1:                 README for LD
    2: 
    3: This is the GNU linker.  It is distributed with other "binary
    4: utilities" which should be in ../binutils.  See ../binutils/README for
    5: more general notes, including where to send bug reports.
    6: 
    7: There are many features of the linker:
    8: 
    9: * The linker uses a Binary File Descriptor library (../bfd)
   10:   that it uses to read and write object files.  This helps
   11:   insulate the linker itself from the format of object files.
   12: 
   13: * The linker supports a number of different object file
   14:   formats.  It can even handle multiple formats at once:
   15:   Read two input formats and write a third.
   16: 
   17: * The linker can be configured for cross-linking.
   18: 
   19: * The linker supports a control language.
   20: 
   21: * There is a user manual (ld.texinfo), as well as the
   22:   beginnings of an internals manual (ldint.texinfo).
   23: 
   24: Installation
   25: ============
   26: 
   27: See ../binutils/README.
   28: 
   29: If you want to make a cross-linker, you may want to specify
   30: a different search path of -lfoo libraries than the default.
   31: You can do this by setting the LIB_PATH variable in ./Makefile
   32: or using the --with-lib-path configure switch.
   33: 
   34: To build just the linker, make the target all-ld from the top level
   35: directory (one directory above this one).
   36: 
   37: Porting to a new target
   38: =======================
   39: 
   40: See the ldint.texinfo manual.
   41: 
   42: Reporting bugs etc
   43: ===========================
   44: 
   45: See ../binutils/README.
   46: 
   47: Known problems
   48: ==============
   49: 
   50: The Solaris linker normally exports all dynamic symbols from an
   51: executable.  The GNU linker does not do this by default.  This is
   52: because the GNU linker tries to present the same interface for all
   53: similar targets (in this case, all native ELF targets).  This does not
   54: matter for normal programs, but it can make a difference for programs
   55: which try to dlopen an executable, such as PERL or Tcl.  You can make
   56: the GNU linker export all dynamic symbols with the -E or
   57: --export-dynamic command line option.
   58: 
   59: HP/UX 9.01 has a shell bug that causes the linker scripts to be
   60: generated incorrectly.  The symptom of this appears to be "fatal error
   61: - scanner input buffer overflow" error messages.  There are various
   62: workarounds to this:
   63:   * Build and install bash, and build with "make SHELL=bash".
   64:   * Update to a version of HP/UX with a working shell (e.g., 9.05).
   65:   * Replace "(. ${srcdir}/scripttempl/${SCRIPT_NAME}.sc)" in
   66:     genscripts.sh with "sh ${srcdir}..." (no parens) and make sure the
   67:     emulparams script used exports any shell variables it sets.