GELF_OFFSCN(3)

📦 version 0.197, in alpine 3.24, arch rolling, centos-stream 10, centos-stream 9, fedora 43, fedora 44, nixpkgs unstable, ubuntu stonking

💖 GELF_OFFSCN(3) 💖

okay bestie, welcome to section 3 of the Libelf Programmer's Manual, where we're talking about gelf_offscn — yes that's the whole vibe, let's go ✨

🌸 NAME 🌸

gelf_offscn — return a descriptor for an ELF section sitting at a given file offset 🎯

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

#include <gelf.h>

Elf_Scn *gelf_offscn(Elf *elf, GElf_Off offset);

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

so basically, gelf_offscn() goes and retrieves the section descriptor for the non-empty section whose sh_offset equals offset. that's it, that's the whole job 🫶

heads up though: this function will not return descriptors for SHT_NOBITS sections, because those are empty by definition. like, no bits, no entry. it's giving "you can't sit with us" 💀

🎀 PARAMETERS 🎀

  • elf — pointer to an ELF descriptor with kind ELF_K_ELF. gotta be the right kind of elf, no impostors 🙈
  • offset — the file offset (in bytes) of the section you want back. bytes, bestie, not vibes ✨

⭐ RETURN VALUE ⭐

on success, gelf_offscn() hands you a pointer to the Elf_Scn of the non-empty section whose sh_offset matches offset. iconique, no notes 👑

on failure, NULL comes back and elf_errno gets set to tell you what went wrong. 😭

little plot twist: if elf is NULL, then NULL is returned without setting elf_errno. yes, that's a special case, yes, you should remember it fr fr

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

the whole friend group, go say hi 💜

🦋 ATTRIBUTES 🦋

  • gelf_offscn() — Thread safety: MT-Safe

that's it. MT-Safe. she's safe, she's thread-friendly, she's lowkey the moment 🧚

💜 REPORTING BUGS 💜

found a bug? don't be shy, report it to <elfutils-devel@sourceware.org> or at https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/. the devs wanna know, periodt 📣

🌟 HISTORY 🌟

gelf_offscn first appeared in elfutils 0.112. also, important tea: this elfutils libelf function may not be found in other libelf implementations. so if you're porting code, check first, bestie, no cap 🙏

and that's the page!! this lil legend lives in the Libelf manual, dated 2025-09-22, and yes you clocked it — GELF_OFFSCN(3), section 3, exactly where you left her. mwah, go read some sections 💖🎀✨

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