UNIX tools for exploring object files - Learn more about your system

Posted by Vivek Gite [Last updated: November 22, 2006]

In UNIX and Linux, everything is a file. You could say that the very sine qua non of UNIX and Linux programming is writing code to deal with files. Many types of files make up the system, but object files have a special design that provides for flexible, multipurpose use.

The programs that run on a UNIX system follow a careful design known as the object file format. Learn more about the object file format and the tools that you can use for exploring object files found on your system.

Object files are roadmaps that contain mnemonic symbols with attached addresses and values. The symbols are used for naming various sections of code and data, both initialized and uninitialized. They are also used for locating embedded debugging information and, just like the semantic Web, are fully readable by programs.