binutils/objcopy.1

   1 .\" Copyright (c) 1991, 93, 94, 95, 96, 1997 Free Software Foundation
   2 .\" See section COPYING for conditions for redistribution
   3 .TH objcopy 1 "October 1994" "cygnus support" "GNU Development Tools"
   4 .de BP
   5 .sp
   6 .ti \-.2i
   7 \(**
   8 ..
   9
  10 .SH NAME
  11 objcopy \- copy and translate object files
  12
  13 .SH SYNOPSIS
  14 .hy 0
  15 .na
  16 .TP
  17 .B objcopy
  18 .RB "[\|" \-F\ \fIbfdname\fR\ |\ \fB\-\-target=\fIbfdname\fR "\|]"
  19 .RB "[\|" \-I\ \fIbfdname\fR\ |\ \fB\-\-input\-target=\fIbfdname\fR "\|]"
  20 .RB "[\|" \-O\ \fIbfdname\fR\ |\ \fB\-\-output\-target=\fIbfdname\fR "\|]"
  21 .RB "[\|" \-R\ \fIsectionname\fR\ |\ \fB\-\-remove\-section=\fIsectionname\fR "\|]"
  22 .RB "[\|" \-S\fR\ |\ \fB\-\-strip\-all\fR "\|]"
  23 .RB "[\|" \-g\fR\ |\ \fB\-\-strip\-debug\fR "\|]"
  24 .RB "[\|" \-\-strip\-unneeded\fR "\|]"
  25 .RB "[\|" \-K\ \fIsymbolname\fR\ |\ \fB\-\-keep\-symbol=\fIsymbolname\fR "\|]"
  26 .RB "[\|" \-N\ \fIsymbolname\fR\ |\ \fB\-\-strip\-symbol=\fIsymbolname\fR "\|]"
  27 .RB "[\|" \-L\ \fIsymbolname\fR\ |\ \fB\-\-localize\-symbol=\fIsymbolname\fR "\|]"
  28 .RB "[\|" \-W\ \fIsymbolname\fR\ |\ \fB\-\-weaken\-symbol=\fIsymbolname\fR "\|]"
  29 .RB "[\|" \-x\fR\ |\ \fB\-\-discard\-all\fR "\|]"
  30 .RB "[\|" \-X\fR\ |\ \fB\-\-discard\-locals\fR "\|]"
  31 .RB "[\|" \-b\ \fIbyte\fR\ |\ \fB\-\-byte=\fIbyte\fR "\|]"
  32 .RB "[\|" \-i\ \fIinterleave\fR\ |\ \fB\-\-interleave=\fIinterleave\fR "\|]"
  33 .RB "[\|" \-p\fR\ |\ \fB\-\-preserve\-dates\fR "\|]"
  34 .RB "[\|" \-\-debugging "\|]"
  35 .RB "[\|" \-\-gap\-fill=\fIval\fR "\|]"
  36 .RB "[\|" \-\-pad\-to=\fIaddress\fR "\|]"
  37 .RB "[\|" \-\-set\-start=\fIval\fR "\|]"
  38 .RB "[\|" \-\-adjust\-start=\fIincr\fR "\|]"
  39 .RB "[\|" \-\-adjust\-vma=\fIincr\fR "\|]"
  40 .RB "[\|" \-\-adjust\-section\-vma=\fIsection{=,+,-}val\fR "\|]"
  41 .RB "[\|" \-\-adjust\-warnings\fR "\|]"
  42 .RB "[\|" \-\-no\-adjust\-warnings\fR "\|]"
  43 .RB "[\|" \-\-set\-section\-flags=\fIsection=flags\fR "\|]"
  44 .RB "[\|" \-\-add\-section=\fIsectionname=filename\fR "\|]"
  45 .RB "[\|" \-\-change\-leading\-char\fR "\|]"
  46 .RB "[\|" \-\-remove\-leading\-char\fR "\|]"
  47 .RB "[\|" \-\-weaken\fR "\|]"
  48 .RB "[\|" \-v\ |\ \-\-verbose\fR "\|]"
  49 .RB "[\|" \-V\ |\ \-\-version\fR "\|]"
  50 .RB "[\|" \-\-help\fR "\|]"
  51 .B infile
  52 .RB "[\|" outfile\fR "\|]"
  53 .SH DESCRIPTION
  54 The GNU
  55 .B objcopy
  56 utility copies the contents of an object file to another.
  57 .B objcopy
  58 uses the GNU BFD Library to read and write the object files.  It can
  59 write the destination object file in a format different from that of
  60 the source object file.  The exact behavior of
  61 .B objcopy
  62 is controlled by command-line options.
  63 .PP
  64 .B objcopy
  65 creates temporary files to do its translations and deletes them
  66 afterward.
  67 .B objcopy
  68 uses BFD to do all its translation work; it knows about all the
  69 formats BFD knows about, and thus is able to recognize most formats
  70 without being told explicitly.
  71 .PP
  72 .B objcopy
  73 can be used to generate S-records by using an output target of
  74 .B srec
  75 (e.g., use
  76 .B -O srec).
  77 .PP
  78 .B objcopy
  79 can be used to generate a raw binary file by using an output target of
  80 .B binary
  81 (e.g., use
  82 .B -O binary).
  83 When
  84 .B objcopy
  85 generates a raw binary file, it will essentially produce a memory dump
  86 of the contents of the input object file.  All symbols and relocation
  87 information will be discarded.  The memory dump will start at the
  88 virtual address of the lowest section copied into the output file.
  89 .PP
  90 When generating an S-record or a raw binary file, it may be helpful to
  91 use
  92 .B -S
  93 to remove sections containing debugging information.  In some cases
  94 .B -R
  95 will be useful to remove sections which contain information which is
  96 not needed by the binary file.
  97 .PP
  98 .I infile
  99 and
 100 .I outfile
 101 are the source and output files respectively.  If you do not specify
 102 .IR outfile ,
 103 .B objcopy
 104 creates a temporary file and destructively renames the result with the
 105 name of the input file.
 106
 107 .SH OPTIONS
 108 .TP
 109 .B \-I \fIbfdname\fR, \fB\-\-input\-target=\fIbfdname
 110 Consider the source file's object format to be
 111 .IR bfdname ,
 112 rather than attempting to deduce it.
 113 .TP
 114 .B \-O \fIbfdname\fR, \fB\-\-output\-target=\fIbfdname
 115 Write the output file using the object format
 116 .IR bfdname .
 117 .TP
 118 .B \-F \fIbfdname\fR, \fB\-\-target=\fIbfdname
 119 Use
 120 .I bfdname
 121 as the object format for both the input and the output file; i.e.
 122 simply transfer data from source to destination with no translation.
 123 .TP
 124 .B \-R \fIsectionname\fR, \fB\-\-remove-section=\fIsectionname
 125 Remove the named section from the file.  This option may be given more
 126 than once.  Note that using this option inappropriately may make the
 127 output file unusable.
 128 .TP
 129 .B \-S\fR, \fB\-\-strip\-all
 130 Do not copy relocation and symbol information from the source file.
 131 .TP
 132 .B \-g\fR, \fB\-\-strip\-debug
 133 Do not copy debugging symbols from the source file.
 134 .TP
 135 .B \-\-strip\-unneeded
 136 Strip all symbols that are not needed for relocation processing.
 137 .TP
 138 .B \-K \fIsymbolname\fR, \fB\-\-keep\-symbol=\fIsymbolname
 139 Copy only symbol \fIsymbolname\fP from the source file. This option
 140 may be given more than once.
 141 .TP
 142 .B \-N \fIsymbolname\fR, \fB\-\-strip\-symbol=\fIsymbolname
 143 Do not copy symbol \fIsymbolname\fP from the source file. This option
 144 may be given more than once.
 145 .TP
 146 .B \-L \fIsymbolname\fR, \fB\-\-localize\-symbol=\fIsymbolname
 147 Make symbol \fIsymbolname\fP local to the file, so that it is not
 148 visible externally.  This option may be given more than once.
 149 .TP
 150 .B \-W \fIsymbolname\fR, \fB\-\-weaken\-symbol=\fIsymbolname
 151 Make symbol \fIsymbolname\fP weak. This option may be given more than once.
 152 .TP
 153 .B \-x\fR, \fB \-\-discard\-all
 154 Do not copy non-global symbols from the source file.
 155 .TP
 156 .B \-X\fR, \fB\-\-discard\-locals
 157 Do not copy compiler-generated local symbols. (These usually start
 158 with "L" or ".").
 159 .TP
 160 .B \-b \fIbyte\fR, \fB\-\-byte=\fIbyte
 161 Keep only every \fIbyte\fPth byte of the input file (header data is
 162 not affected).  \fIbyte\fP can be in the range from 0 to the
 163 interleave-1.  This option is useful for creating files to program
 164 ROMs.  It is typically used with an srec output target.
 165 .TP
 166 .B \-i \fIinterleave\fR, \fB\-\-interleave=\fIinterleave
 167 Only copy one out of every \fIinterleave\fP bytes.  Which one to copy is
 168 selected by the \fB\-b\fP or \fB\-\-byte\fP option.  The default is 4.
 169 The interleave is ignored if neither \fB\-b\fP nor \fB\-\-byte\fP is given.
 170 .TP
 171 .B \-p\fR, \fB\-\-preserve\-dates
 172 Set the access and modification dates of the output file to be the same
 173 as those of the input file.
 174 .TP
 175 .B \-\-debugging
 176 Convert debugging information, if possible.  This is not the default
 177 because only certain debugging formats are supported, and the
 178 conversion process can be time consuming.
 179 .TP
 180 .B \-\-gap\-fill=\fIval
 181 Fill gaps between sections with \fIval\fP.  This is done by increasing
 182 the size of the section with the lower address, and filling in the extra
 183 space created with \fIval\fP.
 184 .TP
 185 .B \-\-pad\-to=\fIaddress
 186 Pad the output file up to the virtual address \fIaddress\fP.  This is
 187 done by increasing the size of the last section.  The extra space is
 188 filled in with the value specified by \fB\-\-gap\-fill\fP (default
 189 zero).
 190 .TP
 191 .B \fB\-\-set\-start=\fIval
 192 Set the start address of the new file to \fIval\fP.  Not all object
 193 file formats support setting the start address.
 194 .TP
 195 .B \fB\-\-adjust\-start=\fIincr
 196 Adjust the start address by adding \fIincr\fP.  Not all object file
 197 formats support setting the start address.
 198 .TP
 199 .B \fB\-\-adjust\-vma=\fIincr
 200 Adjust the address of all sections, as well as the start address, by
 201 adding \fIincr\fP.  Some object file formats do not permit section
 202 addresses to be changed arbitrarily.  Note that this does not relocate
 203 the sections; if the program expects sections to be loaded at a
 204 certain address, and this option is used to change the sections such
 205 that they are loaded at a different address, the program may fail.
 206 .TP
 207 .B \fB\-\-adjust\-section\-vma=\fIsection{=,+,-}val
 208 Set or adjust the address of the named \fIsection\fP.  If \fI=\fP is
 209 used, the section address is set to \fIval\fP.  Otherwise, \fIval\fP
 210 is added to or subtracted from the section address.  See the comments
 211 under \fB\-\-adjust\-vma\fP, above.  If \fIsection\fP does not exist
 212 in the input file, a warning will be issued, unless
 213 \fB\-\-no\-adjust\-warnings\fP is used.
 214 .TP
 215 .B \fB\-\-adjust\-warnings
 216 If \fB\-\-adjust\-section\-vma\fP is used, and the named section does
 217 not exist, issue a warning.  This is the default.
 218 .TP
 219 .B \fB\-\-no\-adjust\-warnings
 220 Do not issue a warning if \fB\-\-adjust\-section\-vma\fP is used, even
 221 if the named section does not exist.
 222 .TP
 223 .B \fB\-\-set\-section\-flags=\fIsection=flags
 224 Set the flags for the named section.  The \fIflags\fP argument is a
 225 comma separated string of flag names.  The recognized names are
 226 \fIalloc\fP, \fIload\fP, \fIreadonly\fP, \fIcode\fP, \fIdata\fP, and
 227 \fIrom\fP.  Not all flags are meaningful for all object file
 228 formats.
 229 .TP
 230 .B \fB\-\-add\-section=\fIsectionname=filename
 231 Add a new section named \fIsectionname\fR while copying the file.  The
 232 contents of the new section are taken from the file \fIfilename\fR.
 233 The size of the section will be the size of the file.  This option
 234 only works on file formats which can support sections with arbitrary
 235 names.
 236 .TP
 237 .B \-\-change\-leading\-char
 238 Some object file formats use special characters at the start of
 239 symbols.  The most common such character is underscore, which compilers
 240 often add before every symbol.  This option tells
 241 .B objcopy
 242 to change the leading character of every symbol when it converts
 243 between object file formats.  If the object file formats use the same
 244 leading character, this option has no effect.  Otherwise, it will add
 245 a character, or remove a character, or change a character, as
 246 appropriate.
 247 .TP
 248 .B \-\-remove\-leading\-char
 249 If the first character of a global symbol is a special symbol leading
 250 character used by the object file format, remove the character.  The
 251 most common symbol leading character is underscore.  This option will
 252 remove a leading underscore from all global symbols.  This can be
 253 useful if you want to link together objects of different file formats
 254 with different conventions for symbol names.  This is different from
 255 @code{--change-leading-char} because it always changes the symbol name
 256 when appropriate, regardless of the object file format of the output
 257 .TP
 258 .B \-\-weaken
 259 Change all global symbols in the file to be weak.
 260 .TP
 261 .B \-v\fR, \fB\-\-verbose
 262 Verbose output: list all object files modified.  In the case of
 263 archives, "\fBobjcopy \-V\fR" lists all members of the archive.
 264 .TP
 265 .B \-V\fR, \fB\-\-version
 266 Show the version number of
 267 .B objcopy
 268 and exit.
 269 .TP
 270 .B \-\-help
 271 Show a summary of the options to
 272 .B objcopy
 273 and exit.
 274 .SH "SEE ALSO"
 275 .RB "`\|" binutils "\|'"
 276 entry in
 277 .B
 278 info\c
 279 \&;
 280 .I
 281 The GNU Binary Utilities\c
 282 \&, Roland H. Pesch (June 1993).
 283
 284 .SH COPYING
 285 Copyright (c) 1993, 94, 95, 96, 1997 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
 286 .PP
 287 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
 288 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
 289 are preserved on all copies.
 290 .PP
 291 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
 292 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
 293 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
 294 permission notice identical to this one.
 295 .PP
 296 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
 297 manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified
 298 versions, except that this permission notice may be included in
 299 translations approved by the Free Software Foundation instead of in
 300 the original English.