Hexadecimal Object File
Intel
Hexadecimal Object File
Format Specification
Revision A, 1/6/88
DISCLAIMER
Intel makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents
hereof and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of
merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Further, Intel
reserves the right to revise this publication from time to time in the
content hereof without obligation of Intel to notify any person of such
revision or changes. The publication of this specification should not
be construed as a commitment on Intel's part to implement any product.
1. Introduction
This document describes the hexadecimal object file format for the Intel
8- bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit microprocessors. The hexadecimal format is
suitable as input to PROM programmers or hardware emulators.
Hexadecimal object file format is a way of representing an absolute
binary object file in ASCII. Because the file is in ASCII instead of
binary, it is possible to store the file is non-binary medium such as
paper-tape, punch cards, etc.; and the file can also be displayed on CRT
terminals, line printers, etc.. The 8-bit hexadecimal object file
format allows for the placement of code and data within the 16-bit
linear address space of the Intel 8-bit processors. The 16-bit
hexadecimal format allows for the 20-bit segmented address space of the
Intel 16-bit processors. And the 32-bit format allows for the 32-bit
linear address space of the Intel 32-bit processors.
The hexadecimal representation of binary is coded in ASCII alphanumeric
characters. For example, the 8-bit binary value 0011-1111 is 3F in
hexadecimal. To code this in ASCII, one 8-bit byte containing the ASCII
code for the character '3' (0011-0011 or 033H) and one 8-bit byte
containing the ASCII code for the character 'F' (0100-0110 or 046H) are
required. For each byte value, the high-order hexadecimal digit is
always the first digit of the pair of hexadecimal digits. This
representation (ASCII hexadecimal) requires twice as ma ny bytes as the
binary representation.
A hexadecimal object file is blocked into records, each of which
contains the record type, length, memory load address and checksum in
addition to the data. There are currently six (6) different types of
records that are defined, not all combinations of these records are
meaningful, however. The records are:
Data Record (8-, 16-, or 32-bit formats)
End of File Record (8-, 16-, or 32-bit formats)
Extended Segment Address Record (16- or 32-bit formats)
Start Segment Address Record (16- or 32-bit formats)
Extended Linear Address Record (32-bit format only)
Start Linear Address Record (32-bit format only)
2. General Record Format
| RECORD | LOAD | | | INFO | |
| MARK | RECLEN | OFFSET | RECTYP | or | CHKSUM |
| ':' | | | | DATA | |
1-byte 1-byte 2-bytes 1-byte n-bytes 1-byte
Each record begins with a RECORD MARK field containing 03AH, the ASCII
code for the colon (':') character.
Each record has a RECLEN field which specifies the number of bytes of
information or data which follows the RECTYP field of the record. Note
that one data byte is represented by two ASCII characters. The maximum
value of the RECLEN field is hexadecimal 'FF' or 255.
Each record has a LOAD OFFSET field which specifies the 16-bit starting
load offset of the data bytes, therefore this field is only used for
Data Records. In other records where this field is not used, it should
be coded as four ASCII zero characters ('0000' or 030303030H).
Each record has a RECTYP field which specifies the record type of this
record. The RECTYP field is used to interpret the remaining information
within the record. The encoding for all the current record types are:
'00' Data Record
'01' End of File Record
'02' Extended Segment Address Record
'03' Start Segment Address Record
'04' Extended Linear Address Record
'05' Start Linear Address Record
Each record has a variable length INFO/DATA field, it consists of zero
or more bytes encoded as pairs of hexadecimal digits. The
interpretation of this field depends on the RECTYP field.
Each record ends with a CHKSUM field that contains the ASCII hexadecimal
representation of the two's complement of the 8-bit bytes that result
from converting each pair of ASCII hexadecimal digits to one byte of
binary, from and including the RECLEN field to and including the last
byte of the INFO/DATA field. Therefore, the sum of all the ASCII pairs
in a record after converting to binary, from the RECLEN field to and
including the CHKSUM field, is zero.
3. Extended Linear Address Record (32-bit format only)
| RECORD | LOAD | | | | |
| MARK | RECLEN | OFFSET | RECTYP | ULBA | CHKSUM |
| ':' | '02' | '0000' | '04' | | |
1-byte 1-byte 2-bytes 1-byte 2-bytes 1-byte
The 32-bit Extended Linear Address Record is used to specify bits 16-31
of the Linear Base Address (LBA), where bits 0-15 of the LBA are zero.
Bits 16-31 of the LBA are referred to as the Upper Linear Base Address
(ULBA). The absolute memory address of a content byte in a subsequent
Data Record is obtained by adding the LBA to an offset calculated by
adding the LOAD OFFSET field of the containing Data Record to the index
of the byte in the Data Record (0, 1, 2, ... n). This offset addition
is done modulo 4G (i.e., 32-bits), ignoring any carry, so that offset
wrap-around loading (from OFFFFFFFFH to OOOOOOOOOH) results in wrapping
around from the end to the beginning of the 4G linear address defined by
the LBA. The linear address at which a particular byte is loaded is
calculated as:
(LBA + DRLO + DRI) MOD 4G
where:
DRLO is the LOAD OFFSET field of a Data Record.
DRI is the data byte index within the Data Record.
When an Extended Linear Address Record defines the value of LBA, it may
appear anywhere within a 32-bit hexadecimal object file. This value
remains in effect until another Extended Linear Address Record is
encountered. The LBA defaults to zero until an Extended Linear Address
Record is encountered.
The contents of the individual fields within the record are:
RECORD MARK
This field contains 03AH, the hexadecimal encoding of the ASCII colon
(':') character.
RECLEN
The field contains 03032H, the hexadecimal encoding of the ASCII
characters '02', which is the length, in bytes, of the ULBA data
information within this record.
LOAD OFFSET
This field contains 030303030H, the hexadecimal encoding of the ASCII
characters '0000', since this field is not used for this record.
RECTYP
This field contains 03034H, the hexadecimal encoding of the ASCII
character '04', which specifies the record type to be an Extended Linear
Address Record.
ULBA
This field contains four ASCII hexadecimal digits that specify the
16-bit Upper Linear Base Address value. The high-order byte is the
10th/llth character pair of the record. The low-order byte is the
12th/13th character pair of the record.
CHKSUM
This field contains the check sum on the RECLEN, LOAD OFFSET, RECTYP,
and ULBA fields.
4. Extended Segment Address Record (16- or 32-bit formats)
| RECORD | LOAD | | | | |
| MARK | RECLEN | OFFSET | RECTYP | USBA | CHKSUM |
| ':' | '02' | '0000' | '02' | | |
1-byte 1-byte 2-bytes 1-byte 2-bytes 1-byte
The 16-bit Extended Segment Address Record is used to specify bits 4-19
of the Segment Base Address (SBA), where bits 0-3 of the SBA are zero.
Bits 4-19 of the SBA are referred to as the Upper Segment Base Address
(USBA). The absolute memory address of a content byte in a subsequent
Data Record is obtained by adding the SBA to an offset calculated by
adding the LOAD OFFSET field of the containing Data Record to the index
of the byte in the Data Record (0, 1, 2, ... n). This offset addition
is done modulo 64K (i.e., 16-bits), ignoring any carry, so that offset
wraparound loading (from OFFFFH to OOOOOH) results in wrapping around
from the end to the beginning of the 64K segment defined by the SBA.
The address at which a particular byte is loaded is calculated as:
SBA + ([DRLO + DRI] MOD 64K)
where:
DRLO is the LOAD OFFSET field of a Data Record.
DRI is the data byte index within the Data Record.
When an Extended Segment Address Record defines the value of SBA, it
may appear anywhere within a 16-bit hexadecimal object file. This
value remains in effect until another Extended Segment Address
Record is encountered. The SBA defaults to zero until an Extended
Segment Address Record is encountered.
The contents of the individual fields within the record are:
RECORD MARK
This field contains 03AH, the hexadecimal encoding of the ASCII
colon (':') character.
RECLEN
The field contains 03032H, the hexadecimal encoding of the ASCII
characters '02', which is the length, in bytes, of the USBA data
information within this record.
LOAD OFFSET
This field contains 030303030H, the hexadecimal encoding of the
ASCII characters '0000', since this field is not used for this
record.
RECTYP
This field contains 03032H, the hexadecimal encoding of the ASCII
character '02', which specifies the record type to be an Extended
Segment Address Record.
USBA
This field contains four ASCII hexadecimal digits that specify the
16-bit Upper Segment Base Address value. The high-order byte is the
10th/1lth character pair of the record. The low-order byte is the
12th/13th character pair of the record.
CHKSUM
This field contains the check sum on the RECLEN, LOAD OFFSET,
RECTYP, and USBA fields.
5. Data Record (8-, 16-, or 32-bit formats)
| RECORD | LOAD | | | | |
| MARK | RECLEN | OFFSET | RECTYP | DATA | CHKSUM |
| ':' | | | '00' | | |
1-byte 1-byte 2-bytes 1-byte n-bytes 1-byte
The Data Record provides a set of hexadecimal digits that represent
the ASCII code for data bytes that make up a portion of a memory
image. The method for calculating the absolute address (linear in
the 8-bit and 32-bit case and segmented in the 16-bit case) for each
byte of data is described in the discussions of the Extended Linear
Address Record and the Extended Segment Address Record.
The contents of the individual fields within the record are:
RECORD MARK
This field contains 03AH, the hexadecimal encoding of the ASCII
colon (':') character.
RECLEN
The field contains two ASCII hexadecimal digits that specify the
number of data bytes in the record. The maximum value is 'FF' or
04646H (255 decimal).
LOAD OFFSET
This field contains four ASCII hexadecimal digits representing the
offset from the LBA (see Extended Linear Address Record) or SBA (see
Extended Segment Address Record) defining the address which the
first byte of the data is to be placed.
RECTYP
This field contains 03030H, the hexadecimal encoding of the ASCII
character '00', which specifies the record type to be a Data Record.
DATA
This field contains pairs of ASCII hexadecimal digits, one pair for
each data byte.
CHKSUM
This field contains the check sum on the RECLEN, LOAD OFFSET,
RECTYP, and DATA fields.
6. Start Linear Address Record (32-bit format only)
| RECORD | LOAD | | | | |
| MARK | RECLEN | OFFSET | RECTYP | EIP | CHKSUM |
| ':' | '04' | '0000' | '05' | | |
1-byte 1-byte 2-bytes 1-byte 4-bytes 1-byte
The Start Linear Address Record is used to specify the execution
start address for the object file. The value given is the 32-bit
linear address for the EIP register. Note that this record only
specifies the code address within the 32-bit linear address space of
the 80386. If the code is to start execution in the real mode of
the 80386, then the Start Segment Address Record should be used
instead, since that record specifies both the CS and IP register
contents necessary for real mode.
The Start Linear Address Record can appear anywhere in a 32-bit
hexadecimal object file. If such a record is not present in a
hexadecimal object file, a loader is free to assign a default start
address.
The contents of the individual fields within the record are:
RECORD MARK
This field contains 03AH, the hexadecimal encoding of the ASCII
colon (':') character.
RECLEN
The field contains 03034H, the hexadecimal encoding of the ASCII
characters '04', which is the length, in bytes, of the EIP register
content within this record.
LOAD OFFSET
This field contains 030303030H, the hexadecimal encoding of the
ASCII characters '0000', since this field is not used for this
record.
RECTYP
This field contains 03035H, the hexadecimal encoding of the ASCII
character '05', which specifies the record type to be a Start Linear
Address Record.
EIP
This field contains eight ASCII hexadecimal digits that specify the
32-bit EIP register contents. The high-order byte is the 10th/1lth
character pair.
CHKSUM
This field contains the check sum on the RECLEN, LOAD OFFSET,
RECTYP, and EIP fields.
7. Start Segment Address Record (16- or 32-bit formats)
| RECORD | LOAD | | | | |
| MARK | RECLEN | OFFSET | RECTYP | CS/IP | CHKSUM |
| ':' | '04' | '0000' | '03' | | |
1-byte 1-byte 2-bytes 1-byte 4-bytes 1-byte
The Start Segment Address Record is used to specify the execution
start address for the object file. The value given is the 20-bit
segment address for the CS and IP registers. Note that this record
only specifies the code address within the 20-bit segmented address
space of the 8086/80186.
The Start Segment Address Record can appear anywhere in a 16-bit
hexadecimal object file. If such a record is not present in a
hexadecimal object file, a loader is free to assign a default start
address.
The contents of the individual fields within the record are:
RECORD MARK
This field contains 03AH, the hexadecimal encoding of the ASCII
colon (':') character.
RECLEN
The field contains 03034H, the hexadecimal encoding of the ASCII
characters '04', which is the length, in bytes, of the CS/IP
register contents within this record.
LOAD OFFSET
This field contains 030303030H, the hexadecimal encoding of the
ASCII characters '0000', since this field is not used for this
record.
RECTYP
This field contains 03033H, the hexadecimal encoding of the ASCII
character '03', which specifies the record type to be a Start
Segment Address Record.
CS/IP
This field contains eight ASCII hexadecimal digits that specify the
16-bit CS register and 16-bit IP register contents. The high-order
byte of the CS register content is the 10th/llth character pair, the
low-order byte is the 12th/13th character pair of the record. The
high-order byte of the IP register content is the 14th/15th
character pair, the low-order byte is the 16th/17th character pair
of the record.
CHKSUM
This field contains the check sum on the RECLEN, LOAD OFFSET,
RECTYP, and CS/IP fields.
8. End of File Record (8-, 16-, or 32-bit formats)
| RECORD | LOAD | | | |
| MARK | RECLEN | OFFSET | RECTYP | CHKSUM |
| ':' | '00' | '0000' | '01' | |
1-byte 1-byte 2-bytes 1-byte 1-byte
The End of File Record specifies the end of the hexadecimal object
file.
The contents of the individual fields within the record are:
RECORD MARK
This field contains 03AH, the hexadecimal encoding of the ASCII
colon (':') character.
RECLEN
The field contains 03030H, the hexadecimal encoding of the ASCII
characters '00'. Since this record does not contain any INFO/DATA
bytes, the length is zero.
LOAD OFFSET
This field contains 030303030H, the hexadecimal encoding of the
ASCII characters '0000', since this field is not used for this
record.
RECTYP
This field contains 03031H, the hexadecimal encoding of the ASCII
character '01', which specifies the record type to be an End of File
Record.
CHKSUM
This field contains the check sum an the RECLEN, LOAD OFFSET, and
RECTYP fields. Since all the fields are static, the check sum can
also be calculated statically, and the value is 04646H, the
hexadecimal encoding of the ASCII characters 'FF'.
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