is not supported by @sc{gnu} @command{nm}.
6e800839 944
252b5132 945@item --help
c7c55b78 946Show a summary of the options to @command{nm} and exit.
252b5132
RH
947@end table
948
0285c67d
NC
949@c man end
950
951@ignore
952@c man begin SEEALSO nm
953ar(1), objdump(1), ranlib(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
954@c man end
955@end ignore
956
252b5132
RH
957@node objcopy
958@chapter objcopy
959
0285c67d
NC
960@c man title objcopy copy and translate object files
961
252b5132 962@smallexample
0285c67d 963@c man begin SYNOPSIS objcopy
c7c55b78
NC
964objcopy [@option{-F} @var{bfdname}|@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
965 [@option{-I} @var{bfdname}|@option{--input-target=}@var{bfdname}]
966 [@option{-O} @var{bfdname}|@option{--output-target=}@var{bfdname}]
967 [@option{-B} @var{bfdarch}|@option{--binary-architecture=}@var{bfdarch}]
2593f09a
NC
968 [@option{-S}|@option{--strip-all}]
969 [@option{-g}|@option{--strip-debug}]
c7c55b78
NC
970 [@option{-K} @var{symbolname}|@option{--keep-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
971 [@option{-N} @var{symbolname}|@option{--strip-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
bcf32829 972 [@option{--strip-unneeded-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
c7c55b78 973 [@option{-G} @var{symbolname}|@option{--keep-global-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
d58c2e3a 974 [@option{--localize-hidden}]
c7c55b78 975 [@option{-L} @var{symbolname}|@option{--localize-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
7b4a0685 976 [@option{--globalize-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
c7c55b78 977 [@option{-W} @var{symbolname}|@option{--weaken-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
5fe11841 978 [@option{-w}|@option{--wildcard}]
2593f09a
NC
979 [@option{-x}|@option{--discard-all}]
980 [@option{-X}|@option{--discard-locals}]
c7c55b78
NC
981 [@option{-b} @var{byte}|@option{--byte=}@var{byte}]
982 [@option{-i} @var{interleave}|@option{--interleave=}@var{interleave}]
983 [@option{-j} @var{sectionname}|@option{--only-section=}@var{sectionname}]
984 [@option{-R} @var{sectionname}|@option{--remove-section=}@var{sectionname}]
985 [@option{-p}|@option{--preserve-dates}]
986 [@option{--debugging}]
2593f09a
NC
987 [@option{--gap-fill=}@var{val}]
988 [@option{--pad-to=}@var{address}]
989 [@option{--set-start=}@var{val}]
990 [@option{--adjust-start=}@var{incr}]
c7c55b78
NC
991 [@option{--change-addresses=}@var{incr}]
992 [@option{--change-section-address} @var{section}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}]
993 [@option{--change-section-lma} @var{section}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}]
994 [@option{--change-section-vma} @var{section}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}]
995 [@option{--change-warnings}] [@option{--no-change-warnings}]
996 [@option{--set-section-flags} @var{section}=@var{flags}]
997 [@option{--add-section} @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}]
998 [@option{--rename-section} @var{oldname}=@var{newname}[,@var{flags}]]
2593f09a 999 [@option{--change-leading-char}] [@option{--remove-leading-char}]
9e48b4c6 1000 [@option{--reverse-bytes=}@var{num}]
2593f09a
NC
1001 [@option{--srec-len=}@var{ival}] [@option{--srec-forceS3}]
1002 [@option{--redefine-sym} @var{old}=@var{new}]
1003 [@option{--redefine-syms=}@var{filename}]
c7c55b78
NC
1004 [@option{--weaken}]
1005 [@option{--keep-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1006 [@option{--strip-symbols=}@var{filename}]
bcf32829 1007 [@option{--strip-unneeded-symbols=}@var{filename}]
c7c55b78
NC
1008 [@option{--keep-global-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1009 [@option{--localize-symbols=}@var{filename}]
7b4a0685 1010 [@option{--globalize-symbols=}@var{filename}]
c7c55b78 1011 [@option{--weaken-symbols=}@var{filename}]
c51238bc
DA
1012 [@option{--alt-machine-code=}@var{index}]
1013 [@option{--prefix-symbols=}@var{string}]
1014 [@option{--prefix-sections=}@var{string}]
1015 [@option{--prefix-alloc-sections=}@var{string}]
ed1653a7 1016 [@option{--add-gnu-debuglink=}@var{path-to-file}]
1637cd90 1017 [@option{--keep-file-symbols}]
ed1653a7 1018 [@option{--only-keep-debug}]
d3e52d40 1019 [@option{--extract-symbol}]
4087920c
MR
1020 [@option{--writable-text}]
1021 [@option{--readonly-text}]
1022 [@option{--pure}]
1023 [@option{--impure}]
c7c55b78 1024 [@option{-v}|@option{--verbose}]
c1c0eb9e 1025 [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
7c29036b 1026 [@option{--help}] [@option{--info}]
252b5132 1027 @var{infile} [@var{outfile}]
0285c67d 1028@c man end
252b5132
RH
1029@end smallexample
1030
0285c67d 1031@c man begin DESCRIPTION objcopy
c7c55b78
NC
1032The @sc{gnu} @command{objcopy} utility copies the contents of an object
1033file to another. @command{objcopy} uses the @sc{gnu} @sc{bfd} Library to
252b5132
RH
1034read and write the object files. It can write the destination object
1035file in a format different from that of the source object file. The
c7c55b78
NC
1036exact behavior of @command{objcopy} is controlled by command-line options.
1037Note that @command{objcopy} should be able to copy a fully linked file
ccd13d18
L
1038between any two formats. However, copying a relocatable object file
1039between any two formats may not work as expected.
252b5132 1040
c7c55b78
NC
1041@command{objcopy} creates temporary files to do its translations and
1042deletes them afterward. @command{objcopy} uses @sc{bfd} to do all its
252b5132
RH
1043translation work; it has access to all the formats described in @sc{bfd}
1044and thus is able to recognize most formats without being told
1045explicitly. @xref{BFD,,BFD,ld.info,Using LD}.
1046
c7c55b78 1047@command{objcopy} can be used to generate S-records by using an output
252b5132
RH
1048target of @samp{srec} (e.g., use @samp{-O srec}).
1049
c7c55b78
NC
1050@command{objcopy} can be used to generate a raw binary file by using an
1051output target of @samp{binary} (e.g., use @option{-O binary}). When
1052@command{objcopy} generates a raw binary file, it will essentially produce
252b5132
RH
1053a memory dump of the contents of the input object file. All symbols and
1054relocation information will be discarded. The memory dump will start at
1055the load address of the lowest section copied into the output file.
1056
1057When generating an S-record or a raw binary file, it may be helpful to
c7c55b78
NC
1058use @option{-S} to remove sections containing debugging information. In
1059some cases @option{-R} will be useful to remove sections which contain
f20a759a 1060information that is not needed by the binary file.
252b5132 1061
947ed062
NC
1062Note---@command{objcopy} is not able to change the endianness of its input
1063files. If the input format has an endianness (some formats do not),
c7c55b78 1064@command{objcopy} can only copy the inputs into file formats that have the
947ed062 1065same endianness or which have no endianness (e.g., @samp{srec}).
9e48b4c6 1066(However, see the @option{--reverse-bytes} option.)
18356cf2 1067
0285c67d
NC
1068@c man end
1069
1070@c man begin OPTIONS objcopy
1071
c7c55b78 1072@table @env
252b5132
RH
1073@item @var{infile}
1074@itemx @var{outfile}
f20a759a 1075The input and output files, respectively.
c7c55b78 1076If you do not specify @var{outfile}, @command{objcopy} creates a
252b5132
RH
1077temporary file and destructively renames the result with
1078the name of @var{infile}.
1079
c7c55b78 1080@item -I @var{bfdname}
252b5132
RH
1081@itemx --input-target=@var{bfdname}
1082Consider the source file's object format to be @var{bfdname}, rather than
1083attempting to deduce it. @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1084
1085@item -O @var{bfdname}
1086@itemx --output-target=@var{bfdname}
1087Write the output file using the object format @var{bfdname}.
1088@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1089
1090@item -F @var{bfdname}
1091@itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
1092Use @var{bfdname} as the object format for both the input and the output
1093file; i.e., simply transfer data from source to destination with no
1094translation. @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1095
43a0748c
NC
1096@item -B @var{bfdarch}
1097@itemx --binary-architecture=@var{bfdarch}
1098Useful when transforming a raw binary input file into an object file.
1099In this case the output architecture can be set to @var{bfdarch}. This
1100option will be ignored if the input file has a known @var{bfdarch}. You
1101can access this binary data inside a program by referencing the special
1102symbols that are created by the conversion process. These symbols are
1103called _binary_@var{objfile}_start, _binary_@var{objfile}_end and
1104_binary_@var{objfile}_size. e.g. you can transform a picture file into
c1c0eb9e 1105an object file and then access it in your code using these symbols.
43a0748c 1106
f91ea849
ILT
1107@item -j @var{sectionname}
1108@itemx --only-section=@var{sectionname}
1109Copy only the named section from the input file to the output file.
1110This option may be given more than once. Note that using this option
1111inappropriately may make the output file unusable.
1112
252b5132
RH
1113@item -R @var{sectionname}
1114@itemx --remove-section=@var{sectionname}
1115Remove any section named @var{sectionname} from the output file. This
1116option may be given more than once. Note that using this option
1117inappropriately may make the output file unusable.
1118
1119@item -S
1120@itemx --strip-all
1121Do not copy relocation and symbol information from the source file.
1122
1123@item -g
1124@itemx --strip-debug
2593f09a 1125Do not copy debugging symbols or sections from the source file.
252b5132
RH
1126
1127@item --strip-unneeded
1128Strip all symbols that are not needed for relocation processing.
1129
1130@item -K @var{symbolname}
1131@itemx --keep-symbol=@var{symbolname}
e7f918ad
NC
1132When stripping symbols, keep symbol @var{symbolname} even if it would
1133normally be stripped. This option may be given more than once.
252b5132
RH
1134
1135@item -N @var{symbolname}
1136@itemx --strip-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1137Do not copy symbol @var{symbolname} from the source file. This option
1138may be given more than once.
1139
bcf32829
JB
1140@item --strip-unneeded-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1141Do not copy symbol @var{symbolname} from the source file unless it is needed
1142by a relocation. This option may be given more than once.
1143
16b2b71c
NC
1144@item -G @var{symbolname}
1145@itemx --keep-global-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1146Keep only symbol @var{symbolname} global. Make all other symbols local
1147to the file, so that they are not visible externally. This option may
1148be given more than once.
1149
d58c2e3a
RS
1150@item --localize-hidden
1151In an ELF object, mark all symbols that have hidden or internal visibility
1152as local. This option applies on top of symbol-specific localization options
1153such as @option{-L}.
1154
252b5132
RH
1155@item -L @var{symbolname}
1156@itemx --localize-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1157Make symbol @var{symbolname} local to the file, so that it is not
1158visible externally. This option may be given more than once.
1159
1160@item -W @var{symbolname}
1161@itemx --weaken-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1162Make symbol @var{symbolname} weak. This option may be given more than once.
1163
7b4a0685
NC
1164@item --globalize-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1165Give symbol @var{symbolname} global scoping so that it is visible
1166outside of the file in which it is defined. This option may be given
1167more than once.
1168
5fe11841
NC
1169@item -w
1170@itemx --wildcard
1171Permit regular expressions in @var{symbolname}s used in other command
1172line options. The question mark (?), asterisk (*), backslash (\) and
1173square brackets ([]) operators can be used anywhere in the symbol
1174name. If the first character of the symbol name is the exclamation
1175point (!) then the sense of the switch is reversed for that symbol.
1176For example:
1177
1178@smallexample
1179 -w -W !foo -W fo*
1180@end smallexample
1181
1182would cause objcopy to weaken all symbols that start with ``fo''
1183except for the symbol ``foo''.
1184
252b5132
RH
1185@item -x
1186@itemx --discard-all
1187Do not copy non-global symbols from the source file.
1188@c FIXME any reason to prefer "non-global" to "local" here?
1189
1190@item -X
1191@itemx --discard-locals
1192Do not copy compiler-generated local symbols.
1193(These usually start with @samp{L} or @samp{.}.)
1194
1195@item -b @var{byte}
1196@itemx --byte=@var{byte}
1197Keep only every @var{byte}th byte of the input file (header data is not
1198affected). @var{byte} can be in the range from 0 to @var{interleave}-1,
c7c55b78 1199where @var{interleave} is given by the @option{-i} or @option{--interleave}
252b5132
RH
1200option, or the default of 4. This option is useful for creating files
1201to program @sc{rom}. It is typically used with an @code{srec} output
1202target.
1203
1204@item -i @var{interleave}
1205@itemx --interleave=@var{interleave}
1206Only copy one out of every @var{interleave} bytes. Select which byte to
c7c55b78
NC
1207copy with the @option{-b} or @option{--byte} option. The default is 4.
1208@command{objcopy} ignores this option if you do not specify either @option{-b} or
1209@option{--byte}.
252b5132
RH
1210
1211@item -p
1212@itemx --preserve-dates
1213Set the access and modification dates of the output file to be the same
1214as those of the input file.
1215
1216@item --debugging
1217Convert debugging information, if possible. This is not the default
1218because only certain debugging formats are supported, and the
1219conversion process can be time consuming.
1220
1221@item --gap-fill @var{val}
1222Fill gaps between sections with @var{val}. This operation applies to
1223the @emph{load address} (LMA) of the sections. It is done by increasing
1224the size of the section with the lower address, and filling in the extra
1225space created with @var{val}.
1226
1227@item --pad-to @var{address}
1228Pad the output file up to the load address @var{address}. This is
1229done by increasing the size of the last section. The extra space is
c7c55b78 1230filled in with the value specified by @option{--gap-fill} (default zero).
252b5132
RH
1231
1232@item --set-start @var{val}
f20a759a 1233Set the start address of the new file to @var{val}. Not all object file
252b5132
RH
1234formats support setting the start address.
1235
1236@item --change-start @var{incr}
1237@itemx --adjust-start @var{incr}
1238@cindex changing start address
1239Change the start address by adding @var{incr}. Not all object file
1240formats support setting the start address.
1241
1242@item --change-addresses @var{incr}
1243@itemx --adjust-vma @var{incr}
1244@cindex changing object addresses
1245Change the VMA and LMA addresses of all sections, as well as the start
1246address, by adding @var{incr}. Some object file formats do not permit
1247section addresses to be changed arbitrarily. Note that this does not
1248relocate the sections; if the program expects sections to be loaded at a
1249certain address, and this option is used to change the sections such
c1c0eb9e 1250that they are loaded at a different address, the program may fail.
252b5132
RH
1251
1252@item --change-section-address @var{section}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1253@itemx --adjust-section-vma @var{section}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1254@cindex changing section address
1255Set or change both the VMA address and the LMA address of the named
1256@var{section}. If @samp{=} is used, the section address is set to
1257@var{val}. Otherwise, @var{val} is added to or subtracted from the
c7c55b78 1258section address. See the comments under @option{--change-addresses},
252b5132 1259above. If @var{section} does not exist in the input file, a warning will
c7c55b78 1260be issued, unless @option{--no-change-warnings} is used.
252b5132
RH
1261
1262@item --change-section-lma @var{section}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1263@cindex changing section LMA
1264Set or change the LMA address of the named @var{section}. The LMA
1265address is the address where the section will be loaded into memory at
1266program load time. Normally this is the same as the VMA address, which
1267is the address of the section at program run time, but on some systems,
1268especially those where a program is held in ROM, the two can be
1269different. If @samp{=} is used, the section address is set to
1270@var{val}. Otherwise, @var{val} is added to or subtracted from the
c7c55b78 1271section address. See the comments under @option{--change-addresses},
252b5132 1272above. If @var{section} does not exist in the input file, a warning
c1c0eb9e 1273will be issued, unless @option{--no-change-warnings} is used.
252b5132
RH
1274
1275@item --change-section-vma @var{section}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1276@cindex changing section VMA
1277Set or change the VMA address of the named @var{section}. The VMA
1278address is the address where the section will be located once the
1279program has started executing. Normally this is the same as the LMA
1280address, which is the address where the section will be loaded into
1281memory, but on some systems, especially those where a program is held in
1282ROM, the two can be different. If @samp{=} is used, the section address
1283is set to @var{val}. Otherwise, @var{val} is added to or subtracted
1284from the section address. See the comments under
c7c55b78 1285@option{--change-addresses}, above. If @var{section} does not exist in
252b5132 1286the input file, a warning will be issued, unless
c1c0eb9e 1287@option{--no-change-warnings} is used.
252b5132
RH
1288
1289@item --change-warnings
1290@itemx --adjust-warnings
c7c55b78
NC
1291If @option{--change-section-address} or @option{--change-section-lma} or
1292@option{--change-section-vma} is used, and the named section does not
c1c0eb9e 1293exist, issue a warning. This is the default.
252b5132
RH
1294
1295@item --no-change-warnings
1296@itemx --no-adjust-warnings
c7c55b78
NC
1297Do not issue a warning if @option{--change-section-address} or
1298@option{--adjust-section-lma} or @option{--adjust-section-vma} is used, even
c1c0eb9e 1299if the named section does not exist.
252b5132
RH
1300
1301@item --set-section-flags @var{section}=@var{flags}
1302Set the flags for the named section. The @var{flags} argument is a
1303comma separated string of flag names. The recognized names are
3994e2c6
ILT
1304@samp{alloc}, @samp{contents}, @samp{load}, @samp{noload},
1305@samp{readonly}, @samp{code}, @samp{data}, @samp{rom}, @samp{share}, and
1306@samp{debug}. You can set the @samp{contents} flag for a section which
1307does not have contents, but it is not meaningful to clear the
1308@samp{contents} flag of a section which does have contents--just remove
1309the section instead. Not all flags are meaningful for all object file
1310formats.
252b5132
RH
1311
1312@item --add-section @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}
1313Add a new section named @var{sectionname} while copying the file. The
1314contents of the new section are taken from the file @var{filename}. The
1315size of the section will be the size of the file. This option only
1316works on file formats which can support sections with arbitrary names.
1317
594ef5db
NC
1318@item --rename-section @var{oldname}=@var{newname}[,@var{flags}]
1319Rename a section from @var{oldname} to @var{newname}, optionally
1320changing the section's flags to @var{flags} in the process. This has
1321the advantage over usng a linker script to perform the rename in that
1322the output stays as an object file and does not become a linked
1323executable.
1324
1325This option is particularly helpful when the input format is binary,
1326since this will always create a section called .data. If for example,
1327you wanted instead to create a section called .rodata containing binary
1328data you could use the following command line to achieve it:
1329
1330@smallexample
1331 objcopy -I binary -O <output_format> -B <architecture> \
1332 --rename-section .data=.rodata,alloc,load,readonly,data,contents \
1333 <input_binary_file> <output_object_file>
1334@end smallexample
1335
252b5132
RH
1336@item --change-leading-char
1337Some object file formats use special characters at the start of
1338symbols. The most common such character is underscore, which compilers
c7c55b78 1339often add before every symbol. This option tells @command{objcopy} to
252b5132
RH
1340change the leading character of every symbol when it converts between
1341object file formats. If the object file formats use the same leading
1342character, this option has no effect. Otherwise, it will add a
1343character, or remove a character, or change a character, as
1344appropriate.
1345
1346@item --remove-leading-char
1347If the first character of a global symbol is a special symbol leading
1348character used by the object file format, remove the character. The
1349most common symbol leading character is underscore. This option will
1350remove a leading underscore from all global symbols. This can be useful
1351if you want to link together objects of different file formats with
1352different conventions for symbol names. This is different from
c7c55b78 1353@option{--change-leading-char} because it always changes the symbol name
252b5132
RH
1354when appropriate, regardless of the object file format of the output
1355file.
1356
9e48b4c6
NC
1357@item --reverse-bytes=@var{num}
1358Reverse the bytes in a section with output contents. A section length must
1359be evenly divisible by the value given in order for the swap to be able to
1360take place. Reversing takes place before the interleaving is performed.
1361
1362This option is used typically in generating ROM images for problematic
1363target systems. For example, on some target boards, the 32-bit words
1364fetched from 8-bit ROMs are re-assembled in little-endian byte order
1365regardless of the CPU byte order. Depending on the programming model, the
1366endianness of the ROM may need to be modified.
1367
1368Consider a simple file with a section containing the following eight
1369bytes: @code{12345678}.
1370
1371Using @samp{--reverse-bytes=2} for the above example, the bytes in the
1372output file would be ordered @code{21436587}.
1373
1374Using @samp{--reverse-bytes=4} for the above example, the bytes in the
1375output file would be ordered @code{43218765}.
1376
1377By using @samp{--reverse-bytes=2} for the above example, followed by
1378@samp{--reverse-bytes=4} on the output file, the bytes in the second
1379output file would be ordered @code{34127856}.
1380
420496c1
NC
1381@item --srec-len=@var{ival}
1382Meaningful only for srec output. Set the maximum length of the Srecords
1383being produced to @var{ival}. This length covers both address, data and
1384crc fields.
1385
1386@item --srec-forceS3
c1c0eb9e 1387Meaningful only for srec output. Avoid generation of S1/S2 records,
420496c1
NC
1388creating S3-only record format.
1389
57938635
AM
1390@item --redefine-sym @var{old}=@var{new}
1391Change the name of a symbol @var{old}, to @var{new}. This can be useful
1392when one is trying link two things together for which you have no
1393source, and there are name collisions.
1394
92991082
JT
1395@item --redefine-syms=@var{filename}
1396Apply @option{--redefine-sym} to each symbol pair "@var{old} @var{new}"
1397listed in the file @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file,
1398with one symbol pair per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash
1399character. This option may be given more than once.
1400
252b5132
RH
1401@item --weaken
1402Change all global symbols in the file to be weak. This can be useful
1403when building an object which will be linked against other objects using
c7c55b78 1404the @option{-R} option to the linker. This option is only effective when
252b5132
RH
1405using an object file format which supports weak symbols.
1406
16b2b71c 1407@item --keep-symbols=@var{filename}
c7c55b78 1408Apply @option{--keep-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
16b2b71c
NC
1409@var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1410name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1411This option may be given more than once.
1412
1413@item --strip-symbols=@var{filename}
c7c55b78 1414Apply @option{--strip-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
16b2b71c
NC
1415@var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1416name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1417This option may be given more than once.
1418
bcf32829
JB
1419@item --strip-unneeded-symbols=@var{filename}
1420Apply @option{--strip-unneeded-symbol} option to each symbol listed in
1421the file @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one
1422symbol name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash
1423character. This option may be given more than once.
1424
16b2b71c 1425@item --keep-global-symbols=@var{filename}
c7c55b78 1426Apply @option{--keep-global-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the
16b2b71c
NC
1427file @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one
1428symbol name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash
1429character. This option may be given more than once.
1430
1431@item --localize-symbols=@var{filename}
c7c55b78 1432Apply @option{--localize-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
16b2b71c
NC
1433@var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1434name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1435This option may be given more than once.
1436
7b4a0685
NC
1437@item --globalize-symbols=@var{filename}
1438Apply @option{--globalize-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
1439@var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1440name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1441This option may be given more than once.
1442
16b2b71c 1443@item --weaken-symbols=@var{filename}
c7c55b78 1444Apply @option{--weaken-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
16b2b71c
NC
1445@var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1446name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1447This option may be given more than once.
1448
1ae8b3d2
AO
1449@item --alt-machine-code=@var{index}
1450If the output architecture has alternate machine codes, use the
1451@var{index}th code instead of the default one. This is useful in case
c1c0eb9e 1452a machine is assigned an official code and the tool-chain adopts the
1ae8b3d2 1453new code, but other applications still depend on the original code
f9d4ad2a
NC
1454being used. For ELF based architectures if the @var{index}
1455alternative does not exist then the value is treated as an absolute
1456number to be stored in the e_machine field of the ELF header.
1ae8b3d2 1457
4087920c
MR
1458@item --writable-text
1459Mark the output text as writable. This option isn't meaningful for all
1460object file formats.
1461
1462@item --readonly-text
1463Make the output text write protected. This option isn't meaningful for all
1464object file formats.
1465
1466@item --pure
1467Mark the output file as demand paged. This option isn't meaningful for all
1468object file formats.
1469
1470@item --impure
1471Mark the output file as impure. This option isn't meaningful for all
1472object file formats.
1473
d7fb0dd2
NC
1474@item --prefix-symbols=@var{string}
1475Prefix all symbols in the output file with @var{string}.
1476
1477@item --prefix-sections=@var{string}
1478Prefix all section names in the output file with @var{string}.
1479
1480@item --prefix-alloc-sections=@var{string}
1481Prefix all the names of all allocated sections in the output file with
1482@var{string}.
1483
ed1653a7
NC
1484@item --add-gnu-debuglink=@var{path-to-file}
1485Creates a .gnu_debuglink section which contains a reference to @var{path-to-file}
1486and adds it to the output file.
1487
1637cd90
JB
1488@item --keep-file-symbols
1489When stripping a file, perhaps with @option{--strip-debug} or
1490@option{--strip-unneeded}, retain any symbols specifying source file names,
1491which would otherwise get stripped.
1492
ed1653a7 1493@item --only-keep-debug
36d3b955
MR
1494Strip a file, removing contents of any sections that would not be
1495stripped by @option{--strip-debug} and leaving the debugging sections
c1c0eb9e 1496intact. In ELF files, this preserves all note sections in the output.
ed1653a7
NC
1497
1498The intention is that this option will be used in conjunction with
1499@option{--add-gnu-debuglink} to create a two part executable. One a
1500stripped binary which will occupy less space in RAM and in a
1501distribution and the second a debugging information file which is only
1502needed if debugging abilities are required. The suggested procedure
1503to create these files is as follows:
1504
1505@enumerate
1506@item Link the executable as normal. Assuming that is is called
1507@code{foo} then...
1508@item Run @code{objcopy --only-keep-debug foo foo.dbg} to
1509create a file containing the debugging info.
1510@item Run @code{objcopy --strip-debug foo} to create a
1511stripped executable.
1512@item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.dbg foo}
1513to add a link to the debugging info into the stripped executable.
1514@end enumerate
1515
928a4139 1516Note---the choice of @code{.dbg} as an extension for the debug info
ed1653a7
NC
1517file is arbitrary. Also the @code{--only-keep-debug} step is
1518optional. You could instead do this:
1519
1520@enumerate
1521@item Link the executable as normal.
1522@item Copy @code{foo} to @code{foo.full}
1523@item Run @code{objcopy --strip-debug foo}
1524@item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.full foo}
1525@end enumerate
1526
b45619c0 1527i.e., the file pointed to by the @option{--add-gnu-debuglink} can be the
ed1653a7
NC
1528full executable. It does not have to be a file created by the
1529@option{--only-keep-debug} switch.
1530
928a4139 1531Note---this switch is only intended for use on fully linked files. It
91bb255c
NC
1532does not make sense to use it on object files where the debugging
1533information may be incomplete. Besides the gnu_debuglink feature
1534currently only supports the presence of one filename containing
1535debugging information, not multiple filenames on a one-per-object-file
1536basis.
1537
d3e52d40
RS
1538@item --extract-symbol
1539Keep the file's section flags and symbols but remove all section data.
1540Specifically, the option:
1541
1542@itemize
1543@item sets the virtual and load addresses of every section to zero;
1544@item removes the contents of all sections;
1545@item sets the size of every section to zero; and
1546@item sets the file's start address to zero.
1547@end itemize
c1c0eb9e 1548
d3e52d40
RS
1549This option is used to build a @file{.sym} file for a VxWorks kernel.
1550It can also be a useful way of reducing the size of a @option{--just-symbols}
1551linker input file.
1552
252b5132
RH
1553@item -V
1554@itemx --version
c7c55b78 1555Show the version number of @command{objcopy}.
252b5132
RH
1556
1557@item -v
1558@itemx --verbose
1559Verbose output: list all object files modified. In the case of
1560archives, @samp{objcopy -V} lists all members of the archive.
1561
1562@item --help
c7c55b78 1563Show a summary of the options to @command{objcopy}.
7c29036b
NC
1564
1565@item --info
1566Display a list showing all architectures and object formats available.
252b5132
RH
1567@end table
1568
0285c67d
NC
1569@c man end
1570
1571@ignore
1572@c man begin SEEALSO objcopy
1573ld(1), objdump(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
1574@c man end
1575@end ignore
1576
252b5132
RH
1577@node objdump
1578@chapter objdump
1579
1580@cindex object file information
1581@kindex objdump
1582
0285c67d
NC
1583@c man title objdump display information from object files.
1584
252b5132 1585@smallexample
0285c67d 1586@c man begin SYNOPSIS objdump
c7c55b78
NC
1587objdump [@option{-a}|@option{--archive-headers}]
1588 [@option{-b} @var{bfdname}|@option{--target=@var{bfdname}}]
1589 [@option{-C}|@option{--demangle}[=@var{style}] ]
1590 [@option{-d}|@option{--disassemble}]
1591 [@option{-D}|@option{--disassemble-all}]
1592 [@option{-z}|@option{--disassemble-zeroes}]
1593 [@option{-EB}|@option{-EL}|@option{--endian=}@{big | little @}]
1594 [@option{-f}|@option{--file-headers}]
98ec6e72 1595 [@option{-F}|@option{--file-offsets}]
c7c55b78
NC
1596 [@option{--file-start-context}]
1597 [@option{-g}|@option{--debugging}]
51cdc6e0 1598 [@option{-e}|@option{--debugging-tags}]
c7c55b78
NC
1599 [@option{-h}|@option{--section-headers}|@option{--headers}]
1600 [@option{-i}|@option{--info}]
1601 [@option{-j} @var{section}|@option{--section=}@var{section}]
1602 [@option{-l}|@option{--line-numbers}]
1603 [@option{-S}|@option{--source}]
1604 [@option{-m} @var{machine}|@option{--architecture=}@var{machine}]
1605 [@option{-M} @var{options}|@option{--disassembler-options=}@var{options}]
1606 [@option{-p}|@option{--private-headers}]
1607 [@option{-r}|@option{--reloc}]
1608 [@option{-R}|@option{--dynamic-reloc}]
1609 [@option{-s}|@option{--full-contents}]
4de2ad99 1610 [@option{-W}|@option{--dwarf}]
c7c55b78
NC
1611 [@option{-G}|@option{--stabs}]
1612 [@option{-t}|@option{--syms}]
1613 [@option{-T}|@option{--dynamic-syms}]
1614 [@option{-x}|@option{--all-headers}]
1615 [@option{-w}|@option{--wide}]
1616 [@option{--start-address=}@var{address}]
1617 [@option{--stop-address=}@var{address}]
1618 [@option{--prefix-addresses}]
1619 [@option{--[no-]show-raw-insn}]
1620 [@option{--adjust-vma=}@var{offset}]
3c9458e9 1621 [@option{--special-syms}]
c7c55b78
NC
1622 [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
1623 [@option{-H}|@option{--help}]
252b5132 1624 @var{objfile}@dots{}
0285c67d 1625@c man end
252b5132
RH
1626@end smallexample
1627
0285c67d
NC
1628@c man begin DESCRIPTION objdump
1629
c7c55b78 1630@command{objdump} displays information about one or more object files.
252b5132
RH
1631The options control what particular information to display. This
1632information is mostly useful to programmers who are working on the
1633compilation tools, as opposed to programmers who just want their
1634program to compile and work.
1635
1636@var{objfile}@dots{} are the object files to be examined. When you
c7c55b78 1637specify archives, @command{objdump} shows information on each of the member
252b5132
RH
1638object files.
1639
0285c67d
NC
1640@c man end
1641
1642@c man begin OPTIONS objdump
1643
252b5132 1644The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
1dada9c5 1645equivalent. At least one option from the list
155e0d23 1646@option{-a,-d,-D,-e,-f,-g,-G,-h,-H,-p,-r,-R,-s,-S,-t,-T,-V,-x} must be given.
252b5132 1647
c7c55b78 1648@table @env
252b5132
RH
1649@item -a
1650@itemx --archive-header
1651@cindex archive headers
1652If any of the @var{objfile} files are archives, display the archive
1653header information (in a format similar to @samp{ls -l}). Besides the
1654information you could list with @samp{ar tv}, @samp{objdump -a} shows
1655the object file format of each archive member.
1656
1657@item --adjust-vma=@var{offset}
1658@cindex section addresses in objdump
1659@cindex VMA in objdump
1660When dumping information, first add @var{offset} to all the section
1661addresses. This is useful if the section addresses do not correspond to
1662the symbol table, which can happen when putting sections at particular
1663addresses when using a format which can not represent section addresses,
1664such as a.out.
1665
1666@item -b @var{bfdname}
1667@itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
1668@cindex object code format
1669Specify that the object-code format for the object files is
1670@var{bfdname}. This option may not be necessary; @var{objdump} can
1671automatically recognize many formats.
1672
1673For example,
1674@example
1675objdump -b oasys -m vax -h fu.o
1676@end example
1677@noindent
c7c55b78
NC
1678displays summary information from the section headers (@option{-h}) of
1679@file{fu.o}, which is explicitly identified (@option{-m}) as a VAX object
252b5132 1680file in the format produced by Oasys compilers. You can list the
c7c55b78 1681formats available with the @option{-i} option.
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RH
1682@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1683
1684@item -C
28c309a2 1685@itemx --demangle[=@var{style}]
252b5132
RH
1686@cindex demangling in objdump
1687Decode (@dfn{demangle}) low-level symbol names into user-level names.
1688Besides removing any initial underscore prepended by the system, this
28c309a2 1689makes C++ function names readable. Different compilers have different
c1c0eb9e
RM
1690mangling styles. The optional demangling style argument can be used to
1691choose an appropriate demangling style for your compiler. @xref{c++filt},
28c309a2 1692for more information on demangling.
252b5132 1693
947ed062
NC
1694@item -g
1695@itemx --debugging
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RH
1696Display debugging information. This attempts to parse debugging
1697information stored in the file and print it out using a C like syntax.
1698Only certain types of debugging information have been implemented.
c1124b23
AO
1699Some other types are supported by @command{readelf -w}.
1700@xref{readelf}.
252b5132 1701
51cdc6e0
NC
1702@item -e
1703@itemx --debugging-tags
1704Like @option{-g}, but the information is generated in a format compatible
1705with ctags tool.
1706
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RH
1707@item -d
1708@itemx --disassemble
1709@cindex disassembling object code
1710@cindex machine instructions
1711Display the assembler mnemonics for the machine instructions from
1712@var{objfile}. This option only disassembles those sections which are
1713expected to contain instructions.
1714
1715@item -D
1716@itemx --disassemble-all
c7c55b78 1717Like @option{-d}, but disassemble the contents of all sections, not just
252b5132
RH
1718those expected to contain instructions.
1719
1720@item --prefix-addresses
1721When disassembling, print the complete address on each line. This is
1722the older disassembly format.
1723
252b5132
RH
1724@item -EB
1725@itemx -EL
1726@itemx --endian=@{big|little@}
1727@cindex endianness
1728@cindex disassembly endianness
1729Specify the endianness of the object files. This only affects
1730disassembly. This can be useful when disassembling a file format which
1731does not describe endianness information, such as S-records.
1732
1733@item -f
947ed062 1734@itemx --file-headers
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RH
1735@cindex object file header
1736Display summary information from the overall header of
1737each of the @var{objfile} files.
1738
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NC
1739@item -F
1740@itemx --file-offsets
1741@cindex object file offsets
1742When disassembling sections, whenever a symbol is displayed, also
1743display the file offset of the region of data that is about to be
1744dumped. If zeroes are being skipped, then when disassembly resumes,
1745tell the user how many zeroes were skipped and the file offset of the
32760852
NC
1746location from where the disassembly resumes. When dumping sections,
1747display the file offset of the location from where the dump starts.
98ec6e72 1748
f1563258
TW
1749@item --file-start-context
1750@cindex source code context
1751Specify that when displaying interlisted source code/disassembly
c7c55b78 1752(assumes @option{-S}) from a file that has not yet been displayed, extend the
f1563258
TW
1753context to the start of the file.
1754
252b5132 1755@item -h
947ed062
NC
1756@itemx --section-headers
1757@itemx --headers
252b5132
RH
1758@cindex section headers
1759Display summary information from the section headers of the
1760object file.
1761
1762File segments may be relocated to nonstandard addresses, for example by
c7c55b78
NC
1763using the @option{-Ttext}, @option{-Tdata}, or @option{-Tbss} options to
1764@command{ld}. However, some object file formats, such as a.out, do not
252b5132 1765store the starting address of the file segments. In those situations,
c7c55b78 1766although @command{ld} relocates the sections correctly, using @samp{objdump
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RH
1767-h} to list the file section headers cannot show the correct addresses.
1768Instead, it shows the usual addresses, which are implicit for the
1769target.
1770
947ed062
NC
1771@item -H
1772@itemx --help
c7c55b78 1773Print a summary of the options to @command{objdump} and exit.
252b5132
RH
1774
1775@item -i
1776@itemx --info
1777@cindex architectures available
1778@cindex object formats available
1779Display a list showing all architectures and object formats available
c7c55b78 1780for specification with @option{-b} or @option{-m}.
252b5132
RH
1781
1782@item -j @var{name}
1783@itemx --section=@var{name}
1784@cindex section information
1785Display information only for section @var{name}.
1786
1787@item -l
1788@itemx --line-numbers
1789@cindex source filenames for object files
1790Label the display (using debugging information) with the filename and
1791source line numbers corresponding to the object code or relocs shown.
c7c55b78 1792Only useful with @option{-d}, @option{-D}, or @option{-r}.
252b5132
RH
1793
1794@item -m @var{machine}
1795@itemx --architecture=@var{machine}
1796@cindex architecture
1797@cindex disassembly architecture
1798Specify the architecture to use when disassembling object files. This
1799can be useful when disassembling object files which do not describe
1800architecture information, such as S-records. You can list the available
c7c55b78 1801architectures with the @option{-i} option.
252b5132 1802
dd92f639
NC
1803@item -M @var{options}
1804@itemx --disassembler-options=@var{options}
1805Pass target specific information to the disassembler. Only supported on
31e0f3cd
NC
1806some targets. If it is necessary to specify more than one
1807disassembler option then multiple @option{-M} options can be used or
1808can be placed together into a comma separated list.
dd92f639
NC
1809
1810If the target is an ARM architecture then this switch can be used to
1811select which register name set is used during disassembler. Specifying
9c092ace 1812@option{-M reg-names-std} (the default) will select the register names as
58efb6c0
NC
1813used in ARM's instruction set documentation, but with register 13 called
1814'sp', register 14 called 'lr' and register 15 called 'pc'. Specifying
c7c55b78
NC
1815@option{-M reg-names-apcs} will select the name set used by the ARM
1816Procedure Call Standard, whilst specifying @option{-M reg-names-raw} will
58efb6c0
NC
1817just use @samp{r} followed by the register number.
1818
1819There are also two variants on the APCS register naming scheme enabled
c7c55b78
NC
1820by @option{-M reg-names-atpcs} and @option{-M reg-names-special-atpcs} which
1821use the ARM/Thumb Procedure Call Standard naming conventions. (Either
947ed062 1822with the normal register names or the special register names).
dd92f639 1823
8f915f68 1824This option can also be used for ARM architectures to force the
c36774d6 1825disassembler to interpret all instructions as Thumb instructions by
c7c55b78 1826using the switch @option{--disassembler-options=force-thumb}. This can be
8f915f68
NC
1827useful when attempting to disassemble thumb code produced by other
1828compilers.
1829
e396998b
AM
1830For the x86, some of the options duplicate functions of the @option{-m}
1831switch, but allow finer grained control. Multiple selections from the
1832following may be specified as a comma separated string.
b89e9eae 1833@option{x86-64}, @option{i386} and @option{i8086} select disassembly for
e396998b 1834the given architecture. @option{intel} and @option{att} select between
9d141669
L
1835intel syntax mode and AT&T syntax mode.
1836@option{intel-mnemonic} and @option{att-mnemonic} select between
1837intel mnemonic mode and AT&T mnemonic mode. @option{intel-mnemonic}
1838implies @option{intel} and @option{att-mnemonic} implies @option{att}.
1839@option{addr64}, @option{addr32},
e396998b
AM
1840@option{addr16}, @option{data32} and @option{data16} specify the default
1841address size and operand size. These four options will be overridden if
b89e9eae 1842@option{x86-64}, @option{i386} or @option{i8086} appear later in the
e396998b 1843option string. Lastly, @option{suffix}, when in AT&T mode,
b9e5d8e5 1844instructs the disassembler to print a mnemonic suffix even when the
e396998b
AM
1845suffix could be inferred by the operands.
1846
802a735e
AM
1847For PPC, @option{booke}, @option{booke32} and @option{booke64} select
1848disassembly of BookE instructions. @option{32} and @option{64} select
c3d65c1c
BE
1849PowerPC and PowerPC64 disassembly, respectively. @option{e300}
1850selects disassembly for the e300 family. @option{440} selects
1851disassembly for the PowerPC 440. @option{ppcps} selects disassembly
1852for the paired single instructions of the PPC750CL.
802a735e 1853
b45619c0 1854For MIPS, this option controls the printing of instruction mnemonic
e39893d7
FF
1855names and register names in disassembled instructions. Multiple
1856selections from the following may be specified as a comma separated
1857string, and invalid options are ignored:
640c0ccd
CD
1858
1859@table @code
e39893d7 1860@item no-aliases
b45619c0
NC
1861Print the 'raw' instruction mnemonic instead of some pseudo
1862instruction mnemonic. I.e., print 'daddu' or 'or' instead of 'move',
e39893d7
FF
1863'sll' instead of 'nop', etc.
1864
640c0ccd
CD
1865@item gpr-names=@var{ABI}
1866Print GPR (general-purpose register) names as appropriate
1867for the specified ABI. By default, GPR names are selected according to
1868the ABI of the binary being disassembled.
1869
1870@item fpr-names=@var{ABI}
1871Print FPR (floating-point register) names as
1872appropriate for the specified ABI. By default, FPR numbers are printed
1873rather than names.
1874
1875@item cp0-names=@var{ARCH}
1876Print CP0 (system control coprocessor; coprocessor 0) register names
1877as appropriate for the CPU or architecture specified by
1878@var{ARCH}. By default, CP0 register names are selected according to
1879the architecture and CPU of the binary being disassembled.
1880
af7ee8bf
CD
1881@item hwr-names=@var{ARCH}
1882Print HWR (hardware register, used by the @code{rdhwr} instruction) names
1883as appropriate for the CPU or architecture specified by
1884@var{ARCH}. By default, HWR names are selected according to
1885the architecture and CPU of the binary being disassembled.
1886
640c0ccd
CD
1887@item reg-names=@var{ABI}
1888Print GPR and FPR names as appropriate for the selected ABI.
1889
1890@item reg-names=@var{ARCH}
af7ee8bf
CD
1891Print CPU-specific register names (CP0 register and HWR names)
1892as appropriate for the selected CPU or architecture.
640c0ccd
CD
1893@end table
1894
1895For any of the options listed above, @var{ABI} or
1896@var{ARCH} may be specified as @samp{numeric} to have numbers printed
1897rather than names, for the selected types of registers.
1898You can list the available values of @var{ABI} and @var{ARCH} using
1899the @option{--help} option.
1900
ec72cfe5
NC
1901For VAX, you can specify function entry addresses with @option{-M
1902entry:0xf00ba}. You can use this multiple times to properly
1903disassemble VAX binary files that don't contain symbol tables (like
1904ROM dumps). In these cases, the function entry mask would otherwise
b45619c0 1905be decoded as VAX instructions, which would probably lead the rest
ec72cfe5
NC
1906of the function being wrongly disassembled.
1907
252b5132
RH
1908@item -p
1909@itemx --private-headers
1910Print information that is specific to the object file format. The exact
1911information printed depends upon the object file format. For some
1912object file formats, no additional information is printed.
1913
1914@item -r
1915@itemx --reloc
1916@cindex relocation entries, in object file
c7c55b78
NC
1917Print the relocation entries of the file. If used with @option{-d} or
1918@option{-D}, the relocations are printed interspersed with the
252b5132
RH
1919disassembly.
1920
1921@item -R
1922@itemx --dynamic-reloc
1923@cindex dynamic relocation entries, in object file
1924Print the dynamic relocation entries of the file. This is only
1925meaningful for dynamic objects, such as certain types of shared
1926libraries.
1927
1928@item -s
1929@itemx --full-contents
1930@cindex sections, full contents
1931@cindex object file sections
155e0d23
NC
1932Display the full contents of any sections requested. By default all
1933non-empty sections are displayed.
252b5132
RH
1934
1935@item -S
1936@itemx --source
1937@cindex source disassembly
1938@cindex disassembly, with source
1939Display source code intermixed with disassembly, if possible. Implies
c7c55b78 1940@option{-d}.
252b5132
RH
1941
1942@item --show-raw-insn
1943When disassembling instructions, print the instruction in hex as well as
1944in symbolic form. This is the default except when
c7c55b78 1945@option{--prefix-addresses} is used.
252b5132
RH
1946
1947@item --no-show-raw-insn
1948When disassembling instructions, do not print the instruction bytes.
c7c55b78 1949This is the default when @option{--prefix-addresses} is used.
252b5132 1950
4de2ad99
L
1951@item -W
1952@itemx --dwarf
1953@cindex DWARF
1954@cindex debug symbols
1955Displays the contents of the DWARF debug sections in the file, if any
1956are present.
1957
1dada9c5 1958@item -G
947ed062 1959@itemx --stabs
252b5132
RH
1960@cindex stab
1961@cindex .stab
1962@cindex debug symbols
1963@cindex ELF object file format
1964Display the full contents of any sections requested. Display the
1965contents of the .stab and .stab.index and .stab.excl sections from an
1966ELF file. This is only useful on systems (such as Solaris 2.0) in which
1967@code{.stab} debugging symbol-table entries are carried in an ELF
1968section. In most other file formats, debugging symbol-table entries are
c7c55b78 1969interleaved with linkage symbols, and are visible in the @option{--syms}
0285c67d
NC
1970output.
1971@ifclear man
1972For more information on stabs symbols, see @ref{Top,Stabs,Stabs
252b5132 1973Overview,stabs.info, The ``stabs'' debug format}.
0285c67d 1974@end ifclear
252b5132
RH
1975
1976@item --start-address=@var{address}
1977@cindex start-address
1978Start displaying data at the specified address. This affects the output
c7c55b78 1979of the @option{-d}, @option{-r} and @option{-s} options.
252b5132
RH
1980
1981@item --stop-address=@var{address}
1982@cindex stop-address
1983Stop displaying data at the specified address. This affects the output
c7c55b78 1984of the @option{-d}, @option{-r} and @option{-s} options.
252b5132
RH
1985
1986@item -t
1987@itemx --syms
1988@cindex symbol table entries, printing
1989Print the symbol table entries of the file.
a1039809
NC
1990This is similar to the information provided by the @samp{nm} program,
1991although the display format is different. The format of the output
1992depends upon the format of the file being dumped, but there are two main
1993types. One looks like this:
1994
1995@smallexample
1996[ 4](sec 3)(fl 0x00)(ty 0)(scl 3) (nx 1) 0x00000000 .bss
1997[ 6](sec 1)(fl 0x00)(ty 0)(scl 2) (nx 0) 0x00000000 fred
1998@end smallexample
1999
2000where the number inside the square brackets is the number of the entry
2001in the symbol table, the @var{sec} number is the section number, the
2002@var{fl} value are the symbol's flag bits, the @var{ty} number is the
2003symbol's type, the @var{scl} number is the symbol's storage class and
2004the @var{nx} value is the number of auxilary entries associated with
2005the symbol. The last two fields are the symbol's value and its name.
2006
2007The other common output format, usually seen with ELF based files,
2008looks like this:
2009
2010@smallexample
201100000000 l d .bss 00000000 .bss
201200000000 g .text 00000000 fred
2013@end smallexample
2014
2015Here the first number is the symbol's value (sometimes refered to as
2016its address). The next field is actually a set of characters and
2017spaces indicating the flag bits that are set on the symbol. These
af3e16d9
NC
2018characters are described below. Next is the section with which the
2019symbol is associated or @emph{*ABS*} if the section is absolute (ie
2020not connected with any section), or @emph{*UND*} if the section is
2021referenced in the file being dumped, but not defined there.
2022
2023After the section name comes another field, a number, which for common
2024symbols is the alignment and for other symbol is the size. Finally
2025the symbol's name is displayed.
a1039809
NC
2026
2027The flag characters are divided into 7 groups as follows:
2028@table @code
2029@item l
2030@itemx g
2031@itemx !
2032The symbol is local (l), global (g), neither (a space) or both (!). A
928a4139 2033symbol can be neither local or global for a variety of reasons, e.g.,
a1039809
NC
2034because it is used for debugging, but it is probably an indication of
2035a bug if it is ever both local and global.
2036
2037@item w
2038The symbol is weak (w) or strong (a space).
2039
2040@item C
2041The symbol denotes a constructor (C) or an ordinary symbol (a space).
2042
2043@item W
2044The symbol is a warning (W) or a normal symbol (a space). A warning
2045symbol's name is a message to be displayed if the symbol following the
2046warning symbol is ever referenced.
2047
2048@item I
2049The symbol is an indirect reference to another symbol (I) or a normal
2050symbol (a space).
2051
2052@item d
2053@itemx D
2054The symbol is a debugging symbol (d) or a dynamic symbol (D) or a
2055normal symbol (a space).
2056
2057@item F
2058@item f
2059@item O
af3e16d9 2060The symbol is the name of a function (F) or a file (f) or an object
a1039809
NC
2061(O) or just a normal symbol (a space).
2062@end table
252b5132
RH
2063
2064@item -T
2065@itemx --dynamic-syms
2066@cindex dynamic symbol table entries, printing
2067Print the dynamic symbol table entries of the file. This is only
2068meaningful for dynamic objects, such as certain types of shared
2069libraries. This is similar to the information provided by the @samp{nm}
c7c55b78 2070program when given the @option{-D} (@option{--dynamic}) option.
252b5132 2071
3c9458e9
NC
2072@item --special-syms
2073When displaying symbols include those which the target considers to be
2074special in some way and which would not normally be of interest to the
2075user.
2076
947ed062
NC
2077@item -V
2078@itemx --version
c7c55b78 2079Print the version number of @command{objdump} and exit.
252b5132
RH
2080
2081@item -x
947ed062 2082@itemx --all-headers
252b5132
RH
2083@cindex all header information, object file
2084@cindex header information, all
2085Display all available header information, including the symbol table and
c7c55b78 2086relocation entries. Using @option{-x} is equivalent to specifying all of
04c34128 2087@option{-a -f -h -p -r -t}.
252b5132
RH
2088
2089@item -w
2090@itemx --wide
2091@cindex wide output, printing
2092Format some lines for output devices that have more than 80 columns.
31104126 2093Also do not truncate symbol names when they are displayed.
aefbdd67
BE
2094
2095@item -z
2c0c15f9 2096@itemx --disassemble-zeroes
aefbdd67
BE
2097Normally the disassembly output will skip blocks of zeroes. This
2098option directs the disassembler to disassemble those blocks, just like
2099any other data.
252b5132
RH
2100@end table
2101
0285c67d
NC
2102@c man end
2103
2104@ignore
2105@c man begin SEEALSO objdump
2106nm(1), readelf(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2107@c man end
2108@end ignore
2109
252b5132
RH
2110@node ranlib
2111@chapter ranlib
2112
2113@kindex ranlib
2114@cindex archive contents
2115@cindex symbol index
2116
0285c67d
NC
2117@c man title ranlib generate index to archive.
2118
252b5132 2119@smallexample
0285c67d 2120@c man begin SYNOPSIS ranlib
b14f9da0 2121ranlib [@option{-vVt}] @var{archive}
0285c67d 2122@c man end
252b5132
RH
2123@end smallexample
2124
0285c67d
NC
2125@c man begin DESCRIPTION ranlib
2126
c7c55b78 2127@command{ranlib} generates an index to the contents of an archive and
252b5132 2128stores it in the archive. The index lists each symbol defined by a
c1c0eb9e 2129member of an archive that is a relocatable object file.
252b5132
RH
2130
2131You may use @samp{nm -s} or @samp{nm --print-armap} to list this index.
2132
2133An archive with such an index speeds up linking to the library and
2134allows routines in the library to call each other without regard to
2135their placement in the archive.
2136
c7c55b78
NC
2137The @sc{gnu} @command{ranlib} program is another form of @sc{gnu} @command{ar}; running
2138@command{ranlib} is completely equivalent to executing @samp{ar -s}.
252b5132
RH
2139@xref{ar}.
2140
0285c67d
NC
2141@c man end
2142
2143@c man begin OPTIONS ranlib
2144
c7c55b78 2145@table @env
252b5132
RH
2146@item -v
2147@itemx -V
f20a759a 2148@itemx --version
c7c55b78 2149Show the version number of @command{ranlib}.
b14f9da0
NC
2150
2151@item -t
2152Update the timestamp of the symbol map of an archive.
252b5132
RH
2153@end table
2154
0285c67d
NC
2155@c man end
2156
2157@ignore
2158@c man begin SEEALSO ranlib
2159ar(1), nm(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2160@c man end
2161@end ignore
2162
252b5132
RH
2163@node size
2164@chapter size
2165
2166@kindex size
2167@cindex section sizes
2168
0285c67d
NC
2169@c man title size list section sizes and total size.
2170
252b5132 2171@smallexample
0285c67d 2172@c man begin SYNOPSIS size
c7c55b78 2173size [@option{-A}|@option{-B}|@option{--format=}@var{compatibility}]
15c82623
NC
2174 [@option{--help}]
2175 [@option{-d}|@option{-o}|@option{-x}|@option{--radix=}@var{number}]
29422971 2176 [@option{--common}]
15c82623 2177 [@option{-t}|@option{--totals}]
c1c0eb9e 2178 [@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
c7c55b78 2179 [@var{objfile}@dots{}]
0285c67d 2180@c man end
252b5132
RH
2181@end smallexample
2182
0285c67d
NC
2183@c man begin DESCRIPTION size
2184
c7c55b78 2185The @sc{gnu} @command{size} utility lists the section sizes---and the total
252b5132
RH
2186size---for each of the object or archive files @var{objfile} in its
2187argument list. By default, one line of output is generated for each
2188object file or each module in an archive.
2189
2190@var{objfile}@dots{} are the object files to be examined.
2191If none are specified, the file @code{a.out} will be used.
2192
0285c67d
NC
2193@c man end
2194
2195@c man begin OPTIONS size
2196
252b5132
RH
2197The command line options have the following meanings:
2198
c7c55b78 2199@table @env
252b5132
RH
2200@item -A
2201@itemx -B
2202@itemx --format=@var{compatibility}
c7c55b78 2203@cindex @command{size} display format
252b5132 2204Using one of these options, you can choose whether the output from @sc{gnu}
c7c55b78
NC
2205@command{size} resembles output from System V @command{size} (using @option{-A},
2206or @option{--format=sysv}), or Berkeley @command{size} (using @option{-B}, or
2207@option{--format=berkeley}). The default is the one-line format similar to
c1c0eb9e 2208Berkeley's.
252b5132
RH
2209@c Bonus for doc-source readers: you can also say --format=strange (or
2210@c anything else that starts with 's') for sysv, and --format=boring (or
2211@c anything else that starts with 'b') for Berkeley.
2212
2213Here is an example of the Berkeley (default) format of output from
c1c0eb9e 2214@command{size}:
252b5132 2215@smallexample
f20a759a 2216$ size --format=Berkeley ranlib size
252b5132
RH
2217text data bss dec hex filename
2218294880 81920 11592 388392 5ed28 ranlib
2219294880 81920 11888 388688 5ee50 size
2220@end smallexample
2221
2222@noindent
2223This is the same data, but displayed closer to System V conventions:
2224
2225@smallexample
f20a759a 2226$ size --format=SysV ranlib size
252b5132
RH
2227ranlib :
2228section size addr
c1c0eb9e
RM
2229.text 294880 8192
2230.data 81920 303104
2231.bss 11592 385024
2232Total 388392
252b5132
RH
2233
2234
2235size :
2236section size addr
c1c0eb9e
RM
2237.text 294880 8192
2238.data 81920 303104
2239.bss 11888 385024
2240Total 388688
252b5132
RH
2241@end smallexample
2242
2243@item --help
2244Show a summary of acceptable arguments and options.
2245
2246@item -d
2247@itemx -o
2248@itemx -x
2249@itemx --radix=@var{number}
c7c55b78 2250@cindex @command{size} number format
252b5132
RH
2251@cindex radix for section sizes
2252Using one of these options, you can control whether the size of each
c7c55b78
NC
2253section is given in decimal (@option{-d}, or @option{--radix=10}); octal
2254(@option{-o}, or @option{--radix=8}); or hexadecimal (@option{-x}, or
2255@option{--radix=16}). In @option{--radix=@var{number}}, only the three
252b5132 2256values (8, 10, 16) are supported. The total size is always given in two
c7c55b78
NC
2257radices; decimal and hexadecimal for @option{-d} or @option{-x} output, or
2258octal and hexadecimal if you're using @option{-o}.
252b5132 2259
29422971
AM
2260@item --common
2261Print total size of common symbols in each file. When using Berkeley
2262format these are included in the bss size.
2263
15c82623
NC
2264@item -t
2265@itemx --totals
2266Show totals of all objects listed (Berkeley format listing mode only).
2267
252b5132
RH
2268@item --target=@var{bfdname}
2269@cindex object code format
2270Specify that the object-code format for @var{objfile} is
c7c55b78 2271@var{bfdname}. This option may not be necessary; @command{size} can
252b5132
RH
2272automatically recognize many formats.
2273@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2274
2275@item -V
2276@itemx --version
c7c55b78 2277Display the version number of @command{size}.
252b5132
RH
2278@end table
2279
0285c67d
NC
2280@c man end
2281
2282@ignore
2283@c man begin SEEALSO size
2284ar(1), objdump(1), readelf(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2285@c man end
2286@end ignore
2287
252b5132
RH
2288@node strings
2289@chapter strings
2290@kindex strings
2291@cindex listings strings
2292@cindex printing strings
2293@cindex strings, printing
2294
0285c67d
NC
2295@c man title strings print the strings of printable characters in files.
2296
252b5132 2297@smallexample
0285c67d 2298@c man begin SYNOPSIS strings
d132876a
NC
2299strings [@option{-afov}] [@option{-}@var{min-len}]
2300 [@option{-n} @var{min-len}] [@option{--bytes=}@var{min-len}]
2301 [@option{-t} @var{radix}] [@option{--radix=}@var{radix}]
2302 [@option{-e} @var{encoding}] [@option{--encoding=}@var{encoding}]
2303 [@option{-}] [@option{--all}] [@option{--print-file-name}]
3bf31ec9 2304 [@option{-T} @var{bfdname}] [@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
c7c55b78 2305 [@option{--help}] [@option{--version}] @var{file}@dots{}
0285c67d 2306@c man end
252b5132
RH
2307@end smallexample
2308
0285c67d
NC
2309@c man begin DESCRIPTION strings
2310
c7c55b78 2311For each @var{file} given, @sc{gnu} @command{strings} prints the printable
252b5132
RH
2312character sequences that are at least 4 characters long (or the number
2313given with the options below) and are followed by an unprintable
2314character. By default, it only prints the strings from the initialized
2315and loaded sections of object files; for other types of files, it prints
2316the strings from the whole file.
2317
c7c55b78 2318@command{strings} is mainly useful for determining the contents of non-text
252b5132
RH
2319files.
2320
0285c67d
NC
2321@c man end
2322
2323@c man begin OPTIONS strings
2324
c7c55b78 2325@table @env
252b5132
RH
2326@item -a
2327@itemx --all
2328@itemx -
2329Do not scan only the initialized and loaded sections of object files;
2330scan the whole files.
2331
2332@item -f
2333@itemx --print-file-name
2334Print the name of the file before each string.
2335
2336@item --help
2337Print a summary of the program usage on the standard output and exit.
2338
2339@item -@var{min-len}
2340@itemx -n @var{min-len}
2341@itemx --bytes=@var{min-len}
2342Print sequences of characters that are at least @var{min-len} characters
2343long, instead of the default 4.
2344
2345@item -o
c7c55b78 2346Like @samp{-t o}. Some other versions of @command{strings} have @option{-o}
252b5132
RH
2347act like @samp{-t d} instead. Since we can not be compatible with both
2348ways, we simply chose one.
2349
2350@item -t @var{radix}
2351@itemx --radix=@var{radix}
2352Print the offset within the file before each string. The single
2353character argument specifies the radix of the offset---@samp{o} for
2354octal, @samp{x} for hexadecimal, or @samp{d} for decimal.
2355
d132876a
NC
2356@item -e @var{encoding}
2357@itemx --encoding=@var{encoding}
2358Select the character encoding of the strings that are to be found.
8745eafa
NC
2359Possible values for @var{encoding} are: @samp{s} = single-7-bit-byte
2360characters (ASCII, ISO 8859, etc., default), @samp{S} =
2361single-8-bit-byte characters, @samp{b} = 16-bit bigendian, @samp{l} =
236216-bit littleendian, @samp{B} = 32-bit bigendian, @samp{L} = 32-bit
830bf75c
NC
2363littleendian. Useful for finding wide character strings. (@samp{l}
2364and @samp{b} apply to, for example, Unicode UTF-16/UCS-2 encodings).
d132876a 2365
3bf31ec9
NC
2366@item -T @var{bfdname}
2367@itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
252b5132
RH
2368@cindex object code format
2369Specify an object code format other than your system's default format.
2370@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2371
2372@item -v
2373@itemx --version
2374Print the program version number on the standard output and exit.
2375@end table
2376
0285c67d
NC
2377@c man end
2378
2379@ignore
2380@c man begin SEEALSO strings
2381ar(1), nm(1), objdump(1), ranlib(1), readelf(1)
2382and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2383@c man end
2384@end ignore
2385
252b5132
RH
2386@node strip
2387@chapter strip
2388
2389@kindex strip
2390@cindex removing symbols
2391@cindex discarding symbols
2392@cindex symbols, discarding
2393
0285c67d
NC
2394@c man title strip Discard symbols from object files.
2395
252b5132 2396@smallexample
0285c67d 2397@c man begin SYNOPSIS strip
2593f09a
NC
2398strip [@option{-F} @var{bfdname} |@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
2399 [@option{-I} @var{bfdname} |@option{--input-target=}@var{bfdname}]
2400 [@option{-O} @var{bfdname} |@option{--output-target=}@var{bfdname}]
2401 [@option{-s}|@option{--strip-all}]
2402 [@option{-S}|@option{-g}|@option{-d}|@option{--strip-debug}]
2403 [@option{-K} @var{symbolname} |@option{--keep-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
2404 [@option{-N} @var{symbolname} |@option{--strip-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
5fe11841 2405 [@option{-w}|@option{--wildcard}]
2593f09a
NC
2406 [@option{-x}|@option{--discard-all}] [@option{-X} |@option{--discard-locals}]
2407 [@option{-R} @var{sectionname} |@option{--remove-section=}@var{sectionname}]
2408 [@option{-o} @var{file}] [@option{-p}|@option{--preserve-dates}]
1637cd90 2409 [@option{--keep-file-symbols}]
ed1653a7 2410 [@option{--only-keep-debug}]
7c29036b
NC
2411 [@option{-v} |@option{--verbose}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
2412 [@option{--help}] [@option{--info}]
252b5132 2413 @var{objfile}@dots{}
0285c67d 2414@c man end
252b5132
RH
2415@end smallexample
2416
0285c67d
NC
2417@c man begin DESCRIPTION strip
2418
c7c55b78 2419@sc{gnu} @command{strip} discards all symbols from object files
252b5132
RH
2420@var{objfile}. The list of object files may include archives.
2421At least one object file must be given.
2422
c7c55b78 2423@command{strip} modifies the files named in its argument,
252b5132
RH
2424rather than writing modified copies under different names.
2425
0285c67d
NC
2426@c man end
2427
2428@c man begin OPTIONS strip
2429
c7c55b78 2430@table @env
252b5132
RH
2431@item -F @var{bfdname}
2432@itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
2433Treat the original @var{objfile} as a file with the object
2434code format @var{bfdname}, and rewrite it in the same format.
2435@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2436
2437@item --help
c7c55b78 2438Show a summary of the options to @command{strip} and exit.
252b5132 2439
7c29036b
NC
2440@item --info
2441Display a list showing all architectures and object formats available.
2442
947ed062 2443@item -I @var{bfdname}
252b5132
RH
2444@itemx --input-target=@var{bfdname}
2445Treat the original @var{objfile} as a file with the object
2446code format @var{bfdname}.
2447@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2448
2449@item -O @var{bfdname}
2450@itemx --output-target=@var{bfdname}
2451Replace @var{objfile} with a file in the output format @var{bfdname}.
2452@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2453
2454@item -R @var{sectionname}
2455@itemx --remove-section=@var{sectionname}
2456Remove any section named @var{sectionname} from the output file. This
2457option may be given more than once. Note that using this option
2458inappropriately may make the output file unusable.
2459
2460@item -s
2461@itemx --strip-all
2462Remove all symbols.
2463
2464@item -g
2465@itemx -S
15c82623 2466@itemx -d
252b5132
RH
2467@itemx --strip-debug
2468Remove debugging symbols only.
2469
2470@item --strip-unneeded
2471Remove all symbols that are not needed for relocation processing.
2472
2473@item -K @var{symbolname}
2474@itemx --keep-symbol=@var{symbolname}
e7f918ad
NC
2475When stripping symbols, keep symbol @var{symbolname} even if it would
2476normally be stripped. This option may be given more than once.
252b5132
RH
2477
2478@item -N @var{symbolname}
2479@itemx --strip-symbol=@var{symbolname}
2480Remove symbol @var{symbolname} from the source file. This option may be
2481given more than once, and may be combined with strip options other than
c7c55b78 2482@option{-K}.
252b5132
RH
2483
2484@item -o @var{file}
2485Put the stripped output in @var{file}, rather than replacing the
2486existing file. When this argument is used, only one @var{objfile}
2487argument may be specified.
2488
2489@item -p
2490@itemx --preserve-dates
2491Preserve the access and modification dates of the file.
2492
5fe11841
NC
2493@item -w
2494@itemx --wildcard
2495Permit regular expressions in @var{symbolname}s used in other command
2496line options. The question mark (?), asterisk (*), backslash (\) and
2497square brackets ([]) operators can be used anywhere in the symbol
2498name. If the first character of the symbol name is the exclamation
2499point (!) then the sense of the switch is reversed for that symbol.
2500For example:
2501
2502@smallexample
2503 -w -K !foo -K fo*
2504@end smallexample
2505
2506would cause strip to only keep symbols that start with the letters
2507``fo'', but to discard the symbol ``foo''.
2508
252b5132
RH
2509@item -x
2510@itemx --discard-all
2511Remove non-global symbols.
2512
2513@item -X
2514@itemx --discard-locals
2515Remove compiler-generated local symbols.
2516(These usually start with @samp{L} or @samp{.}.)
2517
1637cd90
JB
2518@item --keep-file-symbols
2519When stripping a file, perhaps with @option{--strip-debug} or
2520@option{--strip-unneeded}, retain any symbols specifying source file names,
2521which would otherwise get stripped.
2522
ed1653a7 2523@item --only-keep-debug
c1c0eb9e
RM
2524Strip a file, removing contents of any sections that would not be
2525stripped by @option{--strip-debug} and leaving the debugging sections
2526intact. In ELF files, this preserves all note sections in the output.
ed1653a7
NC
2527
2528The intention is that this option will be used in conjunction with
2529@option{--add-gnu-debuglink} to create a two part executable. One a
2530stripped binary which will occupy less space in RAM and in a
2531distribution and the second a debugging information file which is only
2532needed if debugging abilities are required. The suggested procedure
2533to create these files is as follows:
2534
2535@enumerate
2536@item Link the executable as normal. Assuming that is is called
2537@code{foo} then...
2538@item Run @code{objcopy --only-keep-debug foo foo.dbg} to
2539create a file containing the debugging info.
2540@item Run @code{objcopy --strip-debug foo} to create a
2541stripped executable.
2542@item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.dbg foo}
2543to add a link to the debugging info into the stripped executable.
2544@end enumerate
2545
928a4139 2546Note---the choice of @code{.dbg} as an extension for the debug info
ed1653a7
NC
2547file is arbitrary. Also the @code{--only-keep-debug} step is
2548optional. You could instead do this:
2549
2550@enumerate
2551@item Link the executable as normal.
928a4139 2552@item Copy @code{foo} to @code{foo.full}
ed1653a7
NC
2553@item Run @code{strip --strip-debug foo}
2554@item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.full foo}
2555@end enumerate
2556
928a4139 2557i.e., the file pointed to by the @option{--add-gnu-debuglink} can be the
ed1653a7
NC
2558full executable. It does not have to be a file created by the
2559@option{--only-keep-debug} switch.
2560
928a4139 2561Note---this switch is only intended for use on fully linked files. It
91bb255c
NC
2562does not make sense to use it on object files where the debugging
2563information may be incomplete. Besides the gnu_debuglink feature
2564currently only supports the presence of one filename containing
2565debugging information, not multiple filenames on a one-per-object-file
2566basis.
2567
252b5132
RH
2568@item -V
2569@itemx --version
c7c55b78 2570Show the version number for @command{strip}.
252b5132
RH
2571
2572@item -v
2573@itemx --verbose
2574Verbose output: list all object files modified. In the case of
2575archives, @samp{strip -v} lists all members of the archive.
2576@end table
2577
0285c67d
NC
2578@c man end
2579
2580@ignore
2581@c man begin SEEALSO strip
2582the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2583@c man end
2584@end ignore
2585
9d51cc66 2586@node c++filt, addr2line, strip, Top
252b5132
RH
2587@chapter c++filt
2588
2589@kindex c++filt
2590@cindex demangling C++ symbols
2591
0285c67d
NC
2592@c man title cxxfilt Demangle C++ and Java symbols.
2593
252b5132 2594@smallexample
0285c67d 2595@c man begin SYNOPSIS cxxfilt
c7c55b78 2596c++filt [@option{-_}|@option{--strip-underscores}]
c7c55b78 2597 [@option{-n}|@option{--no-strip-underscores}]
4e48c9dd 2598 [@option{-p}|@option{--no-params}]
ec948987 2599 [@option{-t}|@option{--types}]
cbf1f5df 2600 [@option{-i}|@option{--no-verbose}]
c7c55b78
NC
2601 [@option{-s} @var{format}|@option{--format=}@var{format}]
2602 [@option{--help}] [@option{--version}] [@var{symbol}@dots{}]
0285c67d 2603@c man end
252b5132
RH
2604@end smallexample
2605
0285c67d
NC
2606@c man begin DESCRIPTION cxxfilt
2607
9d51cc66 2608@kindex cxxfilt
ec948987
NC
2609The C++ and Java languages provide function overloading, which means
2610that you can write many functions with the same name, providing that
2611each function takes parameters of different types. In order to be
2612able to distinguish these similarly named functions C++ and Java
2613encode them into a low-level assembler name which uniquely identifies
2614each different version. This process is known as @dfn{mangling}. The
2615@command{c++filt}
c1c0eb9e 2616@footnote{MS-DOS does not allow @kbd{+} characters in file names, so on
195a97ce 2617MS-DOS this program is named @command{CXXFILT}.}
9d51cc66 2618program does the inverse mapping: it decodes (@dfn{demangles}) low-level
ec948987 2619names into user-level names so that they can be read.
252b5132
RH
2620
2621Every alphanumeric word (consisting of letters, digits, underscores,
cbf1f5df
NC
2622dollars, or periods) seen in the input is a potential mangled name.
2623If the name decodes into a C++ name, the C++ name replaces the
ec948987
NC
2624low-level name in the output, otherwise the original word is output.
2625In this way you can pass an entire assembler source file, containing
2626mangled names, through @command{c++filt} and see the same source file
2627containing demangled names.
252b5132 2628
ec948987
NC
2629You can also use @command{c++filt} to decipher individual symbols by
2630passing them on the command line:
252b5132
RH
2631
2632@example
2633c++filt @var{symbol}
2634@end example
2635
c7c55b78 2636If no @var{symbol} arguments are given, @command{c++filt} reads symbol
ec948987
NC
2637names from the standard input instead. All the results are printed on
2638the standard output. The difference between reading names from the
2639command line versus reading names from the standard input is that
2640command line arguments are expected to be just mangled names and no
b45619c0 2641checking is performed to separate them from surrounding text. Thus
ec948987
NC
2642for example:
2643
2644@smallexample
2645c++filt -n _Z1fv
2646@end smallexample
2647
2648will work and demangle the name to ``f()'' whereas:
2649
2650@smallexample
2651c++filt -n _Z1fv,
2652@end smallexample
2653
2654will not work. (Note the extra comma at the end of the mangled
2655name which makes it invalid). This command however will work:
2656
2657@smallexample
2658echo _Z1fv, | c++filt -n
2659@end smallexample
2660
928a4139 2661and will display ``f(),'', i.e., the demangled name followed by a
ec948987
NC
2662trailing comma. This behaviour is because when the names are read
2663from the standard input it is expected that they might be part of an
2664assembler source file where there might be extra, extraneous
928a4139 2665characters trailing after a mangled name. For example:
ec948987
NC
2666
2667@smallexample
2668 .type _Z1fv, @@function
2669@end smallexample
252b5132 2670
0285c67d
NC
2671@c man end
2672
2673@c man begin OPTIONS cxxfilt
2674
c7c55b78 2675@table @env
252b5132
RH
2676@item -_
2677@itemx --strip-underscores
2678On some systems, both the C and C++ compilers put an underscore in front
2679of every name. For example, the C name @code{foo} gets the low-level
2680name @code{_foo}. This option removes the initial underscore. Whether
c7c55b78 2681@command{c++filt} removes the underscore by default is target dependent.
252b5132
RH
2682
2683@item -j
2684@itemx --java
2685Prints demangled names using Java syntax. The default is to use C++
2686syntax.
2687
2688@item -n
2689@itemx --no-strip-underscores
2690Do not remove the initial underscore.
2691
4e48c9dd
ILT
2692@item -p
2693@itemx --no-params
2694When demangling the name of a function, do not display the types of
2695the function's parameters.
2696
cbf1f5df 2697@item -t
ec948987
NC
2698@itemx --types
2699Attempt to demangle types as well as function names. This is disabled
2700by default since mangled types are normally only used internally in
928a4139 2701the compiler, and they can be confused with non-mangled names. For example,
ec948987
NC
2702a function called ``a'' treated as a mangled type name would be
2703demangled to ``signed char''.
cbf1f5df
NC
2704
2705@item -i
2706@itemx --no-verbose
2707Do not include implementation details (if any) in the demangled
2708output.
2709
252b5132
RH
2710@item -s @var{format}
2711@itemx --format=@var{format}
947ed062
NC
2712@command{c++filt} can decode various methods of mangling, used by
2713different compilers. The argument to this option selects which
252b5132
RH
2714method it uses:
2715
2716@table @code
947ed062
NC
2717@item auto
2718Automatic selection based on executable (the default method)
252b5132 2719@item gnu
947ed062 2720the one used by the @sc{gnu} C++ compiler (g++)
252b5132 2721@item lucid
947ed062 2722the one used by the Lucid compiler (lcc)
252b5132
RH
2723@item arm
2724the one specified by the C++ Annotated Reference Manual
2725@item hp
947ed062 2726the one used by the HP compiler (aCC)
252b5132
RH
2727@item edg
2728the one used by the EDG compiler
b5e2a4f3 2729@item gnu-v3
947ed062
NC
2730the one used by the @sc{gnu} C++ compiler (g++) with the V3 ABI.
2731@item java
2732the one used by the @sc{gnu} Java compiler (gcj)
2733@item gnat
2734the one used by the @sc{gnu} Ada compiler (GNAT).
252b5132
RH
2735@end table
2736
2737@item --help
c7c55b78 2738Print a summary of the options to @command{c++filt} and exit.
252b5132
RH
2739
2740@item --version
c7c55b78 2741Print the version number of @command{c++filt} and exit.
252b5132
RH
2742@end table
2743
0285c67d
NC
2744@c man end
2745
2746@ignore
2747@c man begin SEEALSO cxxfilt
2748the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2749@c man end
2750@end ignore
2751
252b5132 2752@quotation
c7c55b78 2753@emph{Warning:} @command{c++filt} is a new utility, and the details of its
252b5132 2754user interface are subject to change in future releases. In particular,
b45619c0 2755a command-line option may be required in the future to decode a name
c1c0eb9e 2756passed as an argument on the command line; in other words,
252b5132
RH
2757
2758@example
2759c++filt @var{symbol}
2760@end example
2761
2762@noindent
2763may in a future release become
2764
2765@example
2766c++filt @var{option} @var{symbol}
2767@end example
2768@end quotation
2769
2770@node addr2line
2771@chapter addr2line
2772
2773@kindex addr2line
2774@cindex address to file name and line number
2775
0285c67d
NC
2776@c man title addr2line convert addresses into file names and line numbers.
2777
252b5132 2778@smallexample
0285c67d 2779@c man begin SYNOPSIS addr2line
c7c55b78 2780addr2line [@option{-b} @var{bfdname}|@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
bf44dd74 2781 [@option{-C}|@option{--demangle}[=@var{style}]]
c7c55b78
NC
2782 [@option{-e} @var{filename}|@option{--exe=}@var{filename}]
2783 [@option{-f}|@option{--functions}] [@option{-s}|@option{--basename}]
0c552dc1 2784 [@option{-i}|@option{--inlines}]
c5f8c388 2785 [@option{-j}|@option{--section=}@var{name}]
c7c55b78
NC
2786 [@option{-H}|@option{--help}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
2787 [addr addr @dots{}]
0285c67d 2788@c man end
252b5132
RH
2789@end smallexample
2790
0285c67d
NC
2791@c man begin DESCRIPTION addr2line
2792
c5f8c388
EB
2793@command{addr2line} translates addresses into file names and line numbers.
2794Given an address in an executable or an offset in a section of a relocatable
2795object, it uses the debugging information to figure out which file name and
2796line number are associated with it.
252b5132 2797
c5f8c388
EB
2798The executable or relocatable object to use is specified with the @option{-e}
2799option. The default is the file @file{a.out}. The section in the relocatable
2800object to use is specified with the @option{-j} option.
252b5132 2801
c7c55b78 2802@command{addr2line} has two modes of operation.
252b5132
RH
2803
2804In the first, hexadecimal addresses are specified on the command line,
c7c55b78 2805and @command{addr2line} displays the file name and line number for each
252b5132
RH
2806address.
2807
c7c55b78 2808In the second, @command{addr2line} reads hexadecimal addresses from
252b5132 2809standard input, and prints the file name and line number for each
c7c55b78 2810address on standard output. In this mode, @command{addr2line} may be used
252b5132
RH
2811in a pipe to convert dynamically chosen addresses.
2812
2813The format of the output is @samp{FILENAME:LINENO}. The file name and
2814line number for each address is printed on a separate line. If the
c7c55b78 2815@command{-f} option is used, then each @samp{FILENAME:LINENO} line is
252b5132
RH
2816preceded by a @samp{FUNCTIONNAME} line which is the name of the function
2817containing the address.
2818
2819If the file name or function name can not be determined,
c7c55b78
NC
2820@command{addr2line} will print two question marks in their place. If the
2821line number can not be determined, @command{addr2line} will print 0.
252b5132 2822
0285c67d
NC
2823@c man end
2824
2825@c man begin OPTIONS addr2line
2826
252b5132
RH
2827The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
2828equivalent.
2829
c7c55b78 2830@table @env
252b5132
RH
2831@item -b @var{bfdname}
2832@itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
2833@cindex object code format
2834Specify that the object-code format for the object files is
2835@var{bfdname}.
2836
2837@item -C
28c309a2 2838@itemx --demangle[=@var{style}]
252b5132
RH
2839@cindex demangling in objdump
2840Decode (@dfn{demangle}) low-level symbol names into user-level names.
2841Besides removing any initial underscore prepended by the system, this
28c309a2 2842makes C++ function names readable. Different compilers have different
c1c0eb9e
RM
2843mangling styles. The optional demangling style argument can be used to
2844choose an appropriate demangling style for your compiler. @xref{c++filt},
28c309a2 2845for more information on demangling.
252b5132
RH
2846
2847@item -e @var{filename}
2848@itemx --exe=@var{filename}
2849Specify the name of the executable for which addresses should be
2850translated. The default file is @file{a.out}.
2851
2852@item -f
2853@itemx --functions
2854Display function names as well as file and line number information.
2855
2856@item -s
2857@itemx --basenames
2858Display only the base of each file name.
0c552dc1
FF
2859
2860@item -i
2861@itemx --inlines
2862If the address belongs to a function that was inlined, the source
2863information for all enclosing scopes back to the first non-inlined
2864function will also be printed. For example, if @code{main} inlines
2865@code{callee1} which inlines @code{callee2}, and address is from
2866@code{callee2}, the source information for @code{callee1} and @code{main}
2867will also be printed.
c5f8c388
EB
2868
2869@item -j
2870@itemx --section
2871Read offsets relative to the specified section instead of absolute addresses.
e107c42f 2872@end table
252b5132 2873
0285c67d
NC
2874@c man end
2875
2876@ignore
2877@c man begin SEEALSO addr2line
2878Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2879@c man end
2880@end ignore
2881
252b5132
RH
2882@node nlmconv
2883@chapter nlmconv
2884
c7c55b78 2885@command{nlmconv} converts a relocatable object file into a NetWare
252b5132
RH
2886Loadable Module.
2887
2888@ignore
c7c55b78 2889@command{nlmconv} currently works with @samp{i386} object
252b5132
RH
2890files in @code{coff}, @sc{elf}, or @code{a.out} format, and @sc{SPARC}
2891object files in @sc{elf}, or @code{a.out} format@footnote{
c7c55b78 2892@command{nlmconv} should work with any @samp{i386} or @sc{sparc} object
252b5132
RH
2893format in the Binary File Descriptor library. It has only been tested
2894with the above formats.}.
2895@end ignore
2896
2897@quotation
c7c55b78 2898@emph{Warning:} @command{nlmconv} is not always built as part of the binary
252b5132
RH
2899utilities, since it is only useful for NLM targets.
2900@end quotation
2901
0285c67d
NC
2902@c man title nlmconv converts object code into an NLM.
2903
252b5132 2904@smallexample
0285c67d 2905@c man begin SYNOPSIS nlmconv
c7c55b78
NC
2906nlmconv [@option{-I} @var{bfdname}|@option{--input-target=}@var{bfdname}]
2907 [@option{-O} @var{bfdname}|@option{--output-target=}@var{bfdname}]
2908 [@option{-T} @var{headerfile}|@option{--header-file=}@var{headerfile}]
2909 [@option{-d}|@option{--debug}] [@option{-l} @var{linker}|@option{--linker=}@var{linker}]
2910 [@option{-h}|@option{--help}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
252b5132 2911 @var{infile} @var{outfile}
0285c67d 2912@c man end
252b5132
RH
2913@end smallexample
2914
0285c67d
NC
2915@c man begin DESCRIPTION nlmconv
2916
c7c55b78 2917@command{nlmconv} converts the relocatable @samp{i386} object file
252b5132
RH
2918@var{infile} into the NetWare Loadable Module @var{outfile}, optionally
2919reading @var{headerfile} for NLM header information. For instructions
2920on writing the NLM command file language used in header files, see the
2921@samp{linkers} section, @samp{NLMLINK} in particular, of the @cite{NLM
2922Development and Tools Overview}, which is part of the NLM Software
2923Developer's Kit (``NLM SDK''), available from Novell, Inc.
c7c55b78 2924@command{nlmconv} uses the @sc{gnu} Binary File Descriptor library to read
0285c67d
NC
2925@var{infile};
2926@ifclear man
2927see @ref{BFD,,BFD,ld.info,Using LD}, for more information.
2928@end ifclear
252b5132 2929
c7c55b78 2930@command{nlmconv} can perform a link step. In other words, you can list
252b5132
RH
2931more than one object file for input if you list them in the definitions
2932file (rather than simply specifying one input file on the command line).
c7c55b78 2933In this case, @command{nlmconv} calls the linker for you.
252b5132 2934
0285c67d
NC
2935@c man end
2936
2937@c man begin OPTIONS nlmconv
2938
c7c55b78 2939@table @env
252b5132
RH
2940@item -I @var{bfdname}
2941@itemx --input-target=@var{bfdname}
c7c55b78 2942Object format of the input file. @command{nlmconv} can usually determine
252b5132
RH
2943the format of a given file (so no default is necessary).
2944@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2945
2946@item -O @var{bfdname}
2947@itemx --output-target=@var{bfdname}
c7c55b78 2948Object format of the output file. @command{nlmconv} infers the output
252b5132
RH
2949format based on the input format, e.g. for a @samp{i386} input file the
2950output format is @samp{nlm32-i386}.
2951@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2952
2953@item -T @var{headerfile}
2954@itemx --header-file=@var{headerfile}
2955Reads @var{headerfile} for NLM header information. For instructions on
2956writing the NLM command file language used in header files, see@ see the
2957@samp{linkers} section, of the @cite{NLM Development and Tools
2958Overview}, which is part of the NLM Software Developer's Kit, available
2959from Novell, Inc.
2960
2961@item -d
2962@itemx --debug
c7c55b78 2963Displays (on standard error) the linker command line used by @command{nlmconv}.
252b5132
RH
2964
2965@item -l @var{linker}
2966@itemx --linker=@var{linker}
2967Use @var{linker} for any linking. @var{linker} can be an absolute or a
2968relative pathname.
2969
2970@item -h
2971@itemx --help
2972Prints a usage summary.
2973
2974@item -V
2975@itemx --version
c7c55b78 2976Prints the version number for @command{nlmconv}.
252b5132
RH
2977@end table
2978
0285c67d
NC
2979@c man end
2980
2981@ignore
2982@c man begin SEEALSO nlmconv
2983the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
692ed3e7
NC
2984@c man end
2985@end ignore
2986
2987@node windmc
2988@chapter windmc
2989
2990@command{windmc} may be used to generator Windows message resources.
2991
2992@quotation
2993@emph{Warning:} @command{windmc} is not always built as part of the binary
2994utilities, since it is only useful for Windows targets.
2995@end quotation
2996
2997@c man title windmc generates Windows message resources.
2998
2999@smallexample
3000@c man begin SYNOPSIS windres
3001windmc [options] input-file
3002@c man end
3003@end smallexample
3004
3005@c man begin DESCRIPTION windmc
3006
3007@command{windmc} reads message definitions from an input file (.mc) and
3008translate them into a set of output files. The output files may be of
3009four kinds:
3010
3011@table @code
3012@item h
3013A C header file containing the message definitions.
3014
3015@item rc
3016A resource file compilable by the @command{windres} tool.
3017
3018@item bin
3019One or more binary files containing the resource data for a specific
3020message language.
3021
3022@item dbg
3023A C include file that maps message id's to their symbolic name.
3024@end table
3025
3026The exact description of these different formats is available in
3027documentation from Microsoft.
3028
3029When @command{windmc} converts from the @code{mc} format to the @code{bin}
3030format, @code{rc}, @code{h}, and optional @code{dbg} it is acting like the
3031Windows Message Compiler.
3032
3033@c man end
3034
3035@c man begin OPTIONS windmc
3036
3037@table @env
3038@item -a
3039@itemx --ascii_in
3040Specifies that the input file specified is ANSI. This is the default
3041behaviour.
3042
3043@item -A
3044@itemx --ascii_out
3045Specifies that messages in the output @code{bin} files should be in ANSI
3046format.
3047
3048@item -b
3049@itemx --binprefix
3050Specifies that @code{bin} filenames should have to be prefixed by the
3051basename of the source file.
3052
3053@item -c
3054@itemx --customflag
3055Sets the customer bit in all message id's.
3056
3057@item -C @var{codepage}
3058@itemx --codepage_in @var{codepage}
3059Sets the default codepage to be used to convert input file to UTF16. The
3060default is ocdepage 1252.
3061
3062@item -d
3063@itemx --decimal_values
3064Outputs the constants in the header file in decimal. Default is using
3065hexadecimal output.
3066
3067@item -e @var{ext}
3068@itemx --extension @var{ext}
3069The extension for the header file. The default is .h extension.
3070
3071@item -F @var{target}
3072@itemx --target @var{target}
3073Specify the BFD format to use for a bin file as output. This
3074is a BFD target name; you can use the @option{--help} option to see a list
3075of supported targets. Normally @command{windmc} will use the default
3076format, which is the first one listed by the @option{--help} option.
3077@ifclear man
3078@ref{Target Selection}.
3079@end ifclear
3080
3081@item -h @var{path}
3082@itemx --headerdir @var{path}
3083The target directory of the generated header file. The default is the
3084current directory.
3085
3086@item -H
3087@itemx --help
3088Displays a list of command line options and then exits.
3089
3090@item -m @var{characters}
3091@itemx --maxlength @var{characters}
3092Instructs @command{windmc} to generate a warning if the length
3093of any message exceeds the number specified.
3094
3095@item -n
3096@itemx --nullterminate
3097Terminate message text in @code{bin} files by zero. By default they are
3098terminated by CR/LF.
3099
3100@item -o
3101@itemx --hresult_use
3102Not yet implemented. Instructs @code{windmc} to generate an OLE2 header
3103file, using HRESULT definitions. Status codes are used if the flag is not
3104specified.
3105
3106@item -O @var{codepage}
3107@itemx --codepage_out @var{codepage}
3108Sets the default codepage to be used to output text files. The default
3109is ocdepage 1252.
3110
3111@item -r @var{path}
3112@itemx --rcdir @var{path}
3113The target directory for the generated @code{rc} script and the generated
3114@code{bin} files that the resource compiler script includes. The default
3115is the current directory.
3116
3117@item -u
3118@itemx --unicode_in
3119Specifies that the input file is UTF16.
3120
3121@item -U
3122@itemx --unicode_out
3123Specifies that messages in the output @code{bin} file should be in UTF16
3124format. This is the default behaviour.
3125
3126@item -v
3127@item --verbose
bd37ed49 3128Enable verbose mode.
692ed3e7
NC
3129
3130@item -V
3131@item --version
bd37ed49 3132Prints the version number for @command{windmc}.
692ed3e7
NC
3133
3134@item -x @var{path}
3135@itemx --xdgb @var{path}
3136The path of the @code{dbg} C include file that maps message id's to the
3137symbolic name. No such file is generated without specifying the switch.
3138@end table
3139
3140@c man end
3141
3142@ignore
3143@c man begin SEEALSO windmc
3144the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
0285c67d
NC
3145@c man end
3146@end ignore
3147
252b5132
RH
3148@node windres
3149@chapter windres
3150
c7c55b78 3151@command{windres} may be used to manipulate Windows resources.
252b5132
RH
3152
3153@quotation
c7c55b78 3154@emph{Warning:} @command{windres} is not always built as part of the binary
252b5132
RH
3155utilities, since it is only useful for Windows targets.
3156@end quotation
3157
0285c67d
NC
3158@c man title windres manipulate Windows resources.
3159
252b5132 3160@smallexample
0285c67d 3161@c man begin SYNOPSIS windres
252b5132 3162windres [options] [input-file] [output-file]
0285c67d 3163@c man end
252b5132
RH
3164@end smallexample
3165
0285c67d
NC
3166@c man begin DESCRIPTION windres
3167
c7c55b78 3168@command{windres} reads resources from an input file and copies them into
252b5132
RH
3169an output file. Either file may be in one of three formats:
3170
3171@table @code
3172@item rc
3173A text format read by the Resource Compiler.
3174
3175@item res
3176A binary format generated by the Resource Compiler.
3177
3178@item coff
3179A COFF object or executable.
3180@end table
3181
3182The exact description of these different formats is available in
3183documentation from Microsoft.
3184
c7c55b78 3185When @command{windres} converts from the @code{rc} format to the @code{res}
252b5132 3186format, it is acting like the Windows Resource Compiler. When
c7c55b78 3187@command{windres} converts from the @code{res} format to the @code{coff}
252b5132
RH
3188format, it is acting like the Windows @code{CVTRES} program.
3189
c7c55b78 3190When @command{windres} generates an @code{rc} file, the output is similar
252b5132
RH
3191but not identical to the format expected for the input. When an input
3192@code{rc} file refers to an external filename, an output @code{rc} file
3193will instead include the file contents.
3194
c7c55b78 3195If the input or output format is not specified, @command{windres} will
252b5132
RH
3196guess based on the file name, or, for the input file, the file contents.
3197A file with an extension of @file{.rc} will be treated as an @code{rc}
3198file, a file with an extension of @file{.res} will be treated as a
3199@code{res} file, and a file with an extension of @file{.o} or
3200@file{.exe} will be treated as a @code{coff} file.
3201
c7c55b78 3202If no output file is specified, @command{windres} will print the resources
252b5132
RH
3203in @code{rc} format to standard output.
3204
c7c55b78 3205The normal use is for you to write an @code{rc} file, use @command{windres}
252b5132
RH
3206to convert it to a COFF object file, and then link the COFF file into
3207your application. This will make the resources described in the
3208@code{rc} file available to Windows.
3209
0285c67d
NC
3210@c man end
3211
3212@c man begin OPTIONS windres
3213
c7c55b78 3214@table @env
252b5132
RH
3215@item -i @var{filename}
3216@itemx --input @var{filename}
3217The name of the input file. If this option is not used, then
c7c55b78
NC
3218@command{windres} will use the first non-option argument as the input file
3219name. If there are no non-option arguments, then @command{windres} will
3220read from standard input. @command{windres} can not read a COFF file from
edbedb71 3221standard input.
252b5132
RH
3222
3223@item -o @var{filename}
3224@itemx --output @var{filename}
3225The name of the output file. If this option is not used, then
c7c55b78 3226@command{windres} will use the first non-option argument, after any used
252b5132 3227for the input file name, as the output file name. If there is no
c7c55b78 3228non-option argument, then @command{windres} will write to standard output.
edbedb71 3229@command{windres} can not write a COFF file to standard output. Note,
b45619c0 3230for compatibility with @command{rc} the option @option{-fo} is also
edbedb71 3231accepted, but its use is not recommended.
252b5132 3232
85eb5110 3233@item -J @var{format}
252b5132
RH
3234@itemx --input-format @var{format}
3235The input format to read. @var{format} may be @samp{res}, @samp{rc}, or
c7c55b78 3236@samp{coff}. If no input format is specified, @command{windres} will
252b5132
RH
3237guess, as described above.
3238
3239@item -O @var{format}
3240@itemx --output-format @var{format}
3241The output format to generate. @var{format} may be @samp{res},
3242@samp{rc}, or @samp{coff}. If no output format is specified,
c7c55b78 3243@command{windres} will guess, as described above.
252b5132
RH
3244
3245@item -F @var{target}
3246@itemx --target @var{target}
3247Specify the BFD format to use for a COFF file as input or output. This
c7c55b78
NC
3248is a BFD target name; you can use the @option{--help} option to see a list
3249of supported targets. Normally @command{windres} will use the default
3250format, which is the first one listed by the @option{--help} option.
3251@ifclear man
252b5132 3252@ref{Target Selection}.
c7c55b78 3253@end ifclear
252b5132
RH
3254
3255@item --preprocessor @var{program}
c7c55b78 3256When @command{windres} reads an @code{rc} file, it runs it through the C
252b5132
RH
3257preprocessor first. This option may be used to specify the preprocessor
3258to use, including any leading arguments. The default preprocessor
3259argument is @code{gcc -E -xc-header -DRC_INVOKED}.
3260
85eb5110
NC
3261@item -I @var{directory}
3262@itemx --include-dir @var{directory}
252b5132 3263Specify an include directory to use when reading an @code{rc} file.
c7c55b78
NC
3264@command{windres} will pass this to the preprocessor as an @option{-I}
3265option. @command{windres} will also search this directory when looking for
85eb5110 3266files named in the @code{rc} file. If the argument passed to this command
c1c0eb9e 3267matches any of the supported @var{formats} (as described in the @option{-J}
85eb5110
NC
3268option), it will issue a deprecation warning, and behave just like the
3269@option{-J} option. New programs should not use this behaviour. If a
3270directory happens to match a @var{format}, simple prefix it with @samp{./}
3271to disable the backward compatibility.
252b5132 3272
751d21b5 3273@item -D @var{target}
ad0481cd 3274@itemx --define @var{sym}[=@var{val}]
c7c55b78 3275Specify a @option{-D} option to pass to the preprocessor when reading an
252b5132
RH
3276@code{rc} file.
3277
29b058f1
NC
3278@item -U @var{target}
3279@itemx --undefine @var{sym}
3280Specify a @option{-U} option to pass to the preprocessor when reading an
3281@code{rc} file.
3282
3126d709
CF
3283@item -r
3284Ignored for compatibility with rc.
3285
751d21b5
DD
3286@item -v
3287Enable verbose mode. This tells you what the preprocessor is if you
3288didn't specify one.
3289
30ff741f
NC
3290@item -c @var{val}
3291@item --codepage @var{val}
3292Specify the default codepage to use when reading an @code{rc} file.
3293@var{val} should be a hexadecimal prefixed by @samp{0x} or decimal
3294codepage code. The valid range is from zero up to 0xffff, but the
3295validity of the codepage is host and configuration dependent.
3296
3077f5d8 3297@item -l @var{val}
252b5132
RH
3298@item --language @var{val}
3299Specify the default language to use when reading an @code{rc} file.
3300@var{val} should be a hexadecimal language code. The low eight bits are
3301the language, and the high eight bits are the sublanguage.
3302
5a298d2d
NC
3303@item --use-temp-file
3304Use a temporary file to instead of using popen to read the output of
c1c0eb9e
RM
3305the preprocessor. Use this option if the popen implementation is buggy
3306on the host (eg., certain non-English language versions of Windows 95 and
5a298d2d
NC
3307Windows 98 are known to have buggy popen where the output will instead
3308go the console).
3309
3310@item --no-use-temp-file
3311Use popen, not a temporary file, to read the output of the preprocessor.
3312This is the default behaviour.
3313
3077f5d8 3314@item -h
252b5132
RH
3315@item --help
3316Prints a usage summary.
3317
3077f5d8 3318@item -V
252b5132 3319@item --version
c7c55b78 3320Prints the version number for @command{windres}.
252b5132
RH
3321
3322@item --yydebug
c7c55b78 3323If @command{windres} is compiled with @code{YYDEBUG} defined as @code{1},
252b5132
RH
3324this will turn on parser debugging.
3325@end table
3326
0285c67d
NC
3327@c man end
3328
3329@ignore
3330@c man begin SEEALSO windres
3331the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
3332@c man end
3333@end ignore
252b5132
RH
3334
3335@node dlltool
2aa9814e 3336@chapter dlltool
252b5132
RH
3337@cindex DLL
3338@kindex dlltool
3339
2aa9814e
BE
3340@command{dlltool} is used to create the files needed to create dynamic
3341link libraries (DLLs) on systems which understand PE format image
3342files such as Windows. A DLL contains an export table which contains
3343information that the runtime loader needs to resolve references from a
3344referencing program.
3345
3346The export table is generated by this program by reading in a
3347@file{.def} file or scanning the @file{.a} and @file{.o} files which
3348will be in the DLL. A @file{.o} file can contain information in
3349special @samp{.drectve} sections with export information.
252b5132
RH
3350
3351@quotation
2aa9814e
BE
3352@emph{Note:} @command{dlltool} is not always built as part of the
3353binary utilities, since it is only useful for those targets which
3354support DLLs.
252b5132
RH
3355@end quotation
3356
0285c67d
NC
3357@c man title dlltool Create files needed to build and use DLLs.
3358
252b5132 3359@smallexample
0285c67d 3360@c man begin SYNOPSIS dlltool
c7c55b78
NC
3361dlltool [@option{-d}|@option{--input-def} @var{def-file-name}]
3362 [@option{-b}|@option{--base-file} @var{base-file-name}]
3363 [@option{-e}|@option{--output-exp} @var{exports-file-name}]
3364 [@option{-z}|@option{--output-def} @var{def-file-name}]
c1c0eb9e 3365 [@option{-l}|@option{--output-lib} @var{library-file-name}]
c7c55b78
NC
3366 [@option{--export-all-symbols}] [@option{--no-export-all-symbols}]
3367 [@option{--exclude-symbols} @var{list}]
3368 [@option{--no-default-excludes}]
3369 [@option{-S}|@option{--as} @var{path-to-assembler}] [@option{-f}|@option{--as-flags} @var{options}]
3370 [@option{-D}|@option{--dllname} @var{name}] [@option{-m}|@option{--machine} @var{machine}]
14288fdc
DS
3371 [@option{-a}|@option{--add-indirect}]
3372 [@option{-U}|@option{--add-underscore}] [@option{--add-stdcall-underscore}]
3373 [@option{-k}|@option{--kill-at}] [@option{-A}|@option{--add-stdcall-alias}]
607dea97 3374 [@option{-p}|@option{--ext-prefix-alias} @var{prefix}]
c7c55b78 3375 [@option{-x}|@option{--no-idata4}] [@option{-c}|@option{--no-idata5}] [@option{-i}|@option{--interwork}]
f9346411 3376 [@option{-n}|@option{--nodelete}] [@option{-t}|@option{--temp-prefix} @var{prefix}]
c1c0eb9e 3377 [@option{-v}|@option{--verbose}]
c7c55b78 3378 [@option{-h}|@option{--help}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
252b5132 3379 [object-file @dots{}]
0285c67d 3380@c man end
252b5132
RH
3381@end smallexample
3382
0285c67d
NC
3383@c man begin DESCRIPTION dlltool
3384
c7c55b78
NC
3385@command{dlltool} reads its inputs, which can come from the @option{-d} and
3386@option{-b} options as well as object files specified on the command
3387line. It then processes these inputs and if the @option{-e} option has
3388been specified it creates a exports file. If the @option{-l} option
3389has been specified it creates a library file and if the @option{-z} option
c1c0eb9e
RM
3390has been specified it creates a def file. Any or all of the @option{-e},
3391@option{-l} and @option{-z} options can be present in one invocation of
c7c55b78 3392dlltool.
252b5132
RH
3393
3394When creating a DLL, along with the source for the DLL, it is necessary
c7c55b78 3395to have three other files. @command{dlltool} can help with the creation of
252b5132
RH
3396these files.
3397
2aa9814e 3398The first file is a @file{.def} file which specifies which functions are
252b5132 3399exported from the DLL, which functions the DLL imports, and so on. This
c7c55b78
NC
3400is a text file and can be created by hand, or @command{dlltool} can be used
3401to create it using the @option{-z} option. In this case @command{dlltool}
252b5132
RH
3402will scan the object files specified on its command line looking for
3403those functions which have been specially marked as being exported and
2aa9814e 3404put entries for them in the @file{.def} file it creates.
252b5132
RH
3405
3406In order to mark a function as being exported from a DLL, it needs to
c7c55b78 3407have an @option{-export:<name_of_function>} entry in the @samp{.drectve}
252b5132
RH
3408section of the object file. This can be done in C by using the
3409asm() operator:
3410
3411@smallexample
c1c0eb9e 3412 asm (".section .drectve");
252b5132
RH
3413 asm (".ascii \"-export:my_func\"");
3414
3415 int my_func (void) @{ @dots{} @}
3416@end smallexample
3417
3418The second file needed for DLL creation is an exports file. This file
3419is linked with the object files that make up the body of the DLL and it
3420handles the interface between the DLL and the outside world. This is a
c7c55b78 3421binary file and it can be created by giving the @option{-e} option to
c1c0eb9e 3422@command{dlltool} when it is creating or reading in a @file{.def} file.
252b5132
RH
3423
3424The third file needed for DLL creation is the library file that programs
3425will link with in order to access the functions in the DLL. This file
c7c55b78 3426can be created by giving the @option{-l} option to dlltool when it
2aa9814e 3427is creating or reading in a @file{.def} file.
252b5132 3428
c7c55b78 3429@command{dlltool} builds the library file by hand, but it builds the
252b5132 3430exports file by creating temporary files containing assembler statements
c7c55b78 3431and then assembling these. The @option{-S} command line option can be
252b5132 3432used to specify the path to the assembler that dlltool will use,
c7c55b78
NC
3433and the @option{-f} option can be used to pass specific flags to that
3434assembler. The @option{-n} can be used to prevent dlltool from deleting
3435these temporary assembler files when it is done, and if @option{-n} is
252b5132
RH
3436specified twice then this will prevent dlltool from deleting the
3437temporary object files it used to build the library.
3438
3439Here is an example of creating a DLL from a source file @samp{dll.c} and
3440also creating a program (from an object file called @samp{program.o})
3441that uses that DLL:
3442
3443@smallexample
3444 gcc -c dll.c
3445 dlltool -e exports.o -l dll.lib dll.o
3446 gcc dll.o exports.o -o dll.dll
3447 gcc program.o dll.lib -o program
3448@end smallexample
3449
0285c67d
NC
3450@c man end
3451
3452@c man begin OPTIONS dlltool
3453
252b5132
RH
3454The command line options have the following meanings:
3455
c7c55b78 3456@table @env
252b5132
RH
3457
3458@item -d @var{filename}
3459@itemx --input-def @var{filename}
3460@cindex input .def file
2aa9814e 3461Specifies the name of a @file{.def} file to be read in and processed.
252b5132
RH
3462
3463@item -b @var{filename}
3464@itemx --base-file @var{filename}
3465@cindex base files
3466Specifies the name of a base file to be read in and processed. The
3467contents of this file will be added to the relocation section in the
3468exports file generated by dlltool.
3469
3470@item -e @var{filename}
3471@itemx --output-exp @var{filename}
3472Specifies the name of the export file to be created by dlltool.
3473
3474@item -z @var{filename}
3475@itemx --output-def @var{filename}
2aa9814e 3476Specifies the name of the @file{.def} file to be created by dlltool.
252b5132
RH
3477
3478@item -l @var{filename}
3479@itemx --output-lib @var{filename}
3480Specifies the name of the library file to be created by dlltool.
3481
3482@item --export-all-symbols
3483Treat all global and weak defined symbols found in the input object
3484files as symbols to be exported. There is a small list of symbols which
c7c55b78 3485are not exported by default; see the @option{--no-default-excludes}
252b5132 3486option. You may add to the list of symbols to not export by using the
c7c55b78 3487@option{--exclude-symbols} option.
252b5132
RH
3488
3489@item --no-export-all-symbols
2aa9814e 3490Only export symbols explicitly listed in an input @file{.def} file or in
252b5132
RH
3491@samp{.drectve} sections in the input object files. This is the default
3492behaviour. The @samp{.drectve} sections are created by @samp{dllexport}
3493attributes in the source code.
3494
3495@item --exclude-symbols @var{list}
3496Do not export the symbols in @var{list}. This is a list of symbol names
3497separated by comma or colon characters. The symbol names should not
3498contain a leading underscore. This is only meaningful when
c7c55b78 3499@option{--export-all-symbols} is used.
252b5132
RH
3500
3501@item --no-default-excludes
c7c55b78 3502When @option{--export-all-symbols} is used, it will by default avoid
252b5132
RH
3503exporting certain special symbols. The current list of symbols to avoid
3504exporting is @samp{DllMain@@12}, @samp{DllEntryPoint@@0},
c7c55b78 3505@samp{impure_ptr}. You may use the @option{--no-default-excludes} option
252b5132 3506to go ahead and export these special symbols. This is only meaningful
c7c55b78 3507when @option{--export-all-symbols} is used.
252b5132
RH
3508
3509@item -S @var{path}
3510@itemx --as @var{path}
3511Specifies the path, including the filename, of the assembler to be used
3512to create the exports file.
3513
6364e0b4
NC
3514@item -f @var{options}
3515@itemx --as-flags @var{options}
3516Specifies any specific command line options to be passed to the
252b5132 3517assembler when building the exports file. This option will work even if
c7c55b78 3518the @option{-S} option is not used. This option only takes one argument,
252b5132
RH
3519and if it occurs more than once on the command line, then later
3520occurrences will override earlier occurrences. So if it is necessary to
6364e0b4 3521pass multiple options to the assembler they should be enclosed in
252b5132
RH
3522double quotes.
3523
3524@item -D @var{name}
3525@itemx --dll-name @var{name}
2aa9814e
BE
3526Specifies the name to be stored in the @file{.def} file as the name of
3527the DLL when the @option{-e} option is used. If this option is not
3528present, then the filename given to the @option{-e} option will be
3529used as the name of the DLL.
252b5132
RH
3530
3531@item -m @var{machine}
3532@itemx -machine @var{machine}
3533Specifies the type of machine for which the library file should be
c7c55b78 3534built. @command{dlltool} has a built in default type, depending upon how
252b5132
RH
3535it was created, but this option can be used to override that. This is
3536normally only useful when creating DLLs for an ARM processor, when the
c36774d6 3537contents of the DLL are actually encode using Thumb instructions.
252b5132
RH
3538
3539@item -a
3540@itemx --add-indirect
c7c55b78 3541Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
252b5132
RH
3542should add a section which allows the exported functions to be
3543referenced without using the import library. Whatever the hell that
c1c0eb9e 3544means!
252b5132
RH
3545
3546@item -U
3547@itemx --add-underscore
c7c55b78 3548Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
c1c0eb9e 3549should prepend an underscore to the names of @emph{all} exported symbols.
14288fdc
DS
3550
3551@item --add-stdcall-underscore
3552Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
3553should prepend an underscore to the names of exported @emph{stdcall}
3554functions. Variable names and non-stdcall function names are not modified.
3555This option is useful when creating GNU-compatible import libs for third
3556party DLLs that were built with MS-Windows tools.
252b5132
RH
3557
3558@item -k
3559@itemx --kill-at
c7c55b78 3560Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
d67a454c
NC
3561should not append the string @samp{@@ <number>}. These numbers are
3562called ordinal numbers and they represent another way of accessing the
3563function in a DLL, other than by name.
252b5132
RH
3564
3565@item -A
3566@itemx --add-stdcall-alias
c7c55b78 3567Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
252b5132
RH
3568should add aliases for stdcall symbols without @samp{@@ <number>}
3569in addition to the symbols with @samp{@@ <number>}.
3570
607dea97
NC
3571@item -p
3572@itemx --ext-prefix-alias @var{prefix}
3573Causes @command{dlltool} to create external aliases for all DLL
3574imports with the specified prefix. The aliases are created for both
3575external and import symbols with no leading underscore.
3576
252b5132
RH
3577@item -x
3578@itemx --no-idata4
c7c55b78
NC
3579Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports and library
3580files it should omit the @code{.idata4} section. This is for compatibility
252b5132
RH
3581with certain operating systems.
3582
3583@item -c
3584@itemx --no-idata5
c7c55b78
NC
3585Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports and library
3586files it should omit the @code{.idata5} section. This is for compatibility
252b5132
RH
3587with certain operating systems.
3588
3589@item -i
3590@itemx --interwork
c7c55b78 3591Specifies that @command{dlltool} should mark the objects in the library
252b5132 3592file and exports file that it produces as supporting interworking
c36774d6 3593between ARM and Thumb code.
252b5132
RH
3594
3595@item -n
3596@itemx --nodelete
c7c55b78 3597Makes @command{dlltool} preserve the temporary assembler files it used to
252b5132
RH
3598create the exports file. If this option is repeated then dlltool will
3599also preserve the temporary object files it uses to create the library
f9346411
DS
3600file.
3601
3602@item -t @var{prefix}
3603@itemx --temp-prefix @var{prefix}
3604Makes @command{dlltool} use @var{prefix} when constructing the names of
3605temporary assembler and object files. By default, the temp file prefix
c1c0eb9e 3606is generated from the pid.
252b5132
RH
3607
3608@item -v
3609@itemx --verbose
3610Make dlltool describe what it is doing.
3611
3612@item -h
3613@itemx --help
3614Displays a list of command line options and then exits.
3615
3616@item -V
3617@itemx --version
3618Displays dlltool's version number and then exits.
3619
3620@end table
3621
0285c67d
NC
3622@c man end
3623
2aa9814e
BE
3624@menu
3625* def file format:: The format of the dlltool @file{.def} file
3626@end menu
3627
3628@node def file format
3629@section The format of the @command{dlltool} @file{.def} file
3630
3631A @file{.def} file contains any number of the following commands:
3632
3633@table @asis
3634
3635@item @code{NAME} @var{name} @code{[ ,} @var{base} @code{]}
3636The result is going to be named @var{name}@code{.exe}.
3637
3638@item @code{LIBRARY} @var{name} @code{[ ,} @var{base} @code{]}
3639The result is going to be named @var{name}@code{.dll}.
3640
3641@item @code{EXPORTS ( ( (} @var{name1} @code{[ = } @var{name2} @code{] ) | ( } @var{name1} @code{=} @var{module-name} @code{.} @var{external-name} @code{) )}
3642@item @code{[} @var{integer} @code{] [ NONAME ] [ CONSTANT ] [ DATA ] [ PRIVATE ] ) *}
3643Declares @var{name1} as an exported symbol from the DLL, with optional
3644ordinal number @var{integer}, or declares @var{name1} as an alias
3645(forward) of the function @var{external-name} in the DLL
3646@var{module-name}.
3647
3648@item @code{IMPORTS ( (} @var{internal-name} @code{=} @var{module-name} @code{.} @var{integer} @code{) | [} @var{internal-name} @code{= ]} @var{module-name} @code{.} @var{external-name} @code{) ) *}
3649Declares that @var{external-name} or the exported function whose
3650ordinal number is @var{integer} is to be imported from the file
3651@var{module-name}. If @var{internal-name} is specified then this is
3652the name that the imported function will be referred to in the body of
3653the DLL.
3654
3655@item @code{DESCRIPTION} @var{string}
3656Puts @var{string} into the output @file{.exp} file in the
3657@code{.rdata} section.
3658
3659@item @code{STACKSIZE} @var{number-reserve} @code{[, } @var{number-commit} @code{]}
3660@item @code{HEAPSIZE} @var{number-reserve} @code{[, } @var{number-commit} @code{]}
3661Generates @code{--stack} or @code{--heap}
3662@var{number-reserve},@var{number-commit} in the output @code{.drectve}
3663section. The linker will see this and act upon it.
3664
3665@item @code{CODE} @var{attr} @code{+}
3666@item @code{DATA} @var{attr} @code{+}
3667@item @code{SECTIONS (} @var{section-name} @var{attr}@code{ + ) *}
3668Generates @code{--attr} @var{section-name} @var{attr} in the output
3669@code{.drectve} section, where @var{attr} is one of @code{READ},
3670@code{WRITE}, @code{EXECUTE} or @code{SHARED}. The linker will see
3671this and act upon it.
3672
3673@end table
3674
0285c67d
NC
3675@ignore
3676@c man begin SEEALSO dlltool
2aa9814e 3677The Info pages for @file{binutils}.
0285c67d
NC
3678@c man end
3679@end ignore
3680
252b5132
RH
3681@node readelf
3682@chapter readelf
3683
3684@cindex ELF file information
3685@kindex readelf
3686
0285c67d
NC
3687@c man title readelf Displays information about ELF files.
3688
252b5132 3689@smallexample
0285c67d 3690@c man begin SYNOPSIS readelf
c1c0eb9e 3691readelf [@option{-a}|@option{--all}]
c7c55b78
NC
3692 [@option{-h}|@option{--file-header}]
3693 [@option{-l}|@option{--program-headers}|@option{--segments}]
3694 [@option{-S}|@option{--section-headers}|@option{--sections}]
81fc812e 3695 [@option{-g}|@option{--section-groups}]
5477e8a0 3696 [@option{-t}|@option{--section-details}]
c7c55b78
NC
3697 [@option{-e}|@option{--headers}]
3698 [@option{-s}|@option{--syms}|@option{--symbols}]
3699 [@option{-n}|@option{--notes}]
3700 [@option{-r}|@option{--relocs}]
3701 [@option{-u}|@option{--unwind}]
3702 [@option{-d}|@option{--dynamic}]
3703 [@option{-V}|@option{--version-info}]
947ed062 3704 [@option{-A}|@option{--arch-specific}]
c7c55b78 3705 [@option{-D}|@option{--use-dynamic}]
aef1f6d0 3706 [@option{-x} <number or name>|@option{--hex-dump=}<number or name>]
09c11c86 3707 [@option{-p} <number or name>|@option{--string-dump=}<number or name>]
4145f1d5 3708 [@option{-c}|@option{--archive-index}]
a262ae96
NC
3709 [@option{-w[lLiaprmfFsoR]}|
3710 @option{--debug-dump}[=rawline,=decodedline,=info,=abbrev,=pubnames,=aranges,=macro,=frames,=frames-interp,=str,=loc,=Ranges]]
947ed062 3711 [@option{-I}|@option{-histogram}]
c7c55b78 3712 [@option{-v}|@option{--version}]
d974e256 3713 [@option{-W}|@option{--wide}]
c7c55b78 3714 [@option{-H}|@option{--help}]
252b5132 3715 @var{elffile}@dots{}
0285c67d 3716@c man end
252b5132
RH
3717@end smallexample
3718
0285c67d
NC
3719@c man begin DESCRIPTION readelf
3720
c7c55b78 3721@command{readelf} displays information about one or more ELF format object
252b5132
RH
3722files. The options control what particular information to display.
3723
fb52b2f4
NC
3724@var{elffile}@dots{} are the object files to be examined. 32-bit and
372564-bit ELF files are supported, as are archives containing ELF files.
252b5132 3726
9eb20dd8
NC
3727This program performs a similar function to @command{objdump} but it
3728goes into more detail and it exists independently of the @sc{bfd}
3729library, so if there is a bug in @sc{bfd} then readelf will not be
3730affected.
3731
0285c67d
NC
3732@c man end
3733
3734@c man begin OPTIONS readelf
3735
252b5132
RH
3736The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
3737equivalent. At least one option besides @samp{-v} or @samp{-H} must be
c1c0eb9e 3738given.
252b5132 3739
c7c55b78 3740@table @env
252b5132
RH
3741@item -a
3742@itemx --all
d95ef3ab 3743Equivalent to specifying @option{--file-header},
c7c55b78
NC
3744@option{--program-headers}, @option{--sections}, @option{--symbols},
3745@option{--relocs}, @option{--dynamic}, @option{--notes} and
c1c0eb9e 3746@option{--version-info}.
252b5132
RH
3747
3748@item -h
3749@itemx --file-header
3750@cindex ELF file header information
3751Displays the information contained in the ELF header at the start of the
3752file.
3753
3754@item -l
3755@itemx --program-headers
3756@itemx --segments
3757@cindex ELF program header information
3758@cindex ELF segment information
3759Displays the information contained in the file's segment headers, if it
3760has any.
3761
3762@item -S
3763@itemx --sections
3764@itemx --section-headers
3765@cindex ELF section information
3766Displays the information contained in the file's section headers, if it
3767has any.
3768
81fc812e
L
3769@item -g
3770@itemx --section-groups
3771@cindex ELF section group information
3772Displays the information contained in the file's section groups, if it
3773has any.
3774
5477e8a0
L
3775@item -t
3776@itemx --section-details
3777@cindex ELF section information
3778Displays the detailed section information. Implies @option{-S}.
81fc812e 3779
252b5132
RH
3780@item -s
3781@itemx --symbols
3782@itemx --syms
3783@cindex ELF symbol table information
3784Displays the entries in symbol table section of the file, if it has one.
3785
3786@item -e
3787@itemx --headers
c7c55b78 3788Display all the headers in the file. Equivalent to @option{-h -l -S}.
252b5132 3789
779fe533
NC
3790@item -n
3791@itemx --notes
1ec5cd37
NC
3792@cindex ELF notes
3793Displays the contents of the NOTE segments and/or sections, if any.
779fe533 3794
252b5132
RH
3795@item -r
3796@itemx --relocs
3797@cindex ELF reloc information
f5e21966
NC
3798Displays the contents of the file's relocation section, if it has one.
3799
3800@item -u
3801@itemx --unwind
3802@cindex unwind information
3803Displays the contents of the file's unwind section, if it has one. Only
3804the unwind sections for IA64 ELF files are currently supported.
252b5132
RH
3805
3806@item -d
3807@itemx --dynamic
3808@cindex ELF dynamic section information
3809Displays the contents of the file's dynamic section, if it has one.
3810
3811@item -V
3812@itemx --version-info
3813@cindex ELF version sections informations
3814Displays the contents of the version sections in the file, it they
3815exist.
3816
947ed062
NC
3817@item -A
3818@itemx --arch-specific
3819Displays architecture-specific information in the file, if there
3820is any.
3821
252b5132
RH
3822@item -D
3823@itemx --use-dynamic
c7c55b78 3824When displaying symbols, this option makes @command{readelf} use the
6dbb55b6 3825symbol table in the file's dynamic section, rather than the one in the
252b5132
RH
3826symbols section.
3827
aef1f6d0
DJ
3828@item -x <number or name>
3829@itemx --hex-dump=<number or name>
252b5132 3830Displays the contents of the indicated section as a hexadecimal dump.
aef1f6d0
DJ
3831A number identifies a particular section by index in the section table;
3832any other string identifies all sections with that name in the object file.
252b5132 3833
09c11c86
NC
3834@item -p <number or name>
3835@itemx --string-dump=<number or name>
3836Displays the contents of the indicated section as printable strings.
3837A number identifies a particular section by index in the section table;
3838any other string identifies all sections with that name in the object file.
3839
4145f1d5
NC
3840@item -c
3841@itemx --archive-index
3842@cindex Archive file symbol index information
3843Displays the file symbol index infomation contained in the header part
3844of binary archives. Performs the same function as the @option{t}
3845command to @command{ar}, but without using the BFD library. @xref{ar}.
3846
a262ae96
NC
3847@item -w[lLiaprmfFsoR]
3848@itemx --debug-dump[=rawline,=decodedline,=info,=abbrev,=pubnames,=aranges,=macro,=frames,=frames-interp,=str,=loc,=Ranges]
252b5132
RH
3849Displays the contents of the debug sections in the file, if any are
3850present. If one of the optional letters or words follows the switch
3851then only data found in those specific sections will be dumped.
3852
a262ae96
NC
3853Note: the @option{=decodedline} option will display the interpreted
3854contents of a .debug_line section whereas the @option{=rawline} option
3855dumps the contents in a raw format.
3856
947ed062
NC
3857@item -I
3858@itemx --histogram
252b5132
RH
3859Display a histogram of bucket list lengths when displaying the contents
3860of the symbol tables.
3861
3862@item -v
3863@itemx --version
3864Display the version number of readelf.
3865
d974e256
JJ
3866@item -W
3867@itemx --wide
3868Don't break output lines to fit into 80 columns. By default
3869@command{readelf} breaks section header and segment listing lines for
387064-bit ELF files, so that they fit into 80 columns. This option causes
3871@command{readelf} to print each section header resp. each segment one a
3872single line, which is far more readable on terminals wider than 80 columns.
3873
252b5132
RH
3874@item -H
3875@itemx --help
c7c55b78 3876Display the command line options understood by @command{readelf}.
252b5132
RH
3877
3878@end table
3879
0285c67d
NC
3880@c man end
3881
3882@ignore
3883@c man begin SEEALSO readelf
3884objdump(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
3885@c man end
3886@end ignore
252b5132 3887
07012eee
MM
3888@node Common Options
3889@chapter Common Options
3890
3891The following command-line options are supported by all of the
3892programs described in this manual.
3893
dff70155 3894@c man begin OPTIONS
07012eee 3895@table @env
38fc1cb1 3896@include at-file.texi
dff70155 3897@c man end
07012eee
MM
3898
3899@item --help
3900Display the command-line options supported by the program.
3901
3902@item --version
3903Display the version number of the program.
3904
dff70155 3905@c man begin OPTIONS
07012eee 3906@end table
dff70155 3907@c man end
07012eee 3908
fff279a7 3909@node Selecting the Target System
947ed062 3910@chapter Selecting the Target System
252b5132 3911
947ed062 3912You can specify two aspects of the target system to the @sc{gnu}
252b5132
RH
3913binary file utilities, each in several ways:
3914
3915@itemize @bullet
3916@item
3917the target
3918
3919@item
3920the architecture
252b5132
RH
3921@end itemize
3922
3923In the following summaries, the lists of ways to specify values are in
3924order of decreasing precedence. The ways listed first override those
3925listed later.
3926
3927The commands to list valid values only list the values for which the
3928programs you are running were configured. If they were configured with
c7c55b78 3929@option{--enable-targets=all}, the commands list most of the available
252b5132
RH
3930values, but a few are left out; not all targets can be configured in at
3931once because some of them can only be configured @dfn{native} (on hosts
3932with the same type as the target system).
3933
3934@menu
c1c0eb9e
RM
3935* Target Selection::
3936* Architecture Selection::
252b5132
RH
3937@end menu
3938
3939@node Target Selection
3940@section Target Selection
3941
3942A @dfn{target} is an object file format. A given target may be
3943supported for multiple architectures (@pxref{Architecture Selection}).
3944A target selection may also have variations for different operating
3945systems or architectures.
3946
3947The command to list valid target values is @samp{objdump -i}
3948(the first column of output contains the relevant information).
3949
3950Some sample values are: @samp{a.out-hp300bsd}, @samp{ecoff-littlemips},
3951@samp{a.out-sunos-big}.
3952
3953You can also specify a target using a configuration triplet. This is
f20a759a
ILT
3954the same sort of name that is passed to @file{configure} to specify a
3955target. When you use a configuration triplet as an argument, it must be
3956fully canonicalized. You can see the canonical version of a triplet by
252b5132
RH
3957running the shell script @file{config.sub} which is included with the
3958sources.
3959
3960Some sample configuration triplets are: @samp{m68k-hp-bsd},
3961@samp{mips-dec-ultrix}, @samp{sparc-sun-sunos}.
3962
c7c55b78 3963@subheading @command{objdump} Target
252b5132
RH
3964
3965Ways to specify:
3966
3967@enumerate
3968@item
c7c55b78 3969command line option: @option{-b} or @option{--target}
252b5132
RH
3970
3971@item
3972environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
3973
3974@item
3975deduced from the input file
3976@end enumerate
3977
c7c55b78 3978@subheading @command{objcopy} and @command{strip} Input Target
252b5132
RH
3979
3980Ways to specify:
3981
3982@enumerate
3983@item
c7c55b78 3984command line options: @option{-I} or @option{--input-target}, or @option{-F} or @option{--target}
252b5132
RH
3985
3986@item
3987environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
3988
3989@item
3990deduced from the input file
3991@end enumerate
3992
c7c55b78 3993@subheading @command{objcopy} and @command{strip} Output Target
252b5132
RH
3994
3995Ways to specify:
3996
3997@enumerate
3998@item
c7c55b78 3999command line options: @option{-O} or @option{--output-target}, or @option{-F} or @option{--target}
252b5132
RH
4000
4001@item
c7c55b78 4002the input target (see ``@command{objcopy} and @command{strip} Input Target'' above)
252b5132
RH
4003
4004@item
4005environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
4006
4007@item
4008deduced from the input file
4009@end enumerate
4010
c7c55b78 4011@subheading @command{nm}, @command{size}, and @command{strings} Target
252b5132
RH
4012
4013Ways to specify:
4014
4015@enumerate
4016@item
c7c55b78 4017command line option: @option{--target}
252b5132
RH
4018
4019@item
4020environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
4021
4022@item
4023deduced from the input file
4024@end enumerate
4025
252b5132 4026@node Architecture Selection
947ed062 4027@section Architecture Selection
252b5132
RH
4028
4029An @dfn{architecture} is a type of @sc{cpu} on which an object file is
4030to run. Its name may contain a colon, separating the name of the
4031processor family from the name of the particular @sc{cpu}.
4032
4033The command to list valid architecture values is @samp{objdump -i} (the
4034second column contains the relevant information).
4035
4036Sample values: @samp{m68k:68020}, @samp{mips:3000}, @samp{sparc}.
4037
c7c55b78 4038@subheading @command{objdump} Architecture
252b5132
RH
4039
4040Ways to specify:
4041
4042@enumerate
4043@item
c7c55b78 4044command line option: @option{-m} or @option{--architecture}
252b5132
RH
4045
4046@item
4047deduced from the input file
4048@end enumerate
4049
c7c55b78 4050@subheading @command{objcopy}, @command{nm}, @command{size}, @command{strings} Architecture
252b5132
RH
4051
4052Ways to specify:
4053
4054@enumerate
4055@item
4056deduced from the input file
4057@end enumerate
4058
252b5132
RH
4059@node Reporting Bugs
4060@chapter Reporting Bugs
4061@cindex bugs
4062@cindex reporting bugs
4063
4064Your bug reports play an essential role in making the binary utilities
4065reliable.
4066
4067Reporting a bug may help you by bringing a solution to your problem, or
4068it may not. But in any case the principal function of a bug report is
4069to help the entire community by making the next version of the binary
4070utilities work better. Bug reports are your contribution to their
4071maintenance.
4072
4073In order for a bug report to serve its purpose, you must include the
4074information that enables us to fix the bug.
4075
4076@menu
4077* Bug Criteria:: Have you found a bug?
4078* Bug Reporting:: How to report bugs
4079@end menu
4080
4081@node Bug Criteria
947ed062 4082@section Have You Found a Bug?
252b5132
RH
4083@cindex bug criteria
4084
4085If you are not sure whether you have found a bug, here are some guidelines:
4086
4087@itemize @bullet
4088@cindex fatal signal
4089@cindex crash
4090@item
4091If a binary utility gets a fatal signal, for any input whatever, that is
4092a bug. Reliable utilities never crash.
4093
4094@cindex error on valid input
4095@item
4096If a binary utility produces an error message for valid input, that is a
4097bug.
4098
4099@item
4100If you are an experienced user of binary utilities, your suggestions for
4101improvement are welcome in any case.
4102@end itemize
4103
4104@node Bug Reporting
947ed062 4105@section How to Report Bugs
252b5132
RH
4106@cindex bug reports
4107@cindex bugs, reporting
4108
4109A number of companies and individuals offer support for @sc{gnu}
4110products. If you obtained the binary utilities from a support
4111organization, we recommend you contact that organization first.
4112
4113You can find contact information for many support companies and
4114individuals in the file @file{etc/SERVICE} in the @sc{gnu} Emacs
4115distribution.
4116
ad22bfe8 4117@ifset BUGURL
252b5132 4118In any event, we also recommend that you send bug reports for the binary
ad22bfe8
JM
4119utilities to @value{BUGURL}.
4120@end ifset
252b5132
RH
4121
4122The fundamental principle of reporting bugs usefully is this:
4123@strong{report all the facts}. If you are not sure whether to state a
4124fact or leave it out, state it!
4125
4126Often people omit facts because they think they know what causes the
4127problem and assume that some details do not matter. Thus, you might
4128assume that the name of a file you use in an example does not matter.
4129Well, probably it does not, but one cannot be sure. Perhaps the bug is
4130a stray memory reference which happens to fetch from the location where
4131that pathname is stored in memory; perhaps, if the pathname were
4132different, the contents of that location would fool the utility into
4133doing the right thing despite the bug. Play it safe and give a
4134specific, complete example. That is the easiest thing for you to do,
4135and the most helpful.
4136
4137Keep in mind that the purpose of a bug report is to enable us to fix the bug if
4138it is new to us. Therefore, always write your bug reports on the assumption
4139that the bug has not been reported previously.
4140
4141Sometimes people give a few sketchy facts and ask, ``Does this ring a
947ed062
NC
4142bell?'' This cannot help us fix a bug, so it is basically useless. We
4143respond by asking for enough details to enable us to investigate.
4144You might as well expedite matters by sending them to begin with.
252b5132
RH
4145
4146To enable us to fix the bug, you should include all these things:
4147
4148@itemize @bullet
4149@item
4150The version of the utility. Each utility announces it if you start it
c7c55b78 4151with the @option{--version} argument.
252b5132
RH
4152
4153Without this, we will not know whether there is any point in looking for
4154the bug in the current version of the binary utilities.
4155
4156@item
4157Any patches you may have applied to the source, including any patches
4158made to the @code{BFD} library.
4159
4160@item
4161The type of machine you are using, and the operating system name and
4162version number.
4163
4164@item
4165What compiler (and its version) was used to compile the utilities---e.g.
4166``@code{gcc-2.7}''.
4167
4168@item
4169The command arguments you gave the utility to observe the bug. To
4170guarantee you will not omit something important, list them all. A copy
4171of the Makefile (or the output from make) is sufficient.
4172
4173If we were to try to guess the arguments, we would probably guess wrong
4174and then we might not encounter the bug.
4175
4176@item
4177A complete input file, or set of input files, that will reproduce the
4178bug. If the utility is reading an object file or files, then it is
ad22bfe8 4179generally most helpful to send the actual object files.
252b5132
RH
4180
4181If the source files were produced exclusively using @sc{gnu} programs
c7c55b78 4182(e.g., @command{gcc}, @command{gas}, and/or the @sc{gnu} @command{ld}), then it
252b5132 4183may be OK to send the source files rather than the object files. In
c7c55b78 4184this case, be sure to say exactly what version of @command{gcc}, or
252b5132 4185whatever, was used to produce the object files. Also say how
c7c55b78 4186@command{gcc}, or whatever, was configured.
252b5132
RH
4187
4188@item
4189A description of what behavior you observe that you believe is
4190incorrect. For example, ``It gets a fatal signal.''
4191
4192Of course, if the bug is that the utility gets a fatal signal, then we
4193will certainly notice it. But if the bug is incorrect output, we might
4194not notice unless it is glaringly wrong. You might as well not give us
4195a chance to make a mistake.
4196
4197Even if the problem you experience is a fatal signal, you should still
f20a759a 4198say so explicitly. Suppose something strange is going on, such as your
b45619c0 4199copy of the utility is out of sync, or you have encountered a bug in
252b5132
RH
4200the C library on your system. (This has happened!) Your copy might
4201crash and ours would not. If you told us to expect a crash, then when
4202ours fails to crash, we would know that the bug was not happening for
4203us. If you had not told us to expect a crash, then we would not be able
4204to draw any conclusion from our observations.
4205
4206@item
4207If you wish to suggest changes to the source, send us context diffs, as
c7c55b78 4208generated by @command{diff} with the @option{-u}, @option{-c}, or @option{-p}
252b5132 4209option. Always send diffs from the old file to the new file. If you
c7c55b78 4210wish to discuss something in the @command{ld} source, refer to it by
f20a759a 4211context, not by line number.
252b5132
RH
4212
4213The line numbers in our development sources will not match those in your
4214sources. Your line numbers would convey no useful information to us.
4215@end itemize
4216
4217Here are some things that are not necessary:
4218
4219@itemize @bullet
4220@item
4221A description of the envelope of the bug.
4222
4223Often people who encounter a bug spend a lot of time investigating
4224which changes to the input file will make the bug go away and which
4225changes will not affect it.
4226
4227This is often time consuming and not very useful, because the way we
4228will find the bug is by running a single example under the debugger
4229with breakpoints, not by pure deduction from a series of examples.
4230We recommend that you save your time for something else.
4231
4232Of course, if you can find a simpler example to report @emph{instead}
4233of the original one, that is a convenience for us. Errors in the
4234output will be easier to spot, running under the debugger will take
4235less time, and so on.
4236
4237However, simplification is not vital; if you do not want to do this,
4238report the bug anyway and send us the entire test case you used.
4239
4240@item
4241A patch for the bug.
4242
4243A patch for the bug does help us if it is a good one. But do not omit
4244the necessary information, such as the test case, on the assumption that
4245a patch is all we need. We might see problems with your patch and decide
4246to fix the problem another way, or we might not understand it at all.
4247
4248Sometimes with programs as complicated as the binary utilities it is
4249very hard to construct an example that will make the program follow a
4250certain path through the code. If you do not send us the example, we
4251will not be able to construct one, so we will not be able to verify that
4252the bug is fixed.
4253
4254And if we cannot understand what bug you are trying to fix, or why your
4255patch should be an improvement, we will not install it. A test case will
4256help us to understand.
4257
4258@item
4259A guess about what the bug is or what it depends on.
4260
4261Such guesses are usually wrong. Even we cannot guess right about such
4262things without first using the debugger to find the facts.
4263@end itemize
4264
fff279a7
NC
4265@node GNU Free Documentation License
4266@appendix GNU Free Documentation License
4267
947ed062 4268@include fdl.texi
cf055d54 4269
fa0d8a3e
NC
4270@node Binutils Index
4271@unnumbered Binutils Index
252b5132
RH
4272
4273@printindex cp
4274
252b5132 4275@bye
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