ELF abisum is a software tool that creates an ABI checksum for ELF binaries through their DWARF debug data.
ELF abisum is a handy tool for generating ABI checksum of ELF binaries from the DWARF debug information. An ABI checksum consists of information such as types of variables, function signatures, and struct members. The DWARF debug information allows for the efficient checking of ABIs.
The tool is aimed at making the build process faster by reducing unnecessary relinking of binaries. Let's say you built a program using lots of DSOs, and your Makefile has a dependency on these DSOs. Every time you make a small change to one of the DSOs, you need to relink all DSOs to the dynamic executable foobar. If the number of DSOs is massive, relinking takes up significant time. But theoretically speaking, if there are no ABI changes in a DSO, there is no need to relink the DSO to a dynamic executable that depends on it.
ELF abisum solves this problem by reducing unnecessary relinking of binaries. By using abisum, you have the option to mention the ABIs of the DSOs in your Makefile rather than the DSOs themselves. This way, you can avoid unnecessary relinking of binaries.
To use abisum in a build process, DSOs must be built with the "-g" option of GCC that inserts DWARF debug information into the binaries.
In terms of installation, the package is easy to compile. You simply "cd" to the directory containing the package's source code and type "./configure" to configure the package for your system. Running "configure" takes a while but provides a list of features it is checking for. Once configured, type "make" to compile the package.
Additionally, you can run self-tests that come with the package by typing "make check." To install the programs and other files, type "make install." If you want to remove the program binaries and objects from the source code directory once you're done with them, type "make clean." For a comprehensive cleaning of the files, including the ones created by "configure," type "make distclean." The "make maintainer-clean" target is intended mainly for the package's developers.
The tool is aimed at making the build process faster by reducing unnecessary relinking of binaries. Let's say you built a program using lots of DSOs, and your Makefile has a dependency on these DSOs. Every time you make a small change to one of the DSOs, you need to relink all DSOs to the dynamic executable foobar. If the number of DSOs is massive, relinking takes up significant time. But theoretically speaking, if there are no ABI changes in a DSO, there is no need to relink the DSO to a dynamic executable that depends on it.
ELF abisum solves this problem by reducing unnecessary relinking of binaries. By using abisum, you have the option to mention the ABIs of the DSOs in your Makefile rather than the DSOs themselves. This way, you can avoid unnecessary relinking of binaries.
To use abisum in a build process, DSOs must be built with the "-g" option of GCC that inserts DWARF debug information into the binaries.
In terms of installation, the package is easy to compile. You simply "cd" to the directory containing the package's source code and type "./configure" to configure the package for your system. Running "configure" takes a while but provides a list of features it is checking for. Once configured, type "make" to compile the package.
Additionally, you can run self-tests that come with the package by typing "make check." To install the programs and other files, type "make install." If you want to remove the program binaries and objects from the source code directory once you're done with them, type "make clean." For a comprehensive cleaning of the files, including the ones created by "configure," type "make distclean." The "make maintainer-clean" target is intended mainly for the package's developers.
What's New
Version 0.1: N/A