* dwarf2read.c (dwarf2_build_psymtabs_hard): Move lowpc and highpc
[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,
71c57c16 142000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
252b5132 15
0285c67d 16Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
793c5807 17under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3
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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
cf055d54 135This document is distributed under the terms of the GNU Free
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136Documentation License version 1.3. A copy of the license is included
137in the section 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}
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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.
252b5132
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
a1039809
NC
732@item i
733The symbol is in a section specific to the implementation of DLLs.
734
252b5132
RH
735@item N
736The symbol is a debugging symbol.
737
a1039809
NC
738@item p
739The symbols is in a stack unwind section.
740
252b5132 741@item R
a1039809 742@itemx r
252b5132
RH
743The symbol is in a read only data section.
744
745@item S
a1039809 746@itemx s
252b5132
RH
747The symbol is in an uninitialized data section for small objects.
748
749@item T
a1039809 750@itemx t
252b5132
RH
751The symbol is in the text (code) section.
752
753@item U
754The symbol is undefined.
755
fad6fcbb 756@item V
a1039809 757@itemx v
fad6fcbb
NC
758The symbol is a weak object. When a weak defined symbol is linked with
759a normal defined symbol, the normal defined symbol is used with no error.
760When a weak undefined symbol is linked and the symbol is not defined,
a1039809
NC
761the value of the weak symbol becomes zero with no error. On some
762systems, uppercase indicates that a default value has been specified.
fad6fcbb 763
252b5132 764@item W
a1039809 765@itemx w
fad6fcbb
NC
766The symbol is a weak symbol that has not been specifically tagged as a
767weak object symbol. When a weak defined symbol is linked with a normal
768defined symbol, the normal defined symbol is used with no error.
769When a weak undefined symbol is linked and the symbol is not defined,
c87db184 770the value of the symbol is determined in a system-specific manner without
c1c0eb9e 771error. On some systems, uppercase indicates that a default value has been
977cdf5a
NC
772specified.
773
252b5132
RH
774@item -
775The symbol is a stabs symbol in an a.out object file. In this case, the
776next values printed are the stabs other field, the stabs desc field, and
c7c55b78
NC
777the stab type. Stabs symbols are used to hold debugging information.
778@ifclear man
779For more information, see @ref{Top,Stabs,Stabs Overview,stabs.info, The
252b5132 780``stabs'' debug format}.
c7c55b78 781@end ifclear
252b5132
RH
782
783@item ?
784The symbol type is unknown, or object file format specific.
785@end table
786
787@item
788The symbol name.
789@end itemize
790
0285c67d
NC
791@c man end
792
793@c man begin OPTIONS nm
252b5132
RH
794The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
795equivalent.
796
c7c55b78 797@table @env
252b5132
RH
798@item -A
799@itemx -o
c1c0eb9e 800@itemx --print-file-name
252b5132
RH
801@cindex input file name
802@cindex file name
803@cindex source file name
f20a759a 804Precede each symbol by the name of the input file (or archive member)
252b5132
RH
805in which it was found, rather than identifying the input file once only,
806before all of its symbols.
807
808@item -a
c1c0eb9e 809@itemx --debug-syms
252b5132
RH
810@cindex debugging symbols
811Display all symbols, even debugger-only symbols; normally these are not
812listed.
813
814@item -B
c7c55b78
NC
815@cindex @command{nm} format
816@cindex @command{nm} compatibility
817The same as @option{--format=bsd} (for compatibility with the MIPS @command{nm}).
252b5132
RH
818
819@item -C
28c309a2 820@itemx --demangle[=@var{style}]
252b5132
RH
821@cindex demangling in nm
822Decode (@dfn{demangle}) low-level symbol names into user-level names.
823Besides removing any initial underscore prepended by the system, this
28c309a2 824makes C++ function names readable. Different compilers have different
c1c0eb9e
RM
825mangling styles. The optional demangling style argument can be used to
826choose an appropriate demangling style for your compiler. @xref{c++filt},
28c309a2 827for more information on demangling.
252b5132
RH
828
829@item --no-demangle
830Do not demangle low-level symbol names. This is the default.
831
832@item -D
833@itemx --dynamic
834@cindex dynamic symbols
835Display the dynamic symbols rather than the normal symbols. This is
836only meaningful for dynamic objects, such as certain types of shared
837libraries.
838
839@item -f @var{format}
840@itemx --format=@var{format}
c7c55b78
NC
841@cindex @command{nm} format
842@cindex @command{nm} compatibility
252b5132
RH
843Use the output format @var{format}, which can be @code{bsd},
844@code{sysv}, or @code{posix}. The default is @code{bsd}.
845Only the first character of @var{format} is significant; it can be
846either upper or lower case.
847
848@item -g
c1c0eb9e 849@itemx --extern-only
252b5132
RH
850@cindex external symbols
851Display only external symbols.
852
853@item -l
854@itemx --line-numbers
855@cindex symbol line numbers
856For each symbol, use debugging information to try to find a filename and
857line number. For a defined symbol, look for the line number of the
858address of the symbol. For an undefined symbol, look for the line
859number of a relocation entry which refers to the symbol. If line number
860information can be found, print it after the other symbol information.
861
862@item -n
863@itemx -v
c1c0eb9e 864@itemx --numeric-sort
252b5132 865Sort symbols numerically by their addresses, rather than alphabetically
c1c0eb9e 866by their names.
252b5132
RH
867
868@item -p
c1c0eb9e 869@itemx --no-sort
252b5132
RH
870@cindex sorting symbols
871Do not bother to sort the symbols in any order; print them in the order
872encountered.
873
874@item -P
875@itemx --portability
876Use the POSIX.2 standard output format instead of the default format.
877Equivalent to @samp{-f posix}.
878
72797995
L
879@item -S
880@itemx --print-size
06a30c77 881Print size, not the value, of defined symbols for the @code{bsd} output format.
72797995 882
252b5132
RH
883@item -s
884@itemx --print-armap
885@cindex symbol index, listing
886When listing symbols from archive members, include the index: a mapping
c7c55b78 887(stored in the archive by @command{ar} or @command{ranlib}) of which modules
252b5132
RH
888contain definitions for which names.
889
890@item -r
c1c0eb9e 891@itemx --reverse-sort
252b5132
RH
892Reverse the order of the sort (whether numeric or alphabetic); let the
893last come first.
894
895@item --size-sort
896Sort symbols by size. The size is computed as the difference between
897the value of the symbol and the value of the symbol with the next higher
c1c0eb9e
RM
898value. If the @code{bsd} output format is used the size of the symbol
899is printed, rather than the value, and @samp{-S} must be used in order
76ed1927 900both size and value to be printed.
252b5132 901
3c9458e9
NC
902@item --special-syms
903Display symbols which have a target-specific special meaning. These
904symbols are usually used by the target for some special processing and
905are not normally helpful when included included in the normal symbol
906lists. For example for ARM targets this option would skip the mapping
b45619c0 907symbols used to mark transitions between ARM code, THUMB code and
3c9458e9
NC
908data.
909
252b5132
RH
910@item -t @var{radix}
911@itemx --radix=@var{radix}
912Use @var{radix} as the radix for printing the symbol values. It must be
913@samp{d} for decimal, @samp{o} for octal, or @samp{x} for hexadecimal.
914
915@item --target=@var{bfdname}
916@cindex object code format
917Specify an object code format other than your system's default format.
918@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
919
920@item -u
c1c0eb9e 921@itemx --undefined-only
252b5132
RH
922@cindex external symbols
923@cindex undefined symbols
924Display only undefined symbols (those external to each object file).
925
926@item --defined-only
927@cindex external symbols
928@cindex undefined symbols
929Display only defined symbols for each object file.
930
931@item -V
932@itemx --version
c7c55b78 933Show the version number of @command{nm} and exit.
252b5132 934
6e800839
GK
935@item -X
936This option is ignored for compatibility with the AIX version of
c7c55b78
NC
937@command{nm}. It takes one parameter which must be the string
938@option{32_64}. The default mode of AIX @command{nm} corresponds
939to @option{-X 32}, which is not supported by @sc{gnu} @command{nm}.
6e800839 940
252b5132 941@item --help
c7c55b78 942Show a summary of the options to @command{nm} and exit.
252b5132
RH
943@end table
944
0285c67d
NC
945@c man end
946
947@ignore
948@c man begin SEEALSO nm
949ar(1), objdump(1), ranlib(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
950@c man end
951@end ignore
952
252b5132
RH
953@node objcopy
954@chapter objcopy
955
0285c67d
NC
956@c man title objcopy copy and translate object files
957
252b5132 958@smallexample
0285c67d 959@c man begin SYNOPSIS objcopy
c7c55b78
NC
960objcopy [@option{-F} @var{bfdname}|@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
961 [@option{-I} @var{bfdname}|@option{--input-target=}@var{bfdname}]
962 [@option{-O} @var{bfdname}|@option{--output-target=}@var{bfdname}]
963 [@option{-B} @var{bfdarch}|@option{--binary-architecture=}@var{bfdarch}]
2593f09a
NC
964 [@option{-S}|@option{--strip-all}]
965 [@option{-g}|@option{--strip-debug}]
c7c55b78
NC
966 [@option{-K} @var{symbolname}|@option{--keep-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
967 [@option{-N} @var{symbolname}|@option{--strip-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
bcf32829 968 [@option{--strip-unneeded-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
c7c55b78 969 [@option{-G} @var{symbolname}|@option{--keep-global-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
d58c2e3a 970 [@option{--localize-hidden}]
c7c55b78 971 [@option{-L} @var{symbolname}|@option{--localize-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
7b4a0685 972 [@option{--globalize-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
c7c55b78 973 [@option{-W} @var{symbolname}|@option{--weaken-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
5fe11841 974 [@option{-w}|@option{--wildcard}]
2593f09a
NC
975 [@option{-x}|@option{--discard-all}]
976 [@option{-X}|@option{--discard-locals}]
c7c55b78
NC
977 [@option{-b} @var{byte}|@option{--byte=}@var{byte}]
978 [@option{-i} @var{interleave}|@option{--interleave=}@var{interleave}]
979 [@option{-j} @var{sectionname}|@option{--only-section=}@var{sectionname}]
980 [@option{-R} @var{sectionname}|@option{--remove-section=}@var{sectionname}]
981 [@option{-p}|@option{--preserve-dates}]
982 [@option{--debugging}]
2593f09a
NC
983 [@option{--gap-fill=}@var{val}]
984 [@option{--pad-to=}@var{address}]
985 [@option{--set-start=}@var{val}]
986 [@option{--adjust-start=}@var{incr}]
c7c55b78
NC
987 [@option{--change-addresses=}@var{incr}]
988 [@option{--change-section-address} @var{section}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}]
989 [@option{--change-section-lma} @var{section}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}]
990 [@option{--change-section-vma} @var{section}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}]
991 [@option{--change-warnings}] [@option{--no-change-warnings}]
992 [@option{--set-section-flags} @var{section}=@var{flags}]
993 [@option{--add-section} @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}]
994 [@option{--rename-section} @var{oldname}=@var{newname}[,@var{flags}]]
2593f09a 995 [@option{--change-leading-char}] [@option{--remove-leading-char}]
9e48b4c6 996 [@option{--reverse-bytes=}@var{num}]
2593f09a
NC
997 [@option{--srec-len=}@var{ival}] [@option{--srec-forceS3}]
998 [@option{--redefine-sym} @var{old}=@var{new}]
999 [@option{--redefine-syms=}@var{filename}]
c7c55b78
NC
1000 [@option{--weaken}]
1001 [@option{--keep-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1002 [@option{--strip-symbols=}@var{filename}]
bcf32829 1003 [@option{--strip-unneeded-symbols=}@var{filename}]
c7c55b78
NC
1004 [@option{--keep-global-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1005 [@option{--localize-symbols=}@var{filename}]
7b4a0685 1006 [@option{--globalize-symbols=}@var{filename}]
c7c55b78 1007 [@option{--weaken-symbols=}@var{filename}]
c51238bc
DA
1008 [@option{--alt-machine-code=}@var{index}]
1009 [@option{--prefix-symbols=}@var{string}]
1010 [@option{--prefix-sections=}@var{string}]
1011 [@option{--prefix-alloc-sections=}@var{string}]
ed1653a7 1012 [@option{--add-gnu-debuglink=}@var{path-to-file}]
1637cd90 1013 [@option{--keep-file-symbols}]
ed1653a7 1014 [@option{--only-keep-debug}]
d3e52d40 1015 [@option{--extract-symbol}]
4087920c
MR
1016 [@option{--writable-text}]
1017 [@option{--readonly-text}]
1018 [@option{--pure}]
1019 [@option{--impure}]
c7c55b78 1020 [@option{-v}|@option{--verbose}]
c1c0eb9e 1021 [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
7c29036b 1022 [@option{--help}] [@option{--info}]
252b5132 1023 @var{infile} [@var{outfile}]
0285c67d 1024@c man end
252b5132
RH
1025@end smallexample
1026
0285c67d 1027@c man begin DESCRIPTION objcopy
c7c55b78
NC
1028The @sc{gnu} @command{objcopy} utility copies the contents of an object
1029file to another. @command{objcopy} uses the @sc{gnu} @sc{bfd} Library to
252b5132
RH
1030read and write the object files. It can write the destination object
1031file in a format different from that of the source object file. The
c7c55b78
NC
1032exact behavior of @command{objcopy} is controlled by command-line options.
1033Note that @command{objcopy} should be able to copy a fully linked file
ccd13d18
L
1034between any two formats. However, copying a relocatable object file
1035between any two formats may not work as expected.
252b5132 1036
c7c55b78
NC
1037@command{objcopy} creates temporary files to do its translations and
1038deletes them afterward. @command{objcopy} uses @sc{bfd} to do all its
252b5132
RH
1039translation work; it has access to all the formats described in @sc{bfd}
1040and thus is able to recognize most formats without being told
1041explicitly. @xref{BFD,,BFD,ld.info,Using LD}.
1042
c7c55b78 1043@command{objcopy} can be used to generate S-records by using an output
252b5132
RH
1044target of @samp{srec} (e.g., use @samp{-O srec}).
1045
c7c55b78
NC
1046@command{objcopy} can be used to generate a raw binary file by using an
1047output target of @samp{binary} (e.g., use @option{-O binary}). When
1048@command{objcopy} generates a raw binary file, it will essentially produce
252b5132
RH
1049a memory dump of the contents of the input object file. All symbols and
1050relocation information will be discarded. The memory dump will start at
1051the load address of the lowest section copied into the output file.
1052
1053When generating an S-record or a raw binary file, it may be helpful to
c7c55b78
NC
1054use @option{-S} to remove sections containing debugging information. In
1055some cases @option{-R} will be useful to remove sections which contain
f20a759a 1056information that is not needed by the binary file.
252b5132 1057
947ed062
NC
1058Note---@command{objcopy} is not able to change the endianness of its input
1059files. If the input format has an endianness (some formats do not),
c7c55b78 1060@command{objcopy} can only copy the inputs into file formats that have the
947ed062 1061same endianness or which have no endianness (e.g., @samp{srec}).
9e48b4c6 1062(However, see the @option{--reverse-bytes} option.)
18356cf2 1063
0285c67d
NC
1064@c man end
1065
1066@c man begin OPTIONS objcopy
1067
c7c55b78 1068@table @env
252b5132
RH
1069@item @var{infile}
1070@itemx @var{outfile}
f20a759a 1071The input and output files, respectively.
c7c55b78 1072If you do not specify @var{outfile}, @command{objcopy} creates a
252b5132
RH
1073temporary file and destructively renames the result with
1074the name of @var{infile}.
1075
c7c55b78 1076@item -I @var{bfdname}
252b5132
RH
1077@itemx --input-target=@var{bfdname}
1078Consider the source file's object format to be @var{bfdname}, rather than
1079attempting to deduce it. @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1080
1081@item -O @var{bfdname}
1082@itemx --output-target=@var{bfdname}
1083Write the output file using the object format @var{bfdname}.
1084@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1085
1086@item -F @var{bfdname}
1087@itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
1088Use @var{bfdname} as the object format for both the input and the output
1089file; i.e., simply transfer data from source to destination with no
1090translation. @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1091
43a0748c
NC
1092@item -B @var{bfdarch}
1093@itemx --binary-architecture=@var{bfdarch}
1094Useful when transforming a raw binary input file into an object file.
1095In this case the output architecture can be set to @var{bfdarch}. This
1096option will be ignored if the input file has a known @var{bfdarch}. You
1097can access this binary data inside a program by referencing the special
1098symbols that are created by the conversion process. These symbols are
1099called _binary_@var{objfile}_start, _binary_@var{objfile}_end and
1100_binary_@var{objfile}_size. e.g. you can transform a picture file into
c1c0eb9e 1101an object file and then access it in your code using these symbols.
43a0748c 1102
f91ea849
ILT
1103@item -j @var{sectionname}
1104@itemx --only-section=@var{sectionname}
1105Copy only the named section from the input file to the output file.
1106This option may be given more than once. Note that using this option
1107inappropriately may make the output file unusable.
1108
252b5132
RH
1109@item -R @var{sectionname}
1110@itemx --remove-section=@var{sectionname}
1111Remove any section named @var{sectionname} from the output file. This
1112option may be given more than once. Note that using this option
1113inappropriately may make the output file unusable.
1114
1115@item -S
1116@itemx --strip-all
1117Do not copy relocation and symbol information from the source file.
1118
1119@item -g
1120@itemx --strip-debug
2593f09a 1121Do not copy debugging symbols or sections from the source file.
252b5132
RH
1122
1123@item --strip-unneeded
1124Strip all symbols that are not needed for relocation processing.
1125
1126@item -K @var{symbolname}
1127@itemx --keep-symbol=@var{symbolname}
e7f918ad
NC
1128When stripping symbols, keep symbol @var{symbolname} even if it would
1129normally be stripped. This option may be given more than once.
252b5132
RH
1130
1131@item -N @var{symbolname}
1132@itemx --strip-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1133Do not copy symbol @var{symbolname} from the source file. This option
1134may be given more than once.
1135
bcf32829
JB
1136@item --strip-unneeded-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1137Do not copy symbol @var{symbolname} from the source file unless it is needed
1138by a relocation. This option may be given more than once.
1139
16b2b71c
NC
1140@item -G @var{symbolname}
1141@itemx --keep-global-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1142Keep only symbol @var{symbolname} global. Make all other symbols local
1143to the file, so that they are not visible externally. This option may
1144be given more than once.
1145
d58c2e3a
RS
1146@item --localize-hidden
1147In an ELF object, mark all symbols that have hidden or internal visibility
1148as local. This option applies on top of symbol-specific localization options
1149such as @option{-L}.
1150
252b5132
RH
1151@item -L @var{symbolname}
1152@itemx --localize-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1153Make symbol @var{symbolname} local to the file, so that it is not
1154visible externally. This option may be given more than once.
1155
1156@item -W @var{symbolname}
1157@itemx --weaken-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1158Make symbol @var{symbolname} weak. This option may be given more than once.
1159
7b4a0685
NC
1160@item --globalize-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1161Give symbol @var{symbolname} global scoping so that it is visible
1162outside of the file in which it is defined. This option may be given
1163more than once.
1164
5fe11841
NC
1165@item -w
1166@itemx --wildcard
1167Permit regular expressions in @var{symbolname}s used in other command
1168line options. The question mark (?), asterisk (*), backslash (\) and
1169square brackets ([]) operators can be used anywhere in the symbol
1170name. If the first character of the symbol name is the exclamation
1171point (!) then the sense of the switch is reversed for that symbol.
1172For example:
1173
1174@smallexample
1175 -w -W !foo -W fo*
1176@end smallexample
1177
1178would cause objcopy to weaken all symbols that start with ``fo''
1179except for the symbol ``foo''.
1180
252b5132
RH
1181@item -x
1182@itemx --discard-all
1183Do not copy non-global symbols from the source file.
1184@c FIXME any reason to prefer "non-global" to "local" here?
1185
1186@item -X
1187@itemx --discard-locals
1188Do not copy compiler-generated local symbols.
1189(These usually start with @samp{L} or @samp{.}.)
1190
1191@item -b @var{byte}
1192@itemx --byte=@var{byte}
1193Keep only every @var{byte}th byte of the input file (header data is not
1194affected). @var{byte} can be in the range from 0 to @var{interleave}-1,
c7c55b78 1195where @var{interleave} is given by the @option{-i} or @option{--interleave}
252b5132
RH
1196option, or the default of 4. This option is useful for creating files
1197to program @sc{rom}. It is typically used with an @code{srec} output
1198target.
1199
1200@item -i @var{interleave}
1201@itemx --interleave=@var{interleave}
1202Only copy one out of every @var{interleave} bytes. Select which byte to
c7c55b78
NC
1203copy with the @option{-b} or @option{--byte} option. The default is 4.
1204@command{objcopy} ignores this option if you do not specify either @option{-b} or
1205@option{--byte}.
252b5132
RH
1206
1207@item -p
1208@itemx --preserve-dates
1209Set the access and modification dates of the output file to be the same
1210as those of the input file.
1211
1212@item --debugging
1213Convert debugging information, if possible. This is not the default
1214because only certain debugging formats are supported, and the
1215conversion process can be time consuming.
1216
1217@item --gap-fill @var{val}
1218Fill gaps between sections with @var{val}. This operation applies to
1219the @emph{load address} (LMA) of the sections. It is done by increasing
1220the size of the section with the lower address, and filling in the extra
1221space created with @var{val}.
1222
1223@item --pad-to @var{address}
1224Pad the output file up to the load address @var{address}. This is
1225done by increasing the size of the last section. The extra space is
c7c55b78 1226filled in with the value specified by @option{--gap-fill} (default zero).
252b5132
RH
1227
1228@item --set-start @var{val}
f20a759a 1229Set the start address of the new file to @var{val}. Not all object file
252b5132
RH
1230formats support setting the start address.
1231
1232@item --change-start @var{incr}
1233@itemx --adjust-start @var{incr}
1234@cindex changing start address
1235Change the start address by adding @var{incr}. Not all object file
1236formats support setting the start address.
1237
1238@item --change-addresses @var{incr}
1239@itemx --adjust-vma @var{incr}
1240@cindex changing object addresses
1241Change the VMA and LMA addresses of all sections, as well as the start
1242address, by adding @var{incr}. Some object file formats do not permit
1243section addresses to be changed arbitrarily. Note that this does not
1244relocate the sections; if the program expects sections to be loaded at a
1245certain address, and this option is used to change the sections such
c1c0eb9e 1246that they are loaded at a different address, the program may fail.
252b5132
RH
1247
1248@item --change-section-address @var{section}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1249@itemx --adjust-section-vma @var{section}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1250@cindex changing section address
1251Set or change both the VMA address and the LMA address of the named
1252@var{section}. If @samp{=} is used, the section address is set to
1253@var{val}. Otherwise, @var{val} is added to or subtracted from the
c7c55b78 1254section address. See the comments under @option{--change-addresses},
252b5132 1255above. If @var{section} does not exist in the input file, a warning will
c7c55b78 1256be issued, unless @option{--no-change-warnings} is used.
252b5132
RH
1257
1258@item --change-section-lma @var{section}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1259@cindex changing section LMA
1260Set or change the LMA address of the named @var{section}. The LMA
1261address is the address where the section will be loaded into memory at
1262program load time. Normally this is the same as the VMA address, which
1263is the address of the section at program run time, but on some systems,
1264especially those where a program is held in ROM, the two can be
1265different. If @samp{=} is used, the section address is set to
1266@var{val}. Otherwise, @var{val} is added to or subtracted from the
c7c55b78 1267section address. See the comments under @option{--change-addresses},
252b5132 1268above. If @var{section} does not exist in the input file, a warning
c1c0eb9e 1269will be issued, unless @option{--no-change-warnings} is used.
252b5132
RH
1270
1271@item --change-section-vma @var{section}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1272@cindex changing section VMA
1273Set or change the VMA address of the named @var{section}. The VMA
1274address is the address where the section will be located once the
1275program has started executing. Normally this is the same as the LMA
1276address, which is the address where the section will be loaded into
1277memory, but on some systems, especially those where a program is held in
1278ROM, the two can be different. If @samp{=} is used, the section address
1279is set to @var{val}. Otherwise, @var{val} is added to or subtracted
1280from the section address. See the comments under
c7c55b78 1281@option{--change-addresses}, above. If @var{section} does not exist in
252b5132 1282the input file, a warning will be issued, unless
c1c0eb9e 1283@option{--no-change-warnings} is used.
252b5132
RH
1284
1285@item --change-warnings
1286@itemx --adjust-warnings
c7c55b78
NC
1287If @option{--change-section-address} or @option{--change-section-lma} or
1288@option{--change-section-vma} is used, and the named section does not
c1c0eb9e 1289exist, issue a warning. This is the default.
252b5132
RH
1290
1291@item --no-change-warnings
1292@itemx --no-adjust-warnings
c7c55b78
NC
1293Do not issue a warning if @option{--change-section-address} or
1294@option{--adjust-section-lma} or @option{--adjust-section-vma} is used, even
c1c0eb9e 1295if the named section does not exist.
252b5132
RH
1296
1297@item --set-section-flags @var{section}=@var{flags}
1298Set the flags for the named section. The @var{flags} argument is a
1299comma separated string of flag names. The recognized names are
3994e2c6
ILT
1300@samp{alloc}, @samp{contents}, @samp{load}, @samp{noload},
1301@samp{readonly}, @samp{code}, @samp{data}, @samp{rom}, @samp{share}, and
1302@samp{debug}. You can set the @samp{contents} flag for a section which
1303does not have contents, but it is not meaningful to clear the
1304@samp{contents} flag of a section which does have contents--just remove
1305the section instead. Not all flags are meaningful for all object file
1306formats.
252b5132
RH
1307
1308@item --add-section @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}
1309Add a new section named @var{sectionname} while copying the file. The
1310contents of the new section are taken from the file @var{filename}. The
1311size of the section will be the size of the file. This option only
1312works on file formats which can support sections with arbitrary names.
1313
594ef5db
NC
1314@item --rename-section @var{oldname}=@var{newname}[,@var{flags}]
1315Rename a section from @var{oldname} to @var{newname}, optionally
1316changing the section's flags to @var{flags} in the process. This has
1317the advantage over usng a linker script to perform the rename in that
1318the output stays as an object file and does not become a linked
1319executable.
1320
1321This option is particularly helpful when the input format is binary,
1322since this will always create a section called .data. If for example,
1323you wanted instead to create a section called .rodata containing binary
1324data you could use the following command line to achieve it:
1325
1326@smallexample
1327 objcopy -I binary -O <output_format> -B <architecture> \
1328 --rename-section .data=.rodata,alloc,load,readonly,data,contents \
1329 <input_binary_file> <output_object_file>
1330@end smallexample
1331
252b5132
RH
1332@item --change-leading-char
1333Some object file formats use special characters at the start of
1334symbols. The most common such character is underscore, which compilers
c7c55b78 1335often add before every symbol. This option tells @command{objcopy} to
252b5132
RH
1336change the leading character of every symbol when it converts between
1337object file formats. If the object file formats use the same leading
1338character, this option has no effect. Otherwise, it will add a
1339character, or remove a character, or change a character, as
1340appropriate.
1341
1342@item --remove-leading-char
1343If the first character of a global symbol is a special symbol leading
1344character used by the object file format, remove the character. The
1345most common symbol leading character is underscore. This option will
1346remove a leading underscore from all global symbols. This can be useful
1347if you want to link together objects of different file formats with
1348different conventions for symbol names. This is different from
c7c55b78 1349@option{--change-leading-char} because it always changes the symbol name
252b5132
RH
1350when appropriate, regardless of the object file format of the output
1351file.
1352
9e48b4c6
NC
1353@item --reverse-bytes=@var{num}
1354Reverse the bytes in a section with output contents. A section length must
1355be evenly divisible by the value given in order for the swap to be able to
1356take place. Reversing takes place before the interleaving is performed.
1357
1358This option is used typically in generating ROM images for problematic
1359target systems. For example, on some target boards, the 32-bit words
1360fetched from 8-bit ROMs are re-assembled in little-endian byte order
1361regardless of the CPU byte order. Depending on the programming model, the
1362endianness of the ROM may need to be modified.
1363
1364Consider a simple file with a section containing the following eight
1365bytes: @code{12345678}.
1366
1367Using @samp{--reverse-bytes=2} for the above example, the bytes in the
1368output file would be ordered @code{21436587}.
1369
1370Using @samp{--reverse-bytes=4} for the above example, the bytes in the
1371output file would be ordered @code{43218765}.
1372
1373By using @samp{--reverse-bytes=2} for the above example, followed by
1374@samp{--reverse-bytes=4} on the output file, the bytes in the second
1375output file would be ordered @code{34127856}.
1376
420496c1
NC
1377@item --srec-len=@var{ival}
1378Meaningful only for srec output. Set the maximum length of the Srecords
1379being produced to @var{ival}. This length covers both address, data and
1380crc fields.
1381
1382@item --srec-forceS3
c1c0eb9e 1383Meaningful only for srec output. Avoid generation of S1/S2 records,
420496c1
NC
1384creating S3-only record format.
1385
57938635
AM
1386@item --redefine-sym @var{old}=@var{new}
1387Change the name of a symbol @var{old}, to @var{new}. This can be useful
1388when one is trying link two things together for which you have no
1389source, and there are name collisions.
1390
92991082
JT
1391@item --redefine-syms=@var{filename}
1392Apply @option{--redefine-sym} to each symbol pair "@var{old} @var{new}"
1393listed in the file @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file,
1394with one symbol pair per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash
1395character. This option may be given more than once.
1396
252b5132
RH
1397@item --weaken
1398Change all global symbols in the file to be weak. This can be useful
1399when building an object which will be linked against other objects using
c7c55b78 1400the @option{-R} option to the linker. This option is only effective when
252b5132
RH
1401using an object file format which supports weak symbols.
1402
16b2b71c 1403@item --keep-symbols=@var{filename}
c7c55b78 1404Apply @option{--keep-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
16b2b71c
NC
1405@var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1406name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1407This option may be given more than once.
1408
1409@item --strip-symbols=@var{filename}
c7c55b78 1410Apply @option{--strip-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
16b2b71c
NC
1411@var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1412name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1413This option may be given more than once.
1414
bcf32829
JB
1415@item --strip-unneeded-symbols=@var{filename}
1416Apply @option{--strip-unneeded-symbol} option to each symbol listed in
1417the file @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one
1418symbol name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash
1419character. This option may be given more than once.
1420
16b2b71c 1421@item --keep-global-symbols=@var{filename}
c7c55b78 1422Apply @option{--keep-global-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the
16b2b71c
NC
1423file @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one
1424symbol name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash
1425character. This option may be given more than once.
1426
1427@item --localize-symbols=@var{filename}
c7c55b78 1428Apply @option{--localize-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
16b2b71c
NC
1429@var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1430name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1431This option may be given more than once.
1432
7b4a0685
NC
1433@item --globalize-symbols=@var{filename}
1434Apply @option{--globalize-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
1435@var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1436name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1437This option may be given more than once.
1438
16b2b71c 1439@item --weaken-symbols=@var{filename}
c7c55b78 1440Apply @option{--weaken-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
16b2b71c
NC
1441@var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1442name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1443This option may be given more than once.
1444
1ae8b3d2
AO
1445@item --alt-machine-code=@var{index}
1446If the output architecture has alternate machine codes, use the
1447@var{index}th code instead of the default one. This is useful in case
c1c0eb9e 1448a machine is assigned an official code and the tool-chain adopts the
1ae8b3d2 1449new code, but other applications still depend on the original code
f9d4ad2a
NC
1450being used. For ELF based architectures if the @var{index}
1451alternative does not exist then the value is treated as an absolute
1452number to be stored in the e_machine field of the ELF header.
1ae8b3d2 1453
4087920c
MR
1454@item --writable-text
1455Mark the output text as writable. This option isn't meaningful for all
1456object file formats.
1457
1458@item --readonly-text
1459Make the output text write protected. This option isn't meaningful for all
1460object file formats.
1461
1462@item --pure
1463Mark the output file as demand paged. This option isn't meaningful for all
1464object file formats.
1465
1466@item --impure
1467Mark the output file as impure. This option isn't meaningful for all
1468object file formats.
1469
d7fb0dd2
NC
1470@item --prefix-symbols=@var{string}
1471Prefix all symbols in the output file with @var{string}.
1472
1473@item --prefix-sections=@var{string}
1474Prefix all section names in the output file with @var{string}.
1475
1476@item --prefix-alloc-sections=@var{string}
1477Prefix all the names of all allocated sections in the output file with
1478@var{string}.
1479
ed1653a7
NC
1480@item --add-gnu-debuglink=@var{path-to-file}
1481Creates a .gnu_debuglink section which contains a reference to @var{path-to-file}
1482and adds it to the output file.
1483
1637cd90
JB
1484@item --keep-file-symbols
1485When stripping a file, perhaps with @option{--strip-debug} or
1486@option{--strip-unneeded}, retain any symbols specifying source file names,
1487which would otherwise get stripped.
1488
ed1653a7 1489@item --only-keep-debug
36d3b955
MR
1490Strip a file, removing contents of any sections that would not be
1491stripped by @option{--strip-debug} and leaving the debugging sections
c1c0eb9e 1492intact. In ELF files, this preserves all note sections in the output.
ed1653a7
NC
1493
1494The intention is that this option will be used in conjunction with
1495@option{--add-gnu-debuglink} to create a two part executable. One a
1496stripped binary which will occupy less space in RAM and in a
1497distribution and the second a debugging information file which is only
1498needed if debugging abilities are required. The suggested procedure
1499to create these files is as follows:
1500
1501@enumerate
1502@item Link the executable as normal. Assuming that is is called
1503@code{foo} then...
1504@item Run @code{objcopy --only-keep-debug foo foo.dbg} to
1505create a file containing the debugging info.
1506@item Run @code{objcopy --strip-debug foo} to create a
1507stripped executable.
1508@item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.dbg foo}
1509to add a link to the debugging info into the stripped executable.
1510@end enumerate
1511
928a4139 1512Note---the choice of @code{.dbg} as an extension for the debug info
ed1653a7
NC
1513file is arbitrary. Also the @code{--only-keep-debug} step is
1514optional. You could instead do this:
1515
1516@enumerate
1517@item Link the executable as normal.
1518@item Copy @code{foo} to @code{foo.full}
1519@item Run @code{objcopy --strip-debug foo}
1520@item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.full foo}
1521@end enumerate
1522
b45619c0 1523i.e., the file pointed to by the @option{--add-gnu-debuglink} can be the
ed1653a7
NC
1524full executable. It does not have to be a file created by the
1525@option{--only-keep-debug} switch.
1526
928a4139 1527Note---this switch is only intended for use on fully linked files. It
91bb255c
NC
1528does not make sense to use it on object files where the debugging
1529information may be incomplete. Besides the gnu_debuglink feature
1530currently only supports the presence of one filename containing
1531debugging information, not multiple filenames on a one-per-object-file
1532basis.
1533
d3e52d40
RS
1534@item --extract-symbol
1535Keep the file's section flags and symbols but remove all section data.
1536Specifically, the option:
1537
1538@itemize
d3e52d40
RS
1539@item removes the contents of all sections;
1540@item sets the size of every section to zero; and
1541@item sets the file's start address to zero.
1542@end itemize
c1c0eb9e 1543
d3e52d40
RS
1544This option is used to build a @file{.sym} file for a VxWorks kernel.
1545It can also be a useful way of reducing the size of a @option{--just-symbols}
1546linker input file.
1547
252b5132
RH
1548@item -V
1549@itemx --version
c7c55b78 1550Show the version number of @command{objcopy}.
252b5132
RH
1551
1552@item -v
1553@itemx --verbose
1554Verbose output: list all object files modified. In the case of
1555archives, @samp{objcopy -V} lists all members of the archive.
1556
1557@item --help
c7c55b78 1558Show a summary of the options to @command{objcopy}.
7c29036b
NC
1559
1560@item --info
1561Display a list showing all architectures and object formats available.
252b5132
RH
1562@end table
1563
0285c67d
NC
1564@c man end
1565
1566@ignore
1567@c man begin SEEALSO objcopy
1568ld(1), objdump(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
1569@c man end
1570@end ignore
1571
252b5132
RH
1572@node objdump
1573@chapter objdump
1574
1575@cindex object file information
1576@kindex objdump
1577
0285c67d
NC
1578@c man title objdump display information from object files.
1579
252b5132 1580@smallexample
0285c67d 1581@c man begin SYNOPSIS objdump
c7c55b78
NC
1582objdump [@option{-a}|@option{--archive-headers}]
1583 [@option{-b} @var{bfdname}|@option{--target=@var{bfdname}}]
1584 [@option{-C}|@option{--demangle}[=@var{style}] ]
1585 [@option{-d}|@option{--disassemble}]
1586 [@option{-D}|@option{--disassemble-all}]
1587 [@option{-z}|@option{--disassemble-zeroes}]
1588 [@option{-EB}|@option{-EL}|@option{--endian=}@{big | little @}]
1589 [@option{-f}|@option{--file-headers}]
98ec6e72 1590 [@option{-F}|@option{--file-offsets}]
c7c55b78
NC
1591 [@option{--file-start-context}]
1592 [@option{-g}|@option{--debugging}]
51cdc6e0 1593 [@option{-e}|@option{--debugging-tags}]
c7c55b78
NC
1594 [@option{-h}|@option{--section-headers}|@option{--headers}]
1595 [@option{-i}|@option{--info}]
1596 [@option{-j} @var{section}|@option{--section=}@var{section}]
1597 [@option{-l}|@option{--line-numbers}]
1598 [@option{-S}|@option{--source}]
1599 [@option{-m} @var{machine}|@option{--architecture=}@var{machine}]
1600 [@option{-M} @var{options}|@option{--disassembler-options=}@var{options}]
1601 [@option{-p}|@option{--private-headers}]
1602 [@option{-r}|@option{--reloc}]
1603 [@option{-R}|@option{--dynamic-reloc}]
1604 [@option{-s}|@option{--full-contents}]
4de2ad99 1605 [@option{-W}|@option{--dwarf}]
c7c55b78
NC
1606 [@option{-G}|@option{--stabs}]
1607 [@option{-t}|@option{--syms}]
1608 [@option{-T}|@option{--dynamic-syms}]
1609 [@option{-x}|@option{--all-headers}]
1610 [@option{-w}|@option{--wide}]
1611 [@option{--start-address=}@var{address}]
1612 [@option{--stop-address=}@var{address}]
1613 [@option{--prefix-addresses}]
1614 [@option{--[no-]show-raw-insn}]
1615 [@option{--adjust-vma=}@var{offset}]
3c9458e9 1616 [@option{--special-syms}]
0dafdf3f
L
1617 [@option{--prefix=}@var{prefix}]
1618 [@option{--prefix-strip=}@var{level}]
c7c55b78
NC
1619 [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
1620 [@option{-H}|@option{--help}]
252b5132 1621 @var{objfile}@dots{}
0285c67d 1622@c man end
252b5132
RH
1623@end smallexample
1624
0285c67d
NC
1625@c man begin DESCRIPTION objdump
1626
c7c55b78 1627@command{objdump} displays information about one or more object files.
252b5132
RH
1628The options control what particular information to display. This
1629information is mostly useful to programmers who are working on the
1630compilation tools, as opposed to programmers who just want their
1631program to compile and work.
1632
1633@var{objfile}@dots{} are the object files to be examined. When you
c7c55b78 1634specify archives, @command{objdump} shows information on each of the member
252b5132
RH
1635object files.
1636
0285c67d
NC
1637@c man end
1638
1639@c man begin OPTIONS objdump
1640
252b5132 1641The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
1dada9c5 1642equivalent. At least one option from the list
155e0d23 1643@option{-a,-d,-D,-e,-f,-g,-G,-h,-H,-p,-r,-R,-s,-S,-t,-T,-V,-x} must be given.
252b5132 1644
c7c55b78 1645@table @env
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RH
1646@item -a
1647@itemx --archive-header
1648@cindex archive headers
1649If any of the @var{objfile} files are archives, display the archive
1650header information (in a format similar to @samp{ls -l}). Besides the
1651information you could list with @samp{ar tv}, @samp{objdump -a} shows
1652the object file format of each archive member.
1653
1654@item --adjust-vma=@var{offset}
1655@cindex section addresses in objdump
1656@cindex VMA in objdump
1657When dumping information, first add @var{offset} to all the section
1658addresses. This is useful if the section addresses do not correspond to
1659the symbol table, which can happen when putting sections at particular
1660addresses when using a format which can not represent section addresses,
1661such as a.out.
1662
1663@item -b @var{bfdname}
1664@itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
1665@cindex object code format
1666Specify that the object-code format for the object files is
1667@var{bfdname}. This option may not be necessary; @var{objdump} can
1668automatically recognize many formats.
1669
1670For example,
1671@example
1672objdump -b oasys -m vax -h fu.o
1673@end example
1674@noindent
c7c55b78
NC
1675displays summary information from the section headers (@option{-h}) of
1676@file{fu.o}, which is explicitly identified (@option{-m}) as a VAX object
252b5132 1677file in the format produced by Oasys compilers. You can list the
c7c55b78 1678formats available with the @option{-i} option.
252b5132
RH
1679@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1680
1681@item -C
28c309a2 1682@itemx --demangle[=@var{style}]
252b5132
RH
1683@cindex demangling in objdump
1684Decode (@dfn{demangle}) low-level symbol names into user-level names.
1685Besides removing any initial underscore prepended by the system, this
28c309a2 1686makes C++ function names readable. Different compilers have different
c1c0eb9e
RM
1687mangling styles. The optional demangling style argument can be used to
1688choose an appropriate demangling style for your compiler. @xref{c++filt},
28c309a2 1689for more information on demangling.
252b5132 1690
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NC
1691@item -g
1692@itemx --debugging
b922d590
NC
1693Display debugging information. This attempts to parse STABS and IEEE
1694debugging format information stored in the file and print it out using
1695a C like syntax. If neither of these formats are found this option
1696falls back on the @option{-W} option to print any DWARF information in
1697the file.
252b5132 1698
51cdc6e0
NC
1699@item -e
1700@itemx --debugging-tags
1701Like @option{-g}, but the information is generated in a format compatible
1702with ctags tool.
1703
252b5132
RH
1704@item -d
1705@itemx --disassemble
1706@cindex disassembling object code
1707@cindex machine instructions
1708Display the assembler mnemonics for the machine instructions from
1709@var{objfile}. This option only disassembles those sections which are
1710expected to contain instructions.
1711
1712@item -D
1713@itemx --disassemble-all
c7c55b78 1714Like @option{-d}, but disassemble the contents of all sections, not just
252b5132
RH
1715those expected to contain instructions.
1716
1717@item --prefix-addresses
1718When disassembling, print the complete address on each line. This is
1719the older disassembly format.
1720
252b5132
RH
1721@item -EB
1722@itemx -EL
1723@itemx --endian=@{big|little@}
1724@cindex endianness
1725@cindex disassembly endianness
1726Specify the endianness of the object files. This only affects
1727disassembly. This can be useful when disassembling a file format which
1728does not describe endianness information, such as S-records.
1729
1730@item -f
947ed062 1731@itemx --file-headers
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RH
1732@cindex object file header
1733Display summary information from the overall header of
1734each of the @var{objfile} files.
1735
98ec6e72
NC
1736@item -F
1737@itemx --file-offsets
1738@cindex object file offsets
1739When disassembling sections, whenever a symbol is displayed, also
1740display the file offset of the region of data that is about to be
1741dumped. If zeroes are being skipped, then when disassembly resumes,
1742tell the user how many zeroes were skipped and the file offset of the
32760852
NC
1743location from where the disassembly resumes. When dumping sections,
1744display the file offset of the location from where the dump starts.
98ec6e72 1745
f1563258
TW
1746@item --file-start-context
1747@cindex source code context
1748Specify that when displaying interlisted source code/disassembly
c7c55b78 1749(assumes @option{-S}) from a file that has not yet been displayed, extend the
f1563258
TW
1750context to the start of the file.
1751
252b5132 1752@item -h
947ed062
NC
1753@itemx --section-headers
1754@itemx --headers
252b5132
RH
1755@cindex section headers
1756Display summary information from the section headers of the
1757object file.
1758
1759File segments may be relocated to nonstandard addresses, for example by
c7c55b78
NC
1760using the @option{-Ttext}, @option{-Tdata}, or @option{-Tbss} options to
1761@command{ld}. However, some object file formats, such as a.out, do not
252b5132 1762store the starting address of the file segments. In those situations,
c7c55b78 1763although @command{ld} relocates the sections correctly, using @samp{objdump
252b5132
RH
1764-h} to list the file section headers cannot show the correct addresses.
1765Instead, it shows the usual addresses, which are implicit for the
1766target.
1767
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NC
1768@item -H
1769@itemx --help
c7c55b78 1770Print a summary of the options to @command{objdump} and exit.
252b5132
RH
1771
1772@item -i
1773@itemx --info
1774@cindex architectures available
1775@cindex object formats available
1776Display a list showing all architectures and object formats available
c7c55b78 1777for specification with @option{-b} or @option{-m}.
252b5132
RH
1778
1779@item -j @var{name}
1780@itemx --section=@var{name}
1781@cindex section information
1782Display information only for section @var{name}.
1783
1784@item -l
1785@itemx --line-numbers
1786@cindex source filenames for object files
1787Label the display (using debugging information) with the filename and
1788source line numbers corresponding to the object code or relocs shown.
c7c55b78 1789Only useful with @option{-d}, @option{-D}, or @option{-r}.
252b5132
RH
1790
1791@item -m @var{machine}
1792@itemx --architecture=@var{machine}
1793@cindex architecture
1794@cindex disassembly architecture
1795Specify the architecture to use when disassembling object files. This
1796can be useful when disassembling object files which do not describe
1797architecture information, such as S-records. You can list the available
c7c55b78 1798architectures with the @option{-i} option.
252b5132 1799
dd92f639
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1800@item -M @var{options}
1801@itemx --disassembler-options=@var{options}
1802Pass target specific information to the disassembler. Only supported on
31e0f3cd
NC
1803some targets. If it is necessary to specify more than one
1804disassembler option then multiple @option{-M} options can be used or
1805can be placed together into a comma separated list.
dd92f639
NC
1806
1807If the target is an ARM architecture then this switch can be used to
1808select which register name set is used during disassembler. Specifying
9c092ace 1809@option{-M reg-names-std} (the default) will select the register names as
58efb6c0
NC
1810used in ARM's instruction set documentation, but with register 13 called
1811'sp', register 14 called 'lr' and register 15 called 'pc'. Specifying
c7c55b78
NC
1812@option{-M reg-names-apcs} will select the name set used by the ARM
1813Procedure Call Standard, whilst specifying @option{-M reg-names-raw} will
58efb6c0
NC
1814just use @samp{r} followed by the register number.
1815
1816There are also two variants on the APCS register naming scheme enabled
c7c55b78
NC
1817by @option{-M reg-names-atpcs} and @option{-M reg-names-special-atpcs} which
1818use the ARM/Thumb Procedure Call Standard naming conventions. (Either
947ed062 1819with the normal register names or the special register names).
dd92f639 1820
8f915f68 1821This option can also be used for ARM architectures to force the
c36774d6 1822disassembler to interpret all instructions as Thumb instructions by
c7c55b78 1823using the switch @option{--disassembler-options=force-thumb}. This can be
8f915f68
NC
1824useful when attempting to disassemble thumb code produced by other
1825compilers.
1826
e396998b
AM
1827For the x86, some of the options duplicate functions of the @option{-m}
1828switch, but allow finer grained control. Multiple selections from the
1829following may be specified as a comma separated string.
b89e9eae 1830@option{x86-64}, @option{i386} and @option{i8086} select disassembly for
e396998b 1831the given architecture. @option{intel} and @option{att} select between
9d141669
L
1832intel syntax mode and AT&T syntax mode.
1833@option{intel-mnemonic} and @option{att-mnemonic} select between
1834intel mnemonic mode and AT&T mnemonic mode. @option{intel-mnemonic}
1835implies @option{intel} and @option{att-mnemonic} implies @option{att}.
1836@option{addr64}, @option{addr32},
e396998b
AM
1837@option{addr16}, @option{data32} and @option{data16} specify the default
1838address size and operand size. These four options will be overridden if
b89e9eae 1839@option{x86-64}, @option{i386} or @option{i8086} appear later in the
e396998b 1840option string. Lastly, @option{suffix}, when in AT&T mode,
b9e5d8e5 1841instructs the disassembler to print a mnemonic suffix even when the
e396998b
AM
1842suffix could be inferred by the operands.
1843
2f3bb96a
BE
1844For PowerPC, @option{booke} controls the disassembly of BookE
1845instructions. @option{32} and @option{64} select PowerPC and
1846PowerPC64 disassembly, respectively. @option{e300} selects
1847disassembly for the e300 family. @option{440} selects disassembly for
1848the PowerPC 440. @option{ppcps} selects disassembly for the paired
1849single instructions of the PPC750CL.
802a735e 1850
b45619c0 1851For MIPS, this option controls the printing of instruction mnemonic
e39893d7
FF
1852names and register names in disassembled instructions. Multiple
1853selections from the following may be specified as a comma separated
1854string, and invalid options are ignored:
640c0ccd
CD
1855
1856@table @code
e39893d7 1857@item no-aliases
b45619c0
NC
1858Print the 'raw' instruction mnemonic instead of some pseudo
1859instruction mnemonic. I.e., print 'daddu' or 'or' instead of 'move',
e39893d7
FF
1860'sll' instead of 'nop', etc.
1861
640c0ccd
CD
1862@item gpr-names=@var{ABI}
1863Print GPR (general-purpose register) names as appropriate
1864for the specified ABI. By default, GPR names are selected according to
1865the ABI of the binary being disassembled.
1866
1867@item fpr-names=@var{ABI}
1868Print FPR (floating-point register) names as
1869appropriate for the specified ABI. By default, FPR numbers are printed
1870rather than names.
1871
1872@item cp0-names=@var{ARCH}
1873Print CP0 (system control coprocessor; coprocessor 0) register names
1874as appropriate for the CPU or architecture specified by
1875@var{ARCH}. By default, CP0 register names are selected according to
1876the architecture and CPU of the binary being disassembled.
1877
af7ee8bf
CD
1878@item hwr-names=@var{ARCH}
1879Print HWR (hardware register, used by the @code{rdhwr} instruction) names
1880as appropriate for the CPU or architecture specified by
1881@var{ARCH}. By default, HWR names are selected according to
1882the architecture and CPU of the binary being disassembled.
1883
640c0ccd
CD
1884@item reg-names=@var{ABI}
1885Print GPR and FPR names as appropriate for the selected ABI.
1886
1887@item reg-names=@var{ARCH}
af7ee8bf
CD
1888Print CPU-specific register names (CP0 register and HWR names)
1889as appropriate for the selected CPU or architecture.
640c0ccd
CD
1890@end table
1891
1892For any of the options listed above, @var{ABI} or
1893@var{ARCH} may be specified as @samp{numeric} to have numbers printed
1894rather than names, for the selected types of registers.
1895You can list the available values of @var{ABI} and @var{ARCH} using
1896the @option{--help} option.
1897
ec72cfe5
NC
1898For VAX, you can specify function entry addresses with @option{-M
1899entry:0xf00ba}. You can use this multiple times to properly
1900disassemble VAX binary files that don't contain symbol tables (like
1901ROM dumps). In these cases, the function entry mask would otherwise
b45619c0 1902be decoded as VAX instructions, which would probably lead the rest
ec72cfe5
NC
1903of the function being wrongly disassembled.
1904
252b5132
RH
1905@item -p
1906@itemx --private-headers
1907Print information that is specific to the object file format. The exact
1908information printed depends upon the object file format. For some
1909object file formats, no additional information is printed.
1910
1911@item -r
1912@itemx --reloc
1913@cindex relocation entries, in object file
c7c55b78
NC
1914Print the relocation entries of the file. If used with @option{-d} or
1915@option{-D}, the relocations are printed interspersed with the
252b5132
RH
1916disassembly.
1917
1918@item -R
1919@itemx --dynamic-reloc
1920@cindex dynamic relocation entries, in object file
1921Print the dynamic relocation entries of the file. This is only
1922meaningful for dynamic objects, such as certain types of shared
840b96a7
AM
1923libraries. As for @option{-r}, if used with @option{-d} or
1924@option{-D}, the relocations are printed interspersed with the
1925disassembly.
252b5132
RH
1926
1927@item -s
1928@itemx --full-contents
1929@cindex sections, full contents
1930@cindex object file sections
155e0d23
NC
1931Display the full contents of any sections requested. By default all
1932non-empty sections are displayed.
252b5132
RH
1933
1934@item -S
1935@itemx --source
1936@cindex source disassembly
1937@cindex disassembly, with source
1938Display source code intermixed with disassembly, if possible. Implies
c7c55b78 1939@option{-d}.
252b5132 1940
0dafdf3f
L
1941@item --prefix=@var{prefix}
1942@cindex Add prefix to absolute paths
1943Specify @var{prefix} to add to the absolute paths when used with
1944@option{-S}.
1945
1946@item --prefix-strip=@var{level}
1947@cindex Strip absolute paths
1948Indicate how many initial directory names to strip off the hardwired
1949absolute paths. It has no effect without @option{--prefix=}@var{prefix}.
1950
252b5132
RH
1951@item --show-raw-insn
1952When disassembling instructions, print the instruction in hex as well as
1953in symbolic form. This is the default except when
c7c55b78 1954@option{--prefix-addresses} is used.
252b5132
RH
1955
1956@item --no-show-raw-insn
1957When disassembling instructions, do not print the instruction bytes.
c7c55b78 1958This is the default when @option{--prefix-addresses} is used.
252b5132 1959
4de2ad99
L
1960@item -W
1961@itemx --dwarf
1962@cindex DWARF
1963@cindex debug symbols
1964Displays the contents of the DWARF debug sections in the file, if any
1965are present.
1966
1dada9c5 1967@item -G
947ed062 1968@itemx --stabs
252b5132
RH
1969@cindex stab
1970@cindex .stab
1971@cindex debug symbols
1972@cindex ELF object file format
1973Display the full contents of any sections requested. Display the
1974contents of the .stab and .stab.index and .stab.excl sections from an
1975ELF file. This is only useful on systems (such as Solaris 2.0) in which
1976@code{.stab} debugging symbol-table entries are carried in an ELF
1977section. In most other file formats, debugging symbol-table entries are
c7c55b78 1978interleaved with linkage symbols, and are visible in the @option{--syms}
0285c67d
NC
1979output.
1980@ifclear man
1981For more information on stabs symbols, see @ref{Top,Stabs,Stabs
252b5132 1982Overview,stabs.info, The ``stabs'' debug format}.
0285c67d 1983@end ifclear
252b5132
RH
1984
1985@item --start-address=@var{address}
1986@cindex start-address
1987Start displaying data at the specified address. This affects the output
c7c55b78 1988of the @option{-d}, @option{-r} and @option{-s} options.
252b5132
RH
1989
1990@item --stop-address=@var{address}
1991@cindex stop-address
1992Stop displaying data at the specified address. This affects the output
c7c55b78 1993of the @option{-d}, @option{-r} and @option{-s} options.
252b5132
RH
1994
1995@item -t
1996@itemx --syms
1997@cindex symbol table entries, printing
1998Print the symbol table entries of the file.
a1039809
NC
1999This is similar to the information provided by the @samp{nm} program,
2000although the display format is different. The format of the output
2001depends upon the format of the file being dumped, but there are two main
2002types. One looks like this:
2003
2004@smallexample
2005[ 4](sec 3)(fl 0x00)(ty 0)(scl 3) (nx 1) 0x00000000 .bss
2006[ 6](sec 1)(fl 0x00)(ty 0)(scl 2) (nx 0) 0x00000000 fred
2007@end smallexample
2008
2009where the number inside the square brackets is the number of the entry
2010in the symbol table, the @var{sec} number is the section number, the
2011@var{fl} value are the symbol's flag bits, the @var{ty} number is the
2012symbol's type, the @var{scl} number is the symbol's storage class and
2013the @var{nx} value is the number of auxilary entries associated with
2014the symbol. The last two fields are the symbol's value and its name.
2015
2016The other common output format, usually seen with ELF based files,
2017looks like this:
2018
2019@smallexample
202000000000 l d .bss 00000000 .bss
202100000000 g .text 00000000 fred
2022@end smallexample
2023
2024Here the first number is the symbol's value (sometimes refered to as
2025its address). The next field is actually a set of characters and
2026spaces indicating the flag bits that are set on the symbol. These
af3e16d9
NC
2027characters are described below. Next is the section with which the
2028symbol is associated or @emph{*ABS*} if the section is absolute (ie
2029not connected with any section), or @emph{*UND*} if the section is
2030referenced in the file being dumped, but not defined there.
2031
2032After the section name comes another field, a number, which for common
2033symbols is the alignment and for other symbol is the size. Finally
2034the symbol's name is displayed.
a1039809
NC
2035
2036The flag characters are divided into 7 groups as follows:
2037@table @code
2038@item l
2039@itemx g
2040@itemx !
2041The symbol is local (l), global (g), neither (a space) or both (!). A
928a4139 2042symbol can be neither local or global for a variety of reasons, e.g.,
a1039809
NC
2043because it is used for debugging, but it is probably an indication of
2044a bug if it is ever both local and global.
2045
2046@item w
2047The symbol is weak (w) or strong (a space).
2048
2049@item C
2050The symbol denotes a constructor (C) or an ordinary symbol (a space).
2051
2052@item W
2053The symbol is a warning (W) or a normal symbol (a space). A warning
2054symbol's name is a message to be displayed if the symbol following the
2055warning symbol is ever referenced.
2056
2057@item I
171191ba
NC
2058@item i
2059The symbol is an indirect reference to another symbol (I), a function
2060to be evaluated during reloc processing (i) or a normal symbol (a
2061space).
a1039809
NC
2062
2063@item d
2064@itemx D
2065The symbol is a debugging symbol (d) or a dynamic symbol (D) or a
2066normal symbol (a space).
2067
2068@item F
2069@item f
2070@item O
af3e16d9 2071The symbol is the name of a function (F) or a file (f) or an object
a1039809
NC
2072(O) or just a normal symbol (a space).
2073@end table
252b5132
RH
2074
2075@item -T
2076@itemx --dynamic-syms
2077@cindex dynamic symbol table entries, printing
2078Print the dynamic symbol table entries of the file. This is only
2079meaningful for dynamic objects, such as certain types of shared
2080libraries. This is similar to the information provided by the @samp{nm}
c7c55b78 2081program when given the @option{-D} (@option{--dynamic}) option.
252b5132 2082
3c9458e9
NC
2083@item --special-syms
2084When displaying symbols include those which the target considers to be
2085special in some way and which would not normally be of interest to the
2086user.
2087
947ed062
NC
2088@item -V
2089@itemx --version
c7c55b78 2090Print the version number of @command{objdump} and exit.
252b5132
RH
2091
2092@item -x
947ed062 2093@itemx --all-headers
252b5132
RH
2094@cindex all header information, object file
2095@cindex header information, all
2096Display all available header information, including the symbol table and
c7c55b78 2097relocation entries. Using @option{-x} is equivalent to specifying all of
04c34128 2098@option{-a -f -h -p -r -t}.
252b5132
RH
2099
2100@item -w
2101@itemx --wide
2102@cindex wide output, printing
2103Format some lines for output devices that have more than 80 columns.
31104126 2104Also do not truncate symbol names when they are displayed.
aefbdd67
BE
2105
2106@item -z
2c0c15f9 2107@itemx --disassemble-zeroes
aefbdd67
BE
2108Normally the disassembly output will skip blocks of zeroes. This
2109option directs the disassembler to disassemble those blocks, just like
2110any other data.
252b5132
RH
2111@end table
2112
0285c67d
NC
2113@c man end
2114
2115@ignore
2116@c man begin SEEALSO objdump
2117nm(1), readelf(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2118@c man end
2119@end ignore
2120
252b5132
RH
2121@node ranlib
2122@chapter ranlib
2123
2124@kindex ranlib
2125@cindex archive contents
2126@cindex symbol index
2127
0285c67d
NC
2128@c man title ranlib generate index to archive.
2129
252b5132 2130@smallexample
0285c67d 2131@c man begin SYNOPSIS ranlib
b14f9da0 2132ranlib [@option{-vVt}] @var{archive}
0285c67d 2133@c man end
252b5132
RH
2134@end smallexample
2135
0285c67d
NC
2136@c man begin DESCRIPTION ranlib
2137
c7c55b78 2138@command{ranlib} generates an index to the contents of an archive and
252b5132 2139stores it in the archive. The index lists each symbol defined by a
c1c0eb9e 2140member of an archive that is a relocatable object file.
252b5132
RH
2141
2142You may use @samp{nm -s} or @samp{nm --print-armap} to list this index.
2143
2144An archive with such an index speeds up linking to the library and
2145allows routines in the library to call each other without regard to
2146their placement in the archive.
2147
c7c55b78
NC
2148The @sc{gnu} @command{ranlib} program is another form of @sc{gnu} @command{ar}; running
2149@command{ranlib} is completely equivalent to executing @samp{ar -s}.
252b5132
RH
2150@xref{ar}.
2151
0285c67d
NC
2152@c man end
2153
2154@c man begin OPTIONS ranlib
2155
c7c55b78 2156@table @env
252b5132
RH
2157@item -v
2158@itemx -V
f20a759a 2159@itemx --version
c7c55b78 2160Show the version number of @command{ranlib}.
b14f9da0
NC
2161
2162@item -t
2163Update the timestamp of the symbol map of an archive.
252b5132
RH
2164@end table
2165
0285c67d
NC
2166@c man end
2167
2168@ignore
2169@c man begin SEEALSO ranlib
2170ar(1), nm(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2171@c man end
2172@end ignore
2173
252b5132
RH
2174@node size
2175@chapter size
2176
2177@kindex size
2178@cindex section sizes
2179
0285c67d
NC
2180@c man title size list section sizes and total size.
2181
252b5132 2182@smallexample
0285c67d 2183@c man begin SYNOPSIS size
c7c55b78 2184size [@option{-A}|@option{-B}|@option{--format=}@var{compatibility}]
15c82623
NC
2185 [@option{--help}]
2186 [@option{-d}|@option{-o}|@option{-x}|@option{--radix=}@var{number}]
29422971 2187 [@option{--common}]
15c82623 2188 [@option{-t}|@option{--totals}]
c1c0eb9e 2189 [@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
c7c55b78 2190 [@var{objfile}@dots{}]
0285c67d 2191@c man end
252b5132
RH
2192@end smallexample
2193
0285c67d
NC
2194@c man begin DESCRIPTION size
2195
c7c55b78 2196The @sc{gnu} @command{size} utility lists the section sizes---and the total
252b5132
RH
2197size---for each of the object or archive files @var{objfile} in its
2198argument list. By default, one line of output is generated for each
2199object file or each module in an archive.
2200
2201@var{objfile}@dots{} are the object files to be examined.
2202If none are specified, the file @code{a.out} will be used.
2203
0285c67d
NC
2204@c man end
2205
2206@c man begin OPTIONS size
2207
252b5132
RH
2208The command line options have the following meanings:
2209
c7c55b78 2210@table @env
252b5132
RH
2211@item -A
2212@itemx -B
2213@itemx --format=@var{compatibility}
c7c55b78 2214@cindex @command{size} display format
252b5132 2215Using one of these options, you can choose whether the output from @sc{gnu}
c7c55b78
NC
2216@command{size} resembles output from System V @command{size} (using @option{-A},
2217or @option{--format=sysv}), or Berkeley @command{size} (using @option{-B}, or
2218@option{--format=berkeley}). The default is the one-line format similar to
c1c0eb9e 2219Berkeley's.
252b5132
RH
2220@c Bonus for doc-source readers: you can also say --format=strange (or
2221@c anything else that starts with 's') for sysv, and --format=boring (or
2222@c anything else that starts with 'b') for Berkeley.
2223
2224Here is an example of the Berkeley (default) format of output from
c1c0eb9e 2225@command{size}:
252b5132 2226@smallexample
f20a759a 2227$ size --format=Berkeley ranlib size
252b5132
RH
2228text data bss dec hex filename
2229294880 81920 11592 388392 5ed28 ranlib
2230294880 81920 11888 388688 5ee50 size
2231@end smallexample
2232
2233@noindent
2234This is the same data, but displayed closer to System V conventions:
2235
2236@smallexample
f20a759a 2237$ size --format=SysV ranlib size
252b5132
RH
2238ranlib :
2239section size addr
c1c0eb9e
RM
2240.text 294880 8192
2241.data 81920 303104
2242.bss 11592 385024
2243Total 388392
252b5132
RH
2244
2245
2246size :
2247section size addr
c1c0eb9e
RM
2248.text 294880 8192
2249.data 81920 303104
2250.bss 11888 385024
2251Total 388688
252b5132
RH
2252@end smallexample
2253
2254@item --help
2255Show a summary of acceptable arguments and options.
2256
2257@item -d
2258@itemx -o
2259@itemx -x
2260@itemx --radix=@var{number}
c7c55b78 2261@cindex @command{size} number format
252b5132
RH
2262@cindex radix for section sizes
2263Using one of these options, you can control whether the size of each
c7c55b78
NC
2264section is given in decimal (@option{-d}, or @option{--radix=10}); octal
2265(@option{-o}, or @option{--radix=8}); or hexadecimal (@option{-x}, or
2266@option{--radix=16}). In @option{--radix=@var{number}}, only the three
252b5132 2267values (8, 10, 16) are supported. The total size is always given in two
c7c55b78
NC
2268radices; decimal and hexadecimal for @option{-d} or @option{-x} output, or
2269octal and hexadecimal if you're using @option{-o}.
252b5132 2270
29422971
AM
2271@item --common
2272Print total size of common symbols in each file. When using Berkeley
2273format these are included in the bss size.
2274
15c82623
NC
2275@item -t
2276@itemx --totals
2277Show totals of all objects listed (Berkeley format listing mode only).
2278
252b5132
RH
2279@item --target=@var{bfdname}
2280@cindex object code format
2281Specify that the object-code format for @var{objfile} is
c7c55b78 2282@var{bfdname}. This option may not be necessary; @command{size} can
252b5132
RH
2283automatically recognize many formats.
2284@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2285
2286@item -V
2287@itemx --version
c7c55b78 2288Display the version number of @command{size}.
252b5132
RH
2289@end table
2290
0285c67d
NC
2291@c man end
2292
2293@ignore
2294@c man begin SEEALSO size
2295ar(1), objdump(1), readelf(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2296@c man end
2297@end ignore
2298
252b5132
RH
2299@node strings
2300@chapter strings
2301@kindex strings
2302@cindex listings strings
2303@cindex printing strings
2304@cindex strings, printing
2305
0285c67d
NC
2306@c man title strings print the strings of printable characters in files.
2307
252b5132 2308@smallexample
0285c67d 2309@c man begin SYNOPSIS strings
d132876a
NC
2310strings [@option{-afov}] [@option{-}@var{min-len}]
2311 [@option{-n} @var{min-len}] [@option{--bytes=}@var{min-len}]
2312 [@option{-t} @var{radix}] [@option{--radix=}@var{radix}]
2313 [@option{-e} @var{encoding}] [@option{--encoding=}@var{encoding}]
2314 [@option{-}] [@option{--all}] [@option{--print-file-name}]
3bf31ec9 2315 [@option{-T} @var{bfdname}] [@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
c7c55b78 2316 [@option{--help}] [@option{--version}] @var{file}@dots{}
0285c67d 2317@c man end
252b5132
RH
2318@end smallexample
2319
0285c67d
NC
2320@c man begin DESCRIPTION strings
2321
c7c55b78 2322For each @var{file} given, @sc{gnu} @command{strings} prints the printable
252b5132
RH
2323character sequences that are at least 4 characters long (or the number
2324given with the options below) and are followed by an unprintable
2325character. By default, it only prints the strings from the initialized
2326and loaded sections of object files; for other types of files, it prints
2327the strings from the whole file.
2328
c7c55b78 2329@command{strings} is mainly useful for determining the contents of non-text
252b5132
RH
2330files.
2331
0285c67d
NC
2332@c man end
2333
2334@c man begin OPTIONS strings
2335
c7c55b78 2336@table @env
252b5132
RH
2337@item -a
2338@itemx --all
2339@itemx -
2340Do not scan only the initialized and loaded sections of object files;
2341scan the whole files.
2342
2343@item -f
2344@itemx --print-file-name
2345Print the name of the file before each string.
2346
2347@item --help
2348Print a summary of the program usage on the standard output and exit.
2349
2350@item -@var{min-len}
2351@itemx -n @var{min-len}
2352@itemx --bytes=@var{min-len}
2353Print sequences of characters that are at least @var{min-len} characters
2354long, instead of the default 4.
2355
2356@item -o
c7c55b78 2357Like @samp{-t o}. Some other versions of @command{strings} have @option{-o}
252b5132
RH
2358act like @samp{-t d} instead. Since we can not be compatible with both
2359ways, we simply chose one.
2360
2361@item -t @var{radix}
2362@itemx --radix=@var{radix}
2363Print the offset within the file before each string. The single
2364character argument specifies the radix of the offset---@samp{o} for
2365octal, @samp{x} for hexadecimal, or @samp{d} for decimal.
2366
d132876a
NC
2367@item -e @var{encoding}
2368@itemx --encoding=@var{encoding}
2369Select the character encoding of the strings that are to be found.
8745eafa
NC
2370Possible values for @var{encoding} are: @samp{s} = single-7-bit-byte
2371characters (ASCII, ISO 8859, etc., default), @samp{S} =
2372single-8-bit-byte characters, @samp{b} = 16-bit bigendian, @samp{l} =
237316-bit littleendian, @samp{B} = 32-bit bigendian, @samp{L} = 32-bit
830bf75c
NC
2374littleendian. Useful for finding wide character strings. (@samp{l}
2375and @samp{b} apply to, for example, Unicode UTF-16/UCS-2 encodings).
d132876a 2376
3bf31ec9
NC
2377@item -T @var{bfdname}
2378@itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
252b5132
RH
2379@cindex object code format
2380Specify an object code format other than your system's default format.
2381@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2382
2383@item -v
2384@itemx --version
2385Print the program version number on the standard output and exit.
2386@end table
2387
0285c67d
NC
2388@c man end
2389
2390@ignore
2391@c man begin SEEALSO strings
2392ar(1), nm(1), objdump(1), ranlib(1), readelf(1)
2393and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2394@c man end
2395@end ignore
2396
252b5132
RH
2397@node strip
2398@chapter strip
2399
2400@kindex strip
2401@cindex removing symbols
2402@cindex discarding symbols
2403@cindex symbols, discarding
2404
0285c67d
NC
2405@c man title strip Discard symbols from object files.
2406
252b5132 2407@smallexample
0285c67d 2408@c man begin SYNOPSIS strip
2593f09a
NC
2409strip [@option{-F} @var{bfdname} |@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
2410 [@option{-I} @var{bfdname} |@option{--input-target=}@var{bfdname}]
2411 [@option{-O} @var{bfdname} |@option{--output-target=}@var{bfdname}]
2412 [@option{-s}|@option{--strip-all}]
2413 [@option{-S}|@option{-g}|@option{-d}|@option{--strip-debug}]
2414 [@option{-K} @var{symbolname} |@option{--keep-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
2415 [@option{-N} @var{symbolname} |@option{--strip-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
5fe11841 2416 [@option{-w}|@option{--wildcard}]
2593f09a
NC
2417 [@option{-x}|@option{--discard-all}] [@option{-X} |@option{--discard-locals}]
2418 [@option{-R} @var{sectionname} |@option{--remove-section=}@var{sectionname}]
2419 [@option{-o} @var{file}] [@option{-p}|@option{--preserve-dates}]
1637cd90 2420 [@option{--keep-file-symbols}]
ed1653a7 2421 [@option{--only-keep-debug}]
7c29036b
NC
2422 [@option{-v} |@option{--verbose}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
2423 [@option{--help}] [@option{--info}]
252b5132 2424 @var{objfile}@dots{}
0285c67d 2425@c man end
252b5132
RH
2426@end smallexample
2427
0285c67d
NC
2428@c man begin DESCRIPTION strip
2429
c7c55b78 2430@sc{gnu} @command{strip} discards all symbols from object files
252b5132
RH
2431@var{objfile}. The list of object files may include archives.
2432At least one object file must be given.
2433
c7c55b78 2434@command{strip} modifies the files named in its argument,
252b5132
RH
2435rather than writing modified copies under different names.
2436
0285c67d
NC
2437@c man end
2438
2439@c man begin OPTIONS strip
2440
c7c55b78 2441@table @env
252b5132
RH
2442@item -F @var{bfdname}
2443@itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
2444Treat the original @var{objfile} as a file with the object
2445code format @var{bfdname}, and rewrite it in the same format.
2446@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2447
2448@item --help
c7c55b78 2449Show a summary of the options to @command{strip} and exit.
252b5132 2450
7c29036b
NC
2451@item --info
2452Display a list showing all architectures and object formats available.
2453
947ed062 2454@item -I @var{bfdname}
252b5132
RH
2455@itemx --input-target=@var{bfdname}
2456Treat the original @var{objfile} as a file with the object
2457code format @var{bfdname}.
2458@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2459
2460@item -O @var{bfdname}
2461@itemx --output-target=@var{bfdname}
2462Replace @var{objfile} with a file in the output format @var{bfdname}.
2463@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2464
2465@item -R @var{sectionname}
2466@itemx --remove-section=@var{sectionname}
2467Remove any section named @var{sectionname} from the output file. This
2468option may be given more than once. Note that using this option
2469inappropriately may make the output file unusable.
2470
2471@item -s
2472@itemx --strip-all
2473Remove all symbols.
2474
2475@item -g
2476@itemx -S
15c82623 2477@itemx -d
252b5132
RH
2478@itemx --strip-debug
2479Remove debugging symbols only.
2480
2481@item --strip-unneeded
2482Remove all symbols that are not needed for relocation processing.
2483
2484@item -K @var{symbolname}
2485@itemx --keep-symbol=@var{symbolname}
e7f918ad
NC
2486When stripping symbols, keep symbol @var{symbolname} even if it would
2487normally be stripped. This option may be given more than once.
252b5132
RH
2488
2489@item -N @var{symbolname}
2490@itemx --strip-symbol=@var{symbolname}
2491Remove symbol @var{symbolname} from the source file. This option may be
2492given more than once, and may be combined with strip options other than
c7c55b78 2493@option{-K}.
252b5132
RH
2494
2495@item -o @var{file}
2496Put the stripped output in @var{file}, rather than replacing the
2497existing file. When this argument is used, only one @var{objfile}
2498argument may be specified.
2499
2500@item -p
2501@itemx --preserve-dates
2502Preserve the access and modification dates of the file.
2503
5fe11841
NC
2504@item -w
2505@itemx --wildcard
2506Permit regular expressions in @var{symbolname}s used in other command
2507line options. The question mark (?), asterisk (*), backslash (\) and
2508square brackets ([]) operators can be used anywhere in the symbol
2509name. If the first character of the symbol name is the exclamation
2510point (!) then the sense of the switch is reversed for that symbol.
2511For example:
2512
2513@smallexample
2514 -w -K !foo -K fo*
2515@end smallexample
2516
2517would cause strip to only keep symbols that start with the letters
2518``fo'', but to discard the symbol ``foo''.
2519
252b5132
RH
2520@item -x
2521@itemx --discard-all
2522Remove non-global symbols.
2523
2524@item -X
2525@itemx --discard-locals
2526Remove compiler-generated local symbols.
2527(These usually start with @samp{L} or @samp{.}.)
2528
1637cd90
JB
2529@item --keep-file-symbols
2530When stripping a file, perhaps with @option{--strip-debug} or
2531@option{--strip-unneeded}, retain any symbols specifying source file names,
2532which would otherwise get stripped.
2533
ed1653a7 2534@item --only-keep-debug
c1c0eb9e
RM
2535Strip a file, removing contents of any sections that would not be
2536stripped by @option{--strip-debug} and leaving the debugging sections
2537intact. In ELF files, this preserves all note sections in the output.
ed1653a7
NC
2538
2539The intention is that this option will be used in conjunction with
2540@option{--add-gnu-debuglink} to create a two part executable. One a
2541stripped binary which will occupy less space in RAM and in a
2542distribution and the second a debugging information file which is only
2543needed if debugging abilities are required. The suggested procedure
2544to create these files is as follows:
2545
2546@enumerate
2547@item Link the executable as normal. Assuming that is is called
2548@code{foo} then...
2549@item Run @code{objcopy --only-keep-debug foo foo.dbg} to
2550create a file containing the debugging info.
2551@item Run @code{objcopy --strip-debug foo} to create a
2552stripped executable.
2553@item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.dbg foo}
2554to add a link to the debugging info into the stripped executable.
2555@end enumerate
2556
928a4139 2557Note---the choice of @code{.dbg} as an extension for the debug info
ed1653a7
NC
2558file is arbitrary. Also the @code{--only-keep-debug} step is
2559optional. You could instead do this:
2560
2561@enumerate
2562@item Link the executable as normal.
928a4139 2563@item Copy @code{foo} to @code{foo.full}
ed1653a7
NC
2564@item Run @code{strip --strip-debug foo}
2565@item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.full foo}
2566@end enumerate
2567
928a4139 2568i.e., the file pointed to by the @option{--add-gnu-debuglink} can be the
ed1653a7
NC
2569full executable. It does not have to be a file created by the
2570@option{--only-keep-debug} switch.
2571
928a4139 2572Note---this switch is only intended for use on fully linked files. It
91bb255c
NC
2573does not make sense to use it on object files where the debugging
2574information may be incomplete. Besides the gnu_debuglink feature
2575currently only supports the presence of one filename containing
2576debugging information, not multiple filenames on a one-per-object-file
2577basis.
2578
252b5132
RH
2579@item -V
2580@itemx --version
c7c55b78 2581Show the version number for @command{strip}.
252b5132
RH
2582
2583@item -v
2584@itemx --verbose
2585Verbose output: list all object files modified. In the case of
2586archives, @samp{strip -v} lists all members of the archive.
2587@end table
2588
0285c67d
NC
2589@c man end
2590
2591@ignore
2592@c man begin SEEALSO strip
2593the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2594@c man end
2595@end ignore
2596
9d51cc66 2597@node c++filt, addr2line, strip, Top
252b5132
RH
2598@chapter c++filt
2599
2600@kindex c++filt
2601@cindex demangling C++ symbols
2602
0285c67d
NC
2603@c man title cxxfilt Demangle C++ and Java symbols.
2604
252b5132 2605@smallexample
0285c67d 2606@c man begin SYNOPSIS cxxfilt
c7c55b78 2607c++filt [@option{-_}|@option{--strip-underscores}]
c7c55b78 2608 [@option{-n}|@option{--no-strip-underscores}]
4e48c9dd 2609 [@option{-p}|@option{--no-params}]
ec948987 2610 [@option{-t}|@option{--types}]
cbf1f5df 2611 [@option{-i}|@option{--no-verbose}]
c7c55b78
NC
2612 [@option{-s} @var{format}|@option{--format=}@var{format}]
2613 [@option{--help}] [@option{--version}] [@var{symbol}@dots{}]
0285c67d 2614@c man end
252b5132
RH
2615@end smallexample
2616
0285c67d
NC
2617@c man begin DESCRIPTION cxxfilt
2618
9d51cc66 2619@kindex cxxfilt
ec948987
NC
2620The C++ and Java languages provide function overloading, which means
2621that you can write many functions with the same name, providing that
2622each function takes parameters of different types. In order to be
2623able to distinguish these similarly named functions C++ and Java
2624encode them into a low-level assembler name which uniquely identifies
2625each different version. This process is known as @dfn{mangling}. The
2626@command{c++filt}
c1c0eb9e 2627@footnote{MS-DOS does not allow @kbd{+} characters in file names, so on
195a97ce 2628MS-DOS this program is named @command{CXXFILT}.}
9d51cc66 2629program does the inverse mapping: it decodes (@dfn{demangles}) low-level
ec948987 2630names into user-level names so that they can be read.
252b5132
RH
2631
2632Every alphanumeric word (consisting of letters, digits, underscores,
cbf1f5df
NC
2633dollars, or periods) seen in the input is a potential mangled name.
2634If the name decodes into a C++ name, the C++ name replaces the
ec948987
NC
2635low-level name in the output, otherwise the original word is output.
2636In this way you can pass an entire assembler source file, containing
2637mangled names, through @command{c++filt} and see the same source file
2638containing demangled names.
252b5132 2639
ec948987
NC
2640You can also use @command{c++filt} to decipher individual symbols by
2641passing them on the command line:
252b5132
RH
2642
2643@example
2644c++filt @var{symbol}
2645@end example
2646
c7c55b78 2647If no @var{symbol} arguments are given, @command{c++filt} reads symbol
ec948987
NC
2648names from the standard input instead. All the results are printed on
2649the standard output. The difference between reading names from the
2650command line versus reading names from the standard input is that
2651command line arguments are expected to be just mangled names and no
b45619c0 2652checking is performed to separate them from surrounding text. Thus
ec948987
NC
2653for example:
2654
2655@smallexample
2656c++filt -n _Z1fv
2657@end smallexample
2658
2659will work and demangle the name to ``f()'' whereas:
2660
2661@smallexample
2662c++filt -n _Z1fv,
2663@end smallexample
2664
2665will not work. (Note the extra comma at the end of the mangled
2666name which makes it invalid). This command however will work:
2667
2668@smallexample
2669echo _Z1fv, | c++filt -n
2670@end smallexample
2671
928a4139 2672and will display ``f(),'', i.e., the demangled name followed by a
ec948987
NC
2673trailing comma. This behaviour is because when the names are read
2674from the standard input it is expected that they might be part of an
2675assembler source file where there might be extra, extraneous
928a4139 2676characters trailing after a mangled name. For example:
ec948987
NC
2677
2678@smallexample
2679 .type _Z1fv, @@function
2680@end smallexample
252b5132 2681
0285c67d
NC
2682@c man end
2683
2684@c man begin OPTIONS cxxfilt
2685
c7c55b78 2686@table @env
252b5132
RH
2687@item -_
2688@itemx --strip-underscores
2689On some systems, both the C and C++ compilers put an underscore in front
2690of every name. For example, the C name @code{foo} gets the low-level
2691name @code{_foo}. This option removes the initial underscore. Whether
c7c55b78 2692@command{c++filt} removes the underscore by default is target dependent.
252b5132
RH
2693
2694@item -j
2695@itemx --java
2696Prints demangled names using Java syntax. The default is to use C++
2697syntax.
2698
2699@item -n
2700@itemx --no-strip-underscores
2701Do not remove the initial underscore.
2702
4e48c9dd
ILT
2703@item -p
2704@itemx --no-params
2705When demangling the name of a function, do not display the types of
2706the function's parameters.
2707
cbf1f5df 2708@item -t
ec948987
NC
2709@itemx --types
2710Attempt to demangle types as well as function names. This is disabled
2711by default since mangled types are normally only used internally in
928a4139 2712the compiler, and they can be confused with non-mangled names. For example,
ec948987
NC
2713a function called ``a'' treated as a mangled type name would be
2714demangled to ``signed char''.
cbf1f5df
NC
2715
2716@item -i
2717@itemx --no-verbose
2718Do not include implementation details (if any) in the demangled
2719output.
2720
252b5132
RH
2721@item -s @var{format}
2722@itemx --format=@var{format}
947ed062
NC
2723@command{c++filt} can decode various methods of mangling, used by
2724different compilers. The argument to this option selects which
252b5132
RH
2725method it uses:
2726
2727@table @code
947ed062
NC
2728@item auto
2729Automatic selection based on executable (the default method)
252b5132 2730@item gnu
947ed062 2731the one used by the @sc{gnu} C++ compiler (g++)
252b5132 2732@item lucid
947ed062 2733the one used by the Lucid compiler (lcc)
252b5132
RH
2734@item arm
2735the one specified by the C++ Annotated Reference Manual
2736@item hp
947ed062 2737the one used by the HP compiler (aCC)
252b5132
RH
2738@item edg
2739the one used by the EDG compiler
b5e2a4f3 2740@item gnu-v3
947ed062
NC
2741the one used by the @sc{gnu} C++ compiler (g++) with the V3 ABI.
2742@item java
2743the one used by the @sc{gnu} Java compiler (gcj)
2744@item gnat
2745the one used by the @sc{gnu} Ada compiler (GNAT).
252b5132
RH
2746@end table
2747
2748@item --help
c7c55b78 2749Print a summary of the options to @command{c++filt} and exit.
252b5132
RH
2750
2751@item --version
c7c55b78 2752Print the version number of @command{c++filt} and exit.
252b5132
RH
2753@end table
2754
0285c67d
NC
2755@c man end
2756
2757@ignore
2758@c man begin SEEALSO cxxfilt
2759the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2760@c man end
2761@end ignore
2762
252b5132 2763@quotation
c7c55b78 2764@emph{Warning:} @command{c++filt} is a new utility, and the details of its
252b5132 2765user interface are subject to change in future releases. In particular,
b45619c0 2766a command-line option may be required in the future to decode a name
c1c0eb9e 2767passed as an argument on the command line; in other words,
252b5132
RH
2768
2769@example
2770c++filt @var{symbol}
2771@end example
2772
2773@noindent
2774may in a future release become
2775
2776@example
2777c++filt @var{option} @var{symbol}
2778@end example
2779@end quotation
2780
2781@node addr2line
2782@chapter addr2line
2783
2784@kindex addr2line
2785@cindex address to file name and line number
2786
0285c67d
NC
2787@c man title addr2line convert addresses into file names and line numbers.
2788
252b5132 2789@smallexample
0285c67d 2790@c man begin SYNOPSIS addr2line
c7c55b78 2791addr2line [@option{-b} @var{bfdname}|@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
bf44dd74 2792 [@option{-C}|@option{--demangle}[=@var{style}]]
c7c55b78
NC
2793 [@option{-e} @var{filename}|@option{--exe=}@var{filename}]
2794 [@option{-f}|@option{--functions}] [@option{-s}|@option{--basename}]
0c552dc1 2795 [@option{-i}|@option{--inlines}]
c5f8c388 2796 [@option{-j}|@option{--section=}@var{name}]
c7c55b78
NC
2797 [@option{-H}|@option{--help}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
2798 [addr addr @dots{}]
0285c67d 2799@c man end
252b5132
RH
2800@end smallexample
2801
0285c67d
NC
2802@c man begin DESCRIPTION addr2line
2803
c5f8c388
EB
2804@command{addr2line} translates addresses into file names and line numbers.
2805Given an address in an executable or an offset in a section of a relocatable
2806object, it uses the debugging information to figure out which file name and
2807line number are associated with it.
252b5132 2808
c5f8c388
EB
2809The executable or relocatable object to use is specified with the @option{-e}
2810option. The default is the file @file{a.out}. The section in the relocatable
2811object to use is specified with the @option{-j} option.
252b5132 2812
c7c55b78 2813@command{addr2line} has two modes of operation.
252b5132
RH
2814
2815In the first, hexadecimal addresses are specified on the command line,
c7c55b78 2816and @command{addr2line} displays the file name and line number for each
252b5132
RH
2817address.
2818
c7c55b78 2819In the second, @command{addr2line} reads hexadecimal addresses from
252b5132 2820standard input, and prints the file name and line number for each
c7c55b78 2821address on standard output. In this mode, @command{addr2line} may be used
252b5132
RH
2822in a pipe to convert dynamically chosen addresses.
2823
2824The format of the output is @samp{FILENAME:LINENO}. The file name and
2825line number for each address is printed on a separate line. If the
c7c55b78 2826@command{-f} option is used, then each @samp{FILENAME:LINENO} line is
252b5132
RH
2827preceded by a @samp{FUNCTIONNAME} line which is the name of the function
2828containing the address.
2829
2830If the file name or function name can not be determined,
c7c55b78
NC
2831@command{addr2line} will print two question marks in their place. If the
2832line number can not be determined, @command{addr2line} will print 0.
252b5132 2833
0285c67d
NC
2834@c man end
2835
2836@c man begin OPTIONS addr2line
2837
252b5132
RH
2838The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
2839equivalent.
2840
c7c55b78 2841@table @env
252b5132
RH
2842@item -b @var{bfdname}
2843@itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
2844@cindex object code format
2845Specify that the object-code format for the object files is
2846@var{bfdname}.
2847
2848@item -C
28c309a2 2849@itemx --demangle[=@var{style}]
252b5132
RH
2850@cindex demangling in objdump
2851Decode (@dfn{demangle}) low-level symbol names into user-level names.
2852Besides removing any initial underscore prepended by the system, this
28c309a2 2853makes C++ function names readable. Different compilers have different
c1c0eb9e
RM
2854mangling styles. The optional demangling style argument can be used to
2855choose an appropriate demangling style for your compiler. @xref{c++filt},
28c309a2 2856for more information on demangling.
252b5132
RH
2857
2858@item -e @var{filename}
2859@itemx --exe=@var{filename}
2860Specify the name of the executable for which addresses should be
2861translated. The default file is @file{a.out}.
2862
2863@item -f
2864@itemx --functions
2865Display function names as well as file and line number information.
2866
2867@item -s
2868@itemx --basenames
2869Display only the base of each file name.
0c552dc1
FF
2870
2871@item -i
2872@itemx --inlines
2873If the address belongs to a function that was inlined, the source
2874information for all enclosing scopes back to the first non-inlined
2875function will also be printed. For example, if @code{main} inlines
2876@code{callee1} which inlines @code{callee2}, and address is from
2877@code{callee2}, the source information for @code{callee1} and @code{main}
2878will also be printed.
c5f8c388
EB
2879
2880@item -j
2881@itemx --section
2882Read offsets relative to the specified section instead of absolute addresses.
e107c42f 2883@end table
252b5132 2884
0285c67d
NC
2885@c man end
2886
2887@ignore
2888@c man begin SEEALSO addr2line
2889Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2890@c man end
2891@end ignore
2892
252b5132
RH
2893@node nlmconv
2894@chapter nlmconv
2895
c7c55b78 2896@command{nlmconv} converts a relocatable object file into a NetWare
252b5132
RH
2897Loadable Module.
2898
2899@ignore
c7c55b78 2900@command{nlmconv} currently works with @samp{i386} object
252b5132
RH
2901files in @code{coff}, @sc{elf}, or @code{a.out} format, and @sc{SPARC}
2902object files in @sc{elf}, or @code{a.out} format@footnote{
c7c55b78 2903@command{nlmconv} should work with any @samp{i386} or @sc{sparc} object
252b5132
RH
2904format in the Binary File Descriptor library. It has only been tested
2905with the above formats.}.
2906@end ignore
2907
2908@quotation
c7c55b78 2909@emph{Warning:} @command{nlmconv} is not always built as part of the binary
252b5132
RH
2910utilities, since it is only useful for NLM targets.
2911@end quotation
2912
0285c67d
NC
2913@c man title nlmconv converts object code into an NLM.
2914
252b5132 2915@smallexample
0285c67d 2916@c man begin SYNOPSIS nlmconv
c7c55b78
NC
2917nlmconv [@option{-I} @var{bfdname}|@option{--input-target=}@var{bfdname}]
2918 [@option{-O} @var{bfdname}|@option{--output-target=}@var{bfdname}]
2919 [@option{-T} @var{headerfile}|@option{--header-file=}@var{headerfile}]
2920 [@option{-d}|@option{--debug}] [@option{-l} @var{linker}|@option{--linker=}@var{linker}]
2921 [@option{-h}|@option{--help}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
252b5132 2922 @var{infile} @var{outfile}
0285c67d 2923@c man end
252b5132
RH
2924@end smallexample
2925
0285c67d
NC
2926@c man begin DESCRIPTION nlmconv
2927
c7c55b78 2928@command{nlmconv} converts the relocatable @samp{i386} object file
252b5132
RH
2929@var{infile} into the NetWare Loadable Module @var{outfile}, optionally
2930reading @var{headerfile} for NLM header information. For instructions
2931on writing the NLM command file language used in header files, see the
2932@samp{linkers} section, @samp{NLMLINK} in particular, of the @cite{NLM
2933Development and Tools Overview}, which is part of the NLM Software
2934Developer's Kit (``NLM SDK''), available from Novell, Inc.
c7c55b78 2935@command{nlmconv} uses the @sc{gnu} Binary File Descriptor library to read
0285c67d
NC
2936@var{infile};
2937@ifclear man
2938see @ref{BFD,,BFD,ld.info,Using LD}, for more information.
2939@end ifclear
252b5132 2940
c7c55b78 2941@command{nlmconv} can perform a link step. In other words, you can list
252b5132
RH
2942more than one object file for input if you list them in the definitions
2943file (rather than simply specifying one input file on the command line).
c7c55b78 2944In this case, @command{nlmconv} calls the linker for you.
252b5132 2945
0285c67d
NC
2946@c man end
2947
2948@c man begin OPTIONS nlmconv
2949
c7c55b78 2950@table @env
252b5132
RH
2951@item -I @var{bfdname}
2952@itemx --input-target=@var{bfdname}
c7c55b78 2953Object format of the input file. @command{nlmconv} can usually determine
252b5132
RH
2954the format of a given file (so no default is necessary).
2955@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2956
2957@item -O @var{bfdname}
2958@itemx --output-target=@var{bfdname}
c7c55b78 2959Object format of the output file. @command{nlmconv} infers the output
252b5132
RH
2960format based on the input format, e.g. for a @samp{i386} input file the
2961output format is @samp{nlm32-i386}.
2962@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2963
2964@item -T @var{headerfile}
2965@itemx --header-file=@var{headerfile}
2966Reads @var{headerfile} for NLM header information. For instructions on
2967writing the NLM command file language used in header files, see@ see the
2968@samp{linkers} section, of the @cite{NLM Development and Tools
2969Overview}, which is part of the NLM Software Developer's Kit, available
2970from Novell, Inc.
2971
2972@item -d
2973@itemx --debug
c7c55b78 2974Displays (on standard error) the linker command line used by @command{nlmconv}.
252b5132
RH
2975
2976@item -l @var{linker}
2977@itemx --linker=@var{linker}
2978Use @var{linker} for any linking. @var{linker} can be an absolute or a
2979relative pathname.
2980
2981@item -h
2982@itemx --help
2983Prints a usage summary.
2984
2985@item -V
2986@itemx --version
c7c55b78 2987Prints the version number for @command{nlmconv}.
252b5132
RH
2988@end table
2989
0285c67d
NC
2990@c man end
2991
2992@ignore
2993@c man begin SEEALSO nlmconv
2994the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
692ed3e7
NC
2995@c man end
2996@end ignore
2997
2998@node windmc
2999@chapter windmc
3000
3001@command{windmc} may be used to generator Windows message resources.
3002
3003@quotation
3004@emph{Warning:} @command{windmc} is not always built as part of the binary
3005utilities, since it is only useful for Windows targets.
3006@end quotation
3007
3008@c man title windmc generates Windows message resources.
3009
3010@smallexample
3011@c man begin SYNOPSIS windres
3012windmc [options] input-file
3013@c man end
3014@end smallexample
3015
3016@c man begin DESCRIPTION windmc
3017
3018@command{windmc} reads message definitions from an input file (.mc) and
3019translate them into a set of output files. The output files may be of
3020four kinds:
3021
3022@table @code
3023@item h
3024A C header file containing the message definitions.
3025
3026@item rc
3027A resource file compilable by the @command{windres} tool.
3028
3029@item bin
3030One or more binary files containing the resource data for a specific
3031message language.
3032
3033@item dbg
3034A C include file that maps message id's to their symbolic name.
3035@end table
3036
3037The exact description of these different formats is available in
3038documentation from Microsoft.
3039
3040When @command{windmc} converts from the @code{mc} format to the @code{bin}
3041format, @code{rc}, @code{h}, and optional @code{dbg} it is acting like the
3042Windows Message Compiler.
3043
3044@c man end
3045
3046@c man begin OPTIONS windmc
3047
3048@table @env
3049@item -a
3050@itemx --ascii_in
3051Specifies that the input file specified is ANSI. This is the default
3052behaviour.
3053
3054@item -A
3055@itemx --ascii_out
3056Specifies that messages in the output @code{bin} files should be in ANSI
3057format.
3058
3059@item -b
3060@itemx --binprefix
3061Specifies that @code{bin} filenames should have to be prefixed by the
3062basename of the source file.
3063
3064@item -c
3065@itemx --customflag
3066Sets the customer bit in all message id's.
3067
3068@item -C @var{codepage}
3069@itemx --codepage_in @var{codepage}
3070Sets the default codepage to be used to convert input file to UTF16. The
3071default is ocdepage 1252.
3072
3073@item -d
3074@itemx --decimal_values
3075Outputs the constants in the header file in decimal. Default is using
3076hexadecimal output.
3077
3078@item -e @var{ext}
3079@itemx --extension @var{ext}
3080The extension for the header file. The default is .h extension.
3081
3082@item -F @var{target}
3083@itemx --target @var{target}
3084Specify the BFD format to use for a bin file as output. This
3085is a BFD target name; you can use the @option{--help} option to see a list
3086of supported targets. Normally @command{windmc} will use the default
3087format, which is the first one listed by the @option{--help} option.
3088@ifclear man
3089@ref{Target Selection}.
3090@end ifclear
3091
3092@item -h @var{path}
3093@itemx --headerdir @var{path}
3094The target directory of the generated header file. The default is the
3095current directory.
3096
3097@item -H
3098@itemx --help
3099Displays a list of command line options and then exits.
3100
3101@item -m @var{characters}
3102@itemx --maxlength @var{characters}
3103Instructs @command{windmc} to generate a warning if the length
3104of any message exceeds the number specified.
3105
3106@item -n
3107@itemx --nullterminate
3108Terminate message text in @code{bin} files by zero. By default they are
3109terminated by CR/LF.
3110
3111@item -o
3112@itemx --hresult_use
3113Not yet implemented. Instructs @code{windmc} to generate an OLE2 header
3114file, using HRESULT definitions. Status codes are used if the flag is not
3115specified.
3116
3117@item -O @var{codepage}
3118@itemx --codepage_out @var{codepage}
3119Sets the default codepage to be used to output text files. The default
3120is ocdepage 1252.
3121
3122@item -r @var{path}
3123@itemx --rcdir @var{path}
3124The target directory for the generated @code{rc} script and the generated
3125@code{bin} files that the resource compiler script includes. The default
3126is the current directory.
3127
3128@item -u
3129@itemx --unicode_in
3130Specifies that the input file is UTF16.
3131
3132@item -U
3133@itemx --unicode_out
3134Specifies that messages in the output @code{bin} file should be in UTF16
3135format. This is the default behaviour.
3136
3137@item -v
3138@item --verbose
bd37ed49 3139Enable verbose mode.
692ed3e7
NC
3140
3141@item -V
3142@item --version
bd37ed49 3143Prints the version number for @command{windmc}.
692ed3e7
NC
3144
3145@item -x @var{path}
3146@itemx --xdgb @var{path}
3147The path of the @code{dbg} C include file that maps message id's to the
3148symbolic name. No such file is generated without specifying the switch.
3149@end table
3150
3151@c man end
3152
3153@ignore
3154@c man begin SEEALSO windmc
3155the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
0285c67d
NC
3156@c man end
3157@end ignore
3158
252b5132
RH
3159@node windres
3160@chapter windres
3161
c7c55b78 3162@command{windres} may be used to manipulate Windows resources.
252b5132
RH
3163
3164@quotation
c7c55b78 3165@emph{Warning:} @command{windres} is not always built as part of the binary
252b5132
RH
3166utilities, since it is only useful for Windows targets.
3167@end quotation
3168
0285c67d
NC
3169@c man title windres manipulate Windows resources.
3170
252b5132 3171@smallexample
0285c67d 3172@c man begin SYNOPSIS windres
252b5132 3173windres [options] [input-file] [output-file]
0285c67d 3174@c man end
252b5132
RH
3175@end smallexample
3176
0285c67d
NC
3177@c man begin DESCRIPTION windres
3178
c7c55b78 3179@command{windres} reads resources from an input file and copies them into
252b5132
RH
3180an output file. Either file may be in one of three formats:
3181
3182@table @code
3183@item rc
3184A text format read by the Resource Compiler.
3185
3186@item res
3187A binary format generated by the Resource Compiler.
3188
3189@item coff
3190A COFF object or executable.
3191@end table
3192
3193The exact description of these different formats is available in
3194documentation from Microsoft.
3195
c7c55b78 3196When @command{windres} converts from the @code{rc} format to the @code{res}
252b5132 3197format, it is acting like the Windows Resource Compiler. When
c7c55b78 3198@command{windres} converts from the @code{res} format to the @code{coff}
252b5132
RH
3199format, it is acting like the Windows @code{CVTRES} program.
3200
c7c55b78 3201When @command{windres} generates an @code{rc} file, the output is similar
252b5132
RH
3202but not identical to the format expected for the input. When an input
3203@code{rc} file refers to an external filename, an output @code{rc} file
3204will instead include the file contents.
3205
c7c55b78 3206If the input or output format is not specified, @command{windres} will
252b5132
RH
3207guess based on the file name, or, for the input file, the file contents.
3208A file with an extension of @file{.rc} will be treated as an @code{rc}
3209file, a file with an extension of @file{.res} will be treated as a
3210@code{res} file, and a file with an extension of @file{.o} or
3211@file{.exe} will be treated as a @code{coff} file.
3212
c7c55b78 3213If no output file is specified, @command{windres} will print the resources
252b5132
RH
3214in @code{rc} format to standard output.
3215
c7c55b78 3216The normal use is for you to write an @code{rc} file, use @command{windres}
252b5132
RH
3217to convert it to a COFF object file, and then link the COFF file into
3218your application. This will make the resources described in the
3219@code{rc} file available to Windows.
3220
0285c67d
NC
3221@c man end
3222
3223@c man begin OPTIONS windres
3224
c7c55b78 3225@table @env
252b5132
RH
3226@item -i @var{filename}
3227@itemx --input @var{filename}
3228The name of the input file. If this option is not used, then
c7c55b78
NC
3229@command{windres} will use the first non-option argument as the input file
3230name. If there are no non-option arguments, then @command{windres} will
3231read from standard input. @command{windres} can not read a COFF file from
edbedb71 3232standard input.
252b5132
RH
3233
3234@item -o @var{filename}
3235@itemx --output @var{filename}
3236The name of the output file. If this option is not used, then
c7c55b78 3237@command{windres} will use the first non-option argument, after any used
252b5132 3238for the input file name, as the output file name. If there is no
c7c55b78 3239non-option argument, then @command{windres} will write to standard output.
edbedb71 3240@command{windres} can not write a COFF file to standard output. Note,
b45619c0 3241for compatibility with @command{rc} the option @option{-fo} is also
edbedb71 3242accepted, but its use is not recommended.
252b5132 3243
85eb5110 3244@item -J @var{format}
252b5132
RH
3245@itemx --input-format @var{format}
3246The input format to read. @var{format} may be @samp{res}, @samp{rc}, or
c7c55b78 3247@samp{coff}. If no input format is specified, @command{windres} will
252b5132
RH
3248guess, as described above.
3249
3250@item -O @var{format}
3251@itemx --output-format @var{format}
3252The output format to generate. @var{format} may be @samp{res},
3253@samp{rc}, or @samp{coff}. If no output format is specified,
c7c55b78 3254@command{windres} will guess, as described above.
252b5132
RH
3255
3256@item -F @var{target}
3257@itemx --target @var{target}
3258Specify the BFD format to use for a COFF file as input or output. This
c7c55b78
NC
3259is a BFD target name; you can use the @option{--help} option to see a list
3260of supported targets. Normally @command{windres} will use the default
3261format, which is the first one listed by the @option{--help} option.
3262@ifclear man
252b5132 3263@ref{Target Selection}.
c7c55b78 3264@end ifclear
252b5132
RH
3265
3266@item --preprocessor @var{program}
c7c55b78 3267When @command{windres} reads an @code{rc} file, it runs it through the C
252b5132
RH
3268preprocessor first. This option may be used to specify the preprocessor
3269to use, including any leading arguments. The default preprocessor
3270argument is @code{gcc -E -xc-header -DRC_INVOKED}.
3271
85eb5110
NC
3272@item -I @var{directory}
3273@itemx --include-dir @var{directory}
252b5132 3274Specify an include directory to use when reading an @code{rc} file.
c7c55b78
NC
3275@command{windres} will pass this to the preprocessor as an @option{-I}
3276option. @command{windres} will also search this directory when looking for
85eb5110 3277files named in the @code{rc} file. If the argument passed to this command
c1c0eb9e 3278matches any of the supported @var{formats} (as described in the @option{-J}
85eb5110
NC
3279option), it will issue a deprecation warning, and behave just like the
3280@option{-J} option. New programs should not use this behaviour. If a
3281directory happens to match a @var{format}, simple prefix it with @samp{./}
3282to disable the backward compatibility.
252b5132 3283
751d21b5 3284@item -D @var{target}
ad0481cd 3285@itemx --define @var{sym}[=@var{val}]
c7c55b78 3286Specify a @option{-D} option to pass to the preprocessor when reading an
252b5132
RH
3287@code{rc} file.
3288
29b058f1
NC
3289@item -U @var{target}
3290@itemx --undefine @var{sym}
3291Specify a @option{-U} option to pass to the preprocessor when reading an
3292@code{rc} file.
3293
3126d709
CF
3294@item -r
3295Ignored for compatibility with rc.
3296
751d21b5
DD
3297@item -v
3298Enable verbose mode. This tells you what the preprocessor is if you
3299didn't specify one.
3300
30ff741f
NC
3301@item -c @var{val}
3302@item --codepage @var{val}
3303Specify the default codepage to use when reading an @code{rc} file.
3304@var{val} should be a hexadecimal prefixed by @samp{0x} or decimal
3305codepage code. The valid range is from zero up to 0xffff, but the
3306validity of the codepage is host and configuration dependent.
3307
3077f5d8 3308@item -l @var{val}
252b5132
RH
3309@item --language @var{val}
3310Specify the default language to use when reading an @code{rc} file.
3311@var{val} should be a hexadecimal language code. The low eight bits are
3312the language, and the high eight bits are the sublanguage.
3313
5a298d2d
NC
3314@item --use-temp-file
3315Use a temporary file to instead of using popen to read the output of
c1c0eb9e
RM
3316the preprocessor. Use this option if the popen implementation is buggy
3317on the host (eg., certain non-English language versions of Windows 95 and
5a298d2d
NC
3318Windows 98 are known to have buggy popen where the output will instead
3319go the console).
3320
3321@item --no-use-temp-file
3322Use popen, not a temporary file, to read the output of the preprocessor.
3323This is the default behaviour.
3324
3077f5d8 3325@item -h
252b5132
RH
3326@item --help
3327Prints a usage summary.
3328
3077f5d8 3329@item -V
252b5132 3330@item --version
c7c55b78 3331Prints the version number for @command{windres}.
252b5132
RH
3332
3333@item --yydebug
c7c55b78 3334If @command{windres} is compiled with @code{YYDEBUG} defined as @code{1},
252b5132
RH
3335this will turn on parser debugging.
3336@end table
3337
0285c67d
NC
3338@c man end
3339
3340@ignore
3341@c man begin SEEALSO windres
3342the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
3343@c man end
3344@end ignore
252b5132
RH
3345
3346@node dlltool
2aa9814e 3347@chapter dlltool
252b5132
RH
3348@cindex DLL
3349@kindex dlltool
3350
2aa9814e
BE
3351@command{dlltool} is used to create the files needed to create dynamic
3352link libraries (DLLs) on systems which understand PE format image
3353files such as Windows. A DLL contains an export table which contains
3354information that the runtime loader needs to resolve references from a
3355referencing program.
3356
3357The export table is generated by this program by reading in a
3358@file{.def} file or scanning the @file{.a} and @file{.o} files which
3359will be in the DLL. A @file{.o} file can contain information in
3360special @samp{.drectve} sections with export information.
252b5132
RH
3361
3362@quotation
2aa9814e
BE
3363@emph{Note:} @command{dlltool} is not always built as part of the
3364binary utilities, since it is only useful for those targets which
3365support DLLs.
252b5132
RH
3366@end quotation
3367
0285c67d
NC
3368@c man title dlltool Create files needed to build and use DLLs.
3369
252b5132 3370@smallexample
0285c67d 3371@c man begin SYNOPSIS dlltool
c7c55b78
NC
3372dlltool [@option{-d}|@option{--input-def} @var{def-file-name}]
3373 [@option{-b}|@option{--base-file} @var{base-file-name}]
3374 [@option{-e}|@option{--output-exp} @var{exports-file-name}]
3375 [@option{-z}|@option{--output-def} @var{def-file-name}]
c1c0eb9e 3376 [@option{-l}|@option{--output-lib} @var{library-file-name}]
c7c55b78
NC
3377 [@option{--export-all-symbols}] [@option{--no-export-all-symbols}]
3378 [@option{--exclude-symbols} @var{list}]
3379 [@option{--no-default-excludes}]
3380 [@option{-S}|@option{--as} @var{path-to-assembler}] [@option{-f}|@option{--as-flags} @var{options}]
3381 [@option{-D}|@option{--dllname} @var{name}] [@option{-m}|@option{--machine} @var{machine}]
14288fdc
DS
3382 [@option{-a}|@option{--add-indirect}]
3383 [@option{-U}|@option{--add-underscore}] [@option{--add-stdcall-underscore}]
3384 [@option{-k}|@option{--kill-at}] [@option{-A}|@option{--add-stdcall-alias}]
607dea97 3385 [@option{-p}|@option{--ext-prefix-alias} @var{prefix}]
d4732f7c 3386 [@option{-x}|@option{--no-idata4}] [@option{-c}|@option{--no-idata5}]
e77b97d4 3387 [@option{--use-nul-prefixed-import-tables}]
71c57c16
NC
3388 [@option{-I}|@option{--identify} @var{library-file-name}] [@option{--identify-strict}]
3389 [@option{-i}|@option{--interwork}]
f9346411 3390 [@option{-n}|@option{--nodelete}] [@option{-t}|@option{--temp-prefix} @var{prefix}]
c1c0eb9e 3391 [@option{-v}|@option{--verbose}]
c7c55b78 3392 [@option{-h}|@option{--help}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
252b5132 3393 [object-file @dots{}]
0285c67d 3394@c man end
252b5132
RH
3395@end smallexample
3396
0285c67d
NC
3397@c man begin DESCRIPTION dlltool
3398
c7c55b78
NC
3399@command{dlltool} reads its inputs, which can come from the @option{-d} and
3400@option{-b} options as well as object files specified on the command
3401line. It then processes these inputs and if the @option{-e} option has
3402been specified it creates a exports file. If the @option{-l} option
3403has been specified it creates a library file and if the @option{-z} option
c1c0eb9e
RM
3404has been specified it creates a def file. Any or all of the @option{-e},
3405@option{-l} and @option{-z} options can be present in one invocation of
c7c55b78 3406dlltool.
252b5132
RH
3407
3408When creating a DLL, along with the source for the DLL, it is necessary
c7c55b78 3409to have three other files. @command{dlltool} can help with the creation of
252b5132
RH
3410these files.
3411
2aa9814e 3412The first file is a @file{.def} file which specifies which functions are
252b5132 3413exported from the DLL, which functions the DLL imports, and so on. This
c7c55b78
NC
3414is a text file and can be created by hand, or @command{dlltool} can be used
3415to create it using the @option{-z} option. In this case @command{dlltool}
252b5132
RH
3416will scan the object files specified on its command line looking for
3417those functions which have been specially marked as being exported and
2aa9814e 3418put entries for them in the @file{.def} file it creates.
252b5132
RH
3419
3420In order to mark a function as being exported from a DLL, it needs to
c7c55b78 3421have an @option{-export:<name_of_function>} entry in the @samp{.drectve}
252b5132
RH
3422section of the object file. This can be done in C by using the
3423asm() operator:
3424
3425@smallexample
c1c0eb9e 3426 asm (".section .drectve");
252b5132
RH
3427 asm (".ascii \"-export:my_func\"");
3428
3429 int my_func (void) @{ @dots{} @}
3430@end smallexample
3431
3432The second file needed for DLL creation is an exports file. This file
3433is linked with the object files that make up the body of the DLL and it
3434handles the interface between the DLL and the outside world. This is a
c7c55b78 3435binary file and it can be created by giving the @option{-e} option to
c1c0eb9e 3436@command{dlltool} when it is creating or reading in a @file{.def} file.
252b5132
RH
3437
3438The third file needed for DLL creation is the library file that programs
d4732f7c
CW
3439will link with in order to access the functions in the DLL (an `import
3440library'). This file can be created by giving the @option{-l} option to
3441dlltool when it is creating or reading in a @file{.def} file.
252b5132 3442
c7c55b78 3443@command{dlltool} builds the library file by hand, but it builds the
252b5132 3444exports file by creating temporary files containing assembler statements
c7c55b78 3445and then assembling these. The @option{-S} command line option can be
252b5132 3446used to specify the path to the assembler that dlltool will use,
c7c55b78
NC
3447and the @option{-f} option can be used to pass specific flags to that
3448assembler. The @option{-n} can be used to prevent dlltool from deleting
3449these temporary assembler files when it is done, and if @option{-n} is
252b5132
RH
3450specified twice then this will prevent dlltool from deleting the
3451temporary object files it used to build the library.
3452
3453Here is an example of creating a DLL from a source file @samp{dll.c} and
3454also creating a program (from an object file called @samp{program.o})
3455that uses that DLL:
3456
3457@smallexample
3458 gcc -c dll.c
3459 dlltool -e exports.o -l dll.lib dll.o
3460 gcc dll.o exports.o -o dll.dll
3461 gcc program.o dll.lib -o program
3462@end smallexample
3463
d4732f7c
CW
3464
3465@command{dlltool} may also be used to query an existing import library
3466to determine the name of the DLL to which it is associated. See the
3467description of the @option{-I} or @option{--identify} option.
3468
0285c67d
NC
3469@c man end
3470
3471@c man begin OPTIONS dlltool
3472
252b5132
RH
3473The command line options have the following meanings:
3474
c7c55b78 3475@table @env
252b5132
RH
3476
3477@item -d @var{filename}
3478@itemx --input-def @var{filename}
3479@cindex input .def file
2aa9814e 3480Specifies the name of a @file{.def} file to be read in and processed.
252b5132
RH
3481
3482@item -b @var{filename}
3483@itemx --base-file @var{filename}
3484@cindex base files
3485Specifies the name of a base file to be read in and processed. The
3486contents of this file will be added to the relocation section in the
3487exports file generated by dlltool.
3488
3489@item -e @var{filename}
3490@itemx --output-exp @var{filename}
3491Specifies the name of the export file to be created by dlltool.
3492
3493@item -z @var{filename}
3494@itemx --output-def @var{filename}
2aa9814e 3495Specifies the name of the @file{.def} file to be created by dlltool.
252b5132
RH
3496
3497@item -l @var{filename}
3498@itemx --output-lib @var{filename}
3499Specifies the name of the library file to be created by dlltool.
3500
3501@item --export-all-symbols
3502Treat all global and weak defined symbols found in the input object
3503files as symbols to be exported. There is a small list of symbols which
c7c55b78 3504are not exported by default; see the @option{--no-default-excludes}
252b5132 3505option. You may add to the list of symbols to not export by using the
c7c55b78 3506@option{--exclude-symbols} option.
252b5132
RH
3507
3508@item --no-export-all-symbols
2aa9814e 3509Only export symbols explicitly listed in an input @file{.def} file or in
252b5132
RH
3510@samp{.drectve} sections in the input object files. This is the default
3511behaviour. The @samp{.drectve} sections are created by @samp{dllexport}
3512attributes in the source code.
3513
3514@item --exclude-symbols @var{list}
3515Do not export the symbols in @var{list}. This is a list of symbol names
3516separated by comma or colon characters. The symbol names should not
3517contain a leading underscore. This is only meaningful when
c7c55b78 3518@option{--export-all-symbols} is used.
252b5132
RH
3519
3520@item --no-default-excludes
c7c55b78 3521When @option{--export-all-symbols} is used, it will by default avoid
252b5132
RH
3522exporting certain special symbols. The current list of symbols to avoid
3523exporting is @samp{DllMain@@12}, @samp{DllEntryPoint@@0},
c7c55b78 3524@samp{impure_ptr}. You may use the @option{--no-default-excludes} option
252b5132 3525to go ahead and export these special symbols. This is only meaningful
c7c55b78 3526when @option{--export-all-symbols} is used.
252b5132
RH
3527
3528@item -S @var{path}
3529@itemx --as @var{path}
3530Specifies the path, including the filename, of the assembler to be used
3531to create the exports file.
3532
6364e0b4
NC
3533@item -f @var{options}
3534@itemx --as-flags @var{options}
3535Specifies any specific command line options to be passed to the
252b5132 3536assembler when building the exports file. This option will work even if
c7c55b78 3537the @option{-S} option is not used. This option only takes one argument,
252b5132
RH
3538and if it occurs more than once on the command line, then later
3539occurrences will override earlier occurrences. So if it is necessary to
6364e0b4 3540pass multiple options to the assembler they should be enclosed in
252b5132
RH
3541double quotes.
3542
3543@item -D @var{name}
3544@itemx --dll-name @var{name}
2aa9814e
BE
3545Specifies the name to be stored in the @file{.def} file as the name of
3546the DLL when the @option{-e} option is used. If this option is not
3547present, then the filename given to the @option{-e} option will be
3548used as the name of the DLL.
252b5132
RH
3549
3550@item -m @var{machine}
3551@itemx -machine @var{machine}
3552Specifies the type of machine for which the library file should be
c7c55b78 3553built. @command{dlltool} has a built in default type, depending upon how
252b5132
RH
3554it was created, but this option can be used to override that. This is
3555normally only useful when creating DLLs for an ARM processor, when the
c36774d6 3556contents of the DLL are actually encode using Thumb instructions.
252b5132
RH
3557
3558@item -a
3559@itemx --add-indirect
c7c55b78 3560Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
252b5132
RH
3561should add a section which allows the exported functions to be
3562referenced without using the import library. Whatever the hell that
c1c0eb9e 3563means!
252b5132
RH
3564
3565@item -U
3566@itemx --add-underscore
c7c55b78 3567Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
c1c0eb9e 3568should prepend an underscore to the names of @emph{all} exported symbols.
14288fdc
DS
3569
3570@item --add-stdcall-underscore
3571Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
3572should prepend an underscore to the names of exported @emph{stdcall}
3573functions. Variable names and non-stdcall function names are not modified.
3574This option is useful when creating GNU-compatible import libs for third
3575party DLLs that were built with MS-Windows tools.
252b5132
RH
3576
3577@item -k
3578@itemx --kill-at
c7c55b78 3579Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
d67a454c
NC
3580should not append the string @samp{@@ <number>}. These numbers are
3581called ordinal numbers and they represent another way of accessing the
3582function in a DLL, other than by name.
252b5132
RH
3583
3584@item -A
3585@itemx --add-stdcall-alias
c7c55b78 3586Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
252b5132
RH
3587should add aliases for stdcall symbols without @samp{@@ <number>}
3588in addition to the symbols with @samp{@@ <number>}.
3589
607dea97
NC
3590@item -p
3591@itemx --ext-prefix-alias @var{prefix}
3592Causes @command{dlltool} to create external aliases for all DLL
3593imports with the specified prefix. The aliases are created for both
3594external and import symbols with no leading underscore.
3595
252b5132
RH
3596@item -x
3597@itemx --no-idata4
c7c55b78
NC
3598Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports and library
3599files it should omit the @code{.idata4} section. This is for compatibility
252b5132
RH
3600with certain operating systems.
3601
e77b97d4
KT
3602@item --use-nul-prefixed-import-tables
3603Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports and library
3604files it should prefix the @code{.idata4} and @code{.idata5} by zero an
3605element. This emulates old gnu import library generation of
3606@code{dlltool}. By default this option is turned off.
3607
252b5132
RH
3608@item -c
3609@itemx --no-idata5
c7c55b78
NC
3610Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports and library
3611files it should omit the @code{.idata5} section. This is for compatibility
252b5132
RH
3612with certain operating systems.
3613
d4732f7c
CW
3614@item -I @var{filename}
3615@itemx --identify @var{filename}
3616Specifies that @command{dlltool} should inspect the import library
71c57c16
NC
3617indicated by @var{filename} and report, on @code{stdout}, the name(s)
3618of the associated DLL(s). This can be performed in addition to any
3619other operations indicated by the other options and arguments.
3620@command{dlltool} fails if the import library does not exist or is not
3621actually an import library. See also @option{--identify-strict}.
3622
3623@item --identify-strict
3624Modifies the behavior of the @option{--identify} option, such
3625that an error is reported if @var{filename} is associated with
3626more than one DLL.
d4732f7c 3627
252b5132
RH
3628@item -i
3629@itemx --interwork
c7c55b78 3630Specifies that @command{dlltool} should mark the objects in the library
252b5132 3631file and exports file that it produces as supporting interworking
c36774d6 3632between ARM and Thumb code.
252b5132
RH
3633
3634@item -n
3635@itemx --nodelete
c7c55b78 3636Makes @command{dlltool} preserve the temporary assembler files it used to
252b5132
RH
3637create the exports file. If this option is repeated then dlltool will
3638also preserve the temporary object files it uses to create the library
f9346411
DS
3639file.
3640
3641@item -t @var{prefix}
3642@itemx --temp-prefix @var{prefix}
3643Makes @command{dlltool} use @var{prefix} when constructing the names of
3644temporary assembler and object files. By default, the temp file prefix
c1c0eb9e 3645is generated from the pid.
252b5132
RH
3646
3647@item -v
3648@itemx --verbose
3649Make dlltool describe what it is doing.
3650
3651@item -h
3652@itemx --help
3653Displays a list of command line options and then exits.
3654
3655@item -V
3656@itemx --version
3657Displays dlltool's version number and then exits.
3658
3659@end table
3660
0285c67d
NC
3661@c man end
3662
2aa9814e
BE
3663@menu
3664* def file format:: The format of the dlltool @file{.def} file
3665@end menu
3666
3667@node def file format
3668@section The format of the @command{dlltool} @file{.def} file
3669
3670A @file{.def} file contains any number of the following commands:
3671
3672@table @asis
3673
3674@item @code{NAME} @var{name} @code{[ ,} @var{base} @code{]}
3675The result is going to be named @var{name}@code{.exe}.
3676
3677@item @code{LIBRARY} @var{name} @code{[ ,} @var{base} @code{]}
3678The result is going to be named @var{name}@code{.dll}.
3679
3680@item @code{EXPORTS ( ( (} @var{name1} @code{[ = } @var{name2} @code{] ) | ( } @var{name1} @code{=} @var{module-name} @code{.} @var{external-name} @code{) )}
3681@item @code{[} @var{integer} @code{] [ NONAME ] [ CONSTANT ] [ DATA ] [ PRIVATE ] ) *}
3682Declares @var{name1} as an exported symbol from the DLL, with optional
3683ordinal number @var{integer}, or declares @var{name1} as an alias
3684(forward) of the function @var{external-name} in the DLL
3685@var{module-name}.
3686
3687@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{) ) *}
3688Declares that @var{external-name} or the exported function whose
3689ordinal number is @var{integer} is to be imported from the file
3690@var{module-name}. If @var{internal-name} is specified then this is
3691the name that the imported function will be referred to in the body of
3692the DLL.
3693
3694@item @code{DESCRIPTION} @var{string}
3695Puts @var{string} into the output @file{.exp} file in the
3696@code{.rdata} section.
3697
3698@item @code{STACKSIZE} @var{number-reserve} @code{[, } @var{number-commit} @code{]}
3699@item @code{HEAPSIZE} @var{number-reserve} @code{[, } @var{number-commit} @code{]}
3700Generates @code{--stack} or @code{--heap}
3701@var{number-reserve},@var{number-commit} in the output @code{.drectve}
3702section. The linker will see this and act upon it.
3703
3704@item @code{CODE} @var{attr} @code{+}
3705@item @code{DATA} @var{attr} @code{+}
3706@item @code{SECTIONS (} @var{section-name} @var{attr}@code{ + ) *}
3707Generates @code{--attr} @var{section-name} @var{attr} in the output
3708@code{.drectve} section, where @var{attr} is one of @code{READ},
3709@code{WRITE}, @code{EXECUTE} or @code{SHARED}. The linker will see
3710this and act upon it.
3711
3712@end table
3713
0285c67d
NC
3714@ignore
3715@c man begin SEEALSO dlltool
2aa9814e 3716The Info pages for @file{binutils}.
0285c67d
NC
3717@c man end
3718@end ignore
3719
252b5132
RH
3720@node readelf
3721@chapter readelf
3722
3723@cindex ELF file information
3724@kindex readelf
3725
0285c67d
NC
3726@c man title readelf Displays information about ELF files.
3727
252b5132 3728@smallexample
0285c67d 3729@c man begin SYNOPSIS readelf
c1c0eb9e 3730readelf [@option{-a}|@option{--all}]
c7c55b78
NC
3731 [@option{-h}|@option{--file-header}]
3732 [@option{-l}|@option{--program-headers}|@option{--segments}]
3733 [@option{-S}|@option{--section-headers}|@option{--sections}]
81fc812e 3734 [@option{-g}|@option{--section-groups}]
5477e8a0 3735 [@option{-t}|@option{--section-details}]
c7c55b78
NC
3736 [@option{-e}|@option{--headers}]
3737 [@option{-s}|@option{--syms}|@option{--symbols}]
3738 [@option{-n}|@option{--notes}]
3739 [@option{-r}|@option{--relocs}]
3740 [@option{-u}|@option{--unwind}]
3741 [@option{-d}|@option{--dynamic}]
3742 [@option{-V}|@option{--version-info}]
947ed062 3743 [@option{-A}|@option{--arch-specific}]
c7c55b78 3744 [@option{-D}|@option{--use-dynamic}]
aef1f6d0 3745 [@option{-x} <number or name>|@option{--hex-dump=}<number or name>]
09c11c86 3746 [@option{-p} <number or name>|@option{--string-dump=}<number or name>]
4145f1d5 3747 [@option{-c}|@option{--archive-index}]
a262ae96
NC
3748 [@option{-w[lLiaprmfFsoR]}|
3749 @option{--debug-dump}[=rawline,=decodedline,=info,=abbrev,=pubnames,=aranges,=macro,=frames,=frames-interp,=str,=loc,=Ranges]]
947ed062 3750 [@option{-I}|@option{-histogram}]
c7c55b78 3751 [@option{-v}|@option{--version}]
d974e256 3752 [@option{-W}|@option{--wide}]
c7c55b78 3753 [@option{-H}|@option{--help}]
252b5132 3754 @var{elffile}@dots{}
0285c67d 3755@c man end
252b5132
RH
3756@end smallexample
3757
0285c67d
NC
3758@c man begin DESCRIPTION readelf
3759
c7c55b78 3760@command{readelf} displays information about one or more ELF format object
252b5132
RH
3761files. The options control what particular information to display.
3762
fb52b2f4
NC
3763@var{elffile}@dots{} are the object files to be examined. 32-bit and
376464-bit ELF files are supported, as are archives containing ELF files.
252b5132 3765
9eb20dd8
NC
3766This program performs a similar function to @command{objdump} but it
3767goes into more detail and it exists independently of the @sc{bfd}
3768library, so if there is a bug in @sc{bfd} then readelf will not be
3769affected.
3770
0285c67d
NC
3771@c man end
3772
3773@c man begin OPTIONS readelf
3774
252b5132
RH
3775The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
3776equivalent. At least one option besides @samp{-v} or @samp{-H} must be
c1c0eb9e 3777given.
252b5132 3778
c7c55b78 3779@table @env
252b5132
RH
3780@item -a
3781@itemx --all
d95ef3ab 3782Equivalent to specifying @option{--file-header},
c7c55b78
NC
3783@option{--program-headers}, @option{--sections}, @option{--symbols},
3784@option{--relocs}, @option{--dynamic}, @option{--notes} and
c1c0eb9e 3785@option{--version-info}.
252b5132
RH
3786
3787@item -h
3788@itemx --file-header
3789@cindex ELF file header information
3790Displays the information contained in the ELF header at the start of the
3791file.
3792
3793@item -l
3794@itemx --program-headers
3795@itemx --segments
3796@cindex ELF program header information
3797@cindex ELF segment information
3798Displays the information contained in the file's segment headers, if it
3799has any.
3800
3801@item -S
3802@itemx --sections
3803@itemx --section-headers
3804@cindex ELF section information
3805Displays the information contained in the file's section headers, if it
3806has any.
3807
81fc812e
L
3808@item -g
3809@itemx --section-groups
3810@cindex ELF section group information
3811Displays the information contained in the file's section groups, if it
3812has any.
3813
5477e8a0
L
3814@item -t
3815@itemx --section-details
3816@cindex ELF section information
3817Displays the detailed section information. Implies @option{-S}.
81fc812e 3818
252b5132
RH
3819@item -s
3820@itemx --symbols
3821@itemx --syms
3822@cindex ELF symbol table information
3823Displays the entries in symbol table section of the file, if it has one.
3824
3825@item -e
3826@itemx --headers
c7c55b78 3827Display all the headers in the file. Equivalent to @option{-h -l -S}.
252b5132 3828
779fe533
NC
3829@item -n
3830@itemx --notes
1ec5cd37
NC
3831@cindex ELF notes
3832Displays the contents of the NOTE segments and/or sections, if any.
779fe533 3833
252b5132
RH
3834@item -r
3835@itemx --relocs
3836@cindex ELF reloc information
f5e21966
NC
3837Displays the contents of the file's relocation section, if it has one.
3838
3839@item -u
3840@itemx --unwind
3841@cindex unwind information
3842Displays the contents of the file's unwind section, if it has one. Only
3843the unwind sections for IA64 ELF files are currently supported.
252b5132
RH
3844
3845@item -d
3846@itemx --dynamic
3847@cindex ELF dynamic section information
3848Displays the contents of the file's dynamic section, if it has one.
3849
3850@item -V
3851@itemx --version-info
3852@cindex ELF version sections informations
3853Displays the contents of the version sections in the file, it they
3854exist.
3855
947ed062
NC
3856@item -A
3857@itemx --arch-specific
3858Displays architecture-specific information in the file, if there
3859is any.
3860
252b5132
RH
3861@item -D
3862@itemx --use-dynamic
c7c55b78 3863When displaying symbols, this option makes @command{readelf} use the
6dbb55b6 3864symbol table in the file's dynamic section, rather than the one in the
252b5132
RH
3865symbols section.
3866
aef1f6d0
DJ
3867@item -x <number or name>
3868@itemx --hex-dump=<number or name>
252b5132 3869Displays the contents of the indicated section as a hexadecimal dump.
aef1f6d0
DJ
3870A number identifies a particular section by index in the section table;
3871any other string identifies all sections with that name in the object file.
252b5132 3872
09c11c86
NC
3873@item -p <number or name>
3874@itemx --string-dump=<number or name>
3875Displays the contents of the indicated section as printable strings.
3876A number identifies a particular section by index in the section table;
3877any other string identifies all sections with that name in the object file.
3878
4145f1d5
NC
3879@item -c
3880@itemx --archive-index
3881@cindex Archive file symbol index information
3882Displays the file symbol index infomation contained in the header part
3883of binary archives. Performs the same function as the @option{t}
3884command to @command{ar}, but without using the BFD library. @xref{ar}.
3885
a262ae96
NC
3886@item -w[lLiaprmfFsoR]
3887@itemx --debug-dump[=rawline,=decodedline,=info,=abbrev,=pubnames,=aranges,=macro,=frames,=frames-interp,=str,=loc,=Ranges]
252b5132
RH
3888Displays the contents of the debug sections in the file, if any are
3889present. If one of the optional letters or words follows the switch
3890then only data found in those specific sections will be dumped.
3891
a262ae96
NC
3892Note: the @option{=decodedline} option will display the interpreted
3893contents of a .debug_line section whereas the @option{=rawline} option
3894dumps the contents in a raw format.
3895
947ed062
NC
3896@item -I
3897@itemx --histogram
252b5132
RH
3898Display a histogram of bucket list lengths when displaying the contents
3899of the symbol tables.
3900
3901@item -v
3902@itemx --version
3903Display the version number of readelf.
3904
d974e256
JJ
3905@item -W
3906@itemx --wide
3907Don't break output lines to fit into 80 columns. By default
3908@command{readelf} breaks section header and segment listing lines for
390964-bit ELF files, so that they fit into 80 columns. This option causes
3910@command{readelf} to print each section header resp. each segment one a
3911single line, which is far more readable on terminals wider than 80 columns.
3912
252b5132
RH
3913@item -H
3914@itemx --help
c7c55b78 3915Display the command line options understood by @command{readelf}.
252b5132
RH
3916
3917@end table
3918
0285c67d
NC
3919@c man end
3920
3921@ignore
3922@c man begin SEEALSO readelf
3923objdump(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
3924@c man end
3925@end ignore
252b5132 3926
07012eee
MM
3927@node Common Options
3928@chapter Common Options
3929
3930The following command-line options are supported by all of the
3931programs described in this manual.
3932
dff70155 3933@c man begin OPTIONS
07012eee 3934@table @env
38fc1cb1 3935@include at-file.texi
dff70155 3936@c man end
07012eee
MM
3937
3938@item --help
3939Display the command-line options supported by the program.
3940
3941@item --version
3942Display the version number of the program.
3943
dff70155 3944@c man begin OPTIONS
07012eee 3945@end table
dff70155 3946@c man end
07012eee 3947
fff279a7 3948@node Selecting the Target System
947ed062 3949@chapter Selecting the Target System
252b5132 3950
947ed062 3951You can specify two aspects of the target system to the @sc{gnu}
252b5132
RH
3952binary file utilities, each in several ways:
3953
3954@itemize @bullet
3955@item
3956the target
3957
3958@item
3959the architecture
252b5132
RH
3960@end itemize
3961
3962In the following summaries, the lists of ways to specify values are in
3963order of decreasing precedence. The ways listed first override those
3964listed later.
3965
3966The commands to list valid values only list the values for which the
3967programs you are running were configured. If they were configured with
c7c55b78 3968@option{--enable-targets=all}, the commands list most of the available
252b5132
RH
3969values, but a few are left out; not all targets can be configured in at
3970once because some of them can only be configured @dfn{native} (on hosts
3971with the same type as the target system).
3972
3973@menu
c1c0eb9e
RM
3974* Target Selection::
3975* Architecture Selection::
252b5132
RH
3976@end menu
3977
3978@node Target Selection
3979@section Target Selection
3980
3981A @dfn{target} is an object file format. A given target may be
3982supported for multiple architectures (@pxref{Architecture Selection}).
3983A target selection may also have variations for different operating
3984systems or architectures.
3985
3986The command to list valid target values is @samp{objdump -i}
3987(the first column of output contains the relevant information).
3988
3989Some sample values are: @samp{a.out-hp300bsd}, @samp{ecoff-littlemips},
3990@samp{a.out-sunos-big}.
3991
3992You can also specify a target using a configuration triplet. This is
f20a759a
ILT
3993the same sort of name that is passed to @file{configure} to specify a
3994target. When you use a configuration triplet as an argument, it must be
3995fully canonicalized. You can see the canonical version of a triplet by
252b5132
RH
3996running the shell script @file{config.sub} which is included with the
3997sources.
3998
3999Some sample configuration triplets are: @samp{m68k-hp-bsd},
4000@samp{mips-dec-ultrix}, @samp{sparc-sun-sunos}.
4001
c7c55b78 4002@subheading @command{objdump} Target
252b5132
RH
4003
4004Ways to specify:
4005
4006@enumerate
4007@item
c7c55b78 4008command line option: @option{-b} or @option{--target}
252b5132
RH
4009
4010@item
4011environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
4012
4013@item
4014deduced from the input file
4015@end enumerate
4016
c7c55b78 4017@subheading @command{objcopy} and @command{strip} Input Target
252b5132
RH
4018
4019Ways to specify:
4020
4021@enumerate
4022@item
c7c55b78 4023command line options: @option{-I} or @option{--input-target}, or @option{-F} or @option{--target}
252b5132
RH
4024
4025@item
4026environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
4027
4028@item
4029deduced from the input file
4030@end enumerate
4031
c7c55b78 4032@subheading @command{objcopy} and @command{strip} Output Target
252b5132
RH
4033
4034Ways to specify:
4035
4036@enumerate
4037@item
c7c55b78 4038command line options: @option{-O} or @option{--output-target}, or @option{-F} or @option{--target}
252b5132
RH
4039
4040@item
c7c55b78 4041the input target (see ``@command{objcopy} and @command{strip} Input Target'' above)
252b5132
RH
4042
4043@item
4044environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
4045
4046@item
4047deduced from the input file
4048@end enumerate
4049
c7c55b78 4050@subheading @command{nm}, @command{size}, and @command{strings} Target
252b5132
RH
4051
4052Ways to specify:
4053
4054@enumerate
4055@item
c7c55b78 4056command line option: @option{--target}
252b5132
RH
4057
4058@item
4059environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
4060
4061@item
4062deduced from the input file
4063@end enumerate
4064
252b5132 4065@node Architecture Selection
947ed062 4066@section Architecture Selection
252b5132
RH
4067
4068An @dfn{architecture} is a type of @sc{cpu} on which an object file is
4069to run. Its name may contain a colon, separating the name of the
4070processor family from the name of the particular @sc{cpu}.
4071
4072The command to list valid architecture values is @samp{objdump -i} (the
4073second column contains the relevant information).
4074
4075Sample values: @samp{m68k:68020}, @samp{mips:3000}, @samp{sparc}.
4076
c7c55b78 4077@subheading @command{objdump} Architecture
252b5132
RH
4078
4079Ways to specify:
4080
4081@enumerate
4082@item
c7c55b78 4083command line option: @option{-m} or @option{--architecture}
252b5132
RH
4084
4085@item
4086deduced from the input file
4087@end enumerate
4088
c7c55b78 4089@subheading @command{objcopy}, @command{nm}, @command{size}, @command{strings} Architecture
252b5132
RH
4090
4091Ways to specify:
4092
4093@enumerate
4094@item
4095deduced from the input file
4096@end enumerate
4097
252b5132
RH
4098@node Reporting Bugs
4099@chapter Reporting Bugs
4100@cindex bugs
4101@cindex reporting bugs
4102
4103Your bug reports play an essential role in making the binary utilities
4104reliable.
4105
4106Reporting a bug may help you by bringing a solution to your problem, or
4107it may not. But in any case the principal function of a bug report is
4108to help the entire community by making the next version of the binary
4109utilities work better. Bug reports are your contribution to their
4110maintenance.
4111
4112In order for a bug report to serve its purpose, you must include the
4113information that enables us to fix the bug.
4114
4115@menu
4116* Bug Criteria:: Have you found a bug?
4117* Bug Reporting:: How to report bugs
4118@end menu
4119
4120@node Bug Criteria
947ed062 4121@section Have You Found a Bug?
252b5132
RH
4122@cindex bug criteria
4123
4124If you are not sure whether you have found a bug, here are some guidelines:
4125
4126@itemize @bullet
4127@cindex fatal signal
4128@cindex crash
4129@item
4130If a binary utility gets a fatal signal, for any input whatever, that is
4131a bug. Reliable utilities never crash.
4132
4133@cindex error on valid input
4134@item
4135If a binary utility produces an error message for valid input, that is a
4136bug.
4137
4138@item
4139If you are an experienced user of binary utilities, your suggestions for
4140improvement are welcome in any case.
4141@end itemize
4142
4143@node Bug Reporting
947ed062 4144@section How to Report Bugs
252b5132
RH
4145@cindex bug reports
4146@cindex bugs, reporting
4147
4148A number of companies and individuals offer support for @sc{gnu}
4149products. If you obtained the binary utilities from a support
4150organization, we recommend you contact that organization first.
4151
4152You can find contact information for many support companies and
4153individuals in the file @file{etc/SERVICE} in the @sc{gnu} Emacs
4154distribution.
4155
ad22bfe8 4156@ifset BUGURL
252b5132 4157In any event, we also recommend that you send bug reports for the binary
ad22bfe8
JM
4158utilities to @value{BUGURL}.
4159@end ifset
252b5132
RH
4160
4161The fundamental principle of reporting bugs usefully is this:
4162@strong{report all the facts}. If you are not sure whether to state a
4163fact or leave it out, state it!
4164
4165Often people omit facts because they think they know what causes the
4166problem and assume that some details do not matter. Thus, you might
4167assume that the name of a file you use in an example does not matter.
4168Well, probably it does not, but one cannot be sure. Perhaps the bug is
4169a stray memory reference which happens to fetch from the location where
4170that pathname is stored in memory; perhaps, if the pathname were
4171different, the contents of that location would fool the utility into
4172doing the right thing despite the bug. Play it safe and give a
4173specific, complete example. That is the easiest thing for you to do,
4174and the most helpful.
4175
4176Keep in mind that the purpose of a bug report is to enable us to fix the bug if
4177it is new to us. Therefore, always write your bug reports on the assumption
4178that the bug has not been reported previously.
4179
4180Sometimes people give a few sketchy facts and ask, ``Does this ring a
947ed062
NC
4181bell?'' This cannot help us fix a bug, so it is basically useless. We
4182respond by asking for enough details to enable us to investigate.
4183You might as well expedite matters by sending them to begin with.
252b5132
RH
4184
4185To enable us to fix the bug, you should include all these things:
4186
4187@itemize @bullet
4188@item
4189The version of the utility. Each utility announces it if you start it
c7c55b78 4190with the @option{--version} argument.
252b5132
RH
4191
4192Without this, we will not know whether there is any point in looking for
4193the bug in the current version of the binary utilities.
4194
4195@item
4196Any patches you may have applied to the source, including any patches
4197made to the @code{BFD} library.
4198
4199@item
4200The type of machine you are using, and the operating system name and
4201version number.
4202
4203@item
4204What compiler (and its version) was used to compile the utilities---e.g.
4205``@code{gcc-2.7}''.
4206
4207@item
4208The command arguments you gave the utility to observe the bug. To
4209guarantee you will not omit something important, list them all. A copy
4210of the Makefile (or the output from make) is sufficient.
4211
4212If we were to try to guess the arguments, we would probably guess wrong
4213and then we might not encounter the bug.
4214
4215@item
4216A complete input file, or set of input files, that will reproduce the
4217bug. If the utility is reading an object file or files, then it is
ad22bfe8 4218generally most helpful to send the actual object files.
252b5132
RH
4219
4220If the source files were produced exclusively using @sc{gnu} programs
c7c55b78 4221(e.g., @command{gcc}, @command{gas}, and/or the @sc{gnu} @command{ld}), then it
252b5132 4222may be OK to send the source files rather than the object files. In
c7c55b78 4223this case, be sure to say exactly what version of @command{gcc}, or
252b5132 4224whatever, was used to produce the object files. Also say how
c7c55b78 4225@command{gcc}, or whatever, was configured.
252b5132
RH
4226
4227@item
4228A description of what behavior you observe that you believe is
4229incorrect. For example, ``It gets a fatal signal.''
4230
4231Of course, if the bug is that the utility gets a fatal signal, then we
4232will certainly notice it. But if the bug is incorrect output, we might
4233not notice unless it is glaringly wrong. You might as well not give us
4234a chance to make a mistake.
4235
4236Even if the problem you experience is a fatal signal, you should still
f20a759a 4237say so explicitly. Suppose something strange is going on, such as your
b45619c0 4238copy of the utility is out of sync, or you have encountered a bug in
252b5132
RH
4239the C library on your system. (This has happened!) Your copy might
4240crash and ours would not. If you told us to expect a crash, then when
4241ours fails to crash, we would know that the bug was not happening for
4242us. If you had not told us to expect a crash, then we would not be able
4243to draw any conclusion from our observations.
4244
4245@item
4246If you wish to suggest changes to the source, send us context diffs, as
c7c55b78 4247generated by @command{diff} with the @option{-u}, @option{-c}, or @option{-p}
252b5132 4248option. Always send diffs from the old file to the new file. If you
c7c55b78 4249wish to discuss something in the @command{ld} source, refer to it by
f20a759a 4250context, not by line number.
252b5132
RH
4251
4252The line numbers in our development sources will not match those in your
4253sources. Your line numbers would convey no useful information to us.
4254@end itemize
4255
4256Here are some things that are not necessary:
4257
4258@itemize @bullet
4259@item
4260A description of the envelope of the bug.
4261
4262Often people who encounter a bug spend a lot of time investigating
4263which changes to the input file will make the bug go away and which
4264changes will not affect it.
4265
4266This is often time consuming and not very useful, because the way we
4267will find the bug is by running a single example under the debugger
4268with breakpoints, not by pure deduction from a series of examples.
4269We recommend that you save your time for something else.
4270
4271Of course, if you can find a simpler example to report @emph{instead}
4272of the original one, that is a convenience for us. Errors in the
4273output will be easier to spot, running under the debugger will take
4274less time, and so on.
4275
4276However, simplification is not vital; if you do not want to do this,
4277report the bug anyway and send us the entire test case you used.
4278
4279@item
4280A patch for the bug.
4281
4282A patch for the bug does help us if it is a good one. But do not omit
4283the necessary information, such as the test case, on the assumption that
4284a patch is all we need. We might see problems with your patch and decide
4285to fix the problem another way, or we might not understand it at all.
4286
4287Sometimes with programs as complicated as the binary utilities it is
4288very hard to construct an example that will make the program follow a
4289certain path through the code. If you do not send us the example, we
4290will not be able to construct one, so we will not be able to verify that
4291the bug is fixed.
4292
4293And if we cannot understand what bug you are trying to fix, or why your
4294patch should be an improvement, we will not install it. A test case will
4295help us to understand.
4296
4297@item
4298A guess about what the bug is or what it depends on.
4299
4300Such guesses are usually wrong. Even we cannot guess right about such
4301things without first using the debugger to find the facts.
4302@end itemize
4303
fff279a7
NC
4304@node GNU Free Documentation License
4305@appendix GNU Free Documentation License
4306
947ed062 4307@include fdl.texi
cf055d54 4308
fa0d8a3e
NC
4309@node Binutils Index
4310@unnumbered Binutils Index
252b5132
RH
4311
4312@printindex cp
4313
252b5132 4314@bye
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