elf_rand(3E)															      elf_rand(3E)

NAME

       elf_rand - random archive member access

SYNOPSIS

       [flag... ] file...  [library] ...

DESCRIPTION

       and manipulate simple object files and archives.  elf is an ELF descriptor previously returned from

       provides  random archive processing, preparing elf to access an arbitrary archive member.  elf must be a descriptor for the archive itself,
       not a member within the archive.  offset gives the byte offset from the beginning of the archive to the archive header of the desired  mem-
       ber.   See  elf_getarsym(3E)  for  more	information about archive member offsets.  When works, it returns offset.  Otherwise it returns 0,
       because an error occurred, elf was null, or the file was not an archive (no archive member can have a zero offset).  A program may mix ran-
       dom and sequential archive processing.

EXAMPLES

       An  archive  starts with a ``magic string'' that has bytes; the initial archive member follows immediately.  An application could thus pro-
       vide the following function to rewind an archive (the function returns -1 for errors and 0 otherwise).

		    #include <ar.h>
		    #include <libelf.h>

		    int
		    rewindelf(Elf *elf)
		    {
			    if (elf_rand(elf, (size_t)SARMAG) == SARMAG)
				    return 0;
			    return -1;
		    }

SEE ALSO

       ar(4), elf(3E), elf_begin(3E), elf_getarsym(3E), elf_next(3E).

																      elf_rand(3E)