elf format section

Various sections hold program and control information. Sections in the lists below are used by the system and have the indicated types and attributes.

The following sections are defined in the and the .

Table 11-3. ELF Special Sections

Name	Type	Attributes
.bss	SHT_NOBITS	SHF_ALLOC+SHF_WRITE
.comment	SHT_PROGBITS	0
.data	SHT_PROGBITS	SHF_ALLOC+SHF_WRITE
.data1	SHT_PROGBITS	SHF_ALLOC+SHF_WRITE
.debug	SHT_PROGBITS	0
.dynamic	SHT_DYNAMIC	SHF_ALLOC+SHF_WRITE
.dynstr	SHT_STRTAB	SHF_ALLOC
.dynsym	SHT_DYNSYM	SHF_ALLOC
.fini	SHT_PROGBITS	SHF_ALLOC+SHF_EXECINSTR
.fini_array	SHT_FINI_ARRAY	SHF_ALLOC+SHF_WRITE
.hash	SHT_HASH	SHF_ALLOC
.init	SHT_PROGBITS	SHF_ALLOC+SHF_EXECINSTR
.init_array	SHT_INIT_ARRAY	SHF_ALLOC+SHF_WRITE
.interp	SHT_PROGBITS	SHF_ALLOC
.line	SHT_PROGBITS	0
.note	SHT_NOTE	0
.preinit_array	SHT_PREINIT_ARRAY	SHF_ALLOC+SHF_WRITE
.rodata	SHT_PROGBITS	SHF_ALLOC+SHF_MERGE+SHF_STRINGS
.rodata1	SHT_PROGBITS	SHF_ALLOC+SHF_MERGE+SHF_STRINGS
.shstrtab	SHT_STRTAB	0
.strtab	SHT_STRTAB	SHF_ALLOC
.symtab	SHT_SYMTAB	SHF_ALLOC
.tbss	SHT_NOBITS	SHF_ALLOC+SHF_WRITE+SHF_TLS
.tdata	SHT_PROGBITS	SHF_ALLOC+SHF_WRITE+SHF_TLS
.text	SHT_PROGBITS	SHF_ALLOC+SHF_EXECINSTR

.bss		This section holds data that contributes to the program's memory image. The program may treat this data as uninitialized. However, the system shall initialize this data with zeroes when the program begins to run. The section occupies no file space, as indicated by the section type, SHT_NOBITS.
.comment		This section holds version control information.
.data		This section holds initialized data that contribute to the program's memory image.
.data1		This section holds initialized data that contribute to the program's memory image.
.debug		This section holds information for symbolic debugging. The contents are unspecified. All section names with the prefix .debug hold information for symbolic debugging. The contents of these sections are unspecified.
.dynamic		This section holds dynamic linking information. The section's attributes will include the SHF_ALLOC bit. Whether the SHF_WRITE bit is set is processor specific. See Chapter 5 of System V ABI Update for more information.
.dynstr		This section holds strings needed for dynamic linking, most commonly the strings that represent the names associated with symbol table entries. See Chapter 5 of System V ABI Update for more information.
.dynsym		This section holds the dynamic linking symbol table, as described in `Symbol Table' of System V ABI Update.
.fini		This section holds executable instructions that contribute to the process termination code. That is, when a program exits normally, the system arranges to execute the code in this section.
.fini_array		This section holds an array of function pointers that contributes to a single termination array for the executable or shared object containing the section.
.hash		This section holds a symbol hash table. See `Hash Table' in Chapter 5 of System V ABI Update for more information.
.init		This section holds executable instructions that contribute to the process initialization code. When a program starts to run, the system arranges to execute the code in this section before calling the main program entry point (called main for C programs).
.init_array		This section holds an array of function pointers that contributes to a single initialization array for the executable or shared object containing the section.
.interp		This section holds the path name of a program interpreter. If the file has a loadable segment that includes relocation, the sections' attributes will include the SHF_ALLOC bit; otherwise, that bit will be off. See Chapter 5 of System V ABI Update for more information.
.line		This section holds line number information for symbolic debugging, which describes the correspondence between the source program and the machine code. The contents are unspecified.
.note		This section holds information in the format that `Note Section' in Chapter 5 of System V ABI Update describes.
.preinit_array		This section holds an array of function pointers that contributes to a single pre-initialization array for the executable or shared object containing the section.
.rodata		This section holds read-only data that typically contribute to a non-writable segment in the process image. See `Program Header' in Chapter 5 of System V ABI Update for more information.
.rodata1		This section holds read-only data that typically contribute to a non-writable segment in the process image. See `Program Header' in Chapter 5 of System V ABI Update for more information.
.shstrtab		This section holds section names.
.strtab		This section holds strings, most commonly the strings that represent the names associated with symbol table entries. If the file has a loadable segment that includes the symbol string table, the section's attributes will include the SHF_ALLOC bit; otherwise, that bit will be off.
.symtab		This section holds a symbol table, as `Symbol Table' in Chapter 4 of System V ABI Update describes. If the file has a loadable segment that includes the symbol table, the section's attributes will include the SHF_ALLOC bit; otherwise, that bit will be off.
.tbss		This section holds uninitialized thread-local data that contribute to the program's memory image. By definition, the system initializes the data with zeros when the data is instantiated for each new execution flow. The section occupies no file space, as indicated by the section type, SHT_NOBITS. Implementations need not support thread-local storage.
.tdata		This section holds initialized thread-local data that contributes to the program's memory image. A copy of its contents is instantiated by the system for each new execution flow. Implementations need not support thread-local storage.
.text		This section holds the `text', or executable instructions, of a program.

Object files in an LSB conforming application may also contain one or more of the additional special sections described below.

Table 11-4. Additional Special Sections

Name	Type	Attributes
.ctors	SHT_PROGBITS	SHF_ALLOC+SHF_WRITE
.data.rel.ro	SHT_PROGBITS	SHF_ALLOC+SHF_WRITE
.dtors	SHT_PROGBITS	SHF_ALLOC+SHF_WRITE
.eh_frame	SHT_PROGBITS	SHF_ALLOC
.eh_frame_hdr	SHT_PROGBITS	SHF_ALLOC
.gcc_except_table	SHT_PROGBITS	SHF_ALLOC
.gnu.version	SHT_GNU_versym	SHF_ALLOC
.gnu.version_d	SHT_GNU_verdef	SHF_ALLOC
.gnu.version_r	SHT_GNU_verneed	SHF_ALLOC
.got.plt	SHT_PROGBITS	SHF_ALLOC+SHF_WRITE
.jcr	SHT_PROGBITS	SHF_ALLOC+SHF_WRITE
.note.ABI-tag	SHT_NOTE	SHF_ALLOC
.stab	SHT_PROGBITS	0
.stabstr	SHT_STRTAB	0

.ctors		This section contains a list of global constructor function pointers.
.data.rel.ro		This section holds initialized data that contribute to the program's memory image. This section may be made read-only after relocations have been applied.
.dtors		This section contains a list of global destructor function pointers.
.eh_frame		This section contains information necessary for frame unwinding during exception handling. See .
.eh_frame_hdr		This section contains a pointer to the .eh_frame section which is accessible to the runtime support code of a C++ application. This section may also contain a binary search table which may be used by the runtime support code to more efficiently access records in the .eh_frame section. See .
.gcc_except_table		This section holds Language Specific Data.
.gnu.version		This section contains the Symbol Version Table. See .
.gnu.version_d		This section contains the Version Definitions. See .
.gnu.version_r		This section contains the Version Requirements. See .
.got.plt		This section holds the read-only portion of the GLobal Offset Table. This section may be made read-only after relocations have been applied.
.jcr		This section contains information necessary for registering compiled Java classes. The contents are compiler-specific and used by compiler initialization functions.
.note.ABI-tag		Specify ABI details. See .
.stab		This section contains debugging information. The contents are not specified as part of the LSB.
.stabstr		This section contains strings associated with the debugging infomation contained in the .stab section.