1 \input texinfo @c -*- Texinfo -*-
2 @setfilename binutils.info
3 @settitle @sc{gnu} Binary Utilities
12 @c man begin COPYRIGHT
13 Copyright @copyright{} 1991-2018 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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''.
25 @dircategory Software development
27 * Binutils: (binutils). The GNU binary utilities.
30 @dircategory Individual utilities
32 * addr2line: (binutils)addr2line. Convert addresses to file and line.
33 * ar: (binutils)ar. Create, modify, and extract from archives.
34 * c++filt: (binutils)c++filt. Filter to demangle encoded C++ symbols.
35 * cxxfilt: (binutils)c++filt. MS-DOS name for c++filt.
36 * dlltool: (binutils)dlltool. Create files needed to build and use DLLs.
37 * nm: (binutils)nm. List symbols from object files.
38 * objcopy: (binutils)objcopy. Copy and translate object files.
39 * objdump: (binutils)objdump. Display information from object files.
40 * ranlib: (binutils)ranlib. Generate index to archive contents.
41 * readelf: (binutils)readelf. Display the contents of ELF format files.
42 * size: (binutils)size. List section sizes and total size.
43 * strings: (binutils)strings. List printable strings from files.
44 * strip: (binutils)strip. Discard symbols.
45 * elfedit: (binutils)elfedit. Update the ELF header of ELF files.
46 * windmc: (binutils)windmc. Generator for Windows message resources.
47 * windres: (binutils)windres. Manipulate Windows resources.
51 @title The @sc{gnu} Binary Utilities
52 @ifset VERSION_PACKAGE
53 @subtitle @value{VERSION_PACKAGE}
55 @subtitle Version @value{VERSION}
57 @subtitle @value{UPDATED}
58 @author Roland H. Pesch
59 @author Jeffrey M. Osier
60 @author Cygnus Support
64 {\parskip=0pt \hfill Cygnus Support\par \hfill
65 Texinfo \texinfoversion\par }
68 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
77 This brief manual contains documentation for the @sc{gnu} binary
79 @ifset VERSION_PACKAGE
80 @value{VERSION_PACKAGE}
82 version @value{VERSION}:
87 Create, modify, and extract from archives
90 List symbols from object files
93 Copy and translate object files
96 Display information from object files
99 Generate index to archive contents
102 Display the contents of ELF format files.
105 List file section sizes and total size
108 List printable strings from files
114 Update the ELF header of ELF files.
117 Demangle encoded C++ symbols (on MS-DOS, this program is named
121 Convert addresses into file names and line numbers
124 Manipulate Windows resources
127 Generator for Windows message resources
130 Create the files needed to build and use Dynamic Link Libraries
134 This document is distributed under the terms of the GNU Free
135 Documentation License version 1.3. A copy of the license is included
136 in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''.
139 * ar:: Create, modify, and extract from archives
140 * nm:: List symbols from object files
141 * objcopy:: Copy and translate object files
142 * objdump:: Display information from object files
143 * ranlib:: Generate index to archive contents
144 * size:: List section sizes and total size
145 * strings:: List printable strings from files
146 * strip:: Discard symbols
147 * c++filt:: Filter to demangle encoded C++ symbols
148 * cxxfilt: c++filt. MS-DOS name for c++filt
149 * addr2line:: Convert addresses to file and line
150 * windmc:: Generator for Windows message resources
151 * windres:: Manipulate Windows resources
152 * dlltool:: Create files needed to build and use DLLs
153 * readelf:: Display the contents of ELF format files
154 * elfedit:: Update the ELF header of ELF files
155 * Common Options:: Command-line options for all utilities
156 * Selecting the Target System:: How these utilities determine the target
157 * Reporting Bugs:: Reporting Bugs
158 * GNU Free Documentation License:: GNU Free Documentation License
159 * Binutils Index:: Binutils Index
167 @cindex collections of files
169 @c man title ar create, modify, and extract from archives
172 ar [-]@var{p}[@var{mod}] [@option{--plugin} @var{name}] [@option{--target} @var{bfdname}] [@var{relpos}] [@var{count}] @var{archive} [@var{member}@dots{}]
173 ar -M [ <mri-script ]
176 @c man begin DESCRIPTION ar
178 The @sc{gnu} @command{ar} program creates, modifies, and extracts from
179 archives. An @dfn{archive} is a single file holding a collection of
180 other files in a structure that makes it possible to retrieve
181 the original individual files (called @dfn{members} of the archive).
183 The original files' contents, mode (permissions), timestamp, owner, and
184 group are preserved in the archive, and can be restored on
188 @sc{gnu} @command{ar} can maintain archives whose members have names of any
189 length; however, depending on how @command{ar} is configured on your
190 system, a limit on member-name length may be imposed for compatibility
191 with archive formats maintained with other tools. If it exists, the
192 limit is often 15 characters (typical of formats related to a.out) or 16
193 characters (typical of formats related to coff).
196 @command{ar} is considered a binary utility because archives of this sort
197 are most often used as @dfn{libraries} holding commonly needed
201 @command{ar} creates an index to the symbols defined in relocatable
202 object modules in the archive when you specify the modifier @samp{s}.
203 Once created, this index is updated in the archive whenever @command{ar}
204 makes a change to its contents (save for the @samp{q} update operation).
205 An archive with such an index speeds up linking to the library, and
206 allows routines in the library to call each other without regard to
207 their placement in the archive.
209 You may use @samp{nm -s} or @samp{nm --print-armap} to list this index
210 table. If an archive lacks the table, another form of @command{ar} called
211 @command{ranlib} can be used to add just the table.
213 @cindex thin archives
214 @sc{gnu} @command{ar} can optionally create a @emph{thin} archive,
215 which contains a symbol index and references to the original copies
216 of the member files of the archive. This is useful for building
217 libraries for use within a local build tree, where the relocatable
218 objects are expected to remain available, and copying the contents of
219 each object would only waste time and space.
221 An archive can either be @emph{thin} or it can be normal. It cannot
222 be both at the same time. Once an archive is created its format
223 cannot be changed without first deleting it and then creating a new
224 archive in its place.
226 Thin archives are also @emph{flattened}, so that adding one thin
227 archive to another thin archive does not nest it, as would happen with
228 a normal archive. Instead the elements of the first archive are added
229 individually to the second archive.
231 The paths to the elements of the archive are stored relative to the
234 @cindex compatibility, @command{ar}
235 @cindex @command{ar} compatibility
236 @sc{gnu} @command{ar} is designed to be compatible with two different
237 facilities. You can control its activity using command-line options,
238 like the different varieties of @command{ar} on Unix systems; or, if you
239 specify the single command-line option @option{-M}, you can control it
240 with a script supplied via standard input, like the MRI ``librarian''
246 * ar cmdline:: Controlling @command{ar} on the command line
247 * ar scripts:: Controlling @command{ar} with a script
252 @section Controlling @command{ar} on the Command Line
255 @c man begin SYNOPSIS ar
256 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{}]
260 @cindex Unix compatibility, @command{ar}
261 When you use @command{ar} in the Unix style, @command{ar} insists on at least two
262 arguments to execute: one keyletter specifying the @emph{operation}
263 (optionally accompanied by other keyletters specifying
264 @emph{modifiers}), and the archive name to act on.
266 Most operations can also accept further @var{member} arguments,
267 specifying particular files to operate on.
269 @c man begin OPTIONS ar
271 @sc{gnu} @command{ar} allows you to mix the operation code @var{p} and modifier
272 flags @var{mod} in any order, within the first command-line argument.
274 If you wish, you may begin the first command-line argument with a
277 @cindex operations on archive
278 The @var{p} keyletter specifies what operation to execute; it may be
279 any of the following, but you must specify only one of them:
283 @cindex deleting from archive
284 @emph{Delete} modules from the archive. Specify the names of modules to
285 be deleted as @var{member}@dots{}; the archive is untouched if you
286 specify no files to delete.
288 If you specify the @samp{v} modifier, @command{ar} lists each module
292 @cindex moving in archive
293 Use this operation to @emph{move} members in an archive.
295 The ordering of members in an archive can make a difference in how
296 programs are linked using the library, if a symbol is defined in more
299 If no modifiers are used with @code{m}, any members you name in the
300 @var{member} arguments are moved to the @emph{end} of the archive;
301 you can use the @samp{a}, @samp{b}, or @samp{i} modifiers to move them to a
302 specified place instead.
305 @cindex printing from archive
306 @emph{Print} the specified members of the archive, to the standard
307 output file. If the @samp{v} modifier is specified, show the member
308 name before copying its contents to standard output.
310 If you specify no @var{member} arguments, all the files in the archive are
314 @cindex quick append to archive
315 @emph{Quick append}; Historically, add the files @var{member}@dots{} to the end of
316 @var{archive}, without checking for replacement.
318 The modifiers @samp{a}, @samp{b}, and @samp{i} do @emph{not} affect this
319 operation; new members are always placed at the end of the archive.
321 The modifier @samp{v} makes @command{ar} list each file as it is appended.
323 Since the point of this operation is speed, implementations of
324 @command{ar} have the option of not updating the archive's symbol
325 table if one exists. Too many different systems however assume that
326 symbol tables are always up-to-date, so @sc{gnu} @command{ar} will
327 rebuild the table even with a quick append.
329 Note - @sc{gnu} @command{ar} treats the command @samp{qs} as a
330 synonym for @samp{r} - replacing already existing files in the
331 archive and appending new ones at the end.
334 @cindex replacement in archive
335 Insert the files @var{member}@dots{} into @var{archive} (with
336 @emph{replacement}). This operation differs from @samp{q} in that any
337 previously existing members are deleted if their names match those being
340 If one of the files named in @var{member}@dots{} does not exist, @command{ar}
341 displays an error message, and leaves undisturbed any existing members
342 of the archive matching that name.
344 By default, new members are added at the end of the file; but you may
345 use one of the modifiers @samp{a}, @samp{b}, or @samp{i} to request
346 placement relative to some existing member.
348 The modifier @samp{v} used with this operation elicits a line of
349 output for each file inserted, along with one of the letters @samp{a} or
350 @samp{r} to indicate whether the file was appended (no old member
351 deleted) or replaced.
355 Add an index to the archive, or update it if it already exists. Note
356 this command is an exception to the rule that there can only be one
357 command letter, as it is possible to use it as either a command or a
358 modifier. In either case it does the same thing.
361 @cindex contents of archive
362 Display a @emph{table} listing the contents of @var{archive}, or those
363 of the files listed in @var{member}@dots{} that are present in the
364 archive. Normally only the member name is shown; if you also want to
365 see the modes (permissions), timestamp, owner, group, and size, you can
366 request that by also specifying the @samp{v} modifier.
368 If you do not specify a @var{member}, all files in the archive
371 @cindex repeated names in archive
372 @cindex name duplication in archive
373 If there is more than one file with the same name (say, @samp{fie}) in
374 an archive (say @samp{b.a}), @samp{ar t b.a fie} lists only the
375 first instance; to see them all, you must ask for a complete
376 listing---in our example, @samp{ar t b.a}.
377 @c WRS only; per Gumby, this is implementation-dependent, and in a more
378 @c recent case in fact works the other way.
381 @cindex extract from archive
382 @emph{Extract} members (named @var{member}) from the archive. You can
383 use the @samp{v} modifier with this operation, to request that
384 @command{ar} list each name as it extracts it.
386 If you do not specify a @var{member}, all files in the archive
389 Files cannot be extracted from a thin archive.
392 A number of modifiers (@var{mod}) may immediately follow the @var{p}
393 keyletter, to specify variations on an operation's behavior:
397 @cindex relative placement in archive
398 Add new files @emph{after} an existing member of the
399 archive. If you use the modifier @samp{a}, the name of an existing archive
400 member must be present as the @var{relpos} argument, before the
401 @var{archive} specification.
404 Add new files @emph{before} an existing member of the
405 archive. If you use the modifier @samp{b}, the name of an existing archive
406 member must be present as the @var{relpos} argument, before the
407 @var{archive} specification. (same as @samp{i}).
410 @cindex creating archives
411 @emph{Create} the archive. The specified @var{archive} is always
412 created if it did not exist, when you request an update. But a warning is
413 issued unless you specify in advance that you expect to create it, by
417 @cindex deterministic archives
418 @kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
419 Operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. When adding files and the archive
420 index use zero for UIDs, GIDs, timestamps, and use consistent file modes
421 for all files. When this option is used, if @command{ar} is used with
422 identical options and identical input files, multiple runs will create
423 identical output files regardless of the input files' owners, groups,
424 file modes, or modification times.
426 If @file{binutils} was configured with
427 @option{--enable-deterministic-archives}, then this mode is on by default.
428 It can be disabled with the @samp{U} modifier, below.
431 Truncate names in the archive. @sc{gnu} @command{ar} will normally permit file
432 names of any length. This will cause it to create archives which are
433 not compatible with the native @command{ar} program on some systems. If
434 this is a concern, the @samp{f} modifier may be used to truncate file
435 names when putting them in the archive.
438 Insert new files @emph{before} an existing member of the
439 archive. If you use the modifier @samp{i}, the name of an existing archive
440 member must be present as the @var{relpos} argument, before the
441 @var{archive} specification. (same as @samp{b}).
444 This modifier is accepted but not used.
445 @c whaffor ar l modifier??? presumably compat; with
446 @c what???---doc@@cygnus.com, 25jan91
449 Uses the @var{count} parameter. This is used if there are multiple
450 entries in the archive with the same name. Extract or delete instance
451 @var{count} of the given name from the archive.
454 @cindex dates in archive
455 Preserve the @emph{original} dates of members when extracting them. If
456 you do not specify this modifier, files extracted from the archive
457 are stamped with the time of extraction.
460 Use the full path name when matching names in the archive. @sc{gnu}
461 @command{ar} can not create an archive with a full path name (such archives
462 are not POSIX complaint), but other archive creators can. This option
463 will cause @sc{gnu} @command{ar} to match file names using a complete path
464 name, which can be convenient when extracting a single file from an
465 archive created by another tool.
468 @cindex writing archive index
469 Write an object-file index into the archive, or update an existing one,
470 even if no other change is made to the archive. You may use this modifier
471 flag either with any operation, or alone. Running @samp{ar s} on an
472 archive is equivalent to running @samp{ranlib} on it.
475 @cindex not writing archive index
476 Do not generate an archive symbol table. This can speed up building a
477 large library in several steps. The resulting archive can not be used
478 with the linker. In order to build a symbol table, you must omit the
479 @samp{S} modifier on the last execution of @samp{ar}, or you must run
480 @samp{ranlib} on the archive.
483 @cindex creating thin archive
484 Make the specified @var{archive} a @emph{thin} archive. If it already
485 exists and is a regular archive, the existing members must be present
486 in the same directory as @var{archive}.
489 @cindex updating an archive
490 Normally, @samp{ar r}@dots{} inserts all files
491 listed into the archive. If you would like to insert @emph{only} those
492 of the files you list that are newer than existing members of the same
493 names, use this modifier. The @samp{u} modifier is allowed only for the
494 operation @samp{r} (replace). In particular, the combination @samp{qu} is
495 not allowed, since checking the timestamps would lose any speed
496 advantage from the operation @samp{q}.
499 @cindex deterministic archives
500 @kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
501 Do @emph{not} operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. This is the inverse
502 of the @samp{D} modifier, above: added files and the archive index will
503 get their actual UID, GID, timestamp, and file mode values.
505 This is the default unless @file{binutils} was configured with
506 @option{--enable-deterministic-archives}.
509 This modifier requests the @emph{verbose} version of an operation. Many
510 operations display additional information, such as filenames processed,
511 when the modifier @samp{v} is appended.
514 This modifier shows the version number of @command{ar}.
517 The @command{ar} program also supports some command line options which
518 are neither modifiers nor actions, but which do change its behaviour
523 Displays the list of command line options supported by @command{ar}
527 Displays the version information of @command{ar} and then exits.
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
533 of the other @samp{-X} options; in particular, it does not support
534 @option{-X32} which is the default for AIX @command{ar}.
536 @item --plugin @var{name}
538 The optional command line switch @option{--plugin @var{name}} causes
539 @command{ar} to load the plugin called @var{name} which adds support
540 for more file formats, including object files with link-time
541 optimization information.
543 This option is only available if the toolchain has been built with
544 plugin support enabled.
546 If @option{--plugin} is not provided, but plugin support has been
547 enabled then @command{ar} iterates over the files in
548 @file{$@{libdir@}/bfd-plugins} in alphabetic order and the first
549 plugin that claims the object in question is used.
551 Please note that this plugin search directory is @emph{not} the one
552 used by @command{ld}'s @option{-plugin} option. In order to make
553 @command{ar} use the linker plugin it must be copied into the
554 @file{$@{libdir@}/bfd-plugins} directory. For GCC based compilations
555 the linker plugin is called @file{liblto_plugin.so.0.0.0}. For Clang
556 based compilations it is called @file{LLVMgold.so}. The GCC plugin
557 is always backwards compatible with earlier versions, so it is
558 sufficient to just copy the newest one.
560 @item --target @var{target}
561 The optional command line switch @option{--target @var{bfdname}}
562 specifies that the archive members are in an object code format
563 different from your system's default format. See
564 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
569 @c man begin SEEALSO ar
570 nm(1), ranlib(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
575 @section Controlling @command{ar} with a Script
578 ar -M [ <@var{script} ]
581 @cindex MRI compatibility, @command{ar}
582 @cindex scripts, @command{ar}
583 If you use the single command-line option @samp{-M} with @command{ar}, you
584 can control its operation with a rudimentary command language. This
585 form of @command{ar} operates interactively if standard input is coming
586 directly from a terminal. During interactive use, @command{ar} prompts for
587 input (the prompt is @samp{AR >}), and continues executing even after
588 errors. If you redirect standard input to a script file, no prompts are
589 issued, and @command{ar} abandons execution (with a nonzero exit code)
592 The @command{ar} command language is @emph{not} designed to be equivalent
593 to the command-line options; in fact, it provides somewhat less control
594 over archives. The only purpose of the command language is to ease the
595 transition to @sc{gnu} @command{ar} for developers who already have scripts
596 written for the MRI ``librarian'' program.
598 The syntax for the @command{ar} command language is straightforward:
601 commands are recognized in upper or lower case; for example, @code{LIST}
602 is the same as @code{list}. In the following descriptions, commands are
603 shown in upper case for clarity.
606 a single command may appear on each line; it is the first word on the
610 empty lines are allowed, and have no effect.
613 comments are allowed; text after either of the characters @samp{*}
614 or @samp{;} is ignored.
617 Whenever you use a list of names as part of the argument to an @command{ar}
618 command, you can separate the individual names with either commas or
619 blanks. Commas are shown in the explanations below, for clarity.
622 @samp{+} is used as a line continuation character; if @samp{+} appears
623 at the end of a line, the text on the following line is considered part
624 of the current command.
627 Here are the commands you can use in @command{ar} scripts, or when using
628 @command{ar} interactively. Three of them have special significance:
630 @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE} specify a @dfn{current archive}, which is
631 a temporary file required for most of the other commands.
633 @code{SAVE} commits the changes so far specified by the script. Prior
634 to @code{SAVE}, commands affect only the temporary copy of the current
638 @item ADDLIB @var{archive}
639 @itemx ADDLIB @var{archive} (@var{module}, @var{module}, @dots{} @var{module})
640 Add all the contents of @var{archive} (or, if specified, each named
641 @var{module} from @var{archive}) to the current archive.
643 Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
645 @item ADDMOD @var{member}, @var{member}, @dots{} @var{member}
646 @c FIXME! w/Replacement?? If so, like "ar r @var{archive} @var{names}"
647 @c else like "ar q..."
648 Add each named @var{member} as a module in the current archive.
650 Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
653 Discard the contents of the current archive, canceling the effect of
654 any operations since the last @code{SAVE}. May be executed (with no
655 effect) even if no current archive is specified.
657 @item CREATE @var{archive}
658 Creates an archive, and makes it the current archive (required for many
659 other commands). The new archive is created with a temporary name; it
660 is not actually saved as @var{archive} until you use @code{SAVE}.
661 You can overwrite existing archives; similarly, the contents of any
662 existing file named @var{archive} will not be destroyed until @code{SAVE}.
664 @item DELETE @var{module}, @var{module}, @dots{} @var{module}
665 Delete each listed @var{module} from the current archive; equivalent to
666 @samp{ar -d @var{archive} @var{module} @dots{} @var{module}}.
668 Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
670 @item DIRECTORY @var{archive} (@var{module}, @dots{} @var{module})
671 @itemx DIRECTORY @var{archive} (@var{module}, @dots{} @var{module}) @var{outputfile}
672 List each named @var{module} present in @var{archive}. The separate
673 command @code{VERBOSE} specifies the form of the output: when verbose
674 output is off, output is like that of @samp{ar -t @var{archive}
675 @var{module}@dots{}}. When verbose output is on, the listing is like
676 @samp{ar -tv @var{archive} @var{module}@dots{}}.
678 Output normally goes to the standard output stream; however, if you
679 specify @var{outputfile} as a final argument, @command{ar} directs the
683 Exit from @command{ar}, with a @code{0} exit code to indicate successful
684 completion. This command does not save the output file; if you have
685 changed the current archive since the last @code{SAVE} command, those
688 @item EXTRACT @var{module}, @var{module}, @dots{} @var{module}
689 Extract each named @var{module} from the current archive, writing them
690 into the current directory as separate files. Equivalent to @samp{ar -x
691 @var{archive} @var{module}@dots{}}.
693 Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
696 @c FIXME Tokens but no commands???
703 Display full contents of the current archive, in ``verbose'' style
704 regardless of the state of @code{VERBOSE}. The effect is like @samp{ar
705 tv @var{archive}}. (This single command is a @sc{gnu} @command{ar}
706 enhancement, rather than present for MRI compatibility.)
708 Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
710 @item OPEN @var{archive}
711 Opens an existing archive for use as the current archive (required for
712 many other commands). Any changes as the result of subsequent commands
713 will not actually affect @var{archive} until you next use @code{SAVE}.
715 @item REPLACE @var{module}, @var{module}, @dots{} @var{module}
716 In the current archive, replace each existing @var{module} (named in
717 the @code{REPLACE} arguments) from files in the current working directory.
718 To execute this command without errors, both the file, and the module in
719 the current archive, must exist.
721 Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
724 Toggle an internal flag governing the output from @code{DIRECTORY}.
725 When the flag is on, @code{DIRECTORY} output matches output from
726 @samp{ar -tv }@dots{}.
729 Commit your changes to the current archive, and actually save it as a
730 file with the name specified in the last @code{CREATE} or @code{OPEN}
733 Requires prior use of @code{OPEN} or @code{CREATE}.
742 The @sc{gnu} linker @command{ld} is now described in a separate manual.
743 @xref{Top,, Overview,, Using LD: the @sc{gnu} linker}.
751 @c man title nm list symbols from object files
754 @c man begin SYNOPSIS nm
755 nm [@option{-A}|@option{-o}|@option{--print-file-name}] [@option{-a}|@option{--debug-syms}]
756 [@option{-B}|@option{--format=bsd}] [@option{-C}|@option{--demangle}[=@var{style}]]
757 [@option{-D}|@option{--dynamic}] [@option{-f}@var{format}|@option{--format=}@var{format}]
758 [@option{-g}|@option{--extern-only}] [@option{-h}|@option{--help}]
759 [@option{-l}|@option{--line-numbers}] [@option{--inlines}]
760 [@option{-n}|@option{-v}|@option{--numeric-sort}]
761 [@option{-P}|@option{--portability}] [@option{-p}|@option{--no-sort}]
762 [@option{-r}|@option{--reverse-sort}] [@option{-S}|@option{--print-size}]
763 [@option{-s}|@option{--print-armap}] [@option{-t} @var{radix}|@option{--radix=}@var{radix}]
764 [@option{-u}|@option{--undefined-only}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
765 [@option{-X 32_64}] [@option{--defined-only}] [@option{--no-demangle}]
766 [@option{--plugin} @var{name}] [@option{--size-sort}] [@option{--special-syms}]
767 [@option{--synthetic}] [@option{--with-symbol-versions}] [@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
768 [@var{objfile}@dots{}]
772 @c man begin DESCRIPTION nm
773 @sc{gnu} @command{nm} lists the symbols from object files @var{objfile}@dots{}.
774 If no object files are listed as arguments, @command{nm} assumes the file
777 For each symbol, @command{nm} shows:
781 The symbol value, in the radix selected by options (see below), or
782 hexadecimal by default.
785 The symbol type. At least the following types are used; others are, as
786 well, depending on the object file format. If lowercase, the symbol is
787 usually local; if uppercase, the symbol is global (external). There
788 are however a few lowercase symbols that are shown for special global
789 symbols (@code{u}, @code{v} and @code{w}).
791 @c Some more detail on exactly what these symbol types are used for
795 The symbol's value is absolute, and will not be changed by further
800 The symbol is in the BSS data section. This section typically
801 contains zero-initialized or uninitialized data, although the exact
802 behavior is system dependent.
805 The symbol is common. Common symbols are uninitialized data. When
806 linking, multiple common symbols may appear with the same name. If the
807 symbol is defined anywhere, the common symbols are treated as undefined
810 For more details on common symbols, see the discussion of
811 --warn-common in @ref{Options,,Linker options,ld.info,The GNU linker}.
816 The symbol is in the initialized data section.
820 The symbol is in an initialized data section for small objects. Some
821 object file formats permit more efficient access to small data objects,
822 such as a global int variable as opposed to a large global array.
825 For PE format files this indicates that the symbol is in a section
826 specific to the implementation of DLLs. For ELF format files this
827 indicates that the symbol is an indirect function. This is a GNU
828 extension to the standard set of ELF symbol types. It indicates a
829 symbol which if referenced by a relocation does not evaluate to its
830 address, but instead must be invoked at runtime. The runtime
831 execution will then return the value to be used in the relocation.
834 The symbol is an indirect reference to another symbol.
837 The symbol is a debugging symbol.
840 The symbols is in a stack unwind section.
844 The symbol is in a read only data section.
848 The symbol is in an uninitialized or zero-initialized data section
853 The symbol is in the text (code) section.
856 The symbol is undefined.
859 The symbol is a unique global symbol. This is a GNU extension to the
860 standard set of ELF symbol bindings. For such a symbol the dynamic linker
861 will make sure that in the entire process there is just one symbol with
862 this name and type in use.
866 The symbol is a weak object. When a weak defined symbol is linked with
867 a normal defined symbol, the normal defined symbol is used with no error.
868 When a weak undefined symbol is linked and the symbol is not defined,
869 the value of the weak symbol becomes zero with no error. On some
870 systems, uppercase indicates that a default value has been specified.
874 The symbol is a weak symbol that has not been specifically tagged as a
875 weak object symbol. When a weak defined symbol is linked with a normal
876 defined symbol, the normal defined symbol is used with no error.
877 When a weak undefined symbol is linked and the symbol is not defined,
878 the value of the symbol is determined in a system-specific manner without
879 error. On some systems, uppercase indicates that a default value has been
883 The symbol is a stabs symbol in an a.out object file. In this case, the
884 next values printed are the stabs other field, the stabs desc field, and
885 the stab type. Stabs symbols are used to hold debugging information.
888 The symbol type is unknown, or object file format specific.
897 @c man begin OPTIONS nm
898 The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
904 @itemx --print-file-name
905 @cindex input file name
907 @cindex source file name
908 Precede each symbol by the name of the input file (or archive member)
909 in which it was found, rather than identifying the input file once only,
910 before all of its symbols.
914 @cindex debugging symbols
915 Display all symbols, even debugger-only symbols; normally these are not
919 @cindex @command{nm} format
920 @cindex @command{nm} compatibility
921 The same as @option{--format=bsd} (for compatibility with the MIPS @command{nm}).
924 @itemx --demangle[=@var{style}]
925 @cindex demangling in nm
926 Decode (@dfn{demangle}) low-level symbol names into user-level names.
927 Besides removing any initial underscore prepended by the system, this
928 makes C++ function names readable. Different compilers have different
929 mangling styles. The optional demangling style argument can be used to
930 choose an appropriate demangling style for your compiler. @xref{c++filt},
931 for more information on demangling.
934 Do not demangle low-level symbol names. This is the default.
938 @cindex dynamic symbols
939 Display the dynamic symbols rather than the normal symbols. This is
940 only meaningful for dynamic objects, such as certain types of shared
943 @item -f @var{format}
944 @itemx --format=@var{format}
945 @cindex @command{nm} format
946 @cindex @command{nm} compatibility
947 Use the output format @var{format}, which can be @code{bsd},
948 @code{sysv}, or @code{posix}. The default is @code{bsd}.
949 Only the first character of @var{format} is significant; it can be
950 either upper or lower case.
954 @cindex external symbols
955 Display only external symbols.
959 Show a summary of the options to @command{nm} and exit.
962 @itemx --line-numbers
963 @cindex symbol line numbers
964 For each symbol, use debugging information to try to find a filename and
965 line number. For a defined symbol, look for the line number of the
966 address of the symbol. For an undefined symbol, look for the line
967 number of a relocation entry which refers to the symbol. If line number
968 information can be found, print it after the other symbol information.
971 @cindex objdump inlines
972 When option @option{-l} is active, if the address belongs to a
973 function that was inlined, then this option causes the source
974 information for all enclosing scopes back to the first non-inlined
975 function to be printed as well. For example, if @code{main} inlines
976 @code{callee1} which inlines @code{callee2}, and address is from
977 @code{callee2}, the source information for @code{callee1} and @code{main}
978 will also be printed.
982 @itemx --numeric-sort
983 Sort symbols numerically by their addresses, rather than alphabetically
988 @cindex sorting symbols
989 Do not bother to sort the symbols in any order; print them in the order
994 Use the POSIX.2 standard output format instead of the default format.
995 Equivalent to @samp{-f posix}.
998 @itemx --reverse-sort
999 Reverse the order of the sort (whether numeric or alphabetic); let the
1004 Print both value and size of defined symbols for the @code{bsd} output style.
1005 This option has no effect for object formats that do not record symbol
1006 sizes, unless @samp{--size-sort} is also used in which case a
1007 calculated size is displayed.
1010 @itemx --print-armap
1011 @cindex symbol index, listing
1012 When listing symbols from archive members, include the index: a mapping
1013 (stored in the archive by @command{ar} or @command{ranlib}) of which modules
1014 contain definitions for which names.
1016 @item -t @var{radix}
1017 @itemx --radix=@var{radix}
1018 Use @var{radix} as the radix for printing the symbol values. It must be
1019 @samp{d} for decimal, @samp{o} for octal, or @samp{x} for hexadecimal.
1022 @itemx --undefined-only
1023 @cindex external symbols
1024 @cindex undefined symbols
1025 Display only undefined symbols (those external to each object file).
1029 Show the version number of @command{nm} and exit.
1032 This option is ignored for compatibility with the AIX version of
1033 @command{nm}. It takes one parameter which must be the string
1034 @option{32_64}. The default mode of AIX @command{nm} corresponds
1035 to @option{-X 32}, which is not supported by @sc{gnu} @command{nm}.
1037 @item --defined-only
1038 @cindex external symbols
1039 @cindex undefined symbols
1040 Display only defined symbols for each object file.
1042 @item --plugin @var{name}
1044 Load the plugin called @var{name} to add support for extra target
1045 types. This option is only available if the toolchain has been built
1046 with plugin support enabled.
1048 If @option{--plugin} is not provided, but plugin support has been
1049 enabled then @command{nm} iterates over the files in
1050 @file{$@{libdir@}/bfd-plugins} in alphabetic order and the first
1051 plugin that claims the object in question is used.
1053 Please note that this plugin search directory is @emph{not} the one
1054 used by @command{ld}'s @option{-plugin} option. In order to make
1055 @command{nm} use the linker plugin it must be copied into the
1056 @file{$@{libdir@}/bfd-plugins} directory. For GCC based compilations
1057 the linker plugin is called @file{liblto_plugin.so.0.0.0}. For Clang
1058 based compilations it is called @file{LLVMgold.so}. The GCC plugin
1059 is always backwards compatible with earlier versions, so it is
1060 sufficient to just copy the newest one.
1063 Sort symbols by size. For ELF objects symbol sizes are read from the
1064 ELF, for other object types the symbol sizes are computed as the
1065 difference between the value of the symbol and the value of the symbol
1066 with the next higher value. If the @code{bsd} output format is used
1067 the size of the symbol is printed, rather than the value, and
1068 @samp{-S} must be used in order both size and value to be printed.
1070 @item --special-syms
1071 Display symbols which have a target-specific special meaning. These
1072 symbols are usually used by the target for some special processing and
1073 are not normally helpful when included in the normal symbol lists.
1074 For example for ARM targets this option would skip the mapping symbols
1075 used to mark transitions between ARM code, THUMB code and data.
1078 Include synthetic symbols in the output. These are special symbols
1079 created by the linker for various purposes. They are not shown by
1080 default since they are not part of the binary's original source code.
1082 @item --with-symbol-versions
1083 Enables the display of symbol version information if any exists. The
1084 version string is displayed as a suffix to the symbol name, preceeded by
1085 an @@ character. For example @samp{foo@@VER_1}. If the version is
1086 the default version to be used when resolving unversioned references
1087 to the symbol then it is displayed as a suffix preceeded by two @@
1088 characters. For example @samp{foo@@@@VER_2}.
1090 @item --target=@var{bfdname}
1091 @cindex object code format
1092 Specify an object code format other than your system's default format.
1093 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1100 @c man begin SEEALSO nm
1101 ar(1), objdump(1), ranlib(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
1108 @c man title objcopy copy and translate object files
1111 @c man begin SYNOPSIS objcopy
1112 objcopy [@option{-F} @var{bfdname}|@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
1113 [@option{-I} @var{bfdname}|@option{--input-target=}@var{bfdname}]
1114 [@option{-O} @var{bfdname}|@option{--output-target=}@var{bfdname}]
1115 [@option{-B} @var{bfdarch}|@option{--binary-architecture=}@var{bfdarch}]
1116 [@option{-S}|@option{--strip-all}]
1117 [@option{-g}|@option{--strip-debug}]
1118 [@option{--strip-unneeded}]
1119 [@option{-K} @var{symbolname}|@option{--keep-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1120 [@option{-N} @var{symbolname}|@option{--strip-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1121 [@option{--strip-unneeded-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1122 [@option{-G} @var{symbolname}|@option{--keep-global-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1123 [@option{--localize-hidden}]
1124 [@option{-L} @var{symbolname}|@option{--localize-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1125 [@option{--globalize-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1126 [@option{-W} @var{symbolname}|@option{--weaken-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
1127 [@option{-w}|@option{--wildcard}]
1128 [@option{-x}|@option{--discard-all}]
1129 [@option{-X}|@option{--discard-locals}]
1130 [@option{-b} @var{byte}|@option{--byte=}@var{byte}]
1131 [@option{-i} [@var{breadth}]|@option{--interleave}[=@var{breadth}]]
1132 [@option{--interleave-width=}@var{width}]
1133 [@option{-j} @var{sectionpattern}|@option{--only-section=}@var{sectionpattern}]
1134 [@option{-R} @var{sectionpattern}|@option{--remove-section=}@var{sectionpattern}]
1135 [@option{--remove-relocations=}@var{sectionpattern}]
1136 [@option{-p}|@option{--preserve-dates}]
1137 [@option{-D}|@option{--enable-deterministic-archives}]
1138 [@option{-U}|@option{--disable-deterministic-archives}]
1139 [@option{--debugging}]
1140 [@option{--gap-fill=}@var{val}]
1141 [@option{--pad-to=}@var{address}]
1142 [@option{--set-start=}@var{val}]
1143 [@option{--adjust-start=}@var{incr}]
1144 [@option{--change-addresses=}@var{incr}]
1145 [@option{--change-section-address} @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}]
1146 [@option{--change-section-lma} @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}]
1147 [@option{--change-section-vma} @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}]
1148 [@option{--change-warnings}] [@option{--no-change-warnings}]
1149 [@option{--set-section-flags} @var{sectionpattern}=@var{flags}]
1150 [@option{--add-section} @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}]
1151 [@option{--dump-section} @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}]
1152 [@option{--update-section} @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}]
1153 [@option{--rename-section} @var{oldname}=@var{newname}[,@var{flags}]]
1154 [@option{--long-section-names} @{enable,disable,keep@}]
1155 [@option{--change-leading-char}] [@option{--remove-leading-char}]
1156 [@option{--reverse-bytes=}@var{num}]
1157 [@option{--srec-len=}@var{ival}] [@option{--srec-forceS3}]
1158 [@option{--redefine-sym} @var{old}=@var{new}]
1159 [@option{--redefine-syms=}@var{filename}]
1161 [@option{--keep-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1162 [@option{--strip-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1163 [@option{--strip-unneeded-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1164 [@option{--keep-global-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1165 [@option{--localize-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1166 [@option{--globalize-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1167 [@option{--weaken-symbols=}@var{filename}]
1168 [@option{--add-symbol} @var{name}=[@var{section}:]@var{value}[,@var{flags}]]
1169 [@option{--alt-machine-code=}@var{index}]
1170 [@option{--prefix-symbols=}@var{string}]
1171 [@option{--prefix-sections=}@var{string}]
1172 [@option{--prefix-alloc-sections=}@var{string}]
1173 [@option{--add-gnu-debuglink=}@var{path-to-file}]
1174 [@option{--keep-file-symbols}]
1175 [@option{--only-keep-debug}]
1176 [@option{--strip-dwo}]
1177 [@option{--extract-dwo}]
1178 [@option{--extract-symbol}]
1179 [@option{--writable-text}]
1180 [@option{--readonly-text}]
1183 [@option{--file-alignment=}@var{num}]
1184 [@option{--heap=}@var{size}]
1185 [@option{--image-base=}@var{address}]
1186 [@option{--section-alignment=}@var{num}]
1187 [@option{--stack=}@var{size}]
1188 [@option{--subsystem=}@var{which}:@var{major}.@var{minor}]
1189 [@option{--compress-debug-sections}]
1190 [@option{--decompress-debug-sections}]
1191 [@option{--elf-stt-common=@var{val}}]
1192 [@option{--merge-notes}]
1193 [@option{--no-merge-notes}]
1194 [@option{-v}|@option{--verbose}]
1195 [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
1196 [@option{--help}] [@option{--info}]
1197 @var{infile} [@var{outfile}]
1201 @c man begin DESCRIPTION objcopy
1202 The @sc{gnu} @command{objcopy} utility copies the contents of an object
1203 file to another. @command{objcopy} uses the @sc{gnu} @sc{bfd} Library to
1204 read and write the object files. It can write the destination object
1205 file in a format different from that of the source object file. The
1206 exact behavior of @command{objcopy} is controlled by command-line options.
1207 Note that @command{objcopy} should be able to copy a fully linked file
1208 between any two formats. However, copying a relocatable object file
1209 between any two formats may not work as expected.
1211 @command{objcopy} creates temporary files to do its translations and
1212 deletes them afterward. @command{objcopy} uses @sc{bfd} to do all its
1213 translation work; it has access to all the formats described in @sc{bfd}
1214 and thus is able to recognize most formats without being told
1215 explicitly. @xref{BFD,,BFD,ld.info,Using LD}.
1217 @command{objcopy} can be used to generate S-records by using an output
1218 target of @samp{srec} (e.g., use @samp{-O srec}).
1220 @command{objcopy} can be used to generate a raw binary file by using an
1221 output target of @samp{binary} (e.g., use @option{-O binary}). When
1222 @command{objcopy} generates a raw binary file, it will essentially produce
1223 a memory dump of the contents of the input object file. All symbols and
1224 relocation information will be discarded. The memory dump will start at
1225 the load address of the lowest section copied into the output file.
1227 When generating an S-record or a raw binary file, it may be helpful to
1228 use @option{-S} to remove sections containing debugging information. In
1229 some cases @option{-R} will be useful to remove sections which contain
1230 information that is not needed by the binary file.
1232 Note---@command{objcopy} is not able to change the endianness of its input
1233 files. If the input format has an endianness (some formats do not),
1234 @command{objcopy} can only copy the inputs into file formats that have the
1235 same endianness or which have no endianness (e.g., @samp{srec}).
1236 (However, see the @option{--reverse-bytes} option.)
1240 @c man begin OPTIONS objcopy
1244 @itemx @var{outfile}
1245 The input and output files, respectively.
1246 If you do not specify @var{outfile}, @command{objcopy} creates a
1247 temporary file and destructively renames the result with
1248 the name of @var{infile}.
1250 @item -I @var{bfdname}
1251 @itemx --input-target=@var{bfdname}
1252 Consider the source file's object format to be @var{bfdname}, rather than
1253 attempting to deduce it. @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1255 @item -O @var{bfdname}
1256 @itemx --output-target=@var{bfdname}
1257 Write the output file using the object format @var{bfdname}.
1258 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1260 @item -F @var{bfdname}
1261 @itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
1262 Use @var{bfdname} as the object format for both the input and the output
1263 file; i.e., simply transfer data from source to destination with no
1264 translation. @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
1266 @item -B @var{bfdarch}
1267 @itemx --binary-architecture=@var{bfdarch}
1268 Useful when transforming a architecture-less input file into an object file.
1269 In this case the output architecture can be set to @var{bfdarch}. This
1270 option will be ignored if the input file has a known @var{bfdarch}. You
1271 can access this binary data inside a program by referencing the special
1272 symbols that are created by the conversion process. These symbols are
1273 called _binary_@var{objfile}_start, _binary_@var{objfile}_end and
1274 _binary_@var{objfile}_size. e.g. you can transform a picture file into
1275 an object file and then access it in your code using these symbols.
1277 @item -j @var{sectionpattern}
1278 @itemx --only-section=@var{sectionpattern}
1279 Copy only the indicated sections from the input file to the output file.
1280 This option may be given more than once. Note that using this option
1281 inappropriately may make the output file unusable. Wildcard
1282 characters are accepted in @var{sectionpattern}.
1284 If the first character of @var{sectionpattern} is the exclamation
1285 point (!) then matching sections will not be copied, even if earlier
1286 use of @option{--only-section} on the same command line would
1287 otherwise copy it. For example:
1290 --only-section=.text.* --only-section=!.text.foo
1293 will copy all sectinos maching '.text.*' but not the section
1296 @item -R @var{sectionpattern}
1297 @itemx --remove-section=@var{sectionpattern}
1298 Remove any section matching @var{sectionpattern} from the output file.
1299 This option may be given more than once. Note that using this option
1300 inappropriately may make the output file unusable. Wildcard
1301 characters are accepted in @var{sectionpattern}. Using both the
1302 @option{-j} and @option{-R} options together results in undefined
1305 If the first character of @var{sectionpattern} is the exclamation
1306 point (!) then matching sections will not be removed even if an
1307 earlier use of @option{--remove-section} on the same command line
1308 would otherwise remove it. For example:
1311 --remove-section=.text.* --remove-section=!.text.foo
1314 will remove all sections matching the pattern '.text.*', but will not
1315 remove the section '.text.foo'.
1317 @item --remove-relocations=@var{sectionpattern}
1318 Remove relocations from the output file for any section matching
1319 @var{sectionpattern}. This option may be given more than once. Note
1320 that using this option inappropriately may make the output file
1321 unusable. Wildcard characters are accepted in @var{sectionpattern}.
1325 --remove-relocations=.text.*
1328 will remove the relocations for all sections matching the patter
1331 If the first character of @var{sectionpattern} is the exclamation
1332 point (!) then matching sections will not have their relocation
1333 removed even if an earlier use of @option{--remove-relocations} on the
1334 same command line would otherwise cause the relocations to be removed.
1338 --remove-relocations=.text.* --remove-relocations=!.text.foo
1341 will remove all relocations for sections matching the pattern
1342 '.text.*', but will not remove relocations for the section
1347 Do not copy relocation and symbol information from the source file.
1350 @itemx --strip-debug
1351 Do not copy debugging symbols or sections from the source file.
1353 @item --strip-unneeded
1354 Strip all symbols that are not needed for relocation processing.
1356 @item -K @var{symbolname}
1357 @itemx --keep-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1358 When stripping symbols, keep symbol @var{symbolname} even if it would
1359 normally be stripped. This option may be given more than once.
1361 @item -N @var{symbolname}
1362 @itemx --strip-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1363 Do not copy symbol @var{symbolname} from the source file. This option
1364 may be given more than once.
1366 @item --strip-unneeded-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1367 Do not copy symbol @var{symbolname} from the source file unless it is needed
1368 by a relocation. This option may be given more than once.
1370 @item -G @var{symbolname}
1371 @itemx --keep-global-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1372 Keep only symbol @var{symbolname} global. Make all other symbols local
1373 to the file, so that they are not visible externally. This option may
1374 be given more than once.
1376 @item --localize-hidden
1377 In an ELF object, mark all symbols that have hidden or internal visibility
1378 as local. This option applies on top of symbol-specific localization options
1379 such as @option{-L}.
1381 @item -L @var{symbolname}
1382 @itemx --localize-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1383 Convert a global or weak symbol called @var{symbolname} into a local
1384 symbol, so that it is not visible externally. This option may be
1385 given more than once. Note - unique symbols are not converted.
1387 @item -W @var{symbolname}
1388 @itemx --weaken-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1389 Make symbol @var{symbolname} weak. This option may be given more than once.
1391 @item --globalize-symbol=@var{symbolname}
1392 Give symbol @var{symbolname} global scoping so that it is visible
1393 outside of the file in which it is defined. This option may be given
1398 Permit regular expressions in @var{symbolname}s used in other command
1399 line options. The question mark (?), asterisk (*), backslash (\) and
1400 square brackets ([]) operators can be used anywhere in the symbol
1401 name. If the first character of the symbol name is the exclamation
1402 point (!) then the sense of the switch is reversed for that symbol.
1409 would cause objcopy to weaken all symbols that start with ``fo''
1410 except for the symbol ``foo''.
1413 @itemx --discard-all
1414 Do not copy non-global symbols from the source file.
1415 @c FIXME any reason to prefer "non-global" to "local" here?
1418 @itemx --discard-locals
1419 Do not copy compiler-generated local symbols.
1420 (These usually start with @samp{L} or @samp{.}.)
1423 @itemx --byte=@var{byte}
1424 If interleaving has been enabled via the @option{--interleave} option
1425 then start the range of bytes to keep at the @var{byte}th byte.
1426 @var{byte} can be in the range from 0 to @var{breadth}-1, where
1427 @var{breadth} is the value given by the @option{--interleave} option.
1429 @item -i [@var{breadth}]
1430 @itemx --interleave[=@var{breadth}]
1431 Only copy a range out of every @var{breadth} bytes. (Header data is
1432 not affected). Select which byte in the range begins the copy with
1433 the @option{--byte} option. Select the width of the range with the
1434 @option{--interleave-width} option.
1436 This option is useful for creating files to program @sc{rom}. It is
1437 typically used with an @code{srec} output target. Note that
1438 @command{objcopy} will complain if you do not specify the
1439 @option{--byte} option as well.
1441 The default interleave breadth is 4, so with @option{--byte} set to 0,
1442 @command{objcopy} would copy the first byte out of every four bytes
1443 from the input to the output.
1445 @item --interleave-width=@var{width}
1446 When used with the @option{--interleave} option, copy @var{width}
1447 bytes at a time. The start of the range of bytes to be copied is set
1448 by the @option{--byte} option, and the extent of the range is set with
1449 the @option{--interleave} option.
1451 The default value for this option is 1. The value of @var{width} plus
1452 the @var{byte} value set by the @option{--byte} option must not exceed
1453 the interleave breadth set by the @option{--interleave} option.
1455 This option can be used to create images for two 16-bit flashes interleaved
1456 in a 32-bit bus by passing @option{-b 0 -i 4 --interleave-width=2}
1457 and @option{-b 2 -i 4 --interleave-width=2} to two @command{objcopy}
1458 commands. If the input was '12345678' then the outputs would be
1459 '1256' and '3478' respectively.
1462 @itemx --preserve-dates
1463 Set the access and modification dates of the output file to be the same
1464 as those of the input file.
1467 @itemx --enable-deterministic-archives
1468 @cindex deterministic archives
1469 @kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
1470 Operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. When copying archive members
1471 and writing the archive index, use zero for UIDs, GIDs, timestamps,
1472 and use consistent file modes for all files.
1474 If @file{binutils} was configured with
1475 @option{--enable-deterministic-archives}, then this mode is on by default.
1476 It can be disabled with the @samp{-U} option, below.
1479 @itemx --disable-deterministic-archives
1480 @cindex deterministic archives
1481 @kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
1482 Do @emph{not} operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. This is the
1483 inverse of the @option{-D} option, above: when copying archive members
1484 and writing the archive index, use their actual UID, GID, timestamp,
1485 and file mode values.
1487 This is the default unless @file{binutils} was configured with
1488 @option{--enable-deterministic-archives}.
1491 Convert debugging information, if possible. This is not the default
1492 because only certain debugging formats are supported, and the
1493 conversion process can be time consuming.
1495 @item --gap-fill @var{val}
1496 Fill gaps between sections with @var{val}. This operation applies to
1497 the @emph{load address} (LMA) of the sections. It is done by increasing
1498 the size of the section with the lower address, and filling in the extra
1499 space created with @var{val}.
1501 @item --pad-to @var{address}
1502 Pad the output file up to the load address @var{address}. This is
1503 done by increasing the size of the last section. The extra space is
1504 filled in with the value specified by @option{--gap-fill} (default zero).
1506 @item --set-start @var{val}
1507 Set the start address of the new file to @var{val}. Not all object file
1508 formats support setting the start address.
1510 @item --change-start @var{incr}
1511 @itemx --adjust-start @var{incr}
1512 @cindex changing start address
1513 Change the start address by adding @var{incr}. Not all object file
1514 formats support setting the start address.
1516 @item --change-addresses @var{incr}
1517 @itemx --adjust-vma @var{incr}
1518 @cindex changing object addresses
1519 Change the VMA and LMA addresses of all sections, as well as the start
1520 address, by adding @var{incr}. Some object file formats do not permit
1521 section addresses to be changed arbitrarily. Note that this does not
1522 relocate the sections; if the program expects sections to be loaded at a
1523 certain address, and this option is used to change the sections such
1524 that they are loaded at a different address, the program may fail.
1526 @item --change-section-address @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1527 @itemx --adjust-section-vma @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1528 @cindex changing section address
1529 Set or change both the VMA address and the LMA address of any section
1530 matching @var{sectionpattern}. If @samp{=} is used, the section
1531 address is set to @var{val}. Otherwise, @var{val} is added to or
1532 subtracted from the section address. See the comments under
1533 @option{--change-addresses}, above. If @var{sectionpattern} does not
1534 match any sections in the input file, a warning will be issued, unless
1535 @option{--no-change-warnings} is used.
1537 @item --change-section-lma @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1538 @cindex changing section LMA
1539 Set or change the LMA address of any sections matching
1540 @var{sectionpattern}. The LMA address is the address where the
1541 section will be loaded into memory at program load time. Normally
1542 this is the same as the VMA address, which is the address of the
1543 section at program run time, but on some systems, especially those
1544 where a program is held in ROM, the two can be different. If @samp{=}
1545 is used, the section address is set to @var{val}. Otherwise,
1546 @var{val} is added to or subtracted from the section address. See the
1547 comments under @option{--change-addresses}, above. If
1548 @var{sectionpattern} does not match any sections in the input file, a
1549 warning will be issued, unless @option{--no-change-warnings} is used.
1551 @item --change-section-vma @var{sectionpattern}@{=,+,-@}@var{val}
1552 @cindex changing section VMA
1553 Set or change the VMA address of any section matching
1554 @var{sectionpattern}. The VMA address is the address where the
1555 section will be located once the program has started executing.
1556 Normally this is the same as the LMA address, which is the address
1557 where the section will be loaded into memory, but on some systems,
1558 especially those where a program is held in ROM, the two can be
1559 different. If @samp{=} is used, the section address is set to
1560 @var{val}. Otherwise, @var{val} is added to or subtracted from the
1561 section address. See the comments under @option{--change-addresses},
1562 above. If @var{sectionpattern} does not match any sections in the
1563 input file, a warning will be issued, unless
1564 @option{--no-change-warnings} is used.
1566 @item --change-warnings
1567 @itemx --adjust-warnings
1568 If @option{--change-section-address} or @option{--change-section-lma} or
1569 @option{--change-section-vma} is used, and the section pattern does not
1570 match any sections, issue a warning. This is the default.
1572 @item --no-change-warnings
1573 @itemx --no-adjust-warnings
1574 Do not issue a warning if @option{--change-section-address} or
1575 @option{--adjust-section-lma} or @option{--adjust-section-vma} is used, even
1576 if the section pattern does not match any sections.
1578 @item --set-section-flags @var{sectionpattern}=@var{flags}
1579 Set the flags for any sections matching @var{sectionpattern}. The
1580 @var{flags} argument is a comma separated string of flag names. The
1581 recognized names are @samp{alloc}, @samp{contents}, @samp{load},
1582 @samp{noload}, @samp{readonly}, @samp{code}, @samp{data}, @samp{rom},
1583 @samp{share}, and @samp{debug}. You can set the @samp{contents} flag
1584 for a section which does not have contents, but it is not meaningful
1585 to clear the @samp{contents} flag of a section which does have
1586 contents--just remove the section instead. Not all flags are
1587 meaningful for all object file formats.
1589 @item --add-section @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}
1590 Add a new section named @var{sectionname} while copying the file. The
1591 contents of the new section are taken from the file @var{filename}. The
1592 size of the section will be the size of the file. This option only
1593 works on file formats which can support sections with arbitrary names.
1594 Note - it may be necessary to use the @option{--set-section-flags}
1595 option to set the attributes of the newly created section.
1597 @item --dump-section @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}
1598 Place the contents of section named @var{sectionname} into the file
1599 @var{filename}, overwriting any contents that may have been there
1600 previously. This option is the inverse of @option{--add-section}.
1601 This option is similar to the @option{--only-section} option except
1602 that it does not create a formatted file, it just dumps the contents
1603 as raw binary data, without applying any relocations. The option can
1604 be specified more than once.
1606 @item --update-section @var{sectionname}=@var{filename}
1607 Replace the existing contents of a section named @var{sectionname}
1608 with the contents of file @var{filename}. The size of the section
1609 will be adjusted to the size of the file. The section flags for
1610 @var{sectionname} will be unchanged. For ELF format files the section
1611 to segment mapping will also remain unchanged, something which is not
1612 possible using @option{--remove-section} followed by
1613 @option{--add-section}. The option can be specified more than once.
1615 Note - it is possible to use @option{--rename-section} and
1616 @option{--update-section} to both update and rename a section from one
1617 command line. In this case, pass the original section name to
1618 @option{--update-section}, and the original and new section names to
1619 @option{--rename-section}.
1621 @item --add-symbol @var{name}=[@var{section}:]@var{value}[,@var{flags}]
1622 Add a new symbol named @var{name} while copying the file. This option may be
1623 specified multiple times. If the @var{section} is given, the symbol will be
1624 associated with and relative to that section, otherwise it will be an ABS
1625 symbol. Specifying an undefined section will result in a fatal error. There
1626 is no check for the value, it will be taken as specified. Symbol flags can
1627 be specified and not all flags will be meaningful for all object file
1628 formats. By default, the symbol will be global. The special flag
1629 'before=@var{othersym}' will insert the new symbol in front of the specified
1630 @var{othersym}, otherwise the symbol(s) will be added at the end of the
1631 symbol table in the order they appear.
1633 @item --rename-section @var{oldname}=@var{newname}[,@var{flags}]
1634 Rename a section from @var{oldname} to @var{newname}, optionally
1635 changing the section's flags to @var{flags} in the process. This has
1636 the advantage over using a linker script to perform the rename in that
1637 the output stays as an object file and does not become a linked
1640 This option is particularly helpful when the input format is binary,
1641 since this will always create a section called .data. If for example,
1642 you wanted instead to create a section called .rodata containing binary
1643 data you could use the following command line to achieve it:
1646 objcopy -I binary -O <output_format> -B <architecture> \
1647 --rename-section .data=.rodata,alloc,load,readonly,data,contents \
1648 <input_binary_file> <output_object_file>
1651 @item --long-section-names @{enable,disable,keep@}
1652 Controls the handling of long section names when processing @code{COFF}
1653 and @code{PE-COFF} object formats. The default behaviour, @samp{keep},
1654 is to preserve long section names if any are present in the input file.
1655 The @samp{enable} and @samp{disable} options forcibly enable or disable
1656 the use of long section names in the output object; when @samp{disable}
1657 is in effect, any long section names in the input object will be truncated.
1658 The @samp{enable} option will only emit long section names if any are
1659 present in the inputs; this is mostly the same as @samp{keep}, but it
1660 is left undefined whether the @samp{enable} option might force the
1661 creation of an empty string table in the output file.
1663 @item --change-leading-char
1664 Some object file formats use special characters at the start of
1665 symbols. The most common such character is underscore, which compilers
1666 often add before every symbol. This option tells @command{objcopy} to
1667 change the leading character of every symbol when it converts between
1668 object file formats. If the object file formats use the same leading
1669 character, this option has no effect. Otherwise, it will add a
1670 character, or remove a character, or change a character, as
1673 @item --remove-leading-char
1674 If the first character of a global symbol is a special symbol leading
1675 character used by the object file format, remove the character. The
1676 most common symbol leading character is underscore. This option will
1677 remove a leading underscore from all global symbols. This can be useful
1678 if you want to link together objects of different file formats with
1679 different conventions for symbol names. This is different from
1680 @option{--change-leading-char} because it always changes the symbol name
1681 when appropriate, regardless of the object file format of the output
1684 @item --reverse-bytes=@var{num}
1685 Reverse the bytes in a section with output contents. A section length must
1686 be evenly divisible by the value given in order for the swap to be able to
1687 take place. Reversing takes place before the interleaving is performed.
1689 This option is used typically in generating ROM images for problematic
1690 target systems. For example, on some target boards, the 32-bit words
1691 fetched from 8-bit ROMs are re-assembled in little-endian byte order
1692 regardless of the CPU byte order. Depending on the programming model, the
1693 endianness of the ROM may need to be modified.
1695 Consider a simple file with a section containing the following eight
1696 bytes: @code{12345678}.
1698 Using @samp{--reverse-bytes=2} for the above example, the bytes in the
1699 output file would be ordered @code{21436587}.
1701 Using @samp{--reverse-bytes=4} for the above example, the bytes in the
1702 output file would be ordered @code{43218765}.
1704 By using @samp{--reverse-bytes=2} for the above example, followed by
1705 @samp{--reverse-bytes=4} on the output file, the bytes in the second
1706 output file would be ordered @code{34127856}.
1708 @item --srec-len=@var{ival}
1709 Meaningful only for srec output. Set the maximum length of the Srecords
1710 being produced to @var{ival}. This length covers both address, data and
1713 @item --srec-forceS3
1714 Meaningful only for srec output. Avoid generation of S1/S2 records,
1715 creating S3-only record format.
1717 @item --redefine-sym @var{old}=@var{new}
1718 Change the name of a symbol @var{old}, to @var{new}. This can be useful
1719 when one is trying link two things together for which you have no
1720 source, and there are name collisions.
1722 @item --redefine-syms=@var{filename}
1723 Apply @option{--redefine-sym} to each symbol pair "@var{old} @var{new}"
1724 listed in the file @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file,
1725 with one symbol pair per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash
1726 character. This option may be given more than once.
1729 Change all global symbols in the file to be weak. This can be useful
1730 when building an object which will be linked against other objects using
1731 the @option{-R} option to the linker. This option is only effective when
1732 using an object file format which supports weak symbols.
1734 @item --keep-symbols=@var{filename}
1735 Apply @option{--keep-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
1736 @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1737 name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1738 This option may be given more than once.
1740 @item --strip-symbols=@var{filename}
1741 Apply @option{--strip-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
1742 @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1743 name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1744 This option may be given more than once.
1746 @item --strip-unneeded-symbols=@var{filename}
1747 Apply @option{--strip-unneeded-symbol} option to each symbol listed in
1748 the file @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one
1749 symbol name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash
1750 character. This option may be given more than once.
1752 @item --keep-global-symbols=@var{filename}
1753 Apply @option{--keep-global-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the
1754 file @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one
1755 symbol name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash
1756 character. This option may be given more than once.
1758 @item --localize-symbols=@var{filename}
1759 Apply @option{--localize-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
1760 @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1761 name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1762 This option may be given more than once.
1764 @item --globalize-symbols=@var{filename}
1765 Apply @option{--globalize-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
1766 @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1767 name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1768 This option may be given more than once.
1770 @item --weaken-symbols=@var{filename}
1771 Apply @option{--weaken-symbol} option to each symbol listed in the file
1772 @var{filename}. @var{filename} is simply a flat file, with one symbol
1773 name per line. Line comments may be introduced by the hash character.
1774 This option may be given more than once.
1776 @item --alt-machine-code=@var{index}
1777 If the output architecture has alternate machine codes, use the
1778 @var{index}th code instead of the default one. This is useful in case
1779 a machine is assigned an official code and the tool-chain adopts the
1780 new code, but other applications still depend on the original code
1781 being used. For ELF based architectures if the @var{index}
1782 alternative does not exist then the value is treated as an absolute
1783 number to be stored in the e_machine field of the ELF header.
1785 @item --writable-text
1786 Mark the output text as writable. This option isn't meaningful for all
1787 object file formats.
1789 @item --readonly-text
1790 Make the output text write protected. This option isn't meaningful for all
1791 object file formats.
1794 Mark the output file as demand paged. This option isn't meaningful for all
1795 object file formats.
1798 Mark the output file as impure. This option isn't meaningful for all
1799 object file formats.
1801 @item --prefix-symbols=@var{string}
1802 Prefix all symbols in the output file with @var{string}.
1804 @item --prefix-sections=@var{string}
1805 Prefix all section names in the output file with @var{string}.
1807 @item --prefix-alloc-sections=@var{string}
1808 Prefix all the names of all allocated sections in the output file with
1811 @item --add-gnu-debuglink=@var{path-to-file}
1812 Creates a .gnu_debuglink section which contains a reference to
1813 @var{path-to-file} and adds it to the output file. Note: the file at
1814 @var{path-to-file} must exist. Part of the process of adding the
1815 .gnu_debuglink section involves embedding a checksum of the contents
1816 of the debug info file into the section.
1818 If the debug info file is built in one location but it is going to be
1819 installed at a later time into a different location then do not use
1820 the path to the installed location. The @option{--add-gnu-debuglink}
1821 option will fail because the installed file does not exist yet.
1822 Instead put the debug info file in the current directory and use the
1823 @option{--add-gnu-debuglink} option without any directory components,
1827 objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.debug
1830 At debug time the debugger will attempt to look for the separate debug
1831 info file in a set of known locations. The exact set of these
1832 locations varies depending upon the distribution being used, but it
1837 @item * The same directory as the executable.
1839 @item * A sub-directory of the directory containing the executable
1842 @item * A global debug directory such as /usr/lib/debug.
1845 As long as the debug info file has been installed into one of these
1846 locations before the debugger is run everything should work
1849 @item --keep-file-symbols
1850 When stripping a file, perhaps with @option{--strip-debug} or
1851 @option{--strip-unneeded}, retain any symbols specifying source file names,
1852 which would otherwise get stripped.
1854 @item --only-keep-debug
1855 Strip a file, removing contents of any sections that would not be
1856 stripped by @option{--strip-debug} and leaving the debugging sections
1857 intact. In ELF files, this preserves all note sections in the output.
1859 Note - the section headers of the stripped sections are preserved,
1860 including their sizes, but the contents of the section are discarded.
1861 The section headers are preserved so that other tools can match up the
1862 debuginfo file with the real executable, even if that executable has
1863 been relocated to a different address space.
1865 The intention is that this option will be used in conjunction with
1866 @option{--add-gnu-debuglink} to create a two part executable. One a
1867 stripped binary which will occupy less space in RAM and in a
1868 distribution and the second a debugging information file which is only
1869 needed if debugging abilities are required. The suggested procedure
1870 to create these files is as follows:
1873 @item Link the executable as normal. Assuming that is is called
1875 @item Run @code{objcopy --only-keep-debug foo foo.dbg} to
1876 create a file containing the debugging info.
1877 @item Run @code{objcopy --strip-debug foo} to create a
1878 stripped executable.
1879 @item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.dbg foo}
1880 to add a link to the debugging info into the stripped executable.
1883 Note---the choice of @code{.dbg} as an extension for the debug info
1884 file is arbitrary. Also the @code{--only-keep-debug} step is
1885 optional. You could instead do this:
1888 @item Link the executable as normal.
1889 @item Copy @code{foo} to @code{foo.full}
1890 @item Run @code{objcopy --strip-debug foo}
1891 @item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.full foo}
1894 i.e., the file pointed to by the @option{--add-gnu-debuglink} can be the
1895 full executable. It does not have to be a file created by the
1896 @option{--only-keep-debug} switch.
1898 Note---this switch is only intended for use on fully linked files. It
1899 does not make sense to use it on object files where the debugging
1900 information may be incomplete. Besides the gnu_debuglink feature
1901 currently only supports the presence of one filename containing
1902 debugging information, not multiple filenames on a one-per-object-file
1906 Remove the contents of all DWARF .dwo sections, leaving the
1907 remaining debugging sections and all symbols intact.
1908 This option is intended for use by the compiler as part of
1909 the @option{-gsplit-dwarf} option, which splits debug information
1910 between the .o file and a separate .dwo file. The compiler
1911 generates all debug information in the same file, then uses
1912 the @option{--extract-dwo} option to copy the .dwo sections to
1913 the .dwo file, then the @option{--strip-dwo} option to remove
1914 those sections from the original .o file.
1917 Extract the contents of all DWARF .dwo sections. See the
1918 @option{--strip-dwo} option for more information.
1920 @item --file-alignment @var{num}
1921 Specify the file alignment. Sections in the file will always begin at
1922 file offsets which are multiples of this number. This defaults to
1924 [This option is specific to PE targets.]
1926 @item --heap @var{reserve}
1927 @itemx --heap @var{reserve},@var{commit}
1928 Specify the number of bytes of memory to reserve (and optionally commit)
1929 to be used as heap for this program.
1930 [This option is specific to PE targets.]
1932 @item --image-base @var{value}
1933 Use @var{value} as the base address of your program or dll. This is
1934 the lowest memory location that will be used when your program or dll
1935 is loaded. To reduce the need to relocate and improve performance of
1936 your dlls, each should have a unique base address and not overlap any
1937 other dlls. The default is 0x400000 for executables, and 0x10000000
1939 [This option is specific to PE targets.]
1941 @item --section-alignment @var{num}
1942 Sets the section alignment. Sections in memory will always begin at
1943 addresses which are a multiple of this number. Defaults to 0x1000.
1944 [This option is specific to PE targets.]
1946 @item --stack @var{reserve}
1947 @itemx --stack @var{reserve},@var{commit}
1948 Specify the number of bytes of memory to reserve (and optionally commit)
1949 to be used as stack for this program.
1950 [This option is specific to PE targets.]
1952 @item --subsystem @var{which}
1953 @itemx --subsystem @var{which}:@var{major}
1954 @itemx --subsystem @var{which}:@var{major}.@var{minor}
1955 Specifies the subsystem under which your program will execute. The
1956 legal values for @var{which} are @code{native}, @code{windows},
1957 @code{console}, @code{posix}, @code{efi-app}, @code{efi-bsd},
1958 @code{efi-rtd}, @code{sal-rtd}, and @code{xbox}. You may optionally set
1959 the subsystem version also. Numeric values are also accepted for
1961 [This option is specific to PE targets.]
1963 @item --extract-symbol
1964 Keep the file's section flags and symbols but remove all section data.
1965 Specifically, the option:
1968 @item removes the contents of all sections;
1969 @item sets the size of every section to zero; and
1970 @item sets the file's start address to zero.
1973 This option is used to build a @file{.sym} file for a VxWorks kernel.
1974 It can also be a useful way of reducing the size of a @option{--just-symbols}
1977 @item --compress-debug-sections
1978 Compress DWARF debug sections using zlib with SHF_COMPRESSED from the
1979 ELF ABI. Note - if compression would actually make a section
1980 @emph{larger}, then it is not compressed.
1982 @item --compress-debug-sections=none
1983 @itemx --compress-debug-sections=zlib
1984 @itemx --compress-debug-sections=zlib-gnu
1985 @itemx --compress-debug-sections=zlib-gabi
1986 For ELF files, these options control how DWARF debug sections are
1987 compressed. @option{--compress-debug-sections=none} is equivalent
1988 to @option{--decompress-debug-sections}.
1989 @option{--compress-debug-sections=zlib} and
1990 @option{--compress-debug-sections=zlib-gabi} are equivalent to
1991 @option{--compress-debug-sections}.
1992 @option{--compress-debug-sections=zlib-gnu} compresses DWARF debug
1993 sections using zlib. The debug sections are renamed to begin with
1994 @samp{.zdebug} instead of @samp{.debug}. Note - if compression would
1995 actually make a section @emph{larger}, then it is not compressed nor
1998 @item --decompress-debug-sections
1999 Decompress DWARF debug sections using zlib. The original section
2000 names of the compressed sections are restored.
2002 @item --elf-stt-common=yes
2003 @itemx --elf-stt-common=no
2004 For ELF files, these options control whether common symbols should be
2005 converted to the @code{STT_COMMON} or @code{STT_OBJECT} type.
2006 @option{--elf-stt-common=yes} converts common symbol type to
2007 @code{STT_COMMON}. @option{--elf-stt-common=no} converts common symbol
2008 type to @code{STT_OBJECT}.
2011 @itemx --no-merge-notes
2012 For ELF files, attempt (or do not attempt) to reduce the size of any
2013 SHT_NOTE type sections by removing duplicate notes.
2017 Show the version number of @command{objcopy}.
2021 Verbose output: list all object files modified. In the case of
2022 archives, @samp{objcopy -V} lists all members of the archive.
2025 Show a summary of the options to @command{objcopy}.
2028 Display a list showing all architectures and object formats available.
2034 @c man begin SEEALSO objcopy
2035 ld(1), objdump(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2042 @cindex object file information
2045 @c man title objdump display information from object files.
2048 @c man begin SYNOPSIS objdump
2049 objdump [@option{-a}|@option{--archive-headers}]
2050 [@option{-b} @var{bfdname}|@option{--target=@var{bfdname}}]
2051 [@option{-C}|@option{--demangle}[=@var{style}] ]
2052 [@option{-d}|@option{--disassemble}]
2053 [@option{-D}|@option{--disassemble-all}]
2054 [@option{-z}|@option{--disassemble-zeroes}]
2055 [@option{-EB}|@option{-EL}|@option{--endian=}@{big | little @}]
2056 [@option{-f}|@option{--file-headers}]
2057 [@option{-F}|@option{--file-offsets}]
2058 [@option{--file-start-context}]
2059 [@option{-g}|@option{--debugging}]
2060 [@option{-e}|@option{--debugging-tags}]
2061 [@option{-h}|@option{--section-headers}|@option{--headers}]
2062 [@option{-i}|@option{--info}]
2063 [@option{-j} @var{section}|@option{--section=}@var{section}]
2064 [@option{-l}|@option{--line-numbers}]
2065 [@option{-S}|@option{--source}]
2066 [@option{-m} @var{machine}|@option{--architecture=}@var{machine}]
2067 [@option{-M} @var{options}|@option{--disassembler-options=}@var{options}]
2068 [@option{-p}|@option{--private-headers}]
2069 [@option{-P} @var{options}|@option{--private=}@var{options}]
2070 [@option{-r}|@option{--reloc}]
2071 [@option{-R}|@option{--dynamic-reloc}]
2072 [@option{-s}|@option{--full-contents}]
2073 [@option{-W[lLiaprmfFsoRtUuTgAckK]}|
2074 @option{--dwarf}[=rawline,=decodedline,=info,=abbrev,=pubnames,=aranges,=macro,=frames,=frames-interp,=str,=loc,=Ranges,=pubtypes,=trace_info,=trace_abbrev,=trace_aranges,=gdb_index,=addr,=cu_index,=links,=follow-links]
2075 [@option{-G}|@option{--stabs}]
2076 [@option{-t}|@option{--syms}]
2077 [@option{-T}|@option{--dynamic-syms}]
2078 [@option{-x}|@option{--all-headers}]
2079 [@option{-w}|@option{--wide}]
2080 [@option{--start-address=}@var{address}]
2081 [@option{--stop-address=}@var{address}]
2082 [@option{--prefix-addresses}]
2083 [@option{--[no-]show-raw-insn}]
2084 [@option{--adjust-vma=}@var{offset}]
2085 [@option{--dwarf-depth=@var{n}}]
2086 [@option{--dwarf-start=@var{n}}]
2087 [@option{--special-syms}]
2088 [@option{--prefix=}@var{prefix}]
2089 [@option{--prefix-strip=}@var{level}]
2090 [@option{--insn-width=}@var{width}]
2091 [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
2092 [@option{-H}|@option{--help}]
2093 @var{objfile}@dots{}
2097 @c man begin DESCRIPTION objdump
2099 @command{objdump} displays information about one or more object files.
2100 The options control what particular information to display. This
2101 information is mostly useful to programmers who are working on the
2102 compilation tools, as opposed to programmers who just want their
2103 program to compile and work.
2105 @var{objfile}@dots{} are the object files to be examined. When you
2106 specify archives, @command{objdump} shows information on each of the member
2111 @c man begin OPTIONS objdump
2113 The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
2114 equivalent. At least one option from the list
2115 @option{-a,-d,-D,-e,-f,-g,-G,-h,-H,-p,-P,-r,-R,-s,-S,-t,-T,-V,-x} must be given.
2119 @itemx --archive-header
2120 @cindex archive headers
2121 If any of the @var{objfile} files are archives, display the archive
2122 header information (in a format similar to @samp{ls -l}). Besides the
2123 information you could list with @samp{ar tv}, @samp{objdump -a} shows
2124 the object file format of each archive member.
2126 @item --adjust-vma=@var{offset}
2127 @cindex section addresses in objdump
2128 @cindex VMA in objdump
2129 When dumping information, first add @var{offset} to all the section
2130 addresses. This is useful if the section addresses do not correspond to
2131 the symbol table, which can happen when putting sections at particular
2132 addresses when using a format which can not represent section addresses,
2135 @item -b @var{bfdname}
2136 @itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
2137 @cindex object code format
2138 Specify that the object-code format for the object files is
2139 @var{bfdname}. This option may not be necessary; @var{objdump} can
2140 automatically recognize many formats.
2144 objdump -b oasys -m vax -h fu.o
2147 displays summary information from the section headers (@option{-h}) of
2148 @file{fu.o}, which is explicitly identified (@option{-m}) as a VAX object
2149 file in the format produced by Oasys compilers. You can list the
2150 formats available with the @option{-i} option.
2151 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2154 @itemx --demangle[=@var{style}]
2155 @cindex demangling in objdump
2156 Decode (@dfn{demangle}) low-level symbol names into user-level names.
2157 Besides removing any initial underscore prepended by the system, this
2158 makes C++ function names readable. Different compilers have different
2159 mangling styles. The optional demangling style argument can be used to
2160 choose an appropriate demangling style for your compiler. @xref{c++filt},
2161 for more information on demangling.
2165 Display debugging information. This attempts to parse STABS
2166 debugging format information stored in the file and print it out using
2167 a C like syntax. If no STABS debuging was found this option
2168 falls back on the @option{-W} option to print any DWARF information in
2172 @itemx --debugging-tags
2173 Like @option{-g}, but the information is generated in a format compatible
2177 @itemx --disassemble
2178 @cindex disassembling object code
2179 @cindex machine instructions
2180 Display the assembler mnemonics for the machine instructions from
2181 @var{objfile}. This option only disassembles those sections which are
2182 expected to contain instructions.
2185 @itemx --disassemble-all
2186 Like @option{-d}, but disassemble the contents of all sections, not just
2187 those expected to contain instructions.
2189 This option also has a subtle effect on the disassembly of
2190 instructions in code sections. When option @option{-d} is in effect
2191 objdump will assume that any symbols present in a code section occur
2192 on the boundary between instructions and it will refuse to disassemble
2193 across such a boundary. When option @option{-D} is in effect however
2194 this assumption is supressed. This means that it is possible for the
2195 output of @option{-d} and @option{-D} to differ if, for example, data
2196 is stored in code sections.
2198 If the target is an ARM architecture this switch also has the effect
2199 of forcing the disassembler to decode pieces of data found in code
2200 sections as if they were instructions.
2202 @item --prefix-addresses
2203 When disassembling, print the complete address on each line. This is
2204 the older disassembly format.
2208 @itemx --endian=@{big|little@}
2210 @cindex disassembly endianness
2211 Specify the endianness of the object files. This only affects
2212 disassembly. This can be useful when disassembling a file format which
2213 does not describe endianness information, such as S-records.
2216 @itemx --file-headers
2217 @cindex object file header
2218 Display summary information from the overall header of
2219 each of the @var{objfile} files.
2222 @itemx --file-offsets
2223 @cindex object file offsets
2224 When disassembling sections, whenever a symbol is displayed, also
2225 display the file offset of the region of data that is about to be
2226 dumped. If zeroes are being skipped, then when disassembly resumes,
2227 tell the user how many zeroes were skipped and the file offset of the
2228 location from where the disassembly resumes. When dumping sections,
2229 display the file offset of the location from where the dump starts.
2231 @item --file-start-context
2232 @cindex source code context
2233 Specify that when displaying interlisted source code/disassembly
2234 (assumes @option{-S}) from a file that has not yet been displayed, extend the
2235 context to the start of the file.
2238 @itemx --section-headers
2240 @cindex section headers
2241 Display summary information from the section headers of the
2244 File segments may be relocated to nonstandard addresses, for example by
2245 using the @option{-Ttext}, @option{-Tdata}, or @option{-Tbss} options to
2246 @command{ld}. However, some object file formats, such as a.out, do not
2247 store the starting address of the file segments. In those situations,
2248 although @command{ld} relocates the sections correctly, using @samp{objdump
2249 -h} to list the file section headers cannot show the correct addresses.
2250 Instead, it shows the usual addresses, which are implicit for the
2253 Note, in some cases it is possible for a section to have both the
2254 READONLY and the NOREAD attributes set. In such cases the NOREAD
2255 attribute takes precedence, but @command{objdump} will report both
2256 since the exact setting of the flag bits might be important.
2260 Print a summary of the options to @command{objdump} and exit.
2264 @cindex architectures available
2265 @cindex object formats available
2266 Display a list showing all architectures and object formats available
2267 for specification with @option{-b} or @option{-m}.
2270 @itemx --section=@var{name}
2271 @cindex section information
2272 Display information only for section @var{name}.
2275 @itemx --line-numbers
2276 @cindex source filenames for object files
2277 Label the display (using debugging information) with the filename and
2278 source line numbers corresponding to the object code or relocs shown.
2279 Only useful with @option{-d}, @option{-D}, or @option{-r}.
2281 @item -m @var{machine}
2282 @itemx --architecture=@var{machine}
2283 @cindex architecture
2284 @cindex disassembly architecture
2285 Specify the architecture to use when disassembling object files. This
2286 can be useful when disassembling object files which do not describe
2287 architecture information, such as S-records. You can list the available
2288 architectures with the @option{-i} option.
2290 If the target is an ARM architecture then this switch has an
2291 additional effect. It restricts the disassembly to only those
2292 instructions supported by the architecture specified by @var{machine}.
2293 If it is necessary to use this switch because the input file does not
2294 contain any architecture information, but it is also desired to
2295 disassemble all the instructions use @option{-marm}.
2297 @item -M @var{options}
2298 @itemx --disassembler-options=@var{options}
2299 Pass target specific information to the disassembler. Only supported on
2300 some targets. If it is necessary to specify more than one
2301 disassembler option then multiple @option{-M} options can be used or
2302 can be placed together into a comma separated list.
2304 For ARC, @option{dsp} controls the printing of DSP instructions,
2305 @option{spfp} selects the printing of FPX single precision FP
2306 instructions, @option{dpfp} selects the printing of FPX double
2307 precision FP instructions, @option{quarkse_em} selects the printing of
2308 special QuarkSE-EM instructions, @option{fpuda} selects the printing
2309 of double precision assist instructions, @option{fpus} selects the
2310 printing of FPU single precision FP instructions, while @option{fpud}
2311 selects the printing of FPU souble precision FP instructions.
2312 Additionally, one can choose to have all the immediates printed in
2313 hexadecimal using @option{hex}. By default, the short immediates are
2314 printed using the decimal representation, while the long immediate
2315 values are printed as hexadecimal.
2317 @option{cpu=...} allows to enforce a particular ISA when disassembling
2318 instructions, overriding the @option{-m} value or whatever is in the ELF file.
2319 This might be useful to select ARC EM or HS ISA, because architecture is same
2320 for those and disassembler relies on private ELF header data to decide if code
2321 is for EM or HS. This option might be specified multiple times - only the
2322 latest value will be used. Valid values are same as for the assembler
2323 @option{-mcpu=...} option.
2325 If the target is an ARM architecture then this switch can be used to
2326 select which register name set is used during disassembler. Specifying
2327 @option{-M reg-names-std} (the default) will select the register names as
2328 used in ARM's instruction set documentation, but with register 13 called
2329 'sp', register 14 called 'lr' and register 15 called 'pc'. Specifying
2330 @option{-M reg-names-apcs} will select the name set used by the ARM
2331 Procedure Call Standard, whilst specifying @option{-M reg-names-raw} will
2332 just use @samp{r} followed by the register number.
2334 There are also two variants on the APCS register naming scheme enabled
2335 by @option{-M reg-names-atpcs} and @option{-M reg-names-special-atpcs} which
2336 use the ARM/Thumb Procedure Call Standard naming conventions. (Either
2337 with the normal register names or the special register names).
2339 This option can also be used for ARM architectures to force the
2340 disassembler to interpret all instructions as Thumb instructions by
2341 using the switch @option{--disassembler-options=force-thumb}. This can be
2342 useful when attempting to disassemble thumb code produced by other
2345 For the x86, some of the options duplicate functions of the @option{-m}
2346 switch, but allow finer grained control. Multiple selections from the
2347 following may be specified as a comma separated string.
2352 Select disassembly for the given architecture.
2356 Select between intel syntax mode and AT&T syntax mode.
2360 Select between AMD64 ISA and Intel64 ISA.
2362 @item intel-mnemonic
2364 Select between intel mnemonic mode and AT&T mnemonic mode.
2365 Note: @code{intel-mnemonic} implies @code{intel} and
2366 @code{att-mnemonic} implies @code{att}.
2373 Specify the default address size and operand size. These four options
2374 will be overridden if @code{x86-64}, @code{i386} or @code{i8086}
2375 appear later in the option string.
2378 When in AT&T mode, instructs the disassembler to print a mnemonic
2379 suffix even when the suffix could be inferred by the operands.
2382 For PowerPC, the @option{-M} argument @option{raw} selects
2383 disasssembly of hardware insns rather than aliases. For example, you
2384 will see @code{rlwinm} rather than @code{clrlwi}, and @code{addi}
2385 rather than @code{li}. All of the @option{-m} arguments for
2386 @command{gas} that select a CPU are supported. These are:
2387 @option{403}, @option{405}, @option{440}, @option{464}, @option{476},
2388 @option{601}, @option{603}, @option{604}, @option{620}, @option{7400},
2389 @option{7410}, @option{7450}, @option{7455}, @option{750cl},
2390 @option{821}, @option{850}, @option{860}, @option{a2}, @option{booke},
2391 @option{booke32}, @option{cell}, @option{com}, @option{e200z4},
2392 @option{e300}, @option{e500}, @option{e500mc}, @option{e500mc64},
2393 @option{e500x2}, @option{e5500}, @option{e6500}, @option{efs},
2394 @option{power4}, @option{power5}, @option{power6}, @option{power7},
2395 @option{power8}, @option{power9}, @option{ppc}, @option{ppc32},
2396 @option{ppc64}, @option{ppc64bridge}, @option{ppcps}, @option{pwr},
2397 @option{pwr2}, @option{pwr4}, @option{pwr5}, @option{pwr5x},
2398 @option{pwr6}, @option{pwr7}, @option{pwr8}, @option{pwr9},
2399 @option{pwrx}, @option{titan}, and @option{vle}.
2400 @option{32} and @option{64} modify the default or a prior CPU
2401 selection, disabling and enabling 64-bit insns respectively. In
2402 addition, @option{altivec}, @option{any}, @option{htm}, @option{vsx},
2403 and @option{spe} add capabilities to a previous @emph{or later} CPU
2404 selection. @option{any} will disassemble any opcode known to
2405 binutils, but in cases where an opcode has two different meanings or
2406 different arguments, you may not see the disassembly you expect.
2407 If you disassemble without giving a CPU selection, a default will be
2408 chosen from information gleaned by BFD from the object files headers,
2409 but the result again may not be as you expect.
2411 For MIPS, this option controls the printing of instruction mnemonic
2412 names and register names in disassembled instructions. Multiple
2413 selections from the following may be specified as a comma separated
2414 string, and invalid options are ignored:
2418 Print the 'raw' instruction mnemonic instead of some pseudo
2419 instruction mnemonic. I.e., print 'daddu' or 'or' instead of 'move',
2420 'sll' instead of 'nop', etc.
2423 Disassemble MSA instructions.
2426 Disassemble the virtualization ASE instructions.
2429 Disassemble the eXtended Physical Address (XPA) ASE instructions.
2431 @item gpr-names=@var{ABI}
2432 Print GPR (general-purpose register) names as appropriate
2433 for the specified ABI. By default, GPR names are selected according to
2434 the ABI of the binary being disassembled.
2436 @item fpr-names=@var{ABI}
2437 Print FPR (floating-point register) names as
2438 appropriate for the specified ABI. By default, FPR numbers are printed
2441 @item cp0-names=@var{ARCH}
2442 Print CP0 (system control coprocessor; coprocessor 0) register names
2443 as appropriate for the CPU or architecture specified by
2444 @var{ARCH}. By default, CP0 register names are selected according to
2445 the architecture and CPU of the binary being disassembled.
2447 @item hwr-names=@var{ARCH}
2448 Print HWR (hardware register, used by the @code{rdhwr} instruction) names
2449 as appropriate for the CPU or architecture specified by
2450 @var{ARCH}. By default, HWR names are selected according to
2451 the architecture and CPU of the binary being disassembled.
2453 @item reg-names=@var{ABI}
2454 Print GPR and FPR names as appropriate for the selected ABI.
2456 @item reg-names=@var{ARCH}
2457 Print CPU-specific register names (CP0 register and HWR names)
2458 as appropriate for the selected CPU or architecture.
2461 For any of the options listed above, @var{ABI} or
2462 @var{ARCH} may be specified as @samp{numeric} to have numbers printed
2463 rather than names, for the selected types of registers.
2464 You can list the available values of @var{ABI} and @var{ARCH} using
2465 the @option{--help} option.
2467 For VAX, you can specify function entry addresses with @option{-M
2468 entry:0xf00ba}. You can use this multiple times to properly
2469 disassemble VAX binary files that don't contain symbol tables (like
2470 ROM dumps). In these cases, the function entry mask would otherwise
2471 be decoded as VAX instructions, which would probably lead the rest
2472 of the function being wrongly disassembled.
2475 @itemx --private-headers
2476 Print information that is specific to the object file format. The exact
2477 information printed depends upon the object file format. For some
2478 object file formats, no additional information is printed.
2480 @item -P @var{options}
2481 @itemx --private=@var{options}
2482 Print information that is specific to the object file format. The
2483 argument @var{options} is a comma separated list that depends on the
2484 format (the lists of options is displayed with the help).
2486 For XCOFF, the available options are:
2502 Not all object formats support this option. In particular the ELF
2503 format does not use it.
2507 @cindex relocation entries, in object file
2508 Print the relocation entries of the file. If used with @option{-d} or
2509 @option{-D}, the relocations are printed interspersed with the
2513 @itemx --dynamic-reloc
2514 @cindex dynamic relocation entries, in object file
2515 Print the dynamic relocation entries of the file. This is only
2516 meaningful for dynamic objects, such as certain types of shared
2517 libraries. As for @option{-r}, if used with @option{-d} or
2518 @option{-D}, the relocations are printed interspersed with the
2522 @itemx --full-contents
2523 @cindex sections, full contents
2524 @cindex object file sections
2525 Display the full contents of any sections requested. By default all
2526 non-empty sections are displayed.
2530 @cindex source disassembly
2531 @cindex disassembly, with source
2532 Display source code intermixed with disassembly, if possible. Implies
2535 @item --prefix=@var{prefix}
2536 @cindex Add prefix to absolute paths
2537 Specify @var{prefix} to add to the absolute paths when used with
2540 @item --prefix-strip=@var{level}
2541 @cindex Strip absolute paths
2542 Indicate how many initial directory names to strip off the hardwired
2543 absolute paths. It has no effect without @option{--prefix=}@var{prefix}.
2545 @item --show-raw-insn
2546 When disassembling instructions, print the instruction in hex as well as
2547 in symbolic form. This is the default except when
2548 @option{--prefix-addresses} is used.
2550 @item --no-show-raw-insn
2551 When disassembling instructions, do not print the instruction bytes.
2552 This is the default when @option{--prefix-addresses} is used.
2554 @item --insn-width=@var{width}
2555 @cindex Instruction width
2556 Display @var{width} bytes on a single line when disassembling
2559 @item -W[lLiaprmfFsoRtUuTgAckK]
2560 @itemx --dwarf[=rawline,=decodedline,=info,=abbrev,=pubnames,=aranges,=macro,=frames,=frames-interp,=str,=loc,=Ranges,=pubtypes,=trace_info,=trace_abbrev,=trace_aranges,=gdb_index,=addr,=cu_index,=links,=follow-links]
2561 @include debug.options.texi
2564 Enable additional checks for consistency of Dwarf information.
2570 @cindex debug symbols
2571 @cindex ELF object file format
2572 Display the full contents of any sections requested. Display the
2573 contents of the .stab and .stab.index and .stab.excl sections from an
2574 ELF file. This is only useful on systems (such as Solaris 2.0) in which
2575 @code{.stab} debugging symbol-table entries are carried in an ELF
2576 section. In most other file formats, debugging symbol-table entries are
2577 interleaved with linkage symbols, and are visible in the @option{--syms}
2580 @item --start-address=@var{address}
2581 @cindex start-address
2582 Start displaying data at the specified address. This affects the output
2583 of the @option{-d}, @option{-r} and @option{-s} options.
2585 @item --stop-address=@var{address}
2586 @cindex stop-address
2587 Stop displaying data at the specified address. This affects the output
2588 of the @option{-d}, @option{-r} and @option{-s} options.
2592 @cindex symbol table entries, printing
2593 Print the symbol table entries of the file.
2594 This is similar to the information provided by the @samp{nm} program,
2595 although the display format is different. The format of the output
2596 depends upon the format of the file being dumped, but there are two main
2597 types. One looks like this:
2600 [ 4](sec 3)(fl 0x00)(ty 0)(scl 3) (nx 1) 0x00000000 .bss
2601 [ 6](sec 1)(fl 0x00)(ty 0)(scl 2) (nx 0) 0x00000000 fred
2604 where the number inside the square brackets is the number of the entry
2605 in the symbol table, the @var{sec} number is the section number, the
2606 @var{fl} value are the symbol's flag bits, the @var{ty} number is the
2607 symbol's type, the @var{scl} number is the symbol's storage class and
2608 the @var{nx} value is the number of auxilary entries associated with
2609 the symbol. The last two fields are the symbol's value and its name.
2611 The other common output format, usually seen with ELF based files,
2615 00000000 l d .bss 00000000 .bss
2616 00000000 g .text 00000000 fred
2619 Here the first number is the symbol's value (sometimes refered to as
2620 its address). The next field is actually a set of characters and
2621 spaces indicating the flag bits that are set on the symbol. These
2622 characters are described below. Next is the section with which the
2623 symbol is associated or @emph{*ABS*} if the section is absolute (ie
2624 not connected with any section), or @emph{*UND*} if the section is
2625 referenced in the file being dumped, but not defined there.
2627 After the section name comes another field, a number, which for common
2628 symbols is the alignment and for other symbol is the size. Finally
2629 the symbol's name is displayed.
2631 The flag characters are divided into 7 groups as follows:
2637 The symbol is a local (l), global (g), unique global (u), neither
2638 global nor local (a space) or both global and local (!). A
2639 symbol can be neither local or global for a variety of reasons, e.g.,
2640 because it is used for debugging, but it is probably an indication of
2641 a bug if it is ever both local and global. Unique global symbols are
2642 a GNU extension to the standard set of ELF symbol bindings. For such
2643 a symbol the dynamic linker will make sure that in the entire process
2644 there is just one symbol with this name and type in use.
2647 The symbol is weak (w) or strong (a space).
2650 The symbol denotes a constructor (C) or an ordinary symbol (a space).
2653 The symbol is a warning (W) or a normal symbol (a space). A warning
2654 symbol's name is a message to be displayed if the symbol following the
2655 warning symbol is ever referenced.
2659 The symbol is an indirect reference to another symbol (I), a function
2660 to be evaluated during reloc processing (i) or a normal symbol (a
2665 The symbol is a debugging symbol (d) or a dynamic symbol (D) or a
2666 normal symbol (a space).
2671 The symbol is the name of a function (F) or a file (f) or an object
2672 (O) or just a normal symbol (a space).
2676 @itemx --dynamic-syms
2677 @cindex dynamic symbol table entries, printing
2678 Print the dynamic symbol table entries of the file. This is only
2679 meaningful for dynamic objects, such as certain types of shared
2680 libraries. This is similar to the information provided by the @samp{nm}
2681 program when given the @option{-D} (@option{--dynamic}) option.
2683 The output format is similar to that produced by the @option{--syms}
2684 option, except that an extra field is inserted before the symbol's
2685 name, giving the version information associated with the symbol.
2686 If the version is the default version to be used when resolving
2687 unversioned references to the symbol then it's displayed as is,
2688 otherwise it's put into parentheses.
2690 @item --special-syms
2691 When displaying symbols include those which the target considers to be
2692 special in some way and which would not normally be of interest to the
2697 Print the version number of @command{objdump} and exit.
2700 @itemx --all-headers
2701 @cindex all header information, object file
2702 @cindex header information, all
2703 Display all available header information, including the symbol table and
2704 relocation entries. Using @option{-x} is equivalent to specifying all of
2705 @option{-a -f -h -p -r -t}.
2709 @cindex wide output, printing
2710 Format some lines for output devices that have more than 80 columns.
2711 Also do not truncate symbol names when they are displayed.
2714 @itemx --disassemble-zeroes
2715 Normally the disassembly output will skip blocks of zeroes. This
2716 option directs the disassembler to disassemble those blocks, just like
2723 @c man begin SEEALSO objdump
2724 nm(1), readelf(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2732 @cindex archive contents
2733 @cindex symbol index
2735 @c man title ranlib generate index to archive.
2738 @c man begin SYNOPSIS ranlib
2739 ranlib [@option{--plugin} @var{name}] [@option{-DhHvVt}] @var{archive}
2743 @c man begin DESCRIPTION ranlib
2745 @command{ranlib} generates an index to the contents of an archive and
2746 stores it in the archive. The index lists each symbol defined by a
2747 member of an archive that is a relocatable object file.
2749 You may use @samp{nm -s} or @samp{nm --print-armap} to list this index.
2751 An archive with such an index speeds up linking to the library and
2752 allows routines in the library to call each other without regard to
2753 their placement in the archive.
2755 The @sc{gnu} @command{ranlib} program is another form of @sc{gnu} @command{ar}; running
2756 @command{ranlib} is completely equivalent to executing @samp{ar -s}.
2761 @c man begin OPTIONS ranlib
2767 Show usage information for @command{ranlib}.
2772 Show the version number of @command{ranlib}.
2775 @cindex deterministic archives
2776 @kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
2777 Operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. The symbol map archive member's
2778 header will show zero for the UID, GID, and timestamp. When this
2779 option is used, multiple runs will produce identical output files.
2781 If @file{binutils} was configured with
2782 @option{--enable-deterministic-archives}, then this mode is on by
2783 default. It can be disabled with the @samp{-U} option, described
2787 Update the timestamp of the symbol map of an archive.
2790 @cindex deterministic archives
2791 @kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
2792 Do @emph{not} operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. This is the
2793 inverse of the @samp{-D} option, above: the archive index will get
2794 actual UID, GID, timestamp, and file mode values.
2796 If @file{binutils} was configured @emph{without}
2797 @option{--enable-deterministic-archives}, then this mode is on by
2805 @c man begin SEEALSO ranlib
2806 ar(1), nm(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2814 @cindex section sizes
2816 @c man title size list section sizes and total size.
2819 @c man begin SYNOPSIS size
2820 size [@option{-A}|@option{-B}|@option{--format=}@var{compatibility}]
2822 [@option{-d}|@option{-o}|@option{-x}|@option{--radix=}@var{number}]
2824 [@option{-t}|@option{--totals}]
2825 [@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
2826 [@var{objfile}@dots{}]
2830 @c man begin DESCRIPTION size
2832 The @sc{gnu} @command{size} utility lists the section sizes---and the total
2833 size---for each of the object or archive files @var{objfile} in its
2834 argument list. By default, one line of output is generated for each
2835 object file or each module in an archive.
2837 @var{objfile}@dots{} are the object files to be examined.
2838 If none are specified, the file @code{a.out} will be used.
2842 @c man begin OPTIONS size
2844 The command line options have the following meanings:
2849 @itemx --format=@var{compatibility}
2850 @cindex @command{size} display format
2851 Using one of these options, you can choose whether the output from @sc{gnu}
2852 @command{size} resembles output from System V @command{size} (using @option{-A},
2853 or @option{--format=sysv}), or Berkeley @command{size} (using @option{-B}, or
2854 @option{--format=berkeley}). The default is the one-line format similar to
2856 @c Bonus for doc-source readers: you can also say --format=strange (or
2857 @c anything else that starts with 's') for sysv, and --format=boring (or
2858 @c anything else that starts with 'b') for Berkeley.
2860 Here is an example of the Berkeley (default) format of output from
2863 $ size --format=Berkeley ranlib size
2864 text data bss dec hex filename
2865 294880 81920 11592 388392 5ed28 ranlib
2866 294880 81920 11888 388688 5ee50 size
2870 This is the same data, but displayed closer to System V conventions:
2873 $ size --format=SysV ranlib size
2891 Show a summary of acceptable arguments and options.
2896 @itemx --radix=@var{number}
2897 @cindex @command{size} number format
2898 @cindex radix for section sizes
2899 Using one of these options, you can control whether the size of each
2900 section is given in decimal (@option{-d}, or @option{--radix=10}); octal
2901 (@option{-o}, or @option{--radix=8}); or hexadecimal (@option{-x}, or
2902 @option{--radix=16}). In @option{--radix=@var{number}}, only the three
2903 values (8, 10, 16) are supported. The total size is always given in two
2904 radices; decimal and hexadecimal for @option{-d} or @option{-x} output, or
2905 octal and hexadecimal if you're using @option{-o}.
2908 Print total size of common symbols in each file. When using Berkeley
2909 format these are included in the bss size.
2913 Show totals of all objects listed (Berkeley format listing mode only).
2915 @item --target=@var{bfdname}
2916 @cindex object code format
2917 Specify that the object-code format for @var{objfile} is
2918 @var{bfdname}. This option may not be necessary; @command{size} can
2919 automatically recognize many formats.
2920 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
2924 Display the version number of @command{size}.
2930 @c man begin SEEALSO size
2931 ar(1), objdump(1), readelf(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
2938 @cindex listings strings
2939 @cindex printing strings
2940 @cindex strings, printing
2942 @c man title strings print the strings of printable characters in files.
2945 @c man begin SYNOPSIS strings
2946 strings [@option{-afovV}] [@option{-}@var{min-len}]
2947 [@option{-n} @var{min-len}] [@option{--bytes=}@var{min-len}]
2948 [@option{-t} @var{radix}] [@option{--radix=}@var{radix}]
2949 [@option{-e} @var{encoding}] [@option{--encoding=}@var{encoding}]
2950 [@option{-}] [@option{--all}] [@option{--print-file-name}]
2951 [@option{-T} @var{bfdname}] [@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
2952 [@option{-w}] [@option{--include-all-whitespace}]
2953 [@option{-s}] [@option{--output-separator}@var{sep_string}]
2954 [@option{--help}] [@option{--version}] @var{file}@dots{}
2958 @c man begin DESCRIPTION strings
2960 For each @var{file} given, @sc{gnu} @command{strings} prints the
2961 printable character sequences that are at least 4 characters long (or
2962 the number given with the options below) and are followed by an
2963 unprintable character.
2965 Depending upon how the strings program was configured it will default
2966 to either displaying all the printable sequences that it can find in
2967 each file, or only those sequences that are in loadable, initialized
2968 data sections. If the file type in unrecognizable, or if strings is
2969 reading from stdin then it will always display all of the printable
2970 sequences that it can find.
2972 For backwards compatibility any file that occurs after a command line
2973 option of just @option{-} will also be scanned in full, regardless of
2974 the presence of any @option{-d} option.
2976 @command{strings} is mainly useful for determining the contents of
2981 @c man begin OPTIONS strings
2987 Scan the whole file, regardless of what sections it contains or
2988 whether those sections are loaded or initialized. Normally this is
2989 the default behaviour, but strings can be configured so that the
2990 @option{-d} is the default instead.
2992 The @option{-} option is position dependent and forces strings to
2993 perform full scans of any file that is mentioned after the @option{-}
2994 on the command line, even if the @option{-d} option has been
2999 Only print strings from initialized, loaded data sections in the
3000 file. This may reduce the amount of garbage in the output, but it
3001 also exposes the strings program to any security flaws that may be
3002 present in the BFD library used to scan and load sections. Strings
3003 can be configured so that this option is the default behaviour. In
3004 such cases the @option{-a} option can be used to avoid using the BFD
3005 library and instead just print all of the strings found in the file.
3008 @itemx --print-file-name
3009 Print the name of the file before each string.
3012 Print a summary of the program usage on the standard output and exit.
3014 @item -@var{min-len}
3015 @itemx -n @var{min-len}
3016 @itemx --bytes=@var{min-len}
3017 Print sequences of characters that are at least @var{min-len} characters
3018 long, instead of the default 4.
3021 Like @samp{-t o}. Some other versions of @command{strings} have @option{-o}
3022 act like @samp{-t d} instead. Since we can not be compatible with both
3023 ways, we simply chose one.
3025 @item -t @var{radix}
3026 @itemx --radix=@var{radix}
3027 Print the offset within the file before each string. The single
3028 character argument specifies the radix of the offset---@samp{o} for
3029 octal, @samp{x} for hexadecimal, or @samp{d} for decimal.
3031 @item -e @var{encoding}
3032 @itemx --encoding=@var{encoding}
3033 Select the character encoding of the strings that are to be found.
3034 Possible values for @var{encoding} are: @samp{s} = single-7-bit-byte
3035 characters (ASCII, ISO 8859, etc., default), @samp{S} =
3036 single-8-bit-byte characters, @samp{b} = 16-bit bigendian, @samp{l} =
3037 16-bit littleendian, @samp{B} = 32-bit bigendian, @samp{L} = 32-bit
3038 littleendian. Useful for finding wide character strings. (@samp{l}
3039 and @samp{b} apply to, for example, Unicode UTF-16/UCS-2 encodings).
3041 @item -T @var{bfdname}
3042 @itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
3043 @cindex object code format
3044 Specify an object code format other than your system's default format.
3045 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
3050 Print the program version number on the standard output and exit.
3053 @itemx --include-all-whitespace
3054 By default tab and space characters are included in the strings that
3055 are displayed, but other whitespace characters, such a newlines and
3056 carriage returns, are not. The @option{-w} option changes this so
3057 that all whitespace characters are considered to be part of a string.
3060 @itemx --output-separator
3061 By default, output strings are delimited by a new-line. This option
3062 allows you to supply any string to be used as the output record
3063 separator. Useful with --include-all-whitespace where strings
3064 may contain new-lines internally.
3070 @c man begin SEEALSO strings
3071 ar(1), nm(1), objdump(1), ranlib(1), readelf(1)
3072 and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
3080 @cindex removing symbols
3081 @cindex discarding symbols
3082 @cindex symbols, discarding
3084 @c man title strip Discard symbols from object files.
3087 @c man begin SYNOPSIS strip
3088 strip [@option{-F} @var{bfdname} |@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
3089 [@option{-I} @var{bfdname} |@option{--input-target=}@var{bfdname}]
3090 [@option{-O} @var{bfdname} |@option{--output-target=}@var{bfdname}]
3091 [@option{-s}|@option{--strip-all}]
3092 [@option{-S}|@option{-g}|@option{-d}|@option{--strip-debug}]
3093 [@option{--strip-dwo}]
3094 [@option{-K} @var{symbolname}|@option{--keep-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
3095 [@option{-M}|@option{--merge-notes}][@option{--no-merge-notes}]
3096 [@option{-N} @var{symbolname} |@option{--strip-symbol=}@var{symbolname}]
3097 [@option{-w}|@option{--wildcard}]
3098 [@option{-x}|@option{--discard-all}] [@option{-X} |@option{--discard-locals}]
3099 [@option{-R} @var{sectionname} |@option{--remove-section=}@var{sectionname}]
3100 [@option{--remove-relocations=}@var{sectionpattern}]
3101 [@option{-o} @var{file}] [@option{-p}|@option{--preserve-dates}]
3102 [@option{-D}|@option{--enable-deterministic-archives}]
3103 [@option{-U}|@option{--disable-deterministic-archives}]
3104 [@option{--keep-file-symbols}]
3105 [@option{--only-keep-debug}]
3106 [@option{-v} |@option{--verbose}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
3107 [@option{--help}] [@option{--info}]
3108 @var{objfile}@dots{}
3112 @c man begin DESCRIPTION strip
3114 @sc{gnu} @command{strip} discards all symbols from object files
3115 @var{objfile}. The list of object files may include archives.
3116 At least one object file must be given.
3118 @command{strip} modifies the files named in its argument,
3119 rather than writing modified copies under different names.
3123 @c man begin OPTIONS strip
3126 @item -F @var{bfdname}
3127 @itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
3128 Treat the original @var{objfile} as a file with the object
3129 code format @var{bfdname}, and rewrite it in the same format.
3130 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
3133 Show a summary of the options to @command{strip} and exit.
3136 Display a list showing all architectures and object formats available.
3138 @item -I @var{bfdname}
3139 @itemx --input-target=@var{bfdname}
3140 Treat the original @var{objfile} as a file with the object
3141 code format @var{bfdname}.
3142 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
3144 @item -O @var{bfdname}
3145 @itemx --output-target=@var{bfdname}
3146 Replace @var{objfile} with a file in the output format @var{bfdname}.
3147 @xref{Target Selection}, for more information.
3149 @item -R @var{sectionname}
3150 @itemx --remove-section=@var{sectionname}
3151 Remove any section named @var{sectionname} from the output file, in
3152 addition to whatever sections would otherwise be removed. This
3153 option may be given more than once. Note that using this option
3154 inappropriately may make the output file unusable. The wildcard
3155 character @samp{*} may be given at the end of @var{sectionname}. If
3156 so, then any section starting with @var{sectionname} will be removed.
3158 If the first character of @var{sectionpattern} is the exclamation
3159 point (!) then matching sections will not be removed even if an
3160 earlier use of @option{--remove-section} on the same command line
3161 would otherwise remove it. For example:
3164 --remove-section=.text.* --remove-section=!.text.foo
3167 will remove all sections matching the pattern '.text.*', but will not
3168 remove the section '.text.foo'.
3170 @item --remove-relocations=@var{sectionpattern}
3171 Remove relocations from the output file for any section matching
3172 @var{sectionpattern}. This option may be given more than once. Note
3173 that using this option inappropriately may make the output file
3174 unusable. Wildcard characters are accepted in @var{sectionpattern}.
3178 --remove-relocations=.text.*
3181 will remove the relocations for all sections matching the patter
3184 If the first character of @var{sectionpattern} is the exclamation
3185 point (!) then matching sections will not have their relocation
3186 removed even if an earlier use of @option{--remove-relocations} on the
3187 same command line would otherwise cause the relocations to be removed.
3191 --remove-relocations=.text.* --remove-relocations=!.text.foo
3194 will remove all relocations for sections matching the pattern
3195 '.text.*', but will not remove relocations for the section
3205 @itemx --strip-debug
3206 Remove debugging symbols only.
3209 Remove the contents of all DWARF .dwo sections, leaving the
3210 remaining debugging sections and all symbols intact.
3211 See the description of this option in the @command{objcopy} section
3212 for more information.
3214 @item --strip-unneeded
3215 Remove all symbols that are not needed for relocation processing.
3217 @item -K @var{symbolname}
3218 @itemx --keep-symbol=@var{symbolname}
3219 When stripping symbols, keep symbol @var{symbolname} even if it would
3220 normally be stripped. This option may be given more than once.
3223 @itemx --merge-notes
3224 @itemx --no-merge-notes
3225 For ELF files, attempt (or do not attempt) to reduce the size of any
3226 SHT_NOTE type sections by removing duplicate notes. The default is to
3227 attempt this reduction.
3229 @item -N @var{symbolname}
3230 @itemx --strip-symbol=@var{symbolname}
3231 Remove symbol @var{symbolname} from the source file. This option may be
3232 given more than once, and may be combined with strip options other than
3236 Put the stripped output in @var{file}, rather than replacing the
3237 existing file. When this argument is used, only one @var{objfile}
3238 argument may be specified.
3241 @itemx --preserve-dates
3242 Preserve the access and modification dates of the file.
3245 @itemx --enable-deterministic-archives
3246 @cindex deterministic archives
3247 @kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
3248 Operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. When copying archive members
3249 and writing the archive index, use zero for UIDs, GIDs, timestamps,
3250 and use consistent file modes for all files.
3252 If @file{binutils} was configured with
3253 @option{--enable-deterministic-archives}, then this mode is on by default.
3254 It can be disabled with the @samp{-U} option, below.
3257 @itemx --disable-deterministic-archives
3258 @cindex deterministic archives
3259 @kindex --enable-deterministic-archives
3260 Do @emph{not} operate in @emph{deterministic} mode. This is the
3261 inverse of the @option{-D} option, above: when copying archive members
3262 and writing the archive index, use their actual UID, GID, timestamp,
3263 and file mode values.
3265 This is the default unless @file{binutils} was configured with
3266 @option{--enable-deterministic-archives}.
3270 Permit regular expressions in @var{symbolname}s used in other command
3271 line options. The question mark (?), asterisk (*), backslash (\) and
3272 square brackets ([]) operators can be used anywhere in the symbol
3273 name. If the first character of the symbol name is the exclamation
3274 point (!) then the sense of the switch is reversed for that symbol.
3281 would cause strip to only keep symbols that start with the letters
3282 ``fo'', but to discard the symbol ``foo''.
3285 @itemx --discard-all
3286 Remove non-global symbols.
3289 @itemx --discard-locals
3290 Remove compiler-generated local symbols.
3291 (These usually start with @samp{L} or @samp{.}.)
3293 @item --keep-file-symbols
3294 When stripping a file, perhaps with @option{--strip-debug} or
3295 @option{--strip-unneeded}, retain any symbols specifying source file names,
3296 which would otherwise get stripped.
3298 @item --only-keep-debug
3299 Strip a file, emptying the contents of any sections that would not be
3300 stripped by @option{--strip-debug} and leaving the debugging sections
3301 intact. In ELF files, this preserves all the note sections in the
3304 Note - the section headers of the stripped sections are preserved,
3305 including their sizes, but the contents of the section are discarded.
3306 The section headers are preserved so that other tools can match up the
3307 debuginfo file with the real executable, even if that executable has
3308 been relocated to a different address space.
3310 The intention is that this option will be used in conjunction with
3311 @option{--add-gnu-debuglink} to create a two part executable. One a
3312 stripped binary which will occupy less space in RAM and in a
3313 distribution and the second a debugging information file which is only
3314 needed if debugging abilities are required. The suggested procedure
3315 to create these files is as follows:
3318 @item Link the executable as normal. Assuming that is is called
3320 @item Run @code{objcopy --only-keep-debug foo foo.dbg} to
3321 create a file containing the debugging info.
3322 @item Run @code{objcopy --strip-debug foo} to create a
3323 stripped executable.
3324 @item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.dbg foo}
3325 to add a link to the debugging info into the stripped executable.
3328 Note---the choice of @code{.dbg} as an extension for the debug info
3329 file is arbitrary. Also the @code{--only-keep-debug} step is
3330 optional. You could instead do this:
3333 @item Link the executable as normal.
3334 @item Copy @code{foo} to @code{foo.full}
3335 @item Run @code{strip --strip-debug foo}
3336 @item Run @code{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.full foo}
3339 i.e., the file pointed to by the @option{--add-gnu-debuglink} can be the
3340 full executable. It does not have to be a file created by the
3341 @option{--only-keep-debug} switch.
3343 Note---this switch is only intended for use on fully linked files. It
3344 does not make sense to use it on object files where the debugging
3345 information may be incomplete. Besides the gnu_debuglink feature
3346 currently only supports the presence of one filename containing
3347 debugging information, not multiple filenames on a one-per-object-file
3352 Show the version number for @command{strip}.
3356 Verbose output: list all object files modified. In the case of
3357 archives, @samp{strip -v} lists all members of the archive.
3363 @c man begin SEEALSO strip
3364 the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
3368 @node c++filt, addr2line, strip, Top
3372 @cindex demangling C++ symbols
3374 @c man title cxxfilt Demangle C++ and Java symbols.
3377 @c man begin SYNOPSIS cxxfilt
3378 c++filt [@option{-_}|@option{--strip-underscore}]
3379 [@option{-n}|@option{--no-strip-underscore}]
3380 [@option{-p}|@option{--no-params}]
3381 [@option{-t}|@option{--types}]
3382 [@option{-i}|@option{--no-verbose}]
3383 [@option{-s} @var{format}|@option{--format=}@var{format}]
3384 [@option{--help}] [@option{--version}] [@var{symbol}@dots{}]
3388 @c man begin DESCRIPTION cxxfilt
3391 The C++ and Java languages provide function overloading, which means
3392 that you can write many functions with the same name, providing that
3393 each function takes parameters of different types. In order to be
3394 able to distinguish these similarly named functions C++ and Java
3395 encode them into a low-level assembler name which uniquely identifies
3396 each different version. This process is known as @dfn{mangling}. The
3398 @footnote{MS-DOS does not allow @kbd{+} characters in file names, so on
3399 MS-DOS this program is named @command{CXXFILT}.}
3400 program does the inverse mapping: it decodes (@dfn{demangles}) low-level
3401 names into user-level names so that they can be read.
3403 Every alphanumeric word (consisting of letters, digits, underscores,
3404 dollars, or periods) seen in the input is a potential mangled name.
3405 If the name decodes into a C++ name, the C++ name replaces the
3406 low-level name in the output, otherwise the original word is output.
3407 In this way you can pass an entire assembler source file, containing
3408 mangled names, through @command{c++filt} and see the same source file
3409 containing demangled names.
3411 You can also use @command{c++filt} to decipher individual symbols by
3412 passing them on the command line:
3415 c++filt @var{symbol}
3418 If no @var{symbol} arguments are given, @command{c++filt} reads symbol
3419 names from the standard input instead. All the results are printed on
3420 the standard output. The difference between reading names from the
3421 command line versus reading names from the standard input is that
3422 command line arguments are expected to be just mangled names and no
3423 checking is performed to separate them from surrounding text. Thus
3430 will work and demangle the name to ``f()'' whereas:
3436 will not work. (Note the extra comma at the end of the mangled
3437 name which makes it invalid). This command however will work:
3440 echo _Z1fv, | c++filt -n
3443 and will display ``f(),'', i.e., the demangled name followed by a
3444 trailing comma. This behaviour is because when the names are read
3445 from the standard input it is expected that they might be part of an
3446 assembler source file where there might be extra, extraneous
3447 characters trailing after a mangled name. For example:
3450 .type _Z1fv, @@function
3455 @c man begin OPTIONS cxxfilt
3459 @itemx --strip-underscore
3460 On some systems, both the C and C++ compilers put an underscore in front
3461 of every name. For example, the C name @code{foo} gets the low-level
3462 name @code{_foo}. This option removes the initial underscore. Whether
3463 @command{c++filt} removes the underscore by default is target dependent.
3466 @itemx --no-strip-underscore
3467 Do not remove the initial underscore.
3471 When demangling the name of a function, do not display the types of
3472 the function's parameters.
3476 Attempt to demangle types as well as function names. This is disabled
3477 by default since mangled types are normally only used internally in
3478 the compiler, and they can be confused with non-mangled names. For example,
3479 a function called ``a'' treated as a mangled type name would be
3480 demangled to ``signed char''.
3484 Do not include implementation details (if any) in the demangled
3487 @item -s @var{format}
3488 @itemx --format=@var{format}
3489 @command{c++filt} can decode various methods of mangling, used by
3490 different compilers. The argument to this option selects which
3495 Automatic selection based on executable (the default method)
3497 the one used by the @sc{gnu} C++ compiler (g++)
3499 the one used by the Lucid compiler (lcc)
3501 the one specified by the C++ Annotated Reference Manual
3503 the one used by the HP compiler (aCC)
3505 the one used by the EDG compiler
3507 the one used by the @sc{gnu} C++ compiler (g++) with the V3 ABI.
3509 the one used by the @sc{gnu} Java compiler (gcj)
3511 the one used by the @sc{gnu} Ada compiler (GNAT).
3515 Print a summary of the options to @command{c++filt} and exit.
3518 Print the version number of @command{c++filt} and exit.
3524 @c man begin SEEALSO cxxfilt
3525 the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
3530 @emph{Warning:} @command{c++filt} is a new utility, and the details of its
3531 user interface are subject to change in future releases. In particular,
3532 a command-line option may be required in the future to decode a name
3533 passed as an argument on the command line; in other words,
3536 c++filt @var{symbol}
3540 may in a future release become
3543 c++filt @var{option} @var{symbol}
3551 @cindex address to file name and line number
3553 @c man title addr2line convert addresses into file names and line numbers.
3556 @c man begin SYNOPSIS addr2line
3557 addr2line [@option{-a}|@option{--addresses}]
3558 [@option{-b} @var{bfdname}|@option{--target=}@var{bfdname}]
3559 [@option{-C}|@option{--demangle}[=@var{style}]]
3560 [@option{-e} @var{filename}|@option{--exe=}@var{filename}]
3561 [@option{-f}|@option{--functions}] [@option{-s}|@option{--basename}]
3562 [@option{-i}|@option{--inlines}]
3563 [@option{-p}|@option{--pretty-print}]
3564 [@option{-j}|@option{--section=}@var{name}]
3565 [@option{-H}|@option{--help}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
3570 @c man begin DESCRIPTION addr2line
3572 @command{addr2line} translates addresses into file names and line numbers.
3573 Given an address in an executable or an offset in a section of a relocatable
3574 object, it uses the debugging information to figure out which file name and
3575 line number are associated with it.
3577 The executable or relocatable object to use is specified with the @option{-e}
3578 option. The default is the file @file{a.out}. The section in the relocatable
3579 object to use is specified with the @option{-j} option.
3581 @command{addr2line} has two modes of operation.
3583 In the first, hexadecimal addresses are specified on the command line,
3584 and @command{addr2line} displays the file name and line number for each
3587 In the second, @command{addr2line} reads hexadecimal addresses from
3588 standard input, and prints the file name and line number for each
3589 address on standard output. In this mode, @command{addr2line} may be used
3590 in a pipe to convert dynamically chosen addresses.
3592 The format of the output is @samp{FILENAME:LINENO}. By default
3593 each input address generates one line of output.
3595 Two options can generate additional lines before each
3596 @samp{FILENAME:LINENO} line (in that order).
3598 If the @option{-a} option is used then a line with the input address
3601 If the @option{-f} option is used, then a line with the
3602 @samp{FUNCTIONNAME} is displayed. This is the name of the function
3603 containing the address.
3605 One option can generate additional lines after the
3606 @samp{FILENAME:LINENO} line.
3608 If the @option{-i} option is used and the code at the given address is
3609 present there because of inlining by the compiler then additional
3610 lines are displayed afterwards. One or two extra lines (if the
3611 @option{-f} option is used) are displayed for each inlined function.
3613 Alternatively if the @option{-p} option is used then each input
3614 address generates a single, long, output line containing the address,
3615 the function name, the file name and the line number. If the
3616 @option{-i} option has also been used then any inlined functions will
3617 be displayed in the same manner, but on separate lines, and prefixed
3618 by the text @samp{(inlined by)}.
3620 If the file name or function name can not be determined,
3621 @command{addr2line} will print two question marks in their place. If the
3622 line number can not be determined, @command{addr2line} will print 0.
3626 @c man begin OPTIONS addr2line
3628 The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
3634 Display the address before the function name, file and line number
3635 information. The address is printed with a @samp{0x} prefix to easily
3638 @item -b @var{bfdname}
3639 @itemx --target=@var{bfdname}
3640 @cindex object code format
3641 Specify that the object-code format for the object files is
3645 @itemx --demangle[=@var{style}]
3646 @cindex demangling in objdump
3647 Decode (@dfn{demangle}) low-level symbol names into user-level names.
3648 Besides removing any initial underscore prepended by the system, this
3649 makes C++ function names readable. Different compilers have different
3650 mangling styles. The optional demangling style argument can be used to
3651 choose an appropriate demangling style for your compiler. @xref{c++filt},
3652 for more information on demangling.
3654 @item -e @var{filename}
3655 @itemx --exe=@var{filename}
3656 Specify the name of the executable for which addresses should be
3657 translated. The default file is @file{a.out}.
3661 Display function names as well as file and line number information.
3665 Display only the base of each file name.
3669 If the address belongs to a function that was inlined, the source
3670 information for all enclosing scopes back to the first non-inlined
3671 function will also be printed. For example, if @code{main} inlines
3672 @code{callee1} which inlines @code{callee2}, and address is from
3673 @code{callee2}, the source information for @code{callee1} and @code{main}
3674 will also be printed.
3678 Read offsets relative to the specified section instead of absolute addresses.
3681 @itemx --pretty-print
3682 Make the output more human friendly: each location are printed on one line.
3683 If option @option{-i} is specified, lines for all enclosing scopes are
3684 prefixed with @samp{(inlined by)}.
3690 @c man begin SEEALSO addr2line
3691 Info entries for @file{binutils}.
3698 @command{windmc} may be used to generator Windows message resources.
3701 @emph{Warning:} @command{windmc} is not always built as part of the binary
3702 utilities, since it is only useful for Windows targets.
3705 @c man title windmc generates Windows message resources.
3708 @c man begin SYNOPSIS windmc
3709 windmc [options] input-file
3713 @c man begin DESCRIPTION windmc
3715 @command{windmc} reads message definitions from an input file (.mc) and
3716 translate them into a set of output files. The output files may be of
3721 A C header file containing the message definitions.
3724 A resource file compilable by the @command{windres} tool.
3727 One or more binary files containing the resource data for a specific
3731 A C include file that maps message id's to their symbolic name.
3734 The exact description of these different formats is available in
3735 documentation from Microsoft.
3737 When @command{windmc} converts from the @code{mc} format to the @code{bin}
3738 format, @code{rc}, @code{h}, and optional @code{dbg} it is acting like the
3739 Windows Message Compiler.
3743 @c man begin OPTIONS windmc
3748 Specifies that the input file specified is ASCII. This is the default
3753 Specifies that messages in the output @code{bin} files should be in ASCII
3758 Specifies that @code{bin} filenames should have to be prefixed by the
3759 basename of the source file.
3763 Sets the customer bit in all message id's.
3765 @item -C @var{codepage}
3766 @itemx --codepage_in @var{codepage}
3767 Sets the default codepage to be used to convert input file to UTF16. The
3768 default is ocdepage 1252.
3771 @itemx --decimal_values
3772 Outputs the constants in the header file in decimal. Default is using
3776 @itemx --extension @var{ext}
3777 The extension for the header file. The default is .h extension.
3779 @item -F @var{target}
3780 @itemx --target @var{target}
3781 Specify the BFD format to use for a bin file as output. This
3782 is a BFD target name; you can use the @option{--help} option to see a list
3783 of supported targets. Normally @command{windmc} will use the default
3784 format, which is the first one listed by the @option{--help} option.
3786 @ref{Target Selection}.
3790 @itemx --headerdir @var{path}
3791 The target directory of the generated header file. The default is the
3796 Displays a list of command line options and then exits.
3798 @item -m @var{characters}
3799 @itemx --maxlength @var{characters}
3800 Instructs @command{windmc} to generate a warning if the length
3801 of any message exceeds the number specified.
3804 @itemx --nullterminate
3805 Terminate message text in @code{bin} files by zero. By default they are
3806 terminated by CR/LF.
3809 @itemx --hresult_use
3810 Not yet implemented. Instructs @code{windmc} to generate an OLE2 header
3811 file, using HRESULT definitions. Status codes are used if the flag is not
3814 @item -O @var{codepage}
3815 @itemx --codepage_out @var{codepage}
3816 Sets the default codepage to be used to output text files. The default
3820 @itemx --rcdir @var{path}
3821 The target directory for the generated @code{rc} script and the generated
3822 @code{bin} files that the resource compiler script includes. The default
3823 is the current directory.
3827 Specifies that the input file is UTF16.
3830 @itemx --unicode_out
3831 Specifies that messages in the output @code{bin} file should be in UTF16
3832 format. This is the default behaviour.
3836 Enable verbose mode.
3840 Prints the version number for @command{windmc}.
3843 @itemx --xdgb @var{path}
3844 The path of the @code{dbg} C include file that maps message id's to the
3845 symbolic name. No such file is generated without specifying the switch.
3851 @c man begin SEEALSO windmc
3852 the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
3859 @command{windres} may be used to manipulate Windows resources.
3862 @emph{Warning:} @command{windres} is not always built as part of the binary
3863 utilities, since it is only useful for Windows targets.
3866 @c man title windres manipulate Windows resources.
3869 @c man begin SYNOPSIS windres
3870 windres [options] [input-file] [output-file]
3874 @c man begin DESCRIPTION windres
3876 @command{windres} reads resources from an input file and copies them into
3877 an output file. Either file may be in one of three formats:
3881 A text format read by the Resource Compiler.
3884 A binary format generated by the Resource Compiler.
3887 A COFF object or executable.
3890 The exact description of these different formats is available in
3891 documentation from Microsoft.
3893 When @command{windres} converts from the @code{rc} format to the @code{res}
3894 format, it is acting like the Windows Resource Compiler. When
3895 @command{windres} converts from the @code{res} format to the @code{coff}
3896 format, it is acting like the Windows @code{CVTRES} program.
3898 When @command{windres} generates an @code{rc} file, the output is similar
3899 but not identical to the format expected for the input. When an input
3900 @code{rc} file refers to an external filename, an output @code{rc} file
3901 will instead include the file contents.
3903 If the input or output format is not specified, @command{windres} will
3904 guess based on the file name, or, for the input file, the file contents.
3905 A file with an extension of @file{.rc} will be treated as an @code{rc}
3906 file, a file with an extension of @file{.res} will be treated as a
3907 @code{res} file, and a file with an extension of @file{.o} or
3908 @file{.exe} will be treated as a @code{coff} file.
3910 If no output file is specified, @command{windres} will print the resources
3911 in @code{rc} format to standard output.
3913 The normal use is for you to write an @code{rc} file, use @command{windres}
3914 to convert it to a COFF object file, and then link the COFF file into
3915 your application. This will make the resources described in the
3916 @code{rc} file available to Windows.
3920 @c man begin OPTIONS windres
3923 @item -i @var{filename}
3924 @itemx --input @var{filename}
3925 The name of the input file. If this option is not used, then
3926 @command{windres} will use the first non-option argument as the input file
3927 name. If there are no non-option arguments, then @command{windres} will
3928 read from standard input. @command{windres} can not read a COFF file from
3931 @item -o @var{filename}
3932 @itemx --output @var{filename}
3933 The name of the output file. If this option is not used, then
3934 @command{windres} will use the first non-option argument, after any used
3935 for the input file name, as the output file name. If there is no
3936 non-option argument, then @command{windres} will write to standard output.
3937 @command{windres} can not write a COFF file to standard output. Note,
3938 for compatibility with @command{rc} the option @option{-fo} is also
3939 accepted, but its use is not recommended.
3941 @item -J @var{format}
3942 @itemx --input-format @var{format}
3943 The input format to read. @var{format} may be @samp{res}, @samp{rc}, or
3944 @samp{coff}. If no input format is specified, @command{windres} will
3945 guess, as described above.
3947 @item -O @var{format}
3948 @itemx --output-format @var{format}
3949 The output format to generate. @var{format} may be @samp{res},
3950 @samp{rc}, or @samp{coff}. If no output format is specified,
3951 @command{windres} will guess, as described above.
3953 @item -F @var{target}
3954 @itemx --target @var{target}
3955 Specify the BFD format to use for a COFF file as input or output. This
3956 is a BFD target name; you can use the @option{--help} option to see a list
3957 of supported targets. Normally @command{windres} will use the default
3958 format, which is the first one listed by the @option{--help} option.
3960 @ref{Target Selection}.
3963 @item --preprocessor @var{program}
3964 When @command{windres} reads an @code{rc} file, it runs it through the C
3965 preprocessor first. This option may be used to specify the preprocessor
3966 to use, including any leading arguments. The default preprocessor
3967 argument is @code{gcc -E -xc-header -DRC_INVOKED}.
3969 @item --preprocessor-arg @var{option}
3970 When @command{windres} reads an @code{rc} file, it runs it through
3971 the C preprocessor first. This option may be used to specify additional
3972 text to be passed to preprocessor on its command line.
3973 This option can be used multiple times to add multiple options to the
3974 preprocessor command line.
3976 @item -I @var{directory}
3977 @itemx --include-dir @var{directory}
3978 Specify an include directory to use when reading an @code{rc} file.
3979 @command{windres} will pass this to the preprocessor as an @option{-I}
3980 option. @command{windres} will also search this directory when looking for
3981 files named in the @code{rc} file. If the argument passed to this command
3982 matches any of the supported @var{formats} (as described in the @option{-J}
3983 option), it will issue a deprecation warning, and behave just like the
3984 @option{-J} option. New programs should not use this behaviour. If a
3985 directory happens to match a @var{format}, simple prefix it with @samp{./}
3986 to disable the backward compatibility.
3988 @item -D @var{target}
3989 @itemx --define @var{sym}[=@var{val}]
3990 Specify a @option{-D} option to pass to the preprocessor when reading an
3993 @item -U @var{target}
3994 @itemx --undefine @var{sym}
3995 Specify a @option{-U} option to pass to the preprocessor when reading an
3999 Ignored for compatibility with rc.
4002 Enable verbose mode. This tells you what the preprocessor is if you
4006 @item --codepage @var{val}
4007 Specify the default codepage to use when reading an @code{rc} file.
4008 @var{val} should be a hexadecimal prefixed by @samp{0x} or decimal
4009 codepage code. The valid range is from zero up to 0xffff, but the
4010 validity of the codepage is host and configuration dependent.
4013 @item --language @var{val}
4014 Specify the default language to use when reading an @code{rc} file.
4015 @var{val} should be a hexadecimal language code. The low eight bits are
4016 the language, and the high eight bits are the sublanguage.
4018 @item --use-temp-file
4019 Use a temporary file to instead of using popen to read the output of
4020 the preprocessor. Use this option if the popen implementation is buggy
4021 on the host (eg., certain non-English language versions of Windows 95 and
4022 Windows 98 are known to have buggy popen where the output will instead
4025 @item --no-use-temp-file
4026 Use popen, not a temporary file, to read the output of the preprocessor.
4027 This is the default behaviour.
4031 Prints a usage summary.
4035 Prints the version number for @command{windres}.
4038 If @command{windres} is compiled with @code{YYDEBUG} defined as @code{1},
4039 this will turn on parser debugging.
4045 @c man begin SEEALSO windres
4046 the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
4055 @command{dlltool} is used to create the files needed to create dynamic
4056 link libraries (DLLs) on systems which understand PE format image
4057 files such as Windows. A DLL contains an export table which contains
4058 information that the runtime loader needs to resolve references from a
4059 referencing program.
4061 The export table is generated by this program by reading in a
4062 @file{.def} file or scanning the @file{.a} and @file{.o} files which
4063 will be in the DLL. A @file{.o} file can contain information in
4064 special @samp{.drectve} sections with export information.
4067 @emph{Note:} @command{dlltool} is not always built as part of the
4068 binary utilities, since it is only useful for those targets which
4072 @c man title dlltool Create files needed to build and use DLLs.
4075 @c man begin SYNOPSIS dlltool
4076 dlltool [@option{-d}|@option{--input-def} @var{def-file-name}]
4077 [@option{-b}|@option{--base-file} @var{base-file-name}]
4078 [@option{-e}|@option{--output-exp} @var{exports-file-name}]
4079 [@option{-z}|@option{--output-def} @var{def-file-name}]
4080 [@option{-l}|@option{--output-lib} @var{library-file-name}]
4081 [@option{-y}|@option{--output-delaylib} @var{library-file-name}]
4082 [@option{--export-all-symbols}] [@option{--no-export-all-symbols}]
4083 [@option{--exclude-symbols} @var{list}]
4084 [@option{--no-default-excludes}]
4085 [@option{-S}|@option{--as} @var{path-to-assembler}] [@option{-f}|@option{--as-flags} @var{options}]
4086 [@option{-D}|@option{--dllname} @var{name}] [@option{-m}|@option{--machine} @var{machine}]
4087 [@option{-a}|@option{--add-indirect}]
4088 [@option{-U}|@option{--add-underscore}] [@option{--add-stdcall-underscore}]
4089 [@option{-k}|@option{--kill-at}] [@option{-A}|@option{--add-stdcall-alias}]
4090 [@option{-p}|@option{--ext-prefix-alias} @var{prefix}]
4091 [@option{-x}|@option{--no-idata4}] [@option{-c}|@option{--no-idata5}]
4092 [@option{--use-nul-prefixed-import-tables}]
4093 [@option{-I}|@option{--identify} @var{library-file-name}] [@option{--identify-strict}]
4094 [@option{-i}|@option{--interwork}]
4095 [@option{-n}|@option{--nodelete}] [@option{-t}|@option{--temp-prefix} @var{prefix}]
4096 [@option{-v}|@option{--verbose}]
4097 [@option{-h}|@option{--help}] [@option{-V}|@option{--version}]
4098 [@option{--no-leading-underscore}] [@option{--leading-underscore}]
4099 [object-file @dots{}]
4103 @c man begin DESCRIPTION dlltool
4105 @command{dlltool} reads its inputs, which can come from the @option{-d} and
4106 @option{-b} options as well as object files specified on the command
4107 line. It then processes these inputs and if the @option{-e} option has
4108 been specified it creates a exports file. If the @option{-l} option
4109 has been specified it creates a library file and if the @option{-z} option
4110 has been specified it creates a def file. Any or all of the @option{-e},
4111 @option{-l} and @option{-z} options can be present in one invocation of
4114 When creating a DLL, along with the source for the DLL, it is necessary
4115 to have three other files. @command{dlltool} can help with the creation of
4118 The first file is a @file{.def} file which specifies which functions are
4119 exported from the DLL, which functions the DLL imports, and so on. This
4120 is a text file and can be created by hand, or @command{dlltool} can be used
4121 to create it using the @option{-z} option. In this case @command{dlltool}
4122 will scan the object files specified on its command line looking for
4123 those functions which have been specially marked as being exported and
4124 put entries for them in the @file{.def} file it creates.
4126 In order to mark a function as being exported from a DLL, it needs to
4127 have an @option{-export:<name_of_function>} entry in the @samp{.drectve}
4128 section of the object file. This can be done in C by using the
4132 asm (".section .drectve");
4133 asm (".ascii \"-export:my_func\"");
4135 int my_func (void) @{ @dots{} @}
4138 The second file needed for DLL creation is an exports file. This file
4139 is linked with the object files that make up the body of the DLL and it
4140 handles the interface between the DLL and the outside world. This is a
4141 binary file and it can be created by giving the @option{-e} option to
4142 @command{dlltool} when it is creating or reading in a @file{.def} file.
4144 The third file needed for DLL creation is the library file that programs
4145 will link with in order to access the functions in the DLL (an `import
4146 library'). This file can be created by giving the @option{-l} option to
4147 dlltool when it is creating or reading in a @file{.def} file.
4149 If the @option{-y} option is specified, dlltool generates a delay-import
4150 library that can be used instead of the normal import library to allow
4151 a program to link to the dll only as soon as an imported function is
4152 called for the first time. The resulting executable will need to be
4153 linked to the static delayimp library containing __delayLoadHelper2(),
4154 which in turn will import LoadLibraryA and GetProcAddress from kernel32.
4156 @command{dlltool} builds the library file by hand, but it builds the
4157 exports file by creating temporary files containing assembler statements
4158 and then assembling these. The @option{-S} command line option can be
4159 used to specify the path to the assembler that dlltool will use,
4160 and the @option{-f} option can be used to pass specific flags to that
4161 assembler. The @option{-n} can be used to prevent dlltool from deleting
4162 these temporary assembler files when it is done, and if @option{-n} is
4163 specified twice then this will prevent dlltool from deleting the
4164 temporary object files it used to build the library.
4166 Here is an example of creating a DLL from a source file @samp{dll.c} and
4167 also creating a program (from an object file called @samp{program.o})
4172 dlltool -e exports.o -l dll.lib dll.o
4173 gcc dll.o exports.o -o dll.dll
4174 gcc program.o dll.lib -o program
4178 @command{dlltool} may also be used to query an existing import library
4179 to determine the name of the DLL to which it is associated. See the
4180 description of the @option{-I} or @option{--identify} option.
4184 @c man begin OPTIONS dlltool
4186 The command line options have the following meanings:
4190 @item -d @var{filename}
4191 @itemx --input-def @var{filename}
4192 @cindex input .def file
4193 Specifies the name of a @file{.def} file to be read in and processed.
4195 @item -b @var{filename}
4196 @itemx --base-file @var{filename}
4198 Specifies the name of a base file to be read in and processed. The
4199 contents of this file will be added to the relocation section in the
4200 exports file generated by dlltool.
4202 @item -e @var{filename}
4203 @itemx --output-exp @var{filename}
4204 Specifies the name of the export file to be created by dlltool.
4206 @item -z @var{filename}
4207 @itemx --output-def @var{filename}
4208 Specifies the name of the @file{.def} file to be created by dlltool.
4210 @item -l @var{filename}
4211 @itemx --output-lib @var{filename}
4212 Specifies the name of the library file to be created by dlltool.
4214 @item -y @var{filename}
4215 @itemx --output-delaylib @var{filename}
4216 Specifies the name of the delay-import library file to be created by dlltool.
4218 @item --export-all-symbols
4219 Treat all global and weak defined symbols found in the input object
4220 files as symbols to be exported. There is a small list of symbols which
4221 are not exported by default; see the @option{--no-default-excludes}
4222 option. You may add to the list of symbols to not export by using the
4223 @option{--exclude-symbols} option.
4225 @item --no-export-all-symbols
4226 Only export symbols explicitly listed in an input @file{.def} file or in
4227 @samp{.drectve} sections in the input object files. This is the default
4228 behaviour. The @samp{.drectve} sections are created by @samp{dllexport}
4229 attributes in the source code.
4231 @item --exclude-symbols @var{list}
4232 Do not export the symbols in @var{list}. This is a list of symbol names
4233 separated by comma or colon characters. The symbol names should not
4234 contain a leading underscore. This is only meaningful when
4235 @option{--export-all-symbols} is used.
4237 @item --no-default-excludes
4238 When @option{--export-all-symbols} is used, it will by default avoid
4239 exporting certain special symbols. The current list of symbols to avoid
4240 exporting is @samp{DllMain@@12}, @samp{DllEntryPoint@@0},
4241 @samp{impure_ptr}. You may use the @option{--no-default-excludes} option
4242 to go ahead and export these special symbols. This is only meaningful
4243 when @option{--export-all-symbols} is used.
4246 @itemx --as @var{path}
4247 Specifies the path, including the filename, of the assembler to be used
4248 to create the exports file.
4250 @item -f @var{options}
4251 @itemx --as-flags @var{options}
4252 Specifies any specific command line options to be passed to the
4253 assembler when building the exports file. This option will work even if
4254 the @option{-S} option is not used. This option only takes one argument,
4255 and if it occurs more than once on the command line, then later
4256 occurrences will override earlier occurrences. So if it is necessary to
4257 pass multiple options to the assembler they should be enclosed in
4261 @itemx --dll-name @var{name}
4262 Specifies the name to be stored in the @file{.def} file as the name of
4263 the DLL when the @option{-e} option is used. If this option is not
4264 present, then the filename given to the @option{-e} option will be
4265 used as the name of the DLL.
4267 @item -m @var{machine}
4268 @itemx -machine @var{machine}
4269 Specifies the type of machine for which the library file should be
4270 built. @command{dlltool} has a built in default type, depending upon how
4271 it was created, but this option can be used to override that. This is
4272 normally only useful when creating DLLs for an ARM processor, when the
4273 contents of the DLL are actually encode using Thumb instructions.
4276 @itemx --add-indirect
4277 Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
4278 should add a section which allows the exported functions to be
4279 referenced without using the import library. Whatever the hell that
4283 @itemx --add-underscore
4284 Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
4285 should prepend an underscore to the names of @emph{all} exported symbols.
4287 @item --no-leading-underscore
4288 @item --leading-underscore
4289 Specifies whether standard symbol should be forced to be prefixed, or
4292 @item --add-stdcall-underscore
4293 Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
4294 should prepend an underscore to the names of exported @emph{stdcall}
4295 functions. Variable names and non-stdcall function names are not modified.
4296 This option is useful when creating GNU-compatible import libs for third
4297 party DLLs that were built with MS-Windows tools.
4301 Specifies that @samp{@@<number>} suffixes should be omitted from the names
4302 of stdcall functions that will be imported from the DLL. This is
4303 useful when creating an import library for a DLL which exports stdcall
4304 functions but without the usual @samp{@@<number>} symbol name suffix.
4306 This does not change the naming of symbols provided by the import library
4307 to programs linked against it, but only the entries in the import table
4308 (ie the .idata section).
4311 @itemx --add-stdcall-alias
4312 Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports file it
4313 should add aliases for stdcall symbols without @samp{@@ <number>}
4314 in addition to the symbols with @samp{@@ <number>}.
4317 @itemx --ext-prefix-alias @var{prefix}
4318 Causes @command{dlltool} to create external aliases for all DLL
4319 imports with the specified prefix. The aliases are created for both
4320 external and import symbols with no leading underscore.
4324 Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports and library
4325 files it should omit the @code{.idata4} section. This is for compatibility
4326 with certain operating systems.
4328 @item --use-nul-prefixed-import-tables
4329 Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports and library
4330 files it should prefix the @code{.idata4} and @code{.idata5} by zero an
4331 element. This emulates old gnu import library generation of
4332 @code{dlltool}. By default this option is turned off.
4336 Specifies that when @command{dlltool} is creating the exports and library
4337 files it should omit the @code{.idata5} section. This is for compatibility
4338 with certain operating systems.
4340 @item -I @var{filename}
4341 @itemx --identify @var{filename}
4342 Specifies that @command{dlltool} should inspect the import library
4343 indicated by @var{filename} and report, on @code{stdout}, the name(s)
4344 of the associated DLL(s). This can be performed in addition to any
4345 other operations indicated by the other options and arguments.
4346 @command{dlltool} fails if the import library does not exist or is not
4347 actually an import library. See also @option{--identify-strict}.
4349 @item --identify-strict
4350 Modifies the behavior of the @option{--identify} option, such
4351 that an error is reported if @var{filename} is associated with
4356 Specifies that @command{dlltool} should mark the objects in the library
4357 file and exports file that it produces as supporting interworking
4358 between ARM and Thumb code.
4362 Makes @command{dlltool} preserve the temporary assembler files it used to
4363 create the exports file. If this option is repeated then dlltool will
4364 also preserve the temporary object files it uses to create the library
4367 @item -t @var{prefix}
4368 @itemx --temp-prefix @var{prefix}
4369 Makes @command{dlltool} use @var{prefix} when constructing the names of
4370 temporary assembler and object files. By default, the temp file prefix
4371 is generated from the pid.
4375 Make dlltool describe what it is doing.
4379 Displays a list of command line options and then exits.
4383 Displays dlltool's version number and then exits.
4390 * def file format:: The format of the dlltool @file{.def} file
4393 @node def file format
4394 @section The format of the @command{dlltool} @file{.def} file
4396 A @file{.def} file contains any number of the following commands:
4400 @item @code{NAME} @var{name} @code{[ ,} @var{base} @code{]}
4401 The result is going to be named @var{name}@code{.exe}.
4403 @item @code{LIBRARY} @var{name} @code{[ ,} @var{base} @code{]}
4404 The result is going to be named @var{name}@code{.dll}.
4405 Note: If you want to use LIBRARY as name then you need to quote. Otherwise
4406 this will fail due a necessary hack for libtool (see PR binutils/13710 for more
4409 @item @code{EXPORTS ( ( (} @var{name1} @code{[ = } @var{name2} @code{] ) | ( } @var{name1} @code{=} @var{module-name} @code{.} @var{external-name} @code{) ) [ == } @var{its_name} @code{]}
4410 @item @code{[} @var{integer} @code{] [ NONAME ] [ CONSTANT ] [ DATA ] [ PRIVATE ] ) *}
4411 Declares @var{name1} as an exported symbol from the DLL, with optional
4412 ordinal number @var{integer}, or declares @var{name1} as an alias
4413 (forward) of the function @var{external-name} in the DLL.
4414 If @var{its_name} is specified, this name is used as string in export table.
4416 Note: The @code{EXPORTS} has to be the last command in .def file, as keywords
4417 are treated - beside @code{LIBRARY} - as simple name-identifiers.
4418 If you want to use LIBRARY as name then you need to quote it.
4420 @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{]} *}
4421 Declares that @var{external-name} or the exported function whose
4422 ordinal number is @var{integer} is to be imported from the file
4423 @var{module-name}. If @var{internal-name} is specified then this is
4424 the name that the imported function will be referred to in the body of
4426 If @var{its_name} is specified, this name is used as string in import table.
4427 Note: The @code{IMPORTS} has to be the last command in .def file, as keywords
4428 are treated - beside @code{LIBRARY} - as simple name-identifiers.
4429 If you want to use LIBRARY as name then you need to quote it.
4431 @item @code{DESCRIPTION} @var{string}
4432 Puts @var{string} into the output @file{.exp} file in the
4433 @code{.rdata} section.
4435 @item @code{STACKSIZE} @var{number-reserve} @code{[, } @var{number-commit} @code{]}
4436 @item @code{HEAPSIZE} @var{number-reserve} @code{[, } @var{number-commit} @code{]}
4437 Generates @code{--stack} or @code{--heap}
4438 @var{number-reserve},@var{number-commit} in the output @code{.drectve}
4439 section. The linker will see this and act upon it.
4441 @item @code{CODE} @var{attr} @code{+}
4442 @item @code{DATA} @var{attr} @code{+}
4443 @item @code{SECTIONS (} @var{section-name} @var{attr}@code{ + ) *}
4444 Generates @code{--attr} @var{section-name} @var{attr} in the output
4445 @code{.drectve} section, where @var{attr} is one of @code{READ},
4446 @code{WRITE}, @code{EXECUTE} or @code{SHARED}. The linker will see
4447 this and act upon it.
4452 @c man begin SEEALSO dlltool
4453 The Info pages for @file{binutils}.
4460 @cindex ELF file information
4463 @c man title readelf Displays information about ELF files.
4466 @c man begin SYNOPSIS readelf
4467 readelf [@option{-a}|@option{--all}]
4468 [@option{-h}|@option{--file-header}]
4469 [@option{-l}|@option{--program-headers}|@option{--segments}]
4470 [@option{-S}|@option{--section-headers}|@option{--sections}]
4471 [@option{-g}|@option{--section-groups}]
4472 [@option{-t}|@option{--section-details}]
4473 [@option{-e}|@option{--headers}]
4474 [@option{-s}|@option{--syms}|@option{--symbols}]
4475 [@option{--dyn-syms}]
4476 [@option{-n}|@option{--notes}]
4477 [@option{-r}|@option{--relocs}]
4478 [@option{-u}|@option{--unwind}]
4479 [@option{-d}|@option{--dynamic}]
4480 [@option{-V}|@option{--version-info}]
4481 [@option{-A}|@option{--arch-specific}]
4482 [@option{-D}|@option{--use-dynamic}]
4483 [@option{-x} <number or name>|@option{--hex-dump=}<number or name>]
4484 [@option{-p} <number or name>|@option{--string-dump=}<number or name>]
4485 [@option{-R} <number or name>|@option{--relocated-dump=}<number or name>]
4486 [@option{-z}|@option{--decompress}]
4487 [@option{-c}|@option{--archive-index}]
4488 [@option{-w[lLiaprmfFsoRtUuTgAckK]}|
4489 @option{--debug-dump}[=rawline,=decodedline,=info,=abbrev,=pubnames,=aranges,=macro,=frames,=frames-interp,=str,=loc,=Ranges,=pubtypes,=trace_info,=trace_abbrev,=trace_aranges,=gdb_index,=addr,=cu_index,=links,=follow-links]]
4490 [@option{--dwarf-depth=@var{n}}]
4491 [@option{--dwarf-start=@var{n}}]
4492 [@option{-I}|@option{--histogram}]
4493 [@option{-v}|@option{--version}]
4494 [@option{-W}|@option{--wide}]
4495 [@option{-H}|@option{--help}]
4496 @var{elffile}@dots{}
4500 @c man begin DESCRIPTION readelf
4502 @command{readelf} displays information about one or more ELF format object
4503 files. The options control what particular information to display.
4505 @var{elffile}@dots{} are the object files to be examined. 32-bit and
4506 64-bit ELF files are supported, as are archives containing ELF files.
4508 This program performs a similar function to @command{objdump} but it
4509 goes into more detail and it exists independently of the @sc{bfd}
4510 library, so if there is a bug in @sc{bfd} then readelf will not be
4515 @c man begin OPTIONS readelf
4517 The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
4518 equivalent. At least one option besides @samp{-v} or @samp{-H} must be
4524 Equivalent to specifying @option{--file-header},
4525 @option{--program-headers}, @option{--sections}, @option{--symbols},
4526 @option{--relocs}, @option{--dynamic}, @option{--notes},
4527 @option{--version-info}, @option{--arch-specific}, @option{--unwind},
4528 @option{--section-groups} and @option{--histogram}.
4530 Note - this option does not enable @option{--use-dynamic} itself, so
4531 if that option is not present on the command line then dynamic symbols
4532 and dynamic relocs will not be displayed.
4535 @itemx --file-header
4536 @cindex ELF file header information
4537 Displays the information contained in the ELF header at the start of the
4541 @itemx --program-headers
4543 @cindex ELF program header information
4544 @cindex ELF segment information
4545 Displays the information contained in the file's segment headers, if it
4550 @itemx --section-headers
4551 @cindex ELF section information
4552 Displays the information contained in the file's section headers, if it
4556 @itemx --section-groups
4557 @cindex ELF section group information
4558 Displays the information contained in the file's section groups, if it
4562 @itemx --section-details
4563 @cindex ELF section information
4564 Displays the detailed section information. Implies @option{-S}.
4569 @cindex ELF symbol table information
4570 Displays the entries in symbol table section of the file, if it has one.
4571 If a symbol has version information associated with it then this is
4572 displayed as well. The version string is displayed as a suffix to the
4573 symbol name, preceeded by an @@ character. For example
4574 @samp{foo@@VER_1}. If the version is the default version to be used
4575 when resolving unversioned references to the symbol then it is
4576 displayed as a suffix preceeded by two @@ characters. For example
4577 @samp{foo@@@@VER_2}.
4580 @cindex ELF dynamic symbol table information
4581 Displays the entries in dynamic symbol table section of the file, if it
4582 has one. The output format is the same as the format used by the
4583 @option{--syms} option.
4587 Display all the headers in the file. Equivalent to @option{-h -l -S}.
4592 Displays the contents of the NOTE segments and/or sections, if any.
4596 @cindex ELF reloc information
4597 Displays the contents of the file's relocation section, if it has one.
4601 @cindex unwind information
4602 Displays the contents of the file's unwind section, if it has one. Only
4603 the unwind sections for IA64 ELF files, as well as ARM unwind tables
4604 (@code{.ARM.exidx} / @code{.ARM.extab}) are currently supported.
4608 @cindex ELF dynamic section information
4609 Displays the contents of the file's dynamic section, if it has one.
4612 @itemx --version-info
4613 @cindex ELF version sections information
4614 Displays the contents of the version sections in the file, it they
4618 @itemx --arch-specific
4619 Displays architecture-specific information in the file, if there
4623 @itemx --use-dynamic
4624 When displaying symbols, this option makes @command{readelf} use the
4625 symbol hash tables in the file's dynamic section, rather than the
4626 symbol table sections.
4628 When displaying relocations, this option makes @command{readelf}
4629 display the dynamic relocations rather than the static relocations.
4631 @item -x <number or name>
4632 @itemx --hex-dump=<number or name>
4633 Displays the contents of the indicated section as a hexadecimal bytes.
4634 A number identifies a particular section by index in the section table;
4635 any other string identifies all sections with that name in the object file.
4637 @item -R <number or name>
4638 @itemx --relocated-dump=<number or name>
4639 Displays the contents of the indicated section as a hexadecimal
4640 bytes. A number identifies a particular section by index in the
4641 section table; any other string identifies all sections with that name
4642 in the object file. The contents of the section will be relocated
4643 before they are displayed.
4645 @item -p <number or name>
4646 @itemx --string-dump=<number or name>
4647 Displays the contents of the indicated section as printable strings.
4648 A number identifies a particular section by index in the section table;
4649 any other string identifies all sections with that name in the object file.
4653 Requests that the section(s) being dumped by @option{x}, @option{R} or
4654 @option{p} options are decompressed before being displayed. If the
4655 section(s) are not compressed then they are displayed as is.
4658 @itemx --archive-index
4659 @cindex Archive file symbol index information
4660 Displays the file symbol index information contained in the header part
4661 of binary archives. Performs the same function as the @option{t}
4662 command to @command{ar}, but without using the BFD library. @xref{ar}.
4664 @item -w[lLiaprmfFsoRtUuTgAckK]
4665 @itemx --debug-dump[=rawline,=decodedline,=info,=abbrev,=pubnames,=aranges,=macro,=frames,=frames-interp,=str,=loc,=Ranges,=pubtypes,=trace_info,=trace_abbrev,=trace_aranges,=gdb_index,=addr,=cu_index,=links,=follow-links]
4666 @include debug.options.texi
4670 Display a histogram of bucket list lengths when displaying the contents
4671 of the symbol tables.
4675 Display the version number of readelf.
4679 Don't break output lines to fit into 80 columns. By default
4680 @command{readelf} breaks section header and segment listing lines for
4681 64-bit ELF files, so that they fit into 80 columns. This option causes
4682 @command{readelf} to print each section header resp. each segment one a
4683 single line, which is far more readable on terminals wider than 80 columns.
4687 Display the command line options understood by @command{readelf}.
4694 @c man begin SEEALSO readelf
4695 objdump(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
4702 @cindex Update ELF header
4705 @c man title elfedit Update the ELF header of ELF files.
4708 @c man begin SYNOPSIS elfedit
4709 elfedit [@option{--input-mach=}@var{machine}]
4710 [@option{--input-type=}@var{type}]
4711 [@option{--input-osabi=}@var{osabi}]
4712 @option{--output-mach=}@var{machine}
4713 @option{--output-type=}@var{type}
4714 @option{--output-osabi=}@var{osabi}
4715 [@option{-v}|@option{--version}]
4716 [@option{-h}|@option{--help}]
4717 @var{elffile}@dots{}
4721 @c man begin DESCRIPTION elfedit
4723 @command{elfedit} updates the ELF header of ELF files which have
4724 the matching ELF machine and file types. The options control how and
4725 which fields in the ELF header should be updated.
4727 @var{elffile}@dots{} are the ELF files to be updated. 32-bit and
4728 64-bit ELF files are supported, as are archives containing ELF files.
4731 @c man begin OPTIONS elfedit
4733 The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
4734 equivalent. At least one of the @option{--output-mach},
4735 @option{--output-type} and @option{--output-osabi} options must be given.
4739 @item --input-mach=@var{machine}
4740 Set the matching input ELF machine type to @var{machine}. If
4741 @option{--input-mach} isn't specified, it will match any ELF
4744 The supported ELF machine types are, @var{i386}, @var{IAMCU}, @var{L1OM},
4745 @var{K1OM} and @var{x86-64}.
4747 @item --output-mach=@var{machine}
4748 Change the ELF machine type in the ELF header to @var{machine}. The
4749 supported ELF machine types are the same as @option{--input-mach}.
4751 @item --input-type=@var{type}
4752 Set the matching input ELF file type to @var{type}. If
4753 @option{--input-type} isn't specified, it will match any ELF file types.
4755 The supported ELF file types are, @var{rel}, @var{exec} and @var{dyn}.
4757 @item --output-type=@var{type}
4758 Change the ELF file type in the ELF header to @var{type}. The
4759 supported ELF types are the same as @option{--input-type}.
4761 @item --input-osabi=@var{osabi}
4762 Set the matching input ELF file OSABI to @var{osabi}. If
4763 @option{--input-osabi} isn't specified, it will match any ELF OSABIs.
4765 The supported ELF OSABIs are, @var{none}, @var{HPUX}, @var{NetBSD},
4766 @var{GNU}, @var{Linux} (alias for @var{GNU}),
4767 @var{Solaris}, @var{AIX}, @var{Irix},
4768 @var{FreeBSD}, @var{TRU64}, @var{Modesto}, @var{OpenBSD}, @var{OpenVMS},
4769 @var{NSK}, @var{AROS} and @var{FenixOS}.
4771 @item --output-osabi=@var{osabi}
4772 Change the ELF OSABI in the ELF header to @var{osabi}. The
4773 supported ELF OSABI are the same as @option{--input-osabi}.
4777 Display the version number of @command{elfedit}.
4781 Display the command line options understood by @command{elfedit}.
4788 @c man begin SEEALSO elfedit
4789 readelf(1), and the Info entries for @file{binutils}.
4793 @node Common Options
4794 @chapter Common Options
4796 The following command-line options are supported by all of the
4797 programs described in this manual.
4799 @c man begin OPTIONS
4801 @include at-file.texi
4805 Display the command-line options supported by the program.
4808 Display the version number of the program.
4810 @c man begin OPTIONS
4814 @node Selecting the Target System
4815 @chapter Selecting the Target System
4817 You can specify two aspects of the target system to the @sc{gnu}
4818 binary file utilities, each in several ways:
4828 In the following summaries, the lists of ways to specify values are in
4829 order of decreasing precedence. The ways listed first override those
4832 The commands to list valid values only list the values for which the
4833 programs you are running were configured. If they were configured with
4834 @option{--enable-targets=all}, the commands list most of the available
4835 values, but a few are left out; not all targets can be configured in at
4836 once because some of them can only be configured @dfn{native} (on hosts
4837 with the same type as the target system).
4840 * Target Selection::
4841 * Architecture Selection::
4844 @node Target Selection
4845 @section Target Selection
4847 A @dfn{target} is an object file format. A given target may be
4848 supported for multiple architectures (@pxref{Architecture Selection}).
4849 A target selection may also have variations for different operating
4850 systems or architectures.
4852 The command to list valid target values is @samp{objdump -i}
4853 (the first column of output contains the relevant information).
4855 Some sample values are: @samp{a.out-hp300bsd}, @samp{ecoff-littlemips},
4856 @samp{a.out-sunos-big}.
4858 You can also specify a target using a configuration triplet. This is
4859 the same sort of name that is passed to @file{configure} to specify a
4860 target. When you use a configuration triplet as an argument, it must be
4861 fully canonicalized. You can see the canonical version of a triplet by
4862 running the shell script @file{config.sub} which is included with the
4865 Some sample configuration triplets are: @samp{m68k-hp-bsd},
4866 @samp{mips-dec-ultrix}, @samp{sparc-sun-sunos}.
4868 @subheading @command{objdump} Target
4874 command line option: @option{-b} or @option{--target}
4877 environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
4880 deduced from the input file
4883 @subheading @command{objcopy} and @command{strip} Input Target
4889 command line options: @option{-I} or @option{--input-target}, or @option{-F} or @option{--target}
4892 environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
4895 deduced from the input file
4898 @subheading @command{objcopy} and @command{strip} Output Target
4904 command line options: @option{-O} or @option{--output-target}, or @option{-F} or @option{--target}
4907 the input target (see ``@command{objcopy} and @command{strip} Input Target'' above)
4910 environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
4913 deduced from the input file
4916 @subheading @command{nm}, @command{size}, and @command{strings} Target
4922 command line option: @option{--target}
4925 environment variable @code{GNUTARGET}
4928 deduced from the input file
4931 @node Architecture Selection
4932 @section Architecture Selection
4934 An @dfn{architecture} is a type of @sc{cpu} on which an object file is
4935 to run. Its name may contain a colon, separating the name of the
4936 processor family from the name of the particular @sc{cpu}.
4938 The command to list valid architecture values is @samp{objdump -i} (the
4939 second column contains the relevant information).
4941 Sample values: @samp{m68k:68020}, @samp{mips:3000}, @samp{sparc}.
4943 @subheading @command{objdump} Architecture
4949 command line option: @option{-m} or @option{--architecture}
4952 deduced from the input file
4955 @subheading @command{objcopy}, @command{nm}, @command{size}, @command{strings} Architecture
4961 deduced from the input file
4964 @node Reporting Bugs
4965 @chapter Reporting Bugs
4967 @cindex reporting bugs
4969 Your bug reports play an essential role in making the binary utilities
4972 Reporting a bug may help you by bringing a solution to your problem, or
4973 it may not. But in any case the principal function of a bug report is
4974 to help the entire community by making the next version of the binary
4975 utilities work better. Bug reports are your contribution to their
4978 In order for a bug report to serve its purpose, you must include the
4979 information that enables us to fix the bug.
4982 * Bug Criteria:: Have you found a bug?
4983 * Bug Reporting:: How to report bugs
4987 @section Have You Found a Bug?
4988 @cindex bug criteria
4990 If you are not sure whether you have found a bug, here are some guidelines:
4993 @cindex fatal signal
4996 If a binary utility gets a fatal signal, for any input whatever, that is
4997 a bug. Reliable utilities never crash.
4999 @cindex error on valid input
5001 If a binary utility produces an error message for valid input, that is a
5005 If you are an experienced user of binary utilities, your suggestions for
5006 improvement are welcome in any case.
5010 @section How to Report Bugs
5012 @cindex bugs, reporting
5014 A number of companies and individuals offer support for @sc{gnu}
5015 products. If you obtained the binary utilities from a support
5016 organization, we recommend you contact that organization first.
5018 You can find contact information for many support companies and
5019 individuals in the file @file{etc/SERVICE} in the @sc{gnu} Emacs
5023 In any event, we also recommend that you send bug reports for the binary
5024 utilities to @value{BUGURL}.
5027 The fundamental principle of reporting bugs usefully is this:
5028 @strong{report all the facts}. If you are not sure whether to state a
5029 fact or leave it out, state it!
5031 Often people omit facts because they think they know what causes the
5032 problem and assume that some details do not matter. Thus, you might
5033 assume that the name of a file you use in an example does not matter.
5034 Well, probably it does not, but one cannot be sure. Perhaps the bug is
5035 a stray memory reference which happens to fetch from the location where
5036 that pathname is stored in memory; perhaps, if the pathname were
5037 different, the contents of that location would fool the utility into
5038 doing the right thing despite the bug. Play it safe and give a
5039 specific, complete example. That is the easiest thing for you to do,
5040 and the most helpful.
5042 Keep in mind that the purpose of a bug report is to enable us to fix the bug if
5043 it is new to us. Therefore, always write your bug reports on the assumption
5044 that the bug has not been reported previously.
5046 Sometimes people give a few sketchy facts and ask, ``Does this ring a
5047 bell?'' This cannot help us fix a bug, so it is basically useless. We
5048 respond by asking for enough details to enable us to investigate.
5049 You might as well expedite matters by sending them to begin with.
5051 To enable us to fix the bug, you should include all these things:
5055 The version of the utility. Each utility announces it if you start it
5056 with the @option{--version} argument.
5058 Without this, we will not know whether there is any point in looking for
5059 the bug in the current version of the binary utilities.
5062 Any patches you may have applied to the source, including any patches
5063 made to the @code{BFD} library.
5066 The type of machine you are using, and the operating system name and
5070 What compiler (and its version) was used to compile the utilities---e.g.
5074 The command arguments you gave the utility to observe the bug. To
5075 guarantee you will not omit something important, list them all. A copy
5076 of the Makefile (or the output from make) is sufficient.
5078 If we were to try to guess the arguments, we would probably guess wrong
5079 and then we might not encounter the bug.
5082 A complete input file, or set of input files, that will reproduce the
5083 bug. If the utility is reading an object file or files, then it is
5084 generally most helpful to send the actual object files.
5086 If the source files were produced exclusively using @sc{gnu} programs
5087 (e.g., @command{gcc}, @command{gas}, and/or the @sc{gnu} @command{ld}), then it
5088 may be OK to send the source files rather than the object files. In
5089 this case, be sure to say exactly what version of @command{gcc}, or
5090 whatever, was used to produce the object files. Also say how
5091 @command{gcc}, or whatever, was configured.
5094 A description of what behavior you observe that you believe is
5095 incorrect. For example, ``It gets a fatal signal.''
5097 Of course, if the bug is that the utility gets a fatal signal, then we
5098 will certainly notice it. But if the bug is incorrect output, we might
5099 not notice unless it is glaringly wrong. You might as well not give us
5100 a chance to make a mistake.
5102 Even if the problem you experience is a fatal signal, you should still
5103 say so explicitly. Suppose something strange is going on, such as your
5104 copy of the utility is out of sync, or you have encountered a bug in
5105 the C library on your system. (This has happened!) Your copy might
5106 crash and ours would not. If you told us to expect a crash, then when
5107 ours fails to crash, we would know that the bug was not happening for
5108 us. If you had not told us to expect a crash, then we would not be able
5109 to draw any conclusion from our observations.
5112 If you wish to suggest changes to the source, send us context diffs, as
5113 generated by @command{diff} with the @option{-u}, @option{-c}, or @option{-p}
5114 option. Always send diffs from the old file to the new file. If you
5115 wish to discuss something in the @command{ld} source, refer to it by
5116 context, not by line number.
5118 The line numbers in our development sources will not match those in your
5119 sources. Your line numbers would convey no useful information to us.
5122 Here are some things that are not necessary:
5126 A description of the envelope of the bug.
5128 Often people who encounter a bug spend a lot of time investigating
5129 which changes to the input file will make the bug go away and which
5130 changes will not affect it.
5132 This is often time consuming and not very useful, because the way we
5133 will find the bug is by running a single example under the debugger
5134 with breakpoints, not by pure deduction from a series of examples.
5135 We recommend that you save your time for something else.
5137 Of course, if you can find a simpler example to report @emph{instead}
5138 of the original one, that is a convenience for us. Errors in the
5139 output will be easier to spot, running under the debugger will take
5140 less time, and so on.
5142 However, simplification is not vital; if you do not want to do this,
5143 report the bug anyway and send us the entire test case you used.
5146 A patch for the bug.
5148 A patch for the bug does help us if it is a good one. But do not omit
5149 the necessary information, such as the test case, on the assumption that
5150 a patch is all we need. We might see problems with your patch and decide
5151 to fix the problem another way, or we might not understand it at all.
5153 Sometimes with programs as complicated as the binary utilities it is
5154 very hard to construct an example that will make the program follow a
5155 certain path through the code. If you do not send us the example, we
5156 will not be able to construct one, so we will not be able to verify that
5159 And if we cannot understand what bug you are trying to fix, or why your
5160 patch should be an improvement, we will not install it. A test case will
5161 help us to understand.
5164 A guess about what the bug is or what it depends on.
5166 Such guesses are usually wrong. Even we cannot guess right about such
5167 things without first using the debugger to find the facts.
5170 @node GNU Free Documentation License
5171 @appendix GNU Free Documentation License
5175 @node Binutils Index
5176 @unnumbered Binutils Index