STRIP(1) User Commands STRIP(1)

NAME

strip - strip symbol table, debugging and line number information
from an object file

SYNOPSIS

strip [-lVx] file...

DESCRIPTION

The strip command removes the symbol table SHT_SYMTAB and its
associated string table, debugging information, and line number
information from ELF object files. That is, besides the symbol table
and associated string table, the following sections are removed:

.line
.debug*
.stab*


Once this stripping process has been done, limited symbolic debugging
access is available for that file. Therefore, this command is
normally run only on production modules that have been debugged and
tested.


If strip is executed on a common archive file (see ar.h(3HEAD)) in
addition to processing the members, strip removes the archive symbol
table. The archive symbol table must be restored by executing the
ar(1) command with the -s option before the archive can be linked by
the ld(1) command. strip produces appropriate warning messages when
this situation arises.


strip is used to reduce the file storage overhead taken by the object
file.

OPTIONS

The amount of information stripped from the ELF object file can be
controlled by using any of the following options. The following
options are supported:

-l
Strip line number information only.Does not strip the symbol
table or debugging information.


-V
Prints, on standard error, the version number of strip.


-x
Does not strip the symbol table. Debugging and line number
information might be stripped.

OPERANDS

The following operand is supported:

file
A path name referring to an executable file.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

See environ(7) for descriptions of the following environment
variables that affect the execution of strip: LANG, LC_ALL, LC_CTYPE,
LC_MESSAGES, and NLSPATH.

EXIT STATUS

The following exit values are returned:

0
Successful completion.


>0
An error occurred.

FILES

/tmp/strp*
Temporary files

ATTRIBUTES

See attributes(7) for descriptions of the following attributes:


+--------------------+-----------------+
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
+--------------------+-----------------+
|Interface Stability | Standard |
+--------------------+-----------------+

SEE ALSO

ar(1), as(1), ld(1), mcs(1), tmpnam(3C), elf(3ELF), ar.h(3HEAD),
a.out(5), attributes(7), environ(7), standards(7)

NOTES

The symbol table section is not removed if it is contained within a
segment or if the file is a relocatable object.


The line number and debugging sections are not removed if they are
contained within a segment or if their associated relocation section
is contained within a segment.


The strip command is used to remove a standard predefined set of
sections from an ELF object file. To remove a user specified section
by name, see mcs(1).

October 5, 2007 STRIP(1)