abidiff - Linux

Overview

abidiff compares the ABIs of two shared libraries or executables. It can be used to detect ABI changes that may break compatibility between different versions of a library or application.

Syntax

abidiff [options] <old_library> <new_library>

Options/Flags

• -h, –help: Display help and exit.
• -V, –version: Display version information and exit.
• -s, –symbols: Compare only symbols.
• -d, –data: Compare only data.
• -r, –relocations: Compare only relocations.
• -a, –all: Compare all sections.
• -t, –text: Compare only the text section.
• -c, –changes: Print only the changes found.
• -i, –ignore-symbols: Ignore unresolved symbols.
• -e, –error-on-warning: Treat warnings as errors.

Examples

Simple ABI Comparison

abidiff /usr/lib/libfoo.so /usr/lib/libfoo-new.so

Compare Only Symbols

abidiff -s /usr/lib/libfoo.so /usr/lib/libfoo-new.so

Print Only the Changes

abidiff -c /usr/lib/libfoo.so /usr/lib/libfoo-new.so

Common Issues

Missing Symbols

If symbols are missing, try using the -i flag to ignore unresolved symbols.

Relocation Errors

If relocation errors occur, try using the -r flag to compare only relocations.

Integration

• ldd: Can be used to display the shared libraries that an executable depends on. This information can be used with abidiff to compare the ABIs of different versions of a library.
• readelf: Can be used to dump the ELF header and section information of a shared library or executable. This information can be useful for understanding the structure of the ABI.

Related Commands

• diff
• cmp
• objdump