cof2elf(1)                                                cof2elf(1)


       NAME
             cof2elf - COFF to ELF object file translation

       SYNOPSIS
             cof2elf [-iqV] [-Q{yn}] [-s directory] files

       DESCRIPTION
             cof2elf converts one or more COFF object files to ELF.  This
             translation occurs in place, meaning the original file
             contents are modified.  If an input file is an archive, each
             member will be translated as necessary, and the archive will
             be rebuilt with its members in the original order.  cof2elf
             does not change input files that are not COFF.

             Options have the following meanings.

             -i          Normally, the files are modified only when full
                         translation occurs.  Unrecognized data, such as
                         unknown relocation types, are treated as errors
                         and prevent translation.  Giving the -i flag
                         ignores these partial translation conditions and
                         modifies the file anyway.

             -q          Normally, cof2elf prints a message for each file
                         it examines, telling whether the file was
                         translated, ignored, and so forth.  The -q flag
                         (for quiet) suppresses these messages.

             -Q arg      If arg is y, identification information about
                         cof2elf will be added to the output files.  This
                         can be useful for software administration.  Giving
                         n for arg explicitly asks for no such information,
                         which is the default behavior.

             -sdirectory As mentioned above, cof2elf modifies the input
                         files.  This option saves a copy of the original
                         files in the specified directory, which must
                         exist.  cof2elf does not save files it does not
                         modify.

             -V          This flag tells cof2elf to print a version message
                         on standard error.

       REFERENCES
             a.out(4), ar(4), elf(3E), ld(1)



                           Copyright 1994 Novell, Inc.               Page 1

      cof2elf(1)                                                cof2elf(1)


      NOTICES
            Some debugging information is discarded.  Although this does
            not affect the behavior of a running program, it may affect
            the information available for symbolic debugging.

            cof2elf translates only COFF relocatable files.  It does not
            translate executable or static shared library files for two
            main reasons.  First, the operating system supports executable
            files and static shared libraries, making translation
            unnecessary.  Second, those files have specific address and
            alignment constraints determined by the file format.  Matching
            the constraints with a different object file format is
            problematic.

            When possible, programmers should recompile their source code
            to build new object files.  cof2elf is provided for those
            times when source code is unavailable.































                          Copyright 1994 Novell, Inc.               Page 2