ELF_END(3)

📦
version 0.197 · 2 versions
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💖 ELF_END(3) 💖

okay bestie, welcome to the Libelf Programmer's Manual — this is the page for elf_end(3), and it's literally the cleanup queen of the libelf world 👑

✨ NAME ✨

elf_end — release resources associated with an ELF descriptor. it's giving "bye, you're done here" energy 💅

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <libelf.h>

int elf_end(Elf *elf);

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so the elf_end function releases resources associated with an ELF descriptor that was previously returned by elf_begin. it does this by decrementing the ELF descriptor's internal reference count by one. and when that count hits zero?? that's when the resources associated with the descriptor get freed and the descriptor is invalidated, no cap 😌

now here's the little detail you don't wanna skip, bestie: if elf is not an archive member with ELF kind ELF_K_AR, then the internal reference count gets increased by one each time elf is passed to elf_begin as the ref argument. okay so the count is going up too. plot twist fr fr 🔥

💀 an ELF descriptor whose reference count reaches zero is invalidated. further operations on the descriptor will result in undefined behavior. this is the part where you walk away, don't touch it, don't look at it, don't call anything on it. periodt.

🎀 PARAMETERS 🎀

  • elf — the ELF descriptor (may be NULL). yes, she can be null, she's chill like that 🙈

⭐ RETURN VALUE ⭐

returns the ELF descriptor's current internal reference count after decrementing. so like, the number it lands on after the subtraction, that's your answer 🧮

a return value of zero means the ELF descriptor is now invalidated. if elf is NULL, then elf_end also returns 0. iconic behavior honestly 💖

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

iykyk 👑

💜 ATTRIBUTES 💜

for an explanation of the terms used in this section, see attributes(7).

  • elf_end() — Thread safety: MT-Safe 🫶

🍓 REPORTING BUGS 🍓

report bugs to <elfutils-devel@sourceware.org> or over at https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/ — they wanna hear it, fr fr 📬

Libelf · 2025-03-31 · ELF_END(3) — that's the whole page bestie, go free your descriptors and slay the memory management 💖✨🦋🌸💅

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