still problems linking plain data into an application (arm-elf)

still problems linking plain data into an application (arm-elf)

[Andreas Bürgel]

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Hi folks,

I want to link a plain data file - hex format or binary - into my application. Currently I'm using a linker script with an input-command "INPUT (<DATAFILE>)". Unfortunately the only format the linker pretends to recognize ist "Intel Hex", using other formats I get a " File format not recognized"-error.
1.) My arm-elf binutils claim to support even texhex and binary format. But why do they complain when using something other than Intel-hex?
2.) Is there an additional option for the "INPUT" command describing the input file format?
3.) When using Intel-hex (ihex) as data file format, the data file is linked into the ".sec1"-section of the application, but both nibbles in every byte seem to be exchanged with their companion mysteriously excluding the first 32-bit-word of the data. Can I suppress this manipulation of my data?

host-system is Intel-Linux, target system is arm-elf.
binutils version is 2.10.1

Thanks in advance,
-----------------------------------------------------
i.A. Andreas Bürgel     GenoLogic GmbH
     Software Engineer  Joseph-von-Fraunhofer-Str. 13
                        D-44227 DORTMUND
                        Germany               
                        
     ab@genologic.de    phone  +49 (0) 231/477349-0
                        fax    +49 (0) 231/4761234

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Re: still problems linking plain data into an application (arm-elf)

[Nick Clifton]

Hi Andreas,

> I want to link a plain data file - hex format or binary - into my
> application. Currently I'm using a linker script with an
> input-command "INPUT (<DATAFILE>)". Unfortunately the only format
> the linker pretends to recognize ist "Intel Hex", using other
> formats I get a " File format not recognized"-error.

Another way to solve this problem is to use objcopy to convert the
data file into an ELF format file and then just link it in.  For
example:

  objcopy -I binary -O elf32-little-arm data_file new_object.o

You may get an error message "Warning: Output file cannot represent
architecture UNKNOWN!" in which case add a -B option like this:

  objcopy -I binary -O elf32-little-arm -B arm data_file new_object.o

This will create an object file with the data in a .data section.  If
this is unsuitable you can then use the linker and a small little
script to rename the section to something else, as in:

  ld -T convert.ls new_object.o -o resectioned_object.o

and the linker script looks like:

  SECTIONS
  {
	.new_section_name : { *(.data) }
  }

Cheers
        Nick