GNU Binutils

The GNU Binary Utilities, or binutils, comprise a collection of programming tools for the manipulation of object code in various object file formats. The current versions were originally written by programmers at Cygnus Solutions using the Binary File Descriptor library (libbfd). They are typically used in conjunction with GNU Compiler Collection, make, and GDB.

History

Originally the package consisted of only the minor utilities, but later the GNU Assembler (GAS) and GNU Linker (GLD) were included in releases, since their functionality is so closely related.

Most of the binutils are rather simple programs. The Binary File Descriptor library and libopcodes libraries, which they share, encapsulate most of the complexity.

The original BFD versions were written by David Henkel-Wallace and Steve Chamberlain. Past maintainers have included Ken Raeburn and Ian Lance Taylor. As of 2005^[update] the current maintainer is Nick Clifton.

Binutils for Linux is maintained by H.J. Lu.

Commands

The binutils include the following commands:

See also

• Coreutils
• List of Unix utilities
• GNU Debugger

External links

• GNU Binutils homepage
• Binutils for Linux