mcs(1) User Commands mcs(1)
NAME
mcs - manipulate the comment section of an object file
SYNOPSIS
mcs [-cdpVz] [-a string] [-n name] file...
DESCRIPTION
The mcs command is used to manipulate a section, by default the .comment section, in an ELF object file. It is used to add to, delete,
print, and compress the contents of a section in an ELF object file, and print only the contents of a section in a COFF object file. mcs
cannot add, delete, or compress the contents of a section that is contained within a segment.
If the input file is an archive (see ar.h(3HEAD)), the archive is treated as a set of individual files. For example, if the -a option is
specified, the string is appended to the comment section of each ELF object file in the archive; if the archive member is not an ELF object
file, then it is left unchanged.
mcs must be given one or more of the options described below. It applies, in order, each of the specified options to each file.
OPTIONS
The following options are supported:
-a string Appends string to the comment section of the ELF object files. If string contains embedded blanks, it must be enclosed in
quotation marks.
-c Compresses the contents of the comment section of the ELF object files. All duplicate entries are removed. The ordering of
the remaining entries is not disturbed.
-d Deletes the contents of the comment section from the ELF object files. The section header for the comment section is also
removed.
-n name Specifies the name of the comment section to access if other than .comment. By default, mcs deals with the section named
.comment. This option can be used to specify another section. mcs can take multiple -n options to allow for specification
of multiple section comments.
-p Prints the contents of the comment section on the standard output. Each section printed is tagged by the name of the file
from which it was extracted, using the format file[member_name]: for archive files and file: for other files.
-V Prints on standard error the version number of mcs.
-z Replaces any SHT_PROGBITS sections with zeros while retaining the original attributes of the sections.
EXAMPLES
Example 1: Printing a file's comment section
The following entry
example% mcs -p elf.file
prints the comment section of the file elf.file.
Example 2: Appending a string to a comment section
The following entry
example% mcs -a xyz elf.file
appends string xyz to elf.file's comment section.
FILES
/tmp/mcs* temporary files
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
|Availability |SUNWbtool |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
|Interface Stability |Stable |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
SEE ALSO
ar(1), as(1), ld(1), ar.h(3HEAD), elf(3ELF), tmpnam(3C), a.out(4), attributes(5)
NOTES
When mcs deletes a section using the -d option, it tries to bind together sections of type SHT_REL and target sections pointed to by the
sh_info section header field. If one is to be deleted, mcs attempts to delete the other of the pair.
By using the -z option, it is possible to make an object file by removing the contents of SHT_PROGBITS sections while retaining the object
file's original structure as an ELF file. The need for use of the -z option is limited. However, the option can be used to deliver an
object file when the contents of SHT_PROGBITS sections are not relevant.
SunOS 5.10 1 Apr 2004 mcs(1)