Editing Linker (computing) (section)

== Implementations ==

Notable implementations:

=== Unix & Unix-like ===
On Unix and Unix-like systems, the static linker is usually invoked via the command <code>ld</code> which is an abbreviation of ''LoaDer'' or ''Link eDitor''. The term "loader" was used to describe the process of loading external symbols from other programs during the process of linking.<ref name="UNIX_V6_manuals"/>

For example, on [[SINTRAN&nbsp;III]], linking (assembling object files into a program) was called <!--do not link to [[loader (computing)]] since that's different-->''loading'' {{endash}} as in loading executable code onto a file.<ref name="BRF_1984"/> 

=== GNU ===
GNU ld, part of the [[GNU Binary Utilities]] (binutils), is the [[GNU Project]] version of the Unix static linker. A ''linker script'' may be passed to GNU ld to exercise fine grain control of the linking process.<ref name="GNU_2018_Binutils"/> Two versions of ld are provided in binutils: the traditional GNU ld based on [[Binary File Descriptor library|bfd]], and a streamlined ELF-only version called [[gold (linker)|gold]].

The [[LLVM]] project's linker, ''{{vanchor|lld}}'', is designed to be drop-in compatible,<ref>{{cite web |title=LLD - The LLVM Linker — lld 14 documentation |url=https://lld.llvm.org/ |website=lld.llvm.org}}</ref> and may be used directly with the GNU compiler. Another drop-in replacement, mold, is a highly parallelized and faster alternative which is also supported by GNU tools.<ref>{{cite web |title=GCC 12 Adds Support For Using The Mold Linker |url=https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=GCC-12-Mold-Linker |website=www.phoronix.com}}</ref>