This is bfd.info, produced by makeinfo version 4.0 from bfd.texinfo.

START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* Bfd: (bfd).                   The Binary File Descriptor library.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY

   This file documents the BFD library.

   Copyright (C) 1991, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

   Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
     under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1
     or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
   with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no
    Back-Cover Texts.  A copy of the license is included in the
section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".


File: bfd.info,  Node: bfd_target,  Prev: Targets,  Up: Targets

bfd_target
----------

   *Description*
This structure contains everything that BFD knows about a target. It
includes things like its byte order, name, and which routines to call
to do various operations.

   Every BFD points to a target structure with its `xvec' member.

   The macros below are used to dispatch to functions through the
`bfd_target' vector. They are used in a number of macros further down
in `bfd.h', and are also used when calling various routines by hand
inside the BFD implementation.  The ARGLIST argument must be
parenthesized; it contains all the arguments to the called function.

   They make the documentation (more) unpleasant to read, so if someone
wants to fix this and not break the above, please do.
     #define BFD_SEND(bfd, message, arglist) \
                    ((*((bfd)->xvec->message)) arglist)
     
     #ifdef DEBUG_BFD_SEND
     #undef BFD_SEND
     #define BFD_SEND(bfd, message, arglist) \
       (((bfd) && (bfd)->xvec && (bfd)->xvec->message) ? \
         ((*((bfd)->xvec->message)) arglist) : \
         (bfd_assert (__FILE__,__LINE__), NULL))
     #endif
   For operations which index on the BFD format:
     #define BFD_SEND_FMT(bfd, message, arglist) \
                 (((bfd)->xvec->message[(int) ((bfd)->format)]) arglist)
     
     #ifdef DEBUG_BFD_SEND
     #undef BFD_SEND_FMT
     #define BFD_SEND_FMT(bfd, message, arglist) \
       (((bfd) && (bfd)->xvec && (bfd)->xvec->message) ? \
        (((bfd)->xvec->message[(int) ((bfd)->format)]) arglist) : \
        (bfd_assert (__FILE__,__LINE__), NULL))
     #endif
   This is the structure which defines the type of BFD this is.  The
`xvec' member of the struct `bfd' itself points here.  Each module that
implements access to a different target under BFD, defines one of these.

   FIXME, these names should be rationalised with the names of the
entry points which call them. Too bad we can't have one macro to define
them both!
     enum bfd_flavour {
       bfd_target_unknown_flavour,
       bfd_target_aout_flavour,
       bfd_target_coff_flavour,
       bfd_target_ecoff_flavour,
       bfd_target_xcoff_flavour,
       bfd_target_elf_flavour,
       bfd_target_ieee_flavour,
       bfd_target_nlm_flavour,
       bfd_target_oasys_flavour,
       bfd_target_tekhex_flavour,
       bfd_target_srec_flavour,
       bfd_target_ihex_flavour,
       bfd_target_som_flavour,
       bfd_target_os9k_flavour,
       bfd_target_versados_flavour,
       bfd_target_msdos_flavour,
       bfd_target_ovax_flavour,
       bfd_target_evax_flavour
     };
     
     enum bfd_endian { BFD_ENDIAN_BIG, BFD_ENDIAN_LITTLE, BFD_ENDIAN_UNKNOWN };
     
     /* Forward declaration.  */
     typedef struct bfd_link_info _bfd_link_info;
     
     typedef struct bfd_target
     {
   Identifies the kind of target, e.g., SunOS4, Ultrix, etc.
       char *name;
   The "flavour" of a back end is a general indication about the
contents of a file.
       enum bfd_flavour flavour;
   The order of bytes within the data area of a file.
       enum bfd_endian byteorder;
   The order of bytes within the header parts of a file.
       enum bfd_endian header_byteorder;
   A mask of all the flags which an executable may have set - from the
set `BFD_NO_FLAGS', `HAS_RELOC', ...`D_PAGED'.
       flagword object_flags;
   A mask of all the flags which a section may have set - from the set
`SEC_NO_FLAGS', `SEC_ALLOC', ...`SET_NEVER_LOAD'.
       flagword section_flags;
   The character normally found at the front of a symbol (if any),
perhaps `_'.
       char symbol_leading_char;
   The pad character for file names within an archive header.
       char ar_pad_char;
   The maximum number of characters in an archive header.
       unsigned short ar_max_namelen;
   Entries for byte swapping for data. These are different from the
other entry points, since they don't take a BFD asthe first argument.
Certain other handlers could do the same.
       bfd_vma      (*bfd_getx64) PARAMS ((const bfd_byte *));
       bfd_signed_vma (*bfd_getx_signed_64) PARAMS ((const bfd_byte *));
       void         (*bfd_putx64) PARAMS ((bfd_vma, bfd_byte *));
       bfd_vma      (*bfd_getx32) PARAMS ((const bfd_byte *));
       bfd_signed_vma (*bfd_getx_signed_32) PARAMS ((const bfd_byte *));
       void         (*bfd_putx32) PARAMS ((bfd_vma, bfd_byte *));
       bfd_vma      (*bfd_getx16) PARAMS ((const bfd_byte *));
       bfd_signed_vma (*bfd_getx_signed_16) PARAMS ((const bfd_byte *));
       void         (*bfd_putx16) PARAMS ((bfd_vma, bfd_byte *));
   Byte swapping for the headers
       bfd_vma      (*bfd_h_getx64) PARAMS ((const bfd_byte *));
       bfd_signed_vma (*bfd_h_getx_signed_64) PARAMS ((const bfd_byte *));
       void         (*bfd_h_putx64) PARAMS ((bfd_vma, bfd_byte *));
       bfd_vma      (*bfd_h_getx32) PARAMS ((const bfd_byte *));
       bfd_signed_vma (*bfd_h_getx_signed_32) PARAMS ((const bfd_byte *));
       void         (*bfd_h_putx32) PARAMS ((bfd_vma, bfd_byte *));
       bfd_vma      (*bfd_h_getx16) PARAMS ((const bfd_byte *));
       bfd_signed_vma (*bfd_h_getx_signed_16) PARAMS ((const bfd_byte *));
       void         (*bfd_h_putx16) PARAMS ((bfd_vma, bfd_byte *));
   Format dependent routines: these are vectors of entry points within
the target vector structure, one for each format to check.

   Check the format of a file being read.  Return a `bfd_target *' or
zero.
       const struct bfd_target *(*_bfd_check_format[bfd_type_end]) PARAMS ((bfd *));
   Set the format of a file being written.
       boolean             (*_bfd_set_format[bfd_type_end]) PARAMS ((bfd *));
   Write cached information into a file being written, at `bfd_close'.
       boolean             (*_bfd_write_contents[bfd_type_end]) PARAMS ((bfd *));
   The general target vector.  These vectors are initialized using the
BFD_JUMP_TABLE macros.

       /* Generic entry points.  */
     #define BFD_JUMP_TABLE_GENERIC(NAME)\
     CAT(NAME,_close_and_cleanup),\
     CAT(NAME,_bfd_free_cached_info),\
     CAT(NAME,_new_section_hook),\
     CAT(NAME,_get_section_contents),\
     CAT(NAME,_get_section_contents_in_window)
     
       /* Called when the BFD is being closed to do any necessary cleanup.  */
       boolean       (*_close_and_cleanup) PARAMS ((bfd *));
       /* Ask the BFD to free all cached information.  */
       boolean (*_bfd_free_cached_info) PARAMS ((bfd *));
       /* Called when a new section is created.  */
       boolean       (*_new_section_hook) PARAMS ((bfd *, sec_ptr));
       /* Read the contents of a section.  */
       boolean       (*_bfd_get_section_contents) PARAMS ((bfd *, sec_ptr, PTR,
                                                 file_ptr, bfd_size_type));
       boolean       (*_bfd_get_section_contents_in_window)
                               PARAMS ((bfd *, sec_ptr, bfd_window *,
                                        file_ptr, bfd_size_type));
     
       /* Entry points to copy private data.  */
     #define BFD_JUMP_TABLE_COPY(NAME)\
     CAT(NAME,_bfd_copy_private_bfd_data),\
     CAT(NAME,_bfd_merge_private_bfd_data),\
     CAT(NAME,_bfd_copy_private_section_data),\
     CAT(NAME,_bfd_copy_private_symbol_data),\
     CAT(NAME,_bfd_set_private_flags),\
     CAT(NAME,_bfd_print_private_bfd_data)\
       /* Called to copy BFD general private data from one object file
          to another.  */
       boolean       (*_bfd_copy_private_bfd_data) PARAMS ((bfd *, bfd *));
       /* Called to merge BFD general private data from one object file
          to a common output file when linking.  */
       boolean       (*_bfd_merge_private_bfd_data) PARAMS ((bfd *, bfd *));
       /* Called to copy BFD private section data from one object file
          to another.  */
       boolean       (*_bfd_copy_private_section_data) PARAMS ((bfd *, sec_ptr,
                                                            bfd *, sec_ptr));
       /* Called to copy BFD private symbol data from one symbol
          to another.  */
       boolean       (*_bfd_copy_private_symbol_data) PARAMS ((bfd *, asymbol *,
                                                               bfd *, asymbol *));
       /* Called to set private backend flags */
       boolean       (*_bfd_set_private_flags) PARAMS ((bfd *, flagword));
     
       /* Called to print private BFD data */
       boolean       (*_bfd_print_private_bfd_data) PARAMS ((bfd *, PTR));
     
       /* Core file entry points.  */
     #define BFD_JUMP_TABLE_CORE(NAME)\
     CAT(NAME,_core_file_failing_command),\
     CAT(NAME,_core_file_failing_signal),\
     CAT(NAME,_core_file_matches_executable_p)
       char *   (*_core_file_failing_command) PARAMS ((bfd *));
       int      (*_core_file_failing_signal) PARAMS ((bfd *));
       boolean  (*_core_file_matches_executable_p) PARAMS ((bfd *, bfd *));
     
       /* Archive entry points.  */
     #define BFD_JUMP_TABLE_ARCHIVE(NAME)\
     CAT(NAME,_slurp_armap),\
     CAT(NAME,_slurp_extended_name_table),\
     CAT(NAME,_construct_extended_name_table),\
     CAT(NAME,_truncate_arname),\
     CAT(NAME,_write_armap),\
     CAT(NAME,_read_ar_hdr),\
     CAT(NAME,_openr_next_archived_file),\
     CAT(NAME,_get_elt_at_index),\
     CAT(NAME,_generic_stat_arch_elt),\
     CAT(NAME,_update_armap_timestamp)
       boolean  (*_bfd_slurp_armap) PARAMS ((bfd *));
       boolean  (*_bfd_slurp_extended_name_table) PARAMS ((bfd *));
       boolean  (*_bfd_construct_extended_name_table)
                  PARAMS ((bfd *, char **, bfd_size_type *, const char **));
       void     (*_bfd_truncate_arname) PARAMS ((bfd *, CONST char *, char *));
       boolean  (*write_armap) PARAMS ((bfd *arch,
                                   unsigned int elength,
                                   struct orl *map,
                                   unsigned int orl_count,
                                   int stridx));
       PTR (*_bfd_read_ar_hdr_fn) PARAMS ((bfd *));
       bfd *    (*openr_next_archived_file) PARAMS ((bfd *arch, bfd *prev));
     #define bfd_get_elt_at_index(b,i) BFD_SEND(b, _bfd_get_elt_at_index, (b,i))
       bfd *    (*_bfd_get_elt_at_index) PARAMS ((bfd *, symindex));
       int      (*_bfd_stat_arch_elt) PARAMS ((bfd *, struct stat *));
       boolean  (*_bfd_update_armap_timestamp) PARAMS ((bfd *));
     
       /* Entry points used for symbols.  */
     #define BFD_JUMP_TABLE_SYMBOLS(NAME)\
     CAT(NAME,_get_symtab_upper_bound),\
     CAT(NAME,_get_symtab),\
     CAT(NAME,_make_empty_symbol),\
     CAT(NAME,_print_symbol),\
     CAT(NAME,_get_symbol_info),\
     CAT(NAME,_bfd_is_local_label_name),\
     CAT(NAME,_get_lineno),\
     CAT(NAME,_find_nearest_line),\
     CAT(NAME,_bfd_make_debug_symbol),\
     CAT(NAME,_read_minisymbols),\
     CAT(NAME,_minisymbol_to_symbol)
       long  (*_bfd_get_symtab_upper_bound) PARAMS ((bfd *));
       long  (*_bfd_canonicalize_symtab) PARAMS ((bfd *,
                                                  struct symbol_cache_entry **));
       struct symbol_cache_entry  *
                     (*_bfd_make_empty_symbol) PARAMS ((bfd *));
       void          (*_bfd_print_symbol) PARAMS ((bfd *, PTR,
                                           struct symbol_cache_entry *,
                                           bfd_print_symbol_type));
     #define bfd_print_symbol(b,p,s,e) BFD_SEND(b, _bfd_print_symbol, (b,p,s,e))
       void          (*_bfd_get_symbol_info) PARAMS ((bfd *,
                                           struct symbol_cache_entry *,
                                           symbol_info *));
     #define bfd_get_symbol_info(b,p,e) BFD_SEND(b, _bfd_get_symbol_info, (b,p,e))
       boolean       (*_bfd_is_local_label_name) PARAMS ((bfd *, const char *));
     
       alent *    (*_get_lineno) PARAMS ((bfd *, struct symbol_cache_entry *));
       boolean    (*_bfd_find_nearest_line) PARAMS ((bfd *abfd,
                         struct sec *section, struct symbol_cache_entry **symbols,
                         bfd_vma offset, CONST char **file, CONST char **func,
                         unsigned int *line));
      /* Back-door to allow format-aware applications to create debug symbols
         while using BFD for everything else.  Currently used by the assembler
         when creating COFF files.  */
       asymbol *  (*_bfd_make_debug_symbol) PARAMS ((
            bfd *abfd,
            void *ptr,
            unsigned long size));
     #define bfd_read_minisymbols(b, d, m, s) \
       BFD_SEND (b, _read_minisymbols, (b, d, m, s))
       long  (*_read_minisymbols) PARAMS ((bfd *, boolean, PTR *,
                                           unsigned int *));
     #define bfd_minisymbol_to_symbol(b, d, m, f) \
       BFD_SEND (b, _minisymbol_to_symbol, (b, d, m, f))
       asymbol *(*_minisymbol_to_symbol) PARAMS ((bfd *, boolean, const PTR,
                                                  asymbol *));
     
       /* Routines for relocs.  */
     #define BFD_JUMP_TABLE_RELOCS(NAME)\
     CAT(NAME,_get_reloc_upper_bound),\
     CAT(NAME,_canonicalize_reloc),\
     CAT(NAME,_bfd_reloc_type_lookup)
       long  (*_get_reloc_upper_bound) PARAMS ((bfd *, sec_ptr));
       long  (*_bfd_canonicalize_reloc) PARAMS ((bfd *, sec_ptr, arelent **,
                                                 struct symbol_cache_entry **));
       /* See documentation on reloc types.  */
       reloc_howto_type *
            (*reloc_type_lookup) PARAMS ((bfd *abfd,
                                          bfd_reloc_code_real_type code));
     
       /* Routines used when writing an object file.  */
     #define BFD_JUMP_TABLE_WRITE(NAME)\
     CAT(NAME,_set_arch_mach),\
     CAT(NAME,_set_section_contents)
       boolean    (*_bfd_set_arch_mach) PARAMS ((bfd *, enum bfd_architecture,
                         unsigned long));
       boolean       (*_bfd_set_section_contents) PARAMS ((bfd *, sec_ptr, PTR,
                                                 file_ptr, bfd_size_type));
     
       /* Routines used by the linker.  */
     #define BFD_JUMP_TABLE_LINK(NAME)\
     CAT(NAME,_sizeof_headers),\
     CAT(NAME,_bfd_get_relocated_section_contents),\
     CAT(NAME,_bfd_relax_section),\
     CAT(NAME,_bfd_link_hash_table_create),\
     CAT(NAME,_bfd_link_add_symbols),\
     CAT(NAME,_bfd_final_link),\
     CAT(NAME,_bfd_link_split_section),\
     CAT(NAME,_bfd_gc_sections)
       int        (*_bfd_sizeof_headers) PARAMS ((bfd *, boolean));
       bfd_byte * (*_bfd_get_relocated_section_contents) PARAMS ((bfd *,
                         struct bfd_link_info *, struct bfd_link_order *,
                         bfd_byte *data, boolean relocateable,
                         struct symbol_cache_entry **));
     
       boolean    (*_bfd_relax_section) PARAMS ((bfd *, struct sec *,
                         struct bfd_link_info *, boolean *again));
     
       /* Create a hash table for the linker.  Different backends store
          different information in this table.  */
       struct bfd_link_hash_table *(*_bfd_link_hash_table_create) PARAMS ((bfd *));
     
       /* Add symbols from this object file into the hash table.  */
       boolean (*_bfd_link_add_symbols) PARAMS ((bfd *, struct bfd_link_info *));
     
       /* Do a link based on the link_order structures attached to each
          section of the BFD.  */
       boolean (*_bfd_final_link) PARAMS ((bfd *, struct bfd_link_info *));
     
       /* Should this section be split up into smaller pieces during linking.  */
       boolean (*_bfd_link_split_section) PARAMS ((bfd *, struct sec *));
     
       /* Remove sections that are not referenced from the output.  */
       boolean (*_bfd_gc_sections) PARAMS ((bfd *, struct bfd_link_info *));
     
       /* Routines to handle dynamic symbols and relocs.  */
     #define BFD_JUMP_TABLE_DYNAMIC(NAME)\
     CAT(NAME,_get_dynamic_symtab_upper_bound),\
     CAT(NAME,_canonicalize_dynamic_symtab),\
     CAT(NAME,_get_dynamic_reloc_upper_bound),\
     CAT(NAME,_canonicalize_dynamic_reloc)
       /* Get the amount of memory required to hold the dynamic symbols. */
       long  (*_bfd_get_dynamic_symtab_upper_bound) PARAMS ((bfd *));
       /* Read in the dynamic symbols.  */
       long  (*_bfd_canonicalize_dynamic_symtab)
         PARAMS ((bfd *, struct symbol_cache_entry **));
       /* Get the amount of memory required to hold the dynamic relocs.  */
       long  (*_bfd_get_dynamic_reloc_upper_bound) PARAMS ((bfd *));
       /* Read in the dynamic relocs.  */
       long  (*_bfd_canonicalize_dynamic_reloc)
         PARAMS ((bfd *, arelent **, struct symbol_cache_entry **));
   A pointer to an alternative bfd_target in case the current one is not
satisfactory.  This can happen when the target cpu supports both big
and little endian code, and target chosen by the linker has the wrong
endianness.  The function open_output() in ld/ldlang.c uses this field
to find an alternative output format that is suitable.
      /* Opposite endian version of this target.  */
      const struct bfd_target * alternative_target;
   Data for use by back-end routines, which isn't generic enough to
belong in this structure.
      PTR backend_data;
     
     } bfd_target;

`bfd_set_default_target'
........................

   *Synopsis*
     boolean bfd_set_default_target (const char *name);
   *Description*
Set the default target vector to use when recognizing a BFD.  This
takes the name of the target, which may be a BFD target name or a
configuration triplet.

`bfd_find_target'
.................

   *Synopsis*
     const bfd_target *bfd_find_target(CONST char *target_name, bfd *abfd);
   *Description*
Return a pointer to the transfer vector for the object target named
TARGET_NAME.  If TARGET_NAME is `NULL', choose the one in the
environment variable `GNUTARGET'; if that is null or not defined, then
choose the first entry in the target list.  Passing in the string
"default" or setting the environment variable to "default" will cause
the first entry in the target list to be returned, and
"target_defaulted" will be set in the BFD.  This causes
`bfd_check_format' to loop over all the targets to find the one that
matches the file being read.

`bfd_target_list'
.................

   *Synopsis*
     const char **bfd_target_list(void);
   *Description*
Return a freshly malloced NULL-terminated vector of the names of all
the valid BFD targets. Do not modify the names.

`bfd_seach_for_target'
......................

   *Synopsis*
     const bfd_target * bfd_search_for_target (int (* search_func) (const bfd_target *, void *), void *);
   *Description*
Return a pointer to the first transfer vector in the list of transfer
vectors maintained by BFD that produces a non-zero result when passed
to the function SEARCH_FUNC.  The parameter DATA is passed, unexamined,
to the search function.


File: bfd.info,  Node: Architectures,  Next: Opening and Closing,  Prev: Targets,  Up: BFD front end

Architectures
=============

   BFD keeps one atom in a BFD describing the architecture of the data
attached to the BFD: a pointer to a `bfd_arch_info_type'.

   Pointers to structures can be requested independently of a BFD so
that an architecture's information can be interrogated without access
to an open BFD.

   The architecture information is provided by each architecture
package.  The set of default architectures is selected by the macro
`SELECT_ARCHITECTURES'.  This is normally set up in the
`config/TARGET.mt' file of your choice.  If the name is not defined,
then all the architectures supported are included.

   When BFD starts up, all the architectures are called with an
initialize method.  It is up to the architecture back end to insert as
many items into the list of architectures as it wants to; generally
this would be one for each machine and one for the default case (an
item with a machine field of 0).

   BFD's idea of an architecture is implemented in `archures.c'.

bfd_architecture
----------------

   *Description*
This enum gives the object file's CPU architecture, in a global
sense--i.e., what processor family does it belong to?  Another field
indicates which processor within the family is in use.  The machine
gives a number which distinguishes different versions of the
architecture, containing, for example, 2 and 3 for Intel i960 KA and
i960 KB, and 68020 and 68030 for Motorola 68020 and 68030.
     enum bfd_architecture
     {
       bfd_arch_unknown,   /* File arch not known */
       bfd_arch_obscure,   /* Arch known, not one of these */
       bfd_arch_m68k,      /* Motorola 68xxx */
     #define bfd_mach_m68000 1
     #define bfd_mach_m68008 2
     #define bfd_mach_m68010 3
     #define bfd_mach_m68020 4
     #define bfd_mach_m68030 5
     #define bfd_mach_m68040 6
     #define bfd_mach_m68060 7
     #define bfd_mach_cpu32  8
       bfd_arch_vax,       /* DEC Vax */
       bfd_arch_i960,      /* Intel 960 */
         /* The order of the following is important.
            lower number indicates a machine type that
            only accepts a subset of the instructions
            available to machines with higher numbers.
            The exception is the "ca", which is
            incompatible with all other machines except
            "core". */
     
     #define bfd_mach_i960_core      1
     #define bfd_mach_i960_ka_sa     2
     #define bfd_mach_i960_kb_sb     3
     #define bfd_mach_i960_mc        4
     #define bfd_mach_i960_xa        5
     #define bfd_mach_i960_ca        6
     #define bfd_mach_i960_jx        7
     #define bfd_mach_i960_hx        8
     
       bfd_arch_a29k,      /* AMD 29000 */
       bfd_arch_sparc,     /* SPARC */
     #define bfd_mach_sparc                 1
     /* The difference between v8plus and v9 is that v9 is a true 64 bit env.  */
     #define bfd_mach_sparc_sparclet        2
     #define bfd_mach_sparc_sparclite       3
     #define bfd_mach_sparc_v8plus          4
     #define bfd_mach_sparc_v8plusa         5 /* with ultrasparc add'ns */
     #define bfd_mach_sparc_sparclite_le    6
     #define bfd_mach_sparc_v9              7
     #define bfd_mach_sparc_v9a             8 /* with ultrasparc add'ns */
     #define bfd_mach_sparc_v8plusb         9 /* with cheetah add'ns */
     #define bfd_mach_sparc_v9b             10 /* with cheetah add'ns */
     /* Nonzero if MACH has the v9 instruction set.  */
     #define bfd_mach_sparc_v9_p(mach) \
       ((mach) >= bfd_mach_sparc_v8plus && (mach) <= bfd_mach_sparc_v9b \
        && (mach) != bfd_mach_sparc_sparclite_le)
       bfd_arch_mips,      /* MIPS Rxxxx */
     #define bfd_mach_mips3000              3000
     #define bfd_mach_mips3900              3900
     #define bfd_mach_mips4000              4000
     #define bfd_mach_mips4010              4010
     #define bfd_mach_mips4100              4100
     #define bfd_mach_mips4111              4111
     #define bfd_mach_mips4300              4300
     #define bfd_mach_mips4400              4400
     #define bfd_mach_mips4600              4600
     #define bfd_mach_mips4650              4650
     #define bfd_mach_mips5000              5000
     #define bfd_mach_mips6000              6000
     #define bfd_mach_mips8000              8000
     #define bfd_mach_mips10000             10000
     #define bfd_mach_mips16                16
     #define bfd_mach_mips32                32
     #define bfd_mach_mips32_4k             3204113 /* 32, 04, octal 'K' */
     #define bfd_mach_mips5                 5
     #define bfd_mach_mips64                64
     #define bfd_mach_mips_sb1              12310201 /* octal 'SB', 01 */
       bfd_arch_i386,      /* Intel 386 */
     #define bfd_mach_i386_i386 0
     #define bfd_mach_i386_i8086 1
     #define bfd_mach_i386_i386_intel_syntax 2
     #define bfd_mach_x86_64 3
     #define bfd_mach_x86_64_intel_syntax 4
       bfd_arch_we32k,     /* AT&T WE32xxx */
       bfd_arch_tahoe,     /* CCI/Harris Tahoe */
       bfd_arch_i860,      /* Intel 860 */
       bfd_arch_i370,      /* IBM 360/370 Mainframes */
       bfd_arch_romp,      /* IBM ROMP PC/RT */
       bfd_arch_alliant,   /* Alliant */
       bfd_arch_convex,    /* Convex */
       bfd_arch_m88k,      /* Motorola 88xxx */
       bfd_arch_pyramid,   /* Pyramid Technology */
       bfd_arch_h8300,     /* Hitachi H8/300 */
     #define bfd_mach_h8300   1
     #define bfd_mach_h8300h  2
     #define bfd_mach_h8300s  3
       bfd_arch_powerpc,   /* PowerPC */
     #define bfd_mach_ppc           0
     #define bfd_mach_ppc_403       403
     #define bfd_mach_ppc_403gc     4030
     #define bfd_mach_ppc_505       505
     #define bfd_mach_ppc_601       601
     #define bfd_mach_ppc_602       602
     #define bfd_mach_ppc_603       603
     #define bfd_mach_ppc_ec603e    6031
     #define bfd_mach_ppc_604       604
     #define bfd_mach_ppc_620       620
     #define bfd_mach_ppc_630       630
     #define bfd_mach_ppc_750       750
     #define bfd_mach_ppc_860       860
     #define bfd_mach_ppc_a35       35
     #define bfd_mach_ppc_rs64ii    642
     #define bfd_mach_ppc_rs64iii   643
     #define bfd_mach_ppc_7400      7400
       bfd_arch_rs6000,    /* IBM RS/6000 */
     #define bfd_mach_rs6k          0
     #define bfd_mach_rs6k_rs1      6001
     #define bfd_mach_rs6k_rsc      6003
     #define bfd_mach_rs6k_rs2      6002
       bfd_arch_hppa,      /* HP PA RISC */
       bfd_arch_d10v,      /* Mitsubishi D10V */
     #define bfd_mach_d10v          0
     #define bfd_mach_d10v_ts2      2
     #define bfd_mach_d10v_ts3      3
       bfd_arch_d30v,      /* Mitsubishi D30V */
       bfd_arch_m68hc11,   /* Motorola 68HC11 */
       bfd_arch_m68hc12,   /* Motorola 68HC12 */
       bfd_arch_z8k,       /* Zilog Z8000 */
     #define bfd_mach_z8001         1
     #define bfd_mach_z8002         2
       bfd_arch_h8500,     /* Hitachi H8/500 */
       bfd_arch_sh,        /* Hitachi SH */
     #define bfd_mach_sh            0
     #define bfd_mach_sh2        0x20
     #define bfd_mach_sh_dsp     0x2d
     #define bfd_mach_sh3        0x30
     #define bfd_mach_sh3_dsp    0x3d
     #define bfd_mach_sh3e       0x3e
     #define bfd_mach_sh4        0x40
       bfd_arch_alpha,     /* Dec Alpha */
     #define bfd_mach_alpha_ev4  0x10
     #define bfd_mach_alpha_ev5  0x20
     #define bfd_mach_alpha_ev6  0x30
       bfd_arch_arm,       /* Advanced Risc Machines ARM */
     #define bfd_mach_arm_2         1
     #define bfd_mach_arm_2a        2
     #define bfd_mach_arm_3         3
     #define bfd_mach_arm_3M        4
     #define bfd_mach_arm_4         5
     #define bfd_mach_arm_4T        6
     #define bfd_mach_arm_5         7
     #define bfd_mach_arm_5T        8
     #define bfd_mach_arm_5TE       9
     #define bfd_mach_arm_XScale    10
       bfd_arch_ns32k,     /* National Semiconductors ns32000 */
       bfd_arch_w65,       /* WDC 65816 */
       bfd_arch_tic30,     /* Texas Instruments TMS320C30 */
       bfd_arch_tic54x,    /* Texas Instruments TMS320C54X */
       bfd_arch_tic80,     /* TI TMS320c80 (MVP) */
       bfd_arch_v850,      /* NEC V850 */
     #define bfd_mach_v850          0
     #define bfd_mach_v850e         'E'
     #define bfd_mach_v850ea        'A'
       bfd_arch_arc,       /* ARC Cores */
     #define bfd_mach_arc_5         0
     #define bfd_mach_arc_6         1
     #define bfd_mach_arc_7         2
     #define bfd_mach_arc_8         3
       bfd_arch_m32r,      /* Mitsubishi M32R/D */
     #define bfd_mach_m32r          0 /* backwards compatibility */
     #define bfd_mach_m32rx         'x'
       bfd_arch_mn10200,   /* Matsushita MN10200 */
       bfd_arch_mn10300,   /* Matsushita MN10300 */
     #define bfd_mach_mn10300               300
     #define bfd_mach_am33          330
       bfd_arch_fr30,
     #define bfd_mach_fr30          0x46523330
       bfd_arch_mcore,
       bfd_arch_ia64,      /* HP/Intel ia64 */
     #define bfd_mach_ia64_elf64    0
     #define bfd_mach_ia64_elf32    1
       bfd_arch_pj,
       bfd_arch_avr,       /* Atmel AVR microcontrollers */
     #define bfd_mach_avr1          1
     #define bfd_mach_avr2          2
     #define bfd_mach_avr3          3
     #define bfd_mach_avr4          4
     #define bfd_mach_avr5          5
       bfd_arch_cris,      /* Axis CRIS */
       bfd_arch_last
       };

bfd_arch_info
-------------

   *Description*
This structure contains information on architectures for use within BFD.

     typedef struct bfd_arch_info
     {
       int bits_per_word;
       int bits_per_address;
       int bits_per_byte;
       enum bfd_architecture arch;
       unsigned long mach;
       const char *arch_name;
       const char *printable_name;
       unsigned int section_align_power;
       /* True if this is the default machine for the architecture.  */
       boolean the_default;
       const struct bfd_arch_info * (*compatible)
            PARAMS ((const struct bfd_arch_info *a,
                     const struct bfd_arch_info *b));
     
       boolean (*scan) PARAMS ((const struct bfd_arch_info *, const char *));
     
       const struct bfd_arch_info *next;
     } bfd_arch_info_type;

`bfd_printable_name'
....................

   *Synopsis*
     const char *bfd_printable_name(bfd *abfd);
   *Description*
Return a printable string representing the architecture and machine
from the pointer to the architecture info structure.

`bfd_scan_arch'
...............

   *Synopsis*
     const bfd_arch_info_type *bfd_scan_arch(const char *string);
   *Description*
Figure out if BFD supports any cpu which could be described with the
name STRING.  Return a pointer to an `arch_info' structure if a machine
is found, otherwise NULL.

`bfd_arch_list'
...............

   *Synopsis*
     const char **bfd_arch_list(void);
   *Description*
Return a freshly malloced NULL-terminated vector of the names of all
the valid BFD architectures.  Do not modify the names.

`bfd_arch_get_compatible'
.........................

   *Synopsis*
     const bfd_arch_info_type *bfd_arch_get_compatible(
         const bfd *abfd,
         const bfd *bbfd);
   *Description*
Determine whether two BFDs' architectures and machine types are
compatible.  Calculates the lowest common denominator between the two
architectures and machine types implied by the BFDs and returns a
pointer to an `arch_info' structure describing the compatible machine.

`bfd_default_arch_struct'
.........................

   *Description*
The `bfd_default_arch_struct' is an item of `bfd_arch_info_type' which
has been initialized to a fairly generic state.  A BFD starts life by
pointing to this structure, until the correct back end has determined
the real architecture of the file.
     extern const bfd_arch_info_type bfd_default_arch_struct;

`bfd_set_arch_info'
...................

   *Synopsis*
     void bfd_set_arch_info(bfd *abfd, const bfd_arch_info_type *arg);
   *Description*
Set the architecture info of ABFD to ARG.

`bfd_default_set_arch_mach'
...........................

   *Synopsis*
     boolean bfd_default_set_arch_mach(bfd *abfd,
         enum bfd_architecture arch,
         unsigned long mach);
   *Description*
Set the architecture and machine type in BFD ABFD to ARCH and MACH.
Find the correct pointer to a structure and insert it into the
`arch_info' pointer.

`bfd_get_arch'
..............

   *Synopsis*
     enum bfd_architecture bfd_get_arch(bfd *abfd);
   *Description*
Return the enumerated type which describes the BFD ABFD's architecture.

`bfd_get_mach'
..............

   *Synopsis*
     unsigned long bfd_get_mach(bfd *abfd);
   *Description*
Return the long type which describes the BFD ABFD's machine.

`bfd_arch_bits_per_byte'
........................

   *Synopsis*
     unsigned int bfd_arch_bits_per_byte(bfd *abfd);
   *Description*
Return the number of bits in one of the BFD ABFD's architecture's bytes.

`bfd_arch_bits_per_address'
...........................

   *Synopsis*
     unsigned int bfd_arch_bits_per_address(bfd *abfd);
   *Description*
Return the number of bits in one of the BFD ABFD's architecture's
addresses.

`bfd_default_compatible'
........................

   *Synopsis*
     const bfd_arch_info_type *bfd_default_compatible
        (const bfd_arch_info_type *a,
         const bfd_arch_info_type *b);
   *Description*
The default function for testing for compatibility.

`bfd_default_scan'
..................

   *Synopsis*
     boolean bfd_default_scan(const struct bfd_arch_info *info, const char *string);
   *Description*
The default function for working out whether this is an architecture
hit and a machine hit.

`bfd_get_arch_info'
...................

   *Synopsis*
     const bfd_arch_info_type * bfd_get_arch_info(bfd *abfd);
   *Description*
Return the architecture info struct in ABFD.

`bfd_lookup_arch'
.................

   *Synopsis*
     const bfd_arch_info_type *bfd_lookup_arch
        (enum bfd_architecture
         arch,
         unsigned long machine);
   *Description*
Look for the architecure info structure which matches the arguments
ARCH and MACHINE. A machine of 0 matches the machine/architecture
structure which marks itself as the default.

`bfd_printable_arch_mach'
.........................

   *Synopsis*
     const char *bfd_printable_arch_mach
        (enum bfd_architecture arch, unsigned long machine);
   *Description*
Return a printable string representing the architecture and machine
type.

   This routine is depreciated.

`bfd_octets_per_byte'
.....................

   *Synopsis*
     unsigned int bfd_octets_per_byte(bfd *abfd);
   *Description*
Return the number of octets (8-bit quantities) per target byte (minimum
addressable unit).  In most cases, this will be one, but some DSP
targets have 16, 32, or even 48 bits per byte.

`bfd_arch_mach_octets_per_byte'
...............................

   *Synopsis*
     unsigned int bfd_arch_mach_octets_per_byte(enum bfd_architecture arch,
         unsigned long machine);
   *Description*
See bfd_octets_per_byte.

   This routine is provided for those cases where a bfd * is not
available


File: bfd.info,  Node: Opening and Closing,  Next: Internal,  Prev: Architectures,  Up: BFD front end

Opening and closing BFDs
========================

`bfd_openr'
...........

   *Synopsis*
     bfd *bfd_openr(CONST char *filename, CONST char *target);
   *Description*
Open the file FILENAME (using `fopen') with the target TARGET.  Return
a pointer to the created BFD.

   Calls `bfd_find_target', so TARGET is interpreted as by that
function.

   If `NULL' is returned then an error has occured.   Possible errors
are `bfd_error_no_memory', `bfd_error_invalid_target' or `system_call'
error.

`bfd_fdopenr'
.............

   *Synopsis*
     bfd *bfd_fdopenr(CONST char *filename, CONST char *target, int fd);
   *Description*
`bfd_fdopenr' is to `bfd_fopenr' much like `fdopen' is to `fopen'.  It
opens a BFD on a file already described by the FD supplied.

   When the file is later `bfd_close'd, the file descriptor will be
closed.

   If the caller desires that this file descriptor be cached by BFD
(opened as needed, closed as needed to free descriptors for other
opens), with the supplied FD used as an initial file descriptor (but
subject to closure at any time), call bfd_set_cacheable(bfd, 1) on the
returned BFD.  The default is to assume no cacheing; the file
descriptor will remain open until `bfd_close', and will not be affected
by BFD operations on other files.

   Possible errors are `bfd_error_no_memory',
`bfd_error_invalid_target' and `bfd_error_system_call'.

`bfd_openstreamr'
.................

   *Synopsis*
     bfd *bfd_openstreamr(const char *, const char *, PTR);
   *Description*
Open a BFD for read access on an existing stdio stream.  When the BFD
is passed to `bfd_close', the stream will be closed.

`bfd_openw'
...........

   *Synopsis*
     bfd *bfd_openw(CONST char *filename, CONST char *target);
   *Description*
Create a BFD, associated with file FILENAME, using the file format
TARGET, and return a pointer to it.

   Possible errors are `bfd_error_system_call', `bfd_error_no_memory',
`bfd_error_invalid_target'.

`bfd_close'
...........

   *Synopsis*
     boolean bfd_close(bfd *abfd);
   *Description*
Close a BFD. If the BFD was open for writing, then pending operations
are completed and the file written out and closed. If the created file
is executable, then `chmod' is called to mark it as such.

   All memory attached to the BFD is released.

   The file descriptor associated with the BFD is closed (even if it
was passed in to BFD by `bfd_fdopenr').

   *Returns*
`true' is returned if all is ok, otherwise `false'.

`bfd_close_all_done'
....................

   *Synopsis*
     boolean bfd_close_all_done(bfd *);
   *Description*
Close a BFD.  Differs from `bfd_close' since it does not complete any
pending operations.  This routine would be used if the application had
just used BFD for swapping and didn't want to use any of the writing
code.

   If the created file is executable, then `chmod' is called to mark it
as such.

   All memory attached to the BFD is released.

   *Returns*
`true' is returned if all is ok, otherwise `false'.

`bfd_create'
............

   *Synopsis*
     bfd *bfd_create(CONST char *filename, bfd *templ);
   *Description*
Create a new BFD in the manner of `bfd_openw', but without opening a
file. The new BFD takes the target from the target used by TEMPLATE. The
format is always set to `bfd_object'.

`bfd_make_writable'
...................

   *Synopsis*
     boolean bfd_make_writable(bfd *abfd);
   *Description*
Takes a BFD as created by `bfd_create' and converts it into one like as
returned by `bfd_openw'.  It does this by converting the BFD to
BFD_IN_MEMORY.  It's assumed that you will call `bfd_make_readable' on
this bfd later.

   *Returns*
`true' is returned if all is ok, otherwise `false'.

`bfd_make_readable'
...................

   *Synopsis*
     boolean bfd_make_readable(bfd *abfd);
   *Description*
Takes a BFD as created by `bfd_create' and `bfd_make_writable' and
converts it into one like as returned by `bfd_openr'.  It does this by
writing the contents out to the memory buffer, then reversing the
direction.

   *Returns*
`true' is returned if all is ok, otherwise `false'.

`bfd_alloc'
...........

   *Synopsis*
     PTR bfd_alloc (bfd *abfd, size_t wanted);
   *Description*
Allocate a block of WANTED bytes of memory attached to `abfd' and
return a pointer to it.


File: bfd.info,  Node: Internal,  Next: File Caching,  Prev: Opening and Closing,  Up: BFD front end

Internal functions
==================

   *Description*
These routines are used within BFD.  They are not intended for export,
but are documented here for completeness.

`bfd_write_bigendian_4byte_int'
...............................

   *Synopsis*
     void bfd_write_bigendian_4byte_int(bfd *abfd,  int i);
   *Description*
Write a 4 byte integer I to the output BFD ABFD, in big endian order
regardless of what else is going on.  This is useful in archives.

`bfd_put_size'
..............

`bfd_get_size'
..............

   *Description*
These macros as used for reading and writing raw data in sections; each
access (except for bytes) is vectored through the target format of the
BFD and mangled accordingly. The mangling performs any necessary endian
translations and removes alignment restrictions.  Note that types
accepted and returned by these macros are identical so they can be
swapped around in macros--for example, `libaout.h' defines `GET_WORD'
to either `bfd_get_32' or `bfd_get_64'.

   In the put routines, VAL must be a `bfd_vma'.  If we are on a system
without prototypes, the caller is responsible for making sure that is
true, with a cast if necessary.  We don't cast them in the macro
definitions because that would prevent `lint' or `gcc -Wall' from
detecting sins such as passing a pointer.  To detect calling these with
less than a `bfd_vma', use `gcc -Wconversion' on a host with 64 bit
`bfd_vma''s.

     /* Byte swapping macros for user section data.  */
     
     #define bfd_put_8(abfd, val, ptr) \
                     ((void) (*((unsigned char *) (ptr)) = (unsigned char) (val)))
     #define bfd_put_signed_8 \
                    bfd_put_8
     #define bfd_get_8(abfd, ptr) \
                     (*(unsigned char *) (ptr))
     #define bfd_get_signed_8(abfd, ptr) \
                    ((*(unsigned char *) (ptr) ^ 0x80) - 0x80)
     
     #define bfd_put_16(abfd, val, ptr) \
                     BFD_SEND(abfd, bfd_putx16, ((val),(ptr)))
     #define bfd_put_signed_16 \
                     bfd_put_16
     #define bfd_get_16(abfd, ptr) \
                     BFD_SEND(abfd, bfd_getx16, (ptr))
     #define bfd_get_signed_16(abfd, ptr) \
                     BFD_SEND (abfd, bfd_getx_signed_16, (ptr))
     
     #define bfd_put_32(abfd, val, ptr) \
                     BFD_SEND(abfd, bfd_putx32, ((val),(ptr)))
     #define bfd_put_signed_32 \
                     bfd_put_32
     #define bfd_get_32(abfd, ptr) \
                     BFD_SEND(abfd, bfd_getx32, (ptr))
     #define bfd_get_signed_32(abfd, ptr) \
                     BFD_SEND(abfd, bfd_getx_signed_32, (ptr))
     
     #define bfd_put_64(abfd, val, ptr) \
                     BFD_SEND(abfd, bfd_putx64, ((val), (ptr)))
     #define bfd_put_signed_64 \
                     bfd_put_64
     #define bfd_get_64(abfd, ptr) \
                     BFD_SEND(abfd, bfd_getx64, (ptr))
     #define bfd_get_signed_64(abfd, ptr) \
                     BFD_SEND(abfd, bfd_getx_signed_64, (ptr))
     
     #define bfd_get(bits, abfd, ptr)                               \
                     ((bits) == 8 ? bfd_get_8 (abfd, ptr)           \
                     : (bits) == 16 ? bfd_get_16 (abfd, ptr)        \
                     : (bits) == 32 ? bfd_get_32 (abfd, ptr)        \
                     : (bits) == 64 ? bfd_get_64 (abfd, ptr)        \
                     : (abort (), (bfd_vma) - 1))
     
     #define bfd_put(bits, abfd, val, ptr)                          \
                     ((bits) == 8 ? bfd_put_8 (abfd, val, ptr)      \
                     : (bits) == 16 ? bfd_put_16 (abfd, val, ptr)   \
                     : (bits) == 32 ? bfd_put_32 (abfd, val, ptr)   \
                     : (bits) == 64 ? bfd_put_64 (abfd, val, ptr)   \
                     : (abort (), (void) 0))

`bfd_h_put_size'
................

   *Description*
These macros have the same function as their `bfd_get_x' bretheren,
except that they are used for removing information for the header
records of object files. Believe it or not, some object files keep
their header records in big endian order and their data in little
endian order.

     /* Byte swapping macros for file header data.  */
     
     #define bfd_h_put_8(abfd, val, ptr) \
                    bfd_put_8 (abfd, val, ptr)
     #define bfd_h_put_signed_8(abfd, val, ptr) \
                    bfd_put_8 (abfd, val, ptr)
     #define bfd_h_get_8(abfd, ptr) \
                    bfd_get_8 (abfd, ptr)
     #define bfd_h_get_signed_8(abfd, ptr) \
                    bfd_get_signed_8 (abfd, ptr)
     
     #define bfd_h_put_16(abfd, val, ptr) \
                     BFD_SEND(abfd, bfd_h_putx16,(val,ptr))
     #define bfd_h_put_signed_16 \
                     bfd_h_put_16
     #define bfd_h_get_16(abfd, ptr) \
                     BFD_SEND(abfd, bfd_h_getx16,(ptr))
     #define bfd_h_get_signed_16(abfd, ptr) \
                     BFD_SEND(abfd, bfd_h_getx_signed_16, (ptr))
     
     #define bfd_h_put_32(abfd, val, ptr) \
                     BFD_SEND(abfd, bfd_h_putx32,(val,ptr))
     #define bfd_h_put_signed_32 \
                     bfd_h_put_32
     #define bfd_h_get_32(abfd, ptr) \
                     BFD_SEND(abfd, bfd_h_getx32,(ptr))
     #define bfd_h_get_signed_32(abfd, ptr) \
                     BFD_SEND(abfd, bfd_h_getx_signed_32, (ptr))
     
     #define bfd_h_put_64(abfd, val, ptr) \
                     BFD_SEND(abfd, bfd_h_putx64,(val, ptr))
     #define bfd_h_put_signed_64 \
                     bfd_h_put_64
     #define bfd_h_get_64(abfd, ptr) \
                     BFD_SEND(abfd, bfd_h_getx64,(ptr))
     #define bfd_h_get_signed_64(abfd, ptr) \
                     BFD_SEND(abfd, bfd_h_getx_signed_64, (ptr))

`bfd_log2'
..........

   *Synopsis*
     unsigned int bfd_log2(bfd_vma x);
   *Description*
Return the log base 2 of the value supplied, rounded up.  E.g., an X of
1025 returns 11.


File: bfd.info,  Node: File Caching,  Next: Linker Functions,  Prev: Internal,  Up: BFD front end

File caching
============

   The file caching mechanism is embedded within BFD and allows the
application to open as many BFDs as it wants without regard to the
underlying operating system's file descriptor limit (often as low as 20
open files).  The module in `cache.c' maintains a least recently used
list of `BFD_CACHE_MAX_OPEN' files, and exports the name
`bfd_cache_lookup', which runs around and makes sure that the required
BFD is open. If not, then it chooses a file to close, closes it and
opens the one wanted, returning its file handle.

`BFD_CACHE_MAX_OPEN macro'
..........................

   *Description*
The maximum number of files which the cache will keep open at one time.
     #define BFD_CACHE_MAX_OPEN 10

`bfd_last_cache'
................

   *Synopsis*
     extern bfd *bfd_last_cache;
   *Description*
Zero, or a pointer to the topmost BFD on the chain.  This is used by
the `bfd_cache_lookup' macro in `libbfd.h' to determine when it can
avoid a function call.

`bfd_cache_lookup'
..................

   *Description*
Check to see if the required BFD is the same as the last one looked up.
If so, then it can use the stream in the BFD with impunity, since it
can't have changed since the last lookup; otherwise, it has to perform
the complicated lookup function.
     #define bfd_cache_lookup(x) \
         ((x)==bfd_last_cache? \
           (FILE*) (bfd_last_cache->iostream): \
            bfd_cache_lookup_worker(x))

`bfd_cache_init'
................

   *Synopsis*
     boolean bfd_cache_init (bfd *abfd);
   *Description*
Add a newly opened BFD to the cache.

`bfd_cache_close'
.................

   *Synopsis*
     boolean bfd_cache_close (bfd *abfd);
   *Description*
Remove the BFD ABFD from the cache. If the attached file is open, then
close it too.

   *Returns*
`false' is returned if closing the file fails, `true' is returned if
all is well.

`bfd_open_file'
...............

   *Synopsis*
     FILE* bfd_open_file(bfd *abfd);
   *Description*
Call the OS to open a file for ABFD.  Return the `FILE *' (possibly
`NULL') that results from this operation.  Set up the BFD so that
future accesses know the file is open. If the `FILE *' returned is
`NULL', then it won't have been put in the cache, so it won't have to
be removed from it.

`bfd_cache_lookup_worker'
.........................

   *Synopsis*
     FILE *bfd_cache_lookup_worker(bfd *abfd);
   *Description*
Called when the macro `bfd_cache_lookup' fails to find a quick answer.
Find a file descriptor for ABFD.  If necessary, it open it.  If there
are already more than `BFD_CACHE_MAX_OPEN' files open, it tries to
close one first, to avoid running out of file descriptors.


File: bfd.info,  Node: Linker Functions,  Next: Hash Tables,  Prev: File Caching,  Up: BFD front end

Linker Functions
================

   The linker uses three special entry points in the BFD target vector.
It is not necessary to write special routines for these entry points
when creating a new BFD back end, since generic versions are provided.
However, writing them can speed up linking and make it use
significantly less runtime memory.

   The first routine creates a hash table used by the other routines.
The second routine adds the symbols from an object file to the hash
table.  The third routine takes all the object files and links them
together to create the output file.  These routines are designed so
that the linker proper does not need to know anything about the symbols
in the object files that it is linking.  The linker merely arranges the
sections as directed by the linker script and lets BFD handle the
details of symbols and relocs.

   The second routine and third routines are passed a pointer to a
`struct bfd_link_info' structure (defined in `bfdlink.h') which holds
information relevant to the link, including the linker hash table
(which was created by the first routine) and a set of callback
functions to the linker proper.

   The generic linker routines are in `linker.c', and use the header
file `genlink.h'.  As of this writing, the only back ends which have
implemented versions of these routines are a.out (in `aoutx.h') and
ECOFF (in `ecoff.c').  The a.out routines are used as examples
throughout this section.

* Menu:

* Creating a Linker Hash Table::
* Adding Symbols to the Hash Table::
* Performing the Final Link::

