[RFC PATCH] LoongArch: Use local anchors for relocatable section symbols

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Project / Subsystem

binutils / loongarch

Date

2026-09-19

Proposer

mengqinggang <mengqinggang@loongson.cn>

Source type

public_inbox

Consensus

Proposed

Sentiment

—/10

Technical tradeoffs

• Introduces local anchors to manage section offsets, potentially increasing symbol table size.
• Ensures compatibility with LoongArch's relaxation constraints that prevent standard section symbol + offset optimizations.

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All attributes

project: binutils
subsystem: loongarch
patch_id: —
discussion_id: 20260919085650.2568760-1-mengqinggang@loongson.cn
source_type: public_inbox
title: [RFC PATCH] LoongArch: Use local anchors for relocatable section symbols
headline: LoongArch: Use local anchors for relocatable section symbols
tldr: RFC patch to use local anchors for relocatable section symbols in LoongArch to handle linker's folding of output_offset into RELA addends.
proposer: mengqinggang <mengqinggang@loongson.cn>
consensus: Proposed
outcome: proposed
sentiment_score: —
technical_tradeoffs: • Introduces local anchors to manage section offsets, potentially increasing symbol table size.
• Ensures compatibility with LoongArch's relaxation constraints that prevent standard section symbol + offset optimizations.
series_id: —
series_role: standalone
series_parts: []
tags: • linker
• loongarch
• relocation
• optimization
• rfc
url: https://inbox.sourceware.org/binutils/20260919085650.2568760-1-mengqinggang@loongson.cn
bugzilla_url: —
date: 2026-09-19T00:00:00.000Z

[RFC PATCH] LoongArch: Use local anchors for relocatable section symbols

This RFC patch addresses an issue in LoongArch where the linker, when performing a partial link (ld -r), folds the output section offset into the RELA addend for STT_SECTION symbols. LoongArch’s relaxation mechanism does not support optimizing symbols into a section symbol plus offset form, necessitating the use of local STT_NOTYPE anchors. These anchors will store the input section’s output offset, allowing subsequent relaxation or section movement to update the anchor without modifying relocation addends.