What are the executable file formats in Solaris and Linux?


 
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# 1  
Old 03-25-2013
Oracle What are the executable file formats in Solaris and Linux?

we all knew that .exe files are the executable file formats in windows....... Similarly, what are the executable file formats in solaris and linux ........

please tell meSmilie



Thanks in Advance.
# 2  
Old 03-25-2013
In Linux, file types are not recognized by file extensions. It is actually determined by the data in a file. The file extension doesn't even matter.

If you run file command on any file, three sets of tests, performed in this order: filesystem tests, magic number tests and language tests to determine the file type.

Go over the file command manual for more information:
Code:
man file

# 3  
Old 03-25-2013
"exe" is just an extension name used by Windows to identify executable files but has nothing to do with its internal constitution.

Linux does not rely on extension names but a "Magic Number" database that helps identify the type of any given file by reading the first bytes of its data and comparing it to a pre-defined "signature". You can check the full database on your Linux system by taking a look at "/usr/share/magic".

Regardless of the format in Linux, a file won't run unless it has the "execute" permission on.

As far as I know Windows does not use magic numbers at all -- Although the last version of Windows I used was Windows 2K so it may have changed by now.

Most SystemV-based operating systems (such as Linux) use ELF binary format and do not append any extension to the file name.

For the record, back in the DOS days executables used to be in COM format and later in MZ format under Win 9x and its variants.

Nowadays Windows uses PE format to pack its executables.
 
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