ELF_OPEN(3)

💅 ELF_OPEN(3) — the elf_open / elf_openmemory glow-up

okay so bestie, this is the page from the Library Functions Manual for ELF_OPEN(3), and honestly it's giving "internal tool that somehow got a whole manpage" energy. let's get into it ✨

🦋 NAME

elf_open, elf_openmemory — open ELF objects and ar(1) archives. that's it, that's the whole job 💖

📚 LIBRARY

ELF Access Library (libelf, -lelf) — like, that's the lib you link against, no cap.

✨ SYNOPSIS

#include <libelf.h>

Elf *
elf_open(int fd);

Elf *
elf_openmemory(char *image, size_t sz);

🎀 DESCRIPTION

Important: the functions elf_open() and elf_openmemory() are extensions to the elf(3) API, for the internal use of the Elftoolchain project. Portable applications should not use these functions. i'm serious, bestie — they're not for you, they're for the project's own plumbing 🙈

okay so here's what each one does:

• elf_open() — returns an Elf descriptor opened with mode ELF_C_READ for the ELF object or ar(1) archive referenced by the file descriptor in argument fd. yes, it handles both. versatile icon 💅
• elf_openmemory() — returns an ELF descriptor opened with mode ELF_C_READ for the ELF object or ar(1) archive chillin' inside the memory area pointed to by the argument image. the argument sz specifies the size of that memory area in bytes 🫶

🔥 RETURN VALUES

the function returns a pointer to a ELF descriptor if it slayed, or NULL if an error occurred 😭 that's the whole vibe check.

💀 COMPATIBILITY

these functions are non-standard extensions to the elf(3) API set. not standard, not portable, we been knew.

and here's the tea: the behavior of these functions differs from their counterparts elf_begin(3) and elf_memory(3) — these ones will successfully open malformed ELF objects and ar(1) archives, returning an Elf descriptor of type ELF_K_NONE. like, they don't even care. malformed? still opens it. main character energy, honestly 👑

🌸 ERRORS

these functions can fail with the following errors:

• [ELF_E_ARGUMENT] — the argument fd was of an unsupported file type 🚫
• [ELF_E_ARGUMENT] — the argument sz was zero, or the argument image was NULL 🙅‍♀️
• [ELF_E_IO] — the file descriptor in argument fd was invalid 💀
• [ELF_E_IO] — the file descriptor in argument fd could not be read 😭
• [ELF_E_RESOURCE] — an out of memory condition was encountered 🫠
• [ELF_E_SEQUENCE] — functions elf_open() or elf_openmemory() was called before a working version was established with elf_version(3). so like, call elf_version(3) first, bestie, it's not optional ✨

💜 SEE ALSO

elf(3), elf_begin(3), elf_errno(3), elf_memory(3), gelf(3) — go read these, iykyk 📖

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and that's the page fr fr 🎀 this cutie came from the Debian squad, dated July 15, 2025 — go off, July 15 2025, we love a fresh manpage 🦋💖