(binutils.info.gz) dlltool

 
 14 dlltool
 **********
 
 'dlltool' is used to create the files needed to create dynamic link
 libraries (DLLs) on systems which understand PE format image files such
 as Windows.  A DLL contains an export table which contains information
 that the runtime loader needs to resolve references from a referencing
 program.
 
    The export table is generated by this program by reading in a '.def'
 file or scanning the '.a' and '.o' files which will be in the DLL. A
 '.o' file can contain information in special '.drectve' sections with
 export information.
 
      _Note:_ 'dlltool' is not always built as part of the binary
      utilities, since it is only useful for those targets which support
      DLLs.
 
      dlltool [-d|--input-def DEF-FILE-NAME]
              [-b|--base-file BASE-FILE-NAME]
              [-e|--output-exp EXPORTS-FILE-NAME]
              [-z|--output-def DEF-FILE-NAME]
              [-l|--output-lib LIBRARY-FILE-NAME]
              [-y|--output-delaylib LIBRARY-FILE-NAME]
              [--export-all-symbols] [--no-export-all-symbols]
              [--exclude-symbols LIST]
              [--no-default-excludes]
              [-S|--as PATH-TO-ASSEMBLER] [-f|--as-flags OPTIONS]
              [-D|--dllname NAME] [-m|--machine MACHINE]
              [-a|--add-indirect]
              [-U|--add-underscore] [--add-stdcall-underscore]
              [-k|--kill-at] [-A|--add-stdcall-alias]
              [-p|--ext-prefix-alias PREFIX]
              [-x|--no-idata4] [-c|--no-idata5]
              [--use-nul-prefixed-import-tables]
              [-I|--identify LIBRARY-FILE-NAME] [--identify-strict]
              [-i|--interwork]
              [-n|--nodelete] [-t|--temp-prefix PREFIX]
              [-v|--verbose]
              [-h|--help] [-V|--version]
              [--no-leading-underscore] [--leading-underscore]
              [object-file ...]
 
    'dlltool' reads its inputs, which can come from the '-d' and '-b'
 options as well as object files specified on the command line.  It then
 processes these inputs and if the '-e' option has been specified it
 creates a exports file.  If the '-l' option has been specified it
 creates a library file and if the '-z' option has been specified it
 creates a def file.  Any or all of the '-e', '-l' and '-z' options can
 be present in one invocation of dlltool.
 
    When creating a DLL, along with the source for the DLL, it is
 necessary to have three other files.  'dlltool' can help with the
 creation of these files.
 
    The first file is a '.def' file which specifies which functions are
 exported from the DLL, which functions the DLL imports, and so on.  This
 is a text file and can be created by hand, or 'dlltool' can be used to
 create it using the '-z' option.  In this case 'dlltool' will scan the
 object files specified on its command line looking for those functions
 which have been specially marked as being exported and put entries for
 them in the '.def' file it creates.
 
    In order to mark a function as being exported from a DLL, it needs to
 have an '-export:<name_of_function>' entry in the '.drectve' section of
 the object file.  This can be done in C by using the asm() operator:
 
        asm (".section .drectve");
        asm (".ascii \"-export:my_func\"");
 
        int my_func (void) { ... }
 
    The second file needed for DLL creation is an exports file.  This
 file is linked with the object files that make up the body of the DLL
 and it handles the interface between the DLL and the outside world.
 This is a binary file and it can be created by giving the '-e' option to
 'dlltool' when it is creating or reading in a '.def' file.
 
    The third file needed for DLL creation is the library file that
 programs will link with in order to access the functions in the DLL (an
 'import library').  This file can be created by giving the '-l' option
 to dlltool when it is creating or reading in a '.def' file.
 
    If the '-y' option is specified, dlltool generates a delay-import
 library that can be used instead of the normal import library to allow a
 program to link to the dll only as soon as an imported function is
 called for the first time.  The resulting executable will need to be
 linked to the static delayimp library containing __delayLoadHelper2(),
 which in turn will import LoadLibraryA and GetProcAddress from kernel32.
 
    'dlltool' builds the library file by hand, but it builds the exports
 file by creating temporary files containing assembler statements and
 then assembling these.  The '-S' command line option can be used to
 specify the path to the assembler that dlltool will use, and the '-f'
 option can be used to pass specific flags to that assembler.  The '-n'
 can be used to prevent dlltool from deleting these temporary assembler
 files when it is done, and if '-n' is specified twice then this will
 prevent dlltool from deleting the temporary object files it used to
 build the library.
 
    Here is an example of creating a DLL from a source file 'dll.c' and
 also creating a program (from an object file called 'program.o') that
 uses that DLL:
 
        gcc -c dll.c
        dlltool -e exports.o -l dll.lib dll.o
        gcc dll.o exports.o -o dll.dll
        gcc program.o dll.lib -o program
 
    'dlltool' may also be used to query an existing import library to
 determine the name of the DLL to which it is associated.  See the
 description of the '-I' or '--identify' option.
 
    The command line options have the following meanings:
 
 '-d FILENAME'
 '--input-def FILENAME'
      Specifies the name of a '.def' file to be read in and processed.
 
 '-b FILENAME'
 '--base-file FILENAME'
      Specifies the name of a base file to be read in and processed.  The
      contents of this file will be added to the relocation section in
      the exports file generated by dlltool.
 
 '-e FILENAME'
 '--output-exp FILENAME'
      Specifies the name of the export file to be created by dlltool.
 
 '-z FILENAME'
 '--output-def FILENAME'
      Specifies the name of the '.def' file to be created by dlltool.
 
 '-l FILENAME'
 '--output-lib FILENAME'
      Specifies the name of the library file to be created by dlltool.
 
 '-y FILENAME'
 '--output-delaylib FILENAME'
      Specifies the name of the delay-import library file to be created
      by dlltool.
 
 '--export-all-symbols'
      Treat all global and weak defined symbols found in the input object
      files as symbols to be exported.  There is a small list of symbols
      which are not exported by default; see the '--no-default-excludes'
      option.  You may add to the list of symbols to not export by using
      the '--exclude-symbols' option.
 
 '--no-export-all-symbols'
      Only export symbols explicitly listed in an input '.def' file or in
      '.drectve' sections in the input object files.  This is the default
      behaviour.  The '.drectve' sections are created by 'dllexport'
      attributes in the source code.
 
 '--exclude-symbols LIST'
      Do not export the symbols in LIST.  This is a list of symbol names
      separated by comma or colon characters.  The symbol names should
      not contain a leading underscore.  This is only meaningful when
      '--export-all-symbols' is used.
 
 '--no-default-excludes'
      When '--export-all-symbols' is used, it will by default avoid
      exporting certain special symbols.  The current list of symbols to
      avoid exporting is 'DllMain@12', 'DllEntryPoint@0', 'impure_ptr'.
      You may use the '--no-default-excludes' option to go ahead and
      export these special symbols.  This is only meaningful when
      '--export-all-symbols' is used.
 
 '-S PATH'
 '--as PATH'
      Specifies the path, including the filename, of the assembler to be
      used to create the exports file.
 
 '-f OPTIONS'
 '--as-flags OPTIONS'
      Specifies any specific command line options to be passed to the
      assembler when building the exports file.  This option will work
      even if the '-S' option is not used.  This option only takes one
      argument, and if it occurs more than once on the command line, then
      later occurrences will override earlier occurrences.  So if it is
      necessary to pass multiple options to the assembler they should be
      enclosed in double quotes.
 
 '-D NAME'
 '--dll-name NAME'
      Specifies the name to be stored in the '.def' file as the name of
      the DLL when the '-e' option is used.  If this option is not
      present, then the filename given to the '-e' option will be used as
      the name of the DLL.
 
 '-m MACHINE'
 '-machine MACHINE'
      Specifies the type of machine for which the library file should be
      built.  'dlltool' has a built in default type, depending upon how
      it was created, but this option can be used to override that.  This
      is normally only useful when creating DLLs for an ARM processor,
      when the contents of the DLL are actually encode using Thumb
      instructions.
 
 '-a'
 '--add-indirect'
      Specifies that when 'dlltool' is creating the exports file it
      should add a section which allows the exported functions to be
      referenced without using the import library.  Whatever the hell
      that means!
 
 '-U'
 '--add-underscore'
      Specifies that when 'dlltool' is creating the exports file it
      should prepend an underscore to the names of _all_ exported
      symbols.
 
 '--no-leading-underscore'
 '--leading-underscore'
      Specifies whether standard symbol should be forced to be prefixed,
      or not.
 
 '--add-stdcall-underscore'
      Specifies that when 'dlltool' is creating the exports file it
      should prepend an underscore to the names of exported _stdcall_
      functions.  Variable names and non-stdcall function names are not
      modified.  This option is useful when creating GNU-compatible
      import libs for third party DLLs that were built with MS-Windows
      tools.
 
 '-k'
 '--kill-at'
      Specifies that '@<number>' suffixes should be omitted from the
      names of stdcall functions that will be imported from the DLL. This
      is useful when creating an import library for a DLL which exports
      stdcall functions but without the usual '@<number>' symbol name
      suffix.
 
      This does not change the naming of symbols provided by the import
      library to programs linked against it, but only the entries in the
      import table (ie the .idata section).
 
 '-A'
 '--add-stdcall-alias'
      Specifies that when 'dlltool' is creating the exports file it
      should add aliases for stdcall symbols without '@ <number>' in
      addition to the symbols with '@ <number>'.
 
 '-p'
 '--ext-prefix-alias PREFIX'
      Causes 'dlltool' to create external aliases for all DLL imports
      with the specified prefix.  The aliases are created for both
      external and import symbols with no leading underscore.
 
 '-x'
 '--no-idata4'
      Specifies that when 'dlltool' is creating the exports and library
      files it should omit the '.idata4' section.  This is for
      compatibility with certain operating systems.
 
 '--use-nul-prefixed-import-tables'
      Specifies that when 'dlltool' is creating the exports and library
      files it should prefix the '.idata4' and '.idata5' by zero an
      element.  This emulates old gnu import library generation of
      'dlltool'.  By default this option is turned off.
 
 '-c'
 '--no-idata5'
      Specifies that when 'dlltool' is creating the exports and library
      files it should omit the '.idata5' section.  This is for
      compatibility with certain operating systems.
 
 '-I FILENAME'
 '--identify FILENAME'
      Specifies that 'dlltool' should inspect the import library
      indicated by FILENAME and report, on 'stdout', the name(s) of the
      associated DLL(s).  This can be performed in addition to any other
      operations indicated by the other options and arguments.  'dlltool'
      fails if the import library does not exist or is not actually an
      import library.  See also '--identify-strict'.
 
 '--identify-strict'
      Modifies the behavior of the '--identify' option, such that an
      error is reported if FILENAME is associated with more than one DLL.
 
 '-i'
 '--interwork'
      Specifies that 'dlltool' should mark the objects in the library
      file and exports file that it produces as supporting interworking
      between ARM and Thumb code.
 
 '-n'
 '--nodelete'
      Makes 'dlltool' preserve the temporary assembler files it used to
      create the exports file.  If this option is repeated then dlltool
      will also preserve the temporary object files it uses to create the
      library file.
 
 '-t PREFIX'
 '--temp-prefix PREFIX'
      Makes 'dlltool' use PREFIX when constructing the names of temporary
      assembler and object files.  By default, the temp file prefix is
      generated from the pid.
 
 '-v'
 '--verbose'
      Make dlltool describe what it is doing.
 
 '-h'
 '--help'
      Displays a list of command line options and then exits.
 
 '-V'
 '--version'
      Displays dlltool's version number and then exits.
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