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Re: OSABI on Linux Distros



On 13-Jun-2016 11:30 PM, Carlos O'Donell wrote:
On 06/13/2016 11:57 AM, Suprateeka R Hegde wrote:
It depends on what you are considering here. You considered only
dynamic linker. I consider even non-GNU tools that reads ELF. When
such a tool encounters SYSV as the ABI, it cannot do much. However,
if the tool can see that the ELF has GNU extensions, then it can do
better job of dumping GNU specific ELF details.

My actual question is what is the harm if we mark GNU ABI for *any*
GNU extension and not restrict it to a partial list.

That's a much better question, but still doesn't yet get at the crux
of your argument.

I thought the use cases are implicit. Sorry for the ambiguity.


It might be said that it should be possible to identify the OS from
the OSABI value in order to aid in the processing of PT_LOOS to
PT_HIOS entries (GNU_EH_FRAME, GNU_STACK, GNU_RELRO)?

Is that what you are thinking?

Yes. But not just to process PT_LOOS-PT_HIOS. On certain enterprise deployments there are necessities to sort or edit ELFs based on OS. OSABI is one of the quickest and safest/reliable way. There are more such use cases.

I expect that entries between PT_LOOS to PT_HIOS are allowed to
overlap between OSs?

Yes thats right. If they had to be unique, they could well be part of gABI itself.

--
Supra