[U-Boot-Users] Relocation of code/data in a dynamic linker absent system.

Wolfgang Denk wd at denx.de
Thu Jun 12 12:00:13 CEST 2003


In message <005e01c33108$6140c540$6706a8c0 at SPLENDOR> you wrote:
> 
> I would like to start a discussion on the various techniques of
> relocation of data & code w.r.t to a non-O.S (no dynamic linker) system.
> The idea is to compare different thoughts and bring out the best
> possibility.

The "best" solution often depends on  your  requirements.  Maybe  you
should first define what you intend to do...

I understand that you are  talking  about  statically  linked  images
only, right?

> To start with,I myself know of a relocation technique, as used by GNU
> toochians : The concept of VMA/LMA... We link the code in such a way
> that we have a different execution address(VMA) and a load address(LMA).
> All we need to do in our initializaton code is to copy the data/text
> from LMA to VMA before we really start using the data/text.

Actually this is NOT what we call relocation.


Relocation means to modify the instruction and relocation fileds in a
relocatable, executable or shared object file to create an executable
or shared object file.

See the System V ABI  /  PowerPC  Processor  Supplement  for  deatils
(setion 4-3 Relocation, section 5-4 Dynamic Linking).

Best regards,

Wolfgang Denk

-- 
Software Engineering:  Embedded and Realtime Systems,  Embedded Linux
Phone: (+49)-8142-4596-87  Fax: (+49)-8142-4596-88  Email: wd at denx.de
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