carta
elf64_xlatetom(3)

elf64_xlatetom3

Translate data between files and memory

Part of elf32_xlatetof(3).

Usage

Elf_Data *

Elf_Data *

Elf_Data *

Elf_Data *

Elf_Data *

Elf_Data *

Library

library “libelf”

Overview

These functions translate between the file and memory representations of ELF data structures. The in-memory representation of an ELF data structure would conform to the byte ordering and data alignment restrictions dictated by the host processor. As described in elf(3), the file representation of this data structure could use a different byte ordering from that of the host, or could use a different layout within the file.

Functions elf32_xlatetom(), elf64_xlatetom(), and gelf_xlatetom() translate data from file representations to native, in-memory representations. Functions elf32_xlatetof(), elf64_xlatetof(), and gelf_xlatetof() translate data from in-memory representations to file representations.

Argument src denotes an Elf_Data descriptor describing the source to be translated. The following elements of the descriptor need to be set before invoking these functions:

d_buf

Set to a valid pointer value denoting the beginning of the data area to be translated.

d_size

Set to the total size in bytes of the source data area to be translated.

d_type

Set to the type of the source data being translated. This value is one of the values defined in the Elf_Type enumeration. The Elf_Type enumeration is described in elf(3).

d_version

Set to the version number of the ELF data structures being translated. Currently only version EV_CURRENT is supported.

Argument dst describes the destination buffer. The following elements of the Elf_Data descriptor need to be set before invoking these functions:

d_buf

Set to a valid pointer value that denotes the start of the destination buffer that will hold translated data. This value may be the same as that of the source buffer, in which case an in-place conversion will be attempted.

d_size

Set to the size of the destination buffer in bytes. This value will be modified if the function call succeeds.

d_version

Set to the desired version number of the destination. Currently only version EV_CURRENT is supported.

These translations routines allow the source and destination buffers to coincide, in which case an in-place translation will be done if the destination is large enough to hold the translated data. Other kinds of overlap between the source and destination buffers are not permitted.

On successful completion of the translation request the following fields of the dst descriptor would be modified:

d_size

Set to the size in bytes of the translated data.

d_type

Set to the d_type value of the source data descriptor.

Argument file_encoding specifies the encoding in which the file objects are represented. It must be one of:

ELFDATANONE

File objects use the library's native byte ordering.

ELFDATA2LSB

File objects use a little-endian ordering.

ELFDATA2MSB

File objects use a big-endian ordering.

The functions gelf_xlatetof() and gelf_xlatetom() select the appropriate translation scheme based on the properties of argument elf.

Return values

These functions return argument dst if successful, or NULL in case of an error.

Examples

To translate a GElf_Rel structure to its LSB file representation use:

Elf_Data dst, src;
GElf_Rel rel;
Elf *e;
e = ...; /* See elf_begin(3). */
/* Set up the 'src' descriptor. */
memset(&src, 0, sizeof src);
src.d_buf = &rel;
src.d_size = sizeof(rel);
src.d_type = ELF_T_REL;
src.d_version = EV_CURRENT;
/* Set up the 'dst' descriptor. */
memset(&dst, 0, sizeof dst);
dst.d_buf = filebuf;
dst.d_size = gelf_fsize(e, ELF_T_REL, 1, EV_CURRENT);
dst.d_version = EV_CURRENT;
if (gelf_xlatetof(e, &dst, &src, ELFDATA2LSB) == NULL) {
	printf("error: %s", elf_errmsg(0));
}

Errors

These functions may fail with the following errors:

[ELF_E_ARGUMENT]

One of arguments src, dst or elf was NULL.

[ELF_E_ARGUMENT]

Arguments src and dst were equal.

[ELF_E_ARGUMENT]

The desired encoding parameter was not one of ELFDATANONE, ELFDATA2LSB or ELFDATA2MSB.

[ELF_E_ARGUMENT]

The d_type field of argument src specified an unsupported type.

[ELF_E_DATA]

The src argument specified a buffer size that was not an integral multiple of its underlying type.

[ELF_E_DATA]

The dst argument specified a buffer size that was too small.

[ELF_E_DATA]

Argument dst specified a destination buffer that overlaps with the source buffer.

[ELF_E_DATA]

The destination buffer for a conversion to memory had an alignment inappropriate for the underlying ELF type.

[ELF_E_DATA]

The source buffer for a conversion to file had an alignment inappropriate for the underlying ELF type.

[ELF_E_UNIMPL]

The version numbers for arguments dst and src were not identical.

[ELF_E_UNIMPL]

The argument src requested conversion for a type which is not currently supported.

[ELF_E_VERSION]

Argument src specified an unsupported version number.

History

  • FreeBSD 16.0-CURRENT (2026-10-27) to FreeBSD 15.0-RELEASE: the text shown here
  • FreeBSD 14.5-RELEASE to FreeBSD 12.1-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 12.0-RELEASE to FreeBSD 11.0-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 10.4-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 10.3-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 10.2-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 10.1-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 10.0-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 9.3-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 9.2-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 9.1-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 9.0-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 8.4-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 8.3-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 8.2-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 8.1-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 8.0-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 7.4-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 7.3-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 7.2-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 7.1-RELEASE
  • FreeBSD 7.0-RELEASE

From base 16.0-CURRENT-20261027-61c70dc16a79 in FreeBSD 16.0-CURRENT (2026-10-27). Parsed by carta from the page's mdoc source.