[RFC] SHF_GNU_RETAIN ELF Section Flag

[Jozef Lawrynowicz]

On Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 02:09:22PM +0200, Florian Weimer wrote:
> * Jozef Lawrynowicz:
> 
> > I'd like to propose a new ELF section flag, SHF_GNU_RETAIN, for addition
> > to the GNU gABI.
> >
> > This flag instructs the linker to "retain" the section in the output
> > file, even if garbage collection would remove it because it appears
> > unused.
> 
> How does this flag interaction with libraries (.a files)?

If a section in a library has SHF_GNU_RETAIN set, and that library gets
searched by the linker for some undefined symbol, then the
SHF_GNU_RETAIN section will also be pulled into the program, and
retained in the linked output file.

Thanks,
Jozef