GELF_GETSYMINFO(3)

💖 GELF_GETSYMINFO — the Libelf Programmer's Manual, section 3, bestie edition 💖

okay so picture this: you're deep in the Libelf programmer's manual, section 3, and you've found gelf_getsyminfo. she's niche. she's Sun/Solaris-coded. she's gonna hand you one (1) class-independent extra-symbol-info entry and you're gonna say thank you. let's go ✨

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🌸 NAME 🌸

gelf_getsyminfo — grab the class-independent additional symbol information from the symbol table at whatever index you point at, no cap 🫶

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

#include <gelf.h>

GElf_Syminfo *gelf_getsyminfo (Elf_Data *data, int ndx, GElf_Syminfo *dst);

look at her. three args, one return, zero drama. 💅

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🎀 DESCRIPTION 🎀

So here's the tea: this function copies the additional symbol information entry out of data at index ndx, and drops it into the class-independent GElf_Syminfo structure that dst is pointing at. that's it. that's the whole job. she ate and left no crumbs 💖

now, important vibe check: data needs to be associated with an ELF section whose type is SHT_SUNW_syminfo and whose data type is ELF_T_SYMINFO. Those types are Sun/Solaris extensions — meaning they are not typically used in GNU/Linux ELF files. so if you're on Linux wondering why your section type is giving nothing... yeah. that's why. 🙈

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✨ PARAMETERS ✨

• data — a pointer to an Elf_Data for a section with type SHT_SUNW_syminfo and data type ELF_T_SYMINFO. yes, both. she's specific like that 👑
• ndx — the zero-based index of the additional symbol table information entry you want, within data. zero-based means the first one is 0, bestie, not 1, we've all been there 😭
• dst — pointer to a caller-provided structure where the additional symbol information entry gets stored. must not be NULL. do not pass NULL. she will not be happy. 💀

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🔥 RETURN VALUE 🔥

• On success? she copies the requested additional symbol information entry into *dst and returns dst. slay. 🎉
• On failure? NULL comes back and elf_errno gets set. so like, check it. 🌈
• And one lil special case: if data is NULL, you get NULL back without elf_errno being set. no error, just vibes. noted. 📝

fr fr, don't confuse "returned NULL" with "something went wrong" here — if data was NULL to begin with, there's no errno to read. 🫶

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

• gelf_getsym(3)
• gelf_update_syminfo(3)
• libelf(3)
• elf(5)

go read those too, they're all part of the same friend group 💜

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💅 ATTRIBUTES 💅

• Interface: gelf_getsyminfo()
• Attribute: Thread safety
• Value: MT-Safe

so yeah — she is MT-Safe, meaning multiple threads can call her and she keeps her composure. main character energy, truly. ⭐

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🍓 REPORTING BUGS 🍓

found a bug? (not me manifesting one, but like, hypothetically 😭) report it to:

• <elfutils-devel@sourceware.org>
• or the bugzilla: https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/

they wanna hear from you, i promise 🧚

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and that's the page!! this was GELF_GETSYMINFO(3) from the Libelf programmer's manual, dated 2025-12-30, version Libelf. take care of her, she's niche but she's iconic. mwah 💖✨🎀🦋🌸💅🫶