INTRODUCTION to

LINKER and LOADERS

 Translation Hierarchy

Compiler:
Translates high-level language program into assembly language.

Assembler:
Converts assembly language programs into object files.
Object files contain a combination of machine instructions, data, and
information needed to place instructions properly in memory.
Flow of Execution
Translator

.Obj
Linker

.exe
Loader

Program
execution
Process for producing an
executable file
Linker
Tool that merges the object files produced by separate compilation or assembly and creates
an executable file.

• Three tasks:-

❑ Searches the program to find library routines used by

program, e.g. printf(),sqrt(),strcat() and various other.

❑ Determines the memory locations that code from each

module will occupy and relocates its instructions by
adjusting absolute references.

Relocation, which modifies the object program so that it can be loaded at an address
different from the location originally specified.

❑ It combines two or more separate object programs and supplies the information needed to
allow references between them .
 Linking Concepts

► Computer programs typically comprise several parts or modules; all these

parts/modules need not be contained within a single object file, and in such case
refer to each other by means of symbols. Typically, an object file can contain three
kinds of symbols:
✔ Publicly defined symbols, which allow it to be called by other modules , also called
as public definition .

✔ Externally defined symbols(undefined symbols), which calls the other modules

where these symbols are defined, also called as external reference.

✔ Local symbols, used internally within the object file to facilitate relocation.
 Static Linking

► Static linking occurs when a calling program is linked to a called program in a single executable
module. When the program is loaded, the operating system places into memory a single file that
contains the executable code and data.
► The result of statically linking programs is an .EXE file or dynamic link library (DLL)
subprogram that contains the executable code for multiple programs. This file includes both the
calling program and the called program.
► The advantage of static linking is that you can create self-contained, independent programs. In
other words, the executable program consists of one part (the .EXE file) that you need to keep
track of.
► Disadvantages:
We cannot change the behavior of executable files without relinking them.
► External called programs cannot be shared, requiring that duplicate copies of programs be
loaded in memory if more than one calling program needs to access them.
 Dynamic linking

► Many operating system environments allow dynamic linking, that is the

postponing of the resolving of some undefined symbols until a program is
run.

► That means that the executable code still contains

undefined symbols, plus a list of objects or libraries
that will provide definitions for these. Loading the
program will load these objects/libraries as well,
and perform a final linking.
 Advantages and Disadvantages

► Advantages:
► Often-used libraries (for example the standard system libraries) need to be stored in only one
location, not duplicated in every single binary.
► If an error in a library function is corrected by replacing the library, all programs using it
dynamically will benefit from the correction after restarting them. Programs that included
this function by static linking would have to be re-linked first.

► Disadvantages:
► Known on the Windows platform as "DLL Hell", an incompatible updated DLL will break
executables that depended on the behavior of the previous DLL.
► A program, together with the libraries it uses, might be certified (e.g. as to correctness,
documentation requirements, or performance) as a package, but not if components can be
replaced.
Loader
It is a SYSTEM PROGRAM that brings an executable file residing on disk into memory and starts it
running.

Steps:-
– Read executable file’s header to determine the size of
text and data segments.

– Create a new address space for the program.

– Copies instructions and data into address space.

– Copies arguments passed to the program on the stack.

– Initializes the machine registers including the stack pointer.

– Jumps to a startup routine that copies the program’s arguments from the stack to registers and
calls the program’s main routine.
Types of Loaders

❑ Compile/Assemble and Go loader

❑ Absolute Loader
❑ Relocating Loader
❑ Direct Linking loader
Assemble-and-go Loader

► Compilation, assembly, and link steps are not separated from

program execution all in single pass.

► The intermediate forms of the program are generally kept in RAM,

and not saved to the file system.

► Compile and go systems differ from interpreters, which either

directly execute source code or execute an intermediate
representation.
Advantages

► The user need not be concerned with the separate steps of

compilation, assembling, linking, loading, and executing.

► Execution speed is generally much superior to interpreted

systems.

► They are simple and easier to implement.

 Disadvantages

► There is wastage in memory space due to the presence of the assembler.

► The code must be reprocessed every time it is run.

► Systems with multiple modules, possibly in different languages, cannot be

handled naturally within this framework.

► Compile-and-go systems were popular in academic environments, where student

programs were small, compiled many times, usually executed quickly and, once
debugged, seldom needed to be re-executed.
Absolute Loader

Absolute Program
Advantage:
► Simple and efficient
► No linking or relocation

Disadvantage:
► Difficult to use subroutine libraries.
► The need of programmer to state the actual address.
 Algorithm for Absolute Loader

1. begin
2. read Header record
3. verify program name and length
4. read first Text record
5. while record type <> ’E’ do
6. begin
7. {if object code is in character form, convert into
8. internal representation}
9. move object code to specified location in memory
10. read next object program record
11. end
12. jump to address specified in End record
13. end
Bootstrap Loader

► Special Type of Absolute Loader.

► When a computer is first tuned on or restarted bootstrap loader is

executed.

► This bootstrap loads the first program to be run by computer that

is the OS.

► It loads the first address 0x80.

Relocation

► Execution of the object program using any part of the

available and sufficient memory.

► The object program is loaded into memory wherever

there is room for it.

► The actual starting address of the object program is not

known until load time.
Relocating Loader

• Efficient sharing of the machine with larger

memory and when several independent
programs are to be run together.

• Support the use of subroutine libraries

efficiently.
Direct Linking Loader

► This type of loader is a relocating loader.

► The loader cannot have the direct access to the source code.
► To place the object code 2 types of addresses can be used:-

1. ABSOLUTE : In this the absolute path of object code is known and the
code is directly loaded in memory.

2. RELATIVE : In this the relative path is known and this relative path is
given by assembler.
Work Of Assembler in Direct Linking Loader

The assembler should give the following information to the loader:

❑ The length of the object code segment.

❑ A list of external symbols (could be used by diff. segment).

❑ List of External symbols(The segment itself is using)

❑ Information about address constants

❑ Machine code translation of the source program