<html lang="en"> <head> <title>History - Untitled</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html"> <meta name="description" content="Untitled"> <meta name="generator" content="makeinfo 4.7"> <link title="Top" rel="start" href="index.html#Top"> <link rel="up" href="Overview.html#Overview" title="Overview"> <link rel="prev" href="Overview.html#Overview" title="Overview"> <link rel="next" href="How-It-Works.html#How-It-Works" title="How It Works"> <link href="http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/" rel="generator-home" title="Texinfo Homepage"> <!-- This file documents the BFD library. Copyright (C) 1991, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the Invariant Sections being ``GNU General Public License'' and ``Funding Free Software'', the Front-Cover texts being (a) (see below), and with the Back-Cover Texts being (b) (see below). A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''. (a) The FSF's Front-Cover Text is: A GNU Manual (b) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: You have freedom to copy and modify this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.--> <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <style type="text/css"><!-- pre.display { font-family:inherit } pre.format { font-family:inherit } pre.smalldisplay { font-family:inherit; font-size:smaller } pre.smallformat { font-family:inherit; font-size:smaller } pre.smallexample { font-size:smaller } pre.smalllisp { font-size:smaller } span.sc { font-variant:small-caps } span.roman { font-family: serif; font-weight: normal; } --></style> </head> <body> <div class="node"> <p> <a name="History"></a>Next: <a rel="next" accesskey="n" href="How-It-Works.html#How-It-Works">How It Works</a>, Previous: <a rel="previous" accesskey="p" href="Overview.html#Overview">Overview</a>, Up: <a rel="up" accesskey="u" href="Overview.html#Overview">Overview</a> <hr><br> </div> <h3 class="section">1.1 History</h3> <p>One spur behind BFD was the desire, on the part of the GNU 960 team at Intel Oregon, for interoperability of applications on their COFF and b.out file formats. Cygnus was providing GNU support for the team, and was contracted to provide the required functionality. <p>The name came from a conversation David Wallace was having with Richard Stallman about the library: RMS said that it would be quite hard—David said “BFD”. Stallman was right, but the name stuck. <p>At the same time, Ready Systems wanted much the same thing, but for different object file formats: IEEE-695, Oasys, Srecords, a.out and 68k coff. <p>BFD was first implemented by members of Cygnus Support; Steve Chamberlain (<code>sac@cygnus.com</code>), John Gilmore (<code>gnu@cygnus.com</code>), K. Richard Pixley (<code>rich@cygnus.com</code>) and David Henkel-Wallace (<code>gumby@cygnus.com</code>). </body></html>