XML Output: libxo - provide single API to output TXT, XML, JSON and HTML

[Konstantin Belousov]

On Thu, Aug 14, 2014 at 02:06:33AM -0400, Phil Shafer wrote:
> Konstantin Belousov writes:
> >Yes, the notes are used to communicate the information required by
> >the dynamic linker to correctly activate the image. The mechanism has
> >nothing to do with application-specific features, and overloading it for
> >that purpose is severe and pointless layering violation.
> 
> The ELF spec says:
> 
>     Note Section
> 
>     Sometimes a vendor or system builder needs to mark an object
>     file with special information that other programs will check
>     for conformance, compatibility, etc. Sections of type SHT_NOTE
>     and program header elements of type PT_NOTE can be used for
>     this purpose. The note information in sections and program
>     header elements holds any number of entries, each of which is
>     an array of 4-byte words in the format of the target processor.
>     Labels appear below to help explain note information organization,
>     but they are not part of the specification.
ELF standard scope is about build toolchain and C runtime, where the
cited paragraph makes perfect sense.

> 
> Marking the binary with a libxo-specific note tells the caller that
> the binary is capable of rendering its output in a non-traditional
> style and gives the caller a means of triggering those styles of
> output.  In the libxo-enabled world, I see this as vital information
> the caller needs to initialize the environment in which the command
> will be run.  Isn't this exactly the sort of information ELF targets
> for note sections?

How binary format has any relevance for an application level feature ?
What would you do with the binaries which permissions are 'r-s--x--x',
which is not unexpected for the tools which gather system information
and have to access things like /dev/mem ?

You removed and did not answered a crusial question, which is a litmus
test for your proposal.  Namely, how presence of the proposed note in
the binary is different from DT_NEEDED tag for your library ?

Definitely, I do not see an addition of the fashion-of-the-day
text-mangling output shattering enough to justify imposing the
architecture violation.
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