From: aronsson@lysator.liu.se (Lars Aronsson) Subject: Magic(5) for LINUX 0.98 sought Date: 14 Oct 1992 00:27:52 GMT
I am beginning to understand how the file command [file(1)] and the
/etc/magic file [magic(5)] work. I have the file program in binary,
but my /etc/magic file doesn't seem to know very much. I run LINUX
0.98 and compile new programs with the 4.1 jump table-based shared
libraries. For the binary executables, file(1) says "data" or
something equally stupid.
Where can I find a more modern /etc/magic file for LINUX, or where can
I find enough information to write one? I know the file format of the
/etc/magic file, but I don't know the actual magic numbers used under
LINUX.
Ideally, file(1) would tell me with which version of the shared
libraries an executable binary is linked.
I understand the /etc/magic file could eventually become a large
database (like /etc/termcap, ours is 150k). If you maintain an FTP
archive or an NFS server, you could have executable binaries for many
architectures among your files. Is there a free, large multi-system
magic file somewhere?
Are termcap, magic and /usr/dict/word files in general considered to
be in the public domain, or are they covered by equally strict
copyright laws as are, say, AT&T UNIX kernel sources?