Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report

Minotauro Magazine Issue 11 02D Portable Executable (PE) Tablas, estructuras, etc

eZine's profile picture
Published in 
Minotauro Magazine
 · 6 Feb 2021

  

MINOTAURO MAGAZINE #11

Portable Executable (PE)
Tablas, estructuras, etc.

Esta es la especificacion del formato ejecutable PE, el formato de
win32 (Windows 95, Windows NT, Win32s). Lo que tengo que decir sobre el es
que es lindo, si, es muy lindo. Aha.

Como ven no pienso elaborar mucho, de hecho no pienso decir nada. Por
ahora guarden el formato. En el numero que viene vamos a tratarlo en
profundidad (tampoco es como para tirarles todo de golpe no?)
Trurl

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MICROSOFT PORTABLE EXECUTABLE AND COMMON OBJECT FILE FORMAT

Visual C++ Business Unit
Microsoft Corporation
Revision 4.1 AUGUST 1994


Note This document is provided to aid in the development of tools and
applications for Microsoft Windows NT but is not guaranteed to be a
complete specification in all respects. Microsoft reserves the right to
alter this document without notice.

1. GENERAL CONCEPTS

This document specifies the structure of executable (image) files and object
files under Microsoft Windows NT. These files are referred to as Portable
Executable (PE) or Common Object File Format (COFF) files. The name `Portable
Executable' refers to the fact that the format is not architecture-specific.
Certain concepts appear repeatedly througout the specification and are
described in the following table:
Name Description
Image file Executable file: either a .EXE file or a DLL. An
image file can be thought of as a `memory image.' The
term `image file' is usually used instead of
`executable file,' because the latter sometimes is
taken to mean only a .EXE file.
Object file A file given as input to the linker. The linker
produces an image file, which in turn is used as
input by the loader. The term `object file' does not
necessarily imply any connection to object-oriented
programming.
RVA Relative Virtual Address. In an image file, an RVA is always
the address of an item once loaded into memory, with
the base address of the image file subtracted from
it. The RVA of an item will almost always differ from
its position within the file on disk (File
Pointer).In an object file, an RVA is less meaningful
because memory locations are not assigned. In this
case, an RVA would be an address within a section
(see below), to which a relocation is later applied
during linking. For simplicity, compilers should just
set the first RVA in each section to zero.
Virtual Address (VA) Same as RVA (see above), except that the base address
of the image file is not subtracted. The address is
called a `Virtual Address' because Windows NT creates
a distinct virtual address space for each process,
independent of physical memory. For almost all
purposes, a virtual address should be considered just
an address. A virtual address is not as predictable
as an RVA, because the loader might not load the
image at its preferred location.
File pointer Location of an item within the file itself, before
being processed by the linker (in the case of object
files) or the loader (in the case of image files). In
other words, this is a position within the file as
stored on disk.
Date/Time Stamp Date/time stamps are used in a number of places in a
PE/COFF file, and for different purposes. The format
of each such stamp, however, is always the same: that
used by the time functions in the C run-time library.
Section A section is the basic unit of code or data within a
PE/COFF file. In an object file, for example, all
code can be combined within a single section, or
(depending on compiler behavior) each function can
occupy its own section. With more sections, there is
more file overhead, but the linker is able to link in
code more selectively. A section is vaguely similar
to a segment in Intel 8086 architecture. All the raw
data in a section must be loaded contiguously. In
addition, an image file can contain a number of
sections, such as .tls or .debug, that have special
purposes.

2. OVERVIEW

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the Microsoft PE executable format and the
Microsoft COFF object=module format.

ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿<ÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ MS-DOS 2.0 Compatible ³ ³ Base of Image Header
³ .EXE Header ³ ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³
³ unused ³ ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³
³ OEM Identifier ³ ³
³ OEM Information ³ ³ MS-DOS 2.0 Section (for
³ ³ ³ compatibility only)
³ Offset to ³ ³
³ PE Header ³ ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³
³ MS-DOS 2.0 Stub Program ³ ³
³ & ³ ³
³ Relocation Table ³ ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³
³ unused ³ ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´<ÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
³ PE Header ³
³ (aligned on 8-byte ³
³ boundary) ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ ³
³ Object Table ³
³ ³
³ ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ ³
³ Image Pages: ³
³ > import info ³
³ > export info ³
³ > fix-up info ³
³ > resource info ³
³ > debug info ³
³ ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

Figure 1. Typical 32-bit Portable .EXE File Layout

ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ MS COFF Header ³
³ ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ ³
³ Object Table ³
³ ³
³ ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ ³
³ Image Pages: ³
³ > fix=up info ³
³ > debug info ³
³ ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

Figure 2. Typical 32-bit COFF Object Module Layout

3. FILE HEADERS

The PE/COFF file headers consist of an MS-DOS stub, file signature, COFF
Header, and Optional Header. An object file usually contains only the COFF
Header, but an image file contains all the headers. In both cases, the file
headers are followed immediately by section headers.

3.1 MS-DOS STUB IMAGE (Image Only)
The MS-DOS Stub is a valid application that runs under MS-DOS and is placed at
the front of the .EXE image. The linker places a default stub here, which
prints out the message `This program cannot be run in DOS mode' when the image
is run in MS-DOS. The user can specify another stub by using the /STUB linker
option.
At location 0x3c, the stub has the file offset to the Portable Executable (PE)
signature. This information enables Windows NT to properly execute the image
file, even though it has a DOS Stub. This file offset is placed at location
0x3c during linking.


3.2 Signature (Image Only)
After the MS-DOS stub, there is a 4-byte signature identifying the file as a
PE format image file; this format is used in Win32, Posix on NT, and for some
device drivers in Windows NT. Currently, this signature is `PE\0\0' (the
letters `P' and `E' followed by two null bytes).

3.3 COFF Header ( Object & Image)
At the beginning of an object file, or immediately after the signature of an
image file, there is a standard COFF header of the following format. Note that
the Windows NT loader limts the Number of Sections to 96.
Offset Size Field Description

0 2 Machine Number identifying type of target machine.
See Section 3.3.1, `Machine Types, ' for
more information.
2 2 Number of Sections Number of sections; indicates size of the
Section Table, which immediately follows
the headers.
4 4 Time/Date Stamp Time and date the file was created.
8 4 Pointer to Symbol Table Offset, within the COFF file, of the symbol
table.
12 4 Number of Symbols Number of entries in the symbol table. This
data can be used in locating the string ta-
ble, which immediately follows the symbol
table.
16 2 Optional Header Size Size of the optional header, which is
included for executable files but not
object files. An object file should have a
value of 0 here. The format is described in
the section `Optional Header.'
18 2 Characteristics Flags indicating attributes of the file.
See Section 3.3.2, `Characteristics,' for
specific flag values.

3.3.1. Machine Types
The Machine field has one of the following values, defined below, which
specify its machine (CPU) type. An image file can be run only on the specified
machine, or a system emulating it.
Constant Value Description

IMAGE_FILE_MACHINE_UNKNOWN 0x0 Contents assumed to be applicable to
any machine type.
IMAGE_FILE_MACHINE_I386 0x14c Intel 386 or later, and compatible
processors.
IMAGE_FILE_MACHINE_R4000 0x166 MIPS little endian.
IMAGE_FILE_MACHINE_ALPHA 0x184 Alpha AXP'.
IMAGE_FILE_MACHINE_M68K 0x268 Motorola 68000 series.
IMAGE_FILE_MACHINE_POWERPC 0x1F0 Power PC, little endian.
IMAGE_FILE_MACHINE_PARISC 0x290 Precision Architecture (PA) RISC
processor.

3.3.2. Characteristics
The Characteristics field contains flags that indicate attributes of the
object or image file. The following flags are currently defined:
Flag Value Description

IMAGE_FILE_RELOCS_STRIPPED 0x0001 Image only. Indicates that the file
does not contain base relocations and
must therefore be loaded at its
preferred base address. If the base
address is not available, the loader
reports an error. Operating systems
running on top of MS-DOS (Win32s') are
generally not able to use the
preferred base address and so cannot
run these images. However, beginning
with version 4.0, Windows will use an
application's preferred base address.
IMAGE_FILE_EXECUTABLE_IMAGE 0x0002 Image only. Indicates that the image
file is valid and can be run. If this
flag is not set, it generally
indicates a linker error.
IMAGE_FILE_LINE_NUMS_STRIPPED 0x0004 COFF line numbers have been removed.
IMAGE_FILE_LOCAL_SYMS_STRIPPED 0x0008 COFF symbol table entries for local
symbols have been removed.
IMAGE_FILE_MINIMAL_OBJECT 0x0010 Reserved for future use.
IMAGE_FILE_UPDATE_OBJECT 0x0020 Reserved for future use.
IMAGE_FILE_16BIT_MACHINE 0x0040 Use of this flag is reserved for
future use.
IMAGE_FILE_BYTES_REVERSED_LO 0x0080 Little endian: LSB precedes MSB in
memory.
IMAGE_FILE_32BIT_MACHINE 0x0100 Machine based on 32-bit-word architec-
ture.
IMAGE_FILE_DEBUG_STRIPPED 0x0200 Debugging information removed from
image file.
IMAGE_FILE_PATCH 0x0400 Reserved for future use.
IMAGE_FILE_SYSTEM 0x1000 The image file is a system file, not a
user program.
IMAGE_FILE_DLL 0x2000 The image file is a dynamic-link li-
brary (DLL). Such files are considered
executable files for almost all
purposes, although they cannot be
directly run.
IMAGE_FILE_BYTES_REVERSED_HI 0x8000 Big endian: MSB precedes LSB in
memory.


3.4 Optional Header (Usually image only)
Every image file has an Optional Header that provides information to the
loader. This header is also referred to the PE Header. This header is optional
in the sense that some files (specifically, object files) do not have it. For
image files, this header is required. An object file may have an optional
header, but generally an this header has no function in an object file except
to increase size.
The Optional Header itself has three major parts:
Offset Size Header part Description

0 28 Standard fields These are defined for all
implementations of COFF, including UNIX.
28 68 NT-specific fields These include additional
fields to support specific features of Windows
NT (for example, subsystem).
96 128 Data directories These fields are
address/size pairs for special tables, found in
the image file and used by the operating system
(for example, Import Table and Export Table).

3.4.1. Optional Header Standard Fields (Image Only)
The first nine fields of the Optional Header are standard fields, defined for
every implementation of COFF. These fields contain general information useful
for loading and running an executable file.
Offset Size Field Description

0 2 Magic Unsigned integer identifying the state of
the image file. The most common number is 0413 octal
(0x10B), identifying it as a normal executable file.
0407 (0x107) identifies a ROM image.
2 1 LMajor Linker major version number.
3 1 LMinor Linker minor version number.
4 4 Code Size Size of the code (text) section, or the sum
of all code sections if there are multiple sections.
8 4 Initialized Data Size Size of the initialized data
section, or the sum of all such sections if there are
multiple data sections.
12 4 Uninitialized Data Size Size of the uninitialized
data section (BSS), or the sum of all such sections
if there are multiple BSS sections.
16 4 Entry Point RVA Address of entry point, relative
to image base, when executable file is loaded into
memory. For program images, this is the starting
address. For device drivers, this is the address of
the initialization function.
20 4 Base Of Code Address, realtive to image base, of
beginning of code section, when loaded into memory.
24 4 Base Of Data Address, realtive to image base, of
beginning of data section, when loaded into memory.

3.4.2. Optional Header Windows NT-Specific Fields (Image Only)
The next twenty-one fields are an extension to the COFF Optional Header format
and contain additional information needed by the linker and loader in Windows
NT.
Offset Size Field Description

28 4 Image Base Preferred address of first byte of
image when loaded into memory; must be a multiple of
64K.
32 4 Section Alignment Alignment (in bytes) of sections
when loaded into memory. Must greater or equal to
File Alignment. Default is the page size for the
architecture.
36 4 File Alignment Alignment factor (in bytes) used to
align pages in image file. The value should be a
power of 2 between 512 and 64K inclusive.
40 2 OS Major Major version number of required OS.
42 2 OS Minor Minor version number of required OS.
44 2 User Major Major version number of image.
46 2 User Minor Minor version number of image.
48 2 SubSys Major Major version number of subsystem.
50 2 SubSys Minor Minor version number of subsystem.

52 4 Reserved

56 4 Image Size Size, in bytes, of image, including
all headers; must be a multiple of Section Alignment.
60 4 Header Size Combined size of MS-DOS Header, PE
Header, and Object Table.
64 4 File Checksum Image file checksum. The algorithm for
computing is incorporated into IMAGHELP.DLL. The
following are checked for validation at load time:
all drivers, any DLL loaded at boot time, and any DLL
that ends up in the server.
68 2 SubSystem Subsystem required to run this image. See
`Windows NT Subsystem' below for more information.
70 2 DLL Flags Obsolete.
72 4 Stack Reserve Size Size of stack to reserve. Only
the Stack Commit Size is committed; the rest is made
available one page at a time, until reserve size is
reached.
76 4 Stack Commit Size Size of stack to commit.
80 4 Heap Reserve Size Size of local heap space to
reserve. Only the Heap Commit Size is committed; the
rest is made available one page at a
time, until
reserve size is reached.
84 4 Heap Commit Size Size of local heap space to
commit.
88 4 Loader Flags Obsolete.
92 4 Number of Data Directories Number of data-dic-
tionary entries in the remainder of the Optional
Header. Each describes a location and size.

Windows NT Subsystem
The following values are defined for the Subsystem field of the Optional
Header. They determine what, if any, Windows NT subsystem is required to run
the image.
Constant Value Description

IMAGE_SUBSYSTEM_UNKNOWN 0 Unknown subsystem.
IMAGE_SUBSYSTEM_NATIVE 1 Used for device drivers and native
Windows NT processes.
IMAGE_SUBSYSTEM_WINDOWS_GUI 2 Image runs in the Windows' graphical
user interface (GUI) subsystem.
IMAGE_SUBSYSTEM_WINDOWS_CUI 3 Image runs in the Windows character
subsystem.
IMAGE_SUBSYSTEM_POSIX_CUI 7 Image runs in the Posix character
subsystem.

3.4.3. Optional Header Data Directories (Image Only)
Each data directory gives the address and size of a table or string used by
Windows NT. These are all loaded into memory so that they can be used by the
system at run time. A data directory is an eight-byte field that has the
following declaration:

typedef struct _IMAGE_DATA_DIRECTORY {
DWORD RVA;
DWORD Size;
} IMAGE_DATA_DIRECTORY, *PIMAGE_DATA_DIRECTORY;

The first field, RVA, is the relative virtual address of the table. The RVA is
the address of the table, when loaded, relative to the base address of the
image. The second field gives the size in bytes. The data directories, which
form the last part of the Optional Header, are listed below.
Offset Size Field Description

96 8 Export Table Export Table address and size.
104 8 Import Table Import Table address and size
112 8 Resource Table Resource Table address and size.
120 8 Exception Table Exception Table address and size.
128 8 Security Table Security Table address and size. Unusued.
136 8 Base Relocation Table Base Relocation Table address and
size.
144 8 Debug Debug data starting address and size.
152 8 Copyright Copyright string address and length.
160 8 Global Ptr Relative virtual address of the global pointer
register. Size member of this structure is set to 0.
168 8 TLS Table Thread Local Storage (TLS) Table address and size.
176 8 Load Config Table Load Configuration Table address and size.
184 40 Reserved



4. Section Table (Section Headers)
Each row of the Section Table, in effect, is a section header. This table
immediately follows the COFF optional header, if any. This positioning is
required because the file header does not contain a direct pointer to the
section table; the location of the section table is determined by calculating
the location of the first byte after the headers.
The number of entries in the Section Table is given by the Number of Sections
field in the COFF header. Entries in the Section Table are numbered starting
from one. The code and data memory section entries are in the order chosen by
the linker.
In an image file, the virtual addresses for sections must be assigned by the
linker such that they are in ascending order and adjacent, and they must be a
multiple of the Section Align value in the optional header.
Each section header (Section Table entry) has the following format, for a
total of 40 bytes per entry:
Offset Size Field Description

0 8 Section Name An eight-byte, null-padded ASCII
string. There is no terminating null if the string is
exactly eight bytes long. For longer names, this
field contains a slash (/) followed by ASCII
representation of a decimal number: this number is an
offset into the string table.
8 4 Virtual Size Total size of the section when loaded
into memory. If this value is greater than Size of
Raw Data, the section is zero-padded. This field is
valid only for image files and should be set to 0 for
object files.
12 4 RVA/Offset Address of the first byte of the sec-
tion, when loaded into memory, relative to the image
base. For object files, this field is the address of
the first byte before relocation is applied; for
simplicity, compilers should set this to zero.
Otherwise, it is an arbitrary value that is
subtracted from offsets during relocation.
16 4 Size of Raw Data Size of the section (object file)
or size of the initialized data on disk (image
files). Must be a multiple of File Align in the PE
Header. This field is rounded upward to be a multiple
of File Align, which is the only way it can be
greater than Virtual Size.
20 4 Pointer to Raw Data File pointer to section's first
page within the COFF file. For image files, this
value must be a multiple of File Align in the PE
Header. For object files, the value should be aligned
on a four-byte boundary for best performance.
24 4 Pointer to Relocs File pointer to beginning of
relocation entries for the section. Set to 0 for
executable images.
28 4 Pointer to Linenumbers File pointer to beginning of
line-number entries for the section.
32 2 Number of Relocs Number of relocation entries for
the section. Set to 0 for executable images.
34 2 Number of Linenumbers Number of line-number
entries for the section.
36 4 Section Flags Flags describing section's charac-
teristics. See Section 4.1, `Section Flags,' for more
information.


4.1 Section Flags
The Section Flags field indicates characteristics of the section.
Flag Value Description
IMAGE_SCN_TYPE_REGULAR 0x00000000 Reserved for future use.
IMAGE_SCN_TYPE_DUMMY 0x00000001 Reserved for future use.
IMAGE_SCN_TYPE_NO_LOAD 0x00000002 Reserved for future use.
IMAGE_SCN_TYPE_GROUPED 0x00000004 Section is grouped with
other sections by name. See
Section 4.2, “Grouped Sec-
tions.”
IMAGE_SCN_TYPE_NO_PAD 0x00000008 Section should not be padded
to next boundary.
IMAGE_SCN_TYPE_COPY 0x00000010 Reserved for future use.
IMAGE_SCN_CNT_CODE 0x00000020 Section contains executable
code.
IMAGE_SCN_CNT_INITIALIZED_DATA 0x00000040 Section contains initialized
data.
IMAGE_SCN_CNT_UNINITIALIZED_DATA 0x00000080 Section contains uninitiali-
zed data.
IMAGE_SCN_LNK_OTHER 0x00000100 Reserved for future use.
IMAGE_SCN_LNK_INFO 0x00000200 Section contains comments or
other information. (The
.drectve section has this type.)
IMAGE_SCN_LNK_OVERLAY 0x00000400 Reservered for furture use.
IMAGE_SCN_LNK_REMOVE 0x00000800 Section will not become part
of the image.
IMAGE_SCN_LNK_COMDAT 0x00001000 Section contains COMDAT
data. See Section 5.5.6,
`COMDAT Sections', for more
information. Object files
only.
IMAGE_SCN_MEM_DISCARDABLE 0x02000000 Section can be discarded as
needed.
IMAGE_SCN_MEM_NOT_CACHED 0x04000000 Section cannot be cached.
IMAGE_SCN_MEM_NOT_PAGED 0x08000000 Section is not pageable.
IMAGE_SCN_MEM_SHARED 0x10000000 Section can be shared in
memory.
IMAGE_SCN_MEM_EXECUTE 0x20000000 Section can be executed as
code.
IMAGE_SCN_MEM_READ 0x40000000 Section can be read.
IMAGE_SCN_MEM_WRITE 0x80000000 Section can be written to.




4.2 Grouped Sections (Object Only)
The `$' character (dollar sign) has a special interpretation in section names
in object files.
When determining the image section that will contain the contents of an object
section, the linker discards the `$' and all characters following it. Thus, an
object section named .text$X will actually contribute to the .text section in
the image.
However, the characters following the `$' determine the ordering of the
contributions to the image section. All contributions with the same
object-section name will be allocated contiguously in the image, and the
blocks of contributions will be sorted in lexical order by object-section
name. Therefore, everything in object files with section name .text$X will end
up together, after the .text$W contributions and before the .text$Y
contributions.
The section name in an image file will never contain a `$' character.


5. Other Contents of file
The data structures described so far, up to and including the Section Table,
are all located at a fixed offset from the beginning of the file (or from the
PE header if the file is an image containing an MS-DOS stub).
The remainder of a COFF object or image file contains blocks of data that are
not necessarily at any specific file offset. Instead the locations are defined
by pointers in the Optional Header or a section header.
An exception is for images with a Section Alignment value (see the Optional
Header description) of less than the page size of the architecture (4K for
Intel x86 and for MIPS; 8K for Alpha). In this case there are constraints on
the file offset of the section data, as described in the next section. Another
exception is that debug information must be placed at the very end of an image
file, becuase the loader does not map the .debug section into memory. The rule
on debug information does not apply to object files, however.


5.1 Section Data
Initialized data for a section consists of simple blocks of bytes. There is no
iterated-data mechanism as there is for 16-bit executable files. However, for
sections containing all zeros, the section data need not be included.
The data for each section is located at the file offset given by the Pointer
to Raw Data field in the section header, and the size of this data in the file
is indicated by the Size of Raw Data field. If the Size of Raw Data is less
than the Virtual Size, the remainder is padded with zeros.
In an image file, the section data must be aligned on a boundary as specified
by the File Align field in the image optional header. Section data must appear
in order of the RVA values for the corresponding sections (as do the
individual section headers in the Section Table).
There are additional restrictions on image files for which the Section Align
value in the Optional Header is less than the page size of the architecture.
For such files, the location of section data in the file must match its
location in memory when the image is loaded, so that the physical offset for
section data is the same as the RVA.


5.2 COFF Relocations (Object Only)
Object files contain COFF relocations, which specify how the section data
should be modified when placed in the image file and subsequently loaded into
memory.
Image files do not contain COFF relocations, because all symbols referenced
have already been assigned addresses in a flat address space. An image
contains relocation information in the form of base relocations in the .reloc
section (unless the image has the IMAGE_FILE_RELOCS_STRIPPED attribute). See
Section 6.5 for more information.
For each section in an obejct file, there is an array of fixed-length records
that are the section's COFF relocations. The position and length of the array
are specified in the section header. Each element of the array has the
following format:
Offset Size Field Description

0 4 Offset Address of the item to which relocation is
applied: this is the offset from the beginning of the
section, plus the value of the section's RVA/Offset
field (see Section 4, `Section Table.'). For example,
if the first byte of the section has an address of
0x10, the third byte has an address of 0x12.
4 4 Symbol Table Index A zero-based index into the
symbol table. This symbol gives the address to be
used for the relocation. If the specified symbol has
section storage class, then the symbol's address is
the address with the first section of the same name.
8 2 Type A value indicating what kind of relocation
should be performed. Valid relocation types depend on
machine type. See Section 5.2.1, `Type Indicators.'

If the symbol referred to (by the Symbol Table Index field) has storage class
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_SECTION, the symbol's address is the beginning of the section.
The section is usually in the same file, except when the object file is part
of an archive (library). In that case, the section may be found in any other
object file in the archive that has the same archive-member name as the
current object file. (The relationship with the archive-member name is used in
the linking of import tables, i.e. the .idata section.)

5.2.1. Type Indicators
The Type field of the relocation record indicates what kind of relocation
should be performed. Different relocation types are defined for each type of
machine.
Intel386
The following relocation Type indicators are defined for Intel386 and
compatible processors:
Constant Value Description

IMAGE_REL_I386_ABSOLUTE 0 No location is necessary; reference is to
an absolute value.
IMAGE_REL_I386_DIR16 1 Not supported.
IMAGE_REL_I386_REL16 2 Not supported.
IMAGE_REL_I386_DIR32 3 Direct 32-bit reference to the symbol's
virtual address.
IMAGE_REL_I386_DIR32NB 7 Direct 32-bit reference to the symbol's
virtual address, minus the base. This is a
relative virtual address.
IMAGE_REL_I386_SEG12 9 Not supported.
IMAGE_REL_I386_SECTION 0xA Reference to a section address. A common
use is to facilitate references to de-
bugging information, which reside in
separate .debug sections.
IMAGE_REL_I386_SECREL 0xB Reference to an offset from a section
address. Has same general purpose as
IMAGE_REL_I386_SECTION.
IMAGE_REL_I386_REL32 0x14 Program-counter-relative 32-bit reference
to the symbol's virtual address. This is
usually a code reference.

MIPS Processors
The following relocation Type indicators are defined for MIPS processors:
Constant Value Description

IMAGE_REL_MIPS_ABSOLUTE 0 No location is necessary; reference is to
an absolute value.
IMAGE_REL_MIPS_REFHALF 1 Reference to the upper 16 bits of a 32-bit
address.
IMAGE_REL_MIPS_REFWORD 2 Direct reference to a 32-bit address. With
RISC architecture, such an address cannot
fit into a single instruction, so this
reference is likely pointer data.
IMAGE_REL_MIPS_JMPADDR 3 Displacement to a code (jump) address.
IMAGE_REL_MIPS_REFHI 4 Reference to the high portion of a 32-bit
address. Used for the first instruction in
a two-instruction sequence that loads a
full address. REFHI must be followed by
PAIR and REFLO relocations.
IMAGE_REL_MIPS_REFLO 5 Reference to the low portion of a 32-bit
address.
IMAGE_REL_MIPS_GPREL 6 Reference that is relative to the Global
Pointer (GP) register.
IMAGE_REL_MIPS_LITERAL 7 Same as IMAGE_REL_MIPS_GPREL.
IMAGE_REL_MIPS_SECTION 10 Reference to a section address. A common
use is to facilitate references to de-
bugging information, which reside in
separate .debug sections.
IMAGE_REL_MIPS_SECREL 11 Reference to an offset from a section
address. Has same general purpose as
IMAGE_REL_MIPS_SECTION.
IMAGE_REL_MIPS_REFWORDNB 34 Direct reference to a 32-bit address which
is relative to the image base. This address
is a linker-generated thunk.
IMAGE_REL_MIPS_PAIR 35 Relocation connecting a REFHI and a REFLO
relocation pair. A REFHI relocation must be
followed by a relocation of this type.

Alpha Processors
The following relocation Type indicators are defined for Alpha processors:
Constant Value Description

IMAGE_REL_ALPHA_ABSOLUTE 0 No location is necessary; reference is to
an absolute value.
IMAGE_REL_ALPHA_REFLONG 1 Direct reference to a 32-bit address.
IMAGE_REL_ALPHA_REFQUAD 2 Direct reference to a 64-bit address.
IMAGE_REL_ALPHA_GPREL32 3 Reference to a 32-bit address that is
relative to the Global Pointer (GP)
register.
IMAGE_REL_ALPHA_LITERAL 4 Low 16 bits of a 32-bit displacement from
the Global Pointer (GP) register.
IMAGE_REL_ALPHA_LITUSE 5 High 16 bits of a 32-bit displacement from
the GP register.
IMAGE_REL_ALPHA_GPDISP 6 Reference that is a displacement off of the
Global Pointer (GP) register.
IMAGE_REL_ALPHA_BRADDR 7 Displacement to a code (jump) address.
IMAGE_REL_ALPHA_HINT 8 Hint to the processor indicating which
cache line will be loaded into the Ins-
truction cache, for the target of a jump.
If correct, the hint eliminates the
branch-delay-slot.
IMAGE_REL_ALPHA_INLINE_REFLONG 9 Reference to a 32-bit address spread over
two instructions; followed by either an
ABSOLUTE or MATCH relocation.
IMAGE_REL_ALPHA_REFHI 10 Reference to the high portion of a 32-bit
address. Used for the first instruction in
a two-instruction sequence that loads a
full address. REFHI must be followed by
PAIR and REFLO relocations.
IMAGE_REL_ALPHA_REFLO 11 Reference to the low portion of a 32-bit
address.
IMAGE_REL_ALPHA_PAIR 12 Relocation connecting a REFHI and a REFLO
relocation pair. The symbol table index
contains a value that is the low 16 bits of
the HI/PAIR/LO relocation sequence.
IMAGE_REL_ALPHA_MATCH 13 Relocation following an INLINE_REFLONG. The
symbol table index does not indicate which
symbol the relocation is tied to, but
indicates the displacement in bytes of the
instruction with the matching low address.
IMAGE_REL_ALPHA_SECTION 14 Reference to a section address. A common
use is to facilitate references to de-
bugging information, which reside in
separate .debug sections.
IMAGE_REL_ALPHA_SECREL 15 Reference to an offset from a section ad-
dress. Has same general purpose as IMAGE_-
REL_ALPHA_SECTION.
IMAGE_REL_ALPHA_REFLONGNB 16 Reference to a 32-bit address relative to
the image base. This is always a
linker-generated thunk.


5.3 COFF Line Numbers
COFF line numbers indicate the relationship between code and line-numbers in
source files. The Microsoft format for COFF line numbers is similar to
standard COFF, but it has been extended to allow a single section to relate to
line numbers in multiple source files.
COFF line numbers consist of an array of fixed-length records. The location
(file offset) and size of the array are specified in the section header. Each
line-number record is of the following format:
Offset Size Field Description

0 4 Type (*) Union of two fields: Symbol Table Index and
RVA. Whether Symbol Table Index or RVA is used
depends on the value of Linenumber.
4 2 Linenumber When nonzero, this field specifies a
one-based line number. When zero, the Type field is
interpreted as a Symbol Table Index for a function.

The Type field is a union of two four-byte fields, Symbol Table Index, and
RVA:
Offset Size Field Description

0 4 Symbol Table Index Used when Linenumber is 0: index
to symbol table entry for a function. This format is
used to indicate the function that a group of
line-number records refer to.
0 4 RVA Used when Linenumber is greater than 0: relative
virtual address of the executable code that
corresponds to the source line indicated. (In an
object file, the RVA is relative to the section.)

A line-number record, then, can either set the Linenumber field to 0 and point
to a function definition in the Symbol Table, or else it can work as a
standard line-number entry by giving a positive integer (line number) and the
corresponding address in the object code.
A group of line-number entries always begins with the first format: the index
of a function symbol. If this is the first line-number record in the section,
then it is also the COMDAT symbol name for the function if the section's
COMDAT flag is set. (See Section 5.5.6, `COMDAT Sections.') The function's
auxiliary record in the Symbol Table has a Pointer to Linenumbers field that
points to this same line-number record.
A record identifying a function is followed by any number of line-number
entries that give actual line-number information (Linenumber greater than
zero). These entries are one-based, relative to the beginning of the function,
and represent every source line in the function except for the first one.
For example, the first line-number record for the following example would
specify the ReverseSign function (Symbol Table Index of ReverseSign,
Linenumber set to 0). Then records with Linenumber values of 1, 2, and 3 would
follow, corresponding to source lines as shown:

// some code precedes ReverseSign function

int ReverseSign(int i)
1: {
2: return -1 * i;
3: }



5.4 COFF Symbol Table
The Symbol Table described in this section is inherited from the traditional
COFF format. It is distinct from CodeView® information. A file may contain
both a COFF Symbol Table and CodeView debug information, and the two are kept
separate. Some Microsoft tools use the Symbol Table for limited but important
purposes, such as communicating COMDAT information to the linker. Section
names and file names, as well as code and data symbols, are listed in the
Symbol Table.
The location of the Symbol Table is indicated in the COFF Header.
The Symbol Table is an array of records, each 18 bytes long. Each record is
either a standard or auxiliary symbol-table record. A standard record defines
a symbol or name, and has the following format:
Offset Size Field Description

0 8 Name (*) Name of the symbol, represented by union of
three structures. An array of eight bytes is used if
the name is not more than eight bytes long. See
Section 5.4.1, `Symbol Name Representation, ' for
more information.
8 4 Value Value associated with the symbol. The
interpretation of this field depends on Section
Number and Storage Class. A typical meaning is the
relocatable address.
12 2 Section Number Signed integer identifying the
section, using a one-based index into the Section
Table. Some values have special meaning defined in
`Section Number Values.'
14 2 Type A number representing type. Microsoft tools set
this field to 0x20 (function) or 0x0 (not a
function). See Section 5.4.3, `Type Representation,'
for more information.
16 1 Storage Class Enumerated value representing storage
class. See Section 5.4.4, `Storage Class,' for more
information.
17 1 Number of Aux Symbols Number of auxiliary symbol
table entries that follow this record.
Zero or more auxiliary symbol-table records immediately follow each standard
symbol-table record. However, typically not more than one auxiliary
symbol-table record follows a standard symbol-table record (except for .file
records with long file names). Each auxiliary record is the same size as a
standard symbol-table record (18 bytes), but rather than define a new symbol,
the auxiliary record gives additional information on the last symbol defined.
The choice of which of several formats to use depends on the Storage Class
field. Currently-defined formats for auxiliary symbol table records are shown
in `Auxiliary Symbol Records.'
Tools that read COFF symbol tables must ignore auxiliary symbol records whose
interpretation is unknown. This allows the symbol table format to be extended
to add new auxiliary records, without breaking existing tools.
5.4.1. Symbol Name Representation
The Name field in a symbol table consists of eight bytes that contain the name
itself, if not too long, or else give an offset into the String Table. To
determine whether the name itself or an offset is given, test the first four
bytes for equality to zero.
Offset Size Field Description

0 8 Short Name An array of eight bytes. This array is
padded with nulls on the right if the name is less
than eight bytes long.
0 4 Zeroes Set to all zeros if the name is longer than
eight bytes.
4 4 Offset Offset into the String Table.

5.4.2. Section Number Values
Normally, the Section Value field in a symbol table entry is a one-based index
into the Section Table. However, this field is a signed integer and may take
negative values. The following values, less than one, have special meanings:
Constant Value Description

IMAGE_SYM_UNDEFINED 0 Symbol record is not yet assigned a section. In
object files, this setting is used for
references to external symbols not defined by
the symbol record.
IMAGE_SYM_ABSOLUTE -1 The symbol has a value but is not an address.
Examples are automatic variables and registers.
Not used by all Microsoft tools.
IMAGE_SYM_DEBUG -2 The symbol provides general type or debugging
information but does not correspond to a
section. Microsoft tools use this setting along
with .file records (storage class FILE).

5.4.3. Type Representation
The Type field of a symbol table entry contains two bytes, each byte
representing type information. The least-significant byte represents simple
(base) data type, and the most-significant byte represents complex type, if
any:
MSB LSB

Complex type: none, pointer, function, array. Base type: integer,
floating-point, etc.
The following values are defined for base type, although Microsoft tools
generally do not use this field, setting the least-significant byte to 0.
Instead, CodeView information is used to indicate types. However, the possible
COFF values are listed here for completeness.
Constant Value Description

IMAGE_SYM_TYPE_NULL 0 No type information, or unknown base type.
Microsoft tools use this setting.
IMAGE_SYM_TYPE_VOID 1 No valid type; used with void pointers and
functions.
IMAGE_SYM_TYPE_CHAR 2 Character (signed byte).
IMAGE_SYM_TYPE_SHORT 3 Two-byte signed integer.
IMAGE_SYM_TYPE_INT 4 Natural integer type (normally four bytes in
Windows NT).
IMAGE_SYM_TYPE_LONG 5 Four-byte signed integer.
IMAGE_SYM_TYPE_FLOAT 6 Four-byte floating-point number.
IMAGE_SYM_TYPE_DOUBLE 7 Eight-byte floating-point number.
IMAGE_SYM_TYPE_STRUCT 8 Structure.
IMAGE_SYM_TYPE_UNION 9 Union.
IMAGE_SYM_TYPE_ENUM 10 Enumerated type.
IMAGE_SYM_TYPE_MOE 11 Member of enumeration (a specific value).
IMAGE_SYM_TYPE_BYTE 12 Byte; unsigned one-byte integer.
IMAGE_SYM_TYPE_WORD 13 Word; unsigned two-byte integer.
IMAGE_SYM_TYPE_UINT 14 Unsigned integer of natural size (normally, four
bytes).
IMAGE_SYM_TYPE_DWORD 15 Unsigned four-byte integer.

The most significant byte specifies whether the symbol is a pointer to,
function returning, or array of the base type specified in the least
significant byte. Microsoft tools use this field only to indicate whether or
not the symbol is a function, so that the only two resulting values are 0x0
and 0x20 for the Type field. However, other tools can use this field to
communicate more information.
Constant Value Description

IMAGE_SYM_DTYPE_NULL 0 No derived type; the symbol is a simple
scalar variable.
IMAGE_SYM_DTYPE_POINTER 1 Pointer to base type.
IMAGE_SYM_DTYPE_FUNCTION 2 Function returning base type.
IMAGE_SYM_DTYPE_ARRAY 3 Array of base type.

5.4.4. Storage Class
The Storage Class field of the Symbol Table indicates what kind of definition
a symbol represents. The following table shows possible values. Note that the
Storage Class field is an unsigned one-byte integer. The special value -1
should therefore be taken to mean its unsigned equivalent, 0xFF.
Although traditional COFF format makes use of many storage-class values,
Microsoft tools rely on CodeView format for most symbolic information and
generally use only four storage-class values: EXTERNAL (2), STATIC (3),
FUNCTION (101), and STATIC (103). Except in the second column heading below,
`Value' should be taken to mean the Value field of the symbol record (whose
interpretation depends on the number found as the storage class).

Constant Value Description / Interpretation of
Value Field
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_END_OF_FUNCTION -1 (0xFF) Special symbol representing end
of function, for debugging
purposes.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_NULL 0 No storage class assigned.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_AUTOMATIC 1 Automatic (stack) variable. The
Value field specifies stack frame
offset.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_EXTERNAL 2 Used by Microsoft tools for
external symbols. The Value field
indicates the size if the section
number is IMAGE_SYM_UNDEFINED
(0). If the section number is not
0, then the Value field specifies
the offset within the section.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_STATIC 3 The Value field specifies the
offset of the symbol within the
section. If the Value is 0, then
the symbol represents a section
name.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_REGISTER 4 Register variable. The Value
field specifies register number.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_EXTERNAL_DEF 5 Symbol is defined externally.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_LABEL 6 Code label defined within the
module. The Value field specifies
the offset of the symbol within
the section.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_UNDEFINED_LABEL 7 Reference to a code label not
defined.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_MEMBER_OF_STRUCT 8 Structure member. The Value field
specifies nth member.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_ARGUMENT 9 Formal argument (parameter)of a
function. The Value field
specifies nth argument.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_STRUCT_TAG 10 Structure tag-name entry.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_MEMBER_OF_UNION 11 Union member. The Value field
specifies nth member.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_UNION_TAG 12 Union tag-name entry.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_TYPE_DEFINITION 13 Typedef entry.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_UNDEFINED_STATIC 14 Static data declaration.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_ENUM_TAG 15 Enumerated type tagname entry.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_MEMBER_OF_ENUM 16 Member of enumeration. Value
specifies nth member.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_REGISTER_PARAM 17 Register parameter.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_BIT_FIELD 18 Bit-field reference. Value speci-
fies nth bit in the bit field.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_BLOCK 100 A .bb (beginning of block) or .eb
(end of block) record. Value is
the relocatable address of the
code location.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_FUNCTION 101 Used by Microsoft tools for
symbol records that define the
extent of a function: begin
function (named .bf), end
function (.ef), and lines in
function (.lf). For .lf records,
Value gives the number of source
lines in the function. For .ef
records, Value gives the size of
function code.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_END_OF_STRUCT 102 End of structure entry.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_FILE 103 Used by Microsoft tools, as well
as traditional COFF format, for
the source-file symbol record.
The symbol is followed by an
auxiliary record that names the
file.
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_SECTION 104 Definition of a section (Mi-
crosoft tools use STATIC storage
class instead).
IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_WEAK_EXTERNAL 105 Weak external. Microsoft tools
use EXTERNAL storage class
instead. See Section 5.5.3,
`Auxiliary Format 3: Weak
Externals,' for more information.


5.5 Auxiliary Symbol Records
Auxiliary Symbol Table records always follow, and apply to, some standard
Symbol Table record. An auxiliary record can have any format that the tools
are designed to recognize, but 18 bytes must be allocated for them so that
Symbol Table is maintained as an array of regular size. Currently, Microsoft
tools recognize auxiliary formats for the following kinds of records: function
definitions, function begin and end symbols (.bf and .ef), weak externals,
filenames, and section definitions.
The traditional COFF design also includes auxiliary-record formats for arrays
and structures. Microsoft tools do not use these, instead placing that
symbolic information in CodeView format in the debug sections.
5.5.1. Auxiliary Format 1: Function Definitions
A symbol table record marks the beginning of a function defintion if all of
the following are true: it has storage class EXTERNAL (2), a Type value
indicating it is a function (0x20), and a section number greater than zero.
Note that a symbol table record that has a section number of UNDEFINED (0)
does not define the function and does not have an auxiliary record.
Function-definition symbol records are followed by an auxiliary record with
the format described below.
Offset Size Field Description

0 4 Tag Index Symbol-table index of the corresponding .bf
(begin function) symbol record.
4 4 Total Size Size of the executable code for the
function itself. If the function is in its own
section, the Size of Raw Data in the section header
will be greater or equal to this field, depending on
alignment considerations.
8 4 Pointer to Linenumbers File offset of the first
COFF line-number entry for the function, or zero if
none exists. See Section 5.3, `COFF Line Numbers,'
for more information.
12 4 Pointer to Next Function Symbol-table index of the
record for the next function. If the function is the
last in the symbol table, this field is set to zero.
16 2 Unused.

5.5.2. Auxiliary Format 2: .bf and .ef Symbols
For each function definition in the Symbol Table, there are three contiguous
items that describe the beginning, ending, and number of lines. Each of these
symbols has storage class FUNCTION (101):

* A symbol record named .bf (begin function). The Value field is unused.
* A symbol record named .lf (lines in function). The Value field gives the
number of lines in the function.
* A symbol record named .ef (end of function). The Value field has the same
number as the Total Size field in the function-definition symbol record.

The .bf and .ef symbol records (but not .lf records) are followed by an
auxiliary record with the following format:
Offset Size Field Description
0 4 Unused.
4 2 Line Number Actual ordinal line number (1, 2, 3,
etc.) within source file, corresponding to the .bf or
.ef record.
6 6 Unused.
12 4 Pointer to Next Function (.bf only) Symbol-table
index of the next .bf symbol record. If the function
is the last in the symbol table, this field is set to
zero. Not used for .ef records.
16 2 Unused.

5.5.3. Auxiliary Format 3: Weak Externals
`Weak externals' are a mechanism for object files allowing flexibility at link
time. A module can contain an unresolved external symbol (sym1), but it can
also include an auxiliary record indicating that if sym1 is not present at
link time, another external symbol (sym2) is used to resolve references
instead.
If a definition of sym1 is linked, then an external reference to the symbol is
resolved normally. If a definition of sym1 is not linked, then all references
to the weak external for sym1 refer to sym2 instead. The external symbol,
sym2, must always be linked; typically it is defined in the module containing
the weak reference to sym1.
Weak externals are represented by a Symbol Table record with EXTERNAL storage
class, UNDEF section number, and a value of 0. The weak-external symbol record
is followed by an auxiliary record with the following format:

Offset Size Field Description
0 4 Tag Index Symbol-table index of sym2, the symbol to
be linked if sym1 is not found.
4 4 Characteristics A value of 1 indicating that no
library search for sym1 should be performed, or a
value of 2 indicating that the linker should search
all libraries.
8 10 Unused.

Note that the Characteristics field is not defined in WINNT.H; instead, the
Total Size field is used.
5.5.4. Auxiliary Format 4: Files
This format follows a symbol-table record with storage class FILE (103). The
symbol name itself should be .file, and the auxiliary record that follows it
gives the name of a source-code file.
Offset Size Field Description
0 18 File Name ASCII string giving the name of the source
file; padded with nulls if less than maximum length.

5.5.5. Auxiliary Format 5: Section Definitions
This format follows a symbol-table record that defines a section: such a
record has a symbol name that is the name of a section (such as .text or
.drectve) and has storage class STATIC (3). The auxiliary record provides
information on the section referred to. Thus it duplicates some of the
information in the section header.
Offset Size Field Description
0 4 Length Size of section data; same as Size of Raw
Data in the section header.
4 2 Number Of Relocs Number of relocation entries for
the section.
6 2 Number Of Linenumbers Number of line-number
entries for the section.
8 4 Check Sum Checksum for communal data. Applicable if
the IMAGE_SCN_LNK_COMDAT flag is set in the section
header. See `COMDAT Sections' below, for more
information.
12 2 Number One-based index into the Section Table for
the associated section; used when the COMDAT
Selection setting is 5.
14 1 Selection COMDAT selection number. Applicable if the
section is a COMDAT section.
15 3 Unused.

5.5.6. COMDAT Sections (Object Only)
The Selection field of the Section Definition auxiliary format is applicable
if the section is a COMDAT section: a section that can be defined by more than
one object file. (The flag IMAGE_SCN_LNK_COMDAT is set in the Section Flags
field of the section header.) The way that the linker resolves the multiple
definitions of COMDAT sections is determined by the Selection field.
The first symbol having the section value of the COMDAT section is the section
symbol This symbol has the name of the section, Value field equal to 0, the
section number of the COMDAT section in question, Type field equal to
IMAGE_SYM_TYPE_NULL, Class field equal to IMAGE_SYM_CLASS_STATIC, and one
auxiliary record. The second symbol is called `the COMDAT symbol' and is used
by the linker in conjunction with the Selection field.
Values for the Selection field are shown below.
Constant Value Description
IMAGE_COMDAT_SELECT_NODUPLICATES 1 The linker generates a warning if
more than one section defines the
same COMDAT symbol, but links in
one of the sections anyway.
IMAGE_COMDAT_SELECT_ANY 2 Any section defining the same
COMDAT symbol may be linked; the
rest are removed.
IMAGE_COMDAT_SELECT_SAME_SIZE 3 The linker chooses an arbitrary
section among the duplicate sec-
tions (having same COMDAT
symbol); however, all must be the
same size or the linker generates
a warning.
IMAGE_COMDAT_SELECT_EXACT_MATCH 4 All duplicate sections must match
exactly. One of them is linked.
(This is not currently
implemented in the linker).
IMAGE_COMDAT_SELECT_ASSOCIATIVE 5 The section is linked if a
certain other COMDAT section is
linked. This other section is
indicated by the Number field of
the auxiliary symbol record for
the section definition. Use of
this setting is useful for
definitions that have components
in multiple sections (for
example, code in one and data in
another), but where all must be
linked together.


5.6 COFF String Table
Immediately following the COFF symbol table is the COFF string table. The
position of this table is found by taking the symbol table address in the COFF
header, and adding the number of symbols multiplied by the size of a symbol.
At the beginning of the COFF string table are 4 bytes containing the total
size (in bytes) of the rest of the string table. This size does not include
the Size field itself, so that the value in this location would be 0 if no
strings were present.
Following the size are null-terminated strings pointed to by symbols in the
COFF symbol table.


6. Special Sections
Typical COFF sections contain code or data that linkers and Win32 loaders
process without special knowledge of the sections' contents. The contents are
relevant only to the application being linked or executed.
However, some COFF sections have special meanings when found in object files
and/or image files. Tools and loaders recognize these sections because they
have special flags set in the section header, or because they are pointed to
from special locations in the image optional header, or because the section
name is `magic': that is, the name indicates a special function of the
section. (Even where the section name is not magic, the name is dictated by
convention, so we will refer to a name.)
Some of the sections listed here are marked `(object only)' or `(image only)'
to indicate that their special semantics are relevant only for object files or
image files, respectively. A section that says `(image only)' may still appear
in an object file as a way of getting into the image file, but the section has
no special meaning to the linker, only to the image file loader.


6.1 The .debug Section
The .debug section is used in object files to contain compiler-generated debug
information, and in image files to contain the total debug information
generated. This section describes the packaging of debug information in object
and image files. The actual format of CodeView debug information is not
described here. See the document CV4 Symbolic Debug Information Specification.
The next section describes the format of the debug directory, which can be
anywhere in the image. Subsequent sections describe the `groups' in object
files that contain debug information.
6.1.1. Debug Directory (Image Only)
Image files contain an optional `debug directory' indicating what form of
debug information is present and where it is. This directory consists of an
array of `debug directory entries' whose location and size are indicated in
the image optional header.
The debug directory may be in a discardable .debug section (if one exists) or
it may be included in any other section in the image file, or not in a section
at all.
Each debug directory entry identifies the location and size of a block of
debug information. The RVA specified may be 0 if the debug information is not
covered by a section header (i.e., it resides in the image file and is not
mapped into the run-time address space). If it is mapped, the RVA is its
address.
Here is the format of a debug directory entry:
Offset Size Field Description
0 4 Characteristics A reserved field intended to be
used for flags, set to zero for now.
4 4 Time/Date Stamp Time and date the debug data was
created.
8 2 Major Version Major version number of the debug data
format.
10 2 Minor Version Minor version number of the debug data
format.
12 4 Debug Type

  
Format of debugging information: this
field enables support of multiple debuggers. See
Section 6.1.2, `Debug Type,' for more information.
16 4 Size of Data Size of the debug data (not including
the debug directory itself).
20 4 RVA of Raw Data Address of the debug data when
loaded, relative to the image base.
24 4 Pointer to Raw Data File pointer to the debug data.

6.1.2. Debug Type
The following values are defined for the Debug Type field of the debug
directory:
Constant Value Description

IMAGE_DEBUG_TYPE_UNKOWN 0 Unknown value, ignored by all tools.
IMAGE_DEBUG_TYPE_COFF 1 COFF debug information (line numbers,
symbol table, and string table). This type
of debug information is also pointed to by
fields in the file headers.
IMAGE_DEBUG_TYPE_CODEVIEW 2 CodeView debug information. The format of
the data block is described by the CV4
specification.
IMAGE_DEBUG_TYPE_FPO 3 Frame Pointer Omission (FPO) information.
This information tells the debugger how to
interpret non-standard stack frames, which
use the EBP register for a purpose other
than as a frame pointer.

If Debug Type is set to IMAGE_DEBUG_TYPE_FPO, the debug raw data is an array
in which each member describes the stack frame of a function. Not every
function in the image file need have FPO information defined for it, even
though debug type is FPO. Those functions that do not have FPO information are
assumed to have normal stack frames. The format for FPO information is defined
as follows:

#define FRAME_FPO 0
#define FRAME_TRAP 1
#define FRAME_TSS 2

typedef struct _FPO_DATA {
DWORD ulOffStart; // offset 1st byte of function code
DWORD cbProcSize; // # bytes in function
DWORD cdwLocals; // # bytes in locals/4
WORD cdwParams; // # bytes in params/4

WORD cbProlog : 8; // # bytes in prolog
WORD cbRegs : 3; // # regs saved
WORD fHasSEH : 1; // TRUE if SEH in func
WORD fUseBP : 1; // TRUE if EBP has been allocated
WORD reserved : 1; // reserved for future use
WORD cbFrame : 2; // frame type
} FPO_DATA;

6.1.3. .debug$F (Object Only)
Object files can contain .debug$F sections whose contents are one or more
FPO_DATA
records (Frame Pointer Omission information). See `IMAGE_DEBUG_TYPE_FPO' in
table above.
The linker recognizes these .debug$F records. If debug information is being
generated, the linker sorts the FPO_DATA records by procedure RVA, and
generates a debug directory entry for them.
The compiler should not generate FPO records for procedures that have a
standard frame format.
6.1.4. .debug$S (Object Only)
This section contains CV4 symbolic information: a stream of CV4 symbol records
as described in the CV4 spec.
6.1.5. .debug$T (Object Only)
This section contains CV4 type information: a stream of CV4 type records as
described in the CV4 spec.
6.1.6. Linker Support for Microsoft CodeView Debug Information
To support CodeView debug information, the linker:
* Generates the header and `NB05' signature.
* Packages the header with .debug$S and .debug$T sections from object files
and synthetic (linker-generated) CV4 information, and creates a debug
directory entry.
* Generates the subsection directory containing a pointer to each known
subsection, including subsections that are linker-generated.
* Generates the sstModules subsection, which specifies the address and size
of each module's contribution(s) to the image address space.
* Generates the sstSegMap subsection, which specifies the address and size
of each section in the image.
* Generates the sstPublicSym subsection, which contains the name and
address of all externally defined symbols. (A symbol may be represented
both by .debug$S information and by an sstPublicSym entry.)


6.2 The .drecve Sections (Object Only)
A section is a `directive' section if it has the IMAGE_SCN_LNK_INFO flag set
in the section header. By convention, such a section also has the name
.drectve. The linker removes a .drectve section after processing the
information, so the section does not appear in the image file being linked.
Note that a section marked with IMAGE_SCN_LNK_INFO that is not named .drectve
is ignored and discarded by the linker.
A .drectve section consists of a string of ASCII text. This string is a series
of linker options (each option containing hyphen, option name, and any
appropriate attribute) separated by spaces. The .drectve section must not have
relocations or line numbers.
In a .drectve section, if the hyphen preceding an option is followed by a
question mark (for example, `-?export'), and the option is not recognized as a
valid directive, the linker must ignore it. This allows compilers and linkers
to add new directives while maintaining compatibility with existing linkers,
as long as the new directives are not required for the correct linking of the
application. For example, if the directive enables a link-time optimization,
it is acceptable if some linkers cannot recognize it.


6.3 The .edata Section (Image Only)
The export data section, named .edata, contains information about symbols that
other images can access through dynamic linking. Exports are generally found
in DLLs, but DLLs can import symbols as well.
An overview of the general structure of the export section is described below.
The tables described are generally contiguous in the file and present in the
order shown (though this is not strictly required). Only the Directory Table
and Address Table are necessary for exporting symbols as ordinals. (An ordinal
is an export accessed directly as an Export Address Table index.) The Name
Pointer Table, Ordinal Table, and Export Name Table all exist to support use
of export names.

Table Name Description
Export Directory Table A table with just one row (unlike the debug direc-
tory). This table indicates the locations and sizes
of the other export tables.
Export Address Table An array of RVAs of exported symbols. These are the
actual addresses of the exported functions and data
within the executable code and data sections. Other
image files can import a symbol by using an index to
this table (an ordinal) or, optionally, by using the
public name that corresponds to the ordinal if one is
defined.
Name Pointer Table Array of pointers to the public export names, sorted
in ascending order.
Ordinal Table Array of the ordinals that correspond to members of
the Name Pointer Table. The correspondence is by
position; therefore, the Name Pointer Table and the
Ordinal Table must have the same number of members.
Each ordinal is an index into the Export Address
Table.
Export Name Table A series of null-terminated ASCII strings. Members of
the Name Pointer Table point into this area. These
names are the public names through which the symbols
are imported and exported; they do not necessarily
have to be the same as the private names used within
the image file.
When another image file imports a symbol by name, the Name Pointer Table is
searched for a matching string. If one is found, the associated ordinal is
then determined by looking at the corresponding member in the Ordinal Table
(that is, the member of the Ordinal Table with the same index as the string
pointer found in the Name Pointer Table). The resulting ordinal is an index
into the Export Address Table, which gives the actual location of the desired
symbol. Every export symbol can be accessed by an ordinal.
Direct use of an ordinal is therefore more efficient, because it avoids the
need to search the Name Pointer Table for a matching string. However, use of
an export name is more mnemonic and does not require the user to know the
table index for the symbol.

6.3.1. Export Directory Table
The export information begins with the Export Directory Table, which describes
the remainder of the export information. The Export Directory Table contains
address information that is used to resolve fix-up references to the entry
points within this image.

Offset Size Field Description
0 4 Export Flags A reserved field, set to zero for now.
4 4 Time/Date Stamp Time and date the export data was
created.
8 2 Major Version Major version number. The major/minor
version number can be set by the user.
10 2 Minor Version Minor version number.
12 4 Name RVA Address of the ASCII string containing the
name of the DLL. Relative to image base.
16 4 Ordinal Base Starting ordinal number for exports in
this image. This field specifies the starting ordinal
number for the Export Address Table. Usually set to
1.
20 4 Address Table Entries Number of entries in the
Export Address Table.
24 4 Number of Name Pointers Number of entries in the
Name Pointer Table (also the number of entries in the
Ordinal Table).
28 4 Export Address Table RVA Address of the Export
Address Table, relative to the image base.
32 4 Name Pointer RVA Address of the Export Name
Pointer Table, relative to the image base. The table
size is given by Number of Name Pointers.
36 4 Ordinal Table RVA Address of the Ordinal Table,
relative to the image base.

6.3.2. Export Address Table
The Export Address Table contains the address of exported entry points and
exported data and absolutes. An ordinal number is used to index the Export
Address Table, after subtracting the value of the Ordinal Base field to get a
true, zero-based index. (Thus, if the Ordinal Base is set to 1, a common
value, an ordinal of 6 is the same as a zero-based index of 5.)
Each entry in the Export Address Table is a field that uses one of two
formats, as shown in the following table. If the address specified is not
within the export section (as defined by the address and length indicated in
the Optional Header), the field is an Export RVA: an actual address in code or
data. Otherwise, the field is a Forwarder RVA, which names a symbol in another
DLL.
Offset Size Field Description
0 4 Export RVA Address of the exported symbol when
loaded into memory, relative to the image base. For
example, the address of an exported function.
0 4 Forwarder RVA Pointer to a null-terminated ASCII
string in the export section, giving the DLL name and
the name of the export (for example,
`MYDLL..expfunc') or the DLL name and an export (for
example, `MYDLL.#27').
A Forwarder RVA exports a definition from some other image, making it appear
as if it were being exported by the current image. Thus the symbol is
simultaneously imported and exported.
For example, in KERNEL32.DLL in Windows NT, the export named `HeapAlloc' is
forwarded to the string `NTDLL.RtlAllocateHeap'. This allows applications to
use the NT-specific module `NTDLL.DLL' without actually containing import
references to it. The application's import table references only
`KERNEL32.DLL.' Therefore, the application is not specific to Windows NT and
can run on any Win32 system.
6.3.3. Export Name Pointer Table
The Export Name Pointer Table is an array of addresses (RVAs) into the Export
Name Table. The pointers are 32 bits each and are relative to the Image Base.
The pointers are ordered lexically to allow binary searches.
An export name is defined only if the Export Name Pointer Table contains a
pointer to it.

6.3.4. Export Ordinal Table
The Export Ordinal Table is an array of 16-bit indexes into the Export Address
Table. The ordinals are biased by the Ordinal Base field of the Export
Directory Table. In other words, the Ordinal Base must be subtracted from the
ordinals to obtain true indexes into the Export Address Table.
The Export Name Pointer Table and the Export Ordinal Table form two parallel
arrays, separated to allow natural field alignment. These two tables, in
effect, operate as one table, in which the Export Name Pointer `column' points
to a public (exported) name, and the Export Ordinal `column' gives the
corresponding ordinal for that public name. A member of the Export Name
Pointer Table and a member of the Export Ordinal Table are associated by
having the same position (index) in their respective arrays.
Thus, when the Export Name Pointer Table is searched and a matching string is
found at position i, the algorithm for finding the symbol's address is:

i = Search_ExportNamePointerTable (ExportName);
ordinal = ExportOrdinalTable [i];
SymbolRVA = ExportAddressTable [ordinal - OrdinalBase];

6.3.5. Export Name Table
The Export Name Table contains the actual string data pointed to by the Export
Name Pointer Table. The strings in this table are public names that can be
used by other images to import the symbols; these public export names are not
necessarily the same as the (private) symbol names that the symbols have in
their own image file and source code, although they can be.
Every exported symbol has an ordinal value, which is just the index into the
Export Address Table (plus the Ordinal Base value). Use of export names,
however, is optional. Some, all, or none of the exported symbols can have
export names. For those exported symbols that do have export names,
corresponding entries in the Export Name Pointer Table and Export Ordinal
Table work together to associate each name with an ordinal.
The structure of the Export Name Table is a series of ASCII strings, of
variable length, each null terminated.


6.3 The .idata Section (Image Only)

All image files that import symbols, including virtually all .EXE files, have
an .idata section. A typical file layout for the import information follows:
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ Directory Table ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ Null Directory Entry ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ DLL1 Import Lookup Table ³
³ ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ Null ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ DLL2 Import Lookup Table ³
³ ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ Null ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ DLL3 Import Lookup Table ³
³ ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ Null ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ Hint-Name Table ³
³ ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
Figure 3. Typical Import Section Layout

6.4.1. Import Directory Table
The import information begins with the Import Directory Table, which describes
the remainder of the import information. The Import Directory Table contains
address information that is used to resolve fix-up references to the entry
points within a DLL image. The Import Directory Table consists of an array of
Import Directory Entries, one entry for each DLL the image references. The
last directory entry is empty (filled with null values), which indicates the
end of the directory table.
Each Import Directory entry has the following format:
Offset Size Field Description
0 4 Import Lookup Table RVA (Characteristics) Relative
virtual address of the Import Lookup Table; this
table contains a name or ordinal for each import.
(The name `Characteristics' is used in WINNT.H but is
no longer descriptive of this field.)
4 4 Time/Date Stamp Set to zero until bound; then
this field is set to the time/data stamp of the DLL.
8 4 Fowarder Chain Index of first forwarder reference.
12 4 Name RVA Address of ASCII string containing the DLL
name. This address is relative to the image base.
16 4 Import Address Table RVA (Thunk Table) Relative vir-
tual address of the Import Address Table: this table
is identical in contents to the Import Lookup Table
until the image is bound.
6.4.2. Import Lookup Table
An Import Lookup Table is an array of 32-bit numbers, each using the bit-field
format described below, in which bit 31 is the most significant bit. The
collection of these entries describes all imports from the image to a given
DLL. The last entry is set to zero (NULL) to indicate end of the table.
Bit(s) Size Bit Field Description
31 1 Ordinal/Name Flag If bit is set, import by ordinal.
Otherwise, import by name. Bit is masked as
0x80000000.
30 - 0 31 Ordinal Number Ordinal/Name Flag is 1: import by
ordinal. This field is a 31-bit ordinal number .
30 - 0 31 Hint/Name Table RVA Ordinal/Name Flag is 0: import by
name. This field is a 31-bit address of a Hint/Name
Table entry, relative to image base.

The lower 31 bits can be masked as 0x7FFFFFFF. In either case, the resulting
number is a 32-bit integer or pointer in which the high bit is always zero
(zero extension to 32 bits).

6.4.3. Hint/Name Table
One Hint/Name Table suffices for the entire import section. Each entry in the
Hint/Name Table has the following format:
Offset Size Field Description
0 4 Hint Index into the Export Name Pointer Table. A
match is attempted first with this value. If it
fails, a binary search is performed on the DLL's
Export Name Pointer Table.
4 variable Name ASCII string containing name to import. This is
the string that must be matched to the public name in
the DLL. This string is case sensitive and terminated
by a null byte.
* 0 or 1 Pad A trailing zero pad byte appears after the trai-
ling null byte, if necessary, to align the next entry
on an even boundary.
6.4.4. Import Address Table
The structure and content of the Import Address Table are identifical to that
of the Import Lookup Table, until the file is bound. During binding, the
entries in the Import Address Table are overwritten with the 32-bit addresses
of the symbols being imported: these addresses are the actual memory addresses
of the symbols themselves (although technically, they are still called
`virtual addresses'). The processing of binding is typically performed by the
loader.


6.5 The .reloc Section (Image Only)
The Fix-Up Table contains entries for all fixups in the image. The Total
Fix-Up Data Size in the Optional Header is the number of bytes in the fixup
table. The fixup table is broken into blocks of fixups. Each block represents
the fixups for a 4K page. Each block must start on a 32-bit boundary.
Fixups that are resolved by the linker do not need to be processed by the
loader, unless the load image can't be loaded at the Image Base specified in
the PE Header.
6.5.1. Fixup Block
Each fixup block starts with the following structure:
Offset Size Field Description

0 4 Page RVA The image base plus the page RVA is added
to each offset to create the virtual address of where
the fixup needs to be applied.
4 4 Block Size Total number of bytes in the fixup
block, including the Page RVA and Block Size fields,
as well as the Type/Offset fields that follow.

The Block Size field is then followed by any number of Type/Offset entries.
Each entry is a word (2 bytes) and has the following structure:
Offset Size Field Description

0 4 bits Type Stored in high 4 bits of word. Value indicating
which type of fixup is to be applied. These fixups
are described in `Fixup Types.'
0 12 bits Offset Stored in remaining 12 bits of word. Offset
from starting address specified in the Page RVA field
for the block. This offset specifies where the fixup
is to be applied.
To apply a fixup, a delta is calculated as the difference between the
preferred base address, and the base where the image is actually loaded. If
the image is loaded at its preferred base, the delta would be zero, and thus
the fixups would not have to be applied.
6.5.2. Fixup Types
Constant Value Description

IMAGE_REL_BASED_ABSOLUTE 0 The fixup is skipped. This type can be
used to pad a block.
IMAGE_REL_BASED_HIGH 1 The fixup adds the high 16 bits of the
delta to the 16-bit field at Offset.
The 16-bit field represents the high
value of a 32-bit word.
IMAGE_REL_BASED_LOW 2 The fixup adds the low 16 bits of the
delta to the 16-bit field at Offset.
The 16-bit field represents the low
half of a 32-bit word. This fixup is
emitted for a RISC machine only when
the image Object Align value is not
the default of 64K.
IMAGE_REL_BASED_HIGHLOW 3 The fixup applies the 32-bit delta to
the 32-bit field at Offset. The high
16 bits are located at Offset, and the
low 16 bits are located in the next
Offset record. The two need to be
combined into a signed variable.
IMAGE_REL_BASED_HIGHADJ 4 This fixup requires a full 32-bit
value.
IMAGE_REL_BASED_MIPS_JMPADDR 5 Fixup applies to a MIPS jump instruc-
tion.


6.6 The .tls Section
The .tls section provides direct PE/COFF support for static Thread Local
Storage (TLS). TLS is a special storage class supported by Windows NT, in
which a data object is not an automatic (stack) variable, yet it is local to
each individual thread that runs the code. Thus, each thread can maintain a
different value for a variable declared using TLS.
Note that any amount of TLS data can be supported by using the API calls
TlsAlloc, TlsFree, TlsSetValue, and TlsGetValue. The PE/COFF implementation is
an alternative approach to using the API, and it has the advantage of being
simpler from the high-level-language programmer's point of view. This
implementation enables TLS data to be defined and initialized in a manner
similar to ordinary static variables in a program. For example, in Microsoft
Visual C++, a static TLS variable can be defined as follows, without using the
Windows API:

__declspec (thread) int tlsFlag = 1;

To support this programming construct, the PE/COFF .tls section specifies the
following information: initialization data, callback routines for per-thread
initialization and termination, and the TLS index, explained in the following
discussion.


Note Statically declared TLS data objects can be used only in statically
loaded image files. This fact makes it unreliable to use static TLS data in a
DLL unless you know that the DLL, or anything statically linked with it, will
never be loaded dynamically with the LoadLibrary API function.

Executable code accesses a static TLS data object through the following steps:
1. At link time, the linker sets the Address of Index field of the TLS
Directory. This field points to a location where the program will expect to
receive the TLS index.
The Microsoft run-time library facilitates this process by defining a
memory image of the TLS Directory and giving it the special name `__tls_used'
(Intel x86 platforms) or `_tls_used' (other platforms). The linker looks for
this memory image and uses the data there to create the TLS Directory. Other
compilers that support TLS and work with the Microsoft linker must use this
same technique.
2. When a thread is created, the loader communicates the address of the
thread's TLS array by placing the address of the Thread Environment Block
(TEB) in the FS register. A pointer to the TLS array is at the offset of 0x2C
from the beginning of TEB. This behavior is Intel x86 specific.
3. The loader assigns the value of the TLS index to the place indicated by
the Address of Index field.
4. The executable code retrieves the TLS index and also the location of the
TLS array.
5. The code uses the TLS index and the TLS array location (multiplying the
index by four and using it as an offset to the array) to get the address of
the TLS data area for the given program and module. Each thread has its own
TLS data area, but this is transparent to the program, which doesn't need to
know how data is allocated for individual threads.
6. An individual TLS data object is accessed as some fixed offset into the
TLS data area.
The TLS array is an array of addresses that the system maintains for each
thread. Each address in this array gives the location of TLS data for a given
module (.EXE or DLL) within the program. The TLS index indicates which member
of the array to use. (The index is a number, meaningful only to the system,
that identifies the module).
6.6.1. The TLS Directory
The TLS Directory has the following format:
Offset Size Field Description
0 4 Raw Data Start VA (Virtual Address) Starting ad-
dress of the TLS template. The template is a block of
data used to initialize TLS data. The system copies
all this data each time a thread is created, so it
must not be corrupted. Note that this address is not
an RVA; it is an address for which there should be a
base relocation in the .reloc section.
4 4 Raw Data End VA Address of the last byte of the
TLS, except for the zero fill. As with the Raw Data
Start VA, this is a virtual address, not an RVA.
8 4 Address of Index Location to receive the TLS
index, which the loader assigns. This location is in
an ordinary data section, so it can be given a
symbolic name accessible to the program.
12 4 Address of Callbacks Pointer to an array of TLS
callback functions. The array is null-terminated, so
if there is no callback function supported, this
field points to four bytes set to zero. The prototype
for these functions is given below, in `TLS Callback
Functions.'
16 4 Size of Zero Fill The size in bytes of the tem-
plate, beyond the initialized data delimited by Raw
Data Start VA and Raw Data End VA. The total template
size should be the same as the total size of TLS data
in the image file. The zero fill is the amount of
data that comes after the initialized nonzero data.
20 4 Characteristics Reserved for possible future use
by TLS flags.

6.6.2. TLS Callback Functions
The program can provide one or more TLS callback functions (though Microsoft
compilers do not currently use this feature) to support additional
initialization and termination for TLS data objects. A typical reason to use
such a callback function would be to call constructors and destructors for
objects.
Although there is typically no more than one callback function, a callback is
implemented as an array to make it possible to add additional callback
functions if desired. If there is more than one callback function, each
function is called in the order its address appears in the array. A null
pointer terminates the array. It is perfectly valid to have an empty list (no
callback supported), in which case the callback array has exactly one member—a
null pointer.
The prototype for a callback function (pointed to by a pointer of type
PIMAGE_TLS_CALLBACK) has the same parameters as a DLL entry-point function:

typedef VOID
(NTAPI *PIMAGE_TLS_CALLBACK) (
PVOID DllHandle,
DWORD Reason,
PVOID Reserved
);

The Reserved parameter should be left set to 0. The Reason parameter can take
the following values:
Setting Value Description

DLL_PROCESS_ATTACH 1 New process has started, including the first
thread.
DLL_THREAD_ATTACH 2 New thread has been created (this notification
sent for all but the first thread).
DLL_THREAD_DETACH 3 Thread is about to be terminated (this notifica-
tion sent for all but the first thread).
DLL_PROCESS_DETACH 0 Process is about to terminate, including the
original thread.


6.7 The .rsrc Section
Resources are indexed by a multiple level binary-sorted tree structure. The
general design can incorporate 2**31 levels. By convention, however, Windows
NT uses three levels:
* Type
* Name
* Language
A series of Resource Directory Tables relate all the levels in the following
way: each directory table is followed by a series of directory entries, which
give the name or ID for that level (Type, Name, or Language level) and an
address of either a data description or another directory table. If a data
description is pointed to, then the data is a leaf in the tree. If another
directory table is pointed to, then that table lists directory entries at the
next level down.
A leaf's Type, Name, and Language IDs are determined by the path taken,
through directory tables, to reach the leaf. The first table determines Type
ID, the second table (pointed to by the directory entry in the first table)
determines Name ID, and the third table determines Language ID.
The general structure of the .rsrc section is:
Data Description

Resource Directory Tables
(and Resource Directory
Entries) A series of tables, one for each group of nodes
in the tree. All top-level (Type) nodes are
listed in the first table. Entries in this table
point to second-level tables. Each second-level
tree has the same Type identifier but different
Name identifiers. Third-level trees have the
same Type and Name identifiers but different
Language identifiers.Each individual table is
immediately followed by directory entries, in
which each entry has: 1) a name or numeric
identifier, and 2) a pointer to a data
description or a table at the next lower level.
Resource Directory Strings Two-byte-aligned Unicode strings, which serve as
string data pointed to by directory entries.
Resource Data Description An array of records, pointed to by tables, which
describe the actual size and location of the
resource data. These records are the leaves in
the resource-description tree.
Resource Data Raw data of the resource section. The size and
location information in the Resource Data
Descriptions delimit the individual regions of
resource data.
6.7.1. Resource Directory Table
Each Resource Directory Table has the following format. This data structure
should be considered the heading of a table, because the table actually
consists of directory entries (see next section) as well as this structure:
Offset Size Field Description
0 4 Characteristics Resource flags, reserved for
future use; currently set to zero.
4 4 Time/Date Stamp Time the resource data was
created by the resource compiler.
8 2 Major Version Major version number, set by the user.
10 2 Minor Version Minor version number.
12 2 Number of Name Entries Number of directory entries,
immediately following the table, that use strings to
identify Type, Name, or Language (depending on the
level of the table).
14 2 Number of ID Entries Number of directory entries,
immediately following the Name entries, that use
numeric identifiers for Type, Name, or Language.
6.7.2. Resource Directory Entries
The directory entries make up the rows of a table. Each Resource Directory
Entry has the following format. Note that whether the entry is a Name or ID
entry is indicated by the Resource Directory Table, which indicates how many
Name and ID entries follow it (remember that all the Name entries precede all
the ID entries for the table). All entries for the table are sorted in
ascending order: the Name entries by case-insensitive string, and the ID
entries by numeric value.
Offset Size Field Description
0 4 Name RVA Address of string that gives the Type,
Name, or Language identifier, depending on level of
table.
0 4 Integer ID 32-bit integer that identifies Type,
Name, or Language.
4 4 Data Entry RVA High bit 0. Address of a Resource Data
Entry (a leaf).
4 4 Subdirectory RVA High bit 1. Lower 31 bits are the
address of another Resource Directory Table (the next
level down).
6.7.3. Resource Directory String
The Resource Directory String area consists of Unicode strings, which are word
aligned. These strings are stored together after the last Resource Directory
Entry and before the first Resource Data Entry. This minimizes the impact of
these variable length strings on the alignment of the fixed-size directory
entries. Each Resource Directory String has the following format:
Offset Size Field Description
0 2 Length Size of string, not including length field
itself.
2 variable Unicode String Variable-length Unicode string data,
word aligned.
6.7.4. Resource Data Entry
Each Resource Data Entry describes an actual unit of raw data in the Resource
Data area, and has the following format:
Offset Size Field Description
0 4 Data RVA Address of a unit of resource data in the
Resource Data area.
4 4 Size Size, in bytes, of the resource data pointed to
by the Data RVA field.
8 4 Codepage Code page used to decode code point values
within the resource data. Typically, the code page
would be the Unicode code page.
12 4 Reserved (must be set to 0)
6.7.5. Resource Example
The resource example shows the PE/COFF representation of the following
resource data:

TypeId# NameId# Language ID Resource Data
1 1 0 00010001
1 1 1 10010001
1 2 0 00010002
1 3 0 00010003
2 1 0 00020001
2 2 0 00020002
2 3 0 00020003
2 4 0 00020004
9 1 0 00090001
9 9 0 00090009
9 9 1 10090009
9 9 2 20090009

When this data is encoded, a dump of the PE/COFF Resource Directory results in

the following output:
Offset Data
0000: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00030000 (3 entries in this directory)
0010: 00000001 80000028 (TypeId #1, Subdirectory at offset 0x28)
0018: 00000002 80000050 (TypeId #2, Subdirectory at offset 0x50)
0020: 00000009 80000080 (TypeId #9, Subdirectory at offset 0x80)
0028: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00030000 (3 entries in this directory)
0038: 00000001 800000A0 (NameId #1, Subdirectory at offset 0xA0)
0040: 00000002 00000108 (NameId #2, data desc at offset 0x108)
0048: 00000003 00000118 (NameId #3, data desc at offset 0x118)
0050: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00040000 (4 entries in this directory)
0060: 00000001 00000128 (NameId #1, data desc at offset 0x128)
0068: 00000002 00000138 (NameId #2, data desc at offset 0x138)
0070: 00000003 00000148 (NameId #3, data desc at offset 0x148)
0078: 00000004 00000158 (NameId #4, data desc at offset 0x158)
0080: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00020000 (2 entries in this directory)
0090: 00000001 00000168 (NameId #1, data desc at offset 0x168)
0098: 00000009 800000C0 (NameId #9, Subdirectory at offset 0xC0)
00A0: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00020000 (2 entries in this directory)
00B0: 00000000 000000E8 (Language ID 0, data desc at offset 0xE8
00B8: 00000001 000000F8 (Language ID 1, data desc at offset 0xF8
00C0: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00030000 (3 entries in this directory)
00D0: 00000001 00000178 (Language ID 0, data desc at offset 0x178
00D8: 00000001 00000188 (Language ID 1, data desc at offset 0x188
00E0: 00000001 00000198 (Language ID 2, data desc at offset 0x198
00E8: 000001A8 (At offset 0x1A8,for TypeId #1,NameId #1,Language id #0
00000004 (4 bytes of data)
00000000 (codepage)
00000000 (reserved)
00F8: 000001AC (At offset 0x1AC,for TypeId #1,NameId #1, Language id #1
00000004 (4 bytes of data)
00000000 (codepage)
00000000 (reserved)
0108: 000001B0 (At offset 0x1B0, for TypeId #1, NameId #2,
00000004 (4 bytes of data)
00000000 (codepage)
00000000 (reserved)
0118: 000001B4 (At offset 0x1B4, for TypeId #1, NameId #3,
00000004 (4 bytes of data)
00000000 (codepage)
00000000 (reserved)
0128: 000001B8 (At offset 0x1B8, for TypeId #2, NameId #1,
00000004 (4 bytes of data)
00000000 (codepage)
00000000 (reserved)
0138: 000001BC (At offset 0x1BC, for TypeId #2, NameId #2,
00000004 (4 bytes of data)
00000000 (codepage)
00000000 (reserved)
0148: 000001C0 (At offset 0x1C0, for TypeId #2, NameId #3,
00000004 (4 bytes of data)
00000000 (codepage)
00000000 (reserved)
0158: 000001C4 (At offset 0x1C4, for TypeId #2, NameId #4,
00000004 (4 bytes of data)
00000000 (codepage)
00000000 (reserved)
0168: 000001C8 (At offset 0x1C8, for TypeId #9, NameId #1,
00000004 (4 bytes of data)
00000000 (codepage)
00000000 (reserved)
0178: 000001CC (At offset 0x1CC,for TypeId #9,NameId #9,Language id #0
00000004 (4 bytes of data)
00000000 (codepage)
00000000 (reserved)
0188: 000001D0 (At offset 0x1D0,for TypeId #9,NameId #9,Language id #1
00000004 (4 bytes of data)
00000000 (codepage)
00000000 (reserved)
0198: 000001D4 (At offset 0x1D4,for TypeId #9,NameId #9, Language id #2
00000004 (4 bytes of data)
00000000 (codepage)
00000000 (reserved)
The raw data for the resources follows:


01A8: 00010001
01AC: 10010001
01B0: 00010002
01B4: 00010003
01B8: 00020001
01BC: 00020002
01C0: 00020003
01C4: 00020004
01C8: 00090001
01CC: 00090009
01D0: 10090009
01D4: 20090009


8. Archive (Library) File Format

The COFF archive format provides a standard mechanism for stroring collections
of object files. These collections are frequently referred to as "libraries"
in programming documentation.
The first eight bytes of an archive consist of the file signature. The rest of
the archive consists of a series of archive members, as follows:
* The first and second members are "linker members." Each has of these
members has its own format as described in Section 8.3. Typically, a
linker places information into these archive members. The linker members
contain the directory of the archive.
* The third member is the longnames member. This member consists of a
series of null-terminated ASCII strings, in which each string is the name
of another archive member.
* The rest of the archive consists of standard (object-file) members. Each
of these members contains the contents of one object file in its
entirety.
An archive member header precedes each member. The following illustration
shows the general structure of an archive:

ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ Signature : "!<arch>\n" ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ Header ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ 1st Linker Member ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ Header ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ 2nd Linker Member ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ Header ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ Longnames Member ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ Header ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ Contents of OBJ File 1 ³
³ (COFF format) ³
³ ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ Header ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ Contents of OBJ File 2 ³
³ (COFF Format) ³
³ ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ Header ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ Contents of OBJ File N ³
³ (COFF Format) ³
³ ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
Figure 4. Archive File Structure

8.1 Archive File Signature
The archive file signature identifies the file type. Any utility (for example,
a linker) expecting an archive file as input can check the file type by
reading this signature. The signature consists of the following ASCII
characters, in which each character below is represented literally, except for
the newline (\n) character:

!<arch>\n



8.2 Archive Member Headers
Each member (linker, longnames, or object-file member) is preceded by a
header. An archive member header has the following format, in which each field
is an ASCII text string that is left-justified and padded with spaces to the
end of the field. There is no terminating null character in any of these
fields.
Each member header starts on the first even address after the end of the
previous archive member.
Offset Size Field Description

0 16 Name Name of archive member, with a slash (/)
appended to terminate the name. If the first cha-
racter is a slash, the name has a special inter-
pretation, as described below.
16 12 Date Date and time the archive member was created:
ASCII decimal representation of the number of seconds
since 1/1/1970 UCT.
28 6 User ID ASCII decimal representation of the user
ID.
34 6 Group ID ASCII group representation of the group ID.
40 8 Mode ASCII octal representation of the member's file
mode.
48 10 Size ASCII decimal representation of the total size
of the archive member, not including the size of the
header.
58 2 End of Header The two bytes in the C string "`\n".
The Name field has one of the formats shown in the following table. As
mentioned above, each of these strings is left justified and padded with
trailing spaces within a field of 16 bytes:
Contents of Name Field Description
name/ The field gives the name of the archive member
directly.
/ The archive member is one of the two linker members.
Both of the linker members have this name.
// The archive member is the longname member, which con-
sists of a series of null-terminated ASCII strings.
The longnames member is the third archive member, and
must always be present even if the contents are
empty.
/n The name of the archive member is located at offset n
within the longnames member. The number n is the
decimal representation of the offset. For example:
"\26" indicates that the name of the archive member
is located 26 bytes beyond the beginning of longnames
member contents.


8.3 First Link Member
The name of the first linker member is "\". The first linker member, which is
included for backward compatibility, is not used by current linkers but its
format must be correct. This linker member provides a directory of symbol
names, as does the second linker member. For each symbol, the information
indicates where to find the archive member that contains the symbol.
The first linker member has the following format. This information appears
after the header:
Offset Size Field Description
0 4 Number of Symbols Unsigned long containing the
number of symbols indexed. This number is stored in
big-endian format. Each object-file member typically
defines one or more external symbols.
4 4 * n Offsets Array of file offsets to archive member
headers, in which n is equal to Number of Symbols.
Each number in the array is an unsigned long stored
in big-endian format. For each symbol named in the
String Table, the corresponding element in the
Offsets array gives the location of the archive mem-
ber that contains the symbol.
* * String Table Series of null-terminated strings that
name all the symbols in the directory. Each string
begins immediately after the null character in the
previous string. The number of strings must be equal
to the value of the Number of Symbols fields.
The elements in the Offsets array must be arranged in ascending order. This
fact implies that the symbols listed in the String Table must be arranged
according to the order of archive members. For example, all the symbols in the
first object-file member would have to be listed before the symbols in the
second object file.


8.4 Second Linker Member
The name of the first linker member is "\". The first linker member, which is
included for backward compatibility, is not used by current linkers but its
format must be correct. This linker member provides a directory of symbol
names, as does the second linker member. For each symbol, the information
indicates where to find the archive member that contains the symbol.
The first linker member has the following format. This information appears
after the header:
Offset Size Field Description
0 4 Number of Symbols Unsigned long containing the
number of symbols indexed. This number is stored in
big-endian format. Each object-file member typically
defines one or more external symbols.
4 4 * n Offsets Array of file offsets to archive member
headers, in which n is equal to Number of Symbols.
Each number in the array is an unsigned long stored
in big-endian format. For each symbol named in the
String Table, the corresponding element in the
Offsets array gives the location of the archive mem-
ber that contains the symbol.
* * String Table Series of null-terminated strings that
name all the symbols in the directory. Each string
begins immediately after the null character in the
previous string. The number of strings must be equal
to the value of the Number of Symbols fields.
The elements in the Offsets array must be arranged in ascending order. This
fact implies that the symbols listed in the String Table must be arranged
according to the order of archive members. For example, all the symbols in the
first object-file member would have to be listed before the symbols in the
second object file.


8.5 Longnames Member
The name of the longnames member is "\\". The longnames member is a series of
strings of archive member names. A name appears here only when there is
insufficient room in the Name field (16 bytes). The longnames member can be
empty, though its header must appear.
The strings are null-terminated. Each string begins immediately after the
null byte in the previous string.


Appendix: Example Object File
This section describes the PE/COFF object file produced by compiling the file
HELLO2.C, which contains the following small C program:

main()
{
foo();
}

foo()
{
}

The commands used to compile HELLO.C (with debug information) and generate
this example were the following (the -Gy option to the compiler is used, which
causes each procedure to be generated as a separate COMDAT section):

cl -c -Zi -Gy hello2.c
link -dump -all hello2.obj >hello2.dmp

Here is the resulting file HELLO2.DMP: (The reader is encouraged to experiment
with various other examples, in order to clarify the concepts described in
this specification.)

Dump of file hello2.obj

File Type: COFF OBJECT

FILE HEADER VALUES
14C machine (i386)
7 number of sections
2BA23B9A time date stamp Sat Mar 13 11:52:58 1993
26F file pointer to symbol table
20 number of symbols
0 size of optional header
0 characteristics

SECTION HEADER #1
.drectve name
0 physical address
0 virtual address
11 size of raw data
12C file pointer to raw data
0 file pointer to relocation table
0 file pointer to line numbers
0 number of relocations
0 number of line numbers
A00 flags
Info
Remove
(no align specified)

RAW DATA #1
00000000 2D 64 65 66 61 75 6C 74 | 6C 69 62 3A 4C 49 42 43 -default|lib:LIBC
00000010 20 |

SECTION HEADER #2
.debug$S name
11 physical address
11 virtual address
5B size of raw data
13D file pointer to raw data
0 file pointer to relocation table
0 file pointer to line numbers
0 number of relocations
0 number of line numbers
42000048 flags
No Pad
Initialized Data
Discardable
(no align specified)
Read Only

RAW DATA #2
00000000 01 00 00 00 11 00 09 00 | 00 00 00 00 0A 68 65 6C ........|.....hel
00000010 6C 6F 32 2E 6F 62 6A 42 | 00 01 00 04 00 00 00 3B lo2.objB|.......;
00000020 40 28 23 29 20 4D 69 63 | 72 6F 73 6F 66 74 20 43 @(#) Mic|rosoft C
00000030 2F 43 2B 2B 20 33 32 20 | 62 69 74 73 20 78 38 36 /C++ 32 |bits x86
00000040 20 43 6F 6D 70 69 6C 65 | 72 20 56 65 72 73 69 6F Compile|r Versio
00000050 6E 20 38 2E 30 30 2E 58 | 58 58 58 n 8.00.X|XXX

SECTION HEADER #3
.text name
6C physical address
6C virtual address
10 size of raw data
198 file pointer to raw data
1A8 file pointer to relocation table
1B2 file pointer to line numbers
1 number of relocations
3 number of line numbers
60001020 flags
Code
Communal; sym= _main
(no align specified)
Execute Read

RAW DATA #3
00000000 55 8B EC 53 56 57 E8 00 | 00 00 00 5F 5E 5B C9 C3 U..SVW..|..._^[..

RELOCATIONS #3
73 virtual address, B symbol table index, REL32

LINENUMBERS #3
9 0 sym= _main
72 1 77 2

SECTION HEADER #4
.text name
7C physical address
7C virtual address
10 size of raw data
1C4 file pointer to raw data
0 file pointer to relocation table
1D4 file pointer to line numbers
0 number of relocations
2 number of line numbers
60001020 flags
Code
Communal; sym= _foo
(no align specified)
Execute Read

RAW DATA #4
00000000 55 8B EC 53 56 57 5F 5E | 5B C9 C3 00 00 00 00 00 U..SVW_^|[.......

LINENUMBERS #4
15 0 sym= _foo
82 1

SECTION HEADER #5
.debug$S name
8C physical address
8C virtual address
2E size of raw data
1E0 file pointer to raw data
20E file pointer to relocation table
0 file pointer to line numbers
1 number of relocations
0 number of line numbers
42001048 flags
No Pad
Initialized Data
Communal (no symbol)
Discardable
(no align specified)
Read Only

RAW DATA #5
00000000 28 00 05 02 00 00 00 00 | 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 (.......|........
00000010 10 00 00 00 06 00 00 00 | 0B 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........|........
00000020 00 00 01 10 00 04 6D 61 | 69 6E 02 00 06 00 ......ma|in....

RELOCATIONS #5
A8 virtual address, 6 symbol table index, DIR32

SECTION HEADER #6
.debug$S name
BA physical address
BA virtual address
2D size of raw data
218 file pointer to raw data
245 file pointer to relocation table
0 file pointer to line numbers
1 number of relocations
0 number of line numbers
42001048 flags
No Pad
Initialized Data
Communal (no symbol)
Discardable
(no align specified)
Read Only

RAW DATA #6
00000000 27 00 05 02 00 00 00 00 | 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 '.......|........
00000010 0B 00 00 00 06 00 00 00 | 06 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........|........
00000020 00 00 01 10 00 03 66 6F | 6F 02 00 06 00 ......fo|o....

RELOCATIONS #6
D6 virtual address, B symbol table index, DIR32

SECTION HEADER #7
.debug$T name
E7 physical address
E7 virtual address
20 size of raw data
24F file pointer to raw data
0 file pointer to relocation table
0 file pointer to line numbers
0 number of relocations
0 number of line numbers
42000048 flags
No Pad
Initialized Data
Discardable
(no align specified)
Read Only

RAW DATA #7
00000000 01 00 00 00 1A 00 16 00 | 98 58 42 2B 25 00 00 00 ........|.XB+%...
00000010 0F 43 3A 5C 74 6D 70 5C | 6D 73 76 63 2E 70 64 62 .C:\tmp\|msvc.pdb

SYMBOL TABLE
000 00000000 .file DEBUG notype Filename
hello2.c
002 00000000 .drectve SECT1 notype Static
Section length 11, #relocs 0, #linenums 0
004 00000000 .debug$S SECT2 notype Static
Section length 5B, #relocs 0, #linenums 0
006 00000000 _main UNDEF notype () External
007 00000000 .text SECT3 notype Static
Section length 10, #relocs 1, #linenums 3, checksum 0,
selection
1 (pick no duplicates)
009 00000000 _main SECT3 notype () External
tag index 0000000e size 00000010 lines 000001b2 next function 00000015
00B 00000000 _foo UNDEF notype () External
00C 00000000 .text SECT4 notype Static
Section length 10, #relocs 0, #linenums 2, checksum 0,
selection
1 (pick no duplicates)
00E 00000000 .bf SECT3 notype BeginFunction
line# 0002 end 00000017
010 00000003 .lf SECT3 notype .bf or.ef
011 00000010 .ef SECT3 notype EndFunction
line# 0004
013 00000000 .debug$S SECT5 notype Static
Section length 2E, #relocs 1, #linenums 0, checksum 0,
selection
5 (pick associative Section 3)
015 00000000 _foo SECT4 notype () External
tag index 00000017 size 0000000b lines 000001d4 next function 00000000
017 00000000 .bf SECT4 notype BeginFunction
line# 0007 end 00000000
019 00000002 .lf SECT4 notype .bf or.ef
01A 0000000B .ef SECT4 notype EndFunction
line# 0008
01C 00000000 .debug$S SECT6 notype Static
Section length 2D, #relocs 1, #linenums 0, checksum 0,
selection
5 (pick associative Section 4)
01E 00000000 .debug$T SECT7 notype Static
Section length 20, #relocs 0, #linenums 0

Summary
.debug$T 20
.text 20
.debug$S B6
.drectve 11

Here is a hexadecimal dump of HELLO2.OBJ:

hello2.obj:
00000000 4c 01 07 00 9a 3b a2 2b 6f 02 00 00 20 00 00 00 L....;.+o... ...
00000010 00 00 00 00 2e 64 72 65 63 74 76 65 00 00 00 00 .....drectve....
00000020 00 00 00 00 11 00 00 00 2c 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........,.......
00000030 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0a 00 00 2e 64 65 62 .............deb
00000040 75 67 24 53 11 00 00 00 11 00 00 00 5b 00 00 00 ug$S........[...
00000050 3d 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 =...............
00000060 48 00 00 42 2e 74 65 78 74 00 00 00 6c 00 00 00 H..B.text...l...
00000070 6c 00 00 00 10 00 00 00 98 01 00 00 a8 01 00 00 l...............
00000080 b2 01 00 00 01 00 03 00 20 10 00 60 2e 74 65 78 ........ ..`.tex
00000090 74 00 00 00 7c 00 00 00 7c 00 00 00 10 00 00 00 t...|...|.......
000000a0 c4 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 d4 01 00 00 00 00 02 00 ................
000000b0 20 10 00 60 2e 64 65 62 75 67 24 53 8c 00 00 00 ..`.debug$S....
000000c0 8c 00 00 00 2e 00 00 00 e0 01 00 00 0e 02 00 00 ................
000000d0 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 48 10 00 42 2e 64 65 62 ........H..B.deb
000000e0 75 67 24 53 ba 00 00 00 ba 00 00 00 2d 00 00 00 ug$S........-...
000000f0 18 02 00 00 45 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 ....E...........
00000100 48 10 00 42 2e 64 65 62 75 67 24 54 e7 00 00 00 H..B.debug$T....
00000110 e7 00 00 00 20 00 00 00 4f 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 .... ...O.......
00000120 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 48 00 00 42 2d 64 65 66 ........H..B-def
00000130 61 75 6c 74 6c 69 62 3a 4c 49 42 43 20 01 00 00 aultlib:LIBC ...
00000140 00 11 00 09 00 00 00 00 00 0a 68 65 6c 6c 6f 32 ..........hello2
00000150 2e 6f 62 6a 42 00 01 00 04 00 00 00 3b 40 28 23 .objB.......;@(#
00000160 29 20 4d 69 63 72 6f 73 6f 66 74 20 43 2f 43 2b ) Microsoft C/C+
00000170 2b 20 33 32 20 62 69 74 73 20 78 38 36 20 43 6f + 32 bits x86 Co
00000180 6d 70 69 6c 65 72 20 56 65 72 73 69 6f 6e 20 38 mpiler Version 8
00000190 2e 30 30 2e 58 58 58 58 55 8b ec 53 56 57 e8 00 .00.XXXXU..SVW..
000001a0 00 00 00 5f 5e 5b c9 c3 73 00 00 00 0b 00 00 00 ..._^[..s.......
000001b0 14 00 09 00 00 00 00 00 72 00 00 00 01 00 77 00 ........r.....w.
000001c0 00 00 02 00 55 8b ec 53 56 57 5f 5e 5b c9 c3 00 ....U..SVW_^[...
000001d0 00 00 00 00 15 00 00 00 00 00 82 00 00 00 01 00 ................
000001e0 28 00 05 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 (...............
000001f0 10 00 00 00 06 00 00 00 0b 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
00000200 00 00 01 10 00 04 6d 61 69 6e 02 00 06 00 a8 00 ......main......
00000210 00 00 06 00 00 00 06 00 27 00 05 02 00 00 00 00 ........'.......
00000220 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0b 00 00 00 06 00 00 00 ................
00000230 06 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 10 00 03 66 6f ..............fo
00000240 6f 02 00 06 00 d6 00 00 00 0b 00 00 00 06 00 01 o...............
00000250 00 00 00 1a 00 16 00 98 58 42 2b 25 00 00 00 0f ........XB+%....
00000260 43 3a 5c 74 6d 70 5c 6d 73 76 63 2e 70 64 62 2e C:\tmp\msvc.pdb.
00000270 66 69 6c 65 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 fe ff 00 00 67 file...........g
00000280 01 68 65 6c 6c 6f 32 2e 63 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 .hello2.c.......
00000290 00 00 00 2e 64 72 65 63 74 76 65 00 00 00 00 01 ....drectve.....
000002a0 00 00 00 03 01 11 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
000002b0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 2e 64 65 62 75 67 24 53 00 ........debug$S.
000002c0 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 03 01 5b 00 00 00 00 00 00 .........[......
000002d0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 5f 6d 61 69 6e ..........._main
000002e0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 20 00 02 00 2e 74 65 ......... ....te
000002f0 78 74 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 03 00 00 00 03 01 10 xt..............
00000300 00 00 00 01 00 03 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 ................
00000310 00 5f 6d 61 69 6e 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 03 00 20 ._main.........
00000320 00 02 01 0e 00 00 00 10 00 00 00 b2 01 00 00 15 ................
00000330 00 00 00 00 00 5f 66 6f 6f 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ....._foo.......
00000340 00 00 00 20 00 02 00 2e 74 65 78 74 00 00 00 00 ... ....text....
00000350 00 00 00 04 00 00 00 03 01 10 00 00 00 00 00 02 ................
00000360 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 2e 62 66 00 00 ............bf..
00000370 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 03 00 00 00 65 01 00 00 00 ...........e....
00000380 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 17 00 00 00 00 00 2e ................
00000390 6c 66 00 00 00 00 00 03 00 00 00 03 00 00 00 65 lf.............e
000003a0 00 2e 65 66 00 00 00 00 00 10 00 00 00 03 00 00 ..ef............
000003b0 00 65 01 00 00 00 00 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 .e..............
000003c0 00 00 00 00 00 2e 64 65 62 75 67 24 53 00 00 00 ......debug$S...
000003d0 00 05 00 00 00 03 01 2e 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 ................
000003e0 00 00 00 03 00 05 00 00 00 5f 66 6f 6f 00 00 00 ........._foo...
000003f0 00 00 00 00 00 04 00 20 00 02 01 17 00 00 00 0b ....... ........
00000400 00 00 00 d4 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 2e 62 66 ..............bf
00000410 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 04 00 00 00 65 01 00 .............e..
00000420 00 00 00 07 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
00000430 00 2e 6c 66 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 04 00 00 ..lf............
00000440 00 65 00 2e 65 66 00 00 00 00 00 0b 00 00 00 04 .e..ef..........
00000450 00 00 00 65 01 00 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 00 00 00 ...e............
00000460 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 2e 64 65 62 75 67 24 53 00 ........debug$S.
00000470 00 00 00 06

  
00 00 00 03 01 2d 00 00 00 01 00 00 .........-......
00000480 00 00 00 00 00 04 00 05 00 00 00 2e 64 65 62 75 ............debu
00000490 67 24 54 00 00 00 00 07 00 00 00 03 01 20 00 00 g$T.......... ..
000004a0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 04 ................
000004b0 00 00 00 ...
Microsoft, MS, MS-DOS, and CodeView are registered trademarks, and Windows,
Windows NT, Win32, Win32s, and Visual C++ are trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation in the USA and other countries.
Alpha AXP is a trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation.
Intel is a registered trademark, and Intel386 is a trademark of Intel
Corporation.
MIPS is a registered trademark of MIPS Computer Systems, Inc.
OS/2 is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.
Unicode is a trademark of Unicode, Incorporated.
UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX Systems Laboratories.


← previous
next →
loading
sending ...
New to Neperos ? Sign Up for free
download Neperos App from Google Play
install Neperos as PWA

Let's discover also

Recent Articles

Recent Comments

Neperos cookies
This website uses cookies to store your preferences and improve the service. Cookies authorization will allow me and / or my partners to process personal data such as browsing behaviour.

By pressing OK you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge the Privacy Policy

By pressing REJECT you will be able to continue to use Neperos (like read articles or write comments) but some important cookies will not be set. This may affect certain features and functions of the platform.
OK
REJECT