10.1.1 Loading Input Files

The initial task of the linker is to interpret link command options and load input files. If a linker script is specified, that file is opened and interpreted. Otherwise an internal default linker script is used. In either case, the linker script provides a description of the target device, including specific memory region information. See 9 Linker Scripts for more details.

Next the linker opens all of the input object files. Each input file is checked to make sure the object format is compatible. If the object format is not compatible, an error is generated. The contents of each input file are then loaded into internal data structures. Typically each input file will contain multiple sections of code or data. Each section contains a list of relocation entries which associate locations in a section’s raw data with relocatable symbols.