Linking

The linker links specified object files to create one executable file. Invoking the compiler with one of the invocation commands automatically calls the linker unless you specify one of the following compiler options: -E, -P, -c, -S, -qsyntaxonly or -#.

Input files
Object files, unstripped executable files, and library files serve as input to the linker. Object files must have a .o suffix, for example, filename.o. Static library file names have an .a suffix, for example, filename.a. Dynamic library file names typically have a .so suffix, for example, filename.so.
Output files
The linker generates an executable file and places it in your current directory. The default name for an executable file is a.out. To name the executable file explicitly, use the -o file_name option with the compiler invocation command, where file_name is the name you want to give to the executable file. For example, to compile myfile.c and generate an executable file called myfile, enter:
xlc myfile.c -o myfile
If you use the -qmkshrobj option to create a shared library, the default name of the shared object created is shr.o. You can use the -o option to rename the file and give it a .so suffix.

You can invoke the linker explicitly with the ld command. However, the compiler invocation commands set several linker options, and link some standard files into the executable output by default. In most cases, it is better to use one of the compiler invocation commands to link your object files. For a complete list of options available for linking, see Linking.

Related information

-qmkshrobj