ELF_GETARSYM(3)           Libelf Programmer's Manual           ELF_GETARSYM(3)



NAME
       elf_getarsym - retrieve archive symbol table


SYNOPSIS
       #include <libelf.h>

       Elf_Arsym *elf_getarsym(Elf *elf, size_t *narsyms);"


DESCRIPTION
       Retrieve the archive symbol table from the archive file associated with
       elf.


       If the archive contains a symbol table, elf_getarsym() returns a
       pointer to an array of Elf_Arsym structures describing each symbol.
       Also store the number of symbols in this array in narsyms if not NULL.

       Elf_Arsym has the following layout:


       typedef struct {
         char   *as_name;   /* Symbol name (null-terminated). */
         int64_t as_off;    /* File offset of defining archive member. */
         uint64_t as_hash;  /* Hash value of symbol name. */
       } Elf_Arsym;

       The last entry in the archive symbol table is the special entry { NULL,
       0, ~0L}.  This can be used to find the end of the table if narsyms is
       NULL.


PARAMETERS
       elf    An ELF descriptor referring to an archive file, obtained by
              calling elf_begin(3) on an archive.


       narsyms
              A pointer to a size_t in which the number of entries in the
              symbol table will be stored if this pointer is not NULL.


RETURN VALUE
       If the archive contains a symbol table, return a pointer to an array of
       Elf_Arsym structures, including the special NULL entry indicating the
       the end of the table. Sets *narsyms to the number of entries in the
       array (if narsyms is not NULL).  These pointers are managed by libelf
       and should not be freed by the caller of elf_getarsym.


       If the archive does not contain a symbol table or elf is not a valid
       archive descriptor, elf_getarsym returns NULL.


SEE ALSO
       elf_begin(3), elf_getarhdr(3), elf_next(3), libelf(3), elf(5)


ATTRIBUTES

       +--------------------------------------------+---------------+---------+
       |Interface                                   | Attribute     | Value   |
       +--------------------------------------------+---------------+---------+
       |elf_getarsym ()                             | Thread safety | MT-Safe |
       +--------------------------------------------+---------------+---------+

REPORTING BUGS
       Report bugs to <elfutils-devel@sourceware.org> or
       https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/.

Libelf                            2025-06-06                   ELF_GETARSYM(3)