[TUHS] Origins of the SGS (System Generation Software) and COFF (Common Object File Format)
Dave Horsfall
dave at horsfall.org
Sat Feb 25 12:07:01 AEST 2023
On Thu, 23 Feb 2023, Paul Winalski wrote:
> a.out was, as object file formats go, a throwback to the stone age from
> the get-go. Even the most primitive of IBM's link editors for
> System/360 supported arbitrary naming of object file sections and the
> ability for the programmer to arrange them in whatever order they
> wished. a.out's restriction to three sections (.text, .data, .bss) did
> manage to get the job done, and even (with ZMAGIC) could support
> demand-paged virtual memory, but only just.
That may be so, but those guys didn't exactly have the resources of
IBM behind them...
And I wonder how many people here know the significance of the "407" magic
number?
-- Dave
More information about the TUHS
mailing list