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<a name="Performing-the-Final-Link"></a>
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Previous: <a href="Adding-Symbols-to-the-Hash-Table.html#Adding-Symbols-to-the-Hash-Table" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Adding Symbols to the Hash Table</a>, Up: <a href="Linker-Functions.html#Linker-Functions" accesskey="u" rel="up">Linker Functions</a> &nbsp; [<a href="index.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="BFD-Index.html#BFD-Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
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<a name="Performing-the-final-link"></a>
<h4 class="subsection">2.17.3 Performing the final link</h4>
<a name="index-_005fbfd_005flink_005ffinal_005flink-in-target-vector"></a>
<a name="index-target-vector-_0028_005fbfd_005ffinal_005flink_0029"></a>
<p>When all the input files have been processed, the linker calls
the <code>_bfd_final_link</code> entry point of the output BFD.  This
routine is responsible for producing the final output file,
which has several aspects.  It must relocate the contents of
the input sections and copy the data into the output sections.
It must build an output symbol table including any local
symbols from the input files and the global symbols from the
hash table.  When producing relocatable output, it must
modify the input relocs and write them into the output file.
There may also be object format dependent work to be done.
</p>
<p>The linker will also call the <code>write_object_contents</code> entry
point when the BFD is closed.  The two entry points must work
together in order to produce the correct output file.
</p>
<p>The details of how this works are inevitably dependent upon
the specific object file format.  The a.out
<code>_bfd_final_link</code> routine is <code>NAME(aout,final_link)</code>.
</p>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">&bull; <a href="Information-provided-by-the-linker.html#Information-provided-by-the-linker" accesskey="1">Information provided by the linker</a>:</td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align="left" valign="top">
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">&bull; <a href="Relocating-the-section-contents.html#Relocating-the-section-contents" accesskey="2">Relocating the section contents</a>:</td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align="left" valign="top">
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">&bull; <a href="Writing-the-symbol-table.html#Writing-the-symbol-table" accesskey="3">Writing the symbol table</a>:</td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align="left" valign="top">
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