g++ includes larg zero block in small program

[veddox]

Hi everyone,

trying to learn something new, I just installed a hex editor (ghex) and was playing around with it. I took a peek at the binary file of a small C++ program I had written some time ago, and was rather surprised at how many zeros it contains. There's a big chunk full of zeros right in the middle of the file. So I'm wondering why the compiler inserts them? Isn't that inefficient?

If you want to replicate, you'll find the source code at www.launchpad.net/comp. I compiled it with g++, no extra options passed (as seen in the install.sh file).

[dwhitney67]

Maybe the source code that you obtained was written by an amateur programmer, and it has a static string chock full of zeros. Why not peer review the source code, and get back to UF if you see something in the code that warrants more interest.

[xb12x2]

There's a big chunk full of zeros right in the middle of the file. So I'm wondering why the compiler inserts them? Isn't that inefficient?

I suspect the culprit is the linker, etc, not the compiler.

[veddox]

Sorry guys, I missed your replies

In case you still see this:

Maybe the source code that you obtained was written by an amateur programmer, and it has a static string chock full of zeros. Why not peer review the source code, and get back to UF if you see something in the code that warrants more interest.

Yes, the source code was written by an amateur programmer - that would be me And I can guarantee you, I did not load if full of zeros...

I suspect the culprit is the linker, etc, not the compiler.

Why that?

[xb12x2]

Why that?

The compiler's job is to turn human readable/writable code into machine language. It's the linker's job to format the machine language file(s) into a loadable executable.

You can compile a source file without linking (g++ -c). You'll get a *.o file (object file). You can use the hex editor on the object file to see if that block of zeroes is there before linking.

If your interested in what the linker does, how it formats, etc, google 'Executable and Linkable Format' (ELF).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execut...inkable_Format