Subject: file on MIPS ELF files.
To: None <port-mips@netbsd.org>
From: Jeff Smith <jeffs@geocast.com>
List: port-mips
Date: 08/10/2000 17:07:54
There are some older PRs (4939 and 6545) on how the file output
for MIPS ELF objects is done.  These are roughly 2 years old.

The basic issue looks like MIPS defined two magic #s (8 and 10)
that we suppost to be for big and little endian.  There is also
another bit for MSB/LSB which means more or less the same thing.

The GNU tools generate 8 for both MSB+LSB binaries.  The file
command would think little endian binaries were big endian with
an invalid byte order.

At this point, I think it's best for the NetBSD file command
to understand both the standard, and the defacto (gcc)
standard binaries.

I've done some of this work which has been checked into -current.
I would like to do one more change to make "R3000_BE" and 
"R3000_LE"  to just "BE" or "LE".  The mips-[1-4] should
cover what type of MIPS binary it is.

After that I would like to close the 2 PRs.

Comments?  Does anybody still want to hold the toolchain to
the spec?

jeffs