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7.1 Introduction

This chapter presents the object record formats that define the relocatable
object language for the 8086, 80186, and 80286 microprocessors. The 8086
object language is the output of all language translators that have an 8086
processor and that will be linked by the Microsoft linker. The 8086 object
language is used for input and output for object language processors such
as linkers and librarians, and is used in the XENIX, PC-DOS, and MS-DOS
operating systems.

The 8086 object module formats let you specify relocatable memory
images that may be linked together. These formats also allow efficient use
of the memory mapping facilities of the 8086 family of microprocessors.

The following table lists the record formats (each described in this
chapter) that Microsoft supports (the abbreviations appear in
parentheses):

Table 7.1

Object Module Record Formats

_ _________________________________________________________________________

Symbol Definition Records 

Public Names Definition Record  (PUBDEF) 
Communal Names Definition Record  (COMDEF) 
Local Symbols Record  (LOCSYM) 
External Names Definition Record  (EXTDEF) 
Line Numbers Record  (LINNUM) 

Data Records   

Logical Enumerated Data Record  (LEDATA) 
Logical Iterated Data Record  (LIDATA) 

T-Module Header Record  (THEADR) 
L-Module Header Record  (LHEADR) 
List of Names Record  (LNAMES) 
Segment Definition Record  (SEGDEF) 
Group Definition Record  (GRPDEF) 

Fixup Record  (FIXUPP) 
Module End Record  (MODEND) 
Comment Record  (COMENT) 

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Note

 If an object module contains any undefined values, the behavior of the
 Microsoft linker is undefined. All undefined values should be con-
 sidered reserved by Microsoft for future use.

_ ________________________________________________________________


7.1.1 Definition of Terms

The following terms are fundamental to 8086 relocation and linkage:

OMF - Object Module Formats


MAS - Memory Address Space

The 8086 MAS is one megabyte (1,048,576 bytes). Note that the MAS is
distinguished from actual memory, which may occupy only a portion of
the MAS.

Module

A module is an "inseparable" collection of object code and other informa-
tion produced by a translator.

T-Module

A T-module is a module created by a translator, such as Pascal or FOR-
TRAN.

The following restrictions apply to object modules:

 o Every module should have a name. Translators provide default
 names (possibly filenames or null names) for T-modules if neither
 the source code nor the user specifies otherwise.

 o Every T-module in a collection of linked modules should have a
 different name so that symbolic debugging systems can distinguish
 the various line numbers and local symbols. The Microsoft linker
 does not require or enforce this restriction.



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Frame

A frame is a contiguous region of 64K of memory address space (MAS),
beginning on a paragraph boundary (i.e., on a multiple of 16 bytes) or on a
selector on the 80286 processor. This concept is useful because the con-
tents of the four 8086 segment registers define four (possibly overlapping)
frames; no 16-bit address in the 8086 code can access a memory location
outside the current four frames.

LSEG (Logical Segment)

A logical segment (LSEG) is a contiguous region of memory whose contents
are determined at translation time (except for address-binding). Neither
the size nor the location in MAS are necessarily determined during transla-
tion: the size, although partially fixed, may not be final because the linker
may combine the LSEG when linking with other LSEGs, forming a single
LSEG. So that it can fit in a frame, an LSEG must not be larger than
64K. Thus, a 16-bit offset, from the base of a frame that covers the LSEG,
may address any byte in that LSEG.

PSEG (Physical Segment)

This term is equivalent to frame. Some prefer "PSEG" to "frame" because
the terms PSEG and LSEG reflect the "physical" and "logical" nature of
the underlying segments.

Frame Number

Every frame begins on a paragraph boundary. The "paragraphs" in MAS
can be numbered from 0 through 65,535. These numbers, each of which
defines a frame, are called frame numbers.

Group

A group is a collection of LSEGs defined at translation time, whose final
locations in MAS have been constrained so that at least one frame exists
that covers (contains) every LSEG in the collection.

The notation "Gr A(X,Y,Z,)" means that LSEGs X, Y, and Z form a group
named A. That X, Y, and Z are all LSEGs in the same group does not
imply any ordering of X, Y, and Z in MAS, nor does it imply any contiguity
between X, Y, and Z.



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The Microsoft linker does not currently allow an LSEG to be a member of
more than one group.

Canonic

On the 8086 processor, any location in MAS is contained in exactly 4096
distinct frames, but one of these frames can be distinguished because it
has a higher frame number. This frame is called the canonic frame of the
location. In other words, the canonic frame of a given byte is the frame
chosen so that the byte's offset from that frame lies in the range 0 to 15
(decimal).

For example, suppose FOO is a symbol defining a memory location. You
would then refer to this frame as the "canonic frame of FOO." Similarly, if
S is any set of memory locations, then a unique frame exists that has the
lowest frame number in the set of canonic frames of the locations in S.
This unique frame is called the canonic frame of the set S. You might
refer similarly to the canonic frame of an LSEG or of a group of LSEGs.

Segment Name

LSEGs are assigned Segment Names at translation time. These names
serve two purposes:

 o During linking they play a role in determining which LSEGs are
 combined with other LSEGs.

 o They are used in assembly source code to specify membership in
 groups.


Class Name

The translator may optionally assign class names to LSEGs during transla-
tion. Classes define a partition on LSEGs: two LSEGs are in the same
class if they have the same class name.

The Microsoft linker applies the following semantics to class names: the
class name "CODE", or any class name whose suffix is "CODE", implies
that all segments of that class contain only code and may be considered
read-only. Such segments may be overlaid if you specify the module con-
taining the segment as part of an overlay.


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Overlay Name

The linker may optionally assign an overlay name to LSEGs. The overlay
name of an LSEG is ignored by Microsoft language linkers for version 3.00
and later languages, but the standard MS-DOS linker supports it.

Complete Name

The complete name of an LSEG consists of the segment name, class name,
and overlay name. The linker combines LSEGs from different modules if
their complete names are identical.

7.2 Module Identification and Attributes

A module header record, which provides a module name, is always the first
record in a module. In addition to having a name, a module may represent
a main program and may have a specified starting address. When linking
multiple modules together, you should give only one module with the main
attribute. If more than one main module appears, the first takes
precedence.

In summary, modules may or may not be main and may or may not have a
starting address.

7.2.1 Segment Definition

A module is a collection of object code defined by a sequence of records
that a translator produces. The object code represents contiguous regions
of memory whose contents the linker determines during translation.
These regions are LSEGs. A module defines the attributes of each LSEG.
The segment definition record (SEGDEF) is responsible for maintaining all
LSEG information (name, length, memory alignment, etc.). The linker
requires the LSEG information when you combine multiple LSEGs and
when it establishes segment addressability. The SEGDEF records must
follow the first header record.

7.2.2 Addressing a Segment

The 8086 addressing mechanism provides segment base registers from
which you may address a 64K-byte region of memory (a Frame). There is
one code segment base register (CS), two data segment base registers (DS,
ES), and one stack segment base register (SS).



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The possible number of LSEGs that may make up a memory image far
exceeds the number of available base registers. Thus, base registers may
require frequent loading. This would be the case in a modular program
with many small data and/or code LSEGs.

Since such frequent loading of base registers is undesirable, it is a good
strategy to collect many small LSEGs together into a single unit that will
fit in one memory frame. Then all the LSEGs may be addressed using the
same base register value. This addressable unit is a group and has been
defined earlier in Section 7.1.1, "Definition of Terms."

To establish addressability of objects within a group, you must explicitly
define each group in the module. The group definition record (GRPDEF)
lists constituent segments by their segment names.

The GRPDEF records within a module must follow all SEGDEF records
because GRPDEF records will reference SEGDEF records in defining a
Group. The GRPDEF records must also precede all other records except
header records, which the linker must process first.

7.2.3 Symbol Definition

The Microsoft linker supports three different types of records belonging to
the class of symbol definition records. The types are public names
definition records (PUBDEFs), communal names definition records (COM-
DEFs), and external names definition records (EXTDEFs). You use these
record types to define globally visible procedures and data items and to
resolve external references.

7.2.4 Indices

"Index" fields appear throughout this chapter. An index is an integer that
selects a particular item from a collection of items; for example: name
index, segment index, group index, external index, type index, etc.

_ ________________________________________________________________

Note

 An index is normally a positive number. The index value zero is
 reserved, and may carry a special meaning depending on the type of
 index (for example, a segment index of zero specifies the "Unnamed"
 absolute pseudo-segment; a type index of zero specifies the "Untyped
 type.")

_ ________________________________________________________________

In general, indices must assume values that are quite large (that is, much

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larger than 255). Nevertheless, a great number of object files contain no
indices with values greater than 50 or 100. Therefore, indices are encoded
in one or two bytes, as required.

The high-order (left-most) bit of the first (and possibly the only) byte
determines whether the index occupies one byte or two. If the bit is 0, the
index is a number between 0 and 127, occupying one byte. If the bit is 1,
the index is a number between 0 and 32K-1, occupying two bytes, and is
determined as follows: the low-order eight bits are in the second byte, and
the high-order seven bits are in the first byte.

7.3 Conceptual Framework for Fixups

A fixup is a modification to object code that achieves address binding that
a translator requested and a linker performed.

_ ________________________________________________________________

Note

 This is the linker's definition of fixup. Nevertheless, the linker can
 modify object code (make a "fixup") that does not conform to this
 definition. For example, binding code to either hardware or software
 floating-point subroutines is a modification to an operation code,
 which is treated as an address. The previous definition of fixup is not
 intended to disallow or discourage modifications to the object code.

_ ________________________________________________________________

8086-family translators need four kinds of data to specify a fixup:

 o The place and type of a Location to be fixed up.

 o One of two possible fixup modes.

 o A target, which is the memory address that Location must refer to.

 o A frame that defines a context in which the reference takes place.

Location \(em There are five types of Locations: a pointer, a base, an offset, a
hibyte, and a lobyte.

The vertical alignment of the following figure illustrates four points
(remember that the high-order byte of a word in 8086 memory is the byte
with the higher address):

 o A base is the high-order word of a pointer (the linker doesn't care
 whether the low-order word of the pointer is present).


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 o An offset is the low-order word of a pointer (the linker doesn't care
 whether the high-order word follows).

 o A hibyte is the high-order half of an offset (the linker doesn't care
 whether the low-order half precedes).

 o A lobyte is the low-order half of an offset (the linker doesn't care
 whether the high-order half follows).


 +----+----+----+----+
Pointer: | |
 +----+----+----+----+

 +----+----+
Base: | |
 +----+----+

 +----+----+
Offset: | |
 +----+----+

 +----+
Hibyte: | |
 +----+

 +----+
Lobyte: | |
 +----+


 Figure 7.1 Location Types

A Location is specified by two kinds of data: the Location type, and where
the Location is (the location of the Location?).

The Location type is specified by the LOC field in the FIXUPP record's
LOCAT field; where the Location is is specified by the Data Record Offset
field in the same LOCAT field.

Mode \(em The Microsoft linker supports two kinds of fixups: self-relative
and segment-relative.

Self-relative fixups support the 8-bit and 16-bit offsets used in CALL,
JUMP, and SHORT-JUMP instructions. Segment-relative fixups support
all other addressing modes of the 8086.

Target \(em The target is the location in MAS that the linker references.
(More explicitly, the linker considers the target the lowest byte in the
object that it is referencing.) The linker specifies a target by one of six
methods. There are three "primary" methods and three "secondary" ones.
Each primary method of specifying a target uses two kinds of data: an
index number X, and a displacement D.


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(T0) X is a segment index. The target is the Dth byte in the LSEG that
 the segment index identifies.

(T1) X is a group index. The target is the Dth byte in the LSEG that
 the group index identifies.

(T2) X is an external index. The external index identifies the external
 name that (eventually) gives the address of a byte. The Dth byte
 following this byte is the target.

Each secondary method of specifying a target uses only one item of data
\(em the index number X; this assumes an implicit displacement equal to
zero.

_ ________________________________________________________________

(T4) X is a segment index. The target is the 0th (first) byte in the
 LSEG that the segment index identifies.

(T5) X is a group index. The target is the 0th (first) byte in the LSEG
 in the specified group located (eventually) lowest in MAS.

(T6) X is an external index. The target is the byte whose address is the
 external name that the external index identifies.

The following nomenclature describes a target:

_ ________________________________________________________________

Target: SI(segment name), displacement [T0]

Target: GI(group name), displacement [T1]

Target: EI(symbol name), displacement [T2]

Target: SI (segment name) [T4]

Target: GI (group name) [T5]

Target: EI (symbol name) [T6]

The following examples illustrate how this notation is used:

_ ________________________________________________________________

Target: SI(CODE), 1024 The 1025th byte in the segment
 CODE.

Target: GI(DATAAREA) The location in MAS of a group
 called DATAAREA.

Target: EI(SIN) The address of the external subrou-
 tine SIN.

Target: EI(PAYSCHEDULE), 24 The 24th byte following the location
 of an external data structure called
 PAYSCHEDULE.

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Frame \(em Every 8086 memory reference is to a location contained within a
frame. This frame is designated by the content of a segment register. For
the linker to form a correct, usable memory reference, it must know what
the target is, and to which frame the reference is being made. Thus, every
fixup specifies such a frame, in one of six methods. Some methods use
data, X, which is in the index number. Other methods require no data.

The five methods of specifying frames are as follows:

_ ________________________________________________________________

(F0) X is a segment index. The frame is the canonic frame of the LSEG
 that the segment index defines.

(F1) X is a group index. The frame is the canonic frame defined by the
 group (that is, the canonic frame defined by the LSEG in the group
 located (eventually) lowest in MAS).

(F2) X is an external index. The frame is determined when the linker
 finds the external name's public definition. There are two cases:

 _ _________________________________________________________

 (F2a) The linker defines the symbol relative to some LSEG, and
 there is no associated group. The linker also specifies the
 LSEG's canonic frame.

 (F2c) Regardless of how the linker defines the symbol, there is an
 associated group. And the linker specifies the canonic
 frame of the group. (The Group Index field of the PUBDEF
 record specifies the group.)

(F4) No X. The frame is the canonic frame of the LSEG that contains
 Location.

(F5) No X. The target determines the frame. There are three cases:

 _ _________________________________________________________

 (F5a) The target specifies a segment index: in this case, the frame
 is determined as in (F0).

 (F5b) The target specifies a group index: in this case, the frame is
 determined as in (F1).

 (F5c) The target specifies an external index: in this case, the
 frame is determined as in (F2).


The nomenclature that describes frames is similar to the above nomencla-
ture for targets.

_ ________________________________________________________________

Frame: SI (segment name) [F0]

Frame: GI (group name) [F1]



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Frame: EI (symbol name) [F2]

Frame: Location [F4]

Frame: target [F5]

Frame: None [F6]

For an 8086 memory reference, the frame specified by a self-relative refer-
ence is usually the canonic frame of the LSEG that contains Location.
Also, the frame specified by a segment-relative reference is the canonic
frame of the LSEG that contains the target.

7.3.1 Self-Relative Fixup

A self-relative fixup works as follows: Location implicitly defines a
memory address\(emnamely, the address of the byte following Location
(because at the time of a self-relative reference, the 8086 IP (Instruction
Pointer) is pointing to the byte following the reference).

For 8086 self-relative references, if either the Location or the target is out-
side the specified frame, the linker gives a warning. Otherwise, there is a
unique l6-bit displacement that, when added to the address implicitly
defined by Location, yields the relative position of the target in the frame.

 o If Location is an offset, the linker adds the displacement to Loca-
 tion (modulo 65,536) and reports no errors.

 o If Location is a lobyte, the displacement must be within the range
 {-128:127}; otherwise, the linker gives a warning. The linker adds
 the displacement to Location (modulo 256).

 o If Location is a base, pointer, or hibyte, it is unclear what the
 translator intended, so the linker's action is undefined.


7.3.2 Segment-Relative Fixup

A segment-relative fixup operates as follows: a nonnegative 16-bit number,
FBVAL, is defined as the frame number of the frame or selector value that
the fixup specifies. A signed 20-bit number, FOVAL, is defined as the dis-
tance from the base of the frame to the target. If this signed 20-bit
number is less than 0 or greater than 65,535, the linker reports an error.
Otherwise, the linker uses FBVAL and FOVAL to fix up Location in the
following fashion:

 o If Location is a pointer, the linker adds FBVAL (modulo 65,536) to
 the high-order word of pointer, and adds FOVAL (modulo 65,536)
 to the low-order word of pointer.



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 o If Location is a base, the linker adds FBVAL (modulo 65,536) to
 the base and ignores FOVAL.

 o If Location is an offset, the linker adds FOVAL (modulo 65,536) to
 the offset and ignores FBVAL.

 o If Location is a hibyte, the linker adds (FOVAL/256) (modulo 256)
 to the hibyte and ignores FBVAL. (The division indicated is
 integer division; that is, the linker discards the remainder.)

 o If Location is a lobyte, the linker adds (FOVAL modulo 256)
 (modulo 256) to the lobyte and ignores FBVAL.


7.4 Record Sequence

A object code file must contain a sequence of (one or more) modules, or a
library containing zero or more modules. The following syntax shows the
valid record ordering necessary to form a module. In addition, the given
semantic rules provide information about how to interpret the record
sequence.

_ ________________________________________________________________

Note

 The description language used in the following syntax is defined in
 WIRTH: CACM, November 1977, vol. 20, no. 11, pp. 822-823. The
 character strings represented by capital letters are not literals but
 identifiers, and are further defined in the record format section.

_ ________________________________________________________________

object file = tmodule

tmodule = {THEADR | LHEADR} seg-grp {component} modtail

seg_grp = {LNAMES} {SEGDEF} {EXTDEF | GRPDEF}

component = data | debug_record

data = content_def | thread_def |
   PUBDEF | EXTDEF | COMDEF | LOCSYM

debug_record = LINNUM

content_def = data_record {FIXUPP}

thread_def = FIXUPP (containing only Thread fields)

data_record = LIDATA | LEDATA


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modtail = MODEND

The following rules apply:

 o A FIXUPP record always refers to the previous data record.

 o All LNAMES, SEGDEF, GRPDEF, and EXTDEF records must pre-
 cede all records that refer to them.

 o Comment records may appear anywhere in a file, except as the first
 or last record in a file or module, or within a content_def.


7.5 Introducing the Record Formats

The following pages present diagrams of record formats in schematic form.
Here is a sample record format that illustrates the various conventions:

7.5.1 Sample Record Format (SAMREC)


-----------------------///---------||||-----------
| | | | | |
| REC | Record | Name | Number | CHK |
| TYP | Length | | | SUM |
| xxH | | | | |
| | | | | |
----------------------///----------||||-----------
 | |
 +----rpt-----+


The Title and Official Abbreviation

At the top of the figure is the name of the record format described, with
its official abbreviation. To promote uniformity among various programs,
including translators and debuggers, use the abbreviation in both code and
documentation. The abbreviation of the record format is always six
letters.

The Boxes

Each format is drawn with boxes of two sizes. The narrow boxes represent
single bytes. The wide boxes each represent two bytes. The wide boxes
with three slashes in the top and bottom represent a variable number of
bytes, one or more, depending upon content. The wide boxes with four
vertical bars in the top and bottom represent four-byte fields.


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RECTYP

The first byte in each record contains a value between 0 and 255, indicat-
ing the record type.

Record Length

The second field in each record contains the number of bytes in the record,
exclusive of the first two fields, where a field is a 16-bit number\(ema low
byte followed by a high byte.

Name

Any field that indicates a name has the following internal structure: the
first byte contains a number between 0 and 127, inclusive, indicating the
number of remaining bytes in the field. The remaining bytes are inter-
preted as a byte string.

Most translators constrain the character set to a subset of the ASCII char-
acter set.

Number

A four-byte number field represents a 32-bit unsigned integer, where the
first eight bits (least-significant) are stored in the first byte (lowest
address), the next eight bits are stored in the second byte, and so on.

Repeated or Conditional Fields

Some portions of a record format contain a field or series of fields that
may be repeated one or more times. Such portions are indicated by the
"repeated" or "rpt" brackets below the boxes.

Similarly, some portions of a record format are present only if some given
condition is true; these fields are indicated by similar "conditional" or
"cond" brackets below the boxes.

CHKSUM

The last field in each record is a check sum, which contains the two's com-
plement of the sum (modulo 256) of all other bytes in the record. There-
fore, the sum (modulo 256) of all bytes in the record is zero.


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Bit Fields

Sometimes descriptions of contents of fields are at the bit level. Boxes
with vertical lines drawn through them represent bytes or words; the verti-
cal lines indicate bit boundaries. Thus, the following byte representation
has three bit fields of three, one, and four bits, respectively.

---------------------------------
| | | | | | | | |
| | | |
| | | | | | | | |
---------------------------------
 3 1 4


7.5.2 T-Module Header Record (THEADR)


-----------------------///-----------
| | | | |
| REC | Record | T- | CHK |
| TYP | Length | Module | SUM |
| 80H | | Name | |
| | | | |
----------------------///------------


T-Module Name

The T-Module Name field contains the name for the T-module.

7.5.3 L-Module Header Record (LHEADR)


-----------------------///-----------
| | | | |
| REC | Record | L- | CHK |
| TYP | Length | Module | SUM |
| 82H | | Name | |
| | | | |
----------------------///------------


L-Module Name

The L-Module Name field contains the name for the L-module.

Every module output from a translator must have a T-module or L-module
header record. The linker requires a THEADR or LHEADR record to come
first in the module and ignores any others. The LHEADR record is identi-
cal to the THEADR record, except it has a record type of 82H.


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7.5.4 List of Names Record (LNAMES)


-----------------------///-----------
| | | | |
| REC | Record | Name | CHK |
| TYP | Length | | SUM |
| 96H | | | |
| | | | |
----------------------///------------
 | |
 +----rpt-----+

The LNAMES record contains a list of names that the following SEGDEF
and GRPDEF records may use as the names of segments, classes, and/or
groups.

The order of LNAMES records in a module and the order of names within
each LNAMES record imply a mapping of these names to numbers: 1, 2, 3,
etc. These numbers are used as "Name Indices" in the Segment Name
Index, Class Name Index, and Group Name Index fields of the SEGDEF
and GRPDEF records.

Name

This repeatable field provides a name, which may have zero length.

7.5.5 Segment Definition Record (SEGDEF)


-----------------///-----------------///-----///---///------
| | | | | | | | |
|REC| Record | Segment | Segment | Segment |Class|Over |CHK|
|TYP| Length | ATTR | Length | Name |Name |Lay |SUM|
|98H| | | | Index |Index|Name | |
| | | | | | |Index| |
-----------------///-----------------///-----///---///------

Segment index values 1 through 32,767, which are used in other record
types to refer to specific LSEGs, are defined implicitly by the sequence in
which SEGDEF records appear in the object file.

SEG ATTR

The SEG ATTR field provides information on various attributes of a seg-
ment, and has the following format:

------------------------
| | | |
| ACB | Frame | Off- |

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| P | Number | Set |
| | | |
| | | |
-------------r----------
 | |
 +---conditional--+

The ACBP byte contains four numbers\(emthe A, C, B, and P attribute
specifications. This byte has the following format:

---------------------------------
| | | | | | | | |
| A | C | B | P |
| | | | | | | | |
---------------------------------

A (Alignment) is a 3-bit subfield that specifies the alignment attribute of
the LSEG. The semantics are defined as follows:

_ ________________________________________________________________

A=0 SEGDEF describes an absolute LSEG.

A=1 SEGDEF describes a relocatable, byte-aligned LSEG.

A=2 SEGDEF describes a relocatable, word-aligned LSEG.

A=3 SEGDEF describes a relocatable, paragraph-aligned LSEG.

A=4 SEGDEF describes a relocatable, page(256-byte)-aligned LSEG.

If A=0, the Frame Number and Offset fields are present. With the Micro-
soft linker, you may use absolute segments for addressing only; for exam-
ple, to define the starting address of a ROM and to define symbolic names
for addresses within the ROM. The linker ignores any data that belongs
to an absolute LSEG, and issues a warning if absolute segments are
defined for a program that runs in protected mode.

C (Combination) is a 3-bit subfield that specifies the Combination attri-
bute of the LSEG. Absolute segments (A=0) must have combination zero
(C=0). For relocatable segments, the C field encodes a number
(0,1,2,3,4,5,6, or 7) that indicates how the segment can be combined. One
way to interpret this attribute is to consider how two LSEGs are com-
bined.

For example, suppose that X and Y are LSEGs, and that Z is the LSEG
resulting from the combination of X and Y. Let LX and LY be the lengths
of X and Y, and let MXY denote the maximum of LX, LY. Now, to accom-
modate the alignment attribute of Y, let G be the length of any gap
required between the X and Y components of Z. Then, let LZ denote the
length of the (combined) LSEG, Z; let dx (0\(<=dx<LX) be the offset in X of
a byte, and similarly, let dy be the offset (of a byte) in Y.



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_ ______________

The following table gives the length LZ of the combined LSEG, Z, and the
offsets dx' and dy' in Z for the bytes corresponding to dx in X, and to dy in
Y.


Table 7.2

Combination Attribute Example

_ _________________________________________________________________________

C  LZ  dx'  dy'   
_ ____________________________________________
2  LX+LY+G  dx  dy+LX+G  "Public" 
5  LX+LY+G  dx  dy+LX+G  "Stack" 
6  MXY  dx  dy  "Common" 

_ _________________________________________________________________________

Table 7.2 has no lines for C=0, 1, 3, 4, or 7. C=0 indicates that the relo-
catable LSEG may not be combined; C=1 and C=3 are undefined. C=4
and C=7 are treated the same as C=2.

B (Big) is a 1-bit subfield, which, if set to 1, indicates that the segment
length is exactly 64K (65,536 bytes). In this case, the Segment Length
field must contain zero.

The P field must always be zero.

The Frame Number and Offset fields (present only for absolute segments,
A=0) specify the placement in MAS of the absolute segment. Offset is in
the range between 0 and 15, inclusive. If you want an offset value larger
than 15, you should adjust the frame number.

Segment Length

The Segment Length field gives a segment's length in bytes. This length
may be zero. If it is, the linker does not delete the segment from the
module. The Segment Length field is only large enough to hold numbers
from 0 to 64K-1, inclusive. To give the segment a length of 64K, you
must use the B attribute bit in the ACBP field (see SEG ATTR in this sec-
tion).

Segment Name Index

The segment name is a name that a programmer or translator assigns to
the segment; for example, CODE, DATA, TAXDATA,
MODULENAME_CODE, or STACK. The Segment Name Index field pro-
vides the segment name by indexing into the list of names provided by the
LNAMES record.


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Class Name Index

The class name is a name the programmer or translator assigns to a seg-
ment. If none is assigned, the name is null, and has a length of zero. The
purpose of a class name is to let the programmer define a "handle" to
order the LSEGs in MAS; for example, RED, WHITE, BLUE; or ROM
FASTRAM, DISPLAYRAM. The Class Name Index field provides the
class name by indexing into the list of names provided by the LNAMES
record.

Overlay Name Index

The overlay name is a name that the translator and/or the linker, at the
programmer's request, applies to a segment. The overlay name, like the
class name, may be null. The Overlay Name Index field provides the over-
lay name by indexing into the list of names provided by the LNAMES
record.

_ ________________________________________________________________

Note

 Microsoft language linkers (versions 3.00 and later) ignore the Overlay
 Name Index field, but the standard MS-DOS linker supports it.

_ ________________________________________________________________


7.5.6 Group Definition Record (GRPDEF)


-----------------------///---------///------------
| | | | | |
| REC | Record | Group | Group | CHK |
| TYP | Length | Name | Component | SUM |
| 9AH | | Index | Descriptor | |
| | | | | |
--------------------///----------///--------------
 | |
 +--repeated--+


Group Name Index

The linker may reference a collection of LSEGs with the group name.
Most importantly, when the LSEGs are eventually fixed in MAS, a frame
must exist that "covers" every LSEG of the group.

The Group Name Index field provides the group name by indexing into the
list of names provided by the LNAMES record.


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Group Component Descriptor

This repeatable field has the following format:

-----------///-----
| | |
| FFH | Segment |
| | Index |
| | |
| | |
-------------------

The first byte of the Group Component Descriptor field contains 0FFH;
the descriptor contains one field, which is a segment index that selects the
LSEG described by a preceding SEGDEF record.

7.5.7 Public Names Definition Record
 (PUBDEF)


---------------------///------///--------------///---------
| | | | | | | |
| REC| Record | Public | Public |Public | Type | CHK |
| TYP| Length | Base | Name |Offset | Index | SUM |
| 90H| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
---------------------///-----///--------------///----------
 | |
 +---------repeated--------+

The PUBDEF record provides a list of one or more public names. For each
name, three kinds of data are provided: (1) a base value for the name, (2)
the offset value of the name, and (3) the type of entity represented by the
name.

Public Base

The Public Base field has the following format:

-----///---------///-----------------
| | | |
| Group | Segment | Frame |
| Index | Index | Number |
| | | |
-----///---------///-----------------
 | |
 +conditional+

The Group Index field has a format given earlier, and contains a number
between 0 and 32,767, inclusive. A nonzero value in the Group Index field
associates a group with the public symbol, and is used as described in case

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(F2c) of Section 7.3, "Conceptual Framework for Fixups." A zero value in
the Group Index field indicates that there is no associated group.

The Segment Index field has a format given earlier, and contains a number
between 0 and 32,767, inclusive.

A nonzero value in the Segment Index field selects an LSEG. In this case,
the location of each public symbol defined in the record is taken as a non-
negative displacement (given by a Public Offset field) from the first byte of
the selected LSEG. Also, the Frame Number field must be absent.

A zero value in the Segment Index field means that the defined symbols are
absolute, and that the absolute addresses of the symbols are the values in
the Public Offset field. The Group Index field is ignored.

The Frame Number field contains a frame number only if the value of the
Segment Index field is zero. The linker ignores this field.

A nonzero value in the Group Index field selects some group. This group is
taken as the "frame of reference" for references to all public symbols
defined in this record. That is, the linker performs the following actions:

 o The linker converts any fixup of the form:

 Target: EI(P)

 Frame: Target

 (where P is a public symbol in this PUBDEF record) to a fixup of
 the form:

 Target: SI(L),d

 Frame: GI(G)

 where SI(L) and d are provided by the Segment Index and Public
 Offset fields. (The "normal" action would have the frame specifier
 in the new fixup be the same as in the old fixup: Frame:Target.)

 o When the linker converts the value of a public symbol, as defined
 by the Segment Index, Public Offset, and (optionally) Frame
 Number fields, to a {base,offset} pair, the base part is the base of
 the indicated group.

A zero value in the Group Index field selects no group. The linker does not
alter the frame specification of fixups referencing the symbol, and takes, as
the base part of the absolute value of the public symbol, the canonic frame
of the segment (either LSEG or PSEG) determined by the Segment Index
field.


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Public Name

The Public Name field gives the name of the object whose location in MAS
the linker makes available to other modules. The name must contain one
or more characters.

Public Offset

The Public Offset field is a 16-bit value. It is either the offset of the public
symbol with respect to an LSEG (if the segment index is greater than
zero), or the offset of the public symbol with respect to the specified frame
(if the segment index is equal to zero).

Type Index

The Type Index field identifies a single preceding TYPDEF (Type
Definition Record), which contains a descriptor for the type of entity
represented by the public symbol. The linker ignores this field.

7.5.8 Communal Names Definition Record
 (COMDEF)


-----------------///---------///-----------------------------
| | | | | | | |
| REC | REC | Communal | Type | Data | Communal | CHK |
| TYP | LEN | Name | Index | Seg | Length | SUM |
| B0H | | | | Type | | |
| | | | | | | |
------------+----///---------///----------------------+------
 | |
 +-------repeated--------------------------+

The COMDEF record provides a list of one or more Communal Names,
which define communal variables. A communal variable is an unitialized
public variable whose final size and location are not fixed during compil-
ing.

Communal variables are similar to FORTRAN common blocks in that if
you are linking object modules that each declare a communal variable,
then the size of that variable is the largest of the declared variables. In
the C language, all uninitialized public variables are communal. The fol-
lowing example shows three different declarations of the same C communal
variable:

char foo[4]; /* In file a.c */
char foo[1]; /* In file b.c */
char foo[1024]; /* In file c.c */


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If the objects produced from a.c, b.c, and c.c are linked together, the linker
allocates 1024 bytes for the character array "foo."

_ ________________________________________________________________

Note

 This record requires that a COMENT record from the Microsoft Exten-
 sion class appear before it in the object module.

_ ________________________________________________________________


Communal Name

The Communal Name field gives the communal variable name, and must
contain one or more characters.

Communal names are treated as external names when an external name is
requested elsewhere in the module. Communal names are ordered together
with external names for the purpose of referring to an external name by its
index. (See the description of the EXTDEF record later in this section for
more details on external names.)

Type Index

The Type Index field is ignored by the Microsoft linker.

Data Segment Type

The Data Segment Type field is a single byte that describes the data seg-
ment in which the communal variable resides. It can contain the following
values:

 62H (NEAR) = the communal variable is in the default data segment.
 61H (FAR) = the communal variable is not in the default data segment.


Communal Length

The Communal Length field describes the length of the communal variable
according to its data segment type.

If its value is NEAR (62H), the field represents the length in bytes.

If its value is FAR (61H), the field represents:

+----///----+-----///------+
| Number of | Element size |

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_ ______________

| elements | in bytes |
+----///----+-----///------+


The format of all the length fields is as follows:

-------
| |
| 0 |
| to |
| 128 |
| |
-------

-------------------
| | |
| | 0 |
| 129 | to |
|(81H)| 64K-1 |
| | |
-------------------

-------------------------
| | |
| | 0 |
| 132 | to |
|(84H)| 16M-1 |
| | |
-------------------------

-------------------------
| | |
| | -2G-1 |
| 136 | to |
|(88H)| 2G-1 |
| | |
-------------------------

The first format (single byte), containing a value between 0 and 127,
represents the number given.

The second format, with a leading byte containing 129, represents the
number contained in the following two bytes.

The third format, with a leading byte containing 132, represents the
number contained in the following three bytes.

The fourth format, with a leading byte containing 136, represents the
number contained in the following four bytes with its sign extended if
necessary.


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Link-Time Semantics:

A PUBDEF matching a communal variable definition overrides the com-
munal variable definition. Two communal variable definitions match if
the names in their definitions match. If two matching definitions disagree
whether a communal variable is NEAR or FAR, the linker assumes the
variable is NEAR.

If the variable is NEAR, then its size is the largest of the sizes specified for
it. If the variable is FAR, the linker issues a warning if the array element
sizes conflict. If these sizes don't conflict, the variable's size is the element
size multiplied by the largest number of elements specified. In addition,
the sum of the sizes of all NEAR variables must not exceed 64K bytes, and
the sum of the sizes of all FAR variables must not exceed the size of the
machine's addressable memory space.

HUGE Communal Variables:

A FAR communal variable that is larger than 64K bytes (a HUGE commu-
nal variable) resides in segments that are contiguous (on an 8086) or that
have consecutive selectors (on an 80286). No other data items reside in
the segments occupied by a HUGE communal variable.

If the linker finds matching HUGE and NEAR communal variable
definitions, it issues a warning message, since it is impossible for a NEAR
variable to be larger than 64K bytes.

7.5.9 Local Symbols Record (LOCSYM)


---------------------///------///--------------///---------
| | | | | | | |
| REC| Record | Local | Local | Local | Type | CHK |
| TYP| Length | Base | Name |Offset | Index | SUM |
| 92H| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
---------------------///-----///--------------///----------
 | |
 +---------repeated--------+

The LOCSYM record provides information for the definition of a local
symbol, one that is visible only within the module in which it is defined.

The form and meaning of each of the fields is identical to those in the
PUBDEF record.

_ ________________________________________________________________

Note


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 The LOCSYM record requires that a COMENT record from the Micro-
 soft Extensions class appear before it in the object module. Also, it is
 only recognized by Microsoft language linkers later than version 3.07.

_ ________________________________________________________________


7.5.10 External Names Definition Record
 (EXTDEF)


-----------------------///---------///-----------
| | | | | |
| REC | Record | External | Type | CHK |
| TYP | Length | Name | Index | SUM |
| 8CH | | | | |
| | | | | |
-----------------------///---------///-----------
 | |
 +-------repeated--------+

The EXTDEF record provides a list of external names, and for each name,
the type of object it represents. The linker assigns to each external name
the value provided by an identical public name or local name (if such a
name is found).

External Name

The External Name field provides the external object name, which must
have nonzero length.

Including a name in an EXTDEF record is an implicit request to link the
object file to a module containing the same name declared as a public sym-
bol, unless the name is defined as a local symbol within the same module
as the EXTDEF. This request determines whether the external name is
referenced within some FIXUPP record in the module.

The order of EXTDEF records in a module and the order of external
names within each EXTDEF record, together with COMDEF records and
communal names, implies a mapping on the set of all external names
requested by the module; for example: 1, 2, 3, etc. So to refer to a particu-
lar external name, the linker uses these numbers as "external indices" in
the Target Datum and/or Frame Datum fields of FIXUPP records.

External indices may not reference forward. For example, an EXTDEF
defining the kth object must precede any record referring to that object
with index k.


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Type Index

The Type Index field is ignored by the Microsoft linker, except for linker
versions earlier than 3.05, and for object modules lacking the COMENT
record from the Microsoft Extensions class, in which case, refer to Section
7.6 "Microsoft Type Representation for Communal Variables."

7.5.11 Line Numbers Record (LINNUM)


----------------------///-----------------------------------
| | | | | |
| REC | Record | Line | Line | Line | CHK |
| TYP | Length | Number | Number | Number | SUM |
| 94H | | Base | | Offset | |
| | | | | | |
----------------------///-----------------------------------
 | |
 +--------repeated-------+

The LINNUM record allows a translator to relate a line number in source
code to the corresponding line in translated code.

Line Number Base

The Line Number Base field has the following format:

-----///---------///-----
| | |
| Group | Segment |
| Index | Index |
| | |
-----///---------///-----

The Group Index field is ignored by the Microsoft linker.

The Segment Index field determines the location of the first byte of code
corresponding to some source line number.

Line Number

The Line Number field provides a binary line number between 0 and
32,767, inclusive. If the high-order bit is not zero, the number is con-
sidered undefined.


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Line Number Offset

The Line Number Offset field is a 16-bit value, which is the offset of the
line number with respect to an LSEG (if the segment index is greater than
zero).

7.5.12 Logical Enumerated Data Record
 (LEDATA)


-----------------------///-----------------------------
| | | | | | |
| REC | Record | Segment | Enumerated| | CHK |
| TYP | Length | Index | Data | DAT | SUM |
| A0H | | | offset | | |
| | | | | | |
-----------------------///-----------------------------
 | |
 +-rpt-+

The LEDATA record provides contiguous data from which the linker may
construct a portion of an 8086 memory image.

Segment Index

The Segment Index field, which must be nonzero, specifies an index rela-
tive to the SEGDEF records that precede the LEDATA record.

Enumerated Data Offset

The Enumerated Data Offset field specifies an offset that is relative to the
base of the LSEG specified by the segment index. The field also defines the
relative location of the first byte of the DAT field. Successive data bytes
in the DAT field occupy successively higher locations of memory.

DAT

The DAT field provides up to 1024 consecutive bytes of relocatable or
absolute data.


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7.5.13 Logical Iterated Data Record (LIDATA)


----------------------///---------------------///-----------
| | | | | | |
| REC | Record | Segment | Iterated | Iterated | CHK |
| TYP | Length | Index | Data | Data | SUM |
| A2H | | | Offset | Block | |
| | | | | | |
----------------------///---------------------///-----------
 | |
 +-repeated--+

The LIDATA record provides contiguous data from which the linker may
construct a portion of an 8086 memory image.

Segment Index

The Segment Index field, which must be nonzero, specifies an index that is
relative to the SEGDEF records that precede the LIDATA record.

Iterated Data Offset

The Iterated Data Offset field specifies an offset that is relative to the base
of the LSEG specified by the segment index. It also defines the relative
location of the first byte in the iterated data block. Successive data bytes
in the iterated data block occupy successively higher locations of memory.

Iterated Data Block

This repeated field is a structure specifying the repeated data bytes. It has
the following format:

-----------------------------///-----
| | | |
| Repeat | Block | |
| Count | Count | Content |
| | | |
| | | |
-----------------------------///-----



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_ ______________

_ ________________________________________________________________

Note

 The linker cannot handle LIDATA records whose iterated Data Blocks
 are larger than 512 bytes.

_ ________________________________________________________________


Repeat Count

The Repeat Count field specifies the number of times to repeat the Con-
tent portion of this iterated data block. The value of the Repeat Count
field must be nonzero.

Block Count

The Block Count field specifies the number of iterated data blocks in the
Content portion of this iterated data block. If the Block Count field has a
value of zero, the Content portion of the iterated data block is interpreted
as data bytes. If the field is nonzero, the Content portion is interpreted as
that number of iterated data blocks.

Content

The Content field may be interpreted in one of two ways, depending on
the value of the previous Block Count field.

If the Block Count field is zero, this field is a 1-byte count followed by the
indicated number of data bytes. But if the Block Count field is nonzero,
the Content field is interpreted as the first byte of another iterated data
block.

7.5.14 Fixupp Record (FIXUPP)


-----------------------///-----------
| | | | |
| REC | Record | Thread | CHK |
| TYP | Length | or | SUM |
| 9CH | | Fixup | |
| | | | |
-----------------------///-----------
 | |
 +----rpt----+

The FIXUPP record specifies zero or more fixups. Each fixup requests a
modification (fixup) to a Location within the previous data record. A data
record may be followed by more than one FIXUPP record that refers to it.

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Each fixup is specified by a Fixup field that specifies four kinds of data: a
Location, a mode, a target, and a frame. The frame and target may be
specified completely within the Fixup field, or by reference to a preceding
Thread field.

A Thread field specifies a default target or frame that subsequently may be
referred to. Eight threads are provided\(emfour for frame specification and
four for target specification. Once a thread has specified a target or frame,
any Fixup fields that follow (in the same or following FIXUPP records)
may refer to that target or frame until another Thread field with the same
type (target or frame) and thread number (0-3) appears (in the same or in
another FIXUPP record).

Thread

The Thread field has the following format:

-----------///-----
| | |
| TRD | Index |
| DAT | |
| | |
-----------///-----
 | |
 +conditional+

The TRD DAT (Thread Data) field is a byte with the following internal
structure:

---------------------------------
| | | | | | | | |
| 0 | D | 0 | Method | THRED |
| | | | | | | | |
---------------------------------

The D field is one bit and defines the type of thread being used. If D=0,
this bit defines a target thread, and if D=1, it defines a frame thread.

Method is a 3-bit field containing a number between 0 and 3 (if D=0) or a
number between 0 and 6 (if D=1).

If D=0, then Method = (0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6)mod 4, where 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 indi-
cate methods T0, T1, T2, T4, T5, and T6 of specifying a target. Thus,
Method indicates the kind of index or frame number required to specify
the target, without indicating whether the target is specified by a primary
or secondary method.



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If D=1, then Method = 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, corresponding to methods F0, F1, F2,
F4, F5 of specifying a frame. Here, Method indicates the kind (if any) of
index required to specify the frame.

The THRED field contains a number between 0 and 3, inclusive, and asso-
ciates a thread number to the frame or target defined by the Thread field.

The Index field contains a segment index, group index, or external index
depending on the specification in the Method field. If Method specifies F4
or F5, this field will not be present.

Fixup

The Fixup field has the following format:

-----------------------///---------///---------///-----
| | | | | |
| LOCAT | FIX | Frame | Target | Target |
| | DAT | Datum | Datum | Dis- |
| | | | | Placement |
| | | | | |
-----------------------///---------///---------///-----
 | | | |
 +conditional+conditional+conditional+

The LOCAT field is a byte pair with the following format:

-----------------------------------------------------------------
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 1 | M | 0 | LOC | D a t a R e c o r d O f f s e t |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| | |
+------------lo byte------------+------------hi byte------------+

M is a 1-bit field that specifies the mode of the fixups: self-relative (if
M=0) or segment-relative (if M=1).

_ ________________________________________________________________

Note

 Self-relative fixups may not be applied to LIDATA records.

_ ________________________________________________________________

LOC is a 3-bit field indicating that the byte(s) in the preceding data record
to be fixed up are a lobyte (if LOC=0), an offset (if LOC=1), a base (if
LOC=2), a pointer (if LOC=3), a hibyte (if LOC=4), or a "loader-
resolved" offset (if LOC=5). Any other values in LOC are invalid.


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The Data Record Offset field contains a number between 0 and 1023,
inclusive, that gives the relative position of the lowest order byte of Loca-
tion (the actual bytes being fixed up) within the preceding data record.
The Data Record Offset value is relative to the first byte in the data fields
in the data records.

_ ________________________________________________________________

Note

 If the preceding data record is an LIDATA record, it is possible for the
 Data Record Offset value to designate a location within a Repeat
 Count field or a Block Count field of the Iterated Data Block field.
 Such a reference is an error. The linker's action on such a malformed
 record is undefined.

_ ________________________________________________________________

The FIX DAT field is a byte with the following format:

---------------------------------
| | | | | | | | |
| F | Frame | T | P | TARGT |
| | | | | | | | |
---------------------------------

F is a 1-bit subfield that specifies whether the frame for this Fixup is
specified by a thread (if F=1) or explicitly (if F=0).

The Frame field contains a number that is interpreted in one of two ways,
as indicated by the F bit. If F is zero, the Frame field contains a number
between 0 and 5, inclusive, corresponding to methods F0,...,F5 for specify-
ing a frame. If F=1, then the Frame field contains a thread number (0-3).
It specifies the frame most recently defined by a Thread field that defined a
frame thread with the same thread number. (Note that the Thread field
may appear in the same FIXUPP record, or in an earlier one.)

T is a 1-bit field that specifies whether the target specified for this fixup is
defined by reference to a thread (T=1), or is given explicitly in the Fixup
field (T=0).

P is a 1-bit field that indicates whether the Target is specified by a pri-
mary method (requires a target displacement, if P=0) or by a secondary
method (requires no target displacement, if P=1). Since a target thread
does not have a primary/secondary attribute, the P bit is the only field
that contains the target specification attribute.

TARGT is interpreted as a 2-bit field. When T=0, it provides a number
between 0 and 3, inclusive, corresponding to methods T0, T1, T2 or T4,
T5, T6, depending on the value of P (where P is interpreted as the high-
order bit of T0, T1, T2, T4, T5, or T6). When a thread specifies the

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_ ______________

target (if T=1), then the TARGET field specifies a thread number (0-3).

The Frame Datum field is the "referent" portion of a frame specification,
and is a segment index, group index, or external index. The Frame Datum
field is present only when the frame is not specified by a thread (if F=0) or
explicitly by methods F4, F5, or F6.

The Target Datum field is the "referent" portion of a target specification,
and is a segment index, group index, or external index. The Target Datum
field is present only when a thread does not specify the target (if T=0).

The Target Displacement field is the 2-byte displacement required by pri-
mary methods of specifying targets. This field is present if P=0.

_ ________________________________________________________________

Note

 All these methods are described in Section 7.3, "Conceptual Frame-
 work for Fixups."

_ ________________________________________________________________


7.5.15 Module End Record (MODEND)


-----------------------------///-----------
| | | | | |
| REC | Record | MOD | START | CHK |
| TYP | Length | TYP | ADDRS | SUM |
| 8AH | | | | |
| | | | | |
-----------------------------///-----------
 | |
 +conditional+

The MODEND record serves two purposes. It denotes the end of a module
and indicates whether the module that just ended specifies an entry point
to begin execution. If it does not, the linker specifies the execution
address.


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MOD TYP

The MOD TYP field specifies the attributes of the module. The bit alloca-
tion and associated meanings are as follows:

---------------------------------
| | | | | | | | |
| MATTR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | | | | | | |
---------------------------------

MATTR is a 2-bit field that specifies the following module attributes:

MATTR  Module Attribute 
_ _______________________________________________

0  Non-main module with no START ADDRS 
1  Non-main module with START ADDRS 
2  Main module with no START ADDRS 
3  Main module with START ADDRS  



The START ADDRS field (present only if MATTR is 1 or 3) has the fol-
lowing format:

-----------///---------///-----------------
| | | | |
| END | Frame | Target | Target |
| DAT | Datum | Datum | Dis- |
| | | | Placement |
| | | | |
-----------///---------///-----------------
 | | | |
 +conditional+conditional+conditional+

The starting address of a module has all the attributes of any other logical
reference found in a module. The mapping of a logical starting address to
a physical starting address is done in the same manner as mapping any
other logical address to a physical address, as specified in the discussion of
fixups and the FIXUPP record. The fields of the START ADDRS field
have the same semantics as the FIX DAT, Frame Datum, Target Datum,
and Target Displacement fields in the FIXUPP record. Only primary fixup
methods are allowed. Frame method F4 is not allowed.


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_ ______________


7.5.16 Comment Record (COMENT)


-----------------------------------///-----------
| | | | | |
| REC | Record | Comment | | CHK |
| TYP | Length | Type | Comment | SUM |
| 88H | | | | |
| | | | | |
-----------------------------------///-----------

The COMENT record allows translators to include comments in object
text.

Comment Type

The Comment Type field indicates the type of comment that this record
carries, allowing you to structure comments for processes that selectively
act on comments.

The format of the Comment Type field is as follows:

--------------------------------------------------------
| N | N | | | | | | | Comment |
| P | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Class |
--------------------------------------------------------

The NP (NOPURGE) bit, if set to 1, indicates that this comment cannot
be purged by object file utility programs that can delete Comment records.

The NL (NOLIST) bit, if set to 1, indicates that the text in the Comment
field should not appear in the listing file of object file utility programs that
can list object Comment records.

The Comment Class field is a byte defined as follows:

_ ________________________________________________________________

0 Language Translator Comment (obsolete)

 If the comment field contains one of the strings "MS
 PASCAL" or "FORTRAN 77," then the comment
 record enables the dsallocation switch on the Micro-
 soft linker.

156(9CH) DOS Version

 The Comment field contains a 2-byte integer that
 specifies the DOS level number.

157(9DH) Memory Model

 Indicates the memory model of the object module.
 The Comment field contains a single byte with the

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 _ __________________________________________________

 values S, M, L, or H, for SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE,
 or HUGE, respectively. This Comment record is used
 only by the Microsoft XENIX linker.

158(9EH) Force Segment Ordering

 Causes the linker to use a special segment ordering for
 executable files. This comment record has the same
 effect as giving the dosseg switch to Microsoft
 language versions of the linker.

159(9FH) Library Specifier

129(81H) Library Specifier (obsolete)

 Specifies a library to add to the Microsoft linker's
 library search list. The Comment field contains the
 name of the library. Note that unlike all other name
 specifications, the library name is not prefixed with its
 length but is determined by the record length. The
 nodefaultlibrarysearch switch causes the linker to
 ignore these comment records. The 159(9FH) class
 record is ignored by XENIX versions of the Microsoft
 linker.

161(A1H) Microsoft Extensions

 Indicates that the object module contains extensions
 to the original Microsoft adaptation of the Intel Relo-
 catable Object Module Format, such as the COMDEF
 and LOCSYM records.


Comment

The Comment field provides the commentary information.

7.6 Microsoft Type Representations
 for Communal Variables

_ ________________________________________________________________

Note

 Object modules not containing the COMENT record from the Micro-
 soft Extensions class can represent communal variable definitions only
 with the obsolete method described here. Also, Microsoft language
 linkers earlier than version 3.05 can recognize this method only. The
 newer method uses the Communal Variable Definitions (COMDEF)
 record.

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_ ______________

_ ________________________________________________________________

A communal variable is defined in the object text by an EXTDEF record
and the TYPDEF record to which it refers.

The TYPDEF record of a communal variable has the following format:

-------------------------///-----------
| REC | Record | | Eight | CHK |
| TYP | Length | 0 | Leaf | SUM |
| 8EH | | | Descriptor | |
-------------------------///-----------

The Eight Leaf Descriptor field has the following format:

---------///------
| E | Leaf |
| N | Descriptor |
---------///------

The EN bitfield specifies whether the next eight leaves in the Leaf Descrip-
tor field are EASY (if EN = 0) or NICE (if EN = l). This byte is always
zero for TYPDEFs of communal variables.

The Leaf Descriptor field has one of the following two formats. The for-
mat for communal variables in the default data segment (NEAR variables)
is as follows:

------------------///-----///-----
| NEAR | VAR | Length | VAR |
| 62H | TYP | In | SUBTYP |
| | | Bits | |
------------------///------///----
 | |
 +--------+
 (optional)

The VARTYP (Variable Type) field may be either SCALAR (7BH),
STRUCT (79H), or ARRAY (77H). The linker ignores the VAR SUBTYP
field (if one exists). The format for communal variables not in the default
data segment (FAR variables) is as follows:

-----------------///-------///----
| FAR | VAR | Number | Element |
| 61H | TYP | of | Type |
| | 77H | Elements | Index |
-----------------///-------///----

The VARTYP field must be ARRAY (77H). The Length in Bits field
specifies the Number of Elements, and the Element Type Index is an index
to a previously defined TYPDEF record whose format is that of a NEAR

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 _ __________________________________________________

communal variable.

The format for the Length in Bits or Number of Elements fields is the
same as the format of the Communal Length field of the COMDEF record.

Link-Time Semantics:

All EXTDEF records referencing a TYPDEF record of one of the previ-
ously described formats are treated as communal variables. All others are
treated as externally defined symbols for which a matching PUBDEF
record is expected.

For more information, see "Link-Time Semantics" Section 7.5.8, "Commu-
nal Names Definition Record (COMDEF)."


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Chapter 7

Microsoft Relocatable

Object Module Formats

_ ________________________________________________________________

7.1 Introduction 3

7.1.1 Definition of Terms 4

7.2 Module Identification and Attributes 7

7.2.1 Segment Definition 7

7.2.2 Addressing a Segment 7

7.2.3 Symbol Definition 8

7.2.4 Indices 8

7.3 Conceptual Framework for Fixups 9

7.3.1 Self-Relative Fixup 13

7.3.2 Segment-Relative Fixup 13

7.4 Record Sequence 14

7.5 Introducing the Record Formats 15

7.5.1 Sample Record Format (SAMREC) 15

7.5.2 T-Module Header Record (THEADR) 17

7.5.3 L-Module Header Record (LHEADR) 17

7.5.4 List of Names Record (LNAMES) 18

7.5.5 Segment Definition Record (SEGDEF) 18

7.5.6 Group Definition Record (GRPDEF) 21

7.5.7 Public Names Definition Record
 (PUBDEF) 22

7.5.8 Communal Names Definition Record
 (COMDEF) 24

7.5.9 Local Symbols Record (LOCSYM) 27

7.5.10 External Names Definition Record
 (EXTDEF) 28

7.5.11 Line Numbers Record (LINNUM) 29

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_ ______________

7.5.12 Logical Enumerated Data Record
 (LEDATA) 30

7.5.13 Logical Iterated Data Record (LIDATA) 31

7.5.14 Fixupp Record (FIXUPP) 32

7.5.15 Module End Record (MODEND) 36

7.5.16 Comment Record (COMENT) 38

7.6 Microsoft Type Representations
 for Communal Variables 39



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