Provided by: abi-compliance-checker_1.99.9-1_all 
NAME
abi-compliance-checker - tool to compare ABI compatibility of shared C/C++ library versions
DESCRIPTION
NAME:
ABI Compliance Checker (abi-compliance-checker) Check backward compatibility of a C/C++ library
API
DESCRIPTION:
ABI Compliance Checker (ACC) is a tool for checking backward binary and source-level compatibility
of a shared C/C++ library. The tool checks header files and shared libraries (*.so) of old and new
versions and analyzes changes in API and ABI (ABI=API+compiler ABI) that may break binary and/or
source-level compatibility: changes in calling stack, v-table changes, removed symbols, renamed
fields, etc. Binary incompatibility may result in crashing or incorrect behavior of applications
built with an old version of a library if they run on a new one. Source incompatibility may result
in recompilation errors with a new library version.
The tool is intended for developers of software libraries and maintainers of operating systems who
are interested in ensuring backward compatibility, i.e. allow old applications to run or to be
recompiled with newer library versions.
Also the tool can be used by ISVs for checking applications portability to new library versions.
Found issues can be taken into account when adapting the application to a new library version.
This tool is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU
LGPL or GNU GPL.
USAGE:
abi-compliance-checker [options]
EXAMPLE:
abi-compliance-checker -lib NAME -old OLD.xml -new NEW.xml
OLD.xml and NEW.xml are XML-descriptors:
<version>
1.0
</version>
<headers>
/path1/to/header(s)/ /path2/to/header(s)/
...
</headers>
<libs>
/path1/to/library(ies)/ /path2/to/library(ies)/
...
</libs>
INFORMATION OPTIONS:
-h|-help
Print this help.
-i|-info
Print complete info.
-v|-version
Print version information.
-dumpversion
Print the tool version (1.99.9) and don't do anything else.
GENERAL OPTIONS:
-l|-lib|-library NAME
Library name (without version).
-d1|-old|-o PATH
Descriptor of 1st (old) library version. It may be one of the following:
1. XML-descriptor (VERSION.xml file):
<version>
1.0
</version>
<headers>
/path1/to/header(s)/ /path2/to/header(s)/
...
</headers>
<libs>
/path1/to/library(ies)/ /path2/to/library(ies)/
...
</libs>
... (XML-descriptor template
can be generated by -d option)
2. ABI dump generated by -dump option 3. Directory with headers and/or shared libraries 4. Single
header file 5. Single shared library 6. Comma separated list of headers and/or libraries
If you are using an 2-6 descriptor types then you should specify version numbers with -v1 and -v2
options too.
For more information, please see:
http://ispras.linuxbase.org/index.php/Library_Descriptor
-d2|-new|-n PATH
Descriptor of 2nd (new) library version.
-dump|-dump-abi PATH
Create library ABI dump for the input XML descriptor. You can transfer it anywhere and pass
instead of the descriptor. Also it can be used for debugging the tool.
Supported ABI dump versions: 2.0<=V<=3.2
-old-dumps
Enable support for old-version ABI dumps (1.18<=V<2.0).
EXTRA OPTIONS:
-d|-descriptor-template
Create XML-descriptor template ./VERSION.xml
-app|-application PATH
This option allows one to specify the application that should be checked for portability to the
new library version.
-static-libs
Check static libraries instead of the shared ones. The <libs> section of the XML-descriptor should
point to static libraries location.
-cross-gcc|-gcc-path PATH
Path to the cross GCC compiler to use instead of the usual (host) GCC.
-cross-prefix|-gcc-prefix PREFIX
GCC toolchain prefix.
-sysroot DIR
Specify the alternative root directory. The tool will search for include paths in the
DIR/usr/include and DIR/usr/lib directories.
-v1|-version1 NUM
Specify 1st library version outside the descriptor. This option is needed if you have preferred an
alternative descriptor type (see -d1 option).
In general case you should specify it in the XML-descriptor:
<version>
VERSION
</version>
-v2|-version2 NUM
Specify 2nd library version outside the descriptor.
-s|-strict
Treat all compatibility warnings as problems. Add a number of "Low" severity problems to the
return value of the tool.
-headers-only
Check header files without shared libraries. It is easy to run, but may provide a low quality
compatibility report with false positives and without detecting of added/removed symbols.
Alternatively you can write "none" word to the <libs> section in the XML-descriptor:
<libs>
none
</libs>
-objects-only
Check shared libraries without header files. It is easy to run, but may provide a low quality
compatibility report with false positives and without analysis of changes in parameters and data
types.
Alternatively you can write "none" word to the <headers> section in the XML-descriptor:
<headers>
none
</headers>
-check-impl|-check-implementation
Compare canonified disassembled binary code of shared libraries to detect changes in the
implementation. Add 'Problems with Implementation' section to the report.
-show-retval
Show the symbol's return type in the report.
-symbols-list PATH
This option allows one to specify a file with a list of symbols (mangled names in C++) that should
be checked, other symbols will not be checked.
-skip-symbols PATH
The list of symbols that should NOT be checked.
-headers-list PATH
The file with a list of headers, that should be checked/dumped.
-skip-headers PATH
The file with the list of header files, that should not be checked.
-header NAME
Check/Dump ABI of this header only.
-use-dumps
Make dumps for two versions of a library and compare dumps. This should increase the performance
of the tool and decrease the system memory usage.
-nostdinc
Do not search in GCC standard system directories for header files.
-dump-system NAME -sysroot DIR
Find all the shared libraries and header files in DIR directory, create XML descriptors and make
ABI dumps for each library. The result set of ABI dumps can be compared (--cmp-systems) with the
other one created for other version of operating system in order to check them for compatibility.
Do not forget to specify -cross-gcc option if your target system requires some specific version of
GCC compiler (different from the host GCC). The system ABI dump will be generated to:
sys_dumps/NAME/ARCH
-dump-system DESCRIPTOR.xml
The same as the previous option but takes an XML descriptor of the target system as input, where
you should describe it:
/* Primary sections */
<name>
/* Name of the system */
</name>
<headers>
/* The list of paths to header files and/or
directories with header files, one per line */
</headers>
<libs>
/* The list of paths to shared libraries and/or
directories with shared libraries, one per line */
</libs>
/* Optional sections */
<search_headers>
/* List of directories to be searched
for header files to automatically generate include paths, one per line */
</search_headers>
<search_libs>
/* List of directories to be searched
for shared libraries to resolve dependencies, one per line */
</search_libs>
<tools>
/* List of directories with tools used
for analysis (GCC toolchain), one per line */
</tools>
<cross_prefix>
/* GCC toolchain prefix.
Examples:
arm-linux-gnueabi arm-none-symbianelf */
</cross_prefix>
<gcc_options>
/* Additional GCC options, one per line */
</gcc_options>
-sysinfo DIR
This option may be used with -dump-system to dump ABI of operating systems and configure the
dumping process. Default:
modules/Targets/{unix, symbian, windows}
-cmp-systems -d1 sys_dumps/NAME1/ARCH -d2 sys_dumps/NAME2/ARCH
Compare two system ABI dumps. Create compatibility reports for each library and the common HTML
report including the summary of test results for all checked libraries. Report will be generated
to:
sys_compat_reports/NAME1_to_NAME2/ARCH
-libs-list PATH
The file with a list of libraries, that should be dumped by the -dump-system option or should be
checked by the -cmp-systems option.
-ext|-extended
If your library A is supposed to be used by other library B and you want to control the ABI of B,
then you should enable this option. The tool will check for changes in all data types, even if
they are not used by any function in the library A. Such data types are not part of the A library
ABI, but may be a part of the ABI of the B library.
The short scheme is:
app C (broken) -> lib B (broken ABI) -> lib A (stable ABI)
-q|-quiet
Print all messages to the file instead of stdout and stderr. Default path (can be changed by
-log-path option):
logs/run.log
-stdout
Print analysis results (compatibility reports and ABI dumps) to stdout instead of creating a file.
This would allow piping data to other programs.
-report-format FMT
Change format of compatibility report. Formats:
htm - HTML format (default) xml - XML format
-dump-format FMT
Change format of ABI dump. Formats:
perl - Data::Dumper format (default) xml - XML format
-xml
Alias for: --report-format=xml or --dump-format=xml
-lang LANG
Set library language (C or C++). You can use this option if the tool cannot auto-detect a
language. This option may be useful for checking C-library headers (--lang=C) in --headers-only or
--extended modes.
-binary|-bin|-abi
Show "Binary" compatibility problems only. Generate report to:
compat_reports/LIB_NAME/V1_to_V2/abi_compat_report.html
-source|-src|-api
Show "Source" compatibility problems only. Generate report to:
compat_reports/LIB_NAME/V1_to_V2/src_compat_report.html
-limit-affected LIMIT
The maximum number of affected symbols listed under the description of the changed type in the
report.
OTHER OPTIONS:
-test
Run internal tests. Create two binary incompatible versions of a sample library and run the tool
to check them for compatibility. This option allows one to check if the tool works correctly in
the current environment.
-test-dump
Test ability to create, read and compare ABI dumps.
-debug
Debugging mode. Print debug info on the screen. Save intermediate analysis stages in the debug
directory:
debug/LIB_NAME/VERSION/
Also consider using --dump option for debugging the tool.
-cpp-compatible
If your header files are written in C language and can be compiled by the G++ compiler (i.e. don't
use C++ keywords), then you can tell the tool about this and speedup the analysis.
-cpp-incompatible
Set this option if input C header files use C++ keywords.
-p|-params PATH
Path to file with the function parameter names. It can be used for improving report view if the
library header files have no parameter names. File format:
func1;param1;param2;param3 ... func2;param1;param2;param3 ...
...
-relpath PATH
Replace {RELPATH} macros to PATH in the XML-descriptor used for dumping the library ABI (see -dump
option).
-relpath1 PATH
Replace {RELPATH} macros to PATH in the 1st XML-descriptor (-d1).
-relpath2 PATH
Replace {RELPATH} macros to PATH in the 2nd XML-descriptor (-d2).
-dump-path PATH
Specify a *.abi.tar.gz or *.abi file path where to generate an ABI dump. Default:
abi_dumps/LIB_NAME/LIB_NAME_VERSION.abi.tar.gz
-sort
Enable sorting of data in ABI dumps.
-report-path PATH
Path to compatibility report. Default:
compat_reports/LIB_NAME/V1_to_V2/compat_report.html
-bin-report-path PATH
Path to "Binary" compatibility report. Default:
compat_reports/LIB_NAME/V1_to_V2/abi_compat_report.html
-src-report-path PATH
Path to "Source" compatibility report. Default:
compat_reports/LIB_NAME/V1_to_V2/src_compat_report.html
-log-path PATH
Log path for all messages. Default:
logs/LIB_NAME/VERSION/log.txt
-log1-path PATH
Log path for 1st version of a library. Default:
logs/LIB_NAME/V1/log.txt
-log2-path PATH
Log path for 2nd version of a library. Default:
logs/LIB_NAME/V2/log.txt
-logging-mode MODE
Change logging mode. Modes:
w - overwrite old logs (default) a - append old logs n - do not write any logs
-list-affected
Generate file with the list of incompatible symbols beside the HTML compatibility report. Use
'c++filt @file' command from GNU binutils to unmangle C++ symbols in the generated file. Default
names:
abi_affected.txt src_affected.txt
-component NAME
The component name in the title and summary of the HTML report. Default:
library
-l-full|-lib-full NAME
Change library name in the report title to NAME. By default will be displayed a name specified by
-l option.
-b|-browse PROGRAM
Open report(s) in the browser (firefox, opera, etc.).
-open
Open report(s) in the default browser.
-extra-info DIR
Dump extra info to DIR.
-extra-dump
Create extended ABI dump containing all symbols from the translation unit.
-force
Try to use this option if the tool doesn't work.
-tolerance LEVEL
Apply a set of heuristics to successfully compile input header files. You can enable several
tolerance levels by joining them into one string (e.g. 13, 124, etc.). Levels:
1 - skip non-Linux headers (e.g. win32_*.h, etc.) 2 - skip internal headers (e.g. *_p.h,
impl/*.h, etc.) 3 - skip headers that iclude non-Linux headers 4 - skip headers included by
others
-tolerant
Enable highest tolerance level [1234].
-check
Check completeness of the ABI dump.
-quick
Quick analysis. Disable check of some template instances.
-skip-internal PATTERN
Do not check internal interfaces matched by the pattern.
REPORT:
Compatibility report will be generated to:
compat_reports/LIB_NAME/V1_to_V2/compat_report.html
Log will be generated to:
logs/LIB_NAME/V1/log.txt logs/LIB_NAME/V2/log.txt
EXIT CODES:
0 - Compatible. The tool has run without any errors. non-zero - Incompatible or the tool has run
with errors.
REPORT BUGS TO:
Andrey Ponomarenko <aponomarenko@rosalab.ru>
MORE INFORMATION:
http://ispras.linuxbase.org/index.php/ABI_compliance_checker
https://github.com/lvc/abi-compliance-checker
AUTHOR
This manual page was written by Mathieu Malaterre <malat@debian.org> for the Debian GNU/Linux system (but
may be used by others).
Written by Andrey Ponomarenko.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2014 ROSA Laboratory License: LGPL or GPL <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/> This program is free
software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it.
abi-compliance-checker Compliance Checker (ACC... February 2014 ABI-COMPLIANCE-CHECKER(1)