3.4.3 Commands Dealing with Object File Formats

A couple of linker script commands deal with object file formats.

OUTPUT_FORMAT( bfdname )

OUTPUT_FORMAT( default , big , little )

The OUTPUT_FORMAT command names the BFD format to use for the output file (see BFD). Using OUTPUT_FORMAT( bfdname ) is exactly like using --oformat bfdname on the command line (see Command Line Options). If both are used, the command line option takes precedence.

You can use OUTPUT_FORMAT with three arguments to use different formats based on the -EB and -EL command line options. This permits the linker script to set the output format based on the desired endianness.

If neither -EB nor -EL are used, then the output format will be the first argument, default. If -EB is used, the output format will be the second argument, big. If -EL is used, the output format will be the third argument, little.

For example, the default linker script for the MIPS ELF target uses this command:

          OUTPUT_FORMAT(elf32-bigmips, elf32-bigmips, elf32-littlemips)
     

This says that the default format for the output file is elf32-bigmips, but if the user uses the -EL command line option, the output file will be created in the elf32-littlemips format.

TARGET( bfdname )

The TARGET command names the BFD format to use when reading input files. It affects subsequent INPUT and GROUP commands. This command is like using -b bfdname on the command line (see Command Line Options). If the TARGET command is used but OUTPUT_FORMAT is not, then the last TARGET command is also used to set the format for the output file. See BFD.