elf_getident(3E)               (ELF Library)               elf_getident(3E)


   NAME
         elfgetident - retrieve file identification data

   SYNOPSIS
         cc [flag ...] file ...  -lelf [library ...]

         #include <libelf.h>
         char *elfgetident(Elf *elf, sizet *ptr);

   DESCRIPTION
         As elf(3E) explains, ELF provides a framework for various classes of
         files, where basic objects may have 32 bits, 64 bits, etc.  To
         accommodate these differences, without forcing the larger sizes on
         smaller machines, the initial bytes in an ELF file hold
         identification information common to all file classes.  Every ELF
         header's eident has EINIDENT bytes with the following
         interpretation.

                  eident Index      Value             Purpose
                  _____________|______________|_____________________
                  EIMAG0      |  ELFMAG0     |
                  EIMAG1      |  ELFMAG1     |
                  EIMAG2      |  ELFMAG2     |  File identification
                  EIMAG3      |  ELFMAG3     |
                  _____________|______________|_____________________
                               |  ELFCLASSNONE|
                  EICLASS     |  ELFCLASS32  |  File class
                               |  ELFCLASS64  |
                  _____________|______________|_____________________
                               |  ELFDATANONE |
                  EIDATA      |  ELFDATA2LSB |  Data encoding
                               |  ELFDATA2MSB |
                  _____________|______________|_____________________
                  EIVERSION   |  EVCURRENT  |  File version
                  _____________|______________|_____________________
                  7-15         |  0           |  Unused, set to zero
                  _____________|______________|_____________________

         Other kinds of files [see elfkind(3E)] also may have identification
         data, though they would not conform to eident.

         elfgetident returns a pointer to the file's ``initial bytes.''  If
         the library recognizes the file, a conversion from the file image to
         the memory image may occur.  In any case, the identification bytes
         are guaranteed not to have been modified, though the size of the
         unmodified area depends on the file type.  If ptr is non-null, the
         library stores the number of identification bytes in the location to
         which ptr points.  If no data are present, elf is null, or an error
         occurs, the return value is a null pointer, with zero optionally
         stored through ptr.



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   elf_getident(3E)               (ELF Library)               elf_getident(3E)


   SEE ALSO
         elf(3E), elfbegin(3E), elfgetehdr(3E), elfkind(3E),
         elfrawfile(3E).


















































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