The readelf -A
output doesn't describe the elf contents. It just describes the capabilities of the processor and or system that is expected or feed to the compiler. As I have an ARM926
CPU which is an ARMV5TEJ
processor, gcc/ld will always set Tag_THUMB_ISA_use: Thumb-1
as it just means that ARMV5TEJ
is recognized as being Thumb-1
capable. It says nothing about the code itself.
Examining the Linux arch/arm/kernel/elf.c routine elf_check_arch()
shows a check for x->e_entry & 1
. This leads to the following script,
readelf -h $1 | grep -q Entry.*[13579bdf]$
Ie, just look at the initial ELF entry value and see if the low bit is set. This is a fast check that fits the spirit of what I am looking for. unixsmurf has a good point that the code inside any ELF can mix and match ARM and Thumb. This maybe ok, if the program dynamically ids the CPU and selects an appropriate routine. Ie, just the presence of a Thumb instruction doesn't mean that code will execute.
Just looking at the entry
value does determine which gcc
compiler flags were used, at least for gcc
versions 4.6 to 4.7.