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Coding > GCC and ALF format

#37340 - Obelix - Thu Mar 10, 2005 5:38 pm

Hello everybody.
This is my first post, and of course, it is to require your help :-)

For the moment, I use the GCC compiler in version 3.2.2 to make my GBA projects. Until there all goes well.
Except that today I need to use the 'MusicPlayer2000' from the Nintendo SDK. This tool requires to link 2 libraries provided in the Nintendo SDK:
"libagbsyscall.a" and "libagbsyscall_arm.alf".
But the GCC linker did not recognize the ALF format.

Is somebody already encountered this problem?
Do you have a trick to solve this trouble?

In advance, thank you very much for your help !
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#37375 - tepples - Fri Mar 11, 2005 12:40 am

First rule of gbadev club: You do not talk about the Nintendo SDK.
Second rule of gbadev club: You do not talk about the Nintendo SDK.

This is alf, and this is elf.

That said, I'd guess ".alf" is some customized proprietary version of the .elf format.

If libagbsyscall is what I think it is, then try libgba from devkitARM instead.
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#37396 - Obelix - Fri Mar 11, 2005 9:30 am

tepples wrote:
First rule of gbadev club: You do not talk about the Nintendo SDK.
Second rule of gbadev club: You do not talk about the Nintendo SDK.
Oh ! I'm sorry !

Quote:
This is alf, and this is elf.
LOL

Quote:
That said, I'd guess ".alf" is some customized proprietary version of the .elf format.
ALF format is a 'collection' of AOF files like a '.a' archive. It was used by the old ARM SDT compiler. ARM says that the GCC linker (ld) is able to recognize this format for backward compatibility. But my GCC don't.

Quote:
If libagbsyscall is what I think it is,
I think you think right :-)

Quote:
then try libgba from devkitARM instead.
OK, thanks, I will look at that.
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#37406 - Kyoufu Kawa - Fri Mar 11, 2005 2:38 pm

Daymn Tepples. Couldn't you warn me about that "don't talk about the Nintendo SDK" bit before? I mean, daym...

Nice links though.

#37419 - tepples - Fri Mar 11, 2005 4:24 pm

Kyoufu Kawa wrote:
Daymn Tepples. Couldn't you warn me about that "don't talk about the Nintendo SDK" bit before?

I apologize for the oversight. It's a legal issue, and I assumed everybody knew that it was self-evident, like the rule against trading commercial ROMs. I'm adding the relevant bits to the FAQ.
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#37422 - Kyoufu Kawa - Fri Mar 11, 2005 4:56 pm

Meh. I thought it more like "don't offer a copy of the kit, and don't inadvertently post any intricacies of the kit's code", a bit like you can talk about having a certain ROM, but can't offer a download in public.

#37431 - tepples - Fri Mar 11, 2005 5:44 pm

Kyoufu Kawa wrote:
I thought it more like "don't offer a copy of the kit, and don't inadvertently post any intricacies of the kit's code"

I guess I was a bit harsh about it. But still, it's hard to avoid "inadvertently post[ing] any intricacies of the kit's code" when you discuss the Nintendo SDK.

Quote:
a bit like you can talk about having a certain ROM, but can't offer a download in public.

One difference here is that making a ROM dump of a Game Pak that you purchased at retail is lawful in the United States, as 17 USC 117 provides a narrow exemption to copyright, but the only way one can gain lawful access to the Nintendo SDK is through a non-disclosure agreement. NDAs involve trade secret law, which does not enter the question in the case of reverse-engineering a ROM.
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-- I think he moved to Tilwick.

#37438 - Kyoufu Kawa - Fri Mar 11, 2005 6:07 pm

Let's not discuss the ways to acquire roms and/or devkits now, k?

* hugs his working copy of the Sappy engine *

Sorry Obelix, I'd tell you but the boss says not to ^_^
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#37511 - Obelix - Sat Mar 12, 2005 11:46 am

Kyoufu Kawa wrote:

Sorry Obelix, I'd tell you but the boss says not to ^_^
That's fine, thank you :-)
I found a solution to circumvent the problem.

I am sorry to have caused all these problems.
I would like to add that my ******** SDK is an official version: -)
And that my question related rather to the support of file format by compilers independent of ********. ARM SDT is not a ******** product. It is (was) used to develop on several ARM-based platforms. And the ALF format is created by ARM, not by ********.

Btw, thanls for your help !
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Philippe aka Obelix

#37517 - col - Sat Mar 12, 2005 2:10 pm

Obelix wrote:
..
I would like to add that my ******** SDK is an official version: -)

Assuming you mean that you are using it legaly..
well, that means you must be an officially licenced developer right ? so you should be asking on the official website for officially licenced developers where you will get much better info than you will here right ?

:)

col

#37519 - wintermute - Sat Mar 12, 2005 3:29 pm

try this

http://sourceforge.net/projects/devkitpro/

#37981 - Obelix - Sat Mar 19, 2005 5:48 pm

col wrote:
Assuming you mean that you are using it legaly..
well, that means you must be an officially licenced developer right ? so you should be asking on the official website for officially licenced developers where you will get much better info than you will here right ?
:)
You are right, but I read a little this forum in the past, and I liked it :-)
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Philippe aka Obelix