ld: BFD outline
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1 5.1 How It Works: An Outline of BFD
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1 When an object file is opened, BFD subroutines automatically determine
1 the format of the input object file. They then build a descriptor in
1 memory with pointers to routines that will be used to access elements of
1 the object file's data structures.
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1 As different information from the object files is required, BFD reads
1 from different sections of the file and processes them. For example, a
1 very common operation for the linker is processing symbol tables. Each
1 BFD back end provides a routine for converting between the object file's
1 representation of symbols and an internal canonical format. When the
1 linker asks for the symbol table of an object file, it calls through a
1 memory pointer to the routine from the relevant BFD back end which reads
1 and converts the table into a canonical form. The linker then operates
1 upon the canonical form. When the link is finished and the linker
1 writes the output file's symbol table, another BFD back end routine is
1 called to take the newly created symbol table and convert it into the
1 chosen output format.
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