DLL Programmer's Guide for TNS/E Systems

Essential DLL Facility Controls
DLL Programmer’s Guide for TNS/E Systems—527252-006
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Option Types

File name – A name of a file, which may or may not be an argument of an option.
In this document, a file name in the command stream that is not a part of an option
is said to be directly inserted in the command stream.

Parameter – A non-file-name argument of an option
The command stream comprises all the tokens that modify an eld command; these
are processed in the order they appear in the command stream. These tokens can
come from the command line or from command files that are referenced in the
command line. In this document, to insert an item means to make it a token in the
linker’s command stream either directly or as an option argument.
Herein, options are defined with the file names and parameters they require. Thus, in
the next paragraph, the -obey option is defined as -obey<filename> meaning that
<filename > is required when the option is declared.
-obey <filename> is a linker option that designates a command file containing
tokens to be incorporated into the linker’s command stream. The linker processes
these tokens in sequential order before it moves on to the next token on the command
line. Such a file is called an obey file. Obey files can be called from within an obey file.
The linker accepts -FL as a synonym for -obey. To use the standard input file as an
obey file, insert the -stdin option with no file names or parameters.
Option Types
Options fall into three categories:

Repeatable option - Each occurrence adds another element of information or
causes the linker to repeat an operation.

Toggle option - A set of options, usually a pair. One of the set turns on a
designated linker behavior, and that behavior remains in effect until the linker
encounters another member of the set in the command stream, which invokes a
different linker behavior. Command-stream processing begins with one behavior as
default, and the option members can be repeated in the command stream as many
times as needed.

One-time option - All other options, which can only appear once in a command
stream.
The order in which an option appears in the command stream makes no difference
except where specifically mentioned. However, when adding an option to the command
stream, be sure to avoid inserting it where it separates some other option from its
arguments.