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1\input texinfo @c -*- Texinfo -*-
2@setfilename binutils.info
3@settitle @sc{gnu} Binary Utilities
4@finalout
5@synindex ky cp
6
7@c man begin INCLUDE
8@include bfdver.texi
9@c man end
10
11@copying
12@c man begin COPYRIGHT
13Copyright @copyright{} 1991-2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
14
15Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
16under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3
17or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
18with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no
19Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the
20section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''.
21
22@c man end
23@end copying
24
25@dircategory Software development
26@direntry
27* Binutils: (binutils). The GNU binary utilities.
28@end direntry
29
30@dircategory Individual utilities
31@direntry
32* addr2line: (binutils)addr2line. Convert addresses to file and line.
33* ar: (binutils)ar. Create, modify, and extract from archives.
34* c++filt: (binutils)c++filt. Filter to demangle encoded C++ symbols.
35* cxxfilt: (binutils)c++filt. MS-DOS name for c++filt.
36* dlltool: (binutils)dlltool. Create files needed to build and use DLLs.
37* nm: (binutils)nm. List symbols from object files.
38* objcopy: (binutils)objcopy. Copy and translate object files.
39* objdump: (binutils)objdump. Display information from object files.
40* ranlib: (binutils)ranlib. Generate index to archive contents.
41* readelf: (binutils)readelf. Display the contents of ELF format files.
42* size: (binutils)size. List section sizes and total size.
43* strings: (binutils)strings. List printable strings from files.
44* strip: (binutils)strip. Discard symbols.
45* elfedit: (binutils)elfedit. Update ELF header and property of ELF files.
46* windmc: (binutils)windmc. Generator for Windows message resources.
47* windres: (binutils)windres. Manipulate Windows resources.
48@end direntry
49
50@titlepage
51@title The @sc{gnu} Binary Utilities
52@ifset VERSION_PACKAGE
53@subtitle @value{VERSION_PACKAGE}
54@end ifset
55@subtitle Version @value{VERSION}
56@sp 1
57@subtitle @value{UPDATED}
58@author Roland H. Pesch
59@author Jeffrey M. Osier
60@author Cygnus Support
61@page
62
63@tex
64{\parskip=0pt \hfill Cygnus Support\par \hfill
65Texinfo \texinfoversion\par }
66@end tex
67
68@vskip 0pt plus 1filll
69@insertcopying
70@end titlepage
71@contents
72
73@node Top
74@top Introduction
75
76@cindex version
77This brief manual contains documentation for the @sc{gnu} binary
78utilities
79@ifset VERSION_PACKAGE
80@value{VERSION_PACKAGE}
81@end ifset
82version @value{VERSION}:
83
84@iftex
85@table @code
86@item ar
87Create, modify, and extract from archives
88
89@item nm
90List symbols from object files
91
92@item objcopy
93Copy and translate object files
94
95@item objdump
96Display information from object files
97
98@item ranlib
99Generate index to archive contents
100
101@item readelf
102Display the contents of ELF format files.
103
104@item size
105List file section sizes and total size
106
107@item strings
108List printable strings from files
109
110@item strip
111Discard symbols
112
113@item elfedit
114Update the ELF header and program property of ELF files.
115
116@item c++filt
117Demangle encoded C++ symbols (on MS-DOS, this program is named
118@code{cxxfilt})
119
120@item addr2line
121Convert addresses into file names and line numbers
122
123@item windres
124Manipulate Windows resources
125
126@item windmc
127Generator for Windows message resources
128
129@item dlltool
130Create the files needed to build and use Dynamic Link Libraries
131@end table
132@end iftex
133
134This document is distributed under the terms of the GNU Free
135Documentation License version 1.3. A copy of the license is included
136in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''.
137
138@menu
139* ar:: Create, modify, and extract from archives
140* nm:: List symbols from object files
141* objcopy:: Copy and translate object files
142* objdump:: Display information from object files
143* ranlib:: Generate index to archive contents
144* size:: List section sizes and total size
145* strings:: List printable strings from files
146* strip:: Discard symbols
147* c++filt:: Filter to demangle encoded C++ symbols
148* cxxfilt: c++filt. MS-DOS name for c++filt
149* addr2line:: Convert addresses to file and line
150* windmc:: Generator for Windows message resources
151* windres:: Manipulate Windows resources
152* dlltool:: Create files needed to build and use DLLs
153* readelf:: Display the contents of ELF format files
154* elfedit:: Update ELF header and property of ELF files
155* Common Options:: Command-line options for all utilities
156* Selecting the Target System:: How these utilities determine the target
157* debuginfod:: Using binutils with debuginfod
158* Reporting Bugs:: Reporting Bugs
159* GNU Free Documentation License:: GNU Free Documentation License
160* Binutils Index:: Binutils Index
161@end menu
162
163@node ar
164@chapter ar
165
166@kindex ar
167@cindex archives
168@cindex collections of files
169
170@c man title ar create, modify, and extract from archives
171
172@smallexample
173ar [-]@var{p}[@var{mod}] [@option{--plugin} @var{name}] [@option{--target} @var{bfdname}] [@option{--output} @var{dirname}] [@var{relpos}] [@var{count}] @var{archive} [@var{member}@dots{}]
174ar -M [ <mri-script ]
175@end smallexample
176
177@c man begin DESCRIPTION ar
178
179The @sc{gnu} @command{ar} program creates, modifies, and extracts from
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
186extraction.
187
188@cindex name length
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
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
197@command{ar} is considered a binary utility because archives of this sort
198are most often used as @dfn{libraries} holding commonly needed
199subroutines.
200
201@cindex symbol index
202@command{ar} creates an index to the symbols defined in relocatable
203object modules in the archive when you specify the modifier @samp{s}.
204Once created, this index is updated in the archive whenever @command{ar}
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
211table. If an archive lacks the table, another form of @command{ar} called
212@command{ranlib} can be used to add just the table.
213
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 archive. This is useful for building
218libraries for use within a local build tree, where the relocatable
219objects are expected to remain available, and copying the contents of
220each object would only waste time and space.
221
222An archive can either be @emph{thin} or it can be normal. It cannot
223be both at the same time. Once an archive is created its format
224cannot be changed without first deleting it and then creating a new
225archive in its place.
226
227Thin archives are also @emph{flattened}, so that adding one thin
228archive to another thin archive does not nest it, as would happen with
229a normal archive. Instead the elements of the first archive are added
230individually to the second archive.
231
232The paths to the elements of the archive are stored relative to the
233archive itself.
234
235@cindex compatibility, @command{ar}
236@cindex @command{ar} compatibility
237@sc{gnu} @command{ar} is designed to be compatible with two different
238facilities. You can control its activity using command-line options,
239like the different varieties of @command{ar} on Unix systems; or, if you
240specify the single command-line option @option{-M}, you can control it
241with a script supplied via standard input, like the MRI ``librarian''
242program.
243
244@c man end
245
246@menu
247* ar cmdline:: Controlling @command{ar} on the command line
248* ar scripts:: Controlling @command{ar} with a script
249@end menu
250
251@page
252@node ar cmdline
253@section Controlling @command{ar} on the Command Line
254
255@smallexample
256@c man begin SYNOPSIS ar
257ar [@option{-X32_64}] [@option{-}]@var{p}[@var{mod}] [@option{--plugin} @var{name}] [@option{--target} @var{bfdname}] [@option{--output} @var{dirname}] [@var{relpos}] [@var{count}] @var{archive} [@var{member}@dots{}]
258@c man end
259@end smallexample
260
261@cindex Unix compatibility, @command{ar}
262When you use @command{ar} in the Unix style, @command{ar} insists on at least two
263arguments to execute: one keyletter specifying the @emph{operation}
264(optionally accompanied by other keyletters specifying
265@emph{modifiers}), and the archive name to act on.
266
267Most operations can also accept further @var{member} arguments,
268specifying particular files to operate on.
269
270@c man begin OPTIONS ar
271
272@sc{gnu} @command{ar} allows you to mix the operation code @var{p} and modifier
273flags @var{mod} in any order, within the first command-line argument.
274
275If you wish, you may begin the first command-line argument with a
276dash.
277
278@cindex operations on archive
279The @var{p} keyletter specifies what operation to execute; it may be
280any of the following, but you must specify only one of them:
281
282@table @samp
283@item d
284@cindex deleting from archive
285@emph{Delete} modules from the archive. Specify the names of modules to
286be deleted as @var{member}@dots{}; the archive is untouched if you
287specify no files to delete.
288
289If you specify the @samp{v} modifier, @command{ar} lists each module
290as it is deleted.
291
292@item m
293@cindex moving in archive
294Use this operation to @emph{move} members in an archive.
295
296The ordering of members in an archive can make a difference in how
297programs are linked using the library, if a symbol is defined in more
298than one member.
299
300If no modifiers are used with @code{m}, any members you name in the
301@var{member} arguments are moved to the @emph{end} of the archive;
302you can use the @samp{a}, @samp{b}, or @samp{i} modifiers to move them to a
303specified place instead.
304
305@item p
306@cindex printing from archive
307@emph{Print} the specified members of the archive, to the standard
308output file. If the @samp{v} modifier is specified, show the member
309name before copying its contents to standard output.
310
311If you specify no @var{member} arguments, all the files in the archive are
312printed.
313
314@item q
315@cindex quick append to archive
316@emph{Quick append}; Historically, add the files @var{member}@dots{} to the end of
317@var{archive}, without checking for replacement.
318
319The modifiers @samp{a}, @samp{b}, and @samp{i} do @emph{not} affect this
320operation; new members are always placed at the end of the archive.
321
322The modifier @samp{v} makes @command{ar} list each file as it is appended.
323
324Since the point of this operation is speed, implementations of
325@command{ar} have the option of not updating the archive's symbol
326table if one exists. Too many different systems however assume that
327symbol tables are always up-to-date, so @sc{gnu} @command{ar} will
328rebuild the table even with a quick append.
329
330Note - @sc{gnu} @command{ar} treats the command @samp{qs} as a
331synonym for @samp{r} - replacing already existing files in the
332archive and appending new ones at the end.
333
334@item r
335@cindex replacement in archive
336Insert the files @var{member}@dots{} into @var{archive} (with
337@emph{replacement}). This operation differs from @samp{q} in that any
338previously existing members are deleted if their names match those being
339added.
340
341If one of the files named in @var{member}@dots{} does not exist, @command{ar}
342displays an error message, and leaves undisturbed any existing members
343of the archive matching that name.
344
345By default, new members are added at the end of the file; but you may
346use one of the modifiers @samp{a}, @samp{b}, or @samp{i} to request
347placement relative to some existing member.
348
349The modifier @samp{v} used with this operation elicits a line of
350output for each file inserted, along with one of the letters @samp{a} or
351@samp{r} to indicate whether the file was appended (no old member
352deleted) or replaced.
353
354@item s
355@cindex ranlib
356Add an index to the archive, or update it if it already exists. Note
357this command is an exception to the rule that there can only be one
358command letter, as it is possible to use it as either a command or a
359modifier. In either case it does the same thing.
360
361@item t
362@cindex contents of archive
363Display a @emph{table} listing the contents of @var{archive}, or those
364of the files listed in @var{member}@dots{} that are present in the
365archive. Normally only the member name is shown, but if the modifier
366@samp{O} is specified, then the corresponding offset of the member is also
367displayed. Finally, in order to see the modes (permissions), timestamp,
368owner, group, and size the @samp{v} modifier should be included.
369
370If you do not specify a @var{member}, all files in the archive
371are listed.
372
373@cindex repeated names in archive
374@cindex name duplication in archive
375If there is more than one file with the same name (say, @samp{fie}) in
376an archive (say @samp{b.a}), @samp{ar t b.a fie} lists only the
377first instance; to see them all, you must ask for a complete
378listing---in our example, @samp{ar t b.a}.
379@c WRS only; per Gumby, this is implementation-dependent, and in a more
380@c recent case in fact works the other way.
381
382@item x
383@cindex extract from archive
384@emph{Extract} members (named @var{member}) from the archive. You can
385use the @samp{v} modifier with this operation, to request that
386@command{ar} list each name as it extracts it.
387
388If you do not specify a @var{member}, all files in the archive
389are extracted.
390
391Files cannot be extracted from a thin archive, and there are
392restrictions on extracting from archives created with @option{P}: The
393paths must not be absolute, may not contain @code{..}, and any
394subdirectories in the paths must exist. If it is desired to avoid
395these restrictions then used the @option{--output} option to specify
396an output directory.
397@end table
398
399A number of modifiers (@var{mod}) may immediately follow the @var{p}
400keyletter, to specify variations on an operation's behavior:
401
402@table @samp
403@item a
404@cindex relative placement in archive
405Add new files @emph{after} an existing member of the
406archive. If you use the modifier @samp{a}, the name of an existing archive
407member must be present as the @var{relpos} argument, before the
408@var{archive} specification.
409
410@item b
411Add new files @emph{before} an existing member of the
412archive. If you use the modifier @samp{b}, the name of an existing archive
413member must be present as the @var{relpos} argument, before the
414@var{archive} specification. (same as @samp{i}).
415
416@item c
417@cindex creating archives
418@emph{Create} the archive. The specified @var{archive} is always
419created if it did not exist, when you request an update. But a warning is
420issued unless you specify in advance that you expect to create it, by
421using this modifier.
422
423@item D
424@cindex deterministic archives
425@kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
426Operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. When adding files and the archive
427index use zero for UIDs, GIDs, timestamps, and use consistent file modes
428for all files. When this option is used, if @command{ar} is used with
429identical options and identical input files, multiple runs will create
430identical output files regardless of the input files' owners, groups,
431file modes, or modification times.
432
433If @file{binutils} was configured with
434@option{--enable-deterministic-archives}, then this mode is on by default.
435It can be disabled with the @samp{U} modifier, below.
436
437@item f
438Truncate names in the archive. @sc{gnu} @command{ar} will normally permit file
439names of any length. This will cause it to create archives which are
440not compatible with the native @command{ar} program on some systems. If
441this is a concern, the @samp{f} modifier may be used to truncate file
442names when putting them in the archive.
443
444@item i
445Insert new files @emph{before} an existing member of the
446archive. If you use the modifier @samp{i}, the name of an existing archive
447member must be present as the @var{relpos} argument, before the
448@var{archive} specification. (same as @samp{b}).
449
450@item l
451This modifier is accepted but not used.
452@c whaffor ar l modifier??? presumably compat; with
453@c what???---doc@@cygnus.com, 25jan91
454
455@item N
456Uses the @var{count} parameter. This is used if there are multiple
457entries in the archive with the same name. Extract or delete instance
458@var{count} of the given name from the archive.
459
460@item o
461@cindex dates in archive
462Preserve the @emph{original} dates of members when extracting them. If
463you do not specify this modifier, files extracted from the archive
464are stamped with the time of extraction.
465
466@item O
467@cindex offsets of files
468Display member offsets inside the archive. Use together with the @samp{t}
469option.
470
471@item P
472Use the full path name when matching or storing names in the archive.
473Archives created with full path names are not POSIX compliant, and
474thus may not work with tools other than up to date @sc{gnu} tools.
475Modifying such archives with @sc{gnu} @command{ar} without using
476@option{P} will remove the full path names unless the archive is a
477thin archive. Note that @option{P} may be useful when adding files to
478a thin archive since @option{r} without @option{P} ignores the path
479when choosing which element to replace. Thus
480@smallexample
481ar rcST archive.a subdir/file1 subdir/file2 file1
482@end smallexample
483will result in the first @code{subdir/file1} being replaced with
484@code{file1} from the current directory. Adding @option{P} will
485prevent this replacement.
486
487@item s
488@cindex writing archive index
489Write an object-file index into the archive, or update an existing one,
490even if no other change is made to the archive. You may use this modifier
491flag either with any operation, or alone. Running @samp{ar s} on an
492archive is equivalent to running @samp{ranlib} on it.
493
494@item S
495@cindex not writing archive index
496Do not generate an archive symbol table. This can speed up building a
497large library in several steps. The resulting archive can not be used
498with the linker. In order to build a symbol table, you must omit the
499@samp{S} modifier on the last execution of @samp{ar}, or you must run
500@samp{ranlib} on the archive.
501
502@item T
503@cindex creating thin archive
504Make the specified @var{archive} a @emph{thin} archive. If it already
505exists and is a regular archive, the existing members must be present
506in the same directory as @var{archive}.
507
508@item u
509@cindex updating an archive
510Normally, @samp{ar r}@dots{} inserts all files
511listed into the archive. If you would like to insert @emph{only} those
512of the files you list that are newer than existing members of the same
513names, use this modifier. The @samp{u} modifier is allowed only for the
514operation @samp{r} (replace). In particular, the combination @samp{qu} is
515not allowed, since checking the timestamps would lose any speed
516advantage from the operation @samp{q}.
517
518@item U
519@cindex deterministic archives
520@kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
521Do @emph{not} operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. This is the inverse
522of the @samp{D} modifier, above: added files and the archive index will
523get their actual UID, GID, timestamp, and file mode values.
524
525This is the default unless @file{binutils} was configured with
526@option{--enable-deterministic-archives}.
527
528@item v
529This modifier requests the @emph{verbose} version of an operation. Many
530operations display additional information, such as filenames processed,
531when the modifier @samp{v} is appended.
532
533@item V
534This modifier shows the version number of @command{ar}.
535@end table
536
537The @command{ar} program also supports some command-line options which
538are neither modifiers nor actions, but which do change its behaviour
539in specific ways:
540
541@table @samp
542@item --help
543Displays the list of command-line options supported by @command{ar}
544and then exits.
545
546@item --version
547Displays the version information of @command{ar} and then exits.
548
549@item -X32_64
550@command{ar} ignores an initial option spelled @samp{-X32_64}, for
551compatibility with AIX. The behaviour produced by this option is the
552default for @sc{gnu} @command{ar}. @command{ar} does not support any
553of the other @samp{-X} options; in particular, it does not support
554@option{-X32} which is the default for AIX @command{ar}.
555
556@item --plugin @var{name}
557@cindex plugins
558The optional command-line switch @option{--plugin @var{name}} causes
559@command{ar} to load the plugin called @var{name} which adds support
560for more file formats, including object files with link-time
561optimization information.
562
563This option is only available if the toolchain has been built with
564plugin support enabled.
565
566If @option{--plugin} is not provided, but plugin support has been
567enabled then @command{ar} iterates over the files in
568@file{$@{libdir@}/bfd-plugins} in alphabetic order and the first
569plugin that claims the object in question is used.
570
571Please note that this plugin search directory is @emph{not} the one
572used by @command{ld}'s @option{-plugin} option. In order to make
573@command{ar} use the linker plugin it must be copied into the
574@file{$@{libdir@}/bfd-plugins} directory. For GCC based compilations
575the linker plugin is called @file{liblto_plugin.so.0.0.0}. For Clang
576based compilations it is called @file{LLVMgold.so}. The GCC plugin
577is always backwards compatible with earlier versions, so it is
578sufficient to just copy the newest one.
579
580@item --target @var{target}
581The optional command-line switch @option{--target @var{bfdname}}
582specifies that the archive members are in an object code format
583different from your system's default format. See
584@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
585
586@item --output @var{dirname}
587The @option{--output} option can be used to specify a path to a
588directory into which archive members should be extracted. If this
589option is not specified then the current directory will be used.
590
591Note - although the presence of this option does imply a @option{x}
592extraction operation that option must still be included on the command
593line.
594
595@end table
596@c man end
597
598@ignore
599@c man begin SEEALSO ar
600nm(1), ranlib(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
601@c man end
602@end ignore
603
604@node ar scripts
605@section Controlling @command{ar} with a Script
606
607@smallexample
608ar -M [ <@var{script} ]
609@end smallexample
610
611@cindex MRI compatibility, @command{ar}
612@cindex scripts, @command{ar}
613If you use the single command-line option @samp{-M} with @command{ar}, you
614can control its operation with a rudimentary command language. This
615form of @command{ar} operates interactively if standard input is coming
616directly from a terminal. During interactive use, @command{ar} prompts for
617input (the prompt is @samp{AR >}), and continues executing even after
618errors. If you redirect standard input to a script file, no prompts are
619issued, and @command{ar} abandons execution (with a nonzero exit code)
620on any error.
621
622The @command{ar} command language is @emph{not} designed to be equivalent
623to the command-line options; in fact, it provides somewhat less control
624over archives. The only purpose of the command language is to ease the
625transition to @sc{gnu} @command{ar} for developers who already have scripts
626written for the MRI ``librarian'' program.
627
628The syntax for the @command{ar} command language is straightforward:
629@itemize @bullet
630@item
631commands are recognized in upper or lower case; for example, @code{LIST}
632is the same as @code{list}. In the following descriptions, commands are
633shown in upper case for clarity.
634
635@item
636a single command may appear on each line; it is the first word on the
637line.
638
639@item
640empty lines are allowed, and have no effect.
641
642@item
643comments are allowed; text after either of the characters @samp{*}
644or @samp{;} is ignored.
645
646@item
647Whenever you use a list of names as part of the argument to an @command{ar}
648command, you can separate the individual names with either commas or
649blanks. Commas are shown in the explanations below, for clarity.
650
651@item
652@samp{+} is used as a line continuation character; if @samp{+} appears
653at the end of a line, the text on the following line is considered part
654of the current command.
655@end itemize
656
657Here are the commands you can use in @command{ar} scripts, or when using
658@command{ar} interactively. Three of them have special significance:
659
660@code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE} specify a @dfn{current archive}, which is
661a temporary file required for most of the other commands.
662
663@code{SAVE} commits the changes so far specified by the script. Prior
664to @code{SAVE}, commands affect only the temporary copy of the current
665archive.
666
667@table @code
668@item ADDLIB @var{archive}
669@itemx ADDLIB @var{archive} (@var{module}, @var{module}, @dots{} @var{module})
670Add all the contents of @var{archive} (or, if specified, each named
671@var{module} from @var{archive}) to the current archive.
672
673Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
674
675@item ADDMOD @var{member}, @var{member}, @dots{} @var{member}
676@c FIXME! w/Replacement?? If so, like "ar r @var{archive} @var{names}"
677@c else like "ar q..."
678Add each named @var{member} as a module in the current archive.
679
680Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
681
682@item CLEAR
683Discard the contents of the current archive, canceling the effect of
684any operations since the last @code{SAVE}. May be executed (with no
685effect) even if no current archive is specified.
686
687@item CREATE @var{archive}
688Creates an archive, and makes it the current archive (required for many
689other commands). The new archive is created with a temporary name; it
690is not actually saved as @var{archive} until you use @code{SAVE}.
691You can overwrite existing archives; similarly, the contents of any
692existing file named @var{archive} will not be destroyed until @code{SAVE}.
693
694@item DELETE @var{module}, @var{module}, @dots{} @var{module}
695Delete each listed @var{module} from the current archive; equivalent to
696@samp{ar -d @var{archive} @var{module} @dots{} @var{module}}.
697
698Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
699
700@item DIRECTORY @var{archive} (@var{module}, @dots{} @var{module})
701@itemx DIRECTORY @var{archive} (@var{module}, @dots{} @var{module}) @var{outputfile}
702List each named @var{module} present in @var{archive}. The separate
703command @code{VERBOSE} specifies the form of the output: when verbose
704output is off, output is like that of @samp{ar -t @var{archive}
705@var{module}@dots{}}. When verbose output is on, the listing is like
706@samp{ar -tv @var{archive} @var{module}@dots{}}.
707
708Output normally goes to the standard output stream; however, if you
709specify @var{outputfile} as a final argument, @command{ar} directs the
710output to that file.
711
712@item END
713Exit from @command{ar}, with a @code{0} exit code to indicate successful
714completion. This command does not save the output file; if you have
715changed the current archive since the last @code{SAVE} command, those
716changes are lost.
717
718@item EXTRACT @var{module}, @var{module}, @dots{} @var{module}
719Extract each named @var{module} from the current archive, writing them
720into the current directory as separate files. Equivalent to @samp{ar -x
721@var{archive} @var{module}@dots{}}.
722
723Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
724
725@ignore
726@c FIXME Tokens but no commands???
727@item FULLDIR
728
729@item HELP
730@end ignore
731
732@item LIST
733Display full contents of the current archive, in ``verbose'' style
734regardless of the state of @code{VERBOSE}. The effect is like @samp{ar
735tv @var{archive}}. (This single command is a @sc{gnu} @command{ar}
736enhancement, rather than present for MRI compatibility.)
737
738Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
739
740@item OPEN @var{archive}
741Opens an existing archive for use as the current archive (required for
742many other commands). Any changes as the result of subsequent commands
743will not actually affect @var{archive} until you next use @code{SAVE}.
744
745@item REPLACE @var{module}, @var{module}, @dots{} @var{module}
746In the current archive, replace each existing @var{module} (named in
747the @code{REPLACE} arguments) from files in the current working directory.
748To execute this command without errors, both the file, and the module in
749the current archive, must exist.
750
751Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
752
753@item VERBOSE
754Toggle an internal flag governing the output from @code{DIRECTORY}.
755When the flag is on, @code{DIRECTORY} output matches output from
756@samp{ar -tv }@dots{}.
757
758@item SAVE
759Commit your changes to the current archive, and actually save it as a
760file with the name specified in the last @code{CREATE} or @code{OPEN}
761command.
762
763Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
764
765@end table
766
767@iftex
768@node ld
769@chapter ld
770@cindex linker
771@kindex ld
772The @sc{gnu} linker @command{ld} is now described in a separate manual.
773@xref{Top,, Overview,, Using LD: the @sc{gnu} linker}.
774@end iftex
775
776@node nm
777@chapter nm
778@cindex symbols
779@kindex nm
780
781@c man title nm list symbols from object files
782
783@smallexample
784@c man begin SYNOPSIS nm
785nm [@option{-A}|@option{-o}|@option{--print-file-name}] [@option{-a}|@option{--debug-syms}]
786 [@option{-B}|@option{--format=bsd}] [@option{-C}|@option{--demangle}[=@var{style}]]
787 [@option{-D}|@option{--dynamic}] [@option{-f}@var{format}|@option{--format=}@var{format}]
788 [@option{-g}|@option{--extern-only}] [@option{-h}|@option{--help}]
789 [@option{-l}|@option{--line-numbers}] [@option{--inlines}]
790 [@option{-n}|@option{-v}|@option{--numeric-sort}]
791 [@option{-P}|@option{--portability}] [@option{-p}|@option{--no-sort}]
792 [@option{-r}|@option{--reverse-sort}] [@option{-S}|@option{--print-size}]
793 [@option{-s}|@option{--print-armap}] [@option{-t} @var{radix}|@option{--radix=}@var{radix}]
794 [@option{-u}|@option{--undefined-only}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
795 [@option{-X 32_64}] [@option{--defined-only}] [@option{--no-demangle}]
796 [@option{--plugin} @var{name}]
797 [@option{--no-recurse-limit}|@option{--recurse-limit}]]
798 [@option{--size-sort}] [@option{--special-syms}]
799 [@option{--synthetic}] [@option{--with-symbol-versions}] [@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
800 [@var{objfile}@dots{}]
801@c man end
802@end smallexample
803
804@c man begin DESCRIPTION nm
805@sc{gnu} @command{nm} lists the symbols from object files @var{objfile}@dots{}.
806If no object files are listed as arguments, @command{nm} assumes the file
807@file{a.out}.
808
809For each symbol, @command{nm} shows:
810
811@itemize @bullet
812@item
813The symbol value, in the radix selected by options (see below), or
814hexadecimal by default.
815
816@item
817The symbol type. At least the following types are used; others are, as
818well, depending on the object file format. If lowercase, the symbol is
819usually local; if uppercase, the symbol is global (external). There
820are however a few lowercase symbols that are shown for special global
821symbols (@code{u}, @code{v} and @code{w}).
822
823@c Some more detail on exactly what these symbol types are used for
824@c would be nice.
825@table @code
826@item A
827The symbol's value is absolute, and will not be changed by further
828linking.
829
830@item B
831@itemx b
832The symbol is in the BSS data section. This section typically
833contains zero-initialized or uninitialized data, although the exact
834behavior is system dependent.
835
836@item C
837The symbol is common. Common symbols are uninitialized data. When
838linking, multiple common symbols may appear with the same name. If the
839symbol is defined anywhere, the common symbols are treated as undefined
840references.
841@ifclear man
842For more details on common symbols, see the discussion of
843--warn-common in @ref{Options,,Linker options,ld.info,The GNU linker}.
844@end ifclear
845
846@item D
847@itemx d
848The symbol is in the initialized data section.
849
850@item G
851@itemx g
852The symbol is in an initialized data section for small objects. Some
853object file formats permit more efficient access to small data objects,
854such as a global int variable as opposed to a large global array.
855
856@item i
857For PE format files this indicates that the symbol is in a section
858specific to the implementation of DLLs. For ELF format files this
859indicates that the symbol is an indirect function. This is a GNU
860extension to the standard set of ELF symbol types. It indicates a
861symbol which if referenced by a relocation does not evaluate to its
862address, but instead must be invoked at runtime. The runtime
863execution will then return the value to be used in the relocation.
864
865@item I
866The symbol is an indirect reference to another symbol.
867
868@item N
869The symbol is a debugging symbol.
870
871@item n
872The symbol is in the read-only data section.
873
874@item p
875The symbol is in a stack unwind section.
876
877@item R
878@itemx r
879The symbol is in a read only data section.
880
881@item S
882@itemx s
883The symbol is in an uninitialized or zero-initialized data section
884for small objects.
885
886@item T
887@itemx t
888The symbol is in the text (code) section.
889
890@item U
891The symbol is undefined.
892
893@item u
894The symbol is a unique global symbol. This is a GNU extension to the
895standard set of ELF symbol bindings. For such a symbol the dynamic linker
896will make sure that in the entire process there is just one symbol with
897this name and type in use.
898
899@item V
900@itemx v
901The symbol is a weak object. When a weak defined symbol is linked with
902a normal defined symbol, the normal defined symbol is used with no error.
903When a weak undefined symbol is linked and the symbol is not defined,
904the value of the weak symbol becomes zero with no error. On some
905systems, uppercase indicates that a default value has been specified.
906
907@item W
908@itemx w
909The symbol is a weak symbol that has not been specifically tagged as a
910weak object symbol. When a weak defined symbol is linked with a normal
911defined symbol, the normal defined symbol is used with no error.
912When a weak undefined symbol is linked and the symbol is not defined,
913the value of the symbol is determined in a system-specific manner without
914error. On some systems, uppercase indicates that a default value has been
915specified.
916
917@item -
918The symbol is a stabs symbol in an a.out object file. In this case, the
919next values printed are the stabs other field, the stabs desc field, and
920the stab type. Stabs symbols are used to hold debugging information.
921
922@item ?
923The symbol type is unknown, or object file format specific.
924@end table
925
926@item
927The symbol name.
928@end itemize
929
930@c man end
931
932@c man begin OPTIONS nm
933The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
934equivalent.
935
936@table @env
937@item -A
938@itemx -o
939@itemx --print-file-name
940@cindex input file name
941@cindex file name
942@cindex source file name
943Precede each symbol by the name of the input file (or archive member)
944in which it was found, rather than identifying the input file once only,
945before all of its symbols.
946
947@item -a
948@itemx --debug-syms
949@cindex debugging symbols
950Display all symbols, even debugger-only symbols; normally these are not
951listed.
952
953@item -B
954@cindex @command{nm} format
955@cindex @command{nm} compatibility
956The same as @option{--format=bsd} (for compatibility with the MIPS @command{nm}).
957
958@item -C
959@itemx --demangle[=@var{style}]
960@cindex demangling in nm
961Decode (@dfn{demangle}) low-level symbol names into user-level names.
962Besides removing any initial underscore prepended by the system, this
963makes C++ function names readable. Different compilers have different
964mangling styles. The optional demangling style argument can be used to
965choose an appropriate demangling style for your compiler. @xref{c++filt},
966for more information on demangling.
967
968@item --no-demangle
969Do not demangle low-level symbol names. This is the default.
970
971@item --recurse-limit
972@itemx --no-recurse-limit
973@itemx --recursion-limit
974@itemx --no-recursion-limit
975Enables or disables a limit on the amount of recursion performed
976whilst demangling strings. Since the name mangling formats allow for
977an inifinite level of recursion it is possible to create strings whose
978decoding will exhaust the amount of stack space available on the host
979machine, triggering a memory fault. The limit tries to prevent this
980from happening by restricting recursion to 2048 levels of nesting.
981
982The default is for this limit to be enabled, but disabling it may be
983necessary in order to demangle truly complicated names. Note however
984that if the recursion limit is disabled then stack exhaustion is
985possible and any bug reports about such an event will be rejected.
986
987@item -D
988@itemx --dynamic
989@cindex dynamic symbols
990Display the dynamic symbols rather than the normal symbols. This is
991only meaningful for dynamic objects, such as certain types of shared
992libraries.
993
994@item -f @var{format}
995@itemx --format=@var{format}
996@cindex @command{nm} format
997@cindex @command{nm} compatibility
998Use the output format @var{format}, which can be @code{bsd},
999@code{sysv}, or @code{posix}. The default is @code{bsd}.
1000Only the first character of @var{format} is significant; it can be
1001either upper or lower case.
1002
1003@item -g
1004@itemx --extern-only
1005@cindex external symbols
1006Display only external symbols.
1007
1008@item -h
1009@itemx --help
1010Show a summary of the options to @command{nm} and exit.
1011
1012@item -l
1013@itemx --line-numbers
1014@cindex symbol line numbers
1015For each symbol, use debugging information to try to find a filename and
1016line number. For a defined symbol, look for the line number of the
1017address of the symbol. For an undefined symbol, look for the line
1018number of a relocation entry which refers to the symbol. If line number
1019information can be found, print it after the other symbol information.
1020
1021@item --inlines
1022@cindex objdump inlines
1023When option @option{-l} is active, if the address belongs to a
1024function that was inlined, then this option causes the source
1025information for all enclosing scopes back to the first non-inlined
1026function to be printed as well. For example, if @code{main} inlines
1027@code{callee1} which inlines @code{callee2}, and address is from
1028@code{callee2}, the source information for @code{callee1} and @code{main}
1029will also be printed.
1030
1031@item -n
1032@itemx -v
1033@itemx --numeric-sort
1034Sort symbols numerically by their addresses, rather than alphabetically
1035by their names.
1036
1037@item -p
1038@itemx --no-sort
1039@cindex sorting symbols
1040Do not bother to sort the symbols in any order; print them in the order
1041encountered.
1042
1043@item -P
1044@itemx --portability
1045Use the POSIX.2 standard output format instead of the default format.
1046Equivalent to @samp{-f posix}.
1047
1048@item -r
1049@itemx --reverse-sort
1050Reverse the order of the sort (whether numeric or alphabetic); let the
1051last come first.
1052
1053@item -S
1054@itemx --print-size
1055Print both value and size of defined symbols for the @code{bsd} output style.
1056This option has no effect for object formats that do not record symbol
1057sizes, unless @samp{--size-sort} is also used in which case a
1058calculated size is displayed.
1059
1060@item -s
1061@itemx --print-armap
1062@cindex symbol index, listing
1063When listing symbols from archive members, include the index: a mapping
1064(stored in the archive by @command{ar} or @command{ranlib}) of which modules
1065contain definitions for which names.
1066
1067@item -t @var{radix}
1068@itemx --radix=@var{radix}
1069Use @var{radix} as the radix for printing the symbol values. It must be
1070@samp{d} for decimal, @samp{o} for octal, or @samp{x} for hexadecimal.
1071
1072@item -u
1073@itemx --undefined-only
1074@cindex external symbols
1075@cindex undefined symbols
1076Display only undefined symbols (those external to each object file).
1077
1078@item -V
1079@itemx --version
1080Show the version number of @command{nm} and exit.
1081
1082@item -X
1083This option is ignored for compatibility with the AIX version of
1084@command{nm}. It takes one parameter which must be the string
1085@option{32_64}. The default mode of AIX @command{nm} corresponds
1086to @option{-X 32}, which is not supported by @sc{gnu} @command{nm}.
1087
1088@item --defined-only
1089@cindex external symbols
1090@cindex undefined symbols
1091Display only defined symbols for each object file.
1092
1093@item --plugin @var{name}
1094@cindex plugins
1095Load the plugin called @var{name} to add support for extra target
1096types. This option is only available if the toolchain has been built
1097with plugin support enabled.
1098
1099If @option{--plugin} is not provided, but plugin support has been
1100enabled then @command{nm} iterates over the files in
1101@file{$@{libdir@}/bfd-plugins} in alphabetic order and the first
1102plugin that claims the object in question is used.
1103
1104Please note that this plugin search directory is @emph{not} the one
1105used by @command{ld}'s @option{-plugin} option. In order to make
1106@command{nm} use the linker plugin it must be copied into the
1107@file{$@{libdir@}/bfd-plugins} directory. For GCC based compilations
1108the linker plugin is called @file{liblto_plugin.so.0.0.0}. For Clang
1109based compilations it is called @file{LLVMgold.so}. The GCC plugin
1110is always backwards compatible with earlier versions, so it is
1111sufficient to just copy the newest one.
1112
1113@item --size-sort
1114Sort symbols by size. For ELF objects symbol sizes are read from the
1115ELF, for other object types the symbol sizes are computed as the
1116difference between the value of the symbol and the value of the symbol
1117with the next higher value. If the @code{bsd} output format is used
1118the size of the symbol is printed, rather than the value, and
1119@samp{-S} must be used in order both size and value to be printed.
1120
1121@item --special-syms
1122Display symbols which have a target-specific special meaning. These
1123symbols are usually used by the target for some special processing and
1124are not normally helpful when included in the normal symbol lists.
1125For example for ARM targets this option would skip the mapping symbols
1126used to mark transitions between ARM code, THUMB code and data.
1127
1128@item --synthetic
1129Include synthetic symbols in the output. These are special symbols
1130created by the linker for various purposes. They are not shown by
1131default since they are not part of the binary's original source code.
1132
1133@item --with-symbol-versions
1134Enables the display of symbol version information if any exists. The
1135version string is displayed as a suffix to the symbol name, preceeded by
1136an @@ character. For example @samp{foo@@VER_1}. If the version is
1137the default version to be used when resolving unversioned references
1138to the symbol then it is displayed as a suffix preceeded by two @@
1139characters. For example @samp{foo@@@@VER_2}.
1140
1141@item --target=@var{bfdname}
1142@cindex object code format
1143Specify an object code format other than your system's default format.
1144@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1145
1146@end table
1147
1148@c man end
1149
1150@ignore
1151@c man begin SEEALSO nm
1152ar(1), objdump(1), ranlib(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
1153@c man end
1154@end ignore
1155
1156@node objcopy
1157@chapter objcopy
1158
1159@c man title objcopy copy and translate object files
1160
1161@smallexample
1162@c man begin SYNOPSIS objcopy
1163objcopy [@option{-F} @var{bfdname}|@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
1164 [@option{-I} @var{bfdname}|@option{--input-target=}@var{bfdname}]
1165 [@option{-O} @var{bfdname}|@option{--output-target=}@var{bfdname}]
1166 [@option{-B} @var{bfdarch}|@option{--binary-architecture=}@var{bfdarch}]
1167 [@option{-S}|@option{--strip-all}]
1168 [@option{-g}|@option{--strip-debug}]
1169 [@option{--strip-unneeded}]
1170 [@option{-K} @var{symbolname}|@option{--keep-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1171 [@option{-N} @var{symbolname}|@option{--strip-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1172 [@option{--strip-unneeded-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1173 [@option{-G} @var{symbolname}|@option{--keep-global-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1174 [@option{--localize-hidden}]
1175 [@option{-L} @var{symbolname}|@option{--localize-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1176 [@option{--globalize-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1177 [@option{--globalize-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1178 [@option{-W} @var{symbolname}|@option{--weaken-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1179 [@option{-w}|@option{--wildcard}]
1180 [@option{-x}|@option{--discard-all}]
1181 [@option{-X}|@option{--discard-locals}]
1182 [@option{-b} @var{byte}|@option{--byte=}@var{byte}]
1183 [@option{-i} [@var{breadth}]|@option{--interleave}[=@var{breadth}]]
1184 [@option{--interleave-width=}@var{width}]
1185 [@option{-j} @var{sectionpattern}|@option{--only-section=}@var{sectionpattern}]
1186 [@option{-R} @var{sectionpattern}|@option{--remove-section=}@var{sectionpattern}]
1187 [@option{--keep-section=}@var{sectionpattern}]
1188 [@option{--remove-relocations=}@var{sectionpattern}]
1189 [@option{-p}|@option{--preserve-dates}]
1190 [@option{-D}|@option{--enable-deterministic-archives}]
1191 [@option{-U}|@option{--disable-deterministic-archives}]
1192 [@option{--debugging}]
1193 [@option{--gap-fill=}@var{val}]
1194 [@option{--pad-to=}@var{address}]
1195 [@option{--set-start=}@var{val}]
1196 [@option{--adjust-start=}@var{incr}]
1197 [@option{--change-addresses=}@var{incr}]
1198 [@option{--change-section-address} @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}]
1199 [@option{--change-section-lma} @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}]
1200 [@option{--change-section-vma} @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}]
1201 [@option{--change-warnings}] [@option{--no-change-warnings}]
1202 [@option{--set-section-flags} @var{sectionpattern}=@var{flags}]
1203 [@option{--set-section-alignment} @var{sectionpattern}=@var{align}]
1204 [@option{--add-section} @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}]
1205 [@option{--dump-section} @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}]
1206 [@option{--update-section} @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}]
1207 [@option{--rename-section} @var{oldname}=@var{newname}[,@var{flags}]]
1208 [@option{--long-section-names} @{enable,disable,keep@}]
1209 [@option{--change-leading-char}] [@option{--remove-leading-char}]
1210 [@option{--reverse-bytes=}@var{num}]
1211 [@option{--srec-len=}@var{ival}] [@option{--srec-forceS3}]
1212 [@option{--redefine-sym} @var{old}=@var{new}]
1213 [@option{--redefine-syms=}@var{filename}]
1214 [@option{--weaken}]
1215 [@option{--keep-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1216 [@option{--strip-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1217 [@option{--strip-unneeded-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1218 [@option{--keep-global-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1219 [@option{--localize-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1220 [@option{--weaken-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1221 [@option{--add-symbol} @var{name}=[@var{section}:]@var{value}[,@var{flags}]]
1222 [@option{--alt-machine-code=}@var{index}]
1223 [@option{--prefix-symbols=}@var{string}]
1224 [@option{--prefix-sections=}@var{string}]
1225 [@option{--prefix-alloc-sections=}@var{string}]
1226 [@option{--add-gnu-debuglink=}@var{path-to-file}]
1227 [@option{--keep-file-symbols}]
1228 [@option{--only-keep-debug}]
1229 [@option{--strip-dwo}]
1230 [@option{--extract-dwo}]
1231 [@option{--extract-symbol}]
1232 [@option{--writable-text}]
1233 [@option{--readonly-text}]
1234 [@option{--pure}]
1235 [@option{--impure}]
1236 [@option{--file-alignment=}@var{num}]
1237 [@option{--heap=}@var{size}]
1238 [@option{--image-base=}@var{address}]
1239 [@option{--section-alignment=}@var{num}]
1240 [@option{--stack=}@var{size}]
1241 [@option{--subsystem=}@var{which}:@var{major}.@var{minor}]
1242 [@option{--compress-debug-sections}]
1243 [@option{--decompress-debug-sections}]
1244 [@option{--elf-stt-common=@var{val}}]
1245 [@option{--merge-notes}]
1246 [@option{--no-merge-notes}]
1247 [@option{--verilog-data-width=@var{val}}]
1248 [@option{-v}|@option{--verbose}]
1249 [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
1250 [@option{--help}] [@option{--info}]
1251 @var{infile} [@var{outfile}]
1252@c man end
1253@end smallexample
1254
1255@c man begin DESCRIPTION objcopy
1256The @sc{gnu} @command{objcopy} utility copies the contents of an object
1257file to another. @command{objcopy} uses the @sc{gnu} @sc{bfd} Library to
1258read and write the object files. It can write the destination object
1259file in a format different from that of the source object file. The
1260exact behavior of @command{objcopy} is controlled by command-line options.
1261Note that @command{objcopy} should be able to copy a fully linked file
1262between any two formats. However, copying a relocatable object file
1263between any two formats may not work as expected.
1264
1265@command{objcopy} creates temporary files to do its translations and
1266deletes them afterward. @command{objcopy} uses @sc{bfd} to do all its
1267translation work; it has access to all the formats described in @sc{bfd}
1268and thus is able to recognize most formats without being told
1269explicitly. @xref{BFD,,BFD,ld.info,Using LD}.
1270
1271@command{objcopy} can be used to generate S-records by using an output
1272target of @samp{srec} (e.g., use @samp{-O srec}).
1273
1274@command{objcopy} can be used to generate a raw binary file by using an
1275output target of @samp{binary} (e.g., use @option{-O binary}). When
1276@command{objcopy} generates a raw binary file, it will essentially produce
1277a memory dump of the contents of the input object file. All symbols and
1278relocation information will be discarded. The memory dump will start at
1279the load address of the lowest section copied into the output file.
1280
1281When generating an S-record or a raw binary file, it may be helpful to
1282use @option{-S} to remove sections containing debugging information. In
1283some cases @option{-R} will be useful to remove sections which contain
1284information that is not needed by the binary file.
1285
1286Note---@command{objcopy} is not able to change the endianness of its input
1287files. If the input format has an endianness (some formats do not),
1288@command{objcopy} can only copy the inputs into file formats that have the
1289same endianness or which have no endianness (e.g., @samp{srec}).
1290(However, see the @option{--reverse-bytes} option.)
1291
1292@c man end
1293
1294@c man begin OPTIONS objcopy
1295
1296@table @env
1297@item @var{infile}
1298@itemx @var{outfile}
1299The input and output files, respectively.
1300If you do not specify @var{outfile}, @command{objcopy} creates a
1301temporary file and destructively renames the result with
1302the name of @var{infile}.
1303
1304@item -I @var{bfdname}
1305@itemx --input-target=@var{bfdname}
1306Consider the source file's object format to be @var{bfdname}, rather than
1307attempting to deduce it. @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1308
1309@item -O @var{bfdname}
1310@itemx --output-target=@var{bfdname}
1311Write the output file using the object format @var{bfdname}.
1312@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1313
1314@item -F @var{bfdname}
1315@itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
1316Use @var{bfdname} as the object format for both the input and the output
1317file; i.e., simply transfer data from source to destination with no
1318translation. @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1319
1320@item -B @var{bfdarch}
1321@itemx --binary-architecture=@var{bfdarch}
1322Useful when transforming a architecture-less input file into an object file.
1323In this case the output architecture can be set to @var{bfdarch}. This
1324option will be ignored if the input file has a known @var{bfdarch}. You
1325can access this binary data inside a program by referencing the special
1326symbols that are created by the conversion process. These symbols are
1327called _binary_@var{objfile}_start, _binary_@var{objfile}_end and
1328_binary_@var{objfile}_size. e.g. you can transform a picture file into
1329an object file and then access it in your code using these symbols.
1330
1331@item -j @var{sectionpattern}
1332@itemx --only-section=@var{sectionpattern}
1333Copy only the indicated sections from the input file to the output file.
1334This option may be given more than once. Note that using this option
1335inappropriately may make the output file unusable. Wildcard
1336characters are accepted in @var{sectionpattern}.
1337
1338If the first character of @var{sectionpattern} is the exclamation
1339point (!) then matching sections will not be copied, even if earlier
1340use of @option{--only-section} on the same command line would
1341otherwise copy it. For example:
1342
1343@smallexample
1344 --only-section=.text.* --only-section=!.text.foo
1345@end smallexample
1346
1347will copy all sectinos maching '.text.*' but not the section
1348'.text.foo'.
1349
1350@item -R @var{sectionpattern}
1351@itemx --remove-section=@var{sectionpattern}
1352Remove any section matching @var{sectionpattern} from the output file.
1353This option may be given more than once. Note that using this option
1354inappropriately may make the output file unusable. Wildcard
1355characters are accepted in @var{sectionpattern}. Using both the
1356@option{-j} and @option{-R} options together results in undefined
1357behaviour.
1358
1359If the first character of @var{sectionpattern} is the exclamation
1360point (!) then matching sections will not be removed even if an
1361earlier use of @option{--remove-section} on the same command line
1362would otherwise remove it. For example:
1363
1364@smallexample
1365 --remove-section=.text.* --remove-section=!.text.foo
1366@end smallexample
1367
1368will remove all sections matching the pattern '.text.*', but will not
1369remove the section '.text.foo'.
1370
1371@item --keep-section=@var{sectionpattern}
1372When removing sections from the output file, keep sections that match
1373@var{sectionpattern}.
1374
1375@item --remove-relocations=@var{sectionpattern}
1376Remove non-dynamic relocations from the output file for any section
1377matching @var{sectionpattern}. This option may be given more than
1378once. Note that using this option inappropriately may make the output
1379file unusable, and attempting to remove a dynamic relocation section
1380such as @samp{.rela.plt} from an executable or shared library with
1381@option{--remove-relocations=.plt} will not work. Wildcard characters
1382are accepted in @var{sectionpattern}.
1383For example:
1384
1385@smallexample
1386 --remove-relocations=.text.*
1387@end smallexample
1388
1389will remove the relocations for all sections matching the pattern
1390'.text.*'.
1391
1392If the first character of @var{sectionpattern} is the exclamation
1393point (!) then matching sections will not have their relocation
1394removed even if an earlier use of @option{--remove-relocations} on the
1395same command line would otherwise cause the relocations to be removed.
1396For example:
1397
1398@smallexample
1399 --remove-relocations=.text.* --remove-relocations=!.text.foo
1400@end smallexample
1401
1402will remove all relocations for sections matching the pattern
1403'.text.*', but will not remove relocations for the section
1404'.text.foo'.
1405
1406@item -S
1407@itemx --strip-all
1408Do not copy relocation and symbol information from the source file.
1409
1410@item -g
1411@itemx --strip-debug
1412Do not copy debugging symbols or sections from the source file.
1413
1414@item --strip-unneeded
1415Strip all symbols that are not needed for relocation processing.
1416
1417@item -K @var{symbolname}
1418@itemx --keep-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1419When stripping symbols, keep symbol @var{symbolname} even if it would
1420normally be stripped. This option may be given more than once.
1421
1422@item -N @var{symbolname}
1423@itemx --strip-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1424Do not copy symbol @var{symbolname} from the source file. This option
1425may be given more than once.
1426
1427@item --strip-unneeded-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1428Do not copy symbol @var{symbolname} from the source file unless it is needed
1429by a relocation. This option may be given more than once.
1430
1431@item -G @var{symbolname}
1432@itemx --keep-global-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1433Keep only symbol @var{symbolname} global. Make all other symbols local
1434to the file, so that they are not visible externally. This option may
1435be given more than once. Note: this option cannot be used in
1436conjunction with the @option{--globalize-symbol} or
1437@option{--globalize-symbols} options.
1438
1439@item --localize-hidden
1440In an ELF object, mark all symbols that have hidden or internal visibility
1441as local. This option applies on top of symbol-specific localization options
1442such as @option{-L}.
1443
1444@item -L @var{symbolname}
1445@itemx --localize-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1446Convert a global or weak symbol called @var{symbolname} into a local
1447symbol, so that it is not visible externally. This option may be
1448given more than once. Note - unique symbols are not converted.
1449
1450@item -W @var{symbolname}
1451@itemx --weaken-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1452Make symbol @var{symbolname} weak. This option may be given more than once.
1453
1454@item --globalize-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1455Give symbol @var{symbolname} global scoping so that it is visible
1456outside of the file in which it is defined. This option may be given
1457more than once. Note: this option cannot be used in conjunction with
1458the @option{-G} or @option{--keep-global-symbol} options.
1459
1460@item -w
1461@itemx --wildcard
1462Permit regular expressions in @var{symbolname}s used in other command
1463line options. The question mark (?), asterisk (*), backslash (\) and
1464square brackets ([]) operators can be used anywhere in the symbol
1465name. If the first character of the symbol name is the exclamation
1466point (!) then the sense of the switch is reversed for that symbol.
1467For example:
1468
1469@smallexample
1470 -w -W !foo -W fo*
1471@end smallexample
1472
1473would cause objcopy to weaken all symbols that start with ``fo''
1474except for the symbol ``foo''.
1475
1476@item -x
1477@itemx --discard-all
1478Do not copy non-global symbols from the source file.
1479@c FIXME any reason to prefer "non-global" to "local" here?
1480
1481@item -X
1482@itemx --discard-locals
1483Do not copy compiler-generated local symbols.
1484(These usually start with @samp{L} or @samp{.}.)
1485
1486@item -b @var{byte}
1487@itemx --byte=@var{byte}
1488If interleaving has been enabled via the @option{--interleave} option
1489then start the range of bytes to keep at the @var{byte}th byte.
1490@var{byte} can be in the range from 0 to @var{breadth}-1, where
1491@var{breadth} is the value given by the @option{--interleave} option.
1492
1493@item -i [@var{breadth}]
1494@itemx --interleave[=@var{breadth}]
1495Only copy a range out of every @var{breadth} bytes. (Header data is
1496not affected). Select which byte in the range begins the copy with
1497the @option{--byte} option. Select the width of the range with the
1498@option{--interleave-width} option.
1499
1500This option is useful for creating files to program @sc{rom}. It is
1501typically used with an @code{srec} output target. Note that
1502@command{objcopy} will complain if you do not specify the
1503@option{--byte} option as well.
1504
1505The default interleave breadth is 4, so with @option{--byte} set to 0,
1506@command{objcopy} would copy the first byte out of every four bytes
1507from the input to the output.
1508
1509@item --interleave-width=@var{width}
1510When used with the @option{--interleave} option, copy @var{width}
1511bytes at a time. The start of the range of bytes to be copied is set
1512by the @option{--byte} option, and the extent of the range is set with
1513the @option{--interleave} option.
1514
1515The default value for this option is 1. The value of @var{width} plus
1516the @var{byte} value set by the @option{--byte} option must not exceed
1517the interleave breadth set by the @option{--interleave} option.
1518
1519This option can be used to create images for two 16-bit flashes interleaved
1520in a 32-bit bus by passing @option{-b 0 -i 4 --interleave-width=2}
1521and @option{-b 2 -i 4 --interleave-width=2} to two @command{objcopy}
1522commands. If the input was '12345678' then the outputs would be
1523'1256' and '3478' respectively.
1524
1525@item -p
1526@itemx --preserve-dates
1527Set the access and modification dates of the output file to be the same
1528as those of the input file.
1529
1530@item -D
1531@itemx --enable-deterministic-archives
1532@cindex deterministic archives
1533@kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
1534Operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. When copying archive members
1535and writing the archive index, use zero for UIDs, GIDs, timestamps,
1536and use consistent file modes for all files.
1537
1538If @file{binutils} was configured with
1539@option{--enable-deterministic-archives}, then this mode is on by default.
1540It can be disabled with the @samp{-U} option, below.
1541
1542@item -U
1543@itemx --disable-deterministic-archives
1544@cindex deterministic archives
1545@kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
1546Do @emph{not} operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. This is the
1547inverse of the @option{-D} option, above: when copying archive members
1548and writing the archive index, use their actual UID, GID, timestamp,
1549and file mode values.
1550
1551This is the default unless @file{binutils} was configured with
1552@option{--enable-deterministic-archives}.
1553
1554@item --debugging
1555Convert debugging information, if possible. This is not the default
1556because only certain debugging formats are supported, and the
1557conversion process can be time consuming.
1558
1559@item --gap-fill @var{val}
1560Fill gaps between sections with @var{val}. This operation applies to
1561the @emph{load address} (LMA) of the sections. It is done by increasing
1562the size of the section with the lower address, and filling in the extra
1563space created with @var{val}.
1564
1565@item --pad-to @var{address}
1566Pad the output file up to the load address @var{address}. This is
1567done by increasing the size of the last section. The extra space is
1568filled in with the value specified by @option{--gap-fill} (default zero).
1569
1570@item --set-start @var{val}
1571Set the start address of the new file to @var{val}. Not all object file
1572formats support setting the start address.
1573
1574@item --change-start @var{incr}
1575@itemx --adjust-start @var{incr}
1576@cindex changing start address
1577Change the start address by adding @var{incr}. Not all object file
1578formats support setting the start address.
1579
1580@item --change-addresses @var{incr}
1581@itemx --adjust-vma @var{incr}
1582@cindex changing object addresses
1583Change the VMA and LMA addresses of all sections, as well as the start
1584address, by adding @var{incr}. Some object file formats do not permit
1585section addresses to be changed arbitrarily. Note that this does not
1586relocate the sections; if the program expects sections to be loaded at a
1587certain address, and this option is used to change the sections such
1588that they are loaded at a different address, the program may fail.
1589
1590@item --change-section-address @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1591@itemx --adjust-section-vma @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1592@cindex changing section address
1593Set or change both the VMA address and the LMA address of any section
1594matching @var{sectionpattern}. If @samp{=} is used, the section
1595address is set to @var{val}. Otherwise, @var{val} is added to or
1596subtracted from the section address. See the comments under
1597@option{--change-addresses}, above. If @var{sectionpattern} does not
1598match any sections in the input file, a warning will be issued, unless
1599@option{--no-change-warnings} is used.
1600
1601@item --change-section-lma @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1602@cindex changing section LMA
1603Set or change the LMA address of any sections matching
1604@var{sectionpattern}. The LMA address is the address where the
1605section will be loaded into memory at program load time. Normally
1606this is the same as the VMA address, which is the address of the
1607section at program run time, but on some systems, especially those
1608where a program is held in ROM, the two can be different. If @samp{=}
1609is used, the section address is set to @var{val}. Otherwise,
1610@var{val} is added to or subtracted from the section address. See the
1611comments under @option{--change-addresses}, above. If
1612@var{sectionpattern} does not match any sections in the input file, a
1613warning will be issued, unless @option{--no-change-warnings} is used.
1614
1615@item --change-section-vma @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1616@cindex changing section VMA
1617Set or change the VMA address of any section matching
1618@var{sectionpattern}. The VMA address is the address where the
1619section will be located once the program has started executing.
1620Normally this is the same as the LMA address, which is the address
1621where the section will be loaded into memory, but on some systems,
1622especially those where a program is held in ROM, the two can be
1623different. If @samp{=} is used, the section address is set to
1624@var{val}. Otherwise, @var{val} is added to or subtracted from the
1625section address. See the comments under @option{--change-addresses},
1626above. If @var{sectionpattern} does not match any sections in the
1627input file, a warning will be issued, unless
1628@option{--no-change-warnings} is used.
1629
1630@item --change-warnings
1631@itemx --adjust-warnings
1632If @option{--change-section-address} or @option{--change-section-lma} or
1633@option{--change-section-vma} is used, and the section pattern does not
1634match any sections, issue a warning. This is the default.
1635
1636@item --no-change-warnings
1637@itemx --no-adjust-warnings
1638Do not issue a warning if @option{--change-section-address} or
1639@option{--adjust-section-lma} or @option{--adjust-section-vma} is used, even
1640if the section pattern does not match any sections.
1641
1642@item --set-section-flags @var{sectionpattern}=@var{flags}
1643Set the flags for any sections matching @var{sectionpattern}. The
1644@var{flags} argument is a comma separated string of flag names. The
1645recognized names are @samp{alloc}, @samp{contents}, @samp{load},
1646@samp{noload}, @samp{readonly}, @samp{code}, @samp{data}, @samp{rom},
1647@samp{share}, and @samp{debug}. You can set the @samp{contents} flag
1648for a section which does not have contents, but it is not meaningful
1649to clear the @samp{contents} flag of a section which does have
1650contents--just remove the section instead. Not all flags are
1651meaningful for all object file formats.
1652
1653@item --set-section-alignment @var{sectionpattern}=@var{align}
1654Set the alignment for any sections matching @var{sectionpattern}.
1655@var{align} specifies the alignment in bytes and must be a power of
1656two, i.e. 1, 2, 4, 8@dots{}.
1657
1658@item --add-section @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}
1659Add a new section named @var{sectionname} while copying the file. The
1660contents of the new section are taken from the file @var{filename}. The
1661size of the section will be the size of the file. This option only
1662works on file formats which can support sections with arbitrary names.
1663Note - it may be necessary to use the @option{--set-section-flags}
1664option to set the attributes of the newly created section.
1665
1666@item --dump-section @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}
1667Place the contents of section named @var{sectionname} into the file
1668@var{filename}, overwriting any contents that may have been there
1669previously. This option is the inverse of @option{--add-section}.
1670This option is similar to the @option{--only-section} option except
1671that it does not create a formatted file, it just dumps the contents
1672as raw binary data, without applying any relocations. The option can
1673be specified more than once.
1674
1675@item --update-section @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}
1676Replace the existing contents of a section named @var{sectionname}
1677with the contents of file @var{filename}. The size of the section
1678will be adjusted to the size of the file. The section flags for
1679@var{sectionname} will be unchanged. For ELF format files the section
1680to segment mapping will also remain unchanged, something which is not
1681possible using @option{--remove-section} followed by
1682@option{--add-section}. The option can be specified more than once.
1683
1684Note - it is possible to use @option{--rename-section} and
1685@option{--update-section} to both update and rename a section from one
1686command line. In this case, pass the original section name to
1687@option{--update-section}, and the original and new section names to
1688@option{--rename-section}.
1689
1690@item --add-symbol @var{name}=[@var{section}:]@var{value}[,@var{flags}]
1691Add a new symbol named @var{name} while copying the file. This option may be
1692specified multiple times. If the @var{section} is given, the symbol will be
1693associated with and relative to that section, otherwise it will be an ABS
1694symbol. Specifying an undefined section will result in a fatal error. There
1695is no check for the value, it will be taken as specified. Symbol flags can
1696be specified and not all flags will be meaningful for all object file
1697formats. By default, the symbol will be global. The special flag
1698'before=@var{othersym}' will insert the new symbol in front of the specified
1699@var{othersym}, otherwise the symbol(s) will be added at the end of the
1700symbol table in the order they appear.
1701
1702@item --rename-section @var{oldname}=@var{newname}[,@var{flags}]
1703Rename a section from @var{oldname} to @var{newname}, optionally
1704changing the section's flags to @var{flags} in the process. This has
1705the advantage over using a linker script to perform the rename in that
1706the output stays as an object file and does not become a linked
1707executable.
1708
1709This option is particularly helpful when the input format is binary,
1710since this will always create a section called .data. If for example,
1711you wanted instead to create a section called .rodata containing binary
1712data you could use the following command line to achieve it:
1713
1714@smallexample
1715 objcopy -I binary -O <output_format> -B <architecture> \
1716 --rename-section .data=.rodata,alloc,load,readonly,data,contents \
1717 <input_binary_file> <output_object_file>
1718@end smallexample
1719
1720@item --long-section-names @{enable,disable,keep@}
1721Controls the handling of long section names when processing @code{COFF}
1722and @code{PE-COFF} object formats. The default behaviour, @samp{keep},
1723is to preserve long section names if any are present in the input file.
1724The @samp{enable} and @samp{disable} options forcibly enable or disable
1725the use of long section names in the output object; when @samp{disable}
1726is in effect, any long section names in the input object will be truncated.
1727The @samp{enable} option will only emit long section names if any are
1728present in the inputs; this is mostly the same as @samp{keep}, but it
1729is left undefined whether the @samp{enable} option might force the
1730creation of an empty string table in the output file.
1731
1732@item --change-leading-char
1733Some object file formats use special characters at the start of
1734symbols. The most common such character is underscore, which compilers
1735often add before every symbol. This option tells @command{objcopy} to
1736change the leading character of every symbol when it converts between
1737object file formats. If the object file formats use the same leading
1738character, this option has no effect. Otherwise, it will add a
1739character, or remove a character, or change a character, as
1740appropriate.
1741
1742@item --remove-leading-char
1743If the first character of a global symbol is a special symbol leading
1744character used by the object file format, remove the character. The
1745most common symbol leading character is underscore. This option will
1746remove a leading underscore from all global symbols. This can be useful
1747if you want to link together objects of different file formats with
1748different conventions for symbol names. This is different from
1749@option{--change-leading-char} because it always changes the symbol name
1750when appropriate, regardless of the object file format of the output
1751file.
1752
1753@item --reverse-bytes=@var{num}
1754Reverse the bytes in a section with output contents. A section length must
1755be evenly divisible by the value given in order for the swap to be able to
1756take place. Reversing takes place before the interleaving is performed.
1757
1758This option is used typically in generating ROM images for problematic
1759target systems. For example, on some target boards, the 32-bit words
1760fetched from 8-bit ROMs are re-assembled in little-endian byte order
1761regardless of the CPU byte order. Depending on the programming model, the
1762endianness of the ROM may need to be modified.
1763
1764Consider a simple file with a section containing the following eight
1765bytes: @code{12345678}.
1766
1767Using @samp{--reverse-bytes=2} for the above example, the bytes in the
1768output file would be ordered @code{21436587}.
1769
1770Using @samp{--reverse-bytes=4} for the above example, the bytes in the
1771output file would be ordered @code{43218765}.
1772
1773By using @samp{--reverse-bytes=2} for the above example, followed by
1774@samp{--reverse-bytes=4} on the output file, the bytes in the second
1775output file would be ordered @code{34127856}.
1776
1777@item --srec-len=@var{ival}
1778Meaningful only for srec output. Set the maximum length of the Srecords
1779being produced to @var{ival}. This length covers both address, data and
1780crc fields.
1781
1782@item --srec-forceS3
1783Meaningful only for srec output. Avoid generation of S1/S2 records,
1784creating S3-only record format.
1785
1786@item --redefine-sym @var{old}=@var{new}
1787Change the name of a symbol @var{old}, to @var{new}. This can be useful
1788when one is trying link two things together for which you have no
1789source, and there are name collisions.
1790
1791@item --redefine-syms=@var{filename}
1792Apply @option{--redefine-sym} to each symbol pair "@var{old} @var{new}"
1793listed in the file @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file,
1794with one symbol pair per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash
1795character. This option may be given more than once.
1796
1797@item --weaken
1798Change all global symbols in the file to be weak. This can be useful
1799when building an object which will be linked against other objects using
1800the @option{-R} option to the linker. This option is only effective when
1801using an object file format which supports weak symbols.
1802
1803@item --keep-symbols=@var{filename}
1804Apply @option{--keep-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
1805@var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1806name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1807This option may be given more than once.
1808
1809@item --strip-symbols=@var{filename}
1810Apply @option{--strip-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
1811@var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1812name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1813This option may be given more than once.
1814
1815@item --strip-unneeded-symbols=@var{filename}
1816Apply @option{--strip-unneeded-symbol} option to each symbol listed in
1817the file @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one
1818symbol name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash
1819character. This option may be given more than once.
1820
1821@item --keep-global-symbols=@var{filename}
1822Apply @option{--keep-global-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the
1823file @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one
1824symbol name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash
1825character. This option may be given more than once.
1826
1827@item --localize-symbols=@var{filename}
1828Apply @option{--localize-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
1829@var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1830name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1831This option may be given more than once.
1832
1833@item --globalize-symbols=@var{filename}
1834Apply @option{--globalize-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
1835@var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1836name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1837This option may be given more than once. Note: this option cannot be
1838used in conjunction with the @option{-G} or @option{--keep-global-symbol}
1839options.
1840
1841@item --weaken-symbols=@var{filename}
1842Apply @option{--weaken-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
1843@var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1844name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1845This option may be given more than once.
1846
1847@item --alt-machine-code=@var{index}
1848If the output architecture has alternate machine codes, use the
1849@var{index}th code instead of the default one. This is useful in case
1850a machine is assigned an official code and the tool-chain adopts the
1851new code, but other applications still depend on the original code
1852being used. For ELF based architectures if the @var{index}
1853alternative does not exist then the value is treated as an absolute
1854number to be stored in the e_machine field of the ELF header.
1855
1856@item --writable-text
1857Mark the output text as writable. This option isn't meaningful for all
1858object file formats.
1859
1860@item --readonly-text
1861Make the output text write protected. This option isn't meaningful for all
1862object file formats.
1863
1864@item --pure
1865Mark the output file as demand paged. This option isn't meaningful for all
1866object file formats.
1867
1868@item --impure
1869Mark the output file as impure. This option isn't meaningful for all
1870object file formats.
1871
1872@item --prefix-symbols=@var{string}
1873Prefix all symbols in the output file with @var{string}.
1874
1875@item --prefix-sections=@var{string}
1876Prefix all section names in the output file with @var{string}.
1877
1878@item --prefix-alloc-sections=@var{string}
1879Prefix all the names of all allocated sections in the output file with
1880@var{string}.
1881
1882@item --add-gnu-debuglink=@var{path-to-file}
1883Creates a .gnu_debuglink section which contains a reference to
1884@var{path-to-file} and adds it to the output file. Note: the file at
1885@var{path-to-file} must exist. Part of the process of adding the
1886.gnu_debuglink section involves embedding a checksum of the contents
1887of the debug info file into the section.
1888
1889If the debug info file is built in one location but it is going to be
1890installed at a later time into a different location then do not use
1891the path to the installed location. The @option{--add-gnu-debuglink}
1892option will fail because the installed file does not exist yet.
1893Instead put the debug info file in the current directory and use the
1894@option{--add-gnu-debuglink} option without any directory components,
1895like this:
1896
1897@smallexample
1898 objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.debug
1899@end smallexample
1900
1901At debug time the debugger will attempt to look for the separate debug
1902info file in a set of known locations. The exact set of these
1903locations varies depending upon the distribution being used, but it
1904typically includes:
1905
1906@table @code
1907
1908@item * The same directory as the executable.
1909
1910@item * A sub-directory of the directory containing the executable
1911called .debug
1912
1913@item * A global debug directory such as /usr/lib/debug.
1914@end table
1915
1916As long as the debug info file has been installed into one of these
1917locations before the debugger is run everything should work
1918correctly.
1919
1920@item --keep-file-symbols
1921When stripping a file, perhaps with @option{--strip-debug} or
1922@option{--strip-unneeded}, retain any symbols specifying source file names,
1923which would otherwise get stripped.
1924
1925@item --only-keep-debug
1926Strip a file, removing contents of any sections that would not be
1927stripped by @option{--strip-debug} and leaving the debugging sections
1928intact. In ELF files, this preserves all note sections in the output.
1929
1930Note - the section headers of the stripped sections are preserved,
1931including their sizes, but the contents of the section are discarded.
1932The section headers are preserved so that other tools can match up the
1933debuginfo file with the real executable, even if that executable has
1934been relocated to a different address space.
1935
1936The intention is that this option will be used in conjunction with
1937@option{--add-gnu-debuglink} to create a two part executable. One a
1938stripped binary which will occupy less space in RAM and in a
1939distribution and the second a debugging information file which is only
1940needed if debugging abilities are required. The suggested procedure
1941to create these files is as follows:
1942
1943@enumerate
1944@item Link the executable as normal. Assuming that it is called
1945@code{foo} then...
1946@item Run @code{objcopy --only-keep-debug foo foo.dbg} to
1947create a file containing the debugging info.
1948@item Run @code{objcopy --strip-debug foo} to create a
1949stripped executable.
1950@item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.dbg foo}
1951to add a link to the debugging info into the stripped executable.
1952@end enumerate
1953
1954Note---the choice of @code{.dbg} as an extension for the debug info
1955file is arbitrary. Also the @code{--only-keep-debug} step is
1956optional. You could instead do this:
1957
1958@enumerate
1959@item Link the executable as normal.
1960@item Copy @code{foo} to @code{foo.full}
1961@item Run @code{objcopy --strip-debug foo}
1962@item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.full foo}
1963@end enumerate
1964
1965i.e., the file pointed to by the @option{--add-gnu-debuglink} can be the
1966full executable. It does not have to be a file created by the
1967@option{--only-keep-debug} switch.
1968
1969Note---this switch is only intended for use on fully linked files. It
1970does not make sense to use it on object files where the debugging
1971information may be incomplete. Besides the gnu_debuglink feature
1972currently only supports the presence of one filename containing
1973debugging information, not multiple filenames on a one-per-object-file
1974basis.
1975
1976@item --strip-dwo
1977Remove the contents of all DWARF .dwo sections, leaving the
1978remaining debugging sections and all symbols intact.
1979This option is intended for use by the compiler as part of
1980the @option{-gsplit-dwarf} option, which splits debug information
1981between the .o file and a separate .dwo file. The compiler
1982generates all debug information in the same file, then uses
1983the @option{--extract-dwo} option to copy the .dwo sections to
1984the .dwo file, then the @option{--strip-dwo} option to remove
1985those sections from the original .o file.
1986
1987@item --extract-dwo
1988Extract the contents of all DWARF .dwo sections. See the
1989@option{--strip-dwo} option for more information.
1990
1991@item --file-alignment @var{num}
1992Specify the file alignment. Sections in the file will always begin at
1993file offsets which are multiples of this number. This defaults to
1994512.
1995[This option is specific to PE targets.]
1996
1997@item --heap @var{reserve}
1998@itemx --heap @var{reserve},@var{commit}
1999Specify the number of bytes of memory to reserve (and optionally commit)
2000to be used as heap for this program.
2001[This option is specific to PE targets.]
2002
2003@item --image-base @var{value}
2004Use @var{value} as the base address of your program or dll. This is
2005the lowest memory location that will be used when your program or dll
2006is loaded. To reduce the need to relocate and improve performance of
2007your dlls, each should have a unique base address and not overlap any
2008other dlls. The default is 0x400000 for executables, and 0x10000000
2009for dlls.
2010[This option is specific to PE targets.]
2011
2012@item --section-alignment @var{num}
2013Sets the section alignment field in the PE header. Sections in memory
2014will always begin at addresses which are a multiple of this number.
2015Defaults to 0x1000.
2016[This option is specific to PE targets.]
2017
2018@item --stack @var{reserve}
2019@itemx --stack @var{reserve},@var{commit}
2020Specify the number of bytes of memory to reserve (and optionally commit)
2021to be used as stack for this program.
2022[This option is specific to PE targets.]
2023
2024@item --subsystem @var{which}
2025@itemx --subsystem @var{which}:@var{major}
2026@itemx --subsystem @var{which}:@var{major}.@var{minor}
2027Specifies the subsystem under which your program will execute. The
2028legal values for @var{which} are @code{native}, @code{windows},
2029@code{console}, @code{posix}, @code{efi-app}, @code{efi-bsd},
2030@code{efi-rtd}, @code{sal-rtd}, and @code{xbox}. You may optionally set
2031the subsystem version also. Numeric values are also accepted for
2032@var{which}.
2033[This option is specific to PE targets.]
2034
2035@item --extract-symbol
2036Keep the file's section flags and symbols but remove all section data.
2037Specifically, the option:
2038
2039@itemize
2040@item removes the contents of all sections;
2041@item sets the size of every section to zero; and
2042@item sets the file's start address to zero.
2043@end itemize
2044
2045This option is used to build a @file{.sym} file for a VxWorks kernel.
2046It can also be a useful way of reducing the size of a @option{--just-symbols}
2047linker input file.
2048
2049@item --compress-debug-sections
2050Compress DWARF debug sections using zlib with SHF_COMPRESSED from the
2051ELF ABI. Note - if compression would actually make a section
2052@emph{larger}, then it is not compressed.
2053
2054@item --compress-debug-sections=none
2055@itemx --compress-debug-sections=zlib
2056@itemx --compress-debug-sections=zlib-gnu
2057@itemx --compress-debug-sections=zlib-gabi
2058For ELF files, these options control how DWARF debug sections are
2059compressed. @option{--compress-debug-sections=none} is equivalent
2060to @option{--decompress-debug-sections}.
2061@option{--compress-debug-sections=zlib} and
2062@option{--compress-debug-sections=zlib-gabi} are equivalent to
2063@option{--compress-debug-sections}.
2064@option{--compress-debug-sections=zlib-gnu} compresses DWARF debug
2065sections using zlib. The debug sections are renamed to begin with
2066@samp{.zdebug} instead of @samp{.debug}. Note - if compression would
2067actually make a section @emph{larger}, then it is not compressed nor
2068renamed.
2069
2070@item --decompress-debug-sections
2071Decompress DWARF debug sections using zlib. The original section
2072names of the compressed sections are restored.
2073
2074@item --elf-stt-common=yes
2075@itemx --elf-stt-common=no
2076For ELF files, these options control whether common symbols should be
2077converted to the @code{STT_COMMON} or @code{STT_OBJECT} type.
2078@option{--elf-stt-common=yes} converts common symbol type to
2079@code{STT_COMMON}. @option{--elf-stt-common=no} converts common symbol
2080type to @code{STT_OBJECT}.
2081
2082@item --merge-notes
2083@itemx --no-merge-notes
2084For ELF files, attempt (or do not attempt) to reduce the size of any
2085SHT_NOTE type sections by removing duplicate notes.
2086
2087@item -V
2088@itemx --version
2089Show the version number of @command{objcopy}.
2090
2091@item --verilog-data-width=@var{bytes}
2092For Verilog output, this options controls the number of bytes
2093converted for each output data element. The input target controls the
2094endianness of the conversion.
2095
2096@item -v
2097@itemx --verbose
2098Verbose output: list all object files modified. In the case of
2099archives, @samp{objcopy -V} lists all members of the archive.
2100
2101@item --help
2102Show a summary of the options to @command{objcopy}.
2103
2104@item --info
2105Display a list showing all architectures and object formats available.
2106@end table
2107
2108@c man end
2109
2110@ignore
2111@c man begin SEEALSO objcopy
2112ld(1), objdump(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2113@c man end
2114@end ignore
2115
2116@node objdump
2117@chapter objdump
2118
2119@cindex object file information
2120@kindex objdump
2121
2122@c man title objdump display information from object files
2123
2124@smallexample
2125@c man begin SYNOPSIS objdump
2126objdump [@option{-a}|@option{--archive-headers}]
2127 [@option{-b} @var{bfdname}|@option{--target=@var{bfdname}}]
2128 [@option{-C}|@option{--demangle}[=@var{style}] ]
2129 [@option{-d}|@option{--disassemble}[=@var{symbol}]]
2130 [@option{-D}|@option{--disassemble-all}]
2131 [@option{-z}|@option{--disassemble-zeroes}]
2132 [@option{-EB}|@option{-EL}|@option{--endian=}@{big | little @}]
2133 [@option{-f}|@option{--file-headers}]
2134 [@option{-F}|@option{--file-offsets}]
2135 [@option{--file-start-context}]
2136 [@option{-g}|@option{--debugging}]
2137 [@option{-e}|@option{--debugging-tags}]
2138 [@option{-h}|@option{--section-headers}|@option{--headers}]
2139 [@option{-i}|@option{--info}]
2140 [@option{-j} @var{section}|@option{--section=}@var{section}]
2141 [@option{-l}|@option{--line-numbers}]
2142 [@option{-S}|@option{--source}]
2143 [@option{--source-comment}[=@var{text}]]
2144 [@option{-m} @var{machine}|@option{--architecture=}@var{machine}]
2145 [@option{-M} @var{options}|@option{--disassembler-options=}@var{options}]
2146 [@option{-p}|@option{--private-headers}]
2147 [@option{-P} @var{options}|@option{--private=}@var{options}]
2148 [@option{-r}|@option{--reloc}]
2149 [@option{-R}|@option{--dynamic-reloc}]
2150 [@option{-s}|@option{--full-contents}]
2151 [@option{-W[lLiaprmfFsoRtUuTgAckK]}|
2152 @option{--dwarf}[=rawline,=decodedline,=info,=abbrev,=pubnames,=aranges,=macro,=frames,=frames-interp,=str,=loc,=Ranges,=pubtypes,=trace_info,=trace_abbrev,=trace_aranges,=gdb_index,=addr,=cu_index,=links,=follow-links]]
2153 [@option{--ctf=}@var{section}]
2154 [@option{-G}|@option{--stabs}]
2155 [@option{-t}|@option{--syms}]
2156 [@option{-T}|@option{--dynamic-syms}]
2157 [@option{-x}|@option{--all-headers}]
2158 [@option{-w}|@option{--wide}]
2159 [@option{--start-address=}@var{address}]
2160 [@option{--stop-address=}@var{address}]
2161 [@option{--prefix-addresses}]
2162 [@option{--[no-]show-raw-insn}]
2163 [@option{--adjust-vma=}@var{offset}]
2164 [@option{--dwarf-depth=@var{n}}]
2165 [@option{--dwarf-start=@var{n}}]
2166 [@option{--ctf-parent=}@var{section}]
2167 [@option{--no-recurse-limit}|@option{--recurse-limit}]
2168 [@option{--special-syms}]
2169 [@option{--prefix=}@var{prefix}]
2170 [@option{--prefix-strip=}@var{level}]
2171 [@option{--insn-width=}@var{width}]
2172 [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
2173 [@option{-H}|@option{--help}]
2174 @var{objfile}@dots{}
2175@c man end
2176@end smallexample
2177
2178@c man begin DESCRIPTION objdump
2179
2180@command{objdump} displays information about one or more object files.
2181The options control what particular information to display. This
2182information is mostly useful to programmers who are working on the
2183compilation tools, as opposed to programmers who just want their
2184program to compile and work.
2185
2186@var{objfile}@dots{} are the object files to be examined. When you
2187specify archives, @command{objdump} shows information on each of the member
2188object files.
2189
2190@c man end
2191
2192@c man begin OPTIONS objdump
2193
2194The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
2195equivalent. At least one option from the list
2196@option{-a,-d,-D,-e,-f,-g,-G,-h,-H,-p,-P,-r,-R,-s,-S,-t,-T,-V,-x} must be given.
2197
2198@table @env
2199@item -a
2200@itemx --archive-header
2201@cindex archive headers
2202If any of the @var{objfile} files are archives, display the archive
2203header information (in a format similar to @samp{ls -l}). Besides the
2204information you could list with @samp{ar tv}, @samp{objdump -a} shows
2205the object file format of each archive member.
2206
2207@item --adjust-vma=@var{offset}
2208@cindex section addresses in objdump
2209@cindex VMA in objdump
2210When dumping information, first add @var{offset} to all the section
2211addresses. This is useful if the section addresses do not correspond to
2212the symbol table, which can happen when putting sections at particular
2213addresses when using a format which can not represent section addresses,
2214such as a.out.
2215
2216@item -b @var{bfdname}
2217@itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
2218@cindex object code format
2219Specify that the object-code format for the object files is
2220@var{bfdname}. This option may not be necessary; @var{objdump} can
2221automatically recognize many formats.
2222
2223For example,
2224@example
2225objdump -b oasys -m vax -h fu.o
2226@end example
2227@noindent
2228displays summary information from the section headers (@option{-h}) of
2229@file{fu.o}, which is explicitly identified (@option{-m}) as a VAX object
2230file in the format produced by Oasys compilers. You can list the
2231formats available with the @option{-i} option.
2232@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2233
2234@item -C
2235@itemx --demangle[=@var{style}]
2236@cindex demangling in objdump
2237Decode (@dfn{demangle}) low-level symbol names into user-level names.
2238Besides removing any initial underscore prepended by the system, this
2239makes C++ function names readable. Different compilers have different
2240mangling styles. The optional demangling style argument can be used to
2241choose an appropriate demangling style for your compiler. @xref{c++filt},
2242for more information on demangling.
2243
2244@item --recurse-limit
2245@itemx --no-recurse-limit
2246@itemx --recursion-limit
2247@itemx --no-recursion-limit
2248Enables or disables a limit on the amount of recursion performed
2249whilst demangling strings. Since the name mangling formats allow for
2250an inifinite level of recursion it is possible to create strings whose
2251decoding will exhaust the amount of stack space available on the host
2252machine, triggering a memory fault. The limit tries to prevent this
2253from happening by restricting recursion to 2048 levels of nesting.
2254
2255The default is for this limit to be enabled, but disabling it may be
2256necessary in order to demangle truly complicated names. Note however
2257that if the recursion limit is disabled then stack exhaustion is
2258possible and any bug reports about such an event will be rejected.
2259
2260@item -g
2261@itemx --debugging
2262Display debugging information. This attempts to parse STABS
2263debugging format information stored in the file and print it out using
2264a C like syntax. If no STABS debuging was found this option
2265falls back on the @option{-W} option to print any DWARF information in
2266the file.
2267
2268@item -e
2269@itemx --debugging-tags
2270Like @option{-g}, but the information is generated in a format compatible
2271with ctags tool.
2272
2273@item -d
2274@itemx --disassemble
2275@itemx --disassemble=@var{symbol}
2276@cindex disassembling object code
2277@cindex machine instructions
2278Display the assembler mnemonics for the machine instructions from the
2279input file. This option only disassembles those sections which are
2280expected to contain instructions. If the optional @var{symbol}
2281argument is given, then display the assembler mnemonics starting at
2282@var{symbol}. If @var{symbol} is a function name then disassembly
2283will stop at the end of the function, otherwise it will stop when the
2284next symbol is encountered. If there are no matches for @var{symbol}
2285then nothing will be displayed.
2286
2287Note if the @option{--dwarf=follow-links} option has also been enabled
2288then any symbol tables in linked debug info files will be read in and
2289used when disassembling.
2290
2291@item -D
2292@itemx --disassemble-all
2293Like @option{-d}, but disassemble the contents of all sections, not just
2294those expected to contain instructions.
2295
2296This option also has a subtle effect on the disassembly of
2297instructions in code sections. When option @option{-d} is in effect
2298objdump will assume that any symbols present in a code section occur
2299on the boundary between instructions and it will refuse to disassemble
2300across such a boundary. When option @option{-D} is in effect however
2301this assumption is supressed. This means that it is possible for the
2302output of @option{-d} and @option{-D} to differ if, for example, data
2303is stored in code sections.
2304
2305If the target is an ARM architecture this switch also has the effect
2306of forcing the disassembler to decode pieces of data found in code
2307sections as if they were instructions.
2308
2309Note if the @option{--dwarf=follow-links} option has also been enabled
2310then any symbol tables in linked debug info files will be read in and
2311used when disassembling.
2312
2313@item --prefix-addresses
2314When disassembling, print the complete address on each line. This is
2315the older disassembly format.
2316
2317@item -EB
2318@itemx -EL
2319@itemx --endian=@{big|little@}
2320@cindex endianness
2321@cindex disassembly endianness
2322Specify the endianness of the object files. This only affects
2323disassembly. This can be useful when disassembling a file format which
2324does not describe endianness information, such as S-records.
2325
2326@item -f
2327@itemx --file-headers
2328@cindex object file header
2329Display summary information from the overall header of
2330each of the @var{objfile} files.
2331
2332@item -F
2333@itemx --file-offsets
2334@cindex object file offsets
2335When disassembling sections, whenever a symbol is displayed, also
2336display the file offset of the region of data that is about to be
2337dumped. If zeroes are being skipped, then when disassembly resumes,
2338tell the user how many zeroes were skipped and the file offset of the
2339location from where the disassembly resumes. When dumping sections,
2340display the file offset of the location from where the dump starts.
2341
2342@item --file-start-context
2343@cindex source code context
2344Specify that when displaying interlisted source code/disassembly
2345(assumes @option{-S}) from a file that has not yet been displayed, extend the
2346context to the start of the file.
2347
2348@item -h
2349@itemx --section-headers
2350@itemx --headers
2351@cindex section headers
2352Display summary information from the section headers of the
2353object file.
2354
2355File segments may be relocated to nonstandard addresses, for example by
2356using the @option{-Ttext}, @option{-Tdata}, or @option{-Tbss} options to
2357@command{ld}. However, some object file formats, such as a.out, do not
2358store the starting address of the file segments. In those situations,
2359although @command{ld} relocates the sections correctly, using @samp{objdump
2360-h} to list the file section headers cannot show the correct addresses.
2361Instead, it shows the usual addresses, which are implicit for the
2362target.
2363
2364Note, in some cases it is possible for a section to have both the
2365READONLY and the NOREAD attributes set. In such cases the NOREAD
2366attribute takes precedence, but @command{objdump} will report both
2367since the exact setting of the flag bits might be important.
2368
2369@item -H
2370@itemx --help
2371Print a summary of the options to @command{objdump} and exit.
2372
2373@item -i
2374@itemx --info
2375@cindex architectures available
2376@cindex object formats available
2377Display a list showing all architectures and object formats available
2378for specification with @option{-b} or @option{-m}.
2379
2380@item -j @var{name}
2381@itemx --section=@var{name}
2382@cindex section information
2383Display information only for section @var{name}.
2384
2385@item -l
2386@itemx --line-numbers
2387@cindex source filenames for object files
2388Label the display (using debugging information) with the filename and
2389source line numbers corresponding to the object code or relocs shown.
2390Only useful with @option{-d}, @option{-D}, or @option{-r}.
2391
2392@item -m @var{machine}
2393@itemx --architecture=@var{machine}
2394@cindex architecture
2395@cindex disassembly architecture
2396Specify the architecture to use when disassembling object files. This
2397can be useful when disassembling object files which do not describe
2398architecture information, such as S-records. You can list the available
2399architectures with the @option{-i} option.
2400
2401If the target is an ARM architecture then this switch has an
2402additional effect. It restricts the disassembly to only those
2403instructions supported by the architecture specified by @var{machine}.
2404If it is necessary to use this switch because the input file does not
2405contain any architecture information, but it is also desired to
2406disassemble all the instructions use @option{-marm}.
2407
2408@item -M @var{options}
2409@itemx --disassembler-options=@var{options}
2410Pass target specific information to the disassembler. Only supported on
2411some targets. If it is necessary to specify more than one
2412disassembler option then multiple @option{-M} options can be used or
2413can be placed together into a comma separated list.
2414
2415For ARC, @option{dsp} controls the printing of DSP instructions,
2416@option{spfp} selects the printing of FPX single precision FP
2417instructions, @option{dpfp} selects the printing of FPX double
2418precision FP instructions, @option{quarkse_em} selects the printing of
2419special QuarkSE-EM instructions, @option{fpuda} selects the printing
2420of double precision assist instructions, @option{fpus} selects the
2421printing of FPU single precision FP instructions, while @option{fpud}
2422selects the printing of FPU double precision FP instructions.
2423Additionally, one can choose to have all the immediates printed in
2424hexadecimal using @option{hex}. By default, the short immediates are
2425printed using the decimal representation, while the long immediate
2426values are printed as hexadecimal.
2427
2428@option{cpu=...} allows to enforce a particular ISA when disassembling
2429instructions, overriding the @option{-m} value or whatever is in the ELF file.
2430This might be useful to select ARC EM or HS ISA, because architecture is same
2431for those and disassembler relies on private ELF header data to decide if code
2432is for EM or HS. This option might be specified multiple times - only the
2433latest value will be used. Valid values are same as for the assembler
2434@option{-mcpu=...} option.
2435
2436If the target is an ARM architecture then this switch can be used to
2437select which register name set is used during disassembler. Specifying
2438@option{-M reg-names-std} (the default) will select the register names as
2439used in ARM's instruction set documentation, but with register 13 called
2440'sp', register 14 called 'lr' and register 15 called 'pc'. Specifying
2441@option{-M reg-names-apcs} will select the name set used by the ARM
2442Procedure Call Standard, whilst specifying @option{-M reg-names-raw} will
2443just use @samp{r} followed by the register number.
2444
2445There are also two variants on the APCS register naming scheme enabled
2446by @option{-M reg-names-atpcs} and @option{-M reg-names-special-atpcs} which
2447use the ARM/Thumb Procedure Call Standard naming conventions. (Either
2448with the normal register names or the special register names).
2449
2450This option can also be used for ARM architectures to force the
2451disassembler to interpret all instructions as Thumb instructions by
2452using the switch @option{--disassembler-options=force-thumb}. This can be
2453useful when attempting to disassemble thumb code produced by other
2454compilers.
2455
2456For AArch64 targets this switch can be used to set whether instructions are
2457disassembled as the most general instruction using the @option{-M no-aliases}
2458option or whether instruction notes should be generated as comments in the
2459disasssembly using @option{-M notes}.
2460
2461For the x86, some of the options duplicate functions of the @option{-m}
2462switch, but allow finer grained control. Multiple selections from the
2463following may be specified as a comma separated string.
2464@table @code
2465@item x86-64
2466@itemx i386
2467@itemx i8086
2468Select disassembly for the given architecture.
2469
2470@item intel
2471@itemx att
2472Select between intel syntax mode and AT&T syntax mode.
2473
2474@item amd64
2475@itemx intel64
2476Select between AMD64 ISA and Intel64 ISA.
2477
2478@item intel-mnemonic
2479@itemx att-mnemonic
2480Select between intel mnemonic mode and AT&T mnemonic mode.
2481Note: @code{intel-mnemonic} implies @code{intel} and
2482@code{att-mnemonic} implies @code{att}.
2483
2484@item addr64
2485@itemx addr32
2486@itemx addr16
2487@itemx data32
2488@itemx data16
2489Specify the default address size and operand size. These five options
2490will be overridden if @code{x86-64}, @code{i386} or @code{i8086}
2491appear later in the option string.
2492
2493@item suffix
2494When in AT&T mode, instructs the disassembler to print a mnemonic
2495suffix even when the suffix could be inferred by the operands.
2496@end table
2497
2498For PowerPC, the @option{-M} argument @option{raw} selects
2499disasssembly of hardware insns rather than aliases. For example, you
2500will see @code{rlwinm} rather than @code{clrlwi}, and @code{addi}
2501rather than @code{li}. All of the @option{-m} arguments for
2502@command{gas} that select a CPU are supported. These are:
2503@option{403}, @option{405}, @option{440}, @option{464}, @option{476},
2504@option{601}, @option{603}, @option{604}, @option{620}, @option{7400},
2505@option{7410}, @option{7450}, @option{7455}, @option{750cl},
2506@option{821}, @option{850}, @option{860}, @option{a2}, @option{booke},
2507@option{booke32}, @option{cell}, @option{com}, @option{e200z4},
2508@option{e300}, @option{e500}, @option{e500mc}, @option{e500mc64},
2509@option{e500x2}, @option{e5500}, @option{e6500}, @option{efs},
2510@option{power4}, @option{power5}, @option{power6}, @option{power7},
2511@option{power8}, @option{power9}, @option{ppc}, @option{ppc32},
2512@option{ppc64}, @option{ppc64bridge}, @option{ppcps}, @option{pwr},
2513@option{pwr2}, @option{pwr4}, @option{pwr5}, @option{pwr5x},
2514@option{pwr6}, @option{pwr7}, @option{pwr8}, @option{pwr9},
2515@option{pwrx}, @option{titan}, and @option{vle}.
2516@option{32} and @option{64} modify the default or a prior CPU
2517selection, disabling and enabling 64-bit insns respectively. In
2518addition, @option{altivec}, @option{any}, @option{htm}, @option{vsx},
2519and @option{spe} add capabilities to a previous @emph{or later} CPU
2520selection. @option{any} will disassemble any opcode known to
2521binutils, but in cases where an opcode has two different meanings or
2522different arguments, you may not see the disassembly you expect.
2523If you disassemble without giving a CPU selection, a default will be
2524chosen from information gleaned by BFD from the object files headers,
2525but the result again may not be as you expect.
2526
2527For MIPS, this option controls the printing of instruction mnemonic
2528names and register names in disassembled instructions. Multiple
2529selections from the following may be specified as a comma separated
2530string, and invalid options are ignored:
2531
2532@table @code
2533@item no-aliases
2534Print the 'raw' instruction mnemonic instead of some pseudo
2535instruction mnemonic. I.e., print 'daddu' or 'or' instead of 'move',
2536'sll' instead of 'nop', etc.
2537
2538@item msa
2539Disassemble MSA instructions.
2540
2541@item virt
2542Disassemble the virtualization ASE instructions.
2543
2544@item xpa
2545Disassemble the eXtended Physical Address (XPA) ASE instructions.
2546
2547@item gpr-names=@var{ABI}
2548Print GPR (general-purpose register) names as appropriate
2549for the specified ABI. By default, GPR names are selected according to
2550the ABI of the binary being disassembled.
2551
2552@item fpr-names=@var{ABI}
2553Print FPR (floating-point register) names as
2554appropriate for the specified ABI. By default, FPR numbers are printed
2555rather than names.
2556
2557@item cp0-names=@var{ARCH}
2558Print CP0 (system control coprocessor; coprocessor 0) register names
2559as appropriate for the CPU or architecture specified by
2560@var{ARCH}. By default, CP0 register names are selected according to
2561the architecture and CPU of the binary being disassembled.
2562
2563@item hwr-names=@var{ARCH}
2564Print HWR (hardware register, used by the @code{rdhwr} instruction) names
2565as appropriate for the CPU or architecture specified by
2566@var{ARCH}. By default, HWR names are selected according to
2567the architecture and CPU of the binary being disassembled.
2568
2569@item reg-names=@var{ABI}
2570Print GPR and FPR names as appropriate for the selected ABI.
2571
2572@item reg-names=@var{ARCH}
2573Print CPU-specific register names (CP0 register and HWR names)
2574as appropriate for the selected CPU or architecture.
2575@end table
2576
2577For any of the options listed above, @var{ABI} or
2578@var{ARCH} may be specified as @samp{numeric} to have numbers printed
2579rather than names, for the selected types of registers.
2580You can list the available values of @var{ABI} and @var{ARCH} using
2581the @option{--help} option.
2582
2583For VAX, you can specify function entry addresses with @option{-M
2584entry:0xf00ba}. You can use this multiple times to properly
2585disassemble VAX binary files that don't contain symbol tables (like
2586ROM dumps). In these cases, the function entry mask would otherwise
2587be decoded as VAX instructions, which would probably lead the rest
2588of the function being wrongly disassembled.
2589
2590@item -p
2591@itemx --private-headers
2592Print information that is specific to the object file format. The exact
2593information printed depends upon the object file format. For some
2594object file formats, no additional information is printed.
2595
2596@item -P @var{options}
2597@itemx --private=@var{options}
2598Print information that is specific to the object file format. The
2599argument @var{options} is a comma separated list that depends on the
2600format (the lists of options is displayed with the help).
2601
2602For XCOFF, the available options are:
2603@table @code
2604@item header
2605@item aout
2606@item sections
2607@item syms
2608@item relocs
2609@item lineno,
2610@item loader
2611@item except
2612@item typchk
2613@item traceback
2614@item toc
2615@item ldinfo
2616@end table
2617
2618Not all object formats support this option. In particular the ELF
2619format does not use it.
2620
2621@item -r
2622@itemx --reloc
2623@cindex relocation entries, in object file
2624Print the relocation entries of the file. If used with @option{-d} or
2625@option{-D}, the relocations are printed interspersed with the
2626disassembly.
2627
2628@item -R
2629@itemx --dynamic-reloc
2630@cindex dynamic relocation entries, in object file
2631Print the dynamic relocation entries of the file. This is only
2632meaningful for dynamic objects, such as certain types of shared
2633libraries. As for @option{-r}, if used with @option{-d} or
2634@option{-D}, the relocations are printed interspersed with the
2635disassembly.
2636
2637@item -s
2638@itemx --full-contents
2639@cindex sections, full contents
2640@cindex object file sections
2641Display the full contents of any sections requested. By default all
2642non-empty sections are displayed.
2643
2644@item -S
2645@itemx --source
2646@cindex source disassembly
2647@cindex disassembly, with source
2648Display source code intermixed with disassembly, if possible. Implies
2649@option{-d}.
2650
2651@item --source-comment[=@var{txt}]
2652@cindex source disassembly
2653@cindex disassembly, with source
2654Like the @option{-S} option, but all source code lines are displayed
2655with a prefix of @var{txt}. Typically @var{txt} will be a comment
2656string which can be used to distinguish the assembler code from the
2657source code. If @var{txt} is not provided then a default string of
2658@var{``# ``} (hash followed by a space), will be used.
2659
2660@item --prefix=@var{prefix}
2661@cindex Add prefix to absolute paths
2662Specify @var{prefix} to add to the absolute paths when used with
2663@option{-S}.
2664
2665@item --prefix-strip=@var{level}
2666@cindex Strip absolute paths
2667Indicate how many initial directory names to strip off the hardwired
2668absolute paths. It has no effect without @option{--prefix=}@var{prefix}.
2669
2670@item --show-raw-insn
2671When disassembling instructions, print the instruction in hex as well as
2672in symbolic form. This is the default except when
2673@option{--prefix-addresses} is used.
2674
2675@item --no-show-raw-insn
2676When disassembling instructions, do not print the instruction bytes.
2677This is the default when @option{--prefix-addresses} is used.
2678
2679@item --insn-width=@var{width}
2680@cindex Instruction width
2681Display @var{width} bytes on a single line when disassembling
2682instructions.
2683
2684@item -W[lLiaprmfFsoRtUuTgAckK]
2685@itemx --dwarf[=rawline,=decodedline,=info,=abbrev,=pubnames,=aranges,=macro,=frames,=frames-interp,=str,=loc,=Ranges,=pubtypes,=trace_info,=trace_abbrev,=trace_aranges,=gdb_index,=addr,=cu_index,=links,=follow-links]
2686@include debug.options.texi
2687
2688@item --dwarf-check
2689Enable additional checks for consistency of Dwarf information.
2690
2691@include ctf.options.texi
2692
2693@item -G
2694@itemx --stabs
2695@cindex stab
2696@cindex .stab
2697@cindex debug symbols
2698@cindex ELF object file format
2699Display the full contents of any sections requested. Display the
2700contents of the .stab and .stab.index and .stab.excl sections from an
2701ELF file. This is only useful on systems (such as Solaris 2.0) in which
2702@code{.stab} debugging symbol-table entries are carried in an ELF
2703section. In most other file formats, debugging symbol-table entries are
2704interleaved with linkage symbols, and are visible in the @option{--syms}
2705output.
2706
2707@item --start-address=@var{address}
2708@cindex start-address
2709Start displaying data at the specified address. This affects the output
2710of the @option{-d}, @option{-r} and @option{-s} options.
2711
2712@item --stop-address=@var{address}
2713@cindex stop-address
2714Stop displaying data at the specified address. This affects the output
2715of the @option{-d}, @option{-r} and @option{-s} options.
2716
2717@item -t
2718@itemx --syms
2719@cindex symbol table entries, printing
2720Print the symbol table entries of the file.
2721This is similar to the information provided by the @samp{nm} program,
2722although the display format is different. The format of the output
2723depends upon the format of the file being dumped, but there are two main
2724types. One looks like this:
2725
2726@smallexample
2727[ 4](sec 3)(fl 0x00)(ty 0)(scl 3) (nx 1) 0x00000000 .bss
2728[ 6](sec 1)(fl 0x00)(ty 0)(scl 2) (nx 0) 0x00000000 fred
2729@end smallexample
2730
2731where the number inside the square brackets is the number of the entry
2732in the symbol table, the @var{sec} number is the section number, the
2733@var{fl} value are the symbol's flag bits, the @var{ty} number is the
2734symbol's type, the @var{scl} number is the symbol's storage class and
2735the @var{nx} value is the number of auxilary entries associated with
2736the symbol. The last two fields are the symbol's value and its name.
2737
2738The other common output format, usually seen with ELF based files,
2739looks like this:
2740
2741@smallexample
274200000000 l d .bss 00000000 .bss
274300000000 g .text 00000000 fred
2744@end smallexample
2745
2746Here the first number is the symbol's value (sometimes refered to as
2747its address). The next field is actually a set of characters and
2748spaces indicating the flag bits that are set on the symbol. These
2749characters are described below. Next is the section with which the
2750symbol is associated or @emph{*ABS*} if the section is absolute (ie
2751not connected with any section), or @emph{*UND*} if the section is
2752referenced in the file being dumped, but not defined there.
2753
2754After the section name comes another field, a number, which for common
2755symbols is the alignment and for other symbol is the size. Finally
2756the symbol's name is displayed.
2757
2758The flag characters are divided into 7 groups as follows:
2759@table @code
2760@item l
2761@itemx g
2762@itemx u
2763@itemx !
2764The symbol is a local (l), global (g), unique global (u), neither
2765global nor local (a space) or both global and local (!). A
2766symbol can be neither local or global for a variety of reasons, e.g.,
2767because it is used for debugging, but it is probably an indication of
2768a bug if it is ever both local and global. Unique global symbols are
2769a GNU extension to the standard set of ELF symbol bindings. For such
2770a symbol the dynamic linker will make sure that in the entire process
2771there is just one symbol with this name and type in use.
2772
2773@item w
2774The symbol is weak (w) or strong (a space).
2775
2776@item C
2777The symbol denotes a constructor (C) or an ordinary symbol (a space).
2778
2779@item W
2780The symbol is a warning (W) or a normal symbol (a space). A warning
2781symbol's name is a message to be displayed if the symbol following the
2782warning symbol is ever referenced.
2783
2784@item I
2785@item i
2786The symbol is an indirect reference to another symbol (I), a function
2787to be evaluated during reloc processing (i) or a normal symbol (a
2788space).
2789
2790@item d
2791@itemx D
2792The symbol is a debugging symbol (d) or a dynamic symbol (D) or a
2793normal symbol (a space).
2794
2795@item F
2796@item f
2797@item O
2798The symbol is the name of a function (F) or a file (f) or an object
2799(O) or just a normal symbol (a space).
2800@end table
2801
2802@item -T
2803@itemx --dynamic-syms
2804@cindex dynamic symbol table entries, printing
2805Print the dynamic symbol table entries of the file. This is only
2806meaningful for dynamic objects, such as certain types of shared
2807libraries. This is similar to the information provided by the @samp{nm}
2808program when given the @option{-D} (@option{--dynamic}) option.
2809
2810The output format is similar to that produced by the @option{--syms}
2811option, except that an extra field is inserted before the symbol's
2812name, giving the version information associated with the symbol.
2813If the version is the default version to be used when resolving
2814unversioned references to the symbol then it's displayed as is,
2815otherwise it's put into parentheses.
2816
2817@item --special-syms
2818When displaying symbols include those which the target considers to be
2819special in some way and which would not normally be of interest to the
2820user.
2821
2822@item -V
2823@itemx --version
2824Print the version number of @command{objdump} and exit.
2825
2826@item -x
2827@itemx --all-headers
2828@cindex all header information, object file
2829@cindex header information, all
2830Display all available header information, including the symbol table and
2831relocation entries. Using @option{-x} is equivalent to specifying all of
2832@option{-a -f -h -p -r -t}.
2833
2834@item -w
2835@itemx --wide
2836@cindex wide output, printing
2837Format some lines for output devices that have more than 80 columns.
2838Also do not truncate symbol names when they are displayed.
2839
2840@item -z
2841@itemx --disassemble-zeroes
2842Normally the disassembly output will skip blocks of zeroes. This
2843option directs the disassembler to disassemble those blocks, just like
2844any other data.
2845@end table
2846
2847@c man end
2848
2849@ignore
2850@c man begin SEEALSO objdump
2851nm(1), readelf(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2852@c man end
2853@end ignore
2854
2855@node ranlib
2856@chapter ranlib
2857
2858@kindex ranlib
2859@cindex archive contents
2860@cindex symbol index
2861
2862@c man title ranlib generate an index to an archive
2863
2864@smallexample
2865@c man begin SYNOPSIS ranlib
2866ranlib [@option{--plugin} @var{name}] [@option{-DhHvVt}] @var{archive}
2867@c man end
2868@end smallexample
2869
2870@c man begin DESCRIPTION ranlib
2871
2872@command{ranlib} generates an index to the contents of an archive and
2873stores it in the archive. The index lists each symbol defined by a
2874member of an archive that is a relocatable object file.
2875
2876You may use @samp{nm -s} or @samp{nm --print-armap} to list this index.
2877
2878An archive with such an index speeds up linking to the library and
2879allows routines in the library to call each other without regard to
2880their placement in the archive.
2881
2882The @sc{gnu} @command{ranlib} program is another form of @sc{gnu} @command{ar}; running
2883@command{ranlib} is completely equivalent to executing @samp{ar -s}.
2884@xref{ar}.
2885
2886@c man end
2887
2888@c man begin OPTIONS ranlib
2889
2890@table @env
2891@item -h
2892@itemx -H
2893@itemx --help
2894Show usage information for @command{ranlib}.
2895
2896@item -v
2897@itemx -V
2898@itemx --version
2899Show the version number of @command{ranlib}.
2900
2901@item -D
2902@cindex deterministic archives
2903@kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
2904Operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. The symbol map archive member's
2905header will show zero for the UID, GID, and timestamp. When this
2906option is used, multiple runs will produce identical output files.
2907
2908If @file{binutils} was configured with
2909@option{--enable-deterministic-archives}, then this mode is on by
2910default. It can be disabled with the @samp{-U} option, described
2911below.
2912
2913@item -t
2914Update the timestamp of the symbol map of an archive.
2915
2916@item -U
2917@cindex deterministic archives
2918@kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
2919Do @emph{not} operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. This is the
2920inverse of the @samp{-D} option, above: the archive index will get
2921actual UID, GID, timestamp, and file mode values.
2922
2923If @file{binutils} was configured @emph{without}
2924@option{--enable-deterministic-archives}, then this mode is on by
2925default.
2926
2927@end table
2928
2929@c man end
2930
2931@ignore
2932@c man begin SEEALSO ranlib
2933ar(1), nm(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2934@c man end
2935@end ignore
2936
2937@node size
2938@chapter size
2939
2940@kindex size
2941@cindex section sizes
2942
2943@c man title size list section sizes and total size of binary files
2944
2945@smallexample
2946@c man begin SYNOPSIS size
2947size [@option{-A}|@option{-B}|@option{-G}|@option{--format=}@var{compatibility}]
2948 [@option{--help}]
2949 [@option{-d}|@option{-o}|@option{-x}|@option{--radix=}@var{number}]
2950 [@option{--common}]
2951 [@option{-t}|@option{--totals}]
2952 [@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
2953 [@var{objfile}@dots{}]
2954@c man end
2955@end smallexample
2956
2957@c man begin DESCRIPTION size
2958
2959The @sc{gnu} @command{size} utility lists the section sizes and the total
2960size for each of the binary files @var{objfile} on its argument list.
2961By default, one line of output is generated for each file or each
2962module if the file is an archive.
2963
2964@var{objfile}@dots{} are the files to be examined. If none are
2965specified, the file @code{a.out} will be used instead.
2966
2967@c man end
2968
2969@c man begin OPTIONS size
2970
2971The command-line options have the following meanings:
2972
2973@table @env
2974@item -A
2975@itemx -B
2976@itemx -G
2977@itemx --format=@var{compatibility}
2978@cindex @command{size} display format
2979Using one of these options, you can choose whether the output from @sc{gnu}
2980@command{size} resembles output from System V @command{size} (using @option{-A},
2981or @option{--format=sysv}), or Berkeley @command{size} (using @option{-B}, or
2982@option{--format=berkeley}). The default is the one-line format similar to
2983Berkeley's. Alternatively, you can choose the GNU format output
2984(using @option{-G}, or @option{--format=gnu}), this is similar to
2985Berkeley's output format, but sizes are counted differently.
2986@c Bonus for doc-source readers: you can also say --format=strange (or
2987@c anything else that starts with 's') for sysv, and --format=boring (or
2988@c anything else that starts with 'b') for Berkeley.
2989
2990Here is an example of the Berkeley (default) format of output from
2991@command{size}:
2992@smallexample
2993$ size --format=Berkeley ranlib size
2994 text data bss dec hex filename
2995 294880 81920 11592 388392 5ed28 ranlib
2996 294880 81920 11888 388688 5ee50 size
2997@end smallexample
2998
2999The Berkeley style output counts read only data in the @code{text}
3000column, not in the @code{data} column, the @code{dec} and @code{hex}
3001columns both display the sum of the @code{text}, @code{data}, and
3002@code{bss} columns in decimal and hexadecimal respectively.
3003
3004The GNU format counts read only data in the @code{data} column, not
3005the @code{text} column, and only displays the sum of the @code{text},
3006@code{data}, and @code{bss} columns once, in the @code{total} column.
3007The @option{--radix} option can be used to change the number base for
3008all columns. Here is the same data displayed with GNU conventions:
3009
3010@smallexample
3011$ size --format=GNU ranlib size
3012 text data bss total filename
3013 279880 96920 11592 388392 ranlib
3014 279880 96920 11888 388688 size
3015@end smallexample
3016
3017@noindent
3018This is the same data, but displayed closer to System V conventions:
3019
3020@smallexample
3021$ size --format=SysV ranlib size
3022ranlib :
3023section size addr
3024.text 294880 8192
3025.data 81920 303104
3026.bss 11592 385024
3027Total 388392
3028
3029
3030size :
3031section size addr
3032.text 294880 8192
3033.data 81920 303104
3034.bss 11888 385024
3035Total 388688
3036@end smallexample
3037
3038@item --help
3039Show a summary of acceptable arguments and options.
3040
3041@item -d
3042@itemx -o
3043@itemx -x
3044@itemx --radix=@var{number}
3045@cindex @command{size} number format
3046@cindex radix for section sizes
3047Using one of these options, you can control whether the size of each
3048section is given in decimal (@option{-d}, or @option{--radix=10}); octal
3049(@option{-o}, or @option{--radix=8}); or hexadecimal (@option{-x}, or
3050@option{--radix=16}). In @option{--radix=@var{number}}, only the three
3051values (8, 10, 16) are supported. The total size is always given in two
3052radices; decimal and hexadecimal for @option{-d} or @option{-x} output, or
3053octal and hexadecimal if you're using @option{-o}.
3054
3055@item --common
3056Print total size of common symbols in each file. When using Berkeley
3057or GNU format these are included in the bss size.
3058
3059@item -t
3060@itemx --totals
3061Show totals of all objects listed (Berkeley or GNU format mode only).
3062
3063@item --target=@var{bfdname}
3064@cindex object code format
3065Specify that the object-code format for @var{objfile} is
3066@var{bfdname}. This option may not be necessary; @command{size} can
3067automatically recognize many formats.
3068@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
3069
3070@item -V
3071@itemx --version
3072Display the version number of @command{size}.
3073@end table
3074
3075@c man end
3076
3077@ignore
3078@c man begin SEEALSO size
3079ar(1), objdump(1), readelf(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
3080@c man end
3081@end ignore
3082
3083@node strings
3084@chapter strings
3085@kindex strings
3086@cindex listings strings
3087@cindex printing strings
3088@cindex strings, printing
3089
3090@c man title strings print the sequences of printable characters in files
3091
3092@smallexample
3093@c man begin SYNOPSIS strings
3094strings [@option{-afovV}] [@option{-}@var{min-len}]
3095 [@option{-n} @var{min-len}] [@option{--bytes=}@var{min-len}]
3096 [@option{-t} @var{radix}] [@option{--radix=}@var{radix}]
3097 [@option{-e} @var{encoding}] [@option{--encoding=}@var{encoding}]
3098 [@option{-}] [@option{--all}] [@option{--print-file-name}]
3099 [@option{-T} @var{bfdname}] [@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
3100 [@option{-w}] [@option{--include-all-whitespace}]
3101 [@option{-s}] [@option{--output-separator}@var{sep_string}]
3102 [@option{--help}] [@option{--version}] @var{file}@dots{}
3103@c man end
3104@end smallexample
3105
3106@c man begin DESCRIPTION strings
3107
3108For each @var{file} given, @sc{gnu} @command{strings} prints the
3109printable character sequences that are at least 4 characters long (or
3110the number given with the options below) and are followed by an
3111unprintable character.
3112
3113Depending upon how the strings program was configured it will default
3114to either displaying all the printable sequences that it can find in
3115each file, or only those sequences that are in loadable, initialized
3116data sections. If the file type in unrecognizable, or if strings is
3117reading from stdin then it will always display all of the printable
3118sequences that it can find.
3119
3120For backwards compatibility any file that occurs after a command-line
3121option of just @option{-} will also be scanned in full, regardless of
3122the presence of any @option{-d} option.
3123
3124@command{strings} is mainly useful for determining the contents of
3125non-text files.
3126
3127@c man end
3128
3129@c man begin OPTIONS strings
3130
3131@table @env
3132@item -a
3133@itemx --all
3134@itemx -
3135Scan the whole file, regardless of what sections it contains or
3136whether those sections are loaded or initialized. Normally this is
3137the default behaviour, but strings can be configured so that the
3138@option{-d} is the default instead.
3139
3140The @option{-} option is position dependent and forces strings to
3141perform full scans of any file that is mentioned after the @option{-}
3142on the command line, even if the @option{-d} option has been
3143specified.
3144
3145@item -d
3146@itemx --data
3147Only print strings from initialized, loaded data sections in the
3148file. This may reduce the amount of garbage in the output, but it
3149also exposes the strings program to any security flaws that may be
3150present in the BFD library used to scan and load sections. Strings
3151can be configured so that this option is the default behaviour. In
3152such cases the @option{-a} option can be used to avoid using the BFD
3153library and instead just print all of the strings found in the file.
3154
3155@item -f
3156@itemx --print-file-name
3157Print the name of the file before each string.
3158
3159@item --help
3160Print a summary of the program usage on the standard output and exit.
3161
3162@item -@var{min-len}
3163@itemx -n @var{min-len}
3164@itemx --bytes=@var{min-len}
3165Print sequences of characters that are at least @var{min-len} characters
3166long, instead of the default 4.
3167
3168@item -o
3169Like @samp{-t o}. Some other versions of @command{strings} have @option{-o}
3170act like @samp{-t d} instead. Since we can not be compatible with both
3171ways, we simply chose one.
3172
3173@item -t @var{radix}
3174@itemx --radix=@var{radix}
3175Print the offset within the file before each string. The single
3176character argument specifies the radix of the offset---@samp{o} for
3177octal, @samp{x} for hexadecimal, or @samp{d} for decimal.
3178
3179@item -e @var{encoding}
3180@itemx --encoding=@var{encoding}
3181Select the character encoding of the strings that are to be found.
3182Possible values for @var{encoding} are: @samp{s} = single-7-bit-byte
3183characters (ASCII, ISO 8859, etc., default), @samp{S} =
3184single-8-bit-byte characters, @samp{b} = 16-bit bigendian, @samp{l} =
318516-bit littleendian, @samp{B} = 32-bit bigendian, @samp{L} = 32-bit
3186littleendian. Useful for finding wide character strings. (@samp{l}
3187and @samp{b} apply to, for example, Unicode UTF-16/UCS-2 encodings).
3188
3189@item -T @var{bfdname}
3190@itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
3191@cindex object code format
3192Specify an object code format other than your system's default format.
3193@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
3194
3195@item -v
3196@itemx -V
3197@itemx --version
3198Print the program version number on the standard output and exit.
3199
3200@item -w
3201@itemx --include-all-whitespace
3202By default tab and space characters are included in the strings that
3203are displayed, but other whitespace characters, such a newlines and
3204carriage returns, are not. The @option{-w} option changes this so
3205that all whitespace characters are considered to be part of a string.
3206
3207@item -s
3208@itemx --output-separator
3209By default, output strings are delimited by a new-line. This option
3210allows you to supply any string to be used as the output record
3211separator. Useful with --include-all-whitespace where strings
3212may contain new-lines internally.
3213@end table
3214
3215@c man end
3216
3217@ignore
3218@c man begin SEEALSO strings
3219ar(1), nm(1), objdump(1), ranlib(1), readelf(1)
3220and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
3221@c man end
3222@end ignore
3223
3224@node strip
3225@chapter strip
3226
3227@kindex strip
3228@cindex removing symbols
3229@cindex discarding symbols
3230@cindex symbols, discarding
3231
3232@c man title strip discard symbols and other data from object files
3233
3234@smallexample
3235@c man begin SYNOPSIS strip
3236strip [@option{-F} @var{bfdname} |@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
3237 [@option{-I} @var{bfdname} |@option{--input-target=}@var{bfdname}]
3238 [@option{-O} @var{bfdname} |@option{--output-target=}@var{bfdname}]
3239 [@option{-s}|@option{--strip-all}]
3240 [@option{-S}|@option{-g}|@option{-d}|@option{--strip-debug}]
3241 [@option{--strip-dwo}]
3242 [@option{-K} @var{symbolname}|@option{--keep-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
3243 [@option{-M}|@option{--merge-notes}][@option{--no-merge-notes}]
3244 [@option{-N} @var{symbolname} |@option{--strip-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
3245 [@option{-w}|@option{--wildcard}]
3246 [@option{-x}|@option{--discard-all}] [@option{-X} |@option{--discard-locals}]
3247 [@option{-R} @var{sectionname} |@option{--remove-section=}@var{sectionname}]
3248 [@option{--keep-section=}@var{sectionpattern}]
3249 [@option{--remove-relocations=}@var{sectionpattern}]
3250 [@option{-o} @var{file}] [@option{-p}|@option{--preserve-dates}]
3251 [@option{-D}|@option{--enable-deterministic-archives}]
3252 [@option{-U}|@option{--disable-deterministic-archives}]
3253 [@option{--keep-file-symbols}]
3254 [@option{--only-keep-debug}]
3255 [@option{-v} |@option{--verbose}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
3256 [@option{--help}] [@option{--info}]
3257 @var{objfile}@dots{}
3258@c man end
3259@end smallexample
3260
3261@c man begin DESCRIPTION strip
3262
3263@sc{gnu} @command{strip} discards all symbols from object files
3264@var{objfile}. The list of object files may include archives.
3265At least one object file must be given.
3266
3267@command{strip} modifies the files named in its argument,
3268rather than writing modified copies under different names.
3269
3270@c man end
3271
3272@c man begin OPTIONS strip
3273
3274@table @env
3275@item -F @var{bfdname}
3276@itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
3277Treat the original @var{objfile} as a file with the object
3278code format @var{bfdname}, and rewrite it in the same format.
3279@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
3280
3281@item --help
3282Show a summary of the options to @command{strip} and exit.
3283
3284@item --info
3285Display a list showing all architectures and object formats available.
3286
3287@item -I @var{bfdname}
3288@itemx --input-target=@var{bfdname}
3289Treat the original @var{objfile} as a file with the object
3290code format @var{bfdname}.
3291@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
3292
3293@item -O @var{bfdname}
3294@itemx --output-target=@var{bfdname}
3295Replace @var{objfile} with a file in the output format @var{bfdname}.
3296@xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
3297
3298@item -R @var{sectionname}
3299@itemx --remove-section=@var{sectionname}
3300Remove any section named @var{sectionname} from the output file, in
3301addition to whatever sections would otherwise be removed. This
3302option may be given more than once. Note that using this option
3303inappropriately may make the output file unusable. The wildcard
3304character @samp{*} may be given at the end of @var{sectionname}. If
3305so, then any section starting with @var{sectionname} will be removed.
3306
3307If the first character of @var{sectionpattern} is the exclamation
3308point (!) then matching sections will not be removed even if an
3309earlier use of @option{--remove-section} on the same command line
3310would otherwise remove it. For example:
3311
3312@smallexample
3313 --remove-section=.text.* --remove-section=!.text.foo
3314@end smallexample
3315
3316will remove all sections matching the pattern '.text.*', but will not
3317remove the section '.text.foo'.
3318
3319@item --keep-section=@var{sectionpattern}
3320When removing sections from the output file, keep sections that match
3321@var{sectionpattern}.
3322
3323@item --remove-relocations=@var{sectionpattern}
3324Remove relocations from the output file for any section matching
3325@var{sectionpattern}. This option may be given more than once. Note
3326that using this option inappropriately may make the output file
3327unusable. Wildcard characters are accepted in @var{sectionpattern}.
3328For example:
3329
3330@smallexample
3331 --remove-relocations=.text.*
3332@end smallexample
3333
3334will remove the relocations for all sections matching the patter
3335'.text.*'.
3336
3337If the first character of @var{sectionpattern} is the exclamation
3338point (!) then matching sections will not have their relocation
3339removed even if an earlier use of @option{--remove-relocations} on the
3340same command line would otherwise cause the relocations to be removed.
3341For example:
3342
3343@smallexample
3344 --remove-relocations=.text.* --remove-relocations=!.text.foo
3345@end smallexample
3346
3347will remove all relocations for sections matching the pattern
3348'.text.*', but will not remove relocations for the section
3349'.text.foo'.
3350
3351@item -s
3352@itemx --strip-all
3353Remove all symbols.
3354
3355@item -g
3356@itemx -S
3357@itemx -d
3358@itemx --strip-debug
3359Remove debugging symbols only.
3360
3361@item --strip-dwo
3362Remove the contents of all DWARF .dwo sections, leaving the
3363remaining debugging sections and all symbols intact.
3364See the description of this option in the @command{objcopy} section
3365for more information.
3366
3367@item --strip-unneeded
3368Remove all symbols that are not needed for relocation processing.
3369
3370@item -K @var{symbolname}
3371@itemx --keep-symbol=@var{symbolname}
3372When stripping symbols, keep symbol @var{symbolname} even if it would
3373normally be stripped. This option may be given more than once.
3374
3375@item -M
3376@itemx --merge-notes
3377@itemx --no-merge-notes
3378For ELF files, attempt (or do not attempt) to reduce the size of any
3379SHT_NOTE type sections by removing duplicate notes. The default is to
3380attempt this reduction unless stripping debug or DWO information.
3381
3382@item -N @var{symbolname}
3383@itemx --strip-symbol=@var{symbolname}
3384Remove symbol @var{symbolname} from the source file. This option may be
3385given more than once, and may be combined with strip options other than
3386@option{-K}.
3387
3388@item -o @var{file}
3389Put the stripped output in @var{file}, rather than replacing the
3390existing file. When this argument is used, only one @var{objfile}
3391argument may be specified.
3392
3393@item -p
3394@itemx --preserve-dates
3395Preserve the access and modification dates of the file.
3396
3397@item -D
3398@itemx --enable-deterministic-archives
3399@cindex deterministic archives
3400@kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
3401Operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. When copying archive members
3402and writing the archive index, use zero for UIDs, GIDs, timestamps,
3403and use consistent file modes for all files.
3404
3405If @file{binutils} was configured with
3406@option{--enable-deterministic-archives}, then this mode is on by default.
3407It can be disabled with the @samp{-U} option, below.
3408
3409@item -U
3410@itemx --disable-deterministic-archives
3411@cindex deterministic archives
3412@kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
3413Do @emph{not} operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. This is the
3414inverse of the @option{-D} option, above: when copying archive members
3415and writing the archive index, use their actual UID, GID, timestamp,
3416and file mode values.
3417
3418This is the default unless @file{binutils} was configured with
3419@option{--enable-deterministic-archives}.
3420
3421@item -w
3422@itemx --wildcard
3423Permit regular expressions in @var{symbolname}s used in other command
3424line options. The question mark (?), asterisk (*), backslash (\) and
3425square brackets ([]) operators can be used anywhere in the symbol
3426name. If the first character of the symbol name is the exclamation
3427point (!) then the sense of the switch is reversed for that symbol.
3428For example:
3429
3430@smallexample
3431 -w -K !foo -K fo*
3432@end smallexample
3433
3434would cause strip to only keep symbols that start with the letters
3435``fo'', but to discard the symbol ``foo''.
3436
3437@item -x
3438@itemx --discard-all
3439Remove non-global symbols.
3440
3441@item -X
3442@itemx --discard-locals
3443Remove compiler-generated local symbols.
3444(These usually start with @samp{L} or @samp{.}.)
3445
3446@item --keep-file-symbols
3447When stripping a file, perhaps with @option{--strip-debug} or
3448@option{--strip-unneeded}, retain any symbols specifying source file names,
3449which would otherwise get stripped.
3450
3451@item --only-keep-debug
3452Strip a file, emptying the contents of any sections that would not be
3453stripped by @option{--strip-debug} and leaving the debugging sections
3454intact. In ELF files, this preserves all the note sections in the
3455output as well.
3456
3457Note - the section headers of the stripped sections are preserved,
3458including their sizes, but the contents of the section are discarded.
3459The section headers are preserved so that other tools can match up the
3460debuginfo file with the real executable, even if that executable has
3461been relocated to a different address space.
3462
3463The intention is that this option will be used in conjunction with
3464@option{--add-gnu-debuglink} to create a two part executable. One a
3465stripped binary which will occupy less space in RAM and in a
3466distribution and the second a debugging information file which is only
3467needed if debugging abilities are required. The suggested procedure
3468to create these files is as follows:
3469
3470@enumerate
3471@item Link the executable as normal. Assuming that it is called
3472@code{foo} then...
3473@item Run @code{objcopy --only-keep-debug foo foo.dbg} to
3474create a file containing the debugging info.
3475@item Run @code{objcopy --strip-debug foo} to create a
3476stripped executable.
3477@item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.dbg foo}
3478to add a link to the debugging info into the stripped executable.
3479@end enumerate
3480
3481Note---the choice of @code{.dbg} as an extension for the debug info
3482file is arbitrary. Also the @code{--only-keep-debug} step is
3483optional. You could instead do this:
3484
3485@enumerate
3486@item Link the executable as normal.
3487@item Copy @code{foo} to @code{foo.full}
3488@item Run @code{strip --strip-debug foo}
3489@item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.full foo}
3490@end enumerate
3491
3492i.e., the file pointed to by the @option{--add-gnu-debuglink} can be the
3493full executable. It does not have to be a file created by the
3494@option{--only-keep-debug} switch.
3495
3496Note---this switch is only intended for use on fully linked files. It
3497does not make sense to use it on object files where the debugging
3498information may be incomplete. Besides the gnu_debuglink feature
3499currently only supports the presence of one filename containing
3500debugging information, not multiple filenames on a one-per-object-file
3501basis.
3502
3503@item -V
3504@itemx --version
3505Show the version number for @command{strip}.
3506
3507@item -v
3508@itemx --verbose
3509Verbose output: list all object files modified. In the case of
3510archives, @samp{strip -v} lists all members of the archive.
3511@end table
3512
3513@c man end
3514
3515@ignore
3516@c man begin SEEALSO strip
3517the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
3518@c man end
3519@end ignore
3520
3521@node c++filt, addr2line, strip, Top
3522@chapter c++filt
3523
3524@kindex c++filt
3525@cindex demangling C++ symbols
3526
3527@c man title cxxfilt demangle C++ and Java symbols
3528
3529@smallexample
3530@c man begin SYNOPSIS cxxfilt
3531c++filt [@option{-_}|@option{--strip-underscore}]
3532 [@option{-n}|@option{--no-strip-underscore}]
3533 [@option{-p}|@option{--no-params}]
3534 [@option{-t}|@option{--types}]
3535 [@option{-i}|@option{--no-verbose}]
3536 [@option{-r}|@option{--no-recurse-limit}]
3537 [@option{-R}|@option{--recurse-limit}]
3538 [@option{-s} @var{format}|@option{--format=}@var{format}]
3539 [@option{--help}] [@option{--version}] [@var{symbol}@dots{}]
3540@c man end
3541@end smallexample
3542
3543@c man begin DESCRIPTION cxxfilt
3544
3545@kindex cxxfilt
3546The C++ and Java languages provide function overloading, which means
3547that you can write many functions with the same name, providing that
3548each function takes parameters of different types. In order to be
3549able to distinguish these similarly named functions C++ and Java
3550encode them into a low-level assembler name which uniquely identifies
3551each different version. This process is known as @dfn{mangling}. The
3552@command{c++filt}
3553@footnote{MS-DOS does not allow @kbd{+} characters in file names, so on
3554MS-DOS this program is named @command{CXXFILT}.}
3555program does the inverse mapping: it decodes (@dfn{demangles}) low-level
3556names into user-level names so that they can be read.
3557
3558Every alphanumeric word (consisting of letters, digits, underscores,
3559dollars, or periods) seen in the input is a potential mangled name.
3560If the name decodes into a C++ name, the C++ name replaces the
3561low-level name in the output, otherwise the original word is output.
3562In this way you can pass an entire assembler source file, containing
3563mangled names, through @command{c++filt} and see the same source file
3564containing demangled names.
3565
3566You can also use @command{c++filt} to decipher individual symbols by
3567passing them on the command line:
3568
3569@example
3570c++filt @var{symbol}
3571@end example
3572
3573If no @var{symbol} arguments are given, @command{c++filt} reads symbol
3574names from the standard input instead. All the results are printed on
3575the standard output. The difference between reading names from the
3576command line versus reading names from the standard input is that
3577command-line arguments are expected to be just mangled names and no
3578checking is performed to separate them from surrounding text. Thus
3579for example:
3580
3581@smallexample
3582c++filt -n _Z1fv
3583@end smallexample
3584
3585will work and demangle the name to ``f()'' whereas:
3586
3587@smallexample
3588c++filt -n _Z1fv,
3589@end smallexample
3590
3591will not work. (Note the extra comma at the end of the mangled
3592name which makes it invalid). This command however will work:
3593
3594@smallexample
3595echo _Z1fv, | c++filt -n
3596@end smallexample
3597
3598and will display ``f(),'', i.e., the demangled name followed by a
3599trailing comma. This behaviour is because when the names are read
3600from the standard input it is expected that they might be part of an
3601assembler source file where there might be extra, extraneous
3602characters trailing after a mangled name. For example:
3603
3604@smallexample
3605 .type _Z1fv, @@function
3606@end smallexample
3607
3608@c man end
3609
3610@c man begin OPTIONS cxxfilt
3611
3612@table @env
3613@item -_
3614@itemx --strip-underscore
3615On some systems, both the C and C++ compilers put an underscore in front
3616of every name. For example, the C name @code{foo} gets the low-level
3617name @code{_foo}. This option removes the initial underscore. Whether
3618@command{c++filt} removes the underscore by default is target dependent.
3619
3620@item -n
3621@itemx --no-strip-underscore
3622Do not remove the initial underscore.
3623
3624@item -p
3625@itemx --no-params
3626When demangling the name of a function, do not display the types of
3627the function's parameters.
3628
3629@item -t
3630@itemx --types
3631Attempt to demangle types as well as function names. This is disabled
3632by default since mangled types are normally only used internally in
3633the compiler, and they can be confused with non-mangled names. For example,
3634a function called ``a'' treated as a mangled type name would be
3635demangled to ``signed char''.
3636
3637@item -i
3638@itemx --no-verbose
3639Do not include implementation details (if any) in the demangled
3640output.
3641
3642@item -r
3643@itemx -R
3644@itemx --recurse-limit
3645@itemx --no-recurse-limit
3646@itemx --recursion-limit
3647@itemx --no-recursion-limit
3648Enables or disables a limit on the amount of recursion performed
3649whilst demangling strings. Since the name mangling formats allow for
3650an inifinite level of recursion it is possible to create strings whose
3651decoding will exhaust the amount of stack space available on the host
3652machine, triggering a memory fault. The limit tries to prevent this
3653from happening by restricting recursion to 2048 levels of nesting.
3654
3655The default is for this limit to be enabled, but disabling it may be
3656necessary in order to demangle truly complicated names. Note however
3657that if the recursion limit is disabled then stack exhaustion is
3658possible and any bug reports about such an event will be rejected.
3659
3660The @option{-r} option is a synonym for the
3661@option{--no-recurse-limit} option. The @option{-R} option is a
3662synonym for the @option{--recurse-limit} option.
3663
3664@item -s @var{format}
3665@itemx --format=@var{format}
3666@command{c++filt} can decode various methods of mangling, used by
3667different compilers. The argument to this option selects which
3668method it uses:
3669
3670@table @code
3671@item auto
3672Automatic selection based on executable (the default method)
3673@item gnu
3674the one used by the @sc{gnu} C++ compiler (g++)
3675@item lucid
3676the one used by the Lucid compiler (lcc)
3677@item arm
3678the one specified by the C++ Annotated Reference Manual
3679@item hp
3680the one used by the HP compiler (aCC)
3681@item edg
3682the one used by the EDG compiler
3683@item gnu-v3
3684the one used by the @sc{gnu} C++ compiler (g++) with the V3 ABI.
3685@item java
3686the one used by the @sc{gnu} Java compiler (gcj)
3687@item gnat
3688the one used by the @sc{gnu} Ada compiler (GNAT).
3689@end table
3690
3691@item --help
3692Print a summary of the options to @command{c++filt} and exit.
3693
3694@item --version
3695Print the version number of @command{c++filt} and exit.
3696@end table
3697
3698@c man end
3699
3700@ignore
3701@c man begin SEEALSO cxxfilt
3702the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
3703@c man end
3704@end ignore
3705
3706@quotation
3707@emph{Warning:} @command{c++filt} is a new utility, and the details of its
3708user interface are subject to change in future releases. In particular,
3709a command-line option may be required in the future to decode a name
3710passed as an argument on the command line; in other words,
3711
3712@example
3713c++filt @var{symbol}
3714@end example
3715
3716@noindent
3717may in a future release become
3718
3719@example
3720c++filt @var{option} @var{symbol}
3721@end example
3722@end quotation
3723
3724@node addr2line
3725@chapter addr2line
3726
3727@kindex addr2line
3728@cindex address to file name and line number
3729
3730@c man title addr2line convert addresses into file names and line numbers
3731
3732@smallexample
3733@c man begin SYNOPSIS addr2line
3734addr2line [@option{-a}|@option{--addresses}]
3735 [@option{-b} @var{bfdname}|@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
3736 [@option{-C}|@option{--demangle}[=@var{style}]]
3737 [@option{-r}|@option{--no-recurse-limit}]
3738 [@option{-R}|@option{--recurse-limit}]
3739 [@option{-e} @var{filename}|@option{--exe=}@var{filename}]
3740 [@option{-f}|@option{--functions}] [@option{-s}|@option{--basename}]
3741 [@option{-i}|@option{--inlines}]
3742 [@option{-p}|@option{--pretty-print}]
3743 [@option{-j}|@option{--section=}@var{name}]
3744 [@option{-H}|@option{--help}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
3745 [addr addr @dots{}]
3746@c man end
3747@end smallexample
3748
3749@c man begin DESCRIPTION addr2line
3750
3751@command{addr2line} translates addresses into file names and line numbers.
3752Given an address in an executable or an offset in a section of a relocatable
3753object, it uses the debugging information to figure out which file name and
3754line number are associated with it.
3755
3756The executable or relocatable object to use is specified with the @option{-e}
3757option. The default is the file @file{a.out}. The section in the relocatable
3758object to use is specified with the @option{-j} option.
3759
3760@command{addr2line} has two modes of operation.
3761
3762In the first, hexadecimal addresses are specified on the command line,
3763and @command{addr2line} displays the file name and line number for each
3764address.
3765
3766In the second, @command{addr2line} reads hexadecimal addresses from
3767standard input, and prints the file name and line number for each
3768address on standard output. In this mode, @command{addr2line} may be used
3769in a pipe to convert dynamically chosen addresses.
3770
3771The format of the output is @samp{FILENAME:LINENO}. By default
3772each input address generates one line of output.
3773
3774Two options can generate additional lines before each
3775@samp{FILENAME:LINENO} line (in that order).
3776
3777If the @option{-a} option is used then a line with the input address
3778is displayed.
3779
3780If the @option{-f} option is used, then a line with the
3781@samp{FUNCTIONNAME} is displayed. This is the name of the function
3782containing the address.
3783
3784One option can generate additional lines after the
3785@samp{FILENAME:LINENO} line.
3786
3787If the @option{-i} option is used and the code at the given address is
3788present there because of inlining by the compiler then additional
3789lines are displayed afterwards. One or two extra lines (if the
3790@option{-f} option is used) are displayed for each inlined function.
3791
3792Alternatively if the @option{-p} option is used then each input
3793address generates a single, long, output line containing the address,
3794the function name, the file name and the line number. If the
3795@option{-i} option has also been used then any inlined functions will
3796be displayed in the same manner, but on separate lines, and prefixed
3797by the text @samp{(inlined by)}.
3798
3799If the file name or function name can not be determined,
3800@command{addr2line} will print two question marks in their place. If the
3801line number can not be determined, @command{addr2line} will print 0.
3802
3803@c man end
3804
3805@c man begin OPTIONS addr2line
3806
3807The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
3808equivalent.
3809
3810@table @env
3811@item -a
3812@itemx --addresses
3813Display the address before the function name, file and line number
3814information. The address is printed with a @samp{0x} prefix to easily
3815identify it.
3816
3817@item -b @var{bfdname}
3818@itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
3819@cindex object code format
3820Specify that the object-code format for the object files is
3821@var{bfdname}.
3822
3823@item -C
3824@itemx --demangle[=@var{style}]
3825@cindex demangling in objdump
3826Decode (@dfn{demangle}) low-level symbol names into user-level names.
3827Besides removing any initial underscore prepended by the system, this
3828makes C++ function names readable. Different compilers have different
3829mangling styles. The optional demangling style argument can be used to
3830choose an appropriate demangling style for your compiler. @xref{c++filt},
3831for more information on demangling.
3832
3833@item -e @var{filename}
3834@itemx --exe=@var{filename}
3835Specify the name of the executable for which addresses should be
3836translated. The default file is @file{a.out}.
3837
3838@item -f
3839@itemx --functions
3840Display function names as well as file and line number information.
3841
3842@item -s
3843@itemx --basenames
3844Display only the base of each file name.
3845
3846@item -i
3847@itemx --inlines
3848If the address belongs to a function that was inlined, the source
3849information for all enclosing scopes back to the first non-inlined
3850function will also be printed. For example, if @code{main} inlines
3851@code{callee1} which inlines @code{callee2}, and address is from
3852@code{callee2}, the source information for @code{callee1} and @code{main}
3853will also be printed.
3854
3855@item -j
3856@itemx --section
3857Read offsets relative to the specified section instead of absolute addresses.
3858
3859@item -p
3860@itemx --pretty-print
3861Make the output more human friendly: each location are printed on one line.
3862If option @option{-i} is specified, lines for all enclosing scopes are
3863prefixed with @samp{(inlined by)}.
3864
3865@item -r
3866@itemx -R
3867@itemx --recurse-limit
3868@itemx --no-recurse-limit
3869@itemx --recursion-limit
3870@itemx --no-recursion-limit
3871Enables or disables a limit on the amount of recursion performed
3872whilst demangling strings. Since the name mangling formats allow for
3873an inifinite level of recursion it is possible to create strings whose
3874decoding will exhaust the amount of stack space available on the host
3875machine, triggering a memory fault. The limit tries to prevent this
3876from happening by restricting recursion to 2048 levels of nesting.
3877
3878The default is for this limit to be enabled, but disabling it may be
3879necessary in order to demangle truly complicated names. Note however
3880that if the recursion limit is disabled then stack exhaustion is
3881possible and any bug reports about such an event will be rejected.
3882
3883The @option{-r} option is a synonym for the
3884@option{--no-recurse-limit} option. The @option{-R} option is a
3885synonym for the @option{--recurse-limit} option.
3886
3887Note this option is only effective if the @option{-C} or
3888@option{--demangle} option has been enabled.
3889
3890@end table
3891
3892@c man end
3893
3894@ignore
3895@c man begin SEEALSO addr2line
3896Info entries for @file{binutils}.
3897@c man end
3898@end ignore
3899
3900@node windmc
3901@chapter windmc
3902
3903@command{windmc} may be used to generator Windows message resources.
3904
3905@quotation
3906@emph{Warning:} @command{windmc} is not always built as part of the binary
3907utilities, since it is only useful for Windows targets.
3908@end quotation
3909
3910@c man title windmc generates Windows message resources
3911
3912@smallexample
3913@c man begin SYNOPSIS windmc
3914windmc [options] input-file
3915@c man end
3916@end smallexample
3917
3918@c man begin DESCRIPTION windmc
3919
3920@command{windmc} reads message definitions from an input file (.mc) and
3921translate them into a set of output files. The output files may be of
3922four kinds:
3923
3924@table @code
3925@item h
3926A C header file containing the message definitions.
3927
3928@item rc
3929A resource file compilable by the @command{windres} tool.
3930
3931@item bin
3932One or more binary files containing the resource data for a specific
3933message language.
3934
3935@item dbg
3936A C include file that maps message id's to their symbolic name.
3937@end table
3938
3939The exact description of these different formats is available in
3940documentation from Microsoft.
3941
3942When @command{windmc} converts from the @code{mc} format to the @code{bin}
3943format, @code{rc}, @code{h}, and optional @code{dbg} it is acting like the
3944Windows Message Compiler.
3945
3946@c man end
3947
3948@c man begin OPTIONS windmc
3949
3950@table @env
3951@item -a
3952@itemx --ascii_in
3953Specifies that the input file specified is ASCII. This is the default
3954behaviour.
3955
3956@item -A
3957@itemx --ascii_out
3958Specifies that messages in the output @code{bin} files should be in ASCII
3959format.
3960
3961@item -b
3962@itemx --binprefix
3963Specifies that @code{bin} filenames should have to be prefixed by the
3964basename of the source file.
3965
3966@item -c
3967@itemx --customflag
3968Sets the customer bit in all message id's.
3969
3970@item -C @var{codepage}
3971@itemx --codepage_in @var{codepage}
3972Sets the default codepage to be used to convert input file to UTF16. The
3973default is ocdepage 1252.
3974
3975@item -d
3976@itemx --decimal_values
3977Outputs the constants in the header file in decimal. Default is using
3978hexadecimal output.
3979
3980@item -e @var{ext}
3981@itemx --extension @var{ext}
3982The extension for the header file. The default is .h extension.
3983
3984@item -F @var{target}
3985@itemx --target @var{target}
3986Specify the BFD format to use for a bin file as output. This
3987is a BFD target name; you can use the @option{--help} option to see a list
3988of supported targets. Normally @command{windmc} will use the default
3989format, which is the first one listed by the @option{--help} option.
3990@ifclear man
3991@ref{Target Selection}.
3992@end ifclear
3993
3994@item -h @var{path}
3995@itemx --headerdir @var{path}
3996The target directory of the generated header file. The default is the
3997current directory.
3998
3999@item -H
4000@itemx --help
4001Displays a list of command-line options and then exits.
4002
4003@item -m @var{characters}
4004@itemx --maxlength @var{characters}
4005Instructs @command{windmc} to generate a warning if the length
4006of any message exceeds the number specified.
4007
4008@item -n
4009@itemx --nullterminate
4010Terminate message text in @code{bin} files by zero. By default they are
4011terminated by CR/LF.
4012
4013@item -o
4014@itemx --hresult_use
4015Not yet implemented. Instructs @code{windmc} to generate an OLE2 header
4016file, using HRESULT definitions. Status codes are used if the flag is not
4017specified.
4018
4019@item -O @var{codepage}
4020@itemx --codepage_out @var{codepage}
4021Sets the default codepage to be used to output text files. The default
4022is ocdepage 1252.
4023
4024@item -r @var{path}
4025@itemx --rcdir @var{path}
4026The target directory for the generated @code{rc} script and the generated
4027@code{bin} files that the resource compiler script includes. The default
4028is the current directory.
4029
4030@item -u
4031@itemx --unicode_in
4032Specifies that the input file is UTF16.
4033
4034@item -U
4035@itemx --unicode_out
4036Specifies that messages in the output @code{bin} file should be in UTF16
4037format. This is the default behaviour.
4038
4039@item -v
4040@item --verbose
4041Enable verbose mode.
4042
4043@item -V
4044@item --version
4045Prints the version number for @command{windmc}.
4046
4047@item -x @var{path}
4048@itemx --xdgb @var{path}
4049The path of the @code{dbg} C include file that maps message id's to the
4050symbolic name. No such file is generated without specifying the switch.
4051@end table
4052
4053@c man end
4054
4055@ignore
4056@c man begin SEEALSO windmc
4057the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
4058@c man end
4059@end ignore
4060
4061@node windres
4062@chapter windres
4063
4064@command{windres} may be used to manipulate Windows resources.
4065
4066@quotation
4067@emph{Warning:} @command{windres} is not always built as part of the binary
4068utilities, since it is only useful for Windows targets.
4069@end quotation
4070
4071@c man title windres manipulate Windows resources
4072
4073@smallexample
4074@c man begin SYNOPSIS windres
4075windres [options] [input-file] [output-file]
4076@c man end
4077@end smallexample
4078
4079@c man begin DESCRIPTION windres
4080
4081@command{windres} reads resources from an input file and copies them into
4082an output file. Either file may be in one of three formats:
4083
4084@table @code
4085@item rc
4086A text format read by the Resource Compiler.
4087
4088@item res
4089A binary format generated by the Resource Compiler.
4090
4091@item coff
4092A COFF object or executable.
4093@end table
4094
4095The exact description of these different formats is available in
4096documentation from Microsoft.
4097
4098When @command{windres} converts from the @code{rc} format to the @code{res}
4099format, it is acting like the Windows Resource Compiler. When
4100@command{windres} converts from the @code{res} format to the @code{coff}
4101format, it is acting like the Windows @code{CVTRES} program.
4102
4103When @command{windres} generates an @code{rc} file, the output is similar
4104but not identical to the format expected for the input. When an input
4105@code{rc} file refers to an external filename, an output @code{rc} file
4106will instead include the file contents.
4107
4108If the input or output format is not specified, @command{windres} will
4109guess based on the file name, or, for the input file, the file contents.
4110A file with an extension of @file{.rc} will be treated as an @code{rc}
4111file, a file with an extension of @file{.res} will be treated as a
4112@code{res} file, and a file with an extension of @file{.o} or
4113@file{.exe} will be treated as a @code{coff} file.
4114
4115If no output file is specified, @command{windres} will print the resources
4116in @code{rc} format to standard output.
4117
4118The normal use is for you to write an @code{rc} file, use @command{windres}
4119to convert it to a COFF object file, and then link the COFF file into
4120your application. This will make the resources described in the
4121@code{rc} file available to Windows.
4122
4123@c man end
4124
4125@c man begin OPTIONS windres
4126
4127@table @env
4128@item -i @var{filename}
4129@itemx --input @var{filename}
4130The name of the input file. If this option is not used, then
4131@command{windres} will use the first non-option argument as the input file
4132name. If there are no non-option arguments, then @command{windres} will
4133read from standard input. @command{windres} can not read a COFF file from
4134standard input.
4135
4136@item -o @var{filename}
4137@itemx --output @var{filename}
4138The name of the output file. If this option is not used, then
4139@command{windres} will use the first non-option argument, after any used
4140for the input file name, as the output file name. If there is no
4141non-option argument, then @command{windres} will write to standard output.
4142@command{windres} can not write a COFF file to standard output. Note,
4143for compatibility with @command{rc} the option @option{-fo} is also
4144accepted, but its use is not recommended.
4145
4146@item -J @var{format}
4147@itemx --input-format @var{format}
4148The input format to read. @var{format} may be @samp{res}, @samp{rc}, or
4149@samp{coff}. If no input format is specified, @command{windres} will
4150guess, as described above.
4151
4152@item -O @var{format}
4153@itemx --output-format @var{format}
4154The output format to generate. @var{format} may be @samp{res},
4155@samp{rc}, or @samp{coff}. If no output format is specified,
4156@command{windres} will guess, as described above.
4157
4158@item -F @var{target}
4159@itemx --target @var{target}
4160Specify the BFD format to use for a COFF file as input or output. This
4161is a BFD target name; you can use the @option{--help} option to see a list
4162of supported targets. Normally @command{windres} will use the default
4163format, which is the first one listed by the @option{--help} option.
4164@ifclear man
4165@ref{Target Selection}.
4166@end ifclear
4167
4168@item --preprocessor @var{program}
4169When @command{windres} reads an @code{rc} file, it runs it through the C
4170preprocessor first. This option may be used to specify the preprocessor
4171to use, including any leading arguments. The default preprocessor
4172argument is @code{gcc -E -xc-header -DRC_INVOKED}.
4173
4174@item --preprocessor-arg @var{option}
4175When @command{windres} reads an @code{rc} file, it runs it through
4176the C preprocessor first. This option may be used to specify additional
4177text to be passed to preprocessor on its command line.
4178This option can be used multiple times to add multiple options to the
4179preprocessor command line.
4180
4181@item -I @var{directory}
4182@itemx --include-dir @var{directory}
4183Specify an include directory to use when reading an @code{rc} file.
4184@command{windres} will pass this to the preprocessor as an @option{-I}
4185option. @command{windres} will also search this directory when looking for
4186files named in the @code{rc} file. If the argument passed to this command
4187matches any of the supported @var{formats} (as described in the @option{-J}
4188option), it will issue a deprecation warning, and behave just like the
4189@option{-J} option. New programs should not use this behaviour. If a
4190directory happens to match a @var{format}, simple prefix it with @samp{./}
4191to disable the backward compatibility.
4192
4193@item -D @var{target}
4194@itemx --define @var{sym}[=@var{val}]
4195Specify a @option{-D} option to pass to the preprocessor when reading an
4196@code{rc} file.
4197
4198@item -U @var{target}
4199@itemx --undefine @var{sym}
4200Specify a @option{-U} option to pass to the preprocessor when reading an
4201@code{rc} file.
4202
4203@item -r
4204Ignored for compatibility with rc.
4205
4206@item -v
4207Enable verbose mode. This tells you what the preprocessor is if you
4208didn't specify one.
4209
4210@item -c @var{val}
4211@item --codepage @var{val}
4212Specify the default codepage to use when reading an @code{rc} file.
4213@var{val} should be a hexadecimal prefixed by @samp{0x} or decimal
4214codepage code. The valid range is from zero up to 0xffff, but the
4215validity of the codepage is host and configuration dependent.
4216
4217@item -l @var{val}
4218@item --language @var{val}
4219Specify the default language to use when reading an @code{rc} file.
4220@var{val} should be a hexadecimal language code. The low eight bits are
4221the language, and the high eight bits are the sublanguage.
4222
4223@item --use-temp-file
4224Use a temporary file to instead of using popen to read the output of
4225the preprocessor. Use this option if the popen implementation is buggy
4226on the host (eg., certain non-English language versions of Windows 95 and
4227Windows 98 are known to have buggy popen where the output will instead
4228go the console).
4229
4230@item --no-use-temp-file
4231Use popen, not a temporary file, to read the output of the preprocessor.
4232This is the default behaviour.
4233
4234@item -h
4235@item --help
4236Prints a usage summary.
4237
4238@item -V
4239@item --version
4240Prints the version number for @command{windres}.
4241
4242@item --yydebug
4243If @command{windres} is compiled with @code{YYDEBUG} defined as @code{1},
4244this will turn on parser debugging.
4245@end table
4246
4247@c man end
4248
4249@ignore
4250@c man begin SEEALSO windres
4251the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
4252@c man end
4253@end ignore
4254
4255@node dlltool
4256@chapter dlltool
4257@cindex DLL
4258@kindex dlltool
4259
4260@command{dlltool} is used to create the files needed to create dynamic
4261link libraries (DLLs) on systems which understand PE format image
4262files such as Windows. A DLL contains an export table which contains
4263information that the runtime loader needs to resolve references from a
4264referencing program.
4265
4266The export table is generated by this program by reading in a
4267@file{.def} file or scanning the @file{.a} and @file{.o} files which
4268will be in the DLL. A @file{.o} file can contain information in
4269special @samp{.drectve} sections with export information.
4270
4271@quotation
4272@emph{Note:} @command{dlltool} is not always built as part of the
4273binary utilities, since it is only useful for those targets which
4274support DLLs.
4275@end quotation
4276
4277@c man title dlltool create files needed to build and use DLLs
4278
4279@smallexample
4280@c man begin SYNOPSIS dlltool
4281dlltool [@option{-d}|@option{--input-def} @var{def-file-name}]
4282 [@option{-b}|@option{--base-file} @var{base-file-name}]
4283 [@option{-e}|@option{--output-exp} @var{exports-file-name}]
4284 [@option{-z}|@option{--output-def} @var{def-file-name}]
4285 [@option{-l}|@option{--output-lib} @var{library-file-name}]
4286 [@option{-y}|@option{--output-delaylib} @var{library-file-name}]
4287 [@option{--export-all-symbols}] [@option{--no-export-all-symbols}]
4288 [@option{--exclude-symbols} @var{list}]
4289 [@option{--no-default-excludes}]
4290 [@option{-S}|@option{--as} @var{path-to-assembler}] [@option{-f}|@option{--as-flags} @var{options}]
4291 [@option{-D}|@option{--dllname} @var{name}] [@option{-m}|@option{--machine} @var{machine}]
4292 [@option{-a}|@option{--add-indirect}]
4293 [@option{-U}|@option{--add-underscore}] [@option{--add-stdcall-underscore}]
4294 [@option{-k}|@option{--kill-at}] [@option{-A}|@option{--add-stdcall-alias}]
4295 [@option{-p}|@option{--ext-prefix-alias} @var{prefix}]
4296 [@option{-x}|@option{--no-idata4}] [@option{-c}|@option{--no-idata5}]
4297 [@option{--use-nul-prefixed-import-tables}]
4298 [@option{-I}|@option{--identify} @var{library-file-name}] [@option{--identify-strict}]
4299 [@option{-i}|@option{--interwork}]
4300 [@option{-n}|@option{--nodelete}] [@option{-t}|@option{--temp-prefix} @var{prefix}]
4301 [@option{-v}|@option{--verbose}]
4302 [@option{-h}|@option{--help}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
4303 [@option{--no-leading-underscore}] [@option{--leading-underscore}]
4304 [object-file @dots{}]
4305@c man end
4306@end smallexample
4307
4308@c man begin DESCRIPTION dlltool
4309
4310@command{dlltool} reads its inputs, which can come from the @option{-d} and
4311@option{-b} options as well as object files specified on the command
4312line. It then processes these inputs and if the @option{-e} option has
4313been specified it creates a exports file. If the @option{-l} option
4314has been specified it creates a library file and if the @option{-z} option
4315has been specified it creates a def file. Any or all of the @option{-e},
4316@option{-l} and @option{-z} options can be present in one invocation of
4317dlltool.
4318
4319When creating a DLL, along with the source for the DLL, it is necessary
4320to have three other files. @command{dlltool} can help with the creation of
4321these files.
4322
4323The first file is a @file{.def} file which specifies which functions are
4324exported from the DLL, which functions the DLL imports, and so on. This
4325is a text file and can be created by hand, or @command{dlltool} can be used
4326to create it using the @option{-z} option. In this case @command{dlltool}
4327will scan the object files specified on its command line looking for
4328those functions which have been specially marked as being exported and
4329put entries for them in the @file{.def} file it creates.
4330
4331In order to mark a function as being exported from a DLL, it needs to
4332have an @option{-export:<name_of_function>} entry in the @samp{.drectve}
4333section of the object file. This can be done in C by using the
4334asm() operator:
4335
4336@smallexample
4337 asm (".section .drectve");
4338 asm (".ascii \"-export:my_func\"");
4339
4340 int my_func (void) @{ @dots{} @}
4341@end smallexample
4342
4343The second file needed for DLL creation is an exports file. This file
4344is linked with the object files that make up the body of the DLL and it
4345handles the interface between the DLL and the outside world. This is a
4346binary file and it can be created by giving the @option{-e} option to
4347@command{dlltool} when it is creating or reading in a @file{.def} file.
4348
4349The third file needed for DLL creation is the library file that programs
4350will link with in order to access the functions in the DLL (an `import
4351library'). This file can be created by giving the @option{-l} option to
4352dlltool when it is creating or reading in a @file{.def} file.
4353
4354If the @option{-y} option is specified, dlltool generates a delay-import
4355library that can be used instead of the normal import library to allow
4356a program to link to the dll only as soon as an imported function is
4357called for the first time. The resulting executable will need to be
4358linked to the static delayimp library containing __delayLoadHelper2(),
4359which in turn will import LoadLibraryA and GetProcAddress from kernel32.
4360
4361@command{dlltool} builds the library file by hand, but it builds the
4362exports file by creating temporary files containing assembler statements
4363and then assembling these. The @option{-S} command-line option can be
4364used to specify the path to the assembler that dlltool will use,
4365and the @option{-f} option can be used to pass specific flags to that
4366assembler. The @option{-n} can be used to prevent dlltool from deleting
4367these temporary assembler files when it is done, and if @option{-n} is
4368specified twice then this will prevent dlltool from deleting the
4369temporary object files it used to build the library.
4370
4371Here is an example of creating a DLL from a source file @samp{dll.c} and
4372also creating a program (from an object file called @samp{program.o})
4373that uses that DLL:
4374
4375@smallexample
4376 gcc -c dll.c
4377 dlltool -e exports.o -l dll.lib dll.o
4378 gcc dll.o exports.o -o dll.dll
4379 gcc program.o dll.lib -o program
4380@end smallexample
4381
4382
4383@command{dlltool} may also be used to query an existing import library
4384to determine the name of the DLL to which it is associated. See the
4385description of the @option{-I} or @option{--identify} option.
4386
4387@c man end
4388
4389@c man begin OPTIONS dlltool
4390
4391The command-line options have the following meanings:
4392
4393@table @env
4394
4395@item -d @var{filename}
4396@itemx --input-def @var{filename}
4397@cindex input .def file
4398Specifies the name of a @file{.def} file to be read in and processed.
4399
4400@item -b @var{filename}
4401@itemx --base-file @var{filename}
4402@cindex base files
4403Specifies the name of a base file to be read in and processed. The
4404contents of this file will be added to the relocation section in the
4405exports file generated by dlltool.
4406
4407@item -e @var{filename}
4408@itemx --output-exp @var{filename}
4409Specifies the name of the export file to be created by dlltool.
4410
4411@item -z @var{filename}
4412@itemx --output-def @var{filename}
4413Specifies the name of the @file{.def} file to be created by dlltool.
4414
4415@item -l @var{filename}
4416@itemx --output-lib @var{filename}
4417Specifies the name of the library file to be created by dlltool.
4418
4419@item -y @var{filename}
4420@itemx --output-delaylib @var{filename}
4421Specifies the name of the delay-import library file to be created by dlltool.
4422
4423@item --export-all-symbols
4424Treat all global and weak defined symbols found in the input object
4425files as symbols to be exported. There is a small list of symbols which
4426are not exported by default; see the @option{--no-default-excludes}
4427option. You may add to the list of symbols to not export by using the
4428@option{--exclude-symbols} option.
4429
4430@item --no-export-all-symbols
4431Only export symbols explicitly listed in an input @file{.def} file or in
4432@samp{.drectve} sections in the input object files. This is the default
4433behaviour. The @samp{.drectve} sections are created by @samp{dllexport}
4434attributes in the source code.
4435
4436@item --exclude-symbols @var{list}
4437Do not export the symbols in @var{list}. This is a list of symbol names
4438separated by comma or colon characters. The symbol names should not
4439contain a leading underscore. This is only meaningful when
4440@option{--export-all-symbols} is used.
4441
4442@item --no-default-excludes
4443When @option{--export-all-symbols} is used, it will by default avoid
4444exporting certain special symbols. The current list of symbols to avoid
4445exporting is @samp{DllMain@@12}, @samp{DllEntryPoint@@0},
4446@samp{impure_ptr}. You may use the @option{--no-default-excludes} option
4447to go ahead and export these special symbols. This is only meaningful
4448when @option{--export-all-symbols} is used.
4449
4450@item -S @var{path}
4451@itemx --as @var{path}
4452Specifies the path, including the filename, of the assembler to be used
4453to create the exports file.
4454
4455@item -f @var{options}
4456@itemx --as-flags @var{options}
4457Specifies any specific command-line options to be passed to the
4458assembler when building the exports file. This option will work even if
4459the @option{-S} option is not used. This option only takes one argument,
4460and if it occurs more than once on the command line, then later
4461occurrences will override earlier occurrences. So if it is necessary to
4462pass multiple options to the assembler they should be enclosed in
4463double quotes.
4464
4465@item -D @var{name}
4466@itemx --dll-name @var{name}
4467Specifies the name to be stored in the @file{.def} file as the name of
4468the DLL when the @option{-e} option is used. If this option is not
4469present, then the filename given to the @option{-e} option will be
4470used as the name of the DLL.
4471
4472@item -m @var{machine}
4473@itemx -machine @var{machine}
4474Specifies the type of machine for which the library file should be
4475built. @command{dlltool} has a built in default type, depending upon how
4476it was created, but this option can be used to override that. This is
4477normally only useful when creating DLLs for an ARM processor, when the
4478contents of the DLL are actually encode using Thumb instructions.
4479
4480@item -a
4481@itemx --add-indirect
4482Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
4483should add a section which allows the exported functions to be
4484referenced without using the import library. Whatever the hell that
4485means!
4486
4487@item -U
4488@itemx --add-underscore
4489Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
4490should prepend an underscore to the names of @emph{all} exported symbols.
4491
4492@item --no-leading-underscore
4493@item --leading-underscore
4494Specifies whether standard symbol should be forced to be prefixed, or
4495not.
4496
4497@item --add-stdcall-underscore
4498Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
4499should prepend an underscore to the names of exported @emph{stdcall}
4500functions. Variable names and non-stdcall function names are not modified.
4501This option is useful when creating GNU-compatible import libs for third
4502party DLLs that were built with MS-Windows tools.
4503
4504@item -k
4505@itemx --kill-at
4506Specifies that @samp{@@<number>} suffixes should be omitted from the names
4507of stdcall functions that will be imported from the DLL. This is
4508useful when creating an import library for a DLL which exports stdcall
4509functions but without the usual @samp{@@<number>} symbol name suffix.
4510
4511This does not change the naming of symbols provided by the import library
4512to programs linked against it, but only the entries in the import table
4513(ie the .idata section).
4514
4515@item -A
4516@itemx --add-stdcall-alias
4517Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
4518should add aliases for stdcall symbols without @samp{@@ <number>}
4519in addition to the symbols with @samp{@@ <number>}.
4520
4521@item -p
4522@itemx --ext-prefix-alias @var{prefix}
4523Causes @command{dlltool} to create external aliases for all DLL
4524imports with the specified prefix. The aliases are created for both
4525external and import symbols with no leading underscore.
4526
4527@item -x
4528@itemx --no-idata4
4529Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports and library
4530files it should omit the @code{.idata4} section. This is for compatibility
4531with certain operating systems.
4532
4533@item --use-nul-prefixed-import-tables
4534Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports and library
4535files it should prefix the @code{.idata4} and @code{.idata5} by zero an
4536element. This emulates old gnu import library generation of
4537@code{dlltool}. By default this option is turned off.
4538
4539@item -c
4540@itemx --no-idata5
4541Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports and library
4542files it should omit the @code{.idata5} section. This is for compatibility
4543with certain operating systems.
4544
4545@item -I @var{filename}
4546@itemx --identify @var{filename}
4547Specifies that @command{dlltool} should inspect the import library
4548indicated by @var{filename} and report, on @code{stdout}, the name(s)
4549of the associated DLL(s). This can be performed in addition to any
4550other operations indicated by the other options and arguments.
4551@command{dlltool} fails if the import library does not exist or is not
4552actually an import library. See also @option{--identify-strict}.
4553
4554@item --identify-strict
4555Modifies the behavior of the @option{--identify} option, such
4556that an error is reported if @var{filename} is associated with
4557more than one DLL.
4558
4559@item -i
4560@itemx --interwork
4561Specifies that @command{dlltool} should mark the objects in the library
4562file and exports file that it produces as supporting interworking
4563between ARM and Thumb code.
4564
4565@item -n
4566@itemx --nodelete
4567Makes @command{dlltool} preserve the temporary assembler files it used to
4568create the exports file. If this option is repeated then dlltool will
4569also preserve the temporary object files it uses to create the library
4570file.
4571
4572@item -t @var{prefix}
4573@itemx --temp-prefix @var{prefix}
4574Makes @command{dlltool} use @var{prefix} when constructing the names of
4575temporary assembler and object files. By default, the temp file prefix
4576is generated from the pid.
4577
4578@item -v
4579@itemx --verbose
4580Make dlltool describe what it is doing.
4581
4582@item -h
4583@itemx --help
4584Displays a list of command-line options and then exits.
4585
4586@item -V
4587@itemx --version
4588Displays dlltool's version number and then exits.
4589
4590@end table
4591
4592@c man end
4593
4594@menu
4595* def file format:: The format of the dlltool @file{.def} file
4596@end menu
4597
4598@node def file format
4599@section The format of the @command{dlltool} @file{.def} file
4600
4601A @file{.def} file contains any number of the following commands:
4602
4603@table @asis
4604
4605@item @code{NAME} @var{name} @code{[ ,} @var{base} @code{]}
4606The result is going to be named @var{name}@code{.exe}.
4607
4608@item @code{LIBRARY} @var{name} @code{[ ,} @var{base} @code{]}
4609The result is going to be named @var{name}@code{.dll}.
4610Note: If you want to use LIBRARY as name then you need to quote. Otherwise
4611this will fail due a necessary hack for libtool (see PR binutils/13710 for more
4612details).
4613
4614@item @code{EXPORTS ( ( (} @var{name1} @code{[ = } @var{name2} @code{] ) | ( } @var{name1} @code{=} @var{module-name} @code{.} @var{external-name} @code{) ) [ == } @var{its_name} @code{]}
4615@item @code{[} @var{integer} @code{] [ NONAME ] [ CONSTANT ] [ DATA ] [ PRIVATE ] ) *}
4616Declares @var{name1} as an exported symbol from the DLL, with optional
4617ordinal number @var{integer}, or declares @var{name1} as an alias
4618(forward) of the function @var{external-name} in the DLL.
4619If @var{its_name} is specified, this name is used as string in export table.
4620@var{module-name}.
4621Note: The @code{EXPORTS} has to be the last command in .def file, as keywords
4622are treated - beside @code{LIBRARY} - as simple name-identifiers.
4623If you want to use LIBRARY as name then you need to quote it.
4624
4625@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{) [ == ) @var{its_name} @code{]} *}
4626Declares that @var{external-name} or the exported function whose
4627ordinal number is @var{integer} is to be imported from the file
4628@var{module-name}. If @var{internal-name} is specified then this is
4629the name that the imported function will be referred to in the body of
4630the DLL.
4631If @var{its_name} is specified, this name is used as string in import table.
4632Note: The @code{IMPORTS} has to be the last command in .def file, as keywords
4633are treated - beside @code{LIBRARY} - as simple name-identifiers.
4634If you want to use LIBRARY as name then you need to quote it.
4635
4636@item @code{DESCRIPTION} @var{string}
4637Puts @var{string} into the output @file{.exp} file in the
4638@code{.rdata} section.
4639
4640@item @code{STACKSIZE} @var{number-reserve} @code{[, } @var{number-commit} @code{]}
4641@item @code{HEAPSIZE} @var{number-reserve} @code{[, } @var{number-commit} @code{]}
4642Generates @code{--stack} or @code{--heap}
4643@var{number-reserve},@var{number-commit} in the output @code{.drectve}
4644section. The linker will see this and act upon it.
4645
4646@item @code{CODE} @var{attr} @code{+}
4647@item @code{DATA} @var{attr} @code{+}
4648@item @code{SECTIONS (} @var{section-name} @var{attr}@code{ + ) *}
4649Generates @code{--attr} @var{section-name} @var{attr} in the output
4650@code{.drectve} section, where @var{attr} is one of @code{READ},
4651@code{WRITE}, @code{EXECUTE} or @code{SHARED}. The linker will see
4652this and act upon it.
4653
4654@end table
4655
4656@ignore
4657@c man begin SEEALSO dlltool
4658The Info pages for @file{binutils}.
4659@c man end
4660@end ignore
4661
4662@node readelf
4663@chapter readelf
4664
4665@cindex ELF file information
4666@kindex readelf
4667
4668@c man title readelf display information about ELF files
4669
4670@smallexample
4671@c man begin SYNOPSIS readelf
4672readelf [@option{-a}|@option{--all}]
4673 [@option{-h}|@option{--file-header}]
4674 [@option{-l}|@option{--program-headers}|@option{--segments}]
4675 [@option{-S}|@option{--section-headers}|@option{--sections}]
4676 [@option{-g}|@option{--section-groups}]
4677 [@option{-t}|@option{--section-details}]
4678 [@option{-e}|@option{--headers}]
4679 [@option{-s}|@option{--syms}|@option{--symbols}]
4680 [@option{--dyn-syms}]
4681 [@option{-n}|@option{--notes}]
4682 [@option{-r}|@option{--relocs}]
4683 [@option{-u}|@option{--unwind}]
4684 [@option{-d}|@option{--dynamic}]
4685 [@option{-V}|@option{--version-info}]
4686 [@option{-A}|@option{--arch-specific}]
4687 [@option{-D}|@option{--use-dynamic}]
4688 [@option{-x} <number or name>|@option{--hex-dump=}<number or name>]
4689 [@option{-p} <number or name>|@option{--string-dump=}<number or name>]
4690 [@option{-R} <number or name>|@option{--relocated-dump=}<number or name>]
4691 [@option{-z}|@option{--decompress}]
4692 [@option{-c}|@option{--archive-index}]
4693 [@option{-w[lLiaprmfFsoRtUuTgAckK]}|
4694 @option{--debug-dump}[=rawline,=decodedline,=info,=abbrev,=pubnames,=aranges,=macro,=frames,=frames-interp,=str,=loc,=Ranges,=pubtypes,=trace_info,=trace_abbrev,=trace_aranges,=gdb_index,=addr,=cu_index,=links,=follow-links]]
4695 [@option{--dwarf-depth=@var{n}}]
4696 [@option{--dwarf-start=@var{n}}]
4697 [@option{--ctf=}@var{section}]
4698 [@option{--ctf-parent=}@var{section}]
4699 [@option{--ctf-symbols=}@var{section}]
4700 [@option{--ctf-strings=}@var{section}]
4701 [@option{-I}|@option{--histogram}]
4702 [@option{-v}|@option{--version}]
4703 [@option{-W}|@option{--wide}]
4704 [@option{-H}|@option{--help}]
4705 @var{elffile}@dots{}
4706@c man end
4707@end smallexample
4708
4709@c man begin DESCRIPTION readelf
4710
4711@command{readelf} displays information about one or more ELF format object
4712files. The options control what particular information to display.
4713
4714@var{elffile}@dots{} are the object files to be examined. 32-bit and
471564-bit ELF files are supported, as are archives containing ELF files.
4716
4717This program performs a similar function to @command{objdump} but it
4718goes into more detail and it exists independently of the @sc{bfd}
4719library, so if there is a bug in @sc{bfd} then readelf will not be
4720affected.
4721
4722@c man end
4723
4724@c man begin OPTIONS readelf
4725
4726The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
4727equivalent. At least one option besides @samp{-v} or @samp{-H} must be
4728given.
4729
4730@table @env
4731@item -a
4732@itemx --all
4733Equivalent to specifying @option{--file-header},
4734@option{--program-headers}, @option{--sections}, @option{--symbols},
4735@option{--relocs}, @option{--dynamic}, @option{--notes},
4736@option{--version-info}, @option{--arch-specific}, @option{--unwind},
4737@option{--section-groups} and @option{--histogram}.
4738
4739Note - this option does not enable @option{--use-dynamic} itself, so
4740if that option is not present on the command line then dynamic symbols
4741and dynamic relocs will not be displayed.
4742
4743@item -h
4744@itemx --file-header
4745@cindex ELF file header information
4746Displays the information contained in the ELF header at the start of the
4747file.
4748
4749@item -l
4750@itemx --program-headers
4751@itemx --segments
4752@cindex ELF program header information
4753@cindex ELF segment information
4754Displays the information contained in the file's segment headers, if it
4755has any.
4756
4757@item -S
4758@itemx --sections
4759@itemx --section-headers
4760@cindex ELF section information
4761Displays the information contained in the file's section headers, if it
4762has any.
4763
4764@item -g
4765@itemx --section-groups
4766@cindex ELF section group information
4767Displays the information contained in the file's section groups, if it
4768has any.
4769
4770@item -t
4771@itemx --section-details
4772@cindex ELF section information
4773Displays the detailed section information. Implies @option{-S}.
4774
4775@item -s
4776@itemx --symbols
4777@itemx --syms
4778@cindex ELF symbol table information
4779Displays the entries in symbol table section of the file, if it has one.
4780If a symbol has version information associated with it then this is
4781displayed as well. The version string is displayed as a suffix to the
4782symbol name, preceeded by an @@ character. For example
4783@samp{foo@@VER_1}. If the version is the default version to be used
4784when resolving unversioned references to the symbol then it is
4785displayed as a suffix preceeded by two @@ characters. For example
4786@samp{foo@@@@VER_2}.
4787
4788@item --dyn-syms
4789@cindex ELF dynamic symbol table information
4790Displays the entries in dynamic symbol table section of the file, if it
4791has one. The output format is the same as the format used by the
4792@option{--syms} option.
4793
4794@item -e
4795@itemx --headers
4796Display all the headers in the file. Equivalent to @option{-h -l -S}.
4797
4798@item -n
4799@itemx --notes
4800@cindex ELF notes
4801Displays the contents of the NOTE segments and/or sections, if any.
4802
4803@item -r
4804@itemx --relocs
4805@cindex ELF reloc information
4806Displays the contents of the file's relocation section, if it has one.
4807
4808@item -u
4809@itemx --unwind
4810@cindex unwind information
4811Displays the contents of the file's unwind section, if it has one. Only
4812the unwind sections for IA64 ELF files, as well as ARM unwind tables
4813(@code{.ARM.exidx} / @code{.ARM.extab}) are currently supported. If
4814support is not yet implemented for your architecture you could try
4815dumping the contents of the @var{.eh_frames} section using the
4816@option{--debug-dump=frames} or @option{--debug-dump=frames-interp}
4817options.
4818
4819@item -d
4820@itemx --dynamic
4821@cindex ELF dynamic section information
4822Displays the contents of the file's dynamic section, if it has one.
4823
4824@item -V
4825@itemx --version-info
4826@cindex ELF version sections information
4827Displays the contents of the version sections in the file, it they
4828exist.
4829
4830@item -A
4831@itemx --arch-specific
4832Displays architecture-specific information in the file, if there
4833is any.
4834
4835@item -D
4836@itemx --use-dynamic
4837When displaying symbols, this option makes @command{readelf} use the
4838symbol hash tables in the file's dynamic section, rather than the
4839symbol table sections.
4840
4841When displaying relocations, this option makes @command{readelf}
4842display the dynamic relocations rather than the static relocations.
4843
4844@item -x <number or name>
4845@itemx --hex-dump=<number or name>
4846Displays the contents of the indicated section as a hexadecimal bytes.
4847A number identifies a particular section by index in the section table;
4848any other string identifies all sections with that name in the object file.
4849
4850@item -R <number or name>
4851@itemx --relocated-dump=<number or name>
4852Displays the contents of the indicated section as a hexadecimal
4853bytes. A number identifies a particular section by index in the
4854section table; any other string identifies all sections with that name
4855in the object file. The contents of the section will be relocated
4856before they are displayed.
4857
4858@item -p <number or name>
4859@itemx --string-dump=<number or name>
4860Displays the contents of the indicated section as printable strings.
4861A number identifies a particular section by index in the section table;
4862any other string identifies all sections with that name in the object file.
4863
4864@item -z
4865@itemx --decompress
4866Requests that the section(s) being dumped by @option{x}, @option{R} or
4867@option{p} options are decompressed before being displayed. If the
4868section(s) are not compressed then they are displayed as is.
4869
4870@item -c
4871@itemx --archive-index
4872@cindex Archive file symbol index information
4873Displays the file symbol index information contained in the header part
4874of binary archives. Performs the same function as the @option{t}
4875command to @command{ar}, but without using the BFD library. @xref{ar}.
4876
4877@item -w[lLiaprmfFsoRtUuTgAckK]
4878@itemx --debug-dump[=rawline,=decodedline,=info,=abbrev,=pubnames,=aranges,=macro,=frames,=frames-interp,=str,=loc,=Ranges,=pubtypes,=trace_info,=trace_abbrev,=trace_aranges,=gdb_index,=addr,=cu_index,=links,=follow-links]
4879@include debug.options.texi
4880
4881@include ctf.options.texi
4882@item --ctf-symbols=@var{section}
4883@item --ctf-strings=@var{section}
4884Specify the name of another section from which the CTF file can inherit
4885strings and symbols. By default, the @code{.symtab} and its linked
4886string table are used.
4887
4888If either of @option{--ctf-symbols} or @option{--ctf-strings} is specified, the
4889other must be specified as well.
4890
4891@item -I
4892@itemx --histogram
4893Display a histogram of bucket list lengths when displaying the contents
4894of the symbol tables.
4895
4896@item -v
4897@itemx --version
4898Display the version number of readelf.
4899
4900@item -W
4901@itemx --wide
4902Don't break output lines to fit into 80 columns. By default
4903@command{readelf} breaks section header and segment listing lines for
490464-bit ELF files, so that they fit into 80 columns. This option causes
4905@command{readelf} to print each section header resp. each segment one a
4906single line, which is far more readable on terminals wider than 80 columns.
4907
4908@item -H
4909@itemx --help
4910Display the command-line options understood by @command{readelf}.
4911
4912@end table
4913
4914@c man end
4915
4916@ignore
4917@c man begin SEEALSO readelf
4918objdump(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
4919@c man end
4920@end ignore
4921
4922@node elfedit
4923@chapter elfedit
4924
4925@cindex Update ELF header
4926@kindex elfedit
4927
4928@c man title elfedit update ELF header and program property of ELF files
4929
4930@smallexample
4931@c man begin SYNOPSIS elfedit
4932elfedit [@option{--input-mach=}@var{machine}]
4933 [@option{--input-type=}@var{type}]
4934 [@option{--input-osabi=}@var{osabi}]
4935 @option{--output-mach=}@var{machine}
4936 @option{--output-type=}@var{type}
4937 @option{--output-osabi=}@var{osabi}
4938 @option{--enable-x86-feature=}@var{feature}
4939 @option{--disable-x86-feature=}@var{feature}
4940 [@option{-v}|@option{--version}]
4941 [@option{-h}|@option{--help}]
4942 @var{elffile}@dots{}
4943@c man end
4944@end smallexample
4945
4946@c man begin DESCRIPTION elfedit
4947
4948@command{elfedit} updates the ELF header and program property of ELF
4949files which have the matching ELF machine and file types. The options
4950control how and which fields in the ELF header and program property
4951should be updated.
4952
4953@var{elffile}@dots{} are the ELF files to be updated. 32-bit and
495464-bit ELF files are supported, as are archives containing ELF files.
4955@c man end
4956
4957@c man begin OPTIONS elfedit
4958
4959The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
4960equivalent. At least one of the @option{--output-mach},
4961@option{--output-type}, @option{--output-osabi},
4962@option{--enable-x86-feature} and @option{--disable-x86-feature}
4963options must be given.
4964
4965@table @env
4966
4967@item --input-mach=@var{machine}
4968Set the matching input ELF machine type to @var{machine}. If
4969@option{--input-mach} isn't specified, it will match any ELF
4970machine types.
4971
4972The supported ELF machine types are, @var{i386}, @var{IAMCU}, @var{L1OM},
4973@var{K1OM} and @var{x86-64}.
4974
4975@item --output-mach=@var{machine}
4976Change the ELF machine type in the ELF header to @var{machine}. The
4977supported ELF machine types are the same as @option{--input-mach}.
4978
4979@item --input-type=@var{type}
4980Set the matching input ELF file type to @var{type}. If
4981@option{--input-type} isn't specified, it will match any ELF file types.
4982
4983The supported ELF file types are, @var{rel}, @var{exec} and @var{dyn}.
4984
4985@item --output-type=@var{type}
4986Change the ELF file type in the ELF header to @var{type}. The
4987supported ELF types are the same as @option{--input-type}.
4988
4989@item --input-osabi=@var{osabi}
4990Set the matching input ELF file OSABI to @var{osabi}. If
4991@option{--input-osabi} isn't specified, it will match any ELF OSABIs.
4992
4993The supported ELF OSABIs are, @var{none}, @var{HPUX}, @var{NetBSD},
4994@var{GNU}, @var{Linux} (alias for @var{GNU}),
4995@var{Solaris}, @var{AIX}, @var{Irix},
4996@var{FreeBSD}, @var{TRU64}, @var{Modesto}, @var{OpenBSD}, @var{OpenVMS},
4997@var{NSK}, @var{AROS} and @var{FenixOS}.
4998
4999@item --output-osabi=@var{osabi}
5000Change the ELF OSABI in the ELF header to @var{osabi}. The
5001supported ELF OSABI are the same as @option{--input-osabi}.
5002
5003@item --enable-x86-feature=@var{feature}
5004Set the @var{feature} bit in program property in @var{exec} or @var{dyn}
5005ELF files with machine types of @var{i386} or @var{x86-64}. The
5006supported features are, @var{ibt} and @var{shstk}.
5007
5008@item --disable-x86-feature=@var{feature}
5009Clear the @var{feature} bit in program property in @var{exec} or
5010@var{dyn} ELF files with machine types of @var{i386} or @var{x86-64}.
5011The supported features are the same as @option{--enable-x86-feature}.
5012
5013Note: @option{--enable-x86-feature} and @option{--disable-x86-feature}
5014are available only on hosts with @samp{mmap} support.
5015
5016@item -v
5017@itemx --version
5018Display the version number of @command{elfedit}.
5019
5020@item -h
5021@itemx --help
5022Display the command-line options understood by @command{elfedit}.
5023
5024@end table
5025
5026@c man end
5027
5028@ignore
5029@c man begin SEEALSO elfedit
5030readelf(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
5031@c man end
5032@end ignore
5033
5034@node Common Options
5035@chapter Common Options
5036
5037The following command-line options are supported by all of the
5038programs described in this manual.
5039
5040@c man begin OPTIONS
5041@table @env
5042@include at-file.texi
5043@c man end
5044
5045@item --help
5046Display the command-line options supported by the program.
5047
5048@item --version
5049Display the version number of the program.
5050
5051@c man begin OPTIONS
5052@end table
5053@c man end
5054
5055@node Selecting the Target System
5056@chapter Selecting the Target System
5057
5058You can specify two aspects of the target system to the @sc{gnu}
5059binary file utilities, each in several ways:
5060
5061@itemize @bullet
5062@item
5063the target
5064
5065@item
5066the architecture
5067@end itemize
5068
5069In the following summaries, the lists of ways to specify values are in
5070order of decreasing precedence. The ways listed first override those
5071listed later.
5072
5073The commands to list valid values only list the values for which the
5074programs you are running were configured. If they were configured with
5075@option{--enable-targets=all}, the commands list most of the available
5076values, but a few are left out; not all targets can be configured in at
5077once because some of them can only be configured @dfn{native} (on hosts
5078with the same type as the target system).
5079
5080@menu
5081* Target Selection::
5082* Architecture Selection::
5083@end menu
5084
5085@node Target Selection
5086@section Target Selection
5087
5088A @dfn{target} is an object file format. A given target may be
5089supported for multiple architectures (@pxref{Architecture Selection}).
5090A target selection may also have variations for different operating
5091systems or architectures.
5092
5093The command to list valid target values is @samp{objdump -i}
5094(the first column of output contains the relevant information).
5095
5096Some sample values are: @samp{a.out-hp300bsd}, @samp{ecoff-littlemips},
5097@samp{a.out-sunos-big}.
5098
5099You can also specify a target using a configuration triplet. This is
5100the same sort of name that is passed to @file{configure} to specify a
5101target. When you use a configuration triplet as an argument, it must be
5102fully canonicalized. You can see the canonical version of a triplet by
5103running the shell script @file{config.sub} which is included with the
5104sources.
5105
5106Some sample configuration triplets are: @samp{m68k-hp-bsd},
5107@samp{mips-dec-ultrix}, @samp{sparc-sun-sunos}.
5108
5109@subheading @command{objdump} Target
5110
5111Ways to specify:
5112
5113@enumerate
5114@item
5115command-line option: @option{-b} or @option{--target}
5116
5117@item
5118environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
5119
5120@item
5121deduced from the input file
5122@end enumerate
5123
5124@subheading @command{objcopy} and @command{strip} Input Target
5125
5126Ways to specify:
5127
5128@enumerate
5129@item
5130command-line options: @option{-I} or @option{--input-target}, or @option{-F} or @option{--target}
5131
5132@item
5133environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
5134
5135@item
5136deduced from the input file
5137@end enumerate
5138
5139@subheading @command{objcopy} and @command{strip} Output Target
5140
5141Ways to specify:
5142
5143@enumerate
5144@item
5145command-line options: @option{-O} or @option{--output-target}, or @option{-F} or @option{--target}
5146
5147@item
5148the input target (see ``@command{objcopy} and @command{strip} Input Target'' above)
5149
5150@item
5151environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
5152
5153@item
5154deduced from the input file
5155@end enumerate
5156
5157@subheading @command{nm}, @command{size}, and @command{strings} Target
5158
5159Ways to specify:
5160
5161@enumerate
5162@item
5163command-line option: @option{--target}
5164
5165@item
5166environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
5167
5168@item
5169deduced from the input file
5170@end enumerate
5171
5172@node Architecture Selection
5173@section Architecture Selection
5174
5175An @dfn{architecture} is a type of @sc{cpu} on which an object file is
5176to run. Its name may contain a colon, separating the name of the
5177processor family from the name of the particular @sc{cpu}.
5178
5179The command to list valid architecture values is @samp{objdump -i} (the
5180second column contains the relevant information).
5181
5182Sample values: @samp{m68k:68020}, @samp{mips:3000}, @samp{sparc}.
5183
5184@subheading @command{objdump} Architecture
5185
5186Ways to specify:
5187
5188@enumerate
5189@item
5190command-line option: @option{-m} or @option{--architecture}
5191
5192@item
5193deduced from the input file
5194@end enumerate
5195
5196@subheading @command{objcopy}, @command{nm}, @command{size}, @command{strings} Architecture
5197
5198Ways to specify:
5199
5200@enumerate
5201@item
5202deduced from the input file
5203@end enumerate
5204
5205@node debuginfod
5206@chapter debuginfod
5207@cindex separate debug files
5208
5209debuginfod is a web service that indexes ELF/DWARF debugging resources
5210by build-id and serves them over HTTP.
5211
5212Binutils can be built with the debuginfod client library
5213@code{libdebuginfod} using the @option{--with-debuginfod} configure option.
5214This option is enabled by default if @code{libdebuginfod} is installed
5215and found at configure time. This allows @command{objdump} and
5216@command{readelf} to automatically query debuginfod servers for
5217separate debug files when the files are otherwise not found.
5218
5219debuginfod is packaged with elfutils, starting with version 0.178.
5220You can get the latest version from `https://sourceware.org/elfutils/'.
5221
5222@node Reporting Bugs
5223@chapter Reporting Bugs
5224@cindex bugs
5225@cindex reporting bugs
5226
5227Your bug reports play an essential role in making the binary utilities
5228reliable.
5229
5230Reporting a bug may help you by bringing a solution to your problem, or
5231it may not. But in any case the principal function of a bug report is
5232to help the entire community by making the next version of the binary
5233utilities work better. Bug reports are your contribution to their
5234maintenance.
5235
5236In order for a bug report to serve its purpose, you must include the
5237information that enables us to fix the bug.
5238
5239@menu
5240* Bug Criteria:: Have you found a bug?
5241* Bug Reporting:: How to report bugs
5242@end menu
5243
5244@node Bug Criteria
5245@section Have You Found a Bug?
5246@cindex bug criteria
5247
5248If you are not sure whether you have found a bug, here are some guidelines:
5249
5250@itemize @bullet
5251@cindex fatal signal
5252@cindex crash
5253@item
5254If a binary utility gets a fatal signal, for any input whatever, that is
5255a bug. Reliable utilities never crash.
5256
5257@cindex error on valid input
5258@item
5259If a binary utility produces an error message for valid input, that is a
5260bug.
5261
5262@item
5263If you are an experienced user of binary utilities, your suggestions for
5264improvement are welcome in any case.
5265@end itemize
5266
5267@node Bug Reporting
5268@section How to Report Bugs
5269@cindex bug reports
5270@cindex bugs, reporting
5271
5272A number of companies and individuals offer support for @sc{gnu}
5273products. If you obtained the binary utilities from a support
5274organization, we recommend you contact that organization first.
5275
5276You can find contact information for many support companies and
5277individuals in the file @file{etc/SERVICE} in the @sc{gnu} Emacs
5278distribution.
5279
5280@ifset BUGURL
5281In any event, we also recommend that you send bug reports for the binary
5282utilities to @value{BUGURL}.
5283@end ifset
5284
5285The fundamental principle of reporting bugs usefully is this:
5286@strong{report all the facts}. If you are not sure whether to state a
5287fact or leave it out, state it!
5288
5289Often people omit facts because they think they know what causes the
5290problem and assume that some details do not matter. Thus, you might
5291assume that the name of a file you use in an example does not matter.
5292Well, probably it does not, but one cannot be sure. Perhaps the bug is
5293a stray memory reference which happens to fetch from the location where
5294that pathname is stored in memory; perhaps, if the pathname were
5295different, the contents of that location would fool the utility into
5296doing the right thing despite the bug. Play it safe and give a
5297specific, complete example. That is the easiest thing for you to do,
5298and the most helpful.
5299
5300Keep in mind that the purpose of a bug report is to enable us to fix the bug if
5301it is new to us. Therefore, always write your bug reports on the assumption
5302that the bug has not been reported previously.
5303
5304Sometimes people give a few sketchy facts and ask, ``Does this ring a
5305bell?'' This cannot help us fix a bug, so it is basically useless. We
5306respond by asking for enough details to enable us to investigate.
5307You might as well expedite matters by sending them to begin with.
5308
5309To enable us to fix the bug, you should include all these things:
5310
5311@itemize @bullet
5312@item
5313The version of the utility. Each utility announces it if you start it
5314with the @option{--version} argument.
5315
5316Without this, we will not know whether there is any point in looking for
5317the bug in the current version of the binary utilities.
5318
5319@item
5320Any patches you may have applied to the source, including any patches
5321made to the @code{BFD} library.
5322
5323@item
5324The type of machine you are using, and the operating system name and
5325version number.
5326
5327@item
5328What compiler (and its version) was used to compile the utilities---e.g.
5329``@code{gcc-2.7}''.
5330
5331@item
5332The command arguments you gave the utility to observe the bug. To
5333guarantee you will not omit something important, list them all. A copy
5334of the Makefile (or the output from make) is sufficient.
5335
5336If we were to try to guess the arguments, we would probably guess wrong
5337and then we might not encounter the bug.
5338
5339@item
5340A complete input file, or set of input files, that will reproduce the
5341bug. If the utility is reading an object file or files, then it is
5342generally most helpful to send the actual object files.
5343
5344If the source files were produced exclusively using @sc{gnu} programs
5345(e.g., @command{gcc}, @command{gas}, and/or the @sc{gnu} @command{ld}), then it
5346may be OK to send the source files rather than the object files. In
5347this case, be sure to say exactly what version of @command{gcc}, or
5348whatever, was used to produce the object files. Also say how
5349@command{gcc}, or whatever, was configured.
5350
5351@item
5352A description of what behavior you observe that you believe is
5353incorrect. For example, ``It gets a fatal signal.''
5354
5355Of course, if the bug is that the utility gets a fatal signal, then we
5356will certainly notice it. But if the bug is incorrect output, we might
5357not notice unless it is glaringly wrong. You might as well not give us
5358a chance to make a mistake.
5359
5360Even if the problem you experience is a fatal signal, you should still
5361say so explicitly. Suppose something strange is going on, such as your
5362copy of the utility is out of sync, or you have encountered a bug in
5363the C library on your system. (This has happened!) Your copy might
5364crash and ours would not. If you told us to expect a crash, then when
5365ours fails to crash, we would know that the bug was not happening for
5366us. If you had not told us to expect a crash, then we would not be able
5367to draw any conclusion from our observations.
5368
5369@item
5370If you wish to suggest changes to the source, send us context diffs, as
5371generated by @command{diff} with the @option{-u}, @option{-c}, or @option{-p}
5372option. Always send diffs from the old file to the new file. If you
5373wish to discuss something in the @command{ld} source, refer to it by
5374context, not by line number.
5375
5376The line numbers in our development sources will not match those in your
5377sources. Your line numbers would convey no useful information to us.
5378@end itemize
5379
5380Here are some things that are not necessary:
5381
5382@itemize @bullet
5383@item
5384A description of the envelope of the bug.
5385
5386Often people who encounter a bug spend a lot of time investigating
5387which changes to the input file will make the bug go away and which
5388changes will not affect it.
5389
5390This is often time consuming and not very useful, because the way we
5391will find the bug is by running a single example under the debugger
5392with breakpoints, not by pure deduction from a series of examples.
5393We recommend that you save your time for something else.
5394
5395Of course, if you can find a simpler example to report @emph{instead}
5396of the original one, that is a convenience for us. Errors in the
5397output will be easier to spot, running under the debugger will take
5398less time, and so on.
5399
5400However, simplification is not vital; if you do not want to do this,
5401report the bug anyway and send us the entire test case you used.
5402
5403@item
5404A patch for the bug.
5405
5406A patch for the bug does help us if it is a good one. But do not omit
5407the necessary information, such as the test case, on the assumption that
5408a patch is all we need. We might see problems with your patch and decide
5409to fix the problem another way, or we might not understand it at all.
5410
5411Sometimes with programs as complicated as the binary utilities it is
5412very hard to construct an example that will make the program follow a
5413certain path through the code. If you do not send us the example, we
5414will not be able to construct one, so we will not be able to verify that
5415the bug is fixed.
5416
5417And if we cannot understand what bug you are trying to fix, or why your
5418patch should be an improvement, we will not install it. A test case will
5419help us to understand.
5420
5421@item
5422A guess about what the bug is or what it depends on.
5423
5424Such guesses are usually wrong. Even we cannot guess right about such
5425things without first using the debugger to find the facts.
5426@end itemize
5427
5428@node GNU Free Documentation License
5429@appendix GNU Free Documentation License
5430
5431@include fdl.texi
5432
5433@node Binutils Index
5434@unnumbered Binutils Index
5435
5436@printindex cp
5437
5438@bye
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