--sort=algorithm

Syntax

where algorithm is one of the following:

Alignment

Sorts input sections by ascending order of alignment value.

AlignmentLexical

Sorts input sections by ascending order of alignment value, then sorts lexically.

AvgCallDepth

Sorts all T32 code before A32 code and then sorts according to the approximated average call depth of each section in ascending order.

Use this algorithm to minimize the number of long branch veneers.

Note:

The approximation of the average call depth depends on the order of input sections. Therefore, this sorting algorithm is more dependent on the order of input sections than using, say, RunningDepth.

BreadthFirstCallTree

This is similar to the CallTree algorithm except that it uses a breadth-first traversal when flattening the Call Tree into a list.

CallTree

The linker flattens the call tree into a list containing the read-only code sections from all execution regions that have CallTree sorting enabled.

Sections in this list are copied back into their execution regions, followed by all the non read-only code sections, sorted lexically. Doing this ensures that sections calling each other are placed close together.

Note:

This sorting algorithm is less dependent on the order of input sections than using either RunningDepth or AvgCallDepth.

Lexical

Sorts according to the name of the section and then by input order if the names are the same.

LexicalAlignment

Sorts input sections lexically, then by input order if the names are the same, and then by ascending order of alignment value.

LexicalState

Sorts T32 code before A32 code, then sorts lexically.

List

Provides a list of the available sorting algorithms. The linker terminates after displaying the list.

ObjectCode

Sorts code sections by tiebreaker. All other sections are sorted lexically. This is most useful when used with --tiebreaker=cmdline because it attempts to group all the sections from the same object together in the memory map.

RunningDepth

Sorts all T32 code before A32 code and then sorts according to the running depth of the section in ascending order. The running depth of a section S is the average call depth of all the sections that call S, weighted by the number of times that they call S.

Use this algorithm to minimize the number of long branch veneers.