[deliverable/binutils-gdb.git] / binutils / NEWS

-*- text -*-

Changes since binutils 2.7

* The objdump disassembly format has been changed, and hopefully improved.  Use
  the new --prefix-addresses option to get the old format.

* Formats may now be specified as configuration triplets.  For example,
  objdump -b i386-pc-linux.  The triplets are not passed through config.sub,
  so they must be in canonical form.

* Added --change-leading-char argument to objcopy.

* objdump --dynamic-reloc now works on ELF executables and shared libraries.

Changes since binutils 2.6

* Added --enable-shared and --enable-commonbfdlib options to configure.

* Added --debugging argument to objdump and objcopy.

* Added --defined-only argument to nm.

* Added --remove-leading-char argument to objcopy.

* The objdump --line-numbers option is now meaningful with --reloc.

* Added --line-numbers option to nm.

* Added --endian/-EB/-EL option to objdump.

* Added support for Alpha OpenVMS/AXP.

Changes since binutils 2.5

* Added -N/--strip-symbol and -K/--keep-symbol arguments to strip and objcopy.

* Added several arguments to objcopy to provide some control over how the new
  file is laid out in memory.  Also added binary output format to BFD to permit
  generating plain binary files.

* Added --start-address and --stop-address options to objdump.

* ar and ranlib now work on AIX.  The tools are now built by default on AIX.

Changes since binutils 2.4

* Changed objdump -dr to dump the relocs interspersed with the assembly
  listing, for a more useful listing of relocateable files.

* Changed objdump -d/--disassemble to only disassemble SEC_CODE sections.
  Added -D/--disassemble-all option to disassemble all sections.

* Added --size-sort option to nm.

* strip and objcopy should now be able to handle dynamically linked ELF
  executables.

Changes since binutils 2.3

* Support for HP-PA (by Jeff Law), i386 Mach (by David Mackenzie), RS/6000 and
  PowerPC (except ar and ranlib; by Ian Taylor).

* Support for Irix 5.

* Programs `strip' and `objcopy' will not attempt to write dynamically linked
  ELF output files, since BFD currently can't create them properly.

Changes since binutils 2.2

* A new --stabs argument has been added to objdump to dump stabs sections in
  ELF and COFF files.

* A new program, nlmconv, has been added.  It can convert object files into
  Novell NetWare Loadable Modules.

* The strings program has been added.

Changes since binutils 2.1

* The 'copy' program has been renamed to 'objcopy', for consistency with
  'objdump', and because 'copy' might more plausibly be used as a synonym for
  'cp'.

* The new stand-alone program c++filt is a filter that converts encoded
  (mangled) C++ assembly-level identifiers to user-level names.  (Note: This
  may get moved to the gcc distribution.)

* nm -o on an archive now prefixes each line with the archive name, matching
  the output from BSD nm.

* ar (and ld) can now read (but not write) BSD4.4-style archives.

* New support for H8500, Z8000, and the Hitach SH.

* Dis-assembler interface changed to allow sharing with gdb.

* There is new Elf code, but it is not yet ready for general use.

* There is the beginnings of a test suite.

Changes since binutils 2.0

* There is now support for writing ECOFF files, so ld and the other utilities
  should work on Risc/Ultrix and Irix.  Please let us know how well this works.

* ar now automatically creates a symbol table (a __.SYMDEF member, in the BSD
  version), if there are any object files in the archive.  So running ranlib is
  now redundant (unless the non-standard q command is used).  This is required
  for Posix.2 conformance.

* The archive-reading code now reads both BSD-style and SYSV-style archives
  independently of the selected target format.  This is to encourage people to
  switch to SYSV-format, which has a number of advantages.

* The strip and copy programs now have options to remove debug-symbols only
  and/or local symbols only.  They now also support long options.

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Commit	Line	Data
11548211 ILT	1	-- text --
11548211 ILT	2
55311d1c ILT	3	Changes since binutils 2.7
55311d1c ILT	4
9681fa45 ILT	5	* The objdump disassembly format has been changed, and hopefully improved. Use
	6	the new --prefix-addresses option to get the old format.
	7
55311d1c ILT	8	* Formats may now be specified as configuration triplets. For example,
	9	objdump -b i386-pc-linux. The triplets are not passed through config.sub,
	10	so they must be in canonical form.
	11
	12	* Added --change-leading-char argument to objcopy.
	13
9681fa45 ILT	14	* objdump --dynamic-reloc now works on ELF executables and shared libraries.
9681fa45 ILT	15
11548211 ILT	16	Changes since binutils 2.6
	17
	18	* Added --enable-shared and --enable-commonbfdlib options to configure.
	19
	20	* Added --debugging argument to objdump and objcopy.
	21
	22	* Added --defined-only argument to nm.
	23
	24	* Added --remove-leading-char argument to objcopy.
	25
	26	* The objdump --line-numbers option is now meaningful with --reloc.
	27
55311d1c ILT	28	* Added --line-numbers option to nm.
	29
	30	* Added --endian/-EB/-EL option to objdump.
	31
	32	* Added support for Alpha OpenVMS/AXP.
	33
11548211 ILT	34	Changes since binutils 2.5
	35
	36	* Added -N/--strip-symbol and -K/--keep-symbol arguments to strip and objcopy.
	37
	38	* Added several arguments to objcopy to provide some control over how the new
	39	file is laid out in memory. Also added binary output format to BFD to permit
	40	generating plain binary files.
	41
	42	* Added --start-address and --stop-address options to objdump.
	43
	44	* ar and ranlib now work on AIX. The tools are now built by default on AIX.
	45
	46	Changes since binutils 2.4
	47
	48	* Changed objdump -dr to dump the relocs interspersed with the assembly
	49	listing, for a more useful listing of relocateable files.
	50
	51	* Changed objdump -d/--disassemble to only disassemble SEC_CODE sections.
	52	Added -D/--disassemble-all option to disassemble all sections.
	53
	54	* Added --size-sort option to nm.
	55
	56	* strip and objcopy should now be able to handle dynamically linked ELF
	57	executables.
	58
	59	Changes since binutils 2.3
	60
	61	* Support for HP-PA (by Jeff Law), i386 Mach (by David Mackenzie), RS/6000 and
	62	PowerPC (except ar and ranlib; by Ian Taylor).
	63
	64	* Support for Irix 5.
	65
	66	* Programs `strip' and `objcopy' will not attempt to write dynamically linked
	67	ELF output files, since BFD currently can't create them properly.
	68
	69	Changes since binutils 2.2
	70
	71	* A new --stabs argument has been added to objdump to dump stabs sections in
	72	ELF and COFF files.
	73
	74	* A new program, nlmconv, has been added. It can convert object files into
	75	Novell NetWare Loadable Modules.
	76
	77	* The strings program has been added.
	78
	79	Changes since binutils 2.1
	80
	81	* The 'copy' program has been renamed to 'objcopy', for consistency with
	82	'objdump', and because 'copy' might more plausibly be used as a synonym for
	83	'cp'.
	84
	85	* The new stand-alone program c++filt is a filter that converts encoded
	86	(mangled) C++ assembly-level identifiers to user-level names. (Note: This
	87	may get moved to the gcc distribution.)
	88
	89	* nm -o on an archive now prefixes each line with the archive name, matching
	90	the output from BSD nm.
	91
	92	* ar (and ld) can now read (but not write) BSD4.4-style archives.
	93
	94	* New support for H8500, Z8000, and the Hitach SH.
	95
	96	* Dis-assembler interface changed to allow sharing with gdb.
	97
98	* There is new Elf code, but it is not yet ready for general use.
99
100	* There is the beginnings of a test suite.
101
102	Changes since binutils 2.0
103
104	* There is now support for writing ECOFF files, so ld and the other utilities
105	should work on Risc/Ultrix and Irix. Please let us know how well this works.
106
107	* ar now automatically creates a symbol table (a __.SYMDEF member, in the BSD
108	version), if there are any object files in the archive. So running ranlib is
109	now redundant (unless the non-standard q command is used). This is required
110	for Posix.2 conformance.
111
112	* The archive-reading code now reads both BSD-style and SYSV-style archives
113	independently of the selected target format. This is to encourage people to
114	switch to SYSV-format, which has a number of advantages.
115
116	* The strip and copy programs now have options to remove debug-symbols only
117	and/or local symbols only. They now also support long options.
118
119	\f
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121	fill-column: 79
122	End: