What do (linker?) .specs files do?

[Jeff Johnston]

Toralf Lund wrote:
> I'm messing around with the libgloss sources again, with the intention 
> of improving the ARM support a bit...
> 
> I notice that for some systems, the support files for a certain debug 
> monitor or similar include one with a name ending in .specs. What 
> exactly does this file do?
> 
> - Toralf
> 

They are gcc spec files.  From gcc info:

************************************************************************

File: gcc.info,  Node: Spec Files,  Next: Target Options,  Prev: Directory 
Opti\ons,  Up: Invoking GCC

Specifying subprocesses and the switches to pass to them
========================================================

    `GCC' is a driver program.  It performs its job by invoking a
sequence of other programs to do the work of compiling, assembling and
linking.  GCC interprets its command-line parameters and uses these to
deduce which programs it should invoke, and which command-line options
it ought to place on their command lines.  This behaviour is controlled
by "spec strings".  In most cases there is one spec string for each
program that GCC can invoke, but a few programs have multiple spec
strings to control their behaviour.  The spec strings built into GCC can
be overridden by using the `-specs=' command-line switch to specify a
spec file.

***********************************************************************

For more information on them, check out the rest of the "Spec Files" chapter in 
the gcc info.

-- Jeff J.