SYSTEM PROGRAMMING UNIT 3

LOADERS AND LINKERS

Introduction: The Source Program written in assembly language or high-level language will be
converted to object program, which is in the machine language form for execution. This conversion either
from assembler or from compiler, contains translated instructions and data values from the source
program, or specifies addresses in primary memory where these items are to be loaded for execution.

This contains the following three processes, and they are,

Loading - which allocates memory location and brings the object program into memory for execution -
(Loader)

Linking- which combines two or more separate object programs and supplies the information needed to
allow references between them - (Linker)

Relocation - which modifies the object program so that it can be loaded at an address different from the
location originally specified - (Linking Loader)

Basic Loader Functions:

A loader is a system program that performs the loading function. It brings object program into
memory and starts its execution. The role of loader is as shown in the figure 3.1. In figure 3.1 translator
may be assembler/complier, which generates the object Program and later loaded to the memory by the
loader for execution. In figure 3.2 the translator is specifically an assembler, which generates the object
loaded, which becomes input to the loader. The figure 3.3 shows the role of both loader and linker.

Chapter: LOADERS & LINKERS

Figure 3.1: The Role of Loader

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Figure 3.2: The Role of Loader with Assembler

Figure 3.3: The Role of both Loader and Linker

Type of Loaders Chapter: LOADERS & LINKERS

The different types of loaders are, absolute loader, bootstrap loader, relocating loader (relative loader),
and, direct linking loader. The following sections discuss the functions and design of all these types of
loaders.
➢ Absolute Loader: The operation of absolute loader is very simple. The object code is loaded
to specified locations in the memory. At the end the loader jumps to the specified address to begin
execution of the loaded program. The role of absolute loader is as shown in the figure 3.3.1. The
advantage of absolute loader is simple and efficient. But the disadvantages are, the need for
programmer to specify the actual address, and, difficult to use subroutine libraries.

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Figure 3.3.1: The Role of Absolute Loader

The algorithm for this type of loader is given here. The object program and, the object program loaded
into memory by the absolute loader are also shown. Each byte of assembled code is given using its
hexadecimal representation in character form. Easy to read by human beings. Each byte of object code is
stored as a single byte. Most machine store object programs in a binary form, and we must be sure that
our file and device conventions do not cause some of the program bytes to be interpreted as control
characters.

Begin
read Header record
verify program name and length
read first Text record
while record type is <> ‘E’ do
begin
{if object code is in character form, convert into internal representation}
move object code to specified location in memory
read next object program record
end
jump to address specified in End record
end

Chapter: LOADERS & LINKERS

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A Simple Bootstrap Loader

When a computer is first turned on or restarted, a special type of absolute loader, called bootstrap
loader is executed. This bootstrap loads the first program to be run by the computer – usually an operating
system. The bootstrap itself begins at address 0. It loads the OS starting address 0x80. No header record
or control information, the object code is consecutive bytes of memory.

The algorithm for the bootstrap loader is as follows

Begin

Chapter: LOADERS & LINKERS

X=0x80 (the address of the next memory location to be loaded
Loop
AGETC (and convert it from the ASCII character
code to the value of the hexadecimal digit)
save the value in the high-order 4 bits of S
AGETC
combine the value to form one-byte A (A+S)
store the value (in A) to the address in register X
XX+1
End

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It uses a subroutine GETC, which is

GETC Aread one character
if A=0x04 then jump to 0x80
if A<48 then GETC
A  A-48 (0x30)
if A<10 then return
A  A-7
return

Machine-Dependent Loader Features

Absolute loader is simple and efficient, but the scheme has potential disadvantages One of the
most disadvantage is the programmer has to specify the actual starting address, from where the program
to be loaded. This does not create difficulty, if one program to run, but not for several programs. Further
it is difficult to use subroutine libraries efficiently.

This needs the design and implementation of a more complex loader. The loader must provide program
relocation and linking, as well as simple loading functions.

Relocation
The concept of program relocation is, the execution of the object program using any part of the
available and sufficient memory. The object program is loaded into memory wherever there is room for
it. The actual starting address of the object program is not known until load time. Relocation provides the
efficient sharing of the machine with larger memory and when several independent programs are to be run
together. It also supports the use of subroutine libraries efficiently. Loaders that allow for program
relocation are called relocating loaders or relative loaders.

Methods for specifying relocation

Use of modification record and, use of relocation bit, are the methods available for specifying
relocation. In the case of modification record, a modification record M is used in the object program to
specify any relocation. In the case of use of relocation bit, each instruction is associated with one relocation
bit and, these relocation bits in a Text record is gathered into bit masks.
Modification records are used in complex machines and is also called Relocation and Linkage
Directory (RLD) specification. The format of the modification record (M) is as follows. The object
program with relocation by Modification records is also shown here.
Chapter: LOADERS & LINKERS
Modification record
col 1: M
col 2-7: relocation address
col 8-9: length (half byte)
col 10: flag (+/-)
col 11-17: segment name

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The relocation bit method is used for simple machines. Relocation bit is 0: no modification is
necessary, and is 1: modification is needed. This is specified in the columns 10-12 of text record (T), the
format of text record, along with relocation bits is as follows.

Text record
col 1: T
col 2-7: starting address
col 8-9: length (byte)
col 10-12: relocation bits
col 13-72: object code

Twelve-bit mask is used in each Text record (col:10-12 – relocation bits), since each text record
contains less than 12 words, unused words are set to 0, and, any value that is to be modified during
relocation must coincide with one of these 3-byte segments. For absolute loader, there are no relocation
bits column 10-69 contains object code. The object program with relocation by bit mask is as shown
below. Observe FFC - means all ten words are to be modified and, E00 - means first three records are to
be modified.

HCOPY 000000 00107A

T0000001EFFC140033481039000036280030300015…3C0003  …
T00001E15E000C00364810610800334C0000…000003000000
T0010391EFFC040030000030…30103FD8105D280030... Chapter: LOADERS & LINKERS
T0010570A 8001000364C0000F1001000
T00106119FE0040030E01079…508039DC10792C0036...
E000000

Program Linking
The Goal of program linking is to resolve the problems with external references (EXTREF) and
external definitions (EXTDEF) from different control sections.

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EXTDEF (external definition) - The EXTDEF statement in a control section names symbols, called
external symbols, that are defined in this (present) control section and may be used by other sections.
ex: EXTDEF BUFFER, BUFFEND, LENGTH
EXTDEF LISTA, ENDA

EXTREF (external reference) - The EXTREF statement names symbols used in this (present) control
section and are defined elsewhere.
ex: EXTREF RDREC, WRREC
EXTREF LISTB, ENDB, LISTC, ENDC

How to implement EXTDEF and EXTREF

The assembler must include information in the object program that will cause the loader to insert
proper values where they are required – in the form of
Define record (D) and, Refer record(R).

Define record
The format of the Define record (D) along with examples is as shown here.
Col. 1 D
Col. 2-7 Name of external symbol defined in this control section
Col. 8-13 Relative address within this control section (hexadecimal)
Col.14-73 Repeat information in Col. 2-13 for other external symbols

Example records
D LISTA 000040 ENDA 000054
D LISTB 000060 ENDB 000070

Refer record
The format of the Refer record (R) along with examples is as shown here.
Col. 1 R
Col. 2-7 Name of external symbol referred to in this control section
Col. 8-73 Name of other external reference symbols
Example records
R LISTB ENDB LISTC ENDC
R LISTA ENDA LISTC ENDC
R LISTA ENDA LISTB ENDB

Here are the three programs named as PROGA, PROGB and PROGC, which are separately Chapter: LOADERS & LINKERS
assembled and each of which consists of a single control section. LISTA, ENDA in PROGA, LISTB,
ENDB in PROGB and LISTC, ENDC in PROGC are external definitions in each of the control sections.
Similarly, LISTB, ENDB, LISTC, ENDC in PROGA, LISTA, ENDA, LISTC, ENDC in PROGB, and
LISTA, ENDA, LISTB, ENDB in PROGC, are external references. These sample programs given here
are used to illustrate linking and relocation. The following figures give the sample programs and their
corresponding object programs. Observe the object programs, which contain D and R records along with
other records.

0000 PROGA START 0

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EXTDEF LISTA, ENDA

EXTREF LISTB, ENDB, LISTC, ENDC
………..
……….
0020 REF1 LDA LISTA 03201D
0023 REF2 +LDT LISTB+4 77100004
0027 REF3 LDX #ENDA-LISTA 050014
.
0040 LISTA EQU *
0054 ENDA EQU *
0054 REF4 WORD ENDA-LISTA+LISTC 000014
0057 REF5 WORD ENDC-LISTC-10 FFFFF6
005A REF6 WORD ENDC-LISTC+LISTA-1 00003F
005D REF7 WORD ENDA-LISTA-(ENDB-LISTB) 000014
0060 REF8 WORD LISTB-LISTA FFFFC0
END REF1
0000 PROGB START 0
EXTDEF LISTB, ENDB
EXTREF LISTA, ENDA, LISTC, ENDC
……….
0036 REF1 +LDA LISTA 03100000
003A REF2 LDT LISTB+4 772027
003D REF3 +LDX #ENDA-LISTA 05100000
.
.
0060 LISTB EQU *
0070 ENDB EQU *
0070 REF4 WORD ENDA-LISTA+LISTC 000000
0073 REF5 WORD ENDC-LISTC-10 FFFFF6
0076 REF6 WORD ENDC-LISTC+LISTA-1 FFFFFF
0079 REF7 WORD ENDA-LISTA-(ENDB-LISTB) FFFFF0
007C REF8 WORD LISTB-LISTA 000060
END
0000 PROGC START 0
EXTDEF LISTC, ENDC
EXTREF LISTA, ENDA, LISTB, ENDB
………..
0018 REF1 +LDA LISTA 03100000
001C REF2 +LDT LISTB+4 77100004
0020 REF3 +LDX #ENDA-LISTA 05100000
. Chapter: LOADERS & LINKERS
.
0030 LISTC EQU *
0042 ENDC EQU *
0042 REF4 WORD ENDA-LISTA+LISTC 000030
0045 REF5 WORD ENDC-LISTC-10 000008
0045 REF6 WORD ENDC-LISTC+LISTA-1 000011
004B REF7 WORD ENDA-LISTA-(ENDB-LISTB) 000000
004E REF8 WORD LISTB-LISTA 000000
END

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H PROGA 000000 000063 H PROGB 000000 00007F H PROGC 000000 000051

D LISTA 000040 ENDA 000054 D LISTB 000060 ENDB 000070 D LISTC 000030 ENDC 000042
R LISTB ENDB LISTC ENDC R LISTA ENDA LISTC ENDC R LISTA ENDA LISTB ENDB
. . .
. T 000036 0B 03100000 772027 T 000018 0C 03100000 77100004
T 000020 0A 03201D 77100004 050014 05100000 05100000
. . .
. T 000007 0F 000000 FFFFF6 FFFFFF T 000042 0F 000030 000008 000011
T 000054 0F 000014 FFFF6 00003F FFFFF0 000060 000000 000000
000014 FFFFC0 M000037 05+LISTA M000019 05+LISTA
M000024 05+LISTB M00003E 06+ENDA M00001D 06+LISTB
M000054 06+LISTC M00003E 06 -LISTA M000021 06+ENDA
M000057 06+ENDC M000070 06 +ENDA M000021 06 -LISTA
M000057 06 -LISTC M000070 06 -LISTA M000042 06+ENDA
M00005A06+ENDC M000070 06 +LISTC M000042 06 -LISTA
M00005A06 -LISTC M000073 06 +ENDC M000042 06+PROGC
M00005A06+PROGA M000073 06 -LISTC M000048 06+LISTA
M00005D06-ENDB M000073 06 +ENDC M00004B 06+ENDA
M00005D06+LISTB M000076 06 -LISTC M00004B 006-LISTA
M00006006+LISTB M000076 06+LISTA M00004B 06-ENDB
M00006006-PROGA M000079 06+ENDA M00004B 06+LISTB
E000020 M000079 06 -LISTA M00004E 06+LISTB
M00007C 06+PROGB M00004E 06-LISTA
M00007C 06-LISTA E
E

Chapter: LOADERS & LINKERS

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The above figure shows these three programs as they might appear in memory after loading and
linking. PROGA has been loaded starting at address 4000, with PROGB and PROGC immediately
following.

For example, the value for REF4 in PROGA is located at address 4054 (the beginning address of
PROGA plus 0054, the relative address of REF4 within PROGA). The following figure shows the details
of how this value is computed.

The initial value from the Text record

T0000540F000014FFFFF600003F000014FFFFC0 is 000014. To this is added the address assigned to

LISTC, which is 4112 (the beginning address of PROGC plus 30). The result is 004126.

That is REF4 in PROGA is ENDA-LISTA+LISTC=4054-4040+4112=4126.

Similarly, the load address for symbols LISTA: PROGA+0040=4040, LISTB:

Chapter: LOADERS & LINKERS
PROGB+0060=40C3 and LISTC: PROGC+0030=4112

Algorithm and Data structures for a Linking Loader

The algorithm for a linking loader is considerably more complicated than the absolute loader
program, which is already given. The concept given in the program linking section is used for developing
the algorithm for linking loader. The modification records are used for relocation so that the linking and
relocation functions are performed using the same mechanism.

Linking Loader uses two-passes logic. ESTAB (external symbol table) is the main
data structure for a linking loader.

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Pass 1: Assign addresses to all external symbols

Pass 2: Perform the actual loading, relocation, and linking

ESTAB - ESTAB for the example (refer three programs PROGA PROGB and PROGC) given as shown
below. The ESTAB has four entries in it; they are name of the control section, the symbol appearing in
the control section, its address and length of the control section.

Program Logic for Pass 1

Pass 1 assign addresses to all external symbols. The variables & Data structures used during pass 1 are,
PROGADDR (program load address) from OS, CSADDR Control section Symbol Address Length
(control section address), CSLTH (control section length) and ESTAB. The pass 1 processes the Define
Record. The algorithm for Pass 1 of Linking Loader is given below.

Chapter: LOADERS & LINKERS

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3.6.2 Program Logic for Pass 2

Pass 2 of linking loader perform the actual loading, relocation, and linking. It uses modification record
and lookup the symbol in ESTAB to obtain its addres. Finally it uses end record of a main program to
obtain transfer address, which is a starting address needed for the execution of the program. The pass 2
process Text record and Modification record of the object programs. The algorithm for Pass 2 of Linking
Loader is given below.

Chapter: LOADERS & LINKERS

Machine-independent Loader Features

Here we discuss some loader features that are not directly related to machine architecture and design.
Automatic Library Search and Loader Options are such Machine-independent Loader Features.
Automatic Library Search
This feature allows a programmer to use standard subroutines without explicitly including them in the
program to be loaded. The routines are automatically retrieved from a library as they are needed during
linking. This allows programmer to use subroutines from one or more libraries. The subroutines called by
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the program being loaded are automatically fetched from the library, linked with the main program and
loaded. The loader searches the library or libraries specified for routines that contain the definitions of
these symbols in the main program.

Loader Options
Loader options allow the user to specify options that modify the standard processing. The options may be
specified in three different ways. They are, specified using a command language, specified as a part of job
control language that is processed by the operating system, and an be specified using loader control
statements in the source program.

Here are some examples of how option can be specified.

INCLUDE program-name (library-name) - read the designated object program from a library
DELETE csect-name – delete the named control section from the set pf programs being loaded
CHANGE name1, name2 - external symbol name1 to be changed to name2 wherever it appears in the
object programs
LIBRARY MYLIB – search MYLIB library before standard libraries
NOCALL STDDEV, PLOT, CORREL – no loading and linking of unneeded routines
Here is one more example giving, how commands can be specified as a part of object file, and the
respective changes are carried out by the loader.

LIBRARY UTLIB
INCLUDE READ (UTLIB)
INCLUDE WRITE (UTLIB)
DELETE RDREC, WRREC
CHANGE RDREC, READ
CHANGE WRREC, WRITE
NOCALL SQRT, PLOT

The commands are, use UTLIB ( say utility library), include READ and WRITE control sections from the
library, delete the control sections RDREC and WRREC from the load, the change command causes all
external references to the symbol RDREC to be changed to the symbol READ, similarly references to
WRREC is changed to WRITE, finally, no call to the functions SQRT, PLOT, if they are used in the
program.

Chapter: LOADERS & LINKERS

Loader Design Options
There are some common alternatives for organizing the loading functions, including relocation and
linking. Linking Loaders – Perform all linking and relocation at load time. The Other Alternatives are
Linkage editors, which perform linking prior to load time and, Dynamic linking, in which linking function
is performed at execution time

Linking Loaders
The above diagram shows the processing of an object program using Linking Loader. The source program
is first assembled or compiled, producing an object program. A linking loader performs all linking and
loading operations, and loads the program into memory for execution.

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Linkage Editors
The figure below shows the processing of an object program using Linkage editor. A linkage editor
produces a linked version of the program – often called a load module or an executable image – which is
written to a file or library for later execution. The linked program produced is generally in a form that is
suitable for processing by a relocating loader.
Some useful functions of Linkage editor are, an absolute object program can be created, if starting address
is already known. New versions of the library can be included without changing the source program.
Linkage editors can also be used to build packages of subroutines or other control sections that are
generally used together. Linkage editors often allow the user to specify that external references are not to
be resolved by automatic library search – linking will be done later by linking loader – linkage editor +
linking loader – savings in space

Chapter: LOADERS & LINKERS

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Dynamic Linking

The scheme that postpones the linking functions until execution. A subroutine is loaded and linked to the
rest of the program when it is first called – usually called dynamic linking, dynamic loading or load on
call. The advantages of dynamic linking are, it allows several executing programs to share one copy of a
subroutine or library. In an object-oriented system, dynamic linking makes it possible for one object to be
shared by several programs. Dynamic linking provides the ability to load the routines only when (and if)
they are needed. The actual loading and linking can be accomplished using operating system service
request.

3.8.4 Bootstrap Loaders

If the question, how is the loader itself loaded into the memory ? is asked, then the answer is, when
computer is started – with no program in memory, a program present in ROM ( absolute address) can be
made executed – may be OS itself or A Bootstrap loader, which in turn loads OS and prepares it for
execution. The first record (or records) is generally referred to as a bootstrap loader – makes the OS to be
loaded. Such a loader is added to the beginning of all object programs that are to be loaded into an empty
and idle system.

3.9 Implementation Examples

This section contains brief description of loaders and linkers for actual computers. They are, MS-DOS
Linker - Pentium architecture, SunOS Linkers - SPARC architecture, and, Cray MPP Linkers – T3E
architecture.

3.9.1 MS-DOS Linker

This explains some of the features of Microsoft MS-DOS linker, which is a linker for Pentium and other
x86 systems. Most MS-DOS compilers and assemblers (MASM) produce object modules, and they are
stored in .OBJ files. MS-DOS LINK is a linkage editor that combines one or more object modules to
produce a complete executable program - .EXE file; this file is later executed for results.

The following table illustrates the typical MS-DOS object module

Record Types Description

THEADR Translator Header
TYPDEF, PUBDEF, EXTDEF External symbols and references
LNAMES, SEGDEF, GRPDEF Segment definition and grouping Chapter: LOADERS & LINKERS
LEDATA, LIDATA Translated instructions and data
FIXUPP Relocation and linking information
MODEND End of object module

THEADR specifies the name of the object module. MODEND specifies the end of the module. PUBDEF
contains list of the external symbols (called public names). EXTDEF contains list of external symbols
referred in this module, but defined elsewhere. TYPDEF the data types are defined here. SEGDEF
describes segments in the object module (includes name, length, and alignment). GRPDEF includes how
segments are combined into groups. LNAMES contains all segment and class names. LEDATA contains

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translated instructions and data. LIDATA has above in repeating pattern. Finally, FIXUPP is used to
resolve external references.

Chapter: LOADERS & LINKERS

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