WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2026
binutils — Proposed
Remove MAP support from ld scripts
Removes undocumented and unimplemented MAP support from binutils linker scripts.
This patch removes the MAP keyword and its associated functionality from binutils linker scripts. The MAP keyword, intended to control mapfile output, appeared in 1991 but was never implemented and is undocumented. Its removal cleans up the linker script parser and code.
In Details
This patch removes the MAP token and related handling code from the GNU ld linker script parser. The MAP keyword was intended to control aspects of mapfile output but was never implemented and is undocumented. Its removal simplifies the linker's parsing logic and removes dead code.
For Context
- MAP
- A keyword that was present in linker script syntax but never implemented. It was likely intended to control the generation or content of mapfiles.
- linker script
- A file that specifies how the linker should arrange code and data sections in the output executable or library.
- mapfile
- A file generated by the linker that lists the memory addresses and symbols within an executable or library, useful for debugging and analysis.
- parser
- A component of a compiler or interpreter that analyzes a stream of tokens (from lexing) to determine the grammatical structure of the input.