3.7. The Linking Process
Assemblers and high-level language compilers do not produce a complete program that is ready to run. Instead, a linker program (sometimes called a linkage editor) is provided as part of the system software. The principal tasks of the linker require that it be able to perform three functions:
Build a table of all external symbol names found in all object files.
Gather values for every symbol, including any references to system-supplied routines and special values.
Adjust certain temporary, relative addresses to their final locations.
Like most assemblers and compilers, a linker may require at least two passes through all the object files.
On the first pass, symbols are gathered into a composite symbol table for the entire ...
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