Search code examples
elfdebug-symbols

different symbols with the same name in ELF binary

Can a statically linked ELF file (with symbols) have two different symbols with same name?

Solution

  • Can a statically linked ELF file (with symbols) have two different symbols with same name?

    Absolutely, provided the symbols have local linkage. Example:

    // foo.c
static int foo1() { return 42; }
int foo() { return foo1(); }

// bar.c
static int foo1() { return 24; }
int main() { return foo1(); }

gcc -static foo.c bar.c

nm ./a.out | grep ' foo1'
0000000000401c2d t foo1
0000000000401c48 t foo1

    QED.