@section Sections
The raw data contained within a BFD is maintained through the
section abstraction. A single BFD may have any number of
sections. It keeps hold of them by pointing to the first;
each one points to the next in the list.
Sections are supported in BFD in @code{section.c}.
@menu
* Section Input::
* Section Output::
* typedef asection::
* section prototypes::
@end menu
@node Section Input, Section Output, Sections, Sections
@subsection Section input
When a BFD is opened for reading, the section structures are
created and attached to the BFD.
Each section has a name which describes the section in the
outside world---for example, @code{a.out} would contain at least
three sections, called @code{.text}, @code{.data} and @code{.bss}.
Names need not be unique; for example a COFF file may have several
sections named @code{.data}.
Sometimes a BFD will contain more than the ``natural'' number of
sections. A back end may attach other sections containing
constructor data, or an application may add a section (using
@code{bfd_make_section}) to the sections attached to an already open
BFD. For example, the linker creates an extra section
@code{COMMON} for each input file's BFD to hold information about
common storage.
The raw data is not necessarily read in when
the section descriptor is created. Some targets may leave the
data in place until a @code{bfd_get_section_contents} call is
made. Other back ends may read in all the data at once. For
example, an S-record file has to be read once to determine the
size of the data.
@node Section Output, typedef asection, Section Input, Sections
@subsection Section output
To write a new object style BFD, the various sections to be
written have to be created. They are attached to the BFD in
the same way as input sections; data is written to the
sections using @code{bfd_set_section_contents}.
Any program that creates or combines sections (e.g., the assembler
and linker) must use the @code{asection} fields @code{output_section} and
@code{output_offset} to indicate the file sections to which each
section must be written. (If the section is being created from
scratch, @code{output_section} should probably point to the section
itself and @code{output_offset} should probably be zero.)
The data to be written comes from input sections attached
(via @code{output_section} pointers) to
the output sections. The output section structure can be
considered a filter for the input section: the output section
determines the vma of the output data and the name, but the
input section determines the offset into the output section of
the data to be written.
E.g., to create a section "O", starting at 0x100, 0x123 long,
containing two subsections, "A" at offset 0x0 (i.e., at vma
0x100) and "B" at offset 0x20 (i.e., at vma 0x120) the @code{asection}
structures would look like:
@example
section name "A"
output_offset 0x00
size 0x20
output_section -----------> section name "O"
| vma 0x100
section name "B" | size 0x123
output_offset 0x20 |
size 0x103 |
output_section --------|
@end example
@subsection Link orders
The data within a section is stored in a @dfn{link_order}.
These are much like the fixups in @code{gas}. The link_order
abstraction allows a section to grow and shrink within itself.
A link_order knows how big it is, and which is the next
link_order and where the raw data for it is; it also points to
a list of relocations which apply to it.
The link_order is used by the linker to perform relaxing on
final code. The compiler creates code which is as big as
necessary to make it work without relaxing, and the user can
select whether to relax. Sometimes relaxing takes a lot of
time. The linker runs around the relocations to see if any
are attached to data which can be shrunk, if so it does it on
a link_order by link_order basis.
@node typedef asection, section prototypes, Section Output, Sections
@subsection typedef asection
Here is the section structure:
@example
typedef struct bfd_section
@{
/* The name of the section; the name isn't a copy, the pointer is
the same as that passed to bfd_make_section. */
const char *name;
/* A unique sequence number. */
unsigned int id;
/* Which section in the bfd; 0..n-1 as sections are created in a bfd. */
unsigned int index;
/* The next section in the list belonging to the BFD, or NULL. */
struct bfd_section *next;
/* The previous section in the list belonging to the BFD, or NULL. */
struct bfd_section *prev;
/* The field flags contains attributes of the section. Some
flags are read in from the object file, and some are
synthesized from other information. */
flagword flags;
#define SEC_NO_FLAGS 0x0
/* Tells the OS to allocate space for this section when loading.
This is clear for a section containing debug information only. */
#define SEC_ALLOC 0x1
/* Tells the OS to load the section from the file when loading.
This is clear for a .bss section. */
#define SEC_LOAD 0x2
/* The section contains data still to be relocated, so there is
some relocation information too. */
#define SEC_RELOC 0x4
/* A signal to the OS that the section contains read only data. */
#define SEC_READONLY 0x8
/* The section contains code only. */
#define SEC_CODE 0x10
/* The section contains data only. */
#define SEC_DATA 0x20
/* The section will reside in ROM. */
#define SEC_ROM 0x40
/* The section contains constructor information. This section
type is used by the linker to create lists of constructors and
destructors used by @code{g++}. When a back end sees a symbol
which should be used in a constructor list, it creates a new
section for the type of name (e.g., @code{__CTOR_LIST__}), attaches
the symbol to it, and builds a relocation. To build the lists
of constructors, all the linker has to do is catenate all the
sections called @code{__CTOR_LIST__} and relocate the data
contained within - exactly the operations it would peform on
standard data. */
#define SEC_CONSTRUCTOR 0x80
/* The section has contents - a data section could be
@code{SEC_ALLOC} | @code{SEC_HAS_CONTENTS}; a debug section could be
@code{SEC_HAS_CONTENTS} */
#define SEC_HAS_CONTENTS 0x100
/* An instruction to the linker to not output the section
even if it has information which would normally be written. */
#define SEC_NEVER_LOAD 0x200
/* The section contains thread local data. */
#define SEC_THREAD_LOCAL 0x400
/* The section's size is fixed. Generic linker code will not
recalculate it and it is up to whoever has set this flag to
get the size right. */
#define SEC_FIXED_SIZE 0x800
/* The section contains common symbols (symbols may be defined
multiple times, the value of a symbol is the amount of
space it requires, and the largest symbol value is the one
used). Most targets have exactly one of these (which we
translate to bfd_com_section_ptr), but ECOFF has two. */
#define SEC_IS_COMMON 0x1000
/* The section contains only debugging information. For
example, this is set for ELF .debug and .stab sections.
strip tests this flag to see if a section can be
discarded. */
#define SEC_DEBUGGING 0x2000
/* The contents of this section are held in memory pointed to
by the contents field. This is checked by bfd_get_section_contents,
and the data is retrieved from memory if appropriate. */
#define SEC_IN_MEMORY 0x4000
/* The contents of this section are to be excluded by the
linker for executable and shared objects unless those
objects are to be further relocated. */
#define SEC_EXCLUDE 0x8000
/* The contents of this section are to be sorted based on the sum of
the symbol and addend values specified by the associated relocation
entries. Entries without associated relocation entries will be
appended to the end of the section in an unspecified order. */
#define SEC_SORT_ENTRIES 0x10000
/* When linking, duplicate sections of the same name should be
discarded, rather than being combined into a single section as
is usually done. This is similar to how common symbols are
handled. See SEC_LINK_DUPLICATES below. */
#define SEC_LINK_ONCE 0x20000
/* If SEC_LINK_ONCE is set, this bitfield describes how the linker
should handle duplicate sections. */
#define SEC_LINK_DUPLICATES 0xc0000
/* This value for SEC_LINK_DUPLICATES means that duplicate
sections with the same name should simply be discarded. */
#define SEC_LINK_DUPLICATES_DISCARD 0x0
/* This value for SEC_LINK_DUPLICATES means that the linker
should warn if there are any duplicate sections, although
it should still only link one copy. */
#define SEC_LINK_DUPLICATES_ONE_ONLY 0x40000
/* This value for SEC_LINK_DUPLICATES means that the linker
should warn if any duplicate sections are a different size. */
#define SEC_LINK_DUPLICATES_SAME_SIZE 0x80000
/* This value for SEC_LINK_DUPLICATES means that the linker
should warn if any duplicate sections contain different
contents. */
#define SEC_LINK_DUPLICATES_SAME_CONTENTS \
(SEC_LINK_DUPLICATES_ONE_ONLY | SEC_LINK_DUPLICATES_SAME_SIZE)
/* This section was created by the linker as part of dynamic
relocation or other arcane processing. It is skipped when
going through the first-pass output, trusting that someone
else up the line will take care of it later. */
#define SEC_LINKER_CREATED 0x100000
/* This section should not be subject to garbage collection.
Also set to inform the linker that this section should not be
listed in the link map as discarded. */
#define SEC_KEEP 0x200000
/* This section contains "short" data, and should be placed
"near" the GP. */
#define SEC_SMALL_DATA 0x400000
/* Attempt to merge identical entities in the section.
Entity size is given in the entsize field. */
#define SEC_MERGE 0x800000
/* If given with SEC_MERGE, entities to merge are zero terminated
strings where entsize specifies character size instead of fixed
size entries. */
#define SEC_STRINGS 0x1000000
/* This section contains data about section groups. */
#define SEC_GROUP 0x2000000
/* The section is a COFF shared library section. This flag is
only for the linker. If this type of section appears in
the input file, the linker must copy it to the output file
without changing the vma or size. FIXME: Although this
was originally intended to be general, it really is COFF
specific (and the flag was renamed to indicate this). It
might be cleaner to have some more general mechanism to
allow the back end to control what the linker does with
sections. */
#define SEC_COFF_SHARED_LIBRARY 0x4000000
/* This input section should be copied to output in reverse order
as an array of pointers. This is for ELF linker internal use
only. */
#define SEC_ELF_REVERSE_COPY 0x4000000
/* This section contains data which may be shared with other
executables or shared objects. This is for COFF only. */
#define SEC_COFF_SHARED 0x8000000
/* This section should be compressed. This is for ELF linker
internal use only. */
#define SEC_ELF_COMPRESS 0x8000000
/* When a section with this flag is being linked, then if the size of
the input section is less than a page, it should not cross a page
boundary. If the size of the input section is one page or more,
it should be aligned on a page boundary. This is for TI
TMS320C54X only. */
#define SEC_TIC54X_BLOCK 0x10000000
/* This section should be renamed. This is for ELF linker
internal use only. */
#define SEC_ELF_RENAME 0x10000000
/* Conditionally link this section; do not link if there are no
references found to any symbol in the section. This is for TI
TMS320C54X only. */
#define SEC_TIC54X_CLINK 0x20000000
/* This section contains vliw code. This is for Toshiba MeP only. */
#define SEC_MEP_VLIW 0x20000000
/* All symbols, sizes and relocations in this section are octets
instead of bytes. Required for DWARF debug sections as DWARF
information is organized in octets, not bytes. */
#define SEC_ELF_OCTETS 0x40000000
/* Indicate that section has the no read flag set. This happens
when memory read flag isn't set. */
#define SEC_COFF_NOREAD 0x40000000
/* Indicate that section has the purecode flag set. */
#define SEC_ELF_PURECODE 0x80000000
/* End of section flags. */
/* Some internal packed boolean fields. */
/* See the vma field. */
unsigned int user_set_vma : 1;
/* A mark flag used by some of the linker backends. */
unsigned int linker_mark : 1;
/* Another mark flag used by some of the linker backends. Set for
output sections that have an input section. */
unsigned int linker_has_input : 1;
/* Mark flag used by some linker backends for garbage collection. */
unsigned int gc_mark : 1;
/* Section compression status. */
unsigned int compress_status : 2;
#define COMPRESS_SECTION_NONE 0
#define COMPRESS_SECTION_DONE 1
#define DECOMPRESS_SECTION_SIZED 2
/* The following flags are used by the ELF linker. */
/* Mark sections which have been allocated to segments. */
unsigned int segment_mark : 1;
/* Type of sec_info information. */
unsigned int sec_info_type:3;
#define SEC_INFO_TYPE_NONE 0
#define SEC_INFO_TYPE_STABS 1
#define SEC_INFO_TYPE_MERGE 2
#define SEC_INFO_TYPE_EH_FRAME 3
#define SEC_INFO_TYPE_JUST_SYMS 4
#define SEC_INFO_TYPE_TARGET 5
#define SEC_INFO_TYPE_EH_FRAME_ENTRY 6
/* Nonzero if this section uses RELA relocations, rather than REL. */
unsigned int use_rela_p:1;
/* Bits used by various backends. The generic code doesn't touch
these fields. */
unsigned int sec_flg0:1;
unsigned int sec_flg1:1;
unsigned int sec_flg2:1;
unsigned int sec_flg3:1;
unsigned int sec_flg4:1;
unsigned int sec_flg5:1;
/* End of internal packed boolean fields. */
/* The virtual memory address of the section - where it will be
at run time. The symbols are relocated against this. The
user_set_vma flag is maintained by bfd; if it's not set, the
backend can assign addresses (for example, in @code{a.out}, where
the default address for @code{.data} is dependent on the specific
target and various flags). */
bfd_vma vma;
/* The load address of the section - where it would be in a
rom image; really only used for writing section header
information. */
bfd_vma lma;
/* The size of the section in *octets*, as it will be output.
Contains a value even if the section has no contents (e.g., the
size of @code{.bss}). */
bfd_size_type size;
/* For input sections, the original size on disk of the section, in
octets. This field should be set for any section whose size is
changed by linker relaxation. It is required for sections where
the linker relaxation scheme doesn't cache altered section and
reloc contents (stabs, eh_frame, SEC_MERGE, some coff relaxing
targets), and thus the original size needs to be kept to read the
section multiple times. For output sections, rawsize holds the
section size calculated on a previous linker relaxation pass. */
bfd_size_type rawsize;
/* The compressed size of the section in octets. */
bfd_size_type compressed_size;
/* Relaxation table. */
struct relax_table *relax;
/* Count of used relaxation table entries. */
int relax_count;
/* If this section is going to be output, then this value is the
offset in *bytes* into the output section of the first byte in the
input section (byte ==> smallest addressable unit on the
target). In most cases, if this was going to start at the
100th octet (8-bit quantity) in the output section, this value
would be 100. However, if the target byte size is 16 bits
(bfd_octets_per_byte is "2"), this value would be 50. */
bfd_vma output_offset;
/* The output section through which to map on output. */
struct bfd_section *output_section;
/* The alignment requirement of the section, as an exponent of 2 -
e.g., 3 aligns to 2^3 (or 8). */
unsigned int alignment_power;
/* If an input section, a pointer to a vector of relocation
records for the data in this section. */
struct reloc_cache_entry *relocation;
/* If an output section, a pointer to a vector of pointers to
relocation records for the data in this section. */
struct reloc_cache_entry **orelocation;
/* The number of relocation records in one of the above. */
unsigned reloc_count;
/* Information below is back end specific - and not always used
or updated. */
/* File position of section data. */
file_ptr filepos;
/* File position of relocation info. */
file_ptr rel_filepos;
/* File position of line data. */
file_ptr line_filepos;
/* Pointer to data for applications. */
void *userdata;
/* If the SEC_IN_MEMORY flag is set, this points to the actual
contents. */
unsigned char *contents;
/* Attached line number information. */
alent *lineno;
/* Number of line number records. */
unsigned int lineno_count;
/* Entity size for merging purposes. */
unsigned int entsize;
/* Points to the kept section if this section is a link-once section,
and is discarded. */
struct bfd_section *kept_section;
/* When a section is being output, this value changes as more
linenumbers are written out. */
file_ptr moving_line_filepos;
/* What the section number is in the target world. */
int target_index;
void *used_by_bfd;
/* If this is a constructor section then here is a list of the
relocations created to relocate items within it. */
struct relent_chain *constructor_chain;
/* The BFD which owns the section. */
bfd *owner;
/* A symbol which points at this section only. */
struct bfd_symbol *symbol;
struct bfd_symbol **symbol_ptr_ptr;
/* Early in the link process, map_head and map_tail are used to build
a list of input sections attached to an output section. Later,
output sections use these fields for a list of bfd_link_order
structs. */
union @{
struct bfd_link_order *link_order;
struct bfd_section *s;
@} map_head, map_tail;
@} asection;
/* Relax table contains information about instructions which can
be removed by relaxation -- replacing a long address with a
short address. */
struct relax_table @{
/* Address where bytes may be deleted. */
bfd_vma addr;
/* Number of bytes to be deleted. */
int size;
@};
static inline const char *
bfd_section_name (const asection *sec)
@{
return sec->name;
@}
static inline bfd_size_type
bfd_section_size (const asection *sec)
@{
return sec->size;
@}
static inline bfd_vma
bfd_section_vma (const asection *sec)
@{
return sec->vma;
@}
static inline bfd_vma
bfd_section_lma (const asection *sec)
@{
return sec->lma;
@}
static inline unsigned int
bfd_section_alignment (const asection *sec)
@{
return sec->alignment_power;
@}
static inline flagword
bfd_section_flags (const asection *sec)
@{
return sec->flags;
@}
static inline void *
bfd_section_userdata (const asection *sec)
@{
return sec->userdata;
@}
static inline bfd_boolean
bfd_is_com_section (const asection *sec)
@{
return (sec->flags & SEC_IS_COMMON) != 0;
@}
/* Note: the following are provided as inline functions rather than macros
because not all callers use the return value. A macro implementation
would use a comma expression, eg: "((ptr)->foo = val, TRUE)" and some
compilers will complain about comma expressions that have no effect. */
static inline bfd_boolean
bfd_set_section_userdata (asection *sec, void *val)
@{
sec->userdata = val;
return TRUE;
@}
static inline bfd_boolean
bfd_set_section_vma (asection *sec, bfd_vma val)
@{
sec->vma = sec->lma = val;
sec->user_set_vma = TRUE;
return TRUE;
@}
static inline bfd_boolean
bfd_set_section_lma (asection *sec, bfd_vma val)
@{
sec->lma = val;
return TRUE;
@}
static inline bfd_boolean
bfd_set_section_alignment (asection *sec, unsigned int val)
@{
sec->alignment_power = val;
return TRUE;
@}
/* These sections are global, and are managed by BFD. The application
and target back end are not permitted to change the values in
these sections. */
extern asection _bfd_std_section[4];
#define BFD_ABS_SECTION_NAME "*ABS*"
#define BFD_UND_SECTION_NAME "*UND*"
#define BFD_COM_SECTION_NAME "*COM*"
#define BFD_IND_SECTION_NAME "*IND*"
/* Pointer to the common section. */
#define bfd_com_section_ptr (&_bfd_std_section[0])
/* Pointer to the undefined section. */
#define bfd_und_section_ptr (&_bfd_std_section[1])
/* Pointer to the absolute section. */
#define bfd_abs_section_ptr (&_bfd_std_section[2])
/* Pointer to the indirect section. */
#define bfd_ind_section_ptr (&_bfd_std_section[3])
static inline bfd_boolean
bfd_is_und_section (const asection *sec)
@{
return sec == bfd_und_section_ptr;
@}
static inline bfd_boolean
bfd_is_abs_section (const asection *sec)
@{
return sec == bfd_abs_section_ptr;
@}
static inline bfd_boolean
bfd_is_ind_section (const asection *sec)
@{
return sec == bfd_ind_section_ptr;
@}
static inline bfd_boolean
bfd_is_const_section (const asection *sec)
@{
return sec >= bfd_abs_section_ptr && sec <= bfd_ind_section_ptr;
@}
/* Return TRUE if input section SEC has been discarded. */
static inline bfd_boolean
discarded_section (const asection *sec)
@{
return (!bfd_is_abs_section (sec)
&& bfd_is_abs_section (sec->output_section)
&& sec->sec_info_type != SEC_INFO_TYPE_MERGE
&& sec->sec_info_type != SEC_INFO_TYPE_JUST_SYMS);
@}
#define BFD_FAKE_SECTION(SEC, SYM, NAME, IDX, FLAGS) \
/* name, id, index, next, prev, flags, user_set_vma, */ \
@{ NAME, IDX, 0, NULL, NULL, FLAGS, 0, \
\
/* linker_mark, linker_has_input, gc_mark, decompress_status, */ \
0, 0, 1, 0, \
\
/* segment_mark, sec_info_type, use_rela_p, */ \
0, 0, 0, \
\
/* sec_flg0, sec_flg1, sec_flg2, sec_flg3, sec_flg4, sec_flg5, */ \
0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, \
\
/* vma, lma, size, rawsize, compressed_size, relax, relax_count, */ \
0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, \
\
/* output_offset, output_section, alignment_power, */ \
0, &SEC, 0, \
\
/* relocation, orelocation, reloc_count, filepos, rel_filepos, */ \
NULL, NULL, 0, 0, 0, \
\
/* line_filepos, userdata, contents, lineno, lineno_count, */ \
0, NULL, NULL, NULL, 0, \
\
/* entsize, kept_section, moving_line_filepos, */ \
0, NULL, 0, \
\
/* target_index, used_by_bfd, constructor_chain, owner, */ \
0, NULL, NULL, NULL, \
\
/* symbol, symbol_ptr_ptr, */ \
(struct bfd_symbol *) SYM, &SEC.symbol, \
\
/* map_head, map_tail */ \
@{ NULL @}, @{ NULL @} \
@}
/* We use a macro to initialize the static asymbol structures because
traditional C does not permit us to initialize a union member while
gcc warns if we don't initialize it.
the_bfd, name, value, attr, section [, udata] */
#ifdef __STDC__
#define GLOBAL_SYM_INIT(NAME, SECTION) \
@{ 0, NAME, 0, BSF_SECTION_SYM, SECTION, @{ 0 @}@}
#else
#define GLOBAL_SYM_INIT(NAME, SECTION) \
@{ 0, NAME, 0, BSF_SECTION_SYM, SECTION @}
#endif
@end example
@node section prototypes, , typedef asection, Sections
@subsection Section prototypes
These are the functions exported by the section handling part of BFD.
@findex bfd_section_list_clear
@subsubsection @code{bfd_section_list_clear}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
void bfd_section_list_clear (bfd *);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Clears the section list, and also resets the section count and
hash table entries.
@findex bfd_get_section_by_name
@subsubsection @code{bfd_get_section_by_name}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
asection *bfd_get_section_by_name (bfd *abfd, const char *name);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Return the most recently created section attached to @var{abfd}
named @var{name}. Return NULL if no such section exists.
@findex bfd_get_next_section_by_name
@subsubsection @code{bfd_get_next_section_by_name}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
asection *bfd_get_next_section_by_name (bfd *ibfd, asection *sec);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Given @var{sec} is a section returned by @code{bfd_get_section_by_name},
return the next most recently created section attached to the same
BFD with the same name, or if no such section exists in the same BFD and
IBFD is non-NULL, the next section with the same name in any input
BFD following IBFD. Return NULL on finding no section.
@findex bfd_get_linker_section
@subsubsection @code{bfd_get_linker_section}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
asection *bfd_get_linker_section (bfd *abfd, const char *name);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Return the linker created section attached to @var{abfd}
named @var{name}. Return NULL if no such section exists.
@findex bfd_get_section_by_name_if
@subsubsection @code{bfd_get_section_by_name_if}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
asection *bfd_get_section_by_name_if
(bfd *abfd,
const char *name,
bfd_boolean (*func) (bfd *abfd, asection *sect, void *obj),
void *obj);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Call the provided function @var{func} for each section
attached to the BFD @var{abfd} whose name matches @var{name},
passing @var{obj} as an argument. The function will be called
as if by
@example
func (abfd, the_section, obj);
@end example
It returns the first section for which @var{func} returns true,
otherwise @code{NULL}.
@findex bfd_get_unique_section_name
@subsubsection @code{bfd_get_unique_section_name}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
char *bfd_get_unique_section_name
(bfd *abfd, const char *templat, int *count);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Invent a section name that is unique in @var{abfd} by tacking
a dot and a digit suffix onto the original @var{templat}. If
@var{count} is non-NULL, then it specifies the first number
tried as a suffix to generate a unique name. The value
pointed to by @var{count} will be incremented in this case.
@findex bfd_make_section_old_way
@subsubsection @code{bfd_make_section_old_way}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
asection *bfd_make_section_old_way (bfd *abfd, const char *name);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Create a new empty section called @var{name}
and attach it to the end of the chain of sections for the
BFD @var{abfd}. An attempt to create a section with a name which
is already in use returns its pointer without changing the
section chain.
It has the funny name since this is the way it used to be
before it was rewritten....
Possible errors are:
@itemize @bullet
@item
@code{bfd_error_invalid_operation} -
If output has already started for this BFD.
@item
@code{bfd_error_no_memory} -
If memory allocation fails.
@end itemize
@findex bfd_make_section_anyway_with_flags
@subsubsection @code{bfd_make_section_anyway_with_flags}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
asection *bfd_make_section_anyway_with_flags
(bfd *abfd, const char *name, flagword flags);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Create a new empty section called @var{name} and attach it to the end of
the chain of sections for @var{abfd}. Create a new section even if there
is already a section with that name. Also set the attributes of the
new section to the value @var{flags}.
Return @code{NULL} and set @code{bfd_error} on error; possible errors are:
@itemize @bullet
@item
@code{bfd_error_invalid_operation} - If output has already started for @var{abfd}.
@item
@code{bfd_error_no_memory} - If memory allocation fails.
@end itemize
@findex bfd_make_section_anyway
@subsubsection @code{bfd_make_section_anyway}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
asection *bfd_make_section_anyway (bfd *abfd, const char *name);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Create a new empty section called @var{name} and attach it to the end of
the chain of sections for @var{abfd}. Create a new section even if there
is already a section with that name.
Return @code{NULL} and set @code{bfd_error} on error; possible errors are:
@itemize @bullet
@item
@code{bfd_error_invalid_operation} - If output has already started for @var{abfd}.
@item
@code{bfd_error_no_memory} - If memory allocation fails.
@end itemize
@findex bfd_make_section_with_flags
@subsubsection @code{bfd_make_section_with_flags}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
asection *bfd_make_section_with_flags
(bfd *, const char *name, flagword flags);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Like @code{bfd_make_section_anyway}, but return @code{NULL} (without calling
bfd_set_error ()) without changing the section chain if there is already a
section named @var{name}. Also set the attributes of the new section to
the value @var{flags}. If there is an error, return @code{NULL} and set
@code{bfd_error}.
@findex bfd_make_section
@subsubsection @code{bfd_make_section}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
asection *bfd_make_section (bfd *, const char *name);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Like @code{bfd_make_section_anyway}, but return @code{NULL} (without calling
bfd_set_error ()) without changing the section chain if there is already a
section named @var{name}. If there is an error, return @code{NULL} and set
@code{bfd_error}.
@findex bfd_set_section_flags
@subsubsection @code{bfd_set_section_flags}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
bfd_boolean bfd_set_section_flags (asection *sec, flagword flags);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Set the attributes of the section @var{sec} to the value @var{flags}.
Return @code{TRUE} on success, @code{FALSE} on error. Possible error
returns are:
@itemize @bullet
@item
@code{bfd_error_invalid_operation} -
The section cannot have one or more of the attributes
requested. For example, a .bss section in @code{a.out} may not
have the @code{SEC_HAS_CONTENTS} field set.
@end itemize
@findex bfd_rename_section
@subsubsection @code{bfd_rename_section}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
void bfd_rename_section
(asection *sec, const char *newname);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Rename section @var{sec} to @var{newname}.
@findex bfd_map_over_sections
@subsubsection @code{bfd_map_over_sections}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
void bfd_map_over_sections
(bfd *abfd,
void (*func) (bfd *abfd, asection *sect, void *obj),
void *obj);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Call the provided function @var{func} for each section
attached to the BFD @var{abfd}, passing @var{obj} as an
argument. The function will be called as if by
@example
func (abfd, the_section, obj);
@end example
This is the preferred method for iterating over sections; an
alternative would be to use a loop:
@example
asection *p;
for (p = abfd->sections; p != NULL; p = p->next)
func (abfd, p, ...)
@end example
@findex bfd_sections_find_if
@subsubsection @code{bfd_sections_find_if}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
asection *bfd_sections_find_if
(bfd *abfd,
bfd_boolean (*operation) (bfd *abfd, asection *sect, void *obj),
void *obj);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Call the provided function @var{operation} for each section
attached to the BFD @var{abfd}, passing @var{obj} as an
argument. The function will be called as if by
@example
operation (abfd, the_section, obj);
@end example
It returns the first section for which @var{operation} returns true.
@findex bfd_set_section_size
@subsubsection @code{bfd_set_section_size}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
bfd_boolean bfd_set_section_size (asection *sec, bfd_size_type val);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Set @var{sec} to the size @var{val}. If the operation is
ok, then @code{TRUE} is returned, else @code{FALSE}.
Possible error returns:
@itemize @bullet
@item
@code{bfd_error_invalid_operation} -
Writing has started to the BFD, so setting the size is invalid.
@end itemize
@findex bfd_set_section_contents
@subsubsection @code{bfd_set_section_contents}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
bfd_boolean bfd_set_section_contents
(bfd *abfd, asection *section, const void *data,
file_ptr offset, bfd_size_type count);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Sets the contents of the section @var{section} in BFD
@var{abfd} to the data starting in memory at @var{location}.
The data is written to the output section starting at offset
@var{offset} for @var{count} octets.
Normally @code{TRUE} is returned, but @code{FALSE} is returned if
there was an error. Possible error returns are:
@itemize @bullet
@item
@code{bfd_error_no_contents} -
The output section does not have the @code{SEC_HAS_CONTENTS}
attribute, so nothing can be written to it.
@item
@code{bfd_error_bad_value} -
The section is unable to contain all of the data.
@item
@code{bfd_error_invalid_operation} -
The BFD is not writeable.
@item
and some more too.
@end itemize
This routine is front end to the back end function
@code{_bfd_set_section_contents}.
@findex bfd_get_section_contents
@subsubsection @code{bfd_get_section_contents}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
bfd_boolean bfd_get_section_contents
(bfd *abfd, asection *section, void *location, file_ptr offset,
bfd_size_type count);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Read data from @var{section} in BFD @var{abfd}
into memory starting at @var{location}. The data is read at an
offset of @var{offset} from the start of the input section,
and is read for @var{count} bytes.
If the contents of a constructor with the @code{SEC_CONSTRUCTOR}
flag set are requested or if the section does not have the
@code{SEC_HAS_CONTENTS} flag set, then the @var{location} is filled
with zeroes. If no errors occur, @code{TRUE} is returned, else
@code{FALSE}.
@findex bfd_malloc_and_get_section
@subsubsection @code{bfd_malloc_and_get_section}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
bfd_boolean bfd_malloc_and_get_section
(bfd *abfd, asection *section, bfd_byte **buf);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Read all data from @var{section} in BFD @var{abfd}
into a buffer, *@var{buf}, malloc'd by this function.
@findex bfd_copy_private_section_data
@subsubsection @code{bfd_copy_private_section_data}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
bfd_boolean bfd_copy_private_section_data
(bfd *ibfd, asection *isec, bfd *obfd, asection *osec);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Copy private section information from @var{isec} in the BFD
@var{ibfd} to the section @var{osec} in the BFD @var{obfd}.
Return @code{TRUE} on success, @code{FALSE} on error. Possible error
returns are:
@itemize @bullet
@item
@code{bfd_error_no_memory} -
Not enough memory exists to create private data for @var{osec}.
@end itemize
@example
#define bfd_copy_private_section_data(ibfd, isection, obfd, osection) \
BFD_SEND (obfd, _bfd_copy_private_section_data, \
(ibfd, isection, obfd, osection))
@end example
@findex bfd_generic_is_group_section
@subsubsection @code{bfd_generic_is_group_section}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
bfd_boolean bfd_generic_is_group_section (bfd *, const asection *sec);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Returns TRUE if @var{sec} is a member of a group.
@findex bfd_generic_group_name
@subsubsection @code{bfd_generic_group_name}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
const char *bfd_generic_group_name (bfd *, const asection *sec);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Returns group name if @var{sec} is a member of a group.
@findex bfd_generic_discard_group
@subsubsection @code{bfd_generic_discard_group}
@strong{Synopsis}
@example
bfd_boolean bfd_generic_discard_group (bfd *abfd, asection *group);
@end example
@strong{Description}@*
Remove all members of @var{group} from the output.