Subject: bin/12295: file(1) gives inconsistent results for ELF vs a.out.
To: None <gnats-bugs@gnats.netbsd.org>
From: Charlie Root <root@polaris.garbled.net>
List: netbsd-bugs
Date: 02/27/2001 14:19:27
>Number: 12295
>Category: bin
>Synopsis: file(1) gives inconsistent results for ELF vs a.out.
>Confidential: no
>Severity: serious
>Priority: low
>Responsible: bin-bug-people
>State: open
>Class: sw-bug
>Submitter-Id: net
>Arrival-Date: Tue Feb 27 13:10:01 PST 2001
>Closed-Date:
>Last-Modified:
>Originator: Charlie Root
>Release: 1.5<NetBSD-current source date>
>Organization:
>Environment:
System: NetBSD polaris 1.5_ALPHA2 NetBSD 1.5_ALPHA2 (POLARIS) #1: Wed Dec 13 00:45:28 MST 2000 root@polaris:/usr/src/sys/arch/i386/compile/POLARIS i386
>Description:
Recently.. attempting to determine if a given binary was a.out or ELF, I ran
file(1) on it, and got:
polaris# file /home/garbled/footest
/home/garbled/footest: NetBSD/i386 demand paged dynamically linked executable not stripped
This doesn't actually bother to tell me what format the binary is in, whereas
an ELF binary:
/bin/ls: ELF 32-bit LSB executable, Intel 80386, version 1, statically linked, stripped
Does specifically mention ELF, but doesn't bother to tell me that it's a
NetBSD binary.
I find both of these confusing.. The ELF case should say that it's a NetBSD
binary, and the a.out case should say a.out somewhere, not just infer that
it's a.out because it doesn't say ELF.
>How-To-Repeat:
use file(1) on various binaries.
>Fix:
Fix the output. However, one should note that libtool and parts of bsd.pkg.mk
likely use file output for recognition of a.out vs ELF.
>Release-Note:
>Audit-Trail:
>Unformatted: