Re: [boost] "/usr/bin/objcopy" --set-section-flags .debug_str=contents, debug

From: Richard Hadsell (hadsell_at_[hidden])
Date: 2005-08-15 15:22:21

Markus Schöpflin wrote:

>Neal Becker wrote:
>  
>
>>"/usr/bin/objcopy" --set-section-flags .debug_str=contents,debug
>>    
>>
>See http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.lib.boost.build/9680 for a 
>discussion of the subject.
>  
>
Thanks for bringing this to our attention.  I was unaware of objcopy and 
the reason for using it.  Earlier this year, I tried to replace my Yacc 
parser with Spirit.  One of its unwanted side effects was extremely long 
link times for a debug executable.  The problem in ld with the zillion 
symbols created by templates explains those long times.

Before starting to use objcopy myself, I tried to find out whether the 
ld bug has been fixed.  I couldn't find anything in the binutils 
archives, so instead I retried linking my code with the Spirit parser 
(from 1.33.0).  The long link time has disappeared, so I am providing 
anecdotal evidence that binutils-2.15.92.0.2-5 (Fedora Core 3) has fixed 
the ld bug.  It would be nice to hear a definitive statement that the 
need for objcopy went away with binutils version whatever.

If objcopy is only needed for older binutils, perhaps the gcc-tools 
option should be defined so that the default is for current binutils, 
which do not need objcopy.  Eventually, fewer and fewer users will need 
that option to support older versions of binutils.  Of course, 
documentation would be nice.  I don't see any mention of --no-objcopy in 
tools/build/v1/gcc-tools.html (in the released 1.33.0).

-- 
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