[PATCH 2/2] z80-elf: support complex relocation symbols

[Ismael Luceno]

On 17/Nov/2025 08:05, H. Peter Anvin wrote:
> On November 17, 2025 4:07:31 AM PST, Ismael Luceno <ismael@iodev.co.uk> wrote:
> >On 24/Oct/2025 09:58, H. Peter Anvin wrote:
> >> Either way, the relocation does, for a loadable file, need to be
> >> carried into the load format, as you point out, but that is usually
> >> handled already by linking with -r and postprocessing the result, as
> >> the load format generally isn't ELF but something more like MS-DOS
> >> MZ (.exe) format. In this case it would be up to the postprocessor
> >> to recognize the relevant expression symbol expressions and turn
> >> them into native relocations.
> >
> >The point was about using ELF all the way.
> 
> The point for *whom*? 
> 
> Using ELF as much as possible, and *especially* through the linking
> of the executable is obviously desired, but since Z80 is legacy
> architecture it is obviously not what Z80 operating systems are
> going to consume.

I didn't meant specifically for Z80; though there's retro machines
being built so, maybe for these.

As for x86, to this day plenty of firmware relies on a very brittle
ecosystem of long dead proprietary tools and hacks.