objcopy/strip: Add option --remove-relocations=SECTIONPATTERN
[deliverable/binutils-gdb.git] / binutils / doc / binutils.texi
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
13 Copyright @copyright{} 1991-2016 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
14
15 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
16 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3
17 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
18 with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no
19 Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the
20 section 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 * nlmconv: (binutils)nlmconv. Converts object code into an NLM.
38 * nm: (binutils)nm. List symbols from object files.
39 * objcopy: (binutils)objcopy. Copy and translate object files.
40 * objdump: (binutils)objdump. Display information from object files.
41 * ranlib: (binutils)ranlib. Generate index to archive contents.
42 * readelf: (binutils)readelf. Display the contents of ELF format files.
43 * size: (binutils)size. List section sizes and total size.
44 * strings: (binutils)strings. List printable strings from files.
45 * strip: (binutils)strip. Discard symbols.
46 * elfedit: (binutils)elfedit. Update the ELF header of ELF files.
47 * windmc: (binutils)windmc. Generator for Windows message resources.
48 * windres: (binutils)windres. Manipulate Windows resources.
49 @end direntry
50
51 @titlepage
52 @title The @sc{gnu} Binary Utilities
53 @ifset VERSION_PACKAGE
54 @subtitle @value{VERSION_PACKAGE}
55 @end ifset
56 @subtitle Version @value{VERSION}
57 @sp 1
58 @subtitle @value{UPDATED}
59 @author Roland H. Pesch
60 @author Jeffrey M. Osier
61 @author Cygnus Support
62 @page
63
64 @tex
65 {\parskip=0pt \hfill Cygnus Support\par \hfill
66 Texinfo \texinfoversion\par }
67 @end tex
68
69 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
70 @insertcopying
71 @end titlepage
72 @contents
73
74 @node Top
75 @top Introduction
76
77 @cindex version
78 This brief manual contains documentation for the @sc{gnu} binary
79 utilities
80 @ifset VERSION_PACKAGE
81 @value{VERSION_PACKAGE}
82 @end ifset
83 version @value{VERSION}:
84
85 @iftex
86 @table @code
87 @item ar
88 Create, modify, and extract from archives
89
90 @item nm
91 List symbols from object files
92
93 @item objcopy
94 Copy and translate object files
95
96 @item objdump
97 Display information from object files
98
99 @item ranlib
100 Generate index to archive contents
101
102 @item readelf
103 Display the contents of ELF format files.
104
105 @item size
106 List file section sizes and total size
107
108 @item strings
109 List printable strings from files
110
111 @item strip
112 Discard symbols
113
114 @item elfedit
115 Update the ELF header of ELF files.
116
117 @item c++filt
118 Demangle encoded C++ symbols (on MS-DOS, this program is named
119 @code{cxxfilt})
120
121 @item addr2line
122 Convert addresses into file names and line numbers
123
124 @item nlmconv
125 Convert object code into a Netware Loadable Module
126
127 @item windres
128 Manipulate Windows resources
129
130 @item windmc
131 Generator for Windows message resources
132
133 @item dlltool
134 Create the files needed to build and use Dynamic Link Libraries
135 @end table
136 @end iftex
137
138 This document is distributed under the terms of the GNU Free
139 Documentation License version 1.3. A copy of the license is included
140 in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''.
141
142 @menu
143 * ar:: Create, modify, and extract from archives
144 * nm:: List symbols from object files
145 * objcopy:: Copy and translate object files
146 * objdump:: Display information from object files
147 * ranlib:: Generate index to archive contents
148 * size:: List section sizes and total size
149 * strings:: List printable strings from files
150 * strip:: Discard symbols
151 * c++filt:: Filter to demangle encoded C++ symbols
152 * cxxfilt: c++filt. MS-DOS name for c++filt
153 * addr2line:: Convert addresses to file and line
154 * nlmconv:: Converts object code into an NLM
155 * windmc:: Generator for Windows message resources
156 * windres:: Manipulate Windows resources
157 * dlltool:: Create files needed to build and use DLLs
158 * readelf:: Display the contents of ELF format files
159 * elfedit:: Update the ELF header of ELF files
160 * Common Options:: Command-line options for all utilities
161 * Selecting the Target System:: How these utilities determine the target
162 * Reporting Bugs:: Reporting Bugs
163 * GNU Free Documentation License:: GNU Free Documentation License
164 * Binutils Index:: Binutils Index
165 @end menu
166
167 @node ar
168 @chapter ar
169
170 @kindex ar
171 @cindex archives
172 @cindex collections of files
173
174 @c man title ar create, modify, and extract from archives
175
176 @smallexample
177 ar [-]@var{p}[@var{mod}] [@option{--plugin} @var{name}] [@option{--target} @var{bfdname}] [@var{relpos}] [@var{count}] @var{archive} [@var{member}@dots{}]
178 ar -M [ <mri-script ]
179 @end smallexample
180
181 @c man begin DESCRIPTION ar
182
183 The @sc{gnu} @command{ar} program creates, modifies, and extracts from
184 archives. An @dfn{archive} is a single file holding a collection of
185 other files in a structure that makes it possible to retrieve
186 the original individual files (called @dfn{members} of the archive).
187
188 The original files' contents, mode (permissions), timestamp, owner, and
189 group are preserved in the archive, and can be restored on
190 extraction.
191
192 @cindex name length
193 @sc{gnu} @command{ar} can maintain archives whose members have names of any
194 length; however, depending on how @command{ar} is configured on your
195 system, a limit on member-name length may be imposed for compatibility
196 with archive formats maintained with other tools. If it exists, the
197 limit is often 15 characters (typical of formats related to a.out) or 16
198 characters (typical of formats related to coff).
199
200 @cindex libraries
201 @command{ar} is considered a binary utility because archives of this sort
202 are most often used as @dfn{libraries} holding commonly needed
203 subroutines.
204
205 @cindex symbol index
206 @command{ar} creates an index to the symbols defined in relocatable
207 object modules in the archive when you specify the modifier @samp{s}.
208 Once created, this index is updated in the archive whenever @command{ar}
209 makes a change to its contents (save for the @samp{q} update operation).
210 An archive with such an index speeds up linking to the library, and
211 allows routines in the library to call each other without regard to
212 their placement in the archive.
213
214 You may use @samp{nm -s} or @samp{nm --print-armap} to list this index
215 table. If an archive lacks the table, another form of @command{ar} called
216 @command{ranlib} can be used to add just the table.
217
218 @cindex thin archives
219 @sc{gnu} @command{ar} can optionally create a @emph{thin} archive,
220 which contains a symbol index and references to the original copies
221 of the member files of the archive. This is useful for building
222 libraries for use within a local build tree, where the relocatable
223 objects are expected to remain available, and copying the contents of
224 each object would only waste time and space.
225
226 An archive can either be @emph{thin} or it can be normal. It cannot
227 be both at the same time. Once an archive is created its format
228 cannot be changed without first deleting it and then creating a new
229 archive in its place.
230
231 Thin archives are also @emph{flattened}, so that adding one thin
232 archive to another thin archive does not nest it, as would happen with
233 a normal archive. Instead the elements of the first archive are added
234 individually to the second archive.
235
236 The paths to the elements of the archive are stored relative to the
237 archive itself.
238
239 @cindex compatibility, @command{ar}
240 @cindex @command{ar} compatibility
241 @sc{gnu} @command{ar} is designed to be compatible with two different
242 facilities. You can control its activity using command-line options,
243 like the different varieties of @command{ar} on Unix systems; or, if you
244 specify the single command-line option @option{-M}, you can control it
245 with a script supplied via standard input, like the MRI ``librarian''
246 program.
247
248 @c man end
249
250 @menu
251 * ar cmdline:: Controlling @command{ar} on the command line
252 * ar scripts:: Controlling @command{ar} with a script
253 @end menu
254
255 @page
256 @node ar cmdline
257 @section Controlling @command{ar} on the Command Line
258
259 @smallexample
260 @c man begin SYNOPSIS ar
261 ar [@option{-X32_64}] [@option{-}]@var{p}[@var{mod}] [@option{--plugin} @var{name}] [@option{--target} @var{bfdname}] [@var{relpos}] [@var{count}] @var{archive} [@var{member}@dots{}]
262 @c man end
263 @end smallexample
264
265 @cindex Unix compatibility, @command{ar}
266 When you use @command{ar} in the Unix style, @command{ar} insists on at least two
267 arguments to execute: one keyletter specifying the @emph{operation}
268 (optionally accompanied by other keyletters specifying
269 @emph{modifiers}), and the archive name to act on.
270
271 Most operations can also accept further @var{member} arguments,
272 specifying particular files to operate on.
273
274 @c man begin OPTIONS ar
275
276 @sc{gnu} @command{ar} allows you to mix the operation code @var{p} and modifier
277 flags @var{mod} in any order, within the first command-line argument.
278
279 If you wish, you may begin the first command-line argument with a
280 dash.
281
282 @cindex operations on archive
283 The @var{p} keyletter specifies what operation to execute; it may be
284 any of the following, but you must specify only one of them:
285
286 @table @samp
287 @item d
288 @cindex deleting from archive
289 @emph{Delete} modules from the archive. Specify the names of modules to
290 be deleted as @var{member}@dots{}; the archive is untouched if you
291 specify no files to delete.
292
293 If you specify the @samp{v} modifier, @command{ar} lists each module
294 as it is deleted.
295
296 @item m
297 @cindex moving in archive
298 Use this operation to @emph{move} members in an archive.
299
300 The ordering of members in an archive can make a difference in how
301 programs are linked using the library, if a symbol is defined in more
302 than one member.
303
304 If no modifiers are used with @code{m}, any members you name in the
305 @var{member} arguments are moved to the @emph{end} of the archive;
306 you can use the @samp{a}, @samp{b}, or @samp{i} modifiers to move them to a
307 specified place instead.
308
309 @item p
310 @cindex printing from archive
311 @emph{Print} the specified members of the archive, to the standard
312 output file. If the @samp{v} modifier is specified, show the member
313 name before copying its contents to standard output.
314
315 If you specify no @var{member} arguments, all the files in the archive are
316 printed.
317
318 @item q
319 @cindex quick append to archive
320 @emph{Quick append}; Historically, add the files @var{member}@dots{} to the end of
321 @var{archive}, without checking for replacement.
322
323 The modifiers @samp{a}, @samp{b}, and @samp{i} do @emph{not} affect this
324 operation; new members are always placed at the end of the archive.
325
326 The modifier @samp{v} makes @command{ar} list each file as it is appended.
327
328 Since the point of this operation is speed, implementations of
329 @command{ar} have the option of not updating the archive's symbol
330 table if one exists. Too many different systems however assume that
331 symbol tables are always up-to-date, so @sc{gnu} @command{ar} will
332 rebuild the table even with a quick append.
333
334 Note - @sc{gnu} @command{ar} treats the command @samp{qs} as a
335 synonym for @samp{r} - replacing already existing files in the
336 archive and appending new ones at the end.
337
338 @item r
339 @cindex replacement in archive
340 Insert the files @var{member}@dots{} into @var{archive} (with
341 @emph{replacement}). This operation differs from @samp{q} in that any
342 previously existing members are deleted if their names match those being
343 added.
344
345 If one of the files named in @var{member}@dots{} does not exist, @command{ar}
346 displays an error message, and leaves undisturbed any existing members
347 of the archive matching that name.
348
349 By default, new members are added at the end of the file; but you may
350 use one of the modifiers @samp{a}, @samp{b}, or @samp{i} to request
351 placement relative to some existing member.
352
353 The modifier @samp{v} used with this operation elicits a line of
354 output for each file inserted, along with one of the letters @samp{a} or
355 @samp{r} to indicate whether the file was appended (no old member
356 deleted) or replaced.
357
358 @item s
359 @cindex ranlib
360 Add an index to the archive, or update it if it already exists. Note
361 this command is an exception to the rule that there can only be one
362 command letter, as it is possible to use it as either a command or a
363 modifier. In either case it does the same thing.
364
365 @item t
366 @cindex contents of archive
367 Display a @emph{table} listing the contents of @var{archive}, or those
368 of the files listed in @var{member}@dots{} that are present in the
369 archive. Normally only the member name is shown; if you also want to
370 see the modes (permissions), timestamp, owner, group, and size, you can
371 request that by also specifying the @samp{v} modifier.
372
373 If you do not specify a @var{member}, all files in the archive
374 are listed.
375
376 @cindex repeated names in archive
377 @cindex name duplication in archive
378 If there is more than one file with the same name (say, @samp{fie}) in
379 an archive (say @samp{b.a}), @samp{ar t b.a fie} lists only the
380 first instance; to see them all, you must ask for a complete
381 listing---in our example, @samp{ar t b.a}.
382 @c WRS only; per Gumby, this is implementation-dependent, and in a more
383 @c recent case in fact works the other way.
384
385 @item x
386 @cindex extract from archive
387 @emph{Extract} members (named @var{member}) from the archive. You can
388 use the @samp{v} modifier with this operation, to request that
389 @command{ar} list each name as it extracts it.
390
391 If you do not specify a @var{member}, all files in the archive
392 are extracted.
393
394 Files cannot be extracted from a thin archive.
395
396 @item --help
397 Displays the list of command line options supported by @command{ar}
398 and then exits.
399
400 @item --version
401 Displays the version information of @command{ar} and then exits.
402
403 @end table
404
405 A number of modifiers (@var{mod}) may immediately follow the @var{p}
406 keyletter, to specify variations on an operation's behavior:
407
408 @table @samp
409 @item a
410 @cindex relative placement in archive
411 Add new files @emph{after} an existing member of the
412 archive. If you use the modifier @samp{a}, the name of an existing archive
413 member must be present as the @var{relpos} argument, before the
414 @var{archive} specification.
415
416 @item b
417 Add new files @emph{before} an existing member of the
418 archive. If you use the modifier @samp{b}, the name of an existing archive
419 member must be present as the @var{relpos} argument, before the
420 @var{archive} specification. (same as @samp{i}).
421
422 @item c
423 @cindex creating archives
424 @emph{Create} the archive. The specified @var{archive} is always
425 created if it did not exist, when you request an update. But a warning is
426 issued unless you specify in advance that you expect to create it, by
427 using this modifier.
428
429 @item D
430 @cindex deterministic archives
431 @kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
432 Operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. When adding files and the archive
433 index use zero for UIDs, GIDs, timestamps, and use consistent file modes
434 for all files. When this option is used, if @command{ar} is used with
435 identical options and identical input files, multiple runs will create
436 identical output files regardless of the input files' owners, groups,
437 file modes, or modification times.
438
439 If @file{binutils} was configured with
440 @option{--enable-deterministic-archives}, then this mode is on by default.
441 It can be disabled with the @samp{U} modifier, below.
442
443 @item f
444 Truncate names in the archive. @sc{gnu} @command{ar} will normally permit file
445 names of any length. This will cause it to create archives which are
446 not compatible with the native @command{ar} program on some systems. If
447 this is a concern, the @samp{f} modifier may be used to truncate file
448 names when putting them in the archive.
449
450 @item i
451 Insert new files @emph{before} an existing member of the
452 archive. If you use the modifier @samp{i}, the name of an existing archive
453 member must be present as the @var{relpos} argument, before the
454 @var{archive} specification. (same as @samp{b}).
455
456 @item l
457 This modifier is accepted but not used.
458 @c whaffor ar l modifier??? presumably compat; with
459 @c what???---doc@@cygnus.com, 25jan91
460
461 @item N
462 Uses the @var{count} parameter. This is used if there are multiple
463 entries in the archive with the same name. Extract or delete instance
464 @var{count} of the given name from the archive.
465
466 @item o
467 @cindex dates in archive
468 Preserve the @emph{original} dates of members when extracting them. If
469 you do not specify this modifier, files extracted from the archive
470 are stamped with the time of extraction.
471
472 @item P
473 Use the full path name when matching names in the archive. @sc{gnu}
474 @command{ar} can not create an archive with a full path name (such archives
475 are not POSIX complaint), but other archive creators can. This option
476 will cause @sc{gnu} @command{ar} to match file names using a complete path
477 name, which can be convenient when extracting a single file from an
478 archive created by another tool.
479
480 @item s
481 @cindex writing archive index
482 Write an object-file index into the archive, or update an existing one,
483 even if no other change is made to the archive. You may use this modifier
484 flag either with any operation, or alone. Running @samp{ar s} on an
485 archive is equivalent to running @samp{ranlib} on it.
486
487 @item S
488 @cindex not writing archive index
489 Do not generate an archive symbol table. This can speed up building a
490 large library in several steps. The resulting archive can not be used
491 with the linker. In order to build a symbol table, you must omit the
492 @samp{S} modifier on the last execution of @samp{ar}, or you must run
493 @samp{ranlib} on the archive.
494
495 @item T
496 @cindex creating thin archive
497 Make the specified @var{archive} a @emph{thin} archive. If it already
498 exists and is a regular archive, the existing members must be present
499 in the same directory as @var{archive}.
500
501 @item u
502 @cindex updating an archive
503 Normally, @samp{ar r}@dots{} inserts all files
504 listed into the archive. If you would like to insert @emph{only} those
505 of the files you list that are newer than existing members of the same
506 names, use this modifier. The @samp{u} modifier is allowed only for the
507 operation @samp{r} (replace). In particular, the combination @samp{qu} is
508 not allowed, since checking the timestamps would lose any speed
509 advantage from the operation @samp{q}.
510
511 @item U
512 @cindex deterministic archives
513 @kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
514 Do @emph{not} operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. This is the inverse
515 of the @samp{D} modifier, above: added files and the archive index will
516 get their actual UID, GID, timestamp, and file mode values.
517
518 This is the default unless @file{binutils} was configured with
519 @option{--enable-deterministic-archives}.
520
521 @item v
522 This modifier requests the @emph{verbose} version of an operation. Many
523 operations display additional information, such as filenames processed,
524 when the modifier @samp{v} is appended.
525
526 @item V
527 This modifier shows the version number of @command{ar}.
528 @end table
529
530 @command{ar} ignores an initial option spelt @samp{-X32_64}, for
531 compatibility with AIX. The behaviour produced by this option is the
532 default for @sc{gnu} @command{ar}. @command{ar} does not support any of the other
533 @samp{-X} options; in particular, it does not support @option{-X32}
534 which is the default for AIX @command{ar}.
535
536 The optional command line switch @option{--plugin} @var{name} causes
537 @command{ar} to load the plugin called @var{name} which adds support
538 for more file formats. This option is only available if the toolchain
539 has been built with plugin support enabled.
540
541 The optional command line switch @option{--target} @var{bfdname}
542 specifies that the archive members are in an object code format
543 different from your system's default format. See
544 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
545
546 @c man end
547
548 @ignore
549 @c man begin SEEALSO ar
550 nm(1), ranlib(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
551 @c man end
552 @end ignore
553
554 @node ar scripts
555 @section Controlling @command{ar} with a Script
556
557 @smallexample
558 ar -M [ <@var{script} ]
559 @end smallexample
560
561 @cindex MRI compatibility, @command{ar}
562 @cindex scripts, @command{ar}
563 If you use the single command-line option @samp{-M} with @command{ar}, you
564 can control its operation with a rudimentary command language. This
565 form of @command{ar} operates interactively if standard input is coming
566 directly from a terminal. During interactive use, @command{ar} prompts for
567 input (the prompt is @samp{AR >}), and continues executing even after
568 errors. If you redirect standard input to a script file, no prompts are
569 issued, and @command{ar} abandons execution (with a nonzero exit code)
570 on any error.
571
572 The @command{ar} command language is @emph{not} designed to be equivalent
573 to the command-line options; in fact, it provides somewhat less control
574 over archives. The only purpose of the command language is to ease the
575 transition to @sc{gnu} @command{ar} for developers who already have scripts
576 written for the MRI ``librarian'' program.
577
578 The syntax for the @command{ar} command language is straightforward:
579 @itemize @bullet
580 @item
581 commands are recognized in upper or lower case; for example, @code{LIST}
582 is the same as @code{list}. In the following descriptions, commands are
583 shown in upper case for clarity.
584
585 @item
586 a single command may appear on each line; it is the first word on the
587 line.
588
589 @item
590 empty lines are allowed, and have no effect.
591
592 @item
593 comments are allowed; text after either of the characters @samp{*}
594 or @samp{;} is ignored.
595
596 @item
597 Whenever you use a list of names as part of the argument to an @command{ar}
598 command, you can separate the individual names with either commas or
599 blanks. Commas are shown in the explanations below, for clarity.
600
601 @item
602 @samp{+} is used as a line continuation character; if @samp{+} appears
603 at the end of a line, the text on the following line is considered part
604 of the current command.
605 @end itemize
606
607 Here are the commands you can use in @command{ar} scripts, or when using
608 @command{ar} interactively. Three of them have special significance:
609
610 @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE} specify a @dfn{current archive}, which is
611 a temporary file required for most of the other commands.
612
613 @code{SAVE} commits the changes so far specified by the script. Prior
614 to @code{SAVE}, commands affect only the temporary copy of the current
615 archive.
616
617 @table @code
618 @item ADDLIB @var{archive}
619 @itemx ADDLIB @var{archive} (@var{module}, @var{module}, @dots{} @var{module})
620 Add all the contents of @var{archive} (or, if specified, each named
621 @var{module} from @var{archive}) to the current archive.
622
623 Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
624
625 @item ADDMOD @var{member}, @var{member}, @dots{} @var{member}
626 @c FIXME! w/Replacement?? If so, like "ar r @var{archive} @var{names}"
627 @c else like "ar q..."
628 Add each named @var{member} as a module in the current archive.
629
630 Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
631
632 @item CLEAR
633 Discard the contents of the current archive, canceling the effect of
634 any operations since the last @code{SAVE}. May be executed (with no
635 effect) even if no current archive is specified.
636
637 @item CREATE @var{archive}
638 Creates an archive, and makes it the current archive (required for many
639 other commands). The new archive is created with a temporary name; it
640 is not actually saved as @var{archive} until you use @code{SAVE}.
641 You can overwrite existing archives; similarly, the contents of any
642 existing file named @var{archive} will not be destroyed until @code{SAVE}.
643
644 @item DELETE @var{module}, @var{module}, @dots{} @var{module}
645 Delete each listed @var{module} from the current archive; equivalent to
646 @samp{ar -d @var{archive} @var{module} @dots{} @var{module}}.
647
648 Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
649
650 @item DIRECTORY @var{archive} (@var{module}, @dots{} @var{module})
651 @itemx DIRECTORY @var{archive} (@var{module}, @dots{} @var{module}) @var{outputfile}
652 List each named @var{module} present in @var{archive}. The separate
653 command @code{VERBOSE} specifies the form of the output: when verbose
654 output is off, output is like that of @samp{ar -t @var{archive}
655 @var{module}@dots{}}. When verbose output is on, the listing is like
656 @samp{ar -tv @var{archive} @var{module}@dots{}}.
657
658 Output normally goes to the standard output stream; however, if you
659 specify @var{outputfile} as a final argument, @command{ar} directs the
660 output to that file.
661
662 @item END
663 Exit from @command{ar}, with a @code{0} exit code to indicate successful
664 completion. This command does not save the output file; if you have
665 changed the current archive since the last @code{SAVE} command, those
666 changes are lost.
667
668 @item EXTRACT @var{module}, @var{module}, @dots{} @var{module}
669 Extract each named @var{module} from the current archive, writing them
670 into the current directory as separate files. Equivalent to @samp{ar -x
671 @var{archive} @var{module}@dots{}}.
672
673 Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
674
675 @ignore
676 @c FIXME Tokens but no commands???
677 @item FULLDIR
678
679 @item HELP
680 @end ignore
681
682 @item LIST
683 Display full contents of the current archive, in ``verbose'' style
684 regardless of the state of @code{VERBOSE}. The effect is like @samp{ar
685 tv @var{archive}}. (This single command is a @sc{gnu} @command{ar}
686 enhancement, rather than present for MRI compatibility.)
687
688 Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
689
690 @item OPEN @var{archive}
691 Opens an existing archive for use as the current archive (required for
692 many other commands). Any changes as the result of subsequent commands
693 will not actually affect @var{archive} until you next use @code{SAVE}.
694
695 @item REPLACE @var{module}, @var{module}, @dots{} @var{module}
696 In the current archive, replace each existing @var{module} (named in
697 the @code{REPLACE} arguments) from files in the current working directory.
698 To execute this command without errors, both the file, and the module in
699 the current archive, must exist.
700
701 Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
702
703 @item VERBOSE
704 Toggle an internal flag governing the output from @code{DIRECTORY}.
705 When the flag is on, @code{DIRECTORY} output matches output from
706 @samp{ar -tv }@dots{}.
707
708 @item SAVE
709 Commit your changes to the current archive, and actually save it as a
710 file with the name specified in the last @code{CREATE} or @code{OPEN}
711 command.
712
713 Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
714
715 @end table
716
717 @iftex
718 @node ld
719 @chapter ld
720 @cindex linker
721 @kindex ld
722 The @sc{gnu} linker @command{ld} is now described in a separate manual.
723 @xref{Top,, Overview,, Using LD: the @sc{gnu} linker}.
724 @end iftex
725
726 @node nm
727 @chapter nm
728 @cindex symbols
729 @kindex nm
730
731 @c man title nm list symbols from object files
732
733 @smallexample
734 @c man begin SYNOPSIS nm
735 nm [@option{-A}|@option{-o}|@option{--print-file-name}] [@option{-a}|@option{--debug-syms}]
736 [@option{-B}|@option{--format=bsd}] [@option{-C}|@option{--demangle}[=@var{style}]]
737 [@option{-D}|@option{--dynamic}] [@option{-f}@var{format}|@option{--format=}@var{format}]
738 [@option{-g}|@option{--extern-only}] [@option{-h}|@option{--help}]
739 [@option{-l}|@option{--line-numbers}] [@option{-n}|@option{-v}|@option{--numeric-sort}]
740 [@option{-P}|@option{--portability}] [@option{-p}|@option{--no-sort}]
741 [@option{-r}|@option{--reverse-sort}] [@option{-S}|@option{--print-size}]
742 [@option{-s}|@option{--print-armap}] [@option{-t} @var{radix}|@option{--radix=}@var{radix}]
743 [@option{-u}|@option{--undefined-only}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
744 [@option{-X 32_64}] [@option{--defined-only}] [@option{--no-demangle}]
745 [@option{--plugin} @var{name}] [@option{--size-sort}] [@option{--special-syms}]
746 [@option{--synthetic}] [@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
747 [@var{objfile}@dots{}]
748 @c man end
749 @end smallexample
750
751 @c man begin DESCRIPTION nm
752 @sc{gnu} @command{nm} lists the symbols from object files @var{objfile}@dots{}.
753 If no object files are listed as arguments, @command{nm} assumes the file
754 @file{a.out}.
755
756 For each symbol, @command{nm} shows:
757
758 @itemize @bullet
759 @item
760 The symbol value, in the radix selected by options (see below), or
761 hexadecimal by default.
762
763 @item
764 The symbol type. At least the following types are used; others are, as
765 well, depending on the object file format. If lowercase, the symbol is
766 usually local; if uppercase, the symbol is global (external). There
767 are however a few lowercase symbols that are shown for special global
768 symbols (@code{u}, @code{v} and @code{w}).
769
770 @c Some more detail on exactly what these symbol types are used for
771 @c would be nice.
772 @table @code
773 @item A
774 The symbol's value is absolute, and will not be changed by further
775 linking.
776
777 @item B
778 @itemx b
779 The symbol is in the uninitialized data section (known as BSS).
780
781 @item C
782 The symbol is common. Common symbols are uninitialized data. When
783 linking, multiple common symbols may appear with the same name. If the
784 symbol is defined anywhere, the common symbols are treated as undefined
785 references.
786 @ifclear man
787 For more details on common symbols, see the discussion of
788 --warn-common in @ref{Options,,Linker options,ld.info,The GNU linker}.
789 @end ifclear
790
791 @item D
792 @itemx d
793 The symbol is in the initialized data section.
794
795 @item G
796 @itemx g
797 The symbol is in an initialized data section for small objects. Some
798 object file formats permit more efficient access to small data objects,
799 such as a global int variable as opposed to a large global array.
800
801 @item i
802 For PE format files this indicates that the symbol is in a section
803 specific to the implementation of DLLs. For ELF format files this
804 indicates that the symbol is an indirect function. This is a GNU
805 extension to the standard set of ELF symbol types. It indicates a
806 symbol which if referenced by a relocation does not evaluate to its
807 address, but instead must be invoked at runtime. The runtime
808 execution will then return the value to be used in the relocation.
809
810 @item I
811 The symbol is an indirect reference to another symbol.
812
813 @item N
814 The symbol is a debugging symbol.
815
816 @item p
817 The symbols is in a stack unwind section.
818
819 @item R
820 @itemx r
821 The symbol is in a read only data section.
822
823 @item S
824 @itemx s
825 The symbol is in an uninitialized data section for small objects.
826
827 @item T
828 @itemx t
829 The symbol is in the text (code) section.
830
831 @item U
832 The symbol is undefined.
833
834 @item u
835 The symbol is a unique global symbol. This is a GNU extension to the
836 standard set of ELF symbol bindings. For such a symbol the dynamic linker
837 will make sure that in the entire process there is just one symbol with
838 this name and type in use.
839
840 @item V
841 @itemx v
842 The symbol is a weak object. When a weak defined symbol is linked with
843 a normal defined symbol, the normal defined symbol is used with no error.
844 When a weak undefined symbol is linked and the symbol is not defined,
845 the value of the weak symbol becomes zero with no error. On some
846 systems, uppercase indicates that a default value has been specified.
847
848 @item W
849 @itemx w
850 The symbol is a weak symbol that has not been specifically tagged as a
851 weak object symbol. When a weak defined symbol is linked with a normal
852 defined symbol, the normal defined symbol is used with no error.
853 When a weak undefined symbol is linked and the symbol is not defined,
854 the value of the symbol is determined in a system-specific manner without
855 error. On some systems, uppercase indicates that a default value has been
856 specified.
857
858 @item -
859 The symbol is a stabs symbol in an a.out object file. In this case, the
860 next values printed are the stabs other field, the stabs desc field, and
861 the stab type. Stabs symbols are used to hold debugging information.
862
863 @item ?
864 The symbol type is unknown, or object file format specific.
865 @end table
866
867 @item
868 The symbol name.
869 @end itemize
870
871 @c man end
872
873 @c man begin OPTIONS nm
874 The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
875 equivalent.
876
877 @table @env
878 @item -A
879 @itemx -o
880 @itemx --print-file-name
881 @cindex input file name
882 @cindex file name
883 @cindex source file name
884 Precede each symbol by the name of the input file (or archive member)
885 in which it was found, rather than identifying the input file once only,
886 before all of its symbols.
887
888 @item -a
889 @itemx --debug-syms
890 @cindex debugging symbols
891 Display all symbols, even debugger-only symbols; normally these are not
892 listed.
893
894 @item -B
895 @cindex @command{nm} format
896 @cindex @command{nm} compatibility
897 The same as @option{--format=bsd} (for compatibility with the MIPS @command{nm}).
898
899 @item -C
900 @itemx --demangle[=@var{style}]
901 @cindex demangling in nm
902 Decode (@dfn{demangle}) low-level symbol names into user-level names.
903 Besides removing any initial underscore prepended by the system, this
904 makes C++ function names readable. Different compilers have different
905 mangling styles. The optional demangling style argument can be used to
906 choose an appropriate demangling style for your compiler. @xref{c++filt},
907 for more information on demangling.
908
909 @item --no-demangle
910 Do not demangle low-level symbol names. This is the default.
911
912 @item -D
913 @itemx --dynamic
914 @cindex dynamic symbols
915 Display the dynamic symbols rather than the normal symbols. This is
916 only meaningful for dynamic objects, such as certain types of shared
917 libraries.
918
919 @item -f @var{format}
920 @itemx --format=@var{format}
921 @cindex @command{nm} format
922 @cindex @command{nm} compatibility
923 Use the output format @var{format}, which can be @code{bsd},
924 @code{sysv}, or @code{posix}. The default is @code{bsd}.
925 Only the first character of @var{format} is significant; it can be
926 either upper or lower case.
927
928 @item -g
929 @itemx --extern-only
930 @cindex external symbols
931 Display only external symbols.
932
933 @item -h
934 @itemx --help
935 Show a summary of the options to @command{nm} and exit.
936
937 @item -l
938 @itemx --line-numbers
939 @cindex symbol line numbers
940 For each symbol, use debugging information to try to find a filename and
941 line number. For a defined symbol, look for the line number of the
942 address of the symbol. For an undefined symbol, look for the line
943 number of a relocation entry which refers to the symbol. If line number
944 information can be found, print it after the other symbol information.
945
946 @item -n
947 @itemx -v
948 @itemx --numeric-sort
949 Sort symbols numerically by their addresses, rather than alphabetically
950 by their names.
951
952 @item -p
953 @itemx --no-sort
954 @cindex sorting symbols
955 Do not bother to sort the symbols in any order; print them in the order
956 encountered.
957
958 @item -P
959 @itemx --portability
960 Use the POSIX.2 standard output format instead of the default format.
961 Equivalent to @samp{-f posix}.
962
963 @item -r
964 @itemx --reverse-sort
965 Reverse the order of the sort (whether numeric or alphabetic); let the
966 last come first.
967
968 @item -S
969 @itemx --print-size
970 Print both value and size of defined symbols for the @code{bsd} output style.
971 This option has no effect for object formats that do not record symbol
972 sizes, unless @samp{--size-sort} is also used in which case a
973 calculated size is displayed.
974
975 @item -s
976 @itemx --print-armap
977 @cindex symbol index, listing
978 When listing symbols from archive members, include the index: a mapping
979 (stored in the archive by @command{ar} or @command{ranlib}) of which modules
980 contain definitions for which names.
981
982 @item -t @var{radix}
983 @itemx --radix=@var{radix}
984 Use @var{radix} as the radix for printing the symbol values. It must be
985 @samp{d} for decimal, @samp{o} for octal, or @samp{x} for hexadecimal.
986
987 @item -u
988 @itemx --undefined-only
989 @cindex external symbols
990 @cindex undefined symbols
991 Display only undefined symbols (those external to each object file).
992
993 @item -V
994 @itemx --version
995 Show the version number of @command{nm} and exit.
996
997 @item -X
998 This option is ignored for compatibility with the AIX version of
999 @command{nm}. It takes one parameter which must be the string
1000 @option{32_64}. The default mode of AIX @command{nm} corresponds
1001 to @option{-X 32}, which is not supported by @sc{gnu} @command{nm}.
1002
1003 @item --defined-only
1004 @cindex external symbols
1005 @cindex undefined symbols
1006 Display only defined symbols for each object file.
1007
1008 @item --plugin @var{name}
1009 @cindex load plugin
1010 Load the plugin called @var{name} to add support for extra target
1011 types. This option is only available if the toolchain has been built
1012 with plugin support enabled.
1013
1014 @item --size-sort
1015 Sort symbols by size. For ELF objects symbol sizes are read from the
1016 ELF, for other object types the symbol sizes are computed as the
1017 difference between the value of the symbol and the value of the symbol
1018 with the next higher value. If the @code{bsd} output format is used
1019 the size of the symbol is printed, rather than the value, and
1020 @samp{-S} must be used in order both size and value to be printed.
1021
1022 @item --special-syms
1023 Display symbols which have a target-specific special meaning. These
1024 symbols are usually used by the target for some special processing and
1025 are not normally helpful when included in the normal symbol lists.
1026 For example for ARM targets this option would skip the mapping symbols
1027 used to mark transitions between ARM code, THUMB code and data.
1028
1029 @item --synthetic
1030 Include synthetic symbols in the output. These are special symbols
1031 created by the linker for various purposes. They are not shown by
1032 default since they are not part of the binary's original source code.
1033
1034 @item --target=@var{bfdname}
1035 @cindex object code format
1036 Specify an object code format other than your system's default format.
1037 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1038
1039 @end table
1040
1041 @c man end
1042
1043 @ignore
1044 @c man begin SEEALSO nm
1045 ar(1), objdump(1), ranlib(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
1046 @c man end
1047 @end ignore
1048
1049 @node objcopy
1050 @chapter objcopy
1051
1052 @c man title objcopy copy and translate object files
1053
1054 @smallexample
1055 @c man begin SYNOPSIS objcopy
1056 objcopy [@option{-F} @var{bfdname}|@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
1057 [@option{-I} @var{bfdname}|@option{--input-target=}@var{bfdname}]
1058 [@option{-O} @var{bfdname}|@option{--output-target=}@var{bfdname}]
1059 [@option{-B} @var{bfdarch}|@option{--binary-architecture=}@var{bfdarch}]
1060 [@option{-S}|@option{--strip-all}]
1061 [@option{-g}|@option{--strip-debug}]
1062 [@option{-K} @var{symbolname}|@option{--keep-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1063 [@option{-N} @var{symbolname}|@option{--strip-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1064 [@option{--strip-unneeded-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1065 [@option{-G} @var{symbolname}|@option{--keep-global-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1066 [@option{--localize-hidden}]
1067 [@option{-L} @var{symbolname}|@option{--localize-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1068 [@option{--globalize-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1069 [@option{-W} @var{symbolname}|@option{--weaken-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1070 [@option{-w}|@option{--wildcard}]
1071 [@option{-x}|@option{--discard-all}]
1072 [@option{-X}|@option{--discard-locals}]
1073 [@option{-b} @var{byte}|@option{--byte=}@var{byte}]
1074 [@option{-i} [@var{breadth}]|@option{--interleave}[=@var{breadth}]]
1075 [@option{--interleave-width=}@var{width}]
1076 [@option{-j} @var{sectionpattern}|@option{--only-section=}@var{sectionpattern}]
1077 [@option{-R} @var{sectionpattern}|@option{--remove-section=}@var{sectionpattern}]
1078 [@option{--remove-relocations=}@var{sectionpattern}]
1079 [@option{-p}|@option{--preserve-dates}]
1080 [@option{-D}|@option{--enable-deterministic-archives}]
1081 [@option{-U}|@option{--disable-deterministic-archives}]
1082 [@option{--debugging}]
1083 [@option{--gap-fill=}@var{val}]
1084 [@option{--pad-to=}@var{address}]
1085 [@option{--set-start=}@var{val}]
1086 [@option{--adjust-start=}@var{incr}]
1087 [@option{--change-addresses=}@var{incr}]
1088 [@option{--change-section-address} @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}]
1089 [@option{--change-section-lma} @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}]
1090 [@option{--change-section-vma} @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}]
1091 [@option{--change-warnings}] [@option{--no-change-warnings}]
1092 [@option{--set-section-flags} @var{sectionpattern}=@var{flags}]
1093 [@option{--add-section} @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}]
1094 [@option{--dump-section} @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}]
1095 [@option{--update-section} @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}]
1096 [@option{--rename-section} @var{oldname}=@var{newname}[,@var{flags}]]
1097 [@option{--long-section-names} @{enable,disable,keep@}]
1098 [@option{--change-leading-char}] [@option{--remove-leading-char}]
1099 [@option{--reverse-bytes=}@var{num}]
1100 [@option{--srec-len=}@var{ival}] [@option{--srec-forceS3}]
1101 [@option{--redefine-sym} @var{old}=@var{new}]
1102 [@option{--redefine-syms=}@var{filename}]
1103 [@option{--weaken}]
1104 [@option{--keep-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1105 [@option{--strip-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1106 [@option{--strip-unneeded-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1107 [@option{--keep-global-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1108 [@option{--localize-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1109 [@option{--globalize-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1110 [@option{--weaken-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1111 [@option{--add-symbol} @var{name}=[@var{section}:]@var{value}[,@var{flags}]
1112 [@option{--alt-machine-code=}@var{index}]
1113 [@option{--prefix-symbols=}@var{string}]
1114 [@option{--prefix-sections=}@var{string}]
1115 [@option{--prefix-alloc-sections=}@var{string}]
1116 [@option{--add-gnu-debuglink=}@var{path-to-file}]
1117 [@option{--keep-file-symbols}]
1118 [@option{--only-keep-debug}]
1119 [@option{--strip-dwo}]
1120 [@option{--extract-dwo}]
1121 [@option{--extract-symbol}]
1122 [@option{--writable-text}]
1123 [@option{--readonly-text}]
1124 [@option{--pure}]
1125 [@option{--impure}]
1126 [@option{--file-alignment=}@var{num}]
1127 [@option{--heap=}@var{size}]
1128 [@option{--image-base=}@var{address}]
1129 [@option{--section-alignment=}@var{num}]
1130 [@option{--stack=}@var{size}]
1131 [@option{--subsystem=}@var{which}:@var{major}.@var{minor}]
1132 [@option{--compress-debug-sections}]
1133 [@option{--decompress-debug-sections}]
1134 [@option{--elf-stt-common=@var{val}}]
1135 [@option{-v}|@option{--verbose}]
1136 [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
1137 [@option{--help}] [@option{--info}]
1138 @var{infile} [@var{outfile}]
1139 @c man end
1140 @end smallexample
1141
1142 @c man begin DESCRIPTION objcopy
1143 The @sc{gnu} @command{objcopy} utility copies the contents of an object
1144 file to another. @command{objcopy} uses the @sc{gnu} @sc{bfd} Library to
1145 read and write the object files. It can write the destination object
1146 file in a format different from that of the source object file. The
1147 exact behavior of @command{objcopy} is controlled by command-line options.
1148 Note that @command{objcopy} should be able to copy a fully linked file
1149 between any two formats. However, copying a relocatable object file
1150 between any two formats may not work as expected.
1151
1152 @command{objcopy} creates temporary files to do its translations and
1153 deletes them afterward. @command{objcopy} uses @sc{bfd} to do all its
1154 translation work; it has access to all the formats described in @sc{bfd}
1155 and thus is able to recognize most formats without being told
1156 explicitly. @xref{BFD,,BFD,ld.info,Using LD}.
1157
1158 @command{objcopy} can be used to generate S-records by using an output
1159 target of @samp{srec} (e.g., use @samp{-O srec}).
1160
1161 @command{objcopy} can be used to generate a raw binary file by using an
1162 output target of @samp{binary} (e.g., use @option{-O binary}). When
1163 @command{objcopy} generates a raw binary file, it will essentially produce
1164 a memory dump of the contents of the input object file. All symbols and
1165 relocation information will be discarded. The memory dump will start at
1166 the load address of the lowest section copied into the output file.
1167
1168 When generating an S-record or a raw binary file, it may be helpful to
1169 use @option{-S} to remove sections containing debugging information. In
1170 some cases @option{-R} will be useful to remove sections which contain
1171 information that is not needed by the binary file.
1172
1173 Note---@command{objcopy} is not able to change the endianness of its input
1174 files. If the input format has an endianness (some formats do not),
1175 @command{objcopy} can only copy the inputs into file formats that have the
1176 same endianness or which have no endianness (e.g., @samp{srec}).
1177 (However, see the @option{--reverse-bytes} option.)
1178
1179 @c man end
1180
1181 @c man begin OPTIONS objcopy
1182
1183 @table @env
1184 @item @var{infile}
1185 @itemx @var{outfile}
1186 The input and output files, respectively.
1187 If you do not specify @var{outfile}, @command{objcopy} creates a
1188 temporary file and destructively renames the result with
1189 the name of @var{infile}.
1190
1191 @item -I @var{bfdname}
1192 @itemx --input-target=@var{bfdname}
1193 Consider the source file's object format to be @var{bfdname}, rather than
1194 attempting to deduce it. @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1195
1196 @item -O @var{bfdname}
1197 @itemx --output-target=@var{bfdname}
1198 Write the output file using the object format @var{bfdname}.
1199 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1200
1201 @item -F @var{bfdname}
1202 @itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
1203 Use @var{bfdname} as the object format for both the input and the output
1204 file; i.e., simply transfer data from source to destination with no
1205 translation. @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1206
1207 @item -B @var{bfdarch}
1208 @itemx --binary-architecture=@var{bfdarch}
1209 Useful when transforming a architecture-less input file into an object file.
1210 In this case the output architecture can be set to @var{bfdarch}. This
1211 option will be ignored if the input file has a known @var{bfdarch}. You
1212 can access this binary data inside a program by referencing the special
1213 symbols that are created by the conversion process. These symbols are
1214 called _binary_@var{objfile}_start, _binary_@var{objfile}_end and
1215 _binary_@var{objfile}_size. e.g. you can transform a picture file into
1216 an object file and then access it in your code using these symbols.
1217
1218 @item -j @var{sectionpattern}
1219 @itemx --only-section=@var{sectionpattern}
1220 Copy only the indicated sections from the input file to the output file.
1221 This option may be given more than once. Note that using this option
1222 inappropriately may make the output file unusable. Wildcard
1223 characters are accepted in @var{sectionpattern}.
1224
1225 If the first character of @var{sectionpattern} is the exclamation
1226 point (!) then matching sections will not be copied, even if earlier
1227 use of @option{--only-section} on the same command line would
1228 otherwise copy it. For example:
1229
1230 @smallexample
1231 --only-section=.text.* --only-section=!.text.foo
1232 @end smallexample
1233
1234 will copy all sectinos maching '.text.*' but not the section
1235 '.text.foo'.
1236
1237 @item -R @var{sectionpattern}
1238 @itemx --remove-section=@var{sectionpattern}
1239 Remove any section matching @var{sectionpattern} from the output file.
1240 This option may be given more than once. Note that using this option
1241 inappropriately may make the output file unusable. Wildcard
1242 characters are accepted in @var{sectionpattern}. Using both the
1243 @option{-j} and @option{-R} options together results in undefined
1244 behaviour.
1245
1246 If the first character of @var{sectionpattern} is the exclamation
1247 point (!) then matching sections will not be removed even if an
1248 earlier use of @option{--remove-section} on the same command line
1249 would otherwise remove it. For example:
1250
1251 @smallexample
1252 --remove-section=.text.* --remove-section=!.text.foo
1253 @end smallexample
1254
1255 will remove all sections matching the pattern '.text.*', but will not
1256 remove the section '.text.foo'.
1257
1258 @item --remove-relocations=@var{sectionpattern}
1259 Remove relocations from the output file for any section matching
1260 @var{sectionpattern}. This option may be given more than once. Note
1261 that using this option inappropriately may make the output file
1262 unusable. Wildcard characters are accepted in @var{sectionpattern}.
1263 For example:
1264
1265 @smallexample
1266 --remove-relocations=.text.*
1267 @end smallexample
1268
1269 will remove the relocations for all sections matching the patter
1270 '.text.*'.
1271
1272 If the first character of @var{sectionpattern} is the exclamation
1273 point (!) then matching sections will not have their relocation
1274 removed even if an earlier use of @option{--remove-relocations} on the
1275 same command line would otherwise cause the relocations to be removed.
1276 For example:
1277
1278 @smallexample
1279 --remove-relocations=.text.* --remove-relocations=!.text.foo
1280 @end smallexample
1281
1282 will remove all relocations for sections matching the pattern
1283 '.text.*', but will not remove relocations for the section
1284 '.text.foo'.
1285
1286 @item -S
1287 @itemx --strip-all
1288 Do not copy relocation and symbol information from the source file.
1289
1290 @item -g
1291 @itemx --strip-debug
1292 Do not copy debugging symbols or sections from the source file.
1293
1294 @item --strip-unneeded
1295 Strip all symbols that are not needed for relocation processing.
1296
1297 @item -K @var{symbolname}
1298 @itemx --keep-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1299 When stripping symbols, keep symbol @var{symbolname} even if it would
1300 normally be stripped. This option may be given more than once.
1301
1302 @item -N @var{symbolname}
1303 @itemx --strip-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1304 Do not copy symbol @var{symbolname} from the source file. This option
1305 may be given more than once.
1306
1307 @item --strip-unneeded-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1308 Do not copy symbol @var{symbolname} from the source file unless it is needed
1309 by a relocation. This option may be given more than once.
1310
1311 @item -G @var{symbolname}
1312 @itemx --keep-global-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1313 Keep only symbol @var{symbolname} global. Make all other symbols local
1314 to the file, so that they are not visible externally. This option may
1315 be given more than once.
1316
1317 @item --localize-hidden
1318 In an ELF object, mark all symbols that have hidden or internal visibility
1319 as local. This option applies on top of symbol-specific localization options
1320 such as @option{-L}.
1321
1322 @item -L @var{symbolname}
1323 @itemx --localize-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1324 Make symbol @var{symbolname} local to the file, so that it is not
1325 visible externally. This option may be given more than once.
1326
1327 @item -W @var{symbolname}
1328 @itemx --weaken-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1329 Make symbol @var{symbolname} weak. This option may be given more than once.
1330
1331 @item --globalize-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1332 Give symbol @var{symbolname} global scoping so that it is visible
1333 outside of the file in which it is defined. This option may be given
1334 more than once.
1335
1336 @item -w
1337 @itemx --wildcard
1338 Permit regular expressions in @var{symbolname}s used in other command
1339 line options. The question mark (?), asterisk (*), backslash (\) and
1340 square brackets ([]) operators can be used anywhere in the symbol
1341 name. If the first character of the symbol name is the exclamation
1342 point (!) then the sense of the switch is reversed for that symbol.
1343 For example:
1344
1345 @smallexample
1346 -w -W !foo -W fo*
1347 @end smallexample
1348
1349 would cause objcopy to weaken all symbols that start with ``fo''
1350 except for the symbol ``foo''.
1351
1352 @item -x
1353 @itemx --discard-all
1354 Do not copy non-global symbols from the source file.
1355 @c FIXME any reason to prefer "non-global" to "local" here?
1356
1357 @item -X
1358 @itemx --discard-locals
1359 Do not copy compiler-generated local symbols.
1360 (These usually start with @samp{L} or @samp{.}.)
1361
1362 @item -b @var{byte}
1363 @itemx --byte=@var{byte}
1364 If interleaving has been enabled via the @option{--interleave} option
1365 then start the range of bytes to keep at the @var{byte}th byte.
1366 @var{byte} can be in the range from 0 to @var{breadth}-1, where
1367 @var{breadth} is the value given by the @option{--interleave} option.
1368
1369 @item -i [@var{breadth}]
1370 @itemx --interleave[=@var{breadth}]
1371 Only copy a range out of every @var{breadth} bytes. (Header data is
1372 not affected). Select which byte in the range begins the copy with
1373 the @option{--byte} option. Select the width of the range with the
1374 @option{--interleave-width} option.
1375
1376 This option is useful for creating files to program @sc{rom}. It is
1377 typically used with an @code{srec} output target. Note that
1378 @command{objcopy} will complain if you do not specify the
1379 @option{--byte} option as well.
1380
1381 The default interleave breadth is 4, so with @option{--byte} set to 0,
1382 @command{objcopy} would copy the first byte out of every four bytes
1383 from the input to the output.
1384
1385 @item --interleave-width=@var{width}
1386 When used with the @option{--interleave} option, copy @var{width}
1387 bytes at a time. The start of the range of bytes to be copied is set
1388 by the @option{--byte} option, and the extent of the range is set with
1389 the @option{--interleave} option.
1390
1391 The default value for this option is 1. The value of @var{width} plus
1392 the @var{byte} value set by the @option{--byte} option must not exceed
1393 the interleave breadth set by the @option{--interleave} option.
1394
1395 This option can be used to create images for two 16-bit flashes interleaved
1396 in a 32-bit bus by passing @option{-b 0 -i 4 --interleave-width=2}
1397 and @option{-b 2 -i 4 --interleave-width=2} to two @command{objcopy}
1398 commands. If the input was '12345678' then the outputs would be
1399 '1256' and '3478' respectively.
1400
1401 @item -p
1402 @itemx --preserve-dates
1403 Set the access and modification dates of the output file to be the same
1404 as those of the input file.
1405
1406 @item -D
1407 @itemx --enable-deterministic-archives
1408 @cindex deterministic archives
1409 @kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
1410 Operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. When copying archive members
1411 and writing the archive index, use zero for UIDs, GIDs, timestamps,
1412 and use consistent file modes for all files.
1413
1414 If @file{binutils} was configured with
1415 @option{--enable-deterministic-archives}, then this mode is on by default.
1416 It can be disabled with the @samp{-U} option, below.
1417
1418 @item -U
1419 @itemx --disable-deterministic-archives
1420 @cindex deterministic archives
1421 @kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
1422 Do @emph{not} operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. This is the
1423 inverse of the @option{-D} option, above: when copying archive members
1424 and writing the archive index, use their actual UID, GID, timestamp,
1425 and file mode values.
1426
1427 This is the default unless @file{binutils} was configured with
1428 @option{--enable-deterministic-archives}.
1429
1430 @item --debugging
1431 Convert debugging information, if possible. This is not the default
1432 because only certain debugging formats are supported, and the
1433 conversion process can be time consuming.
1434
1435 @item --gap-fill @var{val}
1436 Fill gaps between sections with @var{val}. This operation applies to
1437 the @emph{load address} (LMA) of the sections. It is done by increasing
1438 the size of the section with the lower address, and filling in the extra
1439 space created with @var{val}.
1440
1441 @item --pad-to @var{address}
1442 Pad the output file up to the load address @var{address}. This is
1443 done by increasing the size of the last section. The extra space is
1444 filled in with the value specified by @option{--gap-fill} (default zero).
1445
1446 @item --set-start @var{val}
1447 Set the start address of the new file to @var{val}. Not all object file
1448 formats support setting the start address.
1449
1450 @item --change-start @var{incr}
1451 @itemx --adjust-start @var{incr}
1452 @cindex changing start address
1453 Change the start address by adding @var{incr}. Not all object file
1454 formats support setting the start address.
1455
1456 @item --change-addresses @var{incr}
1457 @itemx --adjust-vma @var{incr}
1458 @cindex changing object addresses
1459 Change the VMA and LMA addresses of all sections, as well as the start
1460 address, by adding @var{incr}. Some object file formats do not permit
1461 section addresses to be changed arbitrarily. Note that this does not
1462 relocate the sections; if the program expects sections to be loaded at a
1463 certain address, and this option is used to change the sections such
1464 that they are loaded at a different address, the program may fail.
1465
1466 @item --change-section-address @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1467 @itemx --adjust-section-vma @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1468 @cindex changing section address
1469 Set or change both the VMA address and the LMA address of any section
1470 matching @var{sectionpattern}. If @samp{=} is used, the section
1471 address is set to @var{val}. Otherwise, @var{val} is added to or
1472 subtracted from the section address. See the comments under
1473 @option{--change-addresses}, above. If @var{sectionpattern} does not
1474 match any sections in the input file, a warning will be issued, unless
1475 @option{--no-change-warnings} is used.
1476
1477 @item --change-section-lma @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1478 @cindex changing section LMA
1479 Set or change the LMA address of any sections matching
1480 @var{sectionpattern}. The LMA address is the address where the
1481 section will be loaded into memory at program load time. Normally
1482 this is the same as the VMA address, which is the address of the
1483 section at program run time, but on some systems, especially those
1484 where a program is held in ROM, the two can be different. If @samp{=}
1485 is used, the section address is set to @var{val}. Otherwise,
1486 @var{val} is added to or subtracted from the section address. See the
1487 comments under @option{--change-addresses}, above. If
1488 @var{sectionpattern} does not match any sections in the input file, a
1489 warning will be issued, unless @option{--no-change-warnings} is used.
1490
1491 @item --change-section-vma @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1492 @cindex changing section VMA
1493 Set or change the VMA address of any section matching
1494 @var{sectionpattern}. The VMA address is the address where the
1495 section will be located once the program has started executing.
1496 Normally this is the same as the LMA address, which is the address
1497 where the section will be loaded into memory, but on some systems,
1498 especially those where a program is held in ROM, the two can be
1499 different. If @samp{=} is used, the section address is set to
1500 @var{val}. Otherwise, @var{val} is added to or subtracted from the
1501 section address. See the comments under @option{--change-addresses},
1502 above. If @var{sectionpattern} does not match any sections in the
1503 input file, a warning will be issued, unless
1504 @option{--no-change-warnings} is used.
1505
1506 @item --change-warnings
1507 @itemx --adjust-warnings
1508 If @option{--change-section-address} or @option{--change-section-lma} or
1509 @option{--change-section-vma} is used, and the section pattern does not
1510 match any sections, issue a warning. This is the default.
1511
1512 @item --no-change-warnings
1513 @itemx --no-adjust-warnings
1514 Do not issue a warning if @option{--change-section-address} or
1515 @option{--adjust-section-lma} or @option{--adjust-section-vma} is used, even
1516 if the section pattern does not match any sections.
1517
1518 @item --set-section-flags @var{sectionpattern}=@var{flags}
1519 Set the flags for any sections matching @var{sectionpattern}. The
1520 @var{flags} argument is a comma separated string of flag names. The
1521 recognized names are @samp{alloc}, @samp{contents}, @samp{load},
1522 @samp{noload}, @samp{readonly}, @samp{code}, @samp{data}, @samp{rom},
1523 @samp{share}, and @samp{debug}. You can set the @samp{contents} flag
1524 for a section which does not have contents, but it is not meaningful
1525 to clear the @samp{contents} flag of a section which does have
1526 contents--just remove the section instead. Not all flags are
1527 meaningful for all object file formats.
1528
1529 @item --add-section @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}
1530 Add a new section named @var{sectionname} while copying the file. The
1531 contents of the new section are taken from the file @var{filename}. The
1532 size of the section will be the size of the file. This option only
1533 works on file formats which can support sections with arbitrary names.
1534 Note - it may be necessary to use the @option{--set-section-flags}
1535 option to set the attributes of the newly created section.
1536
1537 @item --dump-section @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}
1538 Place the contents of section named @var{sectionname} into the file
1539 @var{filename}, overwriting any contents that may have been there
1540 previously. This option is the inverse of @option{--add-section}.
1541 This option is similar to the @option{--only-section} option except
1542 that it does not create a formatted file, it just dumps the contents
1543 as raw binary data, without applying any relocations. The option can
1544 be specified more than once.
1545
1546 @item --update-section @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}
1547 Replace the existing contents of a section named @var{sectionname}
1548 with the contents of file @var{filename}. The size of the section
1549 will be adjusted to the size of the file. The section flags for
1550 @var{sectionname} will be unchanged. For ELF format files the section
1551 to segment mapping will also remain unchanged, something which is not
1552 possible using @option{--remove-section} followed by
1553 @option{--add-section}. The option can be specified more than once.
1554
1555 Note - it is possible to use @option{--rename-section} and
1556 @option{--update-section} to both update and rename a section from one
1557 command line. In this case, pass the original section name to
1558 @option{--update-section}, and the original and new section names to
1559 @option{--rename-section}.
1560
1561 @item --add-symbol @var{name}=[@var{section}:]@var{value}[,@var{flags}]
1562 Add a new symbol named @var{name} while copying the file. This option may be
1563 specified multiple times. If the @var{section} is given, the symbol will be
1564 associated with and relative to that section, otherwise it will be an ABS
1565 symbol. Specifying an undefined section will result in a fatal error. There
1566 is no check for the value, it will be taken as specified. Symbol flags can
1567 be specified and not all flags will be meaningful for all object file
1568 formats. By default, the symbol will be global. The special flag
1569 'before=@var{othersym}' will insert the new symbol in front of the specified
1570 @var{othersym}, otherwise the symbol(s) will be added at the end of the
1571 symbol table in the order they appear.
1572
1573 @item --rename-section @var{oldname}=@var{newname}[,@var{flags}]
1574 Rename a section from @var{oldname} to @var{newname}, optionally
1575 changing the section's flags to @var{flags} in the process. This has
1576 the advantage over usng a linker script to perform the rename in that
1577 the output stays as an object file and does not become a linked
1578 executable.
1579
1580 This option is particularly helpful when the input format is binary,
1581 since this will always create a section called .data. If for example,
1582 you wanted instead to create a section called .rodata containing binary
1583 data you could use the following command line to achieve it:
1584
1585 @smallexample
1586 objcopy -I binary -O <output_format> -B <architecture> \
1587 --rename-section .data=.rodata,alloc,load,readonly,data,contents \
1588 <input_binary_file> <output_object_file>
1589 @end smallexample
1590
1591 @item --long-section-names @{enable,disable,keep@}
1592 Controls the handling of long section names when processing @code{COFF}
1593 and @code{PE-COFF} object formats. The default behaviour, @samp{keep},
1594 is to preserve long section names if any are present in the input file.
1595 The @samp{enable} and @samp{disable} options forcibly enable or disable
1596 the use of long section names in the output object; when @samp{disable}
1597 is in effect, any long section names in the input object will be truncated.
1598 The @samp{enable} option will only emit long section names if any are
1599 present in the inputs; this is mostly the same as @samp{keep}, but it
1600 is left undefined whether the @samp{enable} option might force the
1601 creation of an empty string table in the output file.
1602
1603 @item --change-leading-char
1604 Some object file formats use special characters at the start of
1605 symbols. The most common such character is underscore, which compilers
1606 often add before every symbol. This option tells @command{objcopy} to
1607 change the leading character of every symbol when it converts between
1608 object file formats. If the object file formats use the same leading
1609 character, this option has no effect. Otherwise, it will add a
1610 character, or remove a character, or change a character, as
1611 appropriate.
1612
1613 @item --remove-leading-char
1614 If the first character of a global symbol is a special symbol leading
1615 character used by the object file format, remove the character. The
1616 most common symbol leading character is underscore. This option will
1617 remove a leading underscore from all global symbols. This can be useful
1618 if you want to link together objects of different file formats with
1619 different conventions for symbol names. This is different from
1620 @option{--change-leading-char} because it always changes the symbol name
1621 when appropriate, regardless of the object file format of the output
1622 file.
1623
1624 @item --reverse-bytes=@var{num}
1625 Reverse the bytes in a section with output contents. A section length must
1626 be evenly divisible by the value given in order for the swap to be able to
1627 take place. Reversing takes place before the interleaving is performed.
1628
1629 This option is used typically in generating ROM images for problematic
1630 target systems. For example, on some target boards, the 32-bit words
1631 fetched from 8-bit ROMs are re-assembled in little-endian byte order
1632 regardless of the CPU byte order. Depending on the programming model, the
1633 endianness of the ROM may need to be modified.
1634
1635 Consider a simple file with a section containing the following eight
1636 bytes: @code{12345678}.
1637
1638 Using @samp{--reverse-bytes=2} for the above example, the bytes in the
1639 output file would be ordered @code{21436587}.
1640
1641 Using @samp{--reverse-bytes=4} for the above example, the bytes in the
1642 output file would be ordered @code{43218765}.
1643
1644 By using @samp{--reverse-bytes=2} for the above example, followed by
1645 @samp{--reverse-bytes=4} on the output file, the bytes in the second
1646 output file would be ordered @code{34127856}.
1647
1648 @item --srec-len=@var{ival}
1649 Meaningful only for srec output. Set the maximum length of the Srecords
1650 being produced to @var{ival}. This length covers both address, data and
1651 crc fields.
1652
1653 @item --srec-forceS3
1654 Meaningful only for srec output. Avoid generation of S1/S2 records,
1655 creating S3-only record format.
1656
1657 @item --redefine-sym @var{old}=@var{new}
1658 Change the name of a symbol @var{old}, to @var{new}. This can be useful
1659 when one is trying link two things together for which you have no
1660 source, and there are name collisions.
1661
1662 @item --redefine-syms=@var{filename}
1663 Apply @option{--redefine-sym} to each symbol pair "@var{old} @var{new}"
1664 listed in the file @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file,
1665 with one symbol pair per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash
1666 character. This option may be given more than once.
1667
1668 @item --weaken
1669 Change all global symbols in the file to be weak. This can be useful
1670 when building an object which will be linked against other objects using
1671 the @option{-R} option to the linker. This option is only effective when
1672 using an object file format which supports weak symbols.
1673
1674 @item --keep-symbols=@var{filename}
1675 Apply @option{--keep-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
1676 @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1677 name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1678 This option may be given more than once.
1679
1680 @item --strip-symbols=@var{filename}
1681 Apply @option{--strip-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
1682 @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1683 name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1684 This option may be given more than once.
1685
1686 @item --strip-unneeded-symbols=@var{filename}
1687 Apply @option{--strip-unneeded-symbol} option to each symbol listed in
1688 the file @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one
1689 symbol name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash
1690 character. This option may be given more than once.
1691
1692 @item --keep-global-symbols=@var{filename}
1693 Apply @option{--keep-global-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the
1694 file @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one
1695 symbol name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash
1696 character. This option may be given more than once.
1697
1698 @item --localize-symbols=@var{filename}
1699 Apply @option{--localize-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
1700 @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1701 name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1702 This option may be given more than once.
1703
1704 @item --globalize-symbols=@var{filename}
1705 Apply @option{--globalize-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
1706 @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1707 name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1708 This option may be given more than once.
1709
1710 @item --weaken-symbols=@var{filename}
1711 Apply @option{--weaken-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
1712 @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1713 name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1714 This option may be given more than once.
1715
1716 @item --alt-machine-code=@var{index}
1717 If the output architecture has alternate machine codes, use the
1718 @var{index}th code instead of the default one. This is useful in case
1719 a machine is assigned an official code and the tool-chain adopts the
1720 new code, but other applications still depend on the original code
1721 being used. For ELF based architectures if the @var{index}
1722 alternative does not exist then the value is treated as an absolute
1723 number to be stored in the e_machine field of the ELF header.
1724
1725 @item --writable-text
1726 Mark the output text as writable. This option isn't meaningful for all
1727 object file formats.
1728
1729 @item --readonly-text
1730 Make the output text write protected. This option isn't meaningful for all
1731 object file formats.
1732
1733 @item --pure
1734 Mark the output file as demand paged. This option isn't meaningful for all
1735 object file formats.
1736
1737 @item --impure
1738 Mark the output file as impure. This option isn't meaningful for all
1739 object file formats.
1740
1741 @item --prefix-symbols=@var{string}
1742 Prefix all symbols in the output file with @var{string}.
1743
1744 @item --prefix-sections=@var{string}
1745 Prefix all section names in the output file with @var{string}.
1746
1747 @item --prefix-alloc-sections=@var{string}
1748 Prefix all the names of all allocated sections in the output file with
1749 @var{string}.
1750
1751 @item --add-gnu-debuglink=@var{path-to-file}
1752 Creates a .gnu_debuglink section which contains a reference to
1753 @var{path-to-file} and adds it to the output file. Note: the file at
1754 @var{path-to-file} must exist. Part of the process of adding the
1755 .gnu_debuglink section involves embedding a checksum of the contents
1756 of the debug info file into the section.
1757
1758 If the debug info file is built in one location but it is going to be
1759 installed at a later time into a different location then do not use
1760 the path to the installed location. The @option{--add-gnu-debuglink}
1761 option will fail because the installed file does not exist yet.
1762 Instead put the debug info file in the current directory and use the
1763 @option{--add-gnu-debuglink} option without any directory components,
1764 like this:
1765
1766 @smallexample
1767 objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.debug
1768 @end smallexample
1769
1770 At debug time the debugger will attempt to look for the separate debug
1771 info file in a set of known locations. The exact set of these
1772 locations varies depending upon the distribution being used, but it
1773 typically includes:
1774
1775 @table @code
1776
1777 @item * The same directory as the executable.
1778
1779 @item * A sub-directory of the directory containing the executable
1780 called .debug
1781
1782 @item * A global debug directory such as /usr/lib/debug.
1783 @end table
1784
1785 As long as the debug info file has been installed into one of these
1786 locations before the debugger is run everything should work
1787 correctly.
1788
1789 @item --keep-file-symbols
1790 When stripping a file, perhaps with @option{--strip-debug} or
1791 @option{--strip-unneeded}, retain any symbols specifying source file names,
1792 which would otherwise get stripped.
1793
1794 @item --only-keep-debug
1795 Strip a file, removing contents of any sections that would not be
1796 stripped by @option{--strip-debug} and leaving the debugging sections
1797 intact. In ELF files, this preserves all note sections in the output.
1798
1799 Note - the section headers of the stripped sections are preserved,
1800 including their sizes, but the contents of the section are discarded.
1801 The section headers are preserved so that other tools can match up the
1802 debuginfo file with the real executable, even if that executable has
1803 been relocated to a different address space.
1804
1805 The intention is that this option will be used in conjunction with
1806 @option{--add-gnu-debuglink} to create a two part executable. One a
1807 stripped binary which will occupy less space in RAM and in a
1808 distribution and the second a debugging information file which is only
1809 needed if debugging abilities are required. The suggested procedure
1810 to create these files is as follows:
1811
1812 @enumerate
1813 @item Link the executable as normal. Assuming that is is called
1814 @code{foo} then...
1815 @item Run @code{objcopy --only-keep-debug foo foo.dbg} to
1816 create a file containing the debugging info.
1817 @item Run @code{objcopy --strip-debug foo} to create a
1818 stripped executable.
1819 @item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.dbg foo}
1820 to add a link to the debugging info into the stripped executable.
1821 @end enumerate
1822
1823 Note---the choice of @code{.dbg} as an extension for the debug info
1824 file is arbitrary. Also the @code{--only-keep-debug} step is
1825 optional. You could instead do this:
1826
1827 @enumerate
1828 @item Link the executable as normal.
1829 @item Copy @code{foo} to @code{foo.full}
1830 @item Run @code{objcopy --strip-debug foo}
1831 @item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.full foo}
1832 @end enumerate
1833
1834 i.e., the file pointed to by the @option{--add-gnu-debuglink} can be the
1835 full executable. It does not have to be a file created by the
1836 @option{--only-keep-debug} switch.
1837
1838 Note---this switch is only intended for use on fully linked files. It
1839 does not make sense to use it on object files where the debugging
1840 information may be incomplete. Besides the gnu_debuglink feature
1841 currently only supports the presence of one filename containing
1842 debugging information, not multiple filenames on a one-per-object-file
1843 basis.
1844
1845 @item --strip-dwo
1846 Remove the contents of all DWARF .dwo sections, leaving the
1847 remaining debugging sections and all symbols intact.
1848 This option is intended for use by the compiler as part of
1849 the @option{-gsplit-dwarf} option, which splits debug information
1850 between the .o file and a separate .dwo file. The compiler
1851 generates all debug information in the same file, then uses
1852 the @option{--extract-dwo} option to copy the .dwo sections to
1853 the .dwo file, then the @option{--strip-dwo} option to remove
1854 those sections from the original .o file.
1855
1856 @item --extract-dwo
1857 Extract the contents of all DWARF .dwo sections. See the
1858 @option{--strip-dwo} option for more information.
1859
1860 @item --file-alignment @var{num}
1861 Specify the file alignment. Sections in the file will always begin at
1862 file offsets which are multiples of this number. This defaults to
1863 512.
1864 [This option is specific to PE targets.]
1865
1866 @item --heap @var{reserve}
1867 @itemx --heap @var{reserve},@var{commit}
1868 Specify the number of bytes of memory to reserve (and optionally commit)
1869 to be used as heap for this program.
1870 [This option is specific to PE targets.]
1871
1872 @item --image-base @var{value}
1873 Use @var{value} as the base address of your program or dll. This is
1874 the lowest memory location that will be used when your program or dll
1875 is loaded. To reduce the need to relocate and improve performance of
1876 your dlls, each should have a unique base address and not overlap any
1877 other dlls. The default is 0x400000 for executables, and 0x10000000
1878 for dlls.
1879 [This option is specific to PE targets.]
1880
1881 @item --section-alignment @var{num}
1882 Sets the section alignment. Sections in memory will always begin at
1883 addresses which are a multiple of this number. Defaults to 0x1000.
1884 [This option is specific to PE targets.]
1885
1886 @item --stack @var{reserve}
1887 @itemx --stack @var{reserve},@var{commit}
1888 Specify the number of bytes of memory to reserve (and optionally commit)
1889 to be used as stack for this program.
1890 [This option is specific to PE targets.]
1891
1892 @item --subsystem @var{which}
1893 @itemx --subsystem @var{which}:@var{major}
1894 @itemx --subsystem @var{which}:@var{major}.@var{minor}
1895 Specifies the subsystem under which your program will execute. The
1896 legal values for @var{which} are @code{native}, @code{windows},
1897 @code{console}, @code{posix}, @code{efi-app}, @code{efi-bsd},
1898 @code{efi-rtd}, @code{sal-rtd}, and @code{xbox}. You may optionally set
1899 the subsystem version also. Numeric values are also accepted for
1900 @var{which}.
1901 [This option is specific to PE targets.]
1902
1903 @item --extract-symbol
1904 Keep the file's section flags and symbols but remove all section data.
1905 Specifically, the option:
1906
1907 @itemize
1908 @item removes the contents of all sections;
1909 @item sets the size of every section to zero; and
1910 @item sets the file's start address to zero.
1911 @end itemize
1912
1913 This option is used to build a @file{.sym} file for a VxWorks kernel.
1914 It can also be a useful way of reducing the size of a @option{--just-symbols}
1915 linker input file.
1916
1917 @item --compress-debug-sections
1918 Compress DWARF debug sections using zlib with SHF_COMPRESSED from the
1919 ELF ABI. Note - if compression would actually make a section
1920 @emph{larger}, then it is not compressed.
1921
1922 @item --compress-debug-sections=none
1923 @itemx --compress-debug-sections=zlib
1924 @itemx --compress-debug-sections=zlib-gnu
1925 @itemx --compress-debug-sections=zlib-gabi
1926 For ELF files, these options control how DWARF debug sections are
1927 compressed. @option{--compress-debug-sections=none} is equivalent
1928 to @option{--decompress-debug-sections}.
1929 @option{--compress-debug-sections=zlib} and
1930 @option{--compress-debug-sections=zlib-gabi} are equivalent to
1931 @option{--compress-debug-sections}.
1932 @option{--compress-debug-sections=zlib-gnu} compresses DWARF debug
1933 sections using zlib. The debug sections are renamed to begin with
1934 @samp{.zdebug} instead of @samp{.debug}. Note - if compression would
1935 actually make a section @emph{larger}, then it is not compressed nor
1936 renamed.
1937
1938 @item --decompress-debug-sections
1939 Decompress DWARF debug sections using zlib. The original section
1940 names of the compressed sections are restored.
1941
1942 @item --elf-stt-common=yes
1943 @itemx --elf-stt-common=no
1944 For ELF files, these options control whether common symbols should be
1945 converted to the @code{STT_COMMON} or @code{STT_OBJECT} type.
1946 @option{--elf-stt-common=yes} converts common symbol type to
1947 @code{STT_COMMON}. @option{--elf-stt-common=no} converts common symbol
1948 type to @code{STT_OBJECT}.
1949
1950 @item -V
1951 @itemx --version
1952 Show the version number of @command{objcopy}.
1953
1954 @item -v
1955 @itemx --verbose
1956 Verbose output: list all object files modified. In the case of
1957 archives, @samp{objcopy -V} lists all members of the archive.
1958
1959 @item --help
1960 Show a summary of the options to @command{objcopy}.
1961
1962 @item --info
1963 Display a list showing all architectures and object formats available.
1964 @end table
1965
1966 @c man end
1967
1968 @ignore
1969 @c man begin SEEALSO objcopy
1970 ld(1), objdump(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
1971 @c man end
1972 @end ignore
1973
1974 @node objdump
1975 @chapter objdump
1976
1977 @cindex object file information
1978 @kindex objdump
1979
1980 @c man title objdump display information from object files.
1981
1982 @smallexample
1983 @c man begin SYNOPSIS objdump
1984 objdump [@option{-a}|@option{--archive-headers}]
1985 [@option{-b} @var{bfdname}|@option{--target=@var{bfdname}}]
1986 [@option{-C}|@option{--demangle}[=@var{style}] ]
1987 [@option{-d}|@option{--disassemble}]
1988 [@option{-D}|@option{--disassemble-all}]
1989 [@option{-z}|@option{--disassemble-zeroes}]
1990 [@option{-EB}|@option{-EL}|@option{--endian=}@{big | little @}]
1991 [@option{-f}|@option{--file-headers}]
1992 [@option{-F}|@option{--file-offsets}]
1993 [@option{--file-start-context}]
1994 [@option{-g}|@option{--debugging}]
1995 [@option{-e}|@option{--debugging-tags}]
1996 [@option{-h}|@option{--section-headers}|@option{--headers}]
1997 [@option{-i}|@option{--info}]
1998 [@option{-j} @var{section}|@option{--section=}@var{section}]
1999 [@option{-l}|@option{--line-numbers}]
2000 [@option{-S}|@option{--source}]
2001 [@option{-m} @var{machine}|@option{--architecture=}@var{machine}]
2002 [@option{-M} @var{options}|@option{--disassembler-options=}@var{options}]
2003 [@option{-p}|@option{--private-headers}]
2004 [@option{-P} @var{options}|@option{--private=}@var{options}]
2005 [@option{-r}|@option{--reloc}]
2006 [@option{-R}|@option{--dynamic-reloc}]
2007 [@option{-s}|@option{--full-contents}]
2008 [@option{-W[lLiaprmfFsoRt]}|
2009 @option{--dwarf}[=rawline,=decodedline,=info,=abbrev,=pubnames]
2010 [=aranges,=macro,=frames,=frames-interp,=str,=loc]
2011 [=Ranges,=pubtypes,=trace_info,=trace_abbrev]
2012 [=trace_aranges,=gdb_index]
2013 [@option{-G}|@option{--stabs}]
2014 [@option{-t}|@option{--syms}]
2015 [@option{-T}|@option{--dynamic-syms}]
2016 [@option{-x}|@option{--all-headers}]
2017 [@option{-w}|@option{--wide}]
2018 [@option{--start-address=}@var{address}]
2019 [@option{--stop-address=}@var{address}]
2020 [@option{--prefix-addresses}]
2021 [@option{--[no-]show-raw-insn}]
2022 [@option{--adjust-vma=}@var{offset}]
2023 [@option{--dwarf-depth=@var{n}}]
2024 [@option{--dwarf-start=@var{n}}]
2025 [@option{--special-syms}]
2026 [@option{--prefix=}@var{prefix}]
2027 [@option{--prefix-strip=}@var{level}]
2028 [@option{--insn-width=}@var{width}]
2029 [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
2030 [@option{-H}|@option{--help}]
2031 @var{objfile}@dots{}
2032 @c man end
2033 @end smallexample
2034
2035 @c man begin DESCRIPTION objdump
2036
2037 @command{objdump} displays information about one or more object files.
2038 The options control what particular information to display. This
2039 information is mostly useful to programmers who are working on the
2040 compilation tools, as opposed to programmers who just want their
2041 program to compile and work.
2042
2043 @var{objfile}@dots{} are the object files to be examined. When you
2044 specify archives, @command{objdump} shows information on each of the member
2045 object files.
2046
2047 @c man end
2048
2049 @c man begin OPTIONS objdump
2050
2051 The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
2052 equivalent. At least one option from the list
2053 @option{-a,-d,-D,-e,-f,-g,-G,-h,-H,-p,-P,-r,-R,-s,-S,-t,-T,-V,-x} must be given.
2054
2055 @table @env
2056 @item -a
2057 @itemx --archive-header
2058 @cindex archive headers
2059 If any of the @var{objfile} files are archives, display the archive
2060 header information (in a format similar to @samp{ls -l}). Besides the
2061 information you could list with @samp{ar tv}, @samp{objdump -a} shows
2062 the object file format of each archive member.
2063
2064 @item --adjust-vma=@var{offset}
2065 @cindex section addresses in objdump
2066 @cindex VMA in objdump
2067 When dumping information, first add @var{offset} to all the section
2068 addresses. This is useful if the section addresses do not correspond to
2069 the symbol table, which can happen when putting sections at particular
2070 addresses when using a format which can not represent section addresses,
2071 such as a.out.
2072
2073 @item -b @var{bfdname}
2074 @itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
2075 @cindex object code format
2076 Specify that the object-code format for the object files is
2077 @var{bfdname}. This option may not be necessary; @var{objdump} can
2078 automatically recognize many formats.
2079
2080 For example,
2081 @example
2082 objdump -b oasys -m vax -h fu.o
2083 @end example
2084 @noindent
2085 displays summary information from the section headers (@option{-h}) of
2086 @file{fu.o}, which is explicitly identified (@option{-m}) as a VAX object
2087 file in the format produced by Oasys compilers. You can list the
2088 formats available with the @option{-i} option.
2089 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2090
2091 @item -C
2092 @itemx --demangle[=@var{style}]
2093 @cindex demangling in objdump
2094 Decode (@dfn{demangle}) low-level symbol names into user-level names.
2095 Besides removing any initial underscore prepended by the system, this
2096 makes C++ function names readable. Different compilers have different
2097 mangling styles. The optional demangling style argument can be used to
2098 choose an appropriate demangling style for your compiler. @xref{c++filt},
2099 for more information on demangling.
2100
2101 @item -g
2102 @itemx --debugging
2103 Display debugging information. This attempts to parse STABS and IEEE
2104 debugging format information stored in the file and print it out using
2105 a C like syntax. If neither of these formats are found this option
2106 falls back on the @option{-W} option to print any DWARF information in
2107 the file.
2108
2109 @item -e
2110 @itemx --debugging-tags
2111 Like @option{-g}, but the information is generated in a format compatible
2112 with ctags tool.
2113
2114 @item -d
2115 @itemx --disassemble
2116 @cindex disassembling object code
2117 @cindex machine instructions
2118 Display the assembler mnemonics for the machine instructions from
2119 @var{objfile}. This option only disassembles those sections which are
2120 expected to contain instructions.
2121
2122 @item -D
2123 @itemx --disassemble-all
2124 Like @option{-d}, but disassemble the contents of all sections, not just
2125 those expected to contain instructions.
2126
2127 This option also has a subtle effect on the disassembly of
2128 instructions in code sections. When option @option{-d} is in effect
2129 objdump will assume that any symbols present in a code section occur
2130 on the boundary between instructions and it will refuse to disassemble
2131 across such a boundary. When option @option{-D} is in effect however
2132 this assumption is supressed. This means that it is possible for the
2133 output of @option{-d} and @option{-D} to differ if, for example, data
2134 is stored in code sections.
2135
2136 If the target is an ARM architecture this switch also has the effect
2137 of forcing the disassembler to decode pieces of data found in code
2138 sections as if they were instructions.
2139
2140 @item --prefix-addresses
2141 When disassembling, print the complete address on each line. This is
2142 the older disassembly format.
2143
2144 @item -EB
2145 @itemx -EL
2146 @itemx --endian=@{big|little@}
2147 @cindex endianness
2148 @cindex disassembly endianness
2149 Specify the endianness of the object files. This only affects
2150 disassembly. This can be useful when disassembling a file format which
2151 does not describe endianness information, such as S-records.
2152
2153 @item -f
2154 @itemx --file-headers
2155 @cindex object file header
2156 Display summary information from the overall header of
2157 each of the @var{objfile} files.
2158
2159 @item -F
2160 @itemx --file-offsets
2161 @cindex object file offsets
2162 When disassembling sections, whenever a symbol is displayed, also
2163 display the file offset of the region of data that is about to be
2164 dumped. If zeroes are being skipped, then when disassembly resumes,
2165 tell the user how many zeroes were skipped and the file offset of the
2166 location from where the disassembly resumes. When dumping sections,
2167 display the file offset of the location from where the dump starts.
2168
2169 @item --file-start-context
2170 @cindex source code context
2171 Specify that when displaying interlisted source code/disassembly
2172 (assumes @option{-S}) from a file that has not yet been displayed, extend the
2173 context to the start of the file.
2174
2175 @item -h
2176 @itemx --section-headers
2177 @itemx --headers
2178 @cindex section headers
2179 Display summary information from the section headers of the
2180 object file.
2181
2182 File segments may be relocated to nonstandard addresses, for example by
2183 using the @option{-Ttext}, @option{-Tdata}, or @option{-Tbss} options to
2184 @command{ld}. However, some object file formats, such as a.out, do not
2185 store the starting address of the file segments. In those situations,
2186 although @command{ld} relocates the sections correctly, using @samp{objdump
2187 -h} to list the file section headers cannot show the correct addresses.
2188 Instead, it shows the usual addresses, which are implicit for the
2189 target.
2190
2191 Note, in some cases it is possible for a section to have both the
2192 READONLY and the NOREAD attributes set. In such cases the NOREAD
2193 attribute takes precedence, but @command{objdump} will report both
2194 since the exact setting of the flag bits might be important.
2195
2196 @item -H
2197 @itemx --help
2198 Print a summary of the options to @command{objdump} and exit.
2199
2200 @item -i
2201 @itemx --info
2202 @cindex architectures available
2203 @cindex object formats available
2204 Display a list showing all architectures and object formats available
2205 for specification with @option{-b} or @option{-m}.
2206
2207 @item -j @var{name}
2208 @itemx --section=@var{name}
2209 @cindex section information
2210 Display information only for section @var{name}.
2211
2212 @item -l
2213 @itemx --line-numbers
2214 @cindex source filenames for object files
2215 Label the display (using debugging information) with the filename and
2216 source line numbers corresponding to the object code or relocs shown.
2217 Only useful with @option{-d}, @option{-D}, or @option{-r}.
2218
2219 @item -m @var{machine}
2220 @itemx --architecture=@var{machine}
2221 @cindex architecture
2222 @cindex disassembly architecture
2223 Specify the architecture to use when disassembling object files. This
2224 can be useful when disassembling object files which do not describe
2225 architecture information, such as S-records. You can list the available
2226 architectures with the @option{-i} option.
2227
2228 If the target is an ARM architecture then this switch has an
2229 additional effect. It restricts the disassembly to only those
2230 instructions supported by the architecture specified by @var{machine}.
2231 If it is necessary to use this switch because the input file does not
2232 contain any architecture information, but it is also desired to
2233 disassemble all the instructions use @option{-marm}.
2234
2235 @item -M @var{options}
2236 @itemx --disassembler-options=@var{options}
2237 Pass target specific information to the disassembler. Only supported on
2238 some targets. If it is necessary to specify more than one
2239 disassembler option then multiple @option{-M} options can be used or
2240 can be placed together into a comma separated list.
2241
2242 If the target is an ARM architecture then this switch can be used to
2243 select which register name set is used during disassembler. Specifying
2244 @option{-M reg-names-std} (the default) will select the register names as
2245 used in ARM's instruction set documentation, but with register 13 called
2246 'sp', register 14 called 'lr' and register 15 called 'pc'. Specifying
2247 @option{-M reg-names-apcs} will select the name set used by the ARM
2248 Procedure Call Standard, whilst specifying @option{-M reg-names-raw} will
2249 just use @samp{r} followed by the register number.
2250
2251 There are also two variants on the APCS register naming scheme enabled
2252 by @option{-M reg-names-atpcs} and @option{-M reg-names-special-atpcs} which
2253 use the ARM/Thumb Procedure Call Standard naming conventions. (Either
2254 with the normal register names or the special register names).
2255
2256 This option can also be used for ARM architectures to force the
2257 disassembler to interpret all instructions as Thumb instructions by
2258 using the switch @option{--disassembler-options=force-thumb}. This can be
2259 useful when attempting to disassemble thumb code produced by other
2260 compilers.
2261
2262 For the x86, some of the options duplicate functions of the @option{-m}
2263 switch, but allow finer grained control. Multiple selections from the
2264 following may be specified as a comma separated string.
2265 @table @code
2266 @item x86-64
2267 @itemx i386
2268 @itemx i8086
2269 Select disassembly for the given architecture.
2270
2271 @item intel
2272 @itemx att
2273 Select between intel syntax mode and AT&T syntax mode.
2274
2275 @item amd64
2276 @itemx intel64
2277 Select between AMD64 ISA and Intel64 ISA.
2278
2279 @item intel-mnemonic
2280 @itemx att-mnemonic
2281 Select between intel mnemonic mode and AT&T mnemonic mode.
2282 Note: @code{intel-mnemonic} implies @code{intel} and
2283 @code{att-mnemonic} implies @code{att}.
2284
2285 @item addr64
2286 @itemx addr32
2287 @itemx addr16
2288 @itemx data32
2289 @itemx data16
2290 Specify the default address size and operand size. These four options
2291 will be overridden if @code{x86-64}, @code{i386} or @code{i8086}
2292 appear later in the option string.
2293
2294 @item suffix
2295 When in AT&T mode, instructs the disassembler to print a mnemonic
2296 suffix even when the suffix could be inferred by the operands.
2297 @end table
2298
2299 For PowerPC, @option{booke} controls the disassembly of BookE
2300 instructions. @option{32} and @option{64} select PowerPC and
2301 PowerPC64 disassembly, respectively. @option{e300} selects
2302 disassembly for the e300 family. @option{440} selects disassembly for
2303 the PowerPC 440. @option{ppcps} selects disassembly for the paired
2304 single instructions of the PPC750CL.
2305
2306 For MIPS, this option controls the printing of instruction mnemonic
2307 names and register names in disassembled instructions. Multiple
2308 selections from the following may be specified as a comma separated
2309 string, and invalid options are ignored:
2310
2311 @table @code
2312 @item no-aliases
2313 Print the 'raw' instruction mnemonic instead of some pseudo
2314 instruction mnemonic. I.e., print 'daddu' or 'or' instead of 'move',
2315 'sll' instead of 'nop', etc.
2316
2317 @item msa
2318 Disassemble MSA instructions.
2319
2320 @item virt
2321 Disassemble the virtualization ASE instructions.
2322
2323 @item xpa
2324 Disassemble the eXtended Physical Address (XPA) ASE instructions.
2325
2326 @item gpr-names=@var{ABI}
2327 Print GPR (general-purpose register) names as appropriate
2328 for the specified ABI. By default, GPR names are selected according to
2329 the ABI of the binary being disassembled.
2330
2331 @item fpr-names=@var{ABI}
2332 Print FPR (floating-point register) names as
2333 appropriate for the specified ABI. By default, FPR numbers are printed
2334 rather than names.
2335
2336 @item cp0-names=@var{ARCH}
2337 Print CP0 (system control coprocessor; coprocessor 0) register names
2338 as appropriate for the CPU or architecture specified by
2339 @var{ARCH}. By default, CP0 register names are selected according to
2340 the architecture and CPU of the binary being disassembled.
2341
2342 @item hwr-names=@var{ARCH}
2343 Print HWR (hardware register, used by the @code{rdhwr} instruction) names
2344 as appropriate for the CPU or architecture specified by
2345 @var{ARCH}. By default, HWR names are selected according to
2346 the architecture and CPU of the binary being disassembled.
2347
2348 @item reg-names=@var{ABI}
2349 Print GPR and FPR names as appropriate for the selected ABI.
2350
2351 @item reg-names=@var{ARCH}
2352 Print CPU-specific register names (CP0 register and HWR names)
2353 as appropriate for the selected CPU or architecture.
2354 @end table
2355
2356 For any of the options listed above, @var{ABI} or
2357 @var{ARCH} may be specified as @samp{numeric} to have numbers printed
2358 rather than names, for the selected types of registers.
2359 You can list the available values of @var{ABI} and @var{ARCH} using
2360 the @option{--help} option.
2361
2362 For VAX, you can specify function entry addresses with @option{-M
2363 entry:0xf00ba}. You can use this multiple times to properly
2364 disassemble VAX binary files that don't contain symbol tables (like
2365 ROM dumps). In these cases, the function entry mask would otherwise
2366 be decoded as VAX instructions, which would probably lead the rest
2367 of the function being wrongly disassembled.
2368
2369 @item -p
2370 @itemx --private-headers
2371 Print information that is specific to the object file format. The exact
2372 information printed depends upon the object file format. For some
2373 object file formats, no additional information is printed.
2374
2375 @item -P @var{options}
2376 @itemx --private=@var{options}
2377 Print information that is specific to the object file format. The
2378 argument @var{options} is a comma separated list that depends on the
2379 format (the lists of options is displayed with the help).
2380
2381 For XCOFF, the available options are:
2382 @table @code
2383 @item header
2384 @item aout
2385 @item sections
2386 @item syms
2387 @item relocs
2388 @item lineno,
2389 @item loader
2390 @item except
2391 @item typchk
2392 @item traceback
2393 @item toc
2394 @item ldinfo
2395 @end table
2396
2397 Not all object formats support this option. In particular the ELF
2398 format does not use it.
2399
2400 @item -r
2401 @itemx --reloc
2402 @cindex relocation entries, in object file
2403 Print the relocation entries of the file. If used with @option{-d} or
2404 @option{-D}, the relocations are printed interspersed with the
2405 disassembly.
2406
2407 @item -R
2408 @itemx --dynamic-reloc
2409 @cindex dynamic relocation entries, in object file
2410 Print the dynamic relocation entries of the file. This is only
2411 meaningful for dynamic objects, such as certain types of shared
2412 libraries. As for @option{-r}, if used with @option{-d} or
2413 @option{-D}, the relocations are printed interspersed with the
2414 disassembly.
2415
2416 @item -s
2417 @itemx --full-contents
2418 @cindex sections, full contents
2419 @cindex object file sections
2420 Display the full contents of any sections requested. By default all
2421 non-empty sections are displayed.
2422
2423 @item -S
2424 @itemx --source
2425 @cindex source disassembly
2426 @cindex disassembly, with source
2427 Display source code intermixed with disassembly, if possible. Implies
2428 @option{-d}.
2429
2430 @item --prefix=@var{prefix}
2431 @cindex Add prefix to absolute paths
2432 Specify @var{prefix} to add to the absolute paths when used with
2433 @option{-S}.
2434
2435 @item --prefix-strip=@var{level}
2436 @cindex Strip absolute paths
2437 Indicate how many initial directory names to strip off the hardwired
2438 absolute paths. It has no effect without @option{--prefix=}@var{prefix}.
2439
2440 @item --show-raw-insn
2441 When disassembling instructions, print the instruction in hex as well as
2442 in symbolic form. This is the default except when
2443 @option{--prefix-addresses} is used.
2444
2445 @item --no-show-raw-insn
2446 When disassembling instructions, do not print the instruction bytes.
2447 This is the default when @option{--prefix-addresses} is used.
2448
2449 @item --insn-width=@var{width}
2450 @cindex Instruction width
2451 Display @var{width} bytes on a single line when disassembling
2452 instructions.
2453
2454 @item -W[lLiaprmfFsoRt]
2455 @itemx --dwarf[=rawline,=decodedline,=info,=abbrev,=pubnames]
2456 @itemx --dwarf[=aranges,=macro,=frames,=frames-interp,=str,=loc]
2457 @itemx --dwarf[=Ranges,=pubtypes,=trace_info,=trace_abbrev]
2458 @itemx --dwarf[=trace_aranges,=gdb_index]
2459 @cindex DWARF
2460 @cindex debug symbols
2461 Displays the contents of the debug sections in the file, if any are
2462 present. If one of the optional letters or words follows the switch
2463 then only data found in those specific sections will be dumped.
2464
2465 Note that there is no single letter option to display the content of
2466 trace sections or .gdb_index.
2467
2468 Note: the output from the @option{=info} option can also be affected
2469 by the options @option{--dwarf-depth}, the @option{--dwarf-start} and
2470 the @option{--dwarf-check}.
2471
2472 @item --dwarf-depth=@var{n}
2473 Limit the dump of the @code{.debug_info} section to @var{n} children.
2474 This is only useful with @option{--dwarf=info}. The default is
2475 to print all DIEs; the special value 0 for @var{n} will also have this
2476 effect.
2477
2478 With a non-zero value for @var{n}, DIEs at or deeper than @var{n}
2479 levels will not be printed. The range for @var{n} is zero-based.
2480
2481 @item --dwarf-start=@var{n}
2482 Print only DIEs beginning with the DIE numbered @var{n}. This is only
2483 useful with @option{--dwarf=info}.
2484
2485 If specified, this option will suppress printing of any header
2486 information and all DIEs before the DIE numbered @var{n}. Only
2487 siblings and children of the specified DIE will be printed.
2488
2489 This can be used in conjunction with @option{--dwarf-depth}.
2490
2491 @item --dwarf-check
2492 Enable additional checks for consistency of Dwarf information.
2493
2494 @item -G
2495 @itemx --stabs
2496 @cindex stab
2497 @cindex .stab
2498 @cindex debug symbols
2499 @cindex ELF object file format
2500 Display the full contents of any sections requested. Display the
2501 contents of the .stab and .stab.index and .stab.excl sections from an
2502 ELF file. This is only useful on systems (such as Solaris 2.0) in which
2503 @code{.stab} debugging symbol-table entries are carried in an ELF
2504 section. In most other file formats, debugging symbol-table entries are
2505 interleaved with linkage symbols, and are visible in the @option{--syms}
2506 output.
2507
2508 @item --start-address=@var{address}
2509 @cindex start-address
2510 Start displaying data at the specified address. This affects the output
2511 of the @option{-d}, @option{-r} and @option{-s} options.
2512
2513 @item --stop-address=@var{address}
2514 @cindex stop-address
2515 Stop displaying data at the specified address. This affects the output
2516 of the @option{-d}, @option{-r} and @option{-s} options.
2517
2518 @item -t
2519 @itemx --syms
2520 @cindex symbol table entries, printing
2521 Print the symbol table entries of the file.
2522 This is similar to the information provided by the @samp{nm} program,
2523 although the display format is different. The format of the output
2524 depends upon the format of the file being dumped, but there are two main
2525 types. One looks like this:
2526
2527 @smallexample
2528 [ 4](sec 3)(fl 0x00)(ty 0)(scl 3) (nx 1) 0x00000000 .bss
2529 [ 6](sec 1)(fl 0x00)(ty 0)(scl 2) (nx 0) 0x00000000 fred
2530 @end smallexample
2531
2532 where the number inside the square brackets is the number of the entry
2533 in the symbol table, the @var{sec} number is the section number, the
2534 @var{fl} value are the symbol's flag bits, the @var{ty} number is the
2535 symbol's type, the @var{scl} number is the symbol's storage class and
2536 the @var{nx} value is the number of auxilary entries associated with
2537 the symbol. The last two fields are the symbol's value and its name.
2538
2539 The other common output format, usually seen with ELF based files,
2540 looks like this:
2541
2542 @smallexample
2543 00000000 l d .bss 00000000 .bss
2544 00000000 g .text 00000000 fred
2545 @end smallexample
2546
2547 Here the first number is the symbol's value (sometimes refered to as
2548 its address). The next field is actually a set of characters and
2549 spaces indicating the flag bits that are set on the symbol. These
2550 characters are described below. Next is the section with which the
2551 symbol is associated or @emph{*ABS*} if the section is absolute (ie
2552 not connected with any section), or @emph{*UND*} if the section is
2553 referenced in the file being dumped, but not defined there.
2554
2555 After the section name comes another field, a number, which for common
2556 symbols is the alignment and for other symbol is the size. Finally
2557 the symbol's name is displayed.
2558
2559 The flag characters are divided into 7 groups as follows:
2560 @table @code
2561 @item l
2562 @itemx g
2563 @itemx u
2564 @itemx !
2565 The symbol is a local (l), global (g), unique global (u), neither
2566 global nor local (a space) or both global and local (!). A
2567 symbol can be neither local or global for a variety of reasons, e.g.,
2568 because it is used for debugging, but it is probably an indication of
2569 a bug if it is ever both local and global. Unique global symbols are
2570 a GNU extension to the standard set of ELF symbol bindings. For such
2571 a symbol the dynamic linker will make sure that in the entire process
2572 there is just one symbol with this name and type in use.
2573
2574 @item w
2575 The symbol is weak (w) or strong (a space).
2576
2577 @item C
2578 The symbol denotes a constructor (C) or an ordinary symbol (a space).
2579
2580 @item W
2581 The symbol is a warning (W) or a normal symbol (a space). A warning
2582 symbol's name is a message to be displayed if the symbol following the
2583 warning symbol is ever referenced.
2584
2585 @item I
2586 @item i
2587 The symbol is an indirect reference to another symbol (I), a function
2588 to be evaluated during reloc processing (i) or a normal symbol (a
2589 space).
2590
2591 @item d
2592 @itemx D
2593 The symbol is a debugging symbol (d) or a dynamic symbol (D) or a
2594 normal symbol (a space).
2595
2596 @item F
2597 @item f
2598 @item O
2599 The symbol is the name of a function (F) or a file (f) or an object
2600 (O) or just a normal symbol (a space).
2601 @end table
2602
2603 @item -T
2604 @itemx --dynamic-syms
2605 @cindex dynamic symbol table entries, printing
2606 Print the dynamic symbol table entries of the file. This is only
2607 meaningful for dynamic objects, such as certain types of shared
2608 libraries. This is similar to the information provided by the @samp{nm}
2609 program when given the @option{-D} (@option{--dynamic}) option.
2610
2611 @item --special-syms
2612 When displaying symbols include those which the target considers to be
2613 special in some way and which would not normally be of interest to the
2614 user.
2615
2616 @item -V
2617 @itemx --version
2618 Print the version number of @command{objdump} and exit.
2619
2620 @item -x
2621 @itemx --all-headers
2622 @cindex all header information, object file
2623 @cindex header information, all
2624 Display all available header information, including the symbol table and
2625 relocation entries. Using @option{-x} is equivalent to specifying all of
2626 @option{-a -f -h -p -r -t}.
2627
2628 @item -w
2629 @itemx --wide
2630 @cindex wide output, printing
2631 Format some lines for output devices that have more than 80 columns.
2632 Also do not truncate symbol names when they are displayed.
2633
2634 @item -z
2635 @itemx --disassemble-zeroes
2636 Normally the disassembly output will skip blocks of zeroes. This
2637 option directs the disassembler to disassemble those blocks, just like
2638 any other data.
2639 @end table
2640
2641 @c man end
2642
2643 @ignore
2644 @c man begin SEEALSO objdump
2645 nm(1), readelf(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2646 @c man end
2647 @end ignore
2648
2649 @node ranlib
2650 @chapter ranlib
2651
2652 @kindex ranlib
2653 @cindex archive contents
2654 @cindex symbol index
2655
2656 @c man title ranlib generate index to archive.
2657
2658 @smallexample
2659 @c man begin SYNOPSIS ranlib
2660 ranlib [@option{--plugin} @var{name}] [@option{-DhHvVt}] @var{archive}
2661 @c man end
2662 @end smallexample
2663
2664 @c man begin DESCRIPTION ranlib
2665
2666 @command{ranlib} generates an index to the contents of an archive and
2667 stores it in the archive. The index lists each symbol defined by a
2668 member of an archive that is a relocatable object file.
2669
2670 You may use @samp{nm -s} or @samp{nm --print-armap} to list this index.
2671
2672 An archive with such an index speeds up linking to the library and
2673 allows routines in the library to call each other without regard to
2674 their placement in the archive.
2675
2676 The @sc{gnu} @command{ranlib} program is another form of @sc{gnu} @command{ar}; running
2677 @command{ranlib} is completely equivalent to executing @samp{ar -s}.
2678 @xref{ar}.
2679
2680 @c man end
2681
2682 @c man begin OPTIONS ranlib
2683
2684 @table @env
2685 @item -h
2686 @itemx -H
2687 @itemx --help
2688 Show usage information for @command{ranlib}.
2689
2690 @item -v
2691 @itemx -V
2692 @itemx --version
2693 Show the version number of @command{ranlib}.
2694
2695 @item -D
2696 @cindex deterministic archives
2697 @kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
2698 Operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. The symbol map archive member's
2699 header will show zero for the UID, GID, and timestamp. When this
2700 option is used, multiple runs will produce identical output files.
2701
2702 If @file{binutils} was configured with
2703 @option{--enable-deterministic-archives}, then this mode is on by
2704 default. It can be disabled with the @samp{-U} option, described
2705 below.
2706
2707 @item -t
2708 Update the timestamp of the symbol map of an archive.
2709
2710 @item -U
2711 @cindex deterministic archives
2712 @kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
2713 Do @emph{not} operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. This is the
2714 inverse of the @samp{-D} option, above: the archive index will get
2715 actual UID, GID, timestamp, and file mode values.
2716
2717 If @file{binutils} was configured @emph{without}
2718 @option{--enable-deterministic-archives}, then this mode is on by
2719 default.
2720
2721 @end table
2722
2723 @c man end
2724
2725 @ignore
2726 @c man begin SEEALSO ranlib
2727 ar(1), nm(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2728 @c man end
2729 @end ignore
2730
2731 @node size
2732 @chapter size
2733
2734 @kindex size
2735 @cindex section sizes
2736
2737 @c man title size list section sizes and total size.
2738
2739 @smallexample
2740 @c man begin SYNOPSIS size
2741 size [@option{-A}|@option{-B}|@option{--format=}@var{compatibility}]
2742 [@option{--help}]
2743 [@option{-d}|@option{-o}|@option{-x}|@option{--radix=}@var{number}]
2744 [@option{--common}]
2745 [@option{-t}|@option{--totals}]
2746 [@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
2747 [@var{objfile}@dots{}]
2748 @c man end
2749 @end smallexample
2750
2751 @c man begin DESCRIPTION size
2752
2753 The @sc{gnu} @command{size} utility lists the section sizes---and the total
2754 size---for each of the object or archive files @var{objfile} in its
2755 argument list. By default, one line of output is generated for each
2756 object file or each module in an archive.
2757
2758 @var{objfile}@dots{} are the object files to be examined.
2759 If none are specified, the file @code{a.out} will be used.
2760
2761 @c man end
2762
2763 @c man begin OPTIONS size
2764
2765 The command line options have the following meanings:
2766
2767 @table @env
2768 @item -A
2769 @itemx -B
2770 @itemx --format=@var{compatibility}
2771 @cindex @command{size} display format
2772 Using one of these options, you can choose whether the output from @sc{gnu}
2773 @command{size} resembles output from System V @command{size} (using @option{-A},
2774 or @option{--format=sysv}), or Berkeley @command{size} (using @option{-B}, or
2775 @option{--format=berkeley}). The default is the one-line format similar to
2776 Berkeley's.
2777 @c Bonus for doc-source readers: you can also say --format=strange (or
2778 @c anything else that starts with 's') for sysv, and --format=boring (or
2779 @c anything else that starts with 'b') for Berkeley.
2780
2781 Here is an example of the Berkeley (default) format of output from
2782 @command{size}:
2783 @smallexample
2784 $ size --format=Berkeley ranlib size
2785 text data bss dec hex filename
2786 294880 81920 11592 388392 5ed28 ranlib
2787 294880 81920 11888 388688 5ee50 size
2788 @end smallexample
2789
2790 @noindent
2791 This is the same data, but displayed closer to System V conventions:
2792
2793 @smallexample
2794 $ size --format=SysV ranlib size
2795 ranlib :
2796 section size addr
2797 .text 294880 8192
2798 .data 81920 303104
2799 .bss 11592 385024
2800 Total 388392
2801
2802
2803 size :
2804 section size addr
2805 .text 294880 8192
2806 .data 81920 303104
2807 .bss 11888 385024
2808 Total 388688
2809 @end smallexample
2810
2811 @item --help
2812 Show a summary of acceptable arguments and options.
2813
2814 @item -d
2815 @itemx -o
2816 @itemx -x
2817 @itemx --radix=@var{number}
2818 @cindex @command{size} number format
2819 @cindex radix for section sizes
2820 Using one of these options, you can control whether the size of each
2821 section is given in decimal (@option{-d}, or @option{--radix=10}); octal
2822 (@option{-o}, or @option{--radix=8}); or hexadecimal (@option{-x}, or
2823 @option{--radix=16}). In @option{--radix=@var{number}}, only the three
2824 values (8, 10, 16) are supported. The total size is always given in two
2825 radices; decimal and hexadecimal for @option{-d} or @option{-x} output, or
2826 octal and hexadecimal if you're using @option{-o}.
2827
2828 @item --common
2829 Print total size of common symbols in each file. When using Berkeley
2830 format these are included in the bss size.
2831
2832 @item -t
2833 @itemx --totals
2834 Show totals of all objects listed (Berkeley format listing mode only).
2835
2836 @item --target=@var{bfdname}
2837 @cindex object code format
2838 Specify that the object-code format for @var{objfile} is
2839 @var{bfdname}. This option may not be necessary; @command{size} can
2840 automatically recognize many formats.
2841 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2842
2843 @item -V
2844 @itemx --version
2845 Display the version number of @command{size}.
2846 @end table
2847
2848 @c man end
2849
2850 @ignore
2851 @c man begin SEEALSO size
2852 ar(1), objdump(1), readelf(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2853 @c man end
2854 @end ignore
2855
2856 @node strings
2857 @chapter strings
2858 @kindex strings
2859 @cindex listings strings
2860 @cindex printing strings
2861 @cindex strings, printing
2862
2863 @c man title strings print the strings of printable characters in files.
2864
2865 @smallexample
2866 @c man begin SYNOPSIS strings
2867 strings [@option{-afovV}] [@option{-}@var{min-len}]
2868 [@option{-n} @var{min-len}] [@option{--bytes=}@var{min-len}]
2869 [@option{-t} @var{radix}] [@option{--radix=}@var{radix}]
2870 [@option{-e} @var{encoding}] [@option{--encoding=}@var{encoding}]
2871 [@option{-}] [@option{--all}] [@option{--print-file-name}]
2872 [@option{-T} @var{bfdname}] [@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
2873 [@option{-w}] [@option{--include-all-whitespace}]
2874 [@option{-s}] [@option{--output-separator}@var{sep_string}]
2875 [@option{--help}] [@option{--version}] @var{file}@dots{}
2876 @c man end
2877 @end smallexample
2878
2879 @c man begin DESCRIPTION strings
2880
2881 For each @var{file} given, @sc{gnu} @command{strings} prints the
2882 printable character sequences that are at least 4 characters long (or
2883 the number given with the options below) and are followed by an
2884 unprintable character.
2885
2886 Depending upon how the strings program was configured it will default
2887 to either displaying all the printable sequences that it can find in
2888 each file, or only those sequences that are in loadable, initialized
2889 data sections. If the file type in unrecognizable, or if strings is
2890 reading from stdin then it will always display all of the printable
2891 sequences that it can find.
2892
2893 For backwards compatibility any file that occurs after a command line
2894 option of just @option{-} will also be scanned in full, regardless of
2895 the presence of any @option{-d} option.
2896
2897 @command{strings} is mainly useful for determining the contents of
2898 non-text files.
2899
2900 @c man end
2901
2902 @c man begin OPTIONS strings
2903
2904 @table @env
2905 @item -a
2906 @itemx --all
2907 @itemx -
2908 Scan the whole file, regardless of what sections it contains or
2909 whether those sections are loaded or initialized. Normally this is
2910 the default behaviour, but strings can be configured so that the
2911 @option{-d} is the default instead.
2912
2913 The @option{-} option is position dependent and forces strings to
2914 perform full scans of any file that is mentioned after the @option{-}
2915 on the command line, even if the @option{-d} option has been
2916 specified.
2917
2918 @item -d
2919 @itemx --data
2920 Only print strings from initialized, loaded data sections in the
2921 file. This may reduce the amount of garbage in the output, but it
2922 also exposes the strings program to any security flaws that may be
2923 present in the BFD library used to scan and load sections. Strings
2924 can be configured so that this option is the default behaviour. In
2925 such cases the @option{-a} option can be used to avoid using the BFD
2926 library and instead just print all of the strings found in the file.
2927
2928 @item -f
2929 @itemx --print-file-name
2930 Print the name of the file before each string.
2931
2932 @item --help
2933 Print a summary of the program usage on the standard output and exit.
2934
2935 @item -@var{min-len}
2936 @itemx -n @var{min-len}
2937 @itemx --bytes=@var{min-len}
2938 Print sequences of characters that are at least @var{min-len} characters
2939 long, instead of the default 4.
2940
2941 @item -o
2942 Like @samp{-t o}. Some other versions of @command{strings} have @option{-o}
2943 act like @samp{-t d} instead. Since we can not be compatible with both
2944 ways, we simply chose one.
2945
2946 @item -t @var{radix}
2947 @itemx --radix=@var{radix}
2948 Print the offset within the file before each string. The single
2949 character argument specifies the radix of the offset---@samp{o} for
2950 octal, @samp{x} for hexadecimal, or @samp{d} for decimal.
2951
2952 @item -e @var{encoding}
2953 @itemx --encoding=@var{encoding}
2954 Select the character encoding of the strings that are to be found.
2955 Possible values for @var{encoding} are: @samp{s} = single-7-bit-byte
2956 characters (ASCII, ISO 8859, etc., default), @samp{S} =
2957 single-8-bit-byte characters, @samp{b} = 16-bit bigendian, @samp{l} =
2958 16-bit littleendian, @samp{B} = 32-bit bigendian, @samp{L} = 32-bit
2959 littleendian. Useful for finding wide character strings. (@samp{l}
2960 and @samp{b} apply to, for example, Unicode UTF-16/UCS-2 encodings).
2961
2962 @item -T @var{bfdname}
2963 @itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
2964 @cindex object code format
2965 Specify an object code format other than your system's default format.
2966 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2967
2968 @item -v
2969 @itemx -V
2970 @itemx --version
2971 Print the program version number on the standard output and exit.
2972
2973 @item -w
2974 @itemx --include-all-whitespace
2975 By default tab and space characters are included in the strings that
2976 are displayed, but other whitespace characters, such a newlines and
2977 carriage returns, are not. The @option{-w} option changes this so
2978 that all whitespace characters are considered to be part of a string.
2979
2980 @item -s
2981 @itemx --output-separator
2982 By default, output strings are delimited by a new-line. This option
2983 allows you to supply any string to be used as the output record
2984 separator. Useful with --include-all-whitespace where strings
2985 may contain new-lines internally.
2986 @end table
2987
2988 @c man end
2989
2990 @ignore
2991 @c man begin SEEALSO strings
2992 ar(1), nm(1), objdump(1), ranlib(1), readelf(1)
2993 and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2994 @c man end
2995 @end ignore
2996
2997 @node strip
2998 @chapter strip
2999
3000 @kindex strip
3001 @cindex removing symbols
3002 @cindex discarding symbols
3003 @cindex symbols, discarding
3004
3005 @c man title strip Discard symbols from object files.
3006
3007 @smallexample
3008 @c man begin SYNOPSIS strip
3009 strip [@option{-F} @var{bfdname} |@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
3010 [@option{-I} @var{bfdname} |@option{--input-target=}@var{bfdname}]
3011 [@option{-O} @var{bfdname} |@option{--output-target=}@var{bfdname}]
3012 [@option{-s}|@option{--strip-all}]
3013 [@option{-S}|@option{-g}|@option{-d}|@option{--strip-debug}]
3014 [@option{--strip-dwo}]
3015 [@option{-K} @var{symbolname} |@option{--keep-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
3016 [@option{-N} @var{symbolname} |@option{--strip-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
3017 [@option{-w}|@option{--wildcard}]
3018 [@option{-x}|@option{--discard-all}] [@option{-X} |@option{--discard-locals}]
3019 [@option{-R} @var{sectionname} |@option{--remove-section=}@var{sectionname}]
3020 [@option{--remove-relocations=}@var{sectionpattern}]
3021 [@option{-o} @var{file}] [@option{-p}|@option{--preserve-dates}]
3022 [@option{-D}|@option{--enable-deterministic-archives}]
3023 [@option{-U}|@option{--disable-deterministic-archives}]
3024 [@option{--keep-file-symbols}]
3025 [@option{--only-keep-debug}]
3026 [@option{-v} |@option{--verbose}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
3027 [@option{--help}] [@option{--info}]
3028 @var{objfile}@dots{}
3029 @c man end
3030 @end smallexample
3031
3032 @c man begin DESCRIPTION strip
3033
3034 @sc{gnu} @command{strip} discards all symbols from object files
3035 @var{objfile}. The list of object files may include archives.
3036 At least one object file must be given.
3037
3038 @command{strip} modifies the files named in its argument,
3039 rather than writing modified copies under different names.
3040
3041 @c man end
3042
3043 @c man begin OPTIONS strip
3044
3045 @table @env
3046 @item -F @var{bfdname}
3047 @itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
3048 Treat the original @var{objfile} as a file with the object
3049 code format @var{bfdname}, and rewrite it in the same format.
3050 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
3051
3052 @item --help
3053 Show a summary of the options to @command{strip} and exit.
3054
3055 @item --info
3056 Display a list showing all architectures and object formats available.
3057
3058 @item -I @var{bfdname}
3059 @itemx --input-target=@var{bfdname}
3060 Treat the original @var{objfile} as a file with the object
3061 code format @var{bfdname}.
3062 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
3063
3064 @item -O @var{bfdname}
3065 @itemx --output-target=@var{bfdname}
3066 Replace @var{objfile} with a file in the output format @var{bfdname}.
3067 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
3068
3069 @item -R @var{sectionname}
3070 @itemx --remove-section=@var{sectionname}
3071 Remove any section named @var{sectionname} from the output file, in
3072 addition to whatever sections would otherwise be removed. This
3073 option may be given more than once. Note that using this option
3074 inappropriately may make the output file unusable. The wildcard
3075 character @samp{*} may be given at the end of @var{sectionname}. If
3076 so, then any section starting with @var{sectionname} will be removed.
3077
3078 If the first character of @var{sectionpattern} is the exclamation
3079 point (!) then matching sections will not be removed even if an
3080 earlier use of @option{--remove-section} on the same command line
3081 would otherwise remove it. For example:
3082
3083 @smallexample
3084 --remove-section=.text.* --remove-section=!.text.foo
3085 @end smallexample
3086
3087 will remove all sections matching the pattern '.text.*', but will not
3088 remove the section '.text.foo'.
3089
3090 @item --remove-relocations=@var{sectionpattern}
3091 Remove relocations from the output file for any section matching
3092 @var{sectionpattern}. This option may be given more than once. Note
3093 that using this option inappropriately may make the output file
3094 unusable. Wildcard characters are accepted in @var{sectionpattern}.
3095 For example:
3096
3097 @smallexample
3098 --remove-relocations=.text.*
3099 @end smallexample
3100
3101 will remove the relocations for all sections matching the patter
3102 '.text.*'.
3103
3104 If the first character of @var{sectionpattern} is the exclamation
3105 point (!) then matching sections will not have their relocation
3106 removed even if an earlier use of @option{--remove-relocations} on the
3107 same command line would otherwise cause the relocations to be removed.
3108 For example:
3109
3110 @smallexample
3111 --remove-relocations=.text.* --remove-relocations=!.text.foo
3112 @end smallexample
3113
3114 will remove all relocations for sections matching the pattern
3115 '.text.*', but will not remove relocations for the section
3116 '.text.foo'.
3117
3118 @item -s
3119 @itemx --strip-all
3120 Remove all symbols.
3121
3122 @item -g
3123 @itemx -S
3124 @itemx -d
3125 @itemx --strip-debug
3126 Remove debugging symbols only.
3127
3128 @item --strip-dwo
3129 Remove the contents of all DWARF .dwo sections, leaving the
3130 remaining debugging sections and all symbols intact.
3131 See the description of this option in the @command{objcopy} section
3132 for more information.
3133
3134 @item --strip-unneeded
3135 Remove all symbols that are not needed for relocation processing.
3136
3137 @item -K @var{symbolname}
3138 @itemx --keep-symbol=@var{symbolname}
3139 When stripping symbols, keep symbol @var{symbolname} even if it would
3140 normally be stripped. This option may be given more than once.
3141
3142 @item -N @var{symbolname}
3143 @itemx --strip-symbol=@var{symbolname}
3144 Remove symbol @var{symbolname} from the source file. This option may be
3145 given more than once, and may be combined with strip options other than
3146 @option{-K}.
3147
3148 @item -o @var{file}
3149 Put the stripped output in @var{file}, rather than replacing the
3150 existing file. When this argument is used, only one @var{objfile}
3151 argument may be specified.
3152
3153 @item -p
3154 @itemx --preserve-dates
3155 Preserve the access and modification dates of the file.
3156
3157 @item -D
3158 @itemx --enable-deterministic-archives
3159 @cindex deterministic archives
3160 @kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
3161 Operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. When copying archive members
3162 and writing the archive index, use zero for UIDs, GIDs, timestamps,
3163 and use consistent file modes for all files.
3164
3165 If @file{binutils} was configured with
3166 @option{--enable-deterministic-archives}, then this mode is on by default.
3167 It can be disabled with the @samp{-U} option, below.
3168
3169 @item -U
3170 @itemx --disable-deterministic-archives
3171 @cindex deterministic archives
3172 @kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
3173 Do @emph{not} operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. This is the
3174 inverse of the @option{-D} option, above: when copying archive members
3175 and writing the archive index, use their actual UID, GID, timestamp,
3176 and file mode values.
3177
3178 This is the default unless @file{binutils} was configured with
3179 @option{--enable-deterministic-archives}.
3180
3181 @item -w
3182 @itemx --wildcard
3183 Permit regular expressions in @var{symbolname}s used in other command
3184 line options. The question mark (?), asterisk (*), backslash (\) and
3185 square brackets ([]) operators can be used anywhere in the symbol
3186 name. If the first character of the symbol name is the exclamation
3187 point (!) then the sense of the switch is reversed for that symbol.
3188 For example:
3189
3190 @smallexample
3191 -w -K !foo -K fo*
3192 @end smallexample
3193
3194 would cause strip to only keep symbols that start with the letters
3195 ``fo'', but to discard the symbol ``foo''.
3196
3197 @item -x
3198 @itemx --discard-all
3199 Remove non-global symbols.
3200
3201 @item -X
3202 @itemx --discard-locals
3203 Remove compiler-generated local symbols.
3204 (These usually start with @samp{L} or @samp{.}.)
3205
3206 @item --keep-file-symbols
3207 When stripping a file, perhaps with @option{--strip-debug} or
3208 @option{--strip-unneeded}, retain any symbols specifying source file names,
3209 which would otherwise get stripped.
3210
3211 @item --only-keep-debug
3212 Strip a file, emptying the contents of any sections that would not be
3213 stripped by @option{--strip-debug} and leaving the debugging sections
3214 intact. In ELF files, this preserves all the note sections in the
3215 output as well.
3216
3217 Note - the section headers of the stripped sections are preserved,
3218 including their sizes, but the contents of the section are discarded.
3219 The section headers are preserved so that other tools can match up the
3220 debuginfo file with the real executable, even if that executable has
3221 been relocated to a different address space.
3222
3223 The intention is that this option will be used in conjunction with
3224 @option{--add-gnu-debuglink} to create a two part executable. One a
3225 stripped binary which will occupy less space in RAM and in a
3226 distribution and the second a debugging information file which is only
3227 needed if debugging abilities are required. The suggested procedure
3228 to create these files is as follows:
3229
3230 @enumerate
3231 @item Link the executable as normal. Assuming that is is called
3232 @code{foo} then...
3233 @item Run @code{objcopy --only-keep-debug foo foo.dbg} to
3234 create a file containing the debugging info.
3235 @item Run @code{objcopy --strip-debug foo} to create a
3236 stripped executable.
3237 @item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.dbg foo}
3238 to add a link to the debugging info into the stripped executable.
3239 @end enumerate
3240
3241 Note---the choice of @code{.dbg} as an extension for the debug info
3242 file is arbitrary. Also the @code{--only-keep-debug} step is
3243 optional. You could instead do this:
3244
3245 @enumerate
3246 @item Link the executable as normal.
3247 @item Copy @code{foo} to @code{foo.full}
3248 @item Run @code{strip --strip-debug foo}
3249 @item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.full foo}
3250 @end enumerate
3251
3252 i.e., the file pointed to by the @option{--add-gnu-debuglink} can be the
3253 full executable. It does not have to be a file created by the
3254 @option{--only-keep-debug} switch.
3255
3256 Note---this switch is only intended for use on fully linked files. It
3257 does not make sense to use it on object files where the debugging
3258 information may be incomplete. Besides the gnu_debuglink feature
3259 currently only supports the presence of one filename containing
3260 debugging information, not multiple filenames on a one-per-object-file
3261 basis.
3262
3263 @item -V
3264 @itemx --version
3265 Show the version number for @command{strip}.
3266
3267 @item -v
3268 @itemx --verbose
3269 Verbose output: list all object files modified. In the case of
3270 archives, @samp{strip -v} lists all members of the archive.
3271 @end table
3272
3273 @c man end
3274
3275 @ignore
3276 @c man begin SEEALSO strip
3277 the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
3278 @c man end
3279 @end ignore
3280
3281 @node c++filt, addr2line, strip, Top
3282 @chapter c++filt
3283
3284 @kindex c++filt
3285 @cindex demangling C++ symbols
3286
3287 @c man title cxxfilt Demangle C++ and Java symbols.
3288
3289 @smallexample
3290 @c man begin SYNOPSIS cxxfilt
3291 c++filt [@option{-_}|@option{--strip-underscore}]
3292 [@option{-n}|@option{--no-strip-underscore}]
3293 [@option{-p}|@option{--no-params}]
3294 [@option{-t}|@option{--types}]
3295 [@option{-i}|@option{--no-verbose}]
3296 [@option{-s} @var{format}|@option{--format=}@var{format}]
3297 [@option{--help}] [@option{--version}] [@var{symbol}@dots{}]
3298 @c man end
3299 @end smallexample
3300
3301 @c man begin DESCRIPTION cxxfilt
3302
3303 @kindex cxxfilt
3304 The C++ and Java languages provide function overloading, which means
3305 that you can write many functions with the same name, providing that
3306 each function takes parameters of different types. In order to be
3307 able to distinguish these similarly named functions C++ and Java
3308 encode them into a low-level assembler name which uniquely identifies
3309 each different version. This process is known as @dfn{mangling}. The
3310 @command{c++filt}
3311 @footnote{MS-DOS does not allow @kbd{+} characters in file names, so on
3312 MS-DOS this program is named @command{CXXFILT}.}
3313 program does the inverse mapping: it decodes (@dfn{demangles}) low-level
3314 names into user-level names so that they can be read.
3315
3316 Every alphanumeric word (consisting of letters, digits, underscores,
3317 dollars, or periods) seen in the input is a potential mangled name.
3318 If the name decodes into a C++ name, the C++ name replaces the
3319 low-level name in the output, otherwise the original word is output.
3320 In this way you can pass an entire assembler source file, containing
3321 mangled names, through @command{c++filt} and see the same source file
3322 containing demangled names.
3323
3324 You can also use @command{c++filt} to decipher individual symbols by
3325 passing them on the command line:
3326
3327 @example
3328 c++filt @var{symbol}
3329 @end example
3330
3331 If no @var{symbol} arguments are given, @command{c++filt} reads symbol
3332 names from the standard input instead. All the results are printed on
3333 the standard output. The difference between reading names from the
3334 command line versus reading names from the standard input is that
3335 command line arguments are expected to be just mangled names and no
3336 checking is performed to separate them from surrounding text. Thus
3337 for example:
3338
3339 @smallexample
3340 c++filt -n _Z1fv
3341 @end smallexample
3342
3343 will work and demangle the name to ``f()'' whereas:
3344
3345 @smallexample
3346 c++filt -n _Z1fv,
3347 @end smallexample
3348
3349 will not work. (Note the extra comma at the end of the mangled
3350 name which makes it invalid). This command however will work:
3351
3352 @smallexample
3353 echo _Z1fv, | c++filt -n
3354 @end smallexample
3355
3356 and will display ``f(),'', i.e., the demangled name followed by a
3357 trailing comma. This behaviour is because when the names are read
3358 from the standard input it is expected that they might be part of an
3359 assembler source file where there might be extra, extraneous
3360 characters trailing after a mangled name. For example:
3361
3362 @smallexample
3363 .type _Z1fv, @@function
3364 @end smallexample
3365
3366 @c man end
3367
3368 @c man begin OPTIONS cxxfilt
3369
3370 @table @env
3371 @item -_
3372 @itemx --strip-underscore
3373 On some systems, both the C and C++ compilers put an underscore in front
3374 of every name. For example, the C name @code{foo} gets the low-level
3375 name @code{_foo}. This option removes the initial underscore. Whether
3376 @command{c++filt} removes the underscore by default is target dependent.
3377
3378 @item -n
3379 @itemx --no-strip-underscore
3380 Do not remove the initial underscore.
3381
3382 @item -p
3383 @itemx --no-params
3384 When demangling the name of a function, do not display the types of
3385 the function's parameters.
3386
3387 @item -t
3388 @itemx --types
3389 Attempt to demangle types as well as function names. This is disabled
3390 by default since mangled types are normally only used internally in
3391 the compiler, and they can be confused with non-mangled names. For example,
3392 a function called ``a'' treated as a mangled type name would be
3393 demangled to ``signed char''.
3394
3395 @item -i
3396 @itemx --no-verbose
3397 Do not include implementation details (if any) in the demangled
3398 output.
3399
3400 @item -s @var{format}
3401 @itemx --format=@var{format}
3402 @command{c++filt} can decode various methods of mangling, used by
3403 different compilers. The argument to this option selects which
3404 method it uses:
3405
3406 @table @code
3407 @item auto
3408 Automatic selection based on executable (the default method)
3409 @item gnu
3410 the one used by the @sc{gnu} C++ compiler (g++)
3411 @item lucid
3412 the one used by the Lucid compiler (lcc)
3413 @item arm
3414 the one specified by the C++ Annotated Reference Manual
3415 @item hp
3416 the one used by the HP compiler (aCC)
3417 @item edg
3418 the one used by the EDG compiler
3419 @item gnu-v3
3420 the one used by the @sc{gnu} C++ compiler (g++) with the V3 ABI.
3421 @item java
3422 the one used by the @sc{gnu} Java compiler (gcj)
3423 @item gnat
3424 the one used by the @sc{gnu} Ada compiler (GNAT).
3425 @end table
3426
3427 @item --help
3428 Print a summary of the options to @command{c++filt} and exit.
3429
3430 @item --version
3431 Print the version number of @command{c++filt} and exit.
3432 @end table
3433
3434 @c man end
3435
3436 @ignore
3437 @c man begin SEEALSO cxxfilt
3438 the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
3439 @c man end
3440 @end ignore
3441
3442 @quotation
3443 @emph{Warning:} @command{c++filt} is a new utility, and the details of its
3444 user interface are subject to change in future releases. In particular,
3445 a command-line option may be required in the future to decode a name
3446 passed as an argument on the command line; in other words,
3447
3448 @example
3449 c++filt @var{symbol}
3450 @end example
3451
3452 @noindent
3453 may in a future release become
3454
3455 @example
3456 c++filt @var{option} @var{symbol}
3457 @end example
3458 @end quotation
3459
3460 @node addr2line
3461 @chapter addr2line
3462
3463 @kindex addr2line
3464 @cindex address to file name and line number
3465
3466 @c man title addr2line convert addresses into file names and line numbers.
3467
3468 @smallexample
3469 @c man begin SYNOPSIS addr2line
3470 addr2line [@option{-a}|@option{--addresses}]
3471 [@option{-b} @var{bfdname}|@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
3472 [@option{-C}|@option{--demangle}[=@var{style}]]
3473 [@option{-e} @var{filename}|@option{--exe=}@var{filename}]
3474 [@option{-f}|@option{--functions}] [@option{-s}|@option{--basename}]
3475 [@option{-i}|@option{--inlines}]
3476 [@option{-p}|@option{--pretty-print}]
3477 [@option{-j}|@option{--section=}@var{name}]
3478 [@option{-H}|@option{--help}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
3479 [addr addr @dots{}]
3480 @c man end
3481 @end smallexample
3482
3483 @c man begin DESCRIPTION addr2line
3484
3485 @command{addr2line} translates addresses into file names and line numbers.
3486 Given an address in an executable or an offset in a section of a relocatable
3487 object, it uses the debugging information to figure out which file name and
3488 line number are associated with it.
3489
3490 The executable or relocatable object to use is specified with the @option{-e}
3491 option. The default is the file @file{a.out}. The section in the relocatable
3492 object to use is specified with the @option{-j} option.
3493
3494 @command{addr2line} has two modes of operation.
3495
3496 In the first, hexadecimal addresses are specified on the command line,
3497 and @command{addr2line} displays the file name and line number for each
3498 address.
3499
3500 In the second, @command{addr2line} reads hexadecimal addresses from
3501 standard input, and prints the file name and line number for each
3502 address on standard output. In this mode, @command{addr2line} may be used
3503 in a pipe to convert dynamically chosen addresses.
3504
3505 The format of the output is @samp{FILENAME:LINENO}. By default
3506 each input address generates one line of output.
3507
3508 Two options can generate additional lines before each
3509 @samp{FILENAME:LINENO} line (in that order).
3510
3511 If the @option{-a} option is used then a line with the input address
3512 is displayed.
3513
3514 If the @option{-f} option is used, then a line with the
3515 @samp{FUNCTIONNAME} is displayed. This is the name of the function
3516 containing the address.
3517
3518 One option can generate additional lines after the
3519 @samp{FILENAME:LINENO} line.
3520
3521 If the @option{-i} option is used and the code at the given address is
3522 present there because of inlining by the compiler then additional
3523 lines are displayed afterwards. One or two extra lines (if the
3524 @option{-f} option is used) are displayed for each inlined function.
3525
3526 Alternatively if the @option{-p} option is used then each input
3527 address generates a single, long, output line containing the address,
3528 the function name, the file name and the line number. If the
3529 @option{-i} option has also been used then any inlined functions will
3530 be displayed in the same manner, but on separate lines, and prefixed
3531 by the text @samp{(inlined by)}.
3532
3533 If the file name or function name can not be determined,
3534 @command{addr2line} will print two question marks in their place. If the
3535 line number can not be determined, @command{addr2line} will print 0.
3536
3537 @c man end
3538
3539 @c man begin OPTIONS addr2line
3540
3541 The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
3542 equivalent.
3543
3544 @table @env
3545 @item -a
3546 @itemx --addresses
3547 Display the address before the function name, file and line number
3548 information. The address is printed with a @samp{0x} prefix to easily
3549 identify it.
3550
3551 @item -b @var{bfdname}
3552 @itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
3553 @cindex object code format
3554 Specify that the object-code format for the object files is
3555 @var{bfdname}.
3556
3557 @item -C
3558 @itemx --demangle[=@var{style}]
3559 @cindex demangling in objdump
3560 Decode (@dfn{demangle}) low-level symbol names into user-level names.
3561 Besides removing any initial underscore prepended by the system, this
3562 makes C++ function names readable. Different compilers have different
3563 mangling styles. The optional demangling style argument can be used to
3564 choose an appropriate demangling style for your compiler. @xref{c++filt},
3565 for more information on demangling.
3566
3567 @item -e @var{filename}
3568 @itemx --exe=@var{filename}
3569 Specify the name of the executable for which addresses should be
3570 translated. The default file is @file{a.out}.
3571
3572 @item -f
3573 @itemx --functions
3574 Display function names as well as file and line number information.
3575
3576 @item -s
3577 @itemx --basenames
3578 Display only the base of each file name.
3579
3580 @item -i
3581 @itemx --inlines
3582 If the address belongs to a function that was inlined, the source
3583 information for all enclosing scopes back to the first non-inlined
3584 function will also be printed. For example, if @code{main} inlines
3585 @code{callee1} which inlines @code{callee2}, and address is from
3586 @code{callee2}, the source information for @code{callee1} and @code{main}
3587 will also be printed.
3588
3589 @item -j
3590 @itemx --section
3591 Read offsets relative to the specified section instead of absolute addresses.
3592
3593 @item -p
3594 @itemx --pretty-print
3595 Make the output more human friendly: each location are printed on one line.
3596 If option @option{-i} is specified, lines for all enclosing scopes are
3597 prefixed with @samp{(inlined by)}.
3598 @end table
3599
3600 @c man end
3601
3602 @ignore
3603 @c man begin SEEALSO addr2line
3604 Info entries for @file{binutils}.
3605 @c man end
3606 @end ignore
3607
3608 @node nlmconv
3609 @chapter nlmconv
3610
3611 @command{nlmconv} converts a relocatable object file into a NetWare
3612 Loadable Module.
3613
3614 @ignore
3615 @command{nlmconv} currently works with @samp{i386} object
3616 files in @code{coff}, @sc{elf}, or @code{a.out} format, and @sc{SPARC}
3617 object files in @sc{elf}, or @code{a.out} format@footnote{
3618 @command{nlmconv} should work with any @samp{i386} or @sc{sparc} object
3619 format in the Binary File Descriptor library. It has only been tested
3620 with the above formats.}.
3621 @end ignore
3622
3623 @quotation
3624 @emph{Warning:} @command{nlmconv} is not always built as part of the binary
3625 utilities, since it is only useful for NLM targets.
3626 @end quotation
3627
3628 @c man title nlmconv converts object code into an NLM.
3629
3630 @smallexample
3631 @c man begin SYNOPSIS nlmconv
3632 nlmconv [@option{-I} @var{bfdname}|@option{--input-target=}@var{bfdname}]
3633 [@option{-O} @var{bfdname}|@option{--output-target=}@var{bfdname}]
3634 [@option{-T} @var{headerfile}|@option{--header-file=}@var{headerfile}]
3635 [@option{-d}|@option{--debug}] [@option{-l} @var{linker}|@option{--linker=}@var{linker}]
3636 [@option{-h}|@option{--help}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
3637 @var{infile} @var{outfile}
3638 @c man end
3639 @end smallexample
3640
3641 @c man begin DESCRIPTION nlmconv
3642
3643 @command{nlmconv} converts the relocatable @samp{i386} object file
3644 @var{infile} into the NetWare Loadable Module @var{outfile}, optionally
3645 reading @var{headerfile} for NLM header information. For instructions
3646 on writing the NLM command file language used in header files, see the
3647 @samp{linkers} section, @samp{NLMLINK} in particular, of the @cite{NLM
3648 Development and Tools Overview}, which is part of the NLM Software
3649 Developer's Kit (``NLM SDK''), available from Novell, Inc.
3650 @command{nlmconv} uses the @sc{gnu} Binary File Descriptor library to read
3651 @var{infile};
3652 @ifclear man
3653 see @ref{BFD,,BFD,ld.info,Using LD}, for more information.
3654 @end ifclear
3655
3656 @command{nlmconv} can perform a link step. In other words, you can list
3657 more than one object file for input if you list them in the definitions
3658 file (rather than simply specifying one input file on the command line).
3659 In this case, @command{nlmconv} calls the linker for you.
3660
3661 @c man end
3662
3663 @c man begin OPTIONS nlmconv
3664
3665 @table @env
3666 @item -I @var{bfdname}
3667 @itemx --input-target=@var{bfdname}
3668 Object format of the input file. @command{nlmconv} can usually determine
3669 the format of a given file (so no default is necessary).
3670 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
3671
3672 @item -O @var{bfdname}
3673 @itemx --output-target=@var{bfdname}
3674 Object format of the output file. @command{nlmconv} infers the output
3675 format based on the input format, e.g. for a @samp{i386} input file the
3676 output format is @samp{nlm32-i386}.
3677 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
3678
3679 @item -T @var{headerfile}
3680 @itemx --header-file=@var{headerfile}
3681 Reads @var{headerfile} for NLM header information. For instructions on
3682 writing the NLM command file language used in header files, see@ see the
3683 @samp{linkers} section, of the @cite{NLM Development and Tools
3684 Overview}, which is part of the NLM Software Developer's Kit, available
3685 from Novell, Inc.
3686
3687 @item -d
3688 @itemx --debug
3689 Displays (on standard error) the linker command line used by @command{nlmconv}.
3690
3691 @item -l @var{linker}
3692 @itemx --linker=@var{linker}
3693 Use @var{linker} for any linking. @var{linker} can be an absolute or a
3694 relative pathname.
3695
3696 @item -h
3697 @itemx --help
3698 Prints a usage summary.
3699
3700 @item -V
3701 @itemx --version
3702 Prints the version number for @command{nlmconv}.
3703 @end table
3704
3705 @c man end
3706
3707 @ignore
3708 @c man begin SEEALSO nlmconv
3709 the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
3710 @c man end
3711 @end ignore
3712
3713 @node windmc
3714 @chapter windmc
3715
3716 @command{windmc} may be used to generator Windows message resources.
3717
3718 @quotation
3719 @emph{Warning:} @command{windmc} is not always built as part of the binary
3720 utilities, since it is only useful for Windows targets.
3721 @end quotation
3722
3723 @c man title windmc generates Windows message resources.
3724
3725 @smallexample
3726 @c man begin SYNOPSIS windmc
3727 windmc [options] input-file
3728 @c man end
3729 @end smallexample
3730
3731 @c man begin DESCRIPTION windmc
3732
3733 @command{windmc} reads message definitions from an input file (.mc) and
3734 translate them into a set of output files. The output files may be of
3735 four kinds:
3736
3737 @table @code
3738 @item h
3739 A C header file containing the message definitions.
3740
3741 @item rc
3742 A resource file compilable by the @command{windres} tool.
3743
3744 @item bin
3745 One or more binary files containing the resource data for a specific
3746 message language.
3747
3748 @item dbg
3749 A C include file that maps message id's to their symbolic name.
3750 @end table
3751
3752 The exact description of these different formats is available in
3753 documentation from Microsoft.
3754
3755 When @command{windmc} converts from the @code{mc} format to the @code{bin}
3756 format, @code{rc}, @code{h}, and optional @code{dbg} it is acting like the
3757 Windows Message Compiler.
3758
3759 @c man end
3760
3761 @c man begin OPTIONS windmc
3762
3763 @table @env
3764 @item -a
3765 @itemx --ascii_in
3766 Specifies that the input file specified is ASCII. This is the default
3767 behaviour.
3768
3769 @item -A
3770 @itemx --ascii_out
3771 Specifies that messages in the output @code{bin} files should be in ASCII
3772 format.
3773
3774 @item -b
3775 @itemx --binprefix
3776 Specifies that @code{bin} filenames should have to be prefixed by the
3777 basename of the source file.
3778
3779 @item -c
3780 @itemx --customflag
3781 Sets the customer bit in all message id's.
3782
3783 @item -C @var{codepage}
3784 @itemx --codepage_in @var{codepage}
3785 Sets the default codepage to be used to convert input file to UTF16. The
3786 default is ocdepage 1252.
3787
3788 @item -d
3789 @itemx --decimal_values
3790 Outputs the constants in the header file in decimal. Default is using
3791 hexadecimal output.
3792
3793 @item -e @var{ext}
3794 @itemx --extension @var{ext}
3795 The extension for the header file. The default is .h extension.
3796
3797 @item -F @var{target}
3798 @itemx --target @var{target}
3799 Specify the BFD format to use for a bin file as output. This
3800 is a BFD target name; you can use the @option{--help} option to see a list
3801 of supported targets. Normally @command{windmc} will use the default
3802 format, which is the first one listed by the @option{--help} option.
3803 @ifclear man
3804 @ref{Target Selection}.
3805 @end ifclear
3806
3807 @item -h @var{path}
3808 @itemx --headerdir @var{path}
3809 The target directory of the generated header file. The default is the
3810 current directory.
3811
3812 @item -H
3813 @itemx --help
3814 Displays a list of command line options and then exits.
3815
3816 @item -m @var{characters}
3817 @itemx --maxlength @var{characters}
3818 Instructs @command{windmc} to generate a warning if the length
3819 of any message exceeds the number specified.
3820
3821 @item -n
3822 @itemx --nullterminate
3823 Terminate message text in @code{bin} files by zero. By default they are
3824 terminated by CR/LF.
3825
3826 @item -o
3827 @itemx --hresult_use
3828 Not yet implemented. Instructs @code{windmc} to generate an OLE2 header
3829 file, using HRESULT definitions. Status codes are used if the flag is not
3830 specified.
3831
3832 @item -O @var{codepage}
3833 @itemx --codepage_out @var{codepage}
3834 Sets the default codepage to be used to output text files. The default
3835 is ocdepage 1252.
3836
3837 @item -r @var{path}
3838 @itemx --rcdir @var{path}
3839 The target directory for the generated @code{rc} script and the generated
3840 @code{bin} files that the resource compiler script includes. The default
3841 is the current directory.
3842
3843 @item -u
3844 @itemx --unicode_in
3845 Specifies that the input file is UTF16.
3846
3847 @item -U
3848 @itemx --unicode_out
3849 Specifies that messages in the output @code{bin} file should be in UTF16
3850 format. This is the default behaviour.
3851
3852 @item -v
3853 @item --verbose
3854 Enable verbose mode.
3855
3856 @item -V
3857 @item --version
3858 Prints the version number for @command{windmc}.
3859
3860 @item -x @var{path}
3861 @itemx --xdgb @var{path}
3862 The path of the @code{dbg} C include file that maps message id's to the
3863 symbolic name. No such file is generated without specifying the switch.
3864 @end table
3865
3866 @c man end
3867
3868 @ignore
3869 @c man begin SEEALSO windmc
3870 the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
3871 @c man end
3872 @end ignore
3873
3874 @node windres
3875 @chapter windres
3876
3877 @command{windres} may be used to manipulate Windows resources.
3878
3879 @quotation
3880 @emph{Warning:} @command{windres} is not always built as part of the binary
3881 utilities, since it is only useful for Windows targets.
3882 @end quotation
3883
3884 @c man title windres manipulate Windows resources.
3885
3886 @smallexample
3887 @c man begin SYNOPSIS windres
3888 windres [options] [input-file] [output-file]
3889 @c man end
3890 @end smallexample
3891
3892 @c man begin DESCRIPTION windres
3893
3894 @command{windres} reads resources from an input file and copies them into
3895 an output file. Either file may be in one of three formats:
3896
3897 @table @code
3898 @item rc
3899 A text format read by the Resource Compiler.
3900
3901 @item res
3902 A binary format generated by the Resource Compiler.
3903
3904 @item coff
3905 A COFF object or executable.
3906 @end table
3907
3908 The exact description of these different formats is available in
3909 documentation from Microsoft.
3910
3911 When @command{windres} converts from the @code{rc} format to the @code{res}
3912 format, it is acting like the Windows Resource Compiler. When
3913 @command{windres} converts from the @code{res} format to the @code{coff}
3914 format, it is acting like the Windows @code{CVTRES} program.
3915
3916 When @command{windres} generates an @code{rc} file, the output is similar
3917 but not identical to the format expected for the input. When an input
3918 @code{rc} file refers to an external filename, an output @code{rc} file
3919 will instead include the file contents.
3920
3921 If the input or output format is not specified, @command{windres} will
3922 guess based on the file name, or, for the input file, the file contents.
3923 A file with an extension of @file{.rc} will be treated as an @code{rc}
3924 file, a file with an extension of @file{.res} will be treated as a
3925 @code{res} file, and a file with an extension of @file{.o} or
3926 @file{.exe} will be treated as a @code{coff} file.
3927
3928 If no output file is specified, @command{windres} will print the resources
3929 in @code{rc} format to standard output.
3930
3931 The normal use is for you to write an @code{rc} file, use @command{windres}
3932 to convert it to a COFF object file, and then link the COFF file into
3933 your application. This will make the resources described in the
3934 @code{rc} file available to Windows.
3935
3936 @c man end
3937
3938 @c man begin OPTIONS windres
3939
3940 @table @env
3941 @item -i @var{filename}
3942 @itemx --input @var{filename}
3943 The name of the input file. If this option is not used, then
3944 @command{windres} will use the first non-option argument as the input file
3945 name. If there are no non-option arguments, then @command{windres} will
3946 read from standard input. @command{windres} can not read a COFF file from
3947 standard input.
3948
3949 @item -o @var{filename}
3950 @itemx --output @var{filename}
3951 The name of the output file. If this option is not used, then
3952 @command{windres} will use the first non-option argument, after any used
3953 for the input file name, as the output file name. If there is no
3954 non-option argument, then @command{windres} will write to standard output.
3955 @command{windres} can not write a COFF file to standard output. Note,
3956 for compatibility with @command{rc} the option @option{-fo} is also
3957 accepted, but its use is not recommended.
3958
3959 @item -J @var{format}
3960 @itemx --input-format @var{format}
3961 The input format to read. @var{format} may be @samp{res}, @samp{rc}, or
3962 @samp{coff}. If no input format is specified, @command{windres} will
3963 guess, as described above.
3964
3965 @item -O @var{format}
3966 @itemx --output-format @var{format}
3967 The output format to generate. @var{format} may be @samp{res},
3968 @samp{rc}, or @samp{coff}. If no output format is specified,
3969 @command{windres} will guess, as described above.
3970
3971 @item -F @var{target}
3972 @itemx --target @var{target}
3973 Specify the BFD format to use for a COFF file as input or output. This
3974 is a BFD target name; you can use the @option{--help} option to see a list
3975 of supported targets. Normally @command{windres} will use the default
3976 format, which is the first one listed by the @option{--help} option.
3977 @ifclear man
3978 @ref{Target Selection}.
3979 @end ifclear
3980
3981 @item --preprocessor @var{program}
3982 When @command{windres} reads an @code{rc} file, it runs it through the C
3983 preprocessor first. This option may be used to specify the preprocessor
3984 to use, including any leading arguments. The default preprocessor
3985 argument is @code{gcc -E -xc-header -DRC_INVOKED}.
3986
3987 @item --preprocessor-arg @var{option}
3988 When @command{windres} reads an @code{rc} file, it runs it through
3989 the C preprocessor first. This option may be used to specify additional
3990 text to be passed to preprocessor on its command line.
3991 This option can be used multiple times to add multiple options to the
3992 preprocessor command line.
3993
3994 @item -I @var{directory}
3995 @itemx --include-dir @var{directory}
3996 Specify an include directory to use when reading an @code{rc} file.
3997 @command{windres} will pass this to the preprocessor as an @option{-I}
3998 option. @command{windres} will also search this directory when looking for
3999 files named in the @code{rc} file. If the argument passed to this command
4000 matches any of the supported @var{formats} (as described in the @option{-J}
4001 option), it will issue a deprecation warning, and behave just like the
4002 @option{-J} option. New programs should not use this behaviour. If a
4003 directory happens to match a @var{format}, simple prefix it with @samp{./}
4004 to disable the backward compatibility.
4005
4006 @item -D @var{target}
4007 @itemx --define @var{sym}[=@var{val}]
4008 Specify a @option{-D} option to pass to the preprocessor when reading an
4009 @code{rc} file.
4010
4011 @item -U @var{target}
4012 @itemx --undefine @var{sym}
4013 Specify a @option{-U} option to pass to the preprocessor when reading an
4014 @code{rc} file.
4015
4016 @item -r
4017 Ignored for compatibility with rc.
4018
4019 @item -v
4020 Enable verbose mode. This tells you what the preprocessor is if you
4021 didn't specify one.
4022
4023 @item -c @var{val}
4024 @item --codepage @var{val}
4025 Specify the default codepage to use when reading an @code{rc} file.
4026 @var{val} should be a hexadecimal prefixed by @samp{0x} or decimal
4027 codepage code. The valid range is from zero up to 0xffff, but the
4028 validity of the codepage is host and configuration dependent.
4029
4030 @item -l @var{val}
4031 @item --language @var{val}
4032 Specify the default language to use when reading an @code{rc} file.
4033 @var{val} should be a hexadecimal language code. The low eight bits are
4034 the language, and the high eight bits are the sublanguage.
4035
4036 @item --use-temp-file
4037 Use a temporary file to instead of using popen to read the output of
4038 the preprocessor. Use this option if the popen implementation is buggy
4039 on the host (eg., certain non-English language versions of Windows 95 and
4040 Windows 98 are known to have buggy popen where the output will instead
4041 go the console).
4042
4043 @item --no-use-temp-file
4044 Use popen, not a temporary file, to read the output of the preprocessor.
4045 This is the default behaviour.
4046
4047 @item -h
4048 @item --help
4049 Prints a usage summary.
4050
4051 @item -V
4052 @item --version
4053 Prints the version number for @command{windres}.
4054
4055 @item --yydebug
4056 If @command{windres} is compiled with @code{YYDEBUG} defined as @code{1},
4057 this will turn on parser debugging.
4058 @end table
4059
4060 @c man end
4061
4062 @ignore
4063 @c man begin SEEALSO windres
4064 the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
4065 @c man end
4066 @end ignore
4067
4068 @node dlltool
4069 @chapter dlltool
4070 @cindex DLL
4071 @kindex dlltool
4072
4073 @command{dlltool} is used to create the files needed to create dynamic
4074 link libraries (DLLs) on systems which understand PE format image
4075 files such as Windows. A DLL contains an export table which contains
4076 information that the runtime loader needs to resolve references from a
4077 referencing program.
4078
4079 The export table is generated by this program by reading in a
4080 @file{.def} file or scanning the @file{.a} and @file{.o} files which
4081 will be in the DLL. A @file{.o} file can contain information in
4082 special @samp{.drectve} sections with export information.
4083
4084 @quotation
4085 @emph{Note:} @command{dlltool} is not always built as part of the
4086 binary utilities, since it is only useful for those targets which
4087 support DLLs.
4088 @end quotation
4089
4090 @c man title dlltool Create files needed to build and use DLLs.
4091
4092 @smallexample
4093 @c man begin SYNOPSIS dlltool
4094 dlltool [@option{-d}|@option{--input-def} @var{def-file-name}]
4095 [@option{-b}|@option{--base-file} @var{base-file-name}]
4096 [@option{-e}|@option{--output-exp} @var{exports-file-name}]
4097 [@option{-z}|@option{--output-def} @var{def-file-name}]
4098 [@option{-l}|@option{--output-lib} @var{library-file-name}]
4099 [@option{-y}|@option{--output-delaylib} @var{library-file-name}]
4100 [@option{--export-all-symbols}] [@option{--no-export-all-symbols}]
4101 [@option{--exclude-symbols} @var{list}]
4102 [@option{--no-default-excludes}]
4103 [@option{-S}|@option{--as} @var{path-to-assembler}] [@option{-f}|@option{--as-flags} @var{options}]
4104 [@option{-D}|@option{--dllname} @var{name}] [@option{-m}|@option{--machine} @var{machine}]
4105 [@option{-a}|@option{--add-indirect}]
4106 [@option{-U}|@option{--add-underscore}] [@option{--add-stdcall-underscore}]
4107 [@option{-k}|@option{--kill-at}] [@option{-A}|@option{--add-stdcall-alias}]
4108 [@option{-p}|@option{--ext-prefix-alias} @var{prefix}]
4109 [@option{-x}|@option{--no-idata4}] [@option{-c}|@option{--no-idata5}]
4110 [@option{--use-nul-prefixed-import-tables}]
4111 [@option{-I}|@option{--identify} @var{library-file-name}] [@option{--identify-strict}]
4112 [@option{-i}|@option{--interwork}]
4113 [@option{-n}|@option{--nodelete}] [@option{-t}|@option{--temp-prefix} @var{prefix}]
4114 [@option{-v}|@option{--verbose}]
4115 [@option{-h}|@option{--help}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
4116 [@option{--no-leading-underscore}] [@option{--leading-underscore}]
4117 [object-file @dots{}]
4118 @c man end
4119 @end smallexample
4120
4121 @c man begin DESCRIPTION dlltool
4122
4123 @command{dlltool} reads its inputs, which can come from the @option{-d} and
4124 @option{-b} options as well as object files specified on the command
4125 line. It then processes these inputs and if the @option{-e} option has
4126 been specified it creates a exports file. If the @option{-l} option
4127 has been specified it creates a library file and if the @option{-z} option
4128 has been specified it creates a def file. Any or all of the @option{-e},
4129 @option{-l} and @option{-z} options can be present in one invocation of
4130 dlltool.
4131
4132 When creating a DLL, along with the source for the DLL, it is necessary
4133 to have three other files. @command{dlltool} can help with the creation of
4134 these files.
4135
4136 The first file is a @file{.def} file which specifies which functions are
4137 exported from the DLL, which functions the DLL imports, and so on. This
4138 is a text file and can be created by hand, or @command{dlltool} can be used
4139 to create it using the @option{-z} option. In this case @command{dlltool}
4140 will scan the object files specified on its command line looking for
4141 those functions which have been specially marked as being exported and
4142 put entries for them in the @file{.def} file it creates.
4143
4144 In order to mark a function as being exported from a DLL, it needs to
4145 have an @option{-export:<name_of_function>} entry in the @samp{.drectve}
4146 section of the object file. This can be done in C by using the
4147 asm() operator:
4148
4149 @smallexample
4150 asm (".section .drectve");
4151 asm (".ascii \"-export:my_func\"");
4152
4153 int my_func (void) @{ @dots{} @}
4154 @end smallexample
4155
4156 The second file needed for DLL creation is an exports file. This file
4157 is linked with the object files that make up the body of the DLL and it
4158 handles the interface between the DLL and the outside world. This is a
4159 binary file and it can be created by giving the @option{-e} option to
4160 @command{dlltool} when it is creating or reading in a @file{.def} file.
4161
4162 The third file needed for DLL creation is the library file that programs
4163 will link with in order to access the functions in the DLL (an `import
4164 library'). This file can be created by giving the @option{-l} option to
4165 dlltool when it is creating or reading in a @file{.def} file.
4166
4167 If the @option{-y} option is specified, dlltool generates a delay-import
4168 library that can be used instead of the normal import library to allow
4169 a program to link to the dll only as soon as an imported function is
4170 called for the first time. The resulting executable will need to be
4171 linked to the static delayimp library containing __delayLoadHelper2(),
4172 which in turn will import LoadLibraryA and GetProcAddress from kernel32.
4173
4174 @command{dlltool} builds the library file by hand, but it builds the
4175 exports file by creating temporary files containing assembler statements
4176 and then assembling these. The @option{-S} command line option can be
4177 used to specify the path to the assembler that dlltool will use,
4178 and the @option{-f} option can be used to pass specific flags to that
4179 assembler. The @option{-n} can be used to prevent dlltool from deleting
4180 these temporary assembler files when it is done, and if @option{-n} is
4181 specified twice then this will prevent dlltool from deleting the
4182 temporary object files it used to build the library.
4183
4184 Here is an example of creating a DLL from a source file @samp{dll.c} and
4185 also creating a program (from an object file called @samp{program.o})
4186 that uses that DLL:
4187
4188 @smallexample
4189 gcc -c dll.c
4190 dlltool -e exports.o -l dll.lib dll.o
4191 gcc dll.o exports.o -o dll.dll
4192 gcc program.o dll.lib -o program
4193 @end smallexample
4194
4195
4196 @command{dlltool} may also be used to query an existing import library
4197 to determine the name of the DLL to which it is associated. See the
4198 description of the @option{-I} or @option{--identify} option.
4199
4200 @c man end
4201
4202 @c man begin OPTIONS dlltool
4203
4204 The command line options have the following meanings:
4205
4206 @table @env
4207
4208 @item -d @var{filename}
4209 @itemx --input-def @var{filename}
4210 @cindex input .def file
4211 Specifies the name of a @file{.def} file to be read in and processed.
4212
4213 @item -b @var{filename}
4214 @itemx --base-file @var{filename}
4215 @cindex base files
4216 Specifies the name of a base file to be read in and processed. The
4217 contents of this file will be added to the relocation section in the
4218 exports file generated by dlltool.
4219
4220 @item -e @var{filename}
4221 @itemx --output-exp @var{filename}
4222 Specifies the name of the export file to be created by dlltool.
4223
4224 @item -z @var{filename}
4225 @itemx --output-def @var{filename}
4226 Specifies the name of the @file{.def} file to be created by dlltool.
4227
4228 @item -l @var{filename}
4229 @itemx --output-lib @var{filename}
4230 Specifies the name of the library file to be created by dlltool.
4231
4232 @item -y @var{filename}
4233 @itemx --output-delaylib @var{filename}
4234 Specifies the name of the delay-import library file to be created by dlltool.
4235
4236 @item --export-all-symbols
4237 Treat all global and weak defined symbols found in the input object
4238 files as symbols to be exported. There is a small list of symbols which
4239 are not exported by default; see the @option{--no-default-excludes}
4240 option. You may add to the list of symbols to not export by using the
4241 @option{--exclude-symbols} option.
4242
4243 @item --no-export-all-symbols
4244 Only export symbols explicitly listed in an input @file{.def} file or in
4245 @samp{.drectve} sections in the input object files. This is the default
4246 behaviour. The @samp{.drectve} sections are created by @samp{dllexport}
4247 attributes in the source code.
4248
4249 @item --exclude-symbols @var{list}
4250 Do not export the symbols in @var{list}. This is a list of symbol names
4251 separated by comma or colon characters. The symbol names should not
4252 contain a leading underscore. This is only meaningful when
4253 @option{--export-all-symbols} is used.
4254
4255 @item --no-default-excludes
4256 When @option{--export-all-symbols} is used, it will by default avoid
4257 exporting certain special symbols. The current list of symbols to avoid
4258 exporting is @samp{DllMain@@12}, @samp{DllEntryPoint@@0},
4259 @samp{impure_ptr}. You may use the @option{--no-default-excludes} option
4260 to go ahead and export these special symbols. This is only meaningful
4261 when @option{--export-all-symbols} is used.
4262
4263 @item -S @var{path}
4264 @itemx --as @var{path}
4265 Specifies the path, including the filename, of the assembler to be used
4266 to create the exports file.
4267
4268 @item -f @var{options}
4269 @itemx --as-flags @var{options}
4270 Specifies any specific command line options to be passed to the
4271 assembler when building the exports file. This option will work even if
4272 the @option{-S} option is not used. This option only takes one argument,
4273 and if it occurs more than once on the command line, then later
4274 occurrences will override earlier occurrences. So if it is necessary to
4275 pass multiple options to the assembler they should be enclosed in
4276 double quotes.
4277
4278 @item -D @var{name}
4279 @itemx --dll-name @var{name}
4280 Specifies the name to be stored in the @file{.def} file as the name of
4281 the DLL when the @option{-e} option is used. If this option is not
4282 present, then the filename given to the @option{-e} option will be
4283 used as the name of the DLL.
4284
4285 @item -m @var{machine}
4286 @itemx -machine @var{machine}
4287 Specifies the type of machine for which the library file should be
4288 built. @command{dlltool} has a built in default type, depending upon how
4289 it was created, but this option can be used to override that. This is
4290 normally only useful when creating DLLs for an ARM processor, when the
4291 contents of the DLL are actually encode using Thumb instructions.
4292
4293 @item -a
4294 @itemx --add-indirect
4295 Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
4296 should add a section which allows the exported functions to be
4297 referenced without using the import library. Whatever the hell that
4298 means!
4299
4300 @item -U
4301 @itemx --add-underscore
4302 Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
4303 should prepend an underscore to the names of @emph{all} exported symbols.
4304
4305 @item --no-leading-underscore
4306 @item --leading-underscore
4307 Specifies whether standard symbol should be forced to be prefixed, or
4308 not.
4309
4310 @item --add-stdcall-underscore
4311 Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
4312 should prepend an underscore to the names of exported @emph{stdcall}
4313 functions. Variable names and non-stdcall function names are not modified.
4314 This option is useful when creating GNU-compatible import libs for third
4315 party DLLs that were built with MS-Windows tools.
4316
4317 @item -k
4318 @itemx --kill-at
4319 Specifies that @samp{@@<number>} suffixes should be omitted from the names
4320 of stdcall functions that will be imported from the DLL. This is
4321 useful when creating an import library for a DLL which exports stdcall
4322 functions but without the usual @samp{@@<number>} symbol name suffix.
4323
4324 This does not change the naming of symbols provided by the import library
4325 to programs linked against it, but only the entries in the import table
4326 (ie the .idata section).
4327
4328 @item -A
4329 @itemx --add-stdcall-alias
4330 Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
4331 should add aliases for stdcall symbols without @samp{@@ <number>}
4332 in addition to the symbols with @samp{@@ <number>}.
4333
4334 @item -p
4335 @itemx --ext-prefix-alias @var{prefix}
4336 Causes @command{dlltool} to create external aliases for all DLL
4337 imports with the specified prefix. The aliases are created for both
4338 external and import symbols with no leading underscore.
4339
4340 @item -x
4341 @itemx --no-idata4
4342 Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports and library
4343 files it should omit the @code{.idata4} section. This is for compatibility
4344 with certain operating systems.
4345
4346 @item --use-nul-prefixed-import-tables
4347 Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports and library
4348 files it should prefix the @code{.idata4} and @code{.idata5} by zero an
4349 element. This emulates old gnu import library generation of
4350 @code{dlltool}. By default this option is turned off.
4351
4352 @item -c
4353 @itemx --no-idata5
4354 Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports and library
4355 files it should omit the @code{.idata5} section. This is for compatibility
4356 with certain operating systems.
4357
4358 @item -I @var{filename}
4359 @itemx --identify @var{filename}
4360 Specifies that @command{dlltool} should inspect the import library
4361 indicated by @var{filename} and report, on @code{stdout}, the name(s)
4362 of the associated DLL(s). This can be performed in addition to any
4363 other operations indicated by the other options and arguments.
4364 @command{dlltool} fails if the import library does not exist or is not
4365 actually an import library. See also @option{--identify-strict}.
4366
4367 @item --identify-strict
4368 Modifies the behavior of the @option{--identify} option, such
4369 that an error is reported if @var{filename} is associated with
4370 more than one DLL.
4371
4372 @item -i
4373 @itemx --interwork
4374 Specifies that @command{dlltool} should mark the objects in the library
4375 file and exports file that it produces as supporting interworking
4376 between ARM and Thumb code.
4377
4378 @item -n
4379 @itemx --nodelete
4380 Makes @command{dlltool} preserve the temporary assembler files it used to
4381 create the exports file. If this option is repeated then dlltool will
4382 also preserve the temporary object files it uses to create the library
4383 file.
4384
4385 @item -t @var{prefix}
4386 @itemx --temp-prefix @var{prefix}
4387 Makes @command{dlltool} use @var{prefix} when constructing the names of
4388 temporary assembler and object files. By default, the temp file prefix
4389 is generated from the pid.
4390
4391 @item -v
4392 @itemx --verbose
4393 Make dlltool describe what it is doing.
4394
4395 @item -h
4396 @itemx --help
4397 Displays a list of command line options and then exits.
4398
4399 @item -V
4400 @itemx --version
4401 Displays dlltool's version number and then exits.
4402
4403 @end table
4404
4405 @c man end
4406
4407 @menu
4408 * def file format:: The format of the dlltool @file{.def} file
4409 @end menu
4410
4411 @node def file format
4412 @section The format of the @command{dlltool} @file{.def} file
4413
4414 A @file{.def} file contains any number of the following commands:
4415
4416 @table @asis
4417
4418 @item @code{NAME} @var{name} @code{[ ,} @var{base} @code{]}
4419 The result is going to be named @var{name}@code{.exe}.
4420
4421 @item @code{LIBRARY} @var{name} @code{[ ,} @var{base} @code{]}
4422 The result is going to be named @var{name}@code{.dll}.
4423 Note: If you want to use LIBRARY as name then you need to quote. Otherwise
4424 this will fail due a necessary hack for libtool (see PR binutils/13710 for more
4425 details).
4426
4427 @item @code{EXPORTS ( ( (} @var{name1} @code{[ = } @var{name2} @code{] ) | ( } @var{name1} @code{=} @var{module-name} @code{.} @var{external-name} @code{) ) [ == } @var{its_name} @code{]}
4428 @item @code{[} @var{integer} @code{] [ NONAME ] [ CONSTANT ] [ DATA ] [ PRIVATE ] ) *}
4429 Declares @var{name1} as an exported symbol from the DLL, with optional
4430 ordinal number @var{integer}, or declares @var{name1} as an alias
4431 (forward) of the function @var{external-name} in the DLL.
4432 If @var{its_name} is specified, this name is used as string in export table.
4433 @var{module-name}.
4434 Note: The @code{EXPORTS} has to be the last command in .def file, as keywords
4435 are treated - beside @code{LIBRARY} - as simple name-identifiers.
4436 If you want to use LIBRARY as name then you need to quote it.
4437
4438 @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{]} *}
4439 Declares that @var{external-name} or the exported function whose
4440 ordinal number is @var{integer} is to be imported from the file
4441 @var{module-name}. If @var{internal-name} is specified then this is
4442 the name that the imported function will be referred to in the body of
4443 the DLL.
4444 If @var{its_name} is specified, this name is used as string in import table.
4445 Note: The @code{IMPORTS} has to be the last command in .def file, as keywords
4446 are treated - beside @code{LIBRARY} - as simple name-identifiers.
4447 If you want to use LIBRARY as name then you need to quote it.
4448
4449 @item @code{DESCRIPTION} @var{string}
4450 Puts @var{string} into the output @file{.exp} file in the
4451 @code{.rdata} section.
4452
4453 @item @code{STACKSIZE} @var{number-reserve} @code{[, } @var{number-commit} @code{]}
4454 @item @code{HEAPSIZE} @var{number-reserve} @code{[, } @var{number-commit} @code{]}
4455 Generates @code{--stack} or @code{--heap}
4456 @var{number-reserve},@var{number-commit} in the output @code{.drectve}
4457 section. The linker will see this and act upon it.
4458
4459 @item @code{CODE} @var{attr} @code{+}
4460 @item @code{DATA} @var{attr} @code{+}
4461 @item @code{SECTIONS (} @var{section-name} @var{attr}@code{ + ) *}
4462 Generates @code{--attr} @var{section-name} @var{attr} in the output
4463 @code{.drectve} section, where @var{attr} is one of @code{READ},
4464 @code{WRITE}, @code{EXECUTE} or @code{SHARED}. The linker will see
4465 this and act upon it.
4466
4467 @end table
4468
4469 @ignore
4470 @c man begin SEEALSO dlltool
4471 The Info pages for @file{binutils}.
4472 @c man end
4473 @end ignore
4474
4475 @node readelf
4476 @chapter readelf
4477
4478 @cindex ELF file information
4479 @kindex readelf
4480
4481 @c man title readelf Displays information about ELF files.
4482
4483 @smallexample
4484 @c man begin SYNOPSIS readelf
4485 readelf [@option{-a}|@option{--all}]
4486 [@option{-h}|@option{--file-header}]
4487 [@option{-l}|@option{--program-headers}|@option{--segments}]
4488 [@option{-S}|@option{--section-headers}|@option{--sections}]
4489 [@option{-g}|@option{--section-groups}]
4490 [@option{-t}|@option{--section-details}]
4491 [@option{-e}|@option{--headers}]
4492 [@option{-s}|@option{--syms}|@option{--symbols}]
4493 [@option{--dyn-syms}]
4494 [@option{-n}|@option{--notes}]
4495 [@option{-r}|@option{--relocs}]
4496 [@option{-u}|@option{--unwind}]
4497 [@option{-d}|@option{--dynamic}]
4498 [@option{-V}|@option{--version-info}]
4499 [@option{-A}|@option{--arch-specific}]
4500 [@option{-D}|@option{--use-dynamic}]
4501 [@option{-x} <number or name>|@option{--hex-dump=}<number or name>]
4502 [@option{-p} <number or name>|@option{--string-dump=}<number or name>]
4503 [@option{-R} <number or name>|@option{--relocated-dump=}<number or name>]
4504 [@option{-z}|@option{--decompress}]
4505 [@option{-c}|@option{--archive-index}]
4506 [@option{-w[lLiaprmfFsoRt]}|
4507 @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]]
4508 [@option{--dwarf-depth=@var{n}}]
4509 [@option{--dwarf-start=@var{n}}]
4510 [@option{-I}|@option{--histogram}]
4511 [@option{-v}|@option{--version}]
4512 [@option{-W}|@option{--wide}]
4513 [@option{-H}|@option{--help}]
4514 @var{elffile}@dots{}
4515 @c man end
4516 @end smallexample
4517
4518 @c man begin DESCRIPTION readelf
4519
4520 @command{readelf} displays information about one or more ELF format object
4521 files. The options control what particular information to display.
4522
4523 @var{elffile}@dots{} are the object files to be examined. 32-bit and
4524 64-bit ELF files are supported, as are archives containing ELF files.
4525
4526 This program performs a similar function to @command{objdump} but it
4527 goes into more detail and it exists independently of the @sc{bfd}
4528 library, so if there is a bug in @sc{bfd} then readelf will not be
4529 affected.
4530
4531 @c man end
4532
4533 @c man begin OPTIONS readelf
4534
4535 The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
4536 equivalent. At least one option besides @samp{-v} or @samp{-H} must be
4537 given.
4538
4539 @table @env
4540 @item -a
4541 @itemx --all
4542 Equivalent to specifying @option{--file-header},
4543 @option{--program-headers}, @option{--sections}, @option{--symbols},
4544 @option{--relocs}, @option{--dynamic}, @option{--notes} and
4545 @option{--version-info}.
4546
4547 @item -h
4548 @itemx --file-header
4549 @cindex ELF file header information
4550 Displays the information contained in the ELF header at the start of the
4551 file.
4552
4553 @item -l
4554 @itemx --program-headers
4555 @itemx --segments
4556 @cindex ELF program header information
4557 @cindex ELF segment information
4558 Displays the information contained in the file's segment headers, if it
4559 has any.
4560
4561 @item -S
4562 @itemx --sections
4563 @itemx --section-headers
4564 @cindex ELF section information
4565 Displays the information contained in the file's section headers, if it
4566 has any.
4567
4568 @item -g
4569 @itemx --section-groups
4570 @cindex ELF section group information
4571 Displays the information contained in the file's section groups, if it
4572 has any.
4573
4574 @item -t
4575 @itemx --section-details
4576 @cindex ELF section information
4577 Displays the detailed section information. Implies @option{-S}.
4578
4579 @item -s
4580 @itemx --symbols
4581 @itemx --syms
4582 @cindex ELF symbol table information
4583 Displays the entries in symbol table section of the file, if it has one.
4584
4585 @item --dyn-syms
4586 @cindex ELF dynamic symbol table information
4587 Displays the entries in dynamic symbol table section of the file, if it
4588 has one.
4589
4590 @item -e
4591 @itemx --headers
4592 Display all the headers in the file. Equivalent to @option{-h -l -S}.
4593
4594 @item -n
4595 @itemx --notes
4596 @cindex ELF notes
4597 Displays the contents of the NOTE segments and/or sections, if any.
4598
4599 @item -r
4600 @itemx --relocs
4601 @cindex ELF reloc information
4602 Displays the contents of the file's relocation section, if it has one.
4603
4604 @item -u
4605 @itemx --unwind
4606 @cindex unwind information
4607 Displays the contents of the file's unwind section, if it has one. Only
4608 the unwind sections for IA64 ELF files, as well as ARM unwind tables
4609 (@code{.ARM.exidx} / @code{.ARM.extab}) are currently supported.
4610
4611 @item -d
4612 @itemx --dynamic
4613 @cindex ELF dynamic section information
4614 Displays the contents of the file's dynamic section, if it has one.
4615
4616 @item -V
4617 @itemx --version-info
4618 @cindex ELF version sections information
4619 Displays the contents of the version sections in the file, it they
4620 exist.
4621
4622 @item -A
4623 @itemx --arch-specific
4624 Displays architecture-specific information in the file, if there
4625 is any.
4626
4627 @item -D
4628 @itemx --use-dynamic
4629 When displaying symbols, this option makes @command{readelf} use the
4630 symbol hash tables in the file's dynamic section, rather than the
4631 symbol table sections.
4632
4633 @item -x <number or name>
4634 @itemx --hex-dump=<number or name>
4635 Displays the contents of the indicated section as a hexadecimal bytes.
4636 A number identifies a particular section by index in the section table;
4637 any other string identifies all sections with that name in the object file.
4638
4639 @item -R <number or name>
4640 @itemx --relocated-dump=<number or name>
4641 Displays the contents of the indicated section as a hexadecimal
4642 bytes. A number identifies a particular section by index in the
4643 section table; any other string identifies all sections with that name
4644 in the object file. The contents of the section will be relocated
4645 before they are displayed.
4646
4647 @item -p <number or name>
4648 @itemx --string-dump=<number or name>
4649 Displays the contents of the indicated section as printable strings.
4650 A number identifies a particular section by index in the section table;
4651 any other string identifies all sections with that name in the object file.
4652
4653 @item -z
4654 @itemx --decompress
4655 Requests that the section(s) being dumped by @option{x}, @option{R} or
4656 @option{p} options are decompressed before being displayed. If the
4657 section(s) are not compressed then they are displayed as is.
4658
4659 @item -c
4660 @itemx --archive-index
4661 @cindex Archive file symbol index information
4662 Displays the file symbol index information contained in the header part
4663 of binary archives. Performs the same function as the @option{t}
4664 command to @command{ar}, but without using the BFD library. @xref{ar}.
4665
4666 @item -w[lLiaprmfFsoRt]
4667 @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]
4668 Displays the contents of the debug sections in the file, if any are
4669 present. If one of the optional letters or words follows the switch
4670 then only data found in those specific sections will be dumped.
4671
4672 Note that there is no single letter option to display the content of
4673 trace sections or .gdb_index.
4674
4675 Note: the @option{=decodedline} option will display the interpreted
4676 contents of a .debug_line section whereas the @option{=rawline} option
4677 dumps the contents in a raw format.
4678
4679 Note: the @option{=frames-interp} option will display the interpreted
4680 contents of a .debug_frame section whereas the @option{=frames} option
4681 dumps the contents in a raw format.
4682
4683 Note: the output from the @option{=info} option can also be affected
4684 by the options @option{--dwarf-depth} and @option{--dwarf-start}.
4685
4686 @item --dwarf-depth=@var{n}
4687 Limit the dump of the @code{.debug_info} section to @var{n} children.
4688 This is only useful with @option{--debug-dump=info}. The default is
4689 to print all DIEs; the special value 0 for @var{n} will also have this
4690 effect.
4691
4692 With a non-zero value for @var{n}, DIEs at or deeper than @var{n}
4693 levels will not be printed. The range for @var{n} is zero-based.
4694
4695 @item --dwarf-start=@var{n}
4696 Print only DIEs beginning with the DIE numbered @var{n}. This is only
4697 useful with @option{--debug-dump=info}.
4698
4699 If specified, this option will suppress printing of any header
4700 information and all DIEs before the DIE numbered @var{n}. Only
4701 siblings and children of the specified DIE will be printed.
4702
4703 This can be used in conjunction with @option{--dwarf-depth}.
4704
4705 @item -I
4706 @itemx --histogram
4707 Display a histogram of bucket list lengths when displaying the contents
4708 of the symbol tables.
4709
4710 @item -v
4711 @itemx --version
4712 Display the version number of readelf.
4713
4714 @item -W
4715 @itemx --wide
4716 Don't break output lines to fit into 80 columns. By default
4717 @command{readelf} breaks section header and segment listing lines for
4718 64-bit ELF files, so that they fit into 80 columns. This option causes
4719 @command{readelf} to print each section header resp. each segment one a
4720 single line, which is far more readable on terminals wider than 80 columns.
4721
4722 @item -H
4723 @itemx --help
4724 Display the command line options understood by @command{readelf}.
4725
4726 @end table
4727
4728 @c man end
4729
4730 @ignore
4731 @c man begin SEEALSO readelf
4732 objdump(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
4733 @c man end
4734 @end ignore
4735
4736 @node elfedit
4737 @chapter elfedit
4738
4739 @cindex Update ELF header
4740 @kindex elfedit
4741
4742 @c man title elfedit Update the ELF header of ELF files.
4743
4744 @smallexample
4745 @c man begin SYNOPSIS elfedit
4746 elfedit [@option{--input-mach=}@var{machine}]
4747 [@option{--input-type=}@var{type}]
4748 [@option{--input-osabi=}@var{osabi}]
4749 @option{--output-mach=}@var{machine}
4750 @option{--output-type=}@var{type}
4751 @option{--output-osabi=}@var{osabi}
4752 [@option{-v}|@option{--version}]
4753 [@option{-h}|@option{--help}]
4754 @var{elffile}@dots{}
4755 @c man end
4756 @end smallexample
4757
4758 @c man begin DESCRIPTION elfedit
4759
4760 @command{elfedit} updates the ELF header of ELF files which have
4761 the matching ELF machine and file types. The options control how and
4762 which fields in the ELF header should be updated.
4763
4764 @var{elffile}@dots{} are the ELF files to be updated. 32-bit and
4765 64-bit ELF files are supported, as are archives containing ELF files.
4766 @c man end
4767
4768 @c man begin OPTIONS elfedit
4769
4770 The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
4771 equivalent. At least one of the @option{--output-mach},
4772 @option{--output-type} and @option{--output-osabi} options must be given.
4773
4774 @table @env
4775
4776 @item --input-mach=@var{machine}
4777 Set the matching input ELF machine type to @var{machine}. If
4778 @option{--input-mach} isn't specified, it will match any ELF
4779 machine types.
4780
4781 The supported ELF machine types are, @var{i386}, @var{IAMCU}, @var{L1OM},
4782 @var{K1OM} and @var{x86-64}.
4783
4784 @item --output-mach=@var{machine}
4785 Change the ELF machine type in the ELF header to @var{machine}. The
4786 supported ELF machine types are the same as @option{--input-mach}.
4787
4788 @item --input-type=@var{type}
4789 Set the matching input ELF file type to @var{type}. If
4790 @option{--input-type} isn't specified, it will match any ELF file types.
4791
4792 The supported ELF file types are, @var{rel}, @var{exec} and @var{dyn}.
4793
4794 @item --output-type=@var{type}
4795 Change the ELF file type in the ELF header to @var{type}. The
4796 supported ELF types are the same as @option{--input-type}.
4797
4798 @item --input-osabi=@var{osabi}
4799 Set the matching input ELF file OSABI to @var{osabi}. If
4800 @option{--input-osabi} isn't specified, it will match any ELF OSABIs.
4801
4802 The supported ELF OSABIs are, @var{none}, @var{HPUX}, @var{NetBSD},
4803 @var{GNU}, @var{Linux} (alias for @var{GNU}),
4804 @var{Solaris}, @var{AIX}, @var{Irix},
4805 @var{FreeBSD}, @var{TRU64}, @var{Modesto}, @var{OpenBSD}, @var{OpenVMS},
4806 @var{NSK}, @var{AROS} and @var{FenixOS}.
4807
4808 @item --output-osabi=@var{osabi}
4809 Change the ELF OSABI in the ELF header to @var{osabi}. The
4810 supported ELF OSABI are the same as @option{--input-osabi}.
4811
4812 @item -v
4813 @itemx --version
4814 Display the version number of @command{elfedit}.
4815
4816 @item -h
4817 @itemx --help
4818 Display the command line options understood by @command{elfedit}.
4819
4820 @end table
4821
4822 @c man end
4823
4824 @ignore
4825 @c man begin SEEALSO elfedit
4826 readelf(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
4827 @c man end
4828 @end ignore
4829
4830 @node Common Options
4831 @chapter Common Options
4832
4833 The following command-line options are supported by all of the
4834 programs described in this manual.
4835
4836 @c man begin OPTIONS
4837 @table @env
4838 @include at-file.texi
4839 @c man end
4840
4841 @item --help
4842 Display the command-line options supported by the program.
4843
4844 @item --version
4845 Display the version number of the program.
4846
4847 @c man begin OPTIONS
4848 @end table
4849 @c man end
4850
4851 @node Selecting the Target System
4852 @chapter Selecting the Target System
4853
4854 You can specify two aspects of the target system to the @sc{gnu}
4855 binary file utilities, each in several ways:
4856
4857 @itemize @bullet
4858 @item
4859 the target
4860
4861 @item
4862 the architecture
4863 @end itemize
4864
4865 In the following summaries, the lists of ways to specify values are in
4866 order of decreasing precedence. The ways listed first override those
4867 listed later.
4868
4869 The commands to list valid values only list the values for which the
4870 programs you are running were configured. If they were configured with
4871 @option{--enable-targets=all}, the commands list most of the available
4872 values, but a few are left out; not all targets can be configured in at
4873 once because some of them can only be configured @dfn{native} (on hosts
4874 with the same type as the target system).
4875
4876 @menu
4877 * Target Selection::
4878 * Architecture Selection::
4879 @end menu
4880
4881 @node Target Selection
4882 @section Target Selection
4883
4884 A @dfn{target} is an object file format. A given target may be
4885 supported for multiple architectures (@pxref{Architecture Selection}).
4886 A target selection may also have variations for different operating
4887 systems or architectures.
4888
4889 The command to list valid target values is @samp{objdump -i}
4890 (the first column of output contains the relevant information).
4891
4892 Some sample values are: @samp{a.out-hp300bsd}, @samp{ecoff-littlemips},
4893 @samp{a.out-sunos-big}.
4894
4895 You can also specify a target using a configuration triplet. This is
4896 the same sort of name that is passed to @file{configure} to specify a
4897 target. When you use a configuration triplet as an argument, it must be
4898 fully canonicalized. You can see the canonical version of a triplet by
4899 running the shell script @file{config.sub} which is included with the
4900 sources.
4901
4902 Some sample configuration triplets are: @samp{m68k-hp-bsd},
4903 @samp{mips-dec-ultrix}, @samp{sparc-sun-sunos}.
4904
4905 @subheading @command{objdump} Target
4906
4907 Ways to specify:
4908
4909 @enumerate
4910 @item
4911 command line option: @option{-b} or @option{--target}
4912
4913 @item
4914 environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
4915
4916 @item
4917 deduced from the input file
4918 @end enumerate
4919
4920 @subheading @command{objcopy} and @command{strip} Input Target
4921
4922 Ways to specify:
4923
4924 @enumerate
4925 @item
4926 command line options: @option{-I} or @option{--input-target}, or @option{-F} or @option{--target}
4927
4928 @item
4929 environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
4930
4931 @item
4932 deduced from the input file
4933 @end enumerate
4934
4935 @subheading @command{objcopy} and @command{strip} Output Target
4936
4937 Ways to specify:
4938
4939 @enumerate
4940 @item
4941 command line options: @option{-O} or @option{--output-target}, or @option{-F} or @option{--target}
4942
4943 @item
4944 the input target (see ``@command{objcopy} and @command{strip} Input Target'' above)
4945
4946 @item
4947 environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
4948
4949 @item
4950 deduced from the input file
4951 @end enumerate
4952
4953 @subheading @command{nm}, @command{size}, and @command{strings} Target
4954
4955 Ways to specify:
4956
4957 @enumerate
4958 @item
4959 command line option: @option{--target}
4960
4961 @item
4962 environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
4963
4964 @item
4965 deduced from the input file
4966 @end enumerate
4967
4968 @node Architecture Selection
4969 @section Architecture Selection
4970
4971 An @dfn{architecture} is a type of @sc{cpu} on which an object file is
4972 to run. Its name may contain a colon, separating the name of the
4973 processor family from the name of the particular @sc{cpu}.
4974
4975 The command to list valid architecture values is @samp{objdump -i} (the
4976 second column contains the relevant information).
4977
4978 Sample values: @samp{m68k:68020}, @samp{mips:3000}, @samp{sparc}.
4979
4980 @subheading @command{objdump} Architecture
4981
4982 Ways to specify:
4983
4984 @enumerate
4985 @item
4986 command line option: @option{-m} or @option{--architecture}
4987
4988 @item
4989 deduced from the input file
4990 @end enumerate
4991
4992 @subheading @command{objcopy}, @command{nm}, @command{size}, @command{strings} Architecture
4993
4994 Ways to specify:
4995
4996 @enumerate
4997 @item
4998 deduced from the input file
4999 @end enumerate
5000
5001 @node Reporting Bugs
5002 @chapter Reporting Bugs
5003 @cindex bugs
5004 @cindex reporting bugs
5005
5006 Your bug reports play an essential role in making the binary utilities
5007 reliable.
5008
5009 Reporting a bug may help you by bringing a solution to your problem, or
5010 it may not. But in any case the principal function of a bug report is
5011 to help the entire community by making the next version of the binary
5012 utilities work better. Bug reports are your contribution to their
5013 maintenance.
5014
5015 In order for a bug report to serve its purpose, you must include the
5016 information that enables us to fix the bug.
5017
5018 @menu
5019 * Bug Criteria:: Have you found a bug?
5020 * Bug Reporting:: How to report bugs
5021 @end menu
5022
5023 @node Bug Criteria
5024 @section Have You Found a Bug?
5025 @cindex bug criteria
5026
5027 If you are not sure whether you have found a bug, here are some guidelines:
5028
5029 @itemize @bullet
5030 @cindex fatal signal
5031 @cindex crash
5032 @item
5033 If a binary utility gets a fatal signal, for any input whatever, that is
5034 a bug. Reliable utilities never crash.
5035
5036 @cindex error on valid input
5037 @item
5038 If a binary utility produces an error message for valid input, that is a
5039 bug.
5040
5041 @item
5042 If you are an experienced user of binary utilities, your suggestions for
5043 improvement are welcome in any case.
5044 @end itemize
5045
5046 @node Bug Reporting
5047 @section How to Report Bugs
5048 @cindex bug reports
5049 @cindex bugs, reporting
5050
5051 A number of companies and individuals offer support for @sc{gnu}
5052 products. If you obtained the binary utilities from a support
5053 organization, we recommend you contact that organization first.
5054
5055 You can find contact information for many support companies and
5056 individuals in the file @file{etc/SERVICE} in the @sc{gnu} Emacs
5057 distribution.
5058
5059 @ifset BUGURL
5060 In any event, we also recommend that you send bug reports for the binary
5061 utilities to @value{BUGURL}.
5062 @end ifset
5063
5064 The fundamental principle of reporting bugs usefully is this:
5065 @strong{report all the facts}. If you are not sure whether to state a
5066 fact or leave it out, state it!
5067
5068 Often people omit facts because they think they know what causes the
5069 problem and assume that some details do not matter. Thus, you might
5070 assume that the name of a file you use in an example does not matter.
5071 Well, probably it does not, but one cannot be sure. Perhaps the bug is
5072 a stray memory reference which happens to fetch from the location where
5073 that pathname is stored in memory; perhaps, if the pathname were
5074 different, the contents of that location would fool the utility into
5075 doing the right thing despite the bug. Play it safe and give a
5076 specific, complete example. That is the easiest thing for you to do,
5077 and the most helpful.
5078
5079 Keep in mind that the purpose of a bug report is to enable us to fix the bug if
5080 it is new to us. Therefore, always write your bug reports on the assumption
5081 that the bug has not been reported previously.
5082
5083 Sometimes people give a few sketchy facts and ask, ``Does this ring a
5084 bell?'' This cannot help us fix a bug, so it is basically useless. We
5085 respond by asking for enough details to enable us to investigate.
5086 You might as well expedite matters by sending them to begin with.
5087
5088 To enable us to fix the bug, you should include all these things:
5089
5090 @itemize @bullet
5091 @item
5092 The version of the utility. Each utility announces it if you start it
5093 with the @option{--version} argument.
5094
5095 Without this, we will not know whether there is any point in looking for
5096 the bug in the current version of the binary utilities.
5097
5098 @item
5099 Any patches you may have applied to the source, including any patches
5100 made to the @code{BFD} library.
5101
5102 @item
5103 The type of machine you are using, and the operating system name and
5104 version number.
5105
5106 @item
5107 What compiler (and its version) was used to compile the utilities---e.g.
5108 ``@code{gcc-2.7}''.
5109
5110 @item
5111 The command arguments you gave the utility to observe the bug. To
5112 guarantee you will not omit something important, list them all. A copy
5113 of the Makefile (or the output from make) is sufficient.
5114
5115 If we were to try to guess the arguments, we would probably guess wrong
5116 and then we might not encounter the bug.
5117
5118 @item
5119 A complete input file, or set of input files, that will reproduce the
5120 bug. If the utility is reading an object file or files, then it is
5121 generally most helpful to send the actual object files.
5122
5123 If the source files were produced exclusively using @sc{gnu} programs
5124 (e.g., @command{gcc}, @command{gas}, and/or the @sc{gnu} @command{ld}), then it
5125 may be OK to send the source files rather than the object files. In
5126 this case, be sure to say exactly what version of @command{gcc}, or
5127 whatever, was used to produce the object files. Also say how
5128 @command{gcc}, or whatever, was configured.
5129
5130 @item
5131 A description of what behavior you observe that you believe is
5132 incorrect. For example, ``It gets a fatal signal.''
5133
5134 Of course, if the bug is that the utility gets a fatal signal, then we
5135 will certainly notice it. But if the bug is incorrect output, we might
5136 not notice unless it is glaringly wrong. You might as well not give us
5137 a chance to make a mistake.
5138
5139 Even if the problem you experience is a fatal signal, you should still
5140 say so explicitly. Suppose something strange is going on, such as your
5141 copy of the utility is out of sync, or you have encountered a bug in
5142 the C library on your system. (This has happened!) Your copy might
5143 crash and ours would not. If you told us to expect a crash, then when
5144 ours fails to crash, we would know that the bug was not happening for
5145 us. If you had not told us to expect a crash, then we would not be able
5146 to draw any conclusion from our observations.
5147
5148 @item
5149 If you wish to suggest changes to the source, send us context diffs, as
5150 generated by @command{diff} with the @option{-u}, @option{-c}, or @option{-p}
5151 option. Always send diffs from the old file to the new file. If you
5152 wish to discuss something in the @command{ld} source, refer to it by
5153 context, not by line number.
5154
5155 The line numbers in our development sources will not match those in your
5156 sources. Your line numbers would convey no useful information to us.
5157 @end itemize
5158
5159 Here are some things that are not necessary:
5160
5161 @itemize @bullet
5162 @item
5163 A description of the envelope of the bug.
5164
5165 Often people who encounter a bug spend a lot of time investigating
5166 which changes to the input file will make the bug go away and which
5167 changes will not affect it.
5168
5169 This is often time consuming and not very useful, because the way we
5170 will find the bug is by running a single example under the debugger
5171 with breakpoints, not by pure deduction from a series of examples.
5172 We recommend that you save your time for something else.
5173
5174 Of course, if you can find a simpler example to report @emph{instead}
5175 of the original one, that is a convenience for us. Errors in the
5176 output will be easier to spot, running under the debugger will take
5177 less time, and so on.
5178
5179 However, simplification is not vital; if you do not want to do this,
5180 report the bug anyway and send us the entire test case you used.
5181
5182 @item
5183 A patch for the bug.
5184
5185 A patch for the bug does help us if it is a good one. But do not omit
5186 the necessary information, such as the test case, on the assumption that
5187 a patch is all we need. We might see problems with your patch and decide
5188 to fix the problem another way, or we might not understand it at all.
5189
5190 Sometimes with programs as complicated as the binary utilities it is
5191 very hard to construct an example that will make the program follow a
5192 certain path through the code. If you do not send us the example, we
5193 will not be able to construct one, so we will not be able to verify that
5194 the bug is fixed.
5195
5196 And if we cannot understand what bug you are trying to fix, or why your
5197 patch should be an improvement, we will not install it. A test case will
5198 help us to understand.
5199
5200 @item
5201 A guess about what the bug is or what it depends on.
5202
5203 Such guesses are usually wrong. Even we cannot guess right about such
5204 things without first using the debugger to find the facts.
5205 @end itemize
5206
5207 @node GNU Free Documentation License
5208 @appendix GNU Free Documentation License
5209
5210 @include fdl.texi
5211
5212 @node Binutils Index
5213 @unnumbered Binutils Index
5214
5215 @printindex cp
5216
5217 @bye
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