dlltool - Create files needed to build and use DLLs.


SYNOPSIS

       dlltool [-d|--input-def def-file-name]
               [-b|--base-file base-file-name]
               [-e|--output-exp exports-file-name]
               [-z|--output-def def-file-name]
               [-l|--output-lib library-file-name]
               [--export-all-symbols] [--no-export-all-symbols]
               [--exclude-symbols list]
               [--no-default-excludes]
               [-S|--as     path-to-assembler]     [-f|--as-flags
       options]
               [-D|--dllname name] [-m|--machine machine]
               [-a|--add-indirect]          [-U|--add-underscore]
       [-k|--kill-at]
               [-A|--add-stdcall-alias]
               [-x|--no-idata4] [-c|--no-idata5] [-i|--interwork]
               [-n|--nodelete]     [-v|--verbose]     [-h|--help]
       [-V|--version]
               [object-file ...]


DESCRIPTION

       `dlltool' reads its inputs, which can come from the -d and
       -b options as well as object files specified on  the  com­
       mand  line.   It then processes these inputs and if the -e
       option has been specified it creates a exports  file.   If
       the -l option has been specified it creates a library file
       and if the -z option has been specified it creates  a  def
       file.  Any or all of the -e, -l and -z options can be pre­
       sent in one invocation of dlltool.

       When creating a DLL, along with the source for the DLL, it
       is  necessary  to  have  three other files.  `dlltool' can
       help with the creation of these files.

       The first file is a .def file which specifies which  func­
       tions  are  exported from the DLL, which functions the DLL
       imports, and so on.  This is a text file and can  be  cre­
       ated  by hand, or `dlltool' can be used to create it using
       the -z option.  In  this  case  `dlltool'  will  scan  the
       object  files  specified  on  its command line looking for
       those functions which have been specially marked as  being
       exported and put entries for them in the .def file it cre­
       ates.

       In order to mark a function as being exported from a  DLL,
       it  needs  to  have an -export:<name_of_function> entry in
       the .drectve section of the object file.  This can be done
       in C by using the asm() operator:

                 asm (".section .drectve");
                 asm (".ascii \"-export:my_func\"");


       The  second  file  needed  for  DLL creation is an exports
       file.  This file is linked with the object files that make
       up  the  body  of  the  DLL  and  it handles the interface
       between the DLL and the outside world.  This is  a  binary
       file  and  it  can  be  created by giving the -e option to
       `dlltool' when it is creating or reading in a .def file.

       The third file needed for DLL creation is the library file
       that  programs will link with in order to access the func­
       tions in the DLL.  This file can be created by giving  the
       -l  option  to dlltool when it is creating or reading in a
       .def file.

       `dlltool' builds the library file by hand, but  it  builds
       the  exports  file  by creating temporary files containing
       assembler statements and then assembling  these.   The  -S
       command line option can be used to specify the path to the
       assembler that dlltool will use, and the -f option can  be
       used to pass specific flags to that assembler.  The -n can
       be used to prevent dlltool from deleting  these  temporary
       assembler  files  when  it is done, and if -n is specified
       twice then this will prevent  dlltool  from  deleting  the
       temporary object files it used to build the library.

       Here  is  an  example of creating a DLL from a source file
       dll.c and also creating a program  (from  an  object  file
       called program.o) that uses that DLL:

                 gcc -c dll.c
                 dlltool -e exports.o -l dll.lib dll.o
                 gcc dll.o exports.o -o dll.dll
                 gcc program.o dll.lib -o program


OPTIONS

       The command line options have the following meanings:

       `-d filename'

       `--input-def filename'
           Specifies  the  name  of a .def file to be read in and
           processed.

       `-b filename'

       `--base-file filename'
           Specifies the name of a base file to be  read  in  and
           processed.  The contents of this file will be added to
           the relocation section in the exports  file  generated
           by dlltool.


       `--output-exp filename'
           Specifies the name of the export file to be created by
           dlltool.

       `-z filename'

       `--output-def filename'
           Specifies the name of the .def file to be  created  by
           dlltool.

       `-l filename'

       `--output-lib filename'
           Specifies  the  name of the library file to be created
           by dlltool.

       `--export-all-symbols'
           Treat all global and weak defined symbols found in the
           input  object  files as symbols to be exported.  There
           is a small list of symbols which are not  exported  by
           default;  see the `--no-default-excludes' option.  You
           may add to the list of symbols to not export by  using
           the `--exclude-symbols' option.

       `--no-export-all-symbols'
           Only export symbols explicitly listed in an input .def
           file or in  .drectve  sections  in  the  input  object
           files.   This  is the default behaviour.  The .drectve
           sections are created by dllexport  attributes  in  the
           source code.

       `--exclude-symbols list'
           Do  not export the symbols in list.  This is a list of
           symbol names separated by comma or  colon  characters.
           The  symbol  names should not contain a leading under­
           score.     This    is     only     meaningful     when
           `--export-all-symbols' is used.

       `--no-default-excludes'
           When   `--export-all-symbols'  is  used,  it  will  by
           default avoid exporting certain special symbols.   The
           current  list  of  symbols  to avoid exporting is Dll­
           Main@12, DllEntryPoint@0, impure_ptr.  You may use the
           `--no-default-excludes'  option to go ahead and export
           these special symbols.  This is only  meaningful  when
           `--export-all-symbols' is used.

       `-S path'

       `--as path'
           Specifies  the  path,  including  the filename, of the
           assembler to be used to create the exports file.


       `--as-flags switches'
           Specifies any specific command  line  switches  to  be
           passed  to  the  assembler  when  building the exports
           file.  This option will work even if the -S option  is
           not used.  This option only takes one argument, and if
           it occurs more than once on  the  command  line,  then
           later  occurrences  will override earlier occurrences.
           So if it is necessary to pass multiple switches to the
           assembler they should be enclosed in double quotes.

       `-D name'

       `--dll-name name'
           Specifies  the  name  to be stored in the .def file as
           the name of the DLL when the -e option  is  used.   If
           this option is not present, then the filename given to
           the -e option will be used as the name of the DLL.

       `-m machine'

       `-machine machine'
           Specifies the type of machine for  which  the  library
           file  should  be  built.   `dlltool'  has  a  built in
           default type, depending upon how it was  created,  but
           this  option  can  be  used to override that.  This is
           normally only useful when creating  DLLs  for  an  ARM
           processor,  when  the contents of the DLL are actually
           encode using THUMB instructions.

       `-a'

       `--add-indirect'
           Specifies that when `dlltool' is creating the  exports
           file it should add a section which allows the exported
           functions to be referenced without  using  the  import
           library.  Whatever the hell that means!

       `-U'

       `--add-underscore'
           Specifies  that when `dlltool' is creating the exports
           file it should prepend an underscore to the  names  of
           the exported functions.

       `-k'

       `--kill-at'
           Specifies  that when `dlltool' is creating the exports
           file it should  not  append  the  string  @  <number>.
           These numbers are called ordinal numbers and they rep­
           resent another way of accessing the function in a DLL,
           other than by name.


       `--add-stdcall-alias'
           Specifies  that when `dlltool' is creating the exports
           file it should add aliases for stdcall symbols without
           @ <number> in addition to the symbols with @ <number>.

       `-x'

       `--no-idata4'
           Specifies that when `dlltool' is creating the  exports
           and  library files it should omit the .idata4 section.
           This is for compatibility with certain operating  sys­
           tems.

       `-c'

       `--no-idata5'
           Specifies  that when `dlltool' is creating the exports
           and library files it should omit the .idata5  section.
           This  is for compatibility with certain operating sys­
           tems.

       `-i'

       `--interwork'
           Specifies that `dlltool' should mark  the  objects  in
           the  library file and exports file that it produces as
           supporting interworking between ARM and THUMB code.

       `-n'

       `--nodelete'
           Makes `dlltool' preserve the temporary assembler files
           it used to create the exports file.  If this option is
           repeated then dlltool will also preserve the temporary
           object files it uses to create the library file.

       `-v'

       `--verbose'
           Make dlltool describe what it is doing.

       `-h'

       `--help'
           Displays  a  list  of  command  line  options and then
           exits.

       `-V'

       `--version'
           Displays dlltool's version number and then exits.

       the Info entries for binutils.


COPYRIGHT

       Copyright (c) 1991, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99,  2000,
       2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

       Permission  is  granted  to copy, distribute and/or modify
       this document under the terms of the GNU  Free  Documenta­
       tion  License,  Version 1.1 or any later version published
       by the Free Software Foundation; with  no  Invariant  Sec­
       tions,  with  no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover
       Texts.  A copy of the license is included in  the  section
       entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".


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