Package ghidra.program.model.symbol

Interface SymbolTable

  • All Known Implementing Classes:
    SymbolManager
    public interface SymbolTable
    A SymbolTable manages the Symbols defined in a program.
    A Symbol is an association between an Address, a String name. In addition, symbols may have one or more References.
    A Reference is a 4-tuple of a source address, destination address, type, and either a mnemonic or operand index
    Any address in a program can have more than one symbol associated to it. At any given time, one and only one symbol will be designated as the primary.
    A symbol can be either global or local. Local symbols belong to some namespace other than the global namespace.
    Label and Function symbols do not have to have unique names with a namespace. All other symbols must be unique within a namespace and be unique with all other symbols that must be unique. In other words you can have a several functions named "foo" and several labels named "foo" in the same namespace. But you can't have a class named "foo" and a namespace named "foo". But you can have a class named "foo" and and many functions and labels named "foo" all in the same namespace.
    A symbol can also be designated as dynamic. Which means the name is generated on-the-fly by the system based on its context.

    • Method Detail

      • createLabel

        Symbol createLabel​(Address addr,
                   java.lang.String name,
                   SourceType source)
            throws InvalidInputException
        Create a label symbol with the given name associated to the given Address. The symbol will be global and be of type SymbolType.CODE. Label Symbols do not have to have unique names. If this is the first symbol defined for the address it becomes the primary.
        Parameters:
        addr - the address at which to create a symbol
        name - the name of the symbol.
        source - the source of this symbol
        Some symbol types, such as function symbols, can set the source to Symbol.DEFAULT.
        Throws:
        InvalidInputException - thrown if names contains white space, is zero length, or is null. Also thrown if invalid parentNamespace is specified.
        java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - if you try to set the source to DEFAULT for a symbol type that doesn't allow it, or an improper addr if specified

      • createLabel

        Symbol createLabel​(Address addr,
                   java.lang.String name,
                   Namespace namespace,
                   SourceType source)
            throws InvalidInputException
        Create a label symbol with the given name associated to the given Address and namespace. The symbol will be of type SymbolType.CODE. If this is the first symbol defined for the address it becomes the primary symbol. If a symbol with that name already exists at the address, it will be returned instead with its namespace changed to the new namespace unless the new symbol is in the global space, in which case the namespace will remain as is.
        Parameters:
        addr - the address at which to create a symbol
        name - the name of the symbol.
        namespace - the namespace of the symbol.
        source - the source of this symbol
        Some symbol types, such as function symbols, can set the source to Symbol.DEFAULT.
        Throws:
        java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - if you try to set the source to DEFAULT for a symbol type that doesn't allow it, or an improper addr if specified
        InvalidInputException

      • removeSymbolSpecial

        boolean removeSymbolSpecial​(Symbol sym)
        Removes the specified symbol from the symbol table. If removing any non-function symbol the behavior will be the same as invoking Symbol.delete() on the symbol. Use of this method for non-function symbols is discouraged.

        WARNING! If removing a function symbol the behavior differs from directly invoking Symbol.delete() on the function symbol.

        When removing a function symbol this method has the following behavior:

        • If the function is a default symbol (e.g., FUN_12345678) this method has no affect and will return null
        • otherwise if another label exists at the function entry point, that label will be removed and the function will be renamed with that labels name
        • If no other labels exist at the function entry, the function will be renamed to the default function name
        Any reference bound to a symbol removed will loose that symbol specific binding.
        Parameters:
        sym - the symbol to be removed.
        Returns:
        false, if removal of the symbol fails

      • getSymbol

        Symbol getSymbol​(long symbolID)
        Get the symbol for the given symbol ID.
        Parameters:
        symbolID - the id of the symbol to be retrieved.
        Returns:
        null if there is no symbol with the given ID.

      • getSymbol

        Symbol getSymbol​(java.lang.String name,
                 Address addr,
                 Namespace namespace)
        Get the symbol with the given name, address, and namespace.

        Note that for a symbol to be uniquely specified, all these parameters are required. Any method that queries for symbols using just one or two of these parameters will return a list of symbols.

        Parameters:
        name - the name of the symbol to retrieve
        addr - the address of the symbol to retrieve
        namespace - the namespace of the symbol to retrieve. May be null which indicates global namespace.

      • getGlobalSymbol

        Symbol getGlobalSymbol​(java.lang.String name,
                       Address addr)
        Get the global symbol with the given name and address. Note that this results in a single Symbol because of an additional restriction that allows only one symbol with a given name at the same address and namespace (in this case the global namespace).

        This is just a convenience method for getSymbol(String, Address, Namespace) where the namespace is the global namespace.

        Parameters:
        name - the name of the symbol to retrieve
        addr - the address of the symbol to retrieve

      • getSymbol

        @Deprecated
Symbol getSymbol​(java.lang.String name,
                 Namespace namespace)
        Deprecated.
        This method is no longer useful as Ghidra allows duplicate symbol names in the same namespace. Use #getSymbols(Namespace, String) instead. Deprecated in version 7.5, will be removed a few versions later.
        Returns the first symbol with the given name found in the given namespace. Ghidra now allows multiple symbols with the same name in the same namespace, so using this method is likely to produce unintended results. Use #getSymbols(Namespace, String) instead.
        Parameters:
        name - the name of the symbol to retreive
        namespace - the namespace of the symbol to retrieve (null assumes global namespace)

      • getSymbol

        @Deprecated
Symbol getSymbol​(java.lang.String name)
        Deprecated.
        Use getGlobalSymbols(String) instead. Ghidra now allows multiple symbols in any namespace to have the same name. Deprecated in Ghidra 7.5 Deprecated in version 7.5, will be removed a few versions later.
        Returns the first global symbol that it finds with the given name. Now that Ghidra allows duplicate symbol names, this method is practically useless.
        Parameters:
        name - the name of the symbol to be retrieved.
        Returns:
        symbol, or null if no global symbol has that name

      • getGlobalSymbols

        java.util.List<Symbol> getGlobalSymbols​(java.lang.String name)
        Returns a list of all global symbols with the given name.
        Parameters:
        name - the name of the symbols to retrieve.
        Returns:
        a list of all global symbols with the given name.

      • getLabelOrFunctionSymbols

        java.util.List<Symbol> getLabelOrFunctionSymbols​(java.lang.String name,
                                                 Namespace namespace)
        Returns all the label or function symbols that have the given name in the given namespace.
        Parameters:
        name - the name of the symbols to search for.
        namespace - the namespace to search. If null, then the global namespace is assumed.
        Returns:
        a list of all the label or function symbols with the given name in the given namespace.
        Throws:
        DuplicateNameException - if more than one label or function symbol has the name in the given namespace.

      • getNamespaceSymbol

        Symbol getNamespaceSymbol​(java.lang.String name,
                          Namespace namespace)
        Returns a generic namespace symbol with the given name in the given namespace.
        Parameters:
        name - the name of the namespace symbol to retrieve.
        namespace - the namespace containing the symbol to retrieve.
        Returns:
        a generic namespace symbol with the given name in the given namespace.

      • getLibrarySymbol

        Symbol getLibrarySymbol​(java.lang.String name)
        Returns the library symbol with the given name.
        Parameters:
        name - the name of the library symbol to retrieve.
        Returns:
        the library symbol with the given name.

      • getClassSymbol

        Symbol getClassSymbol​(java.lang.String name,
                      Namespace namespace)
        Returns the class symbol with the given name in the given namespace.
        Parameters:
        name - the name of the class.
        namespace - the namespace to search for the class.
        Returns:
        the class symbol with the given name in the given namespace.

      • getParameterSymbol

        Symbol getParameterSymbol​(java.lang.String name,
                          Namespace namespace)
        Returns the parameter symbol with the given name in the given namespace.
        Parameters:
        name - the name of the parameter.
        namespace - the namespace (function) to search for the class.
        Returns:
        the parameter symbol with the given name in the given namespace.

      • getLocalVariableSymbol

        Symbol getLocalVariableSymbol​(java.lang.String name,
                              Namespace namespace)
        Returns the local variable symbol with the given name in the given namespace.
        Parameters:
        name - the name of the local variable.
        namespace - the namespace (function) to search for the class.
        Returns:
        the local variable symbol with the given name in the given namespace.

      • getSymbols

        java.util.List<Symbol> getSymbols​(java.lang.String name,
                                  Namespace namespace)
        Returns a list of all symbols with the given name in the given namespace.
        Parameters:
        name - the name of the symbols to retrieve.
        namespace - the namespace to search for symbols.
        Returns:

      • getVariableSymbol

        Symbol getVariableSymbol​(java.lang.String name,
                         Function function)
        Returns a symbol that is either a parameter or local variable. There can be only one because these symbol types have a unique name requirement.
        Parameters:
        name - the naem of the variable.
        namespace - the namespace (function) to search.
        Returns:
        a parameter or local variable symbol with the given name.

      • getNamespace

        Namespace getNamespace​(java.lang.String name,
                       Namespace namespace)
        Returns the namespace with the given name in the given parent namespace. The namespace returned can be either a generic namespace or a class or library. It does not include functions.
        Parameters:
        name - the name of the namespace to be retrieved.
        namespace - the parent namespace of the namespace to be retrieved.
        Returns:
        the namespace with the given name in the given parent namespace.

      • getSymbols

        SymbolIterator getSymbols​(java.lang.String name)
        Returns all the symbols with the given name.
        Parameters:
        name - the name of symbols to search for.
        Returns:
        array of symbols with the given name

      • getAllSymbols

        SymbolIterator getAllSymbols​(boolean includeDynamicSymbols)
        Returns an iterator over all symbols, including Dynamic symbols if includeDynamicSymbols is true.
        Parameters:
        includeDynamicSymbols - if true, the iterator will include dynamicSymbols

      • getSymbol

        Symbol getSymbol​(Reference ref)
        Returns the symbol that this reference is associated with.
        Parameters:
        ref - the reference to find the associated symbol for.

      • getPrimarySymbol

        Symbol getPrimarySymbol​(Address addr)
        Returns the primary symbol at the specified address. This method will always return null if the address specified is neither a Memory address nor an External address.
        Parameters:
        addr - the address at which to retrieve the primary symbol
        Returns:
        symbol, or null if no symbol at that address

      • getSymbols

        Symbol[] getSymbols​(Address addr)
        Returns all the symbols at the given address. When addr is a memory address the primary symbol will be returned in array slot 0. WARNING! Use of this method with a Variable address is highly discouraged since a single Variable address could be used multiple times by many functions.
        Parameters:
        addr - the address at which to retrieve all symbols.
        Returns:
        a zero-length array when no symbols are defined at address.

      • getUserSymbols

        Symbol[] getUserSymbols​(Address addr)
        Returns an array of all user defined symbols at the given address
        Parameters:
        addr - the address at which to retrieve all user defined symbols.

      • getSymbols

        SymbolIterator getSymbols​(Namespace namespace)
        Returns an iterator over all the symbols in the given namespace
        Parameters:
        namespace - the namespace to search for symbols.

      • getSymbols

        SymbolIterator getSymbols​(long namespaceID)
        Returns an iterator over all the symbols in the given namespace
        Parameters:
        namespaceID - the namespace ID to search for symbols.

      • hasSymbol

        boolean hasSymbol​(Address addr)
        Return true if there exists a symbol at the given address.
        Parameters:
        addr - address to check for an existing symbol
        Returns:
        true if any symbol exists

      • getDynamicSymbolID

        long getDynamicSymbolID​(Address addr)
        Get the unique symbol ID for a dynamic symbol associated with the speified addr. The generation of this symbol ID does not reflect the presence of a dyanmic symbol at the specified addr. This symbol ID should not be permanently stored since the encoding may change between software releases.
        Parameters:
        addr - dynamic symbol address
        Returns:
        unique symbol ID

      • getSymbolIterator

        SymbolIterator getSymbolIterator​(java.lang.String searchStr,
                                 boolean caseSensitive)
        Returns a an iterator over all symbols that match the given search string. NOTE: The iterator is in the forward direction only.
        Parameters:
        searchStr - the string to search for (may contain * to match any sequence or ? to match a single char)
        caseSensitive - flag to determine if the search is case sensitive or not.

      • getSymbols

        SymbolIterator getSymbols​(AddressSetView set,
                          SymbolType type,
                          boolean forward)
        Returns all the symbols of the given type within the given address set.
        Parameters:
        set - the address set in which to look for symbols of the given type
        type - the SymbolType to look for.
        forward - the direction within the addressSet to search

      • getNumSymbols

        int getNumSymbols()
        Returns the total number of symbols in the table.

      • getSymbolIterator

        SymbolIterator getSymbolIterator()
        Get iterator over all label symbols. Labels are defined on memory locations.

      • getDefinedSymbols

        SymbolIterator getDefinedSymbols()
        Returns an iterator over all defined symbols in no particular order.

      • getExternalSymbol

        Symbol getExternalSymbol​(java.lang.String name)
        Returns the external symbol with the given name.
        Parameters:
        name - the name of the symbol to be retrieved.
        Returns:
        symbol, or null if no external symbol has that name

      • getExternalSymbols

        SymbolIterator getExternalSymbols​(java.lang.String name)
        Returns all the external symbols with the given name.
        Parameters:
        name - the name of symbols to search for.
        Returns:
        array of external symbols with the given name

      • getExternalSymbols

        SymbolIterator getExternalSymbols()
        Returns an iterator over all defined external symbols in no particular order.

      • getSymbolIterator

        SymbolIterator getSymbolIterator​(boolean forward)
        Returns an iterator over all symbols.
        Parameters:
        forward - true means the iterator is in the forward direction

      • getSymbolIterator

        SymbolIterator getSymbolIterator​(Address startAddr,
                                 boolean forward)
        Get iterator over all symbols starting at the specified startAddr
        Parameters:
        startAddr - the address at which to begin the iteration.
        forward - true means the iterator is in the forward direction

      • getPrimarySymbolIterator

        SymbolIterator getPrimarySymbolIterator​(boolean forward)
        Get iterator over all primary symbols.
        Parameters:
        forward - true means the iterator is in the forward direction

      • getPrimarySymbolIterator

        SymbolIterator getPrimarySymbolIterator​(Address startAddr,
                                        boolean forward)
        Get iterator over only primary symbols starting at the specified startAddr
        Parameters:
        startAddr - the address at which to begin the iteration.
        forward - true means the iterator is in the forward direction

      • getPrimarySymbolIterator

        SymbolIterator getPrimarySymbolIterator​(AddressSetView asv,
                                        boolean forward)
        Get an iterator over symbols at addresses in the given addressSet
        Parameters:
        asv - the set of address over which to iterate symbols.
        forward - true means the iterator is in the forward direction

      • addExternalEntryPoint

        void addExternalEntryPoint​(Address addr)
        Sets the given address to be an external entry point.
        Parameters:
        addr - the address to set as an external entry point.

      • removeExternalEntryPoint

        void removeExternalEntryPoint​(Address addr)
        Removes the given address as an external entry point.
        Parameters:
        addr - the address to remove as an external entry point.

      • isExternalEntryPoint

        boolean isExternalEntryPoint​(Address addr)
        Returns true if the given address has been set as an external entry point.
        Parameters:
        addr - address to test for external entry point.

      • getExternalEntryPointIterator

        AddressIterator getExternalEntryPointIterator()
        Get forward/back iterator over addresses that are entry points.

      • getLabelHistory

        LabelHistory[] getLabelHistory​(Address addr)
        Get the label history objects for the given address. The history object records changes made to labels at some address.
        Parameters:
        addr - address of the label change
        Returns:
        array of history objects

      • getLabelHistory

        java.util.Iterator<LabelHistory> getLabelHistory()
        Get an iterator over all the label history objects.

      • hasLabelHistory

        boolean hasLabelHistory​(Address addr)
        Return true if there is a history of label changes at the given address.
        Parameters:
        addr - the address to check for symbol history.

      • getNamespace

        Namespace getNamespace​(Address addr)
        Returns the lowest level Namespace within which the specified address is contained.
        Parameters:
        addr - the address for which to finds its enclosing namespace.

      • getClassNamespaces

        java.util.Iterator<GhidraClass> getClassNamespaces()
        Returns all Class Namespaces defined within the program.

      • createClass

        GhidraClass createClass​(Namespace parent,
                        java.lang.String name,
                        SourceType source)
                 throws DuplicateNameException,
                        InvalidInputException
        Create a class namespace in the given parent namespace.
        Parameters:
        parent - parent namespace
        name - name of the namespace
        source - the source of this class namespace's symbol
        Returns:
        new class namespace
        Throws:
        DuplicateNameException - thrown if another non function or lable symbol exists with the given name
        InvalidInputException - throw if the name has invalid characters or is null
        java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - if you try to set the source to 'Symbol.DEFAULT'.

      • getChildren

        SymbolIterator getChildren​(Symbol parentSymbol)
        Returns an iterator over all symbols that have the given symbol as its parent..
        Parameters:
        parentSymbol - the parent symbol

      • createExternalLibrary

        Library createExternalLibrary​(java.lang.String name,
                              SourceType source)
                       throws DuplicateNameException,
                              InvalidInputException
        Creates a Library namespace with the given name.
        Parameters:
        name - the name of the new Library namespace
        source - the source of this external library's symbol
        Returns:
        the new Library namespace.
        Throws:
        java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - if you try to set the source to 'Symbol.DEFAULT'.
        DuplicateNameException - thrown if another non function or lable symbol exists with the given name
        InvalidInputException

      • createNameSpace

        Namespace createNameSpace​(Namespace parent,
                          java.lang.String name,
                          SourceType source)
                   throws DuplicateNameException,
                          InvalidInputException
        Creates a new namespace.
        Parameters:
        parent - the parent namespace for the new namespace
        name - the name of the new namespace
        source - the source of this namespace's symbol
        Returns:
        the new Namespace object.
        Throws:
        DuplicateNameException - thrown if another non function or lable symbol exists with the given name
        InvalidInputException - if the name is invalid.
        java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - if you try to set the source to 'Symbol.DEFAULT'.